History AdaptationalVillainy / Comicbooks

* The ComicBook/{{New 52}} (as with the ''Wonder Woman'' examples above, many of these were reversed by ''ComicBook/DCRebirth''):

* ''ComicBook/SpiderManLifeStory'' gives this treatment to ComicBook/IronMan, Tony’s moral awakening about about being an ArmsDealer is removed and he happily continues being involved in UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar and he later becomes a CorruptCorporateExecutive at odds with Spidey, similar to ComicBook/NormanOsborn. Particularly jarring given most other Marvel characters in the comic besides Tony have their personalities unaltered, if not [[AdaptationalNiceGuy improved]] in the case of [[ComicBook/DoctorOctopus Otto]] and Norman. [[spoiler: Although Tony does posthumously leave behind a satellite, that once activated will free world from ComicBook/DoctorDoom’s control.]]

* In ''Literature/TheDarkTower'' novels, John Farson is an ambiguous figure who never appears on the page. He's responsible for the destruction of Gilead... but his numerous followers call him The Good Man, and for all we know he may have had legitimate grievances with the gunslingers. In [[ComicBook/TheDarkTower the comics]], we actually get to see him, and he's a psychopathic tyrant who decapitates prisoners to play baseball with their heads.ason Todd leads a road gang.

* Batman and Red Hood are usually heroes. In ''ComicBook/GothamCityGarage'', Bruce Wayne is ComicBook/LexLuthor's chief enforcer and J* A staple of [[Creator/DCComics DC Comics']] ''ComicBook/HannaBarberaBeyond'' line, since the franchise is basically [[DarkerAndEdgier grimmer takes]] on old Creator/HannaBarbera properties. To wit:

* ''ComicBook/SpiderManLifeStory'' gives this treatment to ComicBook/IronMan, Tony’s moral awakening about about being an ArmsDealer is removed and he happily continues being involved in UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar and he later becomes a CorruptCorporateExecutive at odds with Spidey, similar to ComicBook/NormanOsborn. Particularly jarring given most other Marvel characters in the comic besides Tony have their personalities unaltered, if not [[AdaptationalNiceGuy improved]] in the case of [[ComicBook/DoctorOctopus Otto]] and Norman. [[spoiler: Although Tony posthumously does a leave behind satellite that once activated will free world from ComicBook/DoctorDoom’s control.]]

* In the ''ComicBook/TheMightyThor'' comics, ComicBook/{{Loki}} is generally depicted as an evil god (though some individual writers have made him more of an AntiVillain), but in the original Norse mythology he's a much more ambiguous figure, usually taking the role of TheTrickster.

* In ''ComicBook/SupermanFamilyAdventures,'' Lor-Zod was raised by his villainous parents and works with them. In pre-Flashpoint mainstream comics he gets adopted by Franchise/{{Superman}} and ''ComicBook/LoisLane'', renamed "Chris Kent" and becomes a superhero himself. ''ComicBook/SupermanRebirth'' makes the ''SFA'' version canon.

* In ''Literature/TheDarkTower'' novels, John Farson is an ambiguous figure who never appears on the page. He's responsible for the destruction of Gilead... but his numerous followers call him The Good Man, and for all we know he may have had legitimate grievances with the gunslingers. In [[ComicBook/TheDarkTower the comics]], we actually get to see him, and he's a psychopathic tyrant who decapitates prisoners to play baseball with their heads.ason Todd leads a road gang.

* ''ComicBook/AmalgamUniverse'':
** Cable and Manhunter are both heroes in their respective universes, but become the villainous mercenary Wired.
** Deathlok (a cyborg who, in every iteration, wishes to break free of his killing machine programming) and Jason Todd (the then-thought-dead Robin, whose Red Hood AntiVillain days wouldn't be for another nine years) are merged into a ruthless cyborg HYDRA agent.
** Mr. Freeze lacks the redeeming qualities he has in the comics, due to being merged with Nazi scientist Wolfgang von Strucker.
* The basic theme of ''ComicBook/MichaelCray'' is Cray hunting down the [[ComicBook/TheWildStorm Wild Storm]] universe counterparts of the ComicBook/JusticeLeague, who are all complete monsters. [[ComicBook/GreenArrow Oliver Queen]] became obsessed with survival on the island and now [[HuntingTheMostDangerousGame hunts people]] to see if they deserve to live; [[Franchise/TheFlash Barry Allen]] is a paranoid lunatic with a SplitPersonality who uses his SuperSpeed to murder anyone working to develop ArtificialIntelligence; [[ComicBook/{{Aquaman}} Arthur Curry]] is a mutant fish monster and [[SerialNumbersFiledOff lawyer-friendly]] equivalent of [[Franchise/CthulhuMythos Dagon]]; ComicBook/JohnConstantine is a sociopathic dark wizard and even more of a prick than his mainstream equivalent; and [[ComicBook/WonderWoman Diana Prince]] is a CorruptCorporateExecutive and religious zealot planning to unleash the Old Gods on the world who gets her powers from [=LexCorp=] experimental super-steroids.
* ''ComicBook/HeroesReborn'':
** Mantis in ''ComicBook/HeroesRebornTheAvengers'' retroactively counts as this, as while it was reflective of her status in ''ComicBook/TheCrossing'' as someone who decided to join Kang, that particular "Mantis" was revealed to be a Space Phantom and not the real Mantis in ''ComicBook/AvengersForever''.
** Downplayed with [[spoiler:Wyatt Wingfoot]] in ''ComicBook/HeroesRebornFantasticFour''. At first, he seems like TheMole for ComicBook/DoctorDoom, but [[spoiler:that "Wingfoot" was really the ''HR'' version of the Super-Skrull in disguise and the real Wyatt is still a good guy.]]
** ''ComicBook/HeroesRebornIronMan'' sees Jasper Sitwell as very underhanded, responsible for turning Doc Samson into the ''HR'' [[CompositeCharacter version of the Abomination]].
* ''ComicBook/SpiderMen II'' picks up where the original left in regards to Peter finding out about ComicBook/MilesMorales's counterpart in the mainline universe--a friend and former ally of ComicBook/TheKingpin back before Fisk did his coup against Don Rigoletto.
* Pre-Crisis ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'' comics would see Morgan Edge as a ruthless businessman, but was overall a BenevolentBoss to his employees, though a clone impersonating him did have ties to Intergang and Darkseid. ComicBook/PostCrisis, Edge was a CorruptCorporateExecutive with genuine ties to Intergang.
* ''ComicBook/BatmanThrillkiller'':
** ComicBook/TwoFace in the mainstream continuity was ultimately a tragic figure who was constantly trying and failing to reform. His counterpart Duell is a DirtyCop racketeer who ends up becoming [[ComicBook/TheJoker Bianca Steeplechase]]'s first {{Dragon}} and has zero redeeming qualities.
** Killer Croc may be a violent criminal, but he's never been the bodyguard to a Nazi.
** [[spoiler:At the time of the comic's release, Harley Quinn was still a villain and Joker's gleeful sidekick in the mainstream continuity, but her tragic elements are omitted in this canon.]]
* ''Batman: Damned'', a sequel to the ''ComicBook/{{Joker}}'' comic, reveals the nastiest depiction of Bruce Wayne's family this side of the Telltale Games adaptation. Thomas Wayne is a shameless philanderer who picks up women in young Bruce's presence and threatens to divorce Martha when she confronts him on it. Martha, in response, hires a hitman to have Thomas assassinated so she can get the Wayne fortune before the divorce is finalized - the implication being that the hitman was Joe Chill. No wonder Batman is even more messed up here than his mainstream depiction.
* ''ComicBook/CatwomanGuardianOfGotham'': In a world where Catwoman and Batman have [[{{Elseworld}} switched places]], with the former becoming a vigilante superhero after her wealthy parents were killed, you'd think Batman would be a mere GentlemanThief who often flirts with the female protagonist... he's more of a deranged SerialKiller who murders the Joker in his first scene before offing the rest of Catwoman's RoguesGallery to prevent them from stealing his spotlight. He's also revealed to be the one to have killed Selina Kyle's parents ForTheEvulz. The whole DatingCatwoman angle is invoked when Bruce seduces and ''marries'' Selina, then murders her best friend before trying to kill her as well.
* ''ComicBook/{{Vampirella}}'':
** Very explicitely Pantha in the 2018 run (although she never was a nice kitty in the first place).
** Vampirella herself in more... non-legit... works, where she usually is an evil vampire rather than a FriendlyNeighborhoodVampire. (Probably not a good example, as this more falls under CriticalResearchFailure or even Couldn't Care Less.)
* ''[[ComicBook/MuppetClassics Muppet Sherlock Holmes]]'' gives this treatment to Irene Adler (portrayed by Miss Piggy), who at the end of the series is revealed to actually be the adopted sister of Professor Moriarty (portrayed by Uncle Deadly) conspiring with her brother to do away with Sherlock Holmes (portrayed by Gonzo).
* ''ComicBook/GIJoeReloaded'' had Duke turn out to be a traitor planted into the Joes by Cobra.
* When the ''ComicBook/IncredibleHulk'' comics decided to do its own version of Bruce's father (''Series/TheIncredibleHulk1977'' has Banner's dad as a man named DW), Brian abused his family and killed his wife, unthinkable by DW Banner.

* In the ''ComicBook/TheMightyThor'' comics, ComicBook/{{Loki}} is generally depicted as an evil god (though some individual writers have made him more of an AntiVillain), but in the original Norse mythology he's a much more ambiguous figure, usually taking the role of TheTrickster.
** He himself noticed this and killed himself in the ''ComicBook/{{Siege}}'' to change. His success is... ambiguous, but he managed to ''not'' go back to straight up villainy for years until 2016 where he joined a team of Asgardian villains.
* Batman and Red Hood are usually heroes. In ''ComicBook/GothamCityGarage'', Bruce Wayne is ComicBook/LexLuthor's chief enforcer and Jason Todd leads a road gang.

* ''Franchise/WonderWoman'':
** Played with in the case of the Greek gods and goddesses in the comic. A number of them started out as LighterAndSofter than they were in Myth/GreekMythology. However, ComicBook/{{Ares|DC}}, the God of War, is portrayed as so dangerous and TooPowerfulToLive that Wonder Woman has to actually ''kill'' him in [[ComicBook/WonderWoman2006 at least one adaptation]]. Ares in the Greek myths, although TheBerserker and ironically a bit of a DirtyCoward, [[HiddenHeartOfGold looked after his kids]] and was worshipped like the other gods. However, the more recent Wonder Woman stories have taken to portraying the pantheon as somewhere closer to what they were like in mythology.
** Since its change from [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1942 Paradise Island]] to Themyscira the Amazon homeland has always had its share of misandrists and {{Straw Feminist}}s, but their attitude gradually descended over the years from an isolationist community serving as a refuge for women, to having a few bad apples, to having a legit excuse for hating and fearing men ([[ComicBook/WonderWoman1987 being the spirits of women who were murdered by abusive spouses]]), to the [[ComicBook/WonderWoman2011 New 52]], where they have truly become evil, [[ConceiveAndKill raping and murdering men in order to reproduce]] and engaging in child slave trading. [[http://www.geekscape.net/how-dc-comics-forced-one-lifelong-wonder-woman-fan-to-quit-buying-her-comic Most fans were furious.]] The New 52 explanation has been retconned away with ComicBook/DCRebirth by revealing that everything Diana knew of them was actually a lie.
** [[ComicBook/HerculesUnbound Heracles]] in the modern adaptation is portrayed as a villain who raped Hippolyta (instead of just seducing her). He becomes TheAtoner, however.
** Ironically, in the ComicBook/New52 Wonder Woman series, Ares (only referred to as "War") is one of the few Olympians who isn't somewhat villainous. The most villainous of the Olympians is Apollo, one of the most noble Olympian gods in the original mythology.
** Cottus, one of the Hekatonkheires, is a major enemy of Wonder Woman and a frighteningly powerful PersonOfMassDestruction. In mythology, he and his brothers allied with the Olympians against the Titans and he was their jailer in Tartarus.
** The New 52 version of Donna Troy was never ComicBook/WonderGirl and was created as a murderous misandrist to lead the Amazons in slaughtering their male offspring. This change was undone in ''ComicBook/WonderWomanRebirth'' and ''ComicBook/TitansRebirth'' where its revealed her mind was tampered with and her past as Wonder Girl did really occur.
** In ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1987'' Dr. Leslie Anderson spoke out against her friend Veronica Cale's questionable opinions, and once she realized her friend was a villain left to tell Wonder Woman what she'd learned and ally with her. In ''ComicBook/WonderWomanRebirth'' Cale is given much more sympathetic motivations so Dr. Anderson never leaves her side and dies fighting Wondy.
** In ''ComicBook/{{The Legend of Wonder Woman|2016}}'' Antiope is SparedByTheAdaptation at the cost of becoming a villain instead of being the Amazon to lead those who could not accept the god's biased judgement of their actions in killing the men who drugged, raped and enslaved them and instead chose to remain mortal and abandon the gods like main DC counterpart.
* ComicBook/UltimateMarvel: Has [[AdaptationalVillainy/UltimateMarvel its own page]].
* Similar to [[spoiler:her]] Ultimate incarnation above, the ''ComicBook/Marvel1602'' version of [[spoiler:Black Widow, turns out to be a reversal of her original counterpart, only in this case, she's a double agent for [[ComicBook/DoctorDoom Count Otto von Doom]]]].

* ''ComicBook/DisneyDucksComicUniverse'': John Rockerduck is portrayed as a CorruptCorporateExecutive in several stories but he was by no means this or any other kind of villain in the only story his creator Creator/CarlBarks used him in.

* [[spoiler: Geppetto and Goldilocks]] in ''ComicBook/{{Fables}}''. In their respective stories, [[spoiler:Geppetto]] is a benevolent, fatherly figure while [[spoiler:Goldilocks]] is nothing more than a harmless, if annoying, intruder. In the comics, on the other hand:
** [[spoiler: Gepetto is "The Adversary", the vicious tyrant who has crushed thousands of fantasy worlds and murdered billions, all in the name of peace.]]
** [[spoiler: Goldilocks is a vicious rabble-rousing anarchist who stirs up revolution just for the fun of seeing people fighting.]]
** Hansel, one of the protagonists of [[Literature/HanselAndGretel his fairy tale]], grows up to become a sadistic witch-hunter and {{Fantastic Racis|m}}t who, among other heinous acts, murders his own sister.
** In Snow White's backstory, the seven dwarfs were abusers and rapists who treated her like a slave.
** Dorothy Gale appears in the spin-off ''Cinderella: Fables Are Forever'' and is portrayed as a PsychoForHire who considers her old friends expendable.

* Baron Karza in the Marvel ''ComicBook/{{Micronauts}}'' comic books is the BigBad of the "Homeworld" sector of Microverse. The toy line gave little to no characterization of the various figures. In the toyline, he was described as the rival to Force Commander but he was also one of a number of assorted Magno figures of a similar theme. There were also other European release only characters such as Green Baron and King Atlas. All of these characters were lesser nobles under a figure named Red Falcon who was the right hand of an Emperor Megas. In the toyline, Karza seemed to be evil by default because of [[GoodColorsEvilColors color coding]] and because Karza bore a passing resemblance to [[DarthVaderClone another armored villain from]] ''[[Franchise/StarWars a then recent very popular]] [[Film/ANewHope space fantasy movie.]]'' But we don't know for sure if he was the worst of the worst, especially since Megas does an even better job at the [[DarthVaderClone passing resemblance]].
* Wonder Dog in ''WesternAnimation/{{Superfriends}}'' is a cute, Franchise/ScoobyDoo-like mascot. Wonder Dog in the DC comics is a hellhound belonging to Ares' son who disguised himself as a normal dog, ''killed'' Marvin, and paralyzed Wendy, carrying out his master's desires to target Wonder Girl. He ended up getting killed by the Teen Titans in the end.
** In his cameo in the ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' episode "Ultimatum" he's portrayed similarly as a beast.
* IDW's ''Star Trek: Countdown To Darkness'', set in the [[AlternateTimeline Alternate Reality]] between ''Film/StarTrek2009'' and ''Film/StarTrekIntoDarkness'' features the new timeline's version of the original ''Enterprise's'' first captain in the prime reality, [[http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Robert_April Robert April]]. [[spoiler: He FaceHeelTurn[=s=] into a rogue AntiVillain, hijacking the new ''Enterprise'' in order to save an alien species from extinction.]]
* ''Marvel Noir'' has some cases, most notably the ComicBook/XMen, who, in this timeline, aren't mutants, but sociopaths– and [[spoiler: Jean Grey killed Rogue]]. [[spoiler:Professor X himself]] is the BigBad of the sequel miniseries.
** In ''ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} Noir'', the BigBad is [[spoiler: Rose, from Wolvie's mini ''Origin'']].
** In ''ComicBook/SpiderManNoir'', Curt Connors is a Nazi-sympathetic scientist and assistant to Doctor Octopus who remorselessly experiments on humans, very different from his mainstream comics counterpart, who is generally a good guy when he isn't having SuperpoweredEvilSide issues.
* In Threeboot ''ComicBook/LegionOfSuperheroes'', White Witch, Polar Boy and Chlorophyll Kid (as Plant Lad) are all members of the Wanderers, which is an antihero version of the Legion of Super-Villains, a bit like the Light Speed Vanguard in [[WesternAnimation/LegionOfSuperheroes the cartoon]]. In the original continuity, White Witch is a Legionnaire, and Polar Boy and Chlorophyll Kid are founders of the Legion of Substitute Heroes.
* In ''ComicBook/{{Noob}}'', the comic version of Donteuil in regards to the webseries one. When that fact that [[spoiler:Fantöm's avatar was illegally enhanced]] gets revealed in the webseries, Judge Dead is the one who decides to blame the whole thing on its LockedOutOfTheLoop victim. A couple of webseries scenes give the impression that Donteuil has a MyGodWhatHaveIDone feeling towards the victim in question and it's via Donteuil that the audience eventually finds out that the victim's situation isn't as bad as it first looked. In the comic, Donteuil seems to be the one who decided to pull the "blame the victim" move, while the "situation not as bad as it first looked" reveal comes from a FictionalDocument that gets no mention in the webseries, provided by someone else than Donteuil.
* In the ''ComicBook/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicIDW'' 2014 Holiday Equestria Girls Special, the Cutie Mark Crusaders hit this big time as the human version of "Ponyville Confidential" turns quite dark as this version of their gossip column, Anon-A-Miss, was done not out of being blackmailed, but because Applebloom [[GreenEyedMonster grew jealous of Applejack's time with Sunset Shimmer]] and the others followed along with her.
* The GreaterScopeVillain in ''ComicBook/{{Nextwave}}'' is [[spoiler: Devil Dinosaur]]. Usually a heroic character, he's now an OmnicidalManiac in charge of a massive terrorist organization, killed and ''ate'' his partner [[spoiler: Moon Boy]] (who is also abusive here), and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking he can also]] [[spoiler: [[SuddenlySpeaking speak]]]]. When the events of ''Nextwave'' became part of mainstream Marvel continuity, they were both naturally revealed to be evil clones. All PlayedForLaughs, of course.
* ''ComicBook/TheMultiversity'':
** In ''Thunderworld #1'', Magnificus Sivana is on his father's side with [[DaddysLittleVillain Junior and Georgia]], while traditionally he's [[MadDictatorsHandsomeSon a good guy]] and friend of the Marvel Family.
** In ''Pax Americana #1'', Sarge Steel, a hero in both Franchise/TheDCU and the Creator/CharltonComics universe, is the [[TheDragon bloodthirsty second in command]] of the [[EvilChancellor evil Vice President]].
* PlayedWith in ''ComicBook/BillyBatsonAndTheMagicOfShazam:'' when Freddy first shows up, he blames Captain Marvel for his disability and originally gains superpowers as [[EvilCounterpart Black Adam]]'s sidekick. Of course, within a few issues he [[HeelRealization realizes that was a bad idea]] and defects for the Marvel Family.
* In ''ComicBook/SupermanFamilyAdventures,'' Lor-Zod was raised by his villainous parents and works with them. In pre-Flashpoint mainstream comics he gets adopted by Franchise/{{Superman}} and ''ComicBook/LoisLane'', renamed "Chris Kent" and becomes a superhero himself. ''ComicBook/SupermanRebirth'' makes the ''SFA'' version canon.
* ''ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'': Supergirl's father Zor-El was a decent, nice person and a good father in the original pre-Crisis continuity. Post-Crisis he was briefly portrayed as a paranoid lunatic defined by his jealousy of Jor-El, who turned Kara into a weapon, but that got retconned as a halucination. In the ''ComicBook/New52'' universe and ''ComicBook/SupergirlRebirth'' he took part in the creation of world-killing biological weapons and became the villainous Cyborg Superman.
* ''ComicBook/JemAndTheHolograms'': Zig-zagged with Clash. She outright tries to murder Jem (or at least seriously hurt her). In the cartoon she never did anything besides try and get her band embarrassed or make them fail. Even The Misfits don't want to discuss what Clash did. However, outside of that, she's not violent or any meaner than usual.
* ''ComicBook/AfterlifeWithArchie'':
** Veronica is somewhere between this and AdaptationalJerkass. She is not very sympathetic. She and Betty are friends in the [[ComicBook/ArchieComics main comics]] and she's varying degrees of SpoiledSweet, however here she's a total bully who was AllTakeAndNoGive in her former friendship with Betty. They mostly get along poorly.
** Zelda and Hilda are not the goofy, nice aunts they normally are. This change applies to ''ComicBook/ChillingAdventuresOfSabrina'' as well.
* ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'':
** ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics'':
*** According to their Japanese-only bios, Bean the Dynamite and Bark the Polar Bear from ''VideoGame/SonicTheFighters'' are friends of ''Sonic'''s. They're both friendly characters and Bark is an outright GentleGiant. Here they are villainous mercenaries and part of a TerribleTrio with Nack.
*** In ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfSonicTheHedgehog'', Breezie the Hedgehog was a robot Dr. Robotnik made who had a HeelFaceTurn after falling in love with Sonic. In ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics'', she was out-and-out a villain who worked with Dr. Eggman as part of a scheme to destroy Sonic and later became a VillainWithGoodPublicity, messing with everyone while being unable to be touched.
** ''ComicBook/SonicTheComic'':
*** Chaos, who is depicted as a transformed and already villainous Drakon Prosecutor with no sympathetic backstory or clear motivation. In ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure'', he is a mutated Chao who was previously peaceful, only turning violent when all of his Chao friends were massacred by the Knuckles Tribe, under the leadership of Chief Pachacamac. Tikal the Echidna, who Chaos tortures in the comic, was his friend in the game, and the two leave in peace after Chaos is calmed down.
*** Robotnik himself, while still maintaining some of his comical pathos from the games, is far more evil and void of redeeming aspects, gaining a similar dictator role as his ''WesternAnimation/SonicTheHedgehogSatAM'' and ''[[WesternAnimation/SonicUnderground Underground]]'' counterpart, then he becomes even worse than his game incarnation by [[OmnicidalManiac trying to destroy Mobius outright]].
*** Super Sonic is a psychopath - in the games, he was an alternate form of Sonic as opposed to a full-blown SplitPersonality ([[SuperpoweredEvilSide and a nasty one at that]]).
* ''ComicBook/LaffALympics'': Dread Baron was already a villain in the cartoon but he never tried to double-cross any of his own teammates there. In "The Meet at Mount Ono", when he finds out the Laff-a-Lympic officials placed a chest full of money at the top of the titular mount to be shared among the members of the team that wins the climbing contest, he tries to take the money for himself and isn't above endangering the life of the Rotten athlete originally chosen to represent his team during the contest.
* Many of the Marvel characters unambiguously on the side of good that were featured in ''ComicBook/{{Ruins}}'' who ''weren't'' [[DeathByAdaptation killed]] by the accidents that gave them their powers are portrayed in a far more sinister light, the most jarring examples including Professor X being [[PresidentEvil a corrupt President of the United States]] who imprisons and mutilates mutants rather than the benevolent leader of the X-Men and Captain America's ally Nomad being a Nazi sympathizer.
* In ''Franchise/TheFlash: Rebirth'', Professor Zoom is delighted to learn that one of the differences between the history of this Flash and the one he's familiar with is [[spoiler: that Barry's future children, Don and Dawn, become villains because he was never there for them. In the previous continuity, they were the heroic Tornado Twins.]]
* A staple of [[Creator/DCComics DC Comics']] ComicBook/HannaBarberaBeyond line, since the franchise is basically [[DarkerAndEdgier grimmer takes]] on old Creator/HannaBarbera properties. To wit:
** ''ComicBook/ScoobyApocalypse'': Just like in the movies, the traditionally heroic Scrappy is a [[TheNapoleon little bully]].
** ''ComicBook/WackyRaceland'': A good chunk of the cast is portrayed this way compared to ''WesternAnimation/WackyRaces''. For instance, Red Max in the original series was a [[FunnyForeigner bumbling, yet gentlemanly German pilot]]. In ''Raceland'', well...he's a [[AllGermansAreNazis Nazi]].
* In ''Literature/TheDarkTower'' novels, John Farson is an ambiguous figure who never appears on the page. He's responsible for the destruction of Gilead... but his numerous followers call him The Good Man, and for all we know he may have had legitimate grievances with the gunslingers. In [[ComicBook/TheDarkTower the comics]], we actually get to see him, and he's a psychopathic tyrant who decapitates prisoners to play baseball with their heads.

* The ''ComicBook/HeroesReborn'' version of Mantis retroactively counts as this, as while it was reflective of her status in ''ComicBook/TheCrossing'' as someone who decided to join Kang, ''Crossing''!Mantis was revealed to be a Space Phantom and not the real Mantis in ''ComicBook/AvengersForever''.

* ''ComicBook/GIJoeReloaded'' had Duke turn out to be a traitor planted into the Joes by Cobra.

* In the ''ComicBook/TheMightyThor'' comics, Comicbook/{{Loki}} is generally depicted as an evil god (though some individual writers have made him more of an AntiVillain), but in the original Norse mythology he's a much more ambiguous figure, usually taking the role of TheTrickster.

* ''Comicbook/HouseOfM'':
** Comicbook/ShangChi is the leader of a Chinatown street gang and seeks to rebuild his deceased father's criminal empire (in contrast to the mainline continuity, where he opposed his father's evil activities and thwarted them whenever possible). He eventually comes around, though, and acts as an ally to Luke Cage's Avengers.
** Thunderbird was already portrayed as a hothead in the mainstream ''Comicbook/XMen'' comics, but this version of the character is a RabidCop and [[FantasticRacism Fantastic Racist]] who hates humans. He's willing to go to extremely shady lengths to take down Comicbook/LukeCage's Human Resistance Movement, including using PoliceBrutality, allying himself with a murderous gangster like Comicbook/TheKingpin, and even performing an outright purge of a human neighborhood. His actions eventually prove to be too much even for ''Comicbook/{{Magneto}}'', who has him placed on unpaid suspension.

** Since it's change from [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1942 Paradise Island]] to Themyscira the Amazon homeland has always had its share of misandrists and {{Straw Feminist}}s, but their attitude gradually descended over the years from an isolationist community serving as a refuge for women, to having a few bad apples, to having a legit excuse for hating and fearing men ([[ComicBook/WonderWoman1987 being the spirits of women who were murdered by abusive spouses]]), to the [[ComicBook/WonderWoman2011 New 52]], where they have truly become evil, [[ConceiveAndKill raping and murdering men in order to reproduce]] and engaging in child slave trading. [[http://www.geekscape.net/how-dc-comics-forced-one-lifelong-wonder-woman-fan-to-quit-buying-her-comic Most fans were furious.]] The New 52 explanation has been retconned away with ComicBook/DCRebirth by revealing that everything Diana knew of them was actually a lie.

** Ironically, in the ComicBook/{{New 52}} Wonder Woman series, Ares (only referred to as "War") is one of the few Olympians who isn't somewhat villainous. The most villainous of the Olympians is Apollo, one of the most noble Olympian gods in the original mythology.

* The ComicBook/{{New 52}} (as with the ''Wonder Woman'' examples above, many of these were reversed by ''Comicbook/DCRebirth''):

** In the New 52 ''Comicbook/TeenTitans'', [[spoiler: Raven is a willing servant of her father, the demon Trigon, and is using the Titans as part of a thus-far undisclosed plan; Superboy is a living weapon who doesn't really "get" morality (and was later replaced by a full-blown murderous psychopath); Cassie/Wonder Girl is a thrill-seeking cat burglar; and Bart/Kid Flash is a former terrorist leader (albeit against a really horrible-seeming regime). Tim/Red Robin is a bit of a jerk as well.]]
** In the original ''Comicbook/NewGods'', the good gods of New Genesis were the creative free-will of chaos, and the evil gods of Apokolips were the stifling controlling forces of order. In the New 52 version (as seen in ''Infinity Man and the Forever People'' and ''Comicbook/GreenLantern: Godhead'') they ''both'' represent order and control, with Highfather as a WellIntentionedExtremist, who may be just as much a threat to humanity as Darkseid.

** Hansel, one of the protagonists of [[Literature/HanselAndGretel his fairy tale]], grows up to become a sadistic witch-hunter and [[FantasticRacism Fantastic Racist]] who, among other heinous acts, murders his own sister.

** IDW's version of Rattrap, particularly in ''[[ComicBook/TheTransformersWindblade Windblade]]'', but also present in [[ComicBook/TheTransformersRobotsinDisguise Robots in Disguise]]. His ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'' counterpart was a JerkWithAHeartOfGold who could be counted on to do the right thing, albeit complaining all the while. IDW's version? A selfish, backstabbing, amoral creep who plays TheStarscream to Starscream himself.

* In Threeboot ''Comicbook/LegionOfSuperheroes'', White Witch, Polar Boy and Chlorophyll Kid (as Plant Lad) are all members of the Wanderers, which is an antihero version of the Legion of Super-Villains, a bit like the Light Speed Vanguard in [[WesternAnimation/LegionOfSuperheroes the cartoon]]. In the original continuity, White Witch is a Legionnaire, and Polar Boy and Chlorophyll Kid are founders of the Legion of Substitute Heroes.

* PlayedWith in ''Comicbook/BillyBatsonAndTheMagicOfShazam:'' when Freddy first shows up, he blames Captain Marvel for his disability and originally gains superpowers as [[EvilCounterpart Black Adam]]'s sidekick. Of course, within a few issues he [[HeelRealization realizes that was a bad idea]] and defects for the Marvel Family.
* In ''Comicbook/SupermanFamilyAdventures,'' Lor-Zod was raised by his villainous parents and works with them. In pre-Flashpoint mainstream comics he gets adopted by Franchise/{{Superman}} and ''Comicbook/LoisLane'', renamed "Chris Kent" and becomes a superhero himself. ''Comicbook/SupermanRebirth'' makes the ''SFA'' version canon.
* ''Comicbook/{{Supergirl}}'': Supergirl's father Zor-El was a decent, nice person and a good father in the original pre-Crisis continuity. Post-Crisis he was briefly portrayed as a paranoid lunatic defined by his jealousy of Jor-El, who turned Kara into a weapon, but that got retconned as a halucination. In the ''Comicbook/{{New 52}}'' universe and ''Comicbook/SupergirlRebirth'' he took part in the creation of world-killing biological weapons and became the villainous Cyborg Superman.

** ''ComicBook/ArchieComicsSonicTheHedgehog'':

*** In ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfSonicTheHedgehog'', Breezie the Hedgehog was a robot Dr. Robotnik made who had a HeelFaceTurn after falling in love with Sonic. In ''ComicBook/ArchieComicsSonicTheHedgehog'', she was out-and-out a villain who worked with Dr. Eggman as part of a scheme to destroy Sonic and later became a VillainWithGoodPublicity, messing with everyone while being unable to be touched.

* ''Comicbook/LaffALympics'': Dread Baron was already a villain in the cartoon but he never tried to double-cross any of his own teammates there. In "The Meet at Mount Ono", when he finds out the Laff-a-Lympic officials placed a chest full of money at the top of the titular mount to be shared among the members of the team that wins the climbing contest, he tries to take the money for himself and isn't above endangering the life of the Rotten athlete originally chosen to represent his team during the contest.

* The basic theme of ''Comicbook/MichaelCray'' is Cray hunting down the [[Comicbook/TheWildStorm Wild Storm]] universe counterparts of the Comicbook/JusticeLeague, who are all complete monsters. [[Comicbook/GreenArrow Oliver Queen]] became obsessed with survival on the island and now [[HuntingTheMostDangerousGame hunts people]] to see if they deserve to live; [[Franchise/TheFlash Barry Allen]] is a paranoid lunatic with a SplitPersonality who uses his SuperSpeed to murder anyone working to develop ArtificialIntelligence; [[Comicbook/{{Aquaman}} Arthur Curry]] is a mutant fish monster and [[SerialNumbersFiledOff lawyer-friendly]] equivalent of [[Franchise/CthulhuMythos Dagon]]; Comicbook/JohnConstantine is a sociopathic dark wizard and even more of a prick than his mainstream equivalent; and [[Comicbook/WonderWoman Diana Prince]] is a CorruptCorporateExecutive and religious zealot planning to unleash the Old Gods on the world who gets her powers from [=LexCorp=] experimental super-steroids.

* Wonder Dog in ''WesternAnimation/{{Superfriends}}'' is a cute, Franchise/ScoobyDoo-like mascot. Wonder Dog in the DC comics is a hellhound belonging to Ares' nephew who disguised himself as a normal dog, ''killed'' Marvin, and paralyzed Wendy, carrying out his master's desires to target Wonder Girl. He ended up getting killed by the Teen Titans in the end.

** Played with in the case of the Greek gods and goddesses in the comic. A number of them started out as LighterAndSofter than they were in Myth/GreekMythology. However, Ares, the God of War, is portrayed as so dangerous and TooPowerfulToLive that Wonder Woman has to actually ''kill'' him in [[ComicBook/WonderWoman2006 at least one adaptation]]. Ares in the Greek myths, although TheBerserker and ironically a bit of a DirtyCoward, [[HiddenHeartOfGold looked after his kids]] and was worshipped like the other gods. However, the more recent Wonder Woman stories have taken to portraying the pantheon as somewhere closer to what they were like in mythology.

* The basic theme of ''Comicbook/MichaelCray'' is Cray hunting down the [[Comicbook/TheWildStorm Wild Storm]] universe counterparts of the Comicbook/JusticeLeague, who are all complete monsters. [[Comicbook/GreenArrow Oliver Queen]] became obsessed with survival on the island and now [[HuntingTheMostDangerousGame hunts people]] to see if they deserve to live; [[Comicbook/{{Flash}} Barry Allen]] is a paranoid lunatic with a SplitPersonality who uses his SuperSpeed to murder anyone working to develop ArtificialIntelligence; [[Comicbook/{{Aquaman}} Arthur Curry]] is a mutant fish monster and [[SerialNumbersFiledOff lawyer-friendly]] equivalent of [[Franchise/CthulhuMythos Dagon]]; Comicbook/JohnConstantine is a sociopathic dark wizard and even more of a prick than his mainstream equivalent; and [[Comicbook/WonderWoman Diana Prince]] is a CorruptCorporateExecutive and religious zealot planning to unleash the Old Gods on the world who gets her powers from [=LexCorp=] experimental super-steroids.

* In ''Comicbook/TheFlash (Rebirth)'', Professor Zoom is delighted to learn that one of the differences between the history of this Flash and the one he's familiar with is [[spoiler: that Barry's future children, Don and Dawn, become villains because he was never there for them. In the previous continuity, they were the heroic Tornado Twins.]]

* Wonder Dog in ''WesternAnimation/{{Superfriends}}'' is a cute, Franchise/ScoobyDoo-like mascot. Wonder Dog in the DC comics is a hellhound who disguised himself as a normal dog, ''killed'' Marvin, and paralyzed Wendy. He ended up getting killed by the Teen Titans in the end.

** ComicBook/TheCreeper, formerly a [[EvilCounterpart Good Counterpart]] to ComicBook/TheJoker as well as an alter ego of Jack Ryder, was brought back in ''ComicBook/{{Katana}}'' as a demonic villain who seems to want to ''haunt'' Ryder.

*** In general, spies, whether good or bad, are regarded as [[GreyAndGrayMorality inherently shifty characters]] with M, the leader of M16 and the creator of the league, revealed in ''Volume 1'' to be [[spoiler:James Moriarty]] and his successor, the nominally good Mycroft Holmes shown to be if possible, more ruthless. ''The Black Dossier'' takes this even further with a very negative portrayal of Cold War era spy fiction, M16 pulling TheCoup and installing Big Brother from ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour'' and being led by [[spoiler:[[Film/TheThirdMan Harry Lime]]]] with [[Series/TheAvengers Emma Peel]] shown as little more than an UnwittingPawn and Franchise/JamesBond a misogynist scumbag [[spoiler:who is a traitor to England and working for the CIA and becomes a KarmaHoudini VillainWithGoodPublicity.]]

* ''Comicbook/{{Supergirl}}'': Supergirl's father Zor-El was a decent, nice person and a good father in the original pre-Crisis and post-Crisis continuity. In the ''Comicbook/{{New 52}}'' universe and ''Comicbook/SupergirlRebirth'' he took part in the creation of world-killing biological weapons and became the villainous Cyborg Superman.

* ''[[ComicBook/MuppetClassics Muppet Sherlock Holmes]]'' gives this treatment to Irene Adler (portrayed by Miss Piggy), who at the end of the series is revealed to actually be the adopted sister of Professor Moriarty (portrayed by Uncle Deadly) conspiring with her brother to do away with Sherlock Holmes (portrayed by Gonzo).

*** Robotnik himself, while still maintaining some of his comical pathos from the games, is far more evil and void of redeeming aspects, gaining a similar dictator role as his ''WesternAnimation/SonicSatAM'' and ''[[WesternAnimation/SonicUnderground Underground]]'' counterpart, then he becomes even worse than his game incarnation by [[OmnicidalManiac trying to destroy Mobius outright]].

** Comicbook/ShangChi is the leader of a Chinatown street gang, and seeks to rebuild his deceased father's criminal empire (in contrast to the mainline continuity, where he opposed his father's evil activities and thwarted them whenever possible). He eventually comes around, though, and acts as an ally to Luke Cage's Avengers.

** Thunderbird was already portrayed as a hothead in the mainstream ''Comicbook/XMen'' comics, but this version of the character is a RabidCop and [[FantasticRacism Fantastic Racist]] who hates humans. He's willing to go to extremely shady lengths to take down Comicbook/LukeCage's Human Resistance Movement, including using PoliceBrutality, allying himself with a murderous gangster like Comicbook/TheKingpin, and even performing an outright purge of a human neighborhood. His actions eventually prove to be too much even for ''Magneto'', who has him placed on unpaid suspension.

** Thunderbird was already portrayed as a hothead in the mainstream ''Comicbook/XMen'' comics, but this version of the character is a FeralCop and [[FantasticRacism Fantastic Racist]] who hates humans. He's willing to go to extremely shady lengths to take down Comicbook/LukeCage's Human Resistance Movement, including using PoliceBrutality, allying himself with a murderous gangster like Comicbook/TheKingpin, and even performing an outright purge of a human neighborhood. His actions eventually prove to be too much even for ''Magneto'', who has him placed on unpaid suspension.

** Played with in the case of the Greek gods and goddesses in the comic. A number of them started out as LighterAndSofter than they were in Myth/GreekMythology. However, Ares, the God of War, is portrayed as so dangerous and TooPowerfulToLive that Wonder Woman has to actually ''kill'' him in at least one adaptation. Ares in the Greek myths, although TheBerserker and ironically a bit of a DirtyCoward, [[HiddenHeartOfGold looked after his kids]] and was worshipped like the other gods. However, the more recent Wonder Woman stories have taken to portraying the pantheon as somewhere closer to what they were like in mythology.
** Since it's change from Paradise Island to Themyscira the Amazon homeland has always had its share of misandrists and {{Straw Feminist}}s, but their attitude gradually descended over the years from an isolationist community serving as a refuge for women, to having a few bad apples, to having a legit excuse for hating and fearing men ([[ComicBook/WonderWoman1987 being the spirits of women who were murdered by abusive spouses]]), to the New 52, where they have truly become evil, [[ConceiveAndKill raping and murdering men in order to reproduce]] and engaging in child slave trading. [[http://www.geekscape.net/how-dc-comics-forced-one-lifelong-wonder-woman-fan-to-quit-buying-her-comic Most fans were furious.]] The New 52 explanation has been retconned away with ComicBook/DCRebirth by revealing that everything Diana knew of them was actually a lie.

* The GreaterScopeVillain in ''ComicBook/{{Nextwave}}'' is [[spoiler: Devil Dinosaur]]. Usually a heroic character, he's now an OmnicidalManiac in charge of a massive terrorist organization, killed and ''ate'' his partner [[spoiler: Moon Boy]] (who is also abusive here), and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking he can also]] [[spoiler: [[SuddenlyVoiced speak]]]]. When the events of ''Nextwave'' became part of mainstream Marvel continuity, they were both naturally revealed to be evil clones. All PlayedForLaughs, of course.

** Vampirella herself in more... non-legit... works, where she usually is an evil vampire rather than a FriendlyNeighborhoodVampire. (Probably not a good example, as this more falls under CriticalResearchFailure or even Couldn't Care Less.)

* ''ComicBook/{{Catwoman}}: Guardian of Gotham'': In a world where Catwoman and Batman have [[{{Elseworld}} switched places]], with the former becoming a vigilante superhero after her wealthy parents were killed, you'd think Batman would be a mere GentlemanThief who often flirts with the female protagonist... he's more of a deranged SerialKiller who murders the Joker in his first scene before offing the rest of Catwoman's RoguesGallery to prevent them from stealing his spotlight. He's also revealed to be the one to have killed Selina Kyle's parents ForTheEvulz. The whole DatingCatwoman angle is invoked when Bruce seduces and ''marries'' Selina, then murders her best friend before trying to kill her as well.

* In ''Literature/TheDarkTower'' novels, John Farson is an ambiguous figure who never appears on the page. He's responsible for the destruction of Gilead... but his numerous followers call him The Good Man, and for all we know he may have had legitimate grievances with the gunslingers. In the comics, we actually get to see him, and he's a psychopathic tyrant who decapitates prisoners to play baseball with their heads.