From a tomboy sheriff of a present-day town in Maine to a girly civilian from the past trapped in a strange land.
Works with their own pages:
Other examples:
- American Horror Story: In keeping with the show's premise as an anthology series, every new season-long story tends to go with a main cast of core characters who are as different from the previous season's core cast as possible—often giving the actors a chance to show off their range by playing characters that deliberately contrast their previous roles in the previous seasons.
- Murder House, a family drama set in suburban California, is told mainly from the perspective of the Harmons, a solidly middle-class nuclear family—the adulterous psychiatrist Ben, the tormented former musician Vivien, and the sardonic teenage rebel Violet.
- Asylum, a psychological drama set in a New England mental institution, is told mainly from the perspective of the head nun Sister Jude and the wrongly incarcerated mental patients Lana Winters and Kit Walker—a closeted lesbian newspaper reporter and a working-class widower formerly in a secret interracial relationship, respectively.
- Coven, a boarding school drama set in Louisiana, is told from the perspective of the staff and students of a boarding school for witches—most prominently the ambitious aging socialite Fiona, her estranged adult daughter Cordelia, and the teenage Girl Next Door Zoe.
- Freak Show, a showbiz drama set in Florida, is told from the perspective of a traveling troupe of carnival performers—most prominently the eccentric singer and carnival manager Elsa, the angry young rebel Jimmy, and the sheltered conjoined siblings Bette and Dot.
- Hotel, a mystery/crime drama set in a California hotel, is primarily told from the perspective of detective John Lowe and his family as he investigates a series of murders that turn out to be the work of a serial killer. Other primary characters include the mysterious Countess, the literal Vamp owner of the hotel and her string of eerily similar lovers, hotel staff such as manager Iris and bartender Liz, longterm residents (not all of whom are alive) and a revolving door of guests (including several real-life serial killers).
- Roanoke really switches up the format. It presents itself as a mockumentary about the paranormal experiences of a young couple who move into a haunted house, featuring both Talking Heads style interviews with the "real life" characters and dramatizations by In-Universe actors playing them. Halfway through the season, this premise comes to an end and the story picks up in its "sequel," which brings both the "real life" people and their reenactors together in a reunion series. By the end of the season, it also features talk show segments, YouTube footage, and more, to create a Found Footage amalgamation.
- Although Angel was a spinoff of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Until season 5) and not a sequel, Angel fits this trope well in contrast to Buffy. Serious and brooding where the original was cheerful and social, a vampire where Buffy was a human, an anti-hero where Buffy was more of a straight hero (occasional "what the hell, hero" moments excluded), solitary where Buffy was social, and generally facing adult problems like parenthood, unemployment, and legal issues, where Buffy started out in high school and only started facing adult problems in her later seasons.
- Arrowverse: The main characters of Arrow and The Flash (2014):
- Oliver of Arrow started out a carefree playboy, with 5 years of perpetual trauma turning him into the stoic shadowy figure he is today. As a hero, he operates mainly as a Terror Hero, preferring espionage, intimidation, and then punching his way out.
- Barry of The Flash is The Pollyanna, rarely letting the crap in his life get him down. Barry tends to rely on his powers, usually running first and planning second. While Oliver tends to stick to the shadows and let his status as The Dreaded do the job for him, Barry actively strives to be a symbol of hope.
- The titular protagonist of Better Call Saul is very different personality-wise to that of Breaking Bad, being a funny, colorful fast-talking con man compared to the quiet, serious science teacher Walt was. But the contrast goes further: while Breaking Bad starts with a seemingly good man tempted by evil, who eventually turns out to have been driven by pride from the very beginning, Better Call Saul is the inverse - Jimmy already screwed up and got in trouble with the law before the show begins and is now seen as a criminal by most around him. Here, the show charts his journey as he tries desperately to go good, only to be trodden on by the world and its expectations on him over and over until he slips into the drug dealer-protecting greedy lawyer he was in Breaking Bad.
- As part of the Retool that Blackadder as a whole went through, Lord Edmund Blackadder of Blackadder II is quite different from his great-grandfather Prince Edmund from The Black Adder, and he represents the shift from broad comedy with a large scale to having sharper humor with a tighter focus. While Prince Edmund was slimy and had his moments of being a Magnificent Bastard, he was too spineless and incompetent to get anything much done; meanwhile, Lord Blackadder is much wittier and more charismatic, and is able to get out of situations with his wit more often. The following Blackadders would follow Lord Blackadder's suit with the intelligence and trademark insults, but they would contrast from each other in their own subtle ways.
- Mister Blackadder from Blackadder the Third is much more cold and ruthless than either Edmund before him, going to much greater lengths to get what he wants or get out of trouble. Lord Blackadder would certainly act abrasive to his not-friends, Baldrick and Percy, and would screw a few people over if they tried screwing him over, but generally he was content to stay in his lane and brown-nose his social superiors to protect his social standing. Mister Blackadder, however, is much more prone to Kicking The Dog and many of the people around him wind up dead at his own hands. Much of this can be attributed to outrage over the declining fortunes of his family, who have gone from royalty to nobility to domestic servitude.
- Captain Blackadder of Blackadder Goes Forth is the least morally-bankrupt out of all of them, especially compared to Mister Blackadder, though that's not saying much. Rather than trying to climb the social ladder like the others did, he simply wants to get out of the trenches of WWI and not die. His acts of coldness come more from weariness and genuine fear rather than being an outright bastard.
- Doctor Who:
- Most incarnations of the Doctor are the opposite of their previous incarnation in some large, glaring way (while other parts of the characterization shift more subtly).
- The haughty and moody First Doctor was followed up by the Hoboish and easy-going Second.
- Two was succeeded by the grumpy, elegant and noble Third.
- Three was followed by the childish, scruffy and carefree Fourth.
- Four was followed by the responsible and kindly Fifth.
- Five regenerated into the bombastic and haughty Sixth.
- Six became the playful and Machiavellian Seventh.
- The Eighth Doctor was honest and romantic, in contrast to Seven's solitary scheming.
- Unlike Eight, Nine was less trusting and more conflicted.
- Ten was more chipper than Nine ever got but at the same time down-to-Earth and relatable to humanity more than any other Doctor...
- ...whereas Eleven was completely alien and out of touch with conventions of any kind.
- In-between Eight and Nine we have the War Doctor, who very deliberately refuses to call himself "Doctor", spending his life fighting the Daleks in the Time War and making some questionable choices. "The Day of the Doctor" contrasts his grizzled, mature attitude to Ten's regretfulness and Eleven's playful forgetfulness.
- The transition from Eleven to Twelve is fairly explicitly this — where the light-hearted and confident Eleven effectively was an old professor in a young man's body, the brooding and self-doubting Twelve is best described as an edgy and cheeky teenager who happens to look like an old man.
- Thirteen, besides being the first female incarnation, is much more cheerful than the grouchy, irascible Twelve, showing the marked childlike glee of someone who Jumped at the Call, with a mixture of Four's childish attitude and Ten's scruffy good cheer, and with a personality that seems much goofier, more enthusiastic, and more awkward than any in a long time. Her first official outfit is markedly more colorful and casual than any NuWho Doctor yet (complete with rainbow-strap suspenders), and she ends the trailer with a megawatt smile and "Right then, this is gonna be fun!"Thirteen: So if I asked, really, really, nicely, would you be my new best friends?
- Done peculiarly in the Fourth Doctor's first season — half of the creative team wanted to differentiate the new Doctor by making him lighten up and be wackier after such a serious previous Doctor, and the other half wanted to differentiate him by making him darker and more brutal after such a noble previous Doctor. It is a real testament to the ability of Tom Baker and Robert Holmes that they managed to pull off both, at the same time.
- Certain companions were replaced with their complete opposites:
- The First Doctor's "granddaughters": first a dark-haired, cautious, weird, ethereal girl, then a blonde-haired, outgoing, perky Nightmare Fetishist. Both were Impossible Genius girls from utopian future civilizations, so the replacement was a not-too-bright 1960s woman who implicitly came from a broken home.
- Liz Shaw, an intelligent, astute and ambitious scientist, was replaced with the ditzy, undereducated and scream-prone Jo (who nevertheless would clobber bad guys with heavy objects). This was done because it was felt Liz was too strong a Doctor substitute. Then the writers realized how anti-feminist this looked and replaced the gentle and compliant Jo with a bright and hot-tempered journalist who would shout back at the Doctor.
- The Fourth Doctor's companions: Sarah Jane Smith, a clued-in but physically delicate Muggle Best Friend, was substituted with Leela, an intelligent but undereducated Nubile Savage who the Doctor tended to pick on as an inferior and who specialized in intuition and violence. Then she was replaced with Romana, the Doctor's superior in intelligence but with less life experience. Then Romana, so competent that she often took charge and had the Doctor learning from her, got subbed out for Adric, also a genius alien but a young boy instead of an adult woman, and who the Doctor was raising as a protégé.
- The concept for Ace was basically "the exact opposite of Mel". Mel was a girly, garishly-dressed Damsel Scrappy who nagged the Doctor into improving his health, whereas Ace was a punky tomboy who lived on a council estate and blew things up with homemade explosives.
- Rose, a blonde working-class shopgirl in a life slump, is replaced by Martha, a black middle-class medical student with an ambitious personality. Both of them fall in love with the Doctor, so the next one, Donna, repeatedly states that she finds the Doctor unattractive. She's also snarkier and more assertive than both of the other two combined.
- Clara Oswald is a Caucasian nanny/teacher who's addicted to travel and adventure and recklessly brave; in short, she's the Doctor's Distaff Counterpart. An outside force arranges for them to be brought together because of the trouble their similarities can cause and possibly to fulfill an apocalyptic prophecy, and Clara ends up directly affecting his lives more than any previous companion — to the point that he first seeks her out based on what she has already done from his perspective — evolving into one of his few canonical love interests, albeit a platonic one. Eventually, the Twelfth Doctor is forced to let her go for good, and goes on to fulfill another romantic relationship with not-quite-companion River Song, whose whole existence emerged from his (as she is the child of two of his companions, conceived in the TARDIS, and kidnapped and raised to kill him).
- After these relationships moved by cosmic forces, Twelve meets Bill Potts, a black cafeteria worker who just gets swept up in his adventures, and is first and foremost a curious soul who needs easing into his world. Bill is also the first overtly LGBT companion in the show's history (unless you count Jack Harkness), and as such she and the Doctor obviously have no interest in each other, instead of having a strictly platonic Professor-Student relationship.
- Most incarnations of the Doctor are the opposite of their previous incarnation in some large, glaring way (while other parts of the characterization shift more subtly).
- Ryuga Dougai, the bearer of the GARO title from GARO: The One Who Shines in the Darkness, is hotheaded, emotional and socially outgoing, but inexperienced in battle. Whereas Kouga Saejima, the main character from the original GARO series is stoic, almost always ahead of his enemies, but socially detached. Happens again with GARO: Makai no Hana. Raiga Saejima, the son of Kouga and Kaoru, combines both Kouga and Ryuga's aspects: he is a very caring and warm person who is generally good with people, but at the same time he also dedicated his duty and responsibility as a Makai Knight.
- In most Kamen Rider shows, each year's show will have a notably different protagonist.
- Takumi Inui was an apathetic drifter who basically became Kamen Rider Faiz by accident, and was immediately followed by the Hot-Blooded Kazuma Kenzaki, who was specifically recruited to become Kamen Rider Blade. Additionally, Takumi is a member of the Monster of the Week's race from the very beginning of his story, while Kenzaki deliberately transforms himself into a monster at the end of his series. Takumi could also be seen as contrasting his three forebears Yusuke Godai, Shoichi Tsugami, and Shinji Kido, all of whom were straightforward heroic types.
- Kamen Rider Kabuto was the hyper-competent Smug Super Souji Tendou who spent his whole life believing he was The Chosen One, followed by Kamen Rider Den-O Ryotaro Nogami, a modest and self-effacing Butt-Monkey who had to grow into the role.
- Kamen Rider Kiva had the shy Hikkikomori Wataru Kurenai, followed by the audacious Jerk with a Heart of Gold Tsukasa Kadoya, Kamen Rider Decade.
- Kamen Rider Fourze's Gentaro Kisaragi is a Hot-Blooded Idiot Hero who gathers friends like trading cards, while Kamen Rider Wizard Haruto Soma is a Stoic, cunning outsider who plays Hope Bringer.
- Kamen Rider Build's Sento Kiryu is a Badass Bookworm Science Hero (though given to comedic Insufferable Genius moments), contrasting with Kamen Rider Zi-O Sougo Tokiwa, a Book Dumb Nice Guy Ordinary Highschool Student. Additionally, Sento is focused on his past (he has amnesia and worries that his "old self" was villainous), while Sougo focuses on his future (having been told by time-travelers that he becomes an Evil Overlord in 50 years).
- When it comes to the two Milestone Celebrations main characters for the Heisei Kamen Rider Era, Sougo Tokiwa (20th anniversary) easily differs from Tsukasa Kadoya's (10th anniversary) character and position, with Tsukasa being an in and out rude prick who is more than capable of showing sincere kindness to others, especially those close to him, while Sougo is an polite, if loopy, young man through and through. Tsukasa's travels revolve around him going to the different worlds of Kamen Rider while Sougo's adventures feature him going back through the history of Heisei Kamen Rider. Also, both stand out from all the other Rider protagonists due to both of their stories revolving around the outright villainy they themselves have done/will do, however, Tsukasa has had his villainous deeds committed in the past, and his story is focused on proving that he's a better hero than before, whereas Sougo is quite possibly the first protagonist whose possibly concrete future is to be that of a villain, with his series framing his attempts to avoid being the Evil Overlord the future fears.
- Kung Fu (1972) takes place in the Wild West, where Caine is alone Walking the Earth. Kung Fu: The Legend Continues takes place in contemporary Vancouver. The job of Protagonist is split between Kwai Chang Caine II (the Identical Grandson of Kung Fu's Caine) and his son Peter, a police detective. "I'm not my father. I don't do kung fu. I'm a cop, that's who I am, that's what I do."
- Detective Inspector Sam Tyler of the original BBC series Life On Mars was the calmer By-the-Book Cop to Gene's Cowboy Cop. Detective Inspector Alexandra Drake of the spinoff Ashes to Ashes (2008) is less by the book and more Tsundere Lady Drunk.
- Nick Amaro of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit was initially set up as this for Stabler after Stabler left the show, being more of a Guile Hero in contrast to Stabler's more violent approach. However, within a few seasons, Amaro's character ended up getting the same treatment as Stabler (who, though many forget it, wasn't short-tempered and aggressive at first either).
- Victor from Love, Victor deliberately is one to Simon from Love, Simon not so much in personality, but in how their home lives and external circumstances affect their coming outs. Whereas Simon came from a well-off white family who were completely accepting of him being gay, Victor comes from a working class Latino family with more "traditional" cultural values.
- Mako Mermaids: An H₂O Adventure writes several characters to be Foils to their counterparts in H₂O: Just Add Water.
- The mermaid trio of H₂O are human girls who accidentally become mermaids. The mermaid trio of Mako Mermaids were natural-born mermaids who deliberately turn themselves into humans.
- In the case of the male leads, Lewis is a bumbling science nerd and a Muggle Best Friend to the mermaid trio who never bothered trying to gain powers, despite knowing how. Zac is a skilled athlete who accidentally becomes a merman, and does his best to swallow up all the power he suddenly has.
- Evie is written as an anti-Charlotte of sorts, being a rival girl to one of the mermaid trio who ends up becoming a mermaid. Unlike Charlotte, Evie wins her Love Triangle, becomes a mermaid unintentionally, and becomes friends with the mermaids.
- In a similar vein, Erik is the anti-Will. The two of the are Secret Chasers who become the boyfriend of one of the mermaid trio, and have a very pushy way of getting what they want. The difference is that Will is a human boy who didn't intend to cause trouble, while Erik is a merman willing to trample over the other characters to achieve his goals.
- Monarch: Legacy of Monsters protagonist Cate Randa is one to Ford Brody from the MonsterVerse's founding instalment, Godzilla (2014). Both characters have suffered the apparent loss of a parent before the start of their native story's main time frame, both learn shocking truths about their fathers in relation to the Titans, and both characters' driving goals are seeking out the family members they've been separated from (wife and child for Ford, father for Cate). They were also both caught up in the Titan-caused destruction of the city where they lived in their respective backstories (Janjira for Ford, San Francisco for Cate). But whereas Ford was an overall well-adjusted, veteran male soldier, Cate is a female civilian grappling with PTSD from San Fran's destruction which causes panic attacks. Although both are primarily motivated by their families, Ford is overall idealistic and is happy to serve his country and the whole of civilization in the process of getting back to his family, whereas Cate is cynical and just wants Monarch and the Titans to leave her alone. Whereas Ford is forced apart from his beloved wife and child at the start of his story, Cate at the start of hers is forced towards relatives she never knew she had. Ford has healthy relationships with all of his family except for his father, whereas Cate has strained or terse relationships with all of her known relatives; even if her father is the one who (on justifiable grounds) gets it the worst.
- Due to the "Fresh cast" approach Power Rangers has, this is usually a given for the ranger who's generally the main focus of the season. (I.E. the red ranger)
- Power Rangers in Space: Andros is a stark contrast to the previous four Red Rangers Jason, Rocky, Tommy and T.J. While the previous four were humans from Earth, Andros is a Human Alien who takes some time to adjust to Earth customs. Andros is also less friendly and sociable with his team than the other four were. And while T.J, Andros's direct predecessor, was a black man with a Bald of Authority, Andros is a Long-Haired Pretty Boy.
- Power Rangers Lost Galaxy: Leo is a Rookie Red Ranger as opposed to Andros who is more experienced. While Andros was an alien living on Earth, Leo is a human traversing into space. Finally, Leo's main zord is a lion while Andros's zord was modeled after an astronaut.
- Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue: Unlike Leo, Carter already has a job as a public servant even before he becomes a Red Ranger. While Leo's main weapon is a sword, Carter tends to go for his gun in battle more often. Leo's zord was a lion while Carter's is based on a fire truck.
- Power Rangers Time Force: Wes is an Idle Rich compared to Carter who as a firefighter was more of a Working-Class Hero. While Carter's zord was based on a modern vehicle of the present, Wes's zord was a futuristic jet. Also, Wes is not the leader of the team unlike Carter.
- Power Rangers Wild Force: Unlike previous Red Rangers, Cole has no familiarity with modern civilization. He's a Rookie Red Ranger like Wes but Cole becomes The Leader a role Wes never took.
- Power Rangers Ninja Storm: Shane is raised in modern civilization unlike Cole. Where Cole was associated with the element of fire, Shane possesses the power of air. Cole's zord was a lion while Shane's zord is a hawk. While Cole's parents where killed prior to the events of the series, Shane's family is still alive and his fear of disappointing them is focused on in one episode.
- Power Rangers: Dino Thunder: While Shane, Tori and Dustin where already friends before becoming Rangers, Connor, Kira and Ethan were from completely different social circles. While the Ninja Storm Rangers were Ninja students trained in martial arts and elemental magic, the Dino Thunder Rangers are ordinary high school students who receive their martial arts and civilian powers from their Dino Gems.
- The Dino Thunder team are also a contrast to the original MMPR team. While the MMPR team where friends from the beginning the Dino Thunder team never interacted with each other until becoming Rangers. While the Mighty Morphin team were idealistic and heroic to a rather unrealistic degree, the Dino Thunder Rangers are more believably flawed. This is best displayed in "The Passion of Conner" in which Conner pretends to be into environmentalism to impress a girl he's attracted to. The original MMPR team where genuinely interested in environmentalism and other activities that benefited their community when they weren't being Rangers.
- Power Rangers S.P.D.: Like in the previous season, the Rangers are a Ragtag Bunch of Misfits. But this time the Rangers are a mixing of two groups of friends; Sky, Syd and Bridge were SPD graduates while Jack and Z were former thieves who were recruited into being Rangers. While the Dino Thunder team were mostly teenagers, the SPD team are mostly young adults. Finally, the SPD team's civilian powers are a result of being born from parents who were involved in a science accident.
- Power Rangers Mystic Force: Like Jack, Nick is an orphan but Nick got adopted. While Jack is an empowered human, Nick is a Human Alien from the Magic World. Jack's powers and season have a sci-fi bent while Nick's powers and season are steeped in magic and fantasy tropes. Nick is also less of a Determinator than Jack.
- Power Rangers Operation Overdrive: While Nick is a Reluctant Hero, Mack is an Ascended Fanboy who has dreamed of a life adventure and jumps at the chance to be a Power Ranger. While Nick is a human, Mack is revealed to be a robot making him the first Ranger in history to be an inorganic life form.
- Power Rangers Jungle Fury: Casey is a human unlike Mack who started out as a robot. While Mack mostly embraced being a Red Ranger with enthusiasm, Casey has doubts about his place as a Ranger and his arc is about him growing as a hero.
- Power Rangers RPM: The Red and Black Rangers both contrast Casey. Scott the Red Ranger is a Standardized Leader compared to Casey. Dillon is The Lancer and is something of a cynical Jerk with a Heart of Gold. Dillon also has some similarities to Andros from In Space in that both of them are loners who have to learn to work with the team and have missing siblings. But Dillon is a cyborg while Andros is a human alien.
- Power Rangers Samurai: Jayden is a modern day Samurai in contrast to Scott who is an air force pilot. Jayden is also much more aloof than Scott and their differences are played up in the episode where Scott teams up with the Samurai Rangers. Both have a sibling but while Scott's brother died at the beginning of the series, Jayden's is alive and her existence is kept a secret.
- Power Rangers Megaforce: Jayden and Troy are a downplayed example as they have the same personality. The main difference is that Jayden was born into being a Ranger while Troy was selected by the Big Good.
- Power Rangers Dino Charge: Tyler is more emotive than Jayden and Troy both of whom were The Stoic. Tyler is also a Rookie Red Ranger unlike the previous two, Jayden being the inversion.
- Power Rangers Ninja Steel: Brody and Tyler both had fathers who vanished but while Tyler lived on Earth, Brody was abducted by aliens.
- Power Rangers Beast Morphers: Devon fell into being a Power Ranger by accident while seeking out another goal like Leo, contrasting him with Brody, who basically had to be a Ranger to survive due to the circumstances he was stuck with. Both have Daddy Issues, but Brody's concern was a missing father, while Devon's is present, but unimpressed with him.
- Power Rangers Dino Fury: While Devon was a normal human from Earth who stumbled into being a Ranger, Zayto is an alien who was a Ranger prior to the events of the series. This makes Zayto similar to Andros just as Devon is similar to Leo.
- Resurrection: Ertuğrul: Although Ertugrul Bey serves as the central protagonist for the series in general, he can be easily contrasted with Tugtekin Bey from season 2. Whereas Ertugrul is stoic and clever, Tugtekin constantly lashes out at others and displays zilch patience in most situations, even prompting the resident Big Bad to give him the moniker of “Fiery Boy.”
- Aliyar to Tugtekin. While the latter is known to constantly butt heads with Ertugrul, the former is the polar opposite; a prudent-minded individual who isn’t one to take the initiative first, preferring to think carefully about the situation at hand and never once does he think about displaying aggression toward Ertugrul, even after his brother Ural convinces Candar and Aslihan (Father and sister) to believe that Ertugrul is a menace to the Cavdars.
- In terms of Elder Tribal Heads, there are many details that contrast the brother duo of Suleyman Shah and Korkut Bey. Whereas Suleyman shows nothing but praise for his son Ertugrul, Korkut attempts to execute his nephew after believing he murdered his son Tugtekin, only stopping after Tugtekin is brought to him alive.
- Schmigadoon!: With most of the season 1 cast returning for season 2 to play new characters in the new setting of Schmicago, some of their new roles are wildly different from those they played on Schmigadoon. The change that stands out the most is that of Alan Cumming, who goes from playing the gentle and poised mayor Aloysius Menlove, to the deranged and vengeful butcher Dooley Blight.
- Star Trek:
- Picard of Star Trek: The Next Generation compared to Kirk of Star Trek: The Original Series. Kirk is more adventurous and action prone, Boldly Coming and more likely to dive and be at the forefront of any situation. Picard, on the other hand, is more diplomatic, older, more reserved and philosophical. He's also more prone to delegate to his subordinate, almost never going on away missions - unlike Kirk.note Also unlike Kirk, Picard does not generally mingle in his free time with his bridge crew. That's why the final scene of the series, where he finally joins their weekly poker game, feels so meaningful. Kirk, however, would regularly play chess with Spock or spend time with Bones, going on shore leave with Scotty. Curiously, they also have inverted backstories; Kirk was studious and straight-laced when in the academy, though once he graduated he cut loose and became a casual and easygoing, playing fast and loose with the rules. Picard is a Former Teen Rebel who was an infamous skirt-chaser until a near-fatal injury got him to shape up and become the fastidious and intellectual Gentleman Adventurer we all know and love.
- Data and Spock have a conversation in Unification II showing how they also are an example of the trope, as each's nature is what the other seeks to achieve.Spock: Remarkably analytical and dispassionate, for a human. I understand why my father chose to mind-meld with him. There's almost a Vulcan quality to the man.
Data: Interesting. I have not considered that. And Captain Picard has been a role model in my quest to be more human.
Spock: More human?
Data: Yes, Ambassador.
Spock: Fascinating. You have an efficient intellect, superior physical skills and no emotional impediments. There are Vulcans who aspire all their lives to achieve what you've been given by design.
Data: You are half human.
Spock: Yes.
Data: Yet you have chosen a Vulcan way of life.
Spock: I have.
Data: In effect, you have abandoned what I have sought all my life. - Sisko of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine compared to Picard. Picard is the quintessential Officer and a Gentleman, being content to look at the big picture in a given situation, while Sisko is much more of a front-line officer, and is more willing to get his hands dirty and deal with problems directly. Notably, Sisko is also the first Star Trek protagonist with a family (he's a widower and a single father), meaning that he's also far less stoic and objective than Picard, and is more likely to get emotionally involved in situations since he knows that he has a son to protect and because he had to endure losing his wife in a previous battle. And while Kirk and Picard were idealists who took the high road whenever possible, even when it cost them, Sisko will always Shoot the Dog if it gets the job done or saves lives. It's not that Sisko is unprincipled or doesn't believe in the Federation's ideals, but rather that he's more acutely aware the price those ideals may exact from his subordinates and those around him. Also, as shown by the above page quote, he has much less patience for mind games; while Picard would verbally engage Q with Shakespearian quotes, Sisko just punched him when Q dared him to.
- The same pattern holds true when comparing Janeway of Star Trek: Voyager to Sisko. While both had inclinations in both command and technical directions, Sisko was a full-time command officer who would occasionally do engineering work, while Janeway had spent long enough at the science officer's desk that she was doing double duty for about half of Voyager. Sisko, as discussed above, was focused on doing what he had to do, while Janeway cared about Starfleet ideals to an almost unhealthy degree. Sisko had a very low tolerance for many groups of adversaries, while Janeway was more diplomatic most of the time, even negotiating with the Borg.
- Archer of Star Trek: Enterprise appears to borrow some traits from all his predecessors (from our viewpoint, he actually predates them all if going by the setting's timeline). Being the captain of the only friendly ship in unexplored space, he's more of a pathfinder like Kirk or Janeway and is frequently forced to make do with whatever resources he had on hand rather than relying on any other Federation/Earth ship/station. His diplomatic skills skirt between reasonable (he is responsible for kick-starting what will become the Federation) and explosive (especially when concerning Vulcans, with whom he has a personal score to settle). Being an explorer also means that he has probably the worst luck among any of the Captains. He also makes some ethically questionable decisions, such as withholding a cure from a dying species and resorting to piracy in order to complete his objective. He's also not bound by any Federation rules since the Federation doesn't exist yet, so he makes up rules as he goes.
- Star Trek: Discovery:
- Michael Burnham is the first Star Trek main protagonist who's not in command of a ship or a station ( until the end of Season 3). Having been raised as Spock's adoptive sister, she's the first Trek main character not to grow up on Earth. As a human raised on Vulcan, in some ways she has more in common with other Trek series' "outsider" characters (Spock, Data, Odo, the Doctor, etc.) than their captains.
- This is later presented with the show's version of Captain Christopher Pike, Kirk's immediate predecessor on the Enterprise. Unlike Discovery's previous captain, Gabriel Lorca, Pike is much more open and friendly with his crew, willing to hear them out, and goes to great lengths to keep them safe. In stark contrast, Lorca was aloof with his crew at best, showed little regard for their personal safety, and was more or less using them for his own ends. Oh, and there's the little detail that Lorca was really his fascist Mirror-Universe counterpart, trying to get the Discovery crew to his own universe so he can stage a coup against the Emperor for not being evil enough, while Pike is the epitome of Starfleet's ideals and is a genuine Nice Guy (but Good Is Not Dumb, and he's certainly not happy about Starfleet using Section 31 to do dirty work across the galaxy).
- Star Trek: Strange New Worlds in many way bucks the trend and averts the trope. Pike shares many traits with Kirk (his chronological successor). He's affable, he's close to his crew, he's a moral man but also a bit of a womanizer who never settled down. He's not big on protocol. He's absolutely not above getting into a brawl. It's easy to see how Spock, who got along well with Pike, would get equally well with Kirk. This of course makes even more sense on a meta level: Pike being the captain from the original pilot episode of Star Trek is essentially the original draft of the character that would become Kirk - and Kirk is his Suspiciously Similar Substitute. Pike is also shown to share many traits with previous series protagonists. He's a fan of old objects, owning a 20th century TV, which recalls Picard's passion for archeology. He's a great cook who loves to make food for others, like Sisko. He watches black and white 60s science fiction, which parallels Tom Paris who enjoys the same. He rides horses like Kirk and Picard do. He even lives in a wooden home that would not look out of place next to Riker's home in Star Trek: Picard. All this serves to make Pike not a contrast to previous show, but more of a callback to all these characters, setting him up as almost a distillation of what is a Star Trek Captain. Which of course fits in with Strange New Worlds being intended as a series that goes back to the roots of original Trek.
- Super Sentai display this every so often, with crossover movies highlighting the differences:
- Sosuke, cheerful Idiot Hero is followed by Takeru, sour stoic, who is in turn followed by the optimistic Alata. The bombastic Captain Marvelous precedes Hiromu, the down-to-earth stoic who happens to have a traumatic fear to chickens, and only became a hero by accident, contrasting Daigo, Hot-Blooded Magnetic Hero, who also happens to be the Chosen One.
- Takaharu is yet another Hot-Blooded Idiot Hero whose team (and family) regularly call him out on his antics, whereas Yamato is calm Nice Guy and the Only Sane Man of his team, contrasting with Lucky, who is (very) passionate, like Keet version of Daigo, and also happens to add a Born Lucky streak.
- HBO's Watchmen TV series features a cast of legally sanctioned superheroes employed by a city police department, while the superheroes in the original graphic novel were vigilantes who operated outside the law; most of the superheroes in the original were also depicted as quixotic dreamers or deranged psychopaths who became superheroes for purely personal reasons, while the superheroes in the TV series are explicitly just police officers who wear masks to protect their identities. This is most obvious with the protagonist Angela Abar ("Sister Night"), who contrasts Dan Dreiberg ("Nite Owl"), arguably the closest thing that the original had to a protagonist; while Dan was a pudgy, lonely, bookish nerd from a wealthy family, Angela is a tough, streetwise detective, as well as a Happily Married working-class immigrant with two children.
