Alfred, when he first appeared in the comics, was rather portly and clean-shaven, but when he appeared in the movie serials in the 1940s, he was portrayed by actor William Austin, who was very lean and sported a mustache. His appearance was soon changed in the comics to more closely resemble his actor, the change was explained by having him go off to a health spa for a period of time and growing a mustache during that period.
Practically the poster-girl for this in comics, Suicide Squad character Amanda Waller is, in the comics, a middle-aged overweight woman. She also tends to have her hair rather short, making her look rather... well... mannish. Animated Adaptations followed suit, with her ranging from having her comic look to going full-on Gonk. ...and then in Green Lantern (2011), she's played by Angela Bassett, and in Smallville, she is played by Pam Grier. Her Arrow counterpart is similarly prettified. The comics revamped her in New 52 to be much younger and slimmer. Normally, making a character prettier goes over well (see Wolverine), but Amanda Waller is someone fans didn't want pretty; "The Wall" is an old, hardened battle ax, not your sexy bikini babe love interest.note It didn't help that DC's response to criticism on social media was pretty close to "Why are you judging this woman on her body type?", as though making her look like this was just a random accident they hadn't even noticed until someone pointed it out. Her change was undone in DC Rebirth.
Wonder Woman (1942): In the Golden Age, Etta Candy was a boisterous overweight short woman, who loved a good fight and leapt at chances to beat up Nazis. In the Silver Age she was reimagined as a thin conventionally attractive woman who tended to end up a Damsel in Distress.
The original Duke of Deception was a tiny skinny little imp with an oversized balding head and bulging eyes, though he did frequently use his illusion powers to project himself a more attractive appearance. The version of the Duke in The Legend of Wonder Woman (2016) is the far more attractive redheaded British man Tomas Byde.
Done In-Universe in Wonder Woman: Odyssey by Doctor Psycho to try and keep Diana from turning away. When she convinces him to show his original self, she still accepts his visions of the alternate times.
Logen is described in the books as hideous, with a face that's covered with scars and is lopsided and disfigured in the manner of a boxer whose been in too many fights. Logen in the comic has a neat scar across his nose and depending on the panel, goes between rough and fairly good looking.
Glokta was once a good looking man who underwent Being Tortured Makes You Evil and like Logen, is described as someone whose appearance causes strangers to look away in horror. In particular, his torturers chipped away at his teeth, and he has a withered face with fevered eyes (one of which waters uncontrollably). Glotka in the comic generally looks pretty normal, albeit gap-toothed.
Eric wasn't unattractive in the cartoon, in fact Jerrica once liked him (though she hates admitting it), however in the IDW comics he's certainly drawn to be handsome. The glasses only help.
Techrat was redesigned very little. His sidecut comes from the original cartoon, though newer fans might think he's based off Skrillex. Techrat technically changed very little but his fashion sense is better and he has a slimmer, more androgynous physique. He doesn't scream "weird computer obsessed shut-in" nearly as much and is now a Long-Haired Pretty Boy.
Archie was originally an unconventional-looking boy with buck teeth; however Art Evolution made him into a Hollywood Homely type, though Betty and Veronica have still lampshaded how they're fighting over a fairly generic boy. The 2015 reboot updated his design and style to make it more understandable why he would have a bunch of girls after him.
Jughead is drawn in a more attractive manner than before in the 2015 reboot. (Most notably, his legendary nose is, while noticeably longer than other characters' noses, no longer this spindly sticking-out thing.)
The Star Wars: While the Emperor and Darth Vader were heavily disfigured in the movies, they look in much better shape here. The Emperor is a lot more younger and Vader has only a couple of scars on his face instead of being horribly burned.
In the French YA supernatural thriller Je suis ton secret ("I am your secret"), the fifteen-year-old heroine is a remarkably gifted karateka, but also big and ungainly, which causes her to dislike and envy her school's pretty girls; her not-quite-boyfriend, who is comically inept at sports, is thin and much shorter than her. In the comic adaptation, they're both conventionally good-looking teens and he's taller than her (although still inept at sports).
◊ In Beast Wars: Uprising, Transmutate is an explicitly female, fully formed Transformer whose appearance
