History Main / CharacterizationMarchesOn

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* In ''{{Literature/Overgeared}}'', the main character Grid, after a lifetime of abuse, abandonment, ridicule, and misfortune, where even his parents and younger sister had given up hope, and a 10 million won debt constantly hanging over his head, he starts the story extremely greedy, anti-social, and exploitive. He never loses these traits completely, but he does become much more sympathetic and heroic after he makes friends with the NPC blacksmith Kahn, and finds TrueCompanions among the members of the Tzendarak guild, he even becomes a very, very faithful husband to Lady Irene Estim, whose life he saved from evil cultists ''twice''.

* In ''Literature/TheScorchTrials'', Jorge was introduced as a brute willing to commit murder for minor insults, and savagely beating one of the protagonists. [[spoiler:In ''The Death Cure'', this turns out to almost totally be an act and he's later a generally inoffensive pilot and a sort of doting uncle to Brenda.]]

** BigBad Makuta Teridax is the most apparent example, having gone through at least four or five distinct characterizations. While his changes are perhaps [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools the most embraced by the fandom]], it is still a controversial topic.

** Kongu was, among the generally playful and fun loving Air Matoran, the mostly serious and battle-ready leader of the Le-Koro Airforce. Upon upgrading into a Toa, he became a standard, wisecracking Air character who specialized in making lame [[OneLiner one liners]] and complaining about stuff. When another character [[LampshadeHanging called him out on this]], his response was that Toa Lewa, another Toa of Air, had taught him to loosen up and that ''somebody'' needed to keep the humor up in a group that was so serious.
** Jaller (aka Jala) was first a no-nonsense military commander, speaking with strong words. He was fearless, tactical minded, but also passionate when it came to his intolerance of selfishness and foolishness. (He was also, by the way, a surfer and dancer, but these roles were swiped from canon early on, never brought up in the story.) Two years later in the ''Mask of Light'' movie, he was still a respected captain, but far less stern, more hotheaded, emotional and comedic, talking in a whiny "surfer dude" voice to boot.

** CharacterizationMarchesOn/FamilyGuy
** CharacterizationMarchesOn/LooneyTunes
** CharacterizationMarchesOn/SouthPark
** CharacterizationMarchesOn/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball
** CharacterizationMarchesOn/TheSimpsons

** Russell was much less social and acted like a true pirate, being all rough, always near the ocean, and even donning a [[PermaStubble five ol' clock shadow]]. He also exhibits less stupidity compared to the other critters and was one of the biggest butt-monkies in the series alongside Handy, Lifty, Shifty, and Toothy. Nowadays, he's one the most sociable characters, has a pirate motif and ocean-themed occupations at best, lives in a relatively suburban life otherwise, seems to lack common sense on a larger scale, and has a decent survival rate compared to peers.

** Pop was originally written one of the more callous and unlucky characters, in similar vein to Shifty, Lifty, Sniffles, Nutty, and Lumpy. The scrapped endings of two separate episodes had originally planned him to be somewhat cold, even to his own son's demise. A published episode even had Pop intentionally cause harm to Cub just to hide and fix his injuries. Pop's chance of dying was also more likely, with him being the only character who "rarely dies" to have his own Smoochie and die in his debut episode. In later episodes, he survives pretty often and doesn't act nearly as cruel (though, he can be a {{Jerkass}} on occasion).

**

** Sniffles was initially a generic nerd whose personality is best described as the ironically unsuccessful anteater fighting against a family of ants. Later episodes played up his geeky personality and depicts him as the MadScientist who is gifted with the remarkable ability to build complex machinary.

* The Foundation ''itself'' from the ''Wiki/{{SCP Foundation}}'' is subject to a lot of this. Early articles and tales portray a much smaller, much more disorganized Foundation subject to the whims of a motley collection of BunnyEarsLawyer scientists. The current community, including the creators of most of the aforementioned characters, regards this as form of EarlyInstallmentWeirdness and frowns on use of many story ideas that were popular early on, such as cross-testing anomalies with one another and a Foundation that believes that WeHaveReserves.

** Sniffles was initially a generic {{Nerd}} whose personality is best described as the ironically unsuccessful anteater fighting against a family of ants. Later episodes played up his geeky personality and depicts him as the MadScientist who is gifted with the remarkable ability to build complex machinary.

** Toothy, Giggles, and Petunia were much more childish and didn't have much traits differentiating each other. Toothy was mostly an impulsive beaver, Petunia didn't have much beyond interacting with Giggles, and Giggles herself was the [[TheSmurfettePrinciple token female alongside Petunia.]] In later episodes, Toothy is characterized as the most hardworking and [[ProneToTears sensetive one]], Petunia was given SuperOCD from the TV series and onwards, and Giggles has since been assoicated with romance and protecting the enviorment.

* Wrestling/{{Edge}}: Began as a [[IWorkAlone dark loner]] and became a [[TookALevelInJerkass jerkass]] with a bit of JerkJock who pulls his own hair out like a [[VillainousBreakdown crazed madman]] when he's about to finish someone. Is also, in his 2010 feud with Wrestling/{{Kane}}, apparently a ManipulativeBastard with a tendency to use [[SarcasmMode lifelike]] mannequins. Plus in between all this he had a comedic slant during the time when Wrestling/MickFoley was commissioner. He also was a vampire early in his career - and, except for his comedic tag pairing with Wrestling/{{Christian}} around the TurnOfTheMillennium, he's never lost his dark side, even as a face.

* In the first episode of ''Machinima/HalfLifeButTheAIIsSelfAware'', Gordon calls Tommy a freak and dislikes him. For the rest of the series, Gordon legitimately enjoys Tommy's company, and the closest he gets to insulting him is expressing concern about Tommy getting a caffeine overdose.

* In very early episodes of ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'', it's pretty clear that most of the personalities haven't really been defined yet, especially on the Red side. {{Flanderization}} sets in quickly as they find clearer, more defined roles in the overall cast dynamic, and by season two the characterization has gelled -- from then on, most major change falls under CharacterDevelopment. Notably, Donut, Lopez, and to a lesser extent Sarge are almost completely different characters from their familiar characterizations.

* ''[[Machinima/Supermarioglitchy4sSuperMario64Bloopers SMG4]]'':

** Killdra initially started out as nothing more than a DeadpanSnarker with some creepy feelings towards her brother, but those feelings quickly get dropped and she is shown to have some HiddenDepths when it comes to music.

* Ash Williams of ''Franchise/EvilDead'' has the crowning distinction of having TookALevelInDumbass, TookALevelInJerkass and TookALevelInBadass all at once and to a such an insane degree that he’s practically a completely different character in ''Film/TheEvilDead1981'' compared to “Hail to the King baby” MemeticBadass of ''Film/ArmyOfDarkness''. In 1981 film Ash is a humble and polite NiceGuy student as well as a caring brother to Cheryl and loving boyfriend to Linda. ''Evil Dead 1'' Ash certainly wasn’t cocky being pretty awkward (see his painful toast at dinner where tries quoting a Greek friend of his and fails miserably) and isn’t particularly brave either compared to his friend Scotty, getting paralysed with fear up against a wall at one point while Shelly is possessed. It’s only when he becomes the FinalGuy that Ash starts edging towards the badass he becomes, but it takes a extended SanitySlippage in the [[Film/EvilDead2 sequel]] for him to fully get there. Ash is also notably more of a {{Jerkass}} in the sequels, which can be somewhat HandWaved given his TraumaCongaLine, but he also becomes an IdiotHero especially in ''Army of Darkness'' and ''Series/AshVsEvilDead'' which is harder reconcile given how cautious and bright he was in the first movie.

** Natasha Romanov aka Black Widow is quite different in her first appearance in ''Film/IronMan2'' compared the StoicWoobie and TeamMom seen in the later films. Firstly she was mainly just there to be an asskicking MsFanservice with only a little of her DeadpanSnarker traits seen in later films coming through during her bickering with Tony. It wasn’t until ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}'' that Nat became more of a character with a DarkAndTroubledPast who can outwit even Loki and her position as the emotional anchor for the team becoming more pronounced. Her [[Film/BlackWidow2021 solo movie]] showcases the fact she’s a BrokenBird at her core while still holding onto a lot her attributes (such as being a GuileHeroine when dealing with egomaniacs) as well her fanservice (at the insistence of the female director!).

** Natasha Romanov aka Black Widow is quite different in her first appearance in ''Film/IronMan2'' compared the StoicWoobie and TeamMom seen in the later films. Firstly she was mainly just there to be a asskicking MsFanservice with only a little of her DeadpanSnarker traits seen in later films coming through during her bickering with Tony. It wasn’t until ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}'' that Nat became more of a character with a DarkAndTroubledPast who can outwit even Loki and her position as the emotional anchor for the team becoming more pronounced. Her [[Film/BlackWidow2021 solo movie]] showcases the fact she’s a BrokenBird at her core while still holding onto a lot her attributes (such as being a GuileHeroine when dealing with egomaniacs) as well her fanservice (at the insistence of the female director!).

* Ash Williams of ''Franchise/EvilDead'' has the crowning distinction of having TookALevelInDumbass, TookALevelInJerkass and TookALevelInBadass all at once and to a such an insane degree that he’s practically a completely different character in ''Film/TheEvilDead1981'' compared to “Hail to the King baby” MemeticBadass of ''Film/ArmyOfDarkness''. In 1981 film Ash is a humble and polite NiceGuy student as well as a caring brother to Cheryl and loving boyfriend to Linda. ''Evil Dead 1'' Ash certainly wasn’t cocky being pretty awkward (see his painful toast at dinner where tries quoting a Greek friend of his and fails miserably) and isn’t particularly brave either compared to his friend Scotty, getting paralysed with fear up against a wall at one point while Shelly is possessed. It’s only when he becomes the FinalGuy that Ash starts edging towards the badass he becomes, but it takes a extended SanitySlippage in the [[Film/EvilDead2 sequel]] for him to fully get there. Ash is also notably more of a {{Jerkass}} in the sequels, which can be somewhat HandWaved given his TraumaCongaLine, but he also becomes an IdiotHero especially in ''Army of Darkness'' and ''Series/AshVsEvilDead'' which is harder reconcile given how cautious and bright he was in the first movie.

** Tony Stark in ''Film/IronMan'' has quite a few CharacterTics that were ditched at various points, while his core AttentionDeficitOohShiny JerkWithAHeartOfGold behaviour remains mostly unchanged. One such eccentricity is Tony’s complete dislike of getting handed things, which was a reference to his inspiration Creator/HowardHughes who was a notorious NeatFreak, but this aspect of Tony was dropped for later films. Another trait is Tony’s womanising as while Pepper is main love interest he still flirts with Natasha and other women, this too was mostly dropped as he becomes more loyal to Pepper whom he eventually marries and his relationship with Nat is more platonic (though still close like in the comics), Tony does flirt with Aunt May in ''[[Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar Civil War]]'' and ''[[Film/SpidermanHomecoming Homecoming]]'' but it’s mostly just to lightheartedly mess with Peter in the latter.

** Agent Coulson had his UnfazedEveryman shtick from the beginning, but for a while it was pretty much his only consistent trait. For instance, he's kind of a dick in ''Film/{{Thor}}'', which would seem at odds with the NiceGuy personality that was eventually established in ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}'' and cemented on ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD''

** In ''Men at Arms'' Lord Rust is a shrewd, pragmatic and not unsympathetic minor character. In every subsequent book he appeared in he has been an idiotic, stiff-necked straw aristocratic.

** In ''Guards! Guards!'' Sam Vimes has no strong opinions about Ankh-Morpork getting a king; he is cynical about the idea but more out of general cynicism. In later books even the idea of monarchy is practically his BerserkButton.

** In the original release of ''Literature/TheHobbit'', Gollum simply lets Bilbo have the ring as a reward for beating him in a game of riddles -- something utterly incomprehensible to his later characterization of loving the ring more than life itself, and it requiring great effort for ''anyone'' to willingly surrender it. The ring itself also lacks its intelligence and malevolence, and seems to be nothing more than a magic ring (which, at the time, it was). This was so bad that Tolkien himself had to [[OrwellianRetcon rewrite it in a later edition]], explaining the prior story as something [[UnreliableNarrator Bilbo had made up to conceal the truth and make himself look better.]]

* The earliest Apple Jacks commercials featuring CinnaMon and Apple (originally called "Bad Apple") portrayed the Apple as a villain trying to stop CinnaMon from getting to the bowl of Apple Jacks. After complaints from parents and health experts, Apple and CinnaMon were retooled into [[FriendlyRivalry competitive friends]] racing to the bowl.

* ''Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet'': Freddy Krueger's portrayal in the [[Film/ANightmareOnElmStreet1984 first film]] is far more taciturn and serious than the quip-spouting LaughablyEvil slasher that we all know and love.

** Haley had a tendency to giggle ("tee hee!") early on. This was dropped. She also considered Belkar's suggestion to sell Samantha into slavery, something that the more developed Haley would refuse to do.
** In an early strip, Haley steals Belkar's potion and lies about it, saying Belkar is being stereotypical against rogues, which makes Belkar feel guilty. Now, it's hard to imagine anyone making Belkar feel bad for anything before his CharacterDevelopment kicked in.

--> ''What grudge to [[Creator/NextLevelGames the Canadians]] and the Irish have?!''