Hated characters from the who've subsequently been Rescued from the Scrappy Heap.
A No Recent Examples rule applies to this trope. Examples shouldn't be added for 9 months. This is measured from the point when the character was introduced or became hated.
The following have their own pages:
Other
- Transformers:
- In The Transformers (Marvel), Simon Furman rescues Grimlock from being a brute with no consistent characterization to a cunning if arrogant and temperamental warrior who cares just as deeply for his own troops as does Prime for all Autobots, and who only uses lines like "Me Grimlock" because he feels intellectuals don't get respected enough.
- The Transformers Megaseries: Spotlight did this for Wheelie, not only emphasizing his survival skills to a near-badass level (remember, the kid did used to live on a planet full of Sharkticons), but also provided a plausible reason for his constant rhyming.
- James Roberts included Drift in his ongoing series, severely downplaying his brooding faction-switching swordsman tendencies in favor of playing up his loyalty to the Circle Of Light and playing with his constant habit of delivering pseudo-philosophical speeches about war and morality by making him Rodimus's speechwriter. He also became a big-time Deadpan Snarker and Stepford Smiler.
- A weird case took place with Getaway. When introduced, he was a reasonably badass spy and escape artist who worked with Skids before. In the second "season", after Dark Cybertron, he became widely hated for creeping on and grooming Tailgate. At no point he become a better person, though; instead, Roberts made him even more of an asshole and unambiguously positioned him as a villain, and even the people who hated him became more willing to put up with his presence in the hope of something bad happening to him eventually.
- Sonic the Hedgehog (Archie Comics): Ian Flynn's run did this for a good number of characters. Some of these include turning Sonic's Evil Twin, err, Evil Sonic, into a more distinctive character named Scourge. He's also managed to do this for the almost universally despised Monkey Khan, turning him from an obnoxious Journey to the West parody into a more well rounded, sympathetic, and tragic character.
- Though his degree of success is debatable, he is also blatantly trying to do this to Princess Sally, subverting her Flawless Token status by having more moments she admits to making a mistake. The bad blood received from slapping Sonic and breaking up with him in public also seems attempted to be rectified, with a couple of conversations where she discusses the situation with another, blatantly ashamed and remorseful over how she acted. Many fans do tend to agree that the Continuity Reboot ended up making Sally much better, dumping the baggage the previous 250 issues gave her and made her a much more daring Action Girl than she was before.
- To a degree, Shadow the Hedgehog and Rouge the Bat. After their appearances for the Sonic Adventure 2 issue, they rarely appeared elsewhere and it seemed that Bollers and Penders had absolutely no idea what to do with them, relegating them to either background status or as villains. This was made even worse when there was no adaptation for Sonic Heroes, thus their more heroic natures couldn't be explored. It would take Ian's takeover to have them pull a Heel–Face Turn and later become the much beloved Team Dark.
- There's also Breezie the Hedgehog, turning her from a bland Jessica Rabbit-wanna-be robotic hedgehog from Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog into a powerful Expy of the Exiled from Continuity'd Mammoth Mogul
- King Sombra wasn't exactly the most well-received villain of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic back in Season 3's Crystal Empire due to being fairly one-dimensional. My Little Pony: FIENDship Is Magic giving him a legitimately tragic and well-written backstory to turn him into a Tragic Monster redeemed him in the eyes of many fans.
- The Jem and the Holograms (IDW) comic reboot did this to several Jem characters:
- Jetta was always the most controversial Misfit by far due to her attitude and because she was a Jerkass even towards even her bandmates. However, her comic incarnation is possibly even more popular than Roxy. Her ladette qualities and redesign make her quite appealing to fans. Her negative aspects are also heavily toned down.
- Rio has been toned down considerably. He isn't in love with Jem, is no longer a hypocritical asshole who rants about how he hates liars, no longer has an attitude, and isn't overly jealous towards Jerrica. This leaves him a much more likable character to fans.
- Kimber was often seen as annoying in the original show because she was the one with the catchphrase and she was the most immature member ofher band. She's still an immature Genki Girl but is less bratty than before and her peppiness comes off as more endearing. She also doesn't cheat on her lovers anymore; not that she Really Gets Around anymore (she's exclusively into her girlfriend Stormer). If anything, Kimber is now the most popular Hologram member.
- Aja and Shana weren't scrappies, but they weren't too well-liked as they were Out of Focus compared to Jerrica and Kimber. The comics gave them expanded roles and more personality.
- The comics give the terribly Out of Focus Raya some much needed spotlight, which has caused fans to like her for her sweetness and cute design.
- Rapture was a Flat Character in the original cartoon due to the fact the series was Cut Short in the season she was introduced in. Fans typically disliked her due to her being a con-artist with no real good points. The comic helped her image by giving her more characterization.
- Paperinika / Super Daisy, Daisy Duck's superhero alter-ego and Distaff Counterpart of Paperinik / Duck Avenger. While abandoned for years by Italian authors after a rather bizarre story, Brazilian authors made her pretty much The Ace who constantly one-upped and humiliated Paperinik. As Paperinik was introduced as Donald's chance to escape from his regular Butt-Monkey / Chew Toy status, these stories did not go over well with Italian fans. In Ultraheroes, Paperinika's no longer The Ace, and the two develop into a bickering but efficient Battle Couple with some ironic romantic tension (as they don't know they're already romantically involved in their civilian identities), which resonates much better with the fans.
