History Foil / TheDCU

* ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'' has its own [[Foil/{{Batman}} page]]

!Franchise/TheDCU
{{Foil}} in this series.
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* ''ComicBook/{{Batman}} has its own [[Foil/{{Batman}} page]]

* ''ComicBook/{{Batman}} has its own [[Foil/{{Batman}}'' page]]

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder: Comic Books]]
!!Comic Books
[[index]]
* ''Foil/{{Batman}}''
[[/index]]
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** ComicBook/{{Artemis}}. Both are TheChampion to their respective Amazon tribes. But where Diana is warm, friendly and kind, Artemis is brash, crude and impulsive.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Live-Action Films]]
!!Live-Action Films
* In ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice'', there's Franchise/{{Batman}} and Franchise/{{Superman}}, a dark BadassNormal vigilante who relies on [[HorrifyingHero fear and terror]] contrasted with a [[SuperPowerLottery superpowered]] [[HumanAlien alien]] who tries to bring light and hope. There's as much foils as Bruce and Clark, a billionaire whose only family is a surrogate father figure in Alfred, contrasted with a reporter who lives in a fairly small apartment with his girlfriend, and whose family is his adoptive mother. Even there personas are foils -- the "Bruce Wayne" that the world sees is false, he's really himself when he's Batman, whereas while the Superman persona isn't completely false, Clark is much more himself when he's just ''Clark'', putting on a more authoriative and confident persona as Superman.
* ''Film/Shazam2019'':
** Billy is an age-shifting KidHero who is WiseBeyondHisYears. Sivana is a petty PsychopathicManChild who refuses to move on from the slights he received as a child. Their personal trinkets also contrast each other, as both are objects associated with finding a desired outcome. Billy's compass keychain points you to the right direction. Sivana's Magic 8-Ball only tells you what you want to hear at best.
** The Sivana family and the Vasquez family. Sivana's biological family are abusive and belittle him constantly, blaming him for things beyond his control. The Vasquez family are a supportive, loving family to Billy despite not being related.
** There is also the contrast between the Vasquez couple and [[spoiler: Billy's biological mother]]. Whereas Rosa and Victor actively wanted to be involved in Billy's life and showed him and each other unconditional love and kindness, [[spoiler: Billy's mother]] doesn't want anything to do with [[spoiler: Billy]], even coldly rejecting an embrace from the latter, and is in an unhappy relationship.
[[/folder]]


[[folder: Live-Action TV]]
!!Live-Action TV
* The ''Series/{{Smallville}}'' version of [[Franchise/{{Superman}} Clark Kent]] and ComicBook/LexLuthor, naturally.
** [[MuggleFosterParents Jonathan Kent]] and [[AbusiveParents Lionel Luthor]] to a lesser degree (Ironically, [[spoiler:after Jonathan's death, Lionel's contact with the Kents and his temporary role as Jor-El's vessel cause him to become a better person]].
** [[TheCape Clark]] and [[AntiHero Oliver]]. It highlights their conflicting idealism and their willingness to act.
** Chloe and Oliver start out somewhat similar to the above pair, shown best when [[spoiler:Oliver kills Lex.]] But Oliver has a NotSoDifferentRemark [[IDidWhatIHadToDo about protecting Clark.]] This, combined with her bearing witness to the fallout of ''Doomsday'', lead to Chloe taking a more hard-boiled approach to fighting crime in Season 9, and she and Oliver cease being foils for each other, and instead jointly become foils against Clark's [[SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism more idealistic methods of crime-fighting]].
[[/folder]]


[[folder: Western Animation]]
!!Western Animation
[[index]]
* ''Foil/DCAnimatedUniverse''
* ''Foil/YoungJustice2010''
[[/index]]
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* ''WesternAnimation/DCSuperHeroGirls2019''
** Giganta (Doris Zeul) to Supergirl (Kara Danvers). Both are the tomboy powerhouses of their respective groups with abrasive attitudes and come from scientifically advanced communities (though they're pretty BookDumb regardless). Unlike Kara, Doris never feels guilty about exploiting her strength, and Doris's circle of friends encourage the worst out of her in villainy.
** Giganta (Doris Zeul) also a foil to Karen Beecher due to her personality and powers being the complete opposite of hers.
** Cavalier (Mortimer Drake) everything Green Arrow (Oliver Queen) would be without a conscience, and a sword in place of a bow.
** Hawkman (Carter Hall) to Supergirl (Kara Danvers). Both are [[TheBigGuy the muscle]] of their respective teams, but Supergirl is loud and quick-tempered while Hawkman is quiet and reserved.
* ''WesternAnimation/HarleyQuinn2019''
** Poison Ivy entire situation throughout Season 1 is contrasted with Harley Quinn. Harley wants to build a team, but Ivy funny enough treats them more like a family, whereas Harley treats them like a means to an end. Harley is highly ambitious, but lacks all forms of self-awareness, which leads to disaster. Ivy has no real ambition other than helping her best friend and she fully knows what she's about. Harley is obsessed with an utter nutjob who wants nothing to do with her and treats her like shit. Ivy dates a guy who is extremely goofy, but ultimately turns out to be great (and healthy) relationship-material.
** Bane to Harley of all people. Like Harley, Bane isn't treated with any respect by his supervillain peers. Two-Face's treatment of Bane, in particular, is very similar to how the Joker manipulated Harley into being subservient to him. Unlike Harley, who eventually wises up and breaks from the Joker's control and abuse, Bane remains completely oblivious to the fact that Two-Face doesn't regard him as an equal even as the evidence is right in front of him.
** Kite Man (Charles Brown) to The Joker. He's a D-Class villain while the Joker is TheDreaded, but unlike the Joker who is known to be abusive to Harley and doesn't care about what she feels, Kite Man truly ''cares'' about Ivy and treats her with respect. Also, the Joker is shown to have insecurity issues and hates it when people mock him, while Kite Man is looked upon as a loser but has enough self-confidence to brush it off.
* The ''WesternAnimation/LegionOfSuperHeroes'' cartoon has a few of these:
** [[TheHeart Saturn Girl]] is calmer and more rational than the hot-headed and impulsive approach of [[TheLancer Lightning Lad]]
** [[TheBigGuy Bouncing Boy]] is more down to earth and somewhat more imaginative than his smarter friend [[TheSmartGuy Braniac 5]]
** [[TheSixthRanger Timber Wolf]] is more stoic and somewhat blunt compared to snarky, giggly and somewhat finicky [[SpoiledBrat Phantom Girl.]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans2003''
** Robin and Starfire. Starfire provides a more lighthearted, sympathetic contrast to Robin's HotBlooded seriousness. This makes her a frequent partner of Robin's during fights.
** Raven and Starfire's differences are highlighted in the episode Recap/TeenTitansS1E7Switched, where they switch bodies and must learn to use the other's powers. Raven's power relies on her being composed about her emotions, while Starfire's rely on the feelings themselves to function.
** Brother Blood and Slade. Brother Blood was explicitly written as one to Slade. In appearance, Slade cloaked himself in black whereas Blood first appears draped in white. In behavior Slade is stoic and secretive where Blood is demonstrative and a LargeHam. Slade turns people to his side through force and blackmail, whereas Blood uses suggestive mind control. Even their tactics are complete opposites: Slade's goal is to transform Robin into a smaller version of Slade, whereas Blood's goal is to turn ''himself'' into Cyborg. The writers have said that writing Blood was a challenge because they wanted him to be so thoroughly different from their previous BigBad but still be a menacing threat.
[[/folder]]

** ComicBook/{{Circe}}. Where Diana is a truthful, AllLovingHero who seeks to bring peace and prosperity to the world, Circe is a deceitful, manipulative, misanthropic witch.

!!Franchise/TheDCU

** [[TheChick Saturn Girl]] is calmer and more rational than the hot-headed and impulsive approach of [[TheLancer Lightning Lad]]

* In ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice'', there's Franchise/{{Batman}} and Franchise/{{Superman}}, a dark BadassNormal vigilante who relies on [[HorrifyingHero fear and terror]] contrasted with a [[SuperPowerLottery superpowered]] [[HumanAlien alien]] who tries to bring light and hope. There's as much foils as Bruce and Clark, a billionaire whose only family is a surrogate father figure in Alfred, contrasted with a reporter who lives in a fairly small apartment with his girlfriend, and whose family is his adoptive mother. Even there personas are foils -- the [[RichIdiotWithNoDayJob "Bruce Wayne"]] that the world sees is false, he's really himself when he's Batman, whereas while the Superman persona isn't completely false, Clark is much more himself when he's just ''Clark'', putting on a more authoriative and confident persona as Superman.

* In ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice'', there's Comicbook/{{Batman}} and Comicbook/{{Superman}}, a dark BadassNormal vigilante who relies on [[HorrifyingHero fear and terror]] contrasted with a [[SuperPowerLottery superpowered]] [[HumanAlien alien]] who tries to bring light and hope. There's as much foils as Bruce and Clark, a billionaire whose only family is a surrogate father figure in Alfred, contrasted with a reporter who lives in a fairly small apartment with his girlfriend, and whose family is his adoptive mother. Even there personas are foils -- the [[RichIdiotWithNoDayJob "Bruce Wayne"]] that the world sees is false, he's really himself when he's Batman, whereas while the Superman persona isn't completely false, Clark is much more himself when he's just ''Clark'', putting on a more authoriative and confident persona as Superman.

* The ''Series/{{Smallville}}'' version of [[{{Superman}} Clark Kent]] and ComicBook/LexLuthor, naturally.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans''

* In ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'', Dr. Manhattan acts as the Foil to both Rorschach and Ozymandias. Watchmen is full of these. Rorschach and Ozymandias are very obviously foils, since their lifestyles, methods and ideologies are the exact opposite (Rorschach is a deontologist while Ozymandias is consequentialist, Rorschach is ugly while Ozymandias is handsome, Rorschach lives in squalor while Ozymandias is rich, Rorschach is {{Asexual}} while Ozymandias [[AmbiguouslyGay might be homosexual]], etc). Another obvious pair is Nite Owl II and Manhattan, enhanced by Laurie having had a relationship with both of them (Dan is receptive while Jon is distant, Dan is out of shape and middle-aged while Jon is in perfect shape and eternally thirty, etc)

* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond''
** Terry [=McGinnis=] was different from Bruce Wayne in many ways. Unlike his mentor, he had a childhood, and also faced the demands of a normal youth his age: a school career, his girlfriend Dana, and the responsibilities of an eldest son in a family which included his mother and his kid brother. In Amanda Waller's assessment, Terry may not be as smart as the old Batman, but he is every bit as devoted to helping others. A similarity between them is Bruce also had a mentor in Alfred to help guide him as well. The other difference being that while Bruce wasn't exactly gentle, he at least fought with certain rules. Terry on the other hand is completely [[GroinAttack willing to fight dirty]] much to the [[BerserkButton Joker's disgust.]] Overall, while Tery keeps the no killing rule, he is much more pragmatic.
*** Dick Grayson to Bruce Wayne as a a mentor to Terry. In contrast to the cold and demanding Bruce, Dick is considerably warmer, and advises Terry to make time for his personal life.
* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries''
** The Creeper a deliberate foil to the Joker, to the point where many things about him are set up as counterpoints — he is/was well known in Gotham as a reporter before his transformation to contrast the Joker's previous career as TheSpook, he's a LightningBruiser rather than a GadgeteerGenius, and he even has his own form of ''JokerImmunity''... rather than sharing the Joker's uncanny ability to live another day, Ryder is outright MadeOfIron.
** Charlie Collins to Batman and Bruce Wayne, in that he actually does have a normal life and barely manages to hold onto it; whenever Bruce gets a sense of normalcy like marriage or family, circumstances manage to hold it off. Charlie has more mundane problems such as not having enough money for his children's braces and disliking his wife's meatloaf, and by the end he comes to prefer those to the madness that the Joker brings to any party. Batman seems to silently agree, given he doesn't call out Charlie for helping the Joker when hearing that the Joker kept Charlie as a "hobby." Unlike Bruce, he doesn't have to put on a mask to bring down the Joker.

* ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'': Superman to Batman, as per usual. They both have their own animated installment in the ''DCAU''. Superman averts DeceasedParentsAreTheBest while Batman deals with OrphansOrdeal. Superman won the SuperpowerLottery and Batman is an exaggerated BadassNormal. Superman gave Lois an exclusive interview as his motivation was to alleviate public fears by ensuring that people knew where he came from and why he was here or, as his adoptive mother put it, so that people would not think he was like "that nut from Gotham City".
** In "Hereafter":
--->'''Batman:''' I've got some things to say. I should've said them when you were here, but... despite our differences, I have nothing but respect for you. I hope you knew... know that. You showed me justice doesn't always have to come from the darkness. I'll miss...\\
''(explosion in distance)''\\
'''Batman:''' What did you always call it, Clark? "The Never Ending Battle"?
** The Flash to the other Justice League members in season one. He is portrayed as still learning the full range of his abilities and being inexperienced in terms of sacrifice (his bewilderment over Wonder Woman’s banishment in "Paradise Lost" and inability to comprehend leaving a teammate behind in "The Savage Time" or in "Hearts and Minds"). Flash provides an interesting contrast when compared to his more seasoned teammates, who have been doing the job for years (and, in some cases, for centuries).
** In "Tabula Rasa", AMAZO’s departure from humanity mirrors J’onn’s side story in this episode. AMAZO uses J'onn's power of {{Telepathy}} to read Luthor's mind, and decides to leave humanity behind. J’onn was also considering turning his back on humanity after seeing much of the overall selfishness and dishonesty among humans during his mind scan. Fortunately, J’onn had the chance to see the nobility of humans during the search for the lost girl. AMAZO had no such opportunity.

* ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries'': Mercy Graves to Harley Quinn in "World's Finest". Where Harley is flamboyant and hyperactive, Mercy is restrained and precise. They don't get along.

* ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'' has several:
** Arsenal / Speedy (Roy Harper) to Red Arrow. Both are presented as {{jerkass}}es whose only redeeming traits are that they are fighting on the side of good. They both also have an obsessive and selfish personality that serve as their {{fatal flaw}}s. However, Arsenal represents what Red Arrow could've become had he not have friends or a daughter (the latter which was the real reason he got himself together) and didn't curb his extremely negative traits. Also, while Arsenal still remains a jerk, who [[TookALevelInJerkass becomes even more so]], Red Arrow ultimately proves to be a JerkWithAHeartOfGold who [[TookALevelInKindness became nicer.]]
** Halo (Violet Harper) to Cyborg (Victor Stone): [[spoiler:They're both humans fused with New Gods tech to revive them. However, the Father Box deliberately built itself into Victor and suppressed his humanity in classic JekyllAndHyde style, while Mother Box binding to Gabrielle was an accident and after Gabrielle was dead, leaving the Mother Box as the sole personality.]]
** Forager to Geo-Force. Both are [[PersonaNonGrata exiles]] who can't return to their home, and both are UnskilledButStrong who can deal heavy damage but are set back by inexperience. However, Forager is calm and polite, never gets angry, acts easy-going almost to a fault, has completely moved on since his banishment and finding a new "hive", and is portrayed as a NiceGuy every day. Geo-Force has a HairTriggerTemper and is prone to constant outbursts, comes to blows with others a lot, has an obsession with his past, and is portrayed as a JerkWithAHeartOfGold on his best days. Amazingly, [[OddFriendship they're the closest of friends]].
** Forager to fellow alien superhero Miss Martian, specifically her portrayal in the first season. Forager is an exiled refugee, whereas Miss Martian willingly migrated to Earth; and he doesn't even bother trying to conform to human cultural standards (in fact he seems completely oblivious to their existence), whereas Miss Martian desperately wanted to fit in. Even in his Fred Bugg disguise, it's more of a means to get around more easily, rather than an attempt to hide his true self out of any sense of shame.
** Cyborg to Blue Beetle -- Both are human teenagers who unwillingly bonded to sentient alien devices that give them special abilities and try to turn them evil. Jaime is able to revert between his armored form and civilian form at will, while Vic has the issue of a permanent cyborg appearance as a result of injury. Unlike Jaime with the scarab, Vic was able to resist the control of the Fatherbox. Also Jaime is ecstatic about being a hero while Vic wants a normal life.
** Robin III/Tim Drake to Robin I/Dick Grayson now known as Nightwing -- Both are BadassNormal, have a knack for leadership, same AnimalMotif and AnimalThemedSuperbeing, protege under Batman, and determined to accomplish a mission. However, Dick was more playful and confident (to the point of arrogance), Tim is more serious and humble (to the point of HeroicSelfDeprecation).
** (M'comm M'orzz) to his sister M'gann, both having had turned to extremist positions and an "Ends justify the means" mentality. But while M'gann had grown out of her ruthless tendencies by the end of Season 2 and reformed herself, M'comm still openly embraces less than scrupulous actions to forward his goals. And as ruthless as M'gann was in Season 2, she never stooped to [[spoiler: killing or using innocents]] as M'comm has. This comes forth in their argument where M'gann tries to appeal to M'comm's compassion and empathy.
** M'gann's relationship with M'comm serves as one to Artemis's relationship with Jade.
*** M'gann and Jade were both older siblings who sought to escape an unhappy home (Jade being subjected to abuse from her father, M'gann subjected to racial persecution from her other siblings and neighbors) and ended up leaving their weaker younger siblings behind. M'gann had a home with her uncle J'onn and became the superhero Miss Martian. Jade became the assassin Cheshire and joined the League of Shadows.
*** M'comm and Artemis were both left behind by their older siblings, whom they relied on for protection. Artemis's living situation improved once her dad was largely out of the picture, and she became Green Arrow's new protégé. M'comm, on the other hand, only had his situation worsen until he renounced his family and became a racial supremacist terrorist with the intent of wiping out non-A'ashenn Martians (including most of his siblings and his own mother).

* ''ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'' and ''SelfDemonstrating/{{Lobo}}'' in the ''ComicBook/RedDaughterOfKrypton'' storyline. Says writer Tony Bedard: "Lobo is there as a sort of dark reflection of her. They're both super-powerful loners left over from dead planets. Lobo has channeled his power and rage into becoming the most dangerous bounty-hunter/assassin in the galaxy. Supergirl's still trying to figure out what to do with her power and her lot in life. Tangling with Lobo will show her one path she might go down. It's really a cautionary tale for her, and she'll come away knowing that she could easily end up like him if she doesn't get her act together."

** Chloe and Oliver start out somewhat similar to the above pair, shown best when [[spoiler:Oliver kills Lex.]] But Oliver says she is NotSoDifferent [[IDidWhatIHadToDo when it comes to protecting Clark.]] This, combined with her bearing witness to the fallout of ''Doomsday'', lead to Chloe taking a more hard-boiled approach to fighting crime in Season 9, and she and Oliver cease being foils for each other, and instead jointly become foils against Clark's [[SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism more idealistic methods of crime-fighting]].

[[index]]
* ''Foil/{{Batman}}''
[[/index]]

** Brother Blood and Slade. Brother Blood was explicitly written as one to Slade. In appearance, Slade cloaked himself in black whereas Blood first appears draped in white. In behavior Slade is stoic and secretive where Blood is demonstrative and a LargeHam. Slade turns people to his side through force and blackmail, whereas Blood uses suggestive mind control. Even their tactics are complete opposites: Slade's goal is to transform Robin into a smaller version of Slade, whereas Blood's goal is to turn ''himself'' into Cyborg. The writers have said that writing Blood was a challenge because they wanted him to be so thoroughly different from their previous BigBad but still be a menacing threat.

** ComicBook/{{Artemis}}. Both are TheChampion to their respective Amazon tribes. But where Diana is warm, friendly and kind, Artemis is brash, crude and impulsive.