As any comics fan knows, there are sometimes big similarities between characters across DC and Marvel and that’s not exactly an accident. Both Marvel and DC have long histories of taking inspiration from one another, borrowing ideas and concepts across the decades. Some are pretty obvious; Marvel’s Quicksilver is their answer to DC”s speedster The Flash while both Hawkeye and Green Arrow are superhero arches, it’s just that Green Arrow came first. And the copycat game goes both ways. DC’s Aquaman is similar to Marvel’s Namor while Swamp Thing and Man-Thing are pretty close, too.
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But there are some characters and teams that you may not realize are copycats. For some, it’s the general concept that crosses from one publisher to the other and for others, there’s a shared creator involved. However the similarities came to be, these Marvel characters and teams have gone on to make their own mark and be their own thing, all while giving fans of both Marvel and DC a lot to love.
1) Fantastic Four (Copied from the Challengers of the Unknown)
Whether you’re an avid comics reader or a casual one, chances are you’ve at least read a little bit of the Fantastic Four. One of the most popular and powerful teams in comics it seems like a lot of people aren’t aware that they share a lot of similarities with Jack Kirby’s other team of adventurers, the Challengers of the Unknown. Introduced in 1957 (four years before the Fantastic Four), the Challengers of the Unknown is group of four adventurers who solve paranormal or even alien threats to our world. Sounds a lot like th Fantastic Four.
While the Challengers were created first, they are lost in the shadow of Marvel’s first family as the latter team has become much more popular over the year. With fewer appearances, the Challengers go unnoticed by a lot of fans these days, but it’s still need to consider that both Marvel and DC have such interesting and similar teams.
2) The Nova Corps (Copied from the Green Lantern Corps
An group of intergalactic space cops saving the universe, The Green Lantern Corps provided the base for what would become Marvel’s Nova Corps. Be it Richard Rider or Sam Alexander as Nova for Earth, the backstory of being chosen as the protector of their part of space is identical to that of a Green Lantern. As for the Nova Corps more broadly, the team itself has changed a great deal over the years, though more recently it has served in a capacity similar to that of the Green Lantern Corps, functioning as space cops.
While the Fantastic Four ended up more popular than the Challengers of the Unknown however, it’s the “original” team that rules here. The Green Lantern Corps is the more popular group between them and the Nova Corps.
3) The X-Men (Copied from the Doom Patrol)
While the X-Men have been another titan for Marvel, there are plenty of similarities between them and the Doom Patrol. Debuting two months later the X-Men became the de facto team of oddballs led by a wheelchair bound leader who is himself a questionable person. The two teams even have faced very similar villains, with Doom Patrol facing the Brotherhood of Evil while the X-Men have taken on the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.
Over the years, however, similarities between the X-Men and Doom Patrol have gotten a bit wider; one could argue that the Doom Patrol has only gotten weirder (in a good way) while the X-Men have grown much more serious. The X-Men have also become undisputedly the bigger team for comics fans but don’t count the Doom Patrol out. They’ve got some great stories, too.
4) Bucky Barnes (Copied from Robin)
The Bucky/Robin comparisons have been there as far back as 1941. Created as the child sidekick of Captain America, James Barnes took up the superhero name Bucky, but simply being a child sidekick for a major superhero is largely where the Bucky/Robin comparisons end. He was lost to time but would return decades later as the dark new anti-hero the Winter Soldier. Interestingly, while he was created alongside Dick Grayson in terms of time, Bucky is in many ways a lot more similar to Jason Todd’s Robin, especially since they returned decades later as a villain turned anti-hero.
5) The New Mutants (Copied from The New Teen Titans)
A group of teenage superheroes taking the mantle up from the previous generation, The New Mutants are the second team fans think of when they think of teen teams. Created three years after Marv Wolfman and George Perez’ reinvention of the Teen Titans, The New Mutants had an almost identical lineup in terms of power spread. With a magical girl with occult powers, a quirky robot, an animal shapeshifter, and a brooding lead character, the similarities are hard to deny
The Titans ended up being the bigger team by far but the New Mutants are the cult hit of the X-titles. It’s hard to picture what the X-titles would be like without these guys and it’s all thanks to the Teen Titans. Both teams work super well off of each other and would make another great crossover team as well.
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Image courtesy of Iron Gate and Coffee Stain -
Image Courtesy of Marvel Studios
