History NeverLiveItDown / TheDCU

* ComicBook/{{Zatanna}} [[MindRape mind wiping]] Doctor Light to [[BrainwashingForTheGreaterGood make him less dangerous]], and then mind wiping [[spoiler:ComicBook/{{Batman}}]], in ''ComicBook/IdentityCrisis'' has become this. It's got to the point that before the 2011 reboot that every single one of Zatanna's main appearances referenced her mind wiping. First issue of ''ComicBook/GothamCitySirens'' even had ComicBook/PoisonIvy call her "Miss Mindwipe." Zatanna will ONLY ever be known FOR the mind wipes.

** [[spoiler: He lapsed back into addiction after his daughter was killed and he lost an arm.]] When people talk about Roy post-[[spoiler:Lian's death]] people always tend to mention how he [[spoiler:hallucinated a dead kitten was his daughter while on drugs]]. [[spoiler: However, this got retconned in ''ComicBook/GreenArrow2023'' so that he did actually see his daughter. The fact that he relapsed still remains though.))

** [[spoiler: He lapsed back into addiction after his daughter was killed and he lost an arm.]] When people talk about Roy post-[[spoiler:Lian's death]] people always tend to mention how he [[spoiler:hallucinated a dead kitten was his daughter while on drugs]].

* Superboy-Prime had become an immature whiny sociopath in ''ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis'', but still had some motives that made him slip near WellIntentionedExtremist. But in ''ComicBook/CountdownToFinalCrisis'', he said one line, after which fans forgot about that and marked him as an complete idiot and nobody could treat him seriously after that. This line was:
-->'''Prime:''' ''I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL KILL YOU TO DEATH!''
** Considering it was in ''[[AudienceAlienatingEra Countdown]]'' it seems Superboy-Prime's unforgivable crime was being in ''[[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment Countdown]]''.
** That line aside, Superboy-Prime's dialog in the whole story makes him come as an immature nitwit, and his actions make it hard to view him as anything but a monster since after seeing a museum devoted to an AlternateUniverse Superman, [[MoralEventHorizon he loses his temper and murders that Superman]], [[FromBadToWorse his pregnant wife, the Earth's Justice League, and destroys the entire Earth.]] Really, that scene does a better job establishing as a whiny PsychopathicManchild than the above MemeticMutation.
* ComicBook/JimmyOlsen will ''never'' live down turning into the [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Giant_Turtle_Man_8340.jpg Giant Turtle Man]]. Out of all the things he's turned into, that seems to be the one people are most determined to remind him of.

* ComicBook/WonderGirl: It was difficult for Cassie Sandsmark to live down the period of volume 3 where Geoff Johns and every writer after seemed to turn her into an increasingly catty, abrasive and overbearing team member who was supposedly powerful and leader material, but condescending and demanding to her teammates and who took up screentime from other characters. Then there was the time that she and Supergirl hijacked that plane during "Amazons Attack" and kidnapped a president...

* ComicBook/LoisLane often gets mocked for being a supposedly brilliant journalist who can't tell that Clark Kent and Superman are one in the same. Leaving aside the two decades or so ComicBook/PostCrisis in which she was Clark's SecretKeeper, stories about Lois strongly suspecting (but being unable to ''prove'') the truth date all the way back to ''1942''. It doesn't help that [[Film/ManOfSteel any depiction]] where she knows right from the start ends up being the victim of TheyChangedItNowItSucks.
* Comicbook/{{Supergirl}} is never going to live down [[BestialityIsDepraved dating her horse, Comet.]] Whether the constant ignorance of the fact that he was actually a sentient centaur-magically-turned-horse and he had become ''human'' when they ''actually'' dated is ignorance or just RuleOfFunny is unknown.
* Given all the jokes that both the Internet [[ComicBook/TinyTitans and DC themselves]] have been making about it, it's pretty obvious that {{Franchise/Superman}} isn't going to live down how [[ComicBook/New52 his more]] [[Film/ManOfSteel recent costumes]] lack his classic UnderwearOfPower.
* People will probably never forget the time that New 52 ComicBook/HarleyQuinn slaughtered hundreds of innocent adults and [[WouldHurtAChild children]] by having bombs hidden in handheld video game machines. It was [[CrossesTheLineTwice so deplorable]] and so beyond the lighter tone and characterisation of Harley's solo title that began soon afterwards, that it became FanonDiscontinuity almost immediately. However, it is still constantly brought up, right down to the story being included in the character's "best of" TPB in 2015.
* ComicBook/{{Zatanna}} [[MindRape mind wiping]] Doctor Light to [[BrainwashingForTheGreaterGood make him less dangerous]], and then mind wiping [[spoiler:Franchise/{{Batman}}]], in ''ComicBook/IdentityCrisis'' has become this. It's got to the point that before the 2011 reboot that every single one of Zatanna's main appearances referenced her mind wiping. First issue of ''Comicbook/GothamCitySirens'' even had ComicBook/PoisonIvy call her "Miss Mindwipe." Zatanna will ONLY ever be known FOR the mind wipes.

* No matter what she does, or how well a character she's written, ComicBook/PowerGirl will always be mostly known as the patron saint of giant boobs.
* No matter how he might top himself in pure despicableness, ComicBook/LexLuthor is best known among geeks for stealing 40 cakes--that's as many as four tens!--in an incident that would become the {{Trope Namer|s}} for AndThatsTerrible.

* While DC has made a huge amount of effort to change the public perception of ComicBook/{{Aquaman}} after ''WesternAnimation/{{Superfriends}}'', which has been fairly successful, there will still never be a shortage of jokes about him being "[[WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway the useless one who talks to fish]]".

* No matter what she does, or how well a character she's written, ComicBook/PowerGirl will always be mostly known as the patron saint of GagBoobs.

* [[ComicBook/JusticeSocietyOfAmerica The JSA]] will likely never escape jokes about how how their first female member, Franchise/WonderWoman, was relegated to the role of their secretary.

** Considering it was in ''[[DorkAge Countdown]]'' it seems Superboy-Prime's unforgivable crime was being in ''[[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment Countdown]]''.

* ComicBook/{{Raven}} can't really live down her '90s DorkAge in which Marv Wolfman killed her off, then had her return as an evil sexual dominatrix who ruined Nightwing and Starfire's wedding, made out with Starfire and implanted her with a "demon seed" (later revealed to be her actual good soul), and attacked and made out with other [[ComicBook/TeenTitans Titans]] to turn them into her servants. Especially controversial among one group of fans is the implication that she might have sexually abused Changeling when he was under her thrall, and had him either rape or cannibalize another woman in his madness. Although Wolfman would have "Dark Raven" and the good Raven confirmed and established as separate personalities and entities by the end of the run (with the Dark Raven persona having taken another woman's similar body in order to do her evil bidding and unknowingly transferring the purified Raven's soul into Starfire), there are a number of fans enraged that Raven was easily forgiven by her fellow Titans and will never forget this arc, ContinuityReboot aside. This especially gets brought up in "Raven vs. Terra" arguments, where those on Terra's side will argue that Raven was not any better than the teenage sociopath for these actions, as well as citing her early actions of mind-controlling Wally West (into loving her) as a way to get him to rejoin the Titans. Then there's the period where she tried to seduce Nightwing, even though it was resolved and Raven gave up on her feelings after being convinced that it was only platonic love that she felt.

* Comicbook/{{Aquaman}} has still to live down [[AudienceColoringAdaptation his portrayal]] on the ''WesternAnimation/{{Superfriends}}'', and comics writers frequently show people mocking him for his abilities just before he proves them wrong. There's really no reason people in the DC universe don't take him seriously except for carryover from ''Superfriends.'' As far as the mainstream goes, no matter what DC tries, parodies of Aquaman in shows like ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'' and ''Series/TheAquabatsSuperShow'' will continue to perpetuate his reputation. This is on full display in the New 52's first issue of ''Aquaman''. Criminals and police alike are confused by Aquaman intervening in a non-water related crime. Patrons of a seafood restaurant are concerned to see him ordering fish. People confusing his ability to command sea creatures as 'talking to fish' is starting to wear on him too.

** It seems as though John Stewart will always be remembered for either being the AngryBlackMan in his first few years or for causing a planet to blow up due to his cockiness. His character development is almost always tied back to at least one of those two things even though they occurred over some 20 plus years ago.

* This is often how [[ComicBook/MartianManhunter J'onn J'onzz]] feels about his time with the ComicBook/JusticeLeagueInternational. Ironic in that previous to his ''International'' days, he had just come off of the "Detroit" League, which was one of the lowest points in the Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica's history. One would think he would be more ashamed of that. Most of them ''[[KillEmAll died at the end]]''.

* [[Comicbook/Batgirl2009 Stephanie Brown]] being regarded as 'incompetent'. For most of her career, Steph lacked Tim's experience and training, but [[ActionGirl could handle herself well in a fight]], was roughly on his level physically, and was a fast thinker. However, her goofy nature meant that she was often depicted as [[OvershadowedByAwesome comically out classed]] by her best friend [[ComicBook/Batgirl2000 Cassandra Cain]]. Add in ''[[ComicBook/BatmanWarGames War Games]]'', where Steph screws up was because Batman didn't trust her enough as Robin, and not many fans remember her for her accomplishments.
** Fans rarely remember that Killer Moth was a serious bad guy in Gotham, until he was beaten by Barbara Gordon in her ''first ever costumed outing'' as ComicBook/{{Batgirl}}, which destroyed his rep for all time.

* ComicBook/{{Robin}} often skirts along this trope. Many people have made arguments as to why Robin does not belong in the Batman mythos and that Batman should go back to his days being a solo crimefighter. But it is rather interesting to note that Robin has existed in the mythos for almost as long as Batman himself, with there being only an 11 month difference between their introductions. In fact, Robin has been around longer than Alfred! It doesn't seem to matter that Robin is no longer even remotely similar to the 1960s Batman series, and has evolved from being the plucky sidekick in underwear to a character that has at times, been as dark as Batman himself. Some people love pointing out the flaws of his 1960s costume discarding how it has evolved over the years. Also, lets not forget that Robin has saved Batman enough times to no longer warrant the nickname "boy hostage" (a nickname given to him because of how often he was kidnapped in the Silver Age).
** Note that this refers to the Dick Grayson Robin, who gets ''much'' more respect as ComicBook/{{Nightwing}}. In fact, a lot of people would gladly see him in adaptations as Nightwing rather than as Robin. Though most of the people who hold this against him haven't actually read any comics, and are usually unaware, and surprised, that there's been ''five'' Robins. Though, they all have their baggage too.
*** On the subject of Nightwing, he gets a rather unfair reputation as being a womanizer, despite having been involved in two different healthy and monogamous relationships at two different times in his life. It was in the second Nightwing Annual in which (in a flashback retcon) he slept with Barbara Gordon (after seeing her for the first time since her injury), and then proceeded to invite her to his wedding with ComicBook/{{Starfire}}. Prior to that, he was honest and committed in his relationships, and the notorious Dick-Kory-Babs love triangle was never a realization until that Annual.
** Jason Todd was killed by ComicBook/TheJoker. He's also got his general impulsive JerkAss demeanor that made him a solid [[TheScrappy Scrappy]] and is the very reason ''why'' he was killed. [[note]]Essentially DC had fans vote in whether or not Jason Todd would be killed.[[/note]]
** [[Comicbook/RobinSeries Tim Drake]] has people he cares about dying, since it happened so much. Seriously; he lost his mom, he lost his best friend, his other best friend, his girlfriend, his dad, his step mom, some other friends, and his adopted father. Sure, all of them -except mom, dad, and step mom- came back, but the fact that it made him ''very'' broody made for something he'd never live down. Of all the Robins now, he's 'the emo one' or 'Batman Jr'.
** [[Comicbook/Batgirl2009 Stephanie Brown]] was killed by Black Mask (like Jason, a NeverLiveItDown moment for both), and her being regarded as 'incompetent'. Generally for most of her career, Steph was actually surprisingly competent, given her state and conditions. Her costume was, originally, VERY practical, especially compared to most female costumes at the time (So much so that Tim thought she was a dude when he first saw her) despite being completely hand made on a shoe-string budget, and while she lacked Tim's experience and training, [[ActionGirl she could handle herself well in a fight]], was roughly on his level physically, and was a fast thinker in a fight. However her best friend was [[ComicBook/Batgirl2000 Cassandra Cain]], and her goofy nature meant that she was often depicted as [[OvershadowedByAwesome comically out classed]] around her. Add in ''[[ComicBook/BatmanWarGames War Games]]'', where the entire plot is basically 'Steph's an idiot and she screws up big time' (and ignore the fact that the main reason Steph screwed up was because Batman didn't even trust her enough as Robin to tell her about his Matches Malone identity, among other massive details), she's pretty much left looking 'incompetent'.
*** Oh yeah, and her recent benching following ''Flashpoint'' and ''New 52'', she's probably not going to live down being 'the one whose fans sent [[TrademarkFavoriteFood waffles]] to DC's offices'.
** And Damian Wayne: Being a brat. Yeah, Damian's still new so there's not much else besides how much of a brat he was at first, not helped by the fact that, while CharacterDevelopment has made him more soft and likeable, he's still a massive JerkAss, making his brattiness the main thing people remember.
*** Eventually people started depicting him as a cat lover, albeit an embarrassed and secretive one. This is due to ''Batman #666'' depicting a future version of Damian Wayne as Batman, wherein he has a pet cat named Alfred. Fans took this and ran with it. Later on, he got a dog (the New 52 version of Ace the Bat-Hound) called Titus, and also adopted Bat-Cow. So according toe the fandom, Damian is now basically really, really into animals and pets.

* Creator/FrankMiller is usually remembered for writing prostitutes and "The Goddamn Batman." Thankfully, there are no plans to write a [[BreadEggsBreadedEggs Goddamn prostitute Batman]]. The fact that Frank Miller used to write stories that could be low-key, poignant, or even tongue-in-cheek seems to have been forgotten by everyone, seemingly including Miller himself.
** In addition, his fight against Superman is often one of the most cited examples of "Batman always defeating Superman", never mind the measures that Batman had to take just to hold him down for periods, the fact that Superman was constantly holding back, and that he had outside help. Oh yeah, and ultimately ''Batman lost'' that fight. (He fakes his death at the end, which benefits him in the long term, but Superman's reaction at the funeral makes it clear he wasn't fooled and ultimately allowed it to happen.)
** ''Returns'' also gave Miller a reputation for seemingly hating Superman. This ignores the fact that, despite being a Batman comic, ''Returns'' also has a nuanced take on Superman struggling with ToBeLawfulOrGood and his friendship and loyalty to Bruce. This was so prevalent that when ''Superman: Year One'' was announced, Miller had to go on record stating that, no, he doesn't actually hate Superman and the reason Batman "won" the fight (see above) was because ''it was a Batman comic'', thus he had to win.

** Hal Jordan once slept with a teenager.