History DarkerAndEdgier / ComicBooks

** The shift also carried over to Batman's RoguesGallery, most notably the Joker, who had been written as a comical "Clown Prince of Crime", but now returned to his [[MonsterClown psychotic murderous]] roots.

* A 2004 ''{{Thundercats}}'' mini, ''Thundercats: The Return''. Lion-O gets trapped in the Book of Omens for five years, and when he gets out he finds the Thundercats beaten and enslaved by Mumm-Ra. Like Wilykit and Wilykat. Let's just say that puberty has been good to them, and that Mumm-Ra has the same tailor for his slaves as Jabba the Hutt. There is also implied rape of Cheetara by the Mutants.

* Much of Marvel's UltimateUniverse runs in this vein. A stunning amount of the process of its "updating" traditional Marvel characters for the modern era has involved inflating the sex and violence content (e.g. [[Comicbook/IncredibleHulk the Hulk]] isn't merely violent or even murderous, but is also [[ImAHumanitarian cannibalistic]]; Quicksilver isn't just [[BigBrotherInstinct very protective]] of his sister the ScarletWitch, but is in a [[BrotherSisterIncest sexual relationship]] with her; [[IronMan Tony Stark]] is a genius as expected -- due to a painful cancer-like affliction which has spread brain matter throughout his body and will soon kill him). "Updating" personalities means turning everyone into a complete and utter {{Jerkass}}. Comicbook/{{Spider-Man}} largely escaped, but Comicbook/{{the Avengers}} and Comicbook/{{X-Men}} were all turned into such vile bastards that... well... they wouldn't exactly look out of place on the new ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|Reimagined}}''. Oddly enough, IronMan is actually ''less'' of a dick in the Ultimate universe.

* Said Ultimate Universe spread to the 616-universe, as far as evil IronMan and Reed Richards and Cyclops expelling Xavier from the {{X-Men}} (even though Cyclops utterly bombed as Top Guy at the school as far as Xavier saving the X-Men's asses during the Messiah Complex X-Over) and starting his own murder squad, a move even ''{{Wolverine}}'' found distasteful and only agreed to lead to try and keep Scott from turning Wolfsbane, {{X-23}}, and Warpath into soulless murderers). Plus the whole "Spider-Man selling his soul" crap.

* Marvel as much as said at the time that the thinking behind [=USAgent=], War Machine, and Thunderstrike was to have Darker And Edgier versions of CaptainAmerica, IronMan, and TheMightyThor, without losing the originals. There's even a famous ''[[Comicbook/TheAvengers Avengers]]'' cover of the two versions facing off. Though created prior to the decade, they would see their heyday as {{Nineties Anti Hero}}es.

** IronMan -- War Machine -- Terror Device (High-tech armored Avenger with two attitudes and PlausibleDeniability)

* In comics, this move is most famous for {{Batman}}. After the end of the ''Series/{{Batman}}'' TV series, it became apparent the campy tone had burnt out, and DC realized a change was needed quickly. With Denny O'Neil's writing and predominantly Neal Adams' gothic and realistic art, Batman was made a darkly fearsome night stalker much like he was in the original stories before he was softened for kids. Later, in the mid-80s, FrankMiller's ''TheDarkKnightReturns'' overclocked this to dangerous levels. The pattern repeated itself with the movies. After the increasingly silly ''Film/BatmanForever'' and ''Film/BatmanAndRobin'' movies failed, DC [[ContinuityReboot started again from the beginning]] with the more serious ''[[TheDarkKnightSaga Batman Begins]]''.

* In comics, this move is most famous for {{Batman}}. After the end of the ''Series/{{Batman}}'' TV series, it became apparent the campy tone had burnt out, and DC realized a change was needed quickly. With Denny O'Neil's writing and predominantly Neal Adams' gothic and realistic art, Batman was made a darkly fearsome night stalker much like he was in the original stories before he was softened for kids. Later, in the mid-80s, FrankMiller's ''TheDarkKnightReturns'' overclocked this to dangerous levels. Also note that the pattern repeated itself with the movies. After the increasingly silly ''Film/BatmanForever'' and ''Film/BatmanAndRobin'' movies failed, DC [[ContinuityReboot started again from the beginning]] with the more serious ''[[TheDarkKnightSaga Batman Begins]]''.

** [[{{Knightfall}} Bat-Azrael]] was a darker, edgier, more brutish version of Batman, created to show what makes the true Batman ''not'' a vigilante. However, DC was totally ready to keep Azrael as Batman, if it sold well enough.

* Much of Marvel's UltimateUniverse runs in this vein. A stunning amount of the process of its "updating" traditional Marvel characters for the modern era has involved inflating the sex and violence content (e.g. [[Comicbook/IncredibleHulk the Hulk]] isn't merely violent or even murderous, but is also [[ImAHumanitarian cannibalistic]]; Quicksilver isn't just [[BigBrotherInstinct very protective]] of his sister the ScarletWitch, but is in a [[BrotherSisterIncest sexual relationship]] with her; [[IronMan Tony Stark]] is a genius as expected -- due to a painful cancer-like affliction which has spread brain matter throughout his body and will soon kill him). "Updating" personalities means turning pretty much everyone into a complete and utter {{Jerkass}}. Comicbook/{{Spider-Man}} largely escaped, but Comicbook/{{the Avengers}} and Comicbook/{{X-Men}} were all turned into such vile bastards that... well... they wouldn't exactly look out of place on the new ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|Reimagined}}''. Oddly enough, IronMan is actually ''less'' of a dick in the Ultimate universe.

* Said Ultimate Universe spread to the 616-universe, as far as evil IronMan and Reed Richards and Cyclops expelling Xavier from the {{X-Men}} (even though Cyclops utterly bombed as Top Guy at the school as far as Xavier saving the X-Men's asses during the Messiah Complex X-Over) and starting his own murder squad, a move even ''{{Wolverine}}'' found distasteful and only agreed to lead to try and keep Scott from turning Wolfsbane, {{X-23}}, and Warpath into soulless murderers). Not to mention the whole "Spider-Man selling his soul" crap.

* A 2004 ''{{Thundercats}}'' mini, ''Thundercats: The Return''. Lion-O gets trapped in the Book of Omens for five years, and when he gets out he finds the Thundercats beaten and enslaved by Mumm-Ra. Of particular note are Wilykit and Wilykat. Let's just say that puberty has been good to them, and that Mumm-Ra has the same tailor for his slaves as Jabba the Hutt. There is also implied rape of Cheetara by the Mutants.

* Parodied in issue #10 of the old ''WesternAnimation/ChipNDaleRescueRangers'' comic book. In it, the Rangers are brought to the set of a movie featuring a dark-and-gritty version of, of all things, a superhero squirrel puppet who originally appeared in a {{Sid And Marty Krofft|Productions}}-type children's show. The character's creator is shown working as the movie's creative consultant and is not at all happy with the way the movie portrays his creation.

** The above story wasn't even the ''only'' Archie comic to feature [[ImMelting face-melting action]]. From 1972 to 1974, Archie published a ''Comicbook/SabrinaTheTeenageWitch'' spinoff, ''Chilling Adventures in Sorcery as Told By Sabrina''. It had the odd combination of [[http://www.misterkitty.org/extras/stupidcovers/stupidcomics284.html straight-up horror stories]] with art in the familiar Archie house style. One story in particular stands out, featuring a boy who teases a stutterer at school. The kindly teacher happens to be a witch, and gives him an enchanted book that ''melts his face off'', and possibly kills him! The story probably violated several rules under the ComicsCode, but somehow gained the CCA seal of approval (perhaps because Archie pretty much ''ran'' the CCA?)

** The Superboy-Prime saga, which climaxed in ''InfiniteCrisis'', was followed by an even darker and edger storyline called ''FiftyTwo'', and also saw the relaunching of numerous series with a generally darker tone. A prime example is ''{{Checkmate}}''; issue #1 featured a team of superpowered spies infiltrating a Kobra base and leaving no survivors (with the BadAss heroine of the series, Sasha Bordeaux, shooting the Kobra BigBad dead, execution style). The series muted its violence considerably after the first half-dozen issues.

* ''{{The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen}}'' is a DarkerAndEdgier take on all Victorian literature, though [[TheStrangeCaseOfDoctorJekyllAndMrHyde said literature was]] [[{{Dracula}} hardly light and fluffy]] to [[TheWarOfTheWorlds begin]] with.

* ''Magazine/{{MAD}} Magazine'' did this to ''BringingUpFather'', a very old-school {{newspaper comic}} from the early 1900s about a [[AcceptableTargets Wacky Irish Immigrant]], Jiggs [[hottip:*:who got rich [[strike:[[FreshPrinceOfBelAir and moved to Bel Air]]. Think ''ComicStrip/LittleOrphanAnnie'' or ''The Katzenjammer Kids''. He is constantly [[DomesticAbuse abused]] by his wife, which is played for [[ValuesDissonance laughs]] in the original strip. In a rather dramatic ArtShift, the parody [[http://therainer.blogspot.com/2008_11_01_archive.html begins]] [[http://pics.livejournal.com/dr_hermes/pic/000e3gaw/s640x480 like this]] and ends like this: showing Jiggs [[http://tinyurl.com/6k46y6 in a pool of his own blood]] as his vicious wife looms in the doorway, rolling pin in hand. This ran in ''Mad'' #17, [[TheFifties 1954]].

* ''Magazine/{{MAD}} Magazine'' did this to ''BringingUpFather'', a very old-school {{newspaper comic}} from the early 1900s about a [[AcceptableTargets Wacky Irish Immigrant]], Jiggs.[[hottip:*:who got rich [[strike:[[FreshPrinceOfBelAir and moved to Bel Air]]]]. Think ''ComicStrip/LittleOrphanAnnie'' or ''The Katzenjammer Kids'']] He is constantly [[DomesticAbuse abused]] by his wife, which is played for [[ValuesDissonance laughs]] in the original strip. In a rather dramatic ArtShift, the parody [[http://therainer.blogspot.com/2008_11_01_archive.html begins]] [[http://pics.livejournal.com/dr_hermes/pic/000e3gaw/s640x480 like this]] and ends like this: showing Jiggs [[http://tinyurl.com/6k46y6 in a pool of his own blood]] as his vicious wife looms in the doorway, rolling pin in hand. This ran in ''Mad'' #17, [[TheFifties 1954]].

** AlanMoore, who helped begin the trend with ''{{Watchmen}}'', has shown some regrets over this. [[http://www.avclub.com/content/node/24222 "The apocalyptic bleakness of comics over the past 15 years sometimes seems odd to me, because it's like that was a bad mood that I was in 15 years ago."]]
* The ''{{Transformers}} Generation 2'' comic books, loosed from even the moderate ContractualImmortality restrictions they had been operating under before, promptly started massacring the cast. Issue #1 cover copy: "This is Not Your Father's Autobot." #2: "Fort Max Gets the Ax." #3: "Killing Frenzy." The characters would also kill without hesitation and use guns that weren't their signature weapons.

* DC's {{Vertigo|Comics}} imprint revolves around material intended for mature audiences. After the success of ''SwampThing'', ''Comicbook/DoomPatrol'', ''ComicBook/{{Hellblazer}}'', ''ShadeTheChangingMan'', and ''Comicbook/AnimalMan'', all of which starred fairly obscure characters from established DC canon, there were a few misfires - up to an including a brooding, psychological take on ''Brother Power, the Geek''. For the uninitiated, Brother Power is a human-sized hippie rag doll given life and super strength by magic sunshine who once ran for a U.S. congressional seat and was last seen orbiting the Earth. Someone tried to make ''that'' serious.

* ''Dare'', a 1991 take on Frank Hampson's iconic British 1950s space explorer Dan Dare. The 1991 version was written for Toxic magazine by Grant Morrison, and illustrated by Rian Hughes. Dare awakes in the 1990s to find that Britain has become a capitalist society, and that a thinly-disguised parody of Margaret Thatcher has sold Britain to the evil Mekon. During the course of the story all of the main characters are killed - Digby even has his arm blown off - and the final edition ends with Dare blowing up London with a nuclear bomb.

* DC's {{Vertigo|Comics}} imprint revolves around material intended for mature audiences. After the success of ''SwampThing'', ''DoomPatrol'', ''ComicBook/{{Hellblazer}}'', ''ShadeTheChangingMan'', and ''AnimalMan'', all of which starred fairly obscure characters from established DC canon, there were a few misfires - up to an including a brooding, psychological take on ''Brother Power, the Geek''. For the uninitiated, Brother Power is a human-sized hippie rag doll given life and super strength by magic sunshine who once ran for a U.S. congressional seat and was last seen orbiting the Earth. Someone tried to make ''that'' serious.
** Similarly, GrantMorrison himself tried to revive ''Kid Eternity'' in a darker and edgier fashion. Kid Eternity was a demi-angel who could summon the spirits of dead famous people. All told, it actually worked out surprisingly well; the miniseries sparked a (short-lived, but still) ongoing by Ann Nocenti, if that's any indication.

* ''LifeWithArchieTheMarriedLife'' is this to ArchieComics.

* In comics, this move is most famous for {{Batman}}. After the end of the ''Series/{{Batman}}'' TV series, it became apparent the campy tone had burnt out, and DC realized a change was needed quickly. With Denny O'Neil's writing and predominantly Neal Adams' gothic and realistic art, Batman was made a darkly fearsome night stalker much like he was in the original stories before he was softened for kids. Later, in the mid-80s, FrankMiller's ''TheDarkKnightReturns'' overclocked this to dangerous levels. Also note that the pattern repeated itself with the movies. After the increasingly silly ''BatmanForever'' and ''Film/BatmanAndRobin'' movies failed, DC [[ContinuityReboot started again from the beginning]] with the more serious ''[[TheDarkKnightSaga Batman Begins]]''.

** Even the [[Film/{{Batman}} first]] [[BatmanReturns two]] Batman movies with MichaelKeaton were intended to be darker-and-edgier versions of the Dark Knight than the campy AdamWest ''Series/{{Batman}}'' most people had grown up with, partly in an attempt to cash in on the popularity of ''TheDarkKnightReturns'' comic.

* In comics, this move is most famous for {{Batman}}. After the end of the ''Series/{{Batman}}'' TV series, it became apparent the campy tone had burnt out, and DC realized a change was needed quickly. With Denny O'Neil's writing and predominantly Neal Adams' gothic and realistic art, Batman was made a darkly fearsome night stalker much like he was in the original stories before he was softened for kids. Later, in the mid-80s, FrankMiller's ''TheDarkKnightReturns'' overclocked this to dangerous levels. Also note that the pattern repeated itself with the movies. After the increasingly silly ''BatmanForever'' and ''BatmanAndRobin'' movies failed, DC [[ContinuityReboot started again from the beginning]] with the more serious ''[[TheDarkKnightSaga Batman Begins]]''.

** While not generally darker and edgier as a whole, the {{TheNew52 DCnU}} titles are divided into groups, such as "Batman", "Superman", "Justice League", etc. Two of the groups are known as "The Dark" (supernatural titles) and "The Edge" (titles about anti-heroes).

* ''PaperinikNewAdventures'' is a rare case of this done '''well'''. Those stories are way darker than the ones on "Topolino"(the Italian magazine where are usuallu published): Paperinik stops fighting the [[HarmlessVillain Beagle Boys]] to defend the Earth from aliens, time travelers and crazy AIs, creating a [[OldHeroNewPals new roost]] of supporting cast and using weapons which are much more powerful. However, he remains a very optimistic hero, and the comic gives us several funny and heartwarming moments to balance the mood.

** The Superboy-Prime saga, which climaxed in ''InfiniteCrisis'', was followed by an even darker and edger storyline called ''FiftyTwo'', and also saw the relaunching of numerous series with a generally darker tone. A prime example is ''{{Checkmate}}''; issue 1 featured a team of superpowered spies infiltrating a Kobra base and leaving no survivors (with the BadAss heroine of the series, Sasha Bordeaux, shooting the Kobra BigBad dead, execution style). The series muted its violence considerably after the first half-dozen issues.

* The new Wolverine led {{X-Force}} team, now reborn as the X-Men "black ops" team. [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/7d/X-Force-1-cover.jpg Where everyone wears black leather and has red eyes, and there is much growling and slashing had by all]]. [[http://www.comicrelated.com/graphics/XForceCable_MessiahWar_Prologue_SecondPrinting.jpg I mean, look at them. LOOK AT THEM.]]

* DC's {{Vertigo|Comics}} imprint revolves around material intended for mature audiences. After the success of ''SwampThing'', ''DoomPatrol'', ''ComicBook/{{Hellblazer}}'', ''ShadeTheChangingMan'', and ''AnimalMan'', all of which starred fairly obscure characters from established DC canon, there were a few misfires - up to an including a brooding, psychological take on ''Brother Power, the Geek''. For the uninitiated, Brother Power is a human-sized hippie rag doll given life and super strength by magic sunshine who once ran for a US congressional seat and was last seen orbiting the Earth. Someone tried to make ''that'' serious.

* ComicBook/ArchieComicsSonicTheHedgehog seems to be becoming this, as Dr. Eggman very nearly killed off a Freedom Fighter (with a REAL machine gun turret.) if it weren't for Sonic going back in time 10 seconds and saving them, and almost all of the Freedom Fighters don't seem to be doing any better in the comic's latest issues.

* ''PaperinikNewAdventures'' is a rare case of this done '''well'''.Those stories are way darker than the ones on "Topolino"(the Italian magazine where are usuallu published):Paperinik stop fighting the [[HarmlessVillain Beagle Boys]] to defend the Earth from aliens,time travelers and crazy AIs,creating a [[OldHeroNewPals new roost]] of supporting cast and using weapons much more powerful.However,he remains a very optimistic hero,and the comic give us several funny and heartwarming moments to balance the mood.

* TheDCU's PostCrisis universe was so grim it supposedly drove the SilverAge-inspired Superboy-Prime crazy -- causing him to become a mass-murdering fanatic and perhaps the darkest and edgiest DC character of all time.

** The Superboy-Prime saga, which climaxed in ''InfiniteCrisis'', was followed an even darker and edger storyline called ''FiftyTwo'', and also saw the relaunching of numerous series with a generally darker tone. A prime example is ''{{Checkmate}}''; issue 1 featured a team of superpowered spies infiltrating a Kobra base and leaving no survivors (with the BadAss heroine of the series, Sasha Bordeaux, shooting the Kobra BigBad dead, execution style). The series muted its violence considerably after the first half-dozen issues.
** While not generally darker and edgier as a whole, the {{TheNewFiftyTwo DCnU}} titles are divided into groups, such as "Batman", "Superman", "Justice League", etc. Two of the groups are known as "The Dark" (supernatural titles) and "The Edge" (titles about anti-heroes).

** The whole "Professor X is no better than {{Magneto}}" creep from the Ultimate to the main universe that was exemplified by ''Deadly Genesis'' where it was [[RetCon revealed]] that Professor X led a team of X-Men to their deaths rescuing his original team from Krakoa and just mind-wiped everyone into forgetting that it happened and trying again with another new team. And that Professor X later realized that the Danger Room was becoming sentient but ignoring it leading to Danger being created years later.

* Much of Marvel's UltimateUniverse runs in this vein. A stunning amount of the process of its "updating" traditional Marvel characters for the modern era has involved inflating the sex and violence content (e.g. [[Comicbook/IncredibleHulk the Hulk]] isn't merely violent or even murderous, but also [[ImAHumanitarian cannibalistic]]; Quicksilver isn't just [[BigBrotherInstinct very protective]] of his sister the ScarletWitch, but is in a [[BrotherSisterIncest sexual relationship]] with her; [[IronMan Tony Stark]] is a genius as expected -- due to a painful cancer-like affliction which has spread brain matter throughout his body and will soon kill him). "Updating" personalities means turning pretty much everyone into a complete and utter {{Jerkass}}. Comicbook/{{Spider-Man}} largely escaped, but Comicbook/{{the Avengers}} and Comicbook/{{X-Men}} were all turned into such vile bastards that... well... they wouldn't exactly look out of place on the new ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|Reimagined}}''. Oddly enough, IronMan is actually ''less'' of a dick in the Ultimate universe.
** The biggest example of this in the UltimateUniverse is CaptainAmerica, who in the mainline universe is the embodiment of American ideals and values, including but not limited to equality, openness to political discourse, and dedication to international harmony. Ultimate Cap is a racist, sexist, hardliner who calls the French cowards, ''despite the fact that he fought alongside the Resistance in WWII''. His characterization is more of a {{Deconstruction}} of the original idea: a man who's been frozen in ice since the 1940s and yet ''has'' to be the quintessential American hero for today, despite ''being'' the hero of (and thus holding ideals from) yesterday.

* ''Magazine/{{MAD}} Magazine'' did this to ''BringingUpFather'', a very old-school {{newspaper comic}} from the early 1900s about a [[AcceptableTargets Wacky Irish Immigrant]], Jiggs.[[hottip:*:who got rich [[strike:[[FreshPrinceOfBelAir and moved to Bel Air]]]]. Think ''ComicStrip/LittleOrphanAnnie'' or ''The Katzenjammer Kids'']] He is constantly [[DomesticAbuse abused]] by his wife, which is played for [[ValuesDissonance laughs]] in the original strip. In a rather dramatic ArtShift, the parody [[http://therainer.blogspot.com/2008_11_01_archive.html begins]] [[http://pics.livejournal.com/dr_hermes/pic/000e3gaw/s640x480 like this]] and ends like this: showing Jiggs [[http://tinyurl.com/6k46y6 in a pool of his own blood]] as his vicious wife looms in the doorway, rolling pin in hand. This ran in Mad #17, [[TheFifties 1954]].

* Much of Marvel's UltimateUniverse runs in this vein. A stunning amount of the process of its "updating" traditional Marvel characters for the modern era has involved inflating the sex and violence content (e.g. [[Comicbook/IncredibleHulk the Hulk]] isn't merely violent or even murderous but [[ImAHumanitarian cannibalistic]]; Quicksilver isn't just [[BigBrotherInstinct very protective]] of his sister the ScarletWitch but in a [[BrotherSisterIncest sexual relationship]] with her; [[IronMan Tony Stark]] is a genius as expected -- due to a painful cancer-like affliction which has spread brain matter throughout his body and will soon kill him). "Updating" personalities means turning pretty much everyone into a complete and utter {{Jerkass}}. Comicbook/{{Spider-Man}} largely escaped, but Comicbook/{{the Avengers}} and Comicbook/{{X-Men}} were all turned into such vile bastards that... well... they wouldn't exactly look out of place on the new ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|Reimagined}}''. Oddly enough, IronMan is actually ''less'' of a dick in the Ultimate universe.

* ComicBook/ArchieComicsSonicTheHedgehog seems to be becoming this, as Dr. Eggman very nearly killed off a Freedom Fighter (with a REAL machine gun turret.) if it weren't for Sonic going back in time 10 seconds and saving them, and another Freedom Fighter doesn't seem to be doing any better in the comic's latest issue.

* ''LifeWithArchieTheMarriedLife'' is this to ArchieComics.

* ''ComicBook/ArchieComicsSonicTheHedgehog'' seems to be becoming this, as Dr. Eggman very nearly killed off a Freedom Fighter (with a REAL machine gun turret.) if it weren't for Sonic going back in time 10 seconds and saving them, and another Freedom Fighter doesn't seem to be doing any better in the comic's latest issue.

* ''Magazine/{{MAD}} Magazine'' did this to ''BringingUpFather'', a very old-school {{newspaper comic}} from the early 1900s about a [[AcceptableTargets Wacky Irish Immigrant]], Jiggs.[[hottip:*:who got rich [[strike:[[FreshPrinceOfBelAir and moved to Bel Air]]]]. Think ''LittleOrphanAnnie'' or ''The Katzenjammer Kids'']] He is constantly [[DomesticAbuse abused]] by his wife, which is played for [[ValuesDissonance laughs]] in the original strip. In a rather dramatic ArtShift, the parody [[http://therainer.blogspot.com/2008_11_01_archive.html begins]] [[http://pics.livejournal.com/dr_hermes/pic/000e3gaw/s640x480 like this]] and ends like this: showing Jiggs [[http://tinyurl.com/6k46y6 in a pool of his own blood]] as his vicious wife looms in the doorway, rolling pin in hand. This ran in Mad #17, [[TheFifties 1954]].