History DarkerAndEdgier / TheDCU

* The Post-Crisis universe could get pretty grim (especially when ''Creator/DanDiDio'' was the editor in chief), what with the Multiverse dying, the original ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} and ComicBook/TheFlash Barry Allen dying, [[ComicBook/BatmanADeathInTheFamily Jason Todd being bludgeoned and left to die in an explosion]], [[ComicBook/TheKillingJoke Barbara Gordon getting shot through her spine by the Joker and paralyzed]], [[ComicBook/TheDeathOfSuperman Superman dying]], [[ComicBook/{{Knightfall}} Batman getting his back broken]], [[ComicBook/EmeraldTwilight Hal Jordan becoming evil courtesy of Parallax]], Aquaman getting maimed by losing a hand in Peter David's ComicBook/Aquaman1994 run... it drove Bronze Age character ''[[Characters/SupermanSuperboyPrime Superboy-Prime]]'' crazy -- causing him to become a mass murderer in ''ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis''. Superboy-Prime going mad was followed by an even darker storyline called ''ComicBook/FiftyTwo'', and also saw the relaunching of numerous series with a generally darker tone. A prime example is ''ComicBook/{{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 Post-Crisis universe could get pretty grim (especially when ''Creator/DanDiDio'' was the editor in chief), what with the Multiverse dying, the original ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} and ComicBook/TheFlash Barry Allen dying, [[ComicBook/BatmanADeathInTheFamily Jason Todd being bludgeoned and left to die in an explosion]], [[ComicBook/TheKillingJoke Barbara Gordon getting shot through her spine by the Joker and paralyzed]], [[ComicBook/TheDeathOfSuperman Superman dying]], [[ComicBook/{{Knightfall}} Batman getting his back broken]], [[ComicBook/EmeraldTwilight Hal Jordan becoming evil courtesy of Parallax]], Aquaman getting maimed by losing a hand in Peter David's run... it drove Bronze Age character ''[[Characters/SupermanSuperboyPrime Superboy-Prime]]'' crazy -- causing him to become a mass murderer in ''ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis''. Superboy-Prime going mad was followed by an even darker storyline called ''ComicBook/FiftyTwo'', and also saw the relaunching of numerous series with a generally darker tone. A prime example is ''ComicBook/{{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.

** Grant Morrison's ''ComicBook/KidEternity'' is a particularly archetypal example: Kid Eternity was originally a boy who died with his grandpa due to a clerical error in Heaven and was brought back to life with the power to summon any figure from history to help him. Morrison's version reveals that [[spoiler:his "grandpa" was an unrelated pedophile he was caught up with, the entire "clerical error in Heaven" story was a fabricated scenario created by cosmic beings of Chaos so they could use the Kid as a pawn against cosmic beings of Order, and the "figures from history" were actually demons from hell that could shapeshift into whatever the Kid wanted]].

*** Blue Beetle was originally a fun book that didn't take itself too seriously -- for example, the scarab was played as a HeroicComedicSociopath. In the ComicBook/New52, it was initially just [[SociopathicHero a sociopath]], and Jaime couldn't rein it in as much as he used to at first.

* Even though ''ComicBook/BillyBatsonAndTheMagicOfShazam'' was generally an all-ages, LighterAndSofter take on Captain Marvel and the Marvel Family, its version of Freddy Freeman was darker than any other continuity's. Instead of suffering from partial paralysis, he's a complete paraplegic; and since Freddy's spine was broken by a building that Captain Marvel imploded, he hates Billy and Mary, and blames them for his injuries. This is a far cry from the original Freddy, whose spine was broken by Captain Nazi, who idolized Captain Marvel for saving his life, and who generally managed to have a fairly upbeat attitude despite his troubles.

*** A literal version shows in ''ComicBook/TeenTitans'', with the character Solstice. Prior to the New 52, she was a cheerful girl with [[LightEmUp light powers]]. Afterwards, she had a permanently inhuman appearance and [[CastingAShadow shadow powers]]. In addition, [[spoiler:Kid Flash has become a murderous rebel leader from the future, Raven is secretly working for her demon father, ComicBook/WonderGirl is now a thief who gets her powers from an ArtifactOfDoom, and Superboy is the clone of Superman and Lois Lane's evil son from the future -- though in his own series, the latter became very much a traditional hero]].
*** [[ComicBook/{{Shazam}} Billy Batson]] became a cynical little brat with trust issues from losing his parents. While he has still shown a [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold hidden heart of gold]] and ultimately comes around to being closer to the amiable and idealistic hero he's traditionally depicted as, it's still jarring for readers used to seeing him as more of TheCape than Superman.

** Grant Morrison's ''Kid Eternity'' is a particularly archetypal example: Kid Eternity was originally a boy who died with his grandpa due to a clerical error in Heaven and was brought back to life with the power to summon any figure from history to help him. Morrison's version reveals that [[spoiler:his "grandpa" was an unrelated pedophile he was caught up with, the entire "clerical error in Heaven" story was a fabricated scenario created by cosmic beings of Chaos so they could use the Kid as a pawn against cosmic beings of Order, and the "figures from history" were actually demons from hell that could shapeshift into whatever the Kid wanted]].

* The Post-Crisis universe could get pretty grim (especially when ''Creator/DanDiDio'' was the editor in chief), what with the Multiverse dying, the original ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} and ComicBook/TheFlash Barry Allen dying, [[ComicBook/BatmanADeathInTheFamily Jason Todd being bludgeoned and left to die in an explosion]], [[ComicBook/TheKillingJoke Barbara Gordon getting shot through her spine by the Joker and paralyzed]], [[ComicBook/TheDeathOfSuperman Superman dying]], [[ComicBook/{{Knightfall}} Batman getting his back broken]], [[ComicBook/EmeraldTwilight Hal Jordan becoming evil courtesy of Parallax]], Aquaman getting maimed... it drove Bronze Age character ''[[Characters/SupermanSuperboyPrime Superboy-Prime]]'' crazy -- causing him to become a mass murderer in ''ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis''. Superboy-Prime going mad was followed by an even darker storyline called ''ComicBook/FiftyTwo'', and also saw the relaunching of numerous series with a generally darker tone. A prime example is ''ComicBook/{{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 Post-Crisis universe could get pretty grim (especially when ''Creator/DanDiDio'' was the editor in chief), what with the Multiverse dying, the original ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} and ComicBook/TheFlash Barry Allen dying, [[ComicBook/ADeathInTheFamily Jason Todd being bludgeoned and left to die in an explosion]], [[ComicBook/TheKillingJoke Barbara Gordon getting shot through her spine by the Joker and paralyzed]], [[ComicBook/TheDeathOfSuperman Superman dying]], [[ComicBook/{{Knightfall}} Batman getting his back broken]], [[ComicBook/EmeraldTwilight Hal Jordan becoming evil courtesy of Parallax]], Aquaman getting maimed... it drove Bronze Age character ''[[Characters/SupermanSuperboyPrime Superboy-Prime]]'' crazy -- causing him to become a mass murderer in ''ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis''. Superboy-Prime going mad was followed by an even darker storyline called ''ComicBook/FiftyTwo'', and also saw the relaunching of numerous series with a generally darker tone. A prime example is ''ComicBook/{{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 Post-Crisis universe could get pretty grim (especially when ''Creator/DanDiDio'' was the editor in chief), what with the Multiverse dying, the original ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} and ComicBook/TheFlash Barry Allen dying, [[ComicBook/ADeathInTheFamily Jason Todd being bludgeoned and left to die in an explosion]], [[ComicBook/TheKillingJoke Barbara Gordon getting shot through her spine by the Joker and paralyzed]], [[ComicBook/TheDeathOfSuperman Superman dying]], [[ComicBook/{{Knightfall Batman getting his back broken]], [[ComicBook/EmeraldTwilight Hal Jordan becoming evil courtesy of Parallax]], Aquaman getting maimed... it drove Bronze Age character ''[[Characters/SupermanSuperboyPrime Superboy-Prime]]'' crazy -- causing him to become a mass murderer in ''ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis''. Superboy-Prime going mad was followed by an even darker storyline called ''ComicBook/FiftyTwo'', and also saw the relaunching of numerous series with a generally darker tone. A prime example is ''ComicBook/{{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 Post-Crisis universe could get pretty grim (especially when ''Creator/DanDiDio'' was the editor in chief), what with the Multiverse dying, the original ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} and ComicBook/TheFlash Barry Allen dying, Jason Todd being bludgeoned to death, Barbara Gordon getting shot through her spine by the Joker and paralyzed, Superman dying, Batman getting his back broken, Hal Jordan becoming evil courtesy of Parallax, Aquaman getting maimed... it drove Bronze Age character ''[[Characters/SupermanSuperboyPrime Superboy-Prime]]'' crazy -- causing him to become a mass murderer in ''ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis''. Superboy-Prime going mad was followed by an even darker storyline called ''ComicBook/FiftyTwo'', and also saw the relaunching of numerous series with a generally darker tone. A prime example is ''ComicBook/{{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.

*** A literal version shows in ''Franchise/TeenTitans'', with the character Solstice. Prior to the New 52, she was a cheerful girl with [[LightEmUp light powers]]. Afterwards, she had a permanently inhuman appearance and [[CastingAShadow shadow powers]]. In addition, [[spoiler:Kid Flash has become a murderous rebel leader from the future, Raven is secretly working for her demon father, ComicBook/WonderGirl is now a thief who gets her powers from an ArtifactOfDoom, and Superboy is the clone of Superman and Lois Lane's evil son from the future -- though in his own series, the latter became very much a traditional hero]].

*** The first ''Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica'' title simply called ''Justice League'' was the book that kicked off the ''ComicBook/JusticeLeagueInternational'' era, which (while having darker moments) is best remembered as a comedy in its early days. ''ComicBook/JusticeLeague2011'', which kicked off the New 52 ear, opened with a darker depiction of ComicBook/{{Cyborg}}'s origin, several cases of AdaptationalJerkass, and Darkseid suffering EyeScream.

*** [[ComicBook/{{Shazam}} Billy Batson]] became a little brat from losing his parents. While he has still shown a [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold hidden heart of gold]], it's still jarring for readers used to seeing him as more of TheCape than Superman.

* The Post-Crisis universe could get pretty grim (especially when ''Creator/DanDiDio'' was the editor in chief), what with the Multiverse dying, the original ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} and ComicBook/TheFlash Barry Allen dying, Jason Todd being bludgeoned to death, Barbara Gordon getting shot through her spine by the Joker and paralyzed, Superman dying, Batman getting his back broken, Hal Jordan becoming evil courtesy of Parallax, Aquaman getting maimed... it drove Bronze Age character ComicBook/SuperboyPrime crazy -- causing him to become a mass murderer in ''ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis''. Superboy-Prime going mad was followed by an even darker storyline called ''ComicBook/FiftyTwo'', and also saw the relaunching of numerous series with a generally darker tone. A prime example is ''ComicBook/{{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 2003 series ''H-E-R-O'' is considerably darker in tone than the original 1960s series with Robby Reed as the bearer of the dial and the 1980s retool with Christopher King and Vicki Grant each possessing their own dial. The first arc focuses on a bearer of the dial who suffers from suicidal depression that worsens from his failures at using the dial's transformations to make something of himself by fighting crime, some of the people shown using the dial aren't so noble or scrupulous and the narrative culminates with Robby Reed, who has been in prison since he last used the dial, desperately trying to team up with other users of the dial to stop the bloodshed that results from a violent maniac obtaining the dial.

** The 2003 series ''H-E-R-O'' is considerably darker in tone than the original 1960s series with Robby Reed as the bearer of the dial and the 1980s retool with Christopher King and Vicki Grant each possessing their own dial. The first arc focuses on a bearer of the dial who suffers from suicidal depression that worsens from his failures at using the dial's transformations to make something of himself by fighting crime, some of the people shown using the dial aren't so noble or scrupulous and the narrative culminates with Robby Reed, who has been in prison since he last used the dial, desperately trying to team up with other users of the dial to stop the bloodshed that will result from a violent maniac obtaining the dial.

* ''ComicBook/DialHForHero'': The 2003 series ''H-E-R-O'' is considerably darker in tone than the original 1960s series with Robby Reed as the bearer of the dial and the 1980s retool with Christopher King and Vicki Grant each possessing their own dial. The first arc focuses on a bearer of the dial who suffers from suicidal depression that worsens from his failures at using the dial's transformations to make something of himself by fighting crime, some of the people shown using the dial aren't so noble or scrupulous and the narrative culminates with Robby Reed, who has been in prison since he last used the dial, desperately trying to team up with other users of the dial to stop the bloodshed that will result from a violent maniac obtaining the dial.

* ''ComicBook/DialHForHero'': The 2003 series ''H-E-R-O'' is considerably darker in tone than the original 1960s series with Robby Reed as the bearer of the dial and the 1980s retool with Christopher King and Vicki Grant each possessing their own dial. The first arc focuses on a bearer of the dial who suffers from suicidal depression that worsens from his failures at using the dial's transformations to make something of himself by fighting crime and the narrative culminates with Robby Reed, who has been in prison since he last used the dial, desperately trying to team up with other users of the dial to stop the bloodshed that will result from a violent maniac obtaining the dial.

* The Revolutionary War hero ComicBook/{{Tomahawk}} received a pretty good Vertigo reimagining in ''Vertigo Visions: Tomahawk''.

** The ''ComicBook/New52'' reboot saw this taken UpToEleven. Heroes got newer costumes that were more armoured and 'cinematic', as well as grimmer, more dour personalities. Fun elements like the Flash Family or Justice Society of America were ExiledFromContinuity and certain LegacyCharacter heroes were reverted to their Silver Age selves, who were written as much more serious and grim figures. Heroes also lost their marriages and had their romantic histories erased, as it was believed that "heroes are too damaged to get married". This goes further in some books than others.

* ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'':
** In 1959's ''ComicBook/TheSupergirlFromKrypton'', ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} lands on Earth and is found by her cousin who sees that she is being taken care of (even if his methods are questionable). In contrast, Kara Zor-El's 2004 ''ComicBook/TheSupergirlFromKrypton2004'' origin involves kryptonite meteors, fanservice, a paranoiac Batman and Darkseid kidnapping her and brainwashing her. On the plus side, Superman immediately wanted to take his cousin in and introduce her to Lois.

* The Post-Crisis universe got so grim, what with the Multiverse dying, the original ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} and ComicBook/TheFlash Barry Allen dying, Jason Todd being bludgeoned to death, Barbara Gordon getting shot through her spine by the Joker and paralyzed, Superman dying, Batman getting his back broken, Hal Jordan becoming evil courtesy of Parallax, Aquaman getting maimed... it drove Bronze Age character ComicBook/SuperboyPrime crazy -- causing him to become a mass murderer in ''ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis''. Superboy-Prime going mad was followed by an even darker storyline called ''ComicBook/FiftyTwo'', and also saw the relaunching of numerous series with a generally darker tone. A prime example is ''ComicBook/{{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.

* DC's Post-Crisis universe got so grim, what with the Multiverse dying, Jason Todd being bludgeoned to death, Barbara Gordon getting shot through her spine by the Joker and paralyzed, Superman dying, Batman getting his back broken, Hal Jordan becoming evil courtesy of Parallax, Aquaman getting maimed... it drove Bronze Age character ComicBook/SuperboyPrime crazy -- causing him to become a mass-murdering fanatic in ''ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis''. Superboy-Prime going mad was followed by an even darker storyline called ''ComicBook/FiftyTwo'', and also saw the relaunching of numerous series with a generally darker tone. A prime example is ''ComicBook/{{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 ComicBook/New52 reboot saw this taken UpToEleven. Heroes got newer costumes that were more armoured and 'cinematic', as well as grimmer, more dour personalities. Fun elements like the Flash Family or Justice Society of America were ExiledFromContinuity and certain LegacyCharacter heroes were reverted to their silver age selves, who were written as much more serious and grim figures. Heroes also lost their marriages and had their romantic histories erased, as it was believed by those RunningTheAsylum that "heroes are too damaged to get married". This goes further in some books than others.

*** This ultimately is brought in for a {{Deconstruction}}, courtesy of Creator/GeoffJohns and ''DC Universe: Rebirth'' #1, who shows that no one likes a world filled with DarkerAndEdgier ideas, especially when it's the heroes who are hit with this. This is driven home with the revelation that [[spoiler:Dr. Manhattan of ''Watchmen'' is the cause of all of this, having turned the pre-''Flashpoint'' universe into the New 52 universe and seems utterly confused as to why it isn't working.]] It also serves as a TakeThat to those who use the spoilered title as a manifesto to writing comics and not getting the message it was giving out.

** In 1959's ''ComicBook/TheSupergirlFromKrypton'', ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} lands on Earth and is found by her cousin who sees that she is being taken care of (even if his methods are questionable). In contrast, Kara Zor-El's 2004 ''ComicBook/SupermanBatman'' origin involves kryptonite meteors, fanservice, a paranoiac Batman and Darkseid kidnapping her and brainwashing her. On the plus side, Superman immediately wanted to take his cousin in and introduce her to Lois.
** At the beginning Kara was a naive, innocent, sweet newcomer. However she grows up during the Silver and Bronze Ages, and although she never stops being an idealistic hero, her childlike innocence goes away. This is made clear in ''Adventure Comics'' #424, in where she wears sexy clothes while trying to get a scoop.

** ''[[ComicBook/Supergirl2011 Post-Flashpoint Supergirl]]'' started out this way, with Kara being a reluctant hero at best, traumatised and, like most teenagers would under her circumstances, feeling overwhelmed and simply wanting to go home. She also holds a fairly dim view of humanity at large, but considering that they keep shooting at her and have poisoned the atmosphere with Kryptonite. Grief morphed to rage, partly under the influence of being manipulated and betrayed by H'el, and ''[[ComicBook/RedDaughterOfKrypton she became a Red Lantern for a little bit]]''. Now, however, she's discarded the Red Lantern Ring, has come to terms with her losses, matured and become that much wiser. She has since accepted Superman's charge to be Earth's hero in his stead in ''ComicBook/TheFinalDaysOfSuperman'' and ''ComicBook/SupergirlRebirth''.

** ''ComicBook/SupermanRedSon'': A "what if" story showing what would happen if baby Kal-Lel landed in Soviet Russia instead of Smallville. The result? A communist empire led by the world's strongest man, with all of Clark's desire to change the world for the better, but with a misguided worldview, and none of his respect for free will.

* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman''
** ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1987'' (her Post-Crisis title) Is darker than even the most envelope-pushing of her [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1942 pre-Crisis]] stories -- [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools sometimes to the title's benefit]], [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools sometimes not]]. The ''very first issue'' begins with [[AnArmAndALeg a dismembered caveman]] [[FamilyUnfriendlyViolence killing his mate]], to set up the new concept of all the Amazons (including Diana) as reincarnated souls of women who'd died from DomesticAbuse.

** ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1987'' (her Post-Crisis title) Is darker than even the most envelope-pushing of her [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1942 pre-Crisis]] stories -- [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools sometimes to the title's benefit]], [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools sometimes not]]. The ''very first issue'' begins with [[AnArmAndALeg a dismembered caveman]] [[FamilyUnfriendlyViolence killing his mate]], to set up the new concept of all the Amazons (including Diana) as reincarnated souls of women who'd died from DomesticAbuse.

*** ComicBook/{{Wonder Woman|2011}}'s increasing willingness to kill since her aforementioned offing of Maxwell Lord reaches an extreme with her becoming a proud warrior who casually and proudly murders criminals and boasting about it. This was especially jarring given attempts to hang onto her status as an AllLovingHero, which dates back to the days when she was the DC hero most consistently and vocally ''opposed to killing''.

* ''ComicBook/WonderWomanBlackAndGold'': "Espionage" is a version of the "Mod/White Jumpsuit era", that is far more serious and dark in tone than the actual comics published during that time.
* After promising not to change Diana's origin story, and seemingly to do nothing more than provide cheap shock value because he's as much as admitted he cares more about his "artistic vision" than about either the characters or the readers, Brian Azzarello's reimagining of Franchise/WonderWoman's origin story completely destroys the character's history as an empowering role model for girls and women. Here, the Amazons rape sailors to get pregnant, murder them, and trade the male infants as slaves to the god Hephaestus. (This is (sort of) an actual legend about the Amazons of Pontos, but it's by no means the only one; there are others where they simply marry men in the normal way; or they visit a just-men civilization, the Gargareans, who are ''allies'', and any male babies are just given back to their fathers.) Even worse, Diana herself doesn't know about this until she's an adult. Oh yeah -- and she is now the daughter of Zeus, and ''all her powers and abilities come from him'', not from unique Amazon training or as gifts from the goddesses. While Azzarello's stated intention was to hew closer to actual Greek Mythology, female (and some male) readers [[https://www.tor.com/2012/04/04/wonder-woman-comics-and-the-violation-of-the-amazons/ seriously questioned this as a hatchet job]] on the most powerful and longest-lived female character in comics. Fortunately, in ''[[ComicBook/WonderWomanRebirth Rebirth]]'', which doesn't have Azzarello, we find that this horrific mess was untrue, and the Amazons really are just the re-embodied spirits of women who were killed in domestic violence, as George Perez wrote in the 1987 version.

* ''ComicBook/WonderWomanBlackAndGold'': "Espionage" is a version of the "Mod/White Jumpsuit era", that is far more serious and dark in tone than the actual comics published during that time.

* The Revolutionary War hero ComicBook/{{Tomahawk}} received a pretty good Vertigo reimagining in ''Vertigo Visions: Tomahawk''.

** In 1959's ''ComicBook/ActionComicsNumber252'', ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} lands on Earth and is found by her cousin who sees that she is being taken care of (even if his methods are questionable). In contrast, Kara Zor-El's 2004 ''ComicBook/TheSupergirlFromKrypton'' origin involves kryptonite meteors, fanservice, a paranoiac Batman and Darkseid kidnapping her and brainwashing her. On the plus side, Superman immediately wanted to take his cousin in and introduce her to Lois.

** ''ComicBook/ScoobyApocalypse'' is a much darker take on ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDoo'' than what was done before by having Mystery Inc. fighting against real monsters in a post-apocalyptic setting.