The existence of clones is a heavily guarded and often denied secret by both those involved in cloning and the authorities themselves. Cloning is illegal and considered very unethical, even by Metrobay standards.

However, that stigma does not prevent many influential and intellectual individuals from attempting to experiment with the taboo subject.

A great deal of highly intelligent men and women, including Draven Ophidian, Feelix von Ick, and Max Indeks, have contributed to creating clones, all with varying degrees of success.

The earliest clones were created during the mid 20th century era by Draven Ophidian. He attempted to negotiate with the Nazis and create an army of mindless soldiers who would serve the Third Reich without question or hesitation. The clones were to have been based off of the Agent of D.E.S.I.R.E. spy Maven O’Riley, the future Valiant Girl, but Draven went back on his promise and left the process incomplete. However, many clones were created from his undercover aid, the British agent Emma Wickstaff, and these mindless clones obeyed Draven completely. They vanished near the end of the war, but they have reappeared in more recent times. Cloning was declared illegal soon after this first “failure” and the “O’Riley Agreement” law was passed, ordering clones to be destroyed.

The most prominent endeavor with cloning was orchestrated by Feelix von Ick and carried on by Max Indeks in an attempt to clone the “perfect” woman, a cavewoman frozen in Irridium that eventually became the superheroineValiant Woman. Unlike the Emma clones, the more recent clones were given false memories and mental conditioning parented after Valiant Woman in an attempt to give them greater ambition and resourcefulness. However, reconstructing her DNA proved to be highly difficult, costly, and laborious, and programming of complete obedience was uncertain. The only successful clone created was a genetically inferior clone that escaped the labs and was taken in by the Superherone Squad.

Further studies in cloning continued, with the infamous “Night of the Drones” serving as an elaborate distraction from Max Indeks’s true aims. Using the data collected by Sentius during the robotization process, APEX Labswas able to successfully obtain enough data to create a less powerful clone than their original creation, but one which ultimately would prove more compliant. They used the data of a civilian instead of a heroine so as not to draw too much attention.

Cloning continued in secret for many years. A man resembling Feelix von Ick began cloning in earnest during the future year 2169, going so far as to clone Draven Ophidian and several others. He even sought to clone a demonic being from another dimension, the succubus Lascivia.

Earliest clones were devoid of all thought and emotion, in essence serving as mindless automatons obeying any instructions. This left them without much versatility or motivation and the clones often were “burned out” through overuse and a lack of discretion. The later clones were given fabricated histories and personalities to give them more flexibility and intelligence, but this also possessed drawbacks as the clones often rejected their mental programming and established their own, unique identities and individuality. The most recent clones in the future was created with full knowledge of being clones, but contained their original intelligence.