History Main / AppropriatedTitle

* ''ComicBook/BatmanTheDarkKnightReturns'' was originally released as ''Batman: The Dark Knight'' when each issue was released separately. It was only renamed ''The Dark Knight Returns'' when all four issues were collected in trade paperback format. ''The Dark Knight Returns'' originally referred to the first issue of ''Batman: The Dark Knight''.
* The adaptations of ''ComicBook/ScottPilgrim'' take their name from ''Scott Pilgrim vs. The World'', the second book in the series.

* The ''Literature/{{Fudge}}'' books actually started with ''Literature/TalesOfAFourthGradeNothing''. Of course, since Peter Hatcher constantly focuses on the antics of his brother Fudge, it makes sense.

** The third time cames from ''Dragon Slayer VI'', that had subtitle ''The Legend of Heroes''. The sequel, ''Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes II'', StoppedNumberingSequels, and the ''VideoGame/GagharvTrilogy'' stopped using "Dragon Slayer" altogether. ''VideoGame/TrailsSeries'' still uses ''The Legend of Heroes'' title, but ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfNayutaBoundlessTrails Nayuta no Kiseki]]'' dropped it, if only for one game and in Japanese.

* ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'' started with the two ''Literature/DigitalDevilStory: VideoGame/MegamiTensei'' games on the [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem Famicom]], but since the release of ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTensei'' on the [[UsefulNotes/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem Super Famicom]] most subsequent games in the series have used the latter title. Fans will still sometimes refer to the series as ''Megami Tensei'', or [=MegaTen=] for short.

* ''Film/TheDarkKnightTrilogy'' started with ''Film/BatmanBegins'', following the same titling pattern as the Burton/Schumacher series, which all had [[CharacterTitle Batman's name on the title]] (''Batman'', ''Batman Returns'', ''Batman Forever'' and ''Batman & Robin''). However, the second film broke this pattern and was titled ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' in order to stand out on its own and the third film followed suit with ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises''.

* Intended for the ''VideoGame/Battlezone1998'' series, whose sequel implemented a subtitle for later appropriation, ''Battlezone II: Combat Commander''. The publisher, Creator/{{Activision}}, licensed the "Battlezone" title from Creator/{{Atari}}, creators of ''VideoGame/Battlezone1980''. The subtitle would have made marketing a third game simpler if Atari refused to re-license the name, so instead of ''Battlezone III'', it would be ''Combat Commander: Whatever''. The gesture proved to be irrelevant, because the first game was an AcclaimedFlop and the sequel was a mixed flop courtesy of its ObviousBeta initial release, killing any chance of a third game.

* The ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' series took a while to establish its name. The very first game was called ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong'' in 1981, a case of AntagonistTitle. This game would be followed up by two direct sequels, ''Donkey Kong Jr.'', and ''Donkey Kong 3'', [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness the first of which featured Mario as the antagonist, and the second of which didn't have him at all.]] It would take until 1983's ''VideoGame/MarioBros'' for the series to consistently star Mario and use his name in its titles, and another two years for ''VideoGame/{{Super Mario Bros|1}}'' to introduce the title that the series has been known by ever since.

* The ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' series took a while to establish its name. The very first game was called ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong'' in 1981, a case of AntagonistTitle. This game would be followed up by two direct sequels, ''Donkey Kong Jr.'', and ''Donkey Kong 3'', [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness the first of which featured Mario as the antagonist, and the second of which didn't have him at all.]] It would take until 1983's ''VideoGame/MarioBros'' for the series to consistently star Mario and use his name in its titles, and another two years for ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros'' to introduce the title that the series has been known by ever since.

* The ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' series took a while to establish its name. The very first game was called ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong'' in 1981, a case of AntagonistTitle. This game would be followed up by two direct sequels, ''Donkey Kong Jr.'', and ''Donkey Kong 3'', [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness the first of which featured Mario as the antagonist, and the second of which didn't have him at all.]] It would take until 1983's ''VideoGame/MarioBros'' for the series to consistently star Mario and use his name in their titles, and another two years for ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros'' to introduce the title that the series has been known by ever since.

* The ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' series took a while to establish its name. The very first game was called ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong'' in 1981, a case of AntagonistTitle. This game would be followed up by two direct sequels, ''Donkey Kong Jr.'', and ''Donkey Kong 3'', [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness the first of which featured Mario as the antagonist, and the second of which didn't have him at all.]] It would take until 1983's ''VideoGame/MarioBros'' for Mario to consistently star in his own games and feature in their titles, and another two years for ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros'' to introduce the title that the series has been known by ever since.

* The ''VideoGame/XCom'' series started as ''UFO: Enemy Unknown''. It had to relabel itself ''X-COM'' to avoid confusion with the [[Series/{{UFO}} television show]] and "UFO" was a pretty generic title to begin with.