History Main / DeathByAdaptation

* Ferro Lad in ''WesternAnimation/LegionOfSuperHeroes'' was around for only three episodes before his HeroicSacrifice, staying behind to destroy the Sun-Eater machine. In the comics, he was around for about two years before this event and his character was more fleshed out.

* The ''Series/{{Smallville}}: Season 11'' comics made Hal Jordan, Guy Gardner, and Kyle Rayner into {{Posthumous Character}}s, with John Stewart being Earth's last surviving Comicbook/GreenLantern.

* Speedball dies alongside the rest of the ''ComicBook/NewWarriors'' in the novelization of ''Comicbook/CivilWar2006''. In the original comic, he survives and becomes the DarkerAndEdgier AntiHero Penance.

* ''VideoGame/SpiderManPS4'' sees ComicBook/MilesMorales' father Jefferson killed when the Demons attack a rally for ComicBook/NormanOsborn. Meanwhile, Aunt May falls ill when ComicBook/DoctorOctopus unleashes the Devil's Breath, and Peter ultimately prioritizes TheNeedsOfTheMany to allow the cure to be mass-produced over saving her.

%%* Jefferson, Comicbook/MilesMorales' dad in ''WesternAnimation/UltimateSpiderMan2012''. Ironically, it was Miles' ''mom'' who died in the comics.

* ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManIntoTheSpiderVerse''[='=]s backstory sees its version of Vanessa and Richard Fisk dying in an accident right after finding out about Wilson being Comicbook/TheKingpin. Vanessa's main comic counterpart was already aware (though not approving) of Wilson's criminal activities, died of illness once, and was brought back and killed as a revenant and clone. Spiderverse's Richard was a young boy, while mains Richard was an adult, and was likewise killed and brought back a few times. Additionally, as the story is set in a universe based on the ''ComicBook/UltimateMarvel'' universe, it doubles as type 1 for Vanessa as her ''Ultimate'' counterpart was merely comatose (Richard was AdaptedOut).

* ''Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'': Commander Zog, the turtles' Triceraton ally in [[Comicbook/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesMirage the original comics]] is sliced to pieces by the three mutant Shredder clones. In [[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2003 the second cartoon]], he is mortally wounded by a stab to the stomach from Shredder and dies in the collapsing lair, taking Shredder with him.

* Speedball dies alongside the rest of the ''ComicBook/NewWarriors'' in the novelization of ''Comicbook/CivilWar''. In the original comic, he survives and becomes the DarkerAndEdgier AntiHero Penance.

** The Duck in Music/WeirdAlYankovic's version. The original Russian folktale and most of its adaptations (including [[WesternAnimation/MakeMineMusic the Disney version]]) had the Duck [[SwallowedWhole survive in the Wolf's stomach]].

* In the traditional version of "Whiskey in the Jar", Jenny saves Captain Farrell by getting the narrator's powder wet so his gun won't fire. In the Music/{{Metallica}} cover, unfortunately for the captain, [[TechnologyMarchesOn Technology Has Marched On,]] and Molly fails to disable the gun.

* ''VideoGame/SpiderManPS4'' sees ComicBook/MilesMorales' father Jefferson killed when the Demons attack a rally for ComicBook/NormanOsborn. Aunt May dies when ComicBook/DoctorOctopus unleashes the Devil's Breath, and Peter has to put TheNeedsOfTheMany to allow the serum to be mass-produced over saving her.

* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanSoulOfTheDragon'' sees [[AdaptationalVillainy Rip Jagger]] himself die after killing Jade Nguyen during his training years, long before he could even adopt his comic book persona of Judomaster (and by extension, long before the point he'd meet his death at the hands of Bane).

* In ''Literature/AnimalFarm'', Snowball is simply run out of the farm by Napoleon's dogs and Napoleon [[TheBadGuyWins will probably rule the farm for the rest of his natural life]]. In ''WesternAnimation/AnimalFarm1954'', the dogs actually killed Snowball and the film ends with all the other animals attacking Napoleon and the other pigs while his dogs are too drunk to defend them.

%%** The Duck in Music/WeirdAlYankovic's version. The original Russian folktale and most of its adaptations (including [[WesternAnimation/MakeMineMusic the Disney version]]) had the Duck [[SwallowedWhole survive in the Wolf's stomach]].

* ''WesternAnimation/WhatIf'':

** Ursula, in ''WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid1989''. Her [[Literature/TheLittleMermaid fairy tale counterpart]], the Sea Witch, never shows up again after making the deal with the mermaid, though she does help the mermaid's sisters with the issue.
*** This is also true with similar villains such as Maleficent from ''WesternAnimation/SleepingBeauty'', Mother Gothel in ''WesternAnimation/{{Tangled}}'' and the Jack-in-the-Box from "Literature/TheSteadfastTinSoldier" segment of ''WesternAnimation/Fantasia2000''.

* The Sphere in ''[[Literature/{{Flatland}} Flatland: the Film]]'', but not in ''Flatland: the Movie'' (another adaptation that was, oddly, released the same year).

* Nicodemus in ''WesternAnimation/TheSecretOfNIMH''.

* Everyone except the protagonist from the [[Literature/BaldursGate book adaptations]] of the ''Franchise/BaldursGate'' games.

* ''Literature/TheHardyBoys'': In the original version of ''The Short-Wave Mystery'', Jimmy Gordon's EvilUncle Elly Batter is TheDragon while in the reprint, he's a PosthumousCharacter who did assist the villains in the past but double-crossed them and died of natural causes afterward. [[DeCompositeCharacter A new villain has some of his lines and scenes.]]

* At least two reimaginings of ''Music/PeterAndTheWolf'' do this.
** The Duck in Music/WeirdAlYankovic's version. The original Russian folktale and most of its adaptations (including [[WesternAnimation/MakeMineMusic the Disney version]]) had the Duck [[SwallowedWhole survive in the Wolf's stomach]].
** The hunters in Neil Torbin's version, "Peter and the Werewolf".

* In ''VideoGame/DeadRising2'', Vikki Taylor is one of the random survivors that can be found and rescued by the player. In her case, she's being held hostage by Brandon Whittaker, whom the player must defeat in order to rescue her. In ''VideoGame/DeadRising2OffTheRecord'', Vikki is once again held hostage by Brandon, but this time he kills her in a cutscene, with no chance for the player to rescue her. [[labelnote:Note]]She's an unfortunate victim of technical limitations. The games will only allow up to 8 rescuable survivors to be out in the city at a time. In the original game, if there were too many survivors out at once, Vikki and Brandon would simply not appear until other survivors are rescued or killed to make room. In the remake, however, encountering Brandon is essential to the story, so Vikki has to die to ensure that Brandon can always appear when the time comes.[[/labelnote]]

** The events kick off with the death of Batman fighting Ra's al'Ghul one last time and self-destructing the Bat-Cave [[TakingYouWithMe to make damn sure Ra's is dead]]. The final act of the game sees [[spoiler:Batman [[BackFromTheDead returning thanks to a Lazarus Pit]] (and serving as a FinalBoss thanks to being driven crazy from the Pit's chemicals), being [[GetAHoldOfYourselfMan knocked back to his senses by his proteges]], giving them one final SoProudOfYou speech and blowing up the Lazarus Pit, dying again and for good.]]

* Nervous Subject in the [=PSP=] version of ''VideoGame/TheSims2''.

* In a very strange Anime-to-Game fashion, this happens with [[Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEED Mu La Flaga]] in ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsJudgment''. While he was originally assumed to have died in the source material, ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEEDDestiny'' revealed that he did in fact survive in canon, making this a rare case of this trope in the ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars'' franchise.

* ''VideoGame/Cyberpunk2077'': In the TTRPG, Kei Arasaka was Saburo's right-hand man, heir apparent to the [[MegaCorp Arasaka corporation]], and Saburo's most loyal supporter among his children. In the video game, Kei is mentioned in a blink-and-you-miss-it dialogue to have died some years before the game, and it was this incident that led Saburo to turn his eyes and hand to his other children Yorinobu and Hanako.
* The video game adaptation of ''WesternAnimation/ABugsLife'' has Thumper, Thud, and even Molt die at the hands of Flik during their respective boss battles.

** ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'':
*** Steppenwolf, Desaad, Professor Ivo, and Orm. Though the creative team originally considered bringing Orm back as Ocean Master like in the original comics. The idea was scrapped because it would require an explanation about how he would've escaped from the cliff.
*** As well as ComicBook/{{Darkseid}}, Silver Banshee, Rampage, the Shade, Parasite, Weather Wizard, and most of the LegionOfDoom members in ''[[WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague Justice League Unlimited]]''. Though Darkseid is a ''maybe'' at best as the characters outright speculate that he's NotQuiteDead.

* ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2012'': In the [[Film/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles original live-action films]], Rahzar's fate was being reverted back into an ordinary wolf. Here he first gets drowned by Leatherhead, then he gets brought back to life by Kavaxis only to suffer a DisneyVillainDeath two episodes later.

* In the Grimms' "Literature/SnowWhite", the Queen dies dancing in red-hot shoes at the Wedding of Snow White and the Prince. Her [[WesternAnimation/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs Disney Counterpart]] never makes it that far: immediately after poisoning Snow White, she's pursued by the Dwarfs and their animal friends. She falls [[DisneyVillainDeath to her death]] while trying to kill them with a boulder.

* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanSoulOfTheDragon'' sees Jade Nguyen killed by [[AdaptationalVillainy Rip Jagger]] die during her training years, long before she could even adopt her comic book persona of Cheshire.

* In ''VideoGame/LegoStarWars: The Video Game'' and ''The Complete Saga'', Commander Cody fights General Grievous along with Obi-Wan and is killed, rather than surviving to order Obi-Wan's death under Order 66 in ''VideoGame/RevengeOfTheSith''.

** Ex-Prince Orm, the supervillain known as Ocean Master and the original Aquaman's evil brother, is [[OffWithHisHead decapitated]] by Lady Shiva in the revival season ''WesternAnimation/YoungJusticeOutsiders'', after [[BackForTheDead having been captured offscreen since at least after season one]], when he attempts to kill the Justice League's loved ones ([[EvenEvilHasStandards something the Light was against]]). It becomes a subversion when [[CloningBlues Operation Thrinos]] is used to create an Ocean Master clone, which survives, as well as inserting the original's mind into a clone body of Arion, which dies as well when disintegrated by the Lords of Order.

** The play's next case is when Sakura Oogami dies. This means that she dies before Celestia and Hifumi Yamada, who die in the game's third case, while Sakura dies in the game's fourth case.
** In the play's sequel, ''[[VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair Super DanganRonpa 2: The Stage]], Gundham Tanaka and Nekomaru Nidai die together when they take on the Monokumas just after the third class trial. In the game, Gundham was the one who killed Nekomaru and was executed for it after the fourth class trial.

'''Vegeta:''' Oh alright, fine!\\

(''SPLAT'')\\

* In ''Literature/AnimalFarm'', Snowball is simply run out of the farm by Napoleon's dogs and Napoleon [[TheBadGuyWins will probably rule the farm for the rest of his natural life.]] In the 1954 AnimatedAdaptation, the dogs actually killed Snowball and the film ends with all the other animals attacking Napoleon and the other pigs while his dogs are too drunk to defend them.

* In the AnimatedAdaptation of Creator/GeorgeOrwell's ''Literature/AnimalFarm'', Old Major dies peacefully as the animals sing "Beasts Of England" during their meeting, while in the original book, he dies a few days later. In the 1999 live-action adaptation, he is accidentally shot by Mr. Jones during the meeting.

* ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManIntoTheSpiderVerse''[='=]s backstory sees its version of Vanessa and Richard Fisk dying in an accident right after finding out about Wilson being Comicbook/TheKingpin. Additionally, as the story is set in a universe based on the ''ComicBook/UltimateMarvel'' universe, it doubles as type 1 for Vanessa as her ''Ultimate'' counterpart was merely comatose (Richard was AdaptedOut).
* A few deaths in ''WesternAnimation/{{Injustice 2021}}'' happen much differently here than they do in the comics and games they adapt.
** In the comics, Green Arrow's death at the hands of Regime Superman is a defiant LastStand. Here, Superman just blasts him in the face, making him suffer Shazam's fate.
** In many adaptations or in the mainline series itself, Jonathan Kent tends to die due to a poor heart. Here, he dies because Superman swats away Green Arrow's arrow and it strikes him instead, killing him.

'''Warning: This is a death trope and will contain unmarked spoilers. Read the examples at your own risk.'''

** ''ComicBook/WonderWomanAmazonia'': This continuity's version of Steve Frevor, in addition to [[AdaptationalJerkass becoming a misogynist]] with [[MaritalRapeLicense no qualms against raping his wife Diana]], gets killed in the end when he's impaled on some wooden stakes.

* In ''Script/{{Watchmen}}'', Adrian Veidt is killed when Dr. Manhattan kills him with a blast of energy for his plan to kill his past self. This is in contrast to his comic counterpart; who not only survived, but was never even punished for his crimes.

* Barricade in both the novelization and comic book versions of ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}''. In [[Film/{{Transformers}} the movie]], he [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse simply disappeared without a trace]].
** In the novelization of the 3rd film, Mirage is killed; in the film, he survives.
*** Skids and Mudlap also appear in the novel, apparently so they could get RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap without having to appear in the film. They both get killed by Sentinel Prime, just right after he kills Ironhide.

** The show's villainous reinterpretation of Lor-Zod as a rogue time traveler from the ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes' future is blown up when Metron, vengeful towards his earlier break-in to his vault for the Phantom Zone projector, exploits Lor-Zod stealing the Time Sphere Metron sent Rocket to Earth in, [[KickTheSonOfABitch setting him up to return to the gene bomb on Mars he tried to get Superboy killed with, which then [[HoistByHisOwnPetard disintegrated him]]. However, Lor-Zod had already succeeded in freeing his family from the Phantom Zone, including his mother Ursa who had been pregnant throughout the entire duration of her stay (which is why he was born in the future of that timeline when the Zods were originally paroled there). With her escape, now as the Emerald Empress, during the battle that sees General Zod re-imprisoned and Lor-Zod escaping in the rigged Time Sphere to his death, Ursa's pregnancy continues as normal with a new version of Lor-Zod likely about to be born]].

** The premise is based on the Golden Age DC heroes (such as the Jay Garrick Flash and the Alan Scott Green Lantern) being a new generation of heroes showing up after Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman perished fighting the forces of Apokolips. [[spoiler: A HopeSpot is given when the villain Brutaal appears to be a BrainwashedAndCrazy Superman, but he ends up killed and crumbles to dust upon his death, turning out to be a clone. The real Superman is eventually revealed to be still alive and kept prisoner to serve as a source for clones of him in ''Earth 2: World's End'', but he doesn't make it in the end.]]

* In ''VideoGame/LegoStarWars'', Commander Cody fights General Grievous along with Obi-Wan and is killed, rather than surviving to order Obi-Wan's death under Order 66 in ''VideoGame/RevengeOfTheSith''.