History AscendedExtra / ComicBooks

** THe tie-in comic for ''WesternAnimation/TheBatman'', ''The Batman Strikes'', used Rupert Throne and Solomon Grundy far more than the show it's based on did, the former (barring some cameos in Season 4) only appeared at the start of the first episode as the last major crime boss Batman puts away before the RoguesGallery appear and while the latter's episode ended with the implication he was {{real after all}}, "Grundy" in his only way was really [[ScoobyDooHoax Clayface impersonating Grundy]].

* Likewise, James "Rhodey" Rhodes and Carol Danvers were originally just supporting characters in the respective books they appeared in (Rhodey was Comicbook/IronMan's BlackBestFriend and Carol was [[Comicbook/CaptainMarVell Captain Marvel]]'s love interest). They eventually became popular enough that they were spun off as superheroes in their own rights, with Rhodey becoming Comicbook/WarMachine and Carol becoming Comicbook/MsMarvel (and later, the new Captain Marvel).

** The Spirit Drinker. In the comics, when D'Ken wanted to dispose of Lilandra, he summoned a soul-destroying critter, it targeted her, Kurt teleported her out of the way, its tongue nailed one of D'Ken's own {{Mooks}} who'd been standing in its path, and since it can only take one soul per summon, it vanished. ''Two panels,'' the scene notable only 'cause it was the first time Kurt had ever teleported with anyone else (at the time, it was pure agony for him and he passed out.) If someone with a gun had simply tried to shoot her, absolutely nothing would have changed, and the whole thing comes off as a BigLippedAlligatorMoment. So, in ''WesternAnimation/XMen'', the animated series? Well, it was only in one episode, but we're talking one episode of sheer NightmareFuel as the Reavers, who'd kidnapped Wolverine to free an alien superweapon, figure out it's a containment unit for something very ''bad'' too late, and this only-partially-substantial soul-eating EldritchAbomination is unleashed to stalk the heroes (and villains through the New York subway tunnels; we get an EnemyMine out of it) as the faces of half-eaten souls continually form from its substance to cry out.
** ComicBook/{{Psylocke}} was originally supporting character in ''Captain Britain'' comics.
** And then there's Blink. Originally, the Earth-616 version was a minor character who was killed off during an alien invasion that leads the creation of Generation X. However, she struck a chord with fans in that time and was eventually brought back in the famous "Age Of Apocalypse" story. That alternate version of "Blink" was one of few spared when the AOA reality was turned back into the normal timeline, going on to become the leader of the dimension-hopping hero team "Exiles" and one of very few characters who was there from start to finish and even through a ReTool or two. And not long after Exiles ended, the main universe version was brought BackFromTheDead: Turns out she was only in a pocket dimension, and was eventually yanked out by villainess Selene. Not only that, she popped up in the animated series Wolverine and the X-Men, the film version of Days of Future Past, and is set to be an important character in the television series The Gifted. Not bad for a SacrificialLamb, huh?
** As such, it's appropriate that the ''next-''most prominent Exile is Morph. In the main timeline, a one-shot villain named Changeling turned out to have had a change of heart, worked for Professor X, and had been impersonating him while he needed to be away (this is how the Professor is revealed as alive after his first ComicBookDeath.) Purely ''because'' he's someone from the comics no one had any feelings about, he was used in the 90s X-Men cartoon under the name Morph as its SacrificialLamb in the first episode. ...And everyone loved him, and demanded he return. He made more appearances in the cartoon in the second season, and was also brought to life in the Exiles comic, if a bit exaggerated (Cartoon Morph is a Mystique-type shapeshifter and a Spider-Man type wisecracker with a(n in)famous cackle; Exiles Morph is a RubberMan who does cartoonish sight gags. Still, when you've got a shapeshifter named Morph as the PluckyComicRelief, there's no doubt as to who's being homaged!)

* ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMoreThanMeetsTheEye'': Gives big parts to characters unimportant in all other adaptations: Like Swerve and Tailgate who debut as a group of Autobots shooting at Trypticon, here they're the Comedy relief team of a MotorMouth Bar tender and a bot who's spent almost all of his life trapped underground having missed the war. Characters like Chromedome and Brainstorm, while important in other continuities, did almost nothing in the IDW series until this comic came along. Whirl was just a Wrecker with an interesting Cycloptoid design, he rarely had much characterization and died in many of his old appearances. Here he's become the HeroicComedicSociopath who's hated by all his co-workers and may have accidentally started the war by beating up Megatron.

* This happens to at least two characters in the film adaptation of ''ThreeHundred''; Stelios turns from a teenage Spartan who is ridiculed by the others when he tires out to an adult, battle-hardened soldier who exemplifies the Spartan image, and the Captain's son is given a name (Astinos) and takes Stelios's place as the eager young Spartan.

** These comics also later appropriated Honey the Cat, a DummiedOut character from 'VideoGame/SonicTheFighters'', and fleshed her out as a character by providing her with a backstory, a day job, and a reason to have temporarily joined the cast (she is an up-and-coming fashion designer who wants to promote her newest line to new audiences through a [[TournamentArc fighting tournament]]). The Archie team even created [[http://sonic.wikia.com/wiki/File:Honey_the_Cat_(Archie).png a CG model of Honey]], updated to the Modern Era video games' style.

* Gwenpool began life as part of a variant cover gimmick that featured Gwen Stacy dressed as a different Marvel hero (ComicBook/CaptainAmerica, Comicbook/IronMan, [[ComicBook/TheMightyThor Thor]], etc.) The cover showing Gwen dressed as Comicbook/{{Deadpool}} was an instant hit, and the design proved so popular with cosplayers that Marvel brought Gwenpool into their official canon as part of the ComicBook/AllNewAllDifferentMarvel universe -- first appearing in a ''Howard The Duck'' backup story, she then proceeded to headline a holiday special, before finally getting her [[Comicbook/TheUnbelievableGwenpool own ongoing series]].

* The ComicBook/BlackWidow was just a supporting character for many years, not a full Avenger (with good reason -- she started out as a Russian spy, and this was the UsefulNotes/ColdWar). She's now been an Avenger long enough that it's hard to think of her otherwise, and adaptations reflect this. In ''WesternAnimation/AvengersAssemble'' she's one of the main cast, and the movie ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}'' bumps her all the way up to founding member!

* In ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'', Eugene "Flash" Thompson was once a JerkJock who bullied Peter Parker, but was a major fan of his web-slinging alter-ego. After the shift away from high school, Flash tended to stick to the background before becoming a soldier. After an accident cost him his legs, he got a second chance in serving his country. He is now the newest ComicBook/{{Venom}}, a member of ComicBook/TheAvengers and dating Valkyrie. Now, that's impressive.

* Gwenpool began life as part of a variant cover gimmick that each featured Gwen Stacy dressed as a different Marvel hero (ComicBook/CaptainAmerica, Comicbook/IronMan, [[ComicBook/TheMightyThor Thor]], etc.) The character's design proved so popular with cosplayers that Marvel brought her into their official canon as part of the ComicBook/AllNewAllDifferentMarvel universe -- first appearing in a ''Howard The Duck'' backup story, she then proceeded to headline a holiday special, before finally getting her [[Comicbook/TheUnbelievableGwenpool own ongoing series]].

** Negasonic Teenage Warhead is a civilian mutant girl with precognitive powers who is introduced just in time to die in Cassandra Nova's mega-sentinel attack on Genosha. However, Creator/JossWhedon would eventually write for the X-Men, and a MysteriousWaif like her is right up his alley! Cue a much bigger role as part of the new Brotherhood of Evil Mutants under his pen [[spoiler: though the new Brotherhood is eventually revealed as illusions]]. She also gets to appear in a movie, though the ''Film/{{Deadpool}}'' version of her has a very different personality and powers; the writers pretty much just really liked the name.

* Comicbook/SquirrelGirl was originally a one-shot character created for a gag story where she teamed up with Comicbook/IronMan to fight DoctorDoom. She went close to ''a decade'' without appearing again until she got revived in 2005, and has since gained enough popularlarity to become an [[Comicbook/NewAvengers2015 Avenger]] and get her own [[Comicbook/TheUnbeatableSquirrelGirl ongoing series]].

** Bolivar Trask, creator of the Sentinels. In the comicverse, he dies in the three-parter that introduces them, in a HeroicSacrifice once they get out of control. His son and his nephew also tried their hand at it, but also didn't stick around. Despite ''X-Men'''s love of BackFromTheDead, Bolivar took forty-three years to get there. He finally came back from the dead in the main MarvelUniverse in ''ComicBook/XForce'' v3 #6. In the intervening years however? In the [[WesternAnimation/XMen 1990s animated series]], he's a {{Recurr|ingCharacter}}er you can expect to see in many a Sentinel story, on the run from his own creations. In ''WesternAnimation/XMenEvolution,'' he's arrested after the initial (unauthorized in this version) Sentinel incident, but kept around by SHIELD to design more once Apocalypse comes onto the scene. Had the series continued past the Apocalypse arc, we'd no doubt have seen a lot more of him and his wayward HumongousMecha children. He's got an expanded, recurring role in ComicBook/UltimateMarvel as well.
** Berzerker of the Morlocks (yeah, [[XtremeKoolLetterz with a Z]]). Comics: seen in one issue. Sympathetic but completely nuts. His friend Scaleface is killed by the cops because of Cyclops destroying their cover (he figured it'd make 'em stand down and hadn't counted on the cops shooting first and asking questions later) so he goes, well, berserk and dies when he's knocked into water during the ensuing battle (frying him with his own electrical powers). In ''WesternAnimation/XMenEvolution'', though, he's an ex-Morlock and one of the newer students, with the show for three seasons. Temperamental but not AxCrazy.

** The Spirit Drinker. In the comics, when D'Ken wanted to dispose of Lilandra, he summoned a soul-destroying critter, it targeted her, Kurt teleported her out of the way, its tongue nailed one of D'Ken's own {{Mooks}}, and since it can only take one soul per summon, it vanished. ''Two panels,'' notable only 'cause it was the first time Kurt had ever teleported with anyone else (at the time, it was pure agony for him and he passed out.) If someone with a gun had simply tried to shoot her, absolutely nothing would have changed and it comes off as a BigLippedAlligatorMoment. So, in ''WesternAnimation/XMen'', the animated series? Well, it was only in one episode, but we're talking one episode of sheer NightmareFuel as the Reavers, who'd kidnapped Wolverine to free an alien superweapon, figure out it's a containment unit for something very ''bad'' too late, and this only-partially-substantial soul-eating EldritchAbomination is unleashed to stalk the heroes (and villains through the New York subway tunnels; we get an EnemyMine out of it) as the faces of half-eaten souls continually form from its substance to cry out.

** This long and no mention of Earth-616's Blink? Originally, the Earth-616 version was killed off during an alien invasion that leads the creation of Generation X. Blink got a lot of fans when a version of her appear in the famous "Age Of Apocalypse" story. That version of "Blink" went on to become the leader of "Exiles". After twice in failing to restart the "Exiles" business, Marvel Comic had Selene, one of their villains, yank the original Earth-616 version from a pocket universe that the original Earth-616 version was stuck in after killing Harvest.

** Probably the biggest one would be Doctor Hurt. Originally, he was an unnamed psychologist involved in a one-off Silver Age story, ''Robin Dies at Dawn''. When Creator/GrantMorrison made that story a pivotal part of Comicbook/GrantMorrisonsBatman his run]], Doctor Hurt received a name for the first time in 45 years and became the BigBad of the MythArc, the head of the Black Glove, and [[LouisCypher very possibly Satan]], with his experiments in the original story becoming part of a long-term plan to destroy Batman.

** ComicBook/HarleyQuinn was a one-shot Joker minion from ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' who was drawn only because they wanted a girl-coming-out-of-the-cake gag. Joker minions have an average lifespan of less than a single episode, but Harley became big enough to not only jump to the comics, but get her own self-titled series as well.

** ComicBook/{{X 23}} began as a minor character in ''XMenEvolution'' to prevent {{Wolverine}} from [[WolverinePublicity taking over the rest of the show]] and to avoid having to introduce a large number of additional characters. After becoming a CanonImmigrant with ''NYX'', she ''herself'' has gained a substantial amount of WolverinePublicity, having appeared in multiple team books and her own solo run, and is one of the few teen heroes in the franchise that can arguably be considered an A-Lister.

** This long and no mention of Earth-616's Blink. Originally, the Earth-616 version was killed off during an alien invasion that leads the creation of Generation X. Blink got a lot of fans when a version of her appear in the famous "Age Of Apocalypse" story. That version of "Blink" went on to become the leader of "Exiles". After twice trying to restart the "Exiles" business, Marvel Comic had Selene, one of their villains, yank the original Earth-616 version from a pocket universe that the original Earth-616 version was stuck in after killing Harvest.

* And let's not forget that ComicBook/JimmyOlsen was a random office boy who eventually graduated to a long-running book of his own as {{Superman}}'s Pal.

* ComicBook/PeggyCarter in ''ComicBook/CaptainAmerica'' was introduced as a flashback character and LoveInterest in WWII to link the character to her niece ([[{{Retcon}} originally sister]]), [[{{Comicbook/Agent13}} Sharon Carter]]. Recently, the character got a significant role in the ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger film, and worked for the agency which would become S.H.I.E.L.D., her past achievements are moving the storyline to the second series of ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'', and in 2015, [[Series/AgentCarter she got her own television series!]] Not too shabby.

** Bolivar Trask, creator of the Sentinels. In the comicverse, he dies in the three-parter that introduces them, in a HeroicSacrifice once they get out of control. His son and his nephew also tried their hand at it, but also didn't stick around. Despite ''X-Men'''s love of BackFromTheDead, Bolivar took forty-three years to get there. He finally came back from the dead in the main MarvelUniverse in ''ComicBook/XForce'' v3 #6. In the intervening years however? In the [[WesternAnimation/XMen 1990s animated series]], he's a {{Recurr|ingCharacter}}er you can expect to see in many a Sentinel story, on the run from his own creations. In ''WesternAnimation/XMenEvolution,'' he's arrested after the initial (unauthorized in this version) Sentinel incident, but kept around by SHIELD to design more once Apocalypse comes onto the scene. Had the series continued past the Apocalypse arc, we'd no doubt have seen a lot more of him and his wayward HumongousMecha children. He's got an expanded, recurring role in UltimateMarvel as well.

* Comicbook/SquirrelGirl was originally a one-shot character created for a gag story where she teamed up with Comicbook/IronMan to fight DoctorDoom. She went close to ''a decade'' without appearing again until she got revived in 2005, and has since gained enough popularlarity to become an [[Comicbook/NewAvengers2015 Avenger]] and get her own [[Comicbook/UnbeatableSquirrelGirl ongoing series]].

** In the [[ComicBook/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesMirage original Mirage comics]] Chet was the name given to the turtles' original owner, whose panel time can be counted on one hand. In the [[ComicBook/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesIDW IDW comics]], however, he is now one of Stockgen's head scientists, and April's supervisor.

* Parodied in the very first issue of ''[[Creator/BongoComics Bartman #1]]'' during the scene where [[ComicBook/TheSimpsons Bart Simpson]], Milhouse Van Houten, and Martin Prince all meet in the comic-book shop. Bart points out one comics panel (unseen to the reader) featuring a street scene with a random pedestrian in the background. Bart explains that the writers plan to kill this guy off in the next issue and then [[JokerImmunity bring him back to life]] as a supervillain known as [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking "The Jaywalker"]]!

** The Riddler and The Penguin made more frequent appearances, but were still, at best, recurrent characters. Today, they are ''regular cast members''. The Penguin is now an unshakable Gotham crime boss; Two-Face, the Riddler, and ''Man-Bat'' have all Ascended and [[HeelRevolvingDoor regularly bounce back and forth between "villain" and "dubious ally" status]].