History Main / CorruptedCharacterCopy

** Volume 9 introduces Alyx, an {{Expy}} of Literature/{{Alice|s Adventures In Wonderland}}, who wrote her own adaptation of her adventure in [[TheWonderland the Ever After]]. Though InUniverse, her character is marked with AlternativeCharacterInterpretation, with Yang seeing her as a mean girl that lied and cheated to reach her goals while Weiss sees her as someone that did what it took to get back home. It's then revealed by [[spoiler:an older Jaune, AKA the Rusted Knight]] that Alyx was ''much'' worse. [[spoiler:The real Alyx was selfish and [[LackOfEmpathy uncaring towards others]], even her own brother Lewis. And after the visit with the Herbalist (who attempts to "fix" people of their conditions), she became far more paranoid and ruthless, poisoning Jaune and doing whatever it takes to get home. Jaune even suspects that Alyx sacrificed Lewis so she can get back to Remnant, while ommitting his existence when she wrote her own accounts of her adventure. However, it's revealed that Lewis did make it back while Alix had a HeelRealization over her mistakes in the Ever After and wanted to go back to fix them, only to be killed by the Curious Cat]].

[[caption-width-right:350:On the left, the ComicBook/{{Superman}}.[softreturn] On the right, the [[ComicBook/TheBoys Homelander]].]]

->''[The physical appearance, naming, and partnership with the hero is]... just about where it ends between [[VideoGame/{{Pikmin}} Louie]] and [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Luigi's]] similarities, because personality-wise, yeah I'd say Louie's more closely resembles VideoGame/{{Wario}}, just a lot less boisterous.''

[[caption-width-right:350:On the left, the {{superhero}} ComicBook/{{Superman}}.[softreturn] On the right, the [[EvilHero super "hero"]] [[ComicBook/TheBoys Homelander]].]]

* [[spoiler: Dr. Zara]], the [[spoiler: true]] BigBad of ''{{WesternAnimation/Abominable}}'', [[{{Pun}} bears]] some resemblance to [[{{WesternAnimation/Brave}} Merida]].

* ''Literature/SwordArtOnline:'' [[Characters/SwordArtOnlineNobuyukiSugou Nobuyuki Sugou]] is this to Jareth the Goblin King, played by Creator/DavidBowie in the 1980's classic ''Film/{{Labyrinth}}''; insomuch as his online Oberon persona is ''also'' a handsome blonde fairy king who holds absolute power over his kingdom that lusts after a beautiful and brave maiden. However, the similarities end right there, for whereas Jareth is a classy and dignified gentleman who rules his minions with a stern but fair hand, Sugou's Oberon is a depraved and crass tantrum-prone wuss who abuses his power and rules with an iron fist. Also, while Jareth's love for the significantly younger Sarah '''is''' far from appropriate, he courts her with gentlemanly chivalry and charm, and ''genuinely'' loves and ''respects'' her enough to let her and her baby brother go when she conclusively refused his affections, leaving the story heartbroken but alive with his dignity intact. Oberon, in contrast, is a tasteless sexual deviant who regularly ''forces'' himself on Asuna against her wishes, and whose reign is ended by the sword of Asuna's husband Kirito's in bloody pieces.

* ''Literature/TheRisingOfTheShieldHero'':
** Ren Amaki is very obviously based on Kirito from ''Literature/SwordArtOnline'', being a dark-haired, sword-wielding hero who has NoSocialSkills, prefers soloing, is stoic and serious, dresses in black, and is even introduced to the story playing a VRMMO called ''Brave Star Online''. To drive the point home, in the anime he's also voiced by Creator/YoshitsuguMatsuoka, [[CastingGag Kirito's Japanese voice actor]]. However, the way he's written points out several glaring flaws in Kirito's character, as Ren is essentially what Kirito would be like if he didn’t bother to learn the systems of the world he’s in and never opened up to others or learned to work with other people, instead relying on raw force to get the job done.
** It's debatable if it's intended or not, but Malty Melromarc is one of Azula from ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender''. Both are ambitious young fire-wielding princesses of a kingdom that practices a form of supremacy (Firebenders in the Fire Nation, Humans in Melromarc). Socially they are the favorites to their fathers, distant to their mothers, antagonistic to their siblings to a homicidal degree, superficially aligned with their so-called close allies, and sworn enemies to TheHero. Both are also explicitly described in-universe as TheSociopath. But while Azula is the high-functioning kind that is capable of both expert fighting and extensive planning, Malty is the exact opposite with her inability to plan in the long term, lack of self-restraint, laziness to even train or even put any effort into fighting, and a refusal to learn from her actions no matter how much it bites her. When both are eventually brought down, Azula ultimately comes off as a TragicVillain who became the way she was partly because of her father's cold manipulations, while Malty's toxic influence is responsible for the downfall of multiple people, her father included, and ultimately dies (twice in the web-novel) as an unmissed HateSink in-universe and out.

** The Ace Ops are all based on many of the characters from Literature/AesopsFables. Clover Ebi is based on "The Lucky Fisherman", Marrow Amin is based on the dog from "The Dog and its Reflection", Tortuga and Harriet Bree are based on "[[Literature/TheTortoiseAndTheHare The Tortoise and The Hare]]" respectively, and Elm Ederne and Vine Zeki are based on "The Elm and the Vine". While many of the characters in the story learn AnAesop through their experiences, the Ace Ops are based on versions that didn't learn anything and end up suffering because of it [[spoiler: with Clover, Tortuga and Vine being killed because they didn't learn anything or learned too late and the team struggling to work together and constantly arguing with each other after Ironwood declares martial law and labels Team RWBY as their enemies throughout the end of Volume 7 and most of Volume 8.]]

** Headmistress Esmeralda, for [[CompositeCharacter Albus Dumbledore and to a lesser extent Severus Snape]], being both the respected head of a prestigious magic academy and [[spoiler:in love with the mother of the main protagonist]] (though [[DecompositeCharacter Darius Grenville takes most of Severus' nastier personality traits]]). But while Albus and Severus did everything in their power to protect Lily and her family, [[spoiler:Esmeralda is the one [[YouKilledMyMother who killed Chloe]] and left Oliver without a mom growing up]]. Additionally, Severus' love for Lily is portrayed as true and selfless, and he's penant over accidentally causing her death, while Esmeralda intentionally kills the woman she loves and [[YourSoulIsMine eats her soul]], proving herself just as rotten as her co-conspirators.

---> '''Carcer:''' Yeah I already told ‘em how you got a down on me for stealing a loaf of bread.
---> '''Vimes:''' Come off it Carcer. That’s not you. You never pinched a loaf of bread in your life. Murdering the baker and stealing the bakery, that’d be your style.

* ''Literature/ReignOfTheSevenSpellblades'':
** Esmeralda, for [[Franchise/HarryPotter Albus Dumbledore]]. More specifically, she ends up something of a CompositeCharacter between Dumbledore and Severus Snape, being both the respected head of a prestigious magic academy and [[spoiler:in love with the mother of the main protagonist]] (though [[DecompositeCharacter Darius Grenville takes most of Severus' nastier personality traits]]). But while Albus and Severus did everything in their power to protect Lily and her family, [[spoiler:Esmeralda is the one [[YouKilledMyMother who killed Chloe]] and left Oliver without a mom growing up]]. Additionally, Severus' love for Lily is portrayed as true and selfless, and he's penant over accidentally causing her death, while Esmeralda intentionally kills the woman she loves and proves herself just as rotten as her co-conspirators.
** Darius Grenville draws clear inspiration from [[Franchise/HarryPotter Severus Snape]]: tall, slim, shoulder-length black hair, SadistTeacher of alchemy at a WizardingSchool who covets another professor's position (swordmaster rather than Defense Against the Dark Arts), and has a backstory connection to the main character's mother. Except rather than trying to save her from the BigBad and failing, [[spoiler:[[YouKilledMyFather he helped murder her]]]]. He also has a habit of helping promising students along in their academic research so he can [[PlagiarismInFiction plagiarize it]], [[spoiler:and is [[RasputinianDeath torturously killed]] at the end of the first volume, having succeeded only in solidifying Oliver Horn's resolve to kill his mother's other six murderers]].

* Ren from ''Literature/TheRisingOfTheShieldHero'' is very obviously based on Kirito from ''Literature/SwordArtOnline'', being a dark-haired, sword-wielding hero who has NoSocialSkills, prefers soloing, is stoic and serious, dresses in black, and is even introduced to the story playing a VRMMO called ''Brave Star Online''. To drive the point home, in the anime he's also voiced by Creator/YoshitsuguMatsuoka, Kirito's Japanese voice actor. However, the way he's written points out several glaring flaws in Kirito's character, as Ren is essentially what Kirito would be like if he didn’t bother to learn the systems of the world he’s in and never opened up to others or learned to work with other people, instead relying on raw force to get the job done.

** General James Ironwood is an intentional {{Expy}} of The Tin Man from "Literature/TheWonderfulWizardOfOz" that helped Dorothy kill the Wicked Witch who believed that he didn't have a heart. While Ironwood initially did start in the series trying to help the heroes take down the BigBad and series equivalent of the Wicked Witch, Salem, he did so through very controlling and questionable means and suffered from constant paranoia with one of his allies even believing that he didn't have a heart. [[spoiler:Following the fall of Beacon however, he begins changing for the worse and uses even more controlling methods in Atlas to stop her, leading to the Kingdom to begin hating him in the process and even the heroes begin to question if trusting him is wise. After the villains intentionally trigger his TraumaButton near the end of Volume 7 despite finally deciding to trust his allies, his paranoia fully corrupts him and causes him to turn against the heroed and abandon the city of Mantle to just save Atlas with the implication that he finally lost his heart in the process, leading to him becoming the ArcVillain of Volumes 7 and 8 as well as all of his allies eventually turning on him and him DyingAlone.]]

->''[The physical appearance, naming, and partnership with the hero is]... just about where it ends between [[VideoGame/{{Pikmin}} Louie]] and [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Luigi's]] similarities, because personality-wise, yeah I'd say Louie is more closely resembles VideoGame/{{Wario}}, just a lot less boisterous.''

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Wish}}'': King Magnifico is one to Yen Sid from ''[[WesternAnimation/{{Fantasia}} The Sorcerer's Apprentice]]''. He's an exceptionally powerful sorcerer with a {{Cosmic Motif|s}} to his design and [[MrAltDisney holds a few superficial similarities to old Walter himself]] (whom Yen Sid was originally an {{Expy}} of). The movie even begins with him looking for an apprentice, a position Asha auditions for. But while Yen Sid was a stern, but wise fellow who acknowledged his apprentice’s actions for their good intentions, Magnifico is a power-hungry tyrant who only sees the worst in others, even making all other forms of magic in his kingdom illegal so that no one can challenge him.

-->''[The physical appearance, naming, and partnership with the hero is]... just about where it ends between [[VideoGame/{{Pikmin}} Louie]] and [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Luigi's]] similarities, because personality-wise, yeah I'd say Louie is more closely resembles VideoGame/{{Wario}}, just a lot less boisterous.''

-->''[The physical appearance, name, and partnership with the hero is]... just about where it ends between [[VideoGame/{{Pikmin}} Louie's]] and [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Luigi's]] similarities, because personality-wise, yeah I'd say Louie is more closely resembling VideoGame/{{Wario}}, just a lot less boisterous.''

-->''[The physical appearance, name, and partnership with the hero]... just about where it ends between [[VideoGame/{{Pikmin}} Louie's]] and [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Luigi's]] similarities, because personality-wise, yeah I'd say Louie is more closely resembling VideoGame/{{Wario}}, just a lot less boisterous.''

* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'': Tywin Lannister is essentially a considerably darker take on Denethor from ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings''. Both are stern, competent lords (but not kings!) utterly committed to {{realpolitik}}. Both let their hearts be hardened after the deaths of their beloved wives, then use their children for nakedly political ends. Both favor their older, more martial sons over their younger, more academic sons -- despite having more in common with the latter. The difference is that, despite his cold demeanor and ruthless politicking, Denethor is sincerely trying to do the right thing and still has a good deal of human feeling no matter how much he may try to pretend otherwise. Tywin, by contrast, is motivated by the advancement of his house, does objectively horrible things that Denethor would no doubt find beyond the pale, and has a far more genuniely stony heart.

** [[Characters/RWBYAdamTaurus Adam Taurus]] is an {{Expy}} of Prince Adam, the titular Beast from ''WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast''. Like the Beast, Adam is in a relationship with [[Characters/RWBYBlakeBelladonna Blake Belladonna]], who serves as his Belle by being a BadassBookworm, and he's the head of the White Fang, a rebellion group of Faunus who've been wronged by humanity, akin to the Beast's servants being cursed alongside him. Unlike the Beast, however, Adam is a merciless terrorist who not only sees his troops as [[WeHaveReserves expendable]], instead of how the Beast cared for his servants, but he views Blake as little more than an item who he feels he's {{entitled to have|you}}, much like how Gaston acts.

Contrast VirtuousCharacterCopy, where the {{Expy}} is far more likable and moral than the character their based on. This trope is most prevalent in {{Superhero}} fiction, with Franchise/{{Superman}} himself being the most common target, thus BewareTheSuperman is very closely related. Examples that don't capture the character they're supposed to be "corrupting" very well may overlap with ShallowParody. This may be one reason for KnockingTheKnockoff; the character will likely find this twisted version of themselves [[EvilMeScaresMe horrifying]] or [[OtherMeAnnoysMe infuriating]].

* ''Literature/ImTheVillainessSoImTamingTheFinalBoss'': [[spoiler:Prince Cedric Jean Ellmeyer]] is this to Prince Geordo Stuart from ''Literature/MyNextLifeAsAVillainessAllRoutesLeadToDoom''. Both are the blonde prince in a RebornAsVillainessStory and fiancé to the "villainess" protagonists. [[spoiler:Cedric]], however, is essentially Geordo but with all his negative traits (charming yet coupled with a black heart, tamely sadistic, and fiercely competitive for the love of Catarina to the rest of the harem) taken to their worst extremes (superficially charming and a manchild and [[spoiler:entitled to have Aileen even after dumpling her for Lilia out of envy]]). He even has [[spoiler:an inferiority complex similar to that of the original Alan Stuart from ''Fortune Lover'' towards his brother Claude, yet even worsened for petty envy due to Aileen falling for Claude]].

* ''Literature/ImTheVillainessSoImTamingTheFinalBoss'': [[spoiler:Prince Cedric Jean Ellmeyer]] is this to Prince Geordo Stuart from ''Literature/MyNextLifeAsAVillainessAllRoutesLeadToDoom''. Both are the blonde prince in a RebornAsVillainessStory and fiancé to the "villainess" protagonists. [[spoiler:Cedric]], however, is essentially Geordo but with all his negative traits (charming yet coupled with a black heart, tamely sadistic, and fiercely competitive for the love of Catarina to the rest of the harem) taken to their worst extremes (superficially charming and a manchild and [[spoiler:entitled to have Aileen even after dumpling her for Lilia out of envy]]). He even has [[spoiler:an inferiority complex similar to that of the original Alan Stuart from ''Fortune Lover'' towards his brother Claude, yet even worsened for petty envy due to Aileen falling for Claude]].

--> '''Carcer:''' Yeah I already told ‘em how you got a down on me for stealing a loaf of bread.
--> '''Vimes:''' Come off it Carcer. That’s not you. You never pinched a loaf of bread in your life. Murdering the baker and stealing the bakery, that’d be your style.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Coco}}'': Ernesto is an evil version of Joaquin from ''WesternAnimation/TheBookOfLife''. Like Joaquin, Ernesto is the [[ItsAllAboutMe self-absorbed]] town hero and befriends a sensitive Musician (Manolo and Héctor). The only difference is [[CharacterDevelopment Joaquin changed his selfish ways]] for his [[ThePowerOfFriendship friends' sake]] while Ernesto murdered his friend to steal his songs and guitar for fame instead of changing for the better.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Frozen|2013}}'': [[spoiler:Hans is obviously based on PrinceCharming of ''WesternAnimation/{{Cinderella}}'' as well other Creator/{{Disney}} princes like [[WesternAnimation/SleepingBeauty Phillip]], [[WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid1989 Eric]] etc. However, instead of being a genuine NiceGuy who falls in love with the princess of the film Anna, he's instead a ManipulativeBastard who cruelly deconstructs the LoveAtFirstSight staple of Disney, having really exploited Anna's loneliness and DesperatelyCravesAffection emotions to get a shot at the throne and is happy to let Anna die and actively try and kill her sister Elsa. Hans is also a bit of a [[TruthInTelevision reality check]] by subverting the idealistic qualities of the dashing prince archetype and reflecting how truly [[TheEvilPrince flawed and sociopathic]] most UsefulNotes/{{Europe}}an princes/royals of that era actually were, especially given how the [[Literature/AFrozenHeart tie-in novel]] explains that Hans has been conditioned by his abusive father to want [[MightMakesRight power and entitlement]] from childhood]].