Shadow Archetype / Western Animation

• American Dad! parodies this trope with The Antichrist who intentionally strives to take aspects of Jesus and the Bible and turn them inside out. For instance, he manages to trap Stan, Jesus, and Francine in a Death Trap that fills with sand... which breaks after two seconds. He gives an Evil Laugh and declares that since Jesus is a carpenter, he can't build to save his life.
• American Dragon: Jake Long: Huntsgirl and Jake are both forced by their roles to be enemies. Jake being the protector of magical creatures, against Huntsgirl who has to hunt them. Jake has to deal with accepting responsibilities while Huntsgirl has to fight her fate.
• Amphibia
  • King Andrias Leviathan is one to Sasha Waybright. Both were the de facto "leaders" of their trio of friends (Sasha, Marcy and Anne, and Andrias, Leif and Barrel) who was betrayed by a friend who had the absolute best of intentions and ultimately turned out to be right (Anne turned against Sasha because she was going to hurt the Plantars, Leif stole the Calamity box because she realized using it would lead to disaster). Both let the bitterness of that betrayal to do terrible things, including driving away their remaining friend (Sasha tried to conquer Amphibia and manipulated Marcy and Anne, Andrias became a cruel tyrant and exiled Barrel). The difference between them is that Sasha eventually realized that she was in the wrong and swore to do better, whereas Andrias didn't realize that Leif was right until a thousand years had passed, by which time it was too late for him to make amends.
  • The Core is one to Sasha Waybright. The Core is a Control Freak spent years prior to the show manipulating and gaslighting Andrias (and presumably every king before him) into following it obediently, belittling him and convincing him that he's nothing without it. Similarily, Sasha is also a Control Freak who orders her friends around, acting like their leader and insisting that they'll be completely lost without her. Darcy even gives Sasha a "Not So Different" Remark during their duel. The difference is that Sasha genuinely cares about her friends despite her manipulative tendencies and eventually grows out of them, whereas the Core only ever saw Andrias as a tool and never moves past its cruel ways.
• Avatar: The Last Airbender:
  • Avatar: The Last Airbender
    • Princess Azula and Prince Zuko both lived under the same abusive father and the same expectations, and Zuko spends a lot of time trying to be Azula, but never comes close to her levels of cunning and cruelty and (eventually) turns to the side of good.
    • Fire Lord Ozai is a dark reflection of Zuko's worst traits. Both were hot-tempered and impatient in their youth, and both resented being The Un Favourite next to their sibling. The difference is that Ozai allowed his envy to consume him while Zuko managed to rise above his flaws during his journey. According to Iroh in Legacy of the Fire Nation, there were many times he saw Ozai inside Zuko yet also many times where he saw Zuko becoming what Ozai should have been.
    • Hama is a fellow Waterbender who develops a deadly Waterbending technique in order to escape from a Fire Nation prison. However, her Irrational Hatred of the entirety of the Fire Nation led her to utilize the aforementioned technique to terrorize and harm innocent Fire Nation citizens. She also ends up teaching Katara the same technique. Katara very nearly became consumed with the same vengeance when faced with her mother's killer but decides it wasn't worth it after a little help from Zuko.
  • The Legend of Korra: Avatar Korra was deliberately designed as a Shadow Archetype of Avatar Aang from the parent series.
    • It goes beyond their personalities. Korra excelled at the physical side of bending, displaying talents with earth, fire, and water at age four, but had trouble with the spiritual side, especially airbending, while Aang excelled at the spiritual side of bending, being a master Airbender and all, but had trouble with earthbending. Aang tended to default to airbending, his native element, Korra doesn't carry any water with her and tends to use other types of bending more. Korra accepted her identity as the Avatar at such a young age she had trouble finding self-worth outside of it, while Aang didn't want to be the Avatar at first. Korra's journey is that of The Chosen One learning to live a more normal life, while Aang had to learn how to go from just another kid to being the Avatar.
    • In Book Four, main antagonist Kuvira was designed to be Korra's Shadow Archetype. The two are very similar in physical build, are both phenomenal benders, have both been tasked with restoring order/balance to the world, and are unafraid to get their hands dirty to accomplish that. It's even lampshaded a few times in-universe that they're not that different.
• Obake from Big Hero 6: The Series is what Hiro would be if he never set limits for himself and was unable to recognize that just because you can do something doesn't mean you should. This is best exemplified by how they interpret the story of Icarus.
  Obake: Do you know why Icarus fell, Hiro?
  Hiro: Because he flew too close to the Sun.
  Obake: No. Because he didn't build better wings.
• Sarah Lynn from BoJack Horseman proves to be one to her cast-mates, including BoJack, showing that, for as messed up as they may be (save for Bradley), they could have it much worse.
• In the two-part Craig of the Creek episode "Bernard of the Creek", Craig's older brother Bernard becomes overwhelmed with his adult responsibilities and decides to instead live a care-free life at the Creek. He ends up neglecting his house chores, skipping student council meetings, even not picking up his girlfriend at the airport — all in a desperate attempt to relive his childhood. In the second part, he's taken in by Elder Mark, who at this point in the series, is the only Elder of the Creek left, the others having moved on to their own lives. Mark is presented as what Bernard might become if he stays in the Creek, a petulant Manchild whose toxic personality has driven away everyone who cares about him.
• Daria has the title character and Jodie Landon. They're both quite intelligent, and similarly cynical about their surroundings and peers. However, Jodie is much more active, and still wants to change things even if it costs her values while Daria is mostly content to observe and snark. It is implied that as a Token Minority Jodie cannot afford to be as apathetic as Daria, because everyone (including herself) expects her to represent the black community in a positive light. Also, parental pressure, something Daria is better at dealing with.
• Dexter's Laboratory has Dexter and Mandark. Dexter by and large has an incredibly petty ego that will not take being anything below being the smartest most gifted person on the planet, however his talents and inventions are productive and he does have redeeming qualities. Mandark however, increasingly revolves all his intellect around his pettiness, most of his inventions and endeavors are designed around sabotaging or undermining Dexter, and his Who's Laughing Now? vendetta being the biggest drive for him even building a laboratory in the first place. Showcased vividly with both futures via either's use of the protocore in Ego Trip. While Dexter's is still a shameless Egopolis, the world is all the same utopian and thriving due to sharing his knowledge for beneficial purposes, while Mandark's is a total dystopia due to his spiteful reign and intentionally using the protocore to make everyone else stupider, caring only about being superior and getting the last laugh on those that undervalued him.
• Fangbone!:
  • "The Keeper of Toe" has Wargrunt, a barbarian who was a former Drool-Keeper like Fangbone, with her protecting Drool's left elbow while suffering from the stress and pressures of the job. Unlike Fangbone, who had Bill to help him ease his burdens and protect the Toe, Wargrunt was left to protect the elbow by herself and eventually started using its power for herself, becoming Drunk with Power until her clan confiscated it from her and exiled her.
  • "The Defeat of Glory" has Hammerscab, a young barbarian warrior like Fangbone who's just as much of a Blood Knight as he is if not moreso. However, while Fangbone has the sense to not let his love for fighting consume his life and skew his priorities, Hammerscab's insatiable battle lust ended up alienating her from everyone, including her own clan.
  • "The Burg of Lar" has Kael, a young but skilled Shadowstepper like Cid. Unlike Cid, Kael has a good relationship with One-eye, but is completely obnoxious and lacks the redeeming traits she has. He's what Cid would have been like had she not gone through the Character Development that she did up until that point.
• Inspector Gadget (2015): The episode "Operation HQ Reunion" has Detective Data, a former Junior Agent like Penny who became the youngest to ever become a full Agent and was Gadget's former partner of ten years. Unlike Penny, who is humble enough to let her uncle take the credit for completing a mission regardless of whether or not he actually had a hand in it, Data grew tired enough of the lack of respect given to her by the agency and Gadget stealing all the credit from her that she defected to MAD and became their double-agent.
• Shego is Kim Possible if she got bored of being good. She's also a shadow of her brother Hego, who is a superhero.
  • Bonnie Rockwaller, Kim's rival in high school, is Kim's worst traits (pride, arrogance, vanity, self-centeredness, shallowness) minus her positive qualities (selflessness, heroism, kindness, compassion).
• The Lion Guard: Just as Scar was one for Simba in The Lion King (1994), he's also one to Kion, showing what Kion could have been had he sought more power at the cost of forsaking familial relationships and letting his bestowed powers corrupt his mind. Like Kion, Scar once had the Roar of the Elders and led his own Lion Guard during Mufasa's reign, but lost the Roar permanently when he used it to kill his own Lion Guard for refusing to back him in his plot to overthrow Mufasa. For this reason, Kion actively strives to not become another Scar. Some scenes in season 3 even depict Scar actively attempting to corrupt Kion.
• My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic:
  • Nightmare Moon began as just Princess Luna's Superpowered Evil Side, but the latter's A Day in the Limelight episode shows her to be this trope instead, complete with the same theatricality and passion for the creepy. However, while they both desire friends, Nightmare Moon tries to force the ponies to love her.
  • Twilight Sparkle has had several over the course of the show. Just like her, they're all unicorns with prodigious magic skills, but all contrast with Twilight in different ways: Trixie is a boastful unicorn who loves showing off her magic, which is contrast to Twilight's modesty. Sunset Shimmer was once a student of Princess Celestia, but wanted to be a princess and craved power, unlike Twilight. Starlight Glimmer is a unicorn who can remove cutie marks on a whim and did so to bring about her own twisted version of harmony so she's the only one who was "special". Then we have Moondancer, a childhood friend who is basically Twilight if she rejected the idea of friendship entirely and continued focusing only on her studies.
    • After her Heel–Face Turn, Sunset Shimmer gets her own in the form of Adagio Dazzle. Cruel, manipulative, and power-hungry, Adagio embodies what Sunset once was and is now struggling to move past.
  • Rainbow Dash also gets one in the form of Lightning Dust. Both of them are excellent flyers, are very boastful about their abilities, and dream of joining the Wonderbolts. However, while Rainbow Dash is very loyal to her friends and teammates, to the point she embodies the Element of Loyalty, Lightning Dust is only loyal to herself. Lightning has no problem hurting others to get her way, whether by accident or intentional, and refuses to take responsibility when called out on this attitude. She actually is very similar to how Rainbow Dash was before her Character Development, but without any of the positive qualities she started with.
• The Owl House:
  • Emperor Belos is this to many major characters, as shown in "Hollow Mind".
    • To Eda Clawthorne: "Hollow Mind" draws an uncanny parallel between the Palisman Monster and the Owl Beast, Eda and Belos needing a special form of mental magic (Eda ingesting sleeping nettles, Belos getting Luz and Hunter's help) in order to gain control of their more beastly halves. But whereas Eda learned to live alongside the Owl Beast, having had the curse thrust upon the both of them unwillingly, Belos's condition was self-inflicted and he seeks to purge himself of the problem entirely, destroying countless innocent palismen in the process.
    • To Lilith Clawthorne: The background paintings in Belos' mindscape reveals that he had a similar relationship with his brother as Lilith had with Eda: They were close as kids and shared a childhood dream (joining the Emperor's Coven for Lilith and Eda; becoming witch hunters for Philip and his brother), then they later grew to resent and betrayed their sibling just before a fated duel (Lilith with a curse, Philip with a dagger). However, while Lilith didn't mean to permanently curse Eda, rightly blamed herself, and dedicated her life to trying to fix her mistake, Philip did mean to kill his brother, blames said brother for his own murder ("it hurts every time he chooses to betray me"), and doesn't make Grimwalkers to try to have his brother back, but as an "improved version" of his brother. Lilith also tried to persuade Eda to fulfill their childhood dream of her own free will for years, while we see that Philip never cared about his brother's or subsequent grimwalkers' wishes or free will.
    • To Luz Noceda: They're two humans who stumbled into the Boiling Isles, but while Philip was horrified by the existence of witches and demons as a witch hunter, the magic-loving Luz was ecstatic and longs to be a witch herself. Philip also stumbled into a friendly world whose kindness and beauty he refuses to see, while Luz was intially horrified by how scary and unfriendly the denizens were but learned to see the beauty and kindness beneath. Belos turned the Boiling Isles into a World of Jerkass through his own reign, while Luz helps bring out the best in others. Belos is dedicated to destroying the Boiling Isles, while Luz is determined to save it.
    • To King: In the first season, both were self-proclaimed rulers of unknown origin who "ruled" over their domain as tyrants, and told wild claims about their past. However, King was a Small Name, Big Ego who honestly believed his claims about his past due to being indulged by Eda (who just wanted him to be happy), while Belos is a Villain with Good Publicity who wilfully deludes himself and knows deep down he's a charlatan and a fraud. King also always cared about those close to him even when he believed he was tyrant, and became a better person once he learns the truth of his past. Meanwhile, Belos always considered those around him expendable and the past rewritable. King and Belos also both feel angry at a relative (King to his dad, Belos to his brother), but while King still wants to mend bridges and bond with his lost relative, Belos just wants to make a "better version" of his lost relative as a subserviant Grimwalker.
  • The Collector is one to Luz Noceda. Like Luz at the beginning of the show, the Collector is a lonely child who wants to share their interests and have friends, but has a tendency to cause harm to people around them because of their impulsive actions, mirroring how Luz started the series by releasing live snakes into a school as part of a presentation on her favorite book. The difference between the two is that Luz learned from the consequences of her actions, developed healthy friendships, and matured as a person, something the millenia-old Collector never did. Add to that god-like power, and the Collector becomes a terrifying and personal threat. Their similarities even extend to appearance, with the Collector having the same mannerisms and round facial shape as Luz.
• Regular Show has Mordecai and Benson. While Moredecai is easy going and tends to slack off as much as Rigby, he does try to follow the rules, and is diligent enough to finish his work, and Rigby points out he sometimes acts like Benson. While Benson is hard working with a real short temper, he doesn't seem to have any friends outside the park and tends to be alone most of the time.
• Rick and Morty has one of the most literal examples of this trope in the episode "Rest and Ricklaxation". After going to an alien spa to get the toxins in their bodies removed, a version of the titular characters called Toxic Rick and Toxic Morty are created from those toxins and the aspects of their personalities they perceive to be toxic. They don't just contain Rick and Morty's negative traits, but also traits they feel are negative, even things most people would consider good (in Rick's case his compassion for Morty). The result is that Healthy Rick is friendly, apologetic, and overall pleasant, but would also kill Morty if it benefited him, while Toxic Rick is rude, petty and an overall Jerkass, but will sacrifice anything if it means keeping Morty safe. Similarly, Healthy Morty is a social butterfly who can become massively successful without his insecurities, but he also left Toxic Morty with his sense of empathy because the Trauma Conga Line of going on adventures with Rick has taught him that Being Good Sucks.
• An episode of Rugrats had Tommy and Chuckie have a falling out because Chuckie was tired of Tommy being adventurous and Tommy was frustrated over how scared Chuckie was over things. They end up finding other kids who were exaggerated versions of themselves, Tommy hanging with a girl covered in bandages from getting banged up all the time, Chuckie finding a kid who was crippled by all their phobias. They both recognized the value of their friendship after spending an episode dealing with these kids.
• Much as with the prequels, Star Wars: The Clone Wars adds yet another reflection of Vader in the form of Savage Oppress who gave himself to the dark side to save someone he cared for and was twisted into a towering brute, killed the very one he was trying to save, and has a noted fondness for force chokes.
• Samurai Jack:
  • Aku used a spell to create a dark copy of Samurai Jack, theorizing that Jack could not defeat himself in combat, which proved to be true. Jack prevailed by becoming peaceful and calm, proved his mastery over his own anger and drew the physical manifestation of his anger back into himself.
    • This happens again in the final season, as Jack is faced with his own insanity, a walking image of himself that tries to get Jack to kill himself and calls out all the things people should be doing for Jack. Ultimately Jack has to stand up to him and remove his anger to destroy it.
  • The Cult of Aku's high priestess is a shadow of both the Scotsman and Jack's father, representing what both could have been if they took a parenting route that transformed them into mentally unstable adults. The High Priestess trained her daughters to become the best warriors in their class, but she saw her children as tools for her master, and tried to kill her only surviving daughter when called out on her abuse. In short, she represents what a parent should not be towards their offspring.
  • Like the Scotsman's daughters, the Daughters of Aku are a large group of many female siblings who were trained by their parents as combatants in Aku's perpetual conflict on Earth. Though they're on opposite sides of the war. Also, their mother abused and deprived them of the care they desperately needed to the point they become mentally unstable killing machines. Ashi realizes just how horrible her mother was after spending time with Jack. In essence, they show how the Scotsman's daughters could have become if their parents never loved them.
• She-Ra and the Princesses of Power:
  • Catra parallels multiple people. She mirrors Adora (raised in the same toxic environment, but Adora left and began to recover while Catra stayed and ended up stewing in the venom), Glimmer (both intent on earning the love and respect of a parental figure, but Glimmer's is a decent person who happens to have faults while Catra's is an abusive, self-serving monster), and Shadow Weaver (Catra is, in many ways, a continuation of the cycle of abuse begun by Shadow Weaver...but Shadow Weaver's cruelty is driven by her arrogant and self-serving nature, while Catra's, founded as it is in her past as The Un-Favourite, is more self-destructive, with her envy driving her to continually hurt the people around her and make her own life worse).
  • Entrapta is, in many ways, Bow without the moral compass. They're both smart, compassionate, technically savvy, care about their friends and like learning new things...but Bow is also committed to the side of the Rebellion because he knows why the Horde is a problem (what with all the warmongering and burning down villages), while Entrapta has trouble seeing anything outside her immediate circle of friends and her research.
  • In many ways, Hordak is a dark mirror image of Adora. Like Adora, he was intended to be an obedient tool in his predecessor's war machine. Neither he nor Adora were supposed to bond with others, as this would distract them from their intended purpose (Light Hope frowns upon Adora's friendships, and Horde Prime is angered by Hordak's love for Entrapta). Both he and Adora have acted on free will and developed strong personalities in spite of their predecessors' intentions. However, Hordak uses his autonomy to conquer Etheria in a futile attempt to win Horde Prime's respect, while Adora uses her autonomy to stop the Etherian superweapon and reclaim her own destiny. Hordak is intentionally or unintentionally mimicking Horde Prime in his tyranny, while Adora is transcending the evil ways of the First Ones.
• Sonic the Hedgehog (SatAM): Antoine is what Sonic would be if he lacked his cool and cocky attitude and was more of a bigger idiot than he already is (at times).
• South Park:
  • Heidi Turner is one for Wendy Testaburger. Both are the only known girls to wear hats, are very intelligent, and harbored romantic feelings for Eric Cartman. However Wendy does recognize how having feelings for a person like Cartman could have a negative impact on her life, while Heidi refuses to acknowledge this fact and continued to be Cartman's girlfriend, letting his influence change her. As a result, Wendy was able to resolve and lose all her feelings for Cartman on her own and keep her self-worth and identity, while Heidi became a female version of Cartman until an Armor-Piercing Response from Kyle makes her realize the follies of her feelings.
  • Eric Cartman in turn is this to Heidi. Both have their Jerkass moments while also having potential of becoming awful, with Heidi becoming an obese bigot like Cartman in the back half of season 21. However Heidi is at least capable of recognizing how awful she became before deciding to genuinely growth and change to become a better person earning herself a second chance at happiness. Cartman on the other hand never learns his lessons, continues to blame his faults on others, and progressively becomes worse off until he becomes a lonely, miserable, homeless, and deemed Beyond Redemption becoming the type of person Heidi could be if she never learned to take responsibility for herself.
• Thomas & Friends: Spencer is this to the other pompous tender engines, particularly Gordon. He's just as prideful and arrogant, but while the others have gained experience and made friends on Sodor, Spencer is an unpopular fool that looks his nose down on the others. Downplayed as his character softened slightly in later episodes.
• Thunder Cats 2011:
  • In the episode "Ramlak Rising", the Anti-Hero Captain Tunar to protagonist Lion-O. Like Lion-O, he too lost his home to a horrible monster, one that he wishes to destroy at all costs. Seeing where that mindset eventually leads convinces Lion-O to move past it.
  • Rataro, a leader who treats his own people with cruelty, as opposed to how Lion-O is trying to save his people from slavery in the same episodes as well as treating one of Rataro's minions with mercy. As Lion-O put it, Rataro's people are slaves on the other side of the whip.
  • In that same vein, Mumm-Ra also fits; he leads the lizards against the cats by exploiting the generations of racial tensions and hatred building for so long. Lion-O, on the other hand, gets people to fight on his side by showing them kindness.
  • Finally, we have Vultaire, who believed that the birds of Avista would be perfectly safe by staying out of the war below, when Lion-O knows the only way to win the war is to unite. Although Vultaire does learn to unite...when he joins Mumm-Ra.

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