Marvel Universe was intentionally marketed by Stan Lee as DC's cooler and more hip alternative from the 1960s to the 1990s. While none of Marvel's stuff directly echoes DC, many of them riff on the roles and status many of DC's characters have in their own universe:
open/close all folders
Comic Books
Comic Books
Superman Substitutes
- Marvel is rather fond of Superman Substitutes.
- The Sentry has a backstory that he was supposedly created in the '60s, but was powerful enough that he actually made his writers and readers forget he existed. In both powers and personality, he's changed enough to be different from Superman, if only by being Ax-Crazy, and handled in (sometimes) interesting ways beyond being a rip-off.
- Gladiator is even more blatantly another Superman (his real name is Kallark, has heat vision and freeze breath, is vulnerable to one specific type of radiation) not to mention a reference to Gladiator, the inspiration for Superman and the fact nearly his entire original team were parallels to someone from Legion of Super-Heroes.
- Hyperion of Squadron Supreme. The character has many alternate reality versions, such as the one in Supreme Power. The version of Hyperion seen in Heroes Reborn (2021) takes it even further, with various Marvel characters being positioned as the equivalents of Superman's supporting cast and Rogues Gallery: Peter Parker is Hyperion's nerdy, unlucky photographer "pal" (Jimmy Olsen), Hank Pym/Ultron is his recurring Hollywood Cyborg adversary with a heart made of Applied Phlebotinum (Metallo, with Pym Particles replacing Kryptonite as his power source), the Beyonder is the troublesome, extradimensional imp who messes with him for fun (Mr. Mxyzptlk), Annihilus is his dictatorial alien foe who comes from a bottled city (General Zod) and the Hulk is his super strong, backwards-talking rival (Bizarro). The Negative Zone serves as a prison dimension for supervillains like the Phantom Zone, and it's even mentioned that Hyperion frequently works with S.H.I.E.L.D. Labs, a play on S.T.A.R. Labs. One issue also reveals that, as a teenager, Hyperion spent time with the Shi'ar Imperial Guard, paralleling Superboy's history with the Legion of Super-Heroes. Additionally, Vibranium becomes one for Kryptonite, being the extraterrestrial metal that serves as Hyperion's major weakness.
- Yet another Superman equivalent is Sun God, a solar-powered Flying Brick with Eye Beams, Super-Senses, and general Nice Guy persona.
- Dr. Adam Brashear, the Blue Marvel, has powers similar to those of Superman, though he often comes out on the losing side of Strong as They Need to Be where Superman would get New Powers as the Plot Demands and has to rely more on that genius level intellect Silver Age Superman was supposed to have to get innocent victims, and himself, out of trouble. His debut series examined what might have happened if Superman had been Black and fighting crime during the 60's. His background also makes him the Marvel equivalent of Icon, another Black superhero with Superman-like powers.
- The Mighty Thor (despite being based on a pre-existing Norse god) is frequently treated as the equivalent to Superman in the greater scope of the universe. A Flying Brick with a red cape and blue outfit, who technically isn’t human but a visitor from another world who falls in love with a human woman (Lois Lane — Jane Foster) and is generally seen as the strongest and most incorruptible Big Good of the good guys. The parallels are only heightened in Jason Aaron’s run where Thor has a All-Star Superman-esque sequence where he helps people across the planet, including visiting a man on Death Row and offering him comfort. Naturally Thor is the one Supes fights in JLA/Avengers. Thor has even done the "crush coal into diamond
◊" trick like the Man of Steel himself. - The Incredible Hulk is the World's Strongest Man, the same status Superman has in DC. Although the idea is executed differently for each hero, both have a duality between a shy, nerdy civilian identity and a super strong hero persona. The two of them were pitted against each other in the Marvel vs DC crossover, and there was even a The Incredible Hulk vs. Superman one-shot crossover in the late 90's. Some of Superman's more modern takes, namely his fears that he lives in a world made of cardboard and has to constantly hold back rather than let lose can be sourced in Bruce Banner/The Hulk's fears about his powers. Recent takes which include Lois Lane's crazy general dad Sam Lane is more less taking Bruce and Betty and Thunderbolt Ross's dynamic and giving it to Clark Kent.
- The Fantastic Four was originally the Marvel response to the Justice League and collectively Marvel's "first family" have the same in-universe status that Superman does as being the major respected heroes. The Baxter Building is their take on the Fortress of Solitude, i.e. a home that has technology and gizmos and stuff and portals into other dimensions (Phantom Zone/Negative Zone). Likewise, Reed Richards and Doctor Doom are very much based on Superman and Luthor being a rivalry where The Cape opposes a Mad Scientist who wants to Take Over the World with the latter having an Irrational Hatred for the hero.
- Spider-Man or rather Peter Parker is a more up-to-date take on Clark Kent, orphaned kid raised by foster parents. A nerd who works at a daily newspaper office for a grumpy boss but secretly fights crime in a red and blue costume. Even the wisecracking nature of the character and being chased by the police have roots in Superman's early days. His love-life and woes with him/Gwen/MJ/Felicia can also be sourced to Superman and the girls who had crushes on him (Lois and Lana). Likewise Spider-Man and Superman both share the distinction of actually marrying their long-time girlfriends. Spidey was originally conceived as a teenager, so Peter Parker was essentially picking up where Billy Batson (who had been planned as a child and aged into his teens, and was out of print when Lee and Ditko created Spidey) left off. Whenever Spider-Man teams up with Daredevil, their dynamic echoes the World's Finest team-up albeit on a much smaller scale.
- Spider-Man's sidekick Virtue/The Tiller was basically an extended Take That! towards Superman for as long as he lasted, though his story was more Goku from Dragon Ball in that he was a member of a still active, if endangered group of warmongers who did not know his true origins or purpose.
- As of 2012, Marvel's true Supergirl equivalent is none other than Carol Danvers as Captain Marvel herself.
- Captain America is often viewed as Marvel's own version of Superman. Both are heroes who wear blue and red costumes. Both are the leaders of their universe's respective number one teams. Both are often the used as the moral center of their respective universes. Captain America's modern philisophical clashes with Iron Man (viewed as Marvel's Batman by many) can also be viewed as mirroring how DC often puts Superman and Batman at odds.
Batman Substitutes
- Marvel has had several Batman equivalents, starting with Nighthawk of the Squadron Supreme (of whom there have been at least four different versions) and Moon Knight, who has a similar role, abilities, equipment and even a butler assistant. Moon Knight in particular removes any ambiguity of whether or not Bruce Wayne might be mentally disturbed and makes him as Ax-Crazy as possible while technically remaining on the side of the law due to being a mercenary turned The Atoner, and examines how a "normal" man might handle super powered foes, most infamously having him fight Doctor Doom with the latter bewildered at why he wasn't able to instantly turned Moon Knight into a stain on the wall.
- Supreme Power took this even further by giving its Nighthawk a tragic backstory involving murdered parents, as well as a Monster Clown Arch-Enemy named Whiteface. The similarities are intentionally emphasized in Heroes Reborn (2021), where Nighthawk now has a sidekick in The Falcon, a Batgirl-like Distaff Counterpart called Nightbird (A.K.A. Night-Gwen), an unpowered Luke Cage as his Commissioner Gordon, a thoroughly crazed Norman Osborn as his Arch-Enemy, and even his own takes on the Batcave and the Batmobile. Additionally, this makes the Ravencroft Institute Nighthawk's version of Arkham Asylum.
- The obscure Ultimate Marvel title Ultimate Adventures starred a pair of Batman and Robin Expies called Hawk-Owl and Woody. Additionally, Hawk-Owl has a Battle Butler named Toliver who is basically an African-American version of Alfred, while the Principal and Ms. Willow are school-themed versions of The Joker and Harley Quinn. Also, while not a Batman reference, Hawk-Owl has an Asian chauffeur/Bruce Lee Clone named Lee, who is clearly based on Kato.
- Frank Miller's take on Daredevil is widely seen as his audition for writing Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. He turned what had been a lighthearted swashbuckling hero into a Film Noir inspired superhero which anticipates the transformation undergone by Batman thanks to him. Many have pointed out that Matt Murdock's Daredevil is more "batlike" than Batman (he's blind and navigates by echolocation-like sonar), while his horns and red eye-lenses gives him the look of The Cowl. Likewise he also studied ninjutsu from Eastern mystics. His dynamic with Elektra also has parallels to Batman/Talia/Catwoman and Hell's Kitchen under Frank Miller's take is Marvel's own Gotham City. This was lampshaded in Mark Waid's Daredevil run, where a random passerby referred to the title hero as "Red Batman". Whenever Daredevil and Spider-Man team-up, it's basically Marvel's own World's Finest duo.
- Captain America as Earth's greatest martial artist(if one ignores Shang Chi) with his Robin like sidekick Bucky Barnes and use of gadgets and his shield which often works as a boomerang is quite similar to Batman and his batarangs. In terms of personality he is more like Superman and is often considered The Cape for them. In terms of superpowers Captain America is a fine middle ground between to the two, as all of his abilities are just human but "more", and while he can observe bullets in flight he's nowhere near as fast as one, let alone "faster" like Superman, and is in fact physically weaker than Spider-Man. Bucky's death and the way it haunted Steve anticipated and/or inspired Batman losing one of his own Robins and likewise at nearly the same time, both Jason Todd and Bucky Barnes returned Back from the Dead Brainwashed and Crazy before becoming anti-heroes.
- Iron Man, Anthony "Tony" Stark, a billionaire playboy genius philanthropist is Marvel's own take on Bruce Wayne and Crimefighting with Cash complete with a foreign foe (The Mandarin/Ra's Al-Ghaul), a dead parents' backstory and a status as the founder of a prominent super-team (Avengers/Justice League). His more colorful costume and the general focus on global business and Arms Dealer make Tony a more global, and at times cosmic, player than Batman does however. Iron Man's Powered Armor in turn inspired modern takes on Batman's outfit. Furthermore Tony’s often antagonistic yet deeply caring bromance with the more idealistic Cap of course echoes Batman and Superman's dynamic to a T.
- As a Small Steps Hero worried and committed to their city, Spider-Man also echoes Batman. Most notably, the fact that Spider-Man is a grappling, swinging, roofhopping and parkouring hero, long before Batman started doing that (his grappling hook comes from the Tim Burton movie). Another similarity between them is that they're both motivated by the loss of parental figures at the hands of criminals. Like Batman, Spider-Man also has an animal motif (and both spiders and bats are often seen as scary). In a case of Recursive Adaptation, the 90's cartoon Batman Beyond made Bruce's Legacy Character Terry McGinnis into a Peter Parker-style hero (guilt over parental figure's death, need to atone, having an on-off long-term relationship with an outgoing party girl) which in turn led back to more modernized versions such as Spiderman Homecoming (where Peter much like Terry is patronized by an older superhero in his case Tony Stark). Miguel O'Hara can also be viewed as an ACE to Terry as both are legacy characters created in the 90s whose stories take place in cyberpunk futures. Though Terry debuted in a cartoon while Miguel is from the comics.
- One of the Nighthawks even gained artificial wings, turning him into an ersatz of another DC hero, Hawkman. Note that DC had their own masked hero named Night Hawk, but he was a gunfighter in the Old West (and apparently, a reincarnation of Hawkman!)
- Night Thrasher of the New Warriors was a close analogue, right down to an almost identical origin note and a similar role within his team.
- Black Panther. A wealthy, orphaned Gadgeteer Genius, who while not as strong as his teammates, makes up for it by being a world-class martial artist and a master tactician. His helmet even resembles the silhouette of Batman's cowl. He most resembles Batman in the 616 take on The Ultimates, where he gets sick of all the supposed superheroes supposedly not getting anything done and stars his own team full of people more powerful than himself to set them in the "right" direction only to end up butting heads with Blue Marvel, who was born out of a Marvel take on Superman and has much more respect for international law.
- Wolverine has enough similarities that one could make this argument. Both are brooding loners, playing The Lancer in their respective teams and act as mentors to various sidekicks (the numerous Robins for Batman and Kitty Pryde, Jubilee, Armor and X-23 for Wolverine). Both of them even have children who are assassins (Damian for Batman, Daken and X-23 for Wolverine). It also helps Wolverine actually also has an aristocratic background and lost his parents at young age — as revealed by his origin comic. When Marvel and DC collaborated to produce Amalgam Universe, combining their characters for fun, Wolverine and Batman fused to become "Dark Claw".
Wonder Woman Substitutes
- The Mighty Thor is Marvel's Spear Counterpart to Wonder Woman as he too has ties to a real-life mythology (Norse/Greco-Roman), a manipulative magic user serving as a constant nemesis (Loki/Circe), a human love interest (Jane Foster/Steve Trevor) with whom they have a Loves My Alter Ego triangular relationship, and a homeland of Crystal Spires and Togas (Asgard/Themyscira). He can also be seen as an equivalent of Captain Marvel, a Flying Brick with a Shock and Awe magical transformation into his super-powered version, which clever villains can sometimes work out how to obstruct. Once Jack Kirby left for DC, you had the New Gods which he saw as Thor's Spiritual Successor.
- Kirby once did a DC Comic in 1957 that featured a cowboy coming across Thor's hammer in the desert and taking his power. Kirby has claimed that this was where Marvel got the idea for using Norse myth. The Asgardians make a few cameos from time to time in DC Comics.
- In May 2021, DC Comics started an arc where Wonder Woman comes to Asgard and becomes a Valkyrie.
- Lady Sif Thor’s longtime Action Girlfriend is even a straighter example being extremely physical reminiscent to Diana (especially the MCU version) and has a similar Lady of War personality with equal amounts of honour and compassion. Sif’s dynamic and chemistry with Thor greatly echoes Wondy’s with Superman both romantically and as close friends.
- In Greco-Roman mythology, the Amazons of Themyscira and the Greek hero Heracles share a rivalry, since Heracles seduced Queen Hippolyta and stole her enchanted belt. This carried over into both DC and Marvel comics:
- In the DC Comics, Hercules Unbound (debuted in 1941) is a misogynistic and villainous character who was punished by the Amazons for defiling them; he later became an anti-hero who sought redemption for his actions. In the Marvel comics, it was the reverse: The Incredible Hercules (debuted in 1965) was a superhero (and Thor's best friend) and Hippolyta and the Amazons were villains. Hippolyta also had a daughter carved from stone called Artume, a clear parody of Wonder Woman's origin. Hippolyta herself was later turned into a Wonder Woman equivalent in the Fearless Defenders series, where she was Retooled into an Amazonian superhero named Warrior Woman.
- Ironically, when DC and Marvel did a crossover Wonder Woman encountered Marvel Hercules and was disgusted at how different things had become.
- Marvel and DC also had their own versions of the Greco-Roman war god Ares, both of whom were initially villains but later got anti-heroic portrayals.
- In the DC Comics, Hercules Unbound (debuted in 1941) is a misogynistic and villainous character who was punished by the Amazons for defiling them; he later became an anti-hero who sought redemption for his actions. In the Marvel comics, it was the reverse: The Incredible Hercules (debuted in 1965) was a superhero (and Thor's best friend) and Hippolyta and the Amazons were villains. Hippolyta also had a daughter carved from stone called Artume, a clear parody of Wonder Woman's origin. Hippolyta herself was later turned into a Wonder Woman equivalent in the Fearless Defenders series, where she was Retooled into an Amazonian superhero named Warrior Woman.
- She-Hulk is often hailed as Marvel's answer to Wonder Woman, as noted on her page quote, since she too is a morally just and physically strong Amazonian Beauty. Both are often pitted against each other in crossovers and "Who Would Win?" debates. This was parodied when She-Hulk began to doubt her own right to existence after Power Princess Zarda, a Wonder Woman pastiche from the Justice League pastiche Squadron Supreme, was suggested among the many women who could be inserted in She-Hulk's most important life events by a TVA Officer who was looking for ways to erase She-Hulk without fundamentally changing the timeline.
- In later years Marvel has been trying to play up Carol Danvers as their answer to Diana Prince. Although she started out as Marvel's Supergirl (female sidekick to a male humanoid alien), Marvel's 2012 retool made her a leading lady. Most notably, her origin movie resembles Diana's as it too is a prequel that is set in a past decade after she'd already appeared in the present day.
- Storm is sometimes thought to be a better equivalent to Wonder Woman as she is also the most popular female hero of her universe (or at least was in the 90s to late 2000s) and is worshipped in-universe as a deity. It also helps that since the Avengers were not a huge, well-known franchise until the 21st century and the X-Men were a much bigger deal in The '90s, the two had been receiving a similar amount of promotion for a long time. They also share a composed, regal, Lady of War / Lady of Black Magic bearing. When the Amalgam Universe merged the heroes of both universes, Ororo and Diana became Princess Ororo of Themiscyra.
- Rogue another X-Lady, in regard to her team functions as an equivalent to Wonder Woman. They are both the beautiful and headstrong female Flying Brick of their respective groups (Justice League of America — X-Men) whose entire fighting style is largely about constricting their opponents (Diana with her lasso, Rogue with her hands) and subsequently forcing said enemies into submission once their strength is drained away. There’s also more peripheral connections both being raised solely by women, their respective love interests (Steve Trevor and Gambit) being far physically weaker than them and a major storybeat for both being about breaking away from their respective mothers to forge their own destinies and join a group of heroes (much to their respective mothers’ dismay). Not only have plenty of comic book artists have drawn them squaring off◊ but Diana herself actually became more visually similar to Rogue in The '90s with her Amazon leotard getting traded out for Civvie Spandex. Along with She-Hulk, Rogue is the Marvel heroine most commonly pitted against Wondy in "Who Would Win?" debates.
- America Chavez is a Flying Brick Warrior Princess who frequently wears red, white and blue, and who left an all-woman utopia that had a god like figure as their benefactor(Albeit one a lot closer the Neo Platonic Demiurge than the gods of Classical Mythology) to be a hero.
- As mentioned above, Zarda Shelton/Power Princess is the Squadron Supreme's answer to Wonder Woman, being a beautiful raven-haired Flying Brick who comes from a hidden island. Like Hyperion and Nighthawk, there are several iterations of Zarda across Marvel's Multiverse, some of whom take the Wonder Woman parallels even further. For instance, the version seen in Secret Wars (2015) used "Warrior Woman" as her codename instead of "Power Princess," while the one from The Avengers (Jason Aaron) wears a costume nearly identical to Wonder Woman's, but with the red and silver portions colored black and gold, as well as a "Chain of Veracity" reminiscent of the Lasso of Truth. Heroes Reborn (2021) takes the similarities even further, with her gaining traditional heroes Tigra (here a stand-in for Wonder Woman's Arch-Enemy Cheetah), The Wasp (known as the Giantess, a stand-in for Giganta) and Hercules (standing in for DC's decidedly more villainous interpretation of the character) as part of her Rogues Gallery. Additionally, it's revealed in her spotlight issue that she fought alongside Namor and The Invaders during World War 2, a nod to Wonder Woman's Golden Age roots. This version of Zarda is also in a sexual relationship with Hyperion, mirroring the short-lived Superman/Wonder Woman romance from Justice League (2011).
Joker Substitutes
- Green Goblin is by far the most cited Marvel equivalent to the Joker, being an Ax-Crazy wisecracking Mad Bomber with Slasher Smile, a green and purple colour scheme and Evil Laugh. His Arch-Enemy relationship with Spider-Man perfectly mirrors Joker's with Batman with Norman doing everything in his power to torment and make his nemesis' life as miserable as possible by killing/hurting his loved ones (Jason Todd, Barbara Gordon and Jim Gordon in Joker's case and Gwen Stacy, Mary Jane and Flash Thompson in the Goblin's case). Like Joker, Goblin truly relishes chaos as seen when Norman gives into his madness in Thunderbolts and donning his costume again goes a killing spree of his own subordinates just For the Evulz. Heroes Reborn (2021) is even more on the nose casting the Green Goblin in the Joker role in Batman Parody Nighthawk's adventures. There's also a lot of official Marvel/DC crossover art featuring Green Goblin and Joker squaring off.
- Green Goblin actually pulls double duty given in his civilian identity Norman Osborn he's also Marvel's answer to Lex Luthor being an psychopathic genius industrialist and Corrupt Corporate Executive with a grudge against a particular superhero. In Dark Avengers he become a Villain with Good Publicity like Lex becomes as President Evil, meaning Goblin really gets the best/worst of both worlds with the garish insanity of Joker and wealthy menace of Lex.
- Bullseye is often seen as Marvel's answer to the Joker much like Daredevil is Marvel's Batman. While not a Monster Clown, he shares the Clown Prince of Crime's Multiple-Choice Past, is a completely insane lunatic and Card-Carrying Villain who kills more for the thrill than anything, enrages the Daredevil unlike any other enemy of his, and is Crazy-Prepared. His MAX counterpart takes this even further, enhancing his Faux Affably Evil traits, utter insanity, and loving every minute of it.
- Daredevil's rogues gallery also has a more blatantly obvious copy of the Joker, the Jester. How effective is he? Well, Daredevil villains tend to be either The Dreaded or total losers; Bullseye is the former, the Jester is very much the latter.
- Carnage, introduced as an even more Evil Counterpart to Venom, was inspired by the Joker. While lacking the Monster Clown guise, he shares the Harlequin of Hate's absolute love of murder, being completely Ax-Crazy and unstable even compared to Spider-Man's other rogues (barring Goblin), and acts as an agent of chaos who finds morality and the civilized world to be a lie. When he met the Joker in a crossover they initially got along, before having a falling out over style and artistry in murder.
- Red Skull, Captain America's Arch-Enemy can be seen as this. He's a Hated by All ghoulish Mad Bomber and Complete Monster with gadgets who has a "The Only One Allowed to Defeat You" relationship with his nemesis Cap like Joker has with Batman. Not to mention like Joker in regard to Batman, Red Skull sees Cap as a reason to keep on living as he "validates" his existence. Funnily enough when Red Skull did team up with Joker in Batman & Captain America, Joker was disgusted upon finding out his partner was an actual Nazi and turned against him. Like the Joker, Red Skull has a daughter successor who's as twisted as he is.
- Whiteface in Supreme Power: Nighthawk. He's an extremely unemotional and quiet serial killer, who shows no signs of having a sense of humour, even a bad or warped one, but he does wear clown makeup, and he does develop a fixation with being the "opposite side" of a Captain Ersatz Batman. Nighthawk, however, has no interest in having an archenemy and lacks his counterpart's Thou Shall Not Kill principles, so he just shoots Whiteface with his grappling-hook gun and — for added cross-universe irony — dumps the body in toxic waste.
- Loki the God of Mischief himself, has plenty of arguments for this especially prior to his reincarnation into an Anti-Hero. He's a choatic Secondary Color Nemesis who often seen with a Slasher Smile who enjoys tormenting people for no real reason whatsoever and as seen by Ragnarok in comics is happy to see the world burn. Loki's popular MCU version played by Tom Hiddleson also has overt similarities to Joker especially the The Dark Knight Heath Ledger version.
- The fifth Jack O'Lantern, arch enemy of Agent Venom. A criminal with a sadistic sense of humor who gets a kick out of trolling his archenemy, who has a disfigured face, and who survived a fall into a vat of toxic chemicals.
- Originally Spidey's, but later and mainly a Rogues' Gallery Transplant to the X-Men, Arcade. A No Name Given Evil Genius, a Laughably Evil Sharp-Dressed Man — usually all in white — whose Complexity Addiction and love of the Death Trap leads to the ultimate Amusement Park of Doom. Bonus points for his co-dependent relationship (for a time) with White Rabbit, an also-non-powered villainess who is even crazier than he is.
- One of the more ill-fitting examples that was retrofitted to an existing villain — for a brief period in the 1990s, when imitating The Dark Knight Returns was in vogue, authors John Byrne and Len Kaminski gave this treatment to the Living Laser in Iron Man. The Laser had had a memorable turn in the early 80's as a sort of Bond villain for hire, and a follow-up appearance where Iron Man's defeat of him there drove him to mad vengeance. When the Laser next turned up under Byrne, he was a cackling madman who insisted that he was the only one allowed to kill Iron Man, with his combination of madness and lethality emphasized. He was less the calculating and traitorous mastermind that he had been before, and more like the Joker with enough power to threaten Iron Man.
Legion of Super-Heroes Substitutes
- In the Marvel Universe, the original lineup of the superpowered Imperial Guard surrounding the Shi'ar empress Lilandra was composed of alternate company equivalents of DC's Legion of Super-Heroes.
- Which actually makes the aforementioned Gladiator a copy of Superboy.
- Lampshade Hanging in an issue of Guardians of the Galaxy: Rocket Raccoon sarcastically calls Mentor, the Imperial Guard's green-skinned ubergenius, "Brainiac".
- Interestingly, after their first run-in with the Imperial Guard, Wolverine would steal Timber Wolf counterpart Fang's costume and wear it for much of the team's adventures in space, meaning Wolverine was wearing the suit of the guy based on the guy he himself was partially based on.
- On the other hand, the Legion has Gates: a teleporter with blue (equivalent of) skin, black-and-red costume, three fingers per hand and bright pupil-less eyes, much like a counterpart of X-Man Nightcrawler. Coincidentally or not, Dave Cockrum created Nightcrawler for an unused Legion spin-off, then carried the character along to Marvel.
- Marvel and DC have two futuristic superhero teams with ties to the present continuities: the original Guardians of the Galaxy and the Legion of Super-Heroes. Both teams are vastly different but share the same concept as well as "modern" versions of said teams: the modern Guardians and L.E.G.I.O.N..
- As previously stated the X-Men's Wolverine was (partially) based on the Legionnaire wildman Timber Wolf, this includes the horned hairdo, and while they both use claws Wolverine's are quite different and much more iconic.
Films
Films - Live Action
- The MCU portrayal of the Eternals is remarkably similar to the Capcom Video Game Asura's Wrath note
- Both feature a Gigantic cosmic being with a warm coloured mineral-like skin who creates planets and life. The Ruby skinned Arishem vs the Gold skinned Chakravartin.
- They create a species of technicoloured animal like prrdators that terrorise the primitive human life. The green skinned Deviants and the red skimmed Gohma.
- A team of cosmic powered immortals make it their duty to protect humanity from the predators. Bonus points for being influenced/inspired by Polytheist cultures. The mostly Hellinisticnote and Mesopotamiannote inspired Eternals and the mostly Hindu note and Shinto note inspired Daevas/Demo-gods
- Both species are later revealed to be somewhat mechanical/artificial.
- The immortals are lead by a Brown skinned elderly preist who refuses to abandon humanity and is later assassinated by The Lancer. Ajak and Strada.
- The Lancer of the Immortals is seen as the most powerful fighter, being a Flying Brick with a Long Ranged method of attack and based on classic archetypal leading heroes. Superman Substitute Ikaris and Thunder God Deus.
- One anti-social renegade immortal that is cladded in Black and Red clothes, associated with fire and mis-interpretted as the most villainous, are the most passionate about their desire to protect humanity. Both are nearly killed by The Lancer Eternal who neck lifts and blast ls them into the earth. Druig and Asura.
- The Tallest member of the team also happens to be darkest skinned member and has a major case of Stout Strength. But whilst physically capable and strong. Both rely on other sources for combat. Phastos with his technopathy for his shapeshifting nano-tech and Wyzen with mantra and his oversized gaunlet. Both have a habit of naming things, Phastos with Uni-Mind and Wyzen with his Gaunlet Punch.
- There is a Dark haired light skinned Asian female member of the immortals who are all-loving despite being named after goddesses known for violence too. Chinese looking Sersi named after the Greek Goddess Cersi and the Indo-Iranic Durga named after the Indian goddess Durga.
- One of the most pro-actively heroic members of the Immortals is the fastest and use actions over words. They get to have a punch up against The Lancer immortal too and are emotionally close to the renegade. Makkari and Yasha.
- The physically strongest member of their teams are inspired by ancient heroes and happen to be somewhat hedonistic when it comes to drinking alcohol, but have a protective side to another Immortal. The Hercules/Gilgamesh inspired... Gilgamesh for Thena. The Hanuman/Son Wukong inspired Argus for Asura. note .
- Both teams have a cold, stand offish blond haired sword wielding white woman in white and gold. Both have European names too. The Greek inspired Thena and the Russian inspired Olga.
- Both teams have a support party member who physically a Child despite being 1000s of years old. The Illusion casting Sprite and the Power/energy granting Mithra.
- There is an narccistic flamboyant looking immortal who is a capable fighter, but opts out of saving humans. Bonus points one of them is famous bollywood actor in the modern day whilst the other reincarnates as a famous pop singer/dancer. The Purple cladded Kingo and the Pink haired/purple cladded Sergei.
- One of the predators are shown to have a more humanoid form with similar powers to one or two of the immortals. Kro with Ajak and Gilgamesh's powers. The Gohma Vlitra Core looking a lot like Asura's Berserk/Wrath forms.
- Finally both teams of immortals have to fight a giant monster with an Asian dragon/serpent myth inspired name that emerges from the ocean, almost destroying the planet. The Tiamut named after the Iarqi Tiamat and Vlitra named after the Indian Vritra.
- The Marvel Cinematic Universe:
- Iron Man and Spider-Man share a few things in common with both versions of Blue Beetle. Tony Stark is like Ted Kord in that they're both Badass Normal with vast wealth, their own company and an iconic tech suit. Peter Parker is like Jaime Reyes in that he's a teenager from a humble background who unlike his predecessor has access to superpowers and his suit materializes over him. Given Spider-Man and Ted Kord were both created by Steve Ditko (and that Spider-Man and Iron Man team up with Ditko's other creation Doctor Strange), the similarities might not be accidental.
- It's no secret that Thanos was inspired by Darkseid, but the similarities also extend to his followers. His allies include sinister old men in dark robes (Desaad), warrior women (Female Furies), hulking brutes (Kalibak & Steppenwolf) and armies of horrifying aliens (parademons)
Live-Action TV
Live-Action TV
- DC vs. Marvel: TV Edition. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has Leo Fitz and Jemma Simmons (aka Fitzsimmons) while The Flash has Cisco Ramon and Caitlin Snow. Both are male/female pairs of quirky scientists in which the man specializes in mechanical engineering while the woman specializes in biochemistry. The key difference is: Fitz and Simmons are original characters, while Cisco and Caitlin are based on established characters in the comics.note
