Clones (trope)

For other meanings of the word, see clone

Tropes and genres
Synonym(s)	Doppelganger
Related tropes/genres	Clonecest, Evil Twin, Same-Actor Crossover, Shapeshifting
See also	Cloning Blues, Robots, Twincest
Related articles on Fanlore.

Spoiler Warning: This article or section may contain spoilers. If this bothers you, proceed with caution.

Clones are a common trope that frequently appears in fanworks as well as canons, especially science fiction ones.

Clones are usually identical, although sometimes they are of the opposite gender.

Some practical considerations tend to be ignored in most uses of this trope; most notably, a new clone should be a newborn baby, not an adult, and should not have the original person's skills or personality. This is usually hand-waved away by references to brain scanning, artificial ageing, etc. There might also be problems with replication errors, where the copy is not a perfect duplicate of the original.

In fanfic cloning is often used as a fix-it to bring back characters who have been killed. This is especially common in Stargate: SG-1 (and crossovers with the series) where the Asgard Loki studied humans by abducting them and replacing them with short-lived clones, swapping them back after a few days. If the clone is killed during this period the original person would presumably survive. The legal consequences affecting e.g. inheritance, ownership of property, etc. are rarely explored.

Fandoms with Canonical Clones

Some fandoms where clones are canon:

• Battlestar Galactica: Sharon "Boomer" Valerii. In general, Cylons appear to be clones of a few basic models
• Blake's 7: The clone of Roj Blake appears in Weapon episode. Auronar also practice cloning, and Cally has at least one clone sister.
• The Boys From Brazil: Cloning Nazis.
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Dawn Summers is magically cloned or otherwise created from Buffy Summers.
• Clone High: Set in a high school populated by clones of historical figures.
• Professional Wrestling promotion CHIKARA has "Juke Joint" Lucas Calhoun, Jeremy Leary and Professor Nicodemus' The Proteus Wheel.
• Danny Phantom: Dani Phantom is the female clone of Danny.
• Doctor Who: Jenny (sorta). Meta-Crisis Tenth Doctor
• Gargoyles: Thailog
• Horizon Zero Dawn
• The Island: clones as organ donors.
• Jurassic Park: The first-generation dinosaurs are essentially clones made by injecting fossil DNA into amphibian eggs.
• Kim Possible: Dr. Drakken creates an army of duplicates of Kim, Ron, and Bonnie.
• Kyle XY: Kyle and Jessie are clones.
• Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman: clones of Superman, Lois Lane & Lex Luthor feature, along with many other clones. In one episode Clark explains surviving his apparent murder (which failed because of his powers) by claiming to be a clone of the original Clark.
• Never Let Me Go: clones as organ donors.
• Neon Genesis Evangelion: Rei Ayanami is a clone.
• Orphan Black
• Roswell: Michael, Max, Isabel, and Tess are revealed to be the half-human/half-alien hybrid clones of Rath, Zan, Vilandra, and Ava.
• Smallville: Conner Kent again.
• Spider-Man: Peter Parker had his own Clone Saga. In the Ultimate Marvel, Spider-Woman Jessica Drew is revealed to be Parker's clone.
• Stargate SG-1: The Asgard are all clones, incapable of normal reproduction due to replication errors, and the Asgard Loki cloned Jack O'Neill while studying his genetics, replacing him with an apparent teenager.
• Stargate Atlantis
• Star Trek: Cloning is a common technology; Tom Riker is a clone of William Riker.
• Star Wars: The Clone Saga.
• Stellar Firma: Main character David 7 is a clone.
• Superman: Kon-El (aka Conner Kent/Superboy) is the clone of Superman and Lex Luthor. Some versions of Bizarro are imperfect clones of Superman. Other clones of Superman include the "Nuclear Man" from Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987) and numerous copies grown by Luthor in the animated Superman: Doomsday (2007).
• Vorkosigan Saga: Cloning is a common technology; clones are used as body donors but this use is illegal on most worlds. Mark is a clone of Miles Vorkosigan.
• Wolf 359
• X-Men: Jean Grey was cloned and resulted in Madelyne Pryor. Stryfe is a clone of Cable. Stepford Cuckoos were revealed to be clones of Emma Frost. X-23 is the clone of Wolverine. Jamie Madrox's mutant ability gave him the power to create clones of himself.

Clones in Fanworks

Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples.

• Kindred Instruments by Ollipop. Vorkosigan Saga. Examines the ethics of the cloning industry on Jackson Whole through the eyes of Lotus Durona, the "evil clone" of her large clone family (2013)
• The Secret Return of Alex Mack. Multiple fandoms. Cloning and related genetic engineering techniques are very important in later parts of this story. (2012-14)
• A Disambiguation of Elaines by Raspberryhunter. Arthurian Legend. Science Fiction AU that explains the proliferation of Elaines in canon as clones (2014)
• More Jean Grey, Less Wolverine by Jedi Buttercup (jedibuttercup). Buffy/Stargate: SG-1. A good example of cloning as a fix-it.
• Kindred Series by Aimster. Hanson. Taylor finds out that he is one of a series of clones, and that the agency who cloned them is not the only group who would like to have them all. (2016-present)
• The Sidewalk Has Ended by Ahestele. Hanson. Told from the perspective of an Isaac clone living in a biotechnology facility's massive compound. (2007)
• Foreshadows by Paula Block and Judi Hendricks was the very first Star Wars clone story, and it was very controversial (1980)