Basic Trope: A character that embodies something another character does not like about themselves.
- Straight: Bob and Charlie are both great fighters. Charlie is what Bob would be if he was arrogant, self-absorbed, and disrespectful because of his gifted talent.
- Exaggerated:
- Bob and Charlie are two of the world's strongest fighters; Charlie is what would Bob be if he fights people to satisfy his violent and sadistic tendencies.
- Evil Counterpart
- Downplayed:
- Charlie, The Lancer, is what Bob would be if he chooses to distance himself from his teammates.
- Bob and Charlie are anti heroes. Charlie is what Bob would be if his methods in maintaining justice or his flaws would go overboard.
- Justified:
- Charlie is a literal shadow. Therefore, he has the negative traits of Bob.
- Charlie is Bob's Imaginary Enemy or Enemy Without, being a literal manifestation of his negative traits.
- Inverted:
- Bob sees Charlie as everything he likes about himself.
- (Imagine downplayed version of Good Counterpart) Bob and Charlie are both great fighters. Charlie is what Bob would be if he was humble, noble and respectful because of his friendly yet competitive spirit.
- Subverted: Bob and Charlie turn out to be nothing alike.
- Double Subverted: It turns out that they're Mirror Characters after all.
- Parodied: Charlie is literally the exact same as Bob, except he has a haircut that Bob hates.
- Zig Zagged: Bob and Charlie turn out to have nothing in common beneath the surface until Charlie is revealed to be hiding his true nature where he and Bob are Mirror Characters which turns out to be a lie.
- Averted: Charlie is the same as Bob and doesn't have a negative quality.
- Enforced: Charlie is a Replacement Flat Character to Bob, naturally leading into this trope.
- Lampshaded:
- Charlie literally steps out of the shadows when first appearing before Bob.
- "I never really liked Charlie." "Why, Bob?" "Well, he kind of reminds me of everything I don't like about myself."
- "Oh, Crap!, Charlie could have been me."
- Invoked: Charlie is an evil clone that deliberately embodies Bob’s flaws to spite him.
- Exploited: Charlie attempts to pull a "Not So Different" Remark on Bob, either to demoralize or corrupt him.
- Defied: Bob tells Charlie to his face that he will never become him
- Discussed: "Hey, have you ever noticed how similar Bob and Charlie are? Like how they are both super strong and are great fighters?" "Hmm, you know I guess you're right, though Charlie seems a lot more arrogant than Bob. Like all his skills have gone to his head."
- Deconstructed: Charlie takes notes of the similarities between himself and Bob, and takes a hit in self-esteem after seeing that Bob is a more idealized version of himself. This either motivates him to improve himself for the better, escaping Bob's shadow, or slump into despair, disappearing entirely.
- Reconstructed: Charlie takes notes of the similarities between himself and Bob, but due to his own negative traits (i.e. pride, ambition, cognitive dissonance), he doubles down instead, reinforcing himself as Bob's shadow.
- Conversed: ???
Back to Shadow Archetype
