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| 4 | [[quoteright:350:[[WesternAnimation/LadyPlayYourMandolin https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mickey_mouse_foxy_clone.jpg]]]] |
| 5 | [[caption-width-right:350:This is Foxy. Who's this WesternAnimation/{{Mickey|Mouse}} you're talking about?]] |
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| 12 | |
| 13 | ->'''Scary Terry:''' ''[scrapes glove blades against a metal pipe]'' Welcome to your nightmare, bitch! ''[attacks]''\ |
| 14 | '''Rick:''' Oh, here we go!\ |
| 15 | '''Morty:''' Holy crap! ''[both run]''\ |
| 16 | '''Rick:''' Looks like some sort of a legally safe knock-off of an [[Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet '80s horror character]] with miniature swords for fingers instead of knives! |
| 17 | -->-- ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'' |
| 18 | |
| 19 | The character equivalent of a BlandNameProduct. |
| 20 | |
| 21 | This character's design is a mix of legal issues and homage. Just as someone who wants to incorporate a UsefulNotes/{{Walmart}} into a story but can't manage the ProductPlacement might use "[[BrandX Box Mart]]," a person who wants to write [[ComicBook/{{Superman}} Captain Original]], but can't because a rival comic company owns the trademark, will create Captain Ersatz. Sometimes, these characters are used as affectionate {{Shout Out}}s to a series or creator that may have inspired them. At other times, they are used as {{parod|y}}ies or {{Take That}}s against the original characters they're based on (and [[BitingTheHandHumor possibly the company who owns them]]). |
| 22 | |
| 23 | Done when an artist or writer wants to use a character but for whatever reason [[ExiledFromContinuity isn't allowed to]] at the present time, especially due to uncertainty of ownership, or else certainty that that character is trademarked into someone else's continuity and isn't going to be loaned out. |
| 24 | |
| 25 | The [[CanonicalListOfSubtleTropeDistinctions key difference]] between this and {{Expy}} is that a Captain Ersatz is obviously the same character but with the SerialNumbersFiledOff, while an {{Expy}} uses the other character as a starting point before ''going in their own direction.'' Also note that a fictional counterpart to a real-life person would be either NoCelebritiesWereHarmed, NoHistoricalFiguresWereHarmed, or a ShoutOut, depending on the intent. A quick glance around Website/TVTropes will reveal just how often these mistakes are made on this very wiki. |
| 26 | |
| 27 | A Captain Ersatz character, if they make later appearances, tends to evolve into their own direction; it could become an {{Expy}} as a result. |
| 28 | |
| 29 | Captain Ersatzes are somewhat rare in American parody, as their copyright law allows use of the original characters in parody, which means if they are used in this way, it's usually for a YouWannaGetSued gag. They also (usually) aren't found in FanFic: that SailorEarth is a CopyCatSue (and they can just outright use a {{crossover}}). Sometimes multiple characters will be distilled into one, creating a CompositeCharacter. The same doesn't hold true for Anime & Manga parodies though, which often resort to Captain Ersatzes when the parody character is more than a background cameo. |
| 30 | |
| 31 | The [[TropeNamers trope name]] comes from the German word [[BilingualBonus for "replacement"]][[note]] [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ersatz_good As described here]] and [[https://youtu.be/EdTwu4CwlWs here,]] Ersatz goods were primarily used during times of war when soldiers or civilians couldn’t acquire the real deal, often making up replacements to try and fulfill the need with varying degrees of success.[[/note]]. |
| 32 | |
| 33 | For common types of Captain Ersatzes, see FountainOfExpies. A cast made up of Captain Ersatzes counts for CastOfExpies. Compare AlternateCompanyEquivalent, LawyerFriendlyCameo, BrandX, {{Mockbuster}}. Contrast WritingAroundTrademarks, where the similarity was unplanned and unwanted, and SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute, who replaces an existing original in the same continuity. See also SelfPlagiarism, when a creator or company does this with an earlier creation of their own, and the musical version, SuspiciouslySimilarSong. |
| 34 | |
| 35 | No relation to CaptainObvious, obviously. |
| 36 | ---- |
| 37 | !!Example subpages: |
| 38 | [[index]] |
| 39 | * CaptainErsatz/AnimeAndManga |
| 40 | * CaptainErsatz/ComicBooks |
| 41 | * CaptainErsatz/{{Literature}} |
| 42 | * CaptainErsatz/VideoGames |
| 43 | ** ''CaptainErsatz/BloodstainedRitualOfTheNight'' |
| 44 | * CaptainErsatz/WesternAnimation |
| 45 | [[/index]] |
| 46 | |
| 47 | !!Other examples: |
| 48 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 49 | |
| 50 | [[folder:Advertising]] |
| 51 | * UsefulNotes/McDonalds: |
| 52 | ** [[{{Mascot}} Ronald McDonald]]: The Washington D.C. version of Bozo The Clown, played by Willard Scott, was so popular public appearances would require police to direct traffic. After the show was cancelled, local franchise owners asked Scott to create a similar character to continue the promotion. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9Uh6uKkAY4 Ronald McDonald was born]]. |
| 53 | ** The original incarnation of Advertising/McDonaldland was a blatant copy of the cast and setting of Creator/SidAndMartyKrofftProductions' children's show ''Series/HRPufnstuf'' (1969). The Kroffts (who had turned down an earlier request from [=McDonald's=] to license the ''Pufnstuf'' characters for advertising) [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonald%27s_legal_cases#H.R._Pufnstuf_.2F_McDonaldland sued and won]], forcing [=McDonald's=] to not only pay damages, but to dramatically retool [=McDonaldLand=]. |
| 54 | * The Bombardier, a LargeHam [[UsefulNotes/TheNapoleonicWars Napoleonic wars]] soldier played by Rik Mayall in adverts for Bombardier Real Ale, is what Lord Flashheart would have been if he'd appeared in ''Series/{{Blackadder}} the Third'', except he says "Bang on!" rather than "Woof!" Mayall even uses the same voice. |
| 55 | * The need for an off-brand version of Golden Crisp Cereal gives us Golden Puffs. Mascot? "Lil Oatey." a blue Kangaroo. Lampshaded by the words on the package "Betcha can't taste the difference between Golden Crisp." and they're right. You can't. |
| 56 | ** The need for an off-brand version of several other cereals you could lie to your children about and convince them that they were the advertised stuff is what likely brought us the "Toons" brand of breakfast cereal. |
| 57 | * Burger King also did this in an advertisement for a breakfast sandwich. Lampshaded when they said something to the effect of "Maybe it's not original". |
| 58 | * Stree Overlord is an herbal supplement with a naked Ryu pleasuring a fully dressed Chun-li on the cover, though it is not about ''Franchise/StreetFighter''. The backstory has The Overlords practicing the secret Fierce Intensity technique in pre-Shogun Japan before handing down the technique to the young Overlord Stree. |
| 59 | * Zany Raisins are Kellogg's answer to The California Raisins. |
| 60 | * A Chinese company made a mascot that bears a strong resemblance to the famous Japanese anime character ''Manga/{{Doraemon}}''. Although, the company might've gotten sued due to copyright infringement on the character. |
| 61 | [[/folder]] |
| 62 | |
| 63 | [[folder:Asian Animation]] |
| 64 | * ''Astro Plan'', ''Star Field War Record Astro Plan'', or ''Space Adventures'': Similar units to the VF-25 Messiah (''Anime/MacrossFrontier''), VF-11 Thunderbolt and YF-21 (''Anime/MacrossPlus''), VF-2SS Valkyrie II (''Anime/MacrossII''), and GNZ-004 Gaga (''Anime/MobileSuitGundam00''). The main ship is a cross between the Archangel-class assault ship (''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEED'') and Ptolemaios II (''Anime/MobileSuitGundam00''). One character resembles Lockon Stratos; the Type Yi Fighters' special attacks resemble the Trans-Am System (''Anime/MobileSuitGundam00''). The Sky Arrow Flight Team symbol is similar to the U.N. Spacy insignia (''Anime/{{Macross}}''). |
| 65 | * ''Golden Batman'': Korean animation inspired by ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'' and ''Anime/{{Golden Bat}}''. |
| 66 | * ''IQ Egg'' (IQ蛋) is a Taiwanese comic strip that rips off ''Manga/{{Doraemon}}''. As it turns out, the magazine hosting the series runs into licensing troubles and couldn't feature stories involving everybody's favorite robot cat, so instead the artists [[https://cdn.hk01.com/di/media/images/dw/20200922/385101495756001281.jpeg/TEAcwuM-DXfuIelhXXpCvrRC6rUerumCu7W0k7u1tJM?v=w1920r16_9 literally sketched over Doraemon artwork]] and called it a day. |
| 67 | * ''Iron Man 007'': Inspired by ''Anime/ScienceNinjaTeamGatchaman''. |
| 68 | * ''Mazinger X'': Inspired by ''Anime/UFORoboGrendizer'' and ''Anime/MazingerZ''. |
| 69 | * ''Phoenix-bot Phoenix King'' / ''Defenders of Space'': Inspired by ''[[Anime/TimeBokan Ippatsuman]]'', ''Anime/MazingerZ'', ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'', ''Anime/SpaceBattleshipYamato'', and Creator/LeijiMatsumoto. Phoenix King is inspired by the Diaclone toy Fire Engine (later known as Inferno from ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}''). |
| 70 | * ''Animation/RobotTaekwonV'' is inspired by ''Anime/MazingerZ''. |
| 71 | * ''Space Black Knight'': Characters inspired by ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'' characters Amuro Ray, Char Aznable, Dozle Zabi, Sayla Mass and Kycilia Zabi. Specifically, the Amuro and Sayla knockoffs are exact copies of said characters, but they're initially dressed as palette swaps of Char and Kycilia (complete with face-concealing masks, so at first they simply seem to ''be'' palette swaps of Char and Kycilia), while the Dozle clone is simply Dozle [[AmazingTechnicolorPopulation with neon green skin]]. |
| 72 | * ''Space Gundam V'': Inspired by the ''Anime/SuperDimensionFortressMacross'' VF-1J Valkyrie, ''[[Anime/{{Raideen}} Brave Raideen]]'', and ''Invincible Robo Trider G7''. |
| 73 | * ''Space Transformers'' / ''Micro-commando Diatron-5'': Inspired by Takara's Diaclone toyline, and ''Anime/ArmoredTrooperVOTOMS'', ''Anime/GingaHyouryuuVifam'', and ''Anime/SpaceRunawayIdeon''. |
| 74 | * ''Animation/SuperKid'': Inspired by ''Franchise/DragonBall''. |
| 75 | * ''UFO Alien Ride'': Inspired by ''Film/ETTheExtraTerrestrial''. |
| 76 | * ''Video Ranger 007'': Inspired by ''Video Warrior Laserion''. |
| 77 | * ''Wonder Princess'': Inspired by ComicBook/WonderWoman. |
| 78 | * Bananana, a kids programming block that airs on the Malaysian channel [=TV3=], utilizes a mascot who is quite clearly a recolor of Bloo from ''WesternAnimation/FostersHomeForImaginaryFriends''. It gets to the point that they've shown the mascot in a couple of the ''exact same poses that Bloo has been seen in on official Foster's artwork''. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9ucNOGj8Po Here is a Bananana bumper depicting the mascot]]. |
| 79 | * Marshyo from ''Animation/CrazyCandies'' bears such a resemblance to WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants that it's easy to make the case that the series, or at least the character, is a knockoff. Both are yellow anthropomorphic {{cephalothorax}}es who wear a quirky pair of pants, have prominent buck teeth, display energetic, childlike personalities, have dim-witted best friends, and love to work at a restaurant. |
| 80 | * In ''Animation/HappyHeroes'', many of Miss Peach's features are dead ringers for Princess Peach from ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros''. She has a heart-shaped bang, she has blonde hair, she wears a pink dress, at least one major character has a crush on her... oh, yeah, and her name is also Peach. |
| 81 | [[/folder]] |
| 82 | |
| 83 | [[folder:Audio Drama]] |
| 84 | * The ''Baker's End'' series of audio dramas by Creator/PaulMagrs are clear sequels to the ''Nest Cottage'' series of ''Franchise/DoctorWho'' audio dramas he did for BBC Audio, with Creator/SusanJameson reprising the role of Mrs Wibbsey as Mrs Frimbley, and Creator/TomBaker reprising the role of the Fourth Doctor ... AsHimself. (although in the last story [[spoiler: he regenerates into Creator/ColinBaker]].) |
| 85 | [[/folder]] |
| 86 | |
| 87 | [[folder:Comic Strips]] |
| 88 | * During the late 1920s and early 1930s, the Creator/KingFeaturesSyndicate did several copycats of the Chicago Tribune strips: |
| 89 | ** ''Little Annie Rooney'' was an ersatz of ''ComicStrip/LittleOrphanAnnie''. |
| 90 | ** ''Dan Dunn'' was Hearst's answer to ''ComicStrip/DickTracy''. |
| 91 | ** Another was ''The Nebbs'' (a copy of the Tribune's ''Gumps''), created by Sol Hess, who assisted Sidney Smith (creator of ''The Gumps'') during the early 1920s. |
| 92 | * ''ComicStrip/{{Doonesbury}}'': Uncle Duke was Garry S. Trudeau's tribute/homage to Raoul Duke, Creator/HunterSThompson's alias. Thompson for two decades was so upset he refused to read the comic. Then, Uncle Duke himself was copied in ''ComicStrip/BloomCounty'' with an early character named Limekiller. No word if Thompson had issues with this copy of a copy. |
| 93 | * ''The Adventures of Aaron'' once ran a strip with "The Ghost of ComicStrip/{{Calvin|AndHobbes}}". A couple footnotes make it clear: "Any similarities between Ghost of Calvin and ''Calvin and Hobbes'' is purely coincidental." See it [[http://www.kerzap.com/calvin/aaron.tribute.html here]]. |
| 94 | * In ''ComicStrip/ForBetterOrForWorse'', it originally seemed as if the artist had intended to pair Liz of with her next door neighbor, Christopher; when he and his family were dropped from the strip, Mrs Johnston altered his serial number and created [[CreatorsPet Anthony Caine]]. |
| 95 | * In ''ComicStrip/{{Frazz}}'' by JefMallett, the title character, Frazz is a grown up expy of Calvin from ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'', both in personality and in artistic design; Mallett says that Creator/BillWatterson is a great influence, but that the similarities are unintentional. Nonetheless, it was blatant enough that rumors persisted that Watterson himself was writing a sequel strip under an assumed identity. |
| 96 | * In ''ComicStrip/BloomCounty'', Bill the Cat has been called a "ComicStrip/{{Garfield}} ripoff" within the strip itself, though Bill's resemblance to Garfield is only particularly blatant in early appearances. The 2015 revival makes it explicit in one strip, claiming Garfield as Bill's literal father (with Jim Davis [[ParodyAssistance lending a hand]]). |
| 97 | * Fearless Fosdick in ''ComicStrip/LilAbner'' is a lanky duplicate of ''ComicStrip/DickTracy''. So much so that political cartoonist Herbert Block used him in some of his pieces during the Nixon Administration. |
| 98 | [[/folder]] |
| 99 | |
| 100 | [[folder:Fan Works]] |
| 101 | * ''Fanfic/AbraxasHrodvitnon'': [[Characters/AbraxasHrodvitnonTitansAndOtherCreatures The Many]] which spawn from experiments on King Ghidorah's DNA are directly modeled on the Flood from ''VideoGame/{{Halo}}'': a [[TheVirus virus]] which transforms all humans and animals it infects into putrid, zombified monsters, then slowly and forcibly subsumes their minds into a HiveMind that's driven to propagate the infection. |
| 102 | * The ''WesternAnimation/Ben10'' fanfic ''Fanfic/EgyptOnAnurKhufos'' features multiple examples of this: |
| 103 | ** Four characters leading a [[LaResistance resistance group]] are directly modeled off of Rapses' guardians from ''WesternAnimation/MummiesAlive'', called Ja'Kaal, Raht, Marnor, and Neferti, who in this story are alien mummies that have the added perk of [[RubberMan elasticity]] and CombatTentacles, and even use a landspeeder based on the original ''Hot-Ra''. Similarly, the [[NephariousPharaoh evil pharaoh]] has a sorcerer in his employ named Skaraab. Ben also [[LampshadeHanging notices their similarities]] during the story from the actual cartoon, having watched it at one point. |
| 104 | ** The resistance also includes a water-breathing alien soldier named [[VideoGame/{{Undertale}} Undyyne]], who uses a suit of PoweredArmor to stay hydrated while on the desert planet...and she [[WouldntHurtAChild doesn't like fighting children]]. |
| 105 | * Duncan [=McSmurf=] in ''FanFic/EmpathTheLuckiestSmurf'' is an obvious Captain Ersatz of Gutsy from ''Film/TheSmurfs'' film series who [[MaliciousMisnaming does not like to be called Gutsy]], particularly from Hefty who just simply doesn't like Duncan. His only noticeable differences are that [[AdaptationDyeJob Duncan has brown hair whereas Gutsy has ginger hair]], and that he wears green plaid instead of blue. Also the shoulder strap of his kilt goes over his right shoulder instead of his left. |
| 106 | * ''Fanfic/EquestriaAHistoryRevealed'': In an InUniverse example, the Griffon nation has their own prince in response to Shining Armor, Shining Amour. |
| 107 | * ''Fanfic/ThePokemonSquad'': [[Series/BarneyAndFriends Barney's]] parents were this to [[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Homer and Marge]]. Barney Frank also used to be like this for Bart. Hell, he even used to be strangled! |
| 108 | |
| 109 | * [[Fanfic/MassFoundations Mass Foundations: Redemption in the Stars]] has turian Hando Due and [[ExtraEyes batarian]] Greedro as stand-ins for [[Franchise/StarWars Han Solo and Greedo]]. They are encountered due to the Courier's [[WeirdnessMagnet Wild Wasteland trait]]. |
| 110 | * ''Fanfic/HailToTheKingThuktunFlishithy'' has Series/ZoneFighter. He was already a Captain Ersatz of Series/{{Ultraman}}, but in this story it is made more obvious. Here, he is an energy being that bonds with [[spoiler:[[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion Shinji Ikari]]]] in order to save his life, just like what Ultraman did with Hayata. |
| 111 | [[/folder]] |
| 112 | |
| 113 | [[folder:Films -- Animation]] |
| 114 | * Being a film based on the first of a series of books that are technically illegally-published ''Franchise/HarryPotter'' {{Hate Fic}}s, ''WesternAnimation/ChildrenVSWizards'' replaced the HP characters featured as villains with lookalikes. |
| 115 | ** Professor Saires is clearly meant to be a grown-up lookalike of Harry Potter, complete with glasses. However, he has thick eyebrows and a handlebar mustache that serve to signal he's evil. |
| 116 | ** The "phantoms" that accompany Leonard on his way to Russia, which the Narrator explains that their purpose is to destroy children's souls, are basically Dementors under another name. |
| 117 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles1'': |
| 118 | ** The family is very nearly the ComicBook/FantasticFour: Mr. Incredible is the Thing, Elastigirl is Mister Fantastic, and Violet is the Invisible Woman. Only Dash lacks a direct parallel, though he's certainly HotBlooded enough to be a match for the Human Torch. The ending shows Jack-Jack has highly variable superpowers (among these, setting himself on fire like the Human Torch), and Franklin Richards, the child of Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Woman had very ill-defined but vast superpowers. Even their costumes and name (Fantastic/Incredible) are similar. Their villain, Syndrome, is a somewhat more rotund Doctor Doom, a villain whose primary superpowers are simply being so good at super-technology that his super-suit is more powerful than the family combined. Syndrome also has Doctor Doom's 'petty grudge blown ''way'' out of proportion' motivation for his enmity as well. |
| 119 | ** Dash is basically ComicBook/TheFlash and even calls himself "The Dash" when he gets his suit. |
| 120 | ** Frozone is basically Iceman from the ''ComicBook/XMen'' comics as played by Creator/SamuelLJackson. They even have the same way of getting from place to place: creating ramps of ice to skate everywhere. |
| 121 | ** In a more extreme example, Gazerbeam and The Underminer basically ''are'' Cyclops (from ''ComicBook/XMen'') and the Mole Man (from ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'') in all but name. The DVD special features on the minor heroes in the movie even parodies Cyclops' infamously bland personality by having Gazerbeam be an incredibly dull person. |
| 122 | *** Some of the other heroes listed [[AllThereInTheManual on the DVD]] also fall into this. Meta Man is very obviously ComicBook/{{Superman}}, with his ComboPlatterPowers, wholesome personality, and outfit, Everseer's leadership position (and formerly having been Gazerbeam's superior) and telepathy resemble [[Characters/MarvelComicsProfessorX Professor X]], and Splashdown's powerset is a clear callout to ComicBook/{{Aquaman}}. |
| 123 | ** It even extends to the comic, which has featured among the expanded rogues gallery a [[ComicBook/TheFlash Gorilla Grodd]] expy and aliens resembling the tentacles. |
| 124 | ** And the HumongousMecha piloted by the Underminer in an effort to frame the Incredibles resembles WesternAnimation/TheIronGiant with a red paint job. Both films were directed by Creator/BradBird. |
| 125 | ** It's also notable that ''The Incredibles'' successfully captures the "superhero team as a family" dynamic that the Fantastic Four is best-known for in the comics, which three live-acton attempts (thus far) at adapting the FF to film by 20th Century Fox and Marvel have failed to fully accomplish. |
| 126 | * The characters in ''WesternAnimation/{{Megamind}}'' represent various comic book heroes and villains, most notably from ComicBook/{{Superman}}. [[TheCape Metro Man]] is Superman, [[MadScientist Megamind]] is a mixture of [[Characters/SupermanBrainiacCharacter Brainiac]] and [[Characters/SupermanLexLuthor Lex Luthor]], [[LoveInterests Roxanne]] is [[Characters/SupermanLoisLane Lois Lane]], and Hal is an incarnation of [[Characters/SupermanJimmyOlsen Jimmy Olsen]] [[spoiler:with some Superboy-Prime thrown in]]. |
| 127 | * In ''WesternAnimation/TheCareBearsAdventureInWonderland'', Dim and Dum are blatant copies of Beastly (from the ''[[WesternAnimation/CareBears1980s Care Bears]]'' TV series). Dim even has the same voice. In ''WesternAnimation/CareBearsNutcrackerSuite'', the Rat King shares Beastly's voice and general characterization. |
| 128 | * Rudolph's love interest in ''WesternAnimation/RudolphTheRedNosedReindeer1998'' is "Zoey". WordofGod is she was meant to be Clarice [[WesternAnimation/RudolphTheRedNosedReindeer1964 but they couldn't use the name]]. |
| 129 | * The Muses of ''WesternAnimation/{{Hercules}}'' are Captain Ersatzes of the black chorus girls from Menken's earlier, non-animated musical, ''Theatre/LittleShopOfHorrors''. |
| 130 | * The MainCharacters of ''WesternAnimation/MonstersVsAliens'' are Captain Ersatzes of 1950s B-Movies: |
| 131 | ** Ginormica → [[Film/AttackOfThe50FootWoman The 50-Foot Woman]]. |
| 132 | ** B.O.B. → ''Film/TheBlob1958''. |
| 133 | ** Dr. Cockroach [[MorallyAmbiguousDoctorate PhD]] → ''Film/TheFly1958''. |
| 134 | ** The Missing Link → The Film/CreatureFromTheBlackLagoon. |
| 135 | ** Insectosaurus → Film/{{Mothra}}. |
| 136 | * In ''WesternAnimation/{{Rango}}'', there is a brief appearance by Creator/HunterSThompson's own Captain Ersatz from ''Literature/FearAndLoathingInLasVegas''. Being as the main character is played by Creator/JohnnyDepp in both films, this only makes matters better. |
| 137 | * Riley's [[ImaginaryFriend imaginary boyfriend]] in ''WesternAnimation/InsideOut'' is an Ersatz of ''Music/JustinBieber'', right down to his appearance and the fact that [[GirlfriendInCanada he lives in Canada]]. This was apparently an [[TheArtifact artifact]] of an earlier draft, where there was a scene where Joy and Bing Bong would meet the actual Justin Bieber in a place called Boy Research. |
| 138 | * ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory1'': |
| 139 | ** Bo Peep, since Mattel didn't allow Pixar to use Barbie at the time, since they didn't think the movie would get much exposure, among other reasons. The company quickly reversed their decision after seeing the success of the first movie, which is why Barbie is featured significantly more than Bo Peep in the rest of the series. |
| 140 | ** Also the Combat Carl, as initially it was going to be a G.I. Joe that got blown up by Sid in his introductory scene, but when Hasbro refused to let Pixar use G.I. Joe in the film, it was changed. |
| 141 | [[/folder]] |
| 142 | |
| 143 | [[folder:Films -- Live-Action]] |
| 144 | * Creator/BBVProductions seemed to specialise in ''Series/DoctorWho'' Ersatzes (see also under Radio): |
| 145 | ** ''The Stranger'' was a direct-to-video series starring Colin Baker (who played the Sixth Doctor on the show) and Nicola Bryant (Peri Brown) as "The Stranger" and "Miss Brown", respectively. |
| 146 | ** While BBV eventually did get licensing rights to various ''Doctor Who'' monsters, the Big Two remained exceptions. They never attempted fake-Daleks, but the Cyberons are, well, Cybermen. |
| 147 | ** BBV eventually self-parodied this, with a video called "Do You Have A Licence To Save This Planet?" in which a swarm of ''Doctor Who'' monsters (and the Cyberons) are fought by Sylvester [=McCoy=] as ... the Chiropodist. |
| 148 | %%* So many Creator/SparkPlugEntertainment characters. |
| 149 | * ''Film/TheAmazingBulk'' is about an ersatz of ''ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk''. |
| 150 | * In the conspiracy-laden 1980s stinker ''Down on Us'' (a.k.a. ''Beyond the Doors''), about how the CIA killed Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and Jim Morrison, [[Music/TheDoors Morrison's band]] is never mentioned by name and its members have no resemblance to Manzarek, Kreiger, or Densmore (and all of the songs in the film are original songs which sound nothing like the songs made famous by said artists). |
| 151 | * Rufus from ''Film/BillAndTedsExcellentAdventure'', [[Series/DoctorWho a quirky, sophisticated fellow in a time-travelling phone box]]... |
| 152 | * ''Film/TheBloodyMan'': [[TheProtagonist Sam]]'s favourite toy, Barbarian Man, is pretty much [[WesternAnimation/HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse He-Man]]. Like, the makers didn't even bother [=TRYING=] to make him not look too much like He-Man. |
| 153 | * ''Film/TheBuddyHollyStory'' had a fictionalized version of the Crickets (two members instead of three, names changed) because the real-life Crickets had already signed onto a different Buddy Holly project. |
| 154 | * ''Film/CarryOnEngland'': Creator/WindsorDavies essentially plays his character from ''Series/ItAintHalfHotMum'' with a different name. |
| 155 | * Detective Anna Ramirez in ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' was originally supposed to be Renée Montoya, but her name was changed at the last minute because her behavior in the film didn't match that of the animated and comic book character. [[spoiler:Montoya is an honest cop, while Ramirez is corrupt and works with the mob]]. |
| 156 | ** By the same token, Det. Wuertz was supposed to be another Batman staple, Harvey Bullock. Bullock is at worst, a JerkWithAHeartOfGold, whereas Wuertz [[spoiler:is also on the take, and is subsequently killed by Two-Face]]. |
| 157 | * ''Film/DoctorMordrid'': Doctor Mordrid (played by Creator/JeffreyCombs) is ''ComicBook/DoctorStrange''; the villain Kabal is more or less Baron Mordo. This is because Creator/FullMoonFeatures had optioned the right to adapt the comic into film, but the rights expired during pre-production. Rather than cancel the project, they just changed the characters' names. |
| 158 | * When director F. W. Murnau sought to make a movie out of Bram Stoker's book ''Literature/{{Dracula}}'', but was unable to secure the rights, he made the movie anyway as ''Film/{{Nosferatu}}'', changing the names of the characters. (Dracula, for example, became Count Orlok.) In this case, though, the attempt was unsuccessful: Stoker's widow sued for copyright infringement and won, bankrupting the production company... and getting an order that all copies of the film be destroyed. The movie survived through piracy. |
| 159 | * General Hager from ''Film/FantasticFourRiseOfTheSilverSurfer'' was originally supposed to be ComicBook/NickFury, but was changed to an original character when the director found out [[Creator/TwentiethCenturyStudios 20th Century Fox]] didn't have his film rights. Not only does Hager have Fury's personality and (ComicBook/{{Ultimate|Marvel}}) ethnicity, but some of his lines are taken word-for-word from Fury's dialogue in Creator/WarrenEllis' ''ComicBook/UltimateGalactusTrilogy''. |
| 160 | * In ''Film/FridayThe13thPartVIITheNewBlood'', the FinalGirl is a teenage girl with [[MindOverMatter telekinetic powers]] and a fraught relationship with her parents that has left her traumatized. Change her name from Tina Shepard to Carrie White, and the awful parent from her father into her mother, and you have what many fans of the ''Franchise/FridayThe13th'' films describe as an [[SpiritualCrossover unofficial crossover]] with Creator/StephenKing's ''Literature/{{Carrie}}''. (Tina is even the name of one of the girls in [[AlphaBitch Chris]]' GirlPosse who torments Carrie.) |
| 161 | * ''Film/GalaxyQuest'' is for the most part an AffectionateParody on ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' including its actors and fans, with some ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' thrown in. |
| 162 | ** The character of Doctor Lazarus is Spock, the alien on the team, from TOS. The ''actor'' is a combination of Spock's Leonard Nimoy, who was haunted by his typecasting as Spock, and Patrick Stewart, classically trained Shakespearean actor who found himself in a Star Trek show. |
| 163 | ** Commander Taggart is Captain Kirk, the hammy star of the show and a ''LargeHam''. |
| 164 | ** Tech Sgt. Chen, although not Scottish, is the equivalent of Scotty, (badly) operating their transpo... sorry, "digital conveyor". |
| 165 | ** Lt. Laredo, the prodigy child crew member, is Wesley from TNG. |
| 166 | ** Lt. Madison who repeats everything the computer says is a mix of Counselor Troi from TNG, who did little more than look good in tights while saying "Captain, I'm sensing something," and Lt. Uhura in TOS--Creator/NichelleNichols considered leaving the show due to her character doing little more than "opening hailing frequencies" in most episodes, which parallels Gwen's problems with her character.[[note]]Supposedly Gwen's line complaining about how her TV Guide interview was all about her breasts getting squeezed into her suit was inspired by an actual TV Guide interview with Jeri Ryan of ''Star Trek Voyager''.[[/note]] |
| 167 | * Officially, ''Film/TheGodfather'' isn't about the Mafia at all. The story goes that when the real Mafia began making complaints and threats, the filmmakers compromised, removing all references to "the Mafia" and "Cosa Nostra". So the film is actually about a fictitious crime organisation that just happens to be based around five fictitious Italian-American families – it’s usually referred to as "the Five Families" when mentioned on screen. Averted in ''Part II'', where during the senator hearings, the words Mafia and Cosa Nostra are mentioned multiple times (here by an outsider). |
| 168 | * About seven years after the producers of ''Series/{{Ultraman}}'' snuck Franchise/{{Godzilla}} into the show by giving him a neck frill and calling him "Jirass" (see "Live Action TV" below), the producers of the ''Godzilla'' series returned the favor by sneaking Ultraman into ''Film/GodzillaVsMegalon'', altering his coloration slightly and calling him "Jet Jaguar". Appropriately enough, Ultraman's creator, Creator/EijiTsuburaya, originally did special effects work on Creator/IshiroHonda's original ''Film/Godzilla1954'', and was instrumental in bringing Goji-san to life on the big screen. |
| 169 | * ''Film/{{Help}}'': Kaili = [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kali Kali]]. |
| 170 | * ''Film/Jaws3D'' is set at Ride/SeaWorld, albeit one that's linked to the open ocean, completely unlike the real one, which is in central Florida (Orlando, specifically), nowhere near the shore. |
| 171 | * A series of ''El Látigo'' ("The Whip") films were produced in Mexico. El Latigo is a ''very'' close imitation of the famous ''gringo''-created hero of Old California, Franchise/{{Zorro}}. |
| 172 | * In the 2000-2005 ''Film/{{Left Behind|2000}}'' film series, Ivy Gold of Global Network News is one for Global Weekly secretary Alice Nelson from the books, who also gets confused for being Buck Williams' secret fiancee. |
| 173 | * Franchise/MonsterVerse: |
| 174 | ** The [[Characters/MonsterVerseSkullIslandKaijuAndOtherCreatures Skullcrawlers]], Kong's recurring reptilian mortal enemies on Skull Island who killed off the rest of his kind including his parents, have a similar design to the two-legged reptiles from ''Film/KingKong1933'', and their role in Kong's backstory in ''Literature/KongKingOfSkullIsland''. |
| 175 | ** Dr. [[Characters/MonsterVerseMonarch Rick Stanton]] who debuted in ''[[Film/GodzillaKingOfTheMonsters2019 Godzilla: King of the Monsters]]'' is a clear expy of Rick Sanchez from ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'': a white-haired, middle-aged, bespectacled, alcoholic scientist with a sardonic streak and a cynical outlook. |
| 176 | * Narrowly averted in ''[[Film/GodzillaxKongTheNewEmpire]]'', in a case of WhatCouldHaveBeen. The film was originally supposed to have an angel/dragon hybrid Kaiju to serve as peacekeeper between Godzilla and Kong. Test audiences saw her as a transparent CaptainErsatz for Mothra and responded negatively, [[spoiler: resulting in Mothra's inclusion in the final film.]] |
| 177 | * In the 1976 MysteryFiction spoof, ''Film/MurderByDeath'', various famous detectives are represented by these characters: |
| 178 | ** Sidney Wang (Creator/PeterSellers): Film/CharlieChan. |
| 179 | ** Dick and Dora Charleston (David Niven and Dame Creator/MaggieSmith): [[Film/TheThinMan Nick and Nora Charles]]. |
| 180 | ** Sam Diamond (Peter Falk): [[Film/TheMalteseFalcon1941 Sam Spade]]. |
| 181 | ** Miss Jessica Marbles (Elsa Lanchester): Literature/MissMarple. |
| 182 | ** Milo Perrier (James Coco): Literature/HerculePoirot. |
| 183 | * The 1980 TV Movie ''Murder Can Hurt You'' itself seems to have been inspired by ''Film/MurderByDeath'', but with these versions of '70s TV CopShow characters like Series/{{Columbo}}, Series/StarskyAndHutch, Series/{{Kojak}}, etc. |
| 184 | * While ''Film/OmerTheTouristInStarTrek'' was able to largely keep the character names from ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' due to them being common surnames, the creators were apparently concerned enough that they turned Spock into "Mr. Spak". |
| 185 | * The ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'' trilogy is sometimes accused of this by ''VideoGame/MonkeyIsland'' fans, who cite similarities between Tia Dalma and the Voodoo Lady as evidence of their claim. Though given how both draw inspiration from ''Literature/OnStrangerTides'' (and indeed, from the [[Ride/DisneyThemeParks original]] [[Ride/PiratesOfTheCaribbean Pirates of the Caribbean ride]]), this might be a case where [[OlderThanTheyThink both are the Ersatzes]]. |
| 186 | * Azeem in ''Film/RobinHoodPrinceOfThieves'' is a Captain Ersatz of Nasir in ''Series/RobinOfSherwood'', allegedly because the creators didn't initially realise he was under copyright and not part of the original myth. Since then "the Saracen Merry Man" has become a regular character, but always has a different name. |
| 187 | * A few in ''Film/SkyHigh2005'', but the most obvious is Layla, being similar to ComicBook/{{Batman}}'s villainess [[Characters/BatmanPoisonIvy Poison Ivy]]. She's a redhead, she controls plants, she always wears green, she's very environment friendly, etc. — except she's a good gal. Many have pegged the movie to X-Men given that the plot of the movie centers on a SuperheroSchool. |
| 188 | * In the original books, the characters in ''Film/TheSnapper'' and ''The Van'' were the same family as in ''Film/TheCommitments''. Due to Fox owning the rights to the Rabitte name, they were different characters. Especially glaring is the fact that Colm Meaney plays the father in all three films, but is ostensibly playing different characters. |
| 189 | * Donald Poultry, TheSmartGuy kid from ''Film/SummerCampNightmare'', is the movie's analog to Winston Weyn, the protagonist of William Butler's ''Literature/TheButterflyRevolution''. Given the SettingUpdate from UsefulNotes/TheSixties to UsefulNotes/TheEighties, Donald is a GadgeteerGenius rather than a book nerd, carrying around a tape recorder to dictate an audio diary and a suitcase full of tools which he uses for things such as hacking into the box on top of the rec room building that controls the number of channels the rec room's TV set gets. |
| 190 | * ''Film/XMenOriginsWolverine'': A kindly old couple on a farm who take in a super-powered individual? [[ComicBook/{{Superman}} That sounds kinda familiar]]. The first shot of them smiling while driving their pickup seems like a deliberate homage to ''Film/SupermanTheMovie''. Creator/RichardDonner ''is'' a producer on this film. |
| 191 | * The Film/HammerHorror film ''Film/XTheUnknown'' was originally intended to be a sequel to ''[[Franchise/{{Quatermass}} The Quatermass Xperiment]]''. However, they couldn't get the rights to the character of Bernard Quatermass at the time, so they made up a new character called Adam Royston. He is a ScienceHero with the same general mannerisms as Quatermass, the only major difference being that his specialty is nuclear physics, not rocketry. |
| 192 | * Chapel was replaced by a similar character named Jessica Priest in ''Film/Spawn1997''. This is due to Chapel being owned by Creator/RobLiefeld, since he originated in ''ComicBook/YoungbloodImageComics''. |
| 193 | * ''The Mean One'' is a HorrorComedy where the antagonist is [[Literature/HowTheGrinchStoleChristmas a hairy, green humanoid creature who lives in an isolated cave on a mountain, hates Christmas, and terrorizes a small town called Newville]], but the word "Grinch" is never mentioned in the script - though there is a gag where a character is about to say it, but they're in a loud bar, where they're [[AstonishinglyAppropriateInterruption interrupted by a server calling out an order for a "Mr. Finch!"]]. |
| 194 | [[/folder]] |
| 195 | |
| 196 | [[folder:Live-Action TV]] |
| 197 | * The title character of ''Series/AdamAdamantLives'' was originally intended to be the genuine hero of Victorian pulp fiction Sexton Blake, but when the BBC were unable to get the rights to Blake, they changed the character's name and turned him into a generic adventure hero. |
| 198 | * In ''Series/TheAdventuresOfSuperboy'', a super strong alien woman named Neila, who pursued Superboy romantically, appeared to be an ersatz version of the comics' Maxima. |
| 199 | * Game Show Network's ''America Says'' is essentially an ersatz ''Series/FamilyFeud'' (the Harvey edition runs on GSN as well) in that two teams reveal responses to national surveys. The manner in which the team members reveal the responses on ''America Says'' owes a little to ''Pass the Buck,'' a short-lived CBS game from 1978. |
| 200 | * ''Series/BirdsOfPrey2002'' had Darkstrike, a thinly-veiled Characters/{{Nightwing|DickGrayson}} wannabe. Subverted when he turns out to be a CorruptedCharacterCopy. |
| 201 | * ''Series/BlackMirror'': Princess Susannah from the first episode is intended to be the Duchess of Cambridge, being a young royal and focus of public interest while not actual adoration. |
| 202 | * ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'': |
| 203 | ** Whistler, who appeared in the Season Two two-part finale was supposed to be a main character on the spinoff ''Series/{{Angel}}''. Since the actor who played Whistler was unavailable at the time, the very similar character Allen Francis Doyle was created instead. |
| 204 | ** Warren was an unusual example. In his first appearance in Season 5, Warren created problems by being misguided and irresponsible, but he was far from villainous, unlike Tucker who was entitled, homicidal, and not remotely sympathetic. Tucker was originally planned to be the most evil member of the trio, but Tucker's actor was unavailable, so they just put Warren in his place, gave him Tucker's personality, and acted as if he had always been that way. |
| 205 | * ''Series/{{Casualty}}'' and ''Series/HolbyCity'' get away with having a Music/LadyGaga one – who, unlike the real thing, dresses fairly plain-Jane, so to speak. |
| 206 | * ''Series/{{Chuck}}'': The [=BuyMore=] is clearly a Best Buy or Circuit City stand-in. Likewise, the Nerd Herd division of the store spoofs Best Buy's Geek Squad division. |
| 207 | * In ''Series/{{Community}}'', Britta introduces Abed to long running British series ''JustForFun/InspectorSpacetime'', [[DoctorWhomage which is]] a Captain Ersatz of ''Series/DoctorWho'' with a constable instead of a companion, red telephone booth instead of a blue police call box and Blorgons instead of Daleks. WordofGod says that in-universe, ''Doctor Who'' is a ripoff of ''Inspector Spacetime''. |
| 208 | * Comparisons between Al Swearengen of ''Series/{{Deadwood}}'' and Silas Benjamin of ''Series/{{Kings}}'' are pretty inevitable: Both are played in the same highflown style by Ian [=MacShane=]; both are amoral and ruthless in attempting to maintain their grip on power but affectionate to those close to them, and both have a tendency to slip into lofty monologues. Except for their different wardrobes and Silas' network-mandated inability to curse like Swearengen, they're essentially the same character portrayed by the same actor. |
| 209 | * On ''Series/ADifferentWorld'', having lost her job, Whitley is forced to work as a waitress at "The International Cottage of Flapjacks", clearly a ripoff of "The International House of Pancakes". |
| 210 | * In ''Series/TheEvent'', the President and his right-hand man are [[Series/TwentyFour Palmer and Novick]]. |
| 211 | * ''Series/GetSmart'' had a few examples: |
| 212 | ** Comedian Joey Forman played a Film/CharlieChan-based one called "Harry Hoo" on more than one occasion. |
| 213 | ** Several one-off villains were also ersatzen; Wheelchair-bound mastermind Leadside was based on ''Series/{{Ironside 1967}}'', YellowPeril caricature Dr. Yes was based on ''Film/DrNo'', etc. |
| 214 | ** And Smart got his own, B. Wise, in an episode of ''Series/FTroop''. |
| 215 | * ''Series/{{Gotham}}'' has two characters who are the Joker in all but name, due to the show's decision to treat the character as a {{decomposite character}}. The first, Jerome Valeska, is a teenager raised in the circus who is first put in Arkham for killing his mother and has become an {{ax crazy}}, {{laughably evil}} {{monster clown}} by the time he escapes Arkham at the age of eighteen. His identical twin brother, Jeremiah, at first looks like Jerome's good counterpart, and is already a precocious but relatively harmless intellectual by the time he's in his early twenties. That is until [[spoiler:Jerome makes sure that he is driven insane with his laughing gas after he dies, turning him into the show's true version of the Joker. Jeremiah is an even more terrifying opponent than Jerome, a {{crazy prepared}}, obsessive madman who only incorporates the Joker's characteristic deadly humor into his crimes after undergoing several painful chemical transformations that lead to extreme sanity slippage. By the series finale, he has finally completed his transformation into the Joker, though he hasn't yet started going by that name]]. |
| 216 | * Creator/TheBBC had an example combined with TheDanza in the case of 1970s BritCom ''Happy Ever After''. When its creator decided that it had run for long enough, he declined to write any more episodes and eventually jumped ship, retaining the rights to the show's format. So the BBC took the central couple from ''Happy Ever After'', changed their surname and character bios, put them in another suburban house, and carried on from there. Terry Fletcher (Creator/TerryScott) and his wife June (Creator/JuneWhitfield) became Terry and June Medford in the imaginatively-named ''Series/TerryAndJune''. If that wasn't enough, the characters Terry and June are near-identical {{exp|y}}ies of Ron and Vera Baines, the couple that Scott and Whitfield played in the feature film version of earlier suburban {{Britcom}} ''Bless This House''. |
| 217 | * On ''Series/ItsAlwaysSunnyInPhiladelphia'', the Philly Phrenetic in the World Series episode is an obvious one for the Philadelphia Phillies' real-life mascot, the Phillie Phanatic. It's even {{lampshade|Hanging}}d by Charlie at the end of the episode, when he complains about having to call him the "Phrenetic" instead of "Phanatic" to avoid getting sued by Major League Baseball. |
| 218 | * One of the recurring characters of ''Series/LazyCompany'' is an ersatz Captain America – "I'm the Patriot, but call me 'Captain'." He's a SuperSoldier NiceGuy whom even the resident grouch can't help but find likable. |
| 219 | * ''Series/LazyTown'': Ziggy's regular outfit is reminiscent of Superman. In the first play, it was a Superman costume outright. |
| 220 | * ''Series/LoisAndClark'': |
| 221 | ** Intergang is run by the feuding father and son Bill Church Sr and Jr, who have a [[CovertGroupWithMundaneFront Front Organisation]] with a TV company called Multiworld Communications. They're Captain Ersatzes of the comic book's Vinnie and Morgan Edge, who run Intergang behind the facade of Galaxy Broadcasting. |
| 222 | ** Lord Nor, the arrogant, bearded, English-accented Kryptonian warlord in Season 4, is more than a little reminiscent of General Zod (specifically [[Film/SupermanII Terence Stamp's version]]). |
| 223 | * ''Series/TheMentalist'' has done this with the entire ''premise'' of ''Series/{{Psych}}''. Gleefully {{lampshade|Hanging}}d in many episodes of ''Psych'': |
| 224 | -->'''Shawn:''' You've seen ''The Mentalist'', right?\ |
| 225 | '''Canadian Cop:''' Yes.\ |
| 226 | '''Shawn:''' It's like that.\ |
| 227 | '''Gus:''' Except that guy's a fake.\ |
| 228 | '''Shawn:''' Right, if I was a fake psychic it would be eerily similar.\ |
| 229 | '''Gus:''' Exactly the same.\ |
| 230 | '''Shawn:''' A virtual carbon copy. |
| 231 | * In the ''At the Earth's Core'' episode of ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'' Jonah builds a new robot, Growler, a super chill, easy-going musician programmed to take everything in stride with a very familiar muppet voice. The other bots react with hatred toward the newcomer. Jonah's response is bafflement and he straight up admits he was invoking this trope. |
| 232 | -->'''Jonah:''' He's basically Rowlf the Dog from ''Franchise/TheMuppets''! Who could hate Rowlf the Dog? |
| 233 | * Parodied in ''Series/{{Psychoville}}'' when in a {{pantomime}} production of Snow White, the director has to remind his cast that they changed the names of the dwarves (to "Prof", "Blusher", "Sniffy", "Smiler", "Snoozer", "Grumbly" and "Loopy") so as to avoid being sued by Disney. |
| 234 | * In 1961, Goodson-Todman created a Captain Ersatz of its own show ''Series/ThePriceIsRight'' with ''Say When!!'', which had two contestants selecting items from a pool of merchandise and trying to not go over a target value. In turn, 1975's ''Give-N-Take'' was an ersatz ''Say When!!'' with a spinning arrow. When G-T revived ''The Price Is Right'' in 1972 for CBS and nighttime syndication, they turned it into an ersatz ''Series/LetsMakeADeal''. |
| 235 | * ''Series/RhymeAndReason'', an ABC game show from 1975, was a Captain Ersatz of CBS's ''Series/MatchGame'' in that it had two contestants trying to match words (the rhyming word of a poem) with a panel of six celebrities. |
| 236 | * ''Series/{{Smallville}}'' had Captain Ersatzes for a shockingly-large number of DC characters. Gloria was Poison Ivy, Vordigan the Dark Archer was [[ComicBook/GreenArrow Merlyn]], Pete Ross ended up becoming a Captain Ersatz of ComicBook/PlasticMan (or [[Characters/SupermanJimmyOlsen Jimmy Olsen]] as Elastic Lad)...the list goes on and on. One episode even had Lois cosplaying [[ShowWithinAShow as an in-universe]] Captain Ersatz of ComicBook/WonderWoman! |
| 237 | ** That same episode had a boy transformed by a magic comic book into [[ShowWithinAShow Warrior Angel]]. Whereas Warrior Angel was always an {{Expy}} of Superman (with his nemesis Devilicus as an {{Expy}} for Lex), this "Warrior Angel" was a clear one of [[ComicBook/{{Shazam}} Captain Marvel]]. |
| 238 | * ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' was created with the intent to include Michelle Forbes' recurring character from ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'', Ro Laren, but the actress declined to star as a regular in the series. So the character of Kira Nerys was created as a near-identical substitute (abrasive personality, lack of trust in Starfleet). This was tried again for ''Voyager'' and again Michelle Forbes refused, so instead they created the Klingon-human Maquis member B'Elanna Torres. |
| 239 | * And ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' went as far as to cast the actor who had played Nicholas Locarno in TNG's "The First Duty" before changing the character's name to Tom Paris and altering his backstory to be more sympathetic. Though WordofGod has [[FlipFlopOfGod flip-flopped]] on whether this was done because Locarno was unrepentant and therefore unsympathetic, or because they didn't want to have to pay royalties to the writer of "The First Duty". There has been fanfiction written that attempts to reconcile this by making them the same person. |
| 240 | * [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNt8vplcx5Y This]] music video is not only a cover of Music/BritneySpears' song ''Lucky'', but the video is also a pastiche of Franchise/SuperSentai – and the HumongousMecha is [[SarcasmMode most definitely NOT]] Anime/MazingerZ. |
| 241 | * ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'': Dean was originally supposed to be rescued from hell by Constantine himself, but they couldn't get the rights so they created an angel who dresses exactly like Constantine and, in early appearances, has a lot of his personality in Castiel. |
| 242 | * ''Series/TenItemsOrLess'' has a parody of this trope where the characters create a "Star Trok" Convention with "Blingons and Blomulans" (and SpecialGuest Jolene Blalock) so they don't get sued by Paramount. |
| 243 | * Parodied on ''Series/ThirtyRock'' when Jenna intends to star in a biopic about Janis Joplin, but because of legal issues, the pic will be about a Janis Joplin facsimile called Jackie Jormp-Jomp. |
| 244 | * ''Series/TheTick2001'' replaced Die Fledermaus and American Maid, who were in [[WesternAnimation/TheTick the animated cartoon]] but not the original comic book, with Bat Manuel and Captain Liberty. |
| 245 | * ''Series/TomorrowsPioneers'' has the really-not-a-WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse-rip-off Farfur. However, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gi-c6lbFGC4 the extremely controversial subject matter]] did draw Disney's attention to Farfur's ersatzen nature. |
| 246 | * The tenth episode of the original 1966 ''Series/{{Ultraman}}'' gave us [[http://ultra.wikia.com/wiki/Jirahs "Jirass"]], a giant reptilian {{Kaiju}} who was essentially Franchise/{{Godzilla}} in all but name--right down to being played by Creator/HaruoNakajima himself. To their credit, Tsubaraya Productions at least gave Jirass a neck frill to obscure the fact that his rubber suit actually ''was'' an old Godzilla costume borrowed from Toho Studios. Then they proceeded to [[RefugeInAudacity have Ultraman rip off said neck frill in the course of the fight]]. Essentially, if you've ever wanted to see an unofficial Godzilla/Ultraman crossover, watch this episode. |
| 247 | [[/folder]] |
| 248 | |
| 249 | [[folder:Music]] |
| 250 | * Music/TheYardbirds' 1966 song "Stroll On", is this of their version of "The Train Kept A Rollin'". The maker of the movie Blow Up wanted to use "The Train Kept A Rollin'" for the soundtrack, but there were legal issues preventing it from being released outside the US. As a result they recorded the blatant copy "Stroll On" for the soundtrack, under the guise of it being an original song. The song became quite popular and appeared on a number of compilations. |
| 251 | * Music/IcedEarth's Cast In Stone is Written On The Walls with new lyrics and reduced instrumentation, as Gene Adam (who wrote these parts) did not allow the band to use them. However apart from this, the backing track is identical to the original version. It is debated amongst fans if this constitutes a new song or not. |
| 252 | * The music videos for Cassius' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PmU6G_Z4n8 "1999"]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrU2DThhsZI "Feeling For You"]] feature an ersatz of ComicBook/{{Deadman}}. |
| 253 | [[/folder]] |
| 254 | |
| 255 | [[folder:Pinball]] |
| 256 | * Creator/{{Bally}}'s ''Pinball/EightBall'' featured two teens clearly modeled after "The Fonz" and "Pinky Tuscadaro" from ''Series/HappyDays''. Paramount Television and CBS were not amused. |
| 257 | * One of the passengers in Williams' ''Pinball/{{Taxi}}'' is "Lola", a dark-haired copy of Creator/MarilynMonroe. She was originally blonde and named "Marilyn" until management requested a last-minute art change to avoid a potential lawsuit. |
| 258 | * The customers in ''Pinball/{{Diner}}'' include Babs and Boris, obvious caricatures of UsefulNotes/MargaretThatcher and Boris Yelsin. |
| 259 | * The protagonist of the "Space Sister" table of ''VideoGame/SuperPinballIITheAmazingOdyssey'' is a blatant copy of [[Franchise/{{Metroid}} Samus Aran]]. |
| 260 | * ''Pinball/BoneBusters'' stars a team of supernatural-fighting heroes who double as a painfully obvious copy of the Franchise/{{Ghostbusters}}. |
| 261 | * ''[[Pinball/LexyLightspeed Lexy Lightspeed - Escape from Earth]]'': Lookie is an obvious knockoff of [[Franchise/StarWars Chewbacca]] -- he's a tall, brown-furred, and [[TheUnintelligible unintelligible]] sidekick to a human protagonist. (That his name heavily resembles "Wookiee" only cements the connection further.) |
| 262 | [[/folder]] |
| 263 | |
| 264 | [[folder:Podcasts]] |
| 265 | * Not so much for legal reasons, but for reasons of parody, ''Podcast/TheJohnDredgeNothingToDoWithAnythingShow'' features two different Franchise/ScoobyDoo parodies: ''Doggie Doo, What Kind Of Dog Are You?'' and in a later episode, ''Scooby-Don't''. There's also a Series/Batman1966 parody called ''Gasman & Robert''. |
| 266 | [[/folder]] |
| 267 | |
| 268 | [[folder:Pro Wrestling]] |
| 269 | * In the 1950s, Judy Glover was so popular that when Buddy Lee found a woman who looked like her, she was hired with the ring name Judy Grable on the hopes fans would think Grable ''was'' Glover...and it worked! Whether or not they were fooled, they liked Grable enough to not complain. |
| 270 | * In the 1960s, Jack Pfefer's heavy use of this trope nearly killed off the Chicago territory when he was the promoter. He was largely responsible for launching the career of Wrestling/BuddyRogers, so dubbing a look alike Bummy Rogers was clearly his right. Everyone loves Wrestling/BoboBrazil? Love Hobo Brazil! Want to see Wrestling/BrunoSammartino? He's got Bruno Sanmartino. |
| 271 | * Wrestling/{{WCW}} had several examples: |
| 272 | ** [[http://static.wixstatic.com/media/e41a9e_42fe13b498354d2e8d90a5764d1c145a.jpg Arachniman]], who is not like ComicBook/SpiderMan at all. |
| 273 | ** Ray Lloyd was dressed up as the not-quite-[[Franchise/MortalKombat Sub-Zero]] wrestler Wrestling/{{Glacier}} (a character who has since popped up in Wrestling/{{CHIKARA}}, making for a better fit). |
| 274 | ** For awhile WCW had a lot of expies of celebrities wrestling, which created a bunch of strange dream fights. For instance it is unlikely that Music/{{Prince}} would ever have fought Liberace, but now you can see what it would have looked like with The Artist Formerly Known as Prince Iaukea and The Maestro. |
| 275 | ** There was a late 80s/early 90s jobber named "Randy Hogan" who had Wrestling/HulkHogan's signature bald scalp with blond hair wrapped around and even the fu-manchu. |
| 276 | ** [[Wrestling/MarcMero Johnny B. Badd]] baby, whooo! His theme music even included the lyrics "He looks just like Music/LittleRichard". |
| 277 | * The ''Franchise/FridayThe13th'' movie character Jason Voorhees got into the act as well. |
| 278 | ** The first was Wrestling/JasonTheTerrible (Karl "Butch" Moffatt), a creation of Bruce Hart in the dying days of the old Stampede Wrestling promotion in Calgary in the late 1980s, with his manager the Zodiac (Barry Orton- Wrestling/{{Randy|Orton}}'s uncle) under a mask. There have been several other wrestlers who have done the Jason gimmick since. |
| 279 | ** He's not the only one. Memphis gave us Tommy Gilbert as [[Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet "Nightmare Freddy"]]. His son Doug later wrestled as Freddy Krueger in the [[GarbageWrestler hardcore]] Japanese promotion W*ING, with his brother [[Wrestling/EddieGilbert Eddie]] as [[Franchise/{{Halloween}} Michael Myers]]. |
| 280 | ** '''The''' Japanese hardcore wrestling promotion Wrestling/{{FMW}}, among others, had [[Film/TheTexasChainsawMassacre "Leatherface"]], sometimes [[WritingAroundTrademarks changed to]] Super Leather. |
| 281 | * ''Film/TheRoadWarrior'''s Humungus gave birth to wrestling's various "Lord Humongous"es, and more famous wrestlers like Wrestling/SidEudy and Barry "Bull" Buchanan have spent time behind the hockey mask. The gimmick endures on in the indies today with many small-time wrestlers using it, although the more out-of-shape incarnations (of which there are many) tend to wear full jumpsuits that make them look more like Jason Voorhees, rather than the leather straps of the original. The promos hyping the first Lord Humongous (in Wrestling/JerryLawler's Memphis territory) certainly [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLqOwhOxpSw didn't try to hide the fact that they were cashing in]] on ''Film/TheRoadWarrior''. |
| 282 | * Wrestling/ProWrestlingGuerilla, All Pro Wrestling, Ultimate Pro, the Wrestling/{{New Japan| Pro Wrestling}} Dojo and many others have showcased The Human Tornado, who is a walking {{fan sequel}} to ''Film/{{Dolemite}}''. |
| 283 | * Wrestling/{{Carlito C|olon}}aribbean Cool began on Smackdown basically as [[Wrestling/ScottHall Razon Ramon]], but shorter. Before then, Carly had many different [[TheGimmick gimmicks]] which were much different. |
| 284 | * The [[Wrestling/AcesAndEightsWrestlers Aces & Eights]] stable in [[Wrestling/ImpactWrestling TNA]] is a wrestling version of ''Series/SonsOfAnarchy'', right down to their attires, logos, and music being inspired by said series. |
| 285 | * On November 23rd, 2013, Wrestling/{{N|ational Wrestling Alliance}}WA member Vendetta Pro presented a rematch nearly 30 years in the making at its ''Final Level'' event. [[Film/TheLastDragon Bruce Leroy vs The Shogun of Harlem]] (Jimi Mayhem) They ''did'' get the actual Bruce Leroy though. |
| 286 | * In the mid-80's, Wrestling/DickTheBruiser's WWA promotion had a wrestler from Memphis who had a goatee and wore a single-strap singlet. His name was Gary Lawler. [[Wrestling/JerryLawler Gee, that sounds familiar ...]]. |
| 287 | * Wrestling/{{SMW}} had Wrestling/BrianHildebrand as [[https://wrestlecrap.com/inductions/kowabunga/ Kowabunga]] [[Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles Ninja Turtle]]. |
| 288 | * The original 2000-2001 run of Wrestling/WOWWomenOfWrestling had [[Series/{{Baywatch}} The Beach Patrol (Summer and Sandy)]], [[Series/XenaWarriorPrincess Tanja Warrior Woman]] and [[Film/JamesBond Jane Blonde]]. |
| 289 | [[/folder]] |
| 290 | |
| 291 | [[folder:Radio]] |
| 292 | * Creator/BBVProductions' ''Audio Adventures in Time & Space'', starring Sylvester [=McCoy=] as "The Dominie" (originally "the Professor") and Sophie Aldred as "Alice" (originally "Ace"), Ersatzes of ''Series/DoctorWho'''s Seventh Doctor and Ace (also played by [=McCoy=] and Aldred) actually attracted enough attention from the BBC that they had to hurriedly makes some characterization changes, including the new names. (Note that Ace [[TheNicknamer always called the Doctor "Professor"]]). Another line of BBV audios starred Nicholas Briggs (who had previously played the Doctor in [[AudioPlay/DoctorWhoAudioVisuals non-commercial fan audio plays]]) as the Wanderer. |
| 293 | * For a long time, ''AudioPlay/BigFinishDoctorWho'' wasn't allowed to use any characters, monsters or Doctors who appear exclusively in the 2005 ReTool series, so resorts to this on occasion: |
| 294 | ** GenreShift BritCom episode "The Kingmaker" featured references to an unseen character who was described by the other characters as having "big ears" (clearly supposed to be the Ninth Doctor). |
| 295 | ** The New Eighth Doctor Adventures had been leading slowly up to a big, cataclysmic event involving Daleks, which is very likely the Time War from the revival series, but never called as such due to license issues. Once Big Finish got the rights to use Nu-Who concepts, the subtext rapidly became text. |
| 296 | * In the late 80s and 90s, every major US city that didn't air ''Radio/TheHowardSternShow'' had a Howard Stern Imitator at some point. Mark & Brian (LA), Lex & Terry (Dallas), Paul & Young Ron (Miami), and Opie and Anthony(Boston) were the biggest. When the Stern Show would enter their markets, very often locals listening for the first time thought he was the imitator of them and just had a black (or female, since not everyone realized Robin Quivers is Black) sidekick. |
| 297 | * ''Radio/ThatGoshDarnHippieShow'': Anthony is pretty clearly just [[Recap/TheTwilightZone1959S3E8ItsAGoodLife Anthony Fremont]] without the hatred of electronics and singing, complete with sending people to the cornfield. |
| 298 | [[/folder]] |
| 299 | |
| 300 | [[folder:Roleplay]] |
| 301 | * ''Roleplay/OpenBlue'' has "Kukulu", a SuperDeformed copy of Cthulhu, as one of its PowersThatBe. He also happens to be their SeriesMascot. |
| 302 | * ''Roleplay/NoPixel'' has Carl Crimes, an expy of Carl Grimes from ''Series/TheWalkingDead''. He's even played by Carl's actor Chandler Riggs, and his criminal mugshot is a headshot of Carl from the TV show. |
| 303 | * ''Roleplay/TheNonsensicalRP'': [[spoiler:John Cryptograph]] is visibly intended to be a parody of [[WesternAnimation/GravityFalls Bill Cipher]], with his last name being a synonym of Bill's last name and being described as a square with one eye and a top hat. |
| 304 | -->'''Left Hand:''' Seriously?! We came all this way and the final boss is a BILL CIPHER RIPOFF?! |
| 305 | [[/folder]] |
| 306 | |
| 307 | [[folder:Tabletop Games]] |
| 308 | * ''TabletopGame/MutantsAndMasterminds'': |
| 309 | ** The primary setting, TabletopGame/FreedomCity, is filled with Captain Ersatzes of the characters from ''ComicBook/AstroCity'', who in turn are mostly obvious equivalents for famous DC and Marvel superheroes. The Freedom City {{sourcebook}} even [[LampshadeHanging hangs a lampshade]] on this by ending with art of a road sign that reads, "You are now leaving Freedom City, please drive carefully", mimicking the ending tag from the ''Astro City'' comics. |
| 310 | ** In a picture in the 3E Hero's Handbook, there's even a character wearing a shirt that says "Ersatz" on the front; this character is a villain who is even named "Ersatz" who has the power to transform into a twisted copy of anyone. |
| 311 | ** The ''TabletopGame/HaltEvilDoer'' setting likewise mixes and matches, with the main heroes being Superman with Martian Manhunter elements, Dick Grayson if his promotion to Batman stuck, and Wonder Woman Only More So, but the superhero team they're members of otherwise being closer to the Avengers. |
| 312 | ** Rogue Genius's ''Superpowered Legends'' series of character books is very blatantly this, with the slogan "Because sometimes what you need is a character everyone will recognize, even if they’ve never met her before". Mostly Marvel characters (the young spider-hero Recluse, the armoured playboy Spartan, the explorer family Challengers, etc,), sometimes with a twist (Pendragon is a British woman, but still a World War II hero with a shield who spent years in suspended animation), they've also pastiched Marvel pastiching DC (the Moon Knight and Gladiator counterparts form Legend's Finest) they've since adopted other sources from the Powerpuff Girls to Cerebus the Aardvark. |
| 313 | * ''TabletopGame/{{Champions}}'' has many far too many to list: Defender = Iron Man, Doctor Destroyer = Doctor Doom (or occasionally Apocalypse), Foxbat = the silver age Joker. It also has Ersatz cities: Hudson City = Gotham, Millennium City = Metropolis. |
| 314 | * ''TabletopGame/HeroesUnlimited'' states that one of the goals behind making the game was to allow players, if they wished, to make characters based on their favorite superheroes from the comics. While it doesn't flat out tell you how to, the names of various superpowers make it pretty obvious (and easy) to make, for example, a Wolverine[[note]] HealingFactor + Heightened Sense of Smell + Claws + Indestructible Bones[[/note]] or Spider-Man[[note]] Adhesion + Heightened Sense of Awareness + Swing Line[[/note]] clone. |
| 315 | * Looking for 1980s cartoon Captain Ersatzes, then you won't be surprised that ''TabletopGame/CartoonActionHour'' has more than its fair share. For I.E, the Black Widow from "Strikeforce Freedom" is a blonde version of TheBaroness from ''Franchise/GIJoe''. |
| 316 | * The Film/{{Inception}} card game [[MassiveMultiplayerCrossover guest starring]] [[ComicBook/{{Batman}} "Joker"]], [[Film/TheLastAirbender "Avatar"]], "Film/LordOfWar", "Film/BlackSwan", "Anime/{{Paprika}}", [[Franchise/AssassinsCreed "Martyr"]], and [[Characters/MarvelComicsJeanGrey "Space Queen"]]. |
| 317 | * ''TabletopGame/GURPSIlluminatiUniversity:'' One of the university department heads is [[Series/DoctorWho The Doctor]] with the serial numbers very lightly sanded off. |
| 318 | * The Swedish superhero game ''Supergänget'' (published in English as ''Supercrew'') features some among their quick examples – The Weasel (ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}, but female), The Tomani (ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk with a ShoutOut to children's author Christine Nöstlinger) and Tapir Man ([[ComicBook/SpiderMan Rhino]], and being a caricature of a friend of the author), among others. |
| 319 | * The card game ''Sentinels of the Multiverse'' features homages to several well-known comic book characters, like Legacy (Superman), the Wraith (a female Batman), Tempest (Aquaman with hints of the Martian Manhunter) and Ra (Thor). |
| 320 | * ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'': |
| 321 | ** Various members of the ''D&D'' pantheon are based on deities from fantasy fiction. |
| 322 | *** Gruumsh, with his orcish followers and eye-shaped holy symbol, is clearly meant to invoke ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings''' Sauron. |
| 323 | *** Tharizduun, a NeutralEvil deity worshiped by [[EldritchAbomination aberrations]], is modeled on Creator/HPLovecraft's Azathoth, while many of the other aberrant deities resemble other figures in the Franchise/CthulhuMythos. |
| 324 | ** Some ''D&D'' deities are based on deities from old mythologies. The game writers didn't need to get any rights; this is all public domain! However, it is possible the writers felt that creating their own analogue deities would give them more freedom and avoid making ''D&D'' look like a neopagan cult. |
| 325 | *** Kord, a ChaoticGood BoisterousBruiser deity, resembles Thor in many respects. |
| 326 | *** Obad-hai, TrueNeutral nature god, right down to his holy symbol, is a dead ringer for the Anglo-Saxon "Green Man" figure. |
| 327 | *** Ehlonna, ChaoticGood goddess of hunters and fey creatures, has a fair bit in common with Artemis. |
| 328 | *** Mielikki, NeutralGood goddess of forests in the ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms'' setting, may also draw from Artemis, but for the most part was taken straight from Characters/FinnishMythology. |
| 329 | *** ChaoticNeutral Olidamarra is a classic [[TheTrickster Trickster Archetype]], in the vein of the Native North American Coyote spirit, or a pre-FaceHeelTurn Loki, while his NeutralEvil counterpart Mask resembles later versions of Loki. |
| 330 | *** Averted by Thrym, ChaoticEvil god of frost giants, who is named for an actual frost giant from a Norse myth. |
| 331 | *** Also averted by most of the fiendish overlords, who are named explicitly for the demonized deities that inspired them – Asmodeus, Moloch, Bel, Pazuzu, Dagon, Dispater, etc. |
| 332 | *** Nobanion the lion god is rather unabashedly one to [[Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia Aslan]], at least when first concieved; very early material mentioning him outright states that one of his [[IHaveManyNames many names]] is in fact Aslan. The same texts stated that he's an interloper deity who arrived in Faerun via a forest full of magical portals (a reference to the Wood Between Worlds from the ''Literature/TheMagiciansNephew'') and that he's a major deity on his home world. Later material seems to have backed off on this angle, though his backstory as an interloper deity has remained unchanged. |
| 333 | ** The barbarian class basically exists so you can play a ''Franchise/ConanTheBarbarian'' stand-in, while the ranger class was created for people who wanted to be [[Franchise/LordOfTheRings Aragorn or Legolas]]. And then there's all the people playing [[Literature/TheLegendOfDrizzt Drizzt]] [[OverusedCopycatCharacter clones]]. |
| 334 | ** The displacer beast is a monster that is almost but not quite a direct rename of the couerl, an alien from A.E. van Vogt's science fiction (whose appearance in ''The Voyage of the Space Beagle'' also inspired ''Film/{{Alien}}'', to keep the borrowing going). |
| 335 | ** The ''TabletopGame/{{Ravenloft}}'' setting features many Captain Ersatzes of the MonsterMash: |
| 336 | *** Count Strahd von Zarovich: Count Dracula. |
| 337 | *** Dr Victor Mordenheim and Adam: Dr Frankenstein and the Creature. |
| 338 | *** Duke Tristen Hiregaard and Malken: Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (originally even closer, but that version is CanonDiscontinuity). |
| 339 | *** Dr Rudolph van Richten: Dr Abraham van Helsing. |
| 340 | * Count Mordrek the Damned from ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'' is a Captain Ersatz of recurring villain Gaynor the Damned from various Creator/MichaelMoorcock works. |
| 341 | * Keeper cards in ''Star Fluxx'' include Cute Fuzzy Alien Creature (totally not a Tribble), Intergalactic Travel Guide ("Remain Calm" not "Don't Panic"), Expendable Crewman (whose [[RedShirt shirt happens to be red]]), Energy Crystals (not dilithium). Curiously, the Goal cards are less coy: We're Lost In Space (Malfunction + Stars), Forty-Two, It's Full of Stars, I'm Depressed (Travel Guide + Robot), Seeking New Civilizations, Lasers on Stun!, "He's Dead, Captain", These Aren't the Droids... (Robot + Unseen Force), The Power of the Dark Side (Unseen Force + Evil), No Trouble At All (Cute Fuzzy Alien Creature + Teleport Chamber), Star Warriors (Unseen Force + Laser Sword). |
| 342 | * Victory Games's ''[[Franchise/{{JamesBond}} James Bond 007]]'' RPG used these in some places – [[NebulousEvilOrganisation SPECTRE]] became TAROT, and [[DiabolicalMastermind Ernst Stavro Blofeld]] became "Karl Ferenc Skorpios". |
| 343 | * ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'' and ''TabletopGame/ThirteenthAge'' could not use the [[{{Cthulhumanoid}} mind flayers]] from ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' as they are not included in the material under the Open Gaming License. ''Pathfinder'' used [[SandWorm neothelids]][[note]]In D&D, Neothelids are what a Mind Flayer tadpoles become if they live long enough without a host[[/note]] and [[BrainMonster intellect devourers]] (which were open content), and later the third-party phrenic scourge from Dreamscarred Press (not originally from D&D, unlike the previous two) to fill the role, while ''13th Age'' went with "soul flensers" instead. |
| 344 | * Also occurs with some of ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}''[='=]s alternate class archetypes. While most of ''Pathfinder''[='=]s character options are inspired by preexisting fictional archetypes to some degree (such as the {{Swashbuckler}}, {{Phantom Thief}}, or [[MagicalGirl Magical Child]]), in some cases this gets pretty specific. The Shield Champion fights just like ComicBook/CaptainAmerica, the Sleepless Detective PrestigeClass and most variations of the Investigator are blatant {{Sherlock Homage}}s, the Master Chymist PrestigeClass was based on ''Literature/TheStrangeCaseOfDrJekyllAndMrHyde'', and the Brute archetype for the Vigilante class is obviously ''[[Characters/MarvelComicsBruceBanner the Hulk]]'' without the gamma radiation. |
| 345 | * ''TabletopGame/SigManualOfThePrimes'' is set in a cosmology of interlocking planes based on elements and concepts. In the centre is Sig itself, the multiversal trading city, with byzantine politics and Möbius strip-shaped geography. It's not exactly [[TabletopGame/{{Planescape}} Sigil]], but it's not exactly ''not'' Sigil either. |
| 346 | * In the ''Pyramid'' magazine "Campaign in a Box" ''Yrth-2'', the eponymous planet has mysteriously trapped multiple groups from different possible futures (i.e. science fiction settings). The opening vignette features the starship ''Venture'', with a crew comprising Captain Church (synonym for "Kirk"), Science Officer Grayson (Spock's mother's name), Helmsman Hikaru (Sulu's first name), Dr Hatfield (as in Hatfields and [=McCoys=]) Communications Officer Nyota (Uhura's first name), Navigation Officer Andrei (Chekov's ''middle'' name) and Chief Engineer Monty (Scotty's first name). Another faction is a 2074 M*A*S*H unit whose unofficial leader is basically Hawkeye Pierce with nanotech. |
| 347 | * ''TabletopGame/{{Ponyfinder}}'': |
| 348 | ** Most of the deities of the corebook are clearly based on the fan-accepted "gods" of the ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' cast; Sun Queen (Princess Celestia), Moon Princess (Princess Luna), Princess Luminace (Twilight Sparkle), the Night Mare (Nightmare Moon), the Unspoken (Discord), and Kara (Queen Chrysalis). |
| 349 | ** The Steelheart race are basically TabletopGame/{{Eberron}}'s Warforged in pony shape. |
| 350 | ** Doppelgangers are based more off of Eberron's Changelings than the show's, though the Doppelganger mini-splatbook makes them more like their show counterparts, including noting that Kara devotees turned into doppelgangers resemble the insecto-equines of the show. |
| 351 | [[/folder]] |
| 352 | |
| 353 | [[folder:Theatre]] |
| 354 | * James Comtois' play ''Colorful World'' in turn employs second generation Captain Ersatzes of the ''Watchmen'' characters: Overman, Ramses, Tigress, Johnny Patriot, Peacekeeper... |
| 355 | * ''Theatre/DogSeesGod'' is, of course, not in any way connected to the ''Peanuts'' comic strip, though the characters are CB, CB's Sister, Van, Van's Sister, Beethoven... |
| 356 | * Many Chuckle Brothers live shows feature captain Ersatzes, parodying sagas such as Harry Potter and Indiana Jones. The most notable example though is 'Doctor What and the Return of the Garlics' which features daleks whose top halves have been replaced with giant garlic bulbs. |
| 357 | * ''Theatre/WillysChocolateExperience'': [[AllThereInTheScript According to the AI-generated script]], the characters aren't supposed to be the actual [[Franchise/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory Willy Wonka]] characters, but thinly-veiled, renamed substitutes. The actors didn't seem very much in the know about this, and tend to simply call their characters by their official counterparts' names in interviews. |
| 358 | ** The script reveals that, instead of Willy Wonka, the star of the show is legendary candy maker Willy '''[[WritingAroundTrademarks [=McDuff=]]]'''. |
| 359 | ** But, oddly, despite avoiding the name "Wonka" for Willy, the Oompa Loompas were conspicuously renamed the '''Wonkidoodles'''. |
| 360 | ** A giant chocolate bar decoration is styled after the Wonka Bars in the [[Film/WillyWonkaAndTheChocolateFactory 1971 adaptation]], complete with the same font, but it simply says "Chocolate Bar". |
| 361 | [[/folder]] |
| 362 | |
| 363 | [[folder:Theme Parks]] |
| 364 | * Ride/UniversalStudios' ''Theatre/HalloweenHorrorNights'': Universal tends to sneak certain [=IPs=] into the event by referring to them as something more generic. For instance; in 2003, before the event actually featured them for real, Universal had Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, Leatherface, and Michael Myers together in a house called ''All Nite Die-In'' by having the casting sheets list them as "Nightmare Man", "Hockey Mask Killer", "Chainsaw Cannibal", and so on. This method hasn't always worked, however; in 2006 Universal got in trouble with the copyright holders of ''Literature/TheRing'' for sneaking a scene of the movie into the ''All Nite Die-In Take Two'' house from that year. |
| 365 | * The robot statue [[https://techcrunch.com/2010/12/15/chinese-theme-park-copies-japans-giant-gundam-statue/ Tian-xiang-er-hao]] of Floraland, Sichuan, China, especially before its redesign, strongly resembles ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}''. |
| 366 | [[/folder]] |
| 367 | |
| 368 | [[folder:Toys]] |
| 369 | * ''Alien-Man'' is an ''Franchise/{{Alien}}'' ersatz. Because he dared to dream, and never stopped believing. |
| 370 | * ''[[http://www.i-mockery.com/minimocks/nightmare-feddy/ Nightmare Feddy]]'' is an ''Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet'' ersatz. |
| 371 | * ''[[https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/001/116/472/2b7.jpg Mighty Car]]'', featuring a giant Creator/MrT wielding an axe and a machine gun, is a ''Series/TheATeam'' ersatz. |
| 372 | * ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'': |
| 373 | ** ''Bat Hero Companion'' is an ersatz of Batman. |
| 374 | ** ''Batichica'' is a Batman ersatz. |
| 375 | ** ''Power Mans Invincible Troop Warfare'' features ''Franchise/PowerRangers'' and ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'' on the packaging, but it's really about five ComicBook/{{Batman}}s. |
| 376 | ** ''Power Rangers in Space'' features an all-neon Batman team. |
| 377 | * ''Power Mice'' is a ''WesternAnimation/BikerMiceFromMars'' ersatz. |
| 378 | * ''WesternAnimation/ChallengeOfTheGobots'' has an ersatz toy titled ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles''. |
| 379 | * ''Dragoonball'' is a ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' ersatz. |
| 380 | * ''Futuristic Galactic Man'' is an ersatz of ''Franchise/{{Robocop}}''. |
| 381 | * ''[[https://www.reddit.com/r/ghostbusters/comments/1mzhrp/who_ya_gonna_refrain_from_calling_spook_chasers/ Spook Chasers]]'' is a ''Franchise/{{Ghostbusters}}'' ersatz. |
| 382 | * ''Guerreros del Espacio'' and ''Heroes del Espacio'' are an ersatz of ''[[Franchise/MastersOfTheUniverse He-Man]]''. |
| 383 | * ''Power'', the superior powered thunderbolt overlord top king, is an ersatz of the ''ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk''. |
| 384 | * ''[[https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8460/7883868364_9da3ed57ae_b.jpg Superman Spy Crew]]'' is an ersatz of ''Franchise/TheIncredibles''. |
| 385 | * ''Total Justice'', and the reissue, ''Hall of Fame'', feature an ersatz ''Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica''. |
| 386 | * ''[=SuperMan=]'' is a ''Series/KamenRiderRyuki'' ersatz. |
| 387 | * ''Mouse and Friends'' is an ersatz ''WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse''. |
| 388 | * ''Angel Invincibility Super Design 3'' and ''Rob-Ots Super Hero'' are ersatzes of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing''. |
| 389 | * ''[=VeriAble=] Uncanny Embryo [=HoRRiBLE=]'' is an ersatz of ''Film/{{Mothra}}''. |
| 390 | * ''Filly Princess'', ''Filly Witchy'', ''Fun Lovely Pony'', ''Fun Neddy Lovely'', ''Lovely Horse'', ''Lovely Pony'', ''Magic Lovely Pony'', ''My Funny'', ''My Funny Pony'', ''My Little Pegasus'', ''My Lovely Horse'', ''My Lovely Horses'', ''My Lovely Merry'', ''My Pony'', ''My Sweet Pony'', ''Playful Pony'', ''Pony Playset'', ''Pony Princess'', ''Pretty Pony'', and ''Set Funny Pony'' are ersatzes of ''Franchise/MyLittlePony''. |
| 391 | * Toys/{{Playmobil}} has almost crossed the line a few times in its "Fi?ures" theme, which features some rather close-or almost identical-resemblances, such as [[http://www.oafe.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/131204j.jpg "not-Aeon Flux"]], [[http://www.oafe.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/111015b.jpg "not- Sue Sylvester]] from ''Series/{{Glee}}''", [[http://www.oafe.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/120930b.jpg "not-Lara Croft]] from ''Film/LaraCroftTombRaider''", [[http://www.oafe.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/131204k.jpg "not-Lady Gaga"]], and [[https://www.klickypedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/maedchen112.jpg "not-Maleficent]] from ''WesternAnimation/SleepingBeauty''". Captain Ersatzes of [[WesternAnimation/Frozen2013 Queen Elsa]] and Characters/{{Catwoman|SelinaKyle}} appear in Series 9. |
| 392 | * ''Pet's Little Intelligent Spirit'', ''Pocket Monica Jump-Jupm Chess'', ''Politic Pat'', and ''Prodigy Pet'' are ersatzes of ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}''. |
| 393 | * ''Abaranger'', ''Dual Face Fighter'', ''Dragon Warrior Aba Force'', ''Dragon Gaoranger'', ''Elite Ranger Xtreme'', ''Elite Xtreme'', ''Galaxy Heroes'', ''Gransazers'', ''Imaginary Racer'', ''Magic Evil Ranger'', ''Mega Rangers'', ''Mighty Ranger'', ''Ninja Rangers'', ''Power Force'', ''Power [=RangerO=]: Lost Galaxy'', ''Raptor Storm'', ''Sonic Ranger'', ''Steel Warrior Super Power'', ''Super Change Fierce Beasts Robot'', ''Super Pirate Force'', ''Super Rangers'', ''Super Rangers Magic Force'', ''Super Robotic Rangers'', ''Super Team'', ''Super Warrior Ninja Force'', ''Super X Robot'', and ''X-Treme Super Samurai'' are ersatzes of ''Franchise/PowerRangers''. |
| 394 | * ''Robert Cop 3'' is an ersatz of ''Franchise/{{Robocop}}''. |
| 395 | * ''Annie Pretty Sailor'', ''Beauty Fighters'', ''Beauty Soldier Shirley Moore'', ''Beauty Warrior'', ''Fly Dancer'', ''Galaxy Girl'', ''Kapuha'', ''Meteor Girl'', ''Petit Soldier Sailormoon'', ''Planet Girl'', ''Pretty Girl'', ''Sailorbike'', ''Sailor Cute'', ''Sailor Mary'', ''Sailor Sweetie'', ''Super Girl'', and ''Young Beauty Flower Angel'' are ersatzes of ''Franchise/SailorMoon''. |
| 396 | * ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'': |
| 397 | ** ''Spader-Man'' is an ersatz Spider-Man. ''Spader-Man Unmatched'' features an ersatz ComicBook/{{Deadpool}}. |
| 398 | ** ''Flying Ranger'' features winged figures with a Spider-Man pattern. |
| 399 | ** ''Super Heroes'' features a five Spider-Man team. |
| 400 | ** In prone position, a Spider-Man ersatz aims an M4 rifle -- Come on enjoy the pleasure together! |
| 401 | * ''Galaxy Cop'', ''Galaxy Empire'', ''Galaxy War'', ''Robots Spacebot'', ''Space Defender'', ''Space Power Warrior'', ''Space Warrior'', ''Space Wars'', ''Star Attack'', ''Star Knight'', ''Star Raiders'', ''Starswar'', ''Star Wars Super Bricks Series'', ''Stick Bang'', and ''Universal War'' are ersatzes of ''Franchise/StarWars''. |
| 402 | * ''Street Warrior'' is an ersatz of ''Franchise/StreetFighter''. |
| 403 | * ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'': |
| 404 | ** ''Specialman'' is a a Superman ersatz. |
| 405 | ** ''[[https://i.redd.it/or28xnnsae211.jpg Superheroic Man]]'' is a Superman ersatz, with whip and stallion. |
| 406 | ** The Gulliver Juguetes ''Super Powers Collection'' featured Captain Lightning or Captain Ray/El Capitan Rayo, closely resembling ComicBook/{{Superman}}. |
| 407 | * ''Amicable Herculean'', ''Courageous Righteous'', ''Dancing Turtle'', ''Fighting Action Turtles'', ''Gundam S Destiny'', ''Heroes of the World Fighter'', ''Justice Fighters'', ''Karate Turtles Master'', ''Karate Turtles Warriors'', ''Las Fantasticas Tortugas'', ''Las Tortugas Ninja'', ''New Style Ninja Tortoise'', ''Ninja Fighters'', ''Ninja Frog'', ''Ninja Hero Rider'' Galloping Horse, ''Super Dino Force'', ''Super Ninja'', ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Tubtles'', ''TMNT: Back to the Sewer'' featuring [[Franchise/ToyStory Buzz and Woody]], ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Tortoise'', ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles vs Electric Franchise/{{Robocop}}'', ''Turly Gang'' Turly Fighters -- Fighters for Freedom!, ''Turtles Fighters'', ''Turtles: New Collection'', ''Turtle Warrior'' City Hero, ''Tus Heroes en Accion Tortugas Guerreras'', Lego-like ''Ninja Turtle'' and ''Ninja Tortoises'', ''Ninja Reptiles Weapons'' accessories, the ''Turtle Telephone'', the ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Gun'' with unbeatable recoil action, and the ''Little Pluckies Ninja Protects'' gun are ersatzes of ''Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles''. |
| 408 | * ''Funny Toys'' is an ersatz of ''Series/{{Teletubbies}}''. |
| 409 | * ''[[http://i.imgur.com/rVKbKKM.jpg Terminate and Destroy]]'' is an ersatz of ''Franchise/{{Terminator}}''. |
| 410 | * ''Space Boys 3'' is a ''Franchise/ToyStory'' ersatz. |
| 411 | * ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'': |
| 412 | ** Japanese recolors of Convoy (Optimus Prime) are sometimes called Ginrai, a completely different character. This is not sarcasm as Ginrai is, in fact, [[http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Ginrai_(robot) his own Autobot]] much like how the Seekers Starscream, Thundercracker, and Skywarp are different. |
| 413 | ** 3rd party Transformers, unofficial Transformers toys not made by ''Creator/{{Hasbro}}'' that barely skirt around IP infringement by giving them different names. (their appearance remains evocative of their official counterpart, however.) However, these aren't a case ShoddyKnockoffProduct or SerialNumbersFiledOff. 3rd party toys are engineered from the ground up, generally have no budget limitations, and are made by fans with the intent of creating toys of characters that Hasbro can't/won't make. |
| 414 | ** [=McDonald's=] "Changeables" Happy Meal toys were not Franchise/{{Transformers}}. They did not transform -- they ''changed''. |
| 415 | ** ''Knight Rider Becames Robert'' is a bootleg Transformer based on ''WesternAnimation/ChallengeOfTheGoBots''. |
| 416 | ** The ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'' ersatz ''Transmogrifiers''. |
| 417 | * ''X-Team'' is an ersatz of ''ComicBook/XMen''. |
| 418 | * {{CrossOver}}s: |
| 419 | ** ''Action Heroes'' features ersatzes of ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'' as Cat Man Gold, Silver, and Black, ''[[Franchise/MastersOfTheUniverse He-Man]]'' as Heman and Skeletoon, ''Franchise/PowerRangers'' as Power Man Blue, Red, Green, Black, and White, ''Franchise/{{Robocop}}'' as Cybercop, ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'' as Medusa, ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'' as Snake Man, and ''Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'' as Ninja Fighter Red, Violet, Blue, and Orange. |
| 420 | ** ''Clues & Monster'' features ersatzes of ''WesternAnimation/BluesClues'' and ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}''. |
| 421 | ** ''Gao Ranger Dino Thunder'' features ersatzes of ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'', ''ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk'', ''Franchise/TheIncredibles'', ''Franchise/PowerRangers'', ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'', and ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}''. |
| 422 | ** ''Ginni'' features ersatzes of ''Franchise/{{Barbie}}'' and ''Franchise/MyLittlePony''. |
| 423 | ** ''Justice Heros League'' features ersatzes of ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'', ''Franchise/TheIncredibles'', ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'', and ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}''. |
| 424 | ** ''Octo-Spidey'' features ersatzes of ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'' and ''Franchise/ToyStory''. |
| 425 | ** ''Marvel Heroes'' features ersatzes of ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'', ''ComicBook/CaptainAmerica'', the ''ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk'', ''ComicBook/IronMan'', ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'', ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'', and ''[[ComicBook/TheMightyThor Thor]]''. |
| 426 | ** ''Mavel Team Up'' features ersatzes of ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'', ''ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk'', ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'', and ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}''. |
| 427 | ** ''Sense of Right Alliance'' features ersatzes of ''Franchise/{{Cars}}'', ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'', ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'', ''Franchise/TheIncredibles'', ''Franchise/PowerRangers'', ''Franchise/{{Shrek}}'', ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'', and ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}''. |
| 428 | ** ''Special Styles Mystic Hero'' features ersatzes of ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'', ''ComicStrip/ThePhantom'', ''Franchise/PowerRangers'', ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'', and ''Franchise/{{Zorro}}''. |
| 429 | ** ''Super Hero'' features ersatzes of ''ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk'', ''Franchise/TheIncredibles'', ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'', and ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}''. |
| 430 | ** ''Super Heroes'' features ersatzes ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'', ''Franchise/Ben10'', ''Anime/DragonBallZ'', ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'', and ''Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles''. |
| 431 | ** ''Super Heroes Justice League'' features ersatzes of ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'', ''ComicBook/IronMan'', ''Franchise/{{Naruto}}'', and ''ComicBook/SpiderMan''. |
| 432 | ** ''[=SuperMan=] Big Alliance'' features ersatzes of ''Franchise/PowerRangers'', ''Franchise/{{Shrek}}'', ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'', ''Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'', and ''ComicBook/TheThing''. |
| 433 | ** ''Super Special Heroes'' features ersatzes of ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'', ''ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk'', ''Franchise/TheIncredibles'', ''Franchise/PowerRangers'', ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'', ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'', ''Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'', and ''Franchise/ToyStory''. |
| 434 | ** ''Universal Hero'' features ersatzes of ''ComicBook/CaptainAmerica'', ''Franchise/PowerRangers'', and ''ComicBook/SpiderMan''. |
| 435 | * ''Franchise/JurassicPark'' gets this in spades every time a film with a new prominent dinosaur is released. Toy companies can’t use the franchise name (outside of W Dragon and and Rebor who got licenses) but it doesn’t stop them from pumping out lookalikes. Raptors with blue stripes on each side or oversized black raptors with gold stripes, filled ''Dilophosaurs'', and large white carnivores similar to the ''Indominus'' are most common. Some companies do straight up use the character names which isn’t this trope but in most cases it happens because dinosaurs aren’t the easiest things to copyright now that the “J.P. mark” of the 90s is gone. |
| 436 | [[/folder]] |
| 437 | |
| 438 | [[folder:Web Animation]] |
| 439 | * ''WebAnimation/AttackOnMika'': [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdR8JSMkQEo Shiori]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bG_jqO9oc4s Choko]], an exchange student, is basically [[Manga/DemonSlayerKimetsuNoYaiba Shinobu Kocho]] as a high schooler. |
| 440 | * "WebAnimation/GrimReaperFlagChan": Death Flag-chan looks exactly like Komaru Naegi from Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls. |
| 441 | * Parodied in the animation [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fGFjoeyc6I BLONIC]] by Creator/UkinoJoe: |
| 442 | -->'''Tails:''' Hey [[Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog Sonic]], do you have the time?\ |
| 443 | [[spoiler:'''Blonic:''' [[MemeticMutation I'm not Sonic, I'm my original character, Blonic!]]]]\ |
| 444 | [[spoiler:'''Blails:''' [[OverlyLongGag And I'm not Tails, I'm my original character, Blails.]]]] |
| 445 | * Doctor Octogonapus, not [[ComicBook/SpiderMan Doctor]] [[Characters/MarvelComicsOttoOctavius Octopus]], from ''WebAnimation/TheLazerCollection''. |
| 446 | * Princess Potato from ''WebAnimation/SonicForHire'' is a parody. She says she comes from the Mario knockoff game, "Super Italian Laborer Town". |
| 447 | * An Arab company once stole some character designs from ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark''. No, we're not talking about the Kuwaiti knockoff ''Block 13''; the Arab company in question is a [=YouTube=] channel for kids called Toyor Baby TV, and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tcn8Zqujxr4 this]] is the video where they used the stolen designs in question. It's supposed to be a song about water conservation, but it's pretty hard not to ignore the characters who are pretty blatantly ''South Park'' characters such as Stan and Butters (also, what does ''South Park'' of all things have to do with teaching children water conservation anyway?). At least ''Block 13'' changed the character designs so that, while they're blatant copies, they're still less blatant than in Toyor Baby TV's video, where literally the only change made to the characters is that they're given slightly different color schemes. |
| 448 | [[/folder]] |
| 449 | |
| 450 | [[folder:Web Comics]] |
| 451 | * ''Webcomic/EightBitTheater'' is home to the Sulk, Arachna-Dude, Alloyed-Guy, and the Mediocre Four. |
| 452 | * Done a number of times in ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'' when it decides to parody certain stories, such as ''Franchise/StarTrek'', ''Franchise/StarWars'', and ''Franchise/{{Alien}}'' characters in "[[http://www.sluggy.com/daily.php?date=970929 The Sci-Fi Adventure]]" or ''Literature/HarryPotter'' characters [[http://www.sluggy.com/daily.php?date=020902 in the growing]] [[http://www.sluggy.com/daily.php?date=030915 number of]] [[http://www.sluggy.com/daily.php?date=050822 "Torg Potter"]] [[http://pics.sluggy.com/daily.php?date=080305 stories]]. |
| 453 | ** While on the topic of Sluggy, ''Webcomic/{{Fans}}'' brings us, [[http://www.faans.com/index.php?p=2065 Doctor Irving Riffington]]. |
| 454 | * Cousin Dougal in ''Webcomic/PlatinumGrit'' is an eight hundred year old sword-wielding immortal Scotsman. And his last name is [=McWickening=]. |
| 455 | * ''Webcomic/QuentynQuinnSpaceRanger'' (itself a SpinOff from ''Webcomic/TalesOfTheQuestor'' IN SPACE!) has recently taken a rusty razor blade to the ''Franchise/StarTrek'' franchise. Quentyn meets the crew [[http://www.rhjunior.com/QQSR/00016.html in this strip]]. |
| 456 | * ''Webcomic/{{Sonichu}}'': The majority of the cast consists of ''Sonic'' [[PaletteSwap recolors]]. Firstly, Sonichu is an ersatz that the author made sometime in the 1990s when a teacher wouldn't allow her to use Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog or [[Franchise/{{Pokemon}} Pikachu]] in a class project due to copyright. There's also Simonla Rosechu, who was originally a (male) OriginalCharacter created by a troll who's a fan of ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'', but Chris decided to [[GenderFlip change his gender]] and turn him into a Rosechu before using her in the comic. Add in two characters based off Zelda (Zelina Rosechu, Clawdorf and Darkbind Sonichu), [[Franchise/SailorMoon Sailor Megtune]] and various others. The only characters who seem to be completely original are Kel, a generic Pokémon trainer, and Count Graduon, the AnthropomorphicPersonification of Chris's high school graduation. |
| 457 | * ''Webcomic/CaptainBroadband'' has a clown pop up at one point to [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial specifically]] inform the audience that Captain Broadband was created long before another blue garbed, {{nigh invulnerab|ility}}le [[Franchise/TheTick superhero]]. |
| 458 | * Mr. Raven from ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'' seems a heck of a lot like [[Literature/HarryPotter Snape]]. |
| 459 | ** More directly, there are two government wizards involved in cleaning up magical messes named [[Series/TheXFiles Wolfe and Cranium]]. |
| 460 | * ''Webcomic/AttackOfTheSuperWizards'' stars public domain characters, one of whom, Stardust, was created to be an ersatz ComicBook/{{Superman}}. The comic also includes ersatz versions of Krypto, Lois Lane, Batman, Wonder Woman, Cthulhu, Alan Moore, and others. |
| 461 | * ''Webcomic/AntiHeroes'' makes no secret about being inspired by ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' and besides having characters in the same style has some fairly similar characters: |
| 462 | ** Kaal is Belkar if he was a ghost. |
| 463 | ** Aldran is a magic user like Vaarsuvius and has the DeadpanSnarker personality of Vaarsuvius and Roy and an EvilTwin (or possibly Good Twin), just like Elan. |
| 464 | ** Kerris and Lana are both Haley, except the first is a Tiefling and the second is a vampire, and Kerris' species also makes her quite similar to the villain Nale's succubus girlfriend, Sabine. |
| 465 | * Batdragon of ''Dragon City'' and his daughter Batdragongirl both fit this trope as they're parodies of Batman and Batgirl (respectively). |
| 466 | * ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'': |
| 467 | ** The comic presents [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0253.html Larry Gardener]]. |
| 468 | ** And Zzdtri is a spoof of Drizzt, and his status as an OverusedCopycatCharacter. His first appearance has him dragged away by copyright lawyers, but he later returns having realized that parody is protected under Fair Use. |
| 469 | * ''Webcomic/{{Goblins}}'' has a similar joke, with ''three'' players using obvious copies of Drizzt, including both a {{Gender Flip}}ped version and [[YouWannaGetSued Drasst Don'tsue]], Drizzt's half-brother. |
| 470 | * Webcomic/{{Spinnerette}} is a female Spider-Man. |
| 471 | * ''Webcomic/SketchComedy'': Independent Music James, [[Webcomic/DieselSweeties obviously]]. |
| 472 | * ''Webcomic/EverydayHeroes'' shows an old friend of Mr. Mighty, who is from Mexico, wears a red insect-themed costume, and can change his size. As stated in the author's comments, "Any similarity between this guy and any other [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial insect-themed size-changing Mexican superhero]] (with his own [[Series/ElChapulinColorado TV show]]) is '''''purely''''' coincidental". |
| 473 | * ''Webcomic/{{Cloudscratcher}}'': Future character Valentine is confirmed to be one of "Smooth Criminal"-era Music/MichaelJackson. |
| 474 | * The vast majority of [[https://nonadventures.com/cast/ the cast]] of ''Webcomic/TheNonAdventuresOfWonderella'' fits here, some more blatantly than others: |
| 475 | ** Wonderella is Characters/{{Wonder Woman|TheCharacter}} with Characters/{{Superman|TheCharacter}}'s origin. |
| 476 | ** Wonderita is [[ComicBook/WonderGirl Donna Troy]] mixed with ComicBook/{{Robin}}. |
| 477 | ** Titania is [[ComicBook/WonderWoman Hippolyta]]. |
| 478 | ** Penumbra is ComicBook/DoctorStrange, with [[http://nonadventures.com/2015/06/27/father-knows-beast/ a dose]] of [[ComicBook/TeenTitans Raven]] thrown in. |
| 479 | ** Hitlerella is [[Characters/MarvelComicsRedSkull Red Skull]] and [[ComicBook/WonderWoman Baroness von Gunther]]. |
| 480 | ** Queen Beetle is Characters/TheWasp. |
| 481 | ** Doctor Shark is [[ComicBook/SpiderMan Curt Connors, AKA the Lizard]]. |
| 482 | ** Intelli-Ape is [[ComicBook/TheFlash Gorilla Grodd]]. |
| 483 | ** [[http://nonadventures.com/2008/12/06/bloc-of-the-walk/ KGBetty]] is [[ComicBook/CaptainAmerica Red Guardian]] and [[ComicBook/{{Batman}} KGBeast]]. |
| 484 | ** Lord Kilroy is [[Characters/NewGodsDarkseid Darkseid]]. |
| 485 | ** Ginormus is [[Characters/MarvelComicsGalactus Galactus]]. |
| 486 | ** Spirral is [[Characters/JusticeLeagueOfAmericaAntagonist Starro]]. |
| 487 | ** Patrianna is [[Characters/MarvelComicsSteveRogers Captain America]]. |
| 488 | ** Jokerella is [[Characters/BatmanTheJoker The Joker]], [[LighterAndSofter sort of]]. (More like Harley Quinn in a world without her beloved Mr. J.) |
| 489 | ** The Orchid is [[Characters/BatmanPoisonIvy Poison Ivy]]. |
| 490 | ** Speedstar is ComicBook/TheFlash. |
| 491 | ** Firebrand is [[Franchise/MarvelUniverse Firestar]]. |
| 492 | ** [[http://nonadventures.com/2011/02/26/quiz-and-hers/ The Quizzicle]] is The Riddler. |
| 493 | ** [[http://nonadventures.com/2010/02/06/cinnamon-churl/ Cinnaman]] is [[ComicBook/SpiderMan the Marvel Sandman]]. |
| 494 | ** Teen Angel is a villain version of [[Characters/MarvelComicsAngel Angel]]. |
| 495 | ** Paris Troika is [[http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Triplicate_Girl Triplicate Girl]]. |
| 496 | ** Cooper and Cementron are [[Franchise/{{Transformers}} Optimus Prime and Megatron]]. And they're gay. |
| 497 | ** Strawman is [[Characters/BatmanTheScarecrow Scarecrow]]. ([[HarmlessVillain Replace fear with]] [[TheWarOnStraw irrationality]].) |
| 498 | ** [[http://nonadventures.com/2015/06/07/heir-line-fracture/ Harmageddon]] is [[Characters/MarvelComicsApocalypse Apocalypse]]. |
| 499 | ** [[http://nonadventures.com/2015/06/27/father-knows-beast/ Penemue]] is [[ComicBook/TeenTitans Trigon the Terrible]]. |
| 500 | ** [[http://nonadventures.com/2008/10/04/missile-while-you-work/ Jeremy Irons]], despite being a real person, is used here as a reference to [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steel_%28John_Henry_Irons%29 John Henry Irons]], who was one of the replacement Supermen during ComicBook/TheDeathOfSuperman. |
| 501 | ** [[http://nonadventures.com/2016/07/16/surf-and-turf-war/ Sirena]] is Namor the Submariner. |
| 502 | * Invoked by Angie in ''Webcomic/NerfNow'' when, after telling [[Franchise/{{Metroid}} Samus]] she can't hire her to work at her bar for fear of Nintendo's wrath, passes her a note saying to 'change [her] name so [Angie] can claim ignorance, dimwit'. Hence, the hiring of 'Zamus'. |
| 503 | * The Liberty League in ''Webcomic/LoveAndCapes'' is a blatant ripoff of the Justice League, not surprising as main character The Crusader is an obvious copy of ComicBook/{{Superman}}. The only member of the League who isn't specifically a [=DC=] hero is [[ComicBook/SpiderMan The Arachnerd]], and he doesn't join until the 4th issue. |
| 504 | [[/folder]] |
| 505 | |
| 506 | [[folder:Web Original]] |
| 507 | * Anyone who writes for ''The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive'' is [[EnforcedTrope forced to use this trope]] in their fiction. See, Warner Bros. slammed the site with legal threats in 1998 due to fan fiction on the site that used their characters. The site's webmaster deleted almost every single fanfic from the site and hasn't accepted any new fanfics since. Only four fanfics survive on the site to this day, but three of them are ''Franchise/StarTrek'', and the fourth one is ''Series/TheXFiles'', both franchises that are not owned by Warner. Also, all four fics are [[TheArtifact legacy]]; they date from before 1998. To that effect, in the stories labeled "CB: Comic Book Superhero" and "SF: Science Fiction", you'll probably see characters that look exactly like Wonder Woman and Captain Picard, but have completely different names. There are several other kinds of fiction banned from the site; however, on the official forums, there's a link to the Internet Archive Wayback Machine that you can use to get at the deleted stories. |
| 508 | * ''Literature/{{Englishman}}'' uses blatant spoonerised names of any real life individuals who appear. |
| 509 | * Quite common in [[SlashFic Original Slash]]. [[http://community.livejournal.com/bb_shousetsu Shousetsu Bang* Bang]], an original yaoi magazine on Website/LiveJournal, even has this as one of its rules – "If you're hung up on characters that don't belong to you, change their names and details, AU them, and the Editor will be happy to think of you as one of those people who always draw their seme to look like [[Manga/YuYuHakusho Youko Kurama]]". |
| 510 | * Also, Celsan Automotive LLC on Website/NationStates, who appear to be a sort of copy or {{Homage}} to Nissan, Holden, Peugeot, Opel, Chevrolet in one. Possibly an {{Expy}} too. |
| 511 | * ''ComicBook/LessThanThreeComics'' is practically made of this trope. From Uncle Sam (Captain America) to Thunderbolt (Thor) to The Shadow (Batman). |
| 512 | * ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse'' authors like doing this as spoofs. At [[SuperheroSchool Whateley Academy]] the team The Vindicators is definitely the classic [[ComicBook/TheAvengers Avengers]], with Kismet for the Characters/ScarletWitch, Donner as a dopey [[Characters/MarvelComicsThorOdinson Thor]], Captain Canada! as ComicBook/CaptainAmerica, Donner as Thor, Dynamaxx as ComicBook/IronMan, Lemure as ComicBook/TheVision, and Sizemax as [[ComicBook/AntMan Giant-Man]]. And Elite League are all ersatzes of the animated WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague seven. The Good Ol' Boyz are a parody too, but not of a superhero team. |
| 513 | * ''Literature/{{Curveball}}'' has several: [[CaptainPatriotic Liberty]] for ComicBook/CaptainAmerica, Gladiator for [[ComicBook/{{Watchmen}} Ozymandias]], and [[WretchedHive Farraday City]] for [[ComicBook/SinCity Basin City]]. |
| 514 | * ''Literature/HeartInHand'' started as a RealPersonFic about famous hockey players Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin having a SecretRelationship but when the fic grew unexpectedly popular outside of the hockey RPF fandom with readers who didn't know that Crosby and Ovechkin were real people, the author changed the characters' names and teams to make it more accessible. It's still quite obvious to hockey-knowledgeable readers just who the Canadian hockey prodigy named "Darryl Colton" and his rambunctious Russian rival named "Aleksey Kuznetsov" really are, however. |
| 515 | * The BigBad of ''Literature/TheNewNarnia'', the Nanny bares a few resemblances to Mathair from ''Literature/TheNewHanselAndGretel''; both are {{Reality Warper}}s who prey on the protagonists -- as they have done with others for years -- with the intention of turning them into babies, the protagonists needing to outsmart them or else be infantilized forever. |
| 516 | * As with fanfiction, pornographic fanartists (usually ones who are either afraid of being or have been ScrewedByTheLawyers) will sometimes continue to create porn of legally contentious characters by claiming they are original creations. Some take these "original characters" and give them slight alterations in appearance in a way where it's still obvious who they're based on, while more brazen ones have outright reused the ''exact same character designs'', slapping a new slightly-different name on them and calling it a day. |
| 517 | * The Primagen was a robotic [[UsefulNotes/FurryFandom furry]] species created by Malice-risu, who he would often sell {{O|riginalCharacter}}Cs and commissions of for upwards of thousands of dollars. This species blew up in popularity, until eventually he conceded to demands and allowed another, nearly identical species to be made, which anyone could use for free; the Protogen. While the Primagen has mostly faded into obscurity, the Protogen would go on to be a staple of furry art and literature. |
| 518 | [[/folder]] |
| 519 | |
| 520 | [[folder:Web Videos]] |
| 521 | * ''WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd'' has spawned possibly enough imitators on ''Website/YouTube'' to start a list. Noteworthy mentions include ''WebVideo/TheIrateGamer'' and ''Game Dude''. |
| 522 | * Speaking of ''WebVideo/TheIrateGamer'', one of his recurring characters is Wilkins, who is Wilson from ''Series/HomeImprovement'' in all but (similar) name. He actually debuted as Wilson in the review of ''VideoGame/HomeImprovementPowerToolPursuit'', appropriately enough. |
| 523 | * ''WebVideo/ThirdRateGamer'' has Billy, an obvious parody of ''Irate Gamer's'' side character Tony, complete with a dumb nonsensical catchphrase and being represented by a sprite taken from a browser-based MMORPG (''VideoGame/{{Runescape}}'' rather than ''VideoGame/MapleStory'' here). TRG also makes fun of the part where IG messes up Wilson's name. |
| 524 | * Ever since ''WebVideo/MarbleHornets'' came up with totheark, nearly every single [[Franchise/TheSlenderManMythos Slender Man]]-related blog/video series has had a similar character. |
| 525 | * ''Series/{{Noob}}'' has one of [[Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean Jack Sparrow]], who, like his original, {{insist|entTerminology}}s he's a captain despite the lack of a crew or even a boat. His appearances have him completely lost and looking for a special compass. |
| 526 | * Over the course of a few episodes of ''LetsPlay/AnalogControl'' the hosts attempt to reference ''Film/CoolCatSavesTheKids'', but instead refer to "Fun Feline", created not by Derek Savage, but by "Dick Ravage". These were recorded around the time Derek Savage got very aggressive about flagging Cool Cat related criticism. |
| 527 | [[/folder]] |
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