History Main / Retool

* The Detroit-era ''Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica''. Basically, ''Justice League'' wasn't as popular as it'd been in its heyday, so Gerry Conway got rid of most of the heavy hitters like Franchise/{{Batman}}, Franchise/{{Superman}} and Franchise/WonderWoman in order to focus on a younger, more diverse team of new characters like ComicBook/{{Vixen}}, Gypsy and ComicBook/{{Vibe}}. He was hoping to ape the success of the ''New ComicBook/TeenTitans'' and the ''ComicBook/XMen'', but [[DorkAge it went over about as well as you'd expect]]. Thankfully, its failure led to a more successful ReTool: ''ComicBook/JusticeLeagueInternational''. The series was an action-comedy starring a new League with a more international purview, and consisted mostly of B and C-list characters like Black Canary, [[ComicBook/GreenLantern Guy Gardner]], ComicBook/BlueBeetle and ComicBook/BoosterGold, with Batman and Martian Manhunter as the sole holdovers from the original team.

* The Dutch comic series ''ComicBook/GillesDeGeus'' originally began as a gag comic, with stories that spanned only 1 - 3 pages, in which Gilles was a HeroAntagonist (he was a highwayman), and StatusQuoIsGod was in full effect. Starting from the story "Storm over Dubbeldam", the comic underwent a complete overhaul; it shifted to full lenghth stories, broke the status quo by having Gilles leave his old home and join a travelling band of Geuzen, and Gilles himself became a genuine hero.

** It started off as a book with a fluid, non-committal roster usually anchored by the ComicBook/IncredibleHulk, ComicBook/DoctorStrange, [[ComicBook/SubMariner Namor]], and the ComicBook/SilverSurfer. At issue #125, the title was renamed ''The New Defenders'' and the roster was changed to a more official, government-sanctioned team consisting of Beast, Angel, Iceman, Gargoyle, Valkyrie, and Moondragon. Writer J.M. [=DeMatteis=] quickly left the title after realizing he'd sacrificed the book's more quirky, offbeat tone in favor of making it into another run of the mill ''[[ComicBook/TheAvengers Avengers]]'' clone.

* ''WesternAnimation/UltimateSpiderMan2012'' caught a lot of flak for its DenserAndWackier tone and giving Peter a set of [[{{Jerkass}} unlikeable]] teammates. Season two managed to [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap redeem some of them]], but season three went in a different direction by having them DemotedToExtra, instead having Peter travel alone through the multiverse and team up with [[WesternAnimation/MarvelUniverse other Marvel heroes]]. Season four continued the trend into more serious storylines and also having Nick Fury and Nova, the two [[TheScrappy least popular characters]], outright PutOnABus until the end.

** Starting in Season 2, a squeaking noise can be heard when the TV is lowered down.

** In 2013 it was relaunched as ''Fearless Defenders'', an [[AmazonBrigade all-female]] team anchored by Valkyrie and Misty Knight.

** Volume 3 from the ComicBook/MarvelNOW relaunch was a completely unrelated title starring ComicBook/BlackPanther and ComicBook/TheIlluminati as they attempted to protect the planet from [[{{Multiverse}} Multiversal]] incursions. The series was part of ComicBook/JonathanHickmansAvengers and involved heavy amounts of GreyAndGrayMorality.

* In its earliest incarnation, gaming channel ''NODE'' was actually a variety channel, with various shows hosted by several different personalities. Most of those shows gained little traction save for ''WebVideo/LANParty'', so soon after launch the "variety" part was phased out entirely and ''LAN Party'' was made the focus of the channel, which itself ultimately dropped the show name and simply became ''NODE''.

* Thanks to [[ScrewedByTheLawyers legal disputes]] between DIC and Nelvana, [[WesternAnimation/CareBears1980s The original Care Bears cartoon]] had to drop every character that wasn't the care bears themselves when the later took over for its second season. The show also moved away from the ''"care bears help some kids with their problems"'' formula common in the first, in favor of focusing on a small core cast of the title characters and their lives.

* About halfway into its second season, ''WesternAnimation/TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes'' got retooled to try and raise the sagging ratings by making it more like [[Film/TheAvengers2012 the movie]]. ComicBook/IronMan, ComicBook/CaptainAmerica, [[ComicBook/IncredibleHulk the Hulk]], [[ComicBook/TheMightyThor Thor]] (the four Avengers with solo movies in the [[Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse MCU]]) were given increased prominence, leading to the other Avengers falling OutOfFocus. The new creators also tried to minimize potential ContinuityLockOut moments by making most of the episodes into done-in-ones, in contrast to the serialized nature of the first season.
* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' underwent this for the final season, with the title changed to ''The New Batman Adventures''. Aside from new character designs and a new art style, the show [[AscendedExtra added Batgirl to the main cast]], had Dick Grayson [[SidekickGraduationsStick become Nightwing]], and introduced a [[LegacyCharacter new]] ComicBook/{{Robin}} as his successor. [[TheOtherDarrin New voices]] were also used for a number of characters.

** The first time was the fourth season, where the tone became [[LighterAndSofter lighter]], due to brighter animation, the use of less intense background music, [[ParentalBonus hidden adult humor]] being greatly reduced, and Angelica going from JerkAss to JerkWithAHeartOfGold. The episode title cards also changed from red to black.

* Spoofed on ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode "Homer to the Max" (1999). Watching the first episode of ''Police Cops'', Homer is thrilled to discover he shares his name with its Don Johnson-like lead character (catchphrase: "And that's the end of that chapter!"); the next week Homer is horrified to see his character retooled as a blundering doofus (catchphrase: "Uh-oh, Spaghetti-Os!"). He seeks out the show's producers and writers.
--->'''Homer''': Uh ... so, I just wanna know how come you made your Homer Simpson character so ...\\
'''Producer''': Stupid? [laughs] Well, I can assure you, it happened organically.\\
'''Homer''': It ''better'' have!
** Another episode featured a Franchise/{{Robocop}} {{Expy}}. Homer wanted to watch it before it got retooled. A couple of seconds later the robot (who was also a father) quit the force and got a job at a fashion agency.

** InUniverse in the episode "Whale Whores." Stan takes over the ''Series/WhaleWars'' reality show and begins taking radical actions to save whales and dolphins, but everybody sees it as just a retool of the show.
** Another In-Universe example in “The Quest For Ratings:” the boys host the school's news program, but Craig's show ''[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Funny Animals Filmed With a Wide Angle Lens]]'' beats them in the ratings. They retool the show into the more sensational ''Sexy Action News'', only for Craig to again best them by changing his show into ''Funny Animals Filmed With a Wide Angle Lens [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotAwesome Wearing Hats]]''.
* ''WesternAnimation/StarVsTheForcesOfEvil'' originally focused on Star trying to fit in on Earth, the comedy was fast-paced with a large amount of comedic action sequences, and most episodes were episodic with small teases towards the show's MythArc. The final two seasons switched settings to Mewni, the comedy slowed down and became mostly dialogue-driven, and episodes became more concerned with progressing various story arcs than giving audiences one-off episodic adventures.
* Spoofed in number of ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitansGo'' episodes, where the characters retool themselves in response to critcism. Of note is one Control Freak episode where he specifically threatens to reboot the Titans and reveals he did once before to ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans''. [[SelfDeprecation He admits that was a mistake]].
* ''WesternAnimation/SuperFriends'' had this multiple times, but the first was the most dramatic: Whereas the first version had an hour long story format with rather plodding plots and usually nigh-useless KidSidekick trio, the second version ''The All-New SuperFriends Hour'' had each episode divided into four stories, ThreeShorts and a half hour long one featuring the entire team, which prompted faster paced plotting and the Wonder Twins who were more useful with actual superpowers.

** Like its predecessor, the second ''WesternAnimation/{{Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles|2003}}'' animated series was eventually retooled. During its sixth season, its setting was changed from the present day to the year 2105 via accidental time travel. "Fast Forward", as the season was subtitled, featured a shift in art style (simpler) and in tone (lighter), and the abandoning of most of the show's supporting cast in favor of completely new characters. A second, milder retool occurred with the seventh season, which featured the turtles' return to present day, yet another ArtShift, and a new subtitle--"Back to the Sewer".

* ''WesternAnimation/UltimateSpiderMan'' caught a lot of flak for its DenserAndWackier tone and giving Peter a set of [[JerkAss unlikeable]] teammates. Season two managed to [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap redeem some of them]], but season three went in a different direction by having them DemotedToExtra, instead having Peter travel alone through the multiverse and team up with [[WesternAnimation/MarvelUniverse other Marvel heroes]]. Season four continued the trend into more serious storylines and also having Nick Fury and Nova, the two [[TheScrappy least popular characters]], outright PutOnABus until the end.

** ''TheSimpsons'' themselves went from having Bart as de facto main character early on to Homer, who became [[{{Flanderization}} more and more stupid]] with each season.

** For years, Jim Sterling had the central gimmick of a SmallNameBigEgo would-be fascist barking out his decrees about video games from behind his podium covered in toys. When for various reasons ([[http://www.thejimquisition.com/blog/the-jimquisition-reposition/ link here]]) he didn't think that was inherently funny anymore he shifted it to a "carnival showman presenting the games industry freak show" style.
** In 2017, Jim announced that he would [[http://www.thejimquisition.com/blog/changing-criticism-or-fuck-game-reviews/ no longer write reviews for video games]], having grown jaded of professional reviews essentially working on a FourPointScale (along with a few instances of [[FanDumb overly rabid fans DDOS'ing his website when his reviews were not favorable enough for them]]). Instead, his "Jimpressions" videos would feature more in-depth analysis and critiques for games.

** They did it once more for ''[[Anime/PokemonTheSeriesBlackAndWhite Best Wishes]]'' by having Ash catch more than six Pokémon at a time and putting them into rotation.
** In addition, they made Team Rocket far more threatening than in previous sagas where they were everyone's {{Butt Monkey}}s. Although this didn't really stick for later sagas and they're back to being comic relief characters. Similar to Ash, their Pokémon apart from Meowth (and Wobbuffet from ''X and Y'' onwards) are also deposited at the Team Rocket headquarters to free up space for new Pokémon.
** ''[[Anime/PokemonTheSeriesSunAndMoon Sun and Moon]]'' has had the most drastic change to the anime. Due to gyms not existing in ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'', instead of traveling from town to town challenging gyms with 2 or 3 companions following his journey, Ash attends a Pokémon School with several classmates and he is also competing in the Island Challenges that's unique to ''Sun and Moon''.

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** This was followed by [[ComicBook/ThePunisherPurgatory another retool]], where Castle became an EmpoweredBadassNormal with weapons from Heaven.

** In 1986, Superman undergoes a full reboot. His alien side was greatly downplayed, his powers were severely nerfed, Supergirl and the other Kryptonian characters were retconned out of existence and banned from continuity.

* In ''Manga RankingOfKings'', when the series eventually got actual compiled manga volumes 2 years after its online debut, Sousuke made a special chapter to be retroactively included in the first volume, entitled Chapter 13.5; there it shows Bosse quickly grew to feel torn about selling the life force of his own firstborn to grow stronger to win the war after he sees little baby Bojji, in the series' original online run the reader didn't have any idea Bosse would eventually be revealed to be a very layered character much later in the story, back then it seemed Bosse selfishly made a deal with a devil without thinking, so that new chapter prepares new followers right away for what is to come.

* DC's ComicBook/New52 relaunch has one foot in the ContinuityReboot camp and another in the retool camp. Some characters got retold origins and backstories (Superman had his early days retold, with him now being the first superhero in the DCU) while others simply got a change to the status quo (Bruce Wayne was the only Franchise/{{Batman}} again, with Dick Grayson going back to ComicBook/{{Nightwing}} and Damian remaining as Robin).

* MarvelUniverse heroine ComicBook/PatsyWalker has gone through numerous [=retools=]. Started out as an Archie-style teen comedy, moved over into more straight romance, became a superheroine named Hellcat, became DarkerAndEdgier, and now is... Just weird. And [[RuleOfCool Awesome]]. Note that all of that stuff is still technically in-continuity.

* In the pages of ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'' during 1971, an experimental "Kryptonite-Engine" made to provide cheap electrical power malfunctions, causing all the Kryptonite on the planet to become ordinary iron. Meanwhile, Clark Kent became a TV news reporter while an EvilTwin of Superman made of sand drained him of some of his powers. [[http://superman.nu/tales4/sand/1/?page=-1 You can read the full saga here.]] After the entire story is resolved, the series's new direction was quickly lost and more Kryptonite arrives from space, the only holdover from the storyline (until ''ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'') being that Clark works at a television news station.

* ''ComicBook/XFactor'' started off as a reunion book featuring the original five [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]] ComicBook/XMen, initially masquerading as mutant hunters for hire but eventually dropping the act to become just an offshoot of the X-Men. In the 90's, it was [=retooled=] into a government-sanctioned team of mutant superheroes lead by Havok. Peter David later relaunched the title again in 2005 as a [[FilmNoir Noir]] detective title consisting of a bunch of former ComicBook/XForce and ComicBook/GenerationX members and led by Multiple Man, a veteran of the government team. It was Retooled ''again'' in 2014 as part of the Comicbook/MarvelNOW event, with the book now focusing on a team of {{Corporate Sponsored Superhero}}es.

[[folder:Fanfic]]
* InUniverse in ''Fanfic/TheCalvinHobbesAndPaineShow'': the titular ShowWithinAShow starts out identical to [[ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes the original strip]], but after Watterson leaves gets turned into a VarietyShow and adopts [[CousinOliver Paine]]. Calvin (the actor, that is) [[JumpedTheShark isn't very fond of the changes.]]

[[folder:Newspaper Comics]]
* ComicStrip/BeetleBailey started out as a strip about a ne'er-do-well college student. Then, very early in the series' run, the main character joined the army, where he has been ever since.
* ''ComicStrip/{{Blondie}}'' was originally about a flapper and her rich boyfriends. When she married one of them, Dagwood Bumstead, he was disinherited, had to get a job, and lived a life more of the audience could identify with. On top of that, said husband essentially [[BreakoutCharacter became the main character]]. As for Blondie, she's been a wife and mom with her own catering business for so long, it's almost impossible to imagine her as a flighty socialite.
** At least she kept top billing. Fritzi Ritz had a similar flapper theme, but was pushed to the side by her niece and the strip renamed ''ComicStrip/{{Nancy}}''.
* When Garry Trudeau returned from his 18-month sabbatical, the main characters of ''ComicStrip/{{Doonesbury}}'' left college (and the town the college was in) behind, got careers & families, and started aging in real-time. This caused a noticeable shift in the perspective of the strip (although its political nature never changed).
** Although at the very beginning, the cartoon wasn't really oriented towards covering politics at all, being about the college life of its main cast and making this a double example.
* ''ComicStrip/FunkyWinkerbean'': Originally a lighthearted high school strip, with the death of creator Tom Batuik's wife, the strip became darker, focusing on the hopelessness of modern life and baser sides of humanity.
* ''ComicStrip/RickOShay'' started out as a humor comic set in the present day; after about ten years, the setting was shifted back a century, and there started being more drama and continuing storylines.
* There was once an 80s strip called ''[[ComicStrip/RobotmanAndMonty Robotman]]''. The title character was an alien robot living with a typical middle-class family. Eventually it was retooled into ''Robotman and Monty''; the little robot now lived with a dorky bachelor, Monty Montahue. Then Robotman himself [[PutOnABus left]]. Since then, the strip has been ''Monty'', and revolves around the geek and his weird friends.
* Barney Google moved to a place full of hillbillies, then was [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome written out]] in favor of BreakoutCharacter ComicStrip/SnuffySmith.
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** Season 3 introduced an all new original 3D opening sequence, with comets and planets functioning and moving about, as well as the camera crashing through Ghost Planet Industries and navigate through the hallways.

** After ''Dark Reign'' and at the onset of Marvel's ''ComicBook/HeroicAge'' the Thunderbolts became super villain prison The Raft's rehabilitation program for super criminals (this time including Comicbook/ManThing, Juggernaut, and Ghost among others), under the supervision of {{ComicBook/Luke Cage|HeroForHire}}. Basically Marvel's answer to the ComicBook/SuicideSquad.

** The show would be retooled the third (and final) time in the eighth season, where Chaz is now married to Kira, introducing her, her daughter Kimi and their dog Fifi. Much like Tommy and Dil before, many of the episode's plots would revolve around Chuckie's relationship with Kimi. Grandpa Lou also moves out of the Pickles' house. The show's opening sequence was also changed for the first (and only) time since the beginning.

** Special mention goes to ''Film/TheSuicideSquad,'' following up from ''Film/SuicideSquad.'' Almost all of the characters from the first film have been replaced (with a SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute in the case of Deadshot==>Bloodsport), nor does it seem to be following up on its story, either. Creator/JoelKinnaman, who plays [[TokenGoodTeammate Rick Flag]] in both films, specifically said that the character was treated as a "blank slate" whose personality was reworked. So the two films are presumably in the same continuity, but it's effectively a {{Reboot}} with some {{Role Reprise}}s.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheReplacements'' saw a number of changes in its second season. The art style was significantly overhauled to give characters: the series now had a warmer color palette and thinner linework for the characters, who now displayed different body proportions, five-fingered ones, different noses, and overall more angular designs. Meanwhile, the story format shifted from TwoShorts to half-hour episodes, and the premise of main characters Todd and Riley having the power to replace anyone they wish with another person is used much less frequently, being downplayed in favor of more character-driven stories surrounding the main and supporting cast.

* ''WesternAnimation/ThomasTheTankEngine'' had a minor retool in Series 5 when it stopped adapting the Railway Series stories it had previously been based on. A further retool was in Series 8 when a new theme song and story format was bought in, and many characters such as Duck were [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome dropped with no explanation]].

** The show would be retooled the third (and final) time in the seventh season, where Chaz is now married to Kira, introducing her, her daughter Kimi and their dog Fifi. Much like Tommy and Dil before, many of the episode's plots would revolve around Chuckie's relationship with Kimi. Grandpa Lou also moves out of the Pickles' house. The show's opening sequence was also changed for the first (and only) time since the beginning.

** The show would be retooled a third time in the seventh season, where Chaz is now married to Kira, introducing her, her daughter Kimi and their dog Fifi. Much like Tommy and Dil before, many of the episode's plots would revolve around Chuckie's relationship with Kimi. Grandpa Lou also moves out of the Pickles' house. The show's opening sequence was also changed for the first (and only) time since the beginning. This retool lasted for the rest of show's run.

*** The show would be [[WesternAnimation/Rugrats2021 rebooted]] in 2021. The tone of this series is most inline with the first retool of the original show.