They're like twins, but really distant. Hello Comic Viners to my latest blog entry. So have you noticed any similarities towards any comic character? Did it make you ask if they were cousins or something like that? I for one have found several of them. Here is a list of a few of the most notable clones in comics. Please note though that we are not specifically discussing genetic clones, though we may talking about it in one of the things in this list. Instead, we are talking about any character/s who has/have any likeness that closely resembles another character. Be reminded also that we are selecting clones from separate continuities. So sit back and read on! (Arranged from top to bottom)

1. Doom Patrol and Fantastic Four / X-Men

What makes them clones?

• All teams are trying to find their rightful position in the modern society.
• All teams don't have any secret identities.
• All teams' bases are available to the public eye.
• The Doom Patrol and the Fantastic Four consist mainly of four primary members. (All of which are usually (but not always) available in each incarnation)
• The DP and the FF have one member who is bulky and strong. This certain member is also the most notable and has quite a dislike on their powers, in fact, they are also short tempered. (Robotman of the DP and the Thing of the FF)
• All teams have one member/ ex-member who uses fire based features and likes their talents. (Negative Man of the DP, Johnny Storm of the FF and Pyro, an ex-member of the X-Men)
• The DP and the FF have one member who does not like to expose his/herself to the public. (The Chief of the DP and Invisible Woman of the FF)
• The DP and the FF have one member that has stretchy or malleability based powers. (Elasti-Girl of the DP and Mr. Fantastic of the FF)
• The DP and the FF have only one female member who is also notable. (Elasti-Girl and Invisible Woman)
• The DP and the FF are lead by a scientific genius and has a slight/huge chance of insanity. (The Chief and Mr. Fantastic)
• The female member of each team had an affair with another character who has dislike towards their respective teams. Also these characters would eventually join the team for either a short time or remain just a solo hero. (Elasti-Girl married Mento, who would eventually be a villain for a short time and Namor had an interest in Sue Storm)
• The DP and the FF would soon have a young member who has special talents. Also this member would be a son to two of the members. (Beast Boy, who was adopted by Mento and Elasti-Girl and Franklin Richards of the FF)
• Both the DP and the X-Men are lead by a man on a wheelchair and also a brilliant scientific mind. (The Chief of the DP and Professor X of the X-Men)
• The DP's and the X-Men's arch-group have exactly the same name. (The DP fights the Brotherhood of Evil while the X-Men battles the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants)
• The DP and the X-Men has one member made of metal. (Robotman of the DP and Colossus)
• All teams have fought odd and villainous foes with bizarre functions, most of which have scientific involvement.
• All teams have drastically been rebooted several times to fit the modern audience;s expectations.

What makes them different from each other?

• Unlike the FF, the DP and the X-Men don't have matching uniforms. (Though the DP and the X-Men wore matching uniforms only a few times, those costumes were only presented once, twice or when the occasion calls for it)
• The DP are the only team that consists members who has received their powers through sabotages, while the X-Men receive theirs through genetics and the FF received theirs from an actual accident. (This was revealed on Grant Morrison's run on his Vertigo imprinted run on the Doom Patrol. For more information, click here to learn the true origin of the Doom Patrol)
• The DP's final issue on it's original run were the first to end an ongoing series with the main characters killed off, making them the only super team to die on their final issue. (For more information, click here for the team's demise)
• The FF are the only team with a robot assistant, namely H.E.R.B.I.E.
• The FF and the X-Men are the only teams with a specific mode of transportation, namely Fantasti-Car MK I or Fantasti-Car MK II for the FF and the Blackbird for the X-Men. (The DP did had a few modes of transportation, but none have been consistent)

2. Deathstroke and Deadpool

What makes them clones?

• Both are highly trained mercenaries.
• Both are former members of a certain government agency. (Deathstroke was a member of Checkmate while Deadpool was a member of Weapon X)
• Both are categorized as antiheroes. (Meaning both have a serious tendency to kill)
• Both of their names are nearly the same. (Deathstroke's alter ego is Slade Wilson while Deadpool's real name (unconfirmed) is Wade Wilson)
• Both have a killer healing factor.
• Both use a large variety of weapons to get a job done.
• Both usually help other heroes. (Deathstroke mostly helps Batman in some cases while Deadpool meets up with Wolverine, Cable and the X-Men)
• Both became an enemy to another hero at one point and soon became allies. (Deathstroke fought the Teen Titans, Green Arrow even the Justice League while Deadpool fought Wolverine when he is out to find his past)

What makes them different from each other?

• Deathstroke uses his trademark blue and orange suit while Deadpool uses his notable red and black get up.
• Deathstroke is a master strategist while Deadpool does not hesitate to kill immediately.
• Deathstroke never breaks the Fourth Wall while Deadpool occasionally does.
• Deathstroke is smarter and much more silent then Deadpool, who is a loud mouth and an annoyance to others.
• Deadpool is seen by most of the Marvel Universe as a pest while Deathstroke has been a trusted a few times.
• Deadpool usually uses 2 Katana Blades as his primary weapons while Deathstroke only uses 1 Sword as his.

3. Catwoman and Black Cat

What makes them clones?

• Both have cat-themed suits.
• Both are professional thieves.
• Both had once or several times been a love interest of a certain superhero. (Catwoman was a love interest of Batman while Black Cat was Spider-Man's crush)
• Both don't use powers and are instead make use of simple gadgets.
• Both are also anti heroic.
• Both have assisted several other heroes in their everyday battles.
• Both are also skilled in hand-to-hand combat.

What makes them different from each other?

In every comic book, there is always the hero of the story. Heroes are often called the protagonists. Protagonists are the people who fight for a good and logical cause. They are mostly centered by a story and in every end of a story, the protagonist wins. But in every story, there will always be an enemy. This enemy is commonly known as the antagonist. Antagonists are the people who will do anything to gain their most devious goals. They will prevent the protagonist from ever becoming victorious. Today, we will talk about villains, how they think of their schemes, what do they usually do to win and most importantly, what makes them tick.

1. The Origins

Of course a villain may not become who he or she is today unless they have a reason to become one. Origin is the certain event where in something important will happen and this event will further be discussed in future events and may even become a startling effect to a story. A single villain's origin must be dark, cruel, sinister and even at some point, disturbing. Here is a basic example of a villainous origin. The psychotic Green Goblin used to be an innocent child named Norman Osborn. He and his mother are often abused by his father, Amberson Osborn. Amberson used to be a wealthy and prosperous man who founded a company. He lost all of his earnings after it became bankrupt. Because of this, Amberson became extremely cruel to his family, blaming them for his failure. From these encounters, he initially believes that he needs to gain power in order to survive.Norman attended Empire State University, where he met Emily, who then became his wife. Norman returned to his insane ego when Emily passed away. He then founded OsCorp, alongside him is his former professor, Professor Mendel Stromm. Norman turned Stromm to the authorities for he realized he was committing embezzlement, thus making him the only owner of the company. He tried to continue Stromm's work by perfecting his strength gaining serum. One of his test subjects tried to kill him, but some scientists protected him. He later found more notes concerning about the formula his perfecting. At the moment he was finishing the perfected formula, the serum exploded and sent him to the hospital. Realizing that the serum gave him powers, Norman became the Green Goblin, a man who will stop at nothing to gain true power. Like you have read before, Norman's origin was as dark as the villain's origin is. Reasons are the things that fuels one's fire and they could certainly make a good villain.

2. The Costumes

Costumes are the villain's uniform. These suits can prevent victims or witnesses from figuring out one's identity. Not only that, costumes can carry various deadly devices such as bombs or anything. Costumes are strongly important to villains because their basic everyday wear can instill fear into their opponents hearts and can even give in people to the side of evil. Take a look at Joker's signature clown suit, accompanied by his terrifying smile, his chalk white skin and his green hairstyle. His costume is like a mask that frightens innocents, young and old alike. Even so, his classy persona matches his colorful and crazy suit. Costumes are really handy to be a great villain.

3. The Gadgets

Even villains wants to have fun. Gadgets can always come in handy a lot times. From fear gas to battle armor, gadgets are villains best friend. Gadgets are usually built by the villain who uses it, but sometimes he or she buys or steal it from somebody to fulfill his mission. Here we have the very first Crimson Dynamo Armor. This doomsday device has always been rebuilt by a lot of people who went on to take the mantle. This weapon could nearly destroy Iron Man. Did I mention that a gadget must never have a self-destruct switch?

4. The Secret Bases

Let's not forget about these questions, "Where do these guys even live?", Where do they plan their schemes?" and "Where do they keep their twisted stuff?". The answer my friend is The Secret Base. Secret Bases are the only places where he or she can get away from your enemies, the place where no one can interrupt him or her while planning. Secret Bases must be literally secret so that nobody could even find a villain's base. One example is the Lexcorp Tower. Though entirely not secret, nobody would possibly suspect that a giant laboratory tower could be a possible hideout. It even has one of the most comfortable facilities for a sinister man to do his evil things. It must also have a self-destruct switch to destroy the evidence. Did I also mention that a hideout must never have a villain's name on it?

5. The Team

One villain could not possibly handle on job, but when a large number of villains unite, more than job can be accomplished and everything in plan will commence. Like all villains, they always get beaten up by the heroes and get thrown into jail. A team must always have at least one specific goal in mind. From world domination to destruction of enemies, a team can most of the time be invulnerable. Besides, it can even make a villain social life better. A great example of a villain team is the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, lead by the nefarious Magneto. This team is one of the most feared of all villain teams. Nothing can stop them from destroying humanity and saving mutants, according to their beliefs.

6. The Henchmen

If there's one thing a villain needs it's a good and sometimes funny henchmen. Henchmen are the people paid by the villain to do their dirty work. Often times they get killed for no apparent reason. The henchmen are apparently seen during heists, attacks and guard duties. Apart from being killed by the boss, henchmen are the first people to be arrested and interrogated. It really is a bad idea to be a henchman.

7. The Plan

Finally, the most important thing in a role of a villain and that is, the plan. The plan is the attempt to complete his or her main objective. These usually end in failure, but we've seen few successful ones. Plans are thought off by the one who wants to earn it badly. Sometimes plans are made by their partners or the people they hired to do so. A best example of a master plan is the story arc, Rotworld, a different type of world domination.

DC and Marvel Comics are two of all comic book publishers that are well-known and probably famous for creating inspirational characters and stories. They might be also remembered for the movies they produced. But only one will be the most superior of them all. You the Comic Vine user, will be able to witness the battle between these two. Now, let the games begin and may the odds be ever in their favor, or something!

negative Note: Everything stated below are just based upon my opinion and not to destroy a reputation.

Part 1: Heroes With A Cause

negative Note: Their friends are included and teams are for next-time.

(DC Comics)

DC was once the center of everything comic back in the old days. They've given us memorable characters like the Man of Steel and The Dark Knight. Robin and other DC friends were later spawned like Jimmy Olsen, Commissioner Gordon, Lois Lane, Alfred Pennyworth and many more. From the 1930s to some time in the future, DC continued to create more and more heroes like Animal Man, The Flash, The Green Lantern, and whole lot more. Though only a majority of their heroes are memorable, nearly every single other heroes are forgettable and thus no longer appearing in the continuity. Many have remembered most of these characters from the 90s like Lobo. Sure he may still be here within the continuity but if you think about it, there's not much to remember about him. All we (And by we I mean I) see in him is that he's a foul mouthed, smoking, alcoholic, Fourth Wall breaking Czarnian who simply kills for no reason and goes on nearly pointless adventures just for the fun of it, with a disgusting sense of humor to complete the dish (No offense DC). He sounds like Deadpool but trust me, Deadpool is much more worth reading than the other guy. Other than Lobo we also have Ambush Bug, who again is not as cool as Deadpool and some other extras from Grant Morrison's run on the Doom Patrol like most of their enemies and other members who are later killed off.

(Marvel Comics)

Now this is more I like it. Marvel is the master of superheroes, featuring a whole roster of crime fighting favorites like The Amazing Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, The Mighty Thor, The Armored Iron Man and a whole lot more. Let's not forget their friends like J. Jonah Jameson, Betty Ross, JARVIS (Human or computer version), Phil Coulson and several other allies who join in their fight against evil. However, being a master of superheroes does not mean they have mistakes like Squirrel Girl. Seriously, a girl who can talk to squirrels is a heroine? Let's not forget some others like Flatman (The name says it all), Big Bertha (Click the link to know why), Squirrel Girl's trusted friend and sidekick, Monkey Joe and other people I can't seem to remember.