History AdaptationalVillainy / LiveActionFilms

* ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan2'':
** The {{Gender Flip}}ped character Dr. Kafka is an evil MadScientist, rather than a well-meaning psychologist who genuinely tries to treat her patients as in the comics.
** Harry Osborn is notably less sympathetic than he was in the comics, being [[spoiler: the BigBad of the film, and the Green Goblin that's responsible for Gwen Stacy's death, rather than his father. In the comics, Harry was genuinely upset by Gwen's death]].

* ''Film/TheBatman2022'' [[AdaptationAmalgamation takes some inspiration from]] ''ComicBook/BatmanEarthOne'' and ''VideoGame/BatmanTheTelltaleSeries'' with [[Characters/BatmanTheRiddler The Riddler]] being an AxCrazy MadBomber with somewhat loftier goals. As for [[spoiler: Thomas Wayne he turns out to have been an accessory to murder, though it appears that he was provoked to it and wasn't entirely knowing of the consequences]].

* ''Film/TheDarkKnightTrilogy'':
** ''Film/BatmanBegins'': Henri Ducard (Creator/LiamNeeson) proves himself a ruthless villain. In the comics, he's not really much more than a cynical French detective (whereas the movie leaves his nationality ambiguous). While the comic book Ducard is certainly an unsavory figure (in addition to being a MisanthropeSupreme, he's a sociopath who has no problem with shooting enemies InTheBack), he's far from being a supervillain and will even help Batman and Robin [[AloofAlly if he believes it is in his interest to do so]]. The film turns this character into a mass-murdering lunatic...although the plot eventually renders this forgivable by revealing that [[spoiler:"Henri Ducard" is nothing more than an alias for Ra's Al-Ghul, another comic book character who is portrayed more or less accurately]], and possibly with more sanity than he deserves, since the relatively-realistic setting cuts out Lazarus Pits.
** ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises'':
*** [[spoiler:In the comics, Ra's al Ghul's daughter Talia is a gray-shaded character constantly going between AntiHero and AntiVillain, and has sincere feelings for Batman. In the film, Talia is a flat-out villain with none of the moral conflicts she has in the comics, instead being just as much of a KnightTemplar as her father. Also, her feelings for Batman are revealed to have been all an act: she never loved him, she loved Bane.]]
*** Bane himself, possibly, depending on whether you think the version that occasionally verges on NobleDemon but doesn't care about anyone but himself is more or less evil than the nihilistic destroyer with the bomb who [[spoiler:serves the League of Shadows]].

* ''Franchise/DCExtendedUniverse'':
** In ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice'', Batman outright intends to kill Superman before he can even become a threat. In one of the movie's major influences, ''ComicBook/BatmanTheDarkKnightReturns'', Batman merely intends to beat Superman up, and other stories have Batman come up with non-lethal countermeasures in dealing with a rogue Superman. [[spoiler:The combination of Superman mentioning the name [[MeaningfulName "Martha"]], the subsequent PTSD episode when he recalls the death of his parents, and Lois explaining who Martha Kent is and [[IHaveYourWife what's going on]] is what snaps him out of his murderous rage.]]
** ''Film/SuicideSquad2016'':
*** Rick Flag undergo this, as in the comics, he is one of the more moral officials and members of the Squad. [[spoiler:In the film, he is willing to look the other way when he sees Waller gunning down her staff. ''Film/TheSuicideSquad'' amends this, as Rick is horrified upon discovering America's part in Project Starfish and immediately turns against Waller, refusing to be a blind puppet for the government.]]
*** Amanda Waller herself, in the comics she's a flawed and militant figure but she still does genuinely care about saving innocent lives and forming shady organizations like the Squad can be seen as an extreme case of GoodIsNotNice on her part. In the film, any affable traits Waller has are removed, her GeneralRipper traits are exaggerated, and she's willingly to personally gun down all her employees in cold blood so they don't see classified information. Waller only gets worse in ''Film/TheSuicideSquad'', as she's willingly to ensure that Bloodsport's teenager daughter goes to prison and dies just so he'll be more willing to go on the mission. [[spoiler:She's also okay with letting thousands of innocent lives in Corto Maltese be killed by Starro, and she attempts activate the squad's [[ExplosiveLeash explosive chips]] when they decide to disobey orders and [[BigDamnHeroes save the day]], only to be knocked unconscious by her staff, who are sick of her awfulness.]]
** ''Film/Aquaman2018'': In the comics, Black Manta's father was a boat captain who helped his son hunt for treasure, and who was accidentally killed by an enraged Aquaman. In the movie, he's instead introduced as a ruthless pirate and killer, and his death is arguably his own fault (as he ends up pinned underneath a torpedo after fighting Aquaman during a botched submarine hijacking).
** In ''Film/BirdsOfPrey2020'', Dinah Laurel Lance willingly works for AxCrazy {{sadist}} Black Mask at his club, something she would never do in the comics. She does a HeelFaceTurn to the side of good, though.
** ''Film/ZackSnydersJusticeLeague'': The Mother Boxes were simply a PlotDevice in [[Film/JusticeLeague2017 the 2017 theatrical cut]]. In this version of the film, they are revealed to be malevolent [[ArtifactOfDoom Artifacts of Doom]] more akin to [[EvilCounterpart Father Boxes]], as seen when they try to tempt Cyborg into joining Darkseid.
** ''Film/TheSuicideSquad'':
*** One of the new members of the team is T.D.K., who turns out to be [[spoiler:a loose adaptation of Arm-Fall-Off-Boy from the ''Comicbook/LegionOfSuperHeroes'']]. However, he appears to be AffablyEvil at worst, as despite being a convicted criminal, he is shown to be pretty friendly and polite.
*** [[spoiler:Peacemaker is still a vigilante like his comic counterpart, but this version of the character turns out to be TheMole for Amanda Waller and kills Rick Flag while acting on orders from Waller to destroy all evidence of America's involvement in Project Starfish.]]

* The comics version of Ezekiel Simms was marked out by his extreme selfishness in using his powers to benefit himself, and his terror of dying, but he was otherwise an AntiVillain at worst who still wanted to help people and tried to atone for his past misdeeds. In ''Film/MadameWeb2024'' he's still driven by selfishness and fear of death, but goes far further; [[spoiler:he murders Cassie's mother to gain the mysterious spider that gives him his powers]], spends the movie tracking down and trying to kill three innocent teenage girls and killing numerous cops and civilians along the way - all to avoid going back to "nothing" as he puts it.

* ''Film/SpiderMan3'': Comicbook/{{Venom}} (the Eddie Brock version) from the comics is an anti-hero, when not obsessed with killing Spider-Man. While using lethal force, Venom still had a sense of ethics, twisted admittedly, and did not want to harm innocents even when he had to. In this film, Eddie is a self-centered {{Jerkass}} who gloats, cheats his way to success and sleazily hits on any pretty woman he meets. He loses his job for far more legitimate reasons that previous incarnations; Spider-Man would unintentionally cause him trouble, while here Peter (under the influence of the symbiote) reveals he made a fake photograph of Spider-Man robbing a bank to get a desk job. Furthermore, in the original comics Eddie is at the church where he receives the symbiote to confess sins and pray for forgiveness as he decided to commit suicide before the symbiote merged with him. In the film, he's praying for Peter to be ''killed''.

* ''Film/XMenFilmSeries'' does this a lot.
** ''Film/XMenTheLastStand'': Psylocke, Quill, Spike, and Multiple Man are all associated with some branch of the ''Franchise/XMen'' franchise in the comics, but here, they all appear as members of Magneto's Brotherhood of Mutants.[[note]][[OlderThanTheyThink Although in]] ''ComicBook/UltimateXMen'', set in another continuity, [[OlderThanTheyThink Multiple Man was a member of the Brotherhood of Mutants]].[[/note]]
** ''Film/XMenOriginsWolverine'': Agent Zero was ''a lot'' closer to being an AntiHero in the comics, but his movie counterpart is a straight-up villain who is completely loyal to Colonel Stryker.
** ''Film/XMenFirstClass'': Angel Salvadore is a member of the X-Men and ComicBook/NewWarriors in the comics, but she is depicted as a [[FaceHeelTurn traitor and member of the Hellfire Club]]. Granted, she was briefly part of Xorneto's Brotherhood in the penultimate arc of ''ComicBook/NewXMen'', but there, she realized how insane Xorneto was and turned against him, whereas her film counterpart is unrepentant.
** While in the original comic book, Bolivar Trask wasn't a good guy by any means, he did eventually come to realise that mutants are not a threat to humanity and [[spoiler:even performs a HeroicSacrifice to stop the Sentinels]]. Neither of those happen in ''Film/XMenDaysOfFuturePast''.
** ''Film/XMenApocalypse'' sees Storm, Archangel, and Psylocke being among Apocalypse's Horsemen of their own free will. Even ''before'' meeting Apocalypse, Archangel is depicted as a very vicious and cruel young man. Pyslocke is just as cruel and AxCrazy judging by the climax, showing none of the compassion or nobility of her comic counterpart. Storm still retains her better qualities, but she also stands by as Apocalypse kills thousands of innocent people in front of her, something comic Storm would never do.
** The D'bari get in this ''Film/XMenDarkPhoenix''. In the comics, they're an innocent alien race that are decimated when Jean Grey destroys their solar system as [[SuperpoweredEvilSide Dark Phoenix]] during the ''ComicBook/TheDarkPhoenixSaga''. In the film, the D'bari are [[AliensAreBastards tyrannical alien assholes]] who try to temp Jean into destroying the Earth and serve as the antagonists in the latter half of the film. This is likely as a result of the filmmakers [[CompositeCharacter compositing]] the D'bari with the Skrulls, whom Fox didn't have the rights to.
*** Vuk, the D'bari leader, did actually do some evil in the comics, but instead through desperation, as his debut appearance saw him turn the Avengers to stone because ComicBook/SubMariner promised to help fix his ship if he did that, undoing their [[TakenForGranite petrification]] when Captain America convinced him the Avengers could help repair his ship instead, and becoming the LastOfHisKind when Dark Phoenix decimated his species later on, giving him understandable reasons to go after her. In the film, the [[GenderFlip gender-flipped]] Vuk manipulates Jean into becoming destructive, filling the role the Hellfire Club had in the original story.
** In the comics, [[spoiler:Dr. Celia Reyes is an ally to the X-Men and an ActualPacifist who rejects Xavier's offer to join the team because she wants save lives in a hospital like a real hero]]. In ''Film/TheNewMutants'', [[spoiler:she is turned into a manipulative MadScientist who's willing to kill a teenage girl. This, coupled with a RaceLift, renders her practically unrecognizable]].

* ''Film/{{Barbie|2023}}'': [[spoiler:Ken similar to ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3'' is a much more flawed and antagonistic character than the NiceGuy {{Hunk}} LoveInterest he usually is in the toy line and other media. Existing as little more than an accessory to Barbie whom wants to be independent and not his girlfriend eventually [[{{Yandere}} drives Ken over the edge]] and he introduces RatedMForManly patriarchy into Barbieland becoming the antagonist for the latter half of the movie. Ken does however eventually have a JerkassRealisation at the end and accept he and Barbie need true interdependence from each other.]]

* ''Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey'': In the book ''Literature/TheSpaceOdysseySeries'' by Creator/ArthurCClarke, HAL-9000 is a beautifully-defined and deeply sympathetic character who is so human that he develops a psychosis, and his reasons for why he takes the actions he does are completely explained. [[spoiler: The instructions that he was given from the White House to conceal the monolith clashed with his basic programming not to conceal information from the crew. HAL was working on a non-murderous solution to the problem, but overheard plans from MissionControl to temporarily disconnect him. HAL didn't understand the concept of sleep and thought that this would kill him, so he panicked.]] [[Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey The movie]], deprived of the ability to use a narrative voice to make this clear, makes HAL seem far more monstrous than the original intent, and sadly the film is often cited as an example of AIIsACrapshoot. The movie of ''Film/TwoThousandTenTheYearWeMakeContact'' sticks more closely to the book and redeems HAL, but it's often regarded as a very poor relation to the original movie.

* ''Film/TheDeep'': Coffin is only a BitchInSheepsClothing in the film. In the book he is a dependable ally with fatherly feelings toward Treece.

* The comics version of Ezekiel Simms was marked out by his extreme selfishness in using his powers to benefit himself, and his terror of dying, but he was otherwise an AntiVillain at worst who still wanted to help people and tried to atone for his past misdeeds. Never truly good but never evil either, he would eventually recant on having Peter sacrificed in his place, saving his life. In ''Film/MadameWeb2024'' he's still driven by selfishness and fear of death, but goes far further; [[spoiler:he murders Cassie's mother to gain the mysterious spider that gives him his powers]], spends the movie tracking down and trying to kill three innocent teenage girls and killing numerous cops and civilians along the way - all to avoid going back to "nothing" as he puts it.

* The comics version of Ezekiel Simms was marked out by his extreme selfishness in using his powers to benefit himself, and his terror of dying. Never truly good but never evil either, he would eventually recant on having Peter sacrificed in his place, saving his life. In ''Film/MadameWeb2024'' he's still driven by selfishness and fear of death, but goes far further; [[spoiler:he murders Cassie's mother to gain the mysterious spider that gives him his powers]], spends the movie tracking down and trying to kill three innocent teenage girls and killing numerous cops and civilians along the way - all to avoid going back to "nothing" as he puts it.

** In [[Literature/JurassicPark the book]], Donald Gennaro the lawyer, while a bit of a {{Jerkass}}, is reasonably brave; he volunteers for several dangerous missions, he goes on to punch out a ''Velociraptor'' at one point, becomes TheLancer to Alan Grant (and survives). In ''Film/JurassicPark1993'', Gennaro is a DirtyCoward who abandons any concerns about the park's safety and readiness once he realizes how lucrative it could be and gets bitten in half by a T-Rex while sitting on a toilet. The movie version of Gennaro inherited all his worst traits (including his depraved cowardice and his violent death) from the character Ed Regis, who appeared in the novel but not the movie. So he's actually a twofer--Adaptational Villainy combined with CompositeCharacter.

** From the same movie Percy Weasley is shown as a Ministry enforcer arresting Harry without explanation with even Harry uttering “Percy?” in confusion while being held by him during the scene in Dumbledore’s Office. In the book it’s detailed Percy had a massive falling out with his father and became estranged with his family due loyalty to the Ministry who wanted to silence Harry. However since that subplot was omitted from the film it seems like Percy just pulled a FaceHeelTurn against his allies for no good reason.

** Minor character Scabior one of the Snatchers who capture Harry, Ron and Hermione gets a good deal of this. In the ''Deathly Hallows'' book he was pretty much the TokenGoodTeammate of the Snatchers and an example of EvenEvilHasStandards, he even offers genuine sympathy to Harry when he pretends be a Muggle born Slytherin. In the film however he’s an overtly sinister leering creep who has multiple IHaveYouNowMyPretty moments with Hermione. This likely due to the filmmakers taking Fenrir Greyback’s personality (right down to the sexual predator vibes in regards to Hermione) as well his role among the Snatchers and giving it to Scabior.

** From the same movie Percy Weasley is shown as a Ministry enforcer arresting Harry without explanation with even Harry uttering “Percy?” in confusion while being held by him during the scene in Dumbledore’s Office. In the book it’s detailed Percy had a massive falling out with his father and became estranged with his family due loyalty to the Ministry whom wanted to silence Harry. However since that subplot was omitted from the film it seems like Percy just pulled a FaceHeelTurn against his allies for no good reason.

* In ''The Kingdom of Crooked Mirrors'' by Vitaly Gubarev, Anidag is a cruel and scheming RichBitch, but she does genuinely love her father. In the film adaptation, even that sympathetic trait is gone and she plots to poison him so that he wouldn't hinder her rise to power.

* ''Film/BloodAndChocolate2007'' villainizes several characters from [[Literature/BloodAndChocolate the book]].

* ''Film/{{Tekken}}'':

* While they didn't become villains of their own free will, in ''[[Film/TheThing1982 The Thing]]'' [[spoiler:Bennings and Norris]] are absorbed by the title creature and become alien agents. In "[[Literature/WhoGoesThere Who Goes There?]]", the original short story, these two characters were never assimilated and remain human throughout the story. [[spoiler: In particular, the scene where Thing!Norris kills Dr. Copper is absent, and Copper survives, too, Norris in particular remaining a useful ally in exposing and defeating the alien. While Bennings's fate is a little more ambiguous, he isn't listed by Copper at the end as one of the casualties, heavily suggesting he survived.]]

* ''Film/{{Barbie}}'': [[spoiler:Ken similar to ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3'' is a much more flawed and antagonistic character than the NiceGuy {{Hunk}} LoveInterest he usually is in the toy line and other media. Existing as little more than an accessory to Barbie whom wants to be independent and not his girlfriend eventually [[{{Yandere}} drives Ken over the edge]] and he introduces RatedMForManly patriarchy into Barbieland becoming the antagonist for the latter half of the movie. Ken does however eventually have a JerkassRealisation at the end and accept he and Barbie need true interdependence from each other.]]

* ''Film/{{Barbie}}'': [[spoiler:Ken similar to ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3'' is a much more flawed and antagonistic character than the NiceGuy {{Hunk}} LoveInterest he usually is in the toy line and other media. Existing as little more than an accessory to Barbie whom wants to be independent and not his girlfriend eventually [[{{Yandere}} drives Ken over the edge]] and he introduces RatedMForManly patriarchy into Barbieworld becoming the antagonist for the latter half of the movie. Ken does however eventually have a JerkassRealisation at the end and accept he and Barbie need true interdependence from each other.]]

* ''Film/{{Hairspray}}'': While [[StageMom Velma Von Tussle]] is the villain in all versions, she is portrayed as a considerably darker character in the 2007 film, which shows her rigging the Miss Hairspray pageant, attempting to seduce [[BumblingDad Wilbur]], and even implying she may have murdered her husband for startup money ("He... accidentally suffocated himself"), none of which she did in the original stage musical or the original film. This is also apparent in her ultimate fate in each version: in the 2007 remake, she is [[LaserGuidedKarma taken down]] by Wilbur and Edna in an EngineeredPublicConfession, while in the show she does a last-minute HeelFaceTurn due to ThePowerOfRock (the original movie, for the record, ended with her and her husband arrested for trying to bomb Tracy with an explosive hidden inside a wig).

** Mai gets this along with AdaptationalBadass. In [[Manga/DragonBall the source material]], she's a fairly HarmlessVillain, just like her pathetic boss Emperor Pilaf, and she's terrified of actually evil characters like King Piccolo. In ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'', Mai actually [[HeelFaceTurn heel-turns to good]] and becomes Trunks' love interest. In the film, Mai is a ruthless DarkChick loyal to Piccolo who's willing to shoot a cowering mother and child and doesn't show any good qualities like her manga and anime version.