Line #100 CharacterDerailment/ComicBooks


1	Sometimes, there will be [[CharacterDerailment character changes, and they're unlikely to be very funny]].
2
3	Series with so much of this that they needed their own page:
4	[[index]]
5	* ''CharacterDerailment/TheDCU''
6	* ''CharacterDerailment/MarvelUniverse''
7	[[/index]]
8	%%This list has been organised alphabetically, please add examples accordingly.
9	----
10	[[foldercontrol]]
11
12	[[folder: Other]]
13	* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'': Zuko himself underwent this. He's frequently portrayed as paranoid, weak, and vacillating to the point where he goes to his father for advice on ruling, proving his philosophy of might and absolutism to be superior to Zuko's empathy and understanding. To make him even more of a CosmicPlaything, later on Azula defeats him in a duel, [[BrokenAesop essentially rendering all of Iroh's teachings about inner calm and control meaningless in the face of raw power and ruthlessness]].
14	* ''ComicBook/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''. When Twilight, the villain of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 8 comic, is revealed to actually be [[spoiler:Angel]] this represents a major case of character derailment. We're supposed to believe that someone who'd spent five seasons learning that [[spoiler:the battle against evil is probably hopeless, but you fight it anyway]] has suddenly decided to abandon the world to destruction in order to bring about his own happiness? Right.
15	** It's all the worse when you consider that as far back as the episode "I Will Remember You" of ''Angel'', [[spoiler:Angel was willing to sacrifice his happiness with Buffy in order to be able to fight the good fight against evil]]. In the entire Buffverse arc since then, nothing has been seen to contradict this, and suddenly he could [[spoiler: give a flying fuck... literally]].
16	** Whether this is a case of AuthorsSavingThrow or just [[TrollingCreator Joss trolling everyone,]] it seems that [[spoiler:Angel]] was actually working on the inside to weaken the villains. DemonicPossession also seems to have been a factor at some point.
17	** Then we get Kennedy, resident JerkAss. In the series she mellows considerably when Tara is brought up. In one comic she's maybe a little disappointed that Tara is again brought up but is there for Willow. In the motion comics however an extra line is added that's so cold even for her Angelus or Warren should be taking notes.
18	** The comics also have a rare case of 'positive' derailment. In the show Harmony had the occasional moment of low cunning but she was overwhelmingly depicted as weak willed and airheaded, even in Harmony-centric episodes. In the comics she has inexplicably morphed into a successful and witty public relations mastermind who easily juggles her own celebrity while remaining a leader in the vampire community.
19	* In the original ''Inodoro Pereyra'' comics, Eulogia was beautiful and nice. During the 70s, she became fat and cranky.
20	* ''ComicBook/JenniferBlood'': The titular character herself. The contrast between the Jennifer of Issue #6, who tells [[spoiler: her uncle Phil as he dies]] how her husband is the exact opposite of men like him and they'd think him weak for it, her implication being that she views him as much stronger and better for it, with the Jennifer of Issue #14, who is a lot colder to her husband in action and in thought, and calls him 'weak' herself in her private thoughts, is so extreme you'd swear it's a reboot of the character. True, said opinion comes on the heels of [[spoiler: just been through an immensely stressful experience after reality kicked in after her RoaringRampageOfRevenge and she had been forced to kill several people beyond her planned list of victims, most of whom, unlike her uncles, were innocent and done wholly so she could cover her tracks]], but even considering that and what's to come, it reads less of natural character evolution (or devolution, to be precise) and more being ramrodded into a position the author wants her in for the story they want to tell. It is notable that Issue 6 was the last issue of series starter and character creator Garth Ennis.
21	* ''ComicBook/TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen'':
22	** The final book of ''Century'' features the Antichrist, a child who snaps on learning his true nature, murdering his entire school with magic and then hiding away for several years, shaving his head and scratching out the MarkOfTheBeast with his own fingers, with only the head of his former headmaster (the guy who cooked up the Antichrist plan in the first place) for company, mutating into an misogynistic, eye-covered, lightning-pissing giant. Not ''quite'' the [[spoiler:Literature/HarryPotter]] we know, is he?
23	** For that matter, we're introduced to a jovial guy in 60's London who's not above groping a drugged out woman before [[spoiler:being possessed by Haddo's spirit]]. Again, not really the behavior we've come to expect from [[spoiler:Tom Marvolo Riddle]].
24	* Deconstructed in Creator/ArtSpiegelman's ''ComicBook/{{Maus}}''. The story continually compares the generous, brave, resourceful Vladek Spiegelman who survives the Holocaust to his [[NotAsYouKnowThem present self]], who has inexplicably devolved into a cranky pain that makes life miserable for everyone. Part of this (non-fictional) account deals with the author's issues and incredulousness at the difference between his father's behavior then and now. The story also rejects his FreudianExcuse of behaving the way he does, noting that other Holocaust survivors didn't become the bitter shell he is now. It should be noted that the portrayal of Vladek as he was during the Holocaust could be a case of an UnreliableNarrator; the only source of information we have is Vladek himself, and attention is drawn several times to the fact that Vladek's memories sometimes contradict themselves or other eyewitness accounts. Also, it is debatable whether Vladek's post-Holocaust misanthropy is truly a derailment from what he was during it; there is never any question that he loved Anja (his wife during the Holocaust, [[ShootTheShaggyDog who committed suicide a few decades after it was over]]) far more than Mala (his wife at the time of writing), so it makes sense that he would be far more compassionate towards Anja. Old Vladek also shows resourcefulness, but because it is unnecessary in his time it comes across as simple miserliness. There are also hints from Vladek's [[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation possibly rose-tinted]] memories of himself that suggest he might have been somewhat domineering and lacking in sympathy even then.
25	* ''ComicBook/{{Micronauts\|MarvelComics}}'': All of the Micronaut characters have suffered from inconsistent characterization since their reappearances in ''ComicBook/{{Cable}}'' during the 1990s. In that first reappearance, Mari fared the worst. In the original Micronauts, she was depicted as an intelligent, verbose, and independent woman. In ''Cable'', she was given a butch masculine appearance and rarely spoke. In ''Realm of Kings: Son of Hulk'', she grew back her locks and started acting like an airheaded, motormouth amazon who has spent too much time on Earth.
26	* ''ComicBook/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicIDW'': Iron Will during the "Siege of the Crystal Empire" arc. In the show, and previous IDW comic he appeared in, he's a pretty nice guy who left ''both'' times on good terms with the mane six and was generally a nice guy, if a tad aggressive. Here he's part of a LegionOfDoom dedicated to helping resurrect ''King Sombra''. Even assuming he was unaware of the King Sombra part, other members of the team up include the Changelings and Queen Chrysalis (enemies of state who have tried several times to destroy Equestria), and the plan involves him [[spoiler:''stealing the Crystal Heart'' needed to protect the Empire and keep it safe from harm]]. He does so ''proudly'' and openly enjoys doing so.
27	* In the original stories of ''ComicBook/{{Paperinik\|NewAdventures}}'' (aka Phantomias), Paperinik was the chaotic alter-ego that WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck used for punishing those who had wronged him, mostly his own relatives. He was a shameless outlaw who was hunted down by the police and never had a motive to help others, unless he'd get a large reward. (Back then his relatives were HUGE {{Jerkass}}es. Scrooge was always breathing down his neck, pushing him and so on. Daisy was being a {{Tsundere}}. Gladstone was acting like Gladstone. They mellowed out later.) In later versions he was turned into a superhero who fights crime and unconditionally helps the authorities. This was [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools a derailment for the better]], out of which we got ''ComicBook/PaperinikNewAdventures''.
28	* Early ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'' comics had this, with random name changes (Shaggy randomly went for a full story called ''Fuzzy'') and many characters, if not all, [[TookALevelInJerkass taking a huge level in jerkass.]] By 1997 they seem to have picked up the ball.
29	* This trope came down on Rotor ''hard'' in ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics'' issues #215-#216. Normally, he's depicted as a shy, introverted nerd who prefers to stay in the background and only fights when he needs to, but these two issues, in order to pin him as the faux traitor in Ian's ongoing [[AnArc story arc]] with Silver, twisted him into a bored glory-hound with a self-esteem issue who ''nearly killed his friends'' in a previous and ill-conceived attempt to play the hero. Even worse, despite being touted as one of the greatest minds of Mobius for most of the comic, these issues made him come off as ''dumber'' than average, spouting inaccurate TechnoBabble and pushing the development of his projects off to NICOLE instead of doing it himself.
30	[[/folder]]

Context CharacterDerailment / ComicBooks