Evil twins in fantasy literature
The “evil twin” is one of the oldest tropes of fantasy literature. There’s just something appealing about the idea of the hero having to face a darker version of himselfand sometimes finding out that he’s not actually the hero after all. One of the earliest examples of the “evil twin” in fantasy literature is in Beowulf, where the monsters are considered to be “reflections” of the evil aspects of the hero.In modern fantasy, evil twins can result from a variety of situations. They can come from different dimensions, or be the result of a spell gone wrong. Both of these, in fact, are featured in Clive Barker’s epic fantasy novel Imajica. Even though the evil twin has been around for ages, a good evil twin story can still be wildly entertaining and imaginativeso long as the author knows what he or she is doing. In other cases, pulling out the “evil twin” card can be a recipe for disaster.Evil twins also have also appeared in comic books from an early stage. Bizarro, a deformed evil version of Superboy, later became a frequent “evil twin” villain of Superman. Wonder Woman 175 (1968) explicitly featured the term “evil twin” on the cover. When Earth-Three first appeared in 1964, it was revealed as a world populated with villainous versions of DC comics heroes.In some cases, the concepts of the evil twin and the doppelganger have been used interchangeably. Doppelgangers are rarely actually related to the person in question, but the term “evil twin” has grown to be used rather loosely as well. However, the doppelganger usually includes an additional mystic overtone: seeing your own doppelganger is considered to be an omen of death.Obviously, it can be very important to learn how to recognize an evil twin from a good version. In classic fantasy and science fiction examples, such as the “Mirror, Mirror” episode of Star Trek: The Original Series, the “evil” or non-main-character twin is denoted by distinguishing physical characteristics. The most famous example is the goatee, which appeared in the Star Trek episode and many other contexts, and has often been referenced in parodies. In the animated science fiction series Futurama, for example, Flexo (“evil twin” of the robotic star Bender) is shown with a goatee.Fantasy doesn’t have a monopoly on evil twins. You’ll also find these characters lurking in steamy social operas, intricate whodunits, and even westerns (see Maverick and The Rifleman for examples). Crafty IT guys have even coined the phrase to describe a faked Wireless Access Point (WAP) used for phishing purposes.What should you do if you find out you have an evil twin? Well, in that case, that time a friend saw you buying a ticket for one to see The Princess Diaries, or grazing chocolate chips from the bins at the supermarket? Blame it on the twinunless, of course, you are the evil twin.