16 Most Powerful DC Characters Who Were Ripped Off from Marvel

Marvel and DC have been rivals in the superhero sphere for almost 90 years, and each loves to mock the other by creating new versions of its characters. From the Avengers and X-Men to Punisher and Thanos, DC has many versions of Marvel’s heroes, often with impressive powers.

These aren’t characters who take inspiration from Marvel or draw on the same themes, but the deliberate, blatant imitations, with the intent of allowing DC to comment on its main competitor. Of course, just because DC is taking aim at Marvel doesn’t mean these characters can’t be compelling – and as these 16 examples prove, they’re often also surprisingly powerful.

16 Beard Hunter Is the Punisher

The Doom Patrol are famous as DC’s weirdest team, and they have the villains to match, including the Beard Hunter – a vigilante who targets anyone with facial hair for death. From his name to his insignia to his constant narration of his mission, Ernest Franklin is a clear parody of Marvel’s Frank Castle, aka the deadly vigilante known as the Punisher.

15 Death Masque Is Deadpool

Death Masque is a truly impressive in-joke, as well as an incredibly fun character. Fans have long speculated that Marvel’s motormouth assassin Deadpool is a copy of DC’s Deathstroke, with even their names – Wade Wilson and Slade Wilson – seemingly confessing this fact. However, co-creator Rob Liefeld has frequently denied this idea, prompting DC to have a little fun at his expense. Death Masque is a blatant copy of Deadpool, right down to stealing his iconic fourth wall-breaking line “there is a man with a typewriter.” At one point, Death Masque even looks at the reader and observes how funny it would be for Marvel to sue DC over a copy of a(n alleged) copy.

However, Death Masque is also an interesting figure in his own right. Confined to Arkham Asylum due to his knowledge of an alien invasion no-one else can see coming, Death Masque is eventually vindicated when the otherworldly villains attack. He never ages and is an expert weapons master.

If Death Masque is a blatant parody, Red Tool is a thumb in the eye. Not only does Wayne Wilkins’ vigilante name rhyme with Deadpool’s, but he also apes Wade Wilson’s signature yellow speech balloons – though all of Red Tool’s are also in the shapes of various tools. Romantically devoted to Harley Quinn, Red Tool is a weapons master with cybernetic enhancements including a robot arm.

13 Red Lion Is Black Panther

Another Marvel reference from Christopher Priest’s Deathstroke run, Red Lion is DC’s evil answer to Black Panther. Red Lion has a similar costume to Black Panther and is also the ruler of a small African nation. However, while Wakanda adores T’Challa’s Black Panther, the Red Lion is essentially a despot, ruling over Buredunia with an iron fist. With armor and claws made of Promethium, Red Lion is wildly powerful, but also a call-out of Marvel lionizing an unelected ruler as a hero.

12 The Terrifics Are the Fantastic Four (When They’re Together)

While the members of the Terrifics are heroes in their own rights, combining the four as an official team was DC’s surprising way of creating its own Fantastic Four. With Plastic Man’s stretching, Metamorpho’s rock-like muscle, Mister Terrific’s genius and tech, and Phantom Girl’s intangibility, the group essentially have the powers of the FF. A tongue-in-cheek tribute, even the Terrifics’ team name references their Marvel inspiration – however, the team’s real purpose was to give several of DC’s most underrated heroes new life.

Related: 15 Most Powerful Marvel Heroes Who Are Obvious References to DC

11 The Thunderer Is Thor

The Thunderer is the sole survivor of Earth 7 – one of two worlds in the DC multiverse dedicated to parodying Marvel Comics. A Mowanjum weather god, Thunderer has Thor’s control of thunder and lightning and a powerful weapon that enhances his powers. Grant Morrison has since confirmed that Earth 7 was meant as a parody of Marvel’s Ultimate Universe, and was destroyed by the Gentry to showcase their immense power. Thunderer journeyed to Earth 8 to spread a warning, and later joined up with Justice Incarnate, giving Marvel some representation on DC’s ultimate multiversal team of heroes.

10 Magog Is Cable

Rather than a funny parody, Magog is a Marvel mockery with a point. In the iconic Kingdom Come, DC’s aging Justice League heroes contend with a new generation of crime-fighters who are darker and grittier, usually embracing lethal methods. The story itself is a meta-commentary on superhero stories, and critiques the wave of darker, more brutal heroes who were popular in the ’90s. Magog embodies this concept, with strength and invulnerability comparable to Superman – his clearest visual signifier is the half-cyborg mutant Cable.

9 Champions of Angor Are the Avengers

With a similar origin and purpose to Marvel’s Squadron Supreme (its deliberately obvious parody of the Justice League), the Champions of Angor were a group from another world designed so DC fans could see the Justice League of America face off against ‘the Avengers.’ The Champions of Angor are canonically an offshoot of an earlier group called the Assemblers who let fame go to their heads, and their original quartet recreated Thor, Scarlet Witch, the Wasp, and Quicksilver. Later iterations mocked Iron Man, Hawkeye and more with their own analogs, and many future DC parodies drew from the Champions’ names and designs. In terms of power, the group are essentially an early iteration of the Avengers.

Countdown Presents: Lord Havok and the Extremists takes place in a world where Marvel’s Civil War event went disastrously wrong. The fascistic hero Tin Man became president (mimicking Tony Stark’s rise to power), and was later replaced by Americommando. This world is another version of Angor (home of the Champions of Angor), and uses many of the same ideas, but focused more on the villains fighting back against a superhero regime. At their height, the Meta Miliita were an Avengers-level team with the full backing of the country and a highly organized command structure.

7 Tartarus Is Thanos

While Earth 7 was DC’s passing equivalent to Marvel’s Ultimate Universe, Earth 8 is its parody of Marvel’s mainstream – and few beings have a bigger footprint in Marvel lore than Thanos. Tartarus boasts of being “inevitable” and has collected his own Infinity Gauntlet-stand in by gathering the rings of the various Emotional Spectrum Corps (an awesome idea that deserves better than to remain just parody.) Sadly for Tartarus, his real purpose was for DC to show how powerful Darkseid’s new form had become. While past Marvel/DC crossovers had placed Darkseid and Thanos on an even footing, Justice League Incarnate sees Darkseid easily defeat Tartarus and snap his neck, making it as clear as legally possible that he’s way more powerful than Marvel’s big bad.

Related: Which Marvel Superman Clone Is Strongest: Sentry vs Gladiator vs Hyperion

6 The G-Men Are the X-Men

Denizens of Earth 8, the G-Men are DC’s obvious analog for the X-Men, with heroes mimicking the designs of Cyclops, Wolverine, Jean Grey, Colossus, and more. A veritable army, they possess similar but distinct powers to their Marvel doppelgängers – for example, the Cyclops-stand in Stentor fires deadly blasts of sound, rather than Scott Summers’ optic blasts of kinetic force. While they don’t appear for long, Grant Morrison shared details about the team on their Substack, describing them as:

…a breed of genetically modified super-people, bred with an altruistic moral code then betrayed and abandoned by their creators – a Frankenstein race facing persecution

5 The Maximums Are the Ultimates

Initally appearing to be heroes from an alternate timeline tricked into targeting Superman, the Maximums are clear parodies of the Ultimates – Marvel’s gritty reimagining of the Avengers from its Ultimate Universe comics line. Later, these heroes learned that they were created by the reality-warping imp Mr. Mxyzptlk, who wanted to torment Superman with some creative enemies. While these heroes mimick Captain America, the Hulk, Thor, and others, they are depicted as particularly patriotic and loyal to the government, rather than being true adventurers – a critique of the Ultimates’ more grounded and politically relevant depiction.

4 The Americans Are Evil Avengers

Some of the most despicable villains ever depicted in comics, the Americans are Wildstorm’s brutal parody of the Avengers, published under the alternate-universe imprint by DC. Foul-mouthed, brainwashed war criminals bursting with prejudice and cruelty, the Americans are introduced on a mission to kill the baby Jenny Quantum. After a brutal, bloody fight, the Authority kill off most of these horror-show ‘heroes,’ though Midnighter does spare Tank-Man after breaking the Iron Man-stand in emotionally. The Authority are a wildly powerful team who can twist reality in their favor, and yet the Americans still almost won, showing that they’re not just a copy of the Avengers – they’re far more powerful and have no moral restraints.

3 Lord Havok and the Extremists Are Doctor Doom and Marvel’s Villains

Originally an enemy of the Champions of Angor, Lord Havok is DC’s answer to Doctor Doom, joined by a group known as the Extremists who generally parody different Marvel villains – for example Doctor Diehard is a clear Magneto analog, while Gorgon, Tracer and Carny replicate Doctor Octopus, Sabretooth and Arcade respectively (however, this team doesn’t have a consistent membership.) Lord Havok wears a suit of incredibly sophisticated cyborg armor, composed of a liquid metal which can manifest weapons at his telepathic command. Having slain several of the Champions, he also wields analogs of Captain America’s shield and Thor’s hammer.

2 The Retaliators Are the Avengers

The Retaliators are the heroes of Earth 8, and a clear, deliberate parody of the Avengers. Despite being true heroes, they’re among the more mean-spirited of DC’s heroes, with the Captain America-alike American Crusader being particularly demanding of his team, and Iron Man proxy Machinehead betraying Justice Incarnate and being killed by Darkseid in Infinite Frontier #6. The most powerful (and most unique to DC) member is Doctor Multiverse, who – despite a name that references Doctor Strange – is unique in the multiverse and has enhanced senses that stretch beyond any single reality.

1 Cyborg Superman Is Mister Fantastic

Today, many fans may not know that Hank Henshaw’s Cyborg Superman began life as a dark version of Reed Richards. Hank’s origin sees him board the rocketship Excalibur with three friends, and the four are exposed to cosmic radiation that alters their bodies. However, rather than the beneficial powers of the Fantastic Four, Henshaw’s crew were traumatized, dying in quick succession.

Henshaw seemingly also died, but actually simply left his physical body and became capable of possessing technology. Today, he has the physiology of a Kryptonian combined with technopathic powers that make him essentially a god of machines, and even joined the Sinestro Corps (as well as stealing the rings of multiple Green Lanterns.) Cyborg Superman may have started out as DC’s version of Reed Richards, but his traumatic origin turned him into something far, far more dangerous.

DC’s parodies of Marvel characters tend to be cruel, with a running theme of mocking the Avengers as unthinking agents of the state. However, some figures like Cyborg Superman and Doctor Multiverse have become essential figures in DC lore, showing that there’s a major upside to mocking Marvel (beyond just scoring a point against the opposition.)

Source: Grant Morrison

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