Evil twin
Encyclopedia
The evil twin is an antagonist found in many different fiction
al genre
s. They are physical copies of protagonist
s, but with radically inverted moralities
. In filmed entertainment, they can have obvious physical differences with the protagonist—such as facial hair
, eyepatch
es, scar
s or distinctive clothing—that make it easy for the audience to visually identify the two characters. Sometimes, however, the physical differences between the characters will be minimized, so as to confuse the audience. Both role
s are almost always played by either the same actor or the actor's actual twin (if the actor has one).
Though there may be moral disparity between actual biological twins
, the term is more often a misnomer
. In many cases, the two look-alikes are not actually twins, but rather physical duplicates produced by other phenomena (e.g. alternate universe
s). In others, the so-called "evil" twin is more precisely a dual opposite
to their "good" counterpart, possessing at least some commonality with the value system
of the protagonist.
. This sect distilled the general abstract duality of Zoroastrianism into a concept of manifest twins "born" of a monist (first) principle Zurvan "Time." In this cosmological model, the twins — Ahura Mazda (Ormuzd) and Angra Mainyu (Ahriman) — were co-eternal representatives of good and evil. Ahura Mazda, representing good, was eventually expected to win the battle. The doctrinal foundation of Zurvanism lies in its interpretation of the Zoroastrian precepts of Free Will: Like Mazdaism (the other, and still extant branch of Zoroastrianism), Zurvanism emphasized that mortals always "have a choice between good and evil, and that one is always free to make the choice one way or the other." Zurvanism took this one step further and considered Angra Mainyu "evil" by choice, rather than by nature. This characterization is important to modern uses of the "evil twin", as most examples are in fact opposites of their "good twin", rather than wholly evil.
Amongst the Mandika
of southern Mali
, the origin of the world
is also attributed to twins, albeit fraternal ones. According to this legend, Mangala
, or God, twice tried to create the world with seeds. The first attempt failed because he had but one seed. On his second attempt, Mangala used four sets of twin seeds. This experiment was more satisfactory, and soon a universe was growing within a cosmic egg
. Ultimately, however, one of the male twins, Pemba, grew tired of being confined. In attempting to escape, he proved himself treacherous. The rip he caused in the cosmic egg begat the Earth. It also compelled Mangala to seek a sacrifice
of atonement. For this, Mangala killed Pemba's innocent fraternal twin, Faro. When Faro's remains were scattered on the newly formed Earth, fertile land was formed. Thus the Earth as we know it is the result of the treason of the evil twin and the sacrifice of the good one.
Many Native American
creation myths likewise provide for the role of dualistic
twins.
, Beowulf
has been cited as an early example of the evil twin story. Although it does not feature biological twins or even characters that seem to have similar appearances, the precise language suggests that the monsters are evil reflections of the hero.
A remarkable example of evil twin is shown in the short story " William Wilson
", by Edgar Allan Poe
. This is the story of two non-biological twins. One of them is amoral, and his schemes are always being unmasked by the ethical twin, that prosecutes the former one.
's The Man in the Iron Mask
. This adaptation of a part of the novel The Vicomte de Bragelonne
by Alexandre Dumas
made a key change to the source material by suggesting that the plot's central twins were in fact opposites of each other. Louis XIV is portrayed as the evil twin of Philippe, a boy raised by d'Artagnan
and The Three Musketeers
. The movie contains many of the common tropes
of the evil twin plot, such as the fact that Phillippe is unaware of his twin's existence, differences in upbringing being important to the twins' adult temperaments, facial hair as a way for the audience to distinguish between the twins, one twin impersonating the other, and the eventual triumph of the good twin.
Evil twins were also staples of serial films
. They were crucial plot devices in the initial 1937 Dick Tracy
storyline and the 1941 Jungle Girl serial
. In the 1937 serial, Gordon Tracy was introduced as Dick's twin brother. Gordon underwent an evil scientist's procedure which rendered him evil and physically transformed. For the majority of the story he and Dick were played by different actors, but it is understood that he was intended as a twin. In the case of Jungle Girl, it is not the titular character who has the twin, but her father. She is raised in the wilds of Africa
, according to the narrative, because her uncle drives her father into exile there when she is a young girl. Later, after she has grown into a young woman, she stops her uncle's plan to illegally remove diamonds from the continent.
However, just as in the modern era, early film usages were not confined to action-adventure
stories. Charlie Chaplin
's The Great Dictator
was a 1940 comedic
evil twin story that worked on two levels. In the narrative itself, Chaplin played both a good, simple barber and his evil counterpart, a Hitler
-esque dictator. But it was also born of the notion that Chaplin himself actually looked like Hitler. As a modern reviewer has noted:
which originally was published in 1938-39. Tintin
is hired as Professor Alembick's secretary and flies with him to Syldavia. The real Alembick has been abducted in the beginning of the story, and unknown to Tintin replaced by an antagonist, in a plan to steal the sceptre. In the end of the story Tintin understands the imposter was the evil twin of the professor.
Another example is found in September 1948's Kid Eternity
#11. The final story in the work revolves around "Handsome Harry", the evil twin of Kid Eternity's mentor, Mr. Keeper. Handsome Harry is the archetypal evil twin in that he is both evil and a biological twin.
The concept was brought to the more iconic superhero
, Superman
, about a decade later. 1958's Bizarro
was at first Superboy
's evil twin. This twin was easily distinguishable both in deformed physical appearance and manner of speech. Bizarro, more anti-Superman than evil, nevertheless "represented Superman's Jungian shadow
, his dark side". In DC Comics
, evil doppelgangers of various superheroes reside on Earth-Three
, such as Superman's evil counterpart, Ultraman
.
Although the Kid Eternity story has had the term retroactively applied to it, none of these examples originally used words "evil twin" explicitly. 1968's Wonder Woman
#175 is thus important for being an early case of the term appearing on a comic cover.
A more recent example, in which the "good" character actually brings about the existence of his own evil twin, would be the relationship of Marvel Comics' the Sentry
and the Void. Merely using his powers and trying to do "good things" in the way most think of superheroes causes the Void to come into existence and to hurt as much as the Sentry tries to protect.
like Sunset Beach
who included Ben Evans and his evil twin, Derek, they have appeared in most televised genre
s. Some of the earliest usages were in fact in westerns
. Two episodes entitled Deadly Image appeared within a year of each other on two different westerns. Maverick's
version appeared in March 1961, followed swiftly by The Rifleman's
take in February 1962. Beyond the coincidence of name, both offered similar plots: the hero becomes confused with a look-alike criminal, and the guilt of the hero must be cleared by demonstrating that the evil twin is a separate individual.
remarked in a deleted scene
from Lost
: "It's not a soap opera until somebody's evil twin shows up." However, within the concept of the evil twin there are characteristics which are themselves tropes
.
The biggest of these distinguishing traits is the goatee
. Famously used by the "Mirror Universe
" version of Star Trek
character Spock
, in the episode "Mirror, Mirror", it was an easy way for audiences to tell "good" Spock from "evil" Spock (though in truth the character, while more ruthlessly logical than his counterpart, is far from evil). The presence of a goatee on a familiar character is now seen as an immediate clue that the character is an evil twin. Even writers not discussing evil twins in their literary sense have occasionally made reference to the goatee through quick metaphor
:
The goatee is referenced in Futurama
by Bender's 'evil twin' Flexo, who is constantly accused of being the bad Bender because of his goatee.
Another well known example of the evil twin goatee can be found in Stargate SG-1
; although it could be debated as to which Apophis was the evil one. Similarly, Teal'c
is seen with an unfamiliar pony tail, denoting him the evil version.
The evil twin goatee is spoofed in the South Park
Halloween episode "Spookyfish
", wherein "mirror Cartman
", who has a goatee, is actually much more of a "good" character than the beardless, loathsome "regular" Cartman.
In the Space Ghost Coast to Coast
episode "Jerk", Space Ghost is revealed to have an evil twin, Chad Ghostal, however only his voice is heard. He is later shown in the episode "Switcheroo" to have a Goatee.
In Codename: Kids Next Door
, an alternate universe's Numbuh 4 sported an evil twin goatee, saying it was because it 'makes me look eviler', only to be mocked by the KND for it.
The Evil Overlord List
refers to it with Item 35: "I will not grow a goatee. In the old days they made you look diabolic. Now they just make you look like a disaffected member of Generation X."
This occurred, for example, in the plotline of the Star Trek: The Original Series
episode “Whom Gods Destroy” wherein Spock
must choose between Kirk
and an identical impostor (Garth of Izar). This also occurred in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
with McCoy
under similar circumstances. Finally, this occurred in the Star Trek: The Next Generation
episode “Datalore”.
have come to be virtually interchangeable. While "evil twin" does not connote the sense of "supernatural harbinger of death", it can be used to mean "a physical copy of one's self who has an altered morality".
a faked wireless access point
designed to appear like a genuine one, for the purpose of phishing
information from unsuspecting users. The term is further used in contemporary journalism
and non-fiction
as a convenient label. In astronomy
, Venus
is often called Earth's "evil twin", in reference to the similarity, yet opposition, of the two bodies.
Fiction
Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
al genre
Genre
Genre , Greek: genos, γένος) is the term for any category of literature or other forms of art or culture, e.g. music, and in general, any type of discourse, whether written or spoken, audial or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria. Genres are formed by conventions that change over time...
s. They are physical copies of protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
s, but with radically inverted moralities
Morality
Morality is the differentiation among intentions, decisions, and actions between those that are good and bad . A moral code is a system of morality and a moral is any one practice or teaching within a moral code...
. In filmed entertainment, they can have obvious physical differences with the protagonist—such as facial hair
Goatee
Goatee refers to a style of facial hair incorporating hair on a man’s chin. The exact nature of the style has varied according to time and culture.Traditionally, goatee refers solely to a beard formed by a tuft of hair on the chin...
, eyepatch
Eyepatch
An eyepatch or eye pad is a small patch that is worn in front of one eye. It may be a cloth patch attached around the head by an elastic band or by a string, or an adhesive bandage. It is often worn by people to cover a lost or injured eye, but it also has a therapeutic use in children for the...
es, scar
Scar
Scars are areas of fibrous tissue that replace normal skin after injury. A scar results from the biological process of wound repair in the skin and other tissues of the body. Thus, scarring is a natural part of the healing process. With the exception of very minor lesions, every wound results in...
s or distinctive clothing—that make it easy for the audience to visually identify the two characters. Sometimes, however, the physical differences between the characters will be minimized, so as to confuse the audience. Both role
Role
A role or a social role is a set of connected behaviours, rights and obligations as conceptualised by actors in a social situation. It is an expected or free or continuously changing behaviour and may have a given individual social status or social position...
s are almost always played by either the same actor or the actor's actual twin (if the actor has one).
Though there may be moral disparity between actual biological twins
TWINS
Two Wide-Angle Imaging Neutral-Atom Spectrometers are a pair of NASA instruments aboard two United States National Reconnaissance Office satellites in Molniya orbits. TWINS was designed to provide stereo images of the Earth's ring current. The first instrument, TWINS-1, was launched aboard USA-184...
, the term is more often a misnomer
Misnomer
A misnomer is a term which suggests an interpretation that is known to be untrue. Such incorrect terms sometimes derive their names because of the form, action, or origin of the subject becoming named popularly or widely referenced—long before their true natures were known.- Sources of misnomers...
. In many cases, the two look-alikes are not actually twins, but rather physical duplicates produced by other phenomena (e.g. alternate universe
Parallel universe (fiction)
A parallel universe or alternative reality is a hypothetical self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own. A specific group of parallel universes is called a "multiverse", although this term can also be used to describe the possible parallel universes that constitute reality...
s). In others, the so-called "evil" twin is more precisely a dual opposite
Dualism
Dualism denotes a state of two parts. The term 'dualism' was originally coined to denote co-eternal binary opposition, a meaning that is preserved in metaphysical and philosophical duality discourse but has been diluted in general or common usages. Dualism can refer to moral dualism, Dualism (from...
to their "good" counterpart, possessing at least some commonality with the value system
Value system
A value system is a set of consistent ethic values and measures used for the purpose of ethical or ideological integrity. A well defined value system is a moral code.-Personal and communal:...
of the protagonist.
Mythologic precursors
The concept of evil twins is ancient and mythical. One of the earliest may be in the Zurvanite branch of ZoroastrianismZoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism is a religion and philosophy based on the teachings of prophet Zoroaster and was formerly among the world's largest religions. It was probably founded some time before the 6th century BCE in Greater Iran.In Zoroastrianism, the Creator Ahura Mazda is all good, and no evil...
. This sect distilled the general abstract duality of Zoroastrianism into a concept of manifest twins "born" of a monist (first) principle Zurvan "Time." In this cosmological model, the twins — Ahura Mazda (Ormuzd) and Angra Mainyu (Ahriman) — were co-eternal representatives of good and evil. Ahura Mazda, representing good, was eventually expected to win the battle. The doctrinal foundation of Zurvanism lies in its interpretation of the Zoroastrian precepts of Free Will: Like Mazdaism (the other, and still extant branch of Zoroastrianism), Zurvanism emphasized that mortals always "have a choice between good and evil, and that one is always free to make the choice one way or the other." Zurvanism took this one step further and considered Angra Mainyu "evil" by choice, rather than by nature. This characterization is important to modern uses of the "evil twin", as most examples are in fact opposites of their "good twin", rather than wholly evil.
Amongst the Mandika
Mandinka people
The Mandinka, Malinke are one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa with an estimated population of eleven million ....
of southern Mali
Mali
Mali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...
, the origin of the world
Cosmology
Cosmology is the discipline that deals with the nature of the Universe as a whole. Cosmologists seek to understand the origin, evolution, structure, and ultimate fate of the Universe at large, as well as the natural laws that keep it in order...
is also attributed to twins, albeit fraternal ones. According to this legend, Mangala
Mangala
In Jyotish astrology, Mangala is the name for Mars, the red planet. Mars is also called Angaraka In Jyotish astrology, Mangala (Devanagari: मंगल) is the name for Mars, the red planet. Mars is also called Angaraka In Jyotish astrology, Mangala (Devanagari: मंगल) is the name for Mars, the red...
, or God, twice tried to create the world with seeds. The first attempt failed because he had but one seed. On his second attempt, Mangala used four sets of twin seeds. This experiment was more satisfactory, and soon a universe was growing within a cosmic egg
World egg
A world egg or cosmic egg is a mythological motif found in the creation myths of many cultures and civilizations. Typically, the world egg is a beginning of some sort, and the universe or some primordial being comes into existence by "hatching" from the egg, sometimes lain on the primordial waters...
. Ultimately, however, one of the male twins, Pemba, grew tired of being confined. In attempting to escape, he proved himself treacherous. The rip he caused in the cosmic egg begat the Earth. It also compelled Mangala to seek a sacrifice
Sacrifice
Sacrifice is the offering of food, objects or the lives of animals or people to God or the gods as an act of propitiation or worship.While sacrifice often implies ritual killing, the term offering can be used for bloodless sacrifices of cereal food or artifacts...
of atonement. For this, Mangala killed Pemba's innocent fraternal twin, Faro. When Faro's remains were scattered on the newly formed Earth, fertile land was formed. Thus the Earth as we know it is the result of the treason of the evil twin and the sacrifice of the good one.
Many Native American
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
creation myths likewise provide for the role of dualistic
Dualism
Dualism denotes a state of two parts. The term 'dualism' was originally coined to denote co-eternal binary opposition, a meaning that is preserved in metaphysical and philosophical duality discourse but has been diluted in general or common usages. Dualism can refer to moral dualism, Dualism (from...
twins.
Literature
In literatureLiterature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
, Beowulf
Beowulf
Beowulf , but modern scholars agree in naming it after the hero whose life is its subject." of an Old English heroic epic poem consisting of 3182 alliterative long lines, set in Scandinavia, commonly cited as one of the most important works of Anglo-Saxon literature.It survives in a single...
has been cited as an early example of the evil twin story. Although it does not feature biological twins or even characters that seem to have similar appearances, the precise language suggests that the monsters are evil reflections of the hero.
A remarkable example of evil twin is shown in the short story " William Wilson
William Wilson (short story)
"William Wilson" is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1839, with a setting inspired by Poe's formative years outside of London. The tale follows the theme of the doppelgänger and is written in a style based on rationality...
", by Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe was an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective...
. This is the story of two non-biological twins. One of them is amoral, and his schemes are always being unmasked by the ethical twin, that prosecutes the former one.
Film
A notable early use of the modern concept of evil twins in film is 19391939 in film
The year 1939 in motion pictures can be justified as being called the most outstanding one ever, when it comes to the high quality and high attendance at the large set of the best films that premiered in the year .- Events :Motion picture historians and film often rate...
's The Man in the Iron Mask
The Man in the Iron Mask (1939 film)
The Man in the Iron Mask is a 1939 American film very loosely adapted from the last section of the novel The Vicomte de Bragelonne by Alexandre Dumas, père, which is itself based on the French legend of the Man in the Iron Mask....
. This adaptation of a part of the novel The Vicomte de Bragelonne
The Vicomte de Bragelonne
The Vicomte of Bragelonne: Ten Years Later is a novel by Alexandre Dumas. It is the third and last of the d'Artagnan Romances, following The Three Musketeers and Twenty Years After. It appeared first in serial form between 1847 and 1850...
by Alexandre Dumas
Alexandre Dumas, père
Alexandre Dumas, , born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie was a French writer, best known for his historical novels of high adventure which have made him one of the most widely read French authors in the world...
made a key change to the source material by suggesting that the plot's central twins were in fact opposites of each other. Louis XIV is portrayed as the evil twin of Philippe, a boy raised by d'Artagnan
D'Artagnan
Charles Ogier de Batz de Castelmore, Comte d'Artagnan served Louis XIV as captain of the Musketeers of the Guard and died at the Siege of Maastricht in the Franco-Dutch War. A fictionalized account of his life by Gatien de Courtilz de Sandras formed the basis for the d'Artagnan Romances of...
and The Three Musketeers
The Three Musketeers
The Three Musketeers is a novel by Alexandre Dumas, first serialized in March–July 1844. Set in the 17th century, it recounts the adventures of a young man named d'Artagnan after he leaves home to travel to Paris, to join the Musketeers of the Guard...
. The movie contains many of the common tropes
Trope (literature)
A literary trope is the usage of figurative language in literature, or a figure of speech in which words are used in a sense different from their literal meaning...
of the evil twin plot, such as the fact that Phillippe is unaware of his twin's existence, differences in upbringing being important to the twins' adult temperaments, facial hair as a way for the audience to distinguish between the twins, one twin impersonating the other, and the eventual triumph of the good twin.
Evil twins were also staples of serial films
Serial (film)
Serials, more specifically known as Movie serials, Film serials or Chapter plays, were short subjects originally shown in theaters in conjunction with a feature film. They were related to pulp magazine serialized fiction...
. They were crucial plot devices in the initial 1937 Dick Tracy
Dick Tracy (serial)
Dick Tracy is a 15-Chapter Republic movie serial starring Ralph Byrd based on the Dick Tracy comic strip by Chester Gould. It was directed by Alan James and Ray Taylor.-Synopsis:...
storyline and the 1941 Jungle Girl serial
Jungle Girl (serial)
Jungle Girl is a 15-Chapter Republic Pictures Serial starring Frances Gifford. It was directed by William Witney and John English based on the novel Jungle Girl by Edgar Rice Burroughs...
. In the 1937 serial, Gordon Tracy was introduced as Dick's twin brother. Gordon underwent an evil scientist's procedure which rendered him evil and physically transformed. For the majority of the story he and Dick were played by different actors, but it is understood that he was intended as a twin. In the case of Jungle Girl, it is not the titular character who has the twin, but her father. She is raised in the wilds of Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, according to the narrative, because her uncle drives her father into exile there when she is a young girl. Later, after she has grown into a young woman, she stops her uncle's plan to illegally remove diamonds from the continent.
However, just as in the modern era, early film usages were not confined to action-adventure
Action film
Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...
stories. Charlie Chaplin
Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor, film director and composer best known for his work during the silent film era. He became the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I...
's The Great Dictator
The Great Dictator
The Great Dictator is a comedy film by Charlie Chaplin released in October 1940. Like most Chaplin films, he wrote, produced, and directed, in addition to starring as the lead. Having been the only Hollywood film maker to continue to make silent films well into the period of sound films, this was...
was a 1940 comedic
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
evil twin story that worked on two levels. In the narrative itself, Chaplin played both a good, simple barber and his evil counterpart, a Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
-esque dictator. But it was also born of the notion that Chaplin himself actually looked like Hitler. As a modern reviewer has noted:
Comic books
Comic books contain some other early appearances of evil twins. One example, still available on the market today, is King Ottokar's Sceptre by HergéHergé
Georges Prosper Remi , better known by the pen name Hergé, was a Belgian comics writer and artist. His best known and most substantial work is the 23 completed comic books in The Adventures of Tintin series, which he wrote and illustrated from 1929 until his death in 1983, although he was also...
which originally was published in 1938-39. Tintin
Tintin (character)
Tintin is a fictional character in The Adventures of Tintin, the series of classic Belgian comic books written and illustrated by Hergé. Tintin is the protagonist of the series, a reporter and adventurer who travels around the world with his dog Snowy....
is hired as Professor Alembick's secretary and flies with him to Syldavia. The real Alembick has been abducted in the beginning of the story, and unknown to Tintin replaced by an antagonist, in a plan to steal the sceptre. In the end of the story Tintin understands the imposter was the evil twin of the professor.
Another example is found in September 1948's Kid Eternity
Kid Eternity
Kid Eternity is a comic book superhero who first premiered in Hit Comics #25, published by Quality Comics in December, 1942. The character - as well as all of Quality's intellectual properties were sold to DC Comics in 1956...
#11. The final story in the work revolves around "Handsome Harry", the evil twin of Kid Eternity's mentor, Mr. Keeper. Handsome Harry is the archetypal evil twin in that he is both evil and a biological twin.
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
, Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
, about a decade later. 1958's Bizarro
Bizarro
Bizarro is a fictional character that appears in publications published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Otto Binder and artist George Papp as a "mirror image" of Superman and first appeared in Superboy #68...
was at first Superboy
Superboy (Kal-El)
The original Superboy is a fictional superhero who appears in DC Comics. The name of Superman as a boy, Superboy has adventures that occur in the relative past to those of Superman and take place predominantly in his hometown of Smallville...
's evil twin. This twin was easily distinguishable both in deformed physical appearance and manner of speech. Bizarro, more anti-Superman than evil, nevertheless "represented Superman's Jungian shadow
Shadow (psychology)
In Jungian psychology, the shadow or "shadow aspect" is a part of the unconscious mind consisting of repressed weaknesses, shortcomings, and instincts. It is one of the three most recognizable archetypes, the others being the anima and animus and the persona...
, his dark side". In DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
, evil doppelgangers of various superheroes reside on Earth-Three
Earth-Three
Earth-Three is a fictional alternate universe set in the . It is the Earth of an alternate reality in the DC Multiverse. It first appeared in Justice League of America #29 .-Pre-Crisis:Its history is a mirror image to the Earth we know...
, such as Superman's evil counterpart, Ultraman
Ultraman (comics)
Ultraman is the name of several fictional characters, who are supervillains appearing in stories published by DC Comics. The characters are all evil alternate-universe counterparts of Superman. Ultraman first appeared in Justice League of America #29 .-Publication history:Ultraman first appeared as...
.
Although the Kid Eternity story has had the term retroactively applied to it, none of these examples originally used words "evil twin" explicitly. 1968's Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman is a DC Comics superheroine created by William Moulton Marston. She first appeared in All Star Comics #8 . The Wonder Woman title has been published by DC Comics almost continuously except for a brief hiatus in 1986....
#175 is thus important for being an early case of the term appearing on a comic cover.
A more recent example, in which the "good" character actually brings about the existence of his own evil twin, would be the relationship of Marvel Comics' the Sentry
Sentry (comics)
Sentry is the codename of several unrelated fictional characters of the Marvel Universe. Currently, the most prominent Sentry is Robert Reynolds, appearing in Marvel's New Avengers and Mighty Avengers titles, and the subject of two limited series....
and the Void. Merely using his powers and trying to do "good things" in the way most think of superheroes causes the Void to come into existence and to hurt as much as the Sentry tries to protect.
Television
While evil twins are inextricably linked to the soap operaSoap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
like Sunset Beach
Sunset Beach
- United States :* Sunset Beach , in Cape May, New Jersey* Sunset Beach , in Pupukea, Oahu, Hawaii* Sunset Beach State Recreation Site, in Oregon* Sunset State Beach, near Watsonville, California- Canada :* Sunset Beach, Alberta...
who included Ben Evans and his evil twin, Derek, they have appeared in most televised genre
Genre
Genre , Greek: genos, γένος) is the term for any category of literature or other forms of art or culture, e.g. music, and in general, any type of discourse, whether written or spoken, audial or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria. Genres are formed by conventions that change over time...
s. Some of the earliest usages were in fact in westerns
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
. Two episodes entitled Deadly Image appeared within a year of each other on two different westerns. Maverick's
Maverick (TV series)
Maverick is a western television series with comedic overtones created by Roy Huggins. The show ran from September 22, 1957 to July 8, 1962 on ABC and stars James Garner as Bret Maverick, a cagey, articulate cardsharp. Eight episodes into the first season, he was joined by Jack Kelly as his brother...
version appeared in March 1961, followed swiftly by The Rifleman's
The Rifleman
The Rifleman is an American Western television program that starred Chuck Connors as homesteader Lucas McCain and Johnny Crawford as his son, Mark McCain. It was set in the 1880s in the town of North Fork, New Mexico Territory. The show, filmed in black-and-white with a half hour running time, ran...
take in February 1962. Beyond the coincidence of name, both offered similar plots: the hero becomes confused with a look-alike criminal, and the guilt of the hero must be cleared by demonstrating that the evil twin is a separate individual.
Tropes
The evil twin has now been used with great enough frequency to become viewed with cynicism as a hackneyed concept. As the character of Kate AustenKate Austen
Katherine Anne "Kate" Austen is a fictional character on the ABC television series Lost, played by Canadian actress Evangeline Lilly. She is the de facto female lead...
remarked in a deleted scene
Deleted scene
In Entertainment, especially the film and television industry, Deleted scenes are parts of a film removed or censored from or replaced by another scene in the final "cut", or version, of a film...
from Lost
Lost (TV series)
Lost is an American television series that originally aired on ABC from September 22, 2004 to May 23, 2010, consisting of six seasons. Lost is a drama series that follows the survivors of the crash of a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney and Los Angeles, on a mysterious tropical island...
: "It's not a soap opera until somebody's evil twin shows up." However, within the concept of the evil twin there are characteristics which are themselves tropes
Trope (literature)
A literary trope is the usage of figurative language in literature, or a figure of speech in which words are used in a sense different from their literal meaning...
.
The goatee
Goatee
Goatee refers to a style of facial hair incorporating hair on a man’s chin. The exact nature of the style has varied according to time and culture.Traditionally, goatee refers solely to a beard formed by a tuft of hair on the chin...
. Famously used by the "Mirror Universe
Mirror Universe (Star Trek)
The Mirror Universe is a fictional parallel universe in which the plots of several Star Trek television episodes take place...
" version of Star Trek
Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...
character Spock
Spock
Spock is a fictional character in the Star Trek media franchise. First portrayed by Leonard Nimoy in the original Star Trek series, Spock also appears in the animated Star Trek series, two episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, seven of the Star Trek feature films, and numerous Star Trek...
, in the episode "Mirror, Mirror", it was an easy way for audiences to tell "good" Spock from "evil" Spock (though in truth the character, while more ruthlessly logical than his counterpart, is far from evil). The presence of a goatee on a familiar character is now seen as an immediate clue that the character is an evil twin. Even writers not discussing evil twins in their literary sense have occasionally made reference to the goatee through quick metaphor
Metaphor
A metaphor is a literary figure of speech that uses an image, story or tangible thing to represent a less tangible thing or some intangible quality or idea; e.g., "Her eyes were glistening jewels." Metaphor may also be used for any rhetorical figures of speech that achieve their effects via...
:
The goatee is referenced in Futurama
Futurama
Futurama is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening and David X. Cohen for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of a late 20th-century New York City pizza delivery boy, Philip J...
by Bender's 'evil twin' Flexo, who is constantly accused of being the bad Bender because of his goatee.
Another well known example of the evil twin goatee can be found in Stargate SG-1
Stargate SG-1
Stargate SG-1 is a Canadian-American adventure and military science fiction television series and part of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Stargate franchise. The show, created by Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner, is based on the 1994 feature film Stargate by Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich...
; although it could be debated as to which Apophis was the evil one. Similarly, Teal'c
Teal'c
Teal'c is a fictional character in the military science fiction television series Stargate SG-1. Played by Christopher Judge, Teal'c is a Jaffa warrior from the planet Chulak. As a Jaffa, Teal'c is a genetically modified human with an abdominal pouch that serves as an incubator for a larval Goa'uld...
is seen with an unfamiliar pony tail, denoting him the evil version.
The evil twin goatee is spoofed in the South Park
South Park
South Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...
Halloween episode "Spookyfish
Spookyfish
"Spookyfish" is the fifteenth episode of the second season of the animated television series South Park, and the 28th episode of the series overall. "Spookyfish" originally aired in the United States on October 28, 1998 on Comedy Central...
", wherein "mirror Cartman
Eric Cartman
Eric Theodore Cartman is a fictional character in the American animated television series South Park. One of four main characters, along with Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, and Kenny McCormick, he is generally referred to within the series by his last name...
", who has a goatee, is actually much more of a "good" character than the beardless, loathsome "regular" Cartman.
In the Space Ghost Coast to Coast
Space Ghost Coast to Coast
Space Ghost Coast to Coast is an American animated parody talk show hosted by the 60s Hanna-Barbera cartoon character Space Ghost. The show premiered on April 15, 1994 on Cartoon Network...
episode "Jerk", Space Ghost is revealed to have an evil twin, Chad Ghostal, however only his voice is heard. He is later shown in the episode "Switcheroo" to have a Goatee.
In Codename: Kids Next Door
Codename: Kids Next Door
Codename: Kids Next Door, also known as Kids Next Door or by its acronym KND, is an American animated television series created by Tom Warburton and produced by Curious Pictures in Santa Monica, California.. The series debuted on Cartoon Network on December 6, 2002 and aired its final episode on...
, an alternate universe's Numbuh 4 sported an evil twin goatee, saying it was because it 'makes me look eviler', only to be mocked by the KND for it.
The Evil Overlord List
Evil Overlord List
The Evil Overlord List, also known as If I Were An Evil Overlord, is one of several popular lists of planned actions for a competent Evil Overlord to avoid the well-known, cliché blunders committed by supervillains in popular fictional works, typically explained in a comical fashion...
refers to it with Item 35: "I will not grow a goatee. In the old days they made you look diabolic. Now they just make you look like a disaffected member of Generation X."
Identifying the imposter
In cases where the "evil twin" is not physically distinguishable from the "good twin", a typical plot resolution will involve another character having to choose between the two. At some point the evil twin must be killed, jailed, banished, or at least unmasked. While this has been accomplished in a variety of different ways, the basic idea of a third character having to choose between the two twins is common to most plots involving evil twins.This occurred, for example, in the plotline of the Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...
episode “Whom Gods Destroy” wherein Spock
Spock
Spock is a fictional character in the Star Trek media franchise. First portrayed by Leonard Nimoy in the original Star Trek series, Spock also appears in the animated Star Trek series, two episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, seven of the Star Trek feature films, and numerous Star Trek...
must choose between Kirk
James T. Kirk
James Tiberius "Jim" Kirk is a character in the Star Trek media franchise. Kirk was first played by William Shatner as the principal lead character in the original Star Trek series. Shatner voiced Kirk in the animated Star Trek series and appeared in the first seven Star Trek movies...
and an identical impostor (Garth of Izar). This also occurred in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country is the sixth feature film in the Star Trek science fiction franchise and is the last of the Star Trek films to include the entire main cast of the 1960s Star Trek television series. Released in 1991 by Paramount Pictures, it was directed by Nicholas Meyer and...
with McCoy
Leonard McCoy
Leonard "Bones" McCoy is a character in the Star Trek media franchise. First portrayed by DeForest Kelley in the original Star Trek series, McCoy also appears in the animated Star Trek series, seven Star Trek movies, the pilot episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and in numerous books,...
under similar circumstances. Finally, this occurred in the Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
episode “Datalore”.
Type of doppelgänger
In modern use, evil twin and one sense of the word doppelgängerDoppelgänger
In fiction and folklore, a doppelgänger is a paranormal double of a living person, typically representing evil or misfortune...
have come to be virtually interchangeable. While "evil twin" does not connote the sense of "supernatural harbinger of death", it can be used to mean "a physical copy of one's self who has an altered morality".
As metaphor
The term evil twin has also passed into general usage in a variety of different contexts. In computer technology, it describesEvil twin (wireless networks)
Evil twin is a term for a rogue Wi-Fi access point that appears to be a legitimate one offered on the premises, but actually has been set up by a hacker to eavesdrop on wireless communications among Internet surfers....
a faked wireless access point
Wireless access point
In computer networking, a wireless access point is a device that allows wireless devices to connect to a wired network using Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or related standards...
designed to appear like a genuine one, for the purpose of phishing
Phishing
Phishing is a way of attempting to acquire information such as usernames, passwords, and credit card details by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. Communications purporting to be from popular social web sites, auction sites, online payment processors or IT...
information from unsuspecting users. The term is further used in contemporary journalism
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
and non-fiction
Non-fiction
Non-fiction is the form of any narrative, account, or other communicative work whose assertions and descriptions are understood to be fact...
as a convenient label. In astronomy
Astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
, Venus
Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun, orbiting it every 224.7 Earth days. The planet is named after Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty. After the Moon, it is the brightest natural object in the night sky, reaching an apparent magnitude of −4.6, bright enough to cast shadows...
is often called Earth's "evil twin", in reference to the similarity, yet opposition, of the two bodies.