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4[[quoteright:300:[[ComicBook/{{Dazzler}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dazzler_9.png]]]]
5[[caption-width-right:300:"I must be a creature of the night, black, terrible...\
6'''a mirror ball on roller skates!'''"]]
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11->''"Printing comics takes a three-month lead time, meaning any cultural fad with its own superhero has been dead at least that long. Now you know why ComicBook/{{Dazzler}} debuted in February of 1980. If she'd reached print in the '70s, Music/OliviaNewtonJohn would have sued Marvel via sexy dance number, but the calendar changed, the thrill wore off, and a mortified America agreed never to talk about what we'd done to ourselves that decade."''
12-->-- ''Website/{{Cracked}}'', [[https://www.cracked.com/blog/7-comic-characters-who-outlasted-trends-that-made-them "7 Comic Characters Who Outlasted the Trends That Made Them"]]
13
14A character is created as a direct response to an idea or fad that is currently popular. Naturally, this character might prove schlocky or out of place once that [[PopularityPolynomial fad passes out of pop culture]], unless some writer is willing to take the character out of obscurity and build him or her up into something more.
15
16The SlidingTimescale can have a particularly odd effect on these characters, since it often restricts their debut to only a few years before "now", suggesting that such characters [[BornInTheWrongCentury decided to base themselves on, say, a 1960s theme in the late 2000s.]] Villains who are Fad Supers have a higher chance of being kept, since they are usually intended to be [[DiscoDan eccentric, out of place, and theme-based]].
17
18This isn't the same as an ''existing'' hero's ability or story being tweaked in response to the times, such as [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]] technobabble revisionism. Compare CaptainEthnic, CyclicNationalFascination, TotallyRadical. Contrast with OldSuperhero, who is outdated ''on purpose''. Particularly prone to being the subject of ReimaginingTheArtifact if brought back.
19
20----
21!!Examples:
22[[foldercontrol]]
23
24[[folder:Comic Books – DC]]
25* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman'': [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1942 For a time in the late 1960s and early 1970s]], Wonder Woman lost her powers and familiar uniform, gained a wise old Asian mentor who taught her martial arts, and had espionage adventures wearing a white jumpsuit... right around the time British Modernist fashions were making their way to the US and British spy shows like ''Series/TheAvengers1960s'' were popular. Most people hated this, Gloria Steinem even commenting how it was a needless depowering of the strongest female hero in comics, and it's pretty well in an AudienceAlienatingEra. Ironically, the spy concept as well as the white-jumpsuit were both used in the volume of ''ComicBook/{{Wonder Woman|2006}}'' following ''ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis''. Judging by reviews, people liked it.
26* ComicBook/{{Vibe}}, a member of the [[AudienceAlienatingEra much-maligned]] Detroit-based Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica, was a breakdancer with vibrational powers. To get an idea of what he used to be like have a look at [[http://youtu.be/2UTKRR3KRyQ this DC short.]] He got rebooted in the ComicBook/{{New 52}} and ''Series/TheFlash2014'', dropping the breakdancing but keeping the vibrational powers.
27* ''ComicBook/TeenTitans'':
28** The original run of the ''Teen Titans'' comics featured two villainous examples who used then-trendy fads as covers for their criminal schemes: [[HaveAGayOldTime Ding-Dong Daddy]] (a caricature of Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, whose shtick was Hot Rods) and the Mad Mod (whose shtick was the fashions of the "Mod" look). Appropriately, such villains have returned as part of a nostalgia fad, to evoke the era in which the original fads appeared. [[WesternAnimation/TeenTitans The animated series]] revealed that the youth-scene-oriented Mad Mod is actually a crotchety old man using holograms and stage magic to create his younger appearance, [[ExploitedTrope trying to steal and/or control youth.]]
29** This trope is possibly a reason why Dick Grayson got new ComicBook/{{Nightwing}} costumes. His first one was [[http://www.hyperborea.org/flash/bigimages/grayson2.jpg very 80s]] while his second was [[http://images2.fanpop.com/images/photos/6500000/Nightwing-2nd-Costume-nightwing-6544193-252-360.jpg very 90s]] with hair to match and that followed him into his more familiar costume for a time.
30* The Calculator. Originally a supervillain with a giant calculator on his chest, pocket calculators having just come into wide use at the time. Later, he matured into a costumeless InformationBroker and plotter, and [[ComicBook/{{Batgirl}} Barbara Gordon]]'s archrival.
31* ''Franchise/GreenLantern'':
32** Guy Gardner didn't become an actual Green Lantern until the 1980s, where he was essentially made into a walking parody of Reagan-era policies. He started a war with the USSR and frequently expressed admiration for the amoral corporate raiders of the era. His characterization has progressed since then, but his 1980s look remains intact.
33** His fellow GL, John Stewart, was introduced amidst the racial turmoil of the 1970s as an AngryBlackManStereotype who railed against "The Man" and frequently provided a liberal counterpoint to conservative white Hal Jordan. Like Gardner, Stewart has grown into a [[CharacterDevelopment complex and well-rounded character]].
34* ''Franchise/TheFlash'' character Turbine seems like he was created to cash in on the renewed interest in the Tuskegee Airmen after the release of the movie ''Film/RedTails''.
35* The ''ComicBook/New52'' introduced a female villain named the [[BondageIsBad Masochist]], whose initial design bore more than a passing resemblance to Lisbeth Salander, the title character of the then-recently popular film ''[[Literature/TheMillenniumTrilogy The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo]]''. Due to some backlash, she was renamed Anguish, her design was altered and all of the tattoos, piercings, and fetish elements were removed from the final costume.
36* ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes' Karate Kid, though not in the way you might think. He was created when there was a karate fad in the United States in the 1950s and 1960s, and he was reworked to fit the kung-fu fad of the 1970s, so he actually predates the movie ''Film/TheKarateKid'' by decades,[[note]]In fact, the film states that it's not related to the DC Comics character, and had to get DC's permission to use the title.[[/note]] and as such he's not quite as derivative as he sounds. He has since moved beyond his fad into a fairly RoundedCharacter.
37-->'''Beast Boy:''' "Karate Kid"? Ha! "Wax on. Wax off."\
38'''Apparition:''' Superboy said that, too. What does it mean?\
39'''Karate Kid:''' I have no idea.
40* DC's ''Adventures of Bob Hope'': Super Hip was a parodic example of this trope.
41* ''ComicBook/JusticeLeagueInternational'': Fire and Ice had very 1980s-looking costumes, complete with [[EightiesHair big hair]] and T-shirts over spandex. Ice even {{Lampshaded}} this by claiming she and Fire looked like they belonged in a HairMetal video. Needless to say, the more recent comics and cartoon adaptations have chosen to give them different outfits.
42* ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'': Villain Magpie used to sport a mohawk and an outfit that made her look like a reject from an 80's hair metal video. They brought her back in ''WesternAnimation/BewareTheBatman''. To modernize her look, she was redesigned to resemble Music/LadyGaga.
43* DC's ''ComicBook/SuperYoungTeam'' subverts this while trying to play it straight. They aren't tied to any specific trend, but they're obsessed with staying fresh and current. That said, Most Excellent Superbat, the most materialistic of the lot, is adamant that they're also somehow more than all that.
44* The ComicBook/NewGods were very much written around the debates of the early 1970s - Mr. Miracle is a conscientious objector while his wife Big Barda oozes women's lib, the Black Racer's host is a paralyzed Vietnam veteran, the Forever People are pretty much space hippies, and New Genesis and Apokolips have a very obvious environmentalist theme. This is a rare case where people generally take umbrage to attempts to ReimaginingTheArtifact, as they see the overall themes Kirby was working with as highly applicable, and taking them away results in a bunch of generic space deities.
45* The ''ComicBook/Earth2'' version of ComicBook/JimmyOlsen from the ''ComicBook/New52'' is an Edward Snowden-style "[[TheCracker Hacktivist]]" rather than a print journalist.
46* Another DC creation was the short-lived Brother Power, a hippie-themed hero [[http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2011/10/07/comic-book-legends-revealed-335/ whose exploits must simply be seen to be believed.]] In 2009, there was an issue of ''ComicBook/TheBraveAndTheBold'' that was written, which essentially put forth the idea that Brother Power was too tied to the past to exist in the present. The issue ends with him burning to death after realizing he doesn't belong in the 21st century.
47* ComicBook/HawkAndDove were created in response to the Vietnam War movements.
48* Books like ''ComicBook/TheMovement'' and ''ComicBook/WeAreRobin'' were created in response to youth-heavy social movements of the 2010's, like Black Lives Matter and Occupy Wall Street. ''The Movement'' also had a counterpart book, a relaunch of a failed 1970s concept of rich-kid adventurers called ''ComicBook/TheGreenTeam''. The idea was that the Movement was "the 99 percent" while the Green Team was "the 1 percent".
49* ''ComicBook/{{Superboy|1994}}'' (Kon-El/Connor Kent) was very [[TheNineties 90s]], created to be a TotallyRadical reimagining of the "kid Superman" concept.
50** In his debut, he had a buzzcut fade, a hoop earring, a leather jacket (which nearly every hero had at the time), sunglasses, and a costume that invoked TooManyBelts. He of course, used hip slang and made constant references to pop culture.
51** His next costume kept the jacket, earring and shades (although with a new design and color scheme), but his hairstyle was radically changed since a fade had been way past dated by that point. His slang got slightly toned down as well, but was still in use.
52** The third costume (which he kept up until the ''ComicBook/New52'' reboot) was an extensive overhaul. It ditched the jacket, skintight costume, earring, shades and TotallyRadical attitude (the CivvieSpandex look took a heavy turn toward "civvie", with a t-shirt and jeans). Instead, he became more dark, brooding, and angsty, which became popular in the mid-2000s.
53* ComicBook/LadyShiva was created to cash in on the 1970s Creator/BruceLee Kung-Fu craze. She debuted within the pages of ''ComicBook/RichardDragonKungFuFighter'', but her popularity outlasted that series. She's still a martial arts master, but no longer looks like a 1970s DragonLady.
54* Both Ace the Bat-Hound and ComicBook/KryptoTheSuperdog were created in 1955, a year after the premiere of ''Series/{{Lassie}}''.
55* Minor ComicBook/GreenArrow villain the Pinball Wizard was likely inspired by the resurgence of interest in pinball following MediaNotes/TheGreatVideoGameCrashOf1983 (the character debuted in 1984).
56* From ''ComicBook/CaptainCarrotAndHisAmazingZooCrew'', created in 1982, Felina Furr/Alley-Kat-Abra is a martial arts teaching, vaguely feminist, New Age wizard (and light parody of ''ComicBook/DoctorStrange''), tying her to several trends of the late 70s and early 80s. Most of the rest of the Crew has fairly timeless powers, but it's still very dated in that two members are this universe's versions of Creator/BurtReynolds and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rona_Barrett Rona Barrett]].
57[[/folder]]
58
59[[folder:Comic Books – Marvel]]
60* ''ComicBook/{{Brute Force|MarvelComics}}'' was Marvel's attempt at cashing in with the Franchise/{{Transformers}} fad as well as a more broad "toy animal craze" of the 80's/90's. It didn't quite work, considering the series was cancelled very quickly and was only acknowledged mockingly in an issue of ''ComicBook/{{Deadpool}}''. Even the writers seem to have foreseen that this was a crashing ship, seeing as the early issues semi-sarcastically mock the whole premise.
61* ComicBook/{{Dazzler}}, who later became a member of the ComicBook/XMen, was introduced with disco-based powers and costume (white jumpsuit and roller skates) just as disco was dying. It didn't help that she was given a big marketing push, meeting up with the likes of Galactus in a vain attempt to make the character cool, or that the entire project had begun as a proposal for a [[LiveActionAdaptation live action film]] in which the character was at one stage to be black, and there are [[http://holdyourfireal.smugmug.com/COMIC-BOOK-IMAGES/Characters/Dazzler/JRJRDazzBogart/871688078_cKqUM-L.jpg John Romita Jr. sketches]] that exist of this early Dazzler. At one point they actually had a singer who was to play the Dazzler persona but the deal between Marvel and Casablanca fell apart. Later on, Jim Shooter put together a treatment for the aforementioned movie (also to feature Music/DonnaSummer, Music/{{Cher}}, Creator/RodneyDangerfield, [[Series/LaverneAndShirley Lenny and Squiggy]], Creator/RobinWilliams, Music/TheVillagePeople and Music/{{KISS}}), and the now revived Dazzler concept's appearance ended up based mainly on Creator/BoDerek, who was slated to star. (When she was still attached to the role, ''People Magazine'' even had her on the cover, the same month the character debuted, [[https://web.archive.org/web/20160411111032/http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/19800211-750-0.jpg with her husband holding a whole bunch of Marvel mags for research!)]] But at least she wasn't called the Disco Dazzler, as originally planned.
62** Her Ultimate version in 2000–09 was a punk rocker. This time, [[IntendedAudienceReaction the anachronism was deliberate.]]
63** Once the "disco diva" gimmick was dropped, Dazzler became a fairly popular second-tier X-Woman. Dazzler revisits the disco diva gimmick during some of her performances as part of a tribute. She's a main character in ''ComicBook/MarvelZombies vs. ComicBook/ArmyOfDarkness'', and Ash hits on her repeatedly.
64** In Dazzler's introductory issue, Scott and Jean look for Dazzler in a makeshift disco inside a dilapidated building, with Scott wondering "if this was where old discos went to die".
65*** Though, in what may have been a deliberate TakeThat, the "disco" [[http://www.therealgentlemenofleisure.com/2011/10/x-amining-x-men-130.html Scott and Jean visit]] looks much more like [[https://www.pinterest.com/pin/412501647091774824 the Masque in Los Angeles]] than [[http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/view-of-clubgoers-amid-the-light-towers-on-the-dance-floor-news-photo/583737453?#view-of-clubgoers-amid-the-light-towers-on-the-dance-floor-at-studio-picture-id583737453 Studio 54]]...
66** Dazzler's sister/nemesis, Mortis, sports a costume similar to the Misfits from ''[[WesternAnimation/{{Jem}} Jem and the Holograms]]''. So one sister visually evokes 1970s disco, while the other evokes 1980s hair metal and glam rock.
67** ''ComicBook/EarthX'' [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] Dazzler’s use of this and [[DeconstructedTrope savagely deconstructs it]]; after retiring from superheroics, Dazzler falls back on her music career... and becomes a washed-up relic because [[CondemnedByHistory the fad she built herself around is long-dead]]. She’s desperately trying to stay relevant by staging “comeback” tours, [[{{Tearjerker}} with her audiences shrinking more and more everyday]].
68--->'''ComicBook/MachineMan''': [[{{Understatement}} Her life’s kinda sad now.]]
69* ComicBook/{{Storm|MarvelComics}} was another X-Woman who got in on the punk trend - she sported a mohawk for a while in the 1980s. WordOfGod is that the mohawk initially began as a joke, with someone suggesting that they should make Storm look like Creator/MrT from ''Series/TheATeam'', which was a wildly popular show at the time.
70* ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'':
71** Screwball is a [[LeParkour traceuse]] who likes recording her exploits and then uploading them to Website/YouTube and talking about them on Website/{{Twitter}}. Peter himself has apparently begun studying Parkour as well, as showcased by an issue where he's forced to operate in an area without high-rise buildings from which to web-swing.
72** A little earlier in Spider-Man's history, we have supervillains Rocket Racer (skateboard) and Hypno Hustler (disco). Sadly, Hypno Hustler [[OneSceneWonder never appeared again as a villain]] (aside from some cameos here and there) after his first appearance but has acquired a certain notoriety-based cachet among fans; Rocket Racer cameos every few years - his latest appearance portrays him as a genius BasementDweller with confidence issues, based on the engineering skills he often displayed in earlier stories. He's recently popped up in ''Avengers Academy'', seemingly back to using his old board.
73* ComicBook/GhostRider is actually a combination of two different fads at the time the character was created in the early 1970s: stunt cycling and characters with horror-themed origins, which were then popular at Creator/MarvelComics. Fortuitously for Marvel, his occult adventures and highly distinctive design fit in during the 1980s and '90s, especially with the influx of [[NinetiesAntiHero anti-heroes in the 1990s]]. His popularity has faded considerably in recent years, however.
74* The 2001 ReTool of ''ComicBook/XForce'' (later ''ComicBook/XStatix'') cast the new team as a group of fame-hungry [[ThePrimaDonna Prima Donnas]] right around the time ''Series/BigBrother'' and other [[RealityShow reality shows]] were becoming wildly popular.
75* ''ComicBook/USArcher'': U.S. Archer[[note]]Originally U.S. 1, created as a tie-in to the slot-racing truck toys sold under that name[[/note]] was a Marvel character based on the truckin' citizens band radio craze of the 1970s... created in 1983. Way to jump on that trend. Razorback was an earlier CB-based character.
76* ''ComicBook/NewWarriors'':
77** Night Thrasher, leader of the New Warriors in the Franchise/MarvelUniverse, was created in 1990 with a skateboard grafted onto his urbanized Franchise/{{Batman}} schtick to cash in on the rising popularity of the sport in the late '80s. As the '90s progressed, he used the board less and less and settled on a CoolBike early in the series, plus as any connection between skateboards and the term "thrashing" largely passed out of public awareness, his name [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast just sounds]] awfully nasty (although Spider-Man [[LampshadeHanging made a joke]] along this line in ''1991''.) He fought with twin escrima sticks so the thrashing part of his name could easily be applied to his weapons of choice. An odd detail that downplayed it with time was that he's a ''black'' skateboarder. For the uninitiated - his heyday was long before there were any big-name black skaters. (The aforementioned Rocket Racer, Marvel's ''other'' black skateboarding superhero, has much the same problem at first.) The concept has become less baffling now, since there is a subculture of African-American skateboarders. Music/LupeFiasco's hit "Kick, Push" is credited with helping popularize the sport among black teenagers. While a superhero on a skateboard is fodder for jokes, in-universe ''ComicBook/ThePunisher'' noted how versatile Night Thrasher's skateboard actually was: "I called it stupid? It's a shield, a weapon and transport. Maybe ''I'' should get one..."
78** The 2020 line-up of the cancelled New Warriors comic got swamped with backlash because of this trope. Screentime is rather transparently an attempt to create an internet age superhero with...[[TotallyRadical mixed results]]. His mind was permanently connected to the internet by way of exposure to "[[ItRunsOnNonsensoleum experimental internet gas]]" and his bio helpfully informs readers that he can "instantly Google any fact". But he got off easy compared to his teammates Snowflake and Safespace, who were Marvel's impossibly ill-conceived attempt at incorporating just about every "woke" hot button issue of the day into two heroes that ultimately just communicated the company's ignorance in neon lights.
79* Angar the Screamer, an angry radical type whose screams cause intense hallucinations.
80* You also used to get a lot of "kneejerk reactionary" villains in the 1980s, like ComicBook/CaptainAmerica villain Warhead, who held the Washington Monument hostage until the United States started war with somebody, ''anybody''. Strangely, he was an inversion of a real-life incident where a peace protester threatened to blow up the monument unless the United States disarmed.
81* Adam X the X-Treme, from the early '90s ([[MediaNotes/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks of course]]), whose mutant superpower is that he can make blood combust. Vanished from comics post-''ComicBook/AgeOfApocalypse'' and was apparently regarded as OldShame for some time after that, making only a handful of appearances over the next two decades mostly played for laughs. Couldn't be completely forgotten, however, due to being heavily implied to be [[TangledFamilyTree the third Summers brother]]. About a decade later the third Summers brother was revealed to be somebody else, but in 2021 the original foreshadowing paid off as Adam was [[PlotArchaeology finally]] revealed to be ''another'' Summers brother.
82* The ''ComicBook/HeroesForHire'', [[ComicBook/LukeCage Power Man]] and ComicBook/IronFist, capitalized on the popularity of blaxploitation and kung fu movies, respectively, by combining the two trends. As did their female counterparts, the ''ComicBook/DaughtersOfTheDragon'' Misty Knight and Colleen Wing. And the vaguely affiliated Sons of the Tiger.
83* ComicBook/ShangChi, Master of Kung Fu, first appeared in 1972 as part of the '70s kung fu revival. Not only was Shang-Chi meant to invoke Creator/BruceLee, but his creation came about as part of an aborted attempt at doing a comic book adaptation of the ''Series/KungFu1972'' TV series.
84* ''ComicBook/MarvelZombies''. It's probably not a coincidence that an alternate universe where all the superheroes have become zombies became a recurring theme at the same time as books and movies about zombies were trendy, though it was also to an extent intentionally retro. The Marvel Zombies universe (the first one, at least, before they go dimension-hopping) is a bit further back in the timeline than the "real", 616 Franchise/MarvelUniverse, but doesn't perfectly match any particular era. Captain America was a colonel, Earth has never seen Galactus before, and most of the zombified heroes wore costumes that those characters hadn't worn since the 1970s. However, Magneto had acolytes, which didn't come along until the 1990s in the 616 Franchise/MarvelUniverse.
85* It's hard to tell whether ''ComicBook/MarvelTheLostGeneration'''s Hipster, a skinny, goateed beatnik and total JiveTurkey operating in late 1950s San Francisco, is intended as a spoof or a completely straight portrayal of this trope. However, he's definitely an example. When he meets Sunshine, a woman with psychedelic powers, he changes his costume and name to become Captain Hip.
86* Marvel tried to introduce a new hacktivist version of U.S. Agent. He came into conflict with ComicBook/CaptainAmerica and the ComicBook/SecretAvengers after he leaked the names of a bunch of former criminals who had been made into ComicBook/{{SHIELD}} informants, using the justification that the government had no right to hide secrets from the public.
87* It's easy to forget the ComicBook/SilverSurfer is a fad super. He was created in the 1960s when surfing first gained popularity, but since he's an alien who never knew anything about surfing (the Human Torch gave him that name) and the board is actually just an extension of himself he uses to fly through space and not technically a surfboard, the fad aspect of his character never distracted readers.
88* ComicBook/DoctorStrange owes a lot of his influences to the upswing in Asian spirituality among America's hippies and artists in the 60's. His design and overall persona is also very similar to Creator/VincentPrice's character in ''Film/TheRaven1963''.
89* Goodness Silva[=/=][[GenderBlenderName Good Boy]] of the ComicBook/GreatLakesAvengers is both a major {{otaku}}, (going by the countless anime posters dotting her room) and part of the UsefulNotes/FurryFandom (as she's seen drawing a fursona in her introduction), two concepts that started getting mainstream recognition around the time she was created.
90[[/folder]]
91
92[[folder:Comic Books – Other]]
93* There were a lot of black superheroes created in the wake of the {{Blaxploitation}} trend. In addition to the aforementioned Luke Cage and Misty Knight, there was also ComicBook/BlackLightning, Black Goliath and Franchise/WonderWoman's black "sister" Nubia. Creator/DwayneMcDuffie ended up creating the ''ComicBook/{{Icon}}'' character Buck Wild as a parody of this trend.
94* There are plenty of {{Goth}} superheroes, like Marvel's [[ComicBook/{{Runaways}} Nico Minoru]] (formerly Sister Grimm until they decided to ditch the codenames) and DC's Black Alice.
95** In ''ComicBook/TeenTitans'', ComicBook/{{Raven}} was reworked to fit the {{Emo}} and {{Goth}} fads as well, with... varying levels of success.
96** The Goth subculture's also not even close to dead (though the music's unrecognizably different now, of course), but its corresponding superheroes tend to be about ten years behind the current popular "look."
97** The [[ComicBook/XMen mutant]] [[Music/MonsterMagnet Negasonic Teenage Warhead]], or Why It's A Bad Idea To Let A Goth Teen Name Herself. (She's less goth, but still a moody teen, in ''Film/{{Deadpool 2016}}''.)
98** Creator/NeilGaiman's Death is also now an example. She typically dresses as a 1980's goth, even in time periods before the 1980's. From a modern perspective, she has an odd fixation on death imagery from one historical time period to the point that she even uses it in another.
99* Naturally, any Soviet-themed comic character [[FailedFutureForecast that is now hopelessly dated]]. Granted, the USSR was around for more than seven decades, so it's a pretty long fad. Combining this with ComicBookTime gives nearly every one of these characters his or her own ContinuitySnarl.
100** The only aversions are Omega Red, an ''intentional'' throwback who, in his first appearance, was explicitly [[SealedEvilInACan kept in stasis]] since the Cold War until woken in the post-Soviet era, and "Cold Warrior", a similarly stored surplus-parts cyborg whose whole schtick is trying to bring back the People's Glory Days. Ironically, Omega Red was created in 1992, early enough that stasis could not have been needed.
101** Averted in the case of Nazi-themed villains, since Nazism is such an enduring symbol of evil, but played straight for any villain based on Japanese Imperialism.
102* Grunge from ''ComicBook/Gen13''. Adam Warren had one of his sparring partners mock his name by calling him "Easy Listening" and other musical genres. Gail Simone's run explains this as a reference to the fact that he has "grunge under his fingernails", although Roxy provides a LampshadeHanging with the comment "Grunge? You mean the stuff dinosaurs have on their iPods?"
103* [[http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/s/skateman.htm Skateman]] was made at a time when ''all'' skates had side-by-side wheels. Skateman is interesting because the other two major facets of his life, being a karate blackbelt and a Vietnam vet, are also heavily tied to the early 1970s.
104* Occasionally employed in a self-aware manner by ''ComicBook/AstroCity''.
105** Flashbacks to TheFifties might feature an appearance by the Bouncing Beatnik, who actually changes identities to social trends of the time. There've been [[TheNthDoctor six known incarnations]] in-universe: [[spoiler:Mister Cakewalk, Jazzbaby, Zootsuit, the Bouncing Beatnik, the Halcyon Hippie, and Glamorax]]. The Beatnik's story began in the mid-19th century, before the founding of Astro City, with the murder of the mystic troubadour Silverstring and the immolation of his silver-stringed guitar.
106** "The Dark Age" references the RealLife kung fu fad of TheSeventies with the Jade Dragons, and the space race with the Apollo Eleven.
107** Older stories have featured brief glimpses of [[ThePioneer the Frontiersman]], complete with coonskin cap.
108** In a flashback, Maddie Sullivan reveals that as a teenager, she briefly considered becoming a super-heroine, "Mind Over Maddie". Her costume consisted of a tie-dyed shirt with a domino mask and a brown vest.
109--->"It was TheSixties. I also wanted to be one of Music/TheDoors."
110** A story set in the early 20th century featured {{Steampunk}} heroine Dame Progress.
111* Just to prove that this tendency isn't going anywhere anytime soon, late in 2012 Valiant Comics [[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/28/archer-and-armstrong-one-percent_n_1633785.html?utm_hp_ref=culture&ncid=edlinkusaolp00000008 relaunched its 1990s property Archer and Armstrong]], [[ReTool retooling]] the concept of a superhero OddCouple to fit current cultural labels. While Armstrong is still an ancient immortal with a “proclivity for inebriation”, the reboot reimagines Archer as a home-schooled Christian teenager, who is described by writer Fred Van Lente as [[StrawCharacter “well-intentioned, brainwashed, and naïve]]”. Moreover, one of the villains in the new series is an [[StrawmanPolitical inherently evil organization]] of devil-worshiping stock-brokers known only as “[[CorruptCorporateExecutive The One Percent]]”.
112** In the current continuity, Faith Herbert holds a secret identity as a writer for a [=BuzzFeed=] knockoff in Los Angeles. Also, while Ax was always a hacker, his rebooted version (now called [[LeetLingo "@x"]]) was introduced as a Snowden-style hacktivist.
113** The Creator/{{Acclaim}} relaunch re-imagined Ninjak as a teenage gamer who got superpowers from a BlandNameProduct version of VideoGame/NinjaGaiden. Somewhat justified, as Acclaim was actively trying to tailor the relaunch for video game adaptations, with ''Ninjak'' simply being the most explicit.
114* Spoofed in an ''ComicBook/{{Asterix}}'' one-shot from the 1960s in which Uderzo was (in {{Kayfabe}}) bowing to reader pressure to ReTool the characters to fit the then-trendy psychedelic craze. In the story, drawn in the style of ''WesternAnimation/YellowSubmarine'', he removed Astérix and Obelix's usual SuperSerum-induced SuperStrength in favour of giving them hippie-themed EmotionBomb flower magic that causes attacked Romans to experience a DesignStudentsOrgasm of enlightenment, peace and love. Obelix is not amused by this and opines that he prefers punching people.
115* The selection of villainous foreign governments in comics is governed by fads. Although [[FictionalCountry fictional countries]] became the rule in the Silver Age, the flavor tends to be drawn from whatever nation(s) the US is currently taking a hard line against. One solid example is Marvel's wholesale switch from using Soviet-style [[CommieLand Commie lands]] to nations with a more Asian bent in the mid-sixties.
116* Image Comic's ''ComicBook/YoungbloodImageComics'' was, of course a team of [[NinetiesAntiHero Nineties Anti Heroes]]. But, a gimmick in the original run is that they were also celebrities, living in [[HorribleHollywood Herowood]] and having to deal with paparazzi and tabloid journalism, which was then transitioning from pseudoscience and conspiracy theories to lurid celebritymania. [[ComicBook/Youngblood2017 The 2017 series]] continues the trend with superheroes using an Über-like cellphone app called "Help", with which they get paid for their "services" and even subjected to the star-grading model.
117* Since ''ComicBook/{{Supreme}}'' was ripe with PostModernism, it gave us the Televillain, who was "created" during the TheFifties, as television became popular. He's still around in TheNineties, but he's more or less a HarmlessVillain.
118* Coincidentally, ''ComicBook/MonicasGang'' also featured a monster called Televillain, though he existed more as an {{Aesoptinium}}-fueled monster. The internet-themed Doctor Spam, on the other hand, fits the trope perfectly.
119* ''Magazine/DisneyAdventures'' published ''ComicBook/TheAdventuresOfDAndA'', a comic about two kids who join a secret organization and fight aliens and monsters, at a time when similar stories of the paranormal (such as on ''Series/TheXFiles''), or of kids and/or secret organizations involved in secret conflicts with aliens (such as in ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' or ''Film/MenInBlack'') were popular.
120[[/folder]]
121
122[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
123* Live Action TV's HenshinHero boom was popular enough to try to make a few new western-style superheroes, like Creator/GoNagai's ''Anime/{{Devilman}}'' / ''Anime/CuteyHoney'' and Creator/TatsunokoProduction's ''Anime/ScienceNinjaTeamGatchaman'' and their following super hero shows.[[note]]Ironically, Go Nagai would help to end the boom with his own Anime/MazingerZ and Gatchaman was a notorious inspiration for [[Franchise/SuperSentai one of the biggest Tokusatsu franchises]].[[/note]]
124* Late 1970's Japan had a notorious supercar / Formula 1 fad, as seen on ''Anime/MachineHayabusa'', ''Anime/SupercarGattiger'', ''Tobidase! Machine Hiryu'' or ''Gekisou! Rubenkaiser''.
125[[/folder]]
126
127[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
128* Franchise/{{Godzilla}}'s long-lasting franchise had many opportunities to follow on current fads:
129** ''Film/GodzillaVsHedorah'' is a response to Japan's various pollution-related health disasters.
130** ''Film/GodzillaVsMegalon'' was originally a film starring Anime/{{Mazinger|Z}} / [[Franchise/UltraSeries Ultraman]] hybrid Jet Jaguar, but Godzilla was tacked on in hopes of better profits.
131** ''Film/GodzillaVsMechagodzilla'' had a robotic villain to cash on the still-current Main/SuperRobotGenre anime fame.
132[[/folder]]
133
134[[folder:Literature]]
135* Not superheroes, but many of the New Gods in ''Literature/AmericanGods'' embody technologies that were hailed as revolutionary and miraculous when they first appeared (railroads, telephones, television) but are looking more and more hackneyed as humanity comes to take them for granted and even regard them as antiquated.
136* Late 2010s ''Literature/RainbowMagic'' fairies were inspired by trends going on around the time, such as making slime (Sasha), K-pop boy bands (Jae), and squishy toys (Zainab).
137* Literature/WhateleyUniverse: A few of them show up in the series backstory. Most prominent of these is the [[SuperheroSchool Whateley Academy]] Mystic Arts teacher now known as Earth Mother, whose original code name was Flower Child.
138** UnreliableNarrator Mephisto the Mentalist notes the large number of [[AtomicSuperpower atomic-power]] themed superheroes and super-villains during the 1950s - most of whom had died of cancer or acute radiation sickness by 1960.
139* ''Literature/WildCards'', being full of nods to the history of comics, created these characters on purpose. Mark Meadows, a hopeless nerd who wants to be a hippie, gets various abilities from different strains of LSD he created, and has various secret identities named after songs from the 60s and 70s. It's inherent in his backstory; by the time he managed to fit into the hippie crowd, the fad was already pretty much dead. Fortunato's motif incorporates the mysticism and occultism fad of the 60s. He actually doesn't give a crap about any of that stuff; a prostitute who worked for him (he was a very high-class pimp) introduced him to the subject and convinced him to study it when he got his powers.
140* ''Literature/{{Worm}}'' has an early pair of supervillains, Uber and Leet, who seem patterned off of streaming sites like Twitch: they livestream their crimes and dress up in different video game-inspired costumes each outing. In a {{Lampshading}} of the trope, they are considered very silly and ineffective capes in-universe, and Taylor suggests most of the people who watch their streams do it just to laugh at them.
141[[/folder]]
142
143[[folder:Live Action TV]]
144* Very common in {{Tokusatsu}} shows, especially in the seventies:
145** In early 1971, [[BehemothBattle Kyodai Heroes]] were the new hit thanks to Creator/TsuburayaProductions' successful ''{{Series/Ultraman}}'' / ''Series/UltraSeven'' reruns and ''Ultra Fight'' ClipShow series, which made merchandise sales skyrocket - thus creating many new [[UltramanCopy superheroes patterned after Ultraman]]. 1971's ''Series/{{Spectreman}}'' managed to get first, but very shortly after, the Franchise/UltraSeries would continue with ''Series/ReturnOfUltraman'' -- later, ''Silver Kamen'' and [[SelfPlagiarism Tsuburaya's own]] ''Series/{{Mirrorman}}'' [[DuelingWorks would compete for ratings]] in the same year.[[note]]Both shows would get sequels - ''Silver Kamen'' got ''Series/IronKing'', and ''Mirrorman'' would have ''Mirror Fight''[[/note]] Toho, of ''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}'' fame, [[FollowTheLeader would push a more heroic Godzilla]], but would enter late into the TV show fray with ''Series/GoGodman'', ''Series/ZoneFighter'' and ''Go Greenman''.
146** In a related note, the Kyodai Hero boom coincided with a real-life concern with Japan's various pollution-related health disasters that happened mostly between the 50s-70s. [[GreenAesop This can be easily seen on]] ''Spectreman'', ''Return of Ultraman'' and 1971's Godzilla film (See the "Film" folder).
147** Also in 1971, Creator/ToeiCompany and Creator/ShotaroIshinomori created ''Franchise/KamenRider'' -- the life-sized action created a HenshinHero craze that would surpass the ratings of ''Series/ReturnOfUltraman'', with [[Series/KamenRider the first one]] and [[Series/KamenRiderV3 its sequel]] having the highest Tokusatsu ratings in the 70s and making the previous Kyodai Hero fad short-lived, and forcing still-running shows like ''Spectreman'' to have a mid-season {{Retool}}.[[note]]Ironically, ''Silver Kamen'', the only life-sized hero in the previous era, [[{{Retool}} would change to a Kyodai Hero]][[/note]] The first to follow were PeriodPiece ''Series/KaiketsuLionMaru'' and another Toei show based on a hit mangaka's creation,[[note]]Takao Saito, of ''Manga/Golgo13'' fame[[/note]] ''Manga/ChoujinBarom1''. ''Series/UltramanAce'', the latest entry in the Ultra series, would emphasize Rider-like transformations and [[ArchEnemy a single villain]] [[EliteMooks and his own monsters]][[note]][[AssimilationBackfire None of those changes lasted for the entire season]][[/note]] -- Ishinomori's new Henshin Hero, ''[[PeriodPiece Henshin Ninja Arashi]]'', [[DuelingWorks would get big rating fights against]] ''Ace'': Ishinomori's other 1972 creation, ''Series/{{Kikaider}}'', would be much more successful than ''Arashi'', and Tsuburaya tried a more conventional HenshinHero with ''[[AllYourPowersCombined Triple Fighter]]''. ''[[BroadcastLive Totsugeki! Human]]'' would try to do this genre in a recorded live stage. ''Thunder Mask'', of [[Creator/OsamuTezuka Mushi Productions]], tried to straddle the line between the two superhero booms with [[{{Sizeshifter}} a size-changing hero]],[[note]]This was done as early as Ultraseven, though[[/note]] and Japanese superhero veteran Yasunori Kawauchi (of ''[[Series/MoonlightMask Gekko Kamen]]'' fame) would be called for a new superhero trilogy with ''Series/WarriorOfLoveRainbowman'', ''[[GenieInABottle Diamond Eye]]'' and ''[[SelfPlagiarism Condorman]]''. Even unrelated dramas like ''Suki! Suki! Majo-sensei'' were [[HalfwayPlotSwitch influenced to turn into superhero shows]].
148** 1972-73's ''Anime/MazingerZ'' anime was a smash hit that took the place of Tokusatsu's big ratings. While ''Series/JumborgAce'''s close debut was probably coincidental, ''Series/RobotDetective'', ''Series/DenjinZaboga'' and ''[[Series/SuperRobotRedBaron Red Baron / Mach Baron]]'' were directly influenced by it, with the latter [[DuelingWorks faring quite well against Mazinger for a short while]]. Kamen Rider V3, whose record ratings fell after Mazinger's debut, would try to follow the anime's success with a more mechanical hero, ''Series/KamenRiderX''. ''Series/SpaceIronmenKyodain'', ''Daitetsujin-17'' or ''Chiisana Superman Ganbaron'' were later attempts at capturing the then-ongoing mecha anime success.
149** In late 1973, ''Film/EnterTheDragon'' was a hit in Japan, so EverybodyWasKungFuFighting was in full force. This can be seen, for example, in ''Series/UltramanLeo'', ''Denjin Zaborger'' and the human cast of ''Red Baron''. Averted with ''Series/KamenRiderAmazon'', who was a [[WalkingTheEarth traveling]] BruceLeeClone in the early concepts -- this idea would be partially [[RefittedForSequel reused in]] ''Series/KamenRiderStronger''.
150** While the Tokusatsu boom was mostly over, 1975's ''Series/HimitsuSentaiGoranger'' proved to be that year's biggest hit. While Ishinomori did the earliest follow-ups (''Akumaizer 3'' and its sequel ''Chojin Bibyun'', ''Uchu Tetsujin Kyodain'', and the SpiritualSuccessor to ''Goranger'', ''Series/JAKQDengekitai''), other works include ''Series/NinjaCaptor'',[[note]]Briefly considered the second Super Sentai show[[/note]] ''Enban Sensou Bankid'' and ''Megaloman''. Toei would later do ''Battle Fever J'' in the style of Ishinomori's ''Goranger'' / ''JAKQ'' and create a still-ongoing franchise, the Franchise/SuperSentai series.
151** Mid-70's Japan had a fascination with ParanormalTropes: psychic powers, [[FlyingSaucer UFOs]], Yokais/cryptozoology, etc. This influenced the enemies of the second half of ''Jumborg Ace'', the psychic powers of ''[[AnimalThemedSuperbeing Inazuman]]'', the ancient motifs of ''Tiger 7'', the [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt doomsday setting]] of ''Ultraman Leo'', the Hollow Earth monsters from ''Akumaizer 3'', the yokai of ''Chojin Bibyun'' or the flying saucers of ''Ultraman Leo'' and ''Bankid''.
152** In the early 1980s, around the time of ''Series/UltramanEighty'' there was a high delinquency problem in Japan. The show's main antagonistic force, Negative Energy was a stand-in for the pain these kids were going through and showing the best way to fix it was with love and compassion, with the titular Ultra's day job being an Elementary school teacher. However, the teacher-student interaction subplot was dropped roughly 20 episodes into the show.
153** As seen in the Anime & Manga folder, late 70's Japan had a Supercar boom -- ''Uchu Tetsujin Kyodain'' and ''JAKQ Dengekitai'' are the shows that reflect the fad more.
154** the Late 70s's science-fiction films and shows [[note]]''[[Film/ANewHope Star Wars]]'', ''Anime/SpaceBattleshipYamato'', ''Series/TheSixMillionDollarMan'' and so on[[/note]] were the latest trend: This can be seen on ''Kyodain'', ''[[TimeTravel Kyoryu Sentai Koseidon]]'', ''[[Film/MessageFromSpace Uchu kara no Message: Ginga taisen]]'', ''[[FailedPilotEpisode Silver Jaguar]]'', ''Series/DenshiSentaiDenziman'', ''[[Series/StarFleet X-Bomber]]'' or ''Series/KamenRiderSuper1''. Even the Ultra Series would follow the trend with ''[[SequelInAnotherMedium The Ultraman]]''. This would be an influence later on the [[Series/MetalHeroes Space Sheriff]] trilogy.
155** The UsefulNotes/OlympicGames are a minor theme in miscellaneous Tokusatsu productions, as seen in ''Chojin Bibyun'' and ''Series/SekaiNinjaSenJiraiya'', aired on 1976 and 1988.
156** TransformingMecha toys Toys/MachineRobo and [[Franchise/TransformersGeneration1 Transformers]] were notorious influences on ''Series/SeiunKamenMachineman'' (Machine Dolphin) and ''Series/ChoushinseiFlashman'' (Titan Boy).
157** ''Manga/{{Kinnikuman}}'' and ''Manga/SaintSeiya'' sold [[GottaCatchThemAll a lot of toys with huge quantities of villains]] -- ''Series/MetalHeroes'' series ''Series/ChoujinkiMetalder'' and ''Sekai Ninja Sen Jiraiya'' tried to do the same with their own.
158** ''Series/DennouKeisatsuCybercop'' and ''Series/KidouKeijiJiban'' were obvious riffs on the smash hit ''Film/RoboCop1987 '', the latter with a dose of then-popular TV drama ''[[CopShow Abunai Deka]]'' -- which makes it somewhat of a RecursiveAdaptation since ''[=RoboCop=]'' took partial inspiration from the first ''Metal Heroes'' series, ''Series/SpaceSheriffGavan''.
159** ''Series/DenkouChoujinGridman'' and ''Series/DenjiSentaiMegaranger'' both had 1990s-high-tech cyberspace/virtual reality themes. This reached the West as well, as ''Gridman'' was adapted as ''Series/SuperhumanSamuraiSyberSquad'' and the idea was applied to the ''Metal Heroes'' {{Frankenslation}} ''Series/VRTroopers'' (but ''Franchise/PowerRangers'' averted it and modified ''Megaranger'' into [[Series/PowerRangersInSpace an outer space theme]] instead).
160** ''Series/MadanSenkiRyukendo'' and ''Series/MahouSentaiMagiranger'' were made to cash in on western fantasy like ''Literature/HarryPotter'''s popularity, whereas Magiranger's American counterpart, ''Series/PowerRangersMysticForce'' was remade in the style of ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings''.
161* Long-running ''Franchise/ToeiTokusatsu'' franchises ''Franchise/KamenRider'' and ''Franchise/SuperSentai'' would last long enough without competition to follow their own fads.
162** In the case of ''Kamen Rider'':
163*** ''Series/KamenRiderAmazon'''s setting, according to Ishinomori, is partially influenced by ''Film/{{Zardoz}}''.
164*** When the Kamen Series was UnCanceled with the remake ''Series/KamenRiderSkyrider'', the hero got never-before seen flying powers that owe a lot to 1978's ''Film/SupermanTheMovie''.
165*** While ''Series/KamenRiderBlack'' is patterned after the ''Series/MetalHeroes'' franchise, the interactive belt gimmicks are borrowed from ''Series/CaptainPowerAndTheSoldiersOfTheFuture''.
166*** ''Film/KamenRiderJ'', while originally planned as a ''Film/KamenRiderZO'' sequel, had a [[OutOfCharacterMoment unusual giant transformation]] via ExecutiveMeddling at the expense of the success of the nostalgia-laden ''[[IntercontinuityCrossover Ultraman vs Kamen Rider]]'' TV special.
167*** ''Series/KamenRiderKuuga'''s down-to-earth police antics were patterned after the success of ''[[PoliceProcedural Bayside Shakedown]]''. This theme would be popular enough to get followed by ''Series/KamenRiderAgito'' and [[{{Salaryman}} brought back]] in ''Series/KamenRiderBlade''.
168*** ''Series/KamenRiderRyuki'''s card motif was a response to the popularity of ''Anime/YuGiOh'', with its [[Creator/YasukoKobayashi writing]] [[Creator/ToshikiInoue staff]] having previously met on the ''Anime/YuGiOhFirstAnimeSeries''.
169*** ''Series/KamenRiderFourze'''s space motif followed on the [[UsefulNotes/{{JAXA}} Hayabusa probe]] film series and the [[MeaningfulReleaseDate fiftieth anniversary of]] [[UsefulNotes/YuriGagarin the first human flight into space]].
170*** ''Series/KamenRiderGeats'' is openly based on popular {{Battle Royale Game}}s like ''VideoGame/{{Fortnite}}'' and ''VideoGame/ApexLegends'', as well as other DeadlyGame media like ''Series/SquidGame'' (which had released the year prior). A midseason story arc also incorporates "hidden traitor" elements from {{Social Deduction Game}}s like ''VideoGame/AmongUs''. Though it helps that this isn't the first ''Rider'' series to take on a "Battle Royale" story (mainly ''Series/KamenRiderRyuki'' twenty years prior).
171** ''Franchise/SuperSentai'' would last long enough to cash on some fads:
172*** The dance-based ''Series/BattleFeverJ'' (1979) owes its name to Film/SaturdayNightFever. And yes, one of the Rangers there danced disco (Miss America).
173*** ''Series/KousokuSentaiTurboranger'''s car motif is patterned after the success of Tamiya's Mini 4WD models.
174*** ''Series/KyoryuSentaiZyuranger'' had dinosaurs on it because Creator/StevenSpielberg's then-upcoming new film [[Film/JurassicPark would be about dinosaurs]]. Ironically, Jurassic Park's fame would be the motive that would lead Haim Saban to adapt ''Zyuranger'' as ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers''.
175*** ''Series/GoseiSentaiDairanger'''s martial arts theme followed on the FightingGame boom led by ''VideoGame/StreetFighterII''.
176*** ''Series/NinjaSentaiKakuranger'''s villains wear then-trendy [[FashionVictimVillain Street Fashion]].
177*** ''Series/GekisouSentaiCarranger'' would have a new car motif, but this time the Japanese trend was about Recreational Vehicles.
178*** ''Series/KyukyuSentaiGoGoV'''s end-of-the-world prophecies -- inspired on [[MayanDoomsday Nostradamus' 1999 quatrain]] and [[MillenniumBug the Y2K Bug]] -- harken back to the 70s' fascination with ParanormalTropes, with a dose of Japan's increasing awareness on paramedics since the creation of a 1991 law and the 1995 Kobe earthquake.
179*** ''Series/NinpuuSentaiHurricaneger'' / ''Series/PowerRangersNinjaStorm'' seemed fit to muscle in on a piece of the ninja pie inspired by ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'', as did ''Series/JukenSentaiGekiranger'' / ''Series/PowerRangersJungleFury''.
180*** ''Series/GoGoSentaiBoukenger'''s theme was based on the ''Treasure Hunter'' novels, a YoungAdultLiterature series written by Creator/HideyukiKikuchi.
181*** The producers of ''Series/KaizokuSentaiGokaiger'' justified its {{Pirate}} theme by literally arguing, "Well, ''Manga/OnePiece'' and ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'' are popular, innit?" (Averted when it came time to adapt it for ''Franchise/PowerRangers'', though; you'd think they might attempt to piggyback on ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' but instead they tried to downplay the pirate theme as much as possible; ''[[Series/PowerRangersMegaforce Super Megaforce]]'' focuses on the [[MilestoneCelebration anniversary]] aspect instead.)
182*** ''Series/ShurikenSentaiNinninger'''s generational family antics were a response to the smash hit drama ''Ama-chan'', while the Yokai enemy motif is from ''Anime/YokaiWatch''. ''Series/PowerRangersNinjaSteel'' subsequently focused on the ninja-in-training aspect just as ''Manga/{{Boruto}}'' began making waves overseas.
183*** ''Series/UchuSentaiKyuranger'''s space opera theme was inspired by ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy2014''.
184* ''Series/DoctorWho'' incorporates a certain amount of this with both heroes and villains, to the extent that watching [[LongRunner the extensive archives]] becomes a crash course in British obsessions over the course of the late 20th Century. Just a handful of more obvious examples:
185** WOTAN from "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS3E10TheWarMachines The War Machines]]" (1966). It's a 1960s computer that lives in the Post Office Tower, which was then an emblem of the bright and glorious future. It is capable of ''ringing up other computers to talk to them'', a simplification of what we'd now recognise as the Internet, only this was portrayed as having it actually call up the computers to talk to them over the phone in a creepy whispering voice.
186** The Second Doctor (1966-1969) wears a Beatles-esque moptop, plays folk music and has elements of psychedelia incorporated into his powers, monsters and world view. For just one example, WordOfGod says that his regeneration was modelled after an LSD trip gone wrong.
187** The Third Doctor (1970-1974) wears what was referred to at the time as "a stylish modern suit" (what is referred to today as 'a frilly velvet monstrosity'), [[SuddenlyAlwaysKnewThat was suddenly proficient in kung fu]], and was interested in Buddhist mysticism and the environment. Many have also pointed out an influence of {{Glam Rock}} on his era, particularly the use of trippy visuals also seen in ''Series/TopOfThePops'' glam performances. (And check out how [[Music/DavidBowie Ziggy Stardust]] Kronos' female form is in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS9E5TheTimeMonster The Time Monster]]"!)
188** The companion Sarah Jane Smith was based initially around the fad of 'women's lib'. Since this involved portraying her as having opinions and doing things, it is largely for the better. Future 70s Fourth Doctor companions are also influenced by 70s feminism and are loved for it.
189** There was a wave of nostalgia for Franchise/UniversalHorror tropes in the early-to-mid 70s, which gave rise to the Fourth Doctor's portrayal as a bohemian Victorian {{Swashbuckler}} fighting aliens that resembled classic horror monsters.
190** Lord Skagra from "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS17E6Shada Shada]]" (1979) wears a shiny white disco outfit, complete with a silver fedora, a sparkly cape, an open chest and a medallion. His power is that he sucks people's brains out with a shiny silver (disco) ball.
191** Adric was based on the optimism surrounding personal computing in 1980 and the rise of nerd culture, giving us an insufferable maths geek.
192** Any of the numerous UsefulNotes/MargaretThatcher-themed villains in the mid-to-late 80s would qualify, but especially Helen A from "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS25E2TheHappinessPatrol The Happiness Patrol]]", a crazed, bigoted, hedonistic fascist with a ghastly hairdo and a HenpeckedHusband, fitting the contemporary satirical shorthand.
193** "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E12BadWolf Bad Wolf]]" (2005) has Nine, Rose, and Jack thrust into Dalek-controlled reality television programmes (''Series/BigBrother'', ''Series/TheWeakestLink'', etc).
194** The Eleventh Doctor (2009-2012) is modelled after the particular {{Hipster}} subculture in the late 00s - lots of vintage tweed and talking at length about how various obviously uncool things are cool.
195** "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E6TheBellsOfSaintJohn The Bells of Saint John]]" (2012) gives us Website/{{Twitter}} 'Egg' Wi-Fi monsters from The Shard (which had been recently completed).
196** "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS36E2Smile Smile]]" (2017) gives us killer robots with Emoji faces and [[EverythingIsAnIpodInTheFuture a white, Apple Store-esque design.]]
197* In ''Series/TheFlash1990'', the Ghost was a 1950s techno-geek villain who'd originally used the then-groundbreaking technology of television broadcasts for blackmail. Not only had Ghost, himself, been a fad villain from his own era, but when he awoke from cryogenic hibernation in 1990, he was defeated by one of TheNineties' ''own'' techno-fads: the heroes trapped him in virtual reality.
198[[/folder]]
199
200[[folder:Mascots]]
201* Franchise/HelloKitty's birthplace is listed in her bio as "London". This was inspired by a fad for British culture and music in 1970s Japan when she was created, and Creator/{{Sanrio}} has been mildly embarrassed about it ever since.
202* {{Gudetama}}, 'an egg with crippling depression', appeals to the strain of depressive, self-deprecating humour made possible by the internet culture of the 2010s.
203* Anime/{{Aggretsuko}}: Retsuko is a disillusioned millennial who's worn down by her SoulCrushingDeskJob and vents her frustrations about her job by singing death metal; she was specifically made to appeal to Japanese working women.
204[[/folder]]
205
206[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
207* ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'', having existed for over three decades now, is natural to this:
208** Many early characters fully bought into NinetiesAntiHero aesthetics, though this died relatively quickly as the early comics were replaced by novel lines.
209** Though the Weatherlight might draw comparisons to ''Franchise/StarTrek'' and probably capitalized on contemporary ''Star Trek'' revivals (as well as ''Series/{{Firefly}}''), being a crew aboard a ship traveling to different worlds, most of the characters and their dynamics are actually based on ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' ones. These ''Buffy'' inspirations continued for a while after the Weatherlight storyline concluded, being present in several cards in the Otaria block (albet as card homages rather than actual characters).
210** 2015 saw the founding of the Gatewatch, with several established planeswalker's forming their take on the Avengers; this roughly coincided with the popularity of the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse. ''Literature/WarOfTheSparkRavnica'' is unapologetically ''Magic''[='s=] take on ''Film/AvengersEndgame'', with the Gatewatch and various other planeswalkers facing against Nicol Bolas in an allegedly epic confrontation. The Gatewatch as a concept suffered severe backlash because of all of this (not helped by even being disliked by fans for various reasons), and so ''Magic''[='s=] storyline has toned them down from 2019 onwards, though they still exist and are slated to have a similar event against the Phyrexians.
211* ''TabletopGame/SentinelsOfTheMultiverse'': The most prominent example within the fictional canon of the Sentinel Comics universe is Black Fist, a {{Blaxploitation}} kung fu hero who was subject to ReimaginingTheArtifact in-universe; after the Blaxploitation fad burned out and people stopped caring about his stories, the character was reworked into a grizzled OldMaster coming out of retirement to face down the organised crime poisoning his city, and it's this version of the character, known as Mr Fixer, who is actually in the card game.
212* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'': One Grey Knights codex was bashed by the fans for being far too powerful (some armies were rendered ''unable to shoot'' at them) and iffy lore. Chapter Master Kaldor Draigo was also looked down on for the aforementioned reasons (being a OneManArmy going around carving his name on daemon princes' hearts) and also for being transparently named after Series/GameOfThrones fan-favorite Khal Drogo.
213[[/folder]]
214
215[[folder:Video Games]]
216* The Koopalings, introduced in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros3'', were generally given a punk aesthetic to reflect [[TheEighties Eighties]]-era trends (the most notable exception being [[Music/LudwigVanBeethoven Ludwig von Koopa]]). They went on hiatus after ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld'', which would seem to reflect on Nintendo abandoning past fads. Luckily for them, they got a comeback in the last dungeon of ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiSuperstarSaga'', followed by top billing in ''VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBrosWii'', becoming franchise mainstays since.
217* ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters''' Hinako Shijo was based almost entirely around a very short-lived fad that revolved around petite women and high school girls that wanted to learn how to sumo wrestle. Seriously.
218[[/folder]]
219
220[[folder:Web Animation]]
221* Nyan Cat was most popular between 2011 and 2012. Neon Katt from ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'' was introduced in 2015. She's a [[CatGirl cat faunus]] GenkiGirl inspired by the meme.
222[[/folder]]
223
224[[folder:Western Animation]]
225* Videoman, of ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManAndHisAmazingFriends'', was based on arcade-style video games. Other characters of similar vintage are Marvel's Megatak and DC's Colonel Computron, and Bug and Byte. The latter three could potentially be made into credible threats again considering the incredible advances in computer technology since their creation, but Megatak's entire thing is being a character from an eight-bit arcade game.
226* Several Franchise/{{Transformers}} are clearly dated to their time, most famously Soundwave (a cassette recorder whose primary ability is carrying smaller characters who turn into tapes). This has resulted in some awkward retooling as writers try to figure out how to handle such a concept in the modern era, but it's so iconic to the character that to do otherwise would likely result in serious fan backlash.
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