Virtuous Character Copy

Solomon Grundy, born on a Monday. Menaced on Tuesday.
Banner hulked out on Wednesday. Saved a Bus Full of Innocents on Thursday.

The inverse to Corrupted Character Copy, where the copy in question is a lot more likable than the character they're based on. This character is modeled after another character, with some traits to make them distinct. But whereas the original character the copy was based on was a villain or a jerkass, the expy is sympathetic, pure and all-around affable. In some cases, the original character might be a decent person, but their flaws more often than not made them look bad, while the expy lacks the flaws of the original (not that a Virtuous Character Copy can't have flaws; they just have to have good qualities that balance out the flaws). Much like its opposite, there are a few metrics to apply for a character to count:

1. They have to obviously be an intentional send-up of a specific character from another franchise or company, not just have vague similarities, shared powers, or a few common personality traits. If you look at a given character and immediately think "they're obviously poking fun at [this other given character]," they are a likely candidate for this trope.
2. OR they have to be recognizably riffing on a fairly specific character archetype, such as the Tuxedo and Martini spy. Broader archetypes open to greater interpretation likely don't count.
3. They have to take the character or archetype in a direction opposed to how it usually goes. There should be some meaningful examination of that character or archetype, and what happens if you keep most of the traits that make them recognizable, but delete a key few, or dial one or two others up.

To aid you in determining if a given character fits this trope, consult the following format guideline:

• [Work Featuring Character]: [Character], Expy of [Template Character with pothole] ([Explanation for why they're an expy of the template]). — [Explanation for why they are "virtuous"].

This template need not be followed specifically, but if it cannot be followed, the character in question probably does not count.

Compare Adaptational Heroism and Adaptational Nice Guy, when a character is significantly nicer or more heroic in an adaptation than they are in their main work. A Sub-Trope of Alternate Company Equivalent, Captain Ersatz, and Expy. See also The Moral Substitute.

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Examples:

Anime & Manga

• The titular Robot Girl of Battle Angel Alita is often considered akin to Motoko Kusanagi of Ghost in the Shell who debuted a year earlier, both being attractive dark-haired cybernetic One-Woman Army Action Girls with a preference for the Badass Longcoat. Except where Motoko in Masamune Shirow’s original manga was a violent and Played for Laughs lazy and greedy anti-heroine, Alita by contrast is good natured, sweet and romantic (in between all the cyborg asskicking). Alita is also considerably warmer and more outwardly altruistic than later versions of Motoko who might as well be the Trope Codifier for Aloof Dark-Haired Girl.
• The cast of Cowboy Bebop are inspired/take strong influence from Lupin III characters with Shinichirō Watanabe confirming as such. Spike is obviously very reminiscent of Lupin himself as a slick, chain smoking cool guy rogue, and Faye has similarities to Fujiko Mine as the sultry fanservicey femme fatale of the team while Jet can be likened to Jigen as the grizzled gunslinger. However, whilst Lupin and co are greedy, amoral criminals who were downright nasty in the original manga (especially Lupin), Spike, Faye and Jet are heroic bounty hunters who while cynical and money grubbing are still far more altruistic and selfless than Lupin's crew (as seen by The Movie where they save Mars). Even Faye, who seems like a self-centred bad girl on the surface, is actually a deeply vulnerable person who secretly cherishes those close to her, which is far more than Fujiko is usually presented as.
• Son Goku from Dragon Ball is obviously an expy of Sun Wukong, with both characters being cloud-riding, pole-wielding troublemakers who relish fighting; to make it all the more obvious, "Son Goku" is simply how "Sun Wukong" is traditionally pronounced in Japanese. Except, while Goku is an All-Loving Hero who is very friendly and compassionate, Wukong is a Jerkass who killed people wantonly when not in his master's presence and, unlike the easygoing Goku, was egotistical to the extreme and far more willing to fight dishonourably than Goku is. After the series revealed Goku is an alien sent to Earth by his parents, he's now arguably got more in common with Superman than Sun Wukong.
• Joker from Fire Force takes his name, perpetual Slasher Smile, dapper style of dress and playing card motif from DC’s Clown Prince of Crime; but as revealed later on, he’s not really evil, just a Creepy Good Anti-Hero who is an Aloof Ally to Shinra rather than a villain.
• Delico from Gangsta. is a dead ringer for Sanji of One Piece fame and even shares the latter’s superhuman criminal background and a badass sister who is conditioned to obey orders without question. Though while Delico isn’t as absurdly strong as his Shōnen counterpart, he’s much nicer and more earnest, greatly lacking Sanji’s pervy Handsome Lech and Hair-Trigger Temper qualities.
• Golden Kamuy's Edogai Yasuku is named after and inspired by real murderer Ed Gein, but draws just as much influence from Norman Bates, another Gein-inspired character. Like Bates, he's a taxidermist who lives with the preserved body of his controlling mother, and hallucinates her voice ordering him to kill anybody who gets too close to him. Unlike Bates, though, Edogai has never actually killed anyone and ultimately breaks free from his mother's hold over him. He does share Gein's love of Genuine Human Hide, stealing fresh corpses from the local cemetery to fashion into ghoulish "clothing", but when compared to the actions of the series' many violent criminals and Sociopathic Soldiers, even this comes off as little more than a morbid character quirk and he spends most of his appearances as creepy, albeit harmless, comic relief.
• Hellsing: Seras Victoria is an expy of Lucy Westenra. They're both 19-year-old beautiful, kindhearted, virginal, blonde women who lose their respective mothers under horrific circumstances and are desired by multiple male characters. They also both get ultimately turned into vampires by Dracula himself. Though whilst Lucy becomes a soulless monster, Seras is able to keep her humanity, becoming a Friendly Neighbourhood Vampire.
• Killua Zoldyck of Hunter × Hunter fame is of course based on Hiei from Yoshihiro Togashi‘s previous and most iconic work, YuYu Hakusho, being the edgy and murderous pint-sized Super-Speed rivals of the protagonists. Though unlike Hiei, who remains an edgelord for the rest of the series, Killua Took a Level in Kindness and becomes a much nicer and more friendly person. Notably he becomes the Friendly Rival to Gon, rather than being the Stock Shōnen Rival as Hiei is to Yusuke.
• Martian Successor Nadesico: Main character Akito Tenkawa is clearly modeled after Shinji Ikari (even sharing the same voice actor in the English dub) from Neon Genesis Evangelion: an introverted and reluctant mecha pilot dealing with a traumatic past, who has difficulty making connections with people. Unlike Shinji, Akito managed to grow past his flaws and mature both as a person and as a pilot.
• Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury: While she's far from "virtuous", Prospera Mercury is a Well-Intentioned Extremist take of Medusa Gorgon and Ragyo Kiryuin. Medusa and Ragyo are infamous for being the most abusive mothers in anime history — Medusa's treatment of Crona is borderline horrifying at a psychological level, from locking them in a dark room and leave them to starve to death when they fail to do her bidding. Ragyo has no problem molesting her own daughters, such as Satsuki while bathing and even Ryuko while she was brainwashed. Prospera's only redeeming quality is her genuine love for her firstborn daughter Ericht/Suletta, despite her manipulative tendencies and has no problem using her (to be more specific, Suletta is the repli-child clone of Ericht, given how Prospera had uploaded the original Ericht into the Aerial) as a tool for her vendetta against those who took everything away from her.
  • And adding further contrasts between Prospera and Ragyo is the fates of their respective spouses. Soichiro defected from Revocs Corporation and took Ryuko with him, faked his death and took on the identity Isshin Matoi, Ragyo sent Nui Harime to kill him with his own Scissor Blade. Nadim was killed during the Vanadis Incident while trying to protect his family.
• My Hero Academia:
  • MHA naturally draws influence from western superhero Comic Books and Marvel in particular with multiple expies and homages to Spider-Man and the X-Men. Yet, the most obvious parallel with Tsuyu Asui aka Froppy would be Mortimer Toynbee aka Toad, both being amphibian Differently Powered Individuals with great jumping ability and a Overly-Long Tongue as their primary means of attack. Except, whilst Toad is The Igor and a pathetic Gollum-esque wretch, Froppy despite considered no less freaky is The Heart and an achingly sweet All-Loving Hero who would never hurt her allies like Mortimer has.
  • Iwao Oguro aka Knuckleduster from My Hero Academia: Vigilantes was confirmed by the author to be comparable to Batman in the same way All-Might is a Superman Substitute and is also intentionally similar to The Punisher. However, while similarly gritty, Oguro is actually missing Bruce and Frank’s numerous character flaws; notably, he never once abuses or is a Stern Teacher to Koichi like Batman does in the comics with his sidekicks, nor is he a Control Freak like the Dark Knight. For Punisher, while he is a Vigilante Man like him, Oguro never takes it to the Torture Technician levels that Frank goes to.
• Red Leg Zeff from One Piece is obviously similar to Long John Silver of Treasure Island fame, being a dreaded one-legged pirate captain and skilled cook who forms an uneasy father-son esque relationship with a young cabin boy. But whereas Silver was only really using Jim to achieve his goals, Zeff deep down genuinely loves Sanji.
• SPY×FAMILY:
  • Loid Forger aka Twilight is obviously based on/draws influence from James Bond, being a super slick secret agent and ladies’ man. Though, whereas 007 is a Sociopathic Hero with few truly heroic traits, Loid is capable of genuine love, compassion and altruism, especially for Yor and Anya whom he eventually comes to see as his own wife and daughter. Though ironically, by the time of No Time to Die (which premiered after the manga debuted), Bond is now similar to Loid with a beautiful wife and adorable daughter.
  • Anya is directly based off Ashe, the protagonist of Tatsuya Endo’s one shot manga Rengoku no Ashe, being essentially a child version of the young adult Ashe and having telepathy powers instead of Ashe's witch magic; though whereas Ashe is a violent Ice Queen, Anya is a friendly Genki Girl.
• Sword Art Online The Movie: Ordinal Scale: Yuna is an Captain Ersatz of Sharon Apple. Both are Virtual Celebrity Idol Singers who end up hypnotizing the population as part of their creators' bids to make them more human, and their true computer forms look very similar to one another. However, Sharon only becomes a case of A.I. Is a Crapshoot because one of her creators illegally installs a chip containing the personality of her other creator, Myung Fan-Lone, to make her less dependent on her (Myung had been the one puppeteering Sharon beforehand). As a consequence, Sharon went insane, brainwashed everyone on Earth, and went Yandere after the main protagonist Isamu Dyson (due to Myung being Isamu's Love Interest). In Yuna's case, she is a Replacement Goldfish for her creator's daughter, who was one of the many victims of the original SAO incident, and his goal is to take away the survivors' memories of SAO to completely resurrect her. Unlike Sharon, Yuna does not become a case of A.I. Is a Crapshoot and never actively harms anyone. Not only is she much less involved in how the plot works (the memories are actually being taken by Eiji, the original Yuna's bereaved boyfriend with Yuna and her music merely being a distraction), but she also objects to her creator's plans and assists Kirito and his allies in trying to stop it from coming to fruition.
• Vash the protagonist of Trigun bears multiple similarities to the titular hero of Space Adventure Cobra (the author Yasuhiro Nightow even admitting so along with other classic sci-fi manga protagonists) right down to red outfit and blonde hair- colour scheme, gun arm and lechery regarding beautiful women. Except where Cobra is a 70s-80s Anti-Hero with all the expected grittiness and manliness that comes with that, Vash is a All-Loving Hero Actual Pacifist with little to no Testosterone Poisoning about him.
  • Vash also has multiple similarities to Spawn in how they look, fight and use guns with their superpowers (Nightow being a massive fan of the comic) but similar to with Cobra, Vash is greatly missing the edgy '90s Anti-Hero qualities Al Simmons possesses full force.
• Vinland Saga: Canute post Character Development bears noticeable resemblance to Griffith (who himself is a Corrupted Character Copy of Oscar), being a long-haired Agent Peacock that is willing to stoop to nearly any low in order to become king. However, unlike Griffith, who is gradually revealed to be a backstabbing despot that ultimately cares for nothing but his own power, Canute genuinely believes in his devotion to creating a better world, and has lows he will not stoop to, and people he will not sacrifice in the name of his ambitions.
• Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds: Aki Izayoi/Akiza Izinski could be seen as an analogue to Flay Allster. Both are daughters of a politician (Aki's father, Hideo is a senator of Neo Domino City, and Flay's father, George is a Vice Minister of the Atlantic Federation and a sympathizer of Blue Cosmos). Aki was shunned because of her Psychic Powers since childhood and was brought into the Arcadia Movement by Divine, who manipulated her for most of her life until she met Yusei, who eventually set her down to the right path, and eventually became his Love Interest. Flay was openly bigoted towards Coordinators and takes advantage of Kira's kindness and trauma into forming a false relationship with him until she genuinely falls in love with him. Aki survives the end of the series with her and Yusei finally acknowledging their feelings for each other before parting ways, while Flay dies at the end of SEED, acknowledging her flaws and finally coming to let her true feelings for Kira known and protect him from here on out, effectively bringing closure to their relationship.

Comic Books

• 1963: 1963 is a Affectionate Parody of classic Marvel Comics, and as such the characters are about as virtuous as their inspirations. However, creator Alan Moore managed to make The Avengers expies, The Tomorrow Syndicate, a sort of double parody, as they also roughly match the main cast of Watchmen, but are all around Lighter and Softer.
  • Horus = The Mighty Thor = Doctor Manhattan
  • The Hypernaut = Iron Man = Ozymandias
  • USA = Captain America = The Comedian
  • The N-Man = The Incredible Hulk = Rorschach
  • Inframan = Ant-Man = Nite Owl
  • Infragirl = The Wasp = Silk Spectre
• Aquaman is generally a Lighter and Softer and immensely more heroic take off of the Sub-Mariner a.k.a. Namor, who has been a dickish Anti-Hero slash Villain Protagonist of Marvel since 1939. Their interactions in Marvel Versus DC highlight how much of a cheerful Nice Guy Arthur is compared to the hot-tempered Namor.
• Batman:
  • Batman, believe it or not, was actually partially inspired by Falke, a.k.a. Dr. Bat, from the Opera Die Fledermaus, both being aristocrats who dress as bats and use their wealth to take revenge. Except where Batman is a heroic vigilante, Falke is instead a petty asshole who wants to ruin his friend Eisenstein's marriage after the latter left him passed out drunk dressed as a bat to be found by the cops. This operatic basis for the Dark Knight's character has been referenced in Batman Begins and even in an episode of The Tick (whose Batman Parody is even named Die Fledermaus). Modern performances of Die Fledermaus even make visual references to Batman in the costuming and design.
    • Batman is also derived from The Shadow who is often considered the Ur-Example of The Cowl (alongside Zorro another inspiration) with Batman having multiple similarities in dress and attitude to Kent Allard including wielding a gun in the Golden Age comics. However whereas the Shadow is a Nominal Hero who terrorises even his allies, enjoys tormenting his enemies to such a degree that he seems just as bad, and is a Knight Templar, Bruce is a Rounded Character having many flawed traits but is still ultimately good.
  • Minor Batman supporting character Aaron Cash is a guard at Arkham who uses a prosthetic hook and bears a special hatred for Killer Croc, who is the one that took his hand. Just to drive the comparison home, the inmates nickname him Captain Hook. The difference is that Cash is a harsh but morally upright law enforcement officer and Croc is a sentient, albeit dimwitted, human being who deliberately mutilated Cash out of spite rather than a dumb animal.
• Deadpool is famously a knock-off of Deathstroke, being a superpowered mercenary with a Spidey-esque mask who wields swords and guns like Slade. Though as Characterisation Marches On Deadpool eventually turned into the Virtuous Character Copy becoming an actual superhero who cares for innocent people unlike Deathstroke who never stops being a cold-blooded douchebag. Deadpool is also consistently presented as a wonderful father to Ellie, and at the very least trying to be a genuine Friend to All Children even if they're intimidated by him, in juxtaposition to Mr. Slade "shoved a piece of radioactive Kryptonite into his daughter's eye" Wilson, who was also eventually established to have took sexual advantage of a mentally unstable and vulnerable teenage girl in The Judas Contract. It also helps even from his earliest Liefeldian appearances Deadpool had a sense of humour and showed reluctance to hurt children, neither of which applied to Deathstroke, the No-Nonsense Nemesis of the Teen Titans.
• While the morality of Harley Quinn varies greatly according to her depiction (and the day of the week, the state of the weather...), she's generally depicted in her solo appearances as a nicer version of her ex-boyfriend and superhero comics' most famous Monster Clown, The Joker, being either an Anti-Villain or an outright hero.
• The Incredible Hulk:
  • The dynamic between the Hulk and his alter ego Bruce Banner is clearly derived from Jekyll & Hyde from The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, as both involve a Mad Scientist who creates a monstrous Split Personality for himself. Mr. Hyde is unambiguously and irredeemably evil, but Dr. Jekyll isn't entirely free of guilt in his own right as he created Hyde to indulge his own evil urges. In contrast to his inspiration, Dr. Banner never created the Hulk to act as his evil side. And of course, while the Hulk has been a bit of a Heel–Face Revolving Door, he has ultimately proven himself to be much more moral than Hyde ever by saving the world many times on top of being a member of various superhero teams in the Marvel Universe such as the Avengers and Defenders.
  • The Hulk is also often thought to be a take-off/Alternate Company Equivalent to the less popular Solomon Grundy who debuted three decades earlier. Both are Dumb Muscle Goliaths in ragged clothing with limited speech who cause great destruction and regularly beat the shit out of superheroes. Hulk was even grey like Grundy in his debut (later reused for the Joe Fixit persona) and later in Immortal Hulk even got Resurrective Immortality like Grundy. However while Grundy is purely The Brute who does nothing but hurt others, Hulk is a Bruiser with a Soft Center and The Big Guy who has helped saved the world numerous times as an unsung Big Good. This also extends to their alter egos as while Bruce Banner is a Science Hero, Cyrus Gold is a scummy criminal.
• Invincible:
  • The Immortal is a heroic version of Vandal Savage. Both are men who've lived for much longer than most others on their planet and have assumed multiple identities throughout their lives. Though kind of an asshole, The Immortal is among the most incorruptibly good characters in the series.
  • Atom Eve has multiple similarities to Carol Ferris aka Star Sapphire both being pink-coloured heroines with a Imagination-Based Superpower in the form of Hard Light constructs and are in deep love with another hero. However, while Carol has spent of most of her history as a Heel–Face Revolving Door Yandere, Eve stays a hero throughout.
    • Eve also draws influence from Jean Grey and Scarlet Witch being a red-headed powerful female metahuman who has the ability to alter things on the molecular level and like the former even resurrect herself from death multiple times. Yet while Jean and Wanda go through With Great Power Comes Great Insanity, Eve is never corrupted by power or becomes a Fallen Hero even once.
  • Cecil Stedman is very similar to Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D. both being The Spymaster who is Crazy-Prepared when it comes to Earth's defence against extranormal threats and are willing to indulge in Black-and-Grey Morality for the greater good. However, while Fury begins to actively work against Marvel's heroes out of dislike and distrust (giving Thor the infamous "Gorr was right' which makes him consider himself unworthy) Cecil despite being similarly flawed still supports Mark aka Invincible The Hero and looks after his family.
• Polaris despite a lot of Depending on the Writer, is generally meant to be this for Magneto (who was later revealed to be her father). As she's a case of mutant superhero with Magnetism Manipulation who isn't a humanity hating, ruthless, deeply scarred Anti-Villain even on their best day. Indeed, Polaris is capable of having lighthearted antics in X-Factor (1991) something that definitely wouldn't occur with her far more serious and edgy papa.
• Power Rangers: Soul of the Dragon and its depiction of Tommy Oliver. While it takes after Batman: The Dark Knight Returns and Old Man Logan in depicting Tommy as more cynical and jaded, he doesn't go quite to the extremes those versions of Bruce Wayne and James Howlett went to (mainly the former's fascist and sadistic tendencies, and the latter's broken state and aversion to conflict), and Tommy even gets a happier ending.
• The Sensational She-Hulk: Lexington Loopner is an expy of iconic Superman villain Lex Luthor. However, being businessmen and having the initials L.L. are the only things Loopner and Luthor have in common — Loopner is at worst an unapologetic capitalist while Luthor is a Mad Scientist, Evil Genius, and Corrupt Corporate Executive all in one.
• Something is Killing the Children: Erica Slaughter on the surface seems like a Darker and Edgier take on Buffy Summers being a blonde Action Girl Hunter of Monsters who’s part of ancient slayer organisation and finds herself in a Supernatural Hotspot Town. Except Erica effectively inverts of Buffy’s character, she lacks Buffy’s attractive charm and sociability being instead antisocial and creepy but whereas Buffy has an awfully selfish and cruel streak (infamously sneering comments when one of the girls under her charge committed suicide in later seasons) Erica by contrast is consistently loving and caring deep down, being a Friend to All Children and Mama Bear — despite her seemingly heartless demeanour.
• Superman has done this a few times:
  • Superman himself is based on Hugo Danner from Gladiator by Philip Wylie (the novel that directly inspired Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster) being a superhuman man raised on a farm who has usual super strength, speed and toughness to the point of being bulletproof. Though where Hugo was a tragic and troubled deconstruction of having great powers in human society, Supes obviously isn't, being the Ur-Example of The Cape.
  • Equus is for all intents and purposes a PG-rated version of Three-Willy Seth, the monstrous cybernetically enhanced hillbilly who seemingly killed The Authority during the final arc of their classic series. Physically, he resembles Seth, but without the casual pedophilia.
  • The New 52 series featured a minor villain, Anguish, who is modeled after Lizbeth Salander from The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011), being an anti-authority thief with serious daddy issues, but without Salander's notorious sexuality. Her original design◊ and codename, "Masochist," made this even more obvious.
• Swamp Thing is a take-off of Man-Thing^* Though in fairness both are derived from The Heap who debuted even earlier being a super Swamp Monster with empathetic abilities who Was Once a Man. Though where Man-Thing is a mute, neutral creature with little to no intelligence that just lashes out against negative emotions, Swamp Thing in comparison is smart, cultured, can speak and is more traditionally heroic.
• Due to Eastman and Laird parodying Daredevil when creating Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Splinter is this for Stick (Splinter, Stick — get it?) both are the Old Master Mentor Archetype for the heroes who acted as father surrogates. Except where Stick is a Jerkass Evil Mentor and hustler who put Matt through Training from Hell and doesn’t really give a crap about him, Splinter by contrast is a sweet old rat who genuinely loves Leo, Raph, Donnie and Mikey as his own sons.

Fan Works

• Arcanum Archives: Descendant's Shadow (Pokémon Journeys: The Series): Chloe Cerise and Hop are given traits of Miko Kubota and Hector "Five" Nieves, with their future Sixth Ranger Alain being their Mitch Williams. Both are top agents of their fields and usually like going at it alone, but Alain is willing to work alongside Chloe and Hop and him going alone is more due to something which got him derailed from a Data Train. In contrast, Mitch Williams is a glory hound who insists he either goes at it alone or his teammates are forced to support him, with his bravado stemming from feeling worthless after he got his job and his siblings continued gaming without him. Not to mention he detests Miko and Hop, constantly calling them "noobs" or "blueberries" and only works with them when he has no choice. Alain is a legendary Rank 3 Cyber Warrior any Data Train would take in, while Mitch is the best Glitch Tech...of his division. And in a case of irony, Alain is depicted with dark-blue hair and black clothes, while Mitch has white hair and usually sticks with the white Glitch Tech outfit.
• Boldores And Boomsticks (RWBY and Pokémon): An omake by the author shows that Whisper the Ralts, after evolving into a Gardevoir and after she Took a Level in Smartass, will become a virtuous expy of Abridged Perfect Cell. She shares the same casual attitude and arrogance, vicious wit and world play, and a bit of his narcissism. However, Whisper ultimately uses her abilities to deal with socialites that were either bothering her trainer Weiss or were making fun of the disaster in Vale.
• Danganronpa: Paradise Lost: Daisuke Hiyori is quite similar to Nowe, with both being Idiot Heroes with spiky brunette hairstyles and an initial lack of social skills, who forms an Official Couple with a former antagonist and helps her come to terms with the atrocities she committed as a child. However, Daisuke is much more quick to address his naivety by himself compared to Nowe, and he isn't as prone to unwittingly making things worse.
• Exitium Eternal: It's been noted by some readers that the Exitium is essentially a "nicer Imperium of Man", with both organizations being brutal theocracies centred around a legendary figure that engage in endless warfare against otherworldly terrors. However, unlike the Imperium, the Exitium is much more open towards peaceful diplomacy.
• Pokémon Crossing: Apollo is based on Jotaro Kujo. Both are leads in their stories, belong to a powerful family, have muscular builds, wear flowing black coats, have rough relationships with their fathers, and are often swarmed by fangirls. Apollo, however, is more respectful to women and civilians.
• Magical Girls Unite Retransformed:
  • Protagonist Seinaru Hikari is heavily based on the Batter from OFF, being a light-powered messiah on a sacred mission to "purify" evil entities that were once people and take down a corrupt system, even using the word "purify" and having the same Catchphrase "Purification in progress". However, the Batter is a cold, unfriendly crusader who cares more about his mission than actually helping others, and is ultimately revealed to be a Knight Templar and Villain Protagonist who purifies things by killing them and wants to purify the entire world, leaving it as a lifeless void because he believes existence itself is suffering. Seinaru, by contrast, is a compassionate Hope Bringer who rejects the pessimistic worldview of people like the Batter, instead genuinely trying his best to save and befriend even his enemies. Granted, he does kill some of his enemies, but this is only when they display no redeeming traits or qualities- others who do usually get to reform. By contrast, the Batter was willing to kill anyone he faced and made no effort to talk them down or get them to change, regardless of if they could.
  • The third Magi Seinaru rescues is Kagami Spiegel, based off Mira Salamin from Epithet Erased, who fittingly has a bodyguard named Tate Chiba, based on Mira's own bodyguard, Indus Tarbella. While Mera was a cruel and tricky villain who sought to steal an amulet to fix her Epithet, Kagami is kind and caring and polite to her friends. Similarly, Indus was a Dumb Muscle minion who provided comic relief, while Tate is wise and cares about Kagami greatly.
• The Story of Apollo, Daphne and Luca: An Italian Tragedy: Vincenzo shares some similarities with Gaston from Disney's Beauty and the Beast, being him a handsome and popular bully who is very successful with girls and harbors a massive crush on the brave and outspoken female heroine because, unlike all the other girls, she's completely uninterested in him. Unlike Gaston, who becomes more and more violent, crueler and unhinged as the story unfolds, Vincenzo genuinely repents for his bad actions and tries to become a better person. Also, Vincenzo doesn't hold Gaston's narrow-minded views on the female gender.
• Undertale Yellow: While it's a heavy downplay, embarking on a Genocide route makes Clover one to Frisk, should they take a Genocide route as well. While both of the routes make you a Villain Protagonist, Frisk indiscriminately kills everybody in the Underground, including Papyrus, who still saw good in them, while Clover takes on A Lighter Shade of Black, only targeting the ones behind the last 5 humans disappearance's and leaving any minor monsters out of the bloodshed. This gets reflected in both routes endings too, as while Frisk is seemingly punished by Chara and has to reset for a second chance, Clover manages to leave the Underground unscathed with the 5 children's SOULS in tow.

Films — Animation

• Abominable: Mr. Burnish ultimately ends up being one to Charles Muntz from Up. Like Muntz, Burnish is an elderly yet experienced explorer who had a fateful encounter with an exotic creature during his travels and tried sharing his discovery with the world, but was discredited and became doggedly fixated on capturing said creature to prove its existence and restore his credibility, putting him at odds with the film’s protagonists after they befriend the creature. That said, while Muntz’ obsession with capturing Kevin corrupted him to the point of willingness to kill children, the elderly, or anyone else he believed would try to steal his quarry, which eventually led to his death, Burnish never resorts to such methods even when one of the heroes is at his mercy and even redeems himself by abandoning his mission and helping the heroes get Everest back to his own kind.
• Madame Bonfamille from The Aristocats, design-wise, resembles a far more benevolent version of Lady Tremaine from Cinderella.
• Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget: Frizzle acts as a more benevolent counterpart to Candlewick from a handful of variations of The Adventures of Pinocchio. Both of them are runaways that befriend another runaway that disobeyed their parents, both of them are lured to a Pleasure Island where they're allowed to have as much fun as they want, and both fall victim to the dark machinations behind the scenes to be made into a precious commodity. However, while some versions of Candlewick have him stay the same Toxic Friend Influence to the end, Frizzle genuinely forms a friendship with Molly and helps her free the other chickens.
• Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio: Master Geppetto is one to Victor Frankenstein which makes sense given Guillermo took inspiration from the novel. Much like the Mad Scientist, Geppetto rejects his creation out of horror, and he constantly pursues perfection by trying to mold Pinocchio into a mirror of his dead son. Unlike Victor who spent his whole life in misery because of his refusal to change, the woodcarver abandons his old beliefs and wholeheartedly accepts Pinocchio as his son. He even spends the movie searching for him while Victor spent his story running away from his monster.
• Home: Oh is a friendlier version of Sheldon Cooper (helps that they’re played by the same person). While they are both intelligent Cloudcuckoolanders who annoy everyone around them and don't understand human behavior, Oh's lack of understanding is a result of unfamiliarity (especially given that he isn't human), rather than disinterest as it is with Sheldon, and he never intentionally looks down on anyone. Oh quickly adapts to new human concepts through his association with Tip, whereas Sheldon had to be dragged along bit by bit.
• Inside Out: Bing Bong resembles Lotso-Huggin' Bear, given that they're both cutesy pink characters who were incredibly devoted to a young girl, were separated from her, and tried to return to her only to find she no longer had any place for them. However, while Lotso became bitter and vicious as a result, Bing-Bong still loves Riley even though he knows he can never be part of her life again, and he sacrifices himself so Joy can save her from her depression.
• The Lion King:
  • As the story is largely based on Hamlet, Timon and Pumbaa are based on Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. However, unlike their Hamlet counterparts, Timon and Pumbaa never betray their friend, the protagonist (Simba in The Lion King, Hamlet in Hamlet). Instead, they are completely loyal to Simba.
  • Simba, meanwhile, is a virtuous expy of Hamlet himself. They both start out as bratty, egotistical princes of a kingdom who have fathers who they love and uncles who usurp the father's throne unlawfully. Where they contrast, however, is that Simba manages to undergo enough Character Development to successfully challenge Scar and take back his rightful throne, while Hamlet continues to make things worse and worse for himself until his actions leave the entire royal family dead.
• The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea: Tip and Dash are blatantly based on aforementioned Timon and Pumbaa (Tip and Timon even sharing the same voice actor in some adaptations). Only both are very active and want to be badass contrasting with Timon and Pumbaa's Lazy Bum nature. Also, Tip isn't a Know-Nothing Know-It-All (unlike Timon) and Dash isn't a dumb Gasshole (unlike Pumbaa).
• Megamind:
  • Megamind is extremely similar to Brainiac being an alien Shrink Ray wielding super genius who uses his intellect to have a Brains Evil, Brawn Good fight against The Cape Flying Brick (Superman/Metro Man). However where Brainiac is purely a Galactic Conqueror and The Collector, Megamind starts off as a villain (due to being raised into crime) but pulls a Heel–Face Turn after discovering Good Feels Good thanks to Roxanne. Megamind is also very similar to Lex Luthor with his Bald of Evil Evil Genius dynamic with Metro Man and Roxanne mirroring Lex’s dynamic with Superman and Lois. Except while Lex is a rotten bastard to the core, Megamind has a Hidden Heart of Gold and eventually drops his life of crime.
  • Megamind is also strikingly similar to Gallaxhar another My Brain Is Big Dreamworks alien who debuted a year earlier in Monsters vs. Aliens. Yet while Megamind mends his ways and becomes a hero, Gallaxhar stays the Big Bad throughout.
• James P. Sullivan a.k.a. Sully from Monsters, Inc. is very similar to Maurice from Little Monsters which debuted two decades earlier, both being blue-colored horned Things That Go "Bump" in the Night monsters from another world who befriend a child. Except where Maurice is a disgusting jackass and prankster who replaces lemonade with urine and delights in causing in children to be punished for the pranks he pulls at night; Sully is instead a heartwarming Gentle Giant and Papa Wolf. This also applies to Boo compared to Brian as while Brian is a Bratty Half-Pint who partakes in the sadistic pranks, Boo is a sweet little girl.
• Monsters vs. Aliens:
  • B.O.B, Dr. Cockroach and Missing Link are expies of The Blob, The Fly and Gill-Man respectively. However they’re much Lighter and Softer being Creepy Good funny and loveable heroes, rather than horrible killers like the monsters they’re based off. Averted by Insectosaurus, who's an expy of Mothra, who herself is always portrayed as a heroic kaiju.
  • Susan aka Ginormica herself is obviously based off the original Giant Woman Nancy Archer from Attack of the 50 Foot Woman and both even have a very unlikeable partner Harry/Derrek who treats them poorly. Except where Nancy took things too being a Person of Mass Destruction who kills innocent people in her Woman Scorned rampage, Susan is a sweet and innocent woman dealt with a bizzare turn of fate who doesn’t hurt any civilians or cause any city destruction on purpose.
  • General W. R. Monger is unmistakably a take-off of George C. Scott’s General Buck Turgidson from Doctor Strangelove both being hilariously Large Ham macho generals. But where Turgidson was an insanely corrupt General Ripper who helped guarantee atomic doomsday, Monger is a Four-Star Badass Big Good and Jerk with a Heart of Gold who unlike Turgidson in The War Room advises his president against the Nuclear Option.
• Missing Link: Sir Lionel Frost shares a good number of similarities with Archibald Snatcher from The Boxtrolls, who in fact were made by the same studio. Like Snatcher, Frost is an ambitious Englishman who aspires to join a prestigious group whose members, especially their leader, hold him in low esteem, and attempts to prove his worthiness of joining them by pursuing inhuman creatures while getting so focused on his goals that he mistreats those around him, and also resorts to crossdressing at one point to further his goals. The difference is that Snatcher was shown to have no qualms of resorting to immoral acts (such as threatening kids), was an overall Bad Boss to his fellow Red Hats, and sought to outright kill the titular Boxtrolls to get himself in with the White Hats. On the other hand, Frost is an Innocently Insensitive yet principled man who is primarily concerned with acquiring proof of the creatures he pursues in his adventures, but will nonetheless prioritize the welfare of his associates when they are in danger. Furthermore, while Snatcher's obsession with getting a white hat and eating rare cheese ends up doing him in due to him ignoring his allergy to cheese, Frost undergoes a Jerkass Realization over how his fixation of joining the Optimates Club made him alienate his companions and ends up abandoning his dream altogether.
• Ralph Breaks the Internet: Yess was stated to be inspired by Cruella de Vil with the design team even basing some of Yess's looks off of Cruella's. However, while Cruella is a Faux Affably Evil woman who is most known wanting to skin puppies for a fur coat, Yess does generally care for Ralph and Vanellope to the point where she helps both of them out during the climax of the film.
• TMNT: Max Winters is this to Vandal Savage. Both men are ancient warlords who have immortal and pose as wealthy businessmen to hide their true intentions, unlike Savage, Winters has realized that being immortal is a curse, and gave up on his quest for world domination, preferring to be mortal again so he can rest in peace.

Films — Live-Action

• Austin Powers:
  • Austin is an unusual example as he's a Affectionate Parody of James Bond, an already heroic character. More particularly, he's meant to invert the early portrayals of Bond as a romanticized womanizer with no sense of boundaries which became less acceptable with time, by being less physically attractive but actually chivalrous when it comes to women.
  • Dr. Evil, Number Two and Frau are obvious parodies of Ernst Stavro Blofeld, Emilio Largo and Rosa Klebb respectively but like Austin they manage to be considerably nicer than their inspirations with Dr. Evil actually coming to see them as his family rather than disappointing disposable henchmen like Blofeld does with Largo and Klebb. By Goldmember they all pull a Heel–Face Turn upon Dr. Evil discovering he’s Austin long lost brother with Number Two and Frau shed Tears of Joy over their boss discovering his family. Coincidentally, when the Bond films had Blofeld revealed as Bond’s stepbrother in Spectre it only intensified their antagonism, rather than stopping it altogether.
• Chronicle: Matt Garetty serves as a superpowered, more straightforwardly heroic equivalent of Shotaro Kaneda - both of them begin the story as part of a gang and are former friends of the main antagonist (Andrew Detmer and Tetsuo Shima, respectively) who ultimately end up having to go against them to stop their telekinetic rampage. But while Kaneda begins as a drug-dealing biker gang leader who laughs about getting his first girlfriend pregnant, Matt's biggest sin is his clumsy attempts at dating and he takes the initiative in trying to prevent tragedy by creating rules on how to use telekinesis in an attempt to avoid using them for immoral purposes.
• Edward Scissorhands:
  • The eponymous character is according to Tim Burton himself deliberately based on several classic Gothic Horror monsters with the most obvious analogue being Frankenstein's Monster (more specifically the original novel incarnation than his movie counterpart Burton claims the film is based on). Both Edward and Frankenstein's Monster are artificial humans created by a Mad Scientist in a gothic castle, are longing for a companion, were abandoned by their respective creators, and are ostracized from society as freaks of nature, but Frankenstein's Monster was deliberately abandoned by his creator Victor Frankenstein and this abandonment alongside said ostracism by society drove him into villainy. Meanwhile Edward's creator did try to raise him as his son but he died from old age, leaving Edward with a sheltered existence and an innocent worldview that less-than-scrupulous people would come to take advantage of for their own ends. He also was shown some kindness from a few number of people (such as Peg and Kim Boggs) whereas Frankenstein was never shown any at all. Additionally, Frankenstein's Monster's existence was kept deliberately hidden by his creator even when the latter knew the former was killing people whilst Edward lived secluded in the castle before being found by Peg and was ultimately Sent Into Hiding for his own safety by Kim from an angry mob who wanted him dead for a crime he's been framed for. Even when they kill their motives completely contrast, with Frankenstein's Monster deliberately killing innocent people to torment his creator whilst Edward kills Jim in self-defense after the latter tried to kill him on behalf of the angry mob who wants him dead (and also out of jealousy for having taken Kim away from him in his eyes).
  • If Edward is the virtuous copy to Frankenstein's Monster then The Inventor would be this to Victor Frankenstein, but Victor treated Frankenstein's Monster as more of an afterthought and never bothered to rear him at all whilst The Inventor did try to rear Edward as best as he can a son. Also, The Inventor's other creations, creepy-looking as they are, are ultimately harmless, as they're used for stuff like baking cookies.
• Tina Shepard from Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood is an obvious homage or rip-off of Carrie and very similar to the 1976 version. Except where Carrie Jumped Off The Slippery Slope and became a telekinetic mass murderer against her tormentors (including innocent people), Tina is much saner and heroic, directing her Mind over Matter rampage to the obviously evil slasher killer Jason rather than a prom full of teenagers.
• Dr. Kenji Noda from Godzilla Minus One is an obvious expy of the iconic Dr. Daisuke Serizawa from Godzilla (1954) ^*Though granted a lot of the self sacrificial Shell-Shocked Veteran elements of Serizawa were given to The Hero Shikishima being the Science Hero who concocts the oceanic device in that ultimately kills Godzilla (the Oxygen Destroyer for Serizawa, the Freon tanks for Noda). However where Serizawa was an edgy and cynical character (complete with Eye Patch Of Power) filled with My God, What Have I Done? self loathing, Noda is comparatively much Lighter and Softer being instead a raging Adorkable optimist.
• Indiana Jones believe or not is this for James Bond (Steven Spielberg always wanted to direct a Bond movie but unable to and thus Indy was born from that wish). There’s obvious parallels both being handsome globe trotting action heroes who have a Girl of the Week, yet while Bond is mostly just a cad who has severe sociopathic traits for the hero, Indy has a heart of gold beneath his cynicism and gruffness and genuinely cares about his loved ones and innocent people.
• Mighty Joe Young has a Cooper-created King Kong Copy with the titular ape, but unlike Kong though, Joe is gentler, causes very few fatalities, and even rescues endangered children from fire and in the 1998 film defeats some human villains. Joe also manages to survive rather than dying as a Tragic Monster as Kong does. Ironically Kong would be more similar to Joe in the MonsterVerse being more heroic and protective of the innocent.
• Moon: GERTY is clearly inspired by HAL 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey. They're both artificial intelligences with monotonous voices and a single "eye", and responsibility for a mission in space for dubious employers. However while HAL turns on his crewmates and is killed by Dave, GERTY helps Sam and ultimately sacrifices himself so Sam can escape. It even mirrors HAL's death — GERTY tells Sam to wipe his memory so the employers can't read it and find out Sam is alive.
• Notorious Gentleman: Vivian Kenway serves as a counterpart to Tom Rakewell from the film's inspiration, A Rake's Progress by William Hogarth. Both are British wannabe Millionaire Playboys who ultimately ruin the lives of both themselves and those around them with their irresponsible handling of money. Unlike Rakewell, who never learns from the Aesop Collateral Damage he causes and ends his days as a madman in Bedlam House, Kenway has a Heel Realization after he indirectly causes his father's death, and ultimately atones for his misdeeds through dying for his country in World War II.
• Pearl's mother Ruth from Pearl is a more reasonable version of Carrie's mother Margaret from Carrie. While she's still presented as a jerk who's responsible for a lot of Pearl's suffering, she has a very good reason to resent her daughter, knowing that she's violently insane, kills things for fun, and is willing to do anything to achieve her dream of stardom.
• RoboCop is often considered this to another famous '80s sci-fi action icon, the Terminator, who debuted three years earlier. Each of them is an ultraviolent yet sleek Cyborg Implacable Man packing an incredible amount of firepower with Improbable Aiming Skills, and both are durable enough to be Immune to Bullets, as demonstrated at various points. Their films were even both distributed by the same studio, Orion Pictures, and Arnold Schwarzenegger was at one point considered to play RoboCop before Peter Weller was settled upon. However, while the 1984 Terminator is a cold and terrifying Killer Robot essentially acting as Skynet's Professional Killer hunting down the innocent Sarah Connor and killing civilians and cops that get in his way, RoboCop is a incorruptible and heroic Super Cop who protects the innocent and upholds the law, even against the very corporation that made him one "bad motherfucker" in the first place. Furthermore, while the Terminator is a Meat-Sack Robot whose organic human skin covers a chilling skeletal machine, RoboCop Was Once a Man, a slain human police officer named Alex Murphy who was rebuilt as a cyborg, and his humanity is portrayed as key to his morality. Ironically, the majority of later movies in the Terminator franchise, starting with Judgment Day, make Arnie's T-800 Terminator more similar to Murphy, i.e heroic rather than sinister.
• Played with in Saw X with Cecilia Pederson, who the film initially presents as this to the Jigsaw killer John Kramer as somebody who uses controversial methods to improve people's lives and has many devoted acolytes who praise her for her work. Whereas John, a man dying of cancer, forces people into Death Traps that they can escape with a Life-or-Limb Decision in order to teach them harsh moral lessons, Pederson is a doctor with a revolutionary new cancer treatment that Big Pharma wants to suppress. It's all a scam, though. Pederson is actually a Snake Oil Salesman who exploits people's hope to steal their money and then leaves them to die of their illness, revealing her as a Corrupted Character Copy to John, who, in his own twisted way, genuinely thinks he's helping people improve their lives.
• In Scary Movie 3, there are expies of the aliens from Signs, who were established as invaders seeking to kidnap humans, who turn out to be good guys.
• Trevor Sheldon from Scream 4 appears to be an Expy of Billy Loomis, the first movie's killer and Sidney's sketchy love interest. But in the end, Trevor turns out to be a Jerk with a Heart of Gold, a normal guy who's a little creepy but really does love Jill, essentially being the man Billy was only pretending to be to get close to Sidney.
• Sky High: Layla is a passionate environmentalist Redhead In Green with a Green Thumb, similar to that of Poison Ivy. However, while Ivy is a Femme Fatale with a hypnotic kiss who is willing to murder humans in order to protect the environment, sometimes even ignoring ways the phlebotinum of the week could more directly help the environment, Layla is a Girl Next Door with a crush on her childhood best friend Will who is largely non-aggressive unless severely provoked. One of her "hero" classmates doesn't even believe that her power is combat-worthy until the climax because she refuses to use it as a weapon.
• Star Wars:
  • C-3PO and R2-D2 are inspired by Tahei and Matashichi from The Hidden Fortress, with both sets of characters being Those Two Guys who are the first characters introduced and who are roped up into a perilous journey to protect a princess, only they never even think about selling out any of their allies or taking advantage of the princess.
  • Luke Skywalker himself has numerous similarities to Paul Atreides of Frank Herbert's Dune (one of the works that helped inspire Lucas) with them both being messianic momomyth heroes that grow up on a harsh desert planet and wield great esoteric powers. Except where Luke is the Ideal Hero who always does the right thing in the end, Paul by comparison is the Dark Messiah who causes the deaths of thousands of lives in his ascension to power. Funnily enough, Luke’s Fallen Hero father Anakin aka Darth Vader would end up being the one more similar to Paul, especially when his backstory was fleshed out.
    • Luke could also qualify as a VCC to Leto II, Paul Atreides' son (with Anakin being a VCC of Paul). Leto and Luke were both sons of a precognitive Dark Messiah, who overthrew emperors to save the galaxy. Leto, however, is forced to become even worse than his father by transforming into a cruel God-Emperor as part of a massive Thanatos Gambit so humanity can earn their freedom through his own destruction. Luke, meanwhile, defeated Emperor Sidious and restored freedom to the galaxy by redeeming his father and bringing balance to the Force.

Literature

• The Beginning After the End:
  • Arthur Leywin is clearly modeled after Rudeus Greyrat from Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation. Both are adult men who died only to Reincarnate in Another World to a family that consists of a loving healer mother, martial father who dies later on, and Little Sister Heroine, first demonstrated their magical prowess at a young age by destroying part of their house, were separated from their families at a young age due to a tragic accident only to later reunite with them, became an extremely talented mage and adventurer and later attend a Magical Academy, own a supernatural Canine Companion, have a suit of Powered Armor, are brought into contact with enigmatic deities who later turn out to be their enemies, encounter people from their past lives, attract the attention of several different Love Interests including a Childhood Friend Rescue Romance with a silver-haired elf, and discover their reincarnations have made them a Paradox Person. The main difference between them is their treatment of women and how they handle their maturity in spite of their apparent age. Rudeus is infamous for being a serial pervert as in his past life he was a Hikikomori whose only knowledge of how to interact with women comes from playing H-games, and as such he repeatedly displays sexual behavior even in his infancy. Arthur on the other hand acts far more maturely than Rudeus as in his past life he rose from street orphan to king, and spurns most girls that show interest in him as he grows up as he is aware of the mental age gap (on top of having been a mostly Celibate Hero in his past life with the one woman he did harbor feelings for winding up committing Suicide by Cop in a duel against him).
    • A good situation that demonstrates their differences is how they handle being kissed by their childhood friend. Rudeus acts like a regular teenager without considering the mental age gap (on top having previously consented to one of his Love Interests when she wanted to have sex with him years ago without considering the moral implications). In contrast, Arthur is shown to have a brief moral crisis in the aftermath due to said mental age gap, which he follows up on by telling her that they should wait until they are older before they resume their relationship.
    • That being said, Arthur does play around with this trope in that he engages in a few actions that Rudeus would balk at. While Rudeus has a Thou Shall Not Kill code regarding sapient beings, Arthur has no such qualms, especially if they harm his friends and family. Tellingly, Arthur’s past life saw him declaring war on a foreign nation in retribution for the murder of his surrogate mother, an action he comes to regret in his current one due to the collateral damage he caused in pursuit of his vendetta.
  • This also applies to their respective fathers, who are both former adventurers who used to have ties with nobility, led a famous adventuring party before settling down in a rural home in the countryside, and are killed off later on which sends their sons into a Heroic BSoD. Paul Greyrat, while he does care for his family, is a very flawed man with his fair share of vices. After his son returns home from a fight with some bullies to save his childhood friend, Paul hits his son and takes the bullies' side without even letting his son explain his side of the story. More condemningly, he exhibits the same sexual proclivities as his son but to a far worse degree. In the past, he forced himself onto the woman who would later become his maid while she was sleeping, and he later cheats on his own wife with her. In stark contrast, Reynolds Leywin is an uptight and moral man who truly does care about his family. He would never hit his own son even if angry nor would he ever cheat on his wife.
• Discworld:
  • The Witch trio Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg and Magrat are naturally this for The Weird Sisters of Macbeth with Wyrd Sisters being a direct spoof of it. Though where Shakespeare’s Witch trio were traditionally cruel and wicked, Granny, Nanny and Magrat are nice, humorous and heroic actually helping people out rather than manipulating them to their deaths through deceit. Granted Terry Prachett’s witches are more in line with European “Cunning Folk” i.e the wise healer women who were frequently accused of the negative connotations that Macbeth’s witches exemplify.
  • Maskerade which spoofs The Phantom of the Opera has Walter Plinge who’s is revealed to be a take-off of Erik the titular Opera Ghost of the novel. Both are mentally troubled men who dash around wearing masks and capes, have beautiful signing voices, write music and operas and teach young female signers from behind mirrors. However while Erik besides his musical talent is a hideous psychotic murderer, Walter is instead a bumbling Nice Guy whom in his ghost alter ego is The Cowl and thanks to Granny is by the end able to become his dashing gothic persona permanently. This additionally helped by there actually being two Opera Ghosts, Salzella the other Ghost and villain has all of Erik’s cruelly evil and murderous traits from the original novel.
  • Night Watch (Discworld) spoofs Les Misérables but seriously switches around the character dynamics of Valjean and Javert. Vimes in this case plays the role of Javert (a dogmatic policeman hounding a escaped convict) and like Javert gets involved with the La Résistance forming a barricade, except where Javert was a cruel man and antagonist who took delight in upholding the law to the point where it caused misery for other people Vimes is a grim but incorruptible man who sees how flawed and hypocritical the system is but still does his best to protect people and even joins the barricade rebels genuinely rather than as a ploy like Javert does. Carcer on the other hand who plays Valjean’s role gets the hard opposite of this.
• Books 3 and 4 of The Faraway Paladin, collectively titled The Lord of the Rust Mountains, are a Whole-Plot Reference to The Hobbit, in which Will's new squire Vindalfr stands in for Thorin Oakenshield: the young prince of stateless dwarven refugees who seeks to reclaim their mountain home lost to a dragon long ago. Unlike Thorin, though, Al doesn't succumb to gold-lust and start picking fights with his allies after Valacirca is defeated, and survives the end of the story.
• Goblin Slayer: Heavy Warrior's backstory involves the Village Chief, a Long-Haired Pretty Boy and skilled mercenary who eventually suffered a Career-Ending Injury — all of these traits, he shares with Griffith. But unlike Griffith, who was consumed by ambition and ego to the extent that he sacrificed all of his own allies for his selfish desires, the Village Chief was able to make peace with the premature end of his hopes and dreams, quietly settle down, and is content with his own lot in life.
• The Palans of Island is a better version of the World Staters of Brave New World: the World Staters pursue things like promiscuous sex, drugs, and communal living to live hedonistic lives of pure pleasure. The Palans embrace a similar lifestyle but to enhance and improve their spiritual and mental health.
• Much of Reign of the Seven Spellblades is clearly influenced by the Harry Potter franchise, including many of the characters.
  • Katie Aalto is heavily based on Hermione Granger, particularly in terms of Hermione's activism on behalf of sapient nonhumans. However, Hermione was (controversially) roundly mocked for her activism on behalf of the House-Elves, whereas Spellblades portrays Katie's views as completely correct and the people bullying her over her views as wrong; she's just a little naive and inexperienced at first. Katie is also a thoroughly Nice Girl (though surprisingly tough when she has to be) and lacks the vindictive streak that Hermione displays in the later books.
  • Richard Andrews fills much the same role as Draco Malfoy, a haughty student from an aristocratic background who forms an early rivalry with main character Oliver Horn, a Decomposite Character of Harry himself. However, their rivalry is largely based on a misunderstanding that then gets tangled up with campus politics, rather than Andrews genuinely being a Jerkass, and largely subsides after they and Nanao are forced to team up to survive an ambush by a garuda. While it takes years after this for him to properly become friends with Oliver, he doesn't go out of his way to make trouble for the main characters the way Draco does to Harry, Ron, and Hermione, and doesn't lord his family's wealth and power over other students; rather, he works to improve himself in order to compete with Oliver on his own merits.
  • Marco resembles the troll from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, both physically and in narrative role: both trolls attack (one of) the girl(s) due indirectly to the meddling of an antagonist, and defeating either troll solidifies the main cast's years-long friendship. However, Marco later bonds with Katie as a familiar and helps save her from a rogue upperclassman, while the troll who attacked Hermione disappears from the narrative after he's defeated.
  • Chela's father Theodore McFarlane has a lot of similarities to Gilderoy Lockhart, as a foppish and rather silly world-traveler and book author who fills in after another teacher is indisposed. However, unlike Lockhart, he actually did have all the adventures he claims to have done and is quite competent when he puts his mind to being so: while rescuing Nanao from her Last Stand in Yamatsu, he immobilized an entire army with a single spell, and he also wields the Second Spellblade.
• Tolkien's Legendarium drew influences from several European mythologies. However, Tolkien himself was a devout Roman Catholic and usually reframed the influences through the lens of Rousseau Was Right in accordance with that worldview.
  • Gandalf, the modern Trope Codifier for Wizard Classic, draws his inspiration from two mythological figures - Odin from Norse Mythology and Merlin from Arthurian Legend. However, he is noticeably more morally upright and benevolent when compared to both of his inspirations.
    • Regarding Odin, Gandalf specifically harkens towards the portrayal of Odin as a wandering deity who travels the world disguised as an elderly bearded man wearing grey robes and a wide-brimmed pointed hat and carrying a staff whose unassuming appearance hides considerable power. However, Odin, far from being the benevolent All-Father, was known for being a rather capricious and morally complex Trickster God in his guise as a wanderer and was known to manipulate mortals for his own benefit, on top of sometimes being a Jerk with a Heart of Jerk who screws with others just because he wants to. Gandalf, while sometimes evasive and a bit of The Trickster himself, is far more benevolent in nature compared to Odin as he spends most of his time acting as the Big Good that he should be rather than messing with others around him.
    • Regarding Merlin, both are wise, long bearded sorcerers who serve as the Mentor Archetype for the heroes and the future kings, Arthur for Merlin and Aragorn for Gandalf. Except where Merlin was often a flawed figure (being quite the Dirty Old Man e.g. his encounter with Nimue) and has explicitly demonic origins, Gandalf whilst still a little irritable is unambiguously benevolent being a literal angel and unlike his Arthurian counterpart shows disgust at sexual harassment when he reads Grima’s mind and sees what he plans for Éowyn.
  • In general The Fair Folk Tolkien pioneered are this for the early Germanic and Anglo Saxon elves who were more tricksters (see A Midsummer Night's Dream) who caused illnesses, mischief, raped people and stole babies. Tolkien elves in comparison are mostly beautiful and noble beings, going off Old English and Medieval terminology like “ælf” (itself derived from translated Latin words for nymphs) that they were beautiful and fair beings. Still as a nod to their roots, this mischievous and dangerously wild side to the elven people is noticeable present in The Hobbit and The Silmarillion.
  • The Valar are certainly this for Æsir and the Olympians to a lesser extent. Like said famous Pantheons, the Valar are made up deities that are associated with different elements, seasons, animals and themes (love, strength, death etc) but where the Norse and Olympian deities are Jerkass Gods who loved tormenting and assaulting mortals and causing the deaths of millions over petty matters — the Valar by contrast are absolutely benevolent and care greatly for world they helped bring to life. The only divine dickery came from Melkor, the Black Sheep of Valar, and he was hated by the rest of them for it and cast out of their ranks.

Live-Action TV

• The Boys: She's still a terrible and rather pathetic person, such that "ineffectual and tragic" would probably be a better description than "virtuous", but by the end of season 3 Ashley Barrett has become this to Lex Luthor. Like Lex, she's a bald-headed CEO who stands opposed to Homelander, the show's Superman Substitute. Unlike Lex, however, Ashley is hopelessly incompetent and is easily pushed around and bullied by Homelander, who had her installed as the CEO of Vought mainly to use as a powerless puppet ruler while he was the one who actually ran the show. While Lex hates Superman out of jealousy, Ashley hates Homelander out of genuine revulsion at his crimes. Also, while both of them are former redheads who went bald because of their universe's most powerful superhero (Lex in the pre-Crisis continuity, at least), Lex lost his hair in a freak accident that he blamed Superman for, while Ashley literally tore her own hair out over the course of the season from the stress of dealing with Homelander, and unlike Lex, who proudly wears his Bald of Evil, she hides hers behind a wig out of shame.
• Girl Meets World: Maya Hart is this to Sam Puckett. Just like Sam, Maya is a tomboyish, trouble making friend to the show's girly protagonist who comes from a broken home. But unlike Sam, who most often acts like a selfish, abusive bully whose acts of kindness are few and far between, Maya is much more kindhearted and supportive friend, and whenever she does stir up trouble, she rarely does so out with any sort of malice.
• Kamen Rider Outsiders: The AI Zein is basically Kamen Rider's answer to the Radical Destruction Bringer from Ultraman Gaia. The RDB is a cosmic entity that seeks to destroy mankind because it perceived them as a threat to universal peace and sent monsters to terrorize the Earth, leading to the foundation of GUARD, and its military force XIG. Zein is an artificial intelligence that mysteriously appeared in the computer network that seeks to exterminate anything it perceives as evil regardless of if those "evil" characters in question happen to be morally grey at best^note i.e., Daiki Kaito, Brain, Kuroto Dan, Desast before it can destroy humanity, which prompted Foundation X and Ark to initiate Project Outsiders by reviving dead Rider villains (Tenjuro Banno) and recruit that are still active post-series (Takeshi Asakura) to counteract Zein's influence. The Destruction Bringer also manipulated Earthlings such as Hiroya Fujimiya and Klaus Eckart into turning against mankind, Zein persuaded a few heroic Riders and their associates (Horobi, Nico Saiba, Yuto Sakurai, George Karizaki, and Sakuya Tachibana) in its crusade against Ark unaware of Zein's true intentions. The "Virtuous" part remains questionable regarding Zein as it remains Ambiguously Evil at best, while it has a twisted sense of justice at worst. The RDB ultimately comes out as a hypocrite suffering from a massive god complex and Fantastic Racism as an excuse for its misanthropy.
• Monk: In "Mr. Monk and the Three Julies.", Matthew Teeger is a mentally ill Momma's Boy who keeps his mother's taxidermized corpse around and acts as though she's still alive, making him resemble Norman Bates. However, whereas Norman's alternate personality based on his mother makes him a danger to others, Matthew is completely non-violent outside of situations that would also provoke a sane person.
• Michael Scott eventually becomes one to David Brent in the American remake of The Office (UK), both are incredibly unprofessional bosses but David's a complete buffoon while Michael is a master salesman and can be surprisingly clever sometimes. Both want to be seen as the cool boss but just end up annoying their employees and wasting company time but David often belittles and mistreats his employees and only seeks their approval to validate his own ego. While Michael can be egotistical at times when trying impress people he has a Friendless Background and genuinely wants his employees to see him as a friend and as much as he irritates them, deep down they all respect him and value his friendship. Roy Anderson is also one to Lee, both play the role of the Romantic False Lead fiancé to receptionists Dawn and Pam but while Roy is Innocently Insensitive, neglectful and never really grew out of being a highschool jock, he was a well meaning guy who simply wasn't compatible with Pam and both ended up finding a better suited partner and growing because of it, in contrast to Lee's possessive and emotionally controlling nature and joyless personality.
  • Leslie Knope and Andy Dwyer from Parks and Recreation are this to an even higher degree. In the shows early years as an Office replica, Leslie was the Pointy-Haired Boss and Andy was the Romantic False Lead. However over time Leslie evolved into Michael Scott without the lingering David Brent, her extreme positivity and enthusiasm for people make her come off as naive and unprofessional but in reality her incredible work ethic and ability to turn any negative scenario into a positive make people who aren't corrupt or self-serving respect and admire her as an unstoppable force and her desire for her co-workers to be a family is wholly sincere. While she dose push a bit too hard and enjoy the ego-trip of getting people the perfect gift, she also makes an effort to know and understand them down to the last detail. Andy started out as a closer to the original Bastard Boyfriend to Ann who used an exaggerated foot injury to make her wait on him hand and food and cut her off from the outside world with his childishness and neediness, he was eventually recharacterized into a lovable doofus who always tried his best to be helpful, shared Leslies positive demeaner and could occasionally give out Simple-Minded Wisdom. He also formed a very stable and supportive relationship with April with whom he was eventually Happily Married.
• In season one of Schmigadoon!, Danny Bailey is an expy of Billy Bigelow from Carousel, being similarly a local rapscallion who works at a carnival. However, his character is primarily riffling on bad boy characters who are actually very wholesome. In contrast, Billy is a Domestic Abuser and outright criminal. This is in part because the show writers considered but rejected storylines that would have made him closer to the original (Danny committing a robbery / Danny being revealed as the absent father of one of the characters' son).
• Smallville: One-Shot Character Sarah Conroy in "Slumber". Her powers are like those of Freddy Krueger from A Nightmare on Elm Street, as she can enter people's dreams and control the dreamworld (which has real dangers). She's even played by an actress from one of the Elm Street movies. However, she's a kind, innocent person with no malicious feelings toward anyone.
• Stranger Things:
  • Dr. Owens is a government stooge who is part of a sinister For Science! operation studying an otherworldly menace and convinces the heroine to help them out, all of which is extremely similar to Carter Burke (and he's played by Paul Reiser to boot). Unlike Burke, Owens is a genuine Nice Guy who doesn't betray the heroes once and is disgusted by the corruption and abuse of power around him.
  • Eleven is an expy of Carrie and even gets bullied in an extremely similar fashion to her in Season 4. However unlike Carrie who goes crazy and kills everyone with her Mind over Matter power, Eleven thanks to her friends and loved ones is able to avoid that outcome and uses her telekinesis for good.
• Ted Lasso has Rebecca Welton. She starts out as an expy of Rachel Phelps from Major League, a Corrupt Corporate Executive trying to deliberately tank her sports team (albeit with a more sympathetic motive than Phelps), but due to Ted's positive influence, she gradually becomes nicer and starts to genuinely care about her players, and by the end of season 1, she's the Big Good of the series.

Music

• "Manijak" by the Serbian music group "Moda Band": Natasa Savija's Giant Woman is meant to be an expy of Pamela Anderson's giantess character Val from Miserable, as the Manijak's video is a deliberate homage to the video for Miserable. Both are sexy giant women who walk around in white bikinis and high heels, and let human-sized musicians walk on top of their half-naked bodies for their own entertainment. Natasa even possesses and moves almost exactly like Pam/Val does in her video. However, when she's had her fun with them, Natasa picks up her band members and places them in a heart-shaped box to keep. Meanwhile, Pam/Val in a similar situation swallows her guys alive while they plead for mercy and seems to delight in their last moments of terror.

Video Games

• ANNO: Mutationem: Sigrid is an expy of Sigurros from the SCP Foundation. Both of them possess Reality Warper abilities, but with differences; Sigurros is a Creepy Child who's convinced she is a witch unable to control her powers and forcibly kept in a coma. Sigrid on the other hand is a Nice Girl who is considered a Child Mage with full control of her ability without being restrained and assists Ann in defeating the Big Bad.
• Annventure: Ego/Emily Koibito is the equivalent of Porky Minch — a Jerkass bully with a troubled childhood who makes a pact with the Giygas equivalent and becomes their human servant, and commands a mechanical army, eventually creating an Egopolis with a giant Evil Tower of Ominousness as their main base of operations. However, Ego/Emily is overall far more sympathetic than Porky ever was, as Tyrannia is clearly in control of her and she does eventually turn to the side of good; in subsequent appearances, she functions as an Anti-Hero who still has selfish qualities but is willing to help others (like befriending the lonely Annabelle) and fix her mistakes.
• Bayonetta: Jeanne is a Vergil-expy within in the story (with a bit of Trish thrown in). While like Vergil, Jeanne has a Red Oni, Blue Oni rivalry with the protagonist and spent her first game brainwashed by the antagonist, she is decidedly more heroic with her Friendly Rivalry with Bayonetta, being far less violent and destructive than Vergil's bitter Sibling Rivalry with Dante.
• BlazBlue:
  • In comparison to being a Corrupted Character Copy of Sol Badguy, Dante and Vash the Stampede, Ragna the Bloodedge is a virtuous take on Demitri Maximoff. Both are brooding, vampiric darkness-powered anti-heroes and have the ability to summon features of their more-monstrous alternate forms but Demitri is a borderline Villain Protagonist whilst Ragna is much more heroic.
  • In comparison to being a Corrupted Character Copy of Ky Kiske, Jin Kisaragi is a more virtuous version of Vergil. Both are the more calm Blue Oni to their more brash brother's Red Oni. They are both cold, distand, selfish jerks with strong hatred for weakness, which fortunately get better over the course of their series. They share a Dark and Troubled Past involving their families, as well as having some of the most dysfunctional sibling rivalries with their brothers. They even have similar sword styles. However, this is where the similarities end. While Vergil is Ambiguously Evil, with an Ambition Is Evil mindset that ultimately leads him to literally falling to hell which only gets worse for him from there, Jin's insanity and villainous actions are entirely not his own, with Yuuki Terumi and Yukianesa being the ones responsible. As the series progresses, Jin actually gets better, while Vergil becomes even worse up until the end. As arrogant as the two can be, Jin never looks for more power, as he believes that his strength is enough, and when it wasn't he looked to awaken his latent inner power to become stronger. Vergil in comparison always felt the need for more power, and would kill anyone to get it, actively endangering the world while doing so. While took a reality check for both of them to start to get better, Jin got it from his Alternate Self Future Badass Hakumen effectively telling him to grow up, while Vergil had to create a Helpless Good Side in the form of V and realize the literal monster he created/turned himself into.
  • Amane Nishiki is a virtuous version of Juda. Both are effeminate, flamboyant, vain, crossdressing men who wear pink and have their own personal army but Juda was a major jerkass and a Sissy Villain who treated his underlings terribly whilst Amane treats his men well and they in turn respect him.
• BoxxyQuest: The Gathering Storm: Tyalie, the last new mandatory party member recruited in Chapter 6, is partially based on Monika from Doki Doki Literature Club!, being a cute girl in love with the main character who communicates with the player behind the screen and experiences an existential crisis due to her knowledge of being a video game character. But while this knowledge causes Monika to Go Mad from the Revelation and seek the player's love at all costs, Tyalie is an Anti-Nihilist who decides to entertain the player as much as she can, figuring this will be enough to make them never forget her, and is a staunch ally of the party in their quest to save the Internet.
• The titular character from Crash Bandicoot. On close inspection, he has a lot of similarities to Taz the Tasmanian Devil. Both are animals from Australia, both mainly speak in random babbling, both have the lights on upstairs despite no one ever being home, both get into more than their fair share of gut-busting antics, and both spin around as their main means of offense. However, while Taz is a ravenous Jerkass, Crash is a happy-go-lucky Nice Guy.
• In Darkstalkers, famous Universal Horror monsters such as Frankenstein's Monster, the Wolf Man, and the Creature from the Black Lagoon get heroic Lighter and Softer counterparts in the forms of Victor, Jon Talbain, and Rikuo.
• Dead or Alive has Helena Douglas, who is this to Nina Williams (who herself is a Corrupted Character Copy of Cammy) from Tekken. Both are well-endowed buxom blonde fighters with cold exterior, but while Helena Douglas is a Troubled, but Cute Bruiser with a Soft Center Silk Hiding Steel Nice Girl who eventually became a Benevolent Boss of the company behind the tournament and also being protective with her remaining relative, Nina remains as a Jerkass Professional Killer that only play little role, if any, to the world at large and with Nina's relation with her sister never getting better.
• Following on the Bayonetta and BlazBlue examples, Vergil himself from Devil May Cry, though still a villain, is certainly a Virtuous Character Copy of Knives Million from Trigun who debuted a few years earlier. Both Vergil and Knives are the inhuman blade-wielding aloof twin brothers of the red-dressed gunslinger protagonist who have a close connection with their mothers (adoptive in Knives’ case) but who came to shun humans and desire power, resulting in a Red Oni, Blue Oni - Cain and Abel antagonism between them and their respective heroic brothers Vash and Dante. However, while Knives has no redeeming qualities and does nothing but hurt his brother Vash and try to use him to further his goals; Vergil, though still cruel, is ultimately a Noble Demon who does genuinely love Dante deep down and is willingly to aid his brother against greater foes.
• Diablo III: The Female Wizard (Canon Name Li-Ming), is an Expy of Princess Azula from Avatar: The Last Airbender. Both are former Child Prodigy Deadpan Snarker Black Magician Girls specialising in Fire and Lightning magic, who come from a Far East inspired Fantasy Counterpart Culture. They even have the same voice actress, Grey DeLisle. However, Azula is a Sociopathic Faux Affably Evil Card-Carrying Villain and Blood Knight, while Li-Ming is a Arrogant but heroic Chosen One.
• Doomguy aka Doom Slayer in Doom Eternal is portrayed as highly akin to Darth Vader being a menacing stoical crimson blade wielding Blood Knight in Powered Armour who runs on The Power of Hate and like Vader scares the living the shit out of the human officers around him. Except where Anakin is a Bad Boss and Tin Tyrant, Doom Slayer while just as violent is really a Bruiser with a Soft Center who only kills evil.
• Dragalia Lost:
  • On closer inspection, Euden actually shares quite a few similarities to Daenerys Targaryen. They’re both members of royalty who come from corrupt families and try to sever ties with them. They then go around the kingdom, freeing people who are suffering and recruiting them to their cause. They also have a special connection to dragons, and utilize their abilities in combat. Daenerys, however, can act quite brutal towards her enemies, and rules her people with an iron fist. That is the last way to describe Euden, as he is an All-Loving Hero who tries to see the good in his enemies, and is a Benevolent Boss who shows incredible kindness towards his people, which is why he is absolutely beloved by them.
  • Mym is basically a nicer version of Bowser. They’re both fire-breathing dragons who are romantically obsessed in someone of royalty (Princess Peach for Bowser, and Prince Euden for Mym), although neither of them return their affection. The difference between them is that Bowser is willing to hurt anyone and everyone just to be with Peach (though admittedly, he does have standards), even after she’s made it clear that she views him as an Abhorrent Admirer. That’s why he continues to kidnap her time and time again, even trying to force her hand in marriage a couple of times, such as in Super Mario Odyssey and The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Mym on the other hand, while she often has fantasies about Euden, she never lets her affection hurt others, and even acts loyal towards Euden. It’s not that he’s disinterested in her, either, he’s just very Oblivious to Love. There was even one time where Mym actually got really close to being with Euden, but she gave it up for the sake of his friends, something that Bowser would never do (unless it’s a cataclysmic event, in which he would be very, very reluctant to).
• Final Combat: The Nurse serves as one to the Medic; both are battlefield medics who serve as the main healing classes of their Hero Shooter games, who use a Healing Shiv to heal and/or supercharge their teammates and also come equipped with a crossbow. While the Medic is a Mad Doctor with a casual disregard for ethics and who primarily sees his teammates as an opportunity to relish in his sick desires, the Nurse is a cheerful Genki Girl who's a lot more eager to sincerely help people and actually cares about the wellbeing of her allies.
• Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy VII is this in regard to one of his more obvious inspirations: Guts of Berserk. Both are antisocial BFS wielding badass Chick Magnet mercenaries with a burning hatred for the Long-Haired Pretty Boy antagonist (Griffith/Sephiroth) who betrayed them and whom they also have infamously overt Foe Romance Subtext with. Though while Guts is for the most part The Berserker with rough, sadistic and extremely cynical qualities, Cloud by comparison is more traditionally ideal and dashing; and while similarly messed up in the head, has still never gone that far over the edge like Guts has.
• Fire Emblem:
  • Perceval from Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade. He's almost a dead-ringer for Camus from Shadow Dragon, and even fills the same role as a noble paladin on the enemy side. Unlike Camus though, who had to be fought due to My Country, Right or Wrong, Perceval can join your army.
  • Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance: Like Cloud Strife mentioned above, protagonist Ike is this to Guts of Berserk fame. Ike is a young prodigy who fights for (and eventually leads) a mercenary group, carrying a massive sword and speaking with a similarly blunt and terse form of speech. However, while Guts is an Anti-Hero whose Character Development is constantly in flux, Ike is a noble hero who only grows more strong-willed and compassionate as the story progresses. To hammer the point home, one of Ike's color palettes in the Super Smash Bros. series (actually based on the Black Knight from his very game) gives him a dark color scheme for his outfit, making him resemble Guts even more.
  • Fire Emblem: Three Houses:
    • Dimitri —perhaps even more so than Ike— can be considered this to Berserk's Guts, especially in the Time Skip where he dons a cape, dark armour and has a missing eye. Like Guts, Dimitri is a Blood Knight who Used to Be a Sweet Kid and a likeable person but was cruelly betrayed by his beloved and trusted ally (Edelgard – Griffith), turning them into a Black Knight on a Roaring Rampage of Revenge. However, even at his worst Dimitri never goes to the level of unhinged ruthlessness that Guts exhibits in the Black Swordsman arc or Fantasia arc, and if the player chose Blue Lions as their teaching house, he would be brought back to the more idealistic knight he was in the early portion of the game. DEATH BATTLE! even pits Dimitri against Guts for the latter's second appearance.
    • The previously mentioned Edelgard is this for Griffith. Both are beautiful white-haired charismatic leaders who inspire Undying Loyalty from their dear allies, but a severe tragedy and their desire for power makes them start Jumping Off the Slippery Slope, betray their former allies and team up with some despicable monsters to become the Dark Messiah (as seen especially in the Azure Moon and Silver Snow routes). However, unlike Griffith who is a utter bastard to the core, Edelgard has lines she does not cross and does regret her misdeeds and if the player chose the Black Eagles and sided with her in a key chapter she would even be brought back to the side of good; whereas Griffith is beyond any form of redemption.
  • Fire Emblem Engage: Veyle is an interesting variation when it comes to Prince Zuko. They're both the children of the Big Bad, a continuously search for the protagonist, and are sometimes their friends, and sometimes their enemies. The difference between them is that Zuko tries to be evil for the sake of appeasing his father, while Veyle is a Nice Girl who was Forced into Evil against her will. However, since Zuko is not a genuinely evil guy, he often comes across as a Harmless Villain; while Veyle comes across as a genuine threat thanks to her evil half. However, both of them eventually decide to turn against their fathers and become the 11th-Hour Ranger for the heroes. Another difference is that Zuko has a genuinely positive role model in the form of Iroh, who helps guide him in the right direction, while Veyle had to figure all of that out on her own.
• Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective has Inspector Cabanela. With his white suit symbolizing a 100% perfect record, the player is led to make comparisons to Manfred von Karma, the Big Bad of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (a game made by the same director). Von Karma cheated to get a similarly perfect record, and the player is led to believe Cabanela will throw his old partner Jowd under the bus to keep his record clean. Turns out he's Good All Along and only got such a record so he could look into Jowd's supposed murder of his wife, which he's figured out is actually the work of a ghost like Sissel.
• Global Champion: General, the Final Boss in a fighting game made by Taito and released in 1994, is a downplayed example in relation to the Street Fighter series' M. Bison. Yeah, General has ambitions for global conquest and is extremely ruthless in battle. Though in contrast to the tyrannical Dictator M. Bison, General does have at least some good qualities as demonstrated in Marco's ending. General donates to him a new body and funds for a surgical operation for the disfigured fighter to have his brain placed in it so that he can finally have a normal life. Even if one wants to accuse that this act of charity is merely a ploy to give himself some good publicity and deflect himself from public scrutiny, or even serve an ulterior purpose of using Marco as a guinea pig to test if this can be done for his own soldiers and supporters or even himself if necessary, it is still a good deed at the end of the day. M. Bison on the other hand has never once done anything remotely humanitarian, and for that matter the Street Fighter Alpha series of games released the year after Kaiser Knuckle/Global Champion would reveal that Bison intentionally expelled all good from himself in order to become purely evil.
• Guilty Gear
  • Sol Badguy is one for Alucard (who himself is a Corrupted Character Copy of Vash the Stampede). Both are red-wearing manly men protagonists with big weapons (a One-Handed Zweihänder for Sol and two hand cannons for Alucard) who are also powerful, demonic, borderline-eldritch entities who were once human and have also worked for a religious organization hunting down their own kind. They even have something of a mentor-pupil relationship with a blonde-haired person who's also of their own kind (Seras Victoria and Sin Kiske). However, whereas Alucard is a sadistic '90s Anti-Hero bordering on Villain Protagonist, Sol is a Jerk with a Heart of Gold. The similarities are further strengthened with both being voiced by Joji Nakata.
  • Ramlethal Valentine is this for Nu-13 (who herself is a Corrupted Character Copy of Rei Ayanami). They are both nonhuman Rei Ayanami Expy clones of a woman who is significantly related to the main character (Saya for Ragna, Aria for Sol), use giant swords in combat, and debuted as the main villains in their respective introductions. Whilst Nu-13 remained a villain all the way to the end and required what amounted to a near-Death Equals Redemption and massive rehabilitation by her sisters Noel and Lambda to even finally turn face, Ramlethal goes face very early after her debut. Nu-13 showing to be batshit insane and off her rocker post-defrosting and her extremely one-sided, obsessive and toxic relationship with Ragna stand in stark contrast with Ramlethal being far more stable post-defrosting and having a much more positive relationship with the man she yearns for Leo. In short, Ramlethal is basically Nu-13 if she grew up in a less cynical, more forgiving world.
  • While he could hardly be called virtuous, Happy Chaos is this to Yuuki Terumi (who himself is a Corrupted Character Copy of Gilgamesh). Both are Practically Joker Greater Scope Villains who are driven by their own personal enjoyment and are pretty much behind virtually everything in the series. Both also managed to influence more recent events of the series before being unsealed. However, Terumi unequivocally hates humanity and wants them to suffer horribly by him whereas Chaos believes Humans Are Special. The contrast is further highlighted with Terumi's modus operandi being to shove despair down humanity's throats because he believes everything is nothing but lies whereas Chaos basically grew apathetic with concepts like good and evil as he got saddled with omnipotence and carrying all of humanity's hope towards living and thus began instigating conflict to amuse himself and remind humankind of their own humanity. Also, whereas Terumi did plans upon plans to ensure he got what he wanted (save for the occasional Spanner in the Works to derail it), Chaos deliberately leaves holes in his schemes as he finds that more entertaining. And lastly, Chaos has an overall better temperament than Terumi.
  • Bridget is what Baby Bonnie Hood (who herself is a Corrupted Character Copy of Red Riding Hood) would be if her outward persona was her real self. Both are young blonde hooded bounty hunters from the United Kingdom, accompanied by an animal companion and fighting against supernatural beings to support their families. However, while B.B. Hood puts on a front as The Fake Cutie, Bridget is genuinely that kind and cheerful. To hammer the point home, their outfits use opposing color schemes.
  • Slayer is another example for Darkstalkers's Demitri Maximoff. Both are dapper yet muscular vampires with stylish Anime Hair whom are respectively two of the strongest individuals within their worlds and have Wicked Cultured tastes. However, whereas Demitri is a power hungry Villain Protagonist Evil Overlord who only ever helps the good guys out in an Enemy Mine, Slayer is a gentleman Friendly Neighbourhood Vampire who is at worst an Aloof Ally to Sol. Additionally, Slayer’s relationship with Sharon is mutually loving and caring (she can survive him draining the blood from her body), in contrast to Demitri’s relationship with Morrigan which in the original games was lustfully dominating and one-sided with Morrigan turning herself into stone rather than become another Sex Slave to his Vampire's Harem. Though in other titles, Demitri and Morrigan are portrayed as a mutually affectionate couple like Slayer and Sharon.
• Zagreus from Hades is this for Kratos. They are both sons of a major Greek God who journey out of the Underwood, have pale skin, wield multiple special weapons, fight and kill their way through armies of monsters before beating their God fathers at the end of their journeys. Except where Kratos (before the 2018 game) was a colossal asshole who needlessly slaughtered innocent people and hated the Greek Gods to the point of killing them all, Zagreus is a Nice Guy whose adventure is instead actually more about befriending the Greek Pantheon and even sorts his issues with his almighty father out.
• Killer Instinct:
  • T.J. Combo is clearly based upon Street Fighter's Balrog, with both being brutish African-American boxers whose careers were derailed by scandal (Combo getting busted for using illegal cybernetic implants and Balrog killing an opponent in the ring), turning them towards the open arms of a Nebulous Evil Organisation (Ultratech and Shadaloo) that promised them an easy way to regain their status and wealth. Balrog remains an unrepentant crook that is quick to abandon Shadaloo when an even bigger paycheck is dangled in front of him. Combo, on the other hand, eventually came to regret his actions and turns on Ultratech in order to prove that he has now become a honest fighter. And just like the example from Fire Emblem: Three Houses above, DEATH BATTLE! has both boxers fight in a battle to the death in a boxing arena.
  • Hisako is basically a lift of Sadako Yamamura, right down to her movements and "glitching out". However, whereas Sadako went after anyone who'd dare play the haunted video tape she was in and didn't care too much if others got in her crossfire, Hisako strictly went after Ultratech because they plundered her gravesite. Even their origin stories contrast, where Sadako was born and died in an abusive, dysfunctional environment, Hisako died in a Heroic Sacrifice defending her village against a band of pillaging raiders. Season 3 would have her ascend from a vengeful Onryō into a much more heroic guardian spirit Shin Hisako.
• In The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, Groose is an incredibly tall, large-framed, yellow-eyed man with red hair who is established as a rival to Link, pursues Zelda, and has a smug sense of entitlement. That's a description that fits Ganondorf, the main villain of the Zelda series, but through Character Development, Groose evolves into a heroic twist on the character.
• Master Detective Archives: Rain Code: While virtuous may not be the right word here (at least initially), Shinigami is effectively this to Junko Enoshima from Danganronpa. Aside from how Shinigami's humanoid form looks very similar to Junko, both of the girls enjoy killing, and they both are responsible for executing the main culprits of their respective franchise. However, while Junko kills off the culprits just for her desire to have people feel despair and gives them Cruel and Unusual Deaths, Shinigami pretty much needs to kill the culprits off just so that Yuma can escape the mystery labyrinths without ending their pact, and even comforts Yakou Furio as he dies. Shinigami also grows to care about Yuma, and ends up becoming a good friend to him, while Junko is extremely willing to kill-off those she cares about.
• Solid Snake of Metal Gear is very clearly inspired by Kurt Russell’s Snake Plissken from Escape from New York with MGS2 even having Snake use “Pliskin” an alias. Yet visual similarities and name aside, Plissken is a Sociopathic Hero who mostly cares little for people unrelated to his mission e.g he doesn’t lift a finger to save a drugged woman getting gang raped in front of him, and has scant few altruistic traits at all. Snake, on the other hand, is a Always Save the Girl Knight in Sour Armour who cares deeply for innocent lives and doesn’t enjoy getting pulled from early dog-sledding retirement back into the field.
• Mortal Kombat is a Cast of Expies franchise, so this was inevitable:
  • Raiden was heavily based on Lightning from Big Trouble in Little China; both are supernatural Asian warriors with storm powers and coolie hats. While Lightning is Lo Pan's smug, evil lackey, Raiden (past the first game) is a heroic mentor figure. Tellingly, Raiden's nemesis is Shang Tsung, MK's answer to Lo Pan.
  • Kung Lao, like Oddjob from Goldfinger, is another Asian martial artist with a signature hat... their hats, however, double as lethal throwing weapons. Oddjob was a criminal out to destroy Fort Knox, while Kung Lao works to save Earth from otherworldly tyrants.
  • The Cyber Ninja characters Cyrax and Smoke are meant to be Predator Pastiches, which is why they have dreadlock-esque cable arrays and tons of hidden weapons (plus the self destruct, natch). Unlike Yautja, who kill people for sport, the cyborgs fight on humanity's behalf... mostly (evil brainwashing. what can you do?).
• Shanghai Alice from Neptunia: Sisters vs Sisters is basically a copy of Reimu Hakurei, what with her being a red and white miko who fights the bad guys only because her day was interrupted (namely by the Trendi Phenomenon in the case of Shanghai Alice). However, Reimu is a greedy, lazy jerk who is openly hostile to yokais and belittles others, while Shanghai Alice is sociable and laid-back.
• Persona 5: Goro Akechi is similar in appearance and apparent motivation to Light Yagami, being an extremely manipulative teenage boy obsessed with his own bizarre viewpoint of justice, and a desire to please their absentee father. However, while Light devolves into being purely obsessed with stroking his own ego and achieving power no matter what, Goro genuinely believes in his view of justice to the point he is eventually convinced to side with the heroes, and while Light's father genuinely loves him, Goro's is an abusive monster that is responsible for many of his current problems.
• Citron from Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 is clearly based on the Droidekas/Destroyer Droids from the Star Wars franchise; he can fold himself into a ball for faster travel and unfolds into a creature with more than two legs and a laser gun. But whereas the Droidekas served as the Seperatists' Evil Minions, Citron is a member of the heroic Plant Team.
• Pizza Tower: Downplayed with Peppino. His transformation and dash-and-bash-based gameplay mark him as an expy of Wario, but he replaces Wario's usual greed and arrogance with equal amounts of anxiety and stress. Unlike the impulse-based plots for Wario's games, Peppino's story is simply trying to stop Pizzaface from blowing up his business.
• The titular character of Professor Layton checks off a lot of boxes when compared to Sherlock Holmes. Both of them are renowned detectives that are seen as indispensable to their respective versions of Scotland Yard (complete with their own Inspector Lestrade), both of them are antagonized by their moral opposite, and both of them are always within close proximity to someone they view as a close friend. However, there's one thing Sherlock has that Layton doesn't: an upturned nose to everyone around them. Word of God says Layton is also this to Phoenix Wright, having all of his good points but none of what Akihiro Hino saw as his bad points, and it shows—while Layton is still good at solving crimes and pointing fingers, he's a gentleman to Phoenix's First-Person Smartass, well-respected to Phoenix's Butt-Monkey, and an Unfazed Everyman to Phoenix's bizarre mix of Only Sane Man and Large Ham (which is highlighted in their crossover game).
• Resident Evil:
  • Chris Redfield by the time of Resident Evil Village has become highly akin to Naked Snake aka Big Boss of Metal Gear fame. Both are Smoking Is Cool, Chick Magnet, Commanding Coolness superhuman soldiers who are the leaders of a military squad named after a canine (FOXHOUND for Big Boss, Wolf Hound Squad for Chris) who have become embittered and jaded by the system and the loss of numerous allies. Yet, whilst Big Boss eventually went over the edge and become a Metal Gear creating extremist, Chris on the other hand though morally dubious by Village is still a hero who never goes too far thanks in part to his remaining allies and family.
  • Fong Ling from Gun Survivor actually serves as this to a character already in the series: Ada Wong, whom she is an expy of. Both are sexy female Chinese super spies with ostentatious dress sense, a preference for handguns and a romance with an American agent (Leon and Bruce). Except while Ada is a notorious Heel–Face Revolving Door and The Vamp who backstabs and manipulates people including Leon who likes her, Fong-Ling by contrast is an unambiguously heroic Nice Girl who continues her mission despite being abandoned by her country, simply because it’s the right thing to do. Her relationship with Bruce, unlike Ada and Leon, has no emotional abuse or manipulation to it whatsoever. She’s generally what Ada would be if she was a clear-cut hero rather than a Femme Fatale.
• Shin Megami Tensei V: The Nahobino is an expy of the standard "evil, androgynous Bishōnen Godhood Seeker Big Bad" that Sephiroth codified and set as JRPG standard. His origins are the typical Humanoid Abomination Half-Human Hybrid, and he's got the classic luscious locks and unusual eyes and strong association with holy symbology, complete with an elegant BFS Laser Blade. With his army of demons, the Nahobino conquers the other gods explicitly to attain godhood and remake the world to his taste. However all these are GOOD things in context: because God Is Dead, the modern world will soon fade away and strand its unprepared residents in a post-apocalyptic hellscape. The only way to avert this is for a replacement Top God takes the throne; the Nahobino is one of a very small pool of candidates and the only one who even remotely cares for humanity. The demonic army he acquires is are just the series' Mons, and whatever new world you create will be a damn sight better than either the "real" world or the other gods' ambitions.
• SINoALICE: The ending for the Taiwanese and Global servers reveals Library!Alice to be a rather downplayed example of this to Omori, the titular protagonist of OMORI and Omoriboy — both characters are alter egos of a suicidally depressed teenager (Reality!Alice and Sunny, respectively), with dark color schemes, a penchant for using blades, a disturbingly callous attitude towards using violence to achieve their goals, frequently taking on an emotionless persona, never giving up on their mission even to their own detriment, and being revealed to have been dreamed up by the aforementioned teenager to cope with the trauma of their real life, only for the alter ego to gain a will of their own and turn their violent impulses towards their original self. What separates the two is what they do at the very end of the story: while Library!Alice eventually accepts the player's help to save Reality!Alice from herself and let her carry on with life, even if it means she will be erased alongside Library, Omori tries one last time to maintain the charade of Headspace by delivering a Breaking Speech towards Sunny with the intention of convincing him to take his own life.
• Splatterhouse: Rick Taylor was heavily inspired by Jason Voorhees, with him being an imposing figure donning a hockey mask prone to wanton slaughter (and had Rick been a Villain Protagonist as initially conceptualized, he would've been a one-to-one Captain Ersatz of Jason). But unlike Jason, who regularly kills innocent people in service of his equally as murderous mother, Rick's wrath is directed towards malevolent monsters and demons, and he fights for the noble cause of saving his lover.
• While making the jump from Dinosaur Planet (Rare) to Star Fox Adventures, Krystal was redesigned to resemble the title character of Vampirella going from an interview with Takaya Imamura. Like the Queen of Screams, Krystal is a scantily clad heroine who wields fantastical powers via her alien heritage (vampire’s power set for Vampirella, psionics and a Magic Staff for Krystal). Whereas Vampirella is usually depicted as an Anti-Hero/Dark Action Girl who has troubling dealing with her hunger for blood, Krystal is a Soft Hearted Warrior who’s willing to drop down everything to help innocents in need, and would become Star Fox's moral center after she joins them, while having none of the literal bloodthirst of her inspiration.
• Star Ocean: The Divine Force: The Scorpium are very much like the Borg. They are a techno-organical multi-species collective, that assimilates new species in order to achieve perfection. Their technology is superior to almost every other race in the setting, and they believe that every sentient creature must be eventually "integrated", and don't understand why anyone would resist. The main difference is that the Scorpium collective is actually benevolent. Its members are not drones, but willing individuals, who merely communicate through the network, and any member can leave the collective, if they desire so. Their colonies are outright utopian, and the advanced technology guarantees very high standards of living. If anything, Scorpium's main flaw is too much freedom, which allows some unsavory people to worm their way in and propagate dangerous ideas, eventually founding a Renegade Splinter Faction with themselves as leaders.
• Street Fighter:
  • Guile was — according to Word of God — inspired by Rudol von Stroheim from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Battle Tendency, both having green military outfits, blonde towering Improbable Hairstyle and deeply patriotic attitudes. However, Stroheim is a Nazi! (even when for the majority of his role is on the heroes' side, and is more concerned about bravery than ethnicity), while Guile is a red-blooded and heroic American who despises fascism and dictators like Bison.
  • Gouken, who made his playable Came Back Strong debut in Street Fighter IV, definitely is this for Heihachi of Tekken fame (aside from already serving as his brother Akuma's Good Counterpart). Both are old and grizzled Japanese martial arts masters who remain exceptionally strong despite being well past their prime, have raised multiple students/children and are powerful enough to directly combat demonically empowered opponents such as Akuma and Kazuya. Except, Heihachi is a despicable old bastard who horrifically abuses and tries to kill his children and grandchildren for standing in his way to undisputed power, or just having superpowers while he doesn’t, in stark contrast to Gouken who found The Hero Ryu in the wild and lovingly raised him as his own son and took Ken under his wing as well. Basically, Gouken is the sweet old man Heihachi could’ve been if he wasn’t such a petty Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy with a head that is stuck up his own ass.
  • Newcomer Manon from Street Fighter 6 was based off Shermie from The King of Fighters, both being fringed pink-haired fanservicey French grapplers who are quite flirtatious. Although, where Shermie is a Femme Fatale and part of the villainous Team Orochi, Manon is one of the heroes and has no Superpowered Evil Side like Shermie does.
• Under Night In-Birth: Londrekia Light is this to Jin Kisaragi (who himself is a Corrupted Character Copy of Ky Kiske). While both are light-themed Bishōnen high-ranks of their respective organizations who use ice powers during combat, Jin is at his best a self-absorbed asshole and Smug Snake and at his worst, a closeted psychopath, while Londrekia is a legitimate All-Loving Hero who feels bad for the creatures he hunts and is considered the Big Good among his organization.
• Undertale:
  • Papyrus is said in the art book to have been based on Dedan, the Starter Villain of OFF, and was originally closer in personality to Dedan — a foul-mouthed, brutish, and egotistical Jerkass who is a Mean Boss to his subordinates, frequently threatening them with violence for merely annoying him and leaving them at the mercy of the Spectres. As of the actual game, Papyrus retains the egotism and does try to capture the protagonist but is otherwise a complete inversion of Dedan — a Nice Guy to everyone and a Minion with an F in Evil at worst who can't bring himself to be truly mean.
  • Undyne basically received all of Dedan's traits that Papyrus was originally supposed to have — being the brutish local Sir Swears-a-Lot who wants to beat up the protagonist. But even she is severely toned down compared to Dedan; she never abuses her subordinates, instead showing genuine care for them (especially Papyrus), and has a sense of justice which drives her to fight the protagonist who she thinks is a danger to her people. At worst, she is a Jerk with a Heart of Gold.
  • King Asgore Dreemurr is based off Bowser and Ganon — a Monster Lord who wants to acquire the MacGuffin and Take Over the World, apparently for the sake of his people. But despite initially being portrayed as the standard Big Bad, it turns out he's a Gentle Giant who is friendly to just about everyone and beloved by his people, and at worst he is a Tragic Villain who genuinely does not want to kill anyone but feels forced to by circumstances, completely lacking Bowser's fanaticism and pride in his evil deeds, and Ganon's penchant for cruelty and lust for power.
• Wizard101: Professor Cyrus Drake slowly becomes this as the game progresses. While his personality at first is a near dead-ringer for Severus Snape, Cyrus has several nuances that set him apart from the Sadist Teacher, even with Snape's own Hidden Depths. For one, Cyrus is quite content with being the Myth Professor, as it was his chosen school by choice and thus he lacks any complaints about his job that Snape did. And while Snape was a Double Agent, with his loyalties being unknown, Cyrus was always a staunch ally of Wizard City and legitimately leads the charge against his brother in Dragonspyre. His background also lacks the abusive nature of Snape's, and is in fact so different that drawing comparisons isn't quite so easy.
• Xenoblade Chronicles 2: The Architect is one to Zanza from Xenoblade Chronicles and Deus from Xenogears. Someone Genre Savvy would expect him to be a villainous Demiurge Archetype like the others, but it turns out the Architect is entirely benevolent, only wants what's best for his creations, deeply regrets his actions in the past world and calmly accepts his death rather than throwing a Suicidal Cosmic Temper Tantrum like his counterpart. The reveal that The Architect is the good side of Klaus while Zanza's the scientist's evil side further reinforces this.
• Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Dawnhero Isurd is this for Kahran Ramsus from Xenogears. He shares a lot in common with Ramsus design-wise, and like Ramsus he is renowned as a genius tactician and army commander who has a close and ambiguously romantic relationship with an aloof purple-haired female subordinate. Like Ramsus, he also has a fanatical and all-consuming hatred with a member of the main party, with the fact that the main target of his ire is his former friend Taion giving him elements of Ramsus analogues Margulis and Mumkhar. However, it's revealed after defeating him in combat that the Isurd the party fought is actually a mud clone who exemplifies Isurd's darkest thoughts ramped up to their worst extremes, and that the true Isurd is nothing like that, instead being a kind Big Brother Mentor and A Father to His Men whose greatest enemy is mundane overwork. Ironically, he better exemplifies the kind of person Ramsus might have been had he been more well-adjusted instead of falling prey to Myyah's machinations and letting his inferiority complex utterly consume him.
• Yakuza: Like a Dragon: Ichiban Kasuga shares many similarities to Akira "Nishiki" Nishikiyama from Yakuza from having a Koi Fish themed tattoo (His is a Koi Dragon, a Koi Fish evolving into a Dragon), wears his heart on his sleeves, and shares the same japanese voice actor. But the main difference is that Ichiban took the prison time for someone else instead of the other way around Nishiki had his best friend Kiryu do for him. And due to this Nishiki got dealt hardship after hardship, almost being punished for avoiding jail to the point he embraces a Start of Darkness and becomes one of the main antagonists of Yakuza against Kiryu. But Ichiban never loses his optimism and remains a steadfast hero who saves Japan from Bleach Japan and it's founder Masato Arakawa/Ryo Aoki (The man he served prison time for).

Web Animation

• GHOSTBLEED: The Bio Horror: Ernstwaffen Krieghauser is transparently based on Albert Wesker from Resident Evil, his name is meant to evoke the Nazis to a cartoonish degree, and much of the short repeatedly suggests he's a villain through comically suspicious behavior, but it's revealed near the end that he's actually trying to stop the real villain, Rita Slider.
• The Amazing Digital Circus: It's a bit of a stretch to call him "virtuous", but Caine is based off of AM, both being insane A.I.s putting humans in a similar Fate Worse than Death. However, AM acts out of naked sadism and hatred. Caine, on the other hand, is a fun-loving fellow who doesn't actually know he's causing harm. There's also their reactions to the idea of escape. AM has no intention of letting anyone escape, not even by death, and becomes quite angry when one does manage to kill themself, while Caine actually wants to provide his performers an exit (since they keep asking for one) but doesn't have a good grasp on what that actually means.

Webcomics

• Quentyn Quinn, Space Ranger: Q and Cue are both Sufficiently Advanced Aliens who are regarded as interfering nuisances by the starships they follow and even have near-identical names. However, Star Trek: The Next Generation's crew are presented as smart, ethical people who try to protect the innocent (both their own and other cultures), even if it requires a little Loophole Abuse, whereas Q is a smug jerk who tends to cause trouble wherever he goes. The crew of the Glorious Undertaking are ethically skewed and Too Dumb to Live, and Cue is friendlier and humbler than Q, even seeking out an assessment of its caretaking capabilities.

Western Animation

• In the American Dad! episode "Sense and Sensei-bility" in which Snot joins a Thug Dojo, the sensei is an obvious parody of John Kreese, but whereas Kreese was an Ax-Crazy sociopath who Would Hurt a Child, the sensei here is a pretty normal guy who gives questionable advice but nonetheless cares about his students and is said to be a Parental Substitute to one with a difficult home life. By contrast, later in the episode, Roger pulls out a Mr. Miyagi-inspired persona to teach Steve karate, but instead of being a Trickster Mentor who uses household chores to secretly teach karate techniques, he just blows off practice and has Steve do his chores for him, then sends him off to the karate tournament horribly unprepared.
• American Dragon: Jake Long: Jasmine is, at first glance, a dead ringer for Tomie — both are dark-haired young girls with noticeable moles under their left eyes, causes men to fall head over heels for them upon merely glancing at them, and happen to be a Humanoid Abomination. But while Tomie is fully aware of what she is doing and willingly abuses everyone she comes across, Jasmine is only malicious due to her Superpowered Evil Side and is otherwise friendly to everyone she meets.
• Amphibia: Marcy Wu is this with one of her VA's Haley Tju previous role Darcy Wong from The Thundermans. For starters, they both have very similar names (even moreso when Marcy becomes Darcy/The Core), they are both intelligent young girls who's worst actions sometimes stem from moving angst. However, Darcy Wong is a mean spirited, rude, violent, and unlikable Jerkass, while Marcy Wu is a friendly, sweet, innocent, and loveable Nice Girl. Plus, Darcy clearly takes pleasure in what she does, like stealing other people's stuff, vandalizing personal property, and tormenting people and animals while showing no remorse for her mean, destructive, and violent tendencies, making it hard for anyone to feel bad for her, while Marcy has more sympathetic reasons for what she did and has a Heel Realization for the severity of her actions and does everything she could to make things right, making it much more easier to feel sorry for her.
• Big City Greens: Gabriella Espinosa is this to Jessica Lovejoy. They both act as love interests to a young, troublemaking lead character, and like to cause mischief alongside them. However, Jessica is even more mischievous than Bart, and is willing to cross lines that even he wouldn't, such as pulling a fire alarm and pinning it on Bart. Gabriella isn't like that, as she is about as moral as Cricket, and they seem to have a genuine bond with each other.
• Bunsen Is a Beast:
  • The main protagonist, Mikey Monroe, takes a few characteristics from Timmy Turner^note  Who was going to be named Mikey, one of Butch's sons, but the trouble between the both of them led to Butch basing his name on his other son, Timmy. and Danny Fenton, the respective protagonists of Butch Hartman's previous cartoons; all three are Book Dumb male protagonists who get into interesting situations, live in a fantastic world, and have quirky friends. But whereas Timmy and Danny are prone to making poor decisions and have a bad case of It's All About Me (especially the former), as well as having a complicated and zig-zagging relationship with their parents (neglectful and borderline abusive parents in Timmy's case, amazingly embarrassing Ditzy Genius parents plus a Know-Nothing Know-It-All sister to boot in Danny's case), friends, and even girlfriends (in Timmy's case, he has to deal with the unwanted affection from Tootie), Mikey is a caring, all-loving Nice Guy who has a very healthy relationship with his friends and family (and vice-versa), with his feelings towards Sophie being reincorporated after which they became an Official Couple. Another way to contrast the three of them is that Timmy and Danny (though not as prominent as the former) don't have the best of luck, while Mikey comes out the winner all the time.
  • Sophie Sanders is based on FOP's Trixie Tang. They're both very popular girls on to which the main protagonist has a crush on, but while Trixie is an Alpha Bitch (particularly in the later seasons, as she was more of a Lovable Alpha Bitch early on) who considers Timmy an Abhorrent Admirer, Sophie is a sweetheart who doesn't have a mean bone in her body and is just Oblivious to Love before becoming Mikey's actual girlfriend.
• DOTA: Dragon's Blood has Davion who is unmistakably based on Guts from Berserk to extent he’s almost a dead ringer for the Black Swordsman. On top of physical similarities and both wielding massive swords, they both also suffer from a Enemy Within which cause them to go all “beast mode”. Conversely however Davion is far more optimistic and mentally healthier than Guts and manages to sort his problems out, thanks in part to not losing the majority of his True Companions.
• DuckTales (2017):
  • Storkules is an expy of the Greek mythological hero Hercules/Heracles, who, along with his strength and courage, was known in the original myths as having extreme passions, such as sexual appetite, hunger and thirst, and rage. Storkules, while still strong and brave, expresses his passions in more positive ways, and is more of a Nice Guy and Gentle Giant, who only attacks when forced to.
  • Fenton Crackshell-Cabrera/Gizmoduck is a take on Iron Man, specifically "Peter Parker meets Iron Man" according to Word of God — while he has the intelligence and robot suit of Tony Stark, he lacks Stark's ego and addictive vices and wants to help in any way he can.
• Ralph Wolf, enemy of Sam Sheepdog who looks an awful lot like fellow Looney Tunes canine Wile E. Coyote (in fact, a later episode made them long-lost brothers). He's a literal Punch-Clock Villain who's friends with Sam Sheepdog off the clock while Wile E. is a true-blue fanatic who will stop at nothing to catch the Roadrunner, no matter how much Amusing Injuries he has to suffer through.
• The Owl House: The Collector is based on Bill Cipher from Gravity Falls. They both are omnipotent creatures from another dimension, very ancient, childlike who turn their respective settings into a living Hell, but that's all they have in common. The Collector is Obliviously Evil Goo-Goo-Godlike, while Bill is a Psychopathic Manchild. The Collector is a good person who just played without consequences but then made a Heel–Face Turn, fixes their mistakes, and goes to learn more about the universe, while Bill just destroyed his own dimension and wanted to do the same to another out of sheer boredom and evil with the excuse of freeing worlds and excusing himself from the consequences. Also, while The Collector saves themself through redemption and decides to atone for his sins, Bill feels scared when he was tricked and has a Villainous Breakdown before his death, pathetically trying to bargain with Stan to save his ass and eventually was erased, showing him to be nothing more than a Dirty Coward.
• The Proud Family: Papi Boulevardez is a parody of The Joker—purple suit, green hair, and cackling laugh included. But he's no murdering madman like the Clown Prince of Crime... he's just a rude old geezer who likes to laugh at his own jokes.
• The Simpsons: Scratchy from The Itchy & Scratchy Show is based on Tom and Katnip from their respective shows, but while the latter two are (mostly) antagonistic to their rodent rivals Jerry and Herman, Scratchy is almost always shown as entirely harmless and kind, making Itchy's murder of Scratchy come across as even more cruel.
• Spliced: The Doctor, a Mad Scientist who created nearly everybody on Keepaway Island. He's based on the eponymous scientist of The Island of Doctor Moreau. But he appears to be better than Moreau: he's a Motherly Scientist who appreciates his creations, and he looks quite sad when he's arrested and taken away from the island. This is proven by the fact that despite having been arrested for his crimes against nature years ago, his legacy is well preserved by the mutants he left behind (his image is virtually everywhere on Keepaway Island, they miss him very much and have only fond memories about him).
• Peridot from Steven Universe. As a hammy green alien invader with technological skill, she's an obvious Expy of Invader Zim, except she's much saner and eventually sees the beauty in Earth and joins the Crystal Gems after giving an epic chew-out to Yellow Diamond, whereas Zim has an extremely misplaced Undying Loyalty to the Almighty Tallest, who hate him, and eventually becomes a very serious threat by the time of Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus.
• Teen Titans Go!: The Alien Skull Hunter is a rather obvious Predator Pastiche and thus riffs heavily on the Yautja — he too is an alien that hunts sapient species for sport, collects their skulls as trophies, and comes equipped with a Cool Mask with thermal vision, wristblades, and shootable razor-sharp discs. However, while the Yautja would never even think twice against killing their marked prey, have little to no interest in anything outside of hunting, and display such degrees of fanaticism that they would rather die than face the consequences of returning as failures, the Alien Skull Hunter is quick to befriend the Teen Titans after being offered coconut curry to the extent that he is rather saddened when he has to depart, and is thus willing to spare most of them as a result.
• Tiny Toon Adventures: Furrball is the Tiny Toons' counterpart to Sylvester, the bad cat who keeps trying to eat Tweety Bird. Furrball is not nearly as mean, being a poor alley cat who just wants to mind his own business, but keeps falling victim to comic misfortune.
• Ugly Americans: A Whole-Plot Reference of The Twilight Saga has Grimes' daughter and her boyfriend Blake, who are essentially positive takes on Bella Swan and Edward Cullen respectively. Blake lacks all of Edward's controlling and abusive tendencies, and is a Nice Guy who would be the perfect husband and son-in-law; meanwhile, Grime's daughter is a drama queen and a bit of a pretentious know-it-all, but she's significantly more sympathetic and likable than Bella.
• VeggieTales: In the episode "Dr. Jiggle and Mr. Sly", Mr. Hyde and Mr. Sly are both strange alter-egos who their staid, respectable selves use to escape people's potential condemnation. However, Mr. Hyde acts in cruel ways, doing things like trampling a child or beating an elderly man to death. Mr. Sly has no malicious intent involved, and if anything, is just non-mainstream. However, proper Victorian Mr. Butterbun treats his disco-inspired getup and music as "detestable".

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