History AdaptationalVillainy / LiveActionTV

* ''Series/{{Gotham}}'':
** In the comics, Sarah Essen was a clean cop, but here, she's a reluctant DirtyCop.
** Penguin is more willing to commit bloodshed than other incarnations.
** The character of Gerald Crane is a murderous SerialKiller, while in the comics he was a civilian whose worst crime was abandoning his pregnant girlfriend Karen and their unborn son, Jonathan. This is largely because the show borrows more heavily from his characterization in the New 52, in which he ''is'' a MadScientist who, unlike his TV counterpart, experiments on his son for no reason whatsoever beyond ForScience.
** Although she isn't a full-blown villain, Barbara Kean isn't ''quite'' as nice as she is in the comics. She willingly [[spoiler: cheats on Gordon with Montoya (and eventually, the Ogre), and tries to convince Selina that she could use her beauty as a weapon.]] But perhaps the most striking instance occurs in "Under the Knife", where she begins to establish [[spoiler: a firm relationship with the Ogre. When he introduces her to his secret torture room, she isn't the least bit disturbed. In fact, she ''smiles at him''. She's embraced this trope by the season one finale, having [[SelfMadeOrphan killed her own parents]] and trying to kill Leslie Thompkins. Some aspects of this are due to being made a DecompositeCharacter, taking on traits from modern versions of ComicBook/HarleyQuinn.]]

* ''Series/LoisAndClark'': Mr. Mxyzptlk received this treatment. He was a superpowered imp from the 5th dimension like in the comics, but rather than the relatively harmless trickster as he usually is, here he's a FauxAffablyEvil villain who traps the world in a time loop where each time around humanity grows more depressed and pessimistic to make them all cross the DespairEventHorizon and destroy themselves.

* ''Series/{{Smallville}}'':
** Believe it or not, ''Jor-El'' is the main villain of [[spoiler:Season 3]]. Even after the season, he still does pretty nasty stuff like [[spoiler:[[TheyWereHoldingYouBack freezing Chloe almost to death and intending to trap Clark in a crystal until everyone he cares for has died.]] The finale does reveal this was all to test Clark's will in order to make him the hero he's meant to be... though he did some pretty dark stuff in pursuit of that, and it's all fairly unneeded given how well Clark fared without Jor-El's intervention.]]
** This version of Bizarro is less of a confused HarmlessVillain and more of a dangerously intelligent one.
** Mr. Mxyzptlk isn't a funny omnipotent imp, but more of a smug psychopath who likes to use his MindControl to induce {{Squick}} and tries to stab Chloe for a deal with Lex Luthor.
** Lana Lang is also turned into a much shadier character, although that may well have been unintentional; the show's creators seemed to think she was all but a Purity Sue to the very end.
** The comic book incarnation of Zor-El sent his daughter, [[ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} Kara]], to Earth as a protector for her cousin, though at one point he was wrongly believed to have been a villain who sent his daughter as an assassin. The series made him an outright villain who sent his daughter to Earth as part of a plot to have himself resurrected as a conqueror.
** In the comics, ComicBook/LexLuthor's father has been everything from a nice guy with a terrible son to a petty criminal, to an alcoholic {{Domestic Abuse}}r. He has never, however, been a CorruptCorporateExecutive and MagnificentBastard on the scale of his ''Smallville'' incarnation, Lionel, who serves as a proto-Lex and {{supervillain}} in his own right.

* ''Series/{{Titans 2018}}'':
** [[spoiler: Comicbook/{{Raven}}'s mother Angela turns out to have beeen EvilAllAlong, with the penultimate episode of the first season revealing that she was secretly working to bring Trigon to Earth the entire time. This is in ''sharp'' contrast to the comics, where she opposed Trigon and actively sought to prevent his return.]]
** Jason Todd becomes the Comicbook/RedHood in Season 3 but takes it far further than his comic counterpart. [[spoiler: While the comic version of Red Hood initially opposed Batman, he was usually an AntiVillain (verging on outright AntiHero status) at worst, and had a clear set of lines he wouldn't cross. This version of Red Hood kills civilians, kidnaps children, and even [[HeroKiller murders]] his former teammate Comicbook/{{Hawk|And Dove}}.]]

* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1985'' remake of "[[Recap/TheTwilightZone1959S1E34TheAfterHours The After Hours]]", the mannequins are depicted as much more malevolent. In the original the protagonist is lightly chided by the others for overstaying her time in the outside world and then calmly accepts becoming a mannequin again. In the remake she attempts to flee and the others chase her down, subjecting her to BodyHorror by forcibly changing her back.

* ''Series/TheWalkingDead'':

** "[[Recap/Goosebumps1995S3E2MyBestFriendIsInvisible My Best Friend Is Invisible]]": While Sammy and his parents in the book are revealed to be aliens, with Brent being one of the few humans alive, they're still implied to be nice enough people. In the episode it's revealed that the aliens actually took over Earth and Brent turned invisible to escape them, and the episode ends with Sammy and his parents ganging up on Brent.

* ''Series/{{Supergirl 2015}}''
** Supergirl's StarterVillain is Vartox, who in the comics was a hero and occasional associate of Superman.
** Jemm, Son of Saturn, appears in a later episode as a would-be conqueror. In the comics, he's a pacifist hero. He was in opposition to Superman during the ''Comicbook/NewKrypton'' storyline, but it was more complicated than him being a villain.
** ComicBook/RedTornado is a classic case of AIIsACrapshoot as opposed to the hero he is in the comics. It's theorized that the next version could be heroic, but as of mid-season 5, it hasn't happened yet, apart from the heroic Earth-X version from ''Series/CrisisOnEarthX''.
** Siobhan Smythe very quickly embraces the role of a supervillain when she discovers her Silver Banshee powers, and hates both Kara and Supergirl. Even before she becomes a villain, she was a jerk. In the comics, Siobhan is a nice girl and quickly befriended Supergirl when they met, even becoming roommates with her. When she becomes Silver Banshee, she uses the powers for good. (Now, the ''previous'' Silver Banshee was straight-up evil in the comics.)
** In the case of a villain getting worse, Morgan Edge in the comics was a ruthless media mogul with Intergang connections, so yeah, ''not'' a very nice guy. However, this version is Lex Luthor-grade evil. (He seems to be a foil for the ''first'' character presented as the Lex stand-in, Max Lord. Lord was a WellIntentionedExtremist who always stopped short of the worst he was suspected of doing and helped the heroes in the end. Edge seems like he's the new Lord, but then we get to dig deeper, and... he ain't.)
** Agent Liberty was a hero and member of the Justice League in the comics. In the fourth season, this version of him is the founder and figurehead of the Children of Liberty, a hate group that supports a human-first world order. (The Sons of Liberty were an evil conspiracy in the comics, but when Agent Liberty learned the truth about them, he quit.)
** Dick Malverne in the comics was Supergirl's love interest in Midvale and a loyal SecretSecretKeeper. Rick Malverne in the series also grew up with Kara in Midvale and learned her secret, but then kidnapped Alex to force Kara into releasing his murderer father from prison.
* ''Series/SupermanAndLois''
** [[spoiler:In virtually every incarnation, John Henry Irons is rescued by Superman and is inspired by him to become a superhero, creating a set of PoweredArmor and becoming the superhero Steel. In this series, John Henry Irons is the SoleSurvivor of an invasion of artificial Kryptonians led by Superman in another universe and he seeks to kill this universe's Superman to prevent a second attack. It's also a case of DeathByAdaptation as the main universe's Irons is mysteriously dead.]]

* ''Series/{{Arrowverse}}'':
** ''Series/{{Arrow}}'':
*** The episode "Dodger" turns a LoveableRogue from the comics into a ruthless and calculating killer.
*** Eddie Fyers in the comic was a shady character but basically an ally to Green Arrow, as long as his CIA bosses didn't say otherwise. After Ollie's death, he even became a ParentalSubstitute to Conner Hawke. His live-action counterpart is the BigBad of the Season One island flashbacks, a PsychoForHire under contract from [[ComicBook/SuicideSquad Amanda Waller]] who believes he's shooting a Chinese plane out of the sky to destabilize the country's economy (when really [[TheTriadsAndTheTongs China White]] was on board and Waller wanted her killed).
*** "Blast Radius" introduces Shrapnel as a MadBomber, which is a reasonable de-powered version of the character. The adaptational villainy comes in when the group he's part of - which is identified because they regularly use that kind of bomb in their terrorist activities - is called Comicbook/TheMovement.
*** [[ComicBook/{{Blackhawk}} The Blackhawks]], a heroic-[[PoliticallyIncorrectHero if]]-[[FairForItsDay sexist]] team of pilots are also turned into a corrupt, criminal [[PrivateMilitaryContractor private security firm]], with Ted Gaynor becoming an EvilFormerFriend to John Diggle involved with Malcolm Merlyn's Undertaking.
*** In the comics [[Comicbook/{{Anarky}} Lonnie Machin]] was a WellIntentionedExtremist with a firm moral code (in fact, it's arguable whether he's even a villain or just someone who doesn't see things the same way as Batman). In the series, he's an AxCrazy sadist who prompts an EvenEvilHasStandards reaction from the Season 4 BigBad. There's crazy, and then there's so crazy that freaking ''Damien Darhk'' refuses to work with you!
*** [[spoiler: Emiko Queen, the half-sister of Green Arrow, [[EvilAllAlong turns]] [[CainAndAbel out]] to be the season 7 BigBad, a sharp contrast to her heroic character in the ''ComicBook/New52'' era of DC, when she is revealed to be a leader of the Ninth Circle, a group she originally opposed, and once was a member of in the comics ... as a {{Mole}}.]]
** ''Series/TheFlash2014'':
*** In the comics, Zoom was the identity of Hunter Zolomon, who was a villain in order to make The Flash, then Wally West, a better hero. (Basically, he believes that trauma and hardship make you a better hero, and he's just the guy to provide it. He's also a good case of EvenEvilHasStandards.) Zoom, as the BigBad of season 2, is a frightening monster who is out to kill all people with super speed to make sure he's the only speedster in the multiverse and gets his kicks by being a HopeCrusher to the people. [[spoiler: Hunter Zolomon became a serial killer after seeing his father murder his mother and being abandoned at an orphanage when his other family members rejected him and is doing these terrible things for the hell of it, therefore a foil to Barry, who ''also'' saw his mother die, but his father wasn't guilty and he was adopted by Joe West. He was actually Wally's FriendOnTheForce in the comics before being crippled, which lead to his use of the Cosmic Treadmill to become Zoom. Although this Hunter Zolomon is from Earth-2. Earth-1's Hunter appears to be a normal human being.]]
*** The first villain of the second season is Atom Smasher, who in the comics was the successor to the Golden Age Atom and a member of ''Comicbook/InfinityInc'' and the ''Comicbook/JusticeSocietyOfAmerica''. He kills his own Earth-1 self and is the first metahuman sent after Flash by Zoom.
*** While she's abrasive and kind of a bitch, Doctor Light is a hero in the comics and has been a member of the Justice League for years. In the show, she's a villain and tries to kill Linda Park [[KillAndReplace so that she can replace her and take over her life]], being an Earth-2 version of Linda.
*** One could argue all these examples are a result of the show using this trope on the entirety of Earth-2. In the comics, it's the parallel universe where Golden Age characters are put and allowed to age and retire as a contrast to the sliding timeline of their Earth-1 counterparts. Here it's an evil counterpart to the main Earth-1 for the most part. (Basically, Earth-2 and Earth-3 from the comics are switched. In the comics, Earth-2 was the world of the Golden Age stories and Earth-3 was a Star Trek-style MirrorUniverse. In the show, Earth-3 is where Jay Garrick hails from and Earth-2, while not exactly populated by evil versions of the show's full cast a la Star Trek, has many an evil version of a hero, or a good or at least civilian version of a villain.) When Earth-2 was destroyed in the ''Arrow'' season 8 premiere, and the multiverse resurrected as a whole in ''Series/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths2019'', it lead to a new Earth-2, the setting of ''Series/{{Stargirl}}'', which was more accurate to the original comics version.
*** In the comics, Eliza Harmon/Trajectory JumpedAtTheCall to be a hero when she gained SuperSpeed, and while a member of the ComicBook/InfinityInc formed by ComicBook/LexLuthor, she was not aligned with him and was swiftly killed in the field. Here, she's a CardCarryingVillain who uses her speed to hurt people and destroy property ForTheEvulz. PsychoSerum made her that way, but she didn't get to redeem herself before PhlebotinumOverload led to her running herself right out of existence.
*** The true identity of Savitar. [[spoiler:The Future Flash came back in time to prevent Wally West's deaths, but hardship caused him to become a more violent speedster, one who came to regret what he became upon death. This version is attempting to murder Iris in order for present Barry to become so full of grief that it leads to his existence and seek godhood.]]
*** In the comics Warden Wolfe isn't a nice person, and may not even be a good one, but he genuinely wants to keep metacriminals locked up because he sees them as a danger to the city. The TV version [[spoiler: is part of Blacksmith's meta trafficking organization, and is even happy to sell her a hero if he has the opportunity to do so]].
*** Doctor Light. Yes, again. The post-Crisis universe introduces a new version that has the real identity of Kimiyo Hoshi, like the comic heroine, but is an assassin working for Black Hole.

** "The Eligible Bachelor" (Adapted from [[AdaptationTitleChange "The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor"]])

** "The Eligible Bachelor" (Adapted from [[AdaptationTitleChange The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor]])

** Cahir in general gets this a great deal. In Andrzej Sapkowski‘s novels, he’s more an AntiVillain who does initially work for Nilfgaard and traumatised Ciri but it’s eventually revealed he does care for Ciri and after a HeelFaceTurn helps Geralt’s side out before pulling a HeroicSacrifice in ''The Lady of the Lake''. In the show Cahir is more despicable and psychotic, showing little of his nobler traits from the books. Even his temporary alliance with Yennefer in the second season is more of an EnemyMine than anything else.

** The finale of Season 2 [[spoiler: reveals Jaskier (an unambiguous PluckyComicRelief hero in the books) is a mole working for EvilChancellor Dijkstra.]]

* In the adaptation of Creator/StephenKing's ''Literature/FindersKeepers'' (season 3 of ''Mr. Mercedes''), Andrew Halliday is a convicted child molester and not just an unscrupulous rare book dealer. The reverse happens to Morris Bellamy: in the book, he spent decades in prison for raping a woman and assaulting the arresting officer, whereas in the show he's still a young man who didn't do either of those things, nor did he kill his accomplices in his murder of John Rothstein. He's a victim of sexual abuse in book in that he first had sex with Alma Lane at 13, whereas in the book he is the victim of repeated KarmicRape.

* In the adaptation of Creator/StephenKing's ''Literature/FindersKeepers'' (season 3 of ''Mr. Mercedes''), Andrew Halliday is a convicted child molester and not just an unscrupulous rare book dealer. The reverse happens to Morris Bellamy: in the book, he spent decades in prison for raping a woman and assaulting the arresting officer, whereas in the show he's still a young man who didn't do either of those things, nor did he kill his accomplices in his murder of John Rothstein. In fact, he's a victim of sexual abuse in the show, having first had sex with Alma Lane when he was 13.

*** In the story Flora Miller is an [[WomanScorned ex-lover]] of St. Simons who serves as a RedHerring when his [[RunawayBrid bride goes missing.]] Here she actively assists St. Simon in carrying out his evil deeds.