History Main / SelfDuplication

** In a general sense, this is one of the innate abilities of being a [[OurGodsAreDifferent Shinto god]]. When a god is enshrined or summoned, you don't actually call the god itself, but rather creating an exact replica of that god's spirit. This is how in ''VideoGame/TouhouHisoutensoku'', Sanae can summon her goddess Suwako to fight against Suwako. In the same game, it's also the justification for a Suwako MirrorMatch.

* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'': There are various Ninjutsu that can do this, each using a different way, but the Shadow Clone Technique (''Kage Bunshin no Jutsu'') is the first to be introduced and arguably the most iconic one among them, not the least due to the protagonist tending to utterly ''spam'' it (first ever use resulted in around '''2000''' clones!) as part of his pre-TimeSkip combat strategy.
** After the time skip, he can make absurd numbers if he needs to. At one point, he makes one shadow clone for ''every leaf on a tree'' so that all of them can train on using a new technique at once. And since everything a clone experiences and learns is transferred back to the original when they are dispelled, this greatly reduces his training period from years to mere days.

Possible side-effects include LiteralSplitPersonality. May be used in a DoppelgangerAttack, a BreatherEpisode might go for MesACrowd. Not to be confused with IAmLegion. PowerPerversionPotential means this naturally leads to ScrewYourself.

* Dr. Simon Ecks from ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'', in a case of AdaptationalSuperPowerChange, can create clones of himself. If the main Simon is knocked out all of the clones will disappear.

** ComicBook/ShangChi gains this power in ''ComicBook/TheAvengersJonathanHickman''.

* The Engineer from ''ComicBook/TheAuthority'' could do this, using nanotech to extrude copies of herself. Her main limitation was that she spread her consciousness throughout her duplicates and the more she created the harder it was for her to manage them all. It was never explicitly stated if she could have created autonomous duplicates.
* Franchise/TheDCU:
** ComicBook/{{Firestorm|DCComics}} villain Multiplex, who gets this power as well as super strength.
** Riot a Superman villain can duplicate himself, as well as can stick to walls.
** There's a ''Comicbook/{{Steel}}'' villain called The Worm who can duplicate himself.
** The "Silent Majority", a member of a throwaway team of American-themed super-powered government agents called the [[IncrediblyLamePun Force of July]]. His code-name came from a combination of his personality (laconic) and his powers.
** ComicBook/{{Superboy}} villainess Swarm, has an insect theme and can duplicate herself.
** There's Centipede, a Canadian super-agent who tracks Nelson in ''[[Comicbook/DialHForHero Dial H]]''.
** ComicBook/TheFlash villain Mirror Master is notorious for this (If Mirror Master appears in any media you can expect him to do this), He can successfully achieve this effect with the clones being made of glass. He can also create duplicates of other people and heroes that are loyal to him, with the clones of heroes having the same powers,
** Bizarro can do this, but only under the light of a blue sun. He used this ability to create his own versions of Superman's friends and enemies, including Lois Lane and ComicBook/{{Bizarrogirl}}. This is how [[BizarroUniverse Bizarro World]] was populated.

** Minor ComicBook/{{Shazam}} villain Amoeba, has this ability.
** Ten of Hearts, from the WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueUnlimited tie-in comic can create ten clones of himself.
** Yang Kei-Ying/Seven Deadly Brothers can split himself into seven clones, each of the seven is the master of a particular form of Wushu (or Kung Fu) such as the Crane style and the Tiger style.
** Double Trouble from Comicbook/InfinityInc can duplicate himself into two. The second clone eventually decided to kill the other and as a result the former disappeared as the two cannot exist alone.
** ComicBook/GreenLantern villain Evil Star can create miniature duplicates of himself called Starlings from his Starband.
** Luornu Durgo (AKA Duo Damsel, Triplicate Girl, Triad, or Duplicate Girl, depending on the continuity/series) of ''ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes'' can do this as a natural ability of her people. the Carggites. Some continuities give her a specific twist on this trope, such as the duplicates all have distinct personalities or the fact that she's the last of her species, so the entire population of Caragg are just a million duplicates of her.
** Flash character Manuel Lago has FromASingleCell where if a body part is chopped off, it will regrow into a full bodied clone of him. The clones formed a group called Mob Rule, wishing to gain their own free will.
** Figment, a ''ComicBook/Batgirl2011'' villain can duplicate himself using a power suit.
** Phalanx, a roman themed supervillain has this power.
** Minor Catwoman villain called Repro is modelled after Billy Numerous of WesternAnimation/TeenTitans.
** ''Comicbook/Hardware1993'' villain Reprise can duplicate himself, as well as his weaponry.
* Franchise/MarvelUniverse:
** Jamie Madrox of the Comicbook/XMen, aka ComicBook/MultipleMan. If he leaves his duplicates separated for too long, they start to [[LiteralSplitPersonality become more independent and develop their own personalities]]. Sadly making a MesACrowd plot difficult for too long but an EvilTwin incredibly easy.
** A Mutant called Clay who has similar duplicating abilities as Jamie Madrox was hired to assassinate the latter, in the series ''ComicBook/{{Madrox}}''.
** The French mutant Legion, ([[ComicBook/{{Legion}} Not to be confused with the mutant]] [[OneSteveLimit with the exact same name]]) who's a member of the French Empire from ''ComicBook/{{Exiles}}'' has the same self-duplication mutant ability.
** Sporr, is an Inhuman with this power.
** Zamira, from Avengers Annual can create clones of herself, however these clones have a similar appearance and same personalities to people and or heroes she has met.
** The Inhuman, Tusk can create miniature clones of himself that sprout out of his hunchback.
** Another mutant named Sea Dog has the same cloning ability as Madrox and Legion. He is a member of the Crimson Pirates.
** Flashback from ComicBook/AlphaFlight can summon alternate future versions of himself to fight for him, with the clones gaining an inverted color version of his costume. One of the alternate future versions that died turned out to be his inevitable future self, this caused him to become paranoid and eventually stopped wearing his costume to prevent this. He then had two children Malcolm and Jennifer Monroe who has the exact same powers.
** ComicBook/XFactor villain Timeshadow, can create several out of sync time duplicates of himself with each having their own independent thought.
** Esteban Beach can create electromagnetic duplicates of himself and whatever he is touching.
** Loki has this power since the first Avengers story, though he uses it more frequently in the movies.

** Clone Strike Force, from ComicBook/SpiderMan2099 has this ability.
** Janus from Alpha Flight can split into two beings.
** Catherine Mora the somewhat Comicbook/InvisibleWoman {{Expy}} from ComicBook/SupremePower can split herself into two. She can also make the other one disappear making this effectively the {{Twinmaker}} form teleportation.
** ComicBook/{{Carnage}} develops the ability to create and control offshoots of his symbiote in ''Carnage'' Vol. 1, resulting in a number of duplicate Carnage symbiotes oozing around.
* ComicBook/ShangChi recently gained this power during ComicBook/TheAvengersJonathanHickman.

* Billy Numerous in ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans''. A particularly skilled one too, since he's able to create literally dozens of clones near-instantaneously with no power loss. Yes, he's only about as strong as the average man, but when you suddenly have 30 of them, all sucker-punching you from every angle, he's a fairly formidable villain. However, he does have a "cap" of how many he can make (implied to be in the hundreds or so, admittedly), and trying to go further than that cap causes all his duplicates to come back together.

* ''Animation/PleasantGoatAndBigBigWolf'' series:

* Konatsu the Kunoichi from ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'' has a technique that allows him to do this. He creates at least three clones of himself which are coordinated with his true body. Given how this would be his most useful ability by far and the fact that it was never used in combat, it may be an illusion similar to Cologne's "Splitting Cat Hairs", or given how it seemed real, more likely simply not developed enough yet to be useful under pressure.

* The one-off villain Everywhere Man from ''WesternAnimation/TheBatman'', who uses a duplicator device to create clones of himself that can be dispelled with the push of a button. The catch is that every successive clone is more independent and less morally-compromised than the last; the "prime" E-Man is actually a clone that locked up the original to use his invention for crime.

* Franchise/DCAnimatedUniverse:
** Superman villain Luminus managed to achieve this effect with the clones being made from hard light in ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague''.
** Chronos managed to give the Dee Dee twins this power in ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueUnlimited'', which causes them to duplicate if they are struck.
** Replay in ''WesternAnimation/StaticShock'', a FormerChildStar, who uses his copies to steal. They are shown to be separate individuals, but he has the ability to wipe them out from existence at will, thus keeping them in line.

* In ''LightNovel/TheFamiliarOfZero'', Viscount Jean-Jacques can create copies of himself with wind.

* Franchise/{{DCAU}}:

* In ''Franchise/Aladdin'' and its sequels & spin-off series the Genie has this ability as well as shapeshifting and uses it to fill huge entourage parades for Aladdin, become armies of bodyguards, to do [[BusbyBerkeleyNumber huge golden-age of Hollywood dance numbers on his own]] and more.

* In the fourth ''Animation/PleasantGoatAndBigBigWolf'' film, ''Mission Incredible: Adventures on the Dragon's Trail'', Xiao Shen Long the dragon has the ability to duplicate himself.

* In ''LightNovel/DateALive'', this is Kurumi's most frequently used power, which she uses to form a massive information network by spying on her targets.
* In ''LightNovel/TheDeathMageWhoDoesntWantAFourthTime'', Vandalieu can use his [Out-Of-Body Experience] to create multiple Spiritual copies of himself.

* In ''LightNovel/HighSchoolDXD'', Bennia has the power to clone herself. The clones she makes are easily distinguishable but because she's fast, enemies can't hit her clones anyway.

* In ''LightNovel/ThatTimeIGotReincarnatedAsASlime'', Souei can cast off clones of himself that are constantly connected to him, which is definitely useful in his craft.

* In ''Manga/MobPsycho100'', Muraki's Ethereal Body power essentially results in this.

* Cassidy/Flash Cut's main power in ''WebComic/SleeplessDomain'': she uses her [[ShearMenace giant scissors]] to split herself into two people, each clone wielding half the pair of scissors as a sword.

* In ''LightNovel/TheRisingOfTheShieldHero'', after [[spoiler: Naofumi and Raphtalia ascend to godhood]], they leave mortal copies of themselves behind to live normal lives alongside their friends.
** Medea can break off fragments of her essence and reincarnate them in new-born women so as to wreak chaos and destruction.

-->-- ''Series/TheFlash2014'', "Fastest Man Alive"

* ''LightNovel/RebuildWorld'': Technological variant.

* Draupnir from NorseMythology is a golden ring that was made as a gift for Odin; it's capable of automatically creating up to eight copies of itself every ninth night.

* In VideoGame/SamuraiWarriors, the ninja characters Hanzo Hattori and Nene can create duplicates of themselves to attack alongside them.

* In ''LightNovel/HighSchoolDxD'', Bennia has the power to clone herself. The clones she makes are easily distinguishable but because she's fast, enemies can't hit her clones anyway.

* Subverted in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioRPG'', Yaridovich is able to disguise into several identical Toads (save the one pretending to be the elder). However, his real form looks nothing like the Toad duplicates. Played straight with one of his special moves, which produces an equally strong copy of himself with less HP.

* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleOfSeasons'': The miniboss Agunima can create three copies of himself, which move about the room and attack Link independently. The two copies are invulnerable, but can be told from the real wizard because [[CastsNoShadow they don't cast shadows]].

* ''{{VideoGame/The Legend of Zelda Oracle|Games}} of Seasons'': The miniboss Agunima can create three copies of himself, which move about the room and attack Link independently. The two copies are invulnerable, but can be told from the real wizard because [[CastsNoShadow they don't cast shadows]].