History Main / AdaptationalHeroism

** From the series proper there is Doctor Gero. While still responsible for the same acts as his canon counterpart [[spoiler:his obsession with killing Goku stems from Goku killing his son in his attack on the Red Ribbon Army]].

-->-- ''{{Website/Cracked}}'', [[http://www.cracked.com/blog/4-movies-that-got-source-materials-point-exactly-wrong/#ixzz30P6hR45A "4 Movies That Got the Source Material's Point Exactly Wrong"]], about the ''Film/MenInBlack'' movie and the ''ComicBook/MenInBlack'' comicbook

** AdaptaionalHeroism/XMenFilmSeries

--> "As I lay there, [[BrokenPedestal betrayed by the Lord I thought on my side]], [[ThanLetMeBeEvil made a Monster in His name]]: I swore I would not allow another Monster like myself to exist in this world!"

* ''WebVideo/HellsingUltimateAbridged'' has [[HolierThanThou Enrico Maxwell]]--rather than gleefully admitting the Vatican's past involvement with [[{{Ghostapo}} Millennium]] like in canon, here it's [[BigBad the Major]] who reveals it to Maxwell's embarrassment. He also [[EvenEvilHasStandards seemed disgusted]] to find out that Millennium's [[TheMole Mole]] was also a PedophilePriest. This lasts until episode 6, where he's revealed to be every bit the fundamentalist madman his canon counterpart was... by dint of gathering an army to revolt against Pope Francis for his [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain tolerance toward homosexuals and poor people]] (though even he draws the line at hate crimes and racism, when he finds out that the UsefulNotes/KuKluxKlan have joined his crusade as well).

* Periander from ''Webcomic/{{Aisopos}}'' was, believe it or not, ''more'' ruthless, murderous, unpredictable and cunning. His [[PragmaticVillainy pragmatism]] and intelligence are both accurately portrayed however.
* [[Main/DownplayedTrope Downplayed]] with Jack Noir in ''Webcomic/CoolAndNewWebComic''. He's still a stab-happy {{Jerkass}}, but he is genuinely willing to work with Rose to help her, and overall is more heroic than his ''Homestuck'' counterpart, who was an OmnicidalManiac hellbent on destroying everyone and everything.

* ''Film/Halloween1978'': The novelization strongly suggests that Michael Myers is actually an innocent victim possessed by the ghost of a Celtic murderer named Enda.

** Franchise/{{Godzilla}} in ''Film/ShinGodzilla'' was portrayed in a similar manner to the original Godzilla of ''Film/{{Gojira}}'', a TragicMonster lashing out because of his mutation. The ride uses the Godzilla from ''Shin'', but portrays him in a manner similar to the later Showa and MonsterVerse/MonsterVerse incarnations as his fight with Shinji, Rei, and Asuka is the result of Godzilla [[spoiler:coming on land to head off King Ghidorah]] and surprising NERV in the process.

** Franchise/{{Godzilla}} in ''Film/ShinGodzilla'' was portrayed in a similar manner to the original Godzilla of ''Film/{{Gojira}}'', a TragicMonster lashing out because of his mutation. The ride uses the Godzilla from ''Shin'', but portrays him in a manner similar to the later Showa and Film/MonsterVerse incarnations as his fight with Shinji, Rei, and Asuka is the result of Godzilla [[spoiler:coming on land to head off King Ghidorah]] and surprising NERV in the process.

A subtrope of AdaptationPersonalityChange. Compare AdaptationalNiceGuy (with which this trope can overlap), HistoricalHeroUpgrade (when this is done to a historical person in a work), DracoInLeatherPants (when fandom does this to a canon villain) and EverybodyLovesZeus (when this is done with gods associated with light and the heavens). Contrast AdaptationalVillainy.

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[[caption-width-right:350: Pinocchio in the [[Literature/TheAdventuresOfPinocchio original]] book vs Pinocchio in Disney's [[WesternAnimation/{{Pinocchio}} adaptation]]]]

[[caption-width-right:350: Pinocchio in the [[Literature/TheAdventuresOfPinocchio original]] book vs Pinocchio in Disney's [[WesternAnimation/Pinocchio adaptation]]]]

[[caption-width-right:350: Pinocchio in the [[Literature/TheAdventuresOfPinocchio original]] book vs Pinocchio in Disney's [[WesternAnimation/Pinocchio adaptation]]

[[caption-width-right:350: Pinocchio in the [[Literature/TheAdventuresOfPinocchio original]] book vs Pinocchio in Disney's WesternAnimation/Pinocchio adaptation]]]]

[[caption-width-right:350: Pinocchio in the [[Literature/TheAdventuresOfPinocchio original]] book vs Pinocchio in Disney's [[WesternAnimation/Pinocchio adaptation]]]]

* ''Literature/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory'': Two different adaptations -- the 2005 stage musical ''Roald Dahl's Willy Wonka'' and the 2010 opera ''Theatre/TheGoldenTicket'' -- do this to Willy Wonka. In the book, he's a cheerful JerkWithAHeartOfGold [[TheTrickster Trickster]] recluse who isn't one to go out of his way to be nice most of the time. In both of these adaptations, he becomes a CompositeCharacter with the friendly sweetshop owner by way of the latter becoming the former's KingIncognito disguise (this is telegraphed so clearly to the audience that there's no [[TheReveal reveal of it]]. Many productions of the former just cast two actors, thus dropping this trope). In this disguise, he gets to know Charlie Bucket and, taking pity on the worthy-but-poor boy, arranges things so that he gets the Wonka Bar that contains the last of the Golden Tickets, whereas in the book Charlie finding his ticket is just a MillionToOneChance paying off. [[Theatre/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory The 2013 West End stage musical]] applies this to [[spoiler:Mr. Wonka as well, but his masquerade and hand in Charlie's fortune is hidden until the ''very'' last moment. And with his greater generosity and sensitive artist's soul also come a darker attitude towards the ''un''worthy]], resulting in a complex example of this trope.

* Myth/ClassicalMythology: Roman mythology often appears to do this to Greek gods. In actuality, it's more a holdover from when the native Latin gods became [[CompositeCharacter seen as the same individuals]] as the Greek ones. The Romans placed a much higher value on order than the Greeks did, and they tended to portray the gods as more rational and moral in their depictions, with ''Literature/TheAeneid'' being a classic example. Even after the Romans decided that their gods were the same as the Greek ones, those who were identified with unsavory Greek counterparts continued to be viewed in a more positive light.