Have you ever read a comic book and thought that one of the characters seemed like a copy of another from a different book? You are far from the first. Comics, specifically those of the industry's rival superpowers, Marvel and DC, are full of original, vibrant heroes and villains. But sometimes, a few of them resemble guys from the other property a bit too much, either in abilities, backstories, personalities, designs, and so on.

Now, none of that is meant to be accusatory in the least. There is only so much creative originality, and some apparent copycats could be coincidental or even flattering imitations. And upon closer inspection, readers might find that those characters are not as similar as they initially believed. However, some other characters are remarkably similar to the point where they might be counterparts. Differences, small or substantial, might exist to offset or complement the parallels, but the fact remains these characters exist as two sides of the same coin.

10 Moon Knight and Batman

Wealthy heroes with their own code

Everyone knows who the Dark Knight is. After all, Batman has numerous animated versions, has starred in multiple acclaimed movies, and is among comic books' most iconic and representative figures. But not many, until recently anyway, would recognize Marvel's Moon Knight. Batman and Moon Knight are costumed vigilantes with a wealth of money, tools, and fighting abilities that they use to combat criminals on the streets at night.

One of Moon Knight's writers, Charlie Huston, once addressed the similarities between the two characters, acknowledging them soundly while noting that Batman and Moon Knight differed concerning their origins and motivations. Batman is driven to fight crime because of his parents' brutal murder. On the other hand, Moon Knight was killed and resurrected by a deity to be his champion against injustice, which additionally points to a supernatural element largely missing from the Batman mythos.

9 Hawkeye / Green Arrow

The bow-and-arrow man

Hawkeye and Green Arrow are superheroes without superpowers who rely on prodigious archery skills and trick arrows in battle. Also, they are prominent members of major superhero teams - the Avengers and the Justice League, respectively - and embrace distinctive color schemes: purple for Hawkeye and green (obviously) for the Arrow.

However, while their gimmicks might be the same, their personalities couldn't be more different. Queen is a billionaire with a strong personality: he's extroverted, sarcastic, and opinionated. Barton was initially written as snarky and rebellious but later came to be regarded as Marvel's everyman, someone of more modest means just trying to get by, whose occupation happens to be not-so-ordinary.

8 Namor / Aquaman

The King of Atlantis

Kings of Atlantis? Check. Defenders of the sea? Check. Can breathe underwater, are super strong, and can talk to fish? Check, check, and check. By all appearances, Namor the Sub-Mariner and Aquaman are the same in all but name and overall design.

Where they seem to differ, if slightly, is in attitude. Namor is an antihero with a shamelessly arrogant and extreme temperament that, for better or worse, makes him very memorable and often puts him at odds with other superheroes. Though Aquaman has occasionally expressed hostility towards people for their perceived ignorance of his domain, he remains firmly on the side of good. In fact, Aquaman spent years as DC's punchline, thanks to his bright orange scheme and his propensity for riding a giant sea horse into battle.

7 Deadpool / Deathstroke

The sassy mercenaries

Wade Wilson, meet Slade Wilson. If their names were not prominent enough, Deadpool and Deathstroke are both mercenaries with a love for swords and guns who underwent experimentation that gave them regenerative healing powers.

Beyond that, though, their personas could not be more contrary. Deathstroke is one of the most feared professional killers in the DC Universe, with a dark and complicated history and a personal grudge against the Teen Titans' leader, Dick Grayson. Meanwhile, his Marvel counterpart has the disposition of a clown. Deadpool is still among Marvel's most powerful characters with an admittedly harrowing past, but his stories revolve heavily around comedy and his uncanny ability to break the fourth wall.

6 Black Cat / Catwoman

The feline fatales

Here are a couple of femme fatales who take the concept of 'cat burglar' way too literally. Aside from their shared propensity for feline-themed thievery, Felicia Hardy and Selina Kyle are known to be enduring romantic interests of notable superhero casanovas Spider-Man and Batman, respectively. This burglar duo operates under a personal code - they steal for selfish gains but have a moral compass that prevents them from descending into outright villainy. Their criminal life puts them at odds with the spider and the bat, although their ongoing romances prevent them from becoming proper enemies.

The contrast between Felicia and Selina can be found in examining their backgrounds. The widely accepted origin for Catwoman is that she came from humble beginnings before pursuing a life of crime. Black Cat was the daughter of a world-renowned thief, taking after her father and going into the crime business. Another difference is that, where Selina has no powers, Felicia has been depicted with "bad luck" abilities, befitting her codename.

5 Doctor Strange / Doctor Fate

Practitioners of magic

Marvel and DC both feature mystical threats alongside more conventional ones, and each universe is protected against such forces by a powerful magician. Marvel has Doctor Strange, and DC has Doctor Fate, two powerful magicians with a connection to the mystical. Both figures even have a fancy cape to sell the wizard look.

What mainly differentiates the two is that Strange is very much his character, and he trained to acquire the strength of a "Sorcerer Supreme." In contrast, Doctor Fate possesses a dual nature, with his immense power originating from a cosmic entity called Nabu, who needs human hosts to be an active agent against supernatural evil. There have been multiple versions of Fate, the most famous being archaeologist Kent Nelson.

4 Vision / Red Tornado

The villainous-turned-heroic android

Once, there was a supervillain who created a super-powered android to destroy a famous super-team. But the android gained a conscience, turning against its maker and joining the group it was meant to oppose. This tale applies to both Marvel's Vision and DC's Red Tornado.

Aside from Vision's peculiar superpower of intangibility and Red Tornado's being wind-based, distinguishing between them is ultimately a matter of popularity and the finer details. Vision built lasting pathos through his romance with the Scarlet Witch and tenure as an Avenger. His reputation further increased thanks to his prominent role in the MCU, played by Paul Bettany. Red Tornado has a distinct otherworldly aspect to his creation and similarly grew in his humanity by forming connections, but he has mostly been relegated to supporting roles.

3 Winter Soldier / Red Hood

Former sidekicks turned killers

An old joke about comics was that nobody stays dead except Bucky Barnes, Jason Todd, and Uncle Ben. Eventually, though, former superhero sidekicks Bucky and Jason were resurrected in comparable circumstances as the mysterious Winter Soldier and the Red Hood, respectively, to challenge their old mentors, Captain America and Batman. Eventually, their true identities were revealed, and they became antiheroes before making the full shift to brutal yet stereotypically "good" heroes.

Despite their similar backstories and character arcs, the pair are vastly dissimilar. Jason willingly engaged in immoral acts, whereas Bucky was brainwashed into serving sinister intentions and desired strongly to redeem himself after his liberation.

2 Professor X / Niles Caulder

Wheelchair-using leaders

DC's superhero group Doom Patrol has notoriously drawn comparisons with Marvel's X-Men. Concerning specific characters, nowhere are those parallels more blatant than in the teams' leaders, the X-Men's Charles Xavier (Professor X) and Doom Patrol's Niles Caulder (The Chief). Both men are wheelchair-using intellectuals who use their abundant resources to form a heroic organization of people whose extraordinary powers and conditions made them societal outcasts.

One clear difference between the two is that Xavier has psychic abilities, whereas Caulder is just exceptionally intelligent. But more than that, modern iterations of Caulder depict him as a shady individual secretly responsible for his charges' misfortunes. Xavier also carries his share of questionable deeds, yet he is genuinely idealistic and cares for his students.

1 Thanos / Darkseid

The ultimate baddies

Marvel and DC have always had a flagship superhero ensemble: the Avengers for Marvel and the Justice League for DC. Of the numerous threats that each team has faced over the years, few villains have been as dangerous or iconic as Marvel's Thanos and DC's Darkseid, alien warlords obsessed with obtaining a MacGuffin of unimaginable power that will grant them dominance over an abstract facet of existence. They even look a lot alike, which was intentional, according to Thanos creatorJim Starlin.

The duo actually seem made to contrast with one another. Thanos is fixated on Lady Death and uses the Infinity Gauntlet to spread it across the universe. Darkseid wants to control all life and searches for the fabled Anti-Life Equation to do so. Fundamentally, Darkseid is a devoted conqueror, whereas Thanos' motives have varied over the years, although his creepy and notorious infatuation with Death is his main driving force.

NEXT: 10 Superhero Movie Villains Destined to Become Icons

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