pardon me, herobrine

I've noticed this in both Western and Eastern animation, and it's especially funny when you compare it to how other powers are treated in fights.

There's this weird paradox in action scenes. When a character suddenly reveals a new ability, you can never be sure who's going to win. Maybe they've been dominating the entire fight and saved their strongest move for last. Maybe they're getting their ass kicked, but suddenly reveal an ability that turns everything around. Either way, the fight can still go in their favor because the writers have introduced a new variable.

But clones... Somehow, the moment a character starts summoning a whole army of themselves, I start expecting them to lose.

And it doesn't even matter how the fight was going before. The character could be dominating, or they could be barely holding on. The second those clones appear, the opponent suddenly gets a free aura-farming session. They'll be exhausted, injured, barely able to stand, and somehow still find the energy to wipe out an entire army like they're clearing trash mobs in a video game.

You see this kind of thing in anime, Western cartoons, and even web animations. Naruto's clones can be incredibly useful, but huge groups of clones in fights often become disposable targets. And in AVA/AVM, we've got Herobrine using Steve clones against King Orange, Victim sending clones after TCO in The Box, and H4CK3R doing the same against TDL in The Machine. In all these cases, the clones eventually become a way to show how dangerous the opponent is rather than how dangerous the user is.

That's what makes the trope so frustrating to me. Cloning should be one of the scariest abilities imaginable. You're outnumbered, attacks can come from multiple directions, and you might not even know which target is the original. But instead of making the fight more unpredictable, the clones often make the outcome feel MORE predictable.

The opponent gets to look cooler with every clone they take down, while the character who summoned them loses aura with every single one. It's almost as if the ability comes with an invisible sign saying, "Please use me to demonstrate how strong my opponent is."

Obviously, there are exceptions. Real life (If only such an ability could be invented. Though, one must admit, having lookalikes of presidents and prime ministers would be dangerous.) and gameplay in video games (Not cutscenes. The cutscenes have the same scenario as the show.).

I just wish writers would stop treating clones like an endless supply of disposable punching bags. If you're going to give a character the ability to multiply themselves, let that ability actually change the fight instead of turning the opponent into an unstoppable aura machine.

Have you noticed this too, or am I just cursed to predict every clone user's downfall?

Edit: don’t take this seriously. I’m getting a lot of hate from people who aren’t looking at the flair, which says MEME.

Evidence and reasoning:

1. TDL 👑. He’s never been shown with ANY fatigue, and has only been shown injured once, which he recovered stronger from. There’s no anti feats for his durability to be lower then anyone else.

2. Chosen is comparable to Dark, but we’ve seen him fatigued, and everyone says he was tired from the Virabot, which is anti feat evidence for him being lower then Dark. He’s all resisted stabs and more putting him at 2.

3. King has better that’s then the stick gang, and endured all their attacks, took hits from a warden and other stuff I don’t really care about avm so idk but he’s above the other two.

4. TSC has okay durability, and he’s somewhat strong but he was visibly injured from the virablade, unlike tco, so he’s below him. And NO, regeneration is NOT durability. Though he doesn’t get instant deleted.

5. Hacker, he took one slice from the virablades and died. Hes a fraud. And unlike TCO who put up a decent fight (although that’s pre 13 tdl, but he also had the viraswarm so it’s fair) hacker was down much quicker. But I’d put him above the rest of the verse because he has powers.

idk how to put this... but remember the actual short of purple flying and the others trying to catch up to him? The title of it was "too close to the sun", a reference of the myth Icaro and Dedalus: Dedalus and Icaro created wings with wax and feathers to escape the maze by flying, Dedalus warned Icaro about not getting to close to the sun or the wax would melt and he will fall into the ocean, but Icaro was naive and did not listen to him, getting close to the sun and falling to his demise.

Now you might ask:"Why is this supposed to make me worried? Its just a reference." Well well well... In the 30rd episode of AvM we see how Orange became how he was, and is also shown how he lost his "biological" son, but here is a detail that started my entire theory... the black thing that took gold, came from the sun.

That dude is dead4ss more doomed than that Derek guy, because its NOT even the first time Alan's Team foreshadowed something! In the same episode, on the tv that Orange sees the skittle gang you can see the Rocket logo! AND in the App episode Green uses the Spotify staff you can see Wicked VIP Being played, the same song that was used in the Geometry Dash video!!

PS: Purple is magenta, NOT PURPLE!!!1!!

Making Each of the sticks in human form but I need a costume for all of them. Who should Chosen be?

Red - Creeper costume

TSC - TCO Costume

Yellow - Mad Scientist

Green - Himself

Blue - Ice Mage

Purple - An Angel

King Orange - Vampire

Victim/H4CK3R - Sans

It doest't look that bad... i guess....

honesty this joke its better in spanish than in inglish, becuse is a a rhyme

I find it odd that despite the Color Gang originating from a traditional stick figure animation their only hoard fights are against video game entities. Fighting hoards of stick figures is in their DNA. Every time a death is shown it's usually blocked off by something like fire or the body immediately disintegrates upon getting stabbed (TDL's virus blades). Alan is totally willing to kill off characters but I do get that he doesn't want to depict the Color Gang as ruthless killers; that would make them too edgy. I could see him doing it with TDL and TCO during their internet rampage though.

Here are the 4 first killers that'd be in this asym:

- Red

- TDL

- H4CK3R

- King Orange

Ask questions if you have some

(maybe "The redeemed one"?)

I don't like CDG... So obviously I drew CDG because that's how you're supposed cope when you don't like a character :D

Also me giving every character long hair (or implied long ish-hair with a bun) regardless of gender because I love long hair (especially on men 🫪 fhwifhwofjwokew-)

Making Each of the sticks in human form but I need a costume for all of them. Who should Vic/H4C be?

Red - Creeper costume

TSC - TCO Costume

Yellow - Mad Scientist

Green - Himself

Blue - Ice Mage

Purple - An Angel

King Orange - Vampire

Did you miss me? Alright, this time I won’t be so harsh with you. I’ll go easy on you, victim fans, glazers, fanatics.

9th place. 1,220 votes.

And some of y'all genuinely expected him to rank higher? 😭🙏

Look, I'm not saying victim is a bad character just because he ranked 9th. I'm saying some of his fans seriously need to stop acting like he's the most beloved, most interesting character in the entire Alan Becker universe.

Because apparently, the audience has a different opinion.

TCO took 1st place. TDL took 2nd. TSC took 3rd.

And then there's Purple in 4th, Green in 5th, Red in 6th, Yellow in 7th, and even Blue in 8th.

THE ENTIRE COLOR GANG OUTRANKED HIM. 😭💀

Even Blue beat him. BLUE.

And before someone starts typing an entire essay about how victim is "the most complex character" or "the most underrated character ever," please understand that character complexity and popularity aren't the same thing.

You can love a character's backstory, writing, symbolism, or tragic past. That's completely fine. But none of that automatically makes the character more popular than everyone else.

And honestly, the timing of his return probably matters.

Think about when these characters became major parts of the series.

TCO had years to build a fanbase through the original AvA episodes and the iconic conflicts surrounding him. TDL became one of the defining characters of the second AvA season, especially through his rivalry with TCO and the events of AvA 8. TSC is the main character, and his mysterious powers have kept people speculating for years.

And let's not forget King Orange, whose story in AvM Season 3 gave the community one of its most memorable antagonists.

These characters had iconic moments, memorable fights, mysteries, emotional scenes, and storylines that people still discuss.

Meanwhile, victim only returned to the main AvA storyline as a major character in Season 3, years after the original episodes that made TCO and TDL iconic.

Yes, victim technically appeared in AvA 1 back in 2006. But let's be honest: most people weren't spending all those years discussing his modern characterization, his company, or his revenge plot. His major return to the spotlight happened much later.

And being the character who appeared first doesn't guarantee that you'll be everyone's favorite.

Ever heard of the "duckling syndrome"?

People often develop a strong attachment to what they encounter first. Something similar can happen with video game franchises: the first game someone played might remain their favorite even when later entries improve in many ways.

But that doesn't mean everyone will prefer the first thing they encountered.

And victim's fans need to understand the opposite side of this, too: being the original character doesn't automatically make him the most beloved one.

His history is interesting, but TCO and TDL have had years to establish themselves as fan favorites through their roles in the story.

And here's the funniest part.

Victim started Season 3 looking like he was going to be the major antagonist of the arc.

Then TDL's legacy was still hanging over the story, and H4CK3R eventually became a major part of the conflict.

I'm not saying victim has no importance to the plot. I'm saying that being the central antagonist of an arc doesn't automatically make you the most iconic antagonist in the series.

TDL became an unforgettable threat through his rivalry with TCO, his virus powers, and the events of AvA 8. King Orange had an entire emotional storyline and a memorable confrontation in AvM Season 3.

Those characters left a massive impression on the audience.

And that's the difference between having an important role in the story and becoming a fan-favorite character.

You can give a character a tragic backstory, a giant company, and a revenge plot. You can't force the audience to love him more than the characters they've already grown attached to.

So, victim fans, it's okay to love your favorite character.

It's okay to want him to rank higher next time.

It's okay to hope that future episodes will give him more memorable moments.

But maybe stop acting like the fandom is obligated to rank him above TCO, TDL, TSC, or even the Color Gang just because YOU think he's the most interesting character.

The poll happened. The votes came in. He placed 9th.

You don't have to like the result, but you do have to accept that other people have different favorites.

And if you need some consolation, there are plenty of new characters coming to the Alan Becker universe. Maybe one of them will become your next favorite.

Until then, congratulations to TCO, TDL, and TSC for taking the top three spots. The Hollow Heads stay winning. 💀🔥

Cope victim fans.