The Doppelganger, also called the Spider-Doppelganger, is a
fictional character
In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life perso ...
and
supervillain
A supervillain or supercriminal is a variant of the villainous stock character that is commonly found in American comic books, usually possessing superhuman abilities. A supervillain is the antithesis of a superhero.
Supervillains are of ...
appearing in
American comic book
An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of ''Action Comics'' ...
s published by
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Comics'' in ...
. It is a near-mindless duplicate of
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the Si ...
possessing the mind of a vicious animal. It acts as a servant to other villains rather than having a full will of its own. Along with Peter Parker's agility, speed, and power to cling to walls, the Spider-Doppelganger possesses greater superhuman strength, six arms, talons, and organic web-spinnerets on each forearm that fire "razor-sharp" webbing.
Publication history
Doppelganger first appeared in ''
The Infinity War'' #1 in 1992 and was created by
Jim Starlin
James P. Starlin (born October 9, 1949) is an American comics artist and writer. Beginning his career in the early 1970s, he is best known for space opera stories, for revamping the Marvel Comics characters Captain Marvel and Adam Warlock, an ...
,
Ron Lim
Ronald Lim (born 1965) is an American comic book artist living in Sacramento, California. He is best known for his work for Marvel Comics on their various "cosmic" titles, most particularly the ''Silver Surfer'' (vol. 3) series.
Biography
Lim's ...
, and
Al Milgrom
Allen L. Milgrom (born March 6, 1950) is an American comic book writer, penciller, inker and editor, primarily for Marvel Comics. He is known for his 10-year run as editor of ''Marvel Fanfare''; his long involvement as writer, penciler, and inker ...
. The issue featured multiple superheroes being attacked by demonic doubles (referred to as
doppelgänger
A doppelgänger (), a compound noun formed by combining the two nouns (double) and (walker or goer) (), doppelgaenger or doppelganger is a biologically unrelated look-alike, or a double, of a living person.
In fiction and mythology, a doppelg ...
s), mutated and sent by the series villain
Magus
Magi (; singular magus ; from Latin '' magus'', cf. fa, مغ ) were priests in Zoroastrianism and the earlier religions of the western Iranians. The earliest known use of the word ''magi'' is in the trilingual inscription written by Darius th ...
. Spider-Man's battle is unseen, but it is shown that his personal double (which the hero later refers to as the "Spider-Doppelganger" or simply "the Doppelganger") winds up dead. The same month, ''Spider-Man'' #24 (1992) presented a full version of the battle and revealed that afterward, the villain
Demogoblin
Demogoblin is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
Publication history
Demogoblin first appeared as Demogoblin in ''Web of Spider-Man'' #86 (March 1992), and had previously appeared as an unnamed ...
revives Spider-Man's doppelganger. While the Magus's other doubles are destroyed by the end of ''The Infinity War'', Demogoblin's intervention apparently allows the Spider-Doppelganger to survive.
The Doppelganger acts as Demongoblin's servant in ''Web of Spider-Man'' #94-96 (1992) and then becomes pet to the villains
Shriek and
Carnage in the 1993 storyline ''
Maximum Carnage
"Maximum Carnage" is a 14-part comic book crossover published in Marvel Comics' ''Spider-Man'' family of titles in 1993. It featured Spider-Man, Venom, and a host of other superheroes teaming up to face Venom's murderous offspring Carnage and hi ...
'', where it apparently met its death. That story, along with the video game adaptation ''
Spider-Man and Venom: Maximum Carnage'', led to a large number of Spider-Man fans becoming familiar with the Spider-Doppelganger. 17 years after its apparent death, the character returned in the series ''Carnage'' in 2010. In that story and most appearances since the creature is still associated with Carnage and Shriek.
Fictional character biography
During the battle known as the
Infinity War, the
Magus
Magi (; singular magus ; from Latin '' magus'', cf. fa, مغ ) were priests in Zoroastrianism and the earlier religions of the western Iranians. The earliest known use of the word ''magi'' is in the trilingual inscription written by Darius th ...
(a manifestation of all the evil inherent in
Adam Warlock
Adam Warlock (also known as simply Warlock) is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character would first appear in ''Fantastic Four'' #66–67 (cover-dates September 1967 and October 1967) cr ...
) visited the other-dimensional entity Anthropomorpho, director of the Manifestation race. The Manifestations are inorganic "fractual" beings, not truly living in the traditional sense, that would be altered into avatars or "M-bodies" for powerful and cosmic entities. For the Magus, Anthropomorpho engineered several Manifestations to become monstrous "
doppelgänger
A doppelgänger (), a compound noun formed by combining the two nouns (double) and (walker or goer) (), doppelgaenger or doppelganger is a biologically unrelated look-alike, or a double, of a living person.
In fiction and mythology, a doppelg ...
s" of Earth's superheroes, creating a small army. Some of these doppelgangers made advance strikes on Earth's heroes, attempting to defeat and then merge with them, taking over the hero's identity. One such Doppelganger is a bloodthirsty, near-mindless duplicate of
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the Si ...
. The Spider-Doppelganger confronts the hero in a battle that ends up involving Demogoblin and
Hobgoblin. Intending to kill Spider-Man, Hobgoblin unintentionally seems to kill the Spider-Doppelganger instead. After Spider-Man leaves to find help and information, the Demogoblin revives the hero's monstrous double with supernatural energy. When the Magus is defeated, all his Manifestation troops are undone, except for Spider-Man's doppelganger.
Demogoblin recruits the surviving Doppelganger as his aid against Spider-Man and Hobgoblin, leading to the pair also encountering
Ghost Rider
Ghost Rider is the name of multiple antiheroes and superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Marvel had previously used the name for a Western character whose name was later changed to Phantom Rider.
The first s ...
,
Blaze, the demonic Deathspawn, and Spider-Man's enemy
Venom
Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a st ...
. Separating from Demogoblin, the bestial Doppelganger eventually encounters the mass murderers Carnage and Shriek, the latter of whom adopts the creature as a loyal pet. Joined by Demogoblin and
Carrion
Carrion () is the decaying flesh of dead animals, including human flesh.
Overview
Carrion is an important food source for large carnivores and omnivores in most ecosystems. Examples of carrion-eaters (or scavengers) include crows, vultures ...
, the group engages on a campaign of terror and murder. The creature comes to see Shriek as a mother and later defends her from attack by an enraged Carnage, who in turn delivers several fatal stab wounds to the Spider-Doppelganger before knocking it off a rooftop. The creature is seemingly dead on impact with the street below.
Doppelganger turns up alive years later, now capable of some speech and with an altered appearance, its form apparently still malleable since it is of the Manifestation race. Attempting to free Shriek, it fails and is seemingly killed again, only to then wake up on an autopsy table. After Shriek is finally freed being held by authorities and the mental hospital Ravencroft Institute, she and the Doppelganger wreak new havoc on New York. After a battle with the new symbiote
Scorn, the creature flees with Carnage. Carnage then overtakes a Colorado town with the Doppelganger's aid, but the creature flees when the villain is captured.
The Spider-Doppelganger is shown among the Spiders assembled to help combat
Morlun and the other
Inheritors in the ''
Spider-Verse
"Spider-Verse" is a 2014– 15 comic book storyline published by Marvel Comics. It features multiple alternative versions of Spider-Man that had appeared in various media, all under attack by Morlun and his family, the Inheritors. The event ...
'' storyline. The creature eventually reunites with Carnage and Shriek when they form a cult dedicated to worshiping
Knull.
Powers and abilities
The Doppelganger's abilities are very similar to Spider-Man's, including superhuman agility, stamina, reflexes, and speed. While Spider-Man's superhuman strength limit is around 10 tons, the Spider-Doppelganger's superior strength can press approximately 65 tons. The creature can also cling to walls and surfaces through will. Instead of relying on artificial web-shooters, it has organic spinnerets that shoot razor-sharp webbing from the palms of its hands. It has two extra sets of arms, each hand possessing hardened talons that can easily tear through human tissue.
The Spider-Doppelganger is savage and largely unintelligent, seemingly limited to
animal instinct, although it was capable of following basic instructions from its 'mother'
Shriek. When it reappeared years later with a different body, it was capable of rudimentary speech. Its body is also somewhat malleable, although this attribute was not apparent during its earliest stories and ''Maximum Carnage''. According to scientists who briefly studied him after one of his apparent deaths, Doppelganger is "inorganic and may not have been legally alive, to begin with." This, along with the supernatural energy Demogoblin infused it with, may account for the creature's repeated resurrections.
Reception
* In 2022, ''
CBR.com
''Comic Book Resources'', also known by the initialism CBR, is a website dedicated to the coverage of comic book–related news and discussion.
History
Comic Book Resources was founded by Jonah Weiland in 1995 as a development of the Kingdom Co ...
'' ranked Doppelganger 7th in their "10 Most Violent Spider-Man Villains" list.
Other versions
Doppelganger is referenced in the alternate universe of the Clone Saga.
A brainwashed
Deadpool
Deadpool is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Fabian Nicieza and artist/writer Rob Liefeld, the character first appeared in ''New Mutants'' #98 (cover-dated Feb. 1991). Initially, Deadp ...
has an illusion of Doppelganger in ''Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe Again''.
[''Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe Again'' #2. Marvel Comics.]
In other media
Television
* In the 1994 ''
Spider-Man'' episode "The Wedding", a mentally-unstable
Harry Osborn is depicted as suffering from nightmares in which he envisions Spider-Man as a beast identical to Doppelganger.
Video games
* Doppelganger appears as a recurring boss in the video game ''
Spider-Man and Venom: Maximum Carnage''.
* Doppelganger appears as a playable character in the mobile game ''
Spider-Man Unlimited
''Spider-Man Unlimited'' is an American animated series by Saban Entertainment which features the Marvel comic book superhero Spider-Man, intended as a loose sequel series to the previous '' Spider-Man: The Animated Series'', which ran from 19 ...
''.
Merchandise
*
Toy Biz
Toy Biz (also stylized as ToyBiz), was a toy company which later became a subsidiary of Marvel Entertainment and was renamed to Marvel Toys. It was best known for producing action figures and toys and holding the Marvel Comics license from 1990 t ...
released a Doppelganger action figure in
Spider-Man Classics line.
*
Diamond Select Toys
Diamond Select Toys was founded in 1999 by sister company Diamond Comics Distributors to create collectibles for adult collectors, and has since licensed a variety of pop culture properties, including Marvel Comics, '' Star Wars'', '' Star Trek'' ...
released a Doppelganger action figure in its Marvel line of
Minimates
Minimates are a block-styled miniature action figure originally created by Art Asylum in 2002 and now released by Diamond Select Toys. The basic Minimate figure design has a tall body that resembles an extremely simplified human form with 14 point ...
.
*
Hasbro
Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational conglomerate holding company incorporated and headquartered in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Hasbro owns the trademarks and products of K ...
released a Doppelganger action figure in the
Marvel Legends
Marvel Legends is an action figure line based on the characters of Marvel Comics, initially produced by Toy Biz, then by Hasbro. This line is in the scale, with spin-off lines in the , , and scale.
The line initially began as a spin-off of ...
line in 2019.
References
External links
Doppelgangerat Marvel.com
*
{{Jim Starlin
Comics characters introduced in 1992
Characters created by Al Milgrom
Characters created by Jim Starlin
Marvel Comics characters who can move at superhuman speeds
Marvel Comics characters with superhuman strength
Marvel Comics supervillains
Spider-Man characters
Fictional servants