The world of comics loves a “Dark Mirror” character, from Venom to Lightning Lord to Abed With A Beard. Want proof? Welcome to Ten Things: Ten Evil Duplicates!

Whooshman-Bicarbonate Films, in conjunction with An Amateur Comics Historian and the evil Matthew from the Mirror Universe (who has no goatee), Presents:

TEN THINGS: TEN EVIL DUPLICATES!

10) MANGY MOUSE

Back in 1990, when Mighty Mouse had to face a multiversal catastrophe (cleverly titled Mices on Infinite Earths), he teamed up with not only The Mighty Heroes and Bat-Bat, but versions of himself from other worlds. Mighty Mousette was essentially just a female version of the Mouse of Tomorrow, but Mangy Mouse was another story. Hailing from a word where black was white, up was down, and short was long, Mangy was a scruffy, crude, insouciant, sleazy counterpart to our noble mousey hero.

Though there were casualties during the battle, Mangy Mouse survived the cataclysm. His whereabouts are unknown.

9) SIR RASTON

Hailing from the 7th Century, Sir Raston was the nephew of Sir Percy, the original Black Knight. After being led to the Ebony Blade by his uncle’s ghost, Raston took over as Black Knight, until he was challenged to combat by a stranger who turned out to be Kang the Conqueror. After being defeated, Sir Raston joined the ranks of Kang’s Anachronauts, a group of warriors from throughout time and space, who served the Conqueror and protected the city of Chronopolis. Sir Raston met his death in battle when the city (which existed in multiple eras simultaneously) was attacked by Kang’s mortal enemy/alternate self, Immortus.

8) MISTER TERRIFIC

In the future reality of Earth-22, as documented in Kingdom Come, Terry Sloane’s successor (real name unknown) was part of a  thoughtless, hyper-violent generation of heroes. Though he wore the “Fair Play” logo, he clearly didn’t understand what it meant or what Mister Terrific stood for. His profligate use of bullets made him one of the first targets captured by Superman when he came out of retirement, and he was incarcerated in The Gulag with many of his fellows.

This version of Mister Terrific died when in the nuclear attack that ended the cycle of superhuman conflict.

7)  DARK SUPERGIRL

Accidentally created when Lex Luthor exposed Supergirl to Black Kryptonite, Dark Supergirl is all the worst parts of a teenage girl, combined with the unparalleled might of a Kryptonian. She, like her counterpart, suffered from Kryptonite poisoning that altered her memories, and she nearly destroyed her “sister,” as well as the Justice League, before Wonder Woman saved the day with her Lasso of Truth.

Much later, Supergirl herself donned a version of this black-and-silver costume and believed herself to be a new Dark Supergirl, albeit without the murderous overtones. That version turned out to be little more than a persona to cope with the madness of her life, rather than a separate entity like the original.

6) BIZARRO SUPERBOY

The Jon Kent of Superman & Lois made it well into his teens without developing any of his dad’s superhuman abilities. Not so his Inverse World counterpart, Jon-El, AKA Superboy, who is essentially a superhuman celebrity. When his dad was lost in the prime dimension, Superboy and Lana Lang tracked him down, terrorizing Superman and the alternate versions of Jon’s own family out of sheer menace. He was last seen in prison, but the DOD of whatever Earth they’re on is known for not being able to keep ANYONE captured for long.

5) THE SERVANT OF DARKNESS

One of several powerful servants of an unknown foe, this Servant of Darkness is perhaps the most twisted and disgusting of them all. While its cohorts included mockeries of legendary heroes Superman and Lydea Mallor, as well as a Guardian of the Universe, this Servant was more personal, created from the DNA of Orion, legendary hero of two worlds. Whereas the original New God had always opposed his father’s schemes, this clone of Orion was forced to do the bidding… of Darkseid!

If I thought that the rock-faced monster had any emotions at all, I might imagine that Darkseid took satisfaction in twisting everything his defiant kid stood for. In some ways, it’s the worst of the Big D’s many acts of villainy.

4) WARRIOR WOMAN

A member of a multi-dimensional Squadron Supreme, Zarda Shelton initially tried to pass herself off as the Power Princess of Earth-712, a heroic and tragic figure whose team attempted to build a Utopia of their world. Rather than the hero she pretended to be, however, this Zarda was a criminal, a murderer, and a member of a Squadron Sinister. Her secret came out after the Squadron murdered Namor the Sub-Mariner (he got better), leading her to clash repeatedly with Power Princess, eventually going on the run.

She is still at large.

3) KAMEN RIDER EVIL

It’s RIGHT THERE in the name!

2) ARION THE IMPOSTOR

When the legendary Lord of Atlantis popped up to aid the mystics of Earth during Infinite Crisis, it was believed that he was, in fact, Arion. Since the actual Arion is both still alive, and no longer looks as he did 10,000 years ago, this was a bit puzzling, until it was discovered that he was a fraud named William Knightley. A minor mystic, Knightley hoped to use the name recognition of Arion to further his superhero career, but didn’t count on the real thing showing up to confront him.

He did.

It went badly for Will.

1) THE BATMAN

Thrill-seeking adventurer Simon Petrarch traveled the world looking for fame and power, eventually finding a shrine in the Himalayas dedicated to the fallen angel Lucifer! Petrarch was able to trade away his soul for infernal power, becoming The Dark Knight himself, Gotham City’s hero… The Batman.

At least, Simon did so in the comic books of New Earth, in a memorable tale not only for the in-universe fictional meta-narrative, but for featuring the work of classic Batman artist Dick Sprang for the first time in years. Eventually, this demon Batman died when his demonic power source was removed, and his elderly body proved too frail to heal from the strain.

Once again, this week’s topic, Ten Evil Duplicates, is all me, but feel free to follow along @MightyKingCobra to suggest a topic of your own! There’s always more Ten Things madness on my Twitter or check out the full Twitter archive here! As with any set of like items, these aren’t meant to be hard and fast or absolutely complete, if only because Venom’s evil counterpart, Carnage, now has his own even more evil counterpart. Either way, the comments section is below for just such an emergency, but, as always: Please, no wagering!

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