Mewtwo was created from genetic material taken from Mew in Pokémon: The First Movie.
In the film’s story, scientists working for Team Rocket use material from Mew to create a powerful cloned Pokémon. The result is Mewtwo, a genetically engineered being designed to serve as a weapon. Mewtwo’s origin is central to the film’s questions about identity, creation, free will, and whether a creature’s origins determine its worth.
The film presents Mewtwo as both a scientific experiment and a character struggling with its place in the world. It eventually confronts Mew and battles cloned versions of other Pokémon, while Ash and his friends become caught in the conflict.
Mewtwo is sometimes described simply as Mew’s clone, but the film treats the character as more than an identical copy. Mewtwo has a distinct body, personality, abilities, and life story. The Pokémon’s name also directly connects it to Mew while marking it as a separate creation.