The Sincerest Form of Flattery

Copying abilities is a common occurrence in the Castlevania series. Shanoa absorbs magical glyphs in order to steal powers her enemies. Charlotte, on the other hand, absorbs enemies into her spell book in order to study their techniques. Soma Cruz has them both beat, and is able to steal the souls and abilities from every enemy he encounters. Soma is not especially fond of his powers, but the souls he absorbs obey his every will. They support, protect, and even fight alongside him in various ways. Soma gains a new ability for every soul he absorbs, but they aren’t always proper emulations of his enemies’ techniques. It might be a bit of a stretch to label him as a copycat, but I figured Soma deserved a spot on this list nevertheless. Having hundreds of abilities at your command has got to count for something.

Dark Link is one of the most mysterious characters in the Zelda series. He was first seen in Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, where he served as the final hurdle between Link and the Triforce of Courage. After separating from Link’s body, Dark Link was able to perfectly mimic Link’s entire sword fighting repertoire. He was next seen as a mini-boss in Ocarina of Time and was once again able to emulate Link’s attacks. This version of Dark Link mimics Link’s idle animations and other actions as well. If Link throws on a pair of iron boots, for example, Dark Link will start moving as if he were wearing them as well. Despite appearing in several Zelda games, very little is known about Dark Link’s true origins. Regardless of his intentions, Dark Link pushes the young hero to his limits by turning his own strength against him.

Dural is the main antagonist of the Virtua Fighter series and appears as the final boss of the Arcade mode in each game. Her metallic appearance is an allusion to the T-1000 from Terminator 2 and is ultimately the result of a terrifying experiment that transformed her into an emotionless cyborg. Dural was known for her exemplary fighting ability, but various cybernetic enhancements gave her the ability to replicate multiple fighting styles. Instead of copying a single character, Dural’s moveset is comprised of maneuvers that were shamelessly lifted from several other fighters in the game. To put it in Dragon Ball terms, Dural is a copycat of the Cell variety more so than the Captain Ginyu type. Since Dural’s fighting style is an amalgamation of various moves, she is also able to string together unique combinations for massive damage.

Gogo is shrouded in strange clothing, keeps his(?) face covered with elaborate head gear, and seldom speaks. Since so little is known about him, Gogo is more or less defined entirely by his innate “mimic” ability that allows him to copy the last action an ally takes in battle. If one of his party members casts a spell, Gogo will be able to cast the same spell without expending any magic points. Likewise, if someone uses an item in battle, Gogo can re-use the item without further depleting the party’s inventory. Gogo is also given free reign to countless character-specific techniques. Sabin’s blitz maneuvers, Mog’s dances, and nearly everything in between can be emulated by Gogo without a hitch. He can’t use magic on his own, he dresses like a clown, and he probably smells like a hobo, but he’s the most iconic mime from the Final Fantasy universe.

Honoka made her debut in Dead or Alive: Last Round and became an instant fan favorite for a couple of very big reasons. The Dead or Alive series has always been notorious for its cast of top-heavy gals, and this is especially true in Honoka’s case. Despite being one of the smallest fighters in the series, she has the largest breasts. While her 39″ bustline is noteworthy on a superficial level, Honoka is listed here because of her secret ability to instantly learn any fighting move she sees. Her entire repertoire consists of moves copied from other fighters. Her small stature means that she doesn’t necessarily have the power or reach of the fighters she emulates, but her unique “Honoka Fu” fighting style gives her remarkable versatility. The ability to learn is an essential skill for any student to have, so it fits nicely with her schoolgirl gimmick.

Mokujin is a training dummy made from a 2000-year-old oak tree. For reasons that can never be adequately explained, he suddenly gained self-awareness and emerged to fight supernatural forces that threatened the world. His experiences as a training dummy have apparently given him the ability to mimic other fighting styles. Since he randomly changes his fighting style after each round, Mokujin is a very unpredictable opponent. He’s unable to speak and has no techniques of his own, but this makes him even more appropriate for this list. You have to appreciate the lengths he goes to emulates other fighters, and he even reproduces the pre-fight and win animations of whomever he is mimicking. Needless to say, it’s quite shocking to see an ancient oak dummy breakdancing or prancing around like a schoolgirl.

There are a number of shapeshifters in Mortal Kombat, but Shang Tsung is the only one who ever looked like that old Chinese dude from Gremlins. Despite his aged appearance, Shang Tsung proved to be a worthy nemesis as the final boss in the first Mortal Kombat. His ability to morph into other opponents at will allowed him to use all of their signature moves – including their fatality maneuvers! When not occupied with his shapeshifting shenanigans, Shang Tsung is likely plotting to steal souls. Incidentally, Mr. Tsung needs to absorbs the living souls of his rivals in order to maintain his power. Although his youth is eventually restored, Shang Tsung’s abilities are reduced somewhat. In early games, he was able to transform into any fighter on the roster, but he can only transform into his current opponent in more recent entries.

Ditto might looks like an nondescript blob, but it’s able to copy an enemy’s genetic code to instantly transform itself into a duplicate of them. It has no other notable fighting abilities beyond his transformation technique, but being able to reconstitute its entire cellular structure is quite the accomplishment. Ditto will get details wrong if he tries to copy from memory, and it has trouble maintaining the disguise if it’s made to laugh, but this is forgivable given how complicated the transformation process must be. If Ditto grows tired of copying moves from other Pokémon, he always has the option of making babies with them instead. I’m not sure if Ditto’s unique ability to breed with other species of Pokémon is miraculous or depraved, but it certainly deepens the dating pool. Ditto receives bonus points for having the most appropriate name for this list.

Kirby is basically defined by his copy ability. Beginning with Kirby’s Adventure, our beloved pink hero was bestowed with the ability to inhale his enemies and copy their techniques. This has allowed him to use hammers, swords, whips, yo-yos, and an assortment of other weapons, but that’s only the beginning. He’s transformed into stones and fireballs, he’s improved his jumping abilities, and he’s had a taste on what it’s like to be a UFO. The sheer variety of techniques he learns is staggering. In some cases, Kirby is able to combine multiple skills. If he absorbs electric and ice-based enemies at the same time, for instance, Kirby will transform into a refrigerator that attacks by launching food at enemies. Kirby typically takes on the physical appearance of his enemies after stealing their powers, and this adds insult to injury.

Mega Man was designed to be a lab assistant and was never intended to see battle. However, his uncanny ability to learn new techniques from other robots made him the ideal candidate to save the world from Dr. Wily’s armies. By defeating a robot master, Mega Man is able to take their powers. In essence, he becomes increasingly dangerous with each battle. His default arm cannon is adequate for many situations, but Mega Man has obtained nearly 100 specialized weapons during his adventures. We’ve seen him shoot flames, create shields, freeze time, spin like a top, manipulate gravity, and conjure up black holes that pull his enemies into other dimensions. Any attempts to catch Mega Man off guard with inventive weapons ultimately backfire, since he ultimately ends up obtaining the very weapons that were meant to destroy him.