The comic books have seen a lot of up’s and downs in the past years.While companies like the DCU and MCU may have succeed and may have struggle some years.
In order to boost their success, comic book companies have picked
up the practice of copying from their competitors. While DC has a
history of copying many of Marvel’s characters, both companies have
been copying each other for quite a while now. DC has copied a
number of Marvel characters like Namor and Iron Man, but Marvel
has arguably ripped-off even more from DC. Considering that DC has
understandably been the face of comic books for almost a century,
this doesn’t come as much of a surprise. While Marvel is currently a
lot more successful in the movies, DC has a much stronger comic-
book track record. They’ve made some of the most iconic heroes of
all time, from Superman to Wonder Woman, and Batman to the
Flash. With that in mind, here are Marvel’s 5 Most Pathetic
Attempts at Ripping off DC and 5 that Actually Worked.
10. PATHETIC: HAWKEYE (RIP-OFF OF GREEN ARROW)
DC’s superhero character Green Arrow was first introduced in 1941, and over
the next two decades became quite the success. In 1964, Marvel noticed the
success of DC’s bowman and created their own version of the character,
named Hawkeye. While Hawkeye first appeared as a villain, it didn’t take long
before he became almost exactly like Green Arrow in nature. While Hawkeye
was actually quite successful for Marvel, appearing in the Avengers movies, his
success never matched that of Green Arrow, who managed to earn his own TV
series which spawned CW’s Arrow verse. Both characters managed to become
quite successful in their own right when it came to being on screen, but in the
comics, Hawkeye never felt like much besides a blatant rip-off of Green Arrow.
9. PATHETIC: QUICKSILVER (RIP-OFF OF THE FLASH)
One of DC’s most notable heroes for the past 78 years has been the Flash. First
appearing in 1940, the Flash has become something of an icon among the
comic-book community. While he may not be as universally popular as Batman
or Superman, his logo is still seen on many T-shirts, and for decades, comic-
book fans have adored him despite many of the general population not
knowing much about the speedster at all. Twenty-four years after the creation
of the Flash, Marvel created their own speedster who was almost completely
identical, just with a different color scheme. Quicksilver first appeared as a
member of the X-Men, and later joined the Avengers. While Quicksilver has
gained a bit of popularity in recent years, appearing in Avengers: Age of Ultron
and the X-Men franchise, he is still another one of Marvel’s blatant copies of a
more popular and successful DC character the Flash.
8. PATHETIC: GLADIATOR (RIP-OFF OF SUPERMAN)
The character Gladiator first appeared in Marvel comics in 1977, and was made
with the sole intent of serving as an homage to the iconic DC superhero from
which he was based. However, this was one of Marvel’s more clever attempts
at a rip-off. Instead of copying the hero’s entire likeness, as Marvel had done in
the past, they instead looked to the source material for Gladiator. Superman
was originally based on the protagonist of the 1930 book Gladiator by Philip
Wylie, which is where Marvel looked to get ideas for their new
character.Marvel’s Gladiator is essentially a cross between Superman and the
hero of Gladiator, which made him into a very clever rip-off. Unfortunately, it
did not pay off well for Marvel, as even this clever attempt at a rip-off didn’t
sell well either.
7. PATHETIC: BULLSEYE (RIP-OFF OF DEADSHOT)
Deadshot has become much more of a household name in recent years, mostly
due to his appearance in Suicide Squad, where he was played by Will Smith.
While most people would admit the movie was not the best, there were only a
spare few who disliked Deadshot in the movie. However, in the comics
themselves, Deadshot has never really been a stranger to popularity. His
incredible marksman skills and deep character have attracted comic-book
readers since his first appearance in 1950. In turn, Marvel made their own
version of the character, the nemesis to Daredevil, Bullseye. While Bullseye
was certainly a great character for Marvel, he never reached the same height
as his DC counterpart, and the less said about his live-action portrayal, the
better.
6. PATHETIC: BLACK CAT (RIP-OFF OF CATWOMAN)
This is certainly one of Marvel’s most well known rip-offs. Catwoman has been
one of the most memorable and in-depth characters in Batman’s rogue gallery,
even earning herself her own solo film in 2004 but the less we touch on that,
the better. Thirty-nine years after Catwoman’s first appearance in 1940,
Marvel realized the potential they would have if they made a “Catwoman” of
their own. Thus Black Cat was born.Black Cat first appeared as a hero / villain
hybrid for Spider-Man, often becoming a romantic interest for the web-slinger.
While Black Cat was certainly an interesting character for Marvel, she has
never really evolved much from a blatant rip-off of Catwoman. While this
worked for many Marvel readers, as it was interesting to see Spider-Man
interact with the character, it also made her hard to take seriously for other
readers.
5.ACTUALLY WORKED: THE X-MEN (RIP-OFF OF DOOM PATROL)
For decades, the X-Men were arguably Marvel’s most successful entities.
Characters like Magneto, Rogue, Phoenix, and Wolverine were the reason why
Marvel fans bought their comics off of the shelves, and the success of the early
X-Men films were proof of that. What many people don’t realize, however, was
that not even the X-Men were an original creation by Marvel. They were in fact
based on DC’s Doom Patrol, who first appeared in June 1963, opposed to the
X-Men’s September 1963 debut. Both teams were formed of gifted
superheroes who were the misfits of society. Most of them struggled in their
personal lives due to their abilities, which is what brought them together.
While this was a clever idea for DC, Marvel apparently did it better, which is
why the X-Men are much more of a household name today than the Doom
Patrol.
4. ACTUALLY WORKED: VISION (RIP-OFF OF RED TORNADO)
In 2015, worldwide audiences became more familiar with the Avengers’
android superhero Vision when he was first introduced to the Marvel
Cinematic Universe during Avengers: Age of Ultron. While the idea of an
android superhero is actually clever, he wasn’t necessarily an original idea for
Marvel. Vision was actually based on the superhero Red Tornado, who
debuted in DC Comics in August 1968. Vision, on the other hand, didn’t debut
until two months later in October 1968. Marvel really didn’t try to hide how
much they were copying. Not only was Vision an android just like Red Tornado,
but they both look practically identical, with only their color schemes being
different. Despite how obvious Marvel was being, it certainly paid off for them,
as Vision is still one of the Avengers’ most popular characters today.
3. ACTUALLY WORKED: SANDMAN (RIP-OFF OF CLAYFACE)
While Spider-Man 3 was a critical failure, one of the most notable and
heartwarming pieces of the film was the troubled antagonist Sandman. This
Spider-Man villain has been one of the most notable to read in the comics, and
was certainly a success for Marvel. The DC character he was based on,
however, did not meet as much success. While Clayface, who debuted in 1940,
has been a notable foe to Batman, his character never went as in depth as
Sand Man, who debuted in 1963. This is one of Marvel’s rip-offs that they
really expanded upon. Rather than just making Sandman another copy-and-
paste rip-off, they made him into a truly emotional and interesting character
that readers were excited to see return in later issues.
2. ACTUALLY WORKED: HULK (RIP-OFF OF SOLOMON GRUNDY)
Since his first appearance in 1962, Hulk has continuously sold Marvel comic-
books off of the shelf as one of Marvel’s most notable and beloved
superheroes of all time. While deep characters like Wolverine and Spider-Man
are always interesting, sometimes readers just want to see a giant green
monster who senselessly beats the crap out of bad guys. What many Hulk fans
never realized, however, was that Hulk himself was also a rip-off of a notable
DC character. He was actually based off of the villain Solomon Grundy, who has
had many different origins over the years, most is most notably a zombified,
brutish murderer. While Grundy was a great character for DC, Hulk easily
surpassed him, becoming one of Marvel’s most iconic and well known heroes.
1.PATHETIC: NIGHT THRASHER (RIP-OFF OF BATMAN)
Considering how much success Batman has brought DC since his creation in
1939, it is no surprise that Marvel has tried to ride off of the Caped Crusader by
making their own versions of the character. One of Marvel’s most recent
attempts at ripping-off Batman occurred in 1989, the same year Tim Burton’s
Batman movie was released. Night Thrasher was created as a dark-suited,
martial-arts trained vigilante who would often hunt criminals at night and was
skilled at making his own technological advancements. Sound familiar? It is
clear that Marvel was just trying to make their own version of Batman to ride
off of his movie. While Night Thrasher was certainly an interesting character
for Marvel, he never really picked up well with readers, as anyone who wanted
to see a hero like him was already avidly reading the Batman comics.
Can you think of any other pathetic or successful
attempts Marvel has had at ripping of DC?
