1. Batman (Batman)
It sounds pretty sacred to suggest that Batman, a character who has enjoyed enormous cinematic popularity over the last decade especially, is not an original creation. Batman co-creator Bob Kane was at least good enough to admit it, though; Batman is, would you believe it, actually derived from Zorro. Looking at the characters, it's obvious; Wayne is, like Zorro, wealthy by way of his parents, he adopts a similarly shallow personality in order that people do not cotton onto his more noble identity, and has a secret cave where he keeps his vehicle (for Zorro, it was a horse). Oh, and if that wasn't enough, Zorro also has a butler, too. So obvious is the plagiarism that countless Batman iterations have openly referenced Zorro; one comic version even had Bruce's parents be murdered after the family left a screening of the 1940 film The Mask of Zorro. Though it steals a lot, Kane and everyone since who has put their oar into the Batman franchise has done so much with it that I'm not even mad. Fair play to them. Which act of gross theft annoys you the most? Let us know in the comments below.