History EarlyInstallmentWeirdness / ComicBooks

** Like Magneto, Comicbook/EmmaFrost was a straight up villain in her early appearances, rather than the morally gray character she became in TheNineties. Readers familiar with her MamaBear tendencies and her love of children would probably be shocked to see the early ''Comicbook/NewMutants'' storyline where Emma kidnapped Kitty Pryde and tried to forcibly brainwash the young mutant into joining the Hellions. In fact, this would seem especially odd given the later ''X-Force'' issue where Emma told Warpath that she approved of his decision to leave the Hellions, and that she never would've forced any of her students to stay with her if they didn't want to.

** While modern depictions of Cerebro tend to operate on the idea that only telepaths can operate it (save for special exemptions, such as when Comicbook/KittyPryde was able to modify the computer so that she could use it), that was not originally the case. In fact, Reed Richards once built his own facsimile of Cerebro, and was able to use it to hunt track Karma in her first appearance.

** In the mainstream continuity, Magneto is an Holocaust survivor. He mentions it in the first arc of ''ComicBook/UltimateXMen'' as well: he said that all his family was killed during one of humanity's periodic genocides, with a background image of the Holocaust. This aspect of the character was abandoned later and never mentioned or suggested again, as he was turn into a complete villain with no redeeming qualities. By the time of ''ComicBook/UltimateOrigins'', he is shown to have been a young man during TheEighties (making him far too young to have lived through the Holocaust), while his parents turn out to be the scientists who experimented on Wolverine to create mutants in the first place. He also ends up murdering them himself, further conflicting with the account of them having died in a genocide.

** In the mainstream continuity, Magneto is an Holocaust survivor. He mentions it in the first arc of ''ComicBook/UltimateXMen'' as well: he said that all his family was killed during one of humanity's periodic genocides, with a background image of the Holocaust. This aspect of the character was abandoned later and never mentioned or suggested again, as he was turn into a complete villain with no redeeming qualities. By the time of ''ComicBook/UltimateOrigins'', he was a kid by the time of WWII, son of the scientists that created the mutants, and who killed his own parents.

** The nature of his cyborg arm changed. Originally, it was very clearly meant to be a normal appendage, albeit with weapons and the like, as Cable is seen fixing and modifying it in his early appearances, and Forge repairs it for him without incident. Later on, it was established to be the techno-organic virus consuming his arm, and his telekinesis was what was holding it back -- it ''naturally'' repairs itself and he cannot actually modify it or anything.

* ''{{Comicbook/Cable}}'' started out using a lot of strange idioms (NOT FutureSlang) which suggested that he spoke with a British accent.

** In fact, for the first few years of his existence, Thor was more of a standard superhero. While he did face Asgardian villains like Loki and Comicbook/TheEnchantress, he spent a lot of time on Earth, and frequently battled non-Asgardian threats like Mister Hyde, Radioactive Man, the Wrecker, Grey Gargoyle and Absorbing Man, as well as villains from other titles like Magneto. It was not until ''The Mighty Thor'' #159 that readers learned his true origin, and that Donald Blake was simply a false guise created by Odin to teach Thor humility.

* Speaking of ''Comicbook/TheEternals'', Creator/JackKirby's run on the series was very heavily implied to take place in the "real world" rather than the Marvel Universe. The Eternals were treated as though they were the first superpowered beings to become known to the public, while the Celestials were very clearly supposed to be the first cosmic entities the people of Earth had ever come into contact with. Obviously, this does not make sense in a continuity that already includes superpowered races like [[Comicbook/XMen Mutants]] and [[Comicbook/TheInhumans Inhumans]], or on a planet that has already been visited by Comicbook/{{Galactus}} and the Comicbook/SilverSurfer multiple times. While an android copy of the Hulk did appear in issue #14, the dialogue seemed to suggest that the Hulk was a fictional character in this universe, not a real life superhero. The characters would not officially become part of the Marvel Universe until Roy Thomas used them in his ''[[Comicbook/TheMightyThor Thor]]'' run as the focus of his "Eternals Saga" storyline. This may come as a shock to certain readers, especially given the way the Celestials have been incorporated into the Marvel canon since then, with characters such as the X-Men's Comicbook/{{Apocalypse}} and the Fantastic Four's Franklin Richards having connections to them.

*** In part this is because Superman, Batman, and some of the others listed here were introduced before the genre was codified as they were the codifiers of many of its tropes. Their early adventures were the EarlyInstallmentWeirdness of the entire genre. Another major reason is because of UsefulNotes/TheComicsCode; for a significant length of time, comics simply ''couldn't'' have their main characters kill people, so they gave them TechnicalPacifist leanings (and made them more like TheCape in general) as a way of satisfying MoralGuardians. These characterizations were used long enough to stick after the Comics Code fell.

* ''ComicBook/JudgeDredd'' was originally set in New York City, the judges were "elected by the people" and regular police still appeared.

** How many Creator/MarvelComics fans remember that Dr. Hank Pym's first appearance was in [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/marveldatabase/images/a/a2/Tales_to_Astonish_Vol_1_27.png/revision/latest?cb=20160104134353 a one-off horror story]] about a scientist who accidentally shrinks himself and gets trapped in an anthill? In the story, called "The Man in the Ant Hill", Pym shrinks himself using an experimental "reducing serum" rather than with [[ClothesMakeTheSuperman a suit]], he doesn't call himself "Ant-Man", he doesn't wear a costume, he can't control ants, and--most jarringly--he pours his shrinking concoction down the drain at the end of the story, concluding that it's far too dangerous to let other people use it. Reading it today, it's almost hard to believe that the hapless scientist in the story would later become a founding member of ComicBook/{{the Avengers}}. Even after Pym became Ant-Man, his early adventures required him to take special pills to change size, a somewhat cumbersome idea that would eventually be done away with. Stan Lee also portrayed Hank as a fairly standard superhero, with nary a hint of the various insecurities or mental illness that would later come to define him as a character.

*** In his earliest appearances, ComicBook/LexLuthor was a war profiteer whose [[MadScientist scientific genius was considered "mad"]] [[MadScientist specifically because he used it to invent horrific weaponry to sell to the highest bidder]]. Later, this war profiteer motivation was {{flanderiz|ation}}ed to the standard MadScientist who uses his skills to commit crimes. It wasn't until the Iron Age that Lex Luthor became a CorruptCorporateExecutive who moonlights as a supervillain (in some ways a modernization of his Golden Age war profiteer characterization). During the Silver Age, his motivation for battling Superman was also a lot less complex and more petty, essentially amounting to "I'm bald because of you! SCREW YOU!". [[note]]This origin was from the [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]], where Lex and Superboy were friends. In gratitude for setting up a lab, Lex discovered a cure for Kryptonite and created an artificial lifeform, but accidentally set off a fire. Without realizing Lex was trapped inside, Clark used his super breath to blow out the fire, causing chemical fumes that made Lex bald, killed the lifeform, and drove him insane.[[/note]] And that was a Silver Age retcon; before that, his Silver Age relationship with Superman boiled down to a simple villain-who-gets-foiled-by-the-hero dynamic.

** Franchise/{{Superman}} was a FlyingBrick who couldn't fly, only jump (hence, "able to leap tall buildings in a single bound") and run (hence, "faster than a speeding bullet"). Thanks to SerialEscalation, though, he could already fly higher and faster than most airplanes well before America got into World War II.

*** Clark Kent and Lois Lane didn't originally work for the ''Daily Planet'' in the fictional Metropolis. Instead, they worked for a newspaper company whose exact name was often ambiguous, at one point even being the ''Evening News'' in Cleveland, Ohio. Usually, though, when it was named it was called the ''Daily Star'', before switching to the ''Planet'' more or less for good in 1940.

*** In his earliest appearances, ComicBook/LexLuthor was a war profiteer whose [[MadScientist scientific genius was considered "mad"]] [[MadScientist specifically because he used it to invent horrific weaponry to sell to the highest bidder]]. Later, this war profiteer motivation was {{Flanderized}} to the standard MadScientist who uses his skills to commit crimes. It wasn't until the Iron Age that Lex Luthor became a CorruptCorporateExecutive who moonlights as a supervillain (in some ways a modernization of his Golden Age war profiteer characterization). During the Silver Age, his motivation for battling Superman was also a lot less complex and more petty, essentially amounting to "I'm bald because of you! SCREW YOU!". [[note]]This origin was from the [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]], where Lex and Superboy were friends. In gratitude for setting up a lab, Lex discovered a cure for Kryptonite and created an artificial lifeform, but accidentally set off a fire. Without realizing Lex was trapped inside, Clark used his super breath to blow out the fire, causing chemical fumes that made Lex bald, killed the lifeform, and drove him insane.[[/note]] And that was a Silver Age retcon; before that, his Silver Age relationship with Superman boiled down to a simple villain-who-gets-foiled-by-the-hero dynamic.

*** ''ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'': When Kara Zor-El was brought back in 2004, the first years of [[ComicBook/Supergirl2005 her book]] were plagued with weirdness due to editorial carelessness and a poor understanding of the character: Kara was turned into a mood-swinger angst-filled and jerkass Anti-Hero, her personality changed every story, her backstory was constantly retconned and she displayed a ridiculous power of sprouting crystals from her body. After issue #20, she was given a heroic, likeable personality and a definite backstory, and the early characterization and weird powers were retconned out and ignored.
** Batman was perfectly willing to kill in his earliest appearances, as seen in his very first story, where he punches the villain into a vat of HollywoodAcid, and shows no remorse for it. (To be fair, it's not like he ''deliberately aimed'' to send him into the acid, but he sure didn't have any problem with what happened, declaring it a 'fitting end for his kind.' And the main page image is a vampire, falling under WhatMeasureIsANonHuman -- though it's still hard to imagine the modern Batman trying to execute him with a gun.)

*** The Scarecrow was originally a standard hoodlum-for-hire (albeit one who used to be a college professor) who terrorized his victims the old-fashioned way: with guns and death threats (in [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks this era]], fear gas was actually the gimmick of the now-comparatively obscure Hugo Strange). He also managed to hold his own against Batman and Robin physically, at least for a little while.

*** Mr. Freeze, one of the most famous examples of the TragicVillain, was originally just your typical bank-robbing supercrook who cracked jokes and used cool Sci-Fi weaponry to pull off heists. Also his condition didn't change his physical appearance, he called himself "Mr. Zero", [[HarmlessFreezing his freeze-gun couldn't kill people]] and, perhaps most shockingly, his first appearance actually ended with his body returning to normal after being exposed to steam. It took another nine years for the character to show up again, and even that was only because of his appearances on the popular live-action ''Series/{{Batman}}'' show. After that, he mostly bounced around the various Batman books as a minor foe, before he was straight up ''killed off'' during the 1991 ''Robin'' mini-series. It wasn't until ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' revamped the character that he was brought back in the comics, now reimagined as the pitiable and tragic character he's famous as.

*** As the most "epic" villain in Batman's rogues gallery, ComicBook/RasAlGhul is all but ''guaranteed'' to get away at the end of a story, whether blatantly or through a NeverFoundTheBody ComicBookDeath (which his loyal followers and/or daughter will no doubt undo with the Lazarus Pits). Which makes it kind of hilarious to reread his debut story, which ended with Batman getting a clean win over him and dragging him off to jail like any other crook. The ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' two-part adaptation of [[Recap/BatmanTheAnimatedSeriesE60TheDemonsQuestPart1 this]] [[Recap/BatmanTheAnimatedSeriesE61TheDemonsQuestPart2 story]], faithful in most other respects, conveniently left this part out.

*** She didn't have her iconic Lasso of Truth for her first few appearances, and was only given it by her mother in the sixth issue of ''ComicBook/SensationComics''. Also, it was simply known as the "Magic Lasso" in the early days, and compelled captives to obey Wonder Woman's every command by imposing her will on them. The idea that its primary function was to force people to tell the truth originated in the ''Series/WonderWoman'' live-action show from TheSeventies, and didn't [[RetCanon make its way into the comics]] until Creator/GeorgePerez rebooted Wonder Woman's origin after ''Comicbook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths''.

*** ComicBook/TheSpectre was actually a member at one time and not only that, but he was just a fairly typical superhero. No horrific murdering of criminals, no inability to understand mortals, and he and Jim Corrigan were the same person, not two separate entities sharing a body. Also, like the Batman story mentioned above, an early Spectre story pretty strongly implied that he did not exist in a universe where other heroes like Superman were real. The issue in question featured a journalist who bore a strong resemblance to a certain mild-mannered reporter, with a detective even telling a patrolman to "keep an eye on Clark Kent here, keep him from getting into trouble." An additional Lampshade hanging occurred when the patrolman asked the reporter "Are you really Superman?"

** In Comicbook/{{Aquaman}}'s original Golden Age adventures, he was a normal human whose powers came from ancient Atlantean techniques taught to him by his father, a famous ocean explorer. Aquaman's base of operations was a sunken boat, {{Atlantis}} was a dead kingdom rather than a thriving undersea metropolis, and he actually talked to sea creatures in their own "languages" instead of using telepathy. Additionally, Aquaman had no civilian name, and none of his supporting characters like Aqualad, Mera, or even his most famous villains, Black Manta and Ocean Master, appeared until many years later. Aquaman was also a more violent character in his early appearances, killing Nazi villains with little issue.

** The characters' personalities were also vastly different at first. Sally acted like a total brat at times with a massive NeverMyFault attitude while Antoine was very much a CheeseEatingSurrenderMonkey. Like his [=SatAM=] counterpart, Snively was initially very loyal to Robotnik and wouldn't become TheStarscream until ''The Death Egg Saga''.

* While Creator/NeilGaiman's ''Comicbook/TheSandman'' has always taken place in the Franchise/DCUniverse, early issues were much less shy about depicting the title character interacting with other DC characters. Hell, the first story arc features Dr. Destiny as the BigBad, as well as [[ComicBook/{{Hellblazer}} John Constantine]], [[ComicBook/NewGods Mr. Miracle]], ComicBook/MartianManhunter, ComicBook/{{Etrigan}}, and [[Franchise/{{Batman}} the Scarecrow]] in supporting roles and/or cameos. For the bulk of the series, the Endless and associated characters more or less exist in their own continuity. In addition, while the comic was always very dark, the first story arc was closer to a straight-up horror comic.

* While people often note the various changes that came about when the Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles changed from being merely a comic book to a multimedia franchise, the original [[ComicBook/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesMirage Mirage comics]] were also subject to quite a bit of this. Most notable is the Frank Miller-esque narration, which was gone by the series' second issue; the idea that the turtles had grown to look like their present-day selves in the space of a year, which was ignored when the writers decided to write stories featuring younger versions of the characters; and the bit where Splinter expressly trained the turtles so they would kill The Shredder for him, which was glossed over with time. The Shredder himself was originally a TokenMotivationalNemesis and StarterVillain who died in the end of issue one. He did kill Hamato Yoshi, yes, but he was pretty much the [[Franchise/SpiderMan crook who shot Uncle Ben]] but with a cooler outfit.

** The Human Torch looked like a featureless yellow blob of flame, taking after his Golden Age incarnation.

** Early issues of ''ComicBook/TheUltimates'', ''ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan'' and the aforementioned ''Ultimate Marvel Team-Up'' seemed to imply that the Fantastic Four were already around and well-established as heroes before the Ultimates were even formed. ''Comicbook/UltimateFantasticFour'' contradicted this by showing that the team's origin took place long after the formation of the Ultimates, with the Four themselves reimagined as a group of inexperienced teenagers. This and the depcition of Iron Man resulted in [[https://www.cbr.com/nycc-ultimate-comics-universe-reborn/ Marvel declaring]] certain issues of ''Ultimate Marvel Team-Up'' non-canon.

*** There are a lot of other weird things that happen before Hulk hits his stride, like him changing via machine, and Hulk's intelligence level going up to near Banner and down to inhuman stupidity. The early issues also make the Hulk quite misanthropic (an '''extremely''' bad thing when coupled with Banner's brains) and Rick Jones was the KidWithTheLeash who kept him from actually ''trying to end the world'' at least once. It takes them awhile before the character is associated with anger, around his first visit with ComicBook/TheInhumans where they establish that his strength increases with his rage. The situation with the Hulk's intelligence was {{Lampshaded}} in an issue of Creator/MarkWaid's ''Avengers'' run, where the Silver Age Hulk doesn't understand why the present-day Spider-Man keeps trying to use HulkSpeak to communicate with him.
-->'''Hulk''': Why are you talkin' to me like I'm an ''idiot''?
-->'''Spider-Man''': Because in days to come, you will be?

** The idea that the shield was partially composed of Vibranium is itself a retcon, as Captain America was created ''decades'' before that fictional metal was introduced in the MarvelUniverse. Exactly ''what'' the shield was made of wasn't established until many years after Cap's [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]] revival.

* Bobbi Morse didn't become Comicbook/{{Mockingbird}} until about 9 years after she was created. When she first appeared, she was actually a scientist who usually showed up in stories featuring characters like Ka-Zar and Comicbook/ManThing. This is {{Lampshaded}} in the first issue of ''The Comicbook/UnstoppableWasp'', where Bobbi says that nobody ever remembers all the stuff she did before she became a costumed superhero.
* Upon reading [[http://www.reading-room.net/SC22/SC22p1.html the first]] [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]] ''Franchise/GreenLantern'' story, you get the impression that the Green Lantern Corps (referred to only as space-patrolmen in the story) do not generally call themselves Green Lanterns -- in fact, "Green Lantern" was only an alias Hal adopts for himself.

* HealingFactor characters ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}, Sabretooth and ComicBook/{{Deadpool}} are depicted as sustaining injuries over a length of time in early appearances, compared to later appearances where healing appears near instant. Sabretooth's face was injured in ''The Spectacular Spider-Man'' (vol. 1) #116 and still scarred by his next appearance in #119. In an ''ComicBook/XForce'' appearance, Deadpool complains his broken jaw left him hospitalized for a few weeks. One can assume characters had weaker healing factors in the past, but newer stories set in the past still depict a near instant healing factor.

* Before he was ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}'s ArchNemesis and one of the X-Men's most iconic baddies, Comicbook/{{Sabretooth}} started off as an [[ComicBook/ImmortalIronFist Iron Fist]] villain. He was partnered with Constrictor in his second appearance (in which he was already much less efficient than in his first one), there were no hints at his mysterious backstory or connection to Wolverine, and he didn't have a healing factor either. He was also much less of a threat when he wasn't written by Creator/ChrisClaremont, getting his ass handed to him by characters like Comicbook/BlackCat. It wasn't until the 1986 "Mutant Massacre" crossover (Sabretooth was introduced in 1977) that he began to become the villain we know today. It was the first story to have him fight Wolverine on panel, as well as the first one to reference their mysterious shared past. He was also played up as a much more powerful and intimidating character than he'd been previously, and was finally confirmed to possess a healing factor like Logan's. A possible explanation for the differences in portrayal is that Chris Claremont actually had plans to reveal that all of Sabretooth's early appearances (except for the very first one) were actually [[ActuallyADoombot clones created by Nathaniel Essex]]. [[ArmedWithCanon This would have, coinkydink of coinkydinks, left the only appearances of the "real" Sabretooth to be the ones Claremont wrote.]]
* In her earliest appearances, Comicbook/MsMarvel could only fly thanks to [[ClothesMakeTheSuperman special mechanisms in her Kree uniform]]. Ms. Marvel was also originally the SuperpoweredAlterEgo of Carol Danvers (á la the Hulk), with neither personality being aware of the other.

* ''ComicBook/LuckyLuke''

** Also, many readers will notice that even after main characters were introduced in the series there were still stories where either Lambik or Tante Sidonia are noticably absent. Even without giving an explanation about their whereabouts!

* ''Superlópez'' began as a direct and shameless parody of ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'', mocking several Franchise/MarvelComics characters and plotlines. When the original writer Efepé left, it changed into a "regular dude thrown into a superhero role", focusing notably on López's life and work. From the 90's on, though, a decent roster of villains had been added and the stories became more adventure-oriented, with several [[RippedFromTheHeadlines political jokes and references]] thrown everywhere.

* In his early appearances, ''Comicbook/GhostRider'' actually got his powers from Satan himself, rather than Mephisto.

** Initially, much like previous Creator/MarvelComics toy tie-ins ''ComicBook/ROMSpaceKnight'' and ''ComicBook/{{Micronauts}}'', ''The Transformers'' was set in the Marvel Universe proper, with ComicBook/SpiderMan guest-starring in issue 3 (along with cameos by [[ComicBook/NickFury Nick Fury and Dum-Dum Dugan]], and a thinly-veiled reference to ''another'' Marvel-licensced character, [[ComicBook/GodzillaKingOfTheMonsters Godzilla]][[note]]Marvel no longer had the license by then so he wasn't referred to by name[[/note]]), and the Dinobots fighting Shockwave in the Savage Land in issue 4. But after having Circuit Breaker cameo in ''ComicBook/SecretWarsII'' (for [[ExecutiveMeddling rights issues]]) and sending Ratchet to the Savage Land to fish the Dinobots out of a tar pit in issue 8, the Transformers' connection to Earth-616 was dropped.

* Before ''Comicbook/YoungAvengers'' made her a star, Miss Comicbook/AmericaChavez debuted in an obscure mini-series called ''Vengeance''. She was originally only 15-years-old and didn't have the power to create portals, and there was no indication that she was from another dimension. Perhaps most jarringly, America wore a (very {{Stripperific}}) costume, despite ''Young Avengers'' later establishing that she prefers CivvieSpandex because she thinks costumes are stupid.

* The Marvel comic ''ComicBook/TheNam'' was originally set in its own universe that was much like ours, with it being repeatedly made clear that superhumans and the like were wholly fictional; one issue even has a character daydream about what it would be like if the Avengers were real and could help win the war. Flagging sales eventually led to the comic being awkwardly integrated into the greater Marvel Universe by having a pre-ComicBook/{{Punisher}} Frank Castle make a few guest appearances, which were followed by a character who originated from ''The 'Nam'' appearing in arcs of both the ''ComicBook/ThePunisherWarJournal'' and ''ComicBook/ThePunisherWarZone''.

* When ''ComicBook/KingdomCome'' was released, Iris West II, the daughter of Wally West (the third Flash) was identified as being the fourth Flash in the script and concept art of the series, despite having a costume more in line with a Kid Flash (though she seemingly ''was'' an adult). Her follow-up appearances in the brief arc in ''Titans'' and ''The Kingdom'' instead identified her as ''Kid'' Flash. In fact, ''The Kingdom'' makes it a character point that Iris ''desparately'' wants to get her father's blessing to be the Flash.

* Doomsday had quite a few things about him in his first appearance during ''ComicBook/TheDeathOfSuperman'' that made him the TropeNamer for GenericDoomsdayVillain. When he first appeared, he was nothing but a rampaging brute as powerful as Superman but lacking any sort of morals (his EstablishingCharacterMoment was letting a little bird land on his hand, then casually crush it and laughing). The full extent of his powers and even his origin wouldn't be expanded on until ''ComicBook/SupermanDoomsdayHunterPrey''

* The first two ''ComicBook/NemesisTheWarlock'' stories - ''Terror Tube'' and ''Killer Watt'' - refer to Torquemada as chief of Tube Police, while later he is referred to as "Grand Master of Termight". Nemesis spends both stories inside his ship, with no clue about his identity or appearance, saying nothing but his CatchPhrase ''Credo!'', which he tends to use at odd moments. A lot implies it wasn't even established that Nemesis is even an alien back then, with narration referring to him as "not an ordinary man" at best.

** Early ''Comicbook/{{Shazam}}'' comics treated Captain Marvel as Billy Batson's distinct SuperPoweredAlterEgo rather than Billy in an adult body with superpowers. When Roy Thomas rebooted the character's origin after ''Comicbook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'', he introduced the idea that Billy and Captain Marvel were one and the same, with the Captain now having a more naive and childish personality at times. This depiction was cemented in ''ComicBook/ShazamTheNewBeginning'' and ''Comicbook/JusticeLeagueInternational'', and has basically become the character's default portrayal across all media since then (such as in ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueUnlimited'', ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'', ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'' and the [[Film/{{Shazam}} live-action movie]]). Only a select few works, such as Creator/JeffSmith's ''Shazam! The Monster Society of Evil'', have retained the original Golden Age concept of Captain Marvel being a separate entity.

** [[ILoveNuclearPower Radiation]] is ubiquitous when it comes to gaining new super powers, treated as a mysterious magical energy when battling the likes of Radioactive Man, with no indication of radiation's adverse effects. The X-Men hint the origin of their mutations are tied to the nuclear bomb tests of the nuclear age, a detail ignored in most modern stories aside from the phrase "of the Atom".

** In ''X-Men'' #1, Magneto can manipulate the magnetic field around objects, meaning he can move any object whether or not it contains magnetic metal. Professor X introduces a training machine instead of the Danger Room. In ''X-Men'' #2, Professor X is called "Dr. X". In ''X-Men'' #5, The X-Men have now finished their training at Xavier's school. In ''X-Men'' #6, The X-Men's cook is mentioned, and never seen again. Professor X and Magneto both have the ability to project mental images to contact Namor. In ''X-Men'' #7, The X-Men have now graduated from Xavier's school. In ''X-Men'' #8, Cyclops is called Sommers. The Angel is called Bobby. In ''X-Men'' #9, Bavaria and Bulgaria are the same location. In ''X-Men'' #33, The Juggernaut steals Professor X's mental powers. This is not brought up again.

* Speaking of Beast, after leaving the ''X-Men'', he briefly starred in ''Amazing Adventures'', where he first gained his furry, ape-like form. However, the first issue was significantly DarkerAndEdgier, likely influenced by the popularity of horror comics in the 70s, and had a major subplot about Beast possibly losing his humanity and becoming a feral monster. This would seem quite odd to modern readers, since Beast maintaining [[GeniusBruiser his immense intelligence and friendly personality in spite of his monstrous appearance]] is probably one of his most iconic character traits. He also had a HealingFactor during these stories, something that was dropped by later writers. Additionally, back in the Silver Age, Beast was generally written as more of a stereotypically uptight nerd (save for the ''very'' early issues mentioned above, where Stan Lee wrote him as a dumb brute). Hank's jokier, more affable characterization wasn't introduced until Steve Englehart made the character a member of Comicbook/TheAvengers during TheSeventies, and his sudden personality shift was actually notable enough that other heroes even commented on it in-story.

* Comicbook/{{Groot}} was actually a ''villain'' in his first appearance, and spoke in complete sentences instead of PokemonSpeak.

* ComicBook/ThePunisher was something of an odd case as there was a period in his early days where he actually went about killing innocents [[DisproportionateRetribution for simple crimes such as littering and running a red light]]. It was later retconned into him being drugged.

*** Initially, it was said that Superman's fantastic abilities were inherent to all indigenous Kryptonians. Subsequent re-tellings would establish that this was not the case, with Superman's powers instead being explained as the product of Earth's yellow sun and weaker gravity.

*** In his earliest appearances, ComicBook/LexLuthor was a war profiteer whose [[MadScientist scientific genius was considered "mad"]] [[MadScientist specifically because he used it to invent horrific weaponry to sell to the highest bidder]]. Later, this war profiteer motivation was {{Flanderized}} to the standard MadScienist who uses his skills to commit crimes. It wasn't until the Iron Age that Lex Luthor became a CorruptCorporateExecutive who moonlights as a supervillain (in some ways a modernization of his Golden Age war profiteer characterization. During the Silver Age, his motivation for battling Superman was also a lot less complex and more petty, essentially amounting to "I'm bald because of you! SCREW YOU!". [[note]]This origin was from the [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]], where Lex and Superboy were friends. In gratitude for setting up a lab, Lex discovered a cure for Kryptonite and created an artificial lifeform, but accidentally set off a fire. Without realizing Lex was trapped inside, Clark used his super breath to blow out the fire, causing chemical fumes that made Lex bald, killed the lifeform, and drove him insane.[[/note]] And that was a Silver Age retcon; before that, his Silver Age relationship with Superman boiled down to a simple villain-who-gets-foiled-by-the-hero dynamic.

*** ComicBook/LexLuthor used to be a typical MadScientist who used his skills to commit crimes, rather than a CorruptCorporateExecutive who moonlights as a supervillain. His motivation for battling Superman was also a lot less complex and more petty, essentially amounting to "I'm bald because of you! SCREW YOU!". [[note]]This origin was from the [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]], where Lex and Superboy were friends. In gratitude for setting up a lab, Lex discovered a cure for Kryptonite and created an artificial lifeform, but accidentally set off a fire. Without realizing Lex was trapped inside, Clark used his super breath to blow out the fire, causing chemical fumes that made Lex bald, killed the lifeform, and drove him insane.[[/note]] And that was a Silver Age retcon; before that, his relationship to Superman boiled down to a simple villain-who-gets-foiled-by-the-hero dynamic.

** Batman was perfectly willing to kill in his earliest appearances, as seen in his very first story, where he punches the villain into a vat of HollywoodAcid, and shows no remorse for it. (To be fair, it's not like he ''deliberately aimed'' to send him into the acid, but he sure didn't have any problem with what happened, declaring it a 'fitting end for his kind.' And the main page image is a vampire, falling under WhatMeasureIsANonHuman, though it's still hard to imagine the modern Batman trying to execute him with a gun.)

* The Brazilian distributor of ComicBook/DisneyComics released in 2000 a special celebrating the 50th anniversary of their DonaldDuck magazine. The description of the first issue listed all that could be found weird: differences in language/spelling (apart from the 1950s version being quite formal, Portuguese underwent several orthographic reforms) and character names (biggest one was WesternAnimation/{{Goofy}} being called Dippy - though the story has him being called "a goofy guy"; in one story, Goofy was discovered by talent scouts after they didn't like his original name, ''Dippy Dawg''), unfinished stories (it was published across 3 issues as movie serials were popular in those days), only eight pages in color, and a trivia section filled with ValuesDissonance (telling stories of animals suffering accidents, such as ''j''iraffes being decapitated by telegraphic wires). 10 years later, the collection released to celebrate the 60th anniversary had its first issue come with [[EmbeddedPrecursor a facsimile of ''Donald Duck'' #1]], letting readers experience Early Installment Weirdness firsthand.

*** Early Timely (Marvel) Comics did the same. In the very first ComicBook/CaptainAmerica story, the Human Torch is mentioned as being "a hero from the comic books". About a year later, Cap and the Torch met in a crossover story. [[note]] Later works seemed to explain this by having the Marvel Comics company exist ''in universe'', so superheroes can literally read their own comics [[/note]]

** Superman was probably the most notably different of these lacking many of his current powers, sporting a different (and often inconsistently illustrated) costume, killing bad guys, and being something of a rebel. But especially weird, given his current international sensibilities, is when we're told that "Superman says 'You Can Slap a Jap'" as seen on many World War II-era covers.

*** ''ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'': When Kara Zor-El was brought back in 2004, the first years of [[ComicBook/Supergirl2005 her book]] were plagued with weirdness due to editorial carelessness and a poor understanding of the character: Kara was turned into a mood-swinger angst-filled and jerkass Anti-Hero, her personality changed every story, her backstory was constantly retconned and she displayed a ridiculous power of sprouting crystals from her body. After issue #20, she was given a heroic, likeable personality and a definite backstory, and their early characterization and weird powers were retconned out and ignored.
** Batman was perfectly willing to kill in his earliest appearances, as seen in his very first story, where he punches the villain into a vat of HollywoodAcid, and shows no remorse for it. (To be fair, it's not like he ''deliberately aimed'' to send him into the acid, but he sure didn't have any problem with what happened, declaring it a 'fitting end for his kind.' And the page image is a vampire, falling under WhatMeasureIsANonHuman, though it's still hard to imagine the modern Batman trying to execute him with a gun.)

*** Poison Ivy's debut contained none of the GaiasVengeance or StrawFeminist themes the character would later become famous for; her association with plants only went gimmick-deep, and even then it was largely metaphorical (she got into crime because she was a huge AttentionWhore, who sought to stick in the public's mind like a case of poison ivy).

** Comicbook/WonderWoman:

** Early ''Comicbook/{{Shazam}}'' comics treated Captain Marvel as Billy Batson's distinct SuperPoweredAlterEgo rather than Billy in an adult body with superpowers. When Roy Thomas rebooted the character's origin after ''Comicbook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'', he introduced the idea that Billy and Captain Marvel were one and the same, with the Captain now having a more naive and childish personality at times. This depiction was cemented in ''Shazam: A New Beginning'' and ''Comicbook/JusticeLeagueInternational'', and has basically become the character's default portrayal across all media since then (such as in ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueUnlimited'', ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'', ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'' and the [[Film/{{Shazam}} live-action movie]]). Only a select few works, such as Creator/JeffSmith's ''Shazam! The Monster Society of Evil'', have retained the original Golden Age concept of Captain Marvel being a separate entity.

*** While not a Golden Age character, the Atom's godson Atom Smasher used to call himself Nuklon, and his hair was cherry red rather than darkish brown. Also he had a Mohawk. Yes it was exactly as ridiculous as it sounds (it actually became something of a RunningGag for the series, with nobody letting Al live it down).
*** Originally ComicBook/DoctorFate's magic wasn't based on Order, as it would be for many years post-Crisis; it was merely general spiritual power. This extended to his archenemy Mordru, whose powers weren't based in chaos and who wasn't immortal. During his first meeting with the JSA, Fate also claimed that he had no childhood and was actually an ArtificialHuman created by the Elder Gods. His origin story, told the following year, would completely contradict this plot point by showing that Kent Nelson was indeed a naturally-born human prior to encountering Nabu.

** The famous quote "With Great Power ComesGreatResponsibility" is the end-caption of Amazing Fantasy #15 and is voiced by the narrator of the comic rather than Uncle Ben himself. The attribution of the quote to Uncle Ben came decades later thanks to PopCulturalOsmosis and in the early issues of the Stan Lee[=/=]Steve Ditko era, Spider-Man didn't dwell too much on the guilt to moroseness as later versions imply. Peter's characterization was also somewhat aloof and cold, despite him still being a complete MotorMouth when in costume. In fact, many characters noted that Peter, because of his adventures as Spider-Man, came off as having NoSocialSkills (especially apparent in the "If This Be My Destiny" storyline) and a FriendlessBackground. Later retellings of Spider-Man's early days, such as the ''Film/SpiderManTrilogy'', ''Film/SpiderManHomecoming'' or even the ''Comicbook/UltimateSpiderMan'' comics, usually depict Peter as much nicer and more sociable, and give him at least one or two friends in high school.

** The Green Goblin in the original stories was a mysterious, dangerous and entertaining villain whose schemes involved taking over the underworld of New York for some reason or the other. His first appearance was a wacky adventure where he posed as Spider-Man's friend and convinced him to appear in a movie production which turned out to be a trap to kill him. He appeared in fewer issues than other villains but was easily Spider-Man's most popular villain. Much controversy has spread over the years if Ditko intended Comicbook/NormanOsborn to be the Green Goblin, since Ditko left on the issue directly before TheReveal, though Ditko insisted that wasn't the reason for his departure[[note]]Ditko [[AuthorsSavingThrow later attempted to put an end to the issue]] by pointing out various points in his run where he [[EarlyBirdCameo inserted]] Norman Osborn [[MeaningfulBackgroundEvent in the background]] so as to [[{{Foreshadowing}} foreshadow]] TheReveal[[/note]]. But more or less, the original version of Goblin was a Joker-esque madman who launched zany schemes without any of the deeper and byzantine motives and schemes that later writers would provide him.

** On a lesser scale, the Italian character [[ComicBook/PaperinikNewAdventures Paperinik]], Donald's superhero alter ego: in the early stories, he wasn't Disney's LighterAndSofter counterpart to Batman, but Donald using the tools of a disappeared GentlemanThief (and some gadgets provided by Gyro Gearloose) to vent his anger and get revenge on anyone pissing him off too much committing blatantly illegal acts (including [[ImpossibleTheft stealing Scrooge's bed while he's sleeping on it]]), and was openly considered the public enemy number 1. Later stories sometimes keep part of the 'avenger of himself and criminal' part (with Angus Fangus in ''ComicBook/PaperinikNewAdventures'' [[JerkassHasAPoint devoting his journalistic career to get him arrested]]), but Paperinik has become an obviously more benign character, often working alongside the police supposed to try to arrest him.

** The early comics were very comedic and often even stranger than what we have today, with lots of [[NoFourthWall fourth wall demolition]], BetterThanABareBulb, and HurricaneOfPuns. This was more due to following ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfSonicTheHedgehog'' and using a few video game stages in the early days. Also, Dave Manak and Michael Gallagher were the primary artist and writer respectively, both of whom had a more zany cartoonish style than their successors. Sally was seen with varying colors of fur (red fur with blonde hair in her first appearance, pink fur with black hair up until issue #16[[note]]this was referenced in a one-page story way back in issue #3[[/note]]) and Rotor was known as "Boomer" until about issue #6. Roboticization was shown differently with people with hypnotized eyes instead of out and out robots. The series wouldn't reach the [=SatAM=] levels until Dulcy showed up in issue 28 and a few characters will still seem odd looking back at them (for instance, look at Metal Sonic in issue #25 and look at him today). Once other artists and writers began to take over (although Gallagher and Manak never fully left), the art style and overall tone became [[CerebusSyndrome comparatively more serious]] for the most part.

** The character's personalities were also vastly different at first. Sally acted like a total brat at times with a massive NeverMyFault attitude while Antoine was very much a CheeseEatingSurrenderMonkey. Like his [=SatAM=] counterpart, Snively was initially very loyal to Robotnik and wouldn't become TheStarscream until ''The Death Egg Saga''.

* Asbestos was all the rage when it came to thwarting those with fire-based powers. ''Captain America Comics'' #63, ''Invaders'' #22, and ''Human Torch Comics'' #27 have the Asbestos Lady, who wore asbestos lined clothes and fired a gun with asbestos-lined bullets. In ''Strange Tales'' #111, the Human Torch fights the Asbestos Man, a chemist who has made a suit and shield of "super-asbestos". The Terrible Trio in ''Strange Tales'' #122 captures Johnny Storm with an asbestos rope and blanket, keeping him in an asbestos trailer. In ''The Avengers'' #206, The Avengers wear asbestos suits to confront the villain Pyron the Thermal Man.

** In the first arc of ''ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan'', when Peter first changes into Spider-Man for a superhero fight, he hides among the bushes and thinks "this can't be how Captain America does it!". The ComicBook/UltimateMarvel universe was still in its early stages, and ComicBook/CaptainAmerica had not been acknowledged yet. He was first used in ''ComicBook/TheUltimates'': he was a war hero from World War II, the first superhuman ever, who fell to the ocean and was presumed dead after stopping a nazi rocket. He was retrieved in the present day of that miniseries, but this story was not there yet. So, for all that Peter knows at that point, Captain America had only been a superhero during WWII, and probably did not even had to bother about concealing a secret identity.

** The [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeofComicBooks Golden Age]] Green Lantern, Alan Scott, is quite different from the more famous Silver Age version. He was based out of Gotham, explicitly used magic, had a weakness to wood. He also never had any contact with the rest of the corps, being solo.

* Creator/ImageComics' early days in TheNineties where they codified the NinetiesAntiHero and had a ClicheStorm that embodied UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks could be seen as this. Since then, they've [[GrowingTheBeard greatly diversified their lineup]] with hits such as ''ComicBook/{{Bone}}'', ''ComicBook/TheWalkingDead'', ''ComicBook/{{Invincible}}'', ''Film/{{Kingsman}}'', ''ComicBook/{{Saga}}'', among many others. While DarkerAndEdgier compared to Marvel and DC, isn't to the over-the-top extreme like it was in the '90s. This also had the effect of making series introduced back then, such as ''ComicBook/{{Spawn}}'', ''ComicBook/{{Witchblade}}'', ''ComicBook/{{Youngblood}}'', and ''ComicBook/SavageDragon'' look rather [[TheArtifact out of place]] today.

** The first three albums of Lucky Lukes are drawn in a more rounded and less detailed style. Morris aspired to bring his characters to the screen and thus they are drawn in a way that would be easier to animate, complete with four fingers one each hand. Luke in particular has a different outfit and a large chin.
** The early issues were more straight though light-hearted Westerns than the parody of Westerns it is known as. Lucky Luke sometimes shot his opponents dead or wounded them severely. This included the Daltons, who had to be brought back as their SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute cousins.

** Jerom actually dressed as a caveman for most of the first stories he appeared in. Only gradually he lost these roots and became more civilized.

* ''ComicBook/DeKiekeboes'': The early albums look nothing like the series today. Kiekeboe is long and thin, Charlotte is a DamselInDistress and most of the comedy is more like a typical children's comic strip of that time, with a lot of unneccessary exposition and not so clever puns as in later stories.

* ''Superlópez'' began as a direct and shameless parody of ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'', mocking several Franchise/MarvelComics characters and plotlines. When the original writer Efepé left, it changed into a "regular dude thrown into a superhero role", focusing notably on López's life and work. From the 90's on, though, a decent rooster of villains had been added and the stories became more adventure-oriented, with several [[RippedFromTheHeadlines political jokes and references]] thrown everywhere.

** Though this persists for much of the comic series, as another story about Han and Jabba uses the same humanoid design as the adaptation of ''A New Hope''. It isn't until ''Return of the Jedi'' came out that Jabba was depicted as he is now.

* In early issues of Marvel's ''ComicBook/{{Micronauts}}'' series, Commander Arcturus Rann seemed to be a less refined individual. He used slang, mild swear words, and occasionally uttered sexist comments toward Marionette. In this, he was much like Han Solo from ''Franchise/StarWars''. This was toned down immediately after the first three issues, and he started acting like a straight-laced hero.

** More related to later media, but some TF fans reading the original run might be shocked with how little Megatron actually leads the Decepticons. After Shockwave enters the plot at the end of issue 4, Megatron is ousted from leadership and, when he returns, it's a in a dual leadership with Shockwave that ends in Megatron seemingly committing suicide. The Decepticons actually cycle through about six leaders over the series run, even more in the UK comics.

** In his first appearance in ''Spotlight: Soundwave'', Soundwave is depicted as a self-serving opportunist who ends up going against Bludgeon's gang because EvenEvilHasStandards. In ''ComicBook/TheTransformersRobotsInDisguise'', he's an extremely idealistic character who joined the Decepticons out of loyalty to Megatron and fights for the equality of all Cybertronians and considers his cassette partners ([[MyFriendsAndZoidberg except Ratbat]]) to be his equals rather than expendable minions.

* ComicBook/{{Deadshot}} made his first appearance as a villain in a 1950 Batman story wearing an unrecognisable suit and having none of his later attributes. It wasn't until Steve Englehart's run on ''Detective Comics'' that he was given his design and personality that would make him the face of the ComicBook/SuicideSquad.

* In ''FRanchise/XMen'', Vol. 2, #50, one of the issues leading into ''ComicBook/{{Onslaught}}'' and showing signs of the WritingByTheSeatOfYourPants that was going on, sees one of Onslaught's minions Post kidnap the X-Men, a psychic warning of Onslaught's arrival, and someone attempt to kidnap ComicBook/ProfessorX, implied to be Onslaught himself--the same Onslaught who turned out to be Xavier himself in [[https://uncannyxmen.net/character-related-topics/the-road-to-onslaught-the-darker-side-of-xavier yet another time every bad thought and feeling he's tried to suppress took on a life of its own]].

*** Likewise, in his early appearances, ComicBook/{{Brainiac}} was just an alien scientist who collected cities in bottles. It wasn't for six years that it was established that he was a super-computer, a characterization that has stuck ever since.

** Batman was perfectly willing to kill in his earliest appearances, as seen in his very first story, where he punches the villain into a vat of HollywoodAcid, and shows no remorse for it.

*** The first ComicBook/BlackCanary didn't gain her famous sonic scream power until 1969. She also started out as a villain, in that she was a thief who stole from other thieves. The first Black Canary was originally a supporting character but she ended up becoming a BreakoutVillain who surpassed the actual protagonist of her comic. By the time she became the lead of her own comics, her original love interest Johnny Thunder had been replaced with her definite love interest (and the father of the post-Crisis Black Canary) Larry Lance.

** Likewise, as originally written, Harry Osborn was a JerkAss snob rather than Peter's best friend. Gwen Stacy was originally a {{Tsundere}} type character for Peter Parker, berating and mocking him for his "lack of manliness" but still feeling some innate attraction to him and their few interactions were tense and stand-offish. Peter, recovering from the end of his early infatuation with Betty Brant didn't giver her the time of day. Her character mellowed out later on, becoming far more emotional and with less of a hard edged personality.[[note]]The introduction of MJ also saw several aspects of her character change -- like her hairstyle and her dance moves -- to better match the more popular MJ. And for those who are only familiar with her most recent incarnations where Gwen is a scientific equal to Spider-Man, in her initial comic appearances -- even up to her death -- she was never depicted as having an interest in science and was only Peter's classmate in one class.[[/note]] This happened almost immediately when John Romita Sr. took over from Ditko. Romita having a Romance Comics background softened Peter's social life and more properly introduced the familiar Spider-Man gang.

** His trademark [[MadeOfIndestructium Vibranium/Adamantium]] shield was not originally indestructible. When Cap was first reintroduced in ''Comicbook/TheAvengers'' during the 60's, Creator/StanLee tried to make him a little more "super" by having Comicbook/IronMan outfit the shield with magnets and transistors so that it could be remote controlled. Lee abandoned this idea after a few issues, and instead decided that from then on, the shield would now be impervious to most forms of damage.
** The idea that the shield was made of Vibranium and Adamantium is itself a retcon, as Captain America was created ''decades'' before either of those fictional metals were introduced in the MarvelUniverse. Exactly ''what'' the shield was made of wasn't established until many years after Cap's [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]] revival.

*** ComicBook/TheSpectre was actually a member at one time and not only that, but he was just a fairly typical superhero. No horrific murdering of criminals, no inability to understand mortals, and he and Jim Corrigan were the same person, not two separate entities sharing a body.

* An early DC Comic of ComicBook/TheSpectre had an issue with a reporter who bore a strong resemblance to a certain mild-mannered reporter from the comics. This is lampshaded when a detective on the case orders a patrolman to "keep an eye on Clark Kent here, keep him from getting into trouble." The policeman looks at the reporter with something of awe, saying, "Are you really Superman?" This may have been a reference to one of the writers being Jerry Siegel, co-creator of Franchise/{{Superman}}.