Ranking The Rainbow Dash Expys From Worst to Best (Updated) · 2:44am Oct 10th, 2020
Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy got a lot of expys, and Rainbow Dash did too. It might just be because it's easy to make variations of their character types (it's a lot harder to do it for someone as complex as Rarity or as straight mareish as Applejack, which may be why they don't have more than two or three expys at best). Anyway, Rainbow Dash got a grand total of ten expys officially (not counting comics exclusive characters or any Equestria Girls characters since even Indigo Zapp didn't quite get enough screen time to truly establish herself as an anti-Rainbow Dash), and some were better than others. So today we're going to rank them all from worst to best. Like always, this list is the result of my personal opinion so please respect it.
10. Night Glider
Why she's on the bottom: I still don't understand why she wasn't ever named on-screen during "The Cutie Map", was it an error or was it some kind of legal issue? Whatever the case may be, Night Glider is a Rainbow Dash expy but she has nothing going for her beyond that. Even Double Diamond at least got to be Starlight's enforcer and second in command, Night Glider was introduced the last and had the least to make her stand out. And she unfortunately didn't get much from what little screen time the rest of the equal four got before being shunted aside in favor of making Sugar Belle Big Mac's girlfriend. Some speculate that Night Glider is Fleetfoot's sister or cousin, but that's really about it. Strangely, she got paired with Double Diamond a lot back in the day but I don't recall her ever being shipped with Party Favor or Sugar Belle, and I feel like she had much less chemistry with Double Diamond than either Party or Sugar.
9. Gallus
Why he's not on the bottom: We probably had Gallus pegged as a Rainbow Dash expy from day one, and early on he definitely occupied that role even more than Smolder did. He wasn't bad at it, he definitely had Rainbow's sarcasms and tendency for off the cuff remarks. But it was really telling when he was the first of the student six to truly get fleshed out, doing so during the climax of "The Hearth's Warming Club" when he dropped the mask without any provocation and revealed he was an orphan. From there we had his claustrophobia that could be seen as a metaphor for him being defensive and putting up walls, and he sort of became the group's Twilight in regards to what element he embodied (friendship instead of loyalty). Sure, he still had those sassy remarks but he was definitely a changed character and no longer an expy (he really didn't have much to make him an expy of Twilight).
8. Sky Stinger
Why he's in the bottom three: Even if he's a pretty bad expy of Rainbow Dash (take all the worst traits and add in the popular misconception from first glance that Rainbow is a dude), at least it gives him an actual character to be defined by, good or bad. I talked enough about where I think they went wrong with him when I discussed Vapor Trail, so I won't repeat myself too much here. But much like Autumn Blaze and Silverstream for Pinkie Pie expys, Sky Stinger had his thunder stolen by another Rainbow Dash expy from the same season, a slightly better written one at that (for the record, I don't count Spitfire or Fleetfoot as Rainbow Dash expys since the former was the only Wonderbolt to truly become her own character, while the latter has a now non-cannon comic to define her by with little in the show to suggest she's arrogant or malicious).
7. Zephyr Breeze
Why he's in the bottom four: Zephyr Breeze is definitely Rainbow Dash if her laziness took center stage, and she kept making excuses as to why she never wanted to do things. At least with Zephyr though, his stupidity and shallow ways only ever affect himself, no one else has to suffer or be dragged down because of him. I do like the main series comics, even if it was just a one off issue, did a better job of actually showing his self-esteem issues and fear of failure, which is something we know Rainbow Dash has (hence the mask she wears). But I'm not exactly sure what his attraction to Rainbow Dash is, romance was the last thing anyone associates with a Rainbow Dash expy.
6. Daring Do
Why she's in the bottom half: Daring Do is very much like Rainbow Dash in terms of physical appearance (are we still sure they're not secretly related somehow), and in her first appearance Daring Do was every bit the action heroine Rainbow Dash imagined herself as. This image did still shine through in her subsequent appearances, but Daring slowly developed into her own character. Unlike Rainbow, she was very much the opposite of loyal, untrusting of others and unwilling to rely on them for any reason. It took time for her to get used to the idea of having a partner, and once she did she became a sort of hybrid Rainbow Dash/hybrid Twilight given her knowledge. She started out as a Rainbow Dash expy, but I feel like she's the farthest from what Rainbow would be.
5. Wind Rider/Ryder
Why he's in the top half: I've seen the name be used both ways, so I'm including both for the sake of clarity. You may be wondering why this one-off antagonist is on here when it seems like he and Rainbow Dash couldn't be further apart. But you have to remember that early on Rainbow Dash was not only arrogant but also probably the least protagonist worthy of all the mane six. She was frequently shirking her responsibilities as a weather pony and seemed to only care about Scootaloo so long as Scootaloo was praising her or doing something for her. And she not only believed she could show up the Wonderbolts and be added into their ranks, but also was willing to cheat in the Iron Pony Competition and the Running of the Leaves if it benefitted her. It's not hard to imagine Rainbow turning out like Wind Rider if she had joined the Wonderbolts in Season 1 or early Season 2 when she almost never cared about anything besides her own image, willing to resort to sabotage and other illegal actions to get her way or ensure others never posed a threat.
4. Scootaloo
Why she's in the top four: It's amazing how much she developed over the course of the show. Early on, Scootaloo was the most like the pony she idolized so much. In fact, she basically embodied Rainbow's entirely philosophy regarding cutie marks and was a big part of why the Cutie Mark Crusaders never stuck to anything long enough to know if they enjoyed it or were any good at it. "Sleepless in Ponyville" was the first step toward her becoming more of her own character, defined with her own fears and ambitions, and "Flight to the Finish" built on this with her disability (it's still kind of iffy what she has but "The Washouts" basically confirm that it exists and that by normal means at least she can't fly). However, I do kind of have to complain about how so many episodes centered on her always ended up involving Rainbow Dash in some way, shape, or form. I get that each CMC member was influenced by their respective big sisters, but it seemed like Rainbow almost always appeared if Scootaloo appeared. And I have to give props to "The Last Crusade" for having a plot that wasn't tied to Rainbow Dash in some way, shape or form. Her development really helped her stand out and become less of the mini Rainbow Dash she was early on. Those early appearances are kind of what holds her back, if this had been done in the first two or three seasons she might have been on the bottom.
3. Flash Magnus
Why he's in the top three: Flash is probably the opposite of Wind Rider, he's what Rainbow Dash would be if her arrogant and boastful nature took a back seat to her desire to help others. Yes, the show didn't really give Flash much aside from his boastfulness, but at the same time his story in "Campfire Tales" showed his willingness to risk everything to help his teammates. And it made sense he'd find a home in the royal guard given his military background. The comics went a little bit further in showing the best and worst of Flash's personalities, including the fact that if he believed he was helping others he'd be willing to defy orders (though he was willing to face the consequences after the fact). Bravery is what defines him, and Rainbow embodies this in spades while also showing what bravery doesn't look like (to quote Mafausa from The Lion King "Being brave doesn't mean you go looking for trouble.").
2. Gilda
Why she's not on the top: By luck of the episode order, Rainbow Dash got to have her first expy before Twilight did. Yes, we did find out in a flashback in "The Lost Treasure of Griffonstone" that Gilda was shy until she met Rainbow Dash and the two became friends, so that could make her a bit of a Fluttershy expy. But Gilda definitely has more in common with her gal pal and childhood friend. Gilda did come across as immature and insecure, but Season 1 Rainbow and even the mane six could have their bouts of immaturity at that point. The real difference is that Gilda became clingy and reliant on the one friend she had in common, and upbringing or not that doesn't justify her becoming a bully. It should be pointed out that Gilda was the one who issued the ultimatum and stormed out, not Rainbow. But it's easy to imagine in a similar scenario that Rainbow Dash would've done the same thing if push came to shove, and it was a testament to some of her earliest growth that she had moved on where Gilda hadn't. Ultimately though, there's one character who surpasses Gilda without too much effort in terms of being the best answer to Rainbow Dash.
1. Lightning Dust
Why she's on the top: Lightning Dust is unquestionably the most like Rainbow Dash in looks, personality and ambition. The difference is that Lightning Dust has no off-switch, her desire to push herself has no limits. It's debatable whether that means she knows how much of a danger she is to herself and to others, and whether she doesn't know or doesn't care about who she hurts. Some complain about "The Washouts" derailing her character, but throughout the episode she made it clear she was nursing a grudge for Rainbow Dash getting her kicked out of the Wonderbolts, blaming someone else instead of realizing it was her own recklessness that had gotten her into trouble. And she willingly recruited Scootaloo despite knowing the kid had no formal stunt training, and it was clear she was doing it at least in part to hurt Rainbow personally. Her being willing to endanger others isn't that much of a surprise when she was so impatient that she was willing to plow past others and not even give them a chance to compete. The entire point of Lightning Dust is for Rainbow Dash to look in the mirror and see what she could easily be if she gave into her demons, particularly her constant desire to be the best and to let everyone know she's awesome. So for all those reasons, Lightning Dust easily takes the top spot as the number one Rainbow Dash expy.
And there you have it, come back tomorrow when we'll look at and rank the Twilight Sparkle expys from worst to best (on the show's tenth anniversary no less).
Yeah, Lightning being on top was something I had pegged from the start.
Though I'd probably put Flash Magnus over Gilda.
And it does suck that Night Glider got practically no characterization during Cutie Map
isn't daring do/A K Yearling technically also a RD expy?
As Indigo Tornado pointed out, Didn't Rainbow actually have NINE Expys counting A.K. Yearling/Daring Do? Heck, Twilight even noted Daring's similarities to Rainbow herself when she first introduced Rainbow to the book series.
And, now that I think about it, would Scootaloo ALSO count as a Rainbow Expy? That would bring the count up to TEN. Of all the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Scoots has the most personality similarities with their big sister or big sister figure.
As for the Twilight Expys, it's pretty obvious which one is going to be the best (and probably the only exception to the "No Equestria Girls characters" since she DID technically start out in Equestria)
5374904 5374941 I suppose Daring Do and Scootaloo could count, might have to update the list to include them.
5375120
Thanks for at least considering it.
5375161 It's updated now to include Daring Do and Scootaloo.
5375220
VERY much appreciated.
Figures Lightning would be on top, and your other picks make perfect sense.