History Main / CaptainErsatz

** For awhile WCW had a lot of expies of celebrities wrestling, which created a bunch of strange dream fights. For instance it is unlikely that Music/{{Prince}} would ever have fought Liberace, but now you can see what it would have looked like with [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLGd2WNAw5U The Artist Formerly Known as Prince Iaukea and The Maestro]]

* General Hager from ''[[Film/FantasticFour Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer]]'' was originally supposed to be NickFury, but was changed to an original character when the director found out TwentiethCenturyFox didn't have his film rights. Not only does Hager have Fury's personality and ([[UltimateMarvel Ultimate]]) ethnicity, but some of his lines are taken word-for-word from Fury's dialogue in WarrenEllis ''Ultimate {{Galactus}} Trilogy''.

* General Hager from ''[[Film/FantasticFour Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer]]'' was originally supposed to be NickFury, but was changed to an original character when the director found out TwentiethCenturyFox didn't have Fury's film rights. Not only does Hager have Fury's personality and ([[UltimateMarvel Ultimate]]) ethnicity, but one of his conversations is taken word-for-word from a conversation between Fury and Mr. Fantastic from WarrenEllis' ''Ultimate Galactus Trilogy''.

* General Hager from ''[[Film/FantasticFour Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer]]'' was originally supposed to be NickFury, but was changed to an original character when the director found out {{20th Century Fox}} didn't have Fury's film rights. Not only does Hager have Fury's personality and ([[UltimateMarvel Ultimate]]) ethnicity, but one of his conversations is taken word-for-word from a conversation between Fury and Mr. Fantastic from WarrenEllis' ''Ultimate Galactus Trilogy''.

* General Hager from ''[[Film/FantasticFour Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer]]'' was originally supposed to be NickFury, but was changed to an original character when the director found out 20thCenturyFox didn't have Fury's film rights. Not only does Hager have Fury's personality and ([[UltimateMarvel Ultimate]]) ethnicity, but one of his conversations is taken word-for-word from a conversation between Fury and Mr. Fantastic from WarrenEllis' ''Ultimate Galactus Trilogy''.

* When director F. W. Murnau sought to make a movie out of Bram Stoker's book ''Literature/{{Dracula}}'', but was unable to secure the rights, he made the movie anyway as ''Film/{{Nosferatu}}'', changing the names of the characters. (Dracula, for example, became Count Orlok.) In this case, though, the attempt was unsuccessful: Stoker's widow sued for copyright infringement and won, bankrupting the production company... and getting an order that all copies of the film be destroyed. The movie survived through piracy.

* ''Series/{{Charmed}}'' had a demon character named Kira who could see the future, [[ActorAllusion played by]] CharismaCarpenter. Carpenter played Cordelia on ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' and ''Series/{{Angel}}'', who gained the ability to see when people were or would be in trouble.

* [[Fanfic/MassFoundations Mass Foundations: Redemption in the Stars]] has turian Hando Due and [[ExtraEyes batarian]] Greedro as stand-ins for [[StarWars Han Solo and Greedo]]. They're are encountered due to the [[VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas Courier's]] [[WeirdnessMagnet Wild Wasteland trait]].

* The ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'' trilogy is sometimes accused of this by ''VideoGame/MonkeyIsland'' fans, who cite similarities between Tia Dalma and the Voodoo Lady as evidence of their claim.
** Though given how both draw inspiration from ''Literature/OnStrangerTides'' (and indeed, from the [[DisneyThemeParks original Pirates of the Caribbean ride]]), this might be a case where [[OlderThanTheyThink both are the Ersatzes]].
* In the 1976 MysteryFiction spoof, ''Film/MurderByDeath'', various famous detectives are represented by CaptainErsatz characters:
** Sidney Wang (Creator/PeterSellers): CharlieChan

** Miss Jessica Marbles (Elsa Lanchester): MissMarple

* The 1980 TV Movie ''Murder Can Hurt You'' itself seems to have been inspired by ''Film/MurderByDeath'', but with CaptainErsatz versions of '70s TV CopShow characters like Series/{{Columbo}}, Series/StarskyAndHutch, Series/{{Kojak}}, etc.

** The family is very nearly the Fantastic Four: Mr. Incredible is the Thing, Elastigirl is Mr. Fantastic, and Violet is the Invisible Woman. Only Dash lacks a direct parallel, though he's certainly HotBlooded enough to be a match for the Human Torch. The ending shows Jack-Jack has highly variable superpowers (among these, setting himself on fire like the Human Torch), and Franklin Richards, the child of Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Woman had very ill-defined but vast superpowers. Even their costumes and name (Fantastic/Incredible) are similar. Their villain, Syndrome, is a somewhat more rotund DoctorDoom, a villain whose primary superpowers are simply being so good at super-technology that his super-suit is more powerful than the family combined. Syndrome also has Doctor Doom's 'petty grudge blown WAY out of proportion' motivation for his enmity as well.

** In a more extreme example, Gazerbeam and The Underminer basically ''are'' Cyclops and the MoleMen in all but name. The DVD special features on the minor heroes in the movie even parodies Cyclops' infamously bland personality by having Gazerbeam be an incredibly dull person.

** And the HumongousMecha piloted by the Underminer in an effort to frame the Incredibles resembles TheIronGiant with a red paint job.
* The HammerHorror film ''X the Unknown'' was originally intended to be a sequel to ''Film/TheQuatermassXperiment''. However, they couldn't get the rights to the character of Bernard Quatermass at the time, so they made up a new character called Adam Royston. He is a ScienceHero with the same general mannerisms as Quatermass, the only major difference being that his specialty is nuclear physics, not rocketry.

* So many SparkPlugEntertainment characters.

* Comparisons between Al Swearengen of ''{{Deadwood}}'' and Silas Benjamin of ''Series/{{Kings}}'' are pretty inevitable: Both are played in the same highflown style by Ian [=MacShane=]; both are amoral and ruthless in attempting to maintain their grip on power but affectionate to those close to them, and both have a tendency to slip into lofty monologues. Except for their different wardrobes and Silas' network-mandated inability to curse like Swearengen, they're essentially the same character portrayed by the same actor.

* The BBC did a {{Captain|Ersatz}} ''[[TheDanza Danza]]'' in the case of ''Happy Ever After''. When its creator decided that it had run for long enough, he declined to write any more episodes and eventually jumped ship, retaining the rights to the show's format as he did. So the BBC took the central couple from ''Happy Ever After'', changed their surname and character bios, put them in another suburban house, and carried on from there. Terry Fletcher (played by Terry Scott) and his wife June (June Whitfield) became Terry and June Medford in the imaginatively-named {{Britcom}} ''Terry and June''. If that wasn't enough, the characters Terry and June are near-identical {{exp|y}}ies of Ron and Vera Baines, the couple that Terry Scott and June Whitfield played in the feature film version of earlier suburban {{Britcom}} ''Bless This House''.

** Comedian Joey Forman played a CharlieChan-based CaptainErsatz called "Harry Hoo" on more than one occasion.

** And Smart got his own CaptainErsatz, B. Wise, in an episode of ''Series/FTroop''.

* ''Series/{{Smallville}}'' had Captain Ersatzes for a shockingly-large number of DC characters. Adam Knight was Bruce Wayne, Gloria was Poison Ivy, Vordigan the Dark Archer was Merlyn, Pete Ross ended up becoming a Captain Ersatz of PlasticMan (or JimmyOlsen as Elastic Lad)...the list goes on and on. One episode even had Lois cosplaying as an [[ShowWithinAShow as an in-universe]] Captain Ersatz of Franchise/WonderWoman!
** That same episode had a boy transformed by a magic comic book into [[ShowWithinAShow Warrior Angel]]. Whereas Warrior Angel was always an {{Expy}} of Superman (with his nemesis Devilicus as an {{Expy}} for Lex), this "Warrior Angel" was a clear CaptainErsatz of [[Comicbook/{{Shazam}} Captain Marvel]].

* ''Series/BirdsOfPrey'' had Darkstrike, a thinly-veiled {{Nightwing}} wannabe.

* ''Series/{{Casualty}}'' and ''HolbyCity'' get away with having a Music/LadyGaga CaptainErsatz - who, unlike the real thing, dresses fairly plain-Jane, so to speak.

* One of the passengers in Williams' ''Pinball/{{Taxi}}'' is "Lola", a dark-haired copy of MarilynMonroe. She was originally blonde and named "Marilyn" until management requested a last-minute art change to avoid a potential lawsuit.

** The first was Jason the Terrible (Karl "Butch" Moffatt), a creation of Bruce Hart in the dying days of the old Stampede Wrestling promotion in Calgary in the late 1980s, with his manager the Zodiac (Barry Orton- [[Wrestling/RandyOrton Randy]]'s uncle) under a mask, and who can be seen [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1mCmwgzudc here]]. There have been several other wrestlers who have done the Jason gimmick since.

* Likewise ''TabletopGame/{{Champions}}'' has many far too many to list: Defender = Iron Man, Doctor Destroyer = Doctor Doom (or occasionally Apocalypse), Foxbat = the silver age Joker. It also has Ersatz cities: Hudson City = Gotham, Millenium City = Metropolis.
* Palladium Books' ''Heroes Unlimited'' states that one of the goals behind making the game was to allow players, if they wished, to make characters based on their favorite superheroes from the comics. While it doesn't flat out tell you how to, the names of various superpowers make it pretty obvious (and easy) to make, for example, a Wolverine[[note]] HealingFactor + Heightened Sense of Smell + Claws + Indestructible Bones[[/note]] or Spider-Man[[note]] Adhesion + Heightened Sense of Awareness + Swing Line[[/note]] CaptainErsatz.

* Also from ''D&D'', the barbarian class basically exists so you can play a ''Franchise/ConanTheBarbarian'' stand-in. And then there's all the people playing [[TheLegendOfDrizzt Drizzt]] [[OverusedCopycatCharacter clones]].

* ''Webcomic/QuentynQuinnSpaceRanger'' (itself a SpinOff from ''TalesOfTheQuestor'' IN SPACE!) has recently taken a rusty razor blade to the ''Franchise/StarTrek'' franchise. Quentyn meets the crew [[http://www.rhjunior.com/QQSR/00016.html in this strip]].

* ''[[{{Webcomic/SketchComedy}} Sketch Comedy]]'': Independent Music James, [[DieselSweeties obviously]].

* In the ''GlobalGuardiansPBEMUniverse'', there are many. More than many, really. Too many to mention. A short listing includes: Ultra-Man (Franchise/{{Superman}}), Bungie (PlasticMan), Guardsman (Franchise/GreenLantern), Achilles (Franchise/{{Batman}}), Arachne (Franchise/SpiderMan), The Damocles Directive (Comicbook/SuicideSquad), Quantum (Comicbook/CaptainAtom), The Golden Marvel ([[TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Golden Age]] Franchise/{{Superman}}), Morningstar (PowerGirl), and Jock (The Taskmaster). The Neuman Family are pretty obviously a combination of the Comicbook/FantasticFour and the PowerPack.

* ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse'' authors like doing this as spoofs. At [[SuperheroSchool Whateley Academy]] the team The Vindicators is definitely the classic [[ComicBook/TheAvengers Avengers]], with Kismet for the Scarlet Witch, Donner as a dopey [[ComicBook/TheMightyThor Thor]], Captain Canada! as ComicBook/CaptainAmerica, Donner as Thor, Dynamaxx as ComicBook/IronMan, Lemure as The Vision, and Sizemax as Giant-man. And Elite League are all ersatzes of the animated WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague seven. The Good Ol' Boyz are a parody too, but not of a superhero team.

* Princess Potato from SonicForHire is a parody of a CaptainErsatz. She says she comes from the Mario knockoff game, "Super Italian Laborer Town".

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* Bally's ''Pinball/EightBall'' featured two teens clearly modeled after "The Fonz" and "Pinky Tuscadaro" from ''Series/HappyDays''. Paramount Television and CBS were not amused.

** Ray Lloyd was dressed up as the not-quite-[[VideoGame/MortalKombat Sub-Zero]] wrestler Wrestling/{{Glacier}} (a character who has since popped up in Wrestling/{{CHIKARA}}, making for a better fit.)

* A few in ''Film/SkyHigh'', but the most obvious is Layla, being similar to {{Batman}}'s villainess Poison Ivy. She's a redhead, she controls plants, she pretty much always wears green, she's very environment friendly, etc. — except she's a good gal.

* Detective Anna Ramirez in ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' was originally supposed to be Renée Montoya, but her name was changed at the last minute because her behavior in the film didn't match that of the animated and comic book character. [[spoiler:Montoya is an honest cop, while Ramirez is corrupt and works with the mob.]]
** By the same token, Det. Wuertz was supposed to be another Batman staple, Harvey Bullock. Bullock is at worst, a JerkWithAHeartOfGold, whereas Wuertz [[is also on the take, and is subsequently killed by Two-Face]].

** Tharizduun, a NeutralEvil deity worshiped by [[EldritchAbominations aberrations]], is modeled on Creator/HPLovecraft's Azathoth, while many of the other aberrant deities resemble other figures in the Franchise/CthulhuMythos.

* ''TenItemsOrLess'' has a parody of this tripe where the characters create a "Star Trok" Convention with "Blingons and Blomulans" (and SpecialGuest Jolene Blalock) so they don't get sued by Paramount.

->''I'm not Franchise/{{Sonic|TheHedgehog}}! I'm my original character, Blonic!''
->''And I'm not Tails. I'm my original character, Blails!''
->''People really need to get their facts straight.''
-->-- [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fGFjoeyc6I BLONIC]]

* The Webcomic/CiemWebcomicSeries (and greater Gerosha universe of Dozerfleet Comics by extension) is filled with Ersatzes and homages.
** Young college girl with bug-themed powers and complicated love life? Ciem or SpiderGirl?
** FlyingBrick? Emeraldon or Superman?
** Can make you see what isn't there: Delusia or Mysterio?
** Wears a suit that's [[ClothesMakeTheManiac slowly corrupting the wearer's mind]]: Earwig or Black-suited Spider-Man?
** Dark-suited and vindictive rival of hero: Milp or Venom?
** Can summon plant matter from seemingly out of nowhere and hide inside a sunflower: Jeral Cormier / Botan the Plant-Man or Samuel Smithers/Plantman?
*** Although Botan was ''intended'' as a parody of Sandman.
** The patriotic All-American: [[NathanielHawthorne Gray Champion]] or Comicbook/CaptainAmerica?
** He tends to [[WalkingTheEarth Walk The Earth]] looking for evil souls to punish and turns into a monster sometimes to do so: Extirpon, Comicbook/{{Spawn}}, or Comicbook/GhostRider?
** Pilltar is ''Film/{{Avatar}}'' [[JustForFun/XMeetsY meets]] IronMan.
** Has a female ward, wears black, hides in shadows, defends the defenseless, and the government hates his guts and has him labeled a terrorist whether or not he actually is one: Navyrope or Comicbook/VForVendetta?
** It doesn't even just stick to picking on Marvel and DC. Lloyd K''olumn'' is a deliberate parody of Alec Baldwin as Nicholas Kud''row'' from ''Film/MercuryRising''.
** Vienna Dockler for [[Series/{{Alias}} Sydney Bistrow]] ([[DontExplainTheJoke Austria or Australia]]?)
** Lobe the Mexican Wolfman = {{Lobo}} but with [[OneHitPointWonder all the endurance of Taco Bell's chihuahua]].

* Princess Potato from SonicForHire is a parody of a CaptainErsatz. She says she comes from the Mario knockoff game, "Super Italian Laborer Town".