Star Wars and Batman Beyond are two very different properties, but their respective protagonists, Rey and Terry McGinnis, have eerily similar origin stories. Both characters are created from cloned genetic material, with one coming from the World's Greatest Detective and the other from the most evil being in the galaxy.
So, let's look at how the origins of Star Wars' newest Skywalker and the futurist version of Batman are practically the same, despite some key differences.
Rey's father was a strand-cast who was bioengineered by the Sith Eternal on Exegol as a way to host the Palpatine's essence. Despite the Sith Eternal's numerous experiments with his genetic template, Rey's father lacked a connection to the force, meaning he could not serve as the Sith Lord's biological vessel. Despite viewing him as a failure, Palpatine allowed Rey's father to live as a way to continue his bloodline.
The strand-cast would eventually escape Exegol alongside a newly born Rey and her mother in 15 ABY. Unlike her father, however, Rey inherited Palpatine's strong connection to the force, which made her a target of the Sith Lord. Eventually, Palpatine sent one of his devoted followers, Ochi, after the child, which caused her parents to sell her to Unkar Plutt out of fear for her safety. Ochi went on to murder her parents after they refused to reveal her location, but Rey was able to survive as a scavenger on Jakku, having nearly forgotten the entirety of her past by the time The Force Awakens. Her memory would eventually be restored during her Jedi training and she would disavow her Sith lineage by embracing the Light Side of the Force.
Although McGinnis was created as a force for good, his origin is still ethically dubious. As the head of Project Cadmus, Amanda Waller created the "Batman Beyond" protocol as a way to continue Batman's legacy after the eventual death of Bruce Wayne. Waller harnessed Wayne's DNA from various crime scenes and used nanobots to rewrite Warren McGinnis' reproductive system during a check-up. Warren and his wife Mary eventually gave birth to Terry, who, unbeknownst to them, was actually Wayne's biological son.
Waller had darker plans for the Batman Beyond protocol, which included the assassination of Warren and Mary. She felt that their deaths would inspire Terry to pick up the cowl, but her assassin scrapped the plan. This scheme would be implemented several years later, however, after Warren is killed during Batman Beyond's pilot episode. Terry would eventually discover the truth of his origins in the finale of Justice League Unlimited Season 2.
Although Rey and McGinnis are entirely different characters, their origin stories have many overlapping similarities. Both characters were supposed to carry the legacy of their genetic sources and faced the death of a parent as a result, but while Terry was bred for good and Rey was created for evil, they paved their own paths and carved their own legacies.
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