History AdaptationalBadass / WesternAnimation

* SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker is more known for being murderous and unpredictable than being an amazing hand-to-hand fighter, with only a hnadful of adaptations showing him as any physical match for Batman. But for ''WesternAnimation/TheBatman'', he was given enhanced strength, agility, and dexterity. In the first episode he was climbing all over the place like a monkey, though this was toned down in subsequent appearances.

** On the villains' side, the Grim Reaper is definitely far more badass and sinister than his comics version. In the comics he was not a good fighter, was pointlessly racist and non-functionally crazy, wore purple spandex with goofy, Galactus-style head gear, and was pretty much a joke in that regard. In the series he wears a dark [[InTheHood hooded]] [[BadassCape cape]] and is a SoftSpokenSadist PsychoForHire with a SlasherSmile. He effortlessly broke into and out of a prison that was designed by Tony Stark and guarded by SHIELD, and can slash Hawkeye's arrows and Cap's shield from mid-air with his scythe.

** The BigBad of season 2, the Reach are vastly more powerful than their comics counterparts. In the comics they are a weak military force using subterfuge and trickery to take Earth in a century, with an enforcer who could be beaten by a single hero. Here they are a full fleet of warships, and the Black Beetle took out Miss Martian, Superboy, Wondergirl, Lagoon Boy, Tim Drake, Bumblebee, and only Blue Beetle even slows him down. And according to Impulse's future it only takes them a couple decades to conquer Earth.

* ''WesternAnimation/IronManArmoredAdventures'' did this with Whiplash, prior to his movie incarnation, where he goes from a loser in stupid costume with whip weapons to a cyborg in PoweredArmor, who notably in the second season after a MidSeasonUpGrade defeats both Iron Man and Warmachine and destroys Iron Man's original armor. Also done with Justin Hammer, a NonActionBigBad in the comics, who in this series has his own armor as Titanium Man.

** General Grievous is either this or AdaptationalWimp. In the series he's an [[{{Determinator}} unstoppable]], [[TheDreaded monstrous]], [[HeroKiller Jedi-killing]], [[OneManArmy One Cyborg Army]] who mercilessly cuts through everyone in his path, certainly nothing like the chuckling, wheezing, ineffectual coward in ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith''. However while ''Clone Wars'' was released first different production speeds meant that though he was designed for the film first, Grievous' debut in the series came before his characterisation in the film was finalised.

* SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker is more known for being crazy and insane than being an amazing hand-to-hand fighter. In fact only a couple of adaptations show him as anything close to Batman's level. But for ''WesternAnimation/TheBatman'', he was given enhanced strength, agility, and dexterity. In the first episode he was climbing all over the place like a monkey, though this was toned down in subsequent appearances.
** Likewise, The Penguin is an exceptional combatant.
* ''JusticeLeagueUnlimited'' gave this to Comicbook/{{Aquaman}} as well, at least compared to ''SuperFriends'' (the comics version was always pretty badass). They ended using almost any "joke" character in the past to great effect.
** ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'': Aquaman is fifty times more [[CatchPhrase OUTRAGEOUS]] than his typical portrayal.

** The Terrible Trio were a trio of rich brats who wore animal masks and got rather lucky against Batman. However, they crossed the MoralEventHorizon so well by the end of the episode that followup series brought them back. In WesternAnimation/TheBatman, they were social outcasts at Gotham University who stole the Man-Bat formula and became [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent werebeasts]] for Batman and Batgirl to fight. In WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold, they are were {{Arrogant Kung Fu Guy}}s who betrayed and killed their master, controlled a clan of [[TheHeartless Shadow Ninja]] and planed to take over the city. Oh, and they also stole a talisman that turned them into werebeasts too.
** Mr. Freeze was originally just a campy cold-themed villain from the DC Silver Age, and had been killed off by the Joker in the comics years before ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries''. His appearance in TAS as a more serious AntiVillain with a DarkAndTroubledPast gained enough popularity that he was brought back in the comics, with his backstory [[RetCon retconned]] to more closely fit the animated version.
* ''[[Comicbook/SpiderMan Spider-Man]]'' villain [[ShockAndAwe Electro]] could get pretty lame in the comics, with his power just about enough to almost kill the web-slinger once before getting beat every time after. In ''{{Spider-Man The Animated Series}}'' however, he was a BigBad by the last episode of the story arc ''in his first appearance'', replacing the ''RedSkull'' as the primary threat. The guy then easily dispatched the Six American Heroes (a team of GoldenAge heroes which included CaptainAmerica), the [[LegionOfDoom Insidious Six]], ''and'' Spider-Man, and made it clear he could kill any of them at any time, took control of the Earth's satellites through the electrical signals he fired to broadcast himself to the world's media, announce he's the new PresidentEvil of the world, and when all of S.H.I.E.L.D. chose to disagree, he handled them single-handedly ''by shooting down their base'':

** In fact, the only way for anyone to defeat him was for Spider-Man to play to his ego, and basically goad him into destroying himself. Had he not been so obsessed with proving his own power, he may well have won.
** The series also turned the Spot into a genuine threat, capable of running rings around Spider-Man with his ability to create masses of portals.
** Comics-verse Black Cat is a BadassNormal who occasionally wields bad-luck powers. The 90s cartoon version starts out as a classmate of Peter's before gaining powers from the SuperSerum that created ''CaptainAmerica''.
** Comics-verse Tombstone is a formerly BadassNormal now superstrong thug who works for other villains. Come ''TheSpectacularSpiderMan'', where he's not only inhumanly strong, but a MagnificentBastard crimelord who poses as a [[VillainWithGoodPublicity respected philantropist]].
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Ultimate Spider-Man}}'' does the same to its version of Electro. Starting out like his B-list comic self, he gets upgraded into being more like the [[Comicbook/UltimateSpiderMan Ultimate]] and 90s cartoon versions, with unlimited control over all things electrical within his range, and his range seemed to be "everywhere." They also had to goad him into succumbing to his weakness (they got him to spread himself out too far; six heroes attacking him in different places at once even as he held all New York hostage by controlling ''everything'' electronic was too much multitasking for him.) If he'd been capable of saying "screw fighting you guys, I'm gonna TakeOverTheWorld; good luck punching living electricity!" he could have done so. His real weakness, established throughout the episode, is that for all his newfound power he still ''thinks'' like a B-list hood.
** The Sandman, from the same series. He took the ability to add the sand around him to himself to its logical conclusion. You know why that island you're on isn't on any map but SHIELD's, with a "seriously don't go there, for reals" warning? [[spoiler: Every single bit of soil on the entire island ''is him,'' making it a GeniusLoci that ''doesn't like you.'']] Taking the smallest bit of him - oh, like the dirt on your clothes after you ''think'' you're done fighting him - back to the mainland would be ''[[{{Understatement}} bad]].'' Using no powers he doesn't have in other continuities, just being smarter about how he used them and having a reason to be ''really'' pissed, it was ''very'' nearly "arrivederci, North America."

*** Madame Rouge. In the comics, after a short tenure as a recurring villain, she winds up KilledOffForReal and a source of guilt for Beast Boy. Here, her powers (stretching, HumanShifting) are greatly upgraded. How good is she? Imagine [[ComicBook/FantasticFour Reed Richards]] ''and'' the [[{{Terminator}} T-1000]], in one. Nothing hurts her, except heat, and even ''then'' she just has to take a second to shapeshift into an undamaged form. She's able to shift fast enough to actually stretch out to grab Kid Flash when he's looking like a yellowy blur and then proceed to lay down a beatdown. Her personality only adds to the effect: She just keeps coming, in a way that will remind you of ''Terminator'' every bit as much as the way she shifts through a fence one time, and she just ''loves'' the hunt. Sadism is balanced out by enough professionalism to not fall into the usual villain stupidity. So basically, imagine the T-1000 after you... but the T-1000 has just enough emotion to ''enjoy it.'' The episode with Hot Spot alone being hunted by her makes her almost scary, and when she returns to battle Kid Flash, she's every bit as {{Badass}}. He runs circles around the HIVE Five and looks so good doing it... then ''she'' shows up and it's a whole 'nother story. To put the icing on the cake, someone remembered that "Rouge" means "Red," so she's got a red outfit instead of the blue or green one from the comics. She only had a major role in a few episodes, but stole the show during them to such a degree that if you put the name into Google Image Search, you'll have to go through a ''lot'' of images of this version before you get down to pictures of the long-dead, long-forgotten comic version.

** Also, while the original [[TheStarscream Starscream]] was pretty much a RunningGag of one transparent backstabbing plan after another, often openly telling Megs what an idiot he is and how Starscream should be in charge, and only being kept alive because his Megatron was no brighter than he, [[Anime/TransformersCybertron certain]] [[WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated later]] [[VideoGame/TransformersWarForCybertron incarnations]] [[WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime are]] nigh unto MagnificentBastard class, and the second-most-powerful Decepticon next to Megs himself to boot. At one point in ''TransformersCybertron,'' he borrows a portion of the power of the god Primus and spends an arc handily kicking around ''all'' the Autobots and Decepticons singlehandedly.
** Megatron himself. G1 Megatron was TooDumbToLive when it came to Starscream, and would trust him again ten seconds after being ''shot at'' by him. He had a high-pitched voice - higher than any Starscream but his own (Most Starscreams are ''kinda'' high and scratchy. G1 Starscream sounded like the voice actor inhaled helium before each recording.) - that wasn't striking fear into any Autobot's spark. "Decepticons, retreat! RETREEEEEAT!!" was practically his CatchPhrase, and even the series' most diehard fans admit that he'd yell it when the going got tough ''even if he still actually had the upper hand''. Oh, and he turned into a gun that couldn't move or fire himself and was usually held by... go on, [[TheStarscream guess who]]. Since then, he's had highly {{Badass}} vehicle and beast modes, and has been freakishly powerful and/or a brilliant DiabolicalMastermind.
*** Both Starscream and Megatron have outdone themselves in ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime''. The latter's a soulless BadBoss who coldly tortures his enemies and allies, and plots to use his {{Necromancer}} abilities to raise the dead of all Cybertron as an army. Starscream, not to be outdone, has become a sociopathic BastardUnderstudy who casually murders a named character in the first ten minutes of the show, and successfully betrays Megatron some episodes into the series.
**** Also from ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'': Breakdown. Traditionally one of the Stunticons, and a paranoid ConspiracyTheorist and DirtyCoward to boot, ''Prime'' has turned Breakdown into TheBrute of the Decepticon team. He's an independent character and a total {{Badass}} who lives to DropTheHammer on unsuspecting Autobots (especially his {{Archenemy}}, [[TheBigGuy Bulkhead]]). He's also got shades of NobleDemon, an EyepatchOfPower, and a partnership with EvilGenius [[TheMedic Knock Out]] that makes him all the more dangerous.
**** Also ''Prime'', Arcee, who in most incarnation is presented as just TheChick, here is presented as a badass ActionGirl.
** On a similar note to Starscream, Waspinator went from TheChewToy in ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'', to a sinister WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds in ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated''. Notably, a few of his lines are [[DarkReprise re-purposed quotes]]; the most well-known being "Waspinator have plans...", which changes meaning considerably when the context goes from him [[OhCrap facing down impending doom]] to [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcEauLEN7Qg gradually pulling himself back together after being blown apart,]] less [[AmusingInjuries comedically]] and more "[[{{Determinator}} too much hate to die]]." Even his design is creepier. They [[ShownTheirWork actually did the research]] to make him look and sound more creepily insectlike, in design and movement.
** Yet another example from ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'' is Wheeljack. In the original cartoon he is presented as something of a MadScientist archetype, edging into GadgeteerGenius due to his tendency to invent things (and build the Dinobots). This carried over to similarly named, similarly-designed characters in both [[Film/{{Transformers}} the movies]] and [[WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated Animated]] series. ''Prime'', however, turns him into a DualWielding RogueAgent with a love for mayhem and explosives, and a former Wrecker to boot.
* In ''[[WesternAnimation/AvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes]]'', another wasp gets to [[TookALevelInBadass take a level in badass]]. In the comic, Janet "[[TheWasp Wasp]]" Van Dyne has the power to become small and shoot mildly painful "stinger" energy blasts. It's... [[WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway as useful in combat as it sounds]]. In the series, she'll fly circles around enemies, is as capable of dealing with villains on her own as any of her teammates with her much-stronger stingers, and makes ''{{Spider-Man}}'' level wisecracks all the way.
*** And she's the only person who constantly stays optimistic about being a hero and is just generally good (again, like Spidey).
*** She even gave the finishing move against one of ''Galactus's Heralds''.
** On the villains' side, the Grim Reaper is definitely far more badass and sinister than his comics version. In the comics he was not a good fighter, was pointlessly racist and non-functionally crazy, wore purple spandex with goofy, Galactus-style head gear, and was pretty much a joke in that regard. In the series he wears a dark [[InTheHood hooded]] [[BadassCape cape]] and is a SoftSpokenSadist PsychoForHire with a SlasherSmile. He effortlessly broke into and out of a prison that was designed by Tony Stark and guarded by SHIELD, and can slash Hawkeye's arrows and Cap's shield from mid-air with his scythe. Oh, and he's voiced by LanceHenriksen.
** Believe it or not, Hulk has this in a way. He's not just the team berserker that they point at something to hit. This Hulk is smarter (think how he was in WorldWarHulk, for example) unless he's pissed off beyond belief (at which point the villain simply can't win anyway). Notably, there's almost no HulkSpeak to be found, he understands and uses sarcasm, and got Hawkeye to stay with the team by ''teasing him''. And his favorite teammate is Wasp. So if you do hurt her AdaptationalBadass self, you get to deal with ''him''.

** Similarly, Mister Twister, originally a rather feeble villain whose powers came from a magic stick, becomes an incredibly powerful android who effortlessly solos the entire team (up to and including ''Superboy'') while spouting arrogant [[DeadpanSnarker one-liners]] left and right.
** Count Vertigo too. Instead of being a guy who makes people dizzy, he's a power-hungry despot trying to kill the queen of his country who's more of TheChessmaster than anything else. His superpowers are actually ''an afterthought''.

** As well as the whole G4, compared to what most people would think about the franchise. "They're little pastel horses, little girls play with them and - they're fighting a ''[[OmnicidalManiac W]][[GodOfEvil H]][[EmotionEater A]][[SorcerousOverlord T]]''?"

* Scooby Doo in WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooMysteryIncorporated, full stop. Over the course of the series, he's delivered at least one PreMortemOneliner, turned his catchphrase into a BadassBoast and helped destroy an EldritchAbomination. Simply put, you mess with his friends and [[TheDeterminator nothing can stop him]] from taking you down.

* ''IronManArmoredAdventures'' did this with Whiplash, prior to his movie incarnation, where he goes from a loser in stupid costume with whip weapons to a cyborg in PowerArmor, who notably in the second season after a MidSeasonUpGrade defeats both Iron Man and Warmachine and destroys Iron Man's original armor. Also done with Justin Hammer, a NonActionBigBad in the comics, who in this series has his own armor as Titanium Man.

* Mumm-Ra of ''ThunderCats2011''. His original [[{{Thundercats}} 80's incarnation]] has nostalgic charm, but was incredibly inept given his power level. He's ''never'' proactive in his weak ShapeshifterDefaultForm, playing OrcusOnHisThrone. His [[OneWingedAngel Ever-Living form]] alternately has a WeaksauceWeakness to his own reflection or suffers from VillainDecay. 2011 Mumm-Ra's first acts onscreen, as a frail SquishyWizard, are to use his MasterOfIllusion powers to commit full-blown ''regicide,'' [[BadassBoast boast]] of how nightmarish he is, make a BigEntrance ''WreathedInFlames,'' spout a PreAsskickingOneLiner and promptly ''[[OneHitKill slaughter]]'' nearly the full complement of the dead monarch's PraetorianGuard with a KamehameHadouken. ''That's '''without''' powering up.''

-->(Nick Fury jumps off the collasping S.H.I.E.L.D. base, then pulls his parachute)

** Tails inverts this. In the games, he's one of the fastest and strongest characters. In the TV adaptations, he's usually all but useless when it comes to fighting. This was reflected in the games with his BadassDecay starting with ''VideoGame/SonicUnleashed''.

** Showing that this trope doesn't just apply to the bad guys, they took three of the {{Captain Ethnic}}s from ''WesternAnimation/Superfriends'', replaced Black Vulcan with {{ComicBook/Static}}, and [[YoungerAndHipper made them all teenagers]]. Static was already a Badass, but Tye (Apache Chief) can kick ass ''while he's asleep'', Sam ({{Gender Flip}}ped Samurai) uses chi waves to bounce herself in [[HeartIsAnAwesomePower rather epic ways]], and Eduardo (El Dorado) is a master of TeleportSpam.

* Tigger of ''WinnieThePooh'' isn't largely different from his novel incarnate, however [[ActionizedSequel some of the bleaker situations]] used in the Disney adaptions have proved just how badass bouncing really is. Abiding by ''The Tigger Movie'' Roo could apply for this trope as well (only the Disney adaption can lay claim to "[[CrowningMomentOfAwesome the Whoopty-Dooper Loopty-Looper Alley-Ooper Bounce]]" at least).

*** Madame Rouge. In the comics, after a short tenure as a recurring villain, she winds up KilledOffForReal and a source of guilt for Beast Boy. Here, her powers (stretching, HumanShifting) are greatly upgraded. How good is she? Imagine [[FantasticFour Reed Richards]] ''and'' the [[{{Terminator}} T-1000]], in one. Nothing hurts her, except heat, and even ''then'' she just has to take a second to shapeshift into an undamaged form. She's able to shift fast enough to actually stretch out to grab Kid Flash when he's looking like a yellowy blur and then proceed to lay down a beatdown. Her personality only adds to the effect: She just keeps coming, in a way that will remind you of ''Terminator'' every bit as much as the way she shifts through a fence one time, and she just ''loves'' the hunt. Sadism is balanced out by enough professionalism to not fall into the usual villain stupidity. So basically, imagine the T-1000 after you... but the T-1000 has just enough emotion to ''enjoy it.'' The episode with Hot Spot alone being hunted by her makes her almost scary, and when she returns to battle Kid Flash, she's every bit as {{Badass}}. He runs circles around the HIVE Five and looks so good doing it... then ''she'' shows up and it's a whole 'nother story. To put the icing on the cake, someone remembered that "Rouge" means "Red," so she's got a red outfit instead of the blue or green one from the comics. She only had a major role in a few episodes, but stole the show during them to such a degree that if you put the name into Google Image Search, you'll have to go through a ''lot'' of images of this version before you get down to pictures of the long-dead, long-forgotten comic version.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Ultimate Spider-Man}}'' does the same to its version of Electro. Starting out like his B-list comic self, he gets upgraded into being more like the 90s cartoon version, with unlimited control over all things electrical within his range, and his range seemed to be "everywhere." They also had to goad him into succumbing to his weakness (they got him to spread himself out too far; six heroes attacking him in different places at once even as he held all New York hostage by controlling ''everything'' electronic was too much multitasking for him.) If he'd been capable of saying "screw fighting you guys, I'm gonna TakeOverTheWorld; good luck punching living electricity!" he could have done so. His real weakness, established throughout the episode, is that for all his newfound power he still ''thinks'' like a B-list hood.

** As well as the whole G4, compared to what most people would think about the franchise. "They're little pastel horses, little girls play with them and - they're fighting a ''[[OmnicidalManiac W]][[GodOfEvil H]][[HornyDevils A]][[SorcerousOverlord T]]''?"

** And she's the only person who constantly stays optimistic about being a hero and is just generally good (again, like Spidey).
** On the villains' side, the Grim Reaper is definitely far more sinister than his comics version. In the comics, he wore purple spandex with goofy, Galactus-style head gear, and was pretty much a joke in that regard. In the series, he wears a [[InTheHood hooded]] [[BadassCape cape]] and is a PsychoForHire with DissonantSerenity and a SlasherSmile. Oh, and he's voiced by LanceHenriksen.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Ultimate Spider-Man}}'' does the same to its version of Electro. (No, that's not a typo. Someone got ''badder'' in ''that'' series.) Starting out like his B-list comic self, he gets upgraded into being more like the 90s cartoon version, with unlimited control over all things electrical within his range, and his range seemed to be "everywhere." They also had to goad him into succumbing to his weakness (they got him to spread himself out too far; six heroes attacking him in different places at once even as he held all New York hostage by controlling ''everything'' electronic was too much multitasking for him.) If he'd been capable of saying "screw fighting you guys, I'm gonna TakeOverTheWorld; good luck punching living electricity!" he could have done so. His real weakness, established throughout the episode, is that for all his newfound power he still ''thinks'' like a B-list hood.

*** Madame Rouge. In the comics, after a short tenure as a recurring villain, she winds up KilledOffForReal and a source of guilt for Beast Boy. Here, her powers (stretching, HumanShifting) are greatly upgraded. How good is she? Imagine [[FantasticFour Reed Richards]] ''and'' the [[{{Terminator}} T-1000]], in one. Nothing hurts her, except heat, and even ''then'' she just has to take a second to shapeshift into an undamaged form. She's able to shift fast enough to actually stretch out to grab Kid Flash when he's looking like a yellowy blur and then proceed to lay down a beatdown. Her personality only adds to the effect: She just keeps coming, in a way that will remind you of ''Terminator'' every bit as much as the way she shifts through a fence one time, and she just ''loves'' the hunt. Sadism is balanced out by enough professionalism to not fall into the usual villain stupidity. So basically, imagine the T-1000 after you... but the T-1000 has just enough emotion to ''enjoy it.'' The episode with Hot Spot alone being hunted by her makes her almost scary, and when she returns to battle Kid Flash, she's every bit as {{Badass}}. He runs circles around the HIVE Five and looks so good doing it... then ''she'' shows up and it's a whole 'nother story. To put the icing on the cake, someone remembered that "Rouge" means "Red," so she's got a red outfit instead of the blue or green one from the comics. She only had a major role in a few episodes, but stole the show during them to such a degree that if you put the name into Google Image Search, you'll have to go through a ''lot'' of images of this version before you get down to pictures of the long-dead, long-forgotten comic version (sadly, she doesn't get the Mr. Freeze treatment, and is still dead.)

* ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'' took the incredibly lame and gimmicky Sportsmaster and turned him into a BadassNormal mercenary who has a keen enough eye to spot Miss Martian while [[VisibleInvisibility she's invisible]] and [[ImprobableAimingSkills throw a javelin that would have impaled her if she hadn't moved at the last second]]. [[CrazyPrepared Even then it still exploded and sent her flying]].

* ''WesternAnimation/UltimateSpiderMan'' does the same to its version of Electro. (No, that's not a typo. Someone got ''badder'' in ''that'' series.) Starting out like his B-list comic self, he gets upgraded into being more like the 90s cartoon version, with unlimited control over all things electrical within his range, and his range seemed to be "everywhere." They also had to goad him into succumbing to his weakness (they got him to spread himself out too far; six heroes attacking him in different places at once even as he held all New York hostage by controlling ''everything'' electronic was too much multitasking for him.) If he'd been capable of saying "screw fighting you guys, I'm gonna TakeOverTheWorld; good luck punching living electricity!" he could have done so. His real weakness, established throughout the episode, is that for all his newfound power he still ''thinks'' like a B-list hood.

** The Sandman, from the same series. He took the ability to add the sand around him to himself to its logical conclusion. You know why that island you're on isn't on any map but SHIELD's, with a "seriously don't go there, for reals" warning? [[spoiler: Every single bit of soil on the entire island ''is him,'' making it a GeniusLoci that ''doesn't like you.'']] Taking the smallest bit of him - oh, like the dirt on your clothes after you ''think'' you're done fighting him - back to the mainland would be ''[[Understatement bad]].'' Using no powers he doesn't have in other continuities, just being smarter about how he used them and having a reason to be ''really'' pissed, it was ''very'' nearly "arrivederci, North America."

** In the G4 series ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'', [[BadassNormal Applejack]] and [[LightningBruiser Rainbow Dash]] are near unrecognizable compared to [[TheKlutz G1 Applejack]] and [[TheFashionista G3 Rainbow Dash]] (the latter is explainable by her being an {{Expy}} of G1 Firefly, after copyright issues meant her name couldn't be used).
** As well as the whole G4 compared to what most people would think about the franchise. "They're little pastel horses, little girls play with them and - they're fighting a ''WHAT''?"

** Brainiac Five. Originally TheSmartGuy with a force field gadget, here, he's a descendant of a ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries-style'' Brainiac 1.0, making a super-genius and a super-powerful DoAnythingRobot.

** Killer Moth started out as the wimpy villain he was in the comics, but he later mutated into a giant moth monster.

* SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker is more known for being crazy and insane than being an amazing hand-to-hand fighter. In fact only a couple of adaptations show him as anything close to Batman's level. But for ''WesternAnimation/TheBatman'', he was given enhanced strength, agility, and dexterity. In the first episode he was climbing all over the place like a monkey, though this was toned down in subsequent appearances. Likewise, The Penguin is an exceptional combatant. Also Killer Moth started out as the wimpy villain as he was in the comics, but he later become an enormous giant moth monster.

* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'': Aquaman is fifty times more [[CatchPhrase OUTRAGEOUS]] than his typical portrayal.

* ''[[Comicbook/SpiderMan Spider-Man]]'' villain [[ShockAndAwe Electro]] could get pretty lame in the comics, with his power just about enough to almost kill the web-slinger once before getting beat every time after. In ''{{Spider-Man The Animated Series}}'' however, he was a BigBad by the last episode of the story arc ''in his first appearance'', replacing the ''RedSkull'' as the primary threat. The guy then easily dispatched the Six American Heroes (a team of GoldenAge heroes which included CaptainAmerica), the [[LegionOfDoom Insidious Six]], ''and'' Spider-Man, and made it clear he could kill any of them at any time, took control of the Earth's satellites through the electrical signals he fired to broadcast himself to the world's media, announce he's the new PresidentEvil of the world, and when all of S.H.I.E.L.D. chose to disagree, he handled them single-handedly ''by SHOOTING DOWN their base'':

** Comics-verse Tombstone is a formerly BadassNormal now superstrong thug who works for other villains. Come ''TheSpectacularSpiderMan'' where he's not only inhumanly strong but is also a MagnificentBastard crimelord who poses as a [[VillainWithGoodPublicity respected philantropist]].

** Klarion the Witch Boy is a full blown ''Lord of Chaos'' and arch rival of DoctorFate in this series instead of being just another magic user. He is still as childish as ever, though.

** Amy has always been a fairly realistic character for her age. You don't expect her to be badass or whatnot, she's just a girl who's in love with Sonic. In ''Comicbook/SonicTheComic'' however she's quite TheLancer to Sonic. She's far more lethal than any other version of her to date, and sports some ImprobableAimingSkills. Again reflected in the games where, while still much more humble and goofy than in the comics, she is a BadassNormal whose Piko Piko Hammer makes her a key powerhouse in certain titles.

* Doctor Robotnik from the ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' franchise, both inverts this trope and plays it straight. In the original games, he was a silly and childish, yet competent and effective MadScientist. In [[WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfSonicTheHedgehog the first Sonic the Hedgehog cartoon adaption]], he is a complete buffoon, LargeHam, and {{foil}} for Sonic and Tails; nearly all of his plans are failures, and his robot minions are incompetent. In [[WesternAnimation/SonicSatAM the second cartoon adaption]] (and [[ComicBook/ArchieComicsSonicTheHedgehog its comic book adaptation]]), he's a downright scary DiabolicalMastermind.