The Big Bang creates the universe as we know it. The protons, neutrons, and electrons that will eventually compose Transformers are formed, ruining it forever.
Speaking of which, Hubworld recently revealed a new plot twist. While it was already implied that Megatron used to be an Autobot (or at the least a good guy), the idea of Optimus Prime being a Decepticon is already causing this reaction with fans.
Said fans must not have been paying attention to Transformers War For Cybertron, in the same continuity family, where it was outright stated that Optimus started on Megatron's side of the war, or the fact that Ratchet clearly points out that they were neither in the show itself.
In short, anything not G1. Such a pleasant fanbase. To some extent, internal strife is seen as part of the fun.
Even the almighty G1 falls prey to this, since there's fans of both the cartoon and comic continuities. Hell, to some people, the existence of the franchise in general; even before all the hate began.
They turned ourfavoriteanimatedshows into a live-action/CGI-animated movie?!? It's now Ruined FOREVER!!!
Static Shock and the "Hoop Squad". Were the super-powered basketball players absurdly dumb? Yes, of course they were. Did their appearance mark the show's all time lowest point? Almost unanimously. Was it one of the worst uses of guest-stars ever? Quite easily. Did the show actually get any worse after that? Not really.
As soon as it was announced, The Fairly OddParents's fandom was torn over whether or not Poof's birth was yet another shark to jump. Most believed that the show was Ruined FOREVER.
Then there's The Movie. Which is live-action, and involves a 23-year-old Timmy still in primary school with his fairy godparents with CG so bad that it will make the live action Yogi Bear movie look like something that came out of Pixar. What.
And now there's Sparky.
G.I. Joe seems to be undergoing its own version of this right now. While one of the smaller hardcore fanbases out there, the vast majority of said fanbase seems adamantly determined to apply this trope to the live-action movie. Primarily because it dares to suggest that GI Joe might not strictly be a Real American Hero.
More like, "The Baroness was only brainwashed? DEATH OF THE LINE!" Now, this was an actual out-of-left-field plotline in the original comic run, but she found she quite enjoyed being a bad girl and was already shacking up with Destro. So the real crux of many arguments falls to by turning her into a goodie it eliminated the excuse of the nostalgia filter hot-as-all-getout leatherclad Baroness in subsequent movies due to her normal personality being a delicate wallflower. Thankfully, it doesn't seem like that particular storyline will go anywhere since the movie flopped. Also, the final climatic underwater battle actually came off as less realistic than even the cartoon, which had a no-kill policy! It was just a poorly handled movie overall.
The Joes also had their fair share of wackjobs in the original, but the big anger over characterization is that they had an offensive as Michael Richards Hollywood Jive Negro as the sidekick, when the original had Roadblock, who still remains among one of the most positive portrayals of a black guy ever in a children's cartoon (not an easy shoe to fill), and also put Duke back into being a new recruit, despite all other characters being already active and accounted for. Many many problems with the movie come about because the director seems to have not done the research, even though he did, he just put too much Hollywood into the franchise. The running time doesn't leave much room to flesh out anybody either. The animated movie which aired on CN got a MUCH more positive reaction. (Aside from Cobra Commander's rant, which is strangely based upon the fact he used the word crap.)
The GI Joe Sigma 6 cartoon was under a considerable amount of flak by the fanbase as well, because of the use of a Japanese animation studio (GONZO). Comments such as "The Real American Hero shouldn't be an anime!!!" were common during its run.
To be honest, animation wasn't all that they used...The very worst elements of anime were in full effect. Its death was assured the moment it aired, as the target audience were NOT anime fans. (and to the anime fans it did attract, the toys were not up to snuff, as they are far more experienced with the high-quality static resin figures.)
Also, the first series was also done in Japan (by Toei Animation) as well.
The humorous "DETH OF TEH LINE!!1" originated from overreaction to changes in how the G.I. Joe franchise was being handled some time in 2005, is regularly used by some G.I. Joe online forums when some react negatively to new releases or change of plans. It's sort of the Joe equivalent of "RUINED FOREVER".
Strawberry Shortcake has been prone to this due to the uncertainty of the direction each of the master licensees want to take the franchise which has angered fans due to its frequent changes. When the 2003 version started, some (and I stress some) of the older fans felt that the franchise was doomed. And when the 2003 version was aged-up in 2007, there was trepidation from some (particularly, fans of Honey Pie Pony, who weren't pleased that she had retired to Ice Cream Island permanently, and even then the send-off was only mentioned in a chapter book and not on the TV series officially, and after that the existing fillies, Honey Pie and Ice Cream Island was never mentioned ever again, while others who disliked the Pie-Man voiced their dislikes in the franchise bringing him back). Then there's the 2009 series, which were widely decried by the educational TV connisseurs who're drawn to the series by the 2003 series being educationally wholesome as lacking in terms of educational content and emphasis on beauty over moral values, the transition to CGI, as well as being nothing more than a 30-minute toy commercial.
This, however, would be the exact opposite of "Ruined FOREVER!"
Until American Greetings' lawyers sent out that cease and desist letter. I recall there were a few people claiming that they will not buy gifts and greeting cards from that company ever again.
Another American Greetings franchise, The Care Bears, went through this and are going through this again. Some people decried the franchise as ruined forever when they redesigned the bears in 2005, and now they're going through another round of fire when plans leaked that they're going to revert back to the pre-2005 designs and fans aren't pleased.
An ironic form would be The Spectacular Spider Man, people were angry about the style, mainly the fans of the 90s show and comics, who thought the show would be kid-oriented, but after watching a few episodes, it became very well thought of by comic book fans, but some will still try to discredit the show.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles went a very specific instant of this. As soon as the 2003 animated series was released, fans of the '80s cartoon complained because it was so drastically different in tone to what they had watched 20 years prior (dark, stylish and character driven as opposed to outright cheesy, goofy and with little motive to enhance the plot beyond a single episode). Thus, complaints were made to bring back the ORIGINAL Turtles. The irony of this, is that the 2003 series was based on the original Mirage comics that started from 1984, as opposed to be much more lighthearted cartoon that first aired in 1987 and that one of the Turtles' co-creators (Peter Laird) was actually involved in the production of the 2003 series.
Of course, partly in response to this the series was retooled into TMNT Fast Forward where the Turtles are transported 150 years into the future; the series was dumbed-down and made more kid-friendly. The poor response to that change led to the following season (which turned out to be the final one) seeing the Turtles returned to the present-day, and darkened yet again.
Also, similar to the Disney/Marvel example above, Peter Laird selling the TMNT franchise to Nickelodeon.
Laird had his own "RUINED FOREVER!" moment, apparently, over the character of Venus de Milo in The Next Mutation. The moment he bought total control over the property, he ordered any and all mention of her in every other continuity of the media excised without in-story explanation, with the other characters seeming not to notice. The character was such a Berserk Button for him that anyone coming on board the creative staff was advised to never even say the name around Laird, even as a joke.
Michael Bay is going to be making a TMNT movie? Well, his Transformers movies were hit or miss, but he still did okay...the turtles are going to be aliens from space instead of normal turtles mutated by ooze? BAAAAAAAAY!!!
People are preaching this about Iron Man Armored Adventures solely because Tony is a teenager in this adaptation. Granted, perhaps they do remember the actual teen Tony from the comics...
Total Drama Island. Every single season after the first has been accused of this. To wit:
EVERY SINGLE EPISODE of The Simpsons has had this accusation hurled at it by one fan or another. Go back in time to the ancient days of usenet and you'll find post after post declaring each and every episode the "worst episode ever" (the phrase actually originated on a Simpsons forum) and destroyer of the franchise. This even applies to the very first episode, which some fans of the Ullman shorts hated. Today, no matter how good or bad an episode is, you can bet someone somewhere on the internet will make an overdramatic "this is the end of The Simpsons" post about it.
Other things which have ruined the Simpsons forever include: the movie, the Butterfinger commercials, the Coca Cola Super Bowl commercial, the Tik Tok music video in the opening, and anytime Matt Groening says anything to the press.
A reviewer at The AV Club opened one review with an essay about how the Frank Grimes episode, despite being a good episode, ruined the Simpsons forever.
A frequent complaint is that the "panda rape" episode ruined Homer forever (Homer put on a panda costume and was accosted by a smitten male panda ... which is nasty if you really think about it, but is also what happens to EVERY character who puts on an animal costume in a slapstick comedy and then encounters a real version of that type of animal). As if it somehow made Homer "dirty."
The Armin Tamzarian/Principal Skinner fiasco deserves special mention here. This is most frequently cited as the reason the "Golden Age" ended.
Funny enough, on the 500th episode, the crew actually appeals to the fans to, "get some fresh air before you go online and complain about how much this episode stinks", showing that they are aware of how divisive their show is.
Western Animation in general has always had someone declaring it Ruined Forever. Winsor Mc Kay declared it ruined forever when they started using cels, it was declared ruined forever when it moved from movie theaters to television (not entirely without reason though), and now with the advent of computer animation, crudely-drawn Thick-Line Animation and the influence of anime, it's once again considered ruined forever by many.
South Park is pretty much ruined forever in the eyes of the fans thanks to the episodes "You're Getting Old" and "Ass Burgers" because the idea of Stan Marsh becoming more depressed and cynical has been seen by disgruntled fans and ex-fans alike as Trey Parker and Matt Stone having raped the character and ruined what it means to be a child.
Vocal anti-furries sometimes complain about their entire childhood being ruined forever after seeing fan art of old cartoon characters, whether sexual or not. Sometimes non-fanart furry art still gets this reaction, possibly stemming from the idea that anthropomorphic animals should be limited to kid shows only.
Similarly, Loonatics Unleashed got and continues to get this reaction from fans of the classic Looney Tunes. Kind of stupid once you consider that the characters on this show are technically different from the ones in the original shorts.
The new pony reboot, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, had not gone beyond the first season before fans of the show (both fans of the older generations and just this one) started screaming ruined forever.
Haters of the show frequently have this reaction when ponies are added to things they enjoy watching or listening to (such as in the case of PMVs, or remade anime intros featuring ponies, etc.), especially on YouTube, surprise, surprise. Usually their argument for why the show is terrible and why they hate all the fans of it is that it's "ruining the Internet", or "ruining" the medium the ponies have been applied to, even though it was them who clicked the link and watched the ponified media in the first place. And yes, this does lead to many a Flame War.
Lauren Faust said that she's no longer working on the cartoon? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
Episode examples:
Episode 12, "Call of the Cutie", drew particular fire because it focuses on Apple Bloom, who had been a side-character up to that point. Some also were upset about sweet, kindly Chantal StrandPlaying Against Type as the Alpha Bitch Diamond Tiara.
Much of the hate seems to have stemmed from fears that the new series was starting to head the way the old one(s) did, with many episodes that revolve around a new (or bit-part) character who appears with a problem, has it solved, and then vanishes never to be seen (at least, outside the background) again. In fact, the episode served to introduce the Cutie Mark Crusaders Power Trio, who have since become a second set of main characters who are loved nearly as much as the first, and none of their subsequent focus episodes have drawn nearly as much ire.
Episode 23, "The Cutie Mark Chronicles": Rainbow Dash's first "Sonic Rainboom" is revealed to have led directly to all of the main characters earning their Cutie Marks, thus unknowingly ensuring that the future played out the way it did. That makes her too important/powerful/special, it's like those self-inserts in fan fiction.
Episode 26, "The Best Night Ever": Fluttershy, the shyest, quietest, KINDEST pony goes on a psychotic rampage? That's way out of character! What were they thinking?
It was clearly done Just for Fun, and up to that point everyone else in the cast had at least one trip over the comedic edge of sanity. And, really, it was hardly the first time Fluttershy got aggressive — it was just uncalled for in this case. In season 2, that theme came back as Fluttershy's self-help course in assertiveness sent her way overboard to angrily aggressive.
"Lesson Zero" got a lot of this. Within a half hour of the show being aired, there were people online saying the show had started "pandering" to the brony fanbase, and that the creators were "forced" to make episodes like this, with many even flocking to Lauren Faust's deviantART account to apologize for what the fans had done to her series.
To wit: Twilight slowly going crazy at the prospect of failing the princess, Rarity being a drama queen, Rainbow Dash wearing Cool Shades, and Big Macintosh saying "eeyup" and "nnnope" a lot. Cries of Flanderization ensued.
"The Cutie Pox" got labelled Ruined FOREVER because it had a minor Shout Out to The Big Lebowski (a decidedly un-kid appropriate movie), and because it showed Apple Bloom immediately developing Aesop Amnesia. Despite this being a basic character trait of the CMCs in all of their episodes. Then again, that trait wasn't very well liked, either.
Post-"A Canterlot Wedding", a portion of those whose headcanon insists on immortal god princesses with infinite power were mortified at how easy Celestia was taken down by what amounts to a fairy queen. Not to mention the very existence of Cadance, the Pretty Pink Princess of Babysitting.
"Keep Calm and Flutter On": THEY'RE TRYING TO REFORM DISCORD?!!
Hasbro turned Twilight Sparkle into an alicorn princess!? Just so they could sell a $50 toy!?! THAT'S IT I'M DONE!!!
Anthro fanart - despite the original characters technically being anthropomorphic, and them being in a cartoon where anthro characters belong - specifically art where a character is given more human-like characteristics than the actual show, brings about the "RUINED FOREVER!" cries. Many anti-furries in the fandom despise the mere knowledge of furry artists being fans of the show; this leads to the occasional flame war and "RUINED FOREVER" reaction.
The term "Bronies" and the fan name, DJ PON-3 (DJ Pon-three), being mentioned and canonized respectively in the Equestria Girls promo was met with concerns over fanservice getting out of hand.
The news of Derpy Hooves having planned appearances in season 2's episodes, rather than being a randomly thrown-in background character, led to some fans crying foul over the fanservice.
The store chain Hot Topic recently selling G4 T-shirts, due to the reputation of the store, and its average customers, current members of the fandom feel that the show and the fandom will be "RUINED FOREVER" by the publicity gained through that store.
Rule 34 art exists, but good luck finding a fan who will openly admit to enjoying them.
The flame war over Derpy's name and voice being changed in all further airings of "The Last Roundup" is a mix of They Changed It, Now It Sucks and this trope. Even when the Studio B staff said explicitly that it's not the end of her character as she was previously portrayed.
MLP canon that is not MLP fanon gets this reaction rather often. As an example, there was an entire Flame War because of Heartstrings' name was not one of the many names the bronies wanted Hasbro to pick.
Many, many fans cried foul upon learning that the Sequel Series to Avatar The Last Airbender would be called The Last Airbender: The Legend Of Korra. Partly because it's a mouthful, partly because it's an Artifact Title (there are now several Airbenders in the show), and partly because it brings up memories of the hated Live-Action Adaptation. Even among people who were looking forward to the series, not many were happy with the title. However, the show is now simply titled The Legend of Korra.
Futurama has been accused of both Jumping the Shark and being ruined forever ever since the fifth "season" (the four movies are counted as this) and the revival.
Ben 10 has a veritable amount of this, ranging from the Darker and Edgiersequelseries, handling of certain villains (Vilgax considered possibly the worst offender), and it seems to be starting again with the announcement for Ben 10 Omniverse, which sports a new visual style and gives a brand new redesign to teenage Ben. Announcement can be seen here.
Several Batman fans were appalled after seeing the initial designs and more light-hearted tone of Batman The Brave And The Bold. It's even lampshaded by Bat-Mite in the series finale.
Family Guy. About midway through the 7th season Brian began to become more preachy and more episodes began revolving around him and his political views. Other moments have gotten flak too (like the treatment of Meg), but Brian's soap box speeches have been the most consistently complained about and hated part of the show for the past few years.
Any time Beavis And Butt Head like a music video which they shouldn't, or dislike a video which they should. If they knock a Metal video of any sort (aside from Hair Metal or Nu Metal, of course) while finding enjoyment in the latest Hip Hop video that doesn't involve ballistic weapons, expect cries of Executive Meddling and/or Character Derailment by hardcore fans of the series.
Or the show's 2011 revival.
After Augenblick Studios was unable to work on more Superjail due to being busy with Ugly Americans, the animation production switched to Titmouse. The reactions from a number of fans could definitely be summed up with this.
The Teen Titans animated series had received cries of this for the show having an anime-esque style, being more light-hearted and idealistic compared to the comics it was based off of, and for not taking place in the DCAU.
Terra is one very polarizing example. In the comics, she was clearly a mole who didn't actually consider herself a Titan and LOATHED them, and was a chain-smoking bitter sociopath. The cartoon version was toned down significantly, causing some long-term comic fans to cry foul at the writers for ruining a classic story arc. The fact that Terra didn't die and was instead petrified, and possibly returned? Only increased the fury.
Depending on how fans felt about Terra, the series finale "Things Change" also earned a rather negative reception.
Then comes the reboot, Teen Titans GO!, in which it has a more cutesy and chibi-ish artstyle, and the characters act completely different (for instance, Raven is now a happy, cheery little girl who likes to play with My Little Pony toys).
Xiaolin Chronicles hasn't even aired yet, and it's already been getting this, due to character designs being different (Raimundo isn't as attractive, and Dojo is yellow instead of green), Jack Spicer being voiced by Tara Strong rather than Danny Cooksey, and the Showdowns being depicted in CGI rather than 2D animation.
