Having twins is tough. Having twins as a single parent is even harder. But being a single parent of twins who can multiply themselves? That’s enough to drive someone crazy – which is exactly what happened in Invincible.

Created by Robert Kirkman and Cory Walker, the twin duo of Dupli-Kate and Multi-Paul were introduced in Invincible #2 (February 2003). The pair possess the ability to duplicate themselves over and over again, which they have used to fight villains in the Image comic.

The source of their power derives from a mystical, ancient curse set by a Chinese Emperor against his usurper, Fung Cha. Before he died, the emperor cursed Cha’s seventh grandchild to be burdened with a family too large to handle that would drive him mad. That ancestor became Tsing Cha, the father of twins Kate and Paul, who became a single parent when his wife died in childbirth. Their ability presented when they were toddlers, causing them to uncontrollably multiply, fulfilling the curse by driving Tsing mad.

The twins became crime fighters in their teens, after gaining control of their abilities to generate and absorb their duplicates. But, their paths diverged and Dupli-Kate became a member of Teen Team, while Multi-Paul’s whereabouts were temporarily unknown. Continuing as a heroine, Dupli-Kate joined the Guardians of the Globe with Robot and Rex Splode after the old Guardians were killed. Dupli-Kate got into a relationship with the Immortal and they were briefly engaged, then married.

When Dupli-Kate apparently died during a fight with the Lizard League, Multi-Paul resurfaced and went on a rampage, trying to kill Rex Splode and Invincible because he believed they were responsible. In actuality, only her copies had died and the original Dupli-Kate was fine. She intervened to stop Multi-Paul’s rampage, but Invincible already wanted to put him in jail. After his apparent arrest he was freed by his master Mr. Liu, with whom he’d been working while away from his sister.