Line #25 Main/CompositeCharacter


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5	[[quoteright:300:[[Franchise/{{Transformers}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/84987c0b_e894_495e_b2e8_1ac5fe938e33.png]]]][[caption-width-right:300:Let's combine the paint job of the left one with the door wings of the right one.[[note]]Top Characters L-R:Bumblebee and Prowl from Franchise/TransformersGeneration1. Bottom Character: Bumblebee from the Film/TransformersFilmSeries[[/note]]]]
6
7	->''"I know this part is confusing, because I'm Secretariat, and also your dad, for some reason."''
8	-->-- '''Phantom Secretariat''' (to [=BoJack=] Horseman), ''WesternAnimation/BoJackHorseman'', "[[Recap/BojackHorsemanS6E15TheViewFromHalfwayDown The View From Halfway Down]]"
9
10	Certain media, including RealLife, tend to have the time and space to utilize a large cast of characters, a large number of individuals with significant and/or necessary contributions to the storyline. But in an adaptation it can be difficult to offer adequate time and space so that each and every character gets their just due for how they impact the story. To be faithful to these characters may, at worst, make them come across as a living PlotDevice, existing only for the sake of the plot and not a fleshed out character of their own with individual talents, interests, and backstory.
11
12	A solution is to invoke artistic license and compress two or more such figures into a single character with traits drawn from all of them. [[PragmaticAdaptation For the sake of telling a proper story]] those contributions are relegated to the actions of only a few. Instead of showing the legwork of an entire team of intelligence officers to decipher important information, it's rolled up into one person putting it together. Instead of having three different [[TheSmartGuy smart guys]] on the team divided up into distinct fields, you make one of them an OmnidisciplinaryScientist and discard the others. Instead of one maid bringing the princess a letter and another bringing her meal, there's just a single maid. It's a method of streamlining both the plot and the character interactions; there are fewer people to follow and everyone who is still around has more to contribute to the story.
13
14	This is frequently done in works BasedOnATrueStory, since no medium can compete with the amount of people featured in RealLife. A fictional character also gets around [[ThisIsAWorkOfFiction any legal issues involving the depiction of real people]]. Whereas most of humanity's most interesting achievements have involved lots of people with different motivations, it suits the RuleOfDrama to simplify things to a handful of characters with well-defined objectives. Though there may be nameless individuals wandering around [[HeroOfAnotherStory with their own story to tell]], [[TheMainCharactersDoEverything the core plot is dictated by the people with names]]. Some might object to removing an important character and his or her contribution to the story, but on the other hand it means the story has a chance to be told.
15
16	This can sometimes get complicated, as the removed character may have his or her ''personality'' split up among the remaining characters (DeadpanSnarker given to character A, TVGenius attributes given to character B), or it is something as simple as someone actually having the removed character's appearance and personality but given a different name. In some extreme cases with certain stories that have regular adaptations every few years, an EraSpecificPersonality gives them the opportunity to fuse specific versions of the SAME character in different adaptations, [[MindScrew making someone a composite character of him- or herself]].
17
18	A MassiveMultiplayerCrossover might do this to tie the continuities together, by revealing Character A from Series 1 is "[[ExternalRetcon really]]" the same person as the similar Character B from Series 2.
19
20	Commonly involved in AdaptationDistillation and AdaptationDecay. AdaptationOriginConnection is a subtrope wherein a character important to the series that wasn't involved in the Hero's Origin Story in the original ''is'' in the adaptation, replacing a character who usually either got DemotedToExtra or was just a StarterVillain. See also EconomyCast. Sometimes a cause of an AdaptationPersonalityChange.
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22	The inversion, where an adaptation divides a single character's attributes among multiple characters, is DecompositeCharacter.
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24	For cases where two characters ''literally'' combine to form a single composite, see FusionDance.
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26	For when multiple people are identified as one person, see AmalgamatedIndividual.
27
28	A SuperTrope to DeityIdentityConfusion.
29
30	----
31	!!Example subpages:
32
33	[[index]]
34	* CompositeCharacter/AnimeAndManga
35	* CompositeCharacter/ComicBooks
36	** ''CompositeCharacter/TheDCU''
37	*** ''CompositeCharacter/TheMultiversity''
38	** ''CompositeCharacter/MarvelUniverse''
39	*** ''CompositeCharacter/UltimateMarvel''
40	* CompositeCharacter/FanWorks
41	** ''CompositeCharacter/Earth27''
42	** ''CompositeCharacter/JusticeLeagueOfTheRebellion''
43	** ''CompositeCharacter/AManOfIron''
44	** ''CompositeCharacter/PokemonCrossing''
45	* [[CompositeCharacter/AnimatedFilms Films — Animation]]
46	** ''CompositeCharacter/DCAnimatedMovieUniverse''
47	* [[CompositeCharacter/LiveActionFilms Films — Live-Action]]
48	** ''CompositeCharacter/DCExtendedUniverse''
49	** ''CompositeCharacter/MarvelCinematicUniverse''
50	** ''CompositeCharacter/XMenFilmSeries''
51	* CompositeCharacter/{{Literature}}
52	* CompositeCharacter/LiveActionTV
53	** ''CompositeCharacter/{{Arrowverse}}''
54	** ''CompositeCharacter/GameOfThrones''
55	** ''CompositeCharacter/PowerRangers''
56	* CompositeCharacter/MythologyAndReligion
57	* CompositeCharacter/TabletopGames
58	* CompositeCharacter/{{Theatre}}
59	* CompositeCharacter/{{Toys}}
60	* CompositeCharacter/VideoGames
61	* CompositeCharacter/{{Webcomics}}
62	* CompositeCharacter/WebOriginal
63	* CompositeCharacter/WesternAnimation
64	** ''CompositeCharacter/DCAnimatedUniverse''
65	** ''CompositeCharacter/YoungJustice2010''
66	[[/index]]
67
68	!!Other examples:
69
70	[[foldercontrol]]
71
72	[[folder:Advertising]]
73	* The Link model used in UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS and UsefulNotes/WiiU advertisements is not based off of one particular game. It is a mix of the Link from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'' and the Link from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword''.
74	[[/folder]]
75
76	[[folder:Arts]]
77	* ''Art/NueCouchee'': The {{sculpture\|s}} is meant to be an amalgamation of all the reclining Venuses ever produced, which results in a grotesque mass of misplaced limbs.
78	[[/folder]]
79
80	[[folder:Fairy Tales]]
81	* In Fairy Tale [[FairyTaleFreeForAll crossovers]]:
82	** TheBigBadWolf that appears in these sorts of stories will combine aspects of the ones from ''Literature/TheThreeLittlePigs'', ''Literature/LittleRedRidingHood'', ''TheBoyWhoCriedWolf'', and other stories featuring a wolf as the antagonist. Some even combine the Wolf's role in ''Little Red Riding Hood'' with the role of the woodcutter, her own family, or even [[EnfantTerrible Little]] [[FilleFatale Red]] herself.
83	** Any prince that shows up in a fairy tale might be rolled up into one for convenience, usually depicting him as a PrinceCharmless or a philanderer. (Surprisingly, the crossovers often leave the ForcedTransformation princes separate.)
84	[[/folder]]
85
86	[[folder:Magazines]]
87	* In the "Blogs of Doom" feature in ''Magazine/DoctorWhoMagazine'', which gives the diary entries of very minor ''Series/DoctorWho'' characters, Robinson from "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS11E2InvasionOfTheDinosaurs Invasion of the Dinosaurs]]" reveals that, after the collapse of Operation Golden Age, he had to create a new identity for himself, and promptly ended up involved in ''another'' sinister conspiracy as Short from "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS12E1Robot Robot]]". This is an ActorAllusion of sorts, as both characters were played by Timothy Craven.
88	[[/folder]]
89
90	[[folder:Music]]
91	* Music/TheBangles created "Anna Lee" as a composite character on their 2011 album ''Sweetheart of the Sun'', for the song "Anna Lee (Sweetheart of the Sun)":
92	-->'''Susanna Hoffs''': Interestingly, a character sort of developed in the song. We had all just read ''Girls Like Us'', the book about Carly Simon, Carole King and Joni Mitchell, and we were inspired by it. We sort of made up a portrait of a person based around those women -- it's kind of mythical.
93	* ''Music/JesusChristSuperstar'' has Mary Magdalene combine elements of herself with those of the unnamed woman whose "waste" of costly perfume on Jesus in Bethany was condemned by the disciples in the New Testament, but just by Judas Iscariot in the rock opera. However, Mary Magdalene has been traditionally identified with the unnamed woman of Bethany for centuries, so this wasn't the first time it happened.
94	* ''[[Music/{{Hero}} !HERO: The Rock Opera]]'''s Maggie is Mary Magdalene combined with the Samaritan woman at the well.
95	* In Music/PinkFloyd's ''Music/TheWall'', Pink is [[AuthorAvatar based on]] Music/RogerWaters, with a bit of Music/SydBarrett.
96	[[/folder]]
97
98	[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
99	* Wrestling/{{WWE}}'s Wrestling/RandyOrton is a strange example. He has the snake motif of Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin, with a similar fighting style and devil-may-care whoop-your-ass attitude, but he's also the youngest world champion in WWE history and a third-generation superstar. [[Wrestling/DwayneJohnson Sound familiar?]]
100	* Wrestling/TrishStratus started out as something of a hodgepodge of [[Wrestling/TammyLynnSytch Sunny]] (hot manager of a TagTeam that stood no chance of getting over), and Wrestling/TerriRunnels' more heelish tendencies. She even ended up feuding with Runnels over Runnels thinking her a cheap knockoff, including one match where Runnels and Stratus worse similar gear([[{{Stripperific}} if you can call what they wore]] "gear")
101	* Wrestling/CheerleaderMelissa still dressed like a cheerleader but had not done anything related to her name sake for years. Alissa Flash debuted on Wrestling/{{TNA}} Impact paying tribute to [[Wrestling/SherriMartel Sensational Sherri Martel]] in addition to [[TheTease being a zipper happy tease]]. As Flash's TNA career wound down though, she started wearing new, zipper less gear and using Cheerleader Melissa's moves, and stopped using Sherri makeup. In post TNA appearances Melissa would wear that same gear and openly refer to Flash's actions as her own.
102	* ERLL had a luchador known as Alberto Dos Rios, a composite of El Patron Alberto's former [[TheGimmick gimmick]]s Wrestling/AlbertoDelRio and Dos Caras.
103	* Due to Wresting/{{CMLL}} [[DisneyOwnsThisTrope owning]] the Wrestling/{{Mistico}} gimmick, the luchador with the most success using said gimmick wrestled in Lucha Liga Elite as Carístico, a combination of his Místico gimmick and his much less successful but still well known Wrestling/SinCara gimmick.
104	[[/folder]]
105
106	[[folder:Puppet Shows]]
107	* In ''Film/TheMuppetMusiciansOfBremen'', the cruel former owners of the animals are also the bandits they scare away from the house.
108	* ''Franchise/TheMuppets'':
109	** In ''Film/TheMuppetsWizardOfOz'', the Munchkins also serve the role of the Field Mice in ''Literature/TheWonderfulWizardOfOz'', rescuing Dorothy and friends from Poppyfields and explaining to Dorothy how the Witch's magic cap works. Which makes sense, since they're played by the rats (with Rizzo as a composite of the Mayor of Munchkinland from [[Film/TheWizardOfOz the MGM film]] and a {{Gender Flip}}ped Queen of the Field Mice).
110	** In ''Film/TheMuppetChristmasCarol'', the two unnamed young boys in [[Literature/AChristmasCarol the book]] (the one who sings a carol and the one who buys the turkey) are the same character, played by Bean Bunny.
111	* In the ''Series/SesameStreet'' song "Born to Add", Clarice, the female saxaphonist Bruce Stringbean is singing to, is a sort of composite of Clarence Clemons, the E Street Band saxophonist and Wendy, the girl Music/BruceSpringsteen addresses in the lyrics of "Born to Run".
112	[[/folder]]
113
114	[[folder:Radio]]
115	* ''Radio/DimensionX'': In [[Recap/DimensionX50Nightfall episode fifty]], an [[AudioAdaptation adaptation]] of Creator/IsaacAsimov's "{{Literature/Nightfall\|1941}}", the original Sor was never on-screen. This [[AudioAdaptation adaptation]] merges him and the cultist who attacks the observatory into one character, then reuses Latimer's name for a CanonForeigner.
116	* In the Quintessential Stage of ''Radio/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy1978'', Van Harl, the Vogon who's taken over the Guide in ''Mostly Harmless'', is combined with Zarniwoop, who was the editor-in-chief in the Secondary Phase and ''The Restaurant at the End of the Universe''. This does not appear to have been done to simplify the story (it doesn't); they simply liked Jonathan Pryce's portrayal of Zarniwoop and wanted him back.
117	* In the Finnish version of ''Radio/TheMenFromTheMinistry'' the characters Mr. "Whizzer" Wilkins and Mr. "Creepy" Crawley (two civil servants of neighbor offices who were [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute pretty much the same one already]], never appearing together and both voiced by John Graham) into "Vinku" Wilkins, taking the former's name, stuttering and absent-mindedness and the latter's VerbalTic.
118	* Comparing ''Radio/XMinusOne'''s [[Recap/XMinusOneE028Nightfall episode twenty-eight]], an [[AudioAdaptation adaptation]] of Creator/IsaacAsimov's "Literature/Nightfall1941", the original Sor was never on-screen. This adaptation merges him and the cultist who attacks the observatory into one character, then reuses Latimer's name for a CanonForeigner.
119	[[/folder]]
120
121	[[folder:Web Animation]]
122	* ''WebAnimation/TheMandelaMagazine'': The hooded Inteuder takes on the appearance of the Preacher, who is otherwise completely absent from this parody of ''WebVideo/TheMandelaCatalogue'', to chew out Mark for not giving him a tip.
123	[[/folder]]
124
125	[[folder:Web Videos]]
126	* In "[[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdPXC4UCSSwHojxa1avDzmvLN9_lwqDPr What if DC and Marvel Share the Same Cinematic Universe]]":
127	** [[Characters/MCUCaptainAmerica Steve Rogers]] is combined with Steve Trevor, as the one who crashed into Themyscira, and later befriended Wonder Woman.
128	** The Red Skull is an avatar of Ares, the God of War.
129	* In ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-zYDLG9wY8&t=1155s Giorno Giovanna - The Misunderstood Jojo?]]'', [=MangaKamen=] discusses this as a way of tying the fate between [[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure Giorno Giovanna]] and [[BigBad the Don of Passione]] by suggesting a [[TheReveal reveal]], [[spoiler:that he was originally the gangster that Giorno saved as a child by using Gold Experience to hide him from his rivals, and in turn the gangster [[ScaredEmStraight would intimidate Giorno's abusive stepfather into not beating him anymore]] and getting the neighborhood to better welcome him. And in contrast with the meeting setting up Giorno's ideals [[NeighborhoodFriendlyGangster of a mafioso using his power to better his hometown, especially in getting drugs off the street as his savior had]], this event and the humiliation of being saved by a child [[TheParanoiac is what lead him to become the paranoid mafia boss he is in the story]]]]. This would inevitably set up a BrokenPedestal moment for Giorno [[spoiler:when he finds out that his savior [[BecomeTheirOwnAntithesis has become a drug-peddling tyrannical paranoiac willing to murder his own daughter because of said paranoia]]]].
130	[[/folder]]
131
132	[[folder:Real Life]]
133	* Chevy Colorado, after being discontinued in North America for years, has returned there, but it's based off of a Thailand-Brazilian GM project that had been released three years before.
134	* The Ford Ranger is also from a similar background, only being available to this market [[SequelGap after more than six years]]. The new North American Ranger is built on the international T6-based Ranger chassis which the rest-of-world Ford Rangers are based on, as opposed to previous-generation Rangers which were vastly different vehicles. Speaking of Ford, they've also merged some of their vehicles into single nameplate across the global marker in TheNewTens under their "One Ford Plan", with North American Focus being the same as the European Focus, and the Fusion sedan using the same model as the European Mondeo, prior to their North American discontinuation. The aforementioned Ranger is a later merging due to some market regulations preceding it.
135	[[/folder]]

Context Main / CompositeCharacter