History AdaptationalHeroism / TheDCU

*** ComicBook/AmandaWaller and Wade Eiling are still against people like the League, but the former isn't as much as a sociopath as her comics incarnation and the latter is interested in helping protect the country rather than serving himself. Waller later has a HeelRealization, and while Eiling does turn into a monstrous villain, he also realizes he went too far and stops his rampage of his own accord after BadassBystander pointed out his hypocrisy. Likewise, albeit retroactively given his FaceHeelTurn was part of ''ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis'', Max Lord is less sleezy and evil.

** ''Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica'': Arthur Light, better known as Dr. Light, was a third-string baddie and punching bag of the Franchise/TeenTitans (who had [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil a rape]] retconned into his backstory in an attempt to make him more evil) pre-New 52. Now he's a supporting member of the titular Justice League [[spoiler:and he died a hero]].

* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'':

** Comicbook/{{Deadshot}}, ComicBook/HarleyQuinn and several other characters in ''Film/SuicideSquad2016'' are portrayed as more moral than their comic counterparts and despite their insistence that they're "the bad guys" but really come off as quite heroic. But the most blatant example is '''ComicBook/TheJoker!''' Of all people, as in comics he's a ChaoticEvil MonsterClown who frequently abuses Harley, in the movie he's a caring boyfriend who risks his life several times to rescue her and succeeds in doing so in the end. [[spoiler: ''Film/BirdsOfPrey2020'' corrects this, with Joker being portrayed as abusive enough that Harley leaves him. Though even then in the modern comics, he’s chased Harley down and held her captive for “betraying him” whereas in the film he just leaves her alone meaning he’s still far less evil than the comic version]].

* ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' rogue Mr. Freeze was originally a very generic, pun-spouting villain in a green welder's suit. Then Creator/PaulDini got ahold of the character and gave him a total overhaul for his appearance in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'', bestowing upon him his now-iconic name, look, and TragicVillain backstory. Taking note of this, the comics revamped Freeze completely to hew to Dini's interpretation of him.

* ''Series/{{Arrow}}'':
** Shado in the original comics was a Japanese assassin who raped ComicBook/GreenArrow. In the show, she's a lawyer and one of Ollie's friends on the island, even training him in being an archer and developing an unrequited love for him. When she is killed, Oliver vows to honor her for the rest of his life by taking on her green hood and cloak as the Hood (later the Green Arrow).
** Anatoli Knyazev aka [=KGBeast=]. In the comics, he was usually a PsychoForHire, while on the show he's a sympathetic mobster who helps Ollie during his trip to Russia. He did later turn against him late into season 5, thus being part of Ricardo Diaz's group of criminals in season 6, but sided once more with Oliver near the end of that season.
** Merlyn. In the comics, Merlyn is a PsychoForHire and has opposed the [[Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica JLA]] as a member of the League of Assassins and the [[LegionOfDoom Injustice League]], while on the show Malcolm Merlyn started out as a WellIntentionedExtremist who wants to destroy the Glades to avenge his murdered wife and simultaneously put an end to the criminal element there that was threatening the rest of the city. [[spoiler:He gets better. Merlyn gradually becomes an ally or at least a frenemy of Team Arrow, largely due to him finding out that Thea is his biological daughter as a result of a fling with Moira years ago, and stricken by guilt over the death of his son Tommy during the destruction of the Glades, vows to become a much better father for her than he was for Tommy. While he isn't winning any 'father of the year' awards due to his admittedly ruthless training of Thea and his drugging and manipulating her to kill Sara as part of a convoluted plan to get Oliver to take down Ra's al Ghul, he genuinely cares for her as is exemplified by him weeping when she almost died at the hands of Ra's himself. He was also highly hesitant in supporting Oliver and Barry's decision to not bow to Vandal Savage's demands and deliver the Hawkpeople to them (in return for him letting them, their cities and their loved ones survive) and directly threatened to come after Ollie in case Vandal ended up hurting or killing Thea. He has also come to care for Oliver in a certain way, even admitting that he now sees the latter as another son, though this again hasn't prevented him from occasionally manipulating or generally being a thorn in the side of Ollie now and then.]]
** Slade Wilson (the comics Deathstroke) in the island flashbacks completes the PowerTrio with Ollie and Shado. [[spoiler:No longer the case as of the present-day scenes in "Three Ghosts". Double subverted upon his return in the Season Five finale, where he's pulled a HeelFaceTurn.]]
** In the comics, Ra's al Ghul's daughter Nyssa is a villain who plots revenge on her father by brainwashing her half-sister Talia, and wants to kill Superman in order to ''destroy hope''. In the series she's got a role similar to classic Talia, torn between her loyalty to her father and her love for one of the heroes (in this case Sara Lance).
* ''Series/{{Constantine}}'':
** One of the big complaints about the series by fans is the titular ComicBook/JohnConstantine, himself, is this. His addiction to magic and meddling with forces mankind was not meant to know is downplayed to, instead, focus exclusively on the Newcastle Incident as his motivation. This version of John is TheAtoner and wants to make up for his crimes (as well as avoid damnation) versus the John who is a rebel without a cause. This isn't that far from some comic portrayals of John, albeit significantly LighterAndSofter. [[spoiler:Constantine also comes off better in dealing with the below mentioned Gary Lister; in the comic, he doesn't sit by Gary's side so he wouldn't have to be alone while being eaten alive, either.]]
** Chas has an active role in Constantine's good deeds and is fairly competent at helping out even besides his immortality. In the source material, he is more often then not simply roped into the insane things that go on around Constantine, often only to the extent of being press-ganged into being John's driver, and is ill-equipped to handle the supernatural. His wife Rene also gets an upgrade, going from extremely abrasive, controlling and rarely sympathetic to being generally unsupportive but understandably so, considering how things look from her perspective.
** Gary Lester is made more sympathetic than his comic counterpart, [[spoiler:who was much less accepting of being the host for binding Mnemoth inside of]]
** It's easy to imagine the comic version of Papa Midnite working to fix things when his magic goes off the rails [[spoiler:and brings the dead back as ghosts who cause havoc]] for practical reasons. When this actually happens in the show, however, he seems to have at least some genuine concern for the people who are caught in the middle. Further, in "Waiting for the Man," while he uses his dead sister for information, he also seems to be actively trying to bring her back. In the comics, he not only would never willingly give up her use as a tool, she has to team up with Constantine to escape him.
* ''Series/TheFlash2014'':
** Gorilla Grodd is a violent sociopathic gorilla who [[FantasticRacism despises humans]] and attempts to make apes rulers of the Earth with him as leader. While this version still hates humans, two in particular [[BecauseYouWereNiceToMe not withstanding]], he has an actual reason due to being a guinea pig for psychic experiments and suffered abuse.
** Plastique. In the comics, she was a villain of Captain Atom and a convicted terrorist before making a HeelFaceTurn. Bette here is portrayed as, at worst, an AntiVillain who fears her powers and wants to get rid of them. The worst thing she does is attempt to kill General Eiling, a KnightTemplar who would come after any and all meta-humans to turn them into weapons for the Army, and had to be convinced into doing so by Dr. Wells.
** [[spoiler:Dr. Harrison Wells, who is secretly the Reverse Flash in disguise and the main antagonist of the first season - is primarily motivated as a villain not so much by his desire to destroy the Flash like in the comics, but by his desire to return to his time and place in the future and reunite with his loved ones - albeit at any costs. In spite of also initially hating and seeing Barry as an enemy to be destroyed in his origin story, he grows to become genuinely fond of the young man and [[LikeASonToMe comes to see him as a son]], even admitting that it was not his version of Barry he hated but his future self, and that they were never enemies in the first place. Thawne [[DeathEqualsRedemption even goes as far as passing S.T.A.R. Labs down to Barry as part of his will in addition to giving him a video-taped confession about his role in murdering Nora Allen, exonerating Henry who was unjustly imprisoned for the murder and whom Barry had till then dedicated his entire life to get justice for]]. While Thawne is still the man who murdered Nora in the first place, the one who was responsible for framing Henry in the first place and still the monster of the Flash's childhood - it shows that on the show even the Reverse Flash has a heart, at the end of it all. However, later stories would double down on his evil qualities, as he becomes consumed in hatred when Barry destroys his time machine to prevent him from going to the future, and during ''Series/CrisisOnEarthX'', joined the [[PuttingOnTheReich Fourth Reich]], later manipulating Barry's future daughter Nora into setting him free and getting [[{{RetGone}} RetGoned]].
** [[spoiler:Hunter Zolomon from the main universe is a normal civilian and is not a super villain unlike the comics. On Earth-2, [[AdaptationalVillainy however...]]]]
** In the New 52 comics, the Future Flash has been driven mad in a BadFuture with crippled and deceased loved ones, and plans on murdering anyone who wronged him in the past. The Future Flash of the show is morose and depressed, but is convinced to return to heroism by his younger self. This is because [[spoiler:all of Future Flash's negative traits [[DecompositeCharacter have been transferred to Savitar]], who turns out to be his time remnant.]]
** Oddly enough, Savitar is a retroactive case of this. The comics Savitar was a straight-up supervillain who turned to destruction and crime as soon as he got his speed. The show's version was [[spoiler:a genuine hero when he was still Barry Allen. It took losing his parents, watching the love of his life die, and getting ostracized from his friends for him to finally make a FaceHeelTurn.]]

* ''Series/Supergirl2015''
** Hank Henshaw, usually a Superman villain (the Cyborg Superman), is a good guy (which makes even more sense when we find out that he's really J'onn J'onzz, the Martian Manhunter). Eventually averted, as it was eventually revealed the real Henshaw is indeed the Cyborg Superman and works for Cadmus, and J'onn had only assumed his identity after believing him dead.
** The Toyman's son in the comics is the supervillain Dollmaker. [[AdaptationNameChange Winn]] is portrayed as a genuinely good person. Somewhat justified, as Dollmaker has appeared both in ''Series/{{Arrow}}'' ([[Recap/ArrowS2E3BrokenDolls as a serial murderer]]) and ''Series/{{Gotham}}'' ([[Recap/GothamS1E18EveryoneHasACobblepot as]] [[Recap/GothamS1E19BeastsOfPrey a]] MadDoctor).
** The entire planet of Daxam undergoes this. In the comics they're a race of FantasticRacist {{Absolute Xenophobe}}s so despicable that [[TokenHeroicOrc Sodom Yat]], one of only two known decent modern Daxamite (the other being Mon-El), refused to save them from Sinestro. Here they're more like obnoxious frat boys than space Nazis, although the Queen of Daxam turns out to be much worse that Mon-El suspects.

* ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice2010''
** [[ArcherArchetype Artemis Crock]] in the comics is the child of [[UnholyMatrimony Paula and Lawrence Crock]], all three being unrepentant supervillains. In the show Artemis is ashamed of her criminal lineage and Paula does a HeelFaceTurn after [[WheelchairWoobie being crippled]] and spending six years in prison. [[DarkActionGirl Cheshire]], who is Artemis' sister on the show [[RelatedInTheAdaptation (but not the comics)]], is introduced as a villain and member of the League of Shadows, but [[CharacterDevelopment evolves]] into an AntiVillain or AntiHero by season two. In the comics she once nuked a country ForTheEvulz. Her development when it comes to Lian is also better, as she chooses to stay away in order to not be a bad influence for her, [[spoiler:panicking when Lian presents a homemade replica of her mask over the phone]].
** [[PersonOfMassDestruction Neutron]] is a PsychoForHire in the comics, but turned out to be BrainwashedAndCrazy here.
** The tie-in comic does this both to [[KillerGorilla Gorilla Grodd]] and [[AuthorityEqualsAssKicking King Sha'ark]]. Both are borderline {{Token Evil Teammate}}s for their respective groups but are set up as adversaries of greater villains.
** In the comics, Mongul is an EvilOverlord with no real motivation other than being a sadistic bully and general douchebag. In the show, he's still definitely a dick, but his extreme hatred of the Reach and desire to eradicate them makes him a fair bit more sympathetic.
** In ''ComicBook/{{Superboy}}'' comics Dr. Amanda Spence is an EvilutionaryBiologist who created Match, and killed Conner's girlfriend Tanya Moon ForTheEvulz. In the series, Conner accuses her of creating Match but it turns out this is unfounded, and she later helps create the anti-Starro technology.
** The Comicbook/{{Aquaman}} villain Black Manta is reimagined as a [[ManOfWealthAndTaste sophisticated]] and somewhat [[NobleDemon noble]] villain who has numerous PetTheDog moments with his subordinates, particularly [[PapaWolf his son]]. In the comics, he's an utterly heartless [[TheSociopath Sociopath]] and doesn't give a crap about his son, and even threatened to kill him just to torment Aquaman.
** ComicBook/VandalSavage in the comics is probably the single most thoroughly vile individual in Franchise/TheDCU with many thousands of years worth of absolutely horrific crimes to his name. In the show, he's still definitely not a nice guy, but he's a KnightTemplar visionary whose acts are motivated by a desire to drive humanity to advance and make Earth a major universal power. While he does deliver a NeckSnap to one of his own daughters, Olympia, it is a MercyKill as she was increasingly becoming senile. [[spoiler:His brutality towards the show's version of his daughter Scandal Savage, renamed [[AdaptationNameChange Cassandra]], is given a nod at one point, but it was not enough for her to turn on him, she instead used it as a cover story to become a FakeDefector]].
** Rumaan Harjavti is depicted as a benevolent figure and the democratically elected president of {{Qurac}}. In the comics, he was the Bialyan Queen Bee's predecessor as the ruler of Bialya and like her was a foe of the Justice League, though he was less intelligent, his original villain nature is present in his successor and brother Sumaan.
** Major Force is implied to be a subversion. In the comics he's a violently sociopathic and blood-thirsty villain. In the comic tie-in to the show he's a hero sponsored by the government, whom the Justice League want to recruit. The reason he's not on the league is because Captain Atom shoots his suggestion down because of history he has with Force, his dialogue implying that Force isn't as heroic as he seems. Later on, it's confirmed he is indeed evil like in the comics, though only mentioned as having conquered planets offscreen for [[LegionOfDoom the Light]].
** In the comics White Martians are [[AlwaysChaoticEvil evil]] with the sole exception of [[spoiler:Miss Martian]]. In this continuity J'onn isn't the last Green Martian and White Martians are actually [[FantasticRacism persecuted]].
** Much like Neutron or even his own counterpart in the below mentioned ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'', Plasmus isn't a willing villain, and ultimately turns on the villains to help the heroes [[RedemptionEqualsDeath at the cost of being sniped by a random bystander]]. His comic counterpart was not only a willing villain, he expressed ''jealousy'' at Chemo's powers in ''ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis''.
** In the comics, Ma'alefa'ak is considerably more, well, malefic. While still villainous, this version is a WellIntentionedExtremist who is angry about the persecution of his fellow White Martians, while similarly stirring tensions on New Gensis, and there’s no level he won’t sink to in the name of, as he sees it, leveling the playing field (and while still the Cain in a CainAndAbel dynamic, he is changed from being Martian Manhunter's brother [[RelatedInTheAdaptation to]] Miss Martian's brother, being renamed [[AdaptationNameChange M'comm M'orzz]], who named himself after a Martian animal named the ma'alefa'ak in much the same manner that Batman uses the imagery of a bat to strike fear into the hearts of enemies). The comic version was a Green Martian who wiped out the other Green Martians[[note]]LostInImitation note: yes, it was the White Martians in both WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague and Series/Supergirl2015, so you can be forgiven for thinking it must be so in the comics, but it’s not.[[/note]] in revenge for being justly punished for using his PsychicPowers for MindRape of J'onn's wife. This slowly begins to be subverted when the season 4 premiere episodes show him [[spoiler:accepting a gene bomb from [[ComicBook/NewGods DeSaad]], the right hand man of ComicBook/{{Darkseid}}, attempting the genocide his comics counterpart was more successful at if it wasn't for the bomb being found and destroyed, though said destruction took a HeroicSacrifice from [[ComicBook/Superboy1994 Conner Kent]] when he was going to get married, and thus earned the revolutionist his heartbroken sister's (who Conner was engaged to) wrath.]]
** The ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'' incarnation of Terra goes one further than her ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'' counterpart did as the heroes learned early on that Deathstroke was manipulating her and decided to let her make her own decisions while treating her nicely. She ends up turning to the side of angels on her own and becomes a member of the Outsiders in the end, never getting the RedemptionEqualsDeath, er, petrification, of her ''Teen Titans'' counterpart, though [[spoiler: her brother Geo-Force does a FaceHeelTurn in her place, being LockedOutOfTheLoop of her actions]].
** The canon audio play that took place at DC [=FanDome=] revealed that [[spoiler:Clayface reformed and joined Bowhunter Security. Clayface had a similar redemption arc in ''ComicBook/DCRebirth'', but the comics used Basil Karlo, and what defines it as this trope is the show's incarnation being Matt Hagen, who had no such arc, instead]].
** Livewire started off as a villain as shown in ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries'', often committing crimes willingly, but upon becoming a CanonImmigrant to the mainline comics has occasionally pulled a HeelFaceTurn. The show's [[AgeLift younger]] portrayal of Livewire was a trafficked teenager who only reluctantly did crime, until apprehended by ComicBook/{{Nightwing}}'s team, which freed her from being controlled and allowed her to make later appearances fully reformed at the Metahuman Youth Center. This takes an extra step in season 4 when [[spoiler:she was shown to have joined [[ComicBook/BatmanAndTheOutsiders the Outsiders]] in the one year TimeSkip]].
** Windfall in the comics was originally introduced as a member of the supervillain team the Masters of Disaster, enemies of the Outsiders, before [[HeelFaceTurn turning against them]] and becoming an Outsider herself, though she later turned back to crime when she went on to work for Kobra. When she appeared in the show, she was shown to be a former trafficked metahuman residing at the Metahuman Youth Center, with no mention of any criminal past, her only threat being her [[PowerIncontinence difficulty controlling her powers]], which she is eventually able to fix by the season 3 finale. By season 4, [[spoiler:she then is shown to have joined the Outsiders in the one year time skip, and even attacks Kobra in a flashback.]]
** Both incarnations of Mist were the ArchEnemy of incarnations of ComicBook/{{Starman}}, though the second incarnation, Nash Nimbus, was more sympathetic in spite of taking part in a plot to destroy Opal City. In the show, Mist ([[AdaptationNameChange her name changed to Andy]]) was in a similar boat to Livewire as a trafficked metahuman teenager who was also reluctantly a criminal, before Nightwing's team apprehended her and sent her to the Metahuman Youth Center where she could reform. [[spoiler:A small cameo helping Tigress and Halo confirms she joined the Team between seasons 3 and 4]].

** [[ArcherArchetype Artemis Crock]] in the comics is the child of [[UnholyMatrimony Paula and Lawrence Crock]], all three being unrepentant supervillains. In the show Artemis is ashamed of her criminal lineage and Paula does a HeelFaceTurn after [[WheelchairWoobie being crippled]] and spending six years in prison. [[DarkActionGirl Cheshire]], who is Artemis' sister on the show [[RelatedInTheAdaptation (but not the comics)]], is introduced as a villain and member of the League of Shadows, but [[CharacterDevelopment evolves]] into an AntiVillain or AntiHero by season two. In the comics she once nuked a country ForTheEvulz. Her development when it comes to Lian is also better, ahs she chooses to stay away in order to not be a bad influence for her, [[spoiler:panicking when Lian presents a homemade replica of her mask over the phone]].

''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'':

** [[ArcherArchetype Artemis Crock]] in the comics is the child of [[UnholyMatrimony Paula and Lawrence Crock]], all three being unrepentant supervillains. In the show Artemis is ashamed of her criminal lineage and Paula does a HeelFaceTurn after [[WheelchairWoobie being crippled]] and spending six years in prison. [[DarkActionGirl Cheshire]], who is Artemis' sister on the show [[RelatedInTheAdaptation (but not the comics)]], is introduced as a villain and member of the League of Shadows, but [[CharacterDevelopment evolves]] into an AntiVillain or AntiHero by season two. In the comics she once nuked a country ForTheEvulz.

** In the comics, Ma'alefa'ak is considerably more, well, malefic. While still villainous, this version is a WellIntentionedExtremist who is angry about the persecution of his fellow White Martians, while similarly stirring tensions on New Gensis, and there’s no level he won’t sink to in the name of, as he sees it, leveling the playing field (and while still the Cain in a CainAndAbel dynamic, he is changed from being Martian Manhunter's brother [[RelatedInTheAdaptation to]] Miss Martian's brother, being renamed [[AdaptationNameChange M'comm M'orzz]], who named himself after a Martian animal named the ma'alefa'ak in much the same manner that Batman uses the imagery of a bat to strike fear into the hearts of enemies). The comic version was a Green Martian who wiped out the other Green Martians[[note]]LostInImitation note: yes, it was the White Martians in both WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague and Series/Supergirl2015, so you can be forgiven for thinking it must be so in the comics, but it’s not.[[/note]] in revenge for being justly punished for using his PsychicPowers for MindRape of J'onn's wife. This slowly begins to be subverted when the season 4 premiere episodes show him [[spoiler:accepting a gene bomb from [[ComicBook/NewGods DeSaad]], the right hand man of ComicBook/{{Darkseid}}, attempting the genocide his comics counterpart was more successful at if it wasn't for the bomb being found and destroyed by the heroes.]]

** Windfall in the comics was originally introduced as a member of the supervillain team the Masters of Disaster, enemies of the Outsiders, before [[HeelFaceTurn turning against them]] and becoming an Outsider herself, though she later turned back to crime when she went on to work for Kobra. When she appeared in the show, she was shown to be a former trafficked metahuman residing at the Metahuman Youth Center, with no mention of any criminal past, her only threat being her [[PowerIncontinence difficulty controlling her powers]], which she is eventually able to fix by the season 3 finale. By season 4, [[spoiler:she then is shown to have joined the Outsiders in the one year time skip.]]

** ''ComicBook/{{Batman}} Annual'': Ironically enough, averted with Mr. Freeze, who experiences this trope's [[AdaptationalVillainy inverse]] instead for his New 52 interpretation.

** ComicBook/VandalSavage in the comics is probably the single most thoroughly vile individual in Franchise/TheDCU with many thousands of years worth of absolutely horrific crimes to his name. In the show, he's still definitely not a nice guy, but he's a KnightTemplar visionary whose acts are motivated by a desire to drive humanity to advance and make Earth a major universal power. While he does deliver a NeckSnap to one of his own daughters, Olympia, it is a MercyKill as she was increasingly becoming senile. [[spoiler:He later starts to show some semblance of his comic self's actions towards his daughter Scandal in the show, when [[AdaptationNameChange Cassandra]] reveals he kidnapped her from her family and lied about her mother being dead]].

*** ComicBook/AmandaWaller and Wade Eiling are still against people like the League, but the former isn't as much as a sociopath as her comics incarnation and the latter is interested in helping protect the country rather than serving himself. Likewise, albeit retroactively given his FaceHeelTurn was part of ''ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis'', Max Lord is less sleezy and evil.

** ComicBook/VandalSavage in the comics is probably the single most thoroughly vile individual in Franchise/TheDCU with many thousands of years worth of absolutely horrific crimes to his name. In the show, he's still definitely not a nice guy, but he's a KnightTemplar visionary whose acts are motivated by a desire to drive humanity to advance and make Earth a major universal power.
** Rumaan Harjavti is depicted as a benevolent figure and the democratically elected president of {{Qurac}}. In the comics, he was the Bialyan Queen Bee's predecessor as the ruler of Bialya and like her was a foe of the Justice League, though he was less intelligent.

** In the comics, Ma'alefa'ak is considerably more, well, malefic. While still villainous, this version is a WellIntentionedExtremist who is angry about the persecution of his fellow White Martians, and there’s no level he won’t sink to in the name of, as he sees it, leveling the playing field (and while still the Cain in a CainAndAbel dynamic, he is changed from being Martian Manhunter's brother [[RelatedInTheAdaptation to]] Miss Martian's brother, being renamed [[AdaptationNameChange M'comm M'orzz]], who named himself after a Martian animal named the ma'alefa'ak in much the same manner that Batman uses the imagery of a bat to strike fear into the hearts of enemies). The comic version was a Green Martian who wiped out the other Green Martians[[note]]LostInImitation note: yes, it was the White Martians in both WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague and Series/Supergirl2015, so you can be forgiven for thinking it must be so in the comics, but it’s not.[[/note]] in revenge for being justly punished for using his PsychicPowers for MindRape of J'onn's wife. This slowly begins to be subverted when the season 4 premiere episodes show him [[spoiler:accepting a gene bomb from [[ComicBook/NewGods DeSaad]], the right hand man of ComicBook/{{Darkseid}}, attempting the genocide his comics counterpart was more successful at if it wasn't for the bomb being found and destroyed by the heroes.]]

** In the comics, Ma'alefa'ak is considerably more, well, malefic. While still villainous, this version is a WellIntentionedExtremist who is angry about the persecution of his fellow White Martians, and there’s no level he won’t sink to in the name of, as he sees it, leveling the playing field (and while still the Cain in a CainAndAbel dynamic, he is changed from being Martian Manhunter's brother [[RelatedInTheAdaptation to]] Miss Martian's brother, being renamed [[AdaptationNameChange M'comm M'orzz]], who named himself after a Martian animal named the ma'alefa'ak in much the same manner that Batman uses the imagery of a bat to strike fear into the hearts of enemies). The comic version was a Green Martian who wiped out the other Green Martians[[note]]LostInImitation note: yes, it was the White Martians in both WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague and Series/Supergirl2015, so you can be forgiven for thinking it must be so in the comics, but it’s not.[[/note]] in revenge for being justly punished for using his PsychicPowers for MindRape. This slowly begins to be subverted when the season 4 premiere episodes show him [[spoiler:accepting a gene bomb from [[ComicBook/NewGods DeSaad]], the right hand man of ComicBook/{{Darkseid}}, implying he may attempt the genocide of his comics counterpart and lose his well-intentioned mannerisms.]]

** Anatoli Knyazev aka [=KGBeast=]. In the comics, he was usually a PsychoForHire, while on the show he's a sympathetic mobster who helps Ollie during his trip to Russia.

** [[spoiler:Dr. Harrison Wells, who is secretly the Reverse Flash in disguise and the main antagonist of the first season - is primarily motivated as a villain not so much by his desire to destroy the Flash like in the comics, but by his desire to return to his time and place in the future and reunite with his loved ones - albeit at any costs. In spite of also initially hating and seeing Barry as an enemy to be destroyed in his origin story, he grows to become genuinely fond of the young man and [[LikeASonToMe comes to see him as a son]], even admitting that it was not his version of Barry he hated but his future self, and that they were never enemies in the first place. Thawne [[DeathEqualsRedemption even goes as far as passing S.T.A.R. Labs down to Barry as part of his will in addition to giving him a video-taped confession about his role in murdering Nora Allen, exonerating Henry who was unjustly imprisoned for the murder and whom Barry had till then dedicated his entire life to get justice for]]. While Thawne is still the man who murdered Nora in the first place, the one who was responsible for framing Henry in the first place and still the monster of the Flash's childhood - it shows that on the show even the Reverse Flash has a heart, at the end of it all. However, later stories would double down on his evil qualities, as he becomes consumed in hatred when Barry destroys his time machine to prevent him from going to the future, and during ''Series/CrisisOnEarthX'', joined the [[PuttingOnTheReich Fourth Reich]].]]

** In the comics, Ma'alefa'ak is considerably more, well, malefic. While still villainous, this version is a WellIntentionedExtremist who is angry about the persecution of his fellow White Martians, and there’s no level he won’t sink to in the name of, as he sees it, leveling the playing field (and while still the Cain in a CainAndAbel dynamic, he is changed from being Martian Manhunter's brother [[RelatedInTheAdaptation to]] Miss Martian's brother, being renamed [[AdaptationNameChange M'comm M'orzz]], who named himself after a Martian animal named the ma'alefa'ak in much the same manner that Batman uses the imagery of a bat to strike fear into the hearts of enemies). The comic version was a Green Martian who wiped out the other Green Martians[[note]]LostInImitation note: yes, it was the White Martians in both WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague and Series/Supergirl2015, so you can be forgiven for thinking it must be so in the comics, but it’s not.[[/note]] in revenge for being justly punished for using his PsychicPowers for MindRape.

* In the classic ''ComicBook/{{Legion of Super-Heroes}}'', Mano of the Fatal Five had a bit of a FreudianExcuse in that he was subjected to prejudice on his home planet, before he [[WhereIWasBornAndRazed destroyed it]]. In the Reboot Legion, he destroys his planet ''after'' everyone on it was killed by weapons sold by [=MacCauley=] Industries, and then seeks revenge on Leyland [=MacCauley=]. When he realises the rest of the Five are a bunch of psychos who ''like'' destroying planets, he [[HeelFaceTurn turns against them]]. He later [[HeelFaceRevolvingDoor rejoins the group]], but still tries to avoid harming innocents.

** While {{ComicBook/John Constantine}} has his heroic moments, he was also a cynical​, alcoholic, self-centered con-man who couldn't care less about superheroes. While he's still smarmy, the John Constantine here is depicted as a more family-friendly version, as he's merely a deadpan and sarcastic paranormal investigator, even being a member of the Justice League.

** The entire planet of Daxam undergoes this. In the comics they're a race of FantasticRacist {{Absolute Xenophobe}}s so despicable that [[TokenHeroicOrc Sodom Yat]], one of only two known decent modern Daxamite (the other being Mon-El), refused to save them from Sinestro. Here they're more like obnoxious frat boys than space Nazis, although the Queen of Daxam turns out to be much worse that Mon-El suspects.

* [[spoiler: Lex Luthor]] is this in ''WesternAnimation/SupermanRedSon'', based on the comic of the same name. He starts out similar enough, what with his vendetta against Superman clouding his better judgement. [[spoiler: Unlike his comic counterpart, when he thinks Superman died, he's genuinely regretful for what he did, resigns as US president, and hands it over to someone else without a problem. Lex also doesn’t [[BadBoss kill his lab assistants]] in frustration here, like he did in the comic.]]

** The book's version of Comicbook/PoisonIvy (renamed "Ivy Du-Barry") is still an environmentalist, but not a violently militant one. She also seems to care about a broad range of social justice topics instead of just the environment, as opposed to he classic comic counterpart, who would just as soon KillAllHumans if it meant protecting the Earth's plants.