History ValuesDissonance / TheDCU

* In ''ComicBook/TheJudasContract'' from the early 1980s, TheMole Terra has a sexual relationship with ComicBook/{{Deathstroke}}. Not only is Deathstroke twice her age, but he has ''kids'' either her age or older. Terra is above the age-of-consent in most of America (she was sixteen) however it's still {{squick}}y. That was the intended reaction, however it's become a bit ''too'' uncomfortable in future years. That aspect of their relationship either gets altered or criticized in adaptations and future references. The 2003 ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans2003'' cartoon and ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice2010'' outright removed their relationship (with it depicted as more of a mentorship in both) and the 2016 [[WesternAnimation/TeenTitansTheJudasContract animated film adaptation]] of the arc also changed it so that no sex occured. Terra simply has an unrequited crush on Deathstroke. The main bone of the problem is that the original story tries to use the relationship to show Terra as wicked and depraved, while ignoring how sleazy it makes Slade look like. When having an opportunity to RetCon the relationship away, the ComicBook/DCRebirth ''ComicBook/{{Deathstroke}}'' series shows it happened but portrays it as something Slade has done to easier manipulate and control Terra, a MoralEventHorizon even for Deathstroke himself, that seriously messed already emotionally unstable Terra for the rest of her life.

* ''ComicBook/Camelot3000'', released in the mid-80's, features [[Literature/TristanAndIseult Sir Tristan]], a male knight reincarnated in a female body. The SupportingProtagonist Tom Prentice is attracted to Tristan's female body and is constantly making moves on him, referring to him as a woman and calling him "Amber", the birth name of his female incarnation. This was depicted as Tom being a DoggedNiceGuy at the time, but in the 2020's we recognise the Tristan is effectively a heterosexual (as he's still in love with Isolde) transman; who Tom, a cis[=/=]het guy, is relentlessly sexually harassing, misgendering and deadnaming.

* ''Comicbook/{{Watchmen}}'':
** While The Comedian is clearly written as a terrible person, the fact that he's a war criminal and attempted rapist who treats protesters violently likely mean he would not be treated nearly as sympathetically were he created in the post [=#MeToo,=] [[UsefulNotes/WarOnTerror 9/11]] and [[UsefulNotes/BlackLivesMatterMovement Black Lives Matter]] world. The first Silk Spectre not only forgiving The Comedian for [[AttemptedRape trying to rape her]], but having at least one consensual encounter with him later in life that resulted in her daughter's birth, would definitely not fly today unless [[Creator/AlanMoore Moore]] was deliberately trying to be provocative.
** One that actually works in Alan Moore's favor is Rorschach calling New York City "an abattoir of retarded children". At the time, "retard" wasn't considered that offensive, but in the time since, especially after a certain scene in ''Film/TropicThunder'', it's become a highly offensive term, so it will turn more modern readers off on Rorschach rather than having them become part of the MisaimedFandom that arose when the story first saw print.

** ''WesternAnimation/BewareTheBatman'', ''Batman/Tarzan: Claws of the Catwoman'', ''WesternAnimation/HarleyQuinn2019'', and ''ComicBook/DCComicsBombshells'' depicted Harvey's moral compass as largely unchanged: the former three went with AdaptationalVillainy and had Harvey be a piece of work long before he's disfigured, whereas the latter went with AdaptationalHeroism and keep a disfigured Harv on the side of the angels.

* ComicBook/TwoFace's traditional origins of his disfigurement being the cause of his FaceHeelTurn has been criticized as being in poor taste due to implying that deformed people are inherently evil. Adaptations have tried to mend this to varying degrees:

* ComicBook/TwoFace's traditional origins of his disfigurement being the cause of his FaceHeelTurn has been criticized as a case of UnfortunateImplications as Harvey's turn to villainy was due to his disfigurement. Adaptations have tried to mend this to varying degrees:

* ''ComicBook/Camelot3000'', released in the mid-80's, features [[Literature/TristanAndIseult Sir Tristan]], a male knight reincarnated in a female body. The SupportingProtagonist Tom Prentice is attracted to Tristan's female body and is constantly making moves on him, referring to him as a woman and calling him "Amber", the birth name of his female incarnation. This was depicted as Tom being a DoggedNiceGuy at the time, but in the 2020's we recognise the Tristan is effectively a heterosexual (as he's still in love with Isolde) transman; who Tom, a cis[=/=]het guy, is relentlessly sexually harassing and deadnaming.

* ''ComicBook/Camelot3000'', released in the mid-80's, features [[Literature/TristanAndIseult Sir Tristan]], a male knight reincarnated in a female body. The SupportingProtagonist Tom Prentice is attracted to Tristan's female body and is constantly making moves on him, referring to him as a woman and referring to him as "Amber", the birth name of his female incarnation. This was depicted as Tom being a DoggedNiceGuy at the time, but in the 2020's we recognise the Tristan is effectively a heterosexual (as he's still in love with Isolde) transman, who Tom, a cis[=/=]het guy is relentlessly pursuing and deadnaming.

* In ''ComicBook/TheJudasContract'' from the early 1980s, TheMole Terra has a sexual relationship with ComicBook/{{Deathstroke}}. Not only is Deathstroke twice her age, but he has ''kids'' either her age or older. Terra is above the age-of-consent in most of America (she was sixteen) however it's still {{squick}}y. That was the intended reaction, however it's become a bit ''too'' uncomfortable in future years. That aspect of their relationship either gets altered or criticized in adaptations and future references. The 2003 ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans2003'' cartoon and ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice2010'' outright removed their relationship (with it depicted as more of a mentorship in both) and the 2016 [[WesternAnimation/TeenTitansTheJudasContract animated film adaptation]] of the arc also changed it so that no sex occured. Terra simply has an unrequited crush on Deathstroke. The main bone of the problem is that the original story tries to use the relationship to show Terra as wicked and depraved, while ignoring how sleazy it makes Slade look like. When having an opportunity to RetCon the relationship away, the ComicBook/DCRebirth ''ComicBook/{{Deathstroke}}'' series shows it happened but portrays it as something Slade has done to easier manipulate and control Terra, a MoralEventHorizon even for Deathstroke himself, that seriously messed already emotionally unstable Terra for the rest of her life.

[[quoteright:350:[[ComicBook/{{Superman}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/spmracist.png]]]]

* Franchise/GreenLantern Hal Jordan premiered in the late 1950s with a female boss/love interest who ran a military-industrialist complex air base, and an Inuit sidekick who not only knew his secret identity, but kept Jordan's power source safe and even stood in for him when Jordan was off-world. These concepts were [[FairForItsDay quite progressive at the time]], but to modern readers get easily overshadowed by [[LoveMakesYouEvil his boss turning to supervillainy to try to force Green Lantern into marriage]] and his sidekick gleefully accepting a blatantly racist nickname. Fortunately, in the latest reboot, the nickname "Pieface" showed up only on one occasion, and got the speaker pummeled shortly thereafter.

* The climax of an early [[ComicBook/{{Hellblazer}} Constantine]] story dealing with a serial killer who targets the hero involves the hero getting a gun. Given that the killer is a knife-wielder, the confrontation is a bit uneven. For a British audience, the pistol was presumably an unexpected and shocking twist. For any nation where pistols are perfectly legal and commonplace, this is both an AntiClimax and idiotic moment for Constantine who did not think to use a gun on many previous occasions.

* In ''ComicBook/TheJudasContract'' from the early 1980s, TheMole Terra has a sexual relationship with ComicBook/{{Deathstroke}}. Not only is Deathstroke twice her age, but he has ''kids'' either her age or older. Terra is above the age-of-consent in most of America (she was sixteen) however it's still {{squick}}y. That was the intended reaction, however it's become a bit ''too'' uncomfortable in future years. That aspect of their relationship either gets altered or criticized in adaptations and future references. The 2003 ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans2003'' cartoon and ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice2010'' outright removed their relationship (with it depicted as more of a mentorship in both) and the 2016 [[WesternAnimation/TeenTitansTheJudasContract animated film adaptation]] of the arc also changed it so that no sex occured. Terra simply has an unrequited crush on Deathstroke. The main bone of the problem is that the original story tries to use the relationship to show Terra as wicked and depraved, while ignoring how sleazy it makes Slade look like. When having an opportunity to RetCon the relationship away ''ComicBook/DeathstrokeRebirth'' shows it happened but portrays it as something Slade has done to easier manipulate and control Terra, a MoralEventHorizon even for Deathstroke himself, that seriously messed already emotionally unstable Terra for the rest of her life.

* The climax of an early [[ComicBook/{{Hellblazer}} Constantine]] story dealing with a serial killer who targets the hero involves the hero getting a gun. Given that the killer is a KnifeNut, the confrontation is a bit uneven. For a British audience, the pistol was presumably an unexpected and shocking twist. For any nation where pistols are perfectly legal and commonplace, this is both an AntiClimax and idiotic moment for Constantine who did not think to use a gun on many previous occasions.

** The first Silk Spectre not only forgiving The Comedian for [[AttemptedRape trying to rape her]], but having at least one consensual encounter with him later in life that resulted in her daughter's birth, can come across as awkward to modern readers. The Comedian in general, who in addition to the attempted rape was also a war criminal and multiple murderer, would likely be portrayed not nearly as sympathetically were he created today. That or he would have to be extremely retooled. That said, he ''is'' very clearly written as a villain.

* The climax of an early [[ComicBook/{{Hellblazer}} Constantine]] story dealing with a serial killer who targets the hero involves the hero getting a gun. Given that the killer is a KnifeNut, the confrontation is a bit uneven. For a British audience, the pistol was presumably an unexpected and shocking twist. For any nation where pistols are perfectly legal and commonplace, this is both an AntiClimax and a bit of a WhatAnIdiot moment for Constantine who did not think to use a gun on many previous occasions.

* In ''ComicBook/TheJudasContract'' from the early 1980s, TheMole Terra has a sexual relationship with ComicBook/{{Deathstroke}}. Not only is Deathstroke twice her age, but he has ''kids'' either her age or older. Terra is above the age-of-consent in most of America (she was sixteen) however it's still {{squick}}y. That was the intended reaction, however it's become a bit ''too'' uncomfortable in future years. That aspect of their relationship either gets altered or criticized in adaptations and future references. The 2003 ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'' cartoon and ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'' outright removed their relationship (with it depicted as more of a mentorship in both) and the 2016 [[WesternAnimation/TeenTitansTheJudasContract animated film adaptation]] of the arc also changed it so that no sex occured. Terra simply has an unrequited crush on Deathstroke. The main bone of the problem is that the original story tries to use the relationship to show Terra as wicked and depraved, while ignoring how sleazy it makes Slade look like. When having an opportunity to RetCon the relationship away ''ComicBook/DeathstrokeRebirth'' shows it happened but portrays it as something Slade has done to easier manipulate and control Terra, a MoralEventHorizon even for Deathstroke himself, that seriously messed already emotionally unstable Terra for the rest of her life.

* Values dissonance began to haunt Superman by the end of the '60s as he had not reverted to his earlier, rebellious form, but remained a symbol of the establishment, despite the youth movement moving that way. Attempts at "modernizing" Superman were often scoffed at, and between the '70s and the '00s, Superman was often used as an example of the right and virtuous old-fashioned superhero for better or worse, though besides "I don't kill," they're rarely specific about what "morals" of his are supposed to be outdated. That's not to say Superman never had any high points during this period, they just tended to be more about the overall plot or spectacle. Lately, they seem to be trying to get away from this.
* Many ComicBook/{{Superboy}} [[note]]Superman in his youth[[/note]] comics had the main character, Clark Kent, being subjected to corporal punishments, usually in the form of spanking, by his adoptive father, Jonathan. However, Jonathan discovers the hard way why he would be called [[MadeOfIron Man of Steel]], even with a spanking machine, which is also destroyed. One story even has it in a school! Now, think about that for a moment considering corporal punishment of any kind in school... at least state ones, would not go well with today's view.
* One [[TheFifties 1950s]] storyline has Lois Lane breaking Superman's absolute veto about following him to the Fortress of Solitude. The storyline attributes this not to her being a journalist but down to her being female, and therefore both nosy and in need of punishment for this very female character flaw. Superman, watching unseen, orders the sentinel robot to catch her and inflict Punishment. The robot therefore upends her over its lap and applies a vigorous spanking. The next morning she apologises to Clark Kent about not being able to sit down "because of what that robot did to me last night". The reader is invited to join in with the laughter.
* Shortly after ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'s introduction, there's a ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'' story in which (for typically contrived [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]] reasons) he has to pretend to be engaged. So, he spends a good part of the story making kissy-face with the mysterious new superheroine Mighty Maid. At the end of the story it's revealed she's Supergirl in disguise, and thus Supes has been making out with his ''15-year-old first cousin.'' (A later story makes it clear that this is not Kryptonian-Earth values dissonance; first cousins couldn't marry on Krypton.)

* Franchise/WonderWoman from the Golden Age had a particular problem because her creator, William Marston, believed that dominance, submission, and a very bondage-oriented culture were all things needed in what was then "today's world". Wonder Woman at one point extols the virtues of being a (consensual) slave. Needless to say, this sexuality-based cultural paradigm was ''not'' in synch with what people believed then, and hasn't really caught on ''now'' either. And while Marston had very progressive ideas about women's empowerment for his day, he also seemed to think that women were "naturally" prone to things like vanity and emotional outbursts.