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Author: OmarKarindu

Aug 23rd 2012 at 7:03:27 PM

Anime and Manga
* In the anime version of ''[[YuGiOh Yu-Gi-Oh]]'', Yugi's AlterEgo is generally played as a noble hero; in the original manga, especially early on, he's somewhere between a HeroicSociopath and a barely-controllable SuperpoweredEvilSide.

Film
* In the film version of ''TheGrinchWhoStoleChristmas'', the title character gets a sympathetic backstory for his hatred of Christmas thanks to the feature-length film needing to indulge in a lot of AdaptationExpansion. Interestingly, his sympathetic backstory results in a bit of AdaptationalVillainy on the part of the Whos of Whoville.
* In ''[[Film/Daredevil Daredevil]]''. Elektra wants to avenge her father's death by killing Daredevil, whom she faslely believes to be his killer, ad the worst thing she does is to attack Daredevil under false pretenses. In the comics, she's a contract assassin driven by bitterness her father's death in a botched rescue attempt mounted by SWAT team who was once part of the evil ninja cult known as the Hand.
* In the second of the SamRaimi ''Spider-Man'' films, Doctor Octopus is rewritten a good man turned into a monster by an accident, and he earns redemption in the films' climax. The Green Goblin is less sympathetic, but gets a [[spoiler: dying]] moment of decency that would be utterly foreign to the comic-book version of NormanOsborn.
** The Sandman is similarly softened in the third film, but this may simply be an adaptation of his heroic, reformed characterization in the 1980s and 1990s.

WesternAnimation
* One of the specialties of ''BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' was lending depth to villain whose comics incarnations were essentially doing things ForTheEvulz. The Mad Hatter has no backstory in the comics, but was introduced in the series as a victim of LoveMakesYouEvil; minor gimmick crook Mister Freeze's sympathetic reimagining was so successful it was later [[CanonImmigrant imported into the comics]], albeit with DarkerAndEdgier elements.
* The 1990s ''Spider-Man'' animated series actually rewrote Kraven the Hunter and Calypso entirely, with both becoming ''heroes'' once Spider-Man resolved the issues with their PsychoSerum-derived powers. Similarly, minor villain the Spot was recast as a PunchClockVillain whose episode shows him going through a HeelFaceTurn after committing a few ill-advised bank robberies. The comics version, by contrast, is an unrepentant petty criminal with a sideline in contract killing.