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1* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'':
2** ''[[WesternAnimation/SouthParkBiggerLongerAndUncut Bigger, Longer & Uncut]]'' featured an assortment of original songs that were obvious tributes to numbers from classic American musicals. ''Oklahoma!'' got quoted quite a bit ("Mountain Town"/"O What a Beautiful Morning"; "Uncle Fucka"/the title song; and "It's Easy, Mmmkay?"/"The Farmer and the Cowman"), but there were others. "Kyle's Mom's a Big Fat Bitch" was a pretty generic tribute to early 1900s musicals in general, complete with a "showstopper" climax followed by a "Good evening, friends!" finale. "La Resistance" is derived from "One Day More" from ''Theatre/LesMiserables''.
3** In terms of characters, the Secret Society of Cynics from "Ass Burgers" is heavily based on Morpheus's gang from Franchise/TheMatrix.
4** In "Super Best Friends", we had Sea Man who is a version of Aquaman.
5* From the early years of UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfAnimation, we have the Warner Bros. star Foxy, whose image adorns the main page, and whom some of you might even remember appearing in the ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'' episode "Two-Tone Town." To say he's a blatant copy of Mickey Mouse is like saying fish enjoy swimming. Incidentally, he only lasted three shorts—because Creator/WaltDisney personally complained to Foxy creator [[Creator/HarmanAndIsing Rudy Ising]], with one phone call putting an abrupt end to Foxy's career. However, he and his girlfriend Roxy made a modern day appearance in ''Tiny Toon Adventures'', as previously mentioned. He and Roxy had to be completely redesigned so they'd look more like foxes and less like Mickey and Minnie.
6** When Foxy became victim of ScrewedByTheLawyers, a second Mickey Mouse rip-off was created named Piggy (Piggy's first cartoon, "You Don't Know What You're Doin'!", was supposed to be Foxy's fourth cartoon before Walt Disney threatened legal action). Piggy himself only lasted two shorts for unknown reasons (one of which is part of the Censored Eleven), and for several years, the rest of the ''Merrie Melodies'' output would be one-shots until the debut of WesternAnimation/BugsBunny.
7** Early Warner Brothers shorts like "WesternAnimation/ItsGotMeAgain" (and, to be honest, almost every other animation studio during the 1930s) shamelessly copy the Disney animation style as well, what with the dancing and the playing instruments. The one mouse in "It's Got Me Again" who talks even ''sounds'' just like Mickey.
8** The titular Pancho Vanilla of ''Pancho's Hideaway'' is essentially just WesternAnimation/YosemiteSam with a PaletteSwap and a Mexican accent, to the point that the short's title card on ''The Merrie Melodies Show'' has Yosemite Sam himself on it.
9** In 1935, Creator/FrizFreleng cooked up a number of characters in an effort to give the studio the kick in the pants it needed. Among them was Beans the Cat, who was essentially a feline version of their failed previous star Buddy, [[DependingOnTheWriter especially under Jack King's direction]]. This ensured that [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome he would soon become displaced by his sidekick]], one WesternAnimation/PorkyPig.
10* Probably the best-known CaptainErsatz of all time would have to be WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse, who's obviously based on WesternAnimation/OswaldTheLuckyRabbit. Hence, ''VideoGame/EpicMickey''. And Oswald was, in turn a pretty obvious Captain Ersatz of WesternAnimation/FelixTheCat.
11* WesternAnimation/WoodyWoodpecker is a rather obvious copy of the early WesternAnimation/DaffyDuck and WesternAnimation/BugsBunny prototypes. No surprise, since the Bugs Bunny prototypes and Woody Woodpecker were made by Ben Hardaway, who was a prominent writer in the Woody Woodpecker cartoons after he left Creator/WarnerBros for Universal Cartoons.
12** Creator/MelBlanc himself voiced Woody for his first few appearances (and invented that famously annoying laugh) before being replaced because of his contract with Warner Bros.
13* A few years before Foxy was created, the Creator/VanBeurenStudios cartoon plant took one of their existing characters from the silent ''Aesop's Fables'', called Milton Mouse, and redesigned him into a blatant knockoff of Mickey once the latter became popular, starting with the 1929 short ''A Close Call''. Incidentally, by the time of 1930's ''Hot Tamale'', Milton looked identical to another Mickey Mouse clone: Foxy, of Warner Bros. cartoons. As with Foxy, Walt quickly got wind of Van Beuren's ripoff and forced them to never use Milton again. This didn't stop them from creating another, less blatant ersatz of Mickey, called Cubby Bear.
14** "The Farmarette" features a boop oop a doop cat girl that is obviously inspired by Betty Boop; she's even voiced by one of Betty's actresses, Bonnie Poe!
15* Then there's WesternAnimation/MightyMouse, who is a CaptainErsatz of an older, similar character who appeared in animated shorts called ''Super Mouse'', which was something of a prototype for Mighty Mouse. The original Super Mouse cartoons were - and still are - shown, with the narration edited with the character's name changed to "Mighty Mouse".
16* Franchise/TheDCU characters occasionally get CaptainErsatz replacements in animated adaptations:
17** For a fairly minor C-list DC Universe hero, ComicBook/BlackLightning has an [[FountainOfExpies awful lot of animated Captain Ersatz versions]] (most, if not all, created to avoid paying royalties to Black Lightning's creators):
18*** Black Vulcan was created by Creator/HannaBarbera for ''WesternAnimation/{{Superfriends}}''.
19*** One episode of ''WesternAnimation/StaticShock'' features the temporary comeback of a retired 1960s hero named "Soul Power." While the writers of the show wanted to use Black Lightning, [[ExecutiveMeddling DC's executives refused permission]].
20*** Tantrum from the episode of that show with the same name is a Captain Ersatz of the Incredible Hulk.
21*** Even Black Lightning ''villains'' get [[CaptainErsatz Ersatzed]]. The ''[[WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague Justice League Unlimited]]'' episode "Double Date" features the crime lord "Steven Mandragora", a CaptainErsatz for Kingpin-esque albino villain Tobias Whale, who was the primary adversary in the original ''Black Lightning'' comic series.
22*** On top of that, ''[=JLU=]'' featured a CaptainErsatz for Black Vulcan in Juice (alongside [[CaptainErsatz ersatz]] versions of ''WesternAnimation/{{Superfriends}}'' characters the ComicBook/WonderTwins, and the various {{Captain Ethnic}}s.) For those keeping score, that's a Captain Ersatz of a Captain Ersatz.
23*** ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'' ''finally'' bucked the Black Lightning trend, with his appearance as the de facto leader of the Outsiders. Since he's a teen on this show he's now a CaptainErsatz of ComicBook/{{Static}}, which was lampshaded by Wildcat during the Outsiders' HeelFaceTurn -- "It'll take more than a little WesternAnimation/StaticShock to keep me down!"
24** ''[=JLU=]'' featured a thinly-disguised CaptainErsatz for ComicBook/{{Aquaman}} villain Black Manta, "Devil Ray." (Aquaman and related characters were off-limits while a live-action CW series was [[FailedPilotEpisode "in development".]]) This was lampshaded in an actual issue of ''Aquaman'', where someone mistakenly thinks Black Manta is actually called Devil Ray.
25*** ''WesternAnimation/{{Superfriends}}'' once faced off with a character just called Manta, who's only real difference was he wore a brown costume. This was possibly done to avoid UnfortunateImplications. The Challenge of the Superfriends later restored the costume color and name.
26** ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' also had Aresia and Tsukuri, who were heavily inspired by the heroines Fury and ComicBook/{{Katana}}, right down to wearing very similar costumes. According to Creator/DwayneMcDuffie, Tsukuri was partially based off Lady Shiva as well.
27** While featuring characters who mostly predated the Marvel versions by decades, the team-ups between Dr. Fate, Aquaman, and Solomon Grundy, were meant to mirror Marvel's ''[[ComicBook/TheDefenders Defenders]]'' (Fate = Dr. Strange, Aquaman = Sub-Mariner, Grundy = Hulk. The latter even acted and talked like the Hulk on the cartoon). They were later joined by AMAZO, a Silver Surfer mirror. Hawkgirl was the stand-in for Nighthawk.
28** ComicBook/TheQuestion became a more kid friendly clone of [[ComicBook/{{Watchmen}} Rorschach]], making him a CaptainErsatz of his own CaptainErsatz (as well as ensuring that he will NeverLiveItDown).
29** ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' episode #18, "Return of the Gray Ghost", has Simon Trent, the star of a 1950s "costumed crimefighter" TV show, finding out that he was the inspiration for The Batman -- because as a child, Bruce Wayne used to watch the show with his father. The Gray Ghost is an {{Expy}} of both Will Eisner's ''ComicBook/TheSpirit'' and Walter B. Gibson's ''Radio/TheShadow''. But there's still a Captain Ersatz here, since Simon Trent/The Gray Ghost is provided by ''Creator/AdamWest'', the ''original'' TV Series/Batman1966....
30** ''WesternAnimation/BatmanMysteryOfTheBatwoman'' introduced three different CanonForeigner Batwomen instead of using the original Batwoman, Kathy Kane. The closest analogue is an African-American woman named Kathy Duquesne, who like Kane, ends up in a romantic relationship with Bruce Wayne.
31** ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries'' introduced Luminus and Mala, who were essentially Doctor Light and Ursa with the serial numbers filed off. There was also Angela Chen, who was essentially [[RaceLift an Asian-American version of]] Cat Grant. She was even given Cat's job as a gossip columnist and her infamous rivalry with Lois Lane.
32*** Mala's lover was Jax-Ur. While Jax-Ur is a supervillain from the comics, this Jax-Ur has little to do with his comics counterpart, and is General Zod in all but name.
33*** Mala also existed in the comics but was a man.
34** One episode of ''[=JLU=]'' featured Supergirl and several other heroes going to Tokyo to fight a giant turtle with tusks, which flew by retracting its legs into its shell and replacing them with rockets, causing it to spin like a flying saucer, but which was definitely ''not'' Film/{{Gamera}}.
35** Also from ''[=JLU=]'', the aforementioned "Defenders" fought... "[[Franchise/CthulhuMythos Ic'thulutu]]."
36** In the ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' episode "Legends," four of the leaguers get zapped into an alternate universe populated by parodic Captain Ersatzes of Golden Age DC heroes. (For example, there's the Green Guardsman, whose power ring doesn't work against aluminum.) In-universe, the John Stewart Franchise/GreenLantern read all their comics growing up. The episode had originally been written to explicitly feature ComicBook/JusticeSocietyOfAmerica characters, but Creator/DCComics publisher Paul Levitz refused permission. This wound up being a fairly positive bit of ExecutiveMeddling all around, both for the episode itself and because it allowed for greater use of JSA characters down the road.
37*** The same episode featured the Justice League fighting a giant robot that looked almost exactly like one of the title mecha from ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion''. The commentary from Creator/BruceTimm confirmed this was intentional.
38** Since ''Superman'' comics were undergoing a revamp at the time, the producers of the ''WesternAnimation/RubySpearsSuperman'' cartoon weren't sure how to utilize ComicBook/{{Brainiac}}. Instead, they created an original character named Cybron.
39** ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'' had an episode focusing on circus heiress[=/=]vigilante Katrina Moldoff, who used Kathy Kane's costume but was never once called ComicBook/{{Batwoman}} (Riddler derisively nicknames her "Bat-Lady"). WordOfGod says that DC requested the rename because they didn't want this character's negative traits causing a backlash against the just-debuted Kate Kane Batwoman character.
40** The same series featured Scream Queen, Equinox and Kru'll the Eternal, who were Captain Ersatzes of Silver Banshee, Libra and ComicBook/VandalSavage respectively.
41** The Faceless Hunter, while an existing character, [[InNameOnly was heavily retooled]] so that he became the ComicBook/SilverSurfer.
42** Rumor from ''WesternAnimation/TheBatman'' was originally supposed to be Hush until some ExecutiveMeddling resulted in him becoming a new (but extremely similar) villain. Ellen Yin was also heavily based off Ellen Yindel from ''ComicBook/BatmanTheDarkKnightReturns''.
43** Superman X from ''WesternAnimation/LegionOfSuperHeroes2006'' is mostly a CompositeCharacter, but his costume and backstory were heavily lifted from the modern ComicBook/{{Superboy}}.
44** ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans2003'' has a few original characters based off pre-existing ones.
45*** Val-Yor was ComicBook/CaptainAtom ([[CorruptedCharacterCopy but only in appearance]]).
46*** Private H.I.V.E. was based off the Guardian
47*** Billy Numerous was Multiplex
48*** See-More was Professor Ojo
49*** Larry was Bat-Mite
50*** Tramm was Lagoon Boy
51*** Sarasim was Sarah Simms
52*** Puppet King was the Puppeteer
53*** Johnny Rancid was Lobo
54*** Mumbo was Abra Kadabra crossed with the Silver Age Joker.
55** Like the ''JLU'' example from above, ''[[WesternAnimation/YoungJustice2010 Young Justice: Invasion]]'' has a trio of characters based off the CaptainEthnic ''WesternAnimation/{{Superfriends}}'' members. There's Tye Longshadow (Apache Chief), [[GenderFlip Asami "Sam" Koizumi]] (Samurai), and [[MeaningfulName Eduardo "Ed" Dorado]] (El Dorado). [[ComicBook/{{Static}} Virgil Hawkins]] completes the homage as the group's Black Vulcan analogue, but obviously he's an existing character in his own right.
56*** To further hammer the homage home, Virgil's jacket is inspired by Black Vulcan's color scheme.
57* Colonel Moss from ''WesternAnimation/WolverineAndTheXMen2009'' is a Captain Ersatz of John Wraith from the ComicBook/{{Ultimate|Marvel}} books.
58* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'' features superheroes [[RetiredBadass Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy]], who are based on the [[Series/Batman1966 1960s TV versions of Batman and Robin]], respectively (with physical appearances based on the Silver Age ComicBook/{{Aquaman}} and Aqualad).
59* WesternAnimation/{{Bonkers}} himself, a Creator/{{Disney}} property, is more obviously based on a Creator/TexAvery style character rather than actual Disney style.
60* Schizophrenic and completely divorced from reality, Loogie from the Jetix series ''WesternAnimation/GetEd'' is so similar to Sheen from Creator/{{Nickelodeon}}'s ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutronBoyGenius'' that it hurts.
61* ''WesternAnimation/{{Cyberchase}}'' has [[Literature/HarryPotter Shari Spotter]] and [[Literature/HarryPotter Professor Stumblesnore]].
62* ''WesternAnimation/LittleAudrey'' was created by Creator/FamousStudios to be a replacement for ComicStrip/LittleLulu, as Paramount didn't want to pay Lulu's creator any more money for rights to the character. Both characters would survive for decades in comic books and eventually both wound up under the ownership of the same company.
63* Since they couldn't use other [[Franchise/{{Godzilla}} Toho Monsters]] for ''WesternAnimation/GodzillaTheSeries'', the writers simply created their own monsters as a sort of {{Homage}} to classic Japanese Godzilla foes. Examples include a giant Megapede/Cicada monster instead of Battra, a garbage eating {{Nanomachine|s}} cluster instead of Hedorah, a [[RobotMe cyborg version of the original American Godzilla]] instead of Mechagodzilla, and a robotic yeti as a replacement for [[Film/KingKong everyone's favorite giant ape]].
64* The Galafems and their queen, Hippsodeth, from ''WesternAnimation/AladdinTheSeries'' are obvious stand-ins for the Amazons and their queen, Hippolyta.
65* ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'' and its spinoffs have episodes that include [[Series/BarneyAndFriends "Baloney" the Dinosaur]], mainly as a TakeThat to the original show.
66** Also Googily Goop, an obvious parody of WesternAnimation/BettyBoop.
67* From the black-and-white ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'', Buddy is both a Captain Ersatz and a SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute for Bosko. When Bosko's creators left WB for MGM and took the rights to Bosko with them, producer Leon Schlesinger quickly assembled a new animation team who hastily came up with the character of Buddy, who was, in Leonard Maltin's words, "Bosko in whiteface." The Buddy shorts are remembered for being particularly dull even by the standards of 1930s animation.
68** His follow-up, Beans the Cat, who had his spotlight stolen by Porky Pig, was an ersatz of ''WesternAnimation/FelixTheCat''.
69** The BigBad of the Beans short "Alpine Antics" is clearly based on Mickey's arch-nemesis WesternAnimation/{{Pete}}, and is even [[ActorAllusion voiced by the same actor]], Billy Bletcher.
70** Miss Cud, a recurring supporting character in the Beans and early Porky shorts, is one to Disney's Clarabelle Cow, with whom she also shared a voice actress (Elvia Allman).
71* ''WesternAnimation/BabyLooneyTunes'' had [[Franchise/ThePowerpuffGirls The Super Sunshine Girls]].
72* Speaking, anyone had the impression that the ''WesternAnimation/TotallySpies'' episode [[SpearCounterpart "S.P.I"]] is too similar to [[WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls1998 PPG]] episode [[SpearCounterpart "The Rowdyruff Boys"]]? It's like the [[EnsembleDarkhorse Boys]] quit Creator/CartoonNetwork and worked for Marathon!
73** Made more suspicious by the fact that in another episode the teen Spies were wearing the same colors as the [=PPG=]s (not the exact dresses, but the colors matched still!)
74* ''Series/TheSuperMarioBrosSuperShow'' (the animated segment) had Captain Ersatzes of everyone from Myth/RobinHood to Franchise/IndianaJones to Music/ElvisPresley.
75* Clearly done for copyright reasons, ''WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}}'' has Henry Skreever (Literature/HarryPotter), the Scare-Your-Pants-Off Books ({{Literature/Goosebumps}}), Persimmony Glitchet ([[Literature/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents Lemony Snicket]]), Bionic Bunny (Franchise/{{Superman}} and Series/TheSixMillionDollarMan), Dark Bunny (Franchise/{{Batman}}), Mary Moo Cow ([[Series/BarneyAndFriends Barney the Dinosaur]]... although given that an episode focuses on its cancellation in favor of "Stock Market Today", it may also be an homage to the locally produced children's shows which were once popular in the 1970s and 1980s), the Love Ducks (Series/{{Teletubbies}}) and the Vegimorphs (''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'').
76* ''WesternAnimation/{{Sixteen}}'' uses this constantly, in fact the only thing they use that is the name of the real life thing is ''Franchise/StarWars'':
77** Ironically, in the episode Nikki was annoying Darth's girlfriend (for those who remembers the plot) she and Jonesy saw a sci-fi movie that's an {{expy}} of ''Franchise/StarWars'', but not the real one! Yet they had constant references in other episodes, namely around Darth!
78** Whether or not Ron the rent-a-cop is a CaptainErsatz or an AffectionateParody of Creator/ChristopherWalken is open for debate, but he did do a dead-on reenactment of the Fatboy Slim "Weapon of Choice" video in one episode.
79* ''WesternAnimation/TheRealGhostbusters'' included Captain Ersatzes of rival shows and various movies, including {{Dracula}} (referred to by his real name, "Count Tepes"). There were only three things that were referred to by their real names: ''Franchise/StarWars'', ''Series/{{Newhart}}'', and Franchise/{{Cthulhu|Mythos}}. The funny thing is Dracula is a PublicDomainCharacter; they didn't need to "create" a CaptainErsatz.
80* ''WesternAnimation/KappaMikey'', a parody of anime, contains tons of characters who are legal rip-offs of real anime characters, in the same vein as ''WesternAnimation/DrawnTogether''. The character Gonard gets bonus points, since he is believed by fans to be an expy of [[Anime/DragonBallZ Goku]], thanks in no small part to both of them sharing the [[Creator/SeanSchemmel same English voice actor]]!
81* Depending on whom you ask, The Dread Baron and Mumbly are either these, or Expys. According to some accounts, Hanna-Barbera was in a legal conflict with Heatter-Quigley (who was to have created a live game show segment for ''WesternAnimation/WackyRaces'') over who owned the rights to the Dick Dastardly and Muttley characters, which led to the creation of the new characters for the show ''WesternAnimation/LaffALympics'' even though Mumbly predates ''Laff-A-Lympics'' by a season.
82** Issue #13 of the ''Laff-a-Lympics'' comic book shows that Dread Baron and Dick Dastardly were brothers.
83*** Heatter-Quigley was given an on-screen credit on ''Wacky Races'' despite the fact that the live game show segment they were to have made as part of the show was scrapped. The Heatter-Quigley billing appears nowhere on [[WesternAnimation/DastardlyAndMuttleyInTheirFlyingMachines either of]] [[WesternAnimation/ThePerilsOfPenelopePitstop the show's spinoffs]], but it does appear in the copyright tag of a ''Dastardly & Muttley'' comic book story, "Truce or Consequences" (Gold Key, Hanna-Barbera Fun-In #10, January 1972).
84* ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBros'' has quite a few. Dr. Orpheus is ComicBook/DoctorStrange. Jefferson Twilight is ComicBook/{{Blade}}. The Groovy Gang are a bunch of psychotic parodies of Mystery, Inc. from ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo''. Professor Impossible and his family are {{deconstruction}}s of the ComicBook/FantasticFour. There are a lot, and they're mostly played for laughs. Surprisingly ''averted'' with Jonny Quest, Race Bannon, and Dr. Zin. When the creators found out the same people own the right to their show and ''WesternAnimation/JonnyQuest'', they had them make ''actual'' appearances. Later on, they had to start calling him "Action Johnny" for trademark reasons. Intellectual property law is a cruel mistress.
85** They also could have used the real Scooby Doo characters but deliberately chose not to, since their parody versions were a bit too dark for the joke to really land if they had used the actual IP.
86* ''WesternAnimation/CaptainFall'' uses this for comedic effect in one episode with Steele consulting a Becker who looks and sounds exactly like Desmond Lleweyn's Q from the James Bond series. Only his technology is ridiculously primitive and he's quite insane.
87* ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'' has two of its villains in this position: first, Dark Laser is obviously [[Franchise/StarWars Darth Vader]]. In fact, his original episode was just an excuse to do an extended parody of ''Star Wars''. The second is [[SdrawkcabName Foop]], who is [[WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy Stewie Griffin]]. No surprise, since Creator/ButchHartman and Creator/SethMacFarlane are friends. Catman, portrayed by Creator/AdamWest, [[AdamWesting is another example.]]
88** Although Catman gets complicated, as he's an actual Batman villain (with the same costume), who is himself a thinly veiled stand-in for a Golden Age hero named Catman.
89*** Also, Catman really is Adam West, dressed up in a costume from an old TV show he was on where he was an animal-themed detective who fought crime.
90* Almost every episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' has one. A few examples: "Angelica Button and the Dragon King's Trundle Bed", Count Fudgeula, Itchy and Scratchy, Menthol Moose, Rainier Wolfcastle (married to Maria Shriver Kennedy Quimby)... the list goes on and on.
91** Explicitly with Shary Bobbins, "an original creation, like Ricky Rouse, or Monald Muck."
92** Ozmodiar, the [[WesternAnimation/TheFlintstones Great Gazoo]] Ersatz, appears in two episodes: "The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase" and "HOMЯ".
93** Speaking of "HOMЯ", there's a scene with a voice actor, and the audience points out that he just copied other voices; Yellow-Bellied Yak sounded just like [[Film/TheWizardOfOz the Cowardly Lion]], Loudmouth Leopard was Creator/JackieGleason and Clutzy Cat was Creator/JerryLewis.
94* The ProWrestlingEpisode of ''WesternAnimation/Ben10'' has a shocking number of comic book characters getting the treatment: ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}, ComicBook/{{Cyclops}}, ComicBook/WonderMan, [[Characters/BatmanRoguesGallery Killer Croc]], even a gang boss based somewhat on Kingpin. The clincher? [[spoiler:Wolverine and Killer Croc were adopted by [[ComicBook/SpiderMan Aunt May]].]]
95* On the 1981 Creator/{{Filmation}} series ''Blackstar'', respect for a certain no-longer-living [[Creator/JRRTolkien author]] could not prevent the introduction of "[[Literature/TheHobbit Trobbits]]".
96* ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'':
97** A few episodes mention a show called "Dr. Timespace and the Continuums" (''Series/DoctorWho'').
98** In the ChristmasEpisode, they fight Yule-themed pastiches of the X-Men. Yes, including a ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} with candy cane claws. Specifically, they fight elves who resemble the members of X-Men's Alpha Flight (a Canadian task force that served as part of Wolverine's backstory in the late '70s/ early '80s). They are even given the PunnyName Elf-a Flight and the one with candy cane claws is called ''Wintergreen''.
99** The same episode also features villainous versions of the ComicBook/FantasticFour, called the "Faculty Four" here since they're supposed to all have school- and teacher-related powers.
100* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'':
101** "Heroes" had three obvious references to the ComicBook/FantasticFour in form of another superhero team called the Terrific Trio: the stand-in for Mr. Fantastic was changed to "the 2D man", the Invisible Woman gained ice powers and was dubbed Freon, and the Thing and the Human Torch were merged into one character, Magma. The idea is then ruthlessly deconstructed with the "accident" [[spoiler:having been set up by a jealous admirer]]. Plus the mutation not only causes an end to normal life, but eventually ''psychosis''. [[TakeThat Then they all go rogue and die]]. And the captain of the ComicBook/{{SHIELD}}-like organization is not Nick Fury mixed with J. Jonah Jameson with a Hitler mustache.
102** The Stalker from "Bloodsport" is rather obviously based on Spiderman villain Kraven the Hunter.
103* The ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'' spring break special very briefly shows a parody of Ren and Stimpy (in this case they're a squirrel and a chicken instead of a cat and dog) and Beavis and Butthead (who are portrayed as two furry animals, Beaver and Hoghead) [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXaQdkTYc4w here]].
104** "Weekday Afternoon Live" featured one-shot purple-skinned ButtMonkey [[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Blart Simpleton]] as a guest host on the ShowWithinAShow.
105** "Who Bopped Bugs Bunny?" features "Sappy Stanley" the Elephant, who seems to be based loosely on the Terrytoons character WesternAnimation/SidneyTheElephant.
106* ''WesternAnimation/ReBoot'' examples:
107** During the Daemon arc, Frisket, Matrix, Enzo and [=AndrAla=] encounter a mod user character who is a spoof of Film/AustinPowers. While playing, Frisket reboots into a version of Mr. Bigglesworth, Matrix reboots into an exact version of Doctor Evil (complete with placing his pinky near his mouth in a sinister fashion if the shout out wasn't already enough), Enzo reboots into a version of Mini-me, and [=AndrAla=] reboots into a Fembot. In one scene, [=AndrAla=] actually shoots the Austin Powers user while trying to lure her in bed, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lrVdNctp0E as seen here]].
108** In "My Two Bobs", there was also a Dragon Ball Z/Pokémon parody.
109** Almost all of the games are a Shoutout to various other pieces of popular culture, so if a episode featured a game (which it usually did) you're bound to find a few Captains or so among the cast.
110** Then there's the episode where people are mysteriously disappearing in Mainframe and two binomes show up to investigate: [[Series/TheXFiles Fax Modem and Data Nully]].
111* ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy'' examples:
112** Hoss Delgado, an Ersatz of [[Film/EscapeFromNewYork Snake Plissken]] and [[Franchise/EvilDead Ash Williams]] with a splash of [[Film/MadMax Max Rockatansky]] who has a job as a "Spectral Exterminator" ala Van Helsing and Franchise/{{Ghostbusters}}.
113** There is also an Ersatz of the ''Literature/HarryPotter'' universe. Harry Potter (a parseltongued wizard who can talk to snakes) is replaced by Nigel Planter (a partial-tongue "wizard" who can talk to snacks), Lord Voldemort is replaced by Lord Moldybutt (complete with the He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named title), and Dean Toadblatt replacing Dumbledore in title and Snape in his attitude toward Nigel. It also featured [[CaptainErsatz Ersatzes]] of [[TheRival Draco]] and [[TheSpock Hermione]].
114* ''WesternAnimation/TheTick'' had a lot of these. Among the most prominent was Die Fledermaus (a Franchise/{{Batman}} parody), American Maid (a female ComicBook/CaptainAmerica with a more than passing resemblance to Franchise/WonderWoman), and Big Shot (ComicBook/ThePunisher).
115* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheMask'' dealt with Stanley Ipkiss/The Mask spending time with and causing mischief with his favorite cartoon characters The Goofalototots Stinko, Pinko, and Snot, who are obvious expys of Yakko, Wakko, and Dot from ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}''.
116* "'''[[SpellMyNameWithAThe The]] [[ThirdPersonPerson Boulder]]''' wishes to remind us all that he is ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender's'' CaptainErsatz of [[Wrestling/DwayneJohnson a certain well-known wrestler-turned-actor]]!" (To top it all off, the Boulder was voiced by Wrestling/MickFoley, who made a living off [[AffectionateParody affectionate parodies]] of [[Wrestling/DwayneJohnson The Rock]].)
117* Whenever a character from another series appears on ''WesternAnimation/{{MAD}}'' (often), their design is modified slightly to ward off potential lawsuits - even for characters that are owned by its parent channel Creator/CartoonNetwork. Example: when [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Applejack]] appears in the "Film/{{Cowboys and|Aliens}} [[WesternAnimation/Ben10AlienForce Alien Force]]" skit, she wears a floppy SouthernBelle-style sunhat instead of her normal cowboy hat, has two bands on her tail and ponytail instead of one, has a variation on Rarity's cutie mark, and is colored reddish-pink instead of orange. The only aversions are Creator/DCComics and Franchise/ScoobyDoo characters, owned by Warner Bros., the producer of the show.
118** This trope was spoofed in a parody of ''Literature/HowTheGrinchStoleChristmas'' on the show, "Whose name that we changed so nobody would sue."
119* ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'':
120** The Justice Friends are Ersatzes of ''ComicBook/TheAvengers'', including [[ComicBook/CaptainAmerica Major Glory]], [[ComicBook/TheMightyThor Val Hallen]], and [[ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk The Infraggable Krunk]]. Other episodes would introduce more members into the team like [[ComicBook/IronMan Living]] [[ComicBook/{{Quicksilver}} Bullet]], [[ComicBook/BlackPanther White Tiger]], Fantone (Vision), [[ComicBook/ScarletWitch Miss Spell]], and Capital G (Bill Foster as Giant-Man).
121** Action Hank IS Mr. T, Chuck Norris and G.I. Joe at the same time.
122** Don't forget the UsefulNotes/BillClinton CaptainErsatz from the episode about a bodily function.
123* In ''WesternAnimation/SecretSquirrel'' (H-B, 1965), the villain Yellow Pinky was a Captain Ersatz of James Bond villain Goldfinger.
124* Bonkey the Green Dragon from ''WesternAnimation/{{Recess}}''.
125* ''WesternAnimation/TheGoodeFamily'' episode "Gerold's Way or the Highway" has a cop character who's a straight Captain Ersatz to the Angry Cop from the ''WesternAnimation/{{Harvey Birdman|AttorneyAtLaw}}'' episode "Booty Noir", who is no better either.
126* Almost happened to ''WesternAnimation/TheMarvelousMisadventuresOfFlapjack''. In an attempt to ride the show's success, Disney tried to launch their own show called ''Poopdeck'' with almost the exact same premise. When Creator/CartoonNetwork found out, they had Disney cancel the show immediately on copyright basis and then made the subtly vitriolic episode "Panfake", where Peppermint Larry creates two [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute not-Flapjack and K'nuckles puppets]] and makes them look like morons.
127 * ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'' has ''[[Film/SnakesOnAPlane Alligators on a Train]]''.
128** They've also had Shotofop, a {{Spoonerism}} of Photoshop.
129* ''WesternAnimation/JohnnyTest'' featured a parody of ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' called ''Tinymon'', including a spoof of Ash Ketchum named Blast Ketchup and most obviously, a spoof of Lugia named Screechareen and a spoof of Shadow Lugia named Badias.
130** There was also a recurring character named [[Franchise/StarWars Dark Vegan]] and an episode in which the main character is sent to another planet to learn how to be a "Rib-Eye Knight".
131* ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'' has two: Scary Terry, a "legally safe knockoff of [[Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet an '80s horror character]]", and Rick's best friend Birdperson, a parody of The Hawk from ''Series/BuckRogersInTheTwentyFifthCentury''.
132** Rick Sanchez and Morty Smith themselves started off as Doc Smith and Mharti [=McDonhalds=], who were obvious knockoffs of Doc Brown and Marty [=McFly=] from ''Franchise/BackToTheFuture''.
133* ''Radio/TheRickyGervaisShow'' has [[TabletopGame/{{Monopoly}} Knobopoly]], [[TabletopGame/{{Operation}} Knobration]], and [[TabletopGame/{{Chess}} Chess Cock]].
134* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/HiHiPuffyAmiYumi'' titled ''In the Cards'' features a trading card game called [[TabletopGame/YuGiOh Stu-Pi-Doh]].
135* The obviousness of Irma Langenstein from ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles1987'' being the Captain Ersatz of Jeanette of [[WesternAnimation/AlvinAndTheChipmunks The Chipettes]].
136* ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2003'' has several superhero characters who are clearly meant to resemble characters from DC and Marvel. Good examples are the Silver Sentry, a FlyingBrick who protects the innocent, who's obviously a stand-in for Superman and Nobody, a caped and brooding crimefighter dressed in black, clearly meant to resemble Batman.
137* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsCloneWars'' has the Jedi [[Franchise/ScoobyDoo Sha'a Gi]]. Genndy says on the commentary he wanted to initially give him a more Shaggy-like voice, but thought it might come off as too goofy.
138* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'': Savage Opress was explicitly created as the replacement for Darth Maul: the same species, the double-bladed red lightsaber, ferocious fighting style, and being Maul's ''brother'' no less. Ironically, he proved so popular with the crew and Creator/GeorgeLucas, that the next move was to bring back Darth Maul himself and teaming the two up.
139* On ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooMysteryIncorporated'', Scooby and the gang could be considered Captain Ersatzes of the original Mystery Inc. (Ricky Owens, Cassidy Williams, Brad Chiles, Judy Reeves and Professor Pericles), only that previous team had since been corrupted by the thought of finding a cursed treasure. Ricky Owens' (Mr. E) van, the Enigma Machine, is definitely an ersatz version of the gang's Mystery Machine.
140** Going back even further, the original team were Captain Ersatzes of what was called the Benevolent Order of Mystery Solvers which dated back to the 1600s, when Crystal Cove was founded and a missing treasure corrupted each team's animal member which caused the dissolution of each team.
141* ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerryKids'' has [[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles1987 Dropout Mutant Ninja Toads]].
142* Bun-Bun in ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy'''s TV spin-off ''Underfist'' looks and acts very much like Dr. Jacques von Hämsterviel from ''Franchise/LiloAndStitch''. Both are small animals with aspirations to take over the world.
143* The Bakshi WesternAnimation/MightyMouse episode "Mighty's Benefit Plan" featured Elwy and the Tree Weasels, more of a spoof of ''WesternAnimation/AlvinAndTheChipmunks'' than a Captain Ersatz. Animator Bob Jacques created Elwy and the Tree Weasels in retaliation for being left out of the credits for ''The Chipmunk Movie" on which he worked.
144** Mighty Mouse himself was really a rodential Captain Ersatz of Superman.
145* In 1966, Creator/HannaBarbera planned to make a cartoon show of Music/TheBeachBoys for CBS, in light of the success of ''WesternAnimation/TheBeatles'' show on ABC. That fell through, so they created a Captain Ersatz group, the Impossibles, for their ''WesternAnimation/FrankensteinJr.'' show.
146* Dr Director, the eyepatch-wearing director of Global Justice in ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'' is a {{Gender Flip}}ped Captain Ersatz of ComicBook/NickFury. Her evil brother Gemini is Jake "Scorpio" Fury.
147** Team Go are a pretty obvious Ersatz to Creator/MarvelComics' ComicBook/PowerPack, which logically makes Shego a villainous version of Katie Power.
148** Also ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans2003'', considering the group's use of themed colors, they inhabit a "Go Tower", and the fact that the show was pretty popular at the time.
149* In-universe example, in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/CodeLyoko'', the director of a movie filming at the factory shows everyone the new monster animatronic. It looks so much like the [[Franchise/{{Alien}} Xenomorph]], that when Ulrich [[LampshadeHanging points out the similarities]], he is interrupted by the director stating that it was [[BlatantLies so totally his original idea]].
150* ''WesternAnimation/{{Jem}}'' had an entire episode where they did this. It had to do with the main characters being popular rockstars. The creators wanted to allude to the popular singers of the day but they couldn't so instead we got characters with names like "[[Music/TinaTurner Lena Learner]]" , "[[Music/StevieWonder Stevie Blunder]]" (who just happened to be blind.) etc.
151** Another episode had the Holograms go back in time to meet "[[Music/GlennMiller Ben Tiller]]" and "[[Music/JimiHendrix Johnny Beldrix]]" along with Mozart. Bizarrely, Glenn Miller is mentioned in the end-of-the-episode song.
152* Portia, Gwen and Penny from ''WesternAnimation/TheMightyB''. They're TakeThat parodies of ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy''.
153* ''WesternAnimation/BobsBurgers'' has ''[[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic The Equestranauts]]'', whose title sounds similar to [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirls a spin off of the show that came out nearly a year earlier]].
154* Warner Bros.' 2005 series ''WesternAnimation/CoconutFredsFruitSaladIsland'' had "''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'' rip-off" written all over it. Let's start off with the fact that the main character is a simple geometric shape and is annoying in-universe. He even inflated in one episode to solve a problem.
155* In the ''WesternAnimation/WeBareBears'' episode "Shush Ninjas", Panda is shown reading a ''Franchise/SailorMoon'' parodying manga called "Pretty Z" .
156* The Ogre from ''Franchise/{{Shrek}}'' is a CaptainErsatz of the 1930s professional wrestler French Angel, who was a FountainOfExpies in the pro wrestling world.
157* Cassiopeia in ''WesternAnimation/IlEtaitUneFois'' ''Space'' is a mix of [[Franchise/StarTrek Romulans]], [[CrystalSpiresAndTogas a futuristic Roman Republic]], and even the uniforms of its military have an armband like [[ThoseWackyNazis Nazi]] ones with instead of a swastika a "W"[[note]]The symbol of Cassiopeia is the "W" formed by the stars of that constellation ''as seen from Earth''[[/note]].
158* After Paramount sold the rights to ''WesternAnimation/CasperTheFriendlyGhost'' to Harvey Comics, they briefly tried to follow it up with Goodie the Gremlin who, being a cute and friendly version of a scary and mischievous creature of folklore, was a blatant rip-off of ''their own character''. Goodie only lasted a few cartoons before being shelved.
159* The Vathek from the ''WesternAnimation/ExtremeGhostbusters'' episode "Deadliners" are pretty much a ([[WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids relatively]]) family-friendly version of the Cenobites from ''Film/{{Hellraiser}}''.
160* [[WesternAnimation/CoolCat1967 Cool Cat]] was widely considered to be a [[WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes Warner Bros.]]-created Captain Ersatz of WesternAnimation/ThePinkPanther.
161* When [=MGM=]'s ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry'' became a hit in theaters, two other studios created their own Captain Ersatz cat and mouse teams years later--Paramount's ''Herman And Katnip'' and Terrytoons' ''Little Roquefort'' (paired with a cat named Percy). Tom and Jerry's creators, Bill Hanna and Joseph Barbera, created their own ersatz [=T&J=] for TV and added an additional mouse--Pixie & Dixie with Mr. Jinks.
162* ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse'' has these such as Ace Savvy being a homage of Superman, Vampires of Melancholania being a homage of Dracula series, Blarney basically a homage of Barney, and ARRGH! being a homage of ''Ghost Hunters''.
163* The ''WesternAnimation/BikerMiceFromMars'' episode "So Life Like" had Lawrence Limburger attempt to create assassins to do away with the Biker Mice by having Dr. Karbunkle use one of his inventions to bring cartoon characters to life. Two of the fictional characters given life are Saddle Sore and Deathmaster, who are clear spoofs of [[WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes Yosemite Sam]] and [[Franchise/MastersOfTheUniverse Skeletor]] respectively.
164* ''WesternAnimation/CaptainSturdy'' has several obvious superhero parodies.
165** The title character is a clear pastiche of Franchise/{{Superman}}. The Creator/AdultSwim pilot ''Captain Sturdy: The Originals'' even has him keep the shrunken city of Maldor in his refrigerator, referencing Superman holding onto the shrunken city of Kandor in his Fortress of Solitude.
166** Cyber Master is a blatant stand-in for Franchise/RoboCop.
167** Velocity Man from ''The Originals'' is a superhero with super speed who wears a red costume decorated with yellow elements shaped like lightning bolts, making him a representation of Franchise/TheFlash.
168* ''WesternAnimation/{{Kaeloo}}'': Stumpy's superhero alter ego is Ratman, who is a stand-in for Batman. He has a sidekick named Robcoin (Robin as a FunnyAnimal duck) and a butler, and uses gadgets such as a grappling gun. His costume is also very similar to Batman's, and he drives a fancy car with gadgets known as the Ratmobile.
169* ''WesternAnimation/HozeHoundz'':
170** "The Hound Who Loved Me" introduces suave spy [[Franchise/JamesBond James Bone]].
171** One of the announcers in the Hockey episode is clearly modeled after Don Cherry.
172** In one episode, Steamer is challenged to a wrestling match by [[Wrestling/SteveAustin Reeve Tossman]].
173* One brief scene in the trailer for ''WesternAnimation/{{Pibby}}'' shows a rabbit with a heart symbol on its belly that is clearly designed to emulate the ''Franchise/CareBears''. They're even able to shoot heart-shaped lasers from it like a CareBearStare.
174* One short-lived ''Creator/{{Terrytoons}}'' character, Looey Lion, was a rather obvious ersatz of the Cowardly Lion from ''Film/TheWizardOfOz'', having a similar voice, mannerisms, and personality. This is best exemplified in his debut short, ''The Temperamental Lion'' from 1940.
175* ''WesternAnimation/HamsterAndGretel'' has a running gag of parodies with overly long and literal names, including [[Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire ''England but with Dragons'']], [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker ''The Ocean but with Monsters'']], and [[Franchise/HarryPotter ''Larry the Magic Boy and the School that is Also Magic'']].

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