Villains, you love them, you hate them, or you love to hate them. No matter how you slice it, they are almost always a factor when it comes to conflict in a fictional realm, and the world of superheroes is no exception. The villain is the element of the narrative that gives our favorite caped characters a chance to be superheroic. Where would Batman be without the Joker, Spider-Man without the Green Goblin, or The Avengers without Thanos? It wouldn't exactly be the most exciting of adventures. A good villain is everything his respected hero is not. Batman is dark and brooding and the Joker is a laughing, colorful clown. Some even go as far as the saying "a hero is only as good as his villain." And we certainly have no shortage of those.

While there are legions of great villains, there are those that are passé or just plain unoriginal. There are those villains that are just evil versions of their heroic counterparts, heroes with little to no threat, and then there are those villains that flat-out rip off other (and usually better) masters of mayhem. Whether similar in costume, powers, or motives, we're here today to take a stroll through the rogues gallery and see which villains are a bit too synonymous with some of their other comrades. Pack your gliders, laughing gas, and weapons of choice, because we're about to take a sharp turn down crime alley as we look at fifteen of the most outrageous villain ripoffs.

15 SPELLBINDER (RIPPED OFF MYSTERIO)

Spellbinder is a psychedelic villain from DC Comics who uses strange technology and gadgets to create head-spinning illusions and horrific hallucinations. He's gone up against both Batman and the Justice League with his sorcery, but we can't help feeling we've seen this act before. Spellbinder takes a great deal from a foe of our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.

Though Spellbinder hit the scene in 1966, it was the magic of Mysterio who originated the mystical MO. Though Mysterio's techniques are a little more technocentric than Spellbinder's, he was the first to perform as the evil illusionist in 1964. Spellbinder received quite an intimidating update in Batman Beyond, but we can still see traces of his inspiration everywhere. This piece of work was done by phil-cho.

14 SANDMAN (RIPPED OFF CLAYFACE)

Flint Marko/the Sandman is one of Spider-Man's most complex villains. Due to an accident involving radioactive sand bonding with his body, Marko was given the ability to shapeshift and morph into various forms and disguises. This earthy shifting power certainly sounds like another famous brown shapeshifter we know. This one, however, hails from a little place called Gotham City.

It took us by surprise, but it seems that Sandman and Clayface have quite a bit in common. The only thing that separates the two is that Marko has somewhat more control. Clayface can show it, but he does tend to fly off the handle. That being said, Clayface made it first before Sandman even was put to paper.

13 BULLSEYE (RIPPED OFF DEADSHOT)

There are some villains, like the previously mentioned Sandman, that at least try to be original with their titles while they're ripping another bad guy off. Bullseye, however, did not even think to give Deadshot that courtesy. Guess the creators kinda missed the mark on that factor.

Both Bullseye and Deadshot are master marksmen with impeccable aim, both are master assassins and guns-for-hire, and both have a target emblem somewhere on their costumes. Both villains are iconic in their own realms, but Deadshot's the original gunslinger. Having premiered over twenty years prior to his black-clad opponent, he's the truest shot of the pair.

12 KOBRA CULT (RIPPED OFF HYDRA)

Where would we be without Marvel legend, Jack Kirby? The man is responsible for many of our favorite superheroes and many classic interpretations of the beloved characters we know today. he's also responsible for this ripoff of his own work, the Kobra Cult.

It's strange how similar Kobra are to HYDRA, another group of fanatics with a plot for world domination. The cult is a little less military and more creepy and mystical, but other than that the two are nearly identical. The color schemes and serpentine logos don't exactly help things either. Who knows, maybe Kirby was just having a dry spell?

11 THE OWL (RIPPED OFF THE PENGUIN)

At this point, you've probably managed to figure out that Marvel and DC like to take turns pulling bits and pieces from one another to make more characters. Marvel's Owl, simply put, is a smarter version of DC's Penguin. He's a corrupt businessman with avian features and a tendency to behave like the bird that shares his namesake. Does that ring any bells?

Oswald Cobblepot might be Gotham's most grotesque socialite, but Leland Owlsley is just as foul (no pun intended). He eats small rodents and birds bones and all, has a hollow skeleton which allows him to fly, and there are the Wolverine-esque talons he sports on his fists. An odd bird, but a bird nonetheless.

10 ULTRON (RIPPED OFF BRAINIAC)

Now we're getting into some big names in the bad guy department. Yes, you could make the argument that there are loads of rogue AI in various forms of fiction, but there's only two as deadly as these guys are in the world of comic books. No matter which one you favor, both are some of the most malicious machines ever designed.

Both Ultron and Brainiac want to consume the planet with their technological terror, but Brainiac is the older model of the two. He's been duking it out with Superman long before Pym put Ultron to paper. Ultron might be the more popular of the two, but Brainiac's been playing his mind games a decade longer.

9 BLACK CAT (RIPPED OFF CATWOMAN)

Here's a ferocious feline that's been taking lessons from another black-clad cat enthusiast. It's almost criminal how much Felicia Hardy steals from Selena Kyle. Both famous amazing ladies have a thing for black leather and seducing their superhero adversaries. But it's not just a game of who-does-it-better.

Both thieving felines are cemented in the hearts of comic book fans everywhere, but Catwoman steals the crown. They might have similar designs, costumes, and appetites for jewelry, but only one can be the original cat-burglar. Felicia is fine and frisky, but she puts the cat in copy-cat.

8 CANDLEJACK (RIPPED OFF SCARECROW)

Ah, Freakazoid, absolutely one of the funniest TV shows in superhero history. This show pulled all sorts of jabs at comic book cliches. From suped-up cars to tight spandex suits, Freakazoid paid homage to them all. However, there were a few characters who toed the line between homage and total ripoff. Candlejack was one such character.

Candlejack, a ghostly boogeyman type character akin to Beetlejuice or Bloody Mary, is a more than obvious ripoff of the Scarecrow. This Tim Burton knockoff wears a burlap mask and scares the daylights out of his victims. No toxin required, but we can't look at this guy without thinking Scarecrow, intentionally or not.

7 MR. FREEZE (RIPPED OFF CAPTAIN COLD)

Now here's one that really caught us off guard. As hard as it is to believe, the chilling Mr. Freeze is actually a ripoff of the less popular Captain Cold from the Flash's series of comics. With the frosty motif and ice-gun weaponry, you'd think it was Cold who ripped off the more well-known Mr. Freeze, but nope. Captain Cold premiered two years prior to his chilling counterpart.

It could be said that Mr. Freeze improved on the frozen formula and Captain Cold created it, but it's plain to see who's the more well known of the two. Captain Cold has made a comeback in recent years but has a lot of catching up to do. Hopefully, he'll receive a warmer reception.

6 JACK O' LANTERN (RIPPED OFF THE GREEN GOBLIN)

Jack O' Lantern is a blatant and painfully obvious rip off of the Green Goblin, but a fascinating one too. He's got the green tights, the glider (later changed to a rocketing broomstick), and the Halloween-themed weaponry, all he needs is a purple cap and pointy ears. Arriving in 1981, this guy was super late to the Goblin game.

There have been a handful of characters to take the Jack O' Lantern name, but the most well-known version is a master assassin who carves the heads of his victims as a calling card. This Grizzly ghoul has tangoed with the likes of Captain America, Venom, and Deadpool, so he is certainly no small feat for these heroes. All we can say is, eat your heart out Michale Myers.

5 JESTER (RIPPED OFF THE JOKER)

Come on, Marvel, you weren't even trying on this one. The Jester is a purple and green clown-inspired villain with a mission of mayhem. Gee, who on Earth-616 could that be? Joking aside, it's incredibly obvious to see that Jonathan Powers is inspired by Gotham's Clown Prince of Crime, the Joker.

The Jester is a failed Broadway actor who uses weaponized gags and toys to commit his crimes, sounds too familiar to us. Both he and the joker go up against a shadowy, pointy masked vigilante in a scary city. But, of course, it was the Joker who laid first claims to the role before the Jester appeared in 1968's Daredevil #42. This guy gives new meaning to the term "old joke."

4 KILLER CROC (RIPPED OFF THE LIZARD)

Next, we have two reptilian rogues who are completely different ends of the spectrum, yet are a bit too incredibly similar. Killer Croc and The Lizard are two sinister sets of scales that terrorize their respected cities only to be thwarted by their mask-wearing adversaries. Both have green skin and carnivorous appetites, but they are separated by one major difference.

The Lizard/Kurt Connors became the mindless man-eater after a chemical experiment and shows reluctance in his evil alter-ego. Waylon Jones/Killer Croc was born a mutant and simply accepted the monstrous role cast upon him. Going with the scarier route, DC took the basic concept of The Lizard and made him less sympathetic. Though Marvel's was the original, we can't deny who is the scarier monster.

3 THANOS (RIPPED OFF DARKSIED)

Again, the great Jack Kirby makes our list. This time, however, it seems Kirby's character for DC inspired one for Marvel. In terms of basic design, Thanos is just Darkseid painted a different color. Both are evil cosmic deities who seek to rule the galaxy and both certainly have some prominent chins.

Though the mad titan is the more favored, it was Darkseid who arrived first but only by a couple of years. As Darkseid battled the Justice Leauge, Thanos was arguably the biggest threat the Avengers ever faced. Even today, the two are still compared and contrasted amongst fans, but the green man from Apokalips is the true original.

2 PADDYWHACK (RIPPED OFF PENNYWISE)

Walt Disney Studios and Stephen King are not two names you often see together, but Disney's Darkwing Duck featured a very creepy villain inspired by King's most iconic monster. The show was a satirization of superhero cliches and tropes, but it had one of the most chilling enemies for a kids' show.

Paddywhack is a demon clown imprisoned in a jack-in-the-box who takes more than a few stabs from Pennywise of Stephen King's It. Instead of feeding on people's fear, Paddywhack feeds off of embarrassment and misery. With a buttoned clown suit and a mock-Tim Curry voice, it seems Disney's twisted clown certainly learned from the master. This piece of artwork was done by ToonGamer23.

1 RED HOOD (RIPPED OFF OF WINTER SOLDIER)

No, we're not talking about the former alter-ego of Jack Napier who would later become the Joker, but the violent vigilante that was once Jason Todd. The former Robin assumed the mantle of the Red Hood after coming back from the dead in New Earth.  This is one of the more recent developments in the Batman saga, but it takes away from another fallen sidekick from the Marvel universe.

Both characters are former sidekicks of the lead superhero with a frayed relationship, and both have an affinity for leather and masks. Jason Todd didn't return till 1987, but Bucky Barnes was brainwashed into the Winter Soldier decades earlier. A latecomer, but one that has us seeing red and loving it.