Top 40 DC & Marvel RIPPED OFF Characters!

[@Remix36720]

Swamp Thing is the best rip off, the Alan Moore run alone made him one of the greatest comic characters of all time

[@MintHunterComics]

Oh absolutely

[@jacobbornowsky4013]

Allll tiiimeess!!

[@EthanFelixReigns]

No he isn't a rip off

[@michkabailey222]

Swamp Thing and Man Thing are both knock-offs of The Heap, a golden age character first seen in 1942's Air Fighters Comics #3. Gladiator is actually a knock-off of Superboy, as the Imperial Guard are all knock-offs of the Legion of Super-Heroes. Hyperion is indeed a knock-off of Suoerman, since the Squadron Supreme (or Squadron Sinister) are all knock-offs of the Justice League.

[@pulsarstargrave256]

How about HULK villain THE GLOB created by Roy Thomas and Herb Trimpe? He might predate Man Thing and Swamp Thing!

[@Utubesanarc]

@@pulsarstargrave256 Ultraverse had the Sludge who's a complete knock off of all of em

[@jeffreycoogan09]

@Michka Bailey (Swamp Thing and Man Thing) are both knock-offs of ''The Heap''! Yes, I'm not the only one on this planet who is aware that.

[@prospero7867]

And they are all knockoffs of Theodore Sturgeon's, "It" from his story of the same name in the 1940s. When you read the story, you know where all swamp monsters came from.

[@hydrolito]

Flash Gordon first appeared in 1934 by King Features also had Hawkmen, Sharkmen, lion man in stories and under water city, villain with ice gun before Marvel comics and DC comics did. Electro was a foe of Captain America in the nineteen fifties. Thin Man was created before Plastic man.

[@Troller-bv7te]

Finally someone who knows that Thin Man was made in 1940 and Plastic Man was made in 1941

[@andrewweisneck1102]

Adam Strange also rips off Buck Rogers and Captain Strong rips off Popeye.

[@Naf1400]

Darksied is. Wish DC and Marvel would do a proper fight with Darksied and Thanos, infinity gems and anti life too.

[@MintHunterComics]

I would be very very very ok with that haha

[@Haseo1970]

the Hulk is not a rip-off of Solomon Grundy actually the Hulk is not a zombie at all . Ultron is not a copy of Brainiac . Brainiac is a alien cyborg . Ultron is it super artificial life-form computer virus that's the difference between Brainiac and Ultron . Thor is not copy of Shazam there's a difference between Thor and Shazam or Thor was based off Viking Norway mythology Thor . DC:Doom Patrol June, 1963 ─copy─▷Marvel: Fantastic Four (November, 1961) . DC: Doctor Polaris (6- 1963) ─copy─▷ Marvel: Metal Master (3- 1963) . DC: Plastic Man (1941) ─copy─▷ Marvel: Thin Man (1940) . DC:Red Tornado (1960) ─copycated─▷ Marvel: Android Human Torch (1939). DC: Atomic Skull (1978) ─copy─▷ Marvel: Blazing Skull (1941) . DC: Manhunters (1975) ─copy─▷ Marvel: Sentinel Robot (1965) .DC:Teen titans (1964) ─copy─▷ Marvel:Young Allies (1941). DC:Raven (1980) ─copy─▷ Marvel:Phoenix (1976) . DC: Dark Raven (December- 2004)─copy─▷Marvel: Dark Phoenix (January-1982) . DC:Rocket red (1987) ─copy─▷ Marvel:Crimson Dynamo (October, 1963) . DC:Firestorm (1978) ─copy─▷ Marvel: Molecule Man (1963)

[@felixmaldonado7511]

Challengers of the Unknown(1957) and Fantastic Four(1961). Both created by Jack Kirby .

[@CheapComicCollector]

That was fun. I've always been amazed at how much the two big companies rip each other off without anyone seeming to care. A follow up video could be the history of certain types of characters. Example: the first swamp monster in comics was actually The Heap who first appeared in 1942.

[@MintHunterComics]

That's a cool vid idea Rob!

[@prospero7867]

And actually, all were inspired by a Theodore Sturgeon story from 1940s named, "It" Read it, its unmistakable.

[@MrDaveB56]

I was waiting for the Atom and Ant-Man. 😶

[@AlexSzostak13]

I can only imagine the pressure artists and writers had to recreate a prior success. it's no wonder guys like Stan and Jack reused ideas. (LOL!!! I COULDN'T RESIST!!)

[@legofigurereviews9797]

I don’t remember Jack Kirby ever reusing Ideas and Stan lee never had any to begin with

[@_vixen_4504]

Did you not see the video a lot of the rip offs are just characters Jack kirby designed and brought over to the other side

[@big_burly_bro]

The Rock would be excellent as Gladiator in the MCU.

[@ahankumar555]

And Black Adam for DC

[@PurplePaddy]

I think my absolute favourite is swap thing and man-thing because if I am remembering correctly the two creators were roommates but that could just be a rumour ! Great video as always and if you get a chance you might like a green lantern book I just learned about by digging in back issues, planet of the apes/green lantern DC and boom studios !

[@MintHunterComics]

It's def a close story! Man thing beats him by just a hair. Swamp Thing is very much the better character though

[@WorldClassSatanist]

Magneto was based off of Malcolm X

[@chewie1363]

Deadpool ripping of Deathstroke. First thing that comes to mind.

[@MintHunterComics]

Indeed

[@billyrod1980]

Story lines too. Marvel Zombies followed years later with DCeased.

[@MintHunterComics]

Indeed, both great thpguh

[@oxsolo]

I love that your giveaway matches the "rip off" theme lol. It's really interesting to see that creating a character is nowhere near as important as what you do with them. My go-to example of this is Deadpool. He's one of my favorite characters but that's entirely due to what people AFTER Liefeld and Nicieza did with him. And who would even care about the X-Men if it weren't for Chris Claremont?

[@Utubesanarc]

Honestly the cartoon did it for me. Oh and can't forget Pizza hut.

[@Utubesanarc]

Here's another one thrown at ya and with no shame in the name. DC's Captain Marvel and Marvels Captain Marvel. They also have similarities in that both have family in the super hero game.

[@Red-Devil884]

I have to disagree on a few choices. Lobo and Wolverine just have similiar attitude but thats it. Moonknight is nothing like Batman, the only similarity is that they both are rich. Nightrasher, or Nighthawk? Sure, obvious batman ripoffs but not MoonKnight. And Finally i have to talk about the Doom Patrol and xmen thing. It has been proved that it was only a tremendous coincidence as there is no way marvel could copy DC in such a short time, taking in consideration how comics are produced (months) the only possible explanations would be that Stan Lee break into The Doom Patrol’s creator house and stole his ideas. Basically the same applies to Man-Thing and Swamp-Thing.

[@Loscomicjourney]

I would have to say Magneto. I know DC made a character first but no one can deny that he is probably one of the most well known villians/antiheroes in all of comics. Great list. 👊🏼

[@chewie1363]

Love the video. Your comic book knowledge is impressive.

[@terryfloyd3505]

while not from one company to another, Punisher is an obvious Mack Bolan rip-off, even had a similar back story. Still don t understand why Don Pendelton let it slide. And btw, The Executioner would kick Punisher's butt :P(fight me):)

[@alexarevalo5695]

I love these! I always find it funny when people don't know that there are so many copycat characters between Marvel and DC.

[@Utubesanarc]

Don't forget Ultraverse copied both companies mainly Marvel

[@DCPatrol]

I've become a big Aquaman fan, so I have to say that he's my favorite "rip-off" character. Thankfully most characters have their own personality and aren't too direct.

[@deezworld2098]

Namor to the moon!!!

[@eduardourena8262]

You forgot to mention hulk ripped off Solomon grundy. Black panther ripped off Wild cat. Captain marvel ripped off star sapphire. Iron man ripped off lex luthor. Sentry & hyperion ripped off Superman

[@purecomiccollector]

Dude, that pirate outfit is killer!!! Arrrrggghhhhh matey!!! Good video too!

[@StarsetCards]

Nice video, not a huge secret how much they take ideas from each other. Some Pay off, some reallllly don’t

[@MintHunterComics]

Hahaha thats for damn sure. 😂

[@oliverortiz8507]

What about the Challengers of the Unknown created by Jack Kirby for DC who then went to Marvel and co-created the Fantastic Four with Stan Lee. Both teams had a family dynamic who bickered with each other.

[@tonyh383]

Great List! You missed the obvious Squadron Supreme rip off of JLA. Members like Nighthawk ripping Batman, Doctor Spectrum of Green Lantern for example

[@House_of_Moe]

Love this stuff! I'm prefer Black Cat over Cat Woman. But now I need to learn more about the Red Tiger. Looks cool!

[@jemairemungin3156]

Another great video bro… “no idea’s original, there’s nothing new under the sun, it’s never what you do but how it’s done”…DC and Marvel imitate each other just like all rival companies, keep up the good work👍🏾

[@chrissmith003]

I know they’re both DC, but I always thought dead shot and death stroke were the same character!! It’s like DC ripping off DC lol

[@robs6952]

Even Jimmy Olsen as Elastic Lad was before Mr Fantastic, but it’s an odd one as Reed’s greatness as a character isn’t anything to do with his powers IMO 🙂

[@robertbaker4811]

Awesome list James! Hyperion is so obvious but so is the rest of the Squadron Supreme. Marvel's very own JLA.

[@SpectrumTF]

I thought moon knight was mystical, under moonlight he can lift cars and stuff

[@bobjohnson1096]

Deadpool obviously! As for original there is nothing new under the sun. You would probably have to with Hercules, Thor and the characters surrounding them. On a sidenote: Batman was a take off on characters of Pulp magazines like The Shadow.

[@lburwell99]

Some examples are only a couple months apart. Idk if that's enough time to say it's surely a rip off and not just a coincidence. Like swamp thing is 2 months after man thing. I guess the only thing I can buy is they were a lot faster with the creation process and banging out books back in the day.

[@chriskaufman2262]

Sgt Rock and Easy Co. and Sgt Fury and the Howling Commandoes. While Kanigher decided to stay true to the hell of the Second World War and declare that that Sgt Rock and Easy would not survive the war, he also handcuffed this incredible character from evolving into modern day like Nick Fury. Nevertheless Sgt Rock is the best war book ever produced during the comics code. Lee and Kirby ripped DC off and while Nick Fury has become a great character in Marvel’s stable, it only takes a few reads of an early Our Army at War or Sgt Rock story to see how profound the character was and how badly he is missed.

[@benprastitis3341]

really like this sort of content. slabs are great and all, but mixing it up like this works for me!

[@johnconiglio9278]

I would add Hulk/Doomsday and Joker/Green Goblin. Honorable mention for Superman/Shazam. Originally Shazam wasn't part of DC. I'm sure your already aware of that interesting story.

[@MintHunterComics]

I can see a case for that!

[@hydrolito]

Green Goblin was inspired by wicked witch of the west and originally rode a flying device resembling a broom. Is the owner of a company so more like Batman than the Joker except for both being crazy.

[@geekimusprime]

Didn’t even know about Dr. Polaris. But Magneto all the way!

[@lillie88pl]

Really enjoyed this vid dude. Keep killing it 💪😎

[@daviclar867]

This was cool and the editing is great! Like to add that the Justice League came before the Avengers. Also, when Marvel launched Spiderman they basically used the same colors as Superman's suit, except for the tiny bit of yellow and minus the cape, and had a secret identity. God bless our troops!

[@Jagdosh]

Aquaman, but to be fair I didn't really know about Namor. Especially the Justice League version that gave Aquaman the hook hand.

[@MintHunterComics]

As a 90s comic fan, I miss that hook hand! That was awesome!

[@CallenLowe]

I absolutely loved this video, great idea behind it! Keep em comin!!

[@Jinzo126]

i am not so sure about Zatanna and Scarlet Witch, Zatanna was based on Zatara from Action Comics #1 (1938)

[@Jinzo126]

One Year before Green Arrow was Alias the Spider from Crack Comics #1 (1940).

[@SuperiorBryce98]

Shang Dragon issue 1 you say?! That's so cool, I'm a huge Richard Chi Fan!

[@MintHunterComics]

Hahahaha I love this

[@jasoncraft2135]

This was so common back in the day there are many Stan Lee interviews where he discusses it especially when it comes to the superhero groups. But who could blame an artist or writer for recreating there past successes at a new company its not like they were treated very fair when it came to owning the characters they created.

[@rugeorge2908]

Excellent video. Swamp Thing and Man Thing came out so close together in 1971 I'm not sure one was a copy of the other. But per your scoring I'd say Swamp Thing is the best "rip-off"

[@MintHunterComics]

Def the best rip off in my book

[@son0fty111]

Great vid it’s hilarious how they just take from eachother my favorite rip-off has to be Deadpool

[@ComicCollectorGeek]

Great list. I was actually doing a series on price comparisons of the rip-off characters and some of Marvel vs DC comparative characters.

[@Shrewsclues_75]

I can only imagine the pressure artists and writers had to recreate a prior success. it's no wonder guys like Stan and Jack reused ideas.

[@MintHunterComics]

Seriously. If something works, why not do it again!

[@AlexSzostak13]

Hey John! You posted before me and since this was a video on Rip-Offs, I couldn't help myself. (LOL!)

[@johndaywalt7860]

The original Moon Knight had Super Strenght variety with the phrase of the moon.

[@scottrubin8854]

Another great video and enjoyed the comparisons.

[@aadilsood_014]

Dearhstroke => deadpool (slade Wilson => Wade wilson) !!!!

[@MintHunterComics]

Yup!

[@trainermark9956]

Another great video. This must have been a lot of work and research. Well done sir.

[@tj1993rx7]

I like the Galactus/Anti-Monitor comparison….gotta go with Galactus being my favorite from my old FF reading days in the 80s with Byrnes art.

[@batmangummies5393]

Yeah Galactus is better but both are cool. I love anti monitor’s design a lot more than Galactus though.

[@jakeproven256]

Clayface is actually as frequently used as Sandman, also Clayface wasn't always made of clay, at first he was a murderer in a clay mask.

[@SPalochik]

I have always been a Sub-Mariner fan and issue #1 was my FIRST book I purchased as a kid to transform me into a collector.

[@MintHunterComics]

That's quite the first book! I bet that's an awesome collection!

[@SPalochik]

@@MintHunterComics I bought it when I was 13 in 1982 at a local convention that came to Monroeville, PA every year. I saved money from cutting grass and shoveling snow so when the con rolled into town I could get it. THANKS JAMES!

[@rubixcubecomics420]

Nice video man

[@MintHunterComics]

Thanks Rubix!

[@mavlock]

Swamp Thing by a mile is seriously a great character. Also, I have a fondness for Moon Knight but Batman will always be number 1. Sometimes I wish that wasn't so, collecting Batman is rough. Oh, and Doctor Fate is another of my all-time favorites. Some of his 90's runs were among my favorite stories and art.

[@kevinkowalski5030]

I love the comic history videos! Lots of things I did not know before today!

[@batmangummies5393]

I much prefer Doctor Fate over Doctor Strange. Also clayface is miles better than sandman.

[@0001111000220]

Love the idea of the video - originality is tough!

[@Paulies-Hideout]

For me, nothing beats the "Captain America Corps," (Yeah, I also remember the "Nova Corps" around the same time) Geoff John's Green Lantern Run was a huge hit during the time

[@jakeproven256]

Doug moench who created moon knight later wrote Batman in the 80’s and 90’s.

[@buraqrak]

I just found your channel , great videos , great knowledge , just awesome. Of course I'm binge watching videos from last few months. For me it's Lobo #1 and Spawn #1 because these were my first American comics I bought back in 90' as a poor kid leaving in post communist Poland and there was one bookstore in my city that surprisingly had some English titles , unfortunately I lost that collection (friend of family stole it-long story) but my love to comics was reignited when I got free pass to 2019 Fan Expo in Toronto and got my 1st signed comics 2 Absolute Carnages #1 by Donny Cates and DC 1000 (2010') by Greg Capullo which I bought at the expo when I found out that my buddies will be getting their signatures. I got 2 x 9.8 and 1 x 9.6 but these are my PC comics, never gonna sell them just because they are my 1st signed CGC slabs and thanks to them I start collecting comics again

[@deandee3270]

I love Marvel but I have to say Omega Beams trump Infinity Gauntlet. 🤙🏻

[@brickgamingygo]

Every Rob liefeld image character, almost all ripped from his marvel characters. Or my favorite Hulk ripping off Solomon Grundy

[@MintHunterComics]

Hahahaha too true

[@thequietrevolution3404]

A hero who's his own most original comic book character? I'm going with *_The Shadow_*

[@ivangotyokes]

Xmen. No question.

[@TheComicBookReport]

INCREDIBLE idea for a video! Love this haha

[@roywatson7916]

Well...with an expanding universe in each library, it only makes sense that they borrow ideas from each other.

[@MrAuggiedoggy313]

X-men ended up being more successful than Doom Patrol

[@profzoom69]

awesome video, forgot how may "copies" of each other's characters the big 2 comics companies did of each other :)

[@frankgorscak6781]

Man-thing, swamp thing

[@jasonwhite9705]

Love the video. Found it very educational.

[@Rangerteam2]

Very impressive research. I learned a crazy amount in this video....being a Marvel fan it’s interesting to see the inspiration/rip-off from both companies. Well done!

[@MasterSplinter79]

Never knew that of the X-men! They are my favorite superheroe team! Trying to collect the last 80 or so comics (numbers # 100 till # 200 of the Uncanny series volume 1), the best ripp off is always Deadpool in my opinion, but the way they did it, killed DC's Deathstroke! Alltough Batman/Moonknight is also a good ripp off, but Batman is better!

[@paulharper9711]

Growing up in the 70’s and being a huge Superfriends fan as a kid, I need to go with Aquaman over Namor and Green Arrow over Hawkeye. Oh Hell, I’m still a Superfriends fan at 55.

[@MintHunterComics]

Hahaha (same here, minus the growing in the 70s part)

[@shaheedali651]

Sentry ripping off superman.

[@eros816]

Deadpool being a blatant yet popular rip off of Deathstroke even down to the names of Slade Wilson to Wade Wilson. Love DP

[@Vp-jt3vl]

Cool video dude! You love to see it hahahah. Never knew there was that much lol

[@BobShacklock]

Moon Knight 8s my favorite rip off. Sorry he's a better Batman and I can't wait to see him in the MCU.

[@RPRsChannel]

A bit early? Sunday, September 19th is International Talk Like a Pirate Day 2021. Arrr!

[@roshansell1804]

I mean the character being ripped off doesn't really matter in the long run. It's more how they are executed and managed. The ones we remember more are better usually even if they aren't completely original

[@MintHunterComics]

I totally agree

[@Pewsplosions]

Thunderbolts only really became a rip off of Suicide Squad when they got caught and didn't have any idea what to do with them. :D

[@shaheedali651]

Hulk ripping off solomon grundy.

[@hydrolito]

Hulk was copied after Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. They changed Solomon Grundy to look more muscular like Hulk later.

[@muffintop_08]

Dead pool is the best copy cat. Love the Channel!!!

[@specterman2000]

You forgot about DC's Adrian Chase (a.k.a. Vigilante) a Rip Off of Marvel's Frank Castle (a.k.a. The Punisher). I always thought Vigilante's costume looked a lot cooler the Punisher's.

[@ComicBoomTube]

I had no idea that Gladiator was a rip-off of Superman. Aquaman has never been as interesting as Sub-Mariner. Regarding Black Alice, I never saw her as a Rogue rip-off and so it is interesting to note of the similarities. Deadpool and Swamp Thing are the best examples of the rip-off character being infinitely more interesting than the original. Great video!

[@hydrolito]

Gladiator was copied after Superboy and group he was with resembled The Legion of Super heroes.

[@hydrolito]

Rogue is sort of rip off of Parasite and Magneto tried to use her as a power source in X men 3 movie the way Dr. Doom tried to use Parasite in 2nd Superman and The Amazing Spider-Man crossover story.

[@Dr-Guion]

Loved the video, I'm always amazed by the possibility of rehashing an idea and making it bigger or better. That being said, there are a couple of these that I think are questionable choices for the list, since I consider them more parodies than rip offs (like Hyperion or Lobo), the original Suicide Squad from de 50s were a group of soldiers and civilians, I don't think the idea of the villains as heroes came before the 80s with Ostrander's run (still a good ten years before the Thunderbolts). Rocket Red was the communist answer to individual super powers, a group of regular people with power suits, even if the armor is an idea we see a lot in comics (Prototype from Malibu for example), I think the concept is very far from the billionaire genius hoarding his invention. As far as actual rip-offs, I absolutely adore the X-Men, but the Doom Patrol will always be my weird weird jam.

[@jakeproven256]

Flash is awesome but quicksilver just sucks. Well in most incarnations.

[@MintHunterComics]

Hahahaha oh no! I think he's pretty cool

[@jorgem.1564]

Wolverine is the best ripoff(of TImberwolf).

[@marcacosta7594]

Excellent research 👏. Darkseid should get a little helicopter too.

[@davionhillard7379]

Wrong about Black Lightning he is inspired by Black Vulcan

[@hydrolito]

Black Lightning was created before Black Vulcan.

[@mmytacist]

Shang-chi --- rip-off a bad character. classic

[@aadityamadan2279]

Swampy was a rip off 😬😵‍💫

[@MintHunterComics]

But the best of em!

[@karate6192]

Swamp thing is was definitely great rip off. Also I'd rather read a doom Patrol comic more than an X-men comic

[@pocanthutrex3356]

Also, it may be obvious, but bear in mind the concept of mysterious heroes / anti-heroes / super villians is ancient, and do-gooders with secretive backgrounds in Western culture date back to Robin Hood or even earlier. Superman was in part inspired by carnival strongmen (and Samson, and Heracles). There was a slew of double-life vigilantes before Batman (Scarlet Pimpernel, Zorro, Dr. Syn, the Shadow, etc.). The IDEA of super heroes is as old as human literature (Gilgamesh, for example), its just that every generation reworks it to suit its mores. Its all a rip-off, depending on how broadly you look at it.

[@hobbyhero6973]

Growing up the Marvel swipes were always more talked about. Was surprised to see so many DC swipes mentioned here. Think Vision probably has the biggest gap from his predecessor.

[@jakeproven256]

I do love red tornado.