The Top-10 Best Evil Twins in Pop Culture History
Did any of you see the first episode of “Ringer” last week? That new show where Sarah Michelle Gellar plays a pair of twins? One is an ex-stripper and recovering addict with a heart of gold and the other is a bitter, rich New York ice queen? Yeah. I saw it. Yeah. I didn’t like it either.
It’s a tradition going back as early as the doppelgänger from German folklore. We all have a shade, if you will. Another living self. A monster, wandering the landscape, possessed of all our most negative tendencies, doing harm in our name, and looking exactly like us. This creature taps into our deepest guilty fears, in that we may be blamed for sins that we didn’t commit, but it also serves a Jungian function, serving as our own evil halves. The doppelgänger is the same as we are, only behaving in a slightly more antisocial fashion. The Evil Twin goes back centuries.
Thanks to cartoons and comic books, though, the notion of the Evil Twin has permeated our consciousness to this very day, and not a cartoon show can broadcast, or a superhero comic be written without the old saw of the Evil Twin being hauled out of the mothballs. It’s such a common story conceit, in fact, that a lot of comic book fans begin to tire of it early on. As Earthworm Jim once said “Superheroes and evil twins go together like peanut butter and evil peanut butter.”
I’ve always kinda liked the notion of the evil twin, though, if only for aesthetic balance; it was fun to see Superman fight a weirdo version of himself, putting to rest the hyperactive little boy questions that demanded to know what would happen if Our Hero met his equal.
In honor of your own dark half (and, no, I will make no further references to the George Romero film “The Dark Half”), I have brainstormed up the following list of the ten best evil twins in pop culture. Read it and be amused.
10) Venom
From “Spider-Man” comics, starting in 1988
Venom gets a low spot on this list, as he is (and I know I’m going to get a lot of heat for this) not technically an evil twin. I read the comics regarding his origin, so I do know that Venom is actually an intelligent blob of black alien goop that psychically bonds with its host, and can change shape to look like clothing. It first latched onto Peter Parker, and shifted into a wicked-looking black Spider-Man costume. It later, I guess fond of the Spider-Man costume look, latched onto a muscly jock named Eddie Brock, and changed its name to Venom. So yes. Same alien blob, two different people. No twins involved, right?
Some reflection, though, has me considering that Venom, in terms of his dramatic function, served as an Evil Twin. On the one hand, we had a good-hearted Spider-Man, wearing red, white and blue, fighting for justice. On the other, we had a begin that looked almost exactly like Spider-Man, only back, twisted and evil (and later, given a huge lolling tongue, a jaw that looked like a cash register drawer, and a huge set of horrifying fangs. It seems to me that the alien suit thing (which first turned up in “Secret Wars”) was an excuse to make an Evil Twin for Spider-Man. Seeing as how well Venom has permeated the comic book readers’ consciousnesses, I’d say his creators succeeded.
Much more than that silly clone story, anyway.
9) NegaDuck
From “Darkwing Duck” (1991 – 1992)
There was a brief renaissance of Disney television animation in the early 1990s, wherein their hugely powerful animation studio, celebrating the windfall of money that came in with “The Little Mermaid” began to produce regular original programming. The shows were not necessarily incredibly well-written, often falling into the usual traps of bland sitcom writing, but they were a sight better than the horrors of the toy-obsessed late ‘80s garbage I was raised on (“Alvin and the Chipmunks” anyone?). What’s more, they were incredibly well-animated, raising the bar for what could be done with TV animation. Their first big hit of this time was clearly “Duck Tales”, although my favorite, and the favorite of many of my peers, was 1991’s “Darkwing Duck”, a superhero comedy show – perhaps a sendup of Batman – with anthropomorphic animals.
Darkwing Duck himself was kind of a goofy blowhard with only dubious crimefighting skills. He was more concerned with his image as a spooky spectre than he was with superhero efficiency. He did, however, still have an irrepressible righteous streak that continually forced him back out into the streets of his beloved St. Canard. It was that righteousness that got him into trouble when he was hit by an electrical ray, which reversed the polarity of his body, and created NegaDuck. NegaDuck was a horrible asshole who was so devoted to killing and hurting people that he formed a supervillain team. In a goofy and funny show with animal people, Negaduck seemed like a real-world asshole counterbalance. And that’s what an evil twin ought to be.
8) Gabriel YuLaw
From “The One” (2001)
A crazy sci-fi setup if ever there was one, James Wong’s largely forgotten 2001 film is clearly a champion of far-fetched ideas. Here’s the setup: There are a finite number of alternate universes, each containing a double of everyone here on Earth. There is also a finite amount of “power” to go about any given person across several dimensions, meaning each are equally strong. If a double dies in an alternate universe, their power is even distributed amongst the survivors in the other dimensions.
How Gabriel YuLaw figures out all these mechanics is beyond me, but, being the evil fellow that he is, has decided to take advantage of this setup, and has hijacked a dimension-hopping device that allows him to easily move from one universe to the next. His plan? Kill all of his doubles until he is the last man standing, and, hence, the strongest man of all. In terms of a kung-u movie setup, this is structured like any; fight increasingly strong opponents until you win the day. But that each of his opponents are his exact double only makes the setup seem a little bugnutty. Oh, and did I mention that Gabriel and all his doubles are played by Chinese fight master Jet Li? Yeah, an evil Jet Li clone, growing increasingly strong, is out to kill his twins. If that’s not an Evil Twin, I don’t know what is.
7) Evil Mark Twain
From “The Adventures of Mark Twain” (1986)
I know this one is obscure, but I include it for my own personal nostalgic reasons. In the mid-1980s, I was fascinated with stop-motion animation, loved Will Vinton’s TV commercials, and was one of the snotty kids a school who tried to get people to distinguish between any old stop-motion animation, and the trademarked ClaymationTM. So imagine my joy when I started seeing TV spots for a Will Vinton feature film about the film of Mark Twain. The VHS tape I used to capture this broadcast got quite the workout.
The film, if you haven’t seen it, is a surprisingly dark and surreal look at the life and works of Mark Twain (voiced by James Whitmore), who, on the eve of his 74th birthday, chose, bafflingly, to board a homemade, space-worthy zeppelin, and fly into the heart of Halley’s Comet. In this universe, Huck Finn, Tom Sawyer, and Becky Thatcher were real children, and they decided to stow away on the balloon. The trip into space to find the comet is rife with odd asides, including the story of Adam and Eve, and a truly nightmare-inducing sequence involving a retelling of Twain’s The Mysterious Stranger. As the adventures progress, we learn that there is another stowaway on the balloon in the form of a black-clad adult whose face we never see.
At the end of the film it is revealed that this mysterious stowaway is also Mark Twain, but in his more depressed moods. Twain, you see, was often a folksy champion of easily acquired wisdom, but could also write some pretty grim stories. “The Adventures of Mark Twain posits that the author was actually two men. This is a neat idea, and kind of scary to think about. Plus, it’s amusingly bonkers. Evil Mark Twain.
6) Lore
From “Star Trek: The Next Generation” (1987 – 1994)
The various “Star Trek” iterations have had more evil twins and devious doubles than, I assume, any other notable pop culture tentpole. Indeed, and I hope you don’t cry foul on this one, but this won’t be the last time I bring up “Star Trek” on this list. There have been alternate universes, transporter accidents that split a personality, transporter accidents that created a clone, outright biological clones, and, most notably in the “Next Generation” universe, an evil android twin brother to the Enterprise’s Data.
Lore was built before Data by a crazed, android-obsessed engineer named Noonien Soong. Data, as we learned over the course of the series, was capable of experiencing emotions, but was never installed with a proper emotions chip, leaving him stone-faced and inquisitive, but un-passionate. Lore, on the other hand, was installed with emotional processors right away, and, seeing as he was kind of an early, imperfect model, developed emotional problems as a result. It was as if Soong forgot to program in Asimov’s laws of robotics when putting together his plastic man. Lore, as a result, was a megalomaniacal bully who would gleefully sacrifice living beings, and mock them openly for their inferiority. While the ancient Evil Twin conceit was being openly exploited by the show’s writers, Lore managed to come alive thanks to the performance of the very good Brent Spiner, who turned the usually placid Data into a raging jerk.
I like ‘im.
5) Robot Bill and Ted
From “Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey” (1991)
Most of us have seen “Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure,” and, if you were like me, fell in love with the goofballs at its center. Who wouldn’t want to be a California surfer dude with access to a time machine, and enough joyful cluelessness to have a simple chat with Socrates? Also, you get to be the eventual New Messiahs of humanity, by forming the world’s most important rock group, and inspiring the masses. Those metalhead losers you knew in high school are destined to be our saviors. That’s pretty funny.
When the sequel came ‘round in 1991, the filmmakers decided to make the events of the first film, admittedly weird to begin with, take a skew toward the outright nightmarish. In the sequel Bill (Alex Winter) and Ted (Keanu Reeves) find themselves confronting evil robot doubles of themselves, and actually dying and going to Hell. They also go to heaven to resurrect a pair of Martian engineers to help them build good robot counterparts to battle the evil robots. They also, like in “The Seventh Seal” play games with Death (William Sadler), only, being the ‘80s slackers they are, eschew chess for games like Twister and Electric Football. If a question mark appeared above your head in those last three sentences, don’t fret. I happened to a lot of us.
The evil robots, though, were mean sumbitches. They had creepy robot faces under their rubber masks, and took a little too much pleasure in causing harm. Indeed, by actually murdering Bill and Ted, they immediately added a dark edge to a movie that promised to be light. Good job guys. You turned the series uncomfortably dark. Evil Twins. Gotta hate ‘em.
4) Mechagodzilla
From “Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla” (1974)
Godzilla’s allegiance to the human race has always been a bit dodgy. When he first appeared in 1954, he was an unstoppable, mindless animal who stormed cities, did untold destruction, and was eventually (presumably) killed by the humans. Over the next few “Godzilla” films, however, Godzilla was revealed to be only one of many gigantic monsters plaguing the cities of Japan, and the giant whale gorilla had a change of heart, choosing to do battle with the interloping monsters, instead of merely stepping on buses and knocking over buildings. Occasionally Godzilla would relapse back into wanton destruction, but by 1974, our favorite monster was pretty much a good guy.
If one was an Ape-Man from another planet, and one wanted to invade an Earth that was populated by benevolent giant dinosaur creatures, well, we’d probably all do what the Ape-Men in “Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla” did: Create a gigantic robot clone of Godzilla to destroy all the monsters. Mechagodzilla presents a curious philosophical dilemma for Godzilla. Clearly you must do battle with the robot in order to protect the humans below, but surely this robot represents the very same mindless destruction you once stood for. Mechagodzilla is more than an evil twin for Godzilla. It’s a confrontation of his old ideals. I can’t imagine the existential crisis Godzilla must have gone through while breathing fire on a robot twin.
Also, Mechagodzilla is amazing and badass. That is all.
3) Bizarro
From the “Superman” and “Superboy” comics, starting in 1958
More than anything, I love the name. It’s so pleasantly dated, and, in a way, so innocent. He’s not evil. He’s not villainous. He’s not even destructive. He’s just bizarro. Bizarro’s author stated, very simply, that he wanted that old doppelgänger dynamic in place for Superman, so Bizarro’s costume is identical to Superman’s, and his hairdo is the same, only he has that craggy white skin. Bizarro, despite being a double for Superman, acted and thought a lot more like Frankenstein’s monster than a Superman villain. He spoke in broken English, and went through similar crises as Shelley’s creature. Sample dialogue: “Me not human! Me Unhappy! Me not belong in world of living people!” Which is almost identical to the creature’s dialogue at the end of “Bride of Frankenstein.” What a weird idea. Put Frankenstein’s monster in Superman’s costume, and see what happens.
As is the case with many comic book characters created decades ago, Bizarro has gone through several iterations, and even has several origin stories (He’s a clone in one, an evil robot in another, from another dimension in a third). If you’re fond of the character, I’m sure you have a favorite version, or one you consider to be “canon.” Me? Well, always the classicist, I’ll stick with the Bizarro made with the duplicating ray. That guy in “Smallville” can die in a corner. And that weird attempt to make a Bizarro in “Superman III?” Well, I think we’re all a little embarrassed by that.
2) Evil Ash
From “Army of Darkness” (1992)
You know what I love most about Evil Ash? We never really learn what the Hell he is. In the seminal cult experience, Sam Raimi’s “Army of Darkness,” easily his most fun film, Ash (Bruce Campbell), at one point, is confronted with dozens four-inch-high mischievous versions of himself, spawned from a broken mirror. One of the mini-Ashes, in order to torture Ash, dives down his throat, and does horrible things to him from the inside. To battle the creature, Ash drinks boiling water (!) causing the little duplicate to grow larger, spring out of Ash’s skin, and separate into a full-sized Evil Twin. Watching it in the movie makes it feel a lot more natural than my description. This Evil Twin, after a brief battle, is eventually subdued and cut into pieces with a chainsaw. He is then resurrected by an evil spell book, and gathers together a band of the undead to kill all the mortals. Again, in the film, it feels natural.
But we never learn where the little duplicates really came from, why they’re evil, or why this My-Size duplicate, now coated in scalded flesh, and wearing bone armor, has any hatred for Ash or living people. Our only line of explanation comes in the form of an introduction: “I’m Bad Ash, and you’re Good Ash.” Luckily, this weird setup is played for laughs, and, thanks to Campbell’s unending gameness and hugely strong sense of humor, the laughs come fast and furious. This is an Evil Twin that looks wicked and evil, but is silly, weird and fun.
1) Mirror Spock
From “Star Trek” (1967)
In what is probably the second most famous episode of “Star Trek” (following that one with all the Tribbles), our heroic crew finds themselves, thanks to a transporter accident, trapped in an alternate universe, where The Enterprise is a conquest vessel, and all the people aboard are selfish, violent warriors. Kirk, Uhura, McCoy and Scotty find themselves having to emulate their evil counterparts in order to avoid suspicion, avoid the Agony Booths, and restore themselves to their home universe.
And, of course, they have to contend with the intelligent machinations of Mirror Spock, the counterpart to their well-known Spock, but possessed of an evil streak, and, as we all known bearing the now-famous goatee. In terms of his function on the show, Mirror Spock is one of the finest. He has all the powers of the original, but is now in the service of something far less savory. His cold logic only serves to dominate. In terms of his place in the pop culture firmament, Mirror Spock is the clear winner. Indeed, his goatee has become so well-known, that it’s become shorthand for an “evil” character.
Mirror Witney Seibold lives in New York, where he eats buckets of raw meat, cusses a lot, and doesn’t give a fuck about movies. He also has a ‘blog called I Hate You with the Fiery Passion of a Thousand Suns, and a podcast called I Will Punch You in the Gut for Looking at Me Funny. He’s certainly no professor.
