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Adaptational Villainy / Comic Books

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Adaptational Villainy in Comic Books.


The following have their own pages:


Creators

  • Alan Moore is willing to use this trope when adapting pre-existing works:
    • The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen has quite a few characters who are Hero of Another Story presented in a decidedly darker light than in their original works with Values Dissonance and Genre Deconstruction strongly applied.
    • Lost Girls has features re-tellings of children's stories with some characters much darker than their original versions:
      • The Red Queen from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is a sadistic schoolmistress who grooms young girls and succumbs them to a life of drug-induced orgies and even encourages The White Queen to initiate her own daughter in her sordid activities. Meanwhile, the White Rabbit is a child molester.
      • Peter Pan's nemesis Captain Hook is a predatory paedophile who rapes Tinkerbell (possibly to death, as we never see her again). Meanwhile, Peter himself is a sexual deviant who is in an incestuous relationship with his sister and entices young boys into sex games.
      • In this version of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Dorothy's Uncle Henry is her biological father and engages in a sexual relationship with his own daughter.
  • Watchmen, due to Moore adapting his Captain Ersatz cast from Silver Age Charlton Comics characters, at least three heroes have their expies get this to different extents.
    • The first example is Peter Cannon, Thunderbolt whom Ozymandias is based off. In the Charlton Comics and DC comics, Thunderbolt is a heroic vigilante and Genius Bruiser who despite having a mental break down and briefly retiring from superheroing still cares about saving and protecting innocent people. His Watchmen counterpart Ozymandias however is far from heroic, being the Light Is Not Good Hidden Villain who in a Well-Intentioned Extremist move has three million people killed in New York to unite the worlds nations and create his own “utopia”.
    • The second and more downplayed example is The Question whom Rorschach is based on. While the original Steve Ditko version of The Question was actually quite ruthless (he once knocked some mooks into a sewer full of rushing water, not caring if they drowned or not) he never killed anyone and in the DC comics he’s an outright Martial Pacifist who resists the temptation to off crooks like Batman. Rorschach, The Question’s expy in Watchmen is a Sociopathic Hero who brutally murders and tortures criminals and even kills cops when cornered. Although Rorschach can still be regarded as a Good Is Not Nice Anti-Hero like the original Charlton Comics’ The Question, who ironically is in some ways more selfless than his Objectivist Ditko counterpart.
    • The third and most complex example is Peacemaker whom The Comedian is based off. Peacemaker is a violent Anti-Hero and Knight Templar vigilante in the Charlton and DC comics, who in later continuity is perfectly willingly to kill innocent people to achieve peace or kill anyone who gets in his way. His Watchmen counterpart The Comedian, is somehow much worse as while Peacemaker took no satisfaction in his work and at least had a few standards, Comedian is a Ax-Crazy Blood Knight who is also a rapist who tries to sexually assault Silk Spectre I, kills a Vietnamese woman pregnant with his child and is implied to have assassinated JFK (although he could’ve been joking note ). Then again, The Comedian does have a breakdown after learning Ozymandias’ plan in which he regrets his actions, unlike Peacemaker who unapologetically views all violence he commits as necessary.
    • Providence averts this in general for most of the Lovecraft characters in the story. It makes an exception however for Ronald Pitman, the Captain Ersatz of Pickman from Pickman's Model. Nothing in the original story suggests as Moore's comic does, that Pitman is a Serial Killer and Mad Artist.

Individual works

  • Afterlife with Archie:
  • Every-damn-body in Archie vs. Predator: Archie himself is a womanizer, Betty and Veronica are get into physical fights over Archie, Sabrina is a Satanist and a murderer, and the Predator doesn't abide by the honor of honor depicted in the Predator franchise.
  • The Darkstalkers Udon comics, do this to Morrigan along with Lilith in Street Fighter vs. Darkstalkers. In the games Morrigan is an Anti-Hero who while being a Succubus has a soft spot for humans and hasn't killed one in her life, as further seen in the OVA and crossover games. Lilith (Morrigan's Split at Birth Soul Jar) although she works for Jedah is largely a Unwitting Pawn, and is genuinely sweet and bubbly. In the Udon comics, Morrigan is a malevolent monster, assaulting and soul sucking a handsome man who sheltered her while she pretended to be a grieving widow, has been killing humans since she got the means (a ring gifted by her father) to travel to the human world and later on kills one of Demitri's harem (who was a innocent woman) simply so she can disguise herself. In Street Fighter vs Darkstalkers Morrigan is against the World Warriors (until an Enemy Mine against Jedah right at the end, and that was just because her world was in danger), tricks and kills two innocent explorers in Brazil, and tries to kill Chun-Li repeatedly. Lilith is even worse, as apart from having a body count of her own, she happily serves Jedah and cruelly delights in causing bloodshed and chaos, in the finale she even tries to murder All-Loving Hero Elena!
  • In The Dark Tower novels, John Farson is an ambiguous figure who never appears on the page. He's responsible for the destruction of Gilead... but his numerous followers call him The Good Man, and for all we know he may have had legitimate grievances with the gunslingers. In the comics, we actually get to see him, and he's a psychopathic tyrant who decapitates prisoners to play baseball with their heads.
  • Disney Ducks Comic Universe: John Rockerduck is portrayed as a Corrupt Corporate Executive in several stories but he was by no means this or any other kind of villain in the only story his creator Carl Barks used him in.
  • The comic adaptaion of Dino Crisis has Gail, the SORT team leader, betray Regina and Rick and turns out to be working with Guerilla Fighters after the Third Energy and Dr. Kirk.
  • Geppetto and Goldilocks in Fables. In their respective stories, Geppetto is a benevolent, fatherly figure while Goldilocks is nothing more than a harmless, if annoying, intruder. In the comics, on the other hand:
    • Gepetto is "The Adversary", the vicious tyrant who has crushed thousands of fantasy worlds and murdered billions, all in the name of peace.
    • Goldilocks is a vicious rabble-rousing anarchist who stirs up revolution just for the fun of seeing people fighting.
    • Hansel, one of the protagonists of his fairy tale, grows up to become a sadistic witch-hunter and Fantastic Racist who, among other heinous acts, murders his own sister.
    • In Snow White's backstory, the seven dwarfs were abusers and rapists who treated her like a slave.
    • Dorothy Gale appears in the spin-off Cinderella: Fables Are Forever and is portrayed as a Psycho for Hire who considers her old friends expendable.
  • G.I. Joe: Reloaded had Duke turn out to be a traitor planted into the Joes by Cobra.
  • In the Book of Genesis, Noah is portrayed as a humble, god-fearing individual who builds the Ark with nothing but himself and his family, his efforts to save others being met with mockery. In The Goddamned, he is a Churchgoing Villain who either slaughters or enslaves the various people that inhabits the wasteland.
  • Jem and the Holograms (IDW): Zig-zagged with Clash. She outright tries to murder Jem (or at least seriously hurt her). In the cartoon she never did anything besides try and get her band embarrassed or make them fail. Even The Misfits don't want to discuss what Clash did. However, outside of that, she's not violent or any meaner than usual.
  • Laff-A-Lympics: Dread Baron was already a villain in the cartoon but he never tried to double-cross any of his own teammates there. In "The Meet at Mount Ono", when he finds out the Laff-a-Lympic officials placed a chest full of money at the top of the titular mount to be shared among the members of the team that wins the climbing contest, he tries to take the money for himself and isn't above endangering the life of the Rotten athlete originally chosen to represent his team during the contest.
  • Muppet Sherlock Holmes gives this treatment to Irene Adler (portrayed by Miss Piggy), who at the end of the series is revealed to actually be the adopted sister of Professor Moriarty (portrayed by Uncle Deadly) conspiring with her brother to do away with Sherlock Holmes (portrayed by Gonzo).
  • In the My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (IDW) 2014 Holiday Equestria Girls Special, the Cutie Mark Crusaders hit this big time as the human version of "Ponyville Confidential" turns quite dark as this version of their gossip column, Anon-A-Miss, was done not out of being blackmailed, but because Applebloom grew jealous of Applejack's time with Sunset Shimmer and the others followed along with her.
  • In Noob, the comic version of Donteuil in regards to the webseries one. When that fact that Fantöm's avatar was illegally enhanced gets revealed in the webseries, Judge Dead is the one who decides to blame the whole thing on its Locked Out of the Loop victim. A couple of webseries scenes give the impression that Donteuil has a My God, What Have I Done? feeling towards the victim in question and it's via Donteuil that the audience eventually finds out that the victim's situation isn't as bad as it first looked. In the comic, Donteuil seems to be the one who decided to pull the "blame the victim" move, while the "situation not as bad as it first looked" reveal comes from a Fictional Document that gets no mention in the webseries, provided by someone else than Donteuil.
  • Sonic the Hedgehog:
  • Star Trek (IDW):
  • The Street Fighter Udon comics do this to Sagat, although not to the same level as Morrigan (seen above). In the games while he started off as a Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy and antagonist, Sagat is ultimately an example of Dark Is Not Evil being a Noble Demon and Bruiser with a Soft Center who only joins Shadowloo to pay back Ryu for scarring and nearly killing him with a Shoryuken (when the latter was under the influence of the Satsui no Hado) and he eventually defects from Shadowloo out of disgust. He becomes an Aloof Ally to the World Warriors and even peacefully settles his feud with Ryu in Alpha 3 and SFIV. In the Udon comics Sagat is much more despicable, as seen in the Chun-Li series, where he is an evil enforcer for M.Bison before even meeting Ryu who sadistically kills Go Hibiki, unlike the games where it was implied to have been an accident which Sagat regrets (given he throws his fight with Dan, Go’s vengeful weakling son). Sagat does defect from Shadaloo and gently settles his rivalry with Ryu in the comics, but much later than he does in the games.
  • IDW Publishing has done this with quite a few characters in their take on the Transformers: Generation 1 mythos.
    • The Transformers: All Hail Megatron downplays this with a look into Prowl's character. While Prowl is normally a "good" if somewhat stuck-up bot of logic and intelligence, here he's more of a Well-Intentioned Extremist. He does numerous unethical things, like messing with minds and destroying evidence of Autobot war-crimes, all to preserve the dignity of their faction. He's also willing to deflect suspicion, blackmail, and conspire to make WMDs all for the sake of the Autobot cause. Prowl did suffer from a bit of Depending on the Writer though, as he was also written as a selfless good guy in The Transformers (IDW) while at the same time being a schemer in The Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers. He eventually reverted to an Unscrupulous Hero with The Transformers: Robots in Disguise.
    • Spike Witwicky in The Transformers is nothing like his G1 cartoon predecessor. While in the G1 cartoon, he is undoubtedly a good guy and aids the Autobots, in the comic, he is an utter jerk to many and has a more sinister, hidden goal for aiding the Autobots.
    • Overlord in Masterforce had him as a Proud Warrior Race Guy, and honorable enough to turn on his evil boss and help the heroes. His appearance in Transformers Classics had him as a straight up villain, and Decepticon conqueror. All of them pale in comparison to his appearance in The Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers (and later More Than Meets The Eye), where he is the Big Bad, and one of the most depraved Decepticons ever. He murders populations of creatures, pits Autobot prisoners against each other and his own troops for his amusement, and then executes all of them so they can't be rescued.
    • The Transformers: More than Meets the Eye does this to Star Saber. In the Victory cartoon, he is a squeaky-clean hero a la Optimus Prime. The IDW comic turns him into a religious fanatic who once called for an atheist Holocaust. He works for the Big Bad to bring about the end of all artificially-built Transformers, including his Good Counterpart, Dai Atlas, whom he had religious disagreements with. This is a carry-over from the author's days in the Transformers UK fandom, where his stories portrayed Star Saber as a fascist.
    • IDW's version of Rattrap, particularly in Windblade, but also present in Robots in Disguise. His Beast Wars counterpart was a Jerk with a Heart of Gold who could be counted on to do the right thing, albeit complaining all the while. IDW's version? A selfish, backstabbing, amoral creep who plays The Starscream to Starscream himself.
    • The Transformers: Punishment gave this treatment to Sandstorm. In the cartoon Sandstorm was a pacifist who's planet was dragged into the conflict. He was quick to befriend people and even palled around with the Decepticon traitor Octane for a time. Most comics place him as a member of the Wreckers, a crack team of Autobot elite soldiers; not a pacifist anymore but not a full on villain. In Punishment he's the Big Bad of the story; having finally snapped in the post war peace he becomes a serial killer hunting down Autobots and Decepticons accused of war crimes, including the Dinobots, and burning them to death.
    • Zig-Zagged with Getaway; he’s still an Autobot in this continuity and genuinely believes in the cause... it’s just that this version of him is also an amoral Knight Templar who’s willing to manipulate and kill others for the sake of the cause.
    • Subverted with Onyx Prime, who initially seems like he’s been reimagined as a Jerkass God, until it’s revealed that he’s actually Dead All Along. The real Onyx was good guy like usual, but was murdered and replaced by Shockwave in a Stable Time Loop.
    • Sentinel Prime is usually a Jerkass, but most versions (even the explicitly villainous one from the movies) would stop well short of the one in the IDW series, who wants to kill almost everyone on Cybertron for having the "wrong" altmode or coming from a colony or having a Decepticon badge.
  • Vampirella:
    • Very explicitely Pantha in the 2018 run (although she never was a nice kitty in the first place).
    • Vampirella herself in more... non-legit... works, where she usually is an evil vampire rather than a Friendly Neighborhood Vampire.

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