10 Times Comic Book Heroes Fought Versions of Themselves On Screen

Many heroes from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, DC Universe, and other comic book movies have fought dark and twisted versions of themselves. In recent years, with the exploration of the multiverse in both the MCU and the DCU, it’s become commonplace to see superheroes battle alternate versions of themselves in live-action. These variants and doppelgängers have sometimes come from parallel worlds and different timelines, though some have also been manufactured and engineered dark mirrors of the original hero.

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While the concept of heroes fighting alternate versions of themselves has really picked up steam in recent years – especially since 2019’s Avengers: Endgame opened the MCU’s multiverse – this has happened a number of times beforehand. Most notably, Superman fought his civilian persona in 1983, and Wolverine battled a dark clone of himself in 2017, but the multiverse has opened a whole new range of possibilities. Peacemaker season 2’s premiere has marked the most recent example of this trend, getting the DCU in on the action, too.

10) Superman vs. Clark Kent in Superman III (1983)

Back in 1983’s Superman III, Christopher Reeve’s Superman goes up against genius computer programmer Gus Gorman and villainous Webscoe Industries CEO Ross Webster, who synthesize Kryptonite after perceiving Superman to be a threat to their plans to incite an energy crisis and corner the market. The Kryptonite doesn’t weaken Superman, but corrupts him to commit vandalism and cause an oil spill. A nervous breakdown splits his personality into two – the corrupted Superman and the regular Clark Kent – whose battle culminates in Clark defeating his corrupted counterpart and repairing the damage he caused.

9) Barry Allen vs. Savitar in The Flash Season 3 (2016)

Proclaiming himself to be the God of Speed, or the Dark Lord, The Flash’s Savitar was revealed to be a time remnant of the original Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) from an erased potential future. Barry fought Savitar throughout The Flash season 3 in 2016 and ’17, with the villain coming into existence because of a causal loop that involved Iris West’s (Candice Patton) death. Savitar was eventually killed by Iris, while Barry takes Savitar’s place in the Speed Force prison to bring balance to the cosmos.

8) Wolverine vs. X-24 in Logan (2017)

2017’s Logan is widely regarded to be one of the strongest instalments in 20th Century Fox’s X-Men franchise, and was, at the time, Hugh Jackman’s final adventure as Wolverine. This wasn’t his only role in the movie, however, as he also portrayed a mindless and controllable clone of himself, X-24, who had been created by Alkali-Transigen after they deemed Project X-23, which birthed Laura (Dafne Keen) to be a failure. Wolverine lost his battle against X-24, as both ended up dead at the end of Logan, contributing to one of the most emotional moments ever depicted in a superhero movie.

7) Steve Rogers’ Captain America vs. 2012’s Captain America in Avengers: Endgame (2019)

Avengers: Endgame marked the MCU’s first foray into the multiverse, as the Avengers embarked on the Time Heist to collect the six Infinity Stones and reverse Thanos’ snap from five years prior. Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) joined Tony Stark, Scott Lang, and Bruce Banner traveling to 2012’s New York to acquire the Space, Time, and Mind Stones. This brought Captain America face-to-face with his more strait-laced and uptight past version of himself, however, and the pair fought. The future Rogers won by dishing out the premature reveal that Bucky Barnes was still alive, creating a surprising new branching timeline.

6) Nebula vs. 2014’s Nebula in Avengers: Endgame (2019)

It wasn’t only Steve Rogers who went up against his own variant in Avengers: Endgame, as Karen Gillan’s Nebula also came face-to-face with her own counterpart after traveling to 2014’s Morag. Nebula and Thanos from 2014 intercepted the more-heroic Nebula after she and War Machine collected the Power Stone, and the villainous Nebula infiltrated the Avengers to let Thanos through the time portal. This led to the Battle of Earth, and incited another spar between the two Nebulas, with the future version eventually shooting her past counterpart dead in a shockingly on-the-nose metaphor for moving on from her traumatic past.

5) Vision vs. White Vision in WandaVision (2021)

In the midst of variants fighting variants, WandaVision did something different when Vision fought himself. Paul Bettany’s Vision was revealed to be a construct of the Scarlet Witch, though the original Vision’s body was also rebuilt by SWORD with a new white design. Vision and White Vision fought in hand-to-hand combat, but it was their intellectual and philosophical battle that proved even more intense, with them arguing over which Vision was the real one, using the Ship of Theseus as a metaphor. Neither won nor lost this battle, though it’ll be White Vision who returns in 2026’s Vision Quest series.

4) Loki vs. Many Variants in Loki (2021 – 2023)

Loki season 1 marked the first real exploration of the multiverse in the MCU, and the popular series certainly milked the concept for all its worth. Tom Hiddleston’s Loki himself is a variant, having escaped from the Avengers in 2012 during the Time Heist. This variant was recruited by the Time Variance Authority to track down another of his counterparts, Sophia Di Martino’s Sylvie. This mission brought him into opposition with many of his other variants in the Void, however, and Loki continued to battle himself in his second season before becoming a bona fide MCU superhero.

3) Doctor Strange vs. Sinister Strange in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)

Doctor Strange’s primary antagonist in 2022’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was Elizabeth Olsen’s corrupted Scarlet Witch, but he also went up against Gargantos, a variant of Mordo on Earth 838, and a sinister three-eyed variant of himself. The latter was found in a universe ravaged by an ongoing incursion, caused by Sinister Strange himself, who was revealed to have been using the Darkhold. Strange needed the book to dream-walk into his variant’s body and save America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez), leading to an epic musical battle between the pair that culminated in Sinister Strange’s demise.

2) Deadpool vs. Deadpool Corps in Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)

2024’s Deadpool & Wolverine became the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time following its release, and it took advantage of its mature rating. Notably, one moment saw Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool and a Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine variant engage in a bloody one-shot battle against the countless members of the Deadpool Corps, Wade Wilson’s own variants who were under the employ of Emma Corrin’s Cassandra Nova. Wade and Logan won against all these Deadpool variants, though they ultimately all regenerated, just in time to be talked down by Peter (Rob Delaney).

1) Christopher Smith’s Peacemaker vs. Peacemaker in Peacemaker Season 2 (2025)

The most recent example of a hero fighting a version of themselves was seen in Peacemaker season 2 – now an official part of the rebooted DCU. In the season’s premiere, Christopher Smith (John Cena) found an alternate reality where his brother (David Denman) is alive and his father (Robert Patrick) is a hero, both joining his doppelgänger as the Top Trio. Smith comes to blows with this alternate Peacemaker, however, and their battle through the Quantum Unfolding Chamber culminates in the other Smith being impaled and killed. What comes next for Peacemaker is yet to be determined.

Which of these battles did you enjoy watching the most? Let us know in the comments!