History OneSteveLimit / ComicBooks

* ''Cartoon Network Action Pack'' featured stories based on ''WesternAnimation/Ben10AlienForce'' and ''WesternAnimation/Ben10UltimateAlien'' in its later issues. Two different stories from that part of the comic's run both had Ben fight an unrelated villain called the Collector (the first one being a collector of live heroes who resembled [[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Comic Book Guy]] as a blue-skinned alien and the second one being a warrior who covets the Ultimatrix as an addition to his collection of powerful weapons).

* In ''ComicBook/MsTree'', the heroine, her late husband and his son (her stepson) all share the same name: Michael Tree. To avoid confusion (both in-universe and out), Ms. Tree is usually referred to as Michael, her late husband as Mike, and his son as Mike, Jr.

* ''Comicbook/TheBeano'' has a weird DecompositeCharacter aversion. After ''WesternAnimation/DennisAndGnasherUnleashed'' gave Olive the dinner lady an AgeLift, RaceLift, and AdaptationalAttractiveness, the comic made the "new" Olive a CanonImmigrant, but kept the original Olive as well. So Bash Street School now has two dinner ladies, an older white woman and a younger Afro-Caribbean one, and they're both named Olive. (And both {{Lethal Chef}}s.)

* Downplayed in ''ComicBook/{{Valhalla}}'', which features two significant jotun characters whose name is 'Loki': Loki Laufeysson, the trickster god who became aesir by adoption, and Loki the jotun steadholder and warlord in Utgard, the homeland of the jotuns. The latter is consistently referred to as 'Utgards-Loki' to avoid confusion.

* Downplayed in ''ComicBook/{{Valhall}}'', which features two significant jotun characters whose name is 'Loki': Loki Laufeysson, the trickster god, and Loki the jotun steadholder and warlord in Utgard, the homeland of the jotuns. The latter is consistently referred to as 'Utgards-Loki' to avoid confusion.

[[caption-width-right:320:Not many peasants aspire for AwesomeMcCoolname]]

[[AC:Franchise/TheDCU:]]
* Any two characters who share a surname will ''always'' turn out to be related -- though rarely will either character be ''created'' with that intention. This often occurs with characters who were originally published by different companies that were eventually acquired by DC. They've even done it with a Sanders and a Saunders, who became distant cousins or something.
** There's Ryan Choi, aka ComicBook/TheAtom, and Grace Choi, a half-Amazon woman and part of the Outsiders. No relation.
** Chuck Dixon actually ''wanted'' to make Dinah Drake, the original ComicBook/BlackCanary, the great-aunt of Tim Drake, the third ComicBook/{{Robin|Series}}, but DC Editorial shot it down. Pity, given that it was more plausible than some of the other examples: both Drake families are, canonically, long-time Gotham residents.
** The real name of D-list villain The Cavalier is Mortimer Drake. Since he's fairly obscure, DC probably doesn't have to worry about people wondering whether or not he's related to Tim or Dinah, even though they all have family ties in Gotham.
** Speaking of Tim Drake, long before he was created, Batman's ally Lucius Fox had a son named Tim. Tim Fox eventually fell victim to ChuckCunninghamSyndrome and disappeared from the ''Batman'' franchise, but returned in late 2020 in the aftermath of ''ComicBook/TheJokerWar''. To keep things from getting confusing, the writers had Tim Fox go by his nickname "Jace."
** Traditionally the Marvel Family included "Uncle Dudley," full name [[RepetitiveName Dudley H. Dudley]]. He's been in ComicBookLimbo for a while, but ''ComicBook/{{Flashpoint}}'' and the Comicbook/New52 have since added a girl named Darla Dudley. Are they related, is her name a MythologyGag or did Creator/GeoffJohns just name her without thinking?
** The major exception to this rule is the existence of both Carter Hall and Hank Hall, who not only share the same surname but also have similar superhero aliases, ComicBook/{{Hawkman}} and Hawk, respectively. They have yet to be retroactively related to one another.
** ComicBook/GreenLantern Harold "Hal" Jordan is the nephew of GoldenAge character Air Wave (Lawrence "Larry" Jordan). The Air Wave role would eventually be taken over by Larry's son, Harold Jordan, who like his cousin is also called Hal.
** In his first appearance, Harvey "Two-Face" Dent was named Harvey ''Kent''. This was changed to avoid suggesting a familial connection to that ''other'' [[Franchise/{{Superman}} Kent gentleman]].
*** This became a plot point in the "Mr. and Mrs. Superman" story in ''Superman Family'' that featured the wedding of the Earth-2 Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle. One of the wedding guests was Harvey Kent of Earth-2 (who stayed reformed, unlike the Earth-1 Two-Face), with Lois and Clark investigating a potential mob hit on "someone named 'Kent'."

* ''ComicBook/{{Aquaman}}'''s real name is Arthur Curry; at one point, the comic starred a ''different'' Arthur Curry/Aquaman, a teenager with no connection to Atlantis. It turns out [[spoiler:this Arthur is the original's cousin on his father's side, deliberately named after him.]]
* DC has several Artemises: There's Amazon ComicBook/{{Artemis}} who at one point served as Franchise/WonderWoman. There is also the Olympian [[Characters/WonderWomanGods Artemis, goddess of the hunt]]. [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1942 Pre-crisis, Diana]] fought the reanimated remains of an ancient Amazon who was also named Artemis. Stepping outside of the Wonder Woman corner of the DCU, we also have Artemis Crock aka Tigress who is a villain for the ComicBook/JusticeSocietyOfAmerica and Artemiz, a [[ComicBook/NewGods Female Fury]] who was introduced in John Ostrander's ComicBook/SuicideSquad run.

* Barbaras galore. [[Franchise/{{Batman}} James "Jim" Gordon]] married Barbara Kean. They had two kids, James and Barbara Gordon. Barbara Gordon, the original Batgirl and ComicBook/{{Oracle}}, also shares the same name with Barbara Minerva, who is ComicBook/{{Cheetah}} Wonder Woman's {{Archenemy}}.
* In the ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' franchise alone there are some name repeats:
** There are two Harvey's; Harvey "Two-Face" Dent and Detective Harvey Bullock.
** There are also two Victor's: Victor Fries and Victor Zsasz. Three if you count the first ComicBook/TheQuestion. Vic Sage's birth name is Charles Victor ''Sz''asz.
** Bruce Wayne also happens to have had more than one Thomas in his life, his late father Thomas Wayne, his childhood friend turned enemy Thomas Elliot/Hush and his occasional rogue Thomas Blake/Catman.

* Cassandra Cain and Cassandra Sandsmark filled the roles of ComicBook/{{Batgirl|2000}} and ComicBook/WonderGirl, respectively. While Wonder Girl is still the same person, the mantle of Batgirl was passed to [[ComicBook/Batgirl2009 Stephanie Brown]], then reverted to Barbara Gordon. The fans mostly refer to Batgirl II as "Cass" and Wonder Girl II as "Cassie", which is what tends to happen in the comics.
** For added confusion, we have Cassandra ''Cain'' as Batgirl/Black Bat/Orphan and Kate ''Kane'' as ComicBook/{{Batwoman}}. They're both more or less references to Kathy Kane, the original Batwoman. For added fun, she also now exists in continuity - eventually established as Kate's aunt by marriage. Kate Kane’s stepmother is named Catherine Kane too, just to add to the confusion.
** Martha Wayne’s maiden name is also Kane. So Batman’s mom and adopted daughter have surnames that are homophones. All the Cains/Kanes are reference to one of Batman’s creators, Bob Kane. Bruce Wayne and Kate Kane are first cousins.
** Cassie Sandsmark was on the ''ComicBook/YoungJustice'' team with Cissie Jones-King & a girl called Suzee. They were all blonde. Meanwhile Marvel had already had a blonde teen character named Cassie Lang. This was called out by fans as a bunch of girl characters too similar. Eventually Cissie quit & Suzee started going by her real name, Greta.
* Connor Hawke (the second ComicBook/GreenArrow) and [[ComicBook/Superboy1994 Conner Kent]] (ComicBook/{{Superboy}}) are contemporiaries.

* Part of the reason people don't know there are [[LegacyCharacter two]] [[ComicBook/BlackCanary Black Canaries]] is due to this. They're a mother and daughter duo both named '''"Dinah"'''. They wear the exact same costume and the only difference, until the mid-to-late 90s, was the original had long black hair while the daughter has black BoyishShortHair. Neither of those differences are noticeable as they wore blonde wigs as superheroes, though the second Dinah eventually [[DyeHard grew out her hair and dyed it blonde]]. DC sometimes [[SpellMyNameWithAnS changes the spelling]] of the first Dinah's names; however they usually use her maiden name "Dinah Drake", while the post-Crisis Canary is "Dinah Lance".

* Bizarrely, there are two Garfields in the DCU: Garfield Logan, also known as Beast Boy/Changeling of Franchise/TeenTitans fame, and Garfield Lynns, a.k.a Firefly, one of Batman's many rogues. Neither of them is a [[ComicStrip/{{Garfield}} lazy fat cat]], although one of them could easily transform into one.

* Both the Franchise/WonderWoman and Franchise/{{Batman}} franchises have ''two'' notable characters with the first name Helena:
** In the case of Batman we have Helena Wayne and Helena Bertinelli, the first and second [[ComicBook/{{Huntress}} Huntresses]], respectively. Helena W. is the daughter of the Earth 2 versions of Batman and Catwoman while Helena B. is a former mob princess-turned-vigilante.
** Wonder Woman has Helena Sandsmark and Helena Kosmatos. Helena S. is the mother of Cassie Sandsmark the second ComicBook/WonderGirl. Helena Kosmatos is the second character to go by the name of Fury and is a Greek woman whose parents were killed by by Italian Fascists in WWII. There is also Helen Alexandros [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1942 the original incarnation of the Silver Swan]].

* As mentioned above there are two Jameses in the Gordon family, Sr. goes by Jim though.
* [[ComicBook/RedHood Jason Peter Todd]] (the second Robin) shares a first and middle name with Jason Peter Garrick (the first [[ComicBook/TheFlash Flash]]), and his first with Jason Bard (private investigator and occasional love interest to Barbara Gordon), Jason Blood (the demon ComicBook/{{Etrigan}}), Jason Mayeux Keralis a FalseFriend from ''Literature/WonderWomanWarbringer,'' and Jason [[spoiler:Wonder Woman's]] twin brother in the New 52, among others.

* DC Comics has had multiple characters using the Manhunter name, often simultaneously, and that's not even taking the android antagonists into consideration. You had Mark Shaw, Chase Lawler, Kate Spencer, and several clones of Paul Kirk, for starters. But the most egregious example of this came in an issue of ''All-Star Squadron'', where the Paul Kirk version (created in DC's ''Adventure Comics'') runs into the Dan Richards version (an import from DC's acquisition of the Quality lineup of heroes) and they argue over who was first to take the name. Note that they originally appeared a month apart in 1942 from two different companies and never met until this retconned adventure.
* The mothers who raised Franchise/{{Superman}} and Franchise/{{Batman}} are Martha Kent and Martha Wayne, respectively, both currently [[DeathByOriginStory dead by origin story]]. For AprilFoolsDay in 2013, the DC Comics website altered the profiles of Superman and Batman on their character pages; making use of the similar names of their mothers. Martha Wayne survived being shot and signed guardianship of Bruce to the butler when she was put into the Witness Protection Program. She was sent to Smallville, married John Kent and became the couple who found and raised the baby who would become Superman. This would make Batman and Superman brothers. The prank was so subtle, that DC Comics had to point it out the day after. Three years later, however, ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice'' would make sure that [[NeverLiveItDown no one will ever forget about the Martha connection ever again.]]

* In the Golden Age, DC had hamfisted private eye Slam Bradley and his goofy sidekick Shorty Morgan. While Bradley's real name was revealed as Sam early on, it wasn't until decades later that Shorty Morgan was named Samuel as well, justifying the need for nicknames.
* ''ComicBook/{{Shazam}}'' has the Lieutenant Marvels, three boys who also happen to be named Billy Batson. Apparently, this somehow means that saying the magic word gives them superpowers too, because Golden Age comics didn't have to make sense.
* Originally, the name "ComicBook/{{Starfire}}" belonged to a Russian superhero, but over time he fell into obscurity. Then there was a second "Starfire", who was a mob boss and a ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'s enemy. The name then became associated with the ''ComicBook/TeenTitans'' character. When the original was used again later, his name had changed to Red Star. As a MythologyGag, [[WesternAnimation/TeenTitans the animated series]] gave them an episode together. There's also a fourth DC Starfire, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starfire_(DC_Comics) a swordswoman]]. {{Lampshaded|Trope}} by ComicBook/BoosterGold in the mini-series ''Time Masters: Vanishing Point'', when he meets this Starfire and comments on the coincidence between her name and Koriand'r's.
* With Wonder Woman having such strong relations with the Greek pantheon, it was only a matter of time before the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titan_(mythology) Titans]] (Oceanus, Hyperion, Coeus, Cronus, Crius and Iapetus and the females Mnemosyne, Tethys, Theia, Phoebe, Rhea, and Themis) were included as well. But DC has [[ComicBook/TeenTitans their own Titans]], so this other group was named the "Titans of Myth". And if you think that's confusing, it's even more for Tria, who has been a member of both.

* When the ComicBook/New52 finally reintroduced Wally West, he was so different (given a RaceLift, AgeLift and [[AdaptationalJerkass more cynical backstory]]) that many fans disliked him. ComicBook/DCRebirth then brought back the "real" Wally West and {{Ret Con}}ned the New 52 version to be his cousin, both having been named after their great-grandfather. Later they tried to mitigate the confusion by having Wally II go by "Wallace."
* The ComicBook/WonderWoman franchise at large tends to have issues with this, including the aforementioned Artemises there are:
** During ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1987'' there were three Dianas (Wondy, ComicBook/{{Steve|Trevor}}'s mom, and the goddess Artemis in her Roman guise), two Julia's (Julia Kapatelis & Julia of Daxam), two Mnemosynes (the Amazon, and the Titan), two Donnas (Donna Troy and Donna Milton), two Cassies (Sandsmark and Arnold) and at least three Medusas (one of which actually was the original and the others of which were imitations).
** There are three notable Hippolytas; "Polly" the queen and Diana's mother, Circe and Ares's daughter Lyta Milton, and Diana and ComicBook/{{Steve|Trevor}}'s daughter Lyta Trevor.

* The name Clifford is used with a surprising frequency. There's Cliff Steele/Robotman from ComicBook/DoomPatrol, Clifford De Voe/Thinker I and Clifford Grimm/Brother Grimm, both enemies of The Flash. And strangely the second Thinker, who was an enemy of Firestorm, was named Cliff Carmichael.
* Being such a common name, there's more than one John around the DCU. John Stewart, ComicBook/JohnConstantine, John Grayson (Dick Grayson's late father), John Corben/Metallo, John Dee/Dr. Destiny, John Diggle, John Monroe/Weasel and several others.

* There are two sets of siblings in the DCU who use the monikers Thunder and Lightning. The first were a pair of Vietnamese twins who have served as allies to the ComicBook/TeenTitans. The second are Anissa and Jennifer Pierce, the daughter of ComicBook/BlackLightning.

[[AC:Creator/MarvelComics]]
* [[ComicBook/FantasticFour Johnny Storm]] and [[ComicBook/GhostRider Johnny Blaze]] both have fire powers. There was also Pyro, John Allerdyce.
** Johnny Storm isn't even the first Jonathan Storm in the Marvel Universe. That would be Professor John Storm, a scientist who first appeared in ''Mystic Comics'' #5 (1941). His sole contribution to the Marvel Universe was transforming Laslo Pevely, a man who had been injured in a car accident, into the Terror.
* And of course you've got two Hanks running around ([[ComicBook/AntMan Pym]] of ComicBook/TheAvengers and [[ComicBook/BeastMarvelComics McCoy]] of the ComicBook/XMen). And working together in the Secret Avengers, for more name-based confusions since they both fill the scientist role and the team is on a first name basis.
** Lampshaded at one point:
--->'''ComicBook/IronMan:''' Beast, Pym, catch the bomb!\\
'''Beast:''' Wait, he gets to be "Pym," I'm just "Beast"?\\
'''Iron Man:''' You're both named Hank! I have bigger problems!
* In a ''ComicBook/XMen''/''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' crossover, Nurse Chapel asks for "Dr [=McCoy=]?", and both reply with "Yes?" The Beast referred to this at least once (outside the crossover), saying that whenever addressed as "Dr. [=McCoy=], he felt the urge to say, "He's dead, Jim!"
* The X-Men have two Davids. One, David Alleyne (Prodigy), is depowered and rolling with the ComicBook/YoungAvengers, and the other is Xavier's son David Haller (ComicBook/{{Legion|Marvel Comics}}), who deliberately [[RetGone wiped himself from existence]], leaving an aspect of himself in Blindfold's mind.
* Not really noticed much, because they usually use other names/nicknames, but there are ''a lot'' of Jameses in the Marvel Universe. [[ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} James 'Logan/Wolverine' Howlett]], [[ComicBook/BuckyBarnes James 'Bucky' Buchanan Barnes]], [[ComicBook/XFactor James 'Jamie/Multiple Man' Maddrox]], [[ComicBook/XForce James 'Warpath' Proudstar]] and [[ComicBook/WarMachine James 'Rhodey/War Machine' Rhodes]]. And that's not counting really minor characters like James 'Jimmy/X-Ray' Darnell, James 'Mad Jim' Jaspers, and James Braddock from Captain Britain. People in Marvel '''really''' like the name James.
** And [[ComicBook/AlphaFlight James MacDonald "Vindicator/Guardian" Hudson]].
* They also DO have 3 Steves - Steve Rogers, Stephen Strange and William Burneside who legally changed his name to Steve Rogers. Fortunately, while ComicBook/CaptainAmerica is occasionally called Steve, it's very rare for anyone to refer to ComicBook/DoctorStrange by his first name. And when they do, it's always Stephen, not Steve, most people call William Burneside by his original name rather than the name he has changed it to.
* Incidentally, Marvel refuses to have two active super-heroes by the same name, in two separate collections but in the same universe. They can have, say, the Chameleon impersonating Spider-Man in his series, or a new Captain America while Steve Rogers cannot use the shield. However: When Jim Starlin wanted to resurrect Adam Warlock, the Warlock from the ''ComicBook/NewMutants'' had to go -- and was killed in his own series. Similarly, the return of "the man called Nova" (Richard Rider) meant that the ''girl'' called Nova (Frankie Raye, herald of Galactus) was to be killed. Silly, because like many above examples, not only were the two Warlocks not related in anyway, they both had enemies called The Magus, who also were not related in anyway other than name. Although the New Mutants Warlock was named so as a homage to Adam Warlock, hence why he also had a villain named the Magus. To further the point. Adam Warlock's Magus was a possible future incarnation of himself. New Mutants' Magus is the father of their Warlock and it's their custom for the child to kill the father and then become the new Magus.
** Please note that '''[[NonindicativeName none of these characters use any kind of magic!]]'''
* X-Man Robert "Bobby" Drake aka Iceman and New Mutant Roberto "Bobby" Da Costa aka Sunspot. There is also Barbara “Bobbi” Morse aka ComicBook/{{Mockingbird}}, though connected to the Avengers and not the X-Men.
* Young X-Man Hope Abbott aka Trance and Hope the Mutant Messiah raised in exile by Cable.
* Piotr Rasputin (who is often addressed as "Peter", "Pete" or "Petey") aka Colossus and Peter "Pete" Wisdom. This would not be particularly notable (the X-Books have LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters, and Wisdom never uses his full name anyway) except a) they spent a fair amount of time in the same title and b) both of them have dated Kitty Pryde. During the time when they were both on ''Excalibur'', Colossus was generally addressed as "Piotr" or by his code-name. The two also share the name with the Marvel Universe's [[Franchise/SpiderMan Peter Parker]] and the Trapster, formerly known as Paste-Pot Pete.
** When Kitty Pryde started dating Peter Quill, aka Star-Lord, one of the character commented that she only ever dated Peters.
* ComicBook/{{Magneto}} shares his first name, Erik, with the Comicbook/BlackPanther villain ComicBook/ErikKillmonger. Amusingly, Erik Lensherr is an alias, as Magneto's real name is Max Eisenhardt, while Killmonger's real name is N'Jadaka. There's also Erik Josten, [[IHaveManyNames A.K.A. Power Man, A.K.A. Goliath, A.K.A. Atlas]], minor X-Men villain Erik the Red, and CanonImmigrant Erik Selvig. Going with the "Eric" spelling, Marvel also has Eric Brooks[=/=]ComicBook/{{Blade}}, Eric O'Grady[=/=]ComicBook/AntMan, Eric Masterson[=/=]ComicBook/{{Thunderstrike}}, and Eric Williams/Grim Reaper.
* Early in ''[[ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderMan The Amazing Spider-Man]]'', Peter Parker dated Betty Brant while his classmate Liz Allan made a play for him. Both girls were called pet forms of the name Elizabeth. Meanwhile in ''The Incredible Hulk'', Bruce Banner's love interest was Betty Ross; and Betty (or Betsy) Ross had also been the name of a Captain America supporting character in the Golden Age, who for a time became his sidekick, the first Golden Girl. Betty Brant worked as secretary to J. Jonah Jameson, a position where after her wedding to Ned Leeds she was replaced by the rather similar sounding Gloria Grant.
** There's something about "Mary" for Peter Parker: His late mother was called Mary Parker, while his Aunt May bears a name that can be a variation of "Mary". Peter went on to date and eventually marry Mary Jane Watson, the niece of Aunt May's best friend, Anna May Watson (and in the New Testament, Anna is the mother of Mary). It later was revealed that MJ's mother was called Madeline (a French variant of Mary Magdalene). And when Peter and Mary Jane had a [[ComicBook/SpiderGirl daughter]], they decided to call her May.
* Penance from ''ComicBook/GenerationX'' came back after Speedball had gone emocore and called himself Penance as well. Nowadays she's called Hollow.
* In ''[[ComicBook/XMen New X-Men: Academy X]]'', there are technically two Joshes in the New Mutants squad - Joshua Guthrie (Icarus) and Josh Foley (Elixir). However, earlier in ''Uncanny X-Men'', Josh Guthrie decided to go by "Jay" because he feels that after his girlfriend died his old name should be left in his past too.
* There is a "Laurie" and a "Laura" in ''New X-Men: Childhood's End'', but [[spoiler:one is dead and one ''can't'' die.]]
* ''ComicBook/XMen'' used an aversion of this as part of Jubilee's backstory -- her parents were murdered because her father happened to have the same name as another doctor who was involved with organised crime.
* Kurt Wagner aka Nightcrawler and Juggernaut's father Kurt Marko. Nathan Christopher Charles Summers aka ComicBook/{{Cable}}, named after his grandfathers Nathaniel Essex, Christopher Summers, and Charles Xavier.
* Victor Creed aka Sabretooth and Victor Borkowski aka Anole.
* Brian Braddock aka Captain Britain and Charles's father Brian Xavier.
* In ''ComicBook/XForce'', team director/owner Spike Freeman and team member the Spike shared a name. Lampshaded when Freeman says he really likes the Spike, and not ''just'' because of his name. This is pretty much the only time it comes up; the two share very little screen time and never even really talk to each other. Whereas the Spike was a big deal towards the end of the team's run as X-Force, Spike Freeman only became a major character after the Spike died and the book was relaunched as ''X-Statix''.
** The "no shared codenames" rule was abandoned altogether in the 2010s with the two ComicBook/{{Hawkeye}}s. Kate Bishop took on the "Hawkeye" identity in ''ComicBook/YoungAvengers'' at a time when Clint Barton was believed to be dead (and very briefly actually was). However, after he made his resurrection public he gave her his blessing to continue using the identity with no "Young" or "Ms."/"Lady"/"Woman" modifier, and the two have teamed up regularly.
*** And this continued with Peter Parker and Miles Morales sharing the name Spider-Man, Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson sharing the name Captain America.
* The Marvel Universe also has two Gladiators - Kallark, the Majestor of the Shi'ar Empire, and the Daredevil villain Melvin Potter.
** Speaking of which, Sharon Ventura shares her first name with Sharon Carter, aka ComicBook/Agent13.
** Two people used the codename Grizzly; Theodore Winchester, an associate of ComicBook/{{Cable}} and Maxwell Markham, an enemy of Spider-Man. Markham himself shares first name with another Spider-Man rogue, Maxwell Dillon/Electro.
* The ComicBook/IronMan villains Crimson Dynamo (introduced 1963) and Whiplash (introduced 2009) are both named "Anton Vanko," but are otherwise unrelated.
** Tony Stark himself shares first name with Tony Masters/ComicBook/{{Taskmaster}} and Anthony Ludgate/Dr. Druid.
* Marvel also has Sam Wilson (ComicBook/TheFalcon), Sam Guthrie ([[Comicbook/NewMutants Cannonball]]), Sam Alexander (ComicBook/{{Nova}}) and Sam Chung (Blindspot). {{Lampshaded}} in a ''Nova'' issue where Captain America calls the Alexander household looking for Sam, and Nova assumes that he must have mistakenly called while looking for Sam ''Wilson''.
* In the series ''ComicBook/{{Alias}}'' (no relation to [[Series/{{Alias}} the TV series]]), the main character, Jessica Jones, had a run-in with another Jessica, Jessica Drew. Both Jessicas were former superheroes turned private investigators, and Creator/BrianMichaelBendis has stated that he created Jones as an {{Expy}} of Drew after he was [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute denied permission to use the latter]]. This is a plot point, because another character, Mattie Franklin (former superhero turned junkie) broke into Jones' office, thinking it belonged to Drew, whom she knew and was looking for.
** It also may be some LampshadeHanging, as Brian Michael Bendis had actually wanted to write the series about Jessica Drew, but Marvel didn't want to risk her on a MAX title. So instead, the somewhat similar Jessica Jones was created and retconned into the Marvel Universe.
* In Creator/MarvelComics, Cain Marko is the Juggernaut; William Baker, alias Flint Marko, is the Sandman; Michael Marko is "Man Mountain" Marko. This wouldn't be so unusual if the last name weren't so uncommon, really.
** Partially justified: Sandman changed his name to Flint Marko so no one would associate his life of crime with [[EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas his mother, to protect her reputation]].
* One of Creator/StanLee's earliest creations, for Timely Comics, was the Destroyer, a superhero who operated in Nazi Germany. Later, in the early days of Marvel, he and Creator/JackKirby reused that name for the one-off villain in the first [[ComicBook/FantasticFour Human Torch]] solo adventure in ''Strange Tales''. Then they reused it again for an enchanted suit of armor that [[ComicBook/TheMightyThor Thor]] has to deal with. Jim Starlin muddied the waters further in the early 70s by basing the original look of [[ComicBook/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy Drax the Destroyer]] on the Timely character. And eventually, in ''ComicBook/TheInvadersMarvel'', the original heroic Destroyer was brought into Marvel canon as well and soon made into a LegacyCharacter.
* ''ComicBook/{{Runaways}}'' has four Victors. Lampshaded when "[[ComicBook/DoctorDoom Victor Von Doom]]" (ActuallyADoombot, but it still counts) claims to be Victor Mancha's father, saying that "[Mancha's] mother was brave enough to anoint you with my name, but not to tell you of her dalliances as a young woman, in Latveria." The other two are evil MadScientist [[DrFakenstein Victor Stein]] and his son (who goes by Chase.)
* Sam Wilson, ComicBook/TheFalcon, and Jim Wilson from ''ComicBook/IncredibleHulk''. Eventually revealed to be relatives, but that was a {{Revision}}.
** In ''[[ComicBook/BlackPanther Panther's Rage]]'', Erik Killmonger's superpowered henchmen included guys called [[MyNaymeIs Venomm and Karnaj]]. [[HilariousInHindsight Later]], Franchise/SpiderMan got two major villains called ComicBook/{{Venom}} and Comicbook/{{Carnage}}, also related to each other.
* Speaking of the name Elizabeth, besides Elizabeth 'Liz' Allan, Elizabeth 'Betty' Brant, Elizabeth 'Betsy' Ross/Golden Girl and Elizabeth [[ComicBook/BettyRoss 'Betty' Ross]], there's also Elizabeth 'Betsy' Braddock/ComicBook/{{Psylocke}}, Elizabeth Twoyoungmen from ComicBook/AlphaFlight and Elizabeth Guthrie.
* Jennifer Walters[=/=]ComicBook/SheHulk and Jennifer Takeda/Hazmat, as well as Jennifer Kale and Jennifer Stavros/Roulette.
* ''ComicBook/TheTombOfDracula'' and ''Midnight Sons'' type books(''Darkholders'', ''Night Stalkers'', ''[[ComicBook/GhostRider Spirits of Vengeance]]'', etc) tend to feature Lilith, The [[AntagonisticOffspring Daughter Of Dracula]] and Lilith, [[MonsterProgenitor Mother Of Demons]]. They both showed up at the same time in a ''ComicBook/DoctorStrange'' book, although it was it was just as two of [[CListFodder many]] suffering TheWorfEffect.
* ''ComicBook/TheUltimates'': Not Thor himself, but Mjolnir. ''Ultimates 3'' has him suddenly go from using the axe-hammer version to one more like regular Thor's Mjolnir. ''ComicBook/UltimateThor'' covered it by revealing they're separate hammers, which just have the same name.

* Not really noticed much, because they usually use other names/nicknames, but there are ''a lot'' of Jameses in the Marvel Universe. [[Franchise/{{Wolverine}} James 'Logan/Wolverine' Howlett]], [[ComicBook/BuckyBarnes James 'Bucky' Buchanan Barnes]], [[ComicBook/XFactor James 'Jamie/Multiple Man' Maddrox]], [[ComicBook/XForce James 'Warpath' Proudstar]] and [[ComicBook/WarMachine James 'Rhodey/War Machine' Rhodes]]. And that's not counting really minor characters like James 'Jimmy/X-Ray' Darnell, James 'Mad Jim' Jaspers, and James Braddock from Captain Britain. People in Marvel '''really''' like the name James.

* One of Creator/StanLee's earliest creations, for Timely Comics, was the Destroyer, a superhero who operated in Nazi Germany. Later, in the early days of Marvel, he and Creator/JackKirby reused that name for the one-off villain in the first [[ComicBook/FantasticFour Human Torch]] solo adventure in ''Strange Tales''. Then they reused it again for an enchanted suit of armor that [[ComicBook/TheMightyThor Thor]] has to deal with. Jim Starlin muddied the waters further in the early 70s by basing the original look of [[ComicBook/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy Drax the Destroyer]] on the Timely character. And eventually, in ''ComicBook/TheInvadersComicBook'', the original heroic Destroyer was brought into Marvel canon as well and soon made into a LegacyCharacter.

* One of Creator/StanLee's earliest creations, for Timely Comics, was the Destroyer, a superhero who operated in Nazi Germany. Later, in the early days of Marvel, he and Creator/JackKirby reused that name for the one-off villain in the first [[ComicBook/FantasticFour Human Torch]] solo adventure in ''Strange Tales''. Then they reused it again for an enchanted suit of armor that [[ComicBook/TheMightyThor Thor]] has to deal with. Jim Starlin muddied the waters further in the early 70s by basing the original look of [[ComicBook/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy Drax the Destroyer]] on the Timely character. And eventually, in ''ComicBook/TheInvaders'', the original heroic Destroyer was brought into Marvel canon as well and soon made into a LegacyCharacter.

* ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics'' has both Ray the Manta Ray (leader of the Forty Fathom Freedom Fighters and CanonForeigner) and Ray the Flying Squirrel (member of the Chaotix, originally from ''VideoGame/SegaSonicTheHedgehog''). When the original Ray was introduced, the writers most likely hadn't heard of the game Ray (or weren't planning to ever use him).

** For added confusion, we have Cassandra ''Cain'' as Batgirl/Black Bat/Orphan and Kate ''Kane'' as ComicBook/{{Batwoman}}. They're both more or less references to Kathy Kane, the original Batwoman. For added fun, she also now exists in continuity - eventually established as Kate's aunt by marriage. Kate Kane’s stepmother is named Catherine Kate too, just to add to the confusion.

[[caption-width-right:320:Not many peasants aspire for {{Awesome McCoolname}}]]

* Any two characters who share a surname will ''always'' turn out to be related -- though rarely will either character be ''created'' with that intention. This often occurs with characters who were originally published by different companies that were eventually [[strike:assimilated by the Borg]] acquired by DC. They've even done it with a Sanders and a Saunders, who became distant cousins or something.

** Speaking of Tim Drake, long before he was created, Batman's ally Lucius Fox had a son named Tim. Tim Fox eventually fell victim to ChuckCunninghamSyndrome and disappeared from the ''Batman'' franchise, but returned in late 2020 in the aftermath of ''Comicbook/TheJokerWar''. To keep things from getting confusing, the writers had Tim Fox go by his nickname "Jace."
** Traditionally the Marvel Family included "Uncle Dudley," full name [[RepetitiveName Dudley H. Dudley]]. He's been in ComicBookLimbo for a while, but ''Comicbook/{{Flashpoint}}'' and the Comicbook/New52 have since added a girl named Darla Dudley. Are they related, is her name a MythologyGag or did Creator/GeoffJohns just name her without thinking?

** ComicBook/{{Green Lantern}} Harold "Hal" Jordan is the nephew of GoldenAge character Air Wave (Lawrence "Larry" Jordan). The Air Wave role would eventually be taken over by Larry's son, Harold Jordan, who like his cousin is also called Hal.

* DC has several Artemises: There Amazon ComicBook/{{Artemis}} who at one point served as Franchise/WonderWoman. There is also the Olympian [[Characters/WonderWomanGods Artemis, goddess of the hunt]]. [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1942 Pre-crisis, Diana]] fought the reanimated remains of an ancient Amazon who was also named Artemis. Stepping outside of the Wonder Woman corner of the DCU, we also have Artemis Crock aka Tigress who is a villain for the ComicBook/JusticeSocietyOfAmerica and Artemiz, a [[ComicBook/NewGods Female Fury]] who was introduced in John Ostrander's ComicBook/SuicideSquad run.

* Cassandra Cain and Cassandra Sandsmark filled the roles of ComicBook/{{Batgirl| 2000}} and ComicBook/WonderGirl, respectively. While Wonder Girl is still the same person, the mantle of Batgirl was passed to [[ComicBook/Batgirl2009 Stephanie Brown]], then reverted to Barbara Gordon. The fans mostly refer to Batgirl II as "Cass" and Wonder Girl II as "Cassie", which is what tends to happen in the comics.

** Cassie Sandsmark was on the ''Comicbook/YoungJustice'' team with Cissie Jones-King & a girl called Suzee. They were all blonde. Meanwhile Marvel had already had a blonde teen character named Cassie Lang. This was called out by fans as a bunch of girl characters too similar. Eventually Cissie quit & Suzee started going by her real name, Greta.

* [[ComicBook/RedHood Jason Peter Todd]] (the second Robin) shares a first and middle name with Jason Peter Garrick (the first [[Comicbook/TheFlash Flash]]), and his first with Jason Bard (private investigator and occasional love interest to Barbara Gordon), Jason Blood (the demon ComicBook/{{Etrigan}}), Jason Mayeux Keralis a FalseFriend from ''Literature/WonderWomanWarbringer,'' and Jason [[spoiler:Wonder Woman's]] twin brother in the New 52, among others.

* ''Comicbook/{{Shazam}}'' has the Lieutenant Marvels, three boys who also happen to be named Billy Batson. Apparently, this somehow means that saying the magic word gives them superpowers too, because Golden Age comics didn't have to make sense.
* Originally, the name "ComicBook/{{Starfire}}" belonged to a Russian superhero, but over time he fell into obscurity. Then there was a second "Starfire", who was a mob boss and a ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'s enemy. The name then became associated with the ''ComicBook/TeenTitans'' character. When the original was used again later, his name had changed to Red Star. As a MythologyGag, [[WesternAnimation/TeenTitans the animated series]] gave them an episode together. There's also a fourth DC Starfire, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starfire_(DC_Comics) a swordswoman]]. [[LampshadedTrope Lampshaded]] by ComicBook/BoosterGold in the mini-series ''Time Masters: Vanishing Point'', when he meets this Starfire and comments on the coincidence between her name and Koriand'r's.

* When the Comicbook/New52 finally reintroduced Wally West, he was so different (given a RaceLift, AgeLift and [[AdaptationalJerkass more cynical backstory]]) that many fans disliked him. Comicbook/DCRebirth then brought back the "real" Wally West and {{Ret Con}}ned the New 52 version to be his cousin, both having been named after their great-grandfather. Later they tried to mitigate the confusion by having Wally II go by "Wallace."

* [[ComicBook/FantasticFour Johnny Storm]] and [[Comicbook/GhostRider Johnny Blaze]] both have fire powers. There was also Pyro, John Allerdyce.

* And of course you've got two Hanks running around ([[ComicBook/AntMan Pym]] of Comicbook/TheAvengers and [[Comicbook/BeastMarvelComics McCoy]] of the Comicbook/XMen). And working together in the Secret Avengers, for more name-based confusions since they both fill the scientist role and the team is on a first name basis.

-->'''Comicbook/IronMan''': Beast, Pym, catch the bomb!\\
'''Beast''': Wait, he gets to be "Pym," I'm just "Beast"?\\
'''Iron Man''': You're both named Hank! I have bigger problems!
* In a ''Comicbook/XMen''/''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' crossover, Nurse Chapel asks for "Dr [=McCoy=]?", and both reply with "Yes?" The Beast referred to this at least once (outside the crossover), saying that whenever addressed as "Dr. [=McCoy=], he felt the urge to say, "He's dead, Jim!"
* The X-Men have two Davids. One, David Alleyne (Prodigy), is depowered and rolling with the [[Comicbook/YoungAvengers Young Avengers]], and the other is Xavier's son David Haller (Comicbook/{{Legion|Marvel Comics}}), who deliberately [[RetGone wiped himself from existence]], leaving an aspect of himself in Blindfold's mind.
* Not really noticed much, because they usually use other names/nicknames, but there are ''a lot'' of Jameses in the Marvel Universe. [[{{Wolverine}} James 'Logan/Wolverine' Howlett]], [[ComicBook/BuckyBarnes James 'Bucky' Buchanan Barnes]], [[ComicBook/XFactor James 'Jamie/Multiple Man' Maddrox]], [[ComicBook/XForce James 'Warpath' Proudstar]] and [[ComicBook/WarMachine James 'Rhodey/War Machine' Rhodes]]. And that's not counting really minor characters like James 'Jimmy/X-Ray' Darnell, James 'Mad Jim' Jaspers, and James Braddock from Captain Britain. People in Marvel '''really''' like the name James.

* Comicbook/{{Magneto}} shares his first name, Erik, with the Comicbook/BlackPanther villain Comicbook/ErikKillmonger. Amusingly, Erik Lensherr is an alias, as Magneto's real name is Max Eisenhardt, while Killmonger's real name is N'Jadaka. There's also Erik Josten, [[IHaveManyNames A.K.A. Power Man, A.K.A. Goliath, A.K.A. Atlas]], minor X-Men villain Erik the Red, and CanonImmigrant Erik Selvig. Going with the "Eric" spelling, Marvel also has Eric Brooks[=/=]Comicbook/{{Blade}}, Eric O'Grady[=/=]Comicbook/AntMan, Eric Masterson[=/=]Comicbook/{{Thunderstrike}}, and Eric Williams/Grim Reaper.
* Early in ''[[Comicbook/TheAmazingSpiderMan The Amazing Spider-Man]]'', Peter Parker dated Betty Brant while his classmate Liz Allan made a play for him. Both girls were called pet forms of the name Elizabeth. Meanwhile in ''The Incredible Hulk'', Bruce Banner's love interest was Betty Ross; and Betty (or Betsy) Ross had also been the name of a Captain America supporting character in the Golden Age, who for a time became his sidekick, the first Golden Girl. Betty Brant worked as secretary to J. Jonah Jameson, a position where after her wedding to Ned Leeds she was replaced by the rather similar sounding Gloria Grant.

* In ''[[Comicbook/XMen New X-Men: Academy X]]'', there are technically two Joshes in the New Mutants squad - Joshua Guthrie (Icarus) and Josh Foley (Elixir). However, earlier in ''Uncanny X-Men'', Josh Guthrie decided to go by "Jay" because he feels that after his girlfriend died his old name should be left in his past too.

* ''Comicbook/XMen'' used an aversion of this as part of Jubilee's backstory -- her parents were murdered because her father happened to have the same name as another doctor who was involved with organised crime.
* Kurt Wagner aka Nightcrawler and Juggernaut's father Kurt Marko. Nathan Christopher Charles Summers aka Comicbook/{{Cable}}, named after his grandfathers Nathaniel Essex, Christopher Summers, and Charles Xavier.

** Speaking of which, Sharon Ventura shares her first name with Sharon Carter, aka Comicbook/{{Agent 13}}.

* Marvel also has Sam Wilson (ComicBook/TheFalcon), Sam Guthrie ([[Comicbook/NewMutants Cannonball]]), Sam Alexander (Comicbook/{{Nova}}) and Sam Chung (Blindspot). {{Lampshaded}} in a ''Nova'' issue where Captain America calls the Alexander household looking for Sam, and Nova assumes that he must have mistakenly called while looking for Sam ''Wilson''.
* In the series ''Comicbook/{{Alias}}'' (no relation to [[Series/{{Alias}} the TV series]]), the main character, Jessica Jones, had a run-in with another Jessica, Jessica Drew. Both Jessicas were former superheroes turned private investigators, and Creator/BrianMichaelBendis has stated that he created Jones as an {{Expy}} of Drew after he was [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute denied permission to use the latter]]. This is a plot point, because another character, Mattie Franklin (former superhero turned junkie) broke into Jones' office, thinking it belonged to Drew, whom she knew and was looking for.

* One of Creator/StanLee's earliest creations, for Timely Comics, was the Destroyer, a superhero who operated in Nazi Germany. Later, in the early days of Marvel, he and Creator/JackKirby reused that name for the one-off villain in the first [[Comicbook/FantasticFour Human Torch]] solo adventure in ''Strange Tales''. Then they reused it again for an enchanted suit of armor that [[Comicbook/TheMightyThor Thor]] has to deal with. Jim Starlin muddied the waters further in the early 70s by basing the original look of [[Comicbook/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy Drax the Destroyer]] on the Timely character. And eventually, in ''Comicbook/TheInvaders'', the original heroic Destroyer was brought into Marvel canon as well and soon made into a LegacyCharacter.

* Sam Wilson, Comicbook/TheFalcon, and Jim Wilson from ''Comicbook/IncredibleHulk''. Eventually revealed to be relatives, but that was a {{Revision}}.
** In ''[[Comicbook/BlackPanther Panther's Rage]]'', Erik Killmonger's superpowered henchmen included guys called [[MyNaymeIs Venomm and Karnaj]]. [[HilariousInHindsight Later]], Franchise/SpiderMan got two major villains called Comicbook/{{Venom}} and Comicbook/{{Carnage}}, also related to each other.

* ''ComicBook/TheTombOfDracula'' and ''Midnight Sons'' type books(''Darkholders'', ''Night Stalkers'', ''[[Comicbook/GhostRider Spirits of Vengeance]]'', etc) tend to feature Lilith, The [[AntagonisticOffspring Daughter Of Dracula]] and Lilith, [[MonsterProgenitor Mother Of Demons]]. They both showed up at the same time in a ''Comicbook/DoctorStrange'' book, although it was it was just as two of [[CListFodder many]] suffering TheWorfEffect.

-->'''Fred:''' I thought Starman was a young hipster guy?
-->'''Starman:''' That's the other Starman.
-->'''Fred:''' You're his father?
-->'''Starman:''' That's the other, other Starman.
-->'''Fred:''' An earthling with a mullet?
-->'''Starman:''' The other, other, other Starman.
-->'''Fred:''' An alien Prince?
-->'''Starman:''' The other, other, other, other Starman.

* Played with in ''{{ComicBook/Fables}}''. Jack Horner, Jack of the Tales, Jack o' Lantern, Jack Frost, Jack B. Nimble, Jack B. Quick, and Jack Giantslayer are all aliases for the same person. Every last fable about someone called Jack, with the exceptions of Jack Spratt, Jack Ketch and Jack Frost (in ''The Great Fables Crossover''), seems to turn out to be him, and he magically becomes the central character of any story he's in, to such a degree they had to boot him out of the comic.

* Averted in ''Comicbook/StrayBullets''. The ''Killers'' arc introduces Virginia's aunt and Adam's girlfriend, both of whom are named Jane. Eli even comments on this.
* ''ComicBook/ArchieComicsSonicTheHedgehog'' has both Ray the Manta Ray (leader of the Forty Fathom Freedom Fighters and CanonForeigner) and Ray the Flying Squirrel (member of the Chaotix, originally from ''VideoGame/SegaSonicTheHedgehog''). When the original Ray was introduced, the writers most likely hadn't heard of the game Ray (or weren't planning to ever use him).