History EarlyInstallmentWeirdness / ComicBooks

** Initially, much like previous Creator/MarvelComics toy tie-ins ''ComicBook/RomSpaceKnight'' and ''ComicBook/{{Micronauts}}'', ''The Transformers'' was set in the Marvel Universe proper, with Franchise/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-licensed 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.

* The original comics looked nothing like their more familiar look. It had the more realistic style of most 1940s comics before becoming stylized like it is today. Archie looked more like [[Magazine/{{MAD}} Alfred E. Neuman]] than anything. The characters were also younger and it initially lacked the signature BettyAndVeronica (Betty was part of the strip since day one, but Veronica did not show up until the fifth or sixth issue).

* During the early years, DC's different superhero stories very clearly took place in separate continuities.
** An issue of ''Batman'' from the 40s, for instance, had [[ComicBook/{{Robin}} Dick Grayson]] get an autograph from Jerry Siegel, identified by name and explicitly noted as "the creator of Superman".
** Early Timely (Marvel) Comics did the same. In the very first ComicBook/CaptainAmerica story, the [[ComicBook/HumanTorch1939 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 read their own comics.[[/note]]
** 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[[note]] and [[Creator/MaxFleischer Fleischer Studios]], as it was easier and cheaper to animate a man in flight than a man continually jumping[[/note]], though, he could already fly higher and faster than most airplanes well before America got into World War II. His invulnerability level changed too, since his first origin story said that only "an exploding shell" could hurt him, while these eventually became ineffective as well, necessitating the invention of {{kryptonite| factor}}.
** 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.
*** 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 UsefulNotes/TheComicsCode which was later introduced: 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.
*** Superman wasn't always the lawful, pacifist hero he is known as today. In fact, he arguably caused more harm than good in his earlier comics, [[http://www.cracked.com/article_20069_5-classic-superman-comics-that-prove-he-used-to-be-dick.html since he was actually kind of nuts]]. Examples include deliberately trapping a party of rich people in a mine to demonstrate the mine's safety problems, and drugging a football player and taking his place on the team, so that an opposing coach, who is guilty of cheating, won't win. He also once tackled teenage delinquency by demolishing their slummy neighborhood, making sure that the residents had evacuated with their possessions, upon learning that the government would be obligated to rebuild the neighborhood.
*** Clark Kent and ComicBook/LoisLane 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.
*** Initially, it was said that Superman's fantastic abilities were inherent to all indigenous Kryptonians.[[note]]One of, if not the first story to explore the exact events that led to Superman/Kal-El being sent to Earth, had Kryptonians dismissing Earthlings as being 'hundreds of generations behind them' and that 'they didn't even possess X-Ray vision!'[[/note]] 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.
*** For the first 10 years Superman was published, neither he or anyone else knew that he was an alien from the doomed planet Krypton. His origin was never questioned in-universe. Since then, it's become a very important part of his self-image and the way he's seen by others on Earth.
*** 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 Clark (Superboy) set off a fire because he wanted to punish Lex for treading in God's domain. 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.
*** Even Lex's modern incarnation presented Early Installment Weirdnesses. Originally, Lex had little interest in keeping his clean view in the public eye; in fact, he wanted everyone to know how rotten he was, as him eluding arrest had little to do with him being a VillainWithGoodPublicity, and more with the fact he basically owned Metropolis, and could force authorities to turn a blind eye to his illegal activities. Oh, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking he still had hair.]]
*** 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. It wasn't some time after that that we saw ''full use'' of the fact that he was an AI. At first, he and Lex (in his own original mad scientist persona) were basically the same character, and they teamed up a lot. When the makers of an educational computer/toy by the same name complained, he was retconned into being a computer, with an ad for the aforementioned computers thrown in. It was a ''long'' road to the current understanding of him as an AI spread over multiple bodies and computer systems, Skynet to the DCU.
*** ''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, likable personality and a definite backstory, and the early characterization and weird powers were retconned out and ignored.
** Franchise/{{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.)
** Readers weren't told about the death of Bruce Wayne's parents for the first 6 months of the character's adventures. These early adventures took place in New York City rather than the fictional Gotham. Also, he had purple gloves. And the Batmobile was originally a bright red sedan rather than a black car with a bat motif. In general, he was a lot less like Batman and a lot more like Radio/TheShadow (a few comics scholars have even suggested outright plagiarism), and didn't really become recognizably Batman in personality and operating methods until he got his own solo series.
** Bruce Wayne originally had no servants in his home, unable to trust anyone with his secret identity (except Robin, once he showed up). When Alfred was introduced (4 years after Batman's debut in ''Detective'') he was a bumbling comic relief character who looked and acted almost completely different from the man we know.
** ''A lot'' of Batman's RoguesGallery were completely different in their initial appearances:
*** ComicBook/TheJoker originally had NoSenseOfHumor (his name was instead more of a reference to his status as a WildCard). His Silver Age self was closer to his typical depiction but was simply an [[AffablyEvil affable]], [[LaughablyEvil legitimately funny]] thief who liked to make people laugh and viewed Batman as a WorthyOpponent; a far-cry from the creepy, murderous psychopath he would become famous as. He would even sometimes team-up with the heroes to take down worse villains, such as a memorable issue where circumstances forced him and Superman to work together in order to save Perry White. His clown-like complexion also used to be actual makeup, which he removed to pose as a cop (a scene that was referenced in ''Film/TheDarkKnight''). Later issues would reveal that his complexion was a deformity from falling into a vat of chemicals. Post-''ComicBook/DarkseidWar'', the earlier depictions of the Joker were retconned into [[DecompositeCharacter separate characters]], and Batman wasn't aware there are three different Jokers (i.e. the original, Silver Age, and ''[[ComicBook/TheKillingJoke Killing Joke]]'' Jokers) until he asked the Mobius Chair what the Joker's true name is.
*** ComicBook/TheScarecrow 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.
*** Killer Moth was actually a KnightOfCerebus rather than an IneffectualSympatheticVillain, having been intended as an EvilCounterpart and archenemy to Batman. He managed to keep up his threatening nature until an issue in the latter half of the Silver Age, where [[TheWorfEffect Batgirl beat him on her first night out as a vigilante]]. This caused his reputation to take a massive downhill turn, both in and out of universe.
*** Clayface used to be a simple thief/murderer without superpowers who wore an old costume. He only got the upgrade to superpowers after it became clear that Batman and company completely outclassed him.
*** ComicBook/MrFreeze, 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|1966}}'' 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.
*** ComicBook/PoisonIvy'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). She was also far more obsessed with material possessions like jewelry and clothing, with one ''ComicBook/SuicideSquad'' issue having her outright claim to ''hate'' the jungle after getting a tear in her tights.
*** ComicBook/{{Catwoman}} did not wear a costume at all, instead using disguises and trickery in her heists, and while she did occasionally wear a mask, it was an actual cat-faced mask as opposed to her better known cowl with cat ears. She didn't even call herself Catwoman originally, instead going by the shorter alias "The Cat;" "Cat-Woman" was just a nickname. She was also more overtly villainous, in contrast to the AntiHero / AntiVillain characterization most modern fans are familiar with.
*** 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 [[DeathIsCheap Comic Book Death]] (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.
** Franchise/WonderWoman:
*** In Wondy's first appearance in ''[[ComicBook/AllStarComicsNumberEight Wonder Woman Arrives in Man's World]]'' the introductary blurb about her powers is, ''As lovely as Aphrodite, as wise as Athena, with the speed of Mercury and the strength of Hercules'', all later iterations of this blurb will end with ''faster than Mercury and stronger than Hercules''.
*** 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 ''Series/WonderWoman1975'', and didn't [[RetCanon make its way into the comics]] until Creator/GeorgePerez rebooted Wonder Woman's origin after ''ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'' for ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1987''.
*** Likewise, Wonder Woman couldn't originally fly, which explains why she needed the Invisible Jet in the first place. And it wasn't the Invisible Jet at first, either, but simply the Robot Plane (with standard-for-the-time propeller propulsion, which somehow worked in space).
*** The Golden Age Wonder Woman stories come off as rather kinky nowadays, with a ''lot'' of gratuitous BoundAndGagged scenes, even by the standards of the era. Also, Wonder Woman's major weakness was that she would lose her powers if her hands were ever bound by a man, a problem she obviously no longer has.
*** The Amazons were all white in the Golden Age stories and for much of the comic's history. It was George Perez who decided to give Paradise Island a racially diverse population, as he felt there were some UnfortunateImplications behind having an all-female utopia consist solely of white women.
*** There was a greater focus on psychosexual and gender themes in the Golden Age stories. In addition to the ubiquity of the aforementioned bondage themes, Wonder Woman had several villains who were female crossdressers, like Doctor Poison and Blue Snowman.
*** Wonder Woman had a lot of rather silly [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1942 Golden and Silver Age]] villains who are pretty much never used any more, such as Mouse Man.
*** It helps that the original creator was heavily into bondage, and [[AuthorAppeal worked it into his stories]] whenever he got the chance. Later writers didn't share the fetish and so it was toned down heavily even before the Comics Code.
** 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/JusticeLeague'', ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'', ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'' and the [[Film/Shazam2019 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.
** Lots of members of the ComicBook/JusticeSocietyOfAmerica were completely different. In fact, Pre-Crisis, many "modern" superheroes like Batman and Superman coexisted with them and were members of the team rather than its successors. These differences and changes were either retconned away or explained as having been a previous member who retired or died during the timespan between the JSA's initial disbanding and the formation of the Justice League. To whit:
*** The original book as a whole serves as one for team books. There were short stories in each issue that had the various members of the JSA hanging out together, but this was little more than a framing device; every other story would be about the members of the team operating solo. It was functionally an anthology book rather than a team book.
*** The first [[ComicBook/TheAtom Atom]] didn't have the character's signature size-changing powers, he was just a guy with SuperStrength and an "atomic punch" who was a bit shorter than average. His costume was also totally different, with a yellow shirt and a cape.
*** 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's most frequently been 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.
*** ComicBook/{{Hourman}}'s SuperSerum used to be completely beneficial and harmless, in stark contrast to how it would later be portrayed (addictive and dangerous, with Hourman taking years to overcome it and create a non-harmful version).
*** 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 LampshadeHanging occurred when the patrolman asked the reporter "Are you really Superman?"
*** 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 of Johnny Thunder 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.
*** The first ComicBook/RedTornado is probably the most striking example. For one thing, it was a woman posing as a man and she was completely human rather than an android. She also [[NonIndicativeName didn't really have that much red on her costume]] and had no superpowers or gadgets to speak of, relying on her own wits and strength.
*** ComicBook/{{Stargirl}} In the early days she was much meaner and disrespectful. She did not have the name "Stargirl" until over four years after her creation, and she did not have the cosmic staff until over two years after her creation. In her first few chronological appearences her only power was super strength, and she was a melee fighter.
** 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, ComicBook/{{Mera}}, or even his most famous villains, ComicBook/BlackManta 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.
** ComicBook/GreenArrow originally had a different costume, brown hair, and no goatee. He also had a more boring personality, lacking the inclination towards social justice that would define the character starting in UsefulNotes/TheBronzeAgeOfComicBooks. Additionally, like many Golden Age heroes, he had no qualms about killing bad guys.
** [[ComicBook/SubMariner Namor]]:
*** His initial Golden Age adventures were DarkerAndEdgier, with the character essentially being a VillainProtagonist who had legitimate beefs with humanity but still murdered humans with little hesitation. He mellowed out considerably after the first year or so and became more heroic, but never quite lost his edge. As time went on, his famous HeelFaceRevolvingDoor tendencies were introduced, and he began to bounce back and forth between being a menace to humanity and a misunderstood AntiHero depending on the issue. The 2008 mini-series ''Sub-Mariner: The Depths'' was a PsychologicalThriller that [[RevisitingTheRoots went back to the character's roots]], with Namor depicted as a cold, inhuman killing machine who had more in common with the shark from ''Film/{{Jaws}}'' than he did with Aquaman.
*** While Namor was always from an undersea kingdom, it wasn't originally called Atlantis. Writer Bill Everett deliberately avoided calling the kingdom Atlantis in the original stories (as he firmly believed Atlantis was a real place that had simply yet to be found), and it was only named as such in 1949, in a story Everett was not involved with.
*** The other members of Namor's race looked completely different in the earliest stories, with large, bulging eyes and more fish-like appearances. This was gradually toned down until they came to resemble humans with blue skin instead.
*** In the '60s, Namor had powers modeled after various sea creatures, such as puffer fish and electric eels. These are almost never brought up anymore, [[LetUsNeverSpeakOfThisAgain especially the puffer fish powers]]. Which is actually kind of a shame since [[HeartIsAnAwesomePower puffer fish toxin is one of the deadliest poisons in the animal kingdom]].
* ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'':
** Early comics had trouble defining what exactly his "spider sense" is and how it works. In one early comic, he was able to use it to "tune in" on the Chameleon's location (clear across New York City in a helicopter) and in another, Doctor Doom was able to use it like a radio signal, transmitting a message directly to Spider-Man using some kind of transmitter hooked up to a spider. (To this day, it's still a bit vaguely defined. The ''ComicBook/SpiderGirl'' comics showed his daughter, having developed her powers earlier, being able to use her spider sense in a few ways her father can't, such as being able to pinpoint the exact source of the danger in a way that sometimes allows her to find a vulnerability in an enemy.)
** 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.
** 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 give 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.
** 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 another. 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 {{foreshadow|ing}} 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.
*** Before his trademark glider, the Green Goblin used a small rocket he called a "Broomstick" as his mode of transportation.
** The ComicBook/{{Venom}} symbiote changed over time as well. Originally, it was just an alien costume with stronger webbing, changing into a symbiote when the costume proved unpopular. The symbiote driving people insane wearing it wasn't even a thing in the comics - that came from ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManTheAnimatedSeries''. Venom's design also changed over time, as its first appearance had the only major design change being a mouth and a row of teeth. A few appearances later, the teeth got sharper and a long, dragon-like tongue got added in.
*** For that matter, Eddie Brock as the first Venom was originally much more [[AxCrazy deranged]], spiteful and outright villainous than he would be in later appearances and adaptations. Aside from one or two token lines of expressed regret he generally didn't bat an eye at the loss of innocent life (the first time he fought Spidey he shamelessly killed a cop, and in his first breakout he killed a security guard) and his ability to take criticism and hold himself accountable were downright nonexistent, a far cry from the snarky, self-deprecating PragmaticHero he is nowadays. As a result of his enduring [[BreakoutVillain popularity]], however, Eddie would quickly be written as a NobleDemon and later on AntiHero, with Carnage taking his place as the Marvel Universe's outright insane Symbiote Supervillain. Several explanations have been offered for why Eddie-as-Venom was so different back then, the most common being that since both Eddie and the Symbiote where at the absolute low point in their lives at the time of bonding, they drew out each other's most negative personality traits. To give an idea of how much Eddie changed over time, compare Sony's [[Film/Venom2018 official Venom Movie]] (which draws from his more modern appearances) with [[WebVideo/TruthInJournalism this Fan Film]] and you'll quickly notice how massively different they are.
** The first couple issues of Spidey's first ongoing operated on a TwoShorts format, as opposed to the full-length 20/22-pagers that became standard for Marvel (and DC later on).

* The modern version of ComicBook/{{Batwoman}} debuted in the series ''ComicBook/FiftyTwo'', with a different look than what she'd sport in her ongoing series and ''ComicBook/DetectiveComics'' appearances. Kate was first depicted as having long auburn-red hair, was more into dresses for her fashion sense, and had brown eyes. When her series came around, her skin was dramatically lightened to be a "vampire porcelain white" (to better reflect a redhead's complexion), she was depicted as dressing more punkish, her hair became short and a highly saturated shade of red, and her [[SignificantGreenEyedRedhead eyes were changed to green]]. She was also portrayed as a closeted LipstickLesbian, in contrast to her depiction in ''Detective'', where she sports a more masculine dress style and is open about her sexuality.
* While Creator/NeilGaiman's ''ComicBook/TheSandman'' has always taken place in Franchise/TheDCU, 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 ComicBook/TheScarecrow 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.

* The ComicBook/FantasticFour wore civilian garb in their first two issues and operated out of the fictional Central City.
** The ComicBook/HumanTorch looked like a featureless yellow blob of flame, taking after his Golden Age incarnation.
** As well as ComicBook/{{The Thing}} looking very lumpy and uneven. The rest of the team also called him 'Thing' all the time instead of Ben... which is pretty dickish and insensitive in hindsight.
** The Thing also had a crush on [[ComicBook/InvisibleWoman Sue]] in the early issues, a subplot that was eventually dropped and has rarely been revisited since.
** The OriginStory of the trio has Reed Richards make a rather rash decision to go into space without proper knowledge of the effects of cosmic rays, despite Ben warning him about it. This seems odd considering modern-day Reed would never go into any situation unprepared unless he had no choice, though some writers state this higher degree of carefulness is [[CharacterDevelopment a lesson he learned from that accident]].
** ComicBook/DoctorDoom acquired the ability to switch minds with whomever he had eye contact with. This is an ability that he occasionally uses even in the newer comics, but it was an odd concept for the time. A later RetCon stated that only his infamous vanity keeps him from using the ability more often.
** Furthermore, in Doom's first appearance, he didn't have the grudge with [[ComicBook/MisterFantastic Reed Richards]] that has come to define his character - they just happened to be former classmates. His plot was a little less world-shattering as well - kidnapping the Fantastic Four to STEAL BLACKBEARD'S TREASURE. [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking And he didn't have a cape.]] It was also implied that Ben wasn't familiar with Doom, while later stories would establish that he too had known Doom back in college.
* ''ComicBook/UltimateMarvel'':
** ''ComicBook/UltimateMarvelTeamUp'' was done very early in the life of the [[ComicBook/UltimateMarvel Ultimate universe.]] As a result, a lot of characters like Hulk and ComicBook/IronMan appeared before they were given headlining roles in ''ComicBook/TheUltimates'' and are noticeably different from what would come.
** 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 depiction 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.
** Today, the ''Ultimate'' version of ComicBook/NickFury is probably best known for being [[ComicBookFantasyCasting closely modeled after]] actor Creator/SamuelLJackson (with Jackson's permission), with the assumption that Jackson was always destined to play Fury on the big screen. Understandably, it can be a bit jarring to read Ultimate Nick Fury's first appearance in ''ComicBook/UltimateXMen'''s 2001 story arc "Return to Weapon X", where [[ArtEvolution he looks nothing like Samuel L. Jackson]]. While [[RaceLift he's still African-American]], Fury is drawn with noticeably lighter skin than Jackson, and he has a fade haircut instead of Jackson's distinctive [[BaldOfAwesome shaved head]]. Also, he's initially depicted as a snappy-dressing ComicBook/{{SHIELD}} field agent with an arsenal of elaborate gadgets (not unlike his depiction in the old ''Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.'' comic book series) rather than as the BaldBlackLeaderGuy of ComicBook/TheUltimates.
** 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 have to bother about concealing a secret identity.
** 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 turned into a complete villain with no redeeming qualities. By the time of ''ComicBook/UltimateOrigins'', he is shown to have been a teen 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.
* After his first appearance in ''Tales of Suspense'' #39, ComicBook/IronMan spent the next few issues traveling back in time to visit Cleopatra, fighting a robot caveman built by aliens, preventing a race of people who lived inside the Earth from invading the surface world, and having several other wacky adventures. It wasn't until ''Tales of Suspense'' #45 (the first appearance of Virginia "Pepper" Potts, Harold "Happy" Hogan, and supervillain Blizzard) that he started to edge more towards superhero territory.
* Similarly, the ComicBook/MartianManhunter, having first appeared at the start of UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks, was more like a detective than a superhero in his initial appearances and only became a superhero when superheroes started to get popular again.
** Also, there was absolutely ''no'' indication whatsoever that Mars was a dead planet or that J'onn was the LastOfHisKind. Many of the tales of the time feature either Martian technology or the appearance of other Martian characters.
* Notably, Bruce Banner originally turned into the ComicBook/IncredibleHulk at night. He was also originally colored grey, but this changed to green, as grey was hard to reproduce consistently in the 1960's.
** Of course, these two traits were notably brought back years later in the 1980's where it was revealed that the Grey Hulk was another personality of Banner's.
*** 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 {{lampshade|Hanging}}d 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?
** Like the ''Sub-Mariner: The Depths'' example mentioned above, the later ''ComicBook/ImmortalHulk'' series intentionally went back to the character's roots, with the Hulk depicted as a far more intelligent and overtly malicious figure than most fans were generally used to. The series also revives some of the Hulk's original mechanics, with "the night is his time" being a repeated theme-phrase. The way the "Immortal" part works is that if Bruce Banner is killed, the Hulk will rise as soon as night falls on his corpse.
** Hulk also had an ever-changing number of toes. When he first appeared, he had five toes. When his book was cancelled and he resurfaced in ''Fantastic Four'', he now had three. When he joined the Avengers, he then had four, but went back to three by the second issue, only for this number to vary wildly in each subsequent appearance before the artists finally settled on five in ''Tales to Astonish''. This was the subject in a MythologyGag in ''ComicBook/UltronForever'', where the Hulk transported from the past still had three toes.
** Originally, the Hulk could also ''fly'', but this ability was quickly dropped (retconned into super jumps that could be mistaken for flight by witnesses).
** The Hulk being a founding member of ComicBook/TheAvengers. It didn't take Stan Lee long to figure out that the Hulk wasn't exactly a team player, such that by the third issue of the series he's actually fighting ''against'' the others in full-on supervillain mode. Later comics have dealt with his on-again, off-again membership in all manner of ways as his intelligence has fluctuated.
* ComicBook/CaptainAmerica has a different shield and costume in his first issue.
** His trademark [[MadeOfIndestructium Vibranium/Steel]] 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 partially composed of Vibranium is itself a retcon, as Captain America was created ''decades'' before that fictional metal was introduced in the Franchise/MarvelUniverse. Exactly ''what'' the shield was made of wasn't established until many years after Cap's [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]] revival.
** Cap's cowl was originally a separate piece of material like a hat, which was soon changed to a full connected cowl. Creator/JohnByrne later explained that Cap had it knocked off in a fight and his secret identity was almost exposed as a result. To fight that, Cap modified with connecting material to the rest of his costume, which had the added benefit of covering his neck with his costume's armor.
** In the old WWII stories, Steve Rogers was a smoker. The 1941 story "Captain America and the Riddle of the Red Skull" shows him smoking a cigarette in the middle of the story and a pipe at the end.
** The original ComicBook/RedSkull wasn't the Nazi we all know and hate; instead, he was an unrelated person simply wearing a Red Skull mask.
** His partner, ComicBook/TheFalcon, started off as a BadassNormal with a green costume and no powers or gadgets outside of a grappling hook. His trademark wing suit and red color scheme weren't introduced until a few years after his creation.
* ''ComicBook/BlackPanther'':
** When Black Panther first appeared in ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'', there was no indication that T'Challa wasn't the first person to use the identity, and his origin in general was closer to that of Batman (with T'Challa seemingly creating a costumed identity to avenge his murdered father). It was only years later that it was established that the Black Panther was a {{Legacy|Character}} mantle, and that T'Challa's father had been a previous holder of the identity.
** Wakanda had a much more tribal and less developed look in the early stories, with a lot of people still living in huts and wearing loincloths. It was also stated that T'Challa was responsible for most of the country's modernization, in contrast to later depictions, where it is made clear Wakanda has been incredibly advanced for a great many years. There were also no Dora Milaje, with the group itself not appearing until the 90's.
** The Black Panther suit wasn't originally bulletproof and didn't have any vibranium in it. In fact, it was torn up and damaged rather frequently.
* 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 {{lampshade|Hanging}}d 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://web.archive.org/web/20141224034715/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.
** While John Stewart is primarily known for being a very serious, straight-laced military veteran, that wasn't always the case. In his early appearances, John was far livelier and less uptight, and had a clear rebellious streak. In fact, John's lack of respect for authority figures caused him to clash with Hal on more than one occasion. The modern characterization of John as a stoic former Marine wasn't introduced until the ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' TV series.
** Likewise, Guy Gardner was actually a perfectly nice, normal dude when he first showed up. His exaggerated JerkAss tendencies only really came into play after he recovered from his coma and became a full time Green Lantern during ''ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths''.
** 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, and had a weakness to wood. Also, the concept of there being a large cadre of Green Lanterns overseen by the Guardians of the Universe was introduced with the Silver Age version; Scott had no knowledge of or contact with the Guardians or with any other Green Lanterns.
* Moonstone from the ''ComicBook/{{Thunderbolts}}'' originally appeared in ''ComicBook/CaptainAmerica'' as a gun-toting [[BodyguardBabes henchwoman]] for Doctor Faustus. She didn't have any powers, nor were her trademark scheming and manipulative tendencies apparent.

* HealingFactor characters Franchise/{{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.
* This can be applied era to era in comics but especially UsefulNotes/{{the Silver Age|of Comic Books}} which generally has the silliest and most over the top plots and really sticks out from the other eras with many of the most popular characters of today being invented or taking on their most recognizable forms in that era.
** In ''ComicBook/IronMan'', Tony Stark's suit requires NoConservationOfEnergy. Modern stories explain the arc reactor is generating all the energy, while early issues explain the suit's energy is being amplified because of the suit's transistors[[note]]in real life, transistors allow a small amount of current to control the flow of a larger amount of current, but that larger amount still has to ''come'' from somewhere; the transistor doesn't just make it out of nothing[[[/note]]. Impressive! Maybe Stark designed ''super'' transistors.
** Both Marvel villains and Iron Man used HypnoRay technology consisting of swirling spiral patterns and some vaguely defined energy to automatically hypnotize the target.
** {{Magnetism|Manipulation}} was the force used by Iron Man's repulsor technology, being just as powerful and versatile as Magneto, lifting others by their blood's iron content and juggling cars.
** [[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 "Children of the Atom".
** The original comics looked nothing like their more familiar look. It had the more realistic style of most 1940s comics before becoming stylized like it is today. Archie looked more like [[Magazine/{{MAD}} Alfred E. Neuman]] than anything. The characters were also younger and it initially lacked the signature BettyAndVeronica (Betty was part of the strip since day one, but Veronica did not show up until the fifth or sixth issue).

* ComicBook/DoctorStrange started out looking much older than his eventual appearance, with slanted eyes and vaguely Asian features, and was [[RedBaron dubbed]] the "Master of Black Magic." Nowadays this seems like a [[ObligatoryJoke strange]] title to give the character, as later stories have established that a) Black Magic is only a specific type of magic, and Strange is master of all of them, and b) Strange [[GodzillaThreshold only uses black magic in times of great need]].
* In the first few issues of ''ComicBook/XMen'', mutants weren't hated and feared, the X-Men were treated as celebrities (the second issue has Angel meet a bunch of fangirls), they had an official government liasion (Fred Duncan), ComicBook/{{Beast|Marvel Comics}} was DumbMuscle, Comicbook/{{Iceman}} was a JerkAss (mission briefing would sometimes lead to him attacking the rest of the team) and Comicbook/JeanGrey's telekinesis was for some reason called teleportation, even in the second issue, in which they fought an actual teleporter. Xavier didn't hesitate to hit people who knew too much with LaserGuidedAmnesia, either. Also, ComicBook/{{Magneto}}, in contrast to his contemporary portrayal as a WellIntentionedExtremist, was a straightforward bad guy without any redeeming features. He also had psychic powers that were nearly a match for Charles Xavier's, including AstralProjection.
** 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. Oh, ''and'' he was gray at first.
** 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; in other early stories, he seemed to be able to do ''anything'' as long as he was said to be doing it "magnetically", leading to amusing panels where Magneto seems to be able to control "animal magnetism" or can manipulate people thanks to his "magnetic personality". 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. (Mind you, those two things seem like errors; in issue 1-7, both heroes have their familiar names, though in the first, Scott was called "Slim," which is now officially a nickname.) 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.
** 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 track Karma in her first appearance.
** 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 against their will.
* Before he was Franchise/{{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/CarolDanvers was not a superhero, but rather an unpowered military officer and ComicBook/CaptainMarVell's love interest. Later, when she became ComicBook/MsMarvel, she could initially only fly thanks to [[ClothesMakeTheSuperman special mechanisms in her Kree uniform]], rather than flight being part of her powerset. Ms. Marvel was also originally Carol's SuperpoweredAlterEgo (á la the Hulk), with neither personality being aware of the other.
* In [[ComicBook/MsMarvel2014 Kamala Khan]]'s EarlyBirdCameo in ''Captain Marvel'' #17, her powers are depicted more along the lines of HulkingOut rather than making her a [[RubberMan Rubber Girl]]. According to Creator/GWillowWilson, this is because the more surreal and cartoonish depiction of Kamala's powers wouldn't be nailed down until Adrian Alphona came aboard to draw her solo book.

* In the early strips of ''ComicBook/MortadeloYFilemon'', both worked alone as private detectives instead of being secret agents, Filemón was always angry and smoked a pipe, Mortadelo was even more stupid and clumsy, and there was barely any of the {{Slapstick}} that defines the series nowadays.

** The early Tintin stories before ''The Blue Lotus'' are mostly a continuous series of events without much focus and a lot of randomness (evident as late as Cigars of the Pharaoh, whose later colorized edition was heavily edited down). ''Tintin in the Land of the Soviets'' and ''[[Recap/TintinTintinInTheCongo Tintin in the Congo]]'' are plain propaganda stories warning the youth against Soviet communism and praising the virtues of Belgian colonialism in Congo. Tintin's travels to foreign countries were simply based on stereotypical ideas. Hergé only started doing research for his stories from "The Blue Lotus" on (it's probably worth noting that in "The Blue Lotus" itself he mocks national stereotypes, most notably by having Thomson and Thompson trying to blend in with the locals by dressing up like Fu Manchu).

* ComicBook/{{Thanos}} was much slimmer in his first appearance, and had an outfit similar to ComicBook/{{Darkseid}}'s, complete with bare legs and a sleeveless top. Also, the Titans were uniformly shown to have purple skin, while later stories would establish that most Titans resembled humans, and that Thanos' odd skin color was the result of his Deviant genes. His backstory was also slightly different, with him being the grandson of the Titan Kronos from Greek mythology. Subsequent {{Retcon}}s would instead have Kronos be an [[ComicBook/TheEternals Eternal]], removing Thanos' connection to the Greek pantheon. These early appearances also portrayed Thanos as more of a generic galactic conqueror, which today would seem at odds with his more ponderous and complex characterization.
* 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. Even more, humanity was revealed not to be the result of evolution, but of the celestials experimenting with the ancient big apes. The characters were incorporated into the Marvel Universe in the ''ComicBook/WhatIf'' series (which, contrary to the title, was not exploring WhatIf scenarios in those stories, but the new canon history). This series revealed that the Titans were former Eternals, that the Kree learned about them and made their own experiments on the first humans (thus creating ComicBook/TheInhumans), and that a long time later the Eternals helped the Inhumans to relocate Attilan in the Himalayas. And the change to the origin of the human race was removed: the experiments of the Celestials created the Eternals and the Deviants, but the apes were then released, and evolved into humans at their own pace. Roy Thomas then used them in his ''Thor'' run as the focus of his "Eternals Saga" storyline, the first one in a major Marvel comic. This may come as a surprise to certain readers, especially given the way the Celestials have been incorporated into the wider 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.
* The Infinity Gems were originally called the Soul Gems when they first appeared. They also weren't ''nearly'' as powerful, and were only used to power a weapon Thanos had built to destroy all the stars in the universe. The idea that a person with all six Infinity Gems essentially ''became God'' wasn't established until ''Comicbook/TheInfinityGauntlet''.

* ''Superlópez'' began as a direct and shameless parody of ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'', mocking several Creator/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 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 strait-laced hero.
* In his early appearances, ''ComicBook/GhostRider'' actually got his powers from Satan himself, rather than ComicBook/{{Mephisto}}.
* [[ComicBook/TheMightyThor Thor]]:
** In the first few stories, he wasn't treated as the actual Thor from the myths. While Donald Blake did physically transform into Thor, the mind was still Blake's. For example, when he first meets ComicBook/{{Loki}}, Thor/Blake thinks about the things he knows from the myths, and not of the things he, being Loki's brother, should know. The comic in general also lacks the YeOldeButcheredeEnglishe Shakespearean dialog during its early days that Asgardians would routinely employ later on in the comic. Also, rather than being a fantasy epic, Thor's very first adventure was a pretty run of the mill superhero story, with Thor saving the Earth from a group of invading aliens called the Kronans.
** 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 the Super-Skrull and 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.
** When ComicBook/{{Valkyrie|Marvel Comics}} first appeared in ''ComicBook/TheAvengers'', she was actually a StrawFeminist and a ''villain'', and turned out to merely be a disguise used by Amora the Enchantress. The persona was then attached to multiple human women (most notably Barbara Norris), producing lots of alter ego/amnesia drama. It wouldn't be until a few years later in an issue of ''ComicBook/TheDefenders'' that Valkyrie was established as an actual Asgardian hero.

* ''ComicBook/{{Nova}}''[='=]s 1970 series didn't have Worldmind established as a core concept of the Nova Corps, although the computers of Xandar were mentioned quite a few times. Nova was more of a FlyingBrick - his powers consisted of flight, super strength, and invulnerability, rather than the gravimetric abilities he is portrayed with in modern times.
* ComicBook/{{X 23}}, in her early appearances in ''ComicBook/UncannyXMen'', was shown as mocking Psylocke's mannerisms, something that went against her usual stoic and loner attitudes.
* 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 the design and personality that would make him the face of the ComicBook/SuicideSquad.

* In his first appearance, ComicBook/MoonKnight had a different costume and was actually a ''villain'' working for the Secret Empire. After he unexpectedly became popular, later issues retconned this by saying that he had always been a hero, but at the time of his first appearance was [[TheMole infiltrating the Secret Empire]].
* 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 {{Stripperiffic}}) costume, despite ''Young Avengers'' later establishing that she prefers CivvieSpandex because she thinks costumes are stupid.
* ComicBook/{{Cable}}, being a character whose backstory was made up as things went along, has some instances:
** He started out using a lot of strange idioms (''not'' FutureSlang) which suggested that he spoke with a British accent.
** 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 beyond making tentacles some out of it sometimes.
** Early appearances heavily implied that he was formerly a soldier for the U.S. government, with the government being keenly aware of him and his service record. This doesn't line up with later revelations that he only returned to the past as a 50-something and ran unsanctioned mercenary groups for the most part.

* 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/ThePunisher 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''.
* ComicBook/{{Groot}} was actually a ''villain'' in his first appearance, and spoke in complete sentences instead of PokemonSpeak. Just how you get GOTG's Groot out of the one that originally came to scoop a town off of Earth with a dense web of trees to take them back to Planet X is something that [[MultipleChoicePast not every retelling of his origin agrees on]].

* 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 ''desperately'' wants to get her father's blessing to be the Flash.
* 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]]. (Why did they run the red light? Because a madman was shooting at litterers!) When it was decided that he'd work as a gritty protagonist, those incidents were retconned into him being drugged.
* ''ComicBook/AntMan'':
** 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.
** ComicBook/TheWasp's trademark "stings" were originally blasts of compressed air fired from a special gadget worn on her right wrist, rather than bioelectric shocks generated from within her own body that could be fired from both hands. She was also written as a rather flighty character who often seemed like she didn't take her duties as a superhero very seriously, in contrast to her later role as one of the longest-serving and most dedicated members of the Avengers. Also, due to the ValuesDissonance of TheSixties, Janet's early relationship with Hank would seem pretty unhealthy to modern readers. She was often depicted as a [[WetBlanketWife nagging girlfriend]] who would get on Hank's nerves by complaining about how often he neglected her in favor of science or superheroics, with Hank usually responding by belittling or outright insulting her.
** Whirlwind was originally called "The Human Top" in his earliest appearances.
* ''ComicBook/BuckskinAmericasDefenderOfLiberty'' had Early Installment Weirdness in its ''title'', originally being called ''Buckskin '''Blake''': America's Defender of Liberty''.
* Doomsday had quite a few things about him in his first appearance during ''ComicBook/TheDeathOfSuperman'' that made him the {{Trope Namer|s}} 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''
* ''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]].

* ComicBook/{{Quicksilver}} and the ComicBook/ScarletWitch started their lives out as villains, part of Magneto's "Brotherhood of Evil Mutants". Quicksilver's outfit was green with while lightning bolts on it while the Scarlet Witch's trademark bustier had straps on it and her whipet framed her entire face. As well, Wanda's hair was black at the start. It wouldn't be until the 70s until the two's outfits would shift into its more recognizable designs and colors and Wanda's hair would be a more reddish-brown.

* Many superheroes during UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks:
** During the early years, DC's different superhero stories very clearly took place in separate continuities.
*** An issue of ''Batman'' from the 40s, for instance, had [[ComicBook/{{Robin}} Dick Grayson]] get an autograph from Jerry Siegel, identified by name and explicitly noted as "the creator of Superman".
*** Early Timely (Marvel) Comics did the same. In the very first ComicBook/CaptainAmerica story, the [[ComicBook/HumanTorch1939 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 read their own comics.[[/note]]

*** ComicBook/TheJoker originally had NoSenseOfHumor. His Silver Age self was closer to his typical depiction but was simply an [[AffablyEvil affable]], [[LaughablyEvil legitimately funny]] thief who liked to make people laugh and viewed Batman as a WorthyOpponent; a far-cry from the creepy, murderous psychopath he would become famous as. He would even sometimes team-up with the heroes to take down worse villains, such as a memorable issue where circumstances forced him and Superman to work together in order to save Perry White. His clown-like complexion also used to be actual makeup, which he removed to pose as a cop (a scene that was referenced in ''Film/TheDarkKnight''). Later issues would reveal that his complexion was a deformity from falling into a vat of chemicals. Post-''ComicBook/DarkseidWar'', the earlier depictions of the Joker were retconned into [[DecompositeCharacter separate characters]], and Batman wasn't aware there are three different Jokers (i.e. the original, Silver Age, and ''[[ComicBook/TheKillingJoke Killing Joke]]'' Jokers) until he asked the Mobius Chair what the Joker's true name is.

** As well as ComicBook/{{the Thing}} looking very lumpy and uneven. The rest of the team also called him 'Thing' all the time instead of Ben... which is pretty dickish and insensitive in hindsight.

** Furthermore, in Doom's first appearance, he didn't have the grudge with [[ComicBook/MisterFantastic Reed Richards]] that has come to define his character - they just happened to be former classmates. His plot was a little less world-shattering as well - kidnapping the Fantastic Four to STEAL BLACKBEARD'S TREASURE. [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking And he didn't have a cape.]]

** 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. His invulnerability level changed too, since his first origin story said that only "an exploding shell" could hurt him, while these eventually became ineffective as well, necessitating the invention of {{kryptonite| factor}}.

*** His initial Golden Age adventures were DarkerAndEdgier, with the character essentially being a remorseless VillainProtagonist who murdered humans without any hesitation. As time went on, his famous HeelFaceRevolvingDoor tendencies were introduced, and he began to bounce back and forth between being a menace to humanity and a misunderstood AntiHero depending on the issue. The 2008 mini-series ''Sub-Mariner: The Depths'' was a PsychologicalThriller that [[RevisitingTheRoots went back to the character's roots]], with Namor depicted as a cold, inhuman killing machine who had more in common with the shark from ''Film/{{Jaws}}'' than he did with Aquaman.
*** While Namor was always from an undersea kingdom, it wasn't originally Atlantis. Writer Bill Everett deliberately avoided calling the kingdom Atlantis in the original stories (as he firmly believed Atlantis was a real place that had simply yet to be found), and it was only named as such decades later by Stan Lee in a ''Fantastic Four'' annual.
*** The other members of Namor's race looked completely different in the early stories, with large, bulging eyes and more fish-like appearances. When they reappeared during the Silver Age, they'd been completely redesigned to resemble humans with blue skin.

* 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 "jiraffes"''[sic]'' 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.

* The first few ''ComicBook/{{Hellboy}}'' stories are very odd to read in comparison to later installments, thanks to Creator/JohnByrne's writing. Under Byrne, Hellboy uses a PrivateEyeMonologue to describe the story, tying him more closely into the NinetiesAntiHero archetype. When Byrne left and Mike Mignola, the series' creator, took over dialogue in addition to plotting and art, this form of exposition vanished.

** 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. (Mind you, those two things seem like errors; in issue 1-7, both heroes have their familiar names, though in the first, Scott was called "Slim," which is now officially a nickname.) 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.

*** An issue of ''Batman'' from the 40s, for instance, had [[Comicbook/{{Robin}} Dick Grayson]] get an autograph from Jerry Siegel, identified by name and explicitly noted as "the creator of Superman".
*** Early Timely (Marvel) Comics did the same. In the very first ComicBook/CaptainAmerica story, the [[Comicbook/HumanTorch1939 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 read their own comics.[[/note]]

*** Comicbook/MrFreeze, 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|1966}}'' 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.
*** ComicBook/PoisonIvy'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). She was also far more obsessed with material possessions like jewelry and clothing, with one ''Comicbook/SuicideSquad'' issue having her outright claim to ''hate'' the jungle after getting a tear in her tights.

*** 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 ''Series/WonderWoman1975'', and didn't [[RetCanon make its way into the comics]] until Creator/GeorgePerez rebooted Wonder Woman's origin after ''Comicbook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'' for ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1987''.

** 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/JusticeLeague'', ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'', ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'' and the [[Film/Shazam2019 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.

*** [[{{ComicBook/Hourman}} Hourman's]] SuperSerum used to be completely beneficial and harmless, in stark contrast to how it would later be portrayed (addictive and dangerous, with Hourman taking years to overcome it and create a non-harmful version).

*** Comicbook/{{Stargirl}} In the early days she was much meaner and disrespectful. She did not have the name "Stargirl" until over four years after her creation, and she did not have the cosmic staff until over two years after her creation. In her first few chronological appearences her only power was super strength, and she was a melee fighter.
** 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, ComicBook/{{Mera}}, or even his most famous villains, Comicbook/BlackManta 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.
** Comicbook/GreenArrow originally had a different costume, brown hair, and no goatee. He also had a more boring personality, lacking the inclination towards social justice that would define the character starting in UsefulNotes/TheBronzeAgeOfComicBooks. Additionally, like many Golden Age heroes, he had no qualms about killing bad guys.
** [[Comicbook/SubMariner Namor]]:

** 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 another. 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.

** ''Comicbook/ArchieComicsSonicTheHedgehog'':

* While Creator/NeilGaiman's ''Comicbook/TheSandman'' has always taken place in Franchise/TheDCU, 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 ComicBook/TheScarecrow 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.

** Like the ''Sub-Mariner: The Depths'' example mentioned above, the later ''Comicbook/ImmortalHulk'' series intentionally went back to the character's roots, with the Hulk depicted as a far more intelligent and overtly malicious figure than most fans were generally used to. The series also revives some of the Hulk's original mechanics, with "the night is his time" being a repeated theme-phrase. The way the "Immortal" part works is that if Bruce Banner is killed, the Hulk will rise as soon as night falls on his corpse.

** His trademark [[MadeOfIndestructium Vibranium/Steel]] 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 original Comicbook/RedSkull wasn't the Nazi we all know and hate; instead, he was an unrelated person simply wearing a Red Skull mask.

* ''Comicbook/BlackPanther'':
** When Black Panther first appeared in ''Comicbook/FantasticFour'', there was no indication that T'Challa wasn't the first person to use the identity, and his origin in general was closer to that of Batman (with T'Challa seemingly creating a costumed identity to avenge his murdered father). It was only years later that it was established that the Black Panther was a [[LegacyCharacter Legacy]] mantle, and that T'Challa's father had been a previous holder of the identity.

* 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 {{lampshade|Hanging}}d 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.

** Likewise, Guy Gardner was actually a perfectly nice, normal dude when he first showed up. His exaggerated JerkAss tendencies only really came into play after he recovered from his coma and became a full time Green Lantern during ''Comicbook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths''.

* Moonstone from the ''Comicbook/{{Thunderbolts}}'' originally appeared in ''ComicBook/CaptainAmerica'' as a gun-toting [[BodyguardBabes henchwoman]] for Doctor Faustus. She didn't have any powers, nor were her trademark scheming and manipulative tendencies apparent.

** In ''Comicbook/IronMan'', Tony Stark's suit requires NoConservationOfEnergy. Modern stories explain the arc reactor is generating all the energy, while early issues explain the suit's energy is being amplified because of the suit's transistors[[note]]in real life, transistors allow a small amount of current to control the flow of a larger amount of current, but that larger amount still has to ''come'' from somewhere; the transistor doesn't just make it out of nothing[[[/note]]. Impressive! Maybe Stark designed ''super'' transistors.

** [[MagnetismManipulation Magnetism]] was the force used by Iron Man's repulsor technology, being just as powerful and versatile as Magneto, lifting others by their blood's iron content and juggling cars.

* Comicbook/DoctorStrange started out looking much older than his eventual appearance, with slanted eyes and vaguely Asian features, and was [[RedBaron dubbed]] the "Master of Black Magic." Nowadays this seems like a [[ObligatoryJoke strange]] title to give the character, as later stories have established that a) Black Magic is only a specific type of magic, and Strange is master of all of them, and b) Strange [[GodzillaThreshold only uses black magic in times of great need]].
* In the first few issues of ''ComicBook/XMen'', mutants weren't hated and feared, the X-Men were treated as celebrities (the second issue has Angel meet a bunch of fangirls), they had an official government liasion (Fred Duncan), Comicbook/{{Beast|Marvel Comics}} was DumbMuscle, Comicbook/{{Iceman}} was a JerkAss (mission briefing would sometimes lead to him attacking the rest of the team) and Comicbook/JeanGrey's telekinesis was for some reason called teleportation, even in the second issue, in which they fought an actual teleporter. Xavier didn't hesitate to hit people who knew too much with LaserGuidedAmnesia, either. Also, ComicBook/{{Magneto}}, in contrast to his contemporary portrayal as a WellIntentionedExtremist, was a straightforward bad guy without any redeeming features. He also had psychic powers that were nearly a match for Charles Xavier's, including AstralProjection.

** 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 track Karma in her first appearance.
** 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 against their will.
* Before he was Franchise/{{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/CarolDanvers was not a superhero, but rather an unpowered military officer and Comicbook/CaptainMarVell's love interest. Later, when she became Comicbook/MsMarvel, she could initially only fly thanks to [[ClothesMakeTheSuperman special mechanisms in her Kree uniform]], rather than flight being part of her powerset. Ms. Marvel was also originally Carol's SuperpoweredAlterEgo (á la the Hulk), with neither personality being aware of the other.
* In [[Comicbook/MsMarvel2014 Kamala Khan]]'s EarlyBirdCameo in ''Captain Marvel'' #17, her powers are depicted more along the lines of HulkingOut rather than making her a [[RubberMan Rubber Girl]]. According to Creator/GWillowWilson, this is because the more surreal and cartoonish depiction of Kamala's powers wouldn't be nailed down until Adrian Alphona came aboard to draw her solo book.

* Comicbook/{{Thanos}} was much slimmer in his first appearance, and had an outfit similar to Comicbook/{{Darkseid}}'s, complete with bare legs and a sleeveless top. Also, the Titans were uniformly shown to have purple skin, while later stories would establish that most Titans resembled humans, and that Thanos' odd skin color was the result of his Deviant genes. His backstory was also slightly different, with him being the grandson of the Titan Kronos from Greek mythology. Subsequent {{Retcon}}s would instead have Kronos be an [[Comicbook/TheEternals Eternal]], removing Thanos' connection to the Greek pantheon. These early appearances also portrayed Thanos as more of a generic galactic conqueror, which today would seem at odds with his more ponderous and complex characterization.
* 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. Even more, humanity was revealed not to be the result of evolution, but of the celestials experimenting with the ancient big apes. The characters were incorporated into the Marvel Universe in the ''ComicBook/WhatIf'' series (which, contrary to the title, was not exploring WhatIf scenarios in those stories, but the new canon history). This series revealed that the Titans were former Eternals, that the Kree learned about them and made their own experiments on the first humans (thus creating ComicBook/TheInhumans), and that a long time later the Eternals helped the Inhumans to relocate Attilan in the Himalayas. And the change to the origin of the human race was removed: the experiments of the Celestials created the Eternals and the Deviants, but the apes were then released, and evolved into humans at their own pace. Roy Thomas then used them in his ''Thor'' run as the focus of his "Eternals Saga" storyline, the first one in a major Marvel comic. This may come as a surprise to certain readers, especially given the way the Celestials have been incorporated into the wider 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 his early appearances, ''Comicbook/GhostRider'' actually got his powers from Satan himself, rather than ComicBook/{{Mephisto}}.

** In the first few stories, he wasn't treated as the actual Thor from the myths. While Donald Blake did physically transform into Thor, the mind was still Blake's. For example, when he first meets Comicbook/{{Loki}}, Thor/Blake thinks about the things he knows from the myths, and not of the things he, being Loki's brother, should know. The comic in general also lacks the YeOldeButcheredeEnglishe Shakespearean dialog during its early days that Asgardians would routinely employ later on in the comic. Also, rather than being a fantasy epic, Thor's very first adventure was a pretty run of the mill superhero story, with Thor saving the Earth from a group of invading aliens called the Kronans.
** 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 the Super-Skrull and 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.
** When Comicbook/{{Valkyrie|Marvel Comics}} first appeared in ''Comicbook/TheAvengers'', she was actually a StrawFeminist and a ''villain'', and turned out to merely be a disguise used by Amora the Enchantress. The persona was then attached to multiple human women (most notably Barbara Norris), producing lots of alter ego/amnesia drama. It wouldn't be until a few years later in an issue of ''Comicbook/TheDefenders'' that Valkyrie was established as an actual Asgardian hero.

* In his first appearance, Comicbook/MoonKnight had a different costume and was actually a ''villain'' working for the Secret Empire. After he unexpectedly became popular, later issues retconned this by saying that he had always been a hero, but at the time of his first appearance was [[TheMole infiltrating the Secret Empire]].
* 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 {{Stripperiffic}}) costume, despite ''Young Avengers'' later establishing that she prefers CivvieSpandex because she thinks costumes are stupid.
* {{Comicbook/Cable}}, being a character whose backstory was made up as things went along, has some instances:

* Comicbook/{{Groot}} was actually a ''villain'' in his first appearance, and spoke in complete sentences instead of PokemonSpeak. Just how you get GOTG's Groot out of the one that originally came to scoop a town off of Earth with a dense web of trees to take them back to Planet X is something that [[MultipleChoicePast not every retelling of his origin agrees on]].

* ''Comicbook/AntMan'':

** Comicbook/TheWasp's trademark "stings" were originally blasts of compressed air fired from a special gadget worn on her right wrist, rather than bioelectric shocks generated from within her own body that could be fired from both hands. She was also written as a rather flighty character who often seemed like she didn't take her duties as a superhero very seriously, in contrast to her later role as one of the longest-serving and most dedicated members of the Avengers. Also, due to the ValuesDissonance of TheSixties, Janet's early relationship with Hank would seem pretty unhealthy to modern readers. She was often depicted as a [[WetBlanketWife nagging girlfriend]] who would get on Hank's nerves by complaining about how often he neglected her in favor of science or superheroics, with Hank usually responding by belittling or outright insulting her.

* 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. Even more, humanity was revealed not to be the result of evolution, but of the celestials experimenting with the ancient big apes. The characters were incorporated into the Marvel Universe in the ComicBook/WhatIf series (which, contrary to the title, was not exploring WhatIf scenarios in those stories, but the new canon history). This series revealed that the Titans were former Eternals, that the Kree learned about them and made their own experiments on the first humans (thus creating ComicBook/TheInhumans), and that a long time later the Eternals helped the Inhumans to relocate Attilan in the Himalayas. And the change to the origin of the human race was removed: the experiments of the Celestials created the Eternals and the Deviants, but the apes were then released, and evolved into humans at their own pace. Roy Thomas then used them in his ''Thor'' run as the focus of his "Eternals Saga" storyline, the first one in a major Marvel comic. This may come as a surprise to certain readers, especially given the way the Celestials have been incorporated into the wider 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.

** 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 hadn't wanted to.

* In her earliest appearances, ComicBook/CarolDanvers could only fly thanks to [[ClothesMakeTheSuperman special mechanisms in her Kree uniform]]. Ms. Marvel was also originally the SuperpoweredAlterEgo of ComicBook/CarolDanvers (á la the Hulk), with neither personality being aware of the other.

*** 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 read their own comics.[[/note]]

** 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, ComicBook/{{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.

*** Even his modern incarnation presented Early Installment Weirdnesses. Originally, he had little interest in keeping his clean view in the public eye; in fact, he wanted everyone to know how rotten he was, as him eluding arrest had little to do with him being a VillainWithGoodPublicity, and more with the fact he basically owned Metropolis, and could force authorities to turn a blind eye to his illegal activities. Oh, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking he still had hair.]]

** Readers weren't told about the death of Bruce Wayne's parents for the first 6 months of the character's adventures. These early adventures took place in New York City rather than the fictional Gotham. Also, he had purple gloves. And the Batmobile was originally a bright red sedan rather than a black car with a bat motif.

** In "Tintin in the Land Of The Soviets" Tintin only gets his famous hairstyle several pages into the story, with the apparent side effect of a car crash being that his hair goes on-model.
** The early Tintin stories before "The Blue Lotus" are mostly a continuous series of events without much focus and a lot of randomness (evident as late as "Cigars of the Pharaoh," whose later colorized edition was heavily edited down). "Tintin in the Land Of The Soviets" and "Tintin in Congo" ("Tintin in Africa") are plain propaganda stories warning the youth against Soviet communism and praising the virtues of Belgian colonialism in Congo. Tintin's travels to foreign countries were simply based on stereotypical ideas. Hergé only started doing research for his stories from "The Blue Lotus" on (it's probably worth noting that in "The Blue Lotus" itself he mocks national stereotypes, most notably by having Dupont and Dumond trying to blend in with the locals by dressing up like Fu Manchu).
** The Thompson Twins actually tried to arrest Tintin for most of the early albums, and, in doing so, [[GoodIsDumb prove themselves somewhat more competent than they would ever be as allies.]]

* In his first appearance, Comicbook/MoonKnight had a different costume and was actually a ''villain'' working for the Secret Empire. After he unexpectedly became popular, later issues retconned this by saying that he had always been a hero, but at the time of his first appearance was [[ReverseMole infiltrating the Secret Empire]].

*** Comicbook/MisterFreeze, 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|1966}}'' 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.

*** 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|1966}}'' 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.

** The original Red Skull wasn't the Nazi we all know and hate; instead, he was an unrelated person simply wearing a Red Skull mask.

*** Comicbook/StarGirl In the early days she was much meaner and disrespectful. She did not have the name "Stargirl" until over four years after her creation, and she did not have the cosmic staff until over two years after her creation. In her first few chronological appearences her only power was super strength, and she was a melee fighter.

* Comicbook/DoctorStrange started out looking much older than his eventual appearance, with slanted eyes and vaguely Asian features, and was styled the "Master of Black Magic."