Alright, let’s explore the world of mimicry and idea theft in comics.
Over so many decades, so many characters have been created, that certain qualities seem to repeat, be it powers, skills, personalities, or first names. Captain America and Superman are both idealistic men from another time and place, who support truth Justice, and the American way.
These things probably aren’t all too foreign to the casual fan or average moviegoer, but those people probably wouldn’t recognize…
The G-Man Extraordinaire came out a year and two months before the Captain, whom America knows and loves. Now, while it would seem, given the color schemes, themes, and use of an actual shield, that Captain America seems to be a direct rip-off of this Pep Comics character who has since faded into obscurity, there are, as always, extenuating circumstances. Both books came out in the early 1940s, when threats to America seemed imminent. People, extraordinary men, supersoldiers, rose up to defend America’s values from a world which sought to strip them away. Do the circumstances make the idea-theft morally right, if it was in fact a rip off? Absolutely not, but in the 1940s, Marvel was not by any means the titan they are today. Nor was DC, who technically didn’t exist at the time. By 1941, when Captain America came around, Marvel had only been around for about 2 years, so Captain America’s ultimate sweeping victory over the Shield is not, nor was it, the result of some political, financial, or fan-loyalty based advantage. Jack Kirby and Stan Lee simply created a better character, and they weren’t strangers to re-inventing or re-using characters, even their own. Heck, there were three versions of the hulk before 1962, when Bruce Banner got hit by that bomb.
Though, occasionally, they own up to their faux paus
The pattern here is that many characters who get recycled or swept under the rug are ones who are old, and didn’t receive great ratings or sell many issues. Who’s gonna miss em? So what happens when a more modern character is copied?
There are two possibilities in the case of most mirror characters:
Either they came out really close to one another and certain aspects can be chalked up to coincidence (these characters can still grow in parallel ways and draw off one another) or,
Parody characters.
Swamp Thing, my favorite character, star of my header, and focus of my final passion blog, and Man-Thing came out within just a few (2, I believe) months of one another. Both were scientists who were in accidents involving fire in a swamp, both became swamp monsters, and the writers of each were roommates at the time. This isn’t really theft in my personal and undoubtedly biased opinion, as 2 months is in no way enough time to rip off a character, given the publication and art processes of the time, and furthermore, if anything beyond coincidence occurred, it is more likely a sharing of ideas, based on the pursuit of better art and an interesting concept. Especially considering that Swamp Thing was initially meant only to be in one issue of a horror serial. Because of better writing and ratings, Swamp Thing prevailed and became so much more, with Man-Thing fading into the background of Marvel comics, though he did technically show up in Thor Ragnarok, and does have an absolutely awful looking syfy movie. Not necessarily equal to two films, a three season TV series, and the launching of the career of one of the greatest writers in comic book history, but he’s still relevant, and that’s a good thing.
Other close-calls may not have so many circumstances. Marvel’s Wolverine (created by Len Wein, who also created Swamp Thing along with Bernie Wrightson) came out about a year or two before Lobo, DC’s bounty hunter. Lobo showed up in a dumb colorful suit, typical of the 80s with stupid hair, though his gritty aspects, motorcycle-like spacecraft and an affinity for brutality were somewhat apparent in his first appearance. It should also be said, though, that Wolverine was also very different from the one we know now in his first appearance. Over time, the characters developed many similar traits, almost in parallel,though Wolverine got some of it first. In the end, they both smoke cigars, speak gruffly, have incredible regeneration abilities coupled with a remarkable sense of smell, though Lobo is by far the more ridiculous of the two. He can pull weapons out of anywhere, regenerate from a single cell, track scents across the galaxy for a contract, as he is a mercenary who talks too much… kinda like this other guy.
Deadpool is the king daddy rip off. He’s a direct parody of a character known as Deathstroke. The latter is Slade Wilson. Deadpool is Wade Wilson.
Deadpool’s attitude is also a copy of Ambush Bug, a DC character, and his joking and lighthearted view on murder is very much lifted from Lobo, along with his power set, though the cruelty of Lobo, who killed his whole planet for the junior high science fair, is left behind. They both even have storylines where severed parts of them grew new bodies, which became enemies. The thing is though, Deadpool is simply the better-written character. He takes all the best qualities of each character and puts them together in just the right way. Comics do this more often than you’d think, but in a way similar to jazz. Theft helps the industry progress. Somewhat ironic when considering the overarching themes of justice, but hey, even that gets copied in every book.