body power
Duplication
Also called Self-Replication, Cloning, Multiplication
Duplication is the creation of copies of oneself. The question that sets the power level is what the copies are: fragile projections that pop on contact, or full independent bodies that can learn, act and report back — the second turns a single character into an army and a research team.
How it works
Projections are constructs. They fight but hold no memory and are usually destroyed by a single hit.
True duplicates are independent bodies. The decisive question is whether experience returns to the original. Naruto's shadow clones do — which is why the technique is written as a training accelerator as much as a combat move, and is the single best-designed duplication power in fiction.
Divided duplication splits a fixed pool of power or mass, so more copies means weaker copies. That is the honest version and the rarest.
The recurring cost is identity. Multiple Man's long-running problem is not that duplicates die, it is that reabsorbing them changes who he is.
How it scales
- Projection
Constructs that act but retain nothing.
- Independent
Full bodies acting autonomously.
- Memory-returning
Experience flows back to the original on dispersal.
- Divided
A fixed pool split between copies — more means weaker.
Who has duplication
Across 3 universes. This list crosses publishers — something no single wiki can do, because every franchise keeps its own separate database.
| Character | Universe | Franchise | Feats |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multiple Man | Marvel | Marvel Comics | 5 |
| Duplicate Boy | DC | DC Comics | 3 |
| Triplicate Girl | DC | DC Comics | 6 |
| Kakashi Hatake | Anime & Manga | Naruto | 3 |
| Naruto Uzumaki | Anime & Manga | Naruto | 4 |
| Zetsu | Anime & Manga | Naruto | 2 |
The feat ledger
Every entry cites the work it comes from. Feat means it was shown in the work; Statement means a character or narrator said it. Nothing here is a fan estimate unless it is tagged Calc.
Multiple Man — Produces an independent duplicate on physical impact, each carrying a facet of his personality that returns when reabsorbed
Naruto Uzumaki — Shadow clones return their memories and experience to the original on dispersal, making the technique a training multiplier
Triplicate Girl — Splits into three separate bodies, each with a distinct personality
Kakashi Hatake — Uses shadow clones both as decoys and to divide labour on a single task
Duplicate Boy — Copies one power at a time from anyone within range
Naruto Uzumaki — Creates solid shadow clones capable of independent action and training
Naruto Uzumaki — Clone experience returns to the original, which is how he trains at speed
Naruto Uzumaki — Produces clones in the thousands rather than a handful
Kakashi Hatake — Shadow clones let him scout and fight simultaneously
Kakashi Hatake — Clone use is limited by chakra reserves, his stated weakness
Zetsu — Produces spore clones that fight independently
Zetsu — The clones share his ability to merge with plant life
Duplicate Boy — Switches between copied powers rather than holding several at once
Duplicate Boy — The one-at-a-time limit is what keeps an unlimited copier beatable
Triplicate Girl — Splits into three separate bodies, each fully independent
Triplicate Girl — The three share memory when they recombine, so nothing is lost
Triplicate Girl — One body is killed permanently, after which she becomes Duo Damsel
Triplicate Girl — Native to Cargg, where the whole population splits — it is not a unique power
Triplicate Girl — Each body can act at a different location simultaneously
Multiple Man — Creates duplicates on physical impact, including from his own movement
Multiple Man — Duplicates express separate facets of his personality rather than being identical
Multiple Man — Reabsorbs a duplicate and gains everything it learned
Multiple Man — Sends duplicates away for years to acquire skills, then reabsorbs them
Limits
- Copies usually share one energy or chakra pool.
- Memory return is the exception, not the rule.
- Duplicates are often far more fragile than the original.
- Reabsorption can carry psychological damage back with it.
Counters
- Area attacks that clear many copies at once.
- Identifying the original — most systems leak a tell.
- Exhausting the shared pool the copies draw on.
Questions
Why are shadow clones considered so strong?
Because experience returns. A shadow clone's memories flow back to Naruto when it disperses, which turns the technique into a training multiplier as well as a combat tactic — most duplication powers give you bodies, this one gives you time.
Last updated 2026-09-06 · machine-readable version