Dupe, also known as Experiment 344, is an illegal genetic experiment created by Jumba Jookiba and a character in the Lilo & Stitch franchise. He is designed to generate infinite clones of individuals, but his programming is considered a failure because the original's power is distributed evenly among the duplicates, resulting in them having less of everything. Luckily, it is possible for him to reverse the cloning. His one true place is making half-calorie shave ice cones with Slushy.
Background
Personality
Dupe is shown to be fun-loving, childish, and immature, due to the fact that he was programmed to be one of the younger experiments (along with Mr. Stenchy and Babyfier). Because of this, he is often treated as the baby of the heroes' side, as his cloning powers are neither chaotic nor destructive. He is also playful, friendly, and optimistic.
Physical appearance
Dupe is a small, golden-yellow experiment resembling a cross between a monkey, lemur, and raccoon. He has relatively flat ears, a brown round nose, black eyes, a white body, a brown-striped, raccoon-like tail, and brown-striped prehensile appendage protruding from his head.
Powers and abilities
The ray from Dupe's appendage can cause any individual or object hit to split into a varying number of duplicates. However, any traits (such as strength, power, calories, etc.) would be divided between the clones, making the original very weak, and resulting in the original and clones having less of everything. His ray can also be used to remerge the clones into the original.
Appearances
Lilo & Stitch: The Series
Experiment 344 was the 344th genetic experiment created by Jumba with Hämsterviel's funding. He was designed to clone single individuals into entire armies and make infinite weapons, but all of the original's traits were divided between them and the clones. 344 and the other first 624 experiments were deactivated and smuggled to Earth by Jumba during his mission to capture Experiment 626.
All of the experiment pods were released and scattered across the island of Kauai.
At an unknown point after this, Experiment 344 was activated.
An estimated twelve hours after his activation, 344 was captured by Lilo and Stitch and taken back to their house, but not before being pursued by a relentless Gantu.
After Jumba explained about 344's powers, the latter demonstrated by duplicating a lollipop and birthday cake (with less calories in each). Stitch then attempted to use 344 to clone Pleakley as well, despite the latter's protests. Fortunately, Jumba put 344 away on his ship to prevent any further chaos.
The following night, after Mertle and the hula girls did not show up at Lilo's slumber party that she had hosted earlier, Lilo used 344, christened Dupe, to generate clones of herself that she could befriend. However, Stitch hastily intervened, resulting in him being cloned into three instead.
Later that night, Gantu, 033, 609, 544, and 617 attacked the Pelekai residence. Stitch and his clones tried to fight back, but due to a side effect from Dupe's replication, they had all become very weak, enabling Gantu and his four henchmen experiments to easily defeat and capture Stitch and his duplicates in containment orbs.
Shortly after Stitch had been kidnapped, Lilo hatched a plan and used Dupe to generate three clones of Pleakley, leaving the original comatose. Lilo and the Pleakley clones then launched a rescue mission on Gantu's ship while taking Dupe with them so he could remerge the Stitch clones.
Gantu complained about the victory feast that Experiment 625 made for him and his minions, when he was distracted by Lilo and the Pleakley clones on his ship. After Gantu discovered them and Lilo informed him about Dupe's cloning powers, Gantu grabbed Dupe and cloned Hammerface, Heat, Thresher, and Plasmoid each into a hundred replicas. However, as a result of being tricked, the experiments had all become complete weaklings, and thus were easily defeated by Lilo and the Pleakleys.
Lilo then used Dupe to remerge the freed Stitch clones into the original, and Lilo, Stitch, Dupe, and the Pleakley clones escaped the ship. Dupe then remerged the Pleakley clones into the original, and he was later found a one true place making half-calorie shave ice.
In "Remmy", Dupe was one of the experiments in Lilo's dream.
In "Snafu", Dupe and Slushy were seen using their combined powers to sell multiple low-calorie shave ice cones that a couple bought and enjoyed. Gantu then attempted to revert the rehabilitated experiments to evil by playing a recording of Angel's song with Reuben's help, but due to interference from Experiment 120, Gantu's karaoke tape was played instead, much to Slushy and Dupe's humor.
Leroy & Stitch
The first 624 experiments, including Dupe, were rounded up by Leroy and taken to a stadium to be destroyed. However, Lilo, Stitch, Jumba, Pleakley, Reuben, and Gantu arrived before the experiments could be destroyed.
Dupe participated in the following battle between the experiments and the Leroy clones by splitting attacking Leroys into weakling Leroys.
However, the Leroys soon gained the upper hand in the battle but were defeated when Lilo, Stitch, Reuben, and several other experiments performed the song "Aloha ʻOe", which caused the Leroy army to shut down due to the original Leroy's fail-safe.
Stitch!
Dupe made an appearance in the Stitch! anime where his tweak was altered by Hämsterviel, so instead of making things weaker once duplicated, the duplicates are made stronger (and bigger) than the original.
Gallery
Trivia
- According to Jumba, Dupe "is [a] duplicator. It can make multiple copies of anyone or anything. Designed to make infinite number of weapons." However, Dupe "was [a] failure. Duplicates were not as powerful as [the] original."
- Dupe is one of the few known experiments whose powers Stitch is vulnerable to.
- Dupe was activated off-screen.
- The Hammerface, Heat, Thresher, and Plasmoid clones were never remerged into the originals by Dupe, but each of these experiments appeared as one again in later episodes. It is presumed that Hämsterviel was somehow able to remerge these clones into the originals, meaning that there are ways to reverse the cloning without Dupe.
- Dupe's antenna and ears appear in the online game Jumba's Lab.
- Dupe also appears in the online game Lilo & Stitch: Alien Interception along with Plasmoid, Tank, Clyde, Yang, and Hämsterviel.
