History SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute / ComicBooks

* ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogIDW'': Due to legal issues, Scourge with replaced with Surge the Tenrec. Green and black color scheme? Check. Similar name? Check. Status as an EvilCounterpart to Sonic? Check again.

* Following the ''ComicBook/{{New 52}}'' reboot, DC began marketing ComicBook/TheJoker's former girlfriend and partner in crime ComicBook/HarleyQuinn as a solo AntiHero in her own right, with the character becoming popular enough that she eventually got her own [[WesternAnimation/HarleyQuinn cartoon]] and [[Film/BirdsOfPrey movie]]. Because of this, in 2020 DC introduced a similar character called Punchline as the Joker's new sidekick. Punchline however, was quickly established to have DivergentCharacterEvolution: She's utterly contemptuous of Harley being in love with the Joker, claiming that she just cares about his "message" (which Harley sees as equally delusional because he doesn't have one), she's been officially certified sane, and she has no problem with committing premeditated murder to prove her point, while Harley almost never ''planned'' to kill anyone. The creative team call her "the Anti-Harley".

** The team roster usually includes one plucky, BadassAdorable teenage girl who adopts Comicbook/{{Wolverine}} as a BigBrotherMentor. When the character grows out of the role, she's always replaced by another one. Comicbook/KittyPryde started the tradition, and her replacements have included Comicbook/{{Rogue}}, Comicbook/{{Jubilee|MarvelComics}}, Marrow, Armor, Pixie, ComicBook/{{X 23}} and Oya. Marrow shook up the tradition a bit by having Comicbook/{{Gambit|MarvelComics}} as her mentor instead, but the writers cut out the middleman with X-23 by making her Wolverine's [[DistaffCounterpart female clone]] (the closest thing to an actual little sister Wolvie's ever going to get).

* ''Comicbook/TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen'': Parodied in ''The Black Dossier'', where we're told the British Government, in assembling the 1950s League, tried to find substitutes of the ''entire'' 1890s League. It didn't work. W.E. John's Worrals for Mina; ''Hotspur''[='=]s Wolf of Kabul for Alan; Peter Brady (TV's first [[Literature/TheInvisibleMan Invisible Man]]) for Griffin; Professor Grey (from ''Comicbook/TheBeano'' strip ''The Iron Fish'') for Nemo; and a giant robot called the Iron Warrior (from ''Thrill Comics'') for Hyde.

* The Pre-Crisis version of Jason Todd, who took over the role of Franchise/{{Batman}}'s sidekick Comicbook/{{Robin}} after Dick Grayson became Comicbook/{{Nightwing}}, was a carbon copy of Dick Grayson right down to having a similar origin story (his parents were acrobats murdered by Killer Croc). This was averted with the Post-Crisis version, which [[DivergentCharacterEvolution revised Jason's origin]] as a street hoodlum who Batman picked up after catching him trying to steal the Batmobile's tires.
* Many fans have accused Marvel of doing this with ComicBook/TheInhumans, who saw a complete overhaul in ''Comicbook/{{Inhumanity}}''. They now bear a number of resemblances to the mutants from the ''X-Men'' franchise. They are ordinary civilians who find out that they are a minority (though not as rare as mutants), have powers thrust upon them, and are a part of a larger conflict, and many are hated for being different and are considered freaks. Even longtime ''X-Men'' writer Creator/ChrisClaremont has commented on this, accusing Marvel and Creator/{{Disney}} of making the Inhumans into mutant {{Expies}} to benefit the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse ([[ExiledFromContinuity which couldn't use mutants due to rights issues]]). This changed after Disney bought Creator/TwentiethCenturyFox (and, by extension, the X-Men's film rights), and the Inhumanity status quo was eventually phased out, with the Inhumans now being distinct from mutants once again.

* {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d in ''Comicbook/NewAvengers''. Comicbook/{{Daredevil}} was unable to join the team due to his legal problems at the time, so he suggested to Comicbook/CaptainAmerica that Echo join in his place. He pointed out that since she has virtually the same skill set and all his knowledge of the Japanese underworld, it'd be the next best thing to actually having him on the team.
* A cross between this and ThePsychoRangers happens with ComicBook/NormanOsborn's ComicBook/DarkAvengers; villainous ranged-combat expert Bullseye imitates heroic archer Comicbook/{{Hawkeye}}, the new Comicbook/{{Venom}} symbiote imitates Franchise/SpiderMan, Comicbook/{{Wolverine}}'s [[{{ComicBook/Daken}} psychotic son]] takes his place, and so on.

* ''Franchise/WonderWoman'':

* Contrary to popular belief, Comicbook/JessicaJones was not created by Creator/BrianBendis after Marvel denied him permission to use ComicBook/SpiderWoman in his ''ComicBook/{{Alias}}'' series. While Drew did heavily influence Jones (hence them sharing a name and profession), she was never meant to be the star.

** Comicbook/BlackPanther first joined ComicBook/TheAvengers as a replacement for the similarly-powered ComicBook/CaptainAmerica, while Steve Rogers' eventual successors in the Captain America identity (ComicBook/BuckyBarnes and [[ComicBook/TheFalcon Sam Wilson]]) also took Steve's spot on the team under later writers, although Bucky wasn't a leader figure and instead filled the role of a lethal weapon-using teammate akin to Black Widow.
** [[Comicbook/TheIncredibleHercules Hercules]] was first added to the Avengers because Creator/StanLee wouldn't let writer Roy Thomas use [[Comicbook/TheMightyThor Thor]]. Decades later, when Thor was replaced by Eric Masterson and Jane Foster, respectively, those two characters also filled in for him as members of the Avengers.

** When Tony Stark was unable to fulfill his duties as Comicbook/IronMan after falling off the wagon, his buddy [[Comicbook/WarMachine James Rhodes]] temporarily became the new Iron Man, and even ended up as a founding member of the Comicbook/WestCoastAvengers. This also meant that James was Iron Man during the ''Comicbook/SecretWars1984'' crossover, even though some of the other heroes were unaware that the guy under the armor wasn't the same man they'd been fighting alongside for years.
** The original ''ComicBook/BigHero6'' comics featured Sunfire and the Silver Samurai as part of the main cast. When both of those characters were rendered unusable due to developments in other books[[note]]Silver Samurai became the new head of the Yashida clan and was eventually brainwashed into forgetting his time as a hero, while Sunfire had become a Horseman of Comicbook/{{Apocalypse}} after Lady Deathstrike cut off his legs.[[/note]] they were replaced with two new heroes named Sunpyre (who is a ''double'' example of this trope, as she is an extra-dimensional counterpart of Sunfire's deceased younger sister) and the Ebon Samurai, both of whom had costumes and powers similar to those of their predecessors.
** The various ComicBook/{{Green Lantern}}s of Earth (Hal Jordan, John Stewart, Guy Gardner, Kyle Rayner, Jade, Simon Baz Jessica Cruz, etc.) have made a habit of filling in for one another on the [[Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica JLA]] whenever one of them has had to take a leave of absence.
** Comicbook/{{Superman}} has had to bow out of the JLA a few times as well, with his role in the group usually taken over by other {{Flying Brick}}s like Comicbook/{{Shazam}}, Mon-El and Comicbook/{{Supergirl}} during these periods.
** The same goes for Comicbook/{{Batman}}, who has been replaced in the League by his various allies like Comicbook/{{Nightwing}} and Batwing during times when he's been unavailable.
** When Creator/GrantMorrison was writing ''JLA'', they were unable to use Comicbook/{{Hawkman}} because the character's ContinuitySnarl had become such a problem. Instead, they created a new winged hero named Zauriel as a replacement. They even hung a lampshade on it by having Comicbook/{{Aquaman}} briefly mistake Zauriel for Hawkman in his first appearance.

* ''ComicBook/{{Batwoman}}'': When Renee Montoya was PutOnABus out of Gotham after ''Comicbook/{{Flashpoint}}'', the writers hooked Batwoman up with Maggie Sawyer, a former ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'' supporting character. Like Renee, Maggie was a badass lesbian cop who looked good in a suit, though she didn't initially know Kate's secret. Maggie was ironically PutOnABus of her own back to Metropolis after Renee finally returned a few years later.

** Following ''ComicBook/{{Ultimatum}}'', [[Comicbook/UltimateXMen the X-Men]] were disbanded and replaced by the new comic 'Ultimate X', featuring James Hudson, the son of Wolverine as the team's "enforcer". Subverted to some extent, in that Hudson is a teenaged boy with healing and the ability to consciously grow metal coating to his bones, while his father was...''Wolverine''.
** Later, when [[Comicbook/UltimateSpiderMan Peter Parker]] died fighting Norman Osborn, he was replaced by Comicbook/MilesMorales, a young teen with almost identical powers who became the new Spider-Man. To those who were/are critical of him, one of the biggest critiques is that Miles is too similar to Peter, being a science nerd NiceGuy motivated by guilt from not helping when he could (ironically, being that he could have saved Peter, but didn't). However it's established he isn't nearly as smart as Peter, and thus struggles to decipher his webbing formula, and he's since had DivergentCharacterEvolution to differentiate him from Peter. Really it's only their origins that are similar.

* In the first issue of the 2015 volume of ''Invincible Comicbook/IronMan'', Tony goes on a date with a South Asian scientist who has developed a cure for the Mutant X-Gene. [[Comicbook/AstonishingXMen Kavita Rao]]? Nope! Meet Amara Perera, everybody!
* In Creator/JonathanHickman's ''Comicbook/{{The Avengers}}'', he introduces a new lineup for Omega Flight, the "black ops" counterpart to Comicbook/AlphaFlight, three of whom are substitutes for Alpha Flighters: Validator for Vindicator, Wendigo for Sasquatch, and Boxx for Box. [[spoiler: They're all killed or altered by the Origin Bomb, explaining why Hickman didn't want to use the established characters.]]

* A few years after the Phyla-Vell version of Comicbook/{{Quasar}} was killed off during ''Comicbook/TheThanosImperative'', Marvel introduced a new Quasar named Avril Kincaid. While the two women aren't too similar, many fans have cited this trope in regard to Phyla and Avril both being lesbians.
* Creator/NeilGaiman's ''ComicBook/GreenLantern[=/=]ComicBook/{{Superman}}: Legend of the Green Flame'' was originally intended as the SeriesFinale of ''ComicBook/ActionComics''' incarnation as a weekly anthology featuring Supes, GL, Comicbook/{{Catwoman}}, Comicbook/{{Deadman}}, Comicbook/ThePhantomStranger, Comicbook/{{Blackhawk}} and Comicbook/{{Etrigan}}. Gaiman therefore wrote a story which managed to give all these characters at the very least cameos. However, he was then told continuity issues meant he couldn't use Etrigan, so he replaced him with another demon named [[SignificantAnagram Gintear]]. Then other continuity issues (Hal and Clark being retconned as no longer knowing each other's secret identities) made the whole story untenable and it was shelved. Oddly, when it was finally drawn and published, Gintear was retained, even though at this point it was entirely outside continuity.
* The ''Comicbook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'' ContinuityReboot led to several examples of this:
** ''ComicBook/AllStarSquadron'' was set on Earth-2, an alternate world where Superman, Batman, Robin, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and Comicbook/GreenArrow were all active in the 1940s, and all of them were fairly important characters. Then ''Crisis on Infinite Earths'' happened, and the Squadron's history got transplanted into the main DCU, where Superman and company were now meant to have debuted within the last decade--meaning a lot of the Squadron's continuity no longer worked. Roy Thomas tried to solve this by introducing the Young All-Stars, a new 1940s team consisting of characters who each paralleled one of the now-removed Golden Age A-listers. The group's membership included [[Literature/{{Gladiator}} Hugo Danner]]-inspired strongman Iron Munroe (Superman), bat-themed caped crusader Flying Fox (Batman), former KidSidekick Dan the Dyna-Mite (Robin), super-strong Greek myth-based heroine Fury (Wonder Woman), aquatic heroes Neptune Perkins and Tsunami (Aquaman), and archer Tigress (Green Arrow). Fury even took Wonder Woman's place as the mother of Fury (now retroactively [[LegacyCharacter the second girl to use that name]]) from the ''Comicbook/InfinityInc'' series. It should be noted that several of the Young All-Stars actually were pre-existing characters, though Munroe, Fury and Flying Fox were new creations (while Tsunami had previously appeared as a villain in ''All-Star Squadron'' before undergoing a HeelFaceTurn here).
** The original Seven Soldiers of Victory counted Green Arrow and Speedy as members. After ''Crisis'' removed the two of them from the Golden Age, ''ComicBook/StarsAndSTRIPE'' revealed that the obscure Golden Age hero the Spider had been a member of the group, replacing Green Arrow as the team's archer. Speedy's role, meanwhile, was taken by Comicbook/{{Vigilante}}'s own KidSidekick, the Chinatown Kid.

* Following the ''Comicbook/{{New 52}}'' reboot, DC began marketing Comicbook/TheJoker's former girlfriend and partner in crime Comicbook/HarleyQuinn as a solo AntiHero in her own right, with the character becoming popular enough that she eventually got her own [[WesternAnimation/HarleyQuinn cartoon]] and [[Film/BirdsOfPrey movie]]. Because of this, in 2020 DC introduced a similar character called Punchline as the Joker's new sidekick. Punchline however, was quickly established to have DivergentCharacterEvolution: She's utterly contemptuous of Harley being in love with the Joker, claiming that she just cares about his "message" (which Harley sees as equally delusional because he doesn't have one), she's been officially certified sane, and she has no problem with committing premeditated murder to prove her point, while Harley almost never ''planned'' to kill anyone. The creative team call her "the Anti-Harley".

* The BigBad of the original ''Comicbook/{{Micronauts|Marvel Comics}}'' comic was Baron Karza, an armored despot who could combine with his steed to become a centaur. Many years after Marvel lost the license to the Micronauts characters (with the exception of Bug), Creator/BrianBendis' ''Avengers'' run introduced Lord Gouzar, another despotic armored centaur, as the new ruler of the Microverse.

* Due to legal issues with former writer Creator/KenPenders, a large cast of characters in ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics'' vanished, with his successor seemingly being barred from even mentioning them. Rob o' the Hedge, missing king of Mercia and RobinHood expy, has been replaced by the exceedingly similar Bow Sparrow. Along with Rob's love interest Mari-An also being replaced another new character, Thorn the Lop (whether Bow and Thorn have the same relationship as Rob and Mari-An did has yet to be confirmed). The first one to be seen post-reboot is Breezie the Hedgehog, a character from ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfSonicTheHedgehog'', who has taken up not only the role of Mammoth Mogul (who actually wasn't created by Penders, but was removed by the incident) but also Scourge the Hedgehog, the former Evil Sonic (who Penders "did" create) by turning a one-note character into a cunning casino mongul who's at odds with Sonic.

** Jean Grey, during periods when she has been rendered [[DeathIsCheap temporarily dead]] or otherwise unusable, has been substituted numerous times, most notably by her Alternate universe daughter, Rachel Summers, Hope Summers, the first mutant born after the Decimation events who looks like a teenaged Jean, wears the same colors as she had, and displays similar [[PlayingWithFire Phoenix-like]] powers, and a teenager, time-lost Jean Grey. Madelyne Pryor, who appeared in the story after Jean's first temporary death, as a new love interest for Scott Summers-- a new love interest who just happened to be incredibly visually similar to Jean. Later on, the suspicious similarity was made a plot point as Madelyne was retconned into a clone of Jean deliberately placed in Scott's path.
** The team roster usually includes one plucky, BadassAdorable teenage girl who adopts Comicbook/{{Wolverine}} as a BigBrotherMentor. When the character grows out of the role, she's always replaced by another one. Comicbook/KittyPryde started the tradition, and her replacements have included Comicbook/{{Rogue}}, [[Comicbook/JubileeMarvelComics Jubilee]], Marrow, Armor, Pixie, ComicBook/{{X 23}} and Oya. Marrow shook up the tradition a bit by having Comicbook/{{Gambit}} as her mentor instead, but the writers cut out the middleman with X-23 by making her Wolverine's [[DistaffCounterpart female clone]] (the closest thing to an actual little sister Wolvie's ever going to get).

* ''ComicBook/XMen''

* Parodied in ''Comicbook/TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen: The Black Dossier'', where we're told the British Government, in assembling the 1950s League, tried to find substitutes of the ''entire'' 1890s League. It didn't work. W.E. John's Worrals for Mina; ''Hotspur''[='=]s Wolf of Kabul for Alan; Peter Brady (TV's first [[Literature/TheInvisibleMan Invisible Man]]) for Griffin; Professor Grey (from ''Comicbook/TheBeano'' strip ''The Iron Fish'') for Nemo; and a giant robot called the Iron Warrior (from ''Thrill Comics'') for Hyde.

* Contrary to popular belief, Comicbook/JessicaJones was '''not''' created by Creator/BrianBendis after Marvel denied him permission to use ComicBook/SpiderWoman in his ''Comicbook/{{Alias}}'' series. While Drew did heavily influence Jones (hence them sharing a name and profession), she was never meant to be the star.

** Comicbook/BlackPanther first joined Comicbook/TheAvengers as a replacement for the similarly-powered Comicbook/CaptainAmerica, while Steve Rogers' eventual successors in the Captain America identity (Comicbook/BuckyBarnes and [[Comicbook/TheFalcon Sam Wilson]]) also took Steve's spot on the team under later writers, although Bucky wasn't a leader figure and instead filled the role of a lethal weapon-using teammate akin to Black Widow.

** The various Comicbook/{{Green Lantern}}s of Earth (Hal Jordan, John Stewart, Guy Gardner, Kyle Rayner, Jade, Simon Baz Jessica Cruz, etc.) have made a habit of filling in for one another on the [[Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica JLA]] whenever one of them has had to take a leave of absence.

** ''Comicbook/TeenTitans''

* ''Comicbook/{{Batwoman}}'' had an interesting case of a SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute who was already an existing character in her own right. When Renee Montoya was PutOnABus out of Gotham after ''Comicbook/{{Flashpoint}}'', the writers hooked Batwoman up with Maggie Sawyer, a former ''Comicbook/{{Superman}}'' supporting character. Like Renee, Maggie was a badass lesbian cop who looked good in a suit, though she didn't initially know Kate's secret. Maggie was ironically PutOnABus of her own back to Metropolis after Renee finally returned a few years later.

* ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogIDW'' created another suspiciously similar substitute for the ScrewedByTheLawyers Scourge with Surge the Tenrec. Green and black color scheme? Check. Similar name? Check. Status as an EvilCounterpart to Sonic? Check again.
* [[ComicBook/{{New52}} The New 52]]:

** When the Comicbook/{{Batgirl}} mantle was [[Comicbook/{{Batgirl2011}} returned to Barbara Gordon]] [[Comicbook/{{Batgirl2009}} from Stephanie Brown]] following ''Comicbook/{{Flashpoint}}'', Barbara's personality appeared to shift to be closer to LighterAndSofter Stephanie's, so she was a similar replacement to her replacement's replacement; this was quickly undone by then making Batgirl full of angst, which helps differentiate it from [[FunPersonified Steph's book]]. Stephanie was later slated to appear in the ''Series/{{Smallville}}'' comic, but editorial ordered her to be replaced last-minute. Now we have a Barbara Gordon in that universe who also acts more like Stephanie would.
*** This got worse after the book got a new creative team, focusing on LighterAndSofter, complete with a fun redesign and new attitude. While generally accepted, a lot of people noted that the new take didn't really fit Barbara Gordon, at least not after what she'd been through in Simone's run, and would have Steph a whole lot better. Pretty much everything, from the costume to the tone of the art revealed to Barbara's entire outlook resembles what one would expect of Stephanie Brown, and thanks to the art style making Barbara look younger, almost turns Barbara into an expy of Steph. [[WordOfGod Cameron Stewart]] has stated this is unintentional, as he's neither read Steph's series nor is he overly familiar with her character, [[WriterOnBoard and is just basing Barbara's character off of how he sees what Batgirl is supposed to be like]].

* Medieval Comicbook/{{Spawn}} and his angelic opponent Angela were co-created by Creator/NeilGaiman and it was ruled in court that he co-owned the characters with Todd [=MacFarlane=]. [=MacFarlane=] subsequently created Dark Ages Spawn and the angels Domina and Tiffany.

** ComicBook/JeanGrey, during periods when she has been rendered [[DeathIsCheap temporarily dead]] or otherwise unusable, has been substituted numerous times, most notably by her Alterniverse daughter, ComicBook/RachelSummers. Now we currently have [[MessianicArchetype Hope Summers]], the first mutant born after the Decimation events. She [[SignificantGreeneyedRedhead looks like a teenaged Jean]], wears the same colors as she had, and displays similar [[PlayingWithFire Phoenix-like]] powers.
*** And once Hope's storyline -reason to exist was over, she was taken out of the main books to reunite with her adopted father Comicbook/{{Cable}}, and in her place is now the Teenaged, time-lost Jean Grey. She's a 16 year old girl raised in a different time (this time though, the past) who has the traditional Jean Grey look, has a similar [[{{Tsundere}} personality]] [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold and tendency to be a brat]], has a lot of story focus with a big bulk of the current conflict in the books revolving around her presence, and is slowly learning just how powerful she is. In short, Jean Grey is the SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute to her ''own'' SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute.
*** Also Madelyne Pryor, who appeared in the story after Jean's first temporary death, as a new love interest for Scott Summers--a new love interest who just happened to be incredibly visually similar to Jean. Apparently the similarity wasn't entirely intentional to start, this was just supposed to be another woman Scott was attracted too. Later on, the suspicious similarity was made a plot point as Madelyne was retconned into a clone of Jean deliberately placed in Scott's path.
** As a long-running tradition, the team roster ''always'' has to include one plucky, BadassAdorable teenage girl who adopts Comicbook/{{Wolverine}} as a BigBrotherMentor. When the character grows out of the role, she's always replaced by another one. Comicbook/KittyPryde started the tradition, and her replacements have included Comicbook/{{Rogue}}, [[Comicbook/JubileeMarvelComics Jubilee]], Marrow, Armor, Pixie, ComicBook/{{X 23}} and Oya. Marrow shook up the tradition a bit by having Comicbook/{{Gambit}} as her mentor instead, but the writers cut out the middleman with X-23 by making her Wolverine's [[DistaffCounterpart female clone]] (the closest thing to an actual little sister Wolvie's ever going to get).
** The character of Tempus introduced in the 2014 volume of ''ComicBook/UncannyXMen'' has a strikingly similar time manipulation power set to an earlier character, [[ComicBook/{{NYX}} Kiden Nixon]].
*** Tempus is also very similar to [[http://www.uncannyxmen.net/characters/tempo Tempo]], an obscure X-Men villain from the Creator/RobLiefeld days who had recently been featured (and killed) in the ''Age of X'' storyline.

* ''ComicBook/AgeOfTheSentry'' has plenty of [[{{Expy}} Expies]] of DC characters, as well as Marvel characters substituting for those. However, there is one character who is Substituting another Marvel character: [[ArchEnemy Cranio,]] [[RedBaron The Man With The Tri-Level Mind]]. The average reader might think because of the [[AffectionateParody setting]] that he is an Expy of Lex Luthor, or Brainiac, but his gimmick of having superintelligence because of a helmet with extra brains is directly copied from the ComicBook/FantasticFour villain, the Wizard. However, Cranio's helmet has three brains, while the Wizard's has but one. Clearly we see who is superior!
* Parodied in ''Comicbook/TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen: The Black Dossier'', where we're told the British Government, in assembling the 1950s League, tried to find substitutes of the ''entire'' 1890s League. It didn't work.
** W.E. John's Worrals for Mina; ''Hotspur''[='=]s Wolf of Kabul for Alan; Peter Brady (TV's first [[Literature/TheInvisibleMan Invisible Man]]) for Griffin; Professor Grey (from ''Comicbook/TheBeano'' strip ''The Iron Fish'') for Nemo; and a giant robot called the Iron Warrior (from ''Thrill Comics'') for Hyde.

** In ''ComicBook/{{The Legend of Wonder Woman|2016}}'' Wonder Woman's lifelong friend Euboea, the most notable Amazon of clear Asain heritage who usually wears some green and a headband does not appear, however an Amazon named Troia (one of the aliases used by Donna Troy) who has been Diana's friend since childhood, is the most notable Amazon of clear Asain heritage and usually wears some green and a headband does appear.
* Comicbook/LanaLang started her existence blatantly filling the role of Comicbook/LoisLane when they started telling stories about Superman's childhood as ComicBook/{{Superboy}}. Unlike her modern incarnation, she was both the love interest and the nosy inquisitive girl always trying to prove Clark was Superboy.

*** Creator/GeoffJohns created Miss Martian after plans to add Supergirl to the Teen Titans fell through. Johns had wanted to use Supergirl because the idea of a kind, naive alien superhero appealed to him, but since this was [[ComicBook/Supergirl2005 during the period when she was being revamped]] as a DarkerAndEdgier ''Film/MeanGirls''-type character, he decided to use someone else. Miss Martian was basically created to be an {{Expy}} of the sweet, innocent kid Supergirl had been back in UsefulNotes/{{the Silver Age|of Comic Books}}.

** There were cases of new characters who were originally solicited as (and intended to be) revamped versions of existing characters before plans changed. ''ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'' villain Reign from ''[[ComicBook/Supergirl2011 Last Daughter of Krypton]]'' was supposed to be a revamped version of Maxima, while Niko from ''{{ComicBook/Grifter|2011}}'' was supposed to be Cheshire.
** Harper Row/Bluebird was created by Creator/ScottSnyder after he was denied permission to use [[Comicbook/{{Batgirl 2000}} Cassandra Cain/Blackbat]] in his ''Batman'' run. DivergentCharacterEvolution has taken place since then, so now the only real similarity between Harper and Cassandra is that they're both teenage heroines and members of the Batman Family.
*** Perhaps as a DevelopmentGag, Harper plays a major role in Cass' return to the Batfamily in ''Comicbook/BatmanAndRobinEternal''.
* ''Comicbook/TheFlash'' has gone through a situation similar to Batgirl: Barry Allen was brought BackFromTheDead and, though officially he and his successor Wally West shared the "Flash" name, he was the one DC Comics presented as the "main" Flash (headlining the title, for example). The thing is, his personality was largely changed to make him more like Wally. To many fans, this sends the message that DC will only accept Barry as the "true Flash" even as they tacitly admit that Wally is more interesting.
* Dynamite's miniseries ''Chaos'' is intended as a revival and reboot of [[Creator/ChaosComics Chaos! Comics]] from the '90s, reintroducing the flagship characters of that company in a single story that lays out a new continuity. The problem is, Chaos! Comics' most popular character Comicbook/LadyDeath isn't available due to the character belonging to another company. Enter Lady Hel.
** Conversely, Coffin Comics (the new publisher for Lady Death) doesn't have the rights to use Purgatori, one of Lady Death's more significant nemeses, and thus Hellwitch was introduced instead.
* Medieval Comicbook/{{Spawn}} and his angelic opponent Angela were co-created by Creator/NeilGaiman and it was ruled in court that he co-owned the characters with Todd [=MacFarlane=]. [=MacFarlane=] subsequently created Dark Ages Spawn and the angels Domina and Tiffany. This did not go down well.

* Creator/NeilGaiman's ''Comicbook/GreenLantern[=/=]Comicbook/{{Superman}}: Legend of the Green Flame'' was originally intended as the SeriesFinale of ''Action Comics''' incarnation as a weekly anthology featuring Supes, GL, Comicbook/{{Catwoman}}, Comicbook/{{Deadman}}, Comicbook/ThePhantomStranger, Comicbook/{{Blackhawk}} and Comicbook/{{Etrigan}}. Gaiman therefore wrote a story which managed to give all these characters at the very least cameos. However, he was then told continuity issues meant he couldn't use Etrigan, so he replaced him with another demon named [[SignificantAnagram Gintear]]. Then other continuity issues (Hal and Clark being retconned as no longer knowing each other's secret identities) made the whole story untenable and it was shelved. Oddly, when it was finally drawn and published, Gintear was retained, even though at this point it was entirely outside continuity.

** Likewise, the original Seven Soldiers of Victory counted Green Arrow and Speedy as members. After ''Crisis'' removed the two of them from the Golden Age, ''Comicbook/StarsAndSTRIPE'' revealed that the obscure Golden Age hero the Spider had been a member of the group, replacing Green Arrow as the team's archer. Speedy's role, meanwhile, was taken by Comicbook/{{Vigilante}}'s own KidSidekick, the Chinatown Kid.
** ''Crisis'' changed the Superman franchise in a major way. In addition to removing Clark Kent's time as Comicbook/{{Superboy}}, the reboot also established Clark as Krypton's SoleSurvivor, meaning Comicbook/{{Supergirl}} could no longer exist. This provided a major problem for the ''Comicbook/LegionOfSuperHeroes'', as the team's history had heavily featured both Superboy and Supergirl, with the former having inspired the team's creation in the first place. For a time, Superboy's role was filled by an alternate version of the character from a PocketDimension, but the timeline was eventually altered further to have Comicbook/{{Valor}} (a renamed version of Mon-El, a Daxamite hero Superboy had befriended in the past) be the Legion's inspiration. Supergirl, meanwhile, was replaced in the Legion's history by a new character named Laurel Gand (a.k.a. Andromeda), another blonde FlyingBrick. The writers even {{Ship Tease}}d Laurel with Brainiac 5, who had traditionally been Supergirl's love interest prior to the ''Crisis''.

* The Hobgoblin, in particular Roderick Kingsley, from ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'' was deliberately created to be this in mind. Back in the era where Norman Osborn as the Green Goblin was no longer around, Creator/RogerStern was under pressure to have Spider-Man fight Green Goblin again but didn't want to have Osborn return or bring back any other Green Goblin. Hence, Hobgoblin was created and filled that role of being Spider-Man's main Goblin-themed nemesis for most of the 80s and 90s before Osborn was eventually brought back and Kingsley went into semi-retirement.

* In ''ComicBook/RunawaysRainbowRowell'', green-skinned, pointy-eared shapeshifter Xavin was unavailable, due to the character having been hauled off to space in [[ComicBook/{{Runaways}} the previous series]], and so the series introduces Gib, another green-skinned, pointy-eared shapeshifter.

* ''Comicbook/{{Batwoman}}'' had an interesting case of a SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute who was already an existing character in her own right. After Renee Montoya was PutOnABus out of Gotham due to the [[Comicbook/{{New 52}} recent reboot]], the writers hooked Batwoman up with Maggie Sawyer, a former ''Comicbook/{{Superman}}'' supporting character. Like Renee, Maggie was a badass lesbian cop who looked good in a suit, though she didn't initially know Kate's secret. Maggie was ironically PutOnABus of her own back to Metropolis after Renee finally returned a few years later.

* ''Comicbook/{{Batwoman}}'' had an interesting case of a SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute who was already an existing character in her own right. After Renee Montoya was PutOnABus out of Gotham, the writers hooked Batwoman up with Maggie Sawyer, a former ''Comicbook/{{Superman}}'' supporting character. Like Renee, Maggie was a badass lesbian cop who looked good in a suit, though she didn't initially know Kate's secret. Maggie was ironically PutOnABus of her own back to Metropolis after Renee finally returned a few years later.

* ''ComicBook/LuckyLuke'': In their first appearance , the Daltons were competent villains who ended up [[CharacterizationMarchesOn shot dead]] by Lucky Luke (and their first names ''were'' those of the historical Daltons). Since the characters proved to be very popular, the writer, Goscinny, found a way to bring them back: in ''The Dalton Cousins'', he introduced the reader to [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin the cousin of the earlier Daltons]], who are [[UncannyFamilyResemblance also]] a group of four identical brothers except for their heights. At first, they are hilarious [[HarmlessVillain harmless]] [[BigBadWannabe Big Bad Wannabes]], who are desperate to live up to their “famous cousins' reputation”. By the end of the book, they had grown into effective desperados (although they're still stupid and comedic). They turned out to be even more popular than the original Daltons and eventually became recurring villains in the series. Amusingly, they're so much more famous than the first version of the characters nowadays that a lot of people in France don't know about the first Daltons, and believe that 'Joe, Jack, William and Averell' were really the first names of the historical Daltons.

** ''ComicBook/AllStarSquadron'' was set on Earth-2, an alternate world where Superman, Batman, Robin, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and Comicbook/GreenArrow were all active in the 1940s, and all of them were fairly important characters. Then ''Crisis on Infinite Earths'' happened, and the Squadron's history got transplanted into the main DCU, where Superman and company were now meant to have debuted within the last decade--meaning a lot of the Squadron's continuity no longer worked. Roy Thomas tried to solve this by introducing the Young All-Stars, a new 1940s team consisting of characters who each paralleled one of the now-removed Golden Age A-listers. The group's membership included [[Literature/{{Gladiator}} Hugo Danner]]-inspired strongman Iron Munroe (Superman), bat-themed caped crusader Flying Fox (Batman), former KidSidekick Dan the Dyna-Mite (Robin), super-strong Greek myth-based heroine Fury (Wonder Woman), aquatic heroes Neptune Perkins and Tsunami (Aquaman), and archer Tigress (Green Arrow). Fury even took Wonder Woman's place as the mother of Fury (now retroactively [[LegacyCharacter the second girl to use that name]]) from the ''Comicbook/InfinityInc'' series. It should be noted that several of the Young All-Stars actually were pre-existing characters, though Munroe, Fury and Flying Fox were new creations (while Tsunami had previously appeared as a villain in ''All-Star Squadron'' before undergoing a FaceHeelTurn here).

** ''ComicBook/AllStarSquadron'' was set on Earth-2, an alternate world where Superman, Batman, Robin, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and Comicbook/GreenArrow were all active in the 1940s, and all of them were fairly important characters. Then ''Crisis on Infinite Earths'' happened, and the Squadron's history got transplanted into the main DCU, where Superman and company were now meant to have debuted within the last decade--meaning a lot of the Squadron's continuity no longer worked. Roy Thomas tried to solve this by introducing the Young All-Stars, a new 1940s team consisting of characters who each paralleled one of the now-removed Golden Age A-listers. The group's membership included [[Literature/{{Gladiator}} Hugo Danner]]-inspired strongman Iron Munroe (Superman), bat-themed caped crusader Flying Fox (Batman), former KidSidekick Dan the Dyna-Mite (Robin), super-strong Greek myth-based heroine Fury (Wonder Woman), aquatic heroes Neptune Perkins and Tsunami (Aquaman), and archer Tigress (Green Arrow). Fury even took Wonder Woman's place as the mother of Fury (now retroactively [[LegacyCharacter the second girl to use that name]]) from the ''Comicbook/InfinityInc'' series. It should be noted that several of the Young All-Stars actually were pre-existing characters, though Munroe, Fury and Flying Fox were new creations (while Tsunami had previously appeared as a villain in ''All-Star Squadron'' before undergoing a FaceHeelTurnHere).

** ''ComicBook/AllStarSquadron'' was set on Earth-2, an alternate world where Superman, Batman, Robin, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and Comicbook/GreenArrow were all active in the 1940s, and all of them were fairly important characters. Then ''Crisis on Infinite Earths'' happened, and the Squadron's history got transplanted into the main DCU, where Superman and company were now meant to have debuted within the last decade--meaning a lot of the Squadron's continuity no longer worked. Roy Thomas tried to solve this by introducing the Young All-Stars, a new 1940s team consisting of characters who each paralleled one of the now-removed Golden Age A-listers. The group's membership included [[Literature/{{Gladiator}} Hugo Danner]]-inspired strongman Iron Munroe (Superman), bat-themed caped crusader Flying Fox (Batman), former KidSidekick Dan the Dyna-Mite (Robin), super-strong Greek myth-based heroine Fury (Wonder Woman), aquatic heroes Neptune Perkins and Tsunami (Aquaman), and archer Tigress (Green Arrow). Fury even took Wonder Woman's place as the mother of Fury (now retroactively [[LegacyCharacter the second girl to use that name]]) from the ''Comicbook/InfinityInc'' series.

** The various Comicbook/{{Green Lantern}}s of Earth (Hal Jordan, John Stewart, Guy Gardner, Kyle Rayner, Jade, Simon Baz Jessica Cruz, ect.) have made a habit of filling in for one another on the [[Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica JLA]] whenever one of them has had to take a leave of absence.