History Main / MirrorCharacter

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* ''ComicBook/{{Bizarrogirl}}'': Supergirl and Bizarrogirl are not really opposites as much as reflections. [[NotSoDifferentRemark Supergirl realizes the fact as soon as she meets her]].

* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman'': Since the Creator/GeorgePerez run of [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1987 Wonder Woman]], [[Characters/WonderWomanCirce Circe]] has been positioned as this to Diana. Both are magical and mythological superwomen empowered by higher beings who strive to change the world with their beliefs and powers. However, Wonder Woman wants a peaceful world of kindness and virtue, whereas Circe desires a world of cruelty and depravity. Even their behavior marks the contrast of a MadonnaWhoreComplex perception seen against women. ''ComicBook/WonderWomanBlackAndGold'': "The Acquaintance" directly comments on the similarities Diana and Circe share; both being demigoddess offspring of gods associated with the sky (Zeus and Helios), their immortality meaning they'll outlive most everyone they know, and have been in relationships with headstrong muscle-bound types (Superman and Odysseus).

* Lotso from ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3'' turns out to be similar to Woody in the first movie. They are/were their owner's favorite toy and they didn't like being "replaced" by another toy. The differences between them is that Woody warmed up to Buzz, actively did his best to get them both back home and overcame his jealousy; while Lotso refused to let Chuckles and Big Baby go back and became more bitter over time. Also, Woody cared a lot about Andy's happiness while Lotso only cared about himself.

-->'''Belloq:''' ''You and I are very much alike. Archeology is our religion, yet we have both fallen from the pure faith. Our methods have not differed as much as you pretend. I am but a shadowy reflection of you. It would take only a nudge to make you like me. To push you out of the light.''

[[quoteright:350:[[VideoGame/KidIcarusUprising https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pit_and_dark_pit_4.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Actual mirrors not required.]]

** In ''Film/TheLastJedi'': As a {{Deconstruction}} of the LovableRogue, D.J. is very similar to a pre-CharacterDevelopment Han Solo. He teams up with the heroes [[OnlyInItForTheMoney for the money]], while constantly reminding them that he's NotInThisForYourRevolution and telling the younger, naive heroes the rebellion/resistance is a lost cause and they be better off abandoning it. The similarities emphasize the difference that Han decides to [[ChangedMyMindKid help the rebels out and save Luke]] when the chips are down, while D.J. happily sells the Resistance out to the First Order when they make him a better offer.

* ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'': Iron Man and Doctor Strange share a strong mutual dislike of the other, primarily because they're both InsufferableGenius {{Deadpan Snarker}}s who are evenly matched in both capacities.

[[folder:Video Games]]
* ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'':
** Morgan and Altria Alter are both tyrannical but surprisingly agreeable rulers of Britain. They are both dedicated to the task of being King, and both wield dark variants of holy weapons.
** Altria Alter and Vertigern are noted to be similar as tyrannical kings. Vertigern is the personification of the White Dragon, the Saxons while Altria Alter is the personification of the Red Dragon, and the Anglo-British people. Jeanne Alter herself even lampshades it to Altria Alter pointing out that Altria Alter is just like her uncle Vertigern.
* ''VideoGame/HiddenCity'' has Mr. Black and [[EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep the Detective]], the respective "guardian of Justice" in the Upper and Lower City. They typically serve as the lead investigators of their regions' primary quests and they assign various tasks to the player character to assist in such cases. Additionally, they are both in love with a blonde beauty (Juliette for the Detective, Sophia for Black), though nothing come out of it (Juliette only sees the Detective as a friend, while Black decides that love is unnecessary/irrational and stops courting Sophia).
* ''VideoGame/IDOLiSH7'': Tenn and Riku are (fraternal) twins who are both the "centers" of their respective idol groups and incredibly talented singers and dancers. They even have basically a mirrored version of each other's haircut, and have a lot of baggage to work through together.
* In ''VideoGame/KidIcarusUprising'', Dark Pit is a clone of Pit and represents not only his darker, repressed traits, but some of the positive ones, such as his resentment at being a tool of the gods. While they're opponents when Dark Pit first appears, they reconcile and Dark Pit assists Pit later. He was even created by the Mirror of Truth.
* ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'':
** Master Xehanort, the BigBad, and Sora, TheHero, both grew up on Destiny Islands and became Keyblade wielders. Both became a sort of composite being (Xehanort steals the bodies and hearts of others to extend his life, while Sora lets others share his body and heart to extend their lives), and both became a Heartless and a Nobody.
** Xehanort is also Riku's EvilCounterpart, as they share very similar backgrounds being dissatisfied with life on their tiny world and wanting to see the outside, even if it means delving into darkness. Both lose themselves in darkness in pursuit of his ambitions. Riku however pulled himself back and reformed, while Xehanort kept going deeper into the darkness and was lost for it.
** Additionally, pairs of characters with their Nobodies, are also mirrors, as Nobodies inhabit the same body and memories as the original, but lack their heart, emotions, and passions.
* ''VideoGame/LibraryOfRuina'': Roland and Angela. Like her, he's actually a very bitter and angry individual who has refused to confront his past trauma while being completely controlled by it, which in turn incurs his Floor Realizations. The direct source of his rage has long since died just like Ayin to Angela, but he feels no catharsis and ends up going after numerous other people for the sake of fulfillment regardless of how innocent they actually turn out to be. The only reason his body count isn't as high as Angela's is that he's a mortal man who can be killed.
--> '''Roland''': A dimwitted egoist whose sight is limited by their own selfishness...A proper fool chasing after immediate results...That's what you are. And who I am...
* ''VideoGame/SherlockHolmesVersusArseneLupin'': Parallels are drawn between Holmes and Lupin--both are well off, highly skilled gentlemen who do what they do mainly as a way to stave off boredom.
* ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'': The Sith Inquisitor and Sith Warrior [=PCs=] are essentially character studies of each others' respective {{Starter Villain}}s. Like the Warrior, the Inquisitor's Sith Academy rival Ffon Althe is [[BlueBlood a scion of Sith aristocracy]] clearly favored by Overseer Harkun to be Lord Zash's requested apprentice, in contrast to the Inquisitor, who was recently freed from slavery to attend the Academy and is hated by Harkun on sight. In contrast, the Warrior's rival Vemrin is a common-born aspirant who has spent the better part of a year clawing his way to the top of the student hierarchy, and resents the {{Blue Blood}}ed Warrior for being widely respected the minute they arrive. Both rivals, however, [[PlotArmor lack the similar PC's natural talent and cunning as the main character]], and therefore fail their final tests and end up dead (the Warrior kills Vemrin in single combat, and Lord Zash executes Ffon to punish Harkun for trying to rig the selection by passing the Inquisitor's success off as Ffon's), whereas the Warrior ultimately becomes [[spoiler:the personal assassin of the Sith Emperor]] and the Inquisitor [[spoiler:becomes a Darth and wins a seat on the Dark Council]].
* ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'': Galeem and Dharkon, the light and dark counterpart bosses in the main story line. They have different goals (and of course different color schemes), but their powers are pretty much the same in every respect and their methods identical.
* ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'': Colette and Zelos. Both are TheChosenOne for their respective worlds, and while their personalities are extremely different, with Colette being a sweet, selfless girl who tries to befriend even her enemies and Zelos being a crass, selfish, cynical womanizer, the game shows more than that. Paying close attention to their scenes and backstories show that they are both [[spoiler: extreme StepfordSmiler's, hiding their troubles from others to their personal detriment]], as a result of their status. Additionally, there is implication that Colette could have potentially ended up with a personality more closer in line with Zelos's had it not been for Lloyd and Genis: [[spoiler: A side event in the game has Zelos revealing that he's bitter because of how many people act fake around him and try to suck up to him because he's the Chosen. In the manga, there's a side story showing that when Colette was young she also had negative feelings about how she was treated 'just because she was the Chosen'. The big difference was Colette had friends who she knew truly cared about her, and Zelos had basically no one.]]
[[/folder]]

* ''Fanfic/TheKarmaOfLies'': Adrien Agreste and Chloe Bourgeois are both blonde rich kids with a strong sense of [[EntitledBastard personal entitlement]], believing that they rightly ''deserve'' everything they desire. However, over the course of the story, Chloe has a HeelRealization after being confronted over the consequences of her behavior, spurring her to try [[TheAtoner making amends]], sincerely putting her selfishness aside and work on changing herself for the better. Adrien, by contrast, [[TheyJustDontGetIt never learns from his mistakes]] or [[NeverMyFault acknowledges what he's done wrong]], continuing to insist that he '''should''' get everything he wants -- such as [[EntitledToHaveYou Ladybug's love]]. His inability/refusal to change ensures that he flounders once his KarmaHoudiniWarranty runs out, while Chloe is able to recover and [[EarnYourHappyEnding earn a happier outcome]] for herself.

--> "Hmm, [[spoiler:they kind of ''do'' look like sisters]] when they stand next to each other like that," Sailor Moon said when the ensuing silence threatened to turn awkward.
--> This prompted Ami and Tiger to look at each other. Sure enough, they both stood with their backs straight and their hands in front of themselves, fidgeting slightly.

*** ( They ''also'' had a moment where they attacked one of their assailants and were covered in blood: [[spoiler:MT grinded Mace into one of the Train wheels, while Chloe beat her bully with a paint can with red paint drenching head to toe.]]
* ''Fanfic/TheHeartTrilogy'': Freyja and Kathryn both had an oppressive and abusive mother and Kathryn herself inwardly identifies with Freyja about this when they first meet. Kathryn's mother tried to repress her magic through misguided methods out of fear for her safety, whereas Andraya demands [[MuggleBornOfMages her magicless daughter]] to sire a magical child with Smaug in ''Heart of Ashes''. Kathryn openly screamed at her parents before fleeing them once she'd had enough of the abuse, whereas Freyja is meek and completely submissive to her mother's demands despite her obvious wish to the contrary. Kathryn has outlived her mother by more than a century, while Freyja's mother outlives her [[spoiler:by a short time]]. Kathryn avoids people due to how she's been treated in the past, whilst Freyja is like a wary rabbit when interacting with men on her own due to her mother's control.

* ''VideoGame/HiddenCity'' has Mr. Black and [[EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep the Detective]], the respective "guardian of Justice" in the Upper and Lower City. They typically serve as the lead investigators of their regions' primary quests and assigns various tasks to the player character for their assistance in such cases. Additionally, they are both in love with a blonde beauty (Juliette for the Detective, Sophia for Black), though nothing come out of it (Juliette only sees the Detective as a friend, while Black decides that love is unnecessary/irrational and stops courting Sophia).

Mirror Characters, also known as Parallel Characters in some literary circles, almost certainly share personality traits, values, similar skill sets, and possibly even goals. They may have the same or similar background, whether they're from the WrongSideOfTheTracks or born a RoyalBrat. They might have have shared the same mentor in the past (or even the present). If they have none of the same backstory at all, their similarities will be significant for coming about regardless of their environment.

See NotSoDifferentRemark for examples where the Mirror relationship is {{lampshaded}} in-universe. Contrast {{Expy}} for suspiciously similar characters existing in ''different'' works in a way that's clearly intended to be a homage--Mirrors have to be in the same narrative. For plot lines that reflect each other, see PlotParallel.

[[folder:Tropes common in Mirror Characters]]

* ''VideoGame/LibraryOfRuina'': Roland and Angela. Like her, he's actually a very bitter and angry individual who has refused to confront his past trauma while being completely controlled by it, which in turn incurs his Floor Realizations. The direct source of his rage has long since died just like Ayin to Angela, but he feels no catharsis and ends up going after numerous other people for the sake of fulfillment regardless of how innocent they actually turn out to be. The only reason his body count isn't as high as Angela's is that he's a mortal man who can be killed.
--> '''Roland''': A dimwitted egoist whose sight is limited by their own selfishness...A proper fool chasing after immediate results...That's what you are. And who I am...

Mirror characters almost certainly share personality traits, values, similar skill sets, and possibly even goals. They may have the same or similar background, whether they're from the WrongSideOfTheTracks or born a RoyalBrat. They might have have shared the same mentor in the past (or even the present). If they have none of the same backstory at all, their similarities will be significant for coming about regardless of their environment.

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDragonJakeLong'':
** Jake's grandfather was just like Jake in his youth. In fact, he retained the attitude (but was cockier) as a young adult until [[spoiler:he defeated the Dark Dragon the first time.]] This is probably why he's hard on Jake; he doesn't want his grandson to repeat his mistakes.
** Jake and Greggy are from the same family and both inherited the family lineage of dragon transformation and are very egotistical regarding their abilities, but Jake has the experience to back the confidence up, and Greggy falls into "overconfident," very similar to how Jake was when the series first began.
* From ''WesternAnimation/Ben102016'':
** Kevin and Ben. Both of them are mischievous, egotistical pranksters who possess similar devices that allow them to become aliens. They both even have the same tendency to give their aliens silly names.
** This is a major reason as to why Charmcaster has such fury toward Gwen; not in regards to present Gwen, but because Gwen reminds her of [[IHatePastMe her former self]].
** As their squabbling in "Which Watch" shows, Kevin and Charmcaster are rather similar in personality. Both are arrogant, immature, and obsessed with defeating a Tennyson kid. They both have self-esteem issues that they mask by being aggressive and rebellious.
* ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'': Valerie and Paulina are both popular girls at Danny's school who dislike him initially for plenty of reasons (in large part because he's an outcast even before the ghost powers), and both fall for one of Danny's selves after they're saved by him.
* ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'': Both Dexter and Mandark are defined by their childish egos and temperament, to the point it's no surprise either would be completely insecure about the other's intellect and resent one another.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheDragonPrince'': Runaan and Viren are on opposite sides of the war, but they both urge their subordinates to commit [[WellIntentionedExtremist acts of evil in the name of pragmatism]]. [[spoiler:Notably, Runaan and Viren both admit that killing the innocent princes is evil, but do it anyway in the name of "the greater good".]]
* ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'': Interestingly enough, Kim is mirrored not so much by her ArchEnemy, Drakken, but by his SideKick, the calm, level-headed Shego, and Ron is similarly not mirrored so much by the SideKick Shego, but by Drakken, the fairly eccentric and goofy leader of the bad guys.
* ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'', Jack mirrors both Aku and his daughter Ashi.
** Jack and Aku's endless stalemate has taken a toll on both of them: Jack has lost hope of returning to the past and is undergoing SanitySlippage because of it, while Aku is depressed and anxious over the thought that Jack might be here ''forever''. In XCIII they both even have a TalkingToThemself moment, with Jack confronting his nihilism in the hallucinatory form of his "younger" self, and Aku sprouting a second body to give himself therapy.
** Ashi and Jack were both trained from a young age to be deadly warriors for a purpose, are terrifyingly effective in most fights, and underneath are basically nice people once you get to know them. And even on the subject of a fight, they both sport similar expressions of intensity, and while it was brief, Ashi did resort to [[ScreamingWarrior yelling during a fight]] (much as Jack himself frequently does).
* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels'': Ezra Bridger has a lot of similarities to Luke Skywalker. Both were force-sensitive children born on the day the Empire was created who grew up on a desolate planet in the middle of nowhere, and dreamed of adventure. Both join the rebellion and gain a Jedi mentor after the Empire killed the people who raised them. Both start out with a blue lightsaber before losing it and replacing it with a green one after a fight with Darth Vader, both struggle with the Dark Side but ultimately overcome its temptations, both are seen as a symbol of hope by the rebellion, and both have to step up to become a leader to their friends after [[spoiler:the death of their mentor.]] Both are destined to help the rebellion, but Luke is TheHero of the entire rebellion and plays a vital role in defeating the Empire, while Ezra is TheUnchosenOne and accepts that his destiny is to protect his homeworld rather than directly challenging the Emperor or destroying the Sith.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'', this is the basis of Slade's WeCanRuleTogether crusade towards Robin. The team even calls Robin out on it a few times, after he does something dickish. Demonstrated ''terrifyingly'' effectively in the Season 4 finale, when [[spoiler:Slade and Robin fight off an army of Trigon's lava monsters, using the ''exact same moves'']]. As Robin points out though, there is one major fundamental difference between them:
-->'''Robin:''' "He doesn't have any [[TrueCompanions friends]]."
[[/folder]]

* ''ComicStrip/Zbeng'': ‘Atsanya bat-Simkhon, a recurring character who is basically Sigal, only a [[TheHorseshoeEffect far-right-winger instead of a far-left-winger]]. When Moti tried to introduce them, they were both ComicallyMissingThePoint, seeing the other as a CardCarryingVillain they share nothing with.

* ''VisualNovel/MinotaurHotel'': Storm has several similarities with Asterion beyond both being minotaurs. Both are physically in their 20s, both have tragic pasts, both have been discriminated for their non-human looks, both have extremely limited knowledge of the outside world, both are stranded alone when they meet someone that will help them out, and both [[spoiler:can potentially fall in love with that same someone who helped them out because of their kindness.]]

-> ''It is funny how different mirrors reveal different aspects, it must be like people you meet, you get to prefer the ones who show an image of you that you like.''