Line #41 Main/DesignPreservationVillain


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4	[[quoteright:350:[[Franchise/{{Kirby}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/meta_knight_clones.png]]]]
5	[[caption-width-right:350:[[AddedAlliterativeAppeal A selection of similar sinister spherical swordsmen]].[[note]]L - R, top to bottom: [[VideoGame/KirbysAdventure Meta Knight]], [[VideoGame/KirbyAndTheAmazingMirror Dark Meta Knight]], [[VideoGame/KirbySuperStar Galacta Knight]], and [[VideoGame/KirbyStarAllies Morpho Knight]].[[/note]]]]
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10	A character who's written into the story to take the place of an antagonist who is no longer in conflict with the protagonists, due to defeat, HeelFaceTurn, or otherwise. These characters differ from villains whose specific purpose is to [[MakeWayForTheNewVillains show up previous antagonists]] by having aesthetic similarities to the villain they replace. And while not a requirement, they will most likely lack their sympathetic personality traits, if they had any.
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12	The reason this is done is to keep fans who are disappointed by the former villain's defeat satisfied. Overcoming an antagonist comes at the cost of no longer being able to pin them against the heroes. If [[EvilIsCool the villain's design was particularly cool]], some viewers will be upset that the [[JustHereForGodzilla awesomely-designed antagonist]] doesn't fight the heroes anymore. The design preservation villain primarily exists to preserve the aesthetics of a previous memorable antagonist to keep these viewers satisfied.
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14	Due to their purpose being mainly to uphold the previous villain's physical attributes, the design preservation villain will usually look very similar to the villain they replace, if not Identical. If the villain they replace performed a HeelFaceTurn, this character may be an EvilCounterpart, if not a straight up EvilDoppelganger. Their position as a replacement may even be acknowledged in-universe if they are an EvilKnockoff. Some villains will even have a multitude of different antagonists down the line's designs pay homage to theirs.
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16	These characters will often have [[VilerNewVillain less redeeming personalities]] which guarantees longevity as they are less likely to fall into the same trap that lead to the former villain's HeelFaceTurn, if that is the reason behind the lack of confrontation with the heroes.
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18	In a video game, the similarities may be more involved with gameplay rather than cosmetics. You would probably experience similar game mechanics to their predecessor when they are confronted. They are more likely to have wider personalities than similar characters in other forms of media because of this.
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20	Most likely, this character is going to be aligned with evil until they are defeated, or the story ends since they mainly exist to be a cool opponent for the heroes to fight. If they have a role outside of this, it will usually be in the form of a rivalry with the former antagonist, if they're still around.
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22	Compare ReplacementFlatCharacter, where a new character is created to take the place of a former FlatCharacter for the sake of character contrast. Contrast ContrastingSequelAntagonist.
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24	Also see RecurringBossTemplate, when this applies to video game {{Boss Battle}}s from a gameplay perspective.
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26	----
27	!!Examples
28	[[foldercontrol]]
29
30	[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
31	* ''Manga/DragonBall'' has an awful lot of these:
32	** Cell has the DNA of all of the strongest fighters in the series up until his introduction, but his perfect form most closely resembles previous ArcVillain Frieza.
33	** Most if not all of the NonSerialMovie exclusive villains take after a villain from the show proper: Garlic Jr. is a turquoise-skinned DepravedDwarf like Pilaf with Piccolo's facial structure and past with Kami, Turles is a Saiyan SpacePirate like Raditz, Vegeta and Nappa on top of looking like Goku, Lord Slug is a Namekian who used the Dragon Balls to wish for eternal youth like King Piccolo and is a space EvilOverlord like Frieza, Cooler is Frieza's brother, Android 13 has the same "absorbing other androids to access a [[OneWingedAngel stronger form]]" gimmick as Cell, and Janemba is an EldritchAbomination that progresses from a childish blobby thing to a leaner and meaner form like Majin Buu.
34	[[/folder]]
35
36	[[folder:Comic Books]]
37	* ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'': After ComicBook/HarleyQuinn broke away from ComicBook/TheJoker and became her own character, she became more of an AntiHero than a villain (although an UnscrupulousHero at worst). As a result, Joker introduced a new female sidekick/partner named "Punchline" who was a heck of a lot more ruthless and far less sympathetic than Harley ever was.
38	* ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'':
39	** ComicBook/{{Carnage}} was created for the sole purpose of being this trope. After Spidey's former ArchEnemy ComicBook/{{Venom}} started to become an AntiHero, higher-ups at Marvel were worried that the loss of Spider-Man's most imposing villain would be a disappointment to their readers. So the writers created [[AxCrazy Carnage]], a symbiote antagonist like Venom who is [[EvilerThanThou completely irredeemable,]] and always ready to fight Spider-Man. His debut comic makes it clear how despicable he is by stating his motivation for killing to be [[ForTheEvulz pure sadistic glee.]]
40	** After Doctor Octopus relinquishes control of Peter's body in the ''ComicBook/SuperiorSpiderMan'' storyline, a duplicate version of him with the same memories became the "Superior Octopus" instead, creating a blend of his Doctor Octopus and Superior Spider-Man gimmicks.
41	** After numerous attempts to create a new Green Goblin after ComicBook/NormanOsborn's death, the comics introduced a new and tangentially related villain called The Hobgoblin who uses the same weapons. In keeping with tradition, Hobgoblins tend to be less sympathetic. Whereas Green Goblins usually have a tragic streak due to suffering from severe mental illness, Hobgoblins are entirely sane but still vicious criminals. The second was so bad getting possessed by a demon actually made him nicer.
42	[[/folder]]
43
44	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
45	* ''Franchise/StarWars'': In ''Film/TheForceAwakens'', Kylo Ren turns out to be this in-universe as well: a skilled Force user in all-black armor with his own AceCustom TIE fighter and a red lightsaber who works directly for the BigBad, who in-universe intends to be a sith lord of similar design and caliber to Darth Vader himself.
46	[[/folder]]
47
48	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
49	* ''Series/DoctorWho'': In an example of a pre-existing character being made into this, The Master [[spoiler:regenerates into [[GenderBender Missy]], allowing the Doctor to come face-to-face with an antagonistic female Time Lord after the Time War [[LastOfHisKind wiped out everyone but himself and the Master]], ostensibly including original series villain the Rani]].
50	* ''Series/PowerRangersDinoThunder'': After the White Ranger defects from evil, [[BigBad Mesogog's]] [[TheDragon dragon]] Zeltrax creates an EvilKnockoff of him. This White Ranger clone may speak less rudely to the rangers, but he has absolutely no reason not to stay with Mesogog, and never turns on him throughout the series, until he is [[spoiler: destroyed by the original White Ranger.]]
51	[[/folder]]
52
53	[[folder:Video Games]]
54	* ''VideoGame/Bayonetta2'': The Masked Lumen takes the place of Jeanne in the sequel as a RecurringBoss who's fought exactly three times after she pulled a HeelFaceTurn. [[spoiler:Then it's revealed he's the past self of Father Balder, the BigBad of the previous game who died by the end of it, making him this trope twofold. The Masked Lumen's last boss fight is virtually identical to Father Balder's.]]
55	* ''VideoGame/DragonBallFighterZ'' keeps up the movies' tradition of new villains based on old ones with Android 21, who physically resembles Majin Buu due to having his DNA and is a bio-android capable of absorbing people like Cell [[spoiler:(in fact, her SuperpoweredEvilSide from her own story closely resembles Cell).]]
56	* ''VideoGame/GoldenSun'': After the villains of the first game (Saturos and Menardi, two blue-and-red-skinned Mars adepts from Prox) are beaten, the antagonists of the second game with the same goal are Agatio and Karst, who are... two blue-and-red-skinned Mars Adepts from Prox. While Menardi and Karst are somewhat similar (being sisters), Saturos and Agatio are nothing alike in personality.
57	* ''Franchise/{{Kirby}}'':
58	** ''[[RevengeOfTheSequel Revenge of Meta Knight]]'' was the title character's second and final role as a true antagonist in the mainline Kirby games. Afterwards, newer more antagonistic knights took the mantle for future Meta Knight-esque bosses.
59	** [[EvilTwin Dark Meta Knight]] was the earliest and straightest example. First debuting in ''VideoGame/KirbyAndTheAmazingMirror'', he is the mirror world's counterpart to Meta Knight and lacks his honorable virtues, taking a liking to ambushing his enemies, and serves a GenericDoomsdayVillain before [[spoiler: outliving him and corrupting a future antagonist with his essence.]]
60	** In ''VideoGame/KirbySuperStarUltra'', Dark Meta Knight is 1-upped by the introduction of [[WorldsBestWarrior Galacta Knight]], a powerful warrior who was sealed away for fear his power was too great. While it's never confirmed if he is truly villainous, he takes the form of a FinalBoss in each of his appearances. Usually after [[TheWorfEffect one-shotting the character that summoned him.]]
61	** Galacta Knight is eventually [[spoiler:absorbed]] by Meta Knight's third clone, Morpho Knight, in ''VideoGame/KirbyStarAllies''. Little is known about it, but it serves as the final boss in the guest-star mode and immediately starts attacking the heroes.
62	* ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'': After Shadow the Hedgehog performed a HeelFaceTurn in the end of ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'' and is now considered more of an AntiHero, several new villains sharing the similar DarkerAndEdgier design were created in his place:
63	** ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006'' brings us Mephiles the Dark, a disembodied mind of Solaris given form, who [[EvilTwin shares the same design with Shadow]] (because he took the form of Shadow since Shadow [[NiceJobBreakingItHero was the one who freed him]]). He also lacks any of Shadow's positive traits, being an OmnicidalManiac who [[EvilCannotComprehendGood cannot comprehend]] why Shadow would fight on humanity's side even if the humans would always betray him.
64	** ''VideoGame/SonicForces'' gives us Infinite, who shares the same DarkerAndEdgier aesthetic with Shadow, but none of his positive traits, being a remorseless {{Sadist}} who enjoys causing pain and suffering to others.
65	* ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigi'': Cackletta, the BigBad of ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiSuperstarSaga'', had a unique and awesome-looking outfit with a scalloped purple dress and purple-and-black cape, the latter of which was meant to resemble a pair of bat wings. It seems that her design inspired the looks of many major antagonists in future games. Princess Shroob in ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiPartnersInTime'' also has a purple color scheme and a regal dress, Fawful in ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiBowsersInsideStory'' wears a blue outfit with a scalloped cape at one point (though it's not at all surprising he takes after Cackletta [[DragonAscendant given he used to work for her]]), and Antasma in ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiDreamTeam'' has a purple and black color scheme with a cape and bat wings.
66	[[/folder]]
67
68	[[folder:Western Animation]]
69	* Aggreggor from ''WesternAnimation/Ben10UltimateAlien'' takes on the recently-redeemed Kevin's status as an antagonistic Osmosian with a form resembling a mash-up of Ben's transformations.
70	* Horde Prime from ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower'', the GreaterScopeVillain behind his clone Hordak (who he obviously visually takes after because, you know, ''clone''), takes center stage as the BigBad in the later seasons after Hordak himself TookALevelInKindness.
71	* In an example reaching across different installations of the same franchise, Sh'Okanabo from ''[[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2003 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fast Forward]]'' is a dead ringer for Lord Dregg from [[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles1987 the '87 cartoon.]]
72	[[/folder]]

Context Main / DesignPreservationVillain