History SpiritualAntithesis / ComicBooks

* The ComicBook/DCRebirth ''ComicBook/{{Deathstroke}}'' series is this to [[Creator/ChristopherPriestComics Christopher Priest's]] earlier work on ''ComicBook/BlackPanther''. They both focus on a MagnificentBastard type of character. Except when Panther was more about the "Magnificent" part, Deathstroke is more about the "Bastard". T'Challa is always the smartest person in the room and also the noblest. Slade is always the smartest person in the room...and also the vilest.

* ComicBook/AnimalMan has ComicBook/{{Deadpool}}. Both were obscure characters that got [[MyRealDaddy daddies]] that retooled them to very powerful street heroes trying to be recognized by bigger teams and BreakingTheFourthWall, but other than that they take completely different directions. Animal Man is a NiceGuy family man and animal rights activist with very few close friends in the superhero community, while Deadpool is a lonely JerkWithAHeartOfGold mercenary with many VitriolicBestBuds in the superhero community. Animal Man is a vegetarian, while Deadpool is practically a carnivore. Animal Man barely uses his very minimal HealingFactor, while Deadpool gets by with his extremely rapid healing factor. Animal Man is a product of UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks whose most famous run went on to harshly criticize UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks, while Deadpool is a product of The Dark Age that went on to lightly criticize the worst aspects of UsefulNotes/TheModernAgeOfComicBooks. Animal Man played breaking the fourth wall very seriously and would always forget when he did because he can't truly see it, while Deadpool plays breaking the fourth wall for comedy and always has that ability. After Creator/GrantMorrison's run, Animal Man went on to more horror, sci-fi and mysticism based stories, while Deadpool still stayed in comedy-based mercenary stories. Animal Man isn't in many big stories while Deadpool has WolverinePublicity.

** Another [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Golden Age]] antithesis to Superman is ComicBook/CaptainAmerica. Both are [[PrimaryColorChampion red and blue-wearing]] superheroes with [[TheCape idealistic]] [[{{Eagleland}} attitudes of America]] who grew up in poverty and grew up to serve as the traditional {{Big Good}}s of their respective universes. In addition, both heroes' {{ArchEnemies}} are [[BaldOfEvil bald villains]] who seek to TakeOverTheWorld (ComicBook/LexLuthor for Supes, ComicBook/RedSkull for Cap). However, one interesting contrast is how they embody opposite sides of the NatureVersusNurture debate: whereas Superman is an extraterrestrial whose abilities were innate and manifested themselves when he arrived on Earth (i.e., Nature), Captain America was born an ordinary human who, as an adult, was given a SuperSerum by the U.S. military that enhanced his peak abilities (i.e., Nurture). In addition, Superman [[FlyingBrick has traditionally no need for physical weapons]], instead using his aforementioned Kryptonian powers, while Captain America's weapon is his [[LuckilyMyShieldWillProtectMe trademark shield]]. While Superman is an alien who often feels alone on Earth as the LastOfHisKind, Captain America sometimes feels [[FishOutOfTemporalWater out of his time]], being a World War II veteran in modern society. Superman's {{Archenemy}} ComicBook/LexLuthor is often portrayed as an American capitalist who uses his [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney wealth]] and [[VillainWithGoodPublicity influence]], while Captain America's {{Archenemy}} the ComicBook/RedSkull is a literal Nazi [[EvenEvilHasStandards reviled by all but like-minded individuals]].

** His run on ''ComicBook/{{Supreme}}'' is the opposite to his Marvelman -- in both cases, Moore takes the character of a FlyingBrick based on Superman, who was also the epitome of the [[TheAgesOfSuperheroComics age]] during which he was created, with all its flaws, and molds him into the complete opposite, while making him more complex and interesting than he was before. The difference lies in tone - while Moore turns Marvelman towards DarkerAndEdgier waters, while breaking apart many traditional tropes of UsefulNotes/{{the Silver Age|of Comic Books}}, Supreme under his guidance took the path towards LighterAndSofter territory and paid tribute to the same tropes Marvelman tore apart.

* ''ComicBook/TheManOfSteel'' is this to ''ComicBook/WhateverHappenedToTheManOfTomorrow''. ''Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow'' was the last Superman story before ''ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'' and was intended to be a definitive end to the fantastical adventures of the near-[[InvincibleHero infallible]] pre-Crisis Superman. It's a pretty brutal {{Deconstruction}} of the [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]], by showing what happens when the goofy villains and {{Mad Scientist}}s get serious, and how absolutely terrifying an omnipotent being who operates on BlueAndOrangeMorality like [[GreatGazoo Mr. Mxyzptlk]] would really be. Meanwhile, ''The Man of Steel'' was the first post-Crisis Superman book and a solid {{Reconstruction}}, showing a more human Superman in a more complicated world and dealing with more realistic forms of evil; but still as an undeniable force for good.

* ComicBook/WonderWoman and ComicBook/Thor are both heroes who derive their origins from mythology and emphasize magical weapons. Also, they both hail from societies drawing on those old myths that have been secluded from the world. However, Wonder Woman is a feminist hero who draws inspiration from Greek myths, whereas Thor is a classically masculine hero who draws his own inspiration from Norse myths. Whereas Paradise Island is at roughly the same technological level as the ancient Greeks, Asgard is a ScienceFantasy.

* The ''ComicBook/Champions2016'' storyline "Beat the Devil" is this to ''ComicBook/OneMoreDay''. Both stories share a basic premise that could be awful if done poorly (ComicBook/SpiderMan making a DealWithTheDevil) but while One More Day did everything possible to make Peter's actions ''[[DesignatedHero completely unjustifiable]]'' (due to a WriterRevolt), and ended with a BittersweetEnding where everyone involved got {{Mind Wipe}}d, Beat the Devil frames {{ComicBook/Miles|Morales}}' actions in the most sympathetic possible light: Miles made his decision under duress, unlike Peter who had a whole day, didn't know he was making a mistake, unlike Peter who was definitively told so by everyone including the very person he was trying to save, and while Peter forgot he made his deal, Miles got to see the consequences of his hasty decision and has to live with the guilt. In One More Day, ComicBook/{{Mephisto}} is [[VillainsNeverLie completely above-board the whole time]] and doesn't screw over Peter, but in Beat the Devil [[JackassGenie does screw over Miles]] by neglecting to mention how the deal will ensure [[ForWantOfANail a girl he had saved will be dead in the new timeline]]. Mephisto got off easy for One More Day, but by the end of Champions Vol 3, it's clear his actions in Beat the Devil have only [[FireForgedFriends made the team's resolve that much stronger]] and they collectively tell him to buzz off. And as if to underscore the similarity, the words that seal the deal are the same in both books: "[[WhamLine Do it]]".

* ''ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis'' villain Superboy Prime has one in the titular protagonist of ''ComicBook/TheUnbelievableGwenpool''. Both share origin stories of being teenage fans of superhero comics from our world who [[AscendedFanboy enters their favorite Universe and gets superpowers]], only to be disappointed that things do not work out as they imagined. The difference lies on how they react and what kinds of fans they represent. Prime represents lifelong fans who become bitter with how much Franchise/TheDCU has changed. He wants to brutally force it back to the way it once was and as he goes along, he stops caring how many he kills since he doesn't consider them real anyway. On the other hand, Gwen represents news fans who are aware of the Franchise/MarvelUniverse's many problems and love the franchise despite them. While she starts thinking she can do whatever she wants since none of it is real, she is quickly humbled and comes to care for others like real people. Prime embraces villainy as a alternative of being forgotten, while a FaceHeelTurn is the only things that terrifies Gwen more than ComicBookLimbo. Finally, Prime was a huge fan of Superman before coming to hate him, while Gwen named herself after Deadpool JustForPun and doesn't even read his comics.

* Having created ''The Eltingville Club'' as a TakeThat to obsessive and antisocial fanboys emblematic of tropes like FanDumb, SeriousBusiness and ComedicSociopathy, Evan Dorkin created an one-issue "mirror image" with ''The Northwest Comix Collective'', making fun of the type of people who would hate the Eltingville nerds - pretentious hacks and wannabe AlternativeComics creators who justify their sloth and heavy drug intake by claiming TrueArtIsIncomprehensible, and are not above commiting fraud and plagiarism to get their comics off the ground. Each character of the Northwest Comix Collective is analogous to an Eltingville character, and it's emphasized how they're similar - they're all unable to get girls to hang out with them, and, despite their talk, the Northwest gang is just as obsessed with superheroes, except they can't stop talking about how much they ''[[FanHater hate]]'' them.

* The creators of ''ComicBook/{{Cerebus}}'' and ''ComicBook/{{Bone}}'' got into an infamous feud during the books' runs. It makes sense, then, that their books can be considered antithesis to each other - both are black and white fantasy stories, incredibly long-running, and feature a [[GenreRefugee title character that'd belong in a much more lighthearted book]]. However, ''Bone'' is a wholesome comic, with the hero being a goofy, kind-hearted guy and his world a classic HighFantasy culture, while ''Cerebus'' features a SociopathicHero in a violent dystopia full of corruption, and is known for its [[CerebusSyndrome descent into seriousness]]. In addition ''Bone'' is unapologetically a FeministFantasy, and ''Cerebus''...isn't.

* Not uncommon for Franchise/{{Batman}}:
** One can make the argument that Franchise/SpiderMan is this to him. Both are orphaned, urban-based {{Animal Themed|SuperBeing}} superheroes who have a RoguesGallery of gimmick-based villains, chief among them being AxCrazy, LaughingMad [[SecondaryColorNemesis villains who wear green and purple]] (ComicBook/TheJoker for Bats, ComicBook/GreenGoblin for Spidey). They both also have been [[DatingCatwoman romantically involved with a female villain]] who emphasizes the cat part of cat burglar, ComicBook/{{Catwoman}} for Batman and ComicBook/BlackCat for Spider-Man. However, here is where their premises diverge: Both heroes have the loss of a loved one at the hands of a criminal motivating their actions, but while Batman lost his parents when he was a child, which is what drove him to become a crime-fighter, Spider-Man lost his Uncle Ben when he was just using his powers to make money, [[ILetGwenStacyDie and is something he inadvertently enabled]], [[ComesGreatResponsibility which drove him to use his powers to help people]]. In addition, Batman [[BadassNormal lacks any real superpowers]], [[CharlesAtlasSuperpower instead training his body and mind to their peak]] and bolstering that with gadgetry, [[CrazyPrepared preparations]], and [[BatmanGambit ingenuity]], while Spider-Man has superhuman abilities [[RadiationInducedSuperpowers granted from a radioactive spider bite]], primarily using [[AllWebbedUp one highly reliable gadget]]. In addition, Batman's civilian identity is Bruce Wayne, [[CrimefightingWithCash a billionaire businessman]], while Spider-Man's identity as Peter Parker is commonly depicted as [[WorkingClassHero struggling to make ends meet]]. Furthermore, Batman's default disposition towards his exploits is being TheStoic TerrorHero, while Spider-Man copes with his adventures by [[YouFightLikeACow making wry jokes at his enemies]]. Whereas Batman [[DarkIsNotEvil dresses primarily in grey, black, and dark blue]], Spider-Man's costume is [[PrimaryColorChampion red and blue]]. Additionally, Batman frequently adopts {{Kid Sidekick}}s such as ComicBook/{{Robin}} and ComicBook/{{Batgirl}}, while Spider-Man started out as a teenager himself, in large part to prove that teen superheroes can work. Finally, Batman operates in Gotham City, a fictional city [[DependingOnTheWriter which has sometimes]] been interpreted as [[NoCommunitiesWereHarmed a stand-in]] for UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity, while Spider-Man is explicitly centered in the BigApplesauce.

** Another Marvel antithesis to Batman is ComicBook/IronMan. Both are billionaire playboys with [[BadassNormal no inherent superpowers]] that lost their parents to tragedy, and both are founding members and prominent figures of their universe's main SuperTeam (the Franchise/{{Justice League|OfAmerica}} for Batman, ComicBook/TheAvengers for Iron Man). Furthermore, both count mystically empowered, Eastern-born warlords as prominent enemies (ComicBook/RasAlGhul for Batman, the Mandarin for Iron Man). That said, they heavily diverge from there. Batman primarily relies on fancy gadgets in addition to various vehicles and tools, but relies on his own agility over brute force. Iron Man wears PoweredArmor that does much of the fighting in conjunction with him, and rarely is he without it. Batman has a SecretIdentity that he fights to maintain and keep from the public, while Iron Man is completely public and a renown celebrity. Batman adheres almost religiously to ThouShaltNotKill, whereas Iron Man not only freely kills but ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill is his ''preferred'' method. Batman [[TheTeetotaler abstains from alcohol and addictive material]], while Iron Man [[TheAlcoholic famously struggles with alcoholism]]. Batman's RoguesGallery consists of various criminals and lawless individuals, Iron Man's rogues are more comparable to what an industrial billionaire would have. Batman famously [[DarkIsNotEvil wears a black and grey suit]], while Iron Man [[PrimaryColorChampion wears red and gold armor]]. Finally, Batman considers Bruce Wayne to be his alter ego and Batman to be his ''true'' self, while Iron Man and Tony Stark are one and the same.

* Franchise/{{Superman}}, of course, had his share of these over the years in various shapes and forms, [[SupermanSubstitute some more obvious than the others.]]

** Superman and the Franchise/FantasticFour are polar opposites in almost every way. Superman is traditionally portrayed as [[SuperpowerLottery a borderline-demigod with a vast array of powerful abilities]], but he has to cope with the inherent heartbreak of being [[LastOfHisKind the last member of a dying alien race]]; as such, [[IWorkAlone he typically fights alone]] when he's not with the Franchise/{{Justice League|OfAmerica}}, and he lost most of his family when he was too young to remember them. He's also famous for [[ClarkKenting keeping his secret identity so well-hidden]] that not even his love interest and his nemesis know who he really is. In contrast, the ComicBook/FantasticFour have worked as a group since the beginning, they each have one specific superpower, they're a lovably {{dysfunctional family}} in addition to a superhero team, and they don't have secret identities at all; in fact, they're all world-renowned celebrities. Interestingly, their origin stories are also mirror images of one another: Superman's story begins with him crashing to Earth in a rocket ship and getting superpowers from Earth's sun, while the Four's story begins with them flying into space in a rocket ship and getting superpowers from cosmic radiation.
** The Franchise/XMen can also serve as an antithesis to Superman. To wit, both properties are about specimens of superpowered races whose abilities manifested themselves during puberty and how the use of their powers affect their relationships with ordinary humans. However, the executions of this core premise heavily diverge from there. Superman is traditionally depicted as being well-respected by humanity ([[ComicBook/LexLuthor with some notable exceptions]]), while the X-Men are ''[[HeroWithBadPublicity hated and feared]]'' [[FantasticRacism by humanity]] because of their abilities. Superman is often depicted as the LastOfHisKind of an alien species on Earth, while the X-Men are {{Mutants}}, an Earth-born species who ''protect'' their kind from extinction.
** Superman and Franchise/SpiderMan are both iconic urban superheroes known for their distinctive [[PrimaryColorChampion red and blue costumes]], and for wearing glasses and working at newspapers in their civilian identities; both of them also have [[CorruptCorporateExecutive evil corporate CEOs]] as their archenemies. Both of them are also raised by elderly guardians (Pa and Ma Kent & Uncle Ben and Aunt May) due to their biological parents being deceased. Both have their father figure often die to teach them a lesson about their powers, for Superman Pa's death teaches that even he can't save everyone, and for Spider-Man, Uncle Ben teaches that with great power ComesGreatResponsibility. In their early days, they even had essentially the same justification for their powers (Superman's writers used the great proportionate strength of insects to suggest that such feats could be within a "[[EvolutionaryLevels sufficiently evolved]]" being's capabilities). But Superman is known for his raw strength and his brawny physique, and he's often thematically associated with the heavens due to his [[FlyingBrick flight powers]] and [[HumanAliens alien heritage]]. Spider-Man, on the other hand, is known for his agility and his wiry physique, and most depictions emphasize his closeness to the Earth due to his [[WorkingClassHero humble background]] and [[AnimalThemedSuperBeing insect motif]]. The Daily Planet is also traditionally portrayed sympathetically, with its reporters being crusading idealists driven to protect the truth, while the Daily Bugle is cast in a more morally ambiguous light, with J. Jonah Jameson's editorials [[HeroWithBadPublicity ruining Spidey's reputation]]. Finally, both often play the role of TheHeart of their respective universes, but Superman usually benefits from being seen as the BigGood who's LovedByAll of the general public while Spider-Man typically is the HeroWithBadPublicity.

** Someone described the Creator/AlanMoore version of ''ComicBook/{{Miracleman}}'' as "Franchise/{{Superman}} told as a {{horror}} story". Or, perhaps more accurately, the original ''Marvelman'' done as a {{horror}} story. Moore himself said that all he did in ''Miracleman'' and the thematically similar (albeit more realistic) ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'' was do a serious version of Harvey Kurtzman's famous satire ''Superduperman'' for Magazine/{{MAD}}. Where Kurtzman parodied the superhero tropes for laughs, Moore played it for dramatic value.

* The ''ComicBook/Champions2016'' storyline "Beat the Devil" is this to ''ComicBook/OneMoreDay''. Both stories share a basic premise that could be awful if done poorly (Franchise/SpiderMan making a DealWithTheDevil) but while One More Day did everything possible to make Peter's actions ''[[DesignatedHero completely unjustifiable]]'' (due to a WriterRevolt), and ended with a BittersweetEnding where everyone involved got {{Mind Wipe}}d, Beat the Devil frames {{ComicBook/Miles|Morales}}' actions in the most sympathetic possible light: Miles made his decision under duress, unlike Peter who had a whole day, didn't know he was making a mistake, unlike Peter who was definitively told so by everyone including the very person he was trying to save, and while Peter forgot he made his deal, Miles got to see the consequences of his hasty decision and has to live with the guilt. In One More Day, ComicBook/{{Mephisto}} is [[VillainsNeverLie completely above-board the whole time]] and doesn't screw over Peter, but in Beat the Devil [[JackassGenie does screw over Miles]] by neglecting to mention how the deal will ensure [[ForWantOfANail a girl he had saved will be dead in the new timeline]]. Mephisto got off easy for One More Day, but by the end of Champions Vol 3, it's clear his actions in Beat the Devil have only [[FireForgedFriends made the team's resolve that much stronger]] and they collectively tell him to buzz off. And as if to underscore the similarity, the words that seal the deal are the same in both books: "[[WhamLine Do it]]".

** He also intends ''ComicBook/TheWickedAndTheDivine'', to be this for his own series, ''Comicbook/{{Phonogram}}''. As he explains, ''Phonogram'' is about how the art inspires, changes and destroys the consumers, while ''The Wicked And The Divine'' is about what choices creators of the art make and how it changes and destroys them.

* Grant Morrison's ''ComicBook/NewXMen'' is a deconstruction of the ''Franchise/XMen'' franchise that deliberately moved it into general sci-fi, involving the X-Men dealing with small-scale, mutant based crimes and conflicts. Creator/JossWhedon's ''ComicBook/AstonishingXMen'', which came shortly after Morrison's, is a reconstruction that returns the characters to their superhero roots, involving the X-Men battling supervillains and working to prevent a cosmic threat from devastating Earth.

* ''ComicBook/UltimateMarvel'' and ''ComicBook/MarvelAdventures'' are both TurnOfTheMillennium YoungerAndHipper UltimateUniverse takes on the MarvelUniverse. However, the former is DarkerAndEdgier, features a MythArc and is aimed at a teen/young adult audience, while the latter is LighterAndSofter, mostly features standalone stories (though setups for larger arcs sometimes occur) and is aimed at younger kids (although it has a sizeable PeripheryDemographic).

* Creator/WarrenEllis [[WordOfGod in the afterword of]] ''ComicBook/BlackSummer'' contrasted it with ''ComicBook/CivilWar'', saying that Creator/MarkMillar's event shows watered down version of superheroes coming in conflict with the government, while he wanted to show in ''Black Summer'' what he thinks would really happen.

** Superman and Franchise/SpiderMan are both iconic urban superheroes known for their distinctive [[PrimaryColorChampion red and blue costumes]], and for wearing glasses and working at newspapers in their civilian identities; both of them also have [[CorruptCorporateExecutive evil corporate CEOs]] as their archenemies. Both of them are also raised by elderly guardians (Pa and Ma Kent & Uncle Ben and Aunt May) due to their biological parents being deceased. Both have their father figure often die to teach them a lesson about their powers, for Superman Pa's death teaches that even he can't save everyone, and for Spider-Man, Uncle Ben teaches that with great power ComesGreatResponsibility. In their early days, they even had essentially the same justification for their powers (Superman's writers used the great proportionate strength of insects to suggest that such feats could be within a "[[EvolutionaryLevels sufficiently evolved" being's capabilities]]). But Superman is known for his raw strength and his brawny physique, and he's often thematically associated with the heavens due to his [[FlyingBrick flight powers]] and [[HumanAliens alien heritage]]. Spider-Man, on the other hand, is known for his agility and his wiry physique, and most depictions emphasize his closeness to the Earth due to his [[WorkingClassHero humble background]] and [[AnimalThemedSuperBeing insect motif]]. The Daily Planet is also traditionally portrayed sympathetically, with its reporters being crusading idealists driven to protect the truth, while the Daily Bugle is cast in a more morally ambiguous light, with J. Jonah Jameson's editorials [[HeroWithBadPublicity ruining Spidey's reputation]]. Finally, both often play the role of TheHeart of their respective universes, but Superman usually benefits from being seen as the BigGood who's LovedByAll of the general public while Spider-Man typically is the HeroWithBadPublicity.