History Main / EarlyAdaptationWeirdness

* ''WesternAnimation/SonicUnderground'' was the last western animated work made before the modern Sonic brand was solidified with Sonic Adventure and takes a lot of liberties, being more of a reboot of ''[=SatAM=]''. Sonic is now a prince who along with his siblings Sonia and Manic, were [[MosesInTheBullrushes hidden away by their mother]] to protect them from the evils of Robotnik before they grow into the destined heroes and they fight using necklaces that turn into musical instruments. Tails is entirely absent and Knuckles is an incidental character who is oddly small.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes'', which ran from 2010-2012, is a glimpse of a different, pre-''Film/TheAvengers2012'' Marvel than [[WesternAnimation/AvengersAssemble what'd come afterward]] (which would be as close to the MCU as possible): Hank Pym and Janet van Dyne are main characters, Black Widow is only a recurring character, Carol Danvers has a different costume and is called "Ms. Marvel" and not "Captain Marvel", Loki is an unrepentant villain, the Guardians of the Galaxy behave professionally, and characters related to the X-Men and Fantastic Four made guest appearances and cameos. The only big change from the MCU that made the jump at first was Jarvis being Tony Stark's AI instead of his butler. (This all stemmed from the show beginning production at the time only ''Film/IronMan'' and ''Film/TheIncredibleHulk2008'' had been created, and the only thing they really drew from the latter was Abomination's backstory and accent.) ''Anime/MarvelDiskWarsTheAvengers'' and ''Anime/MarvelFutureAvengers'' would carry over some of these with ''MDA'' and ''MFA'' having Janet as a main character, Black Widow being a recurring character and the X-Men appearing while ''MDA'' kept Loki as an unrepentant villain but the toyline and [=3DS=] game show Carol Danvers as Captain Marvel. ''MFA'' has Captain Marvel and Loki more as an AntiVillain.

** Pit being called "VideoGame/KidIcarus" was {{enforced|Trope}}; Creator/{{Nintendo}} insisted on it so the characters would be saying the name of the game as much as possible.

* ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom2'' (2000) came out in the waning days of the era where ''Franchise/XMen'' was Marvel's biggest CashCowFranchise, and it really shows in the roster: [[SpotlightStealingCrossover 64 2/7% of the 28 Marvel representatives]] hail from that series in some sense, including two versions of ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}. The really telling part is the presence of Marrow, though; an absolute E-lister who wouldn't warrant an appearance even in a purely ''X-Men'' fighting game nowadays, but she was actually getting something resembling a push in the mid-late 90s ([[ShooOutTheNewGuy one that did not last]]). Other oddities of the era include Cable wearing a Creator/JimLee X-Men uniform instead of his more famous Creator/RobLiefeld look (which he did wear in the comics - for less than six months), and Sabertooth having Birdie as his GirlFriday (the character was very short-lived, and in fact had already been killed off in the comics by the time ''Marvel 2'' came out).

* The original ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'' came out at a time when the RealRobotGenre was in its infancy (with ''Gundam'' being something of a TropeMaker), and that's reflected in its original toyline, which bears very little resemblance to future ''Gundam'' toylines. The toys resemble contemporary SuperRobotGenre toys, with the Gundam being a big, chunky, clunky robot with lots of chrome, die-cast, and toyetic features like spring-loaded RocketPunch fists, while [[ShowAccuracyToyAccuracy looking decidedly off compared to the show design]]. Additionally, the only robots to get toys are the Gundam itself, the Guncannon, and the Guntank, with all the Zeon mechs, including the iconic [[MookMobile Zaku]], being completely absent--for those not familiar with ''Gundam'', this would be like if ''Franchise/StarWars'' never made toys of Darth Vader or the stormtroopers. The toyline largely flopped for these reasons, as while the show was most popular with older teens and women, [[MisaimedMarketing the toys were clearly aimed at young boys]]. After Bandai got the license, they started producing toys that actually fitted the show's demographic, particularly the iconic "Gunpla" model kits.

* The original ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'' came out at a time when the RealRobotGenre was in its infancy (with ''Gundam'' being something of a TropeMaker), and that's reflected in its original toyline, which bears very little resemblance to future ''Gundam'' toylines. The toys resemble contemporary SuperRobotGenre toys, with the Gundam being a big, chunky, clunky robot with lots of chrome, die-cast, and toyetic features like spring-loaded RocketPunch fists, while [[ShowAccuracyToyAccuracy looking decidedly off compared to the show design]]. Additionally, the only robots to get toys are the Gundam itself, the Guncannon, and the Guntank, with all the Zeon mechs being completely absent--this is normal in super robot toylines, where the common wisdom is that bad guys don't sell, but for those not familiar with ''Gundam'', this would be like if ''Franchise/StarWars'' never made toys of Darth Vader or the stormtroopers. The toyline largely flopped for these reasons, as while the show was most popular with older teens and women, [[MisaimedMarketing the toys were clearly aimed at young boys]]. After Bandai got the license, they started producing toys that actually fitted the show's demographic, particularly the iconic "Gunpla" model kits.

* The first television adaptation of ''Manga/{{Doraemon}}'' came out in 1973. The 1973 series features, among other things, a different art style, a unique character named Gachako, various changes to the existing characters and items, and plots that haven't been done in later adaptations. The later TV series don't have these changes.

* The 1990s ''Anime/SailorMoon'' anime is the first adaptation of [[Manga/SailorMoon the manga]], and because it was developed in parallel with the manga[[note]]the anime debuted around three months after the manga and, because the manga was published monthly rather than weekly, the anime was always running ahead[[/note]], it deviates in ways that later adaptations don't. For example, Rei is given an AdaptationPersonalityChange into a HotBlooded {{tsundere}} in sharp contrast to the other incarnation's AloofDarkHairedGirl.
* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'':
** ''Manga/PokemonAdventures'' is full of a lot of this, [[GrandfatherClause much which has stuck over the years because it's a part of the manga's lore]]. For example, the entirety of the Indigo League Elite Four and several Gym Leaders (namely Koga, Lt. Surge, and Sabrina) were given AdaptationalVillainy due to ''VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue'''s lack of named antagonists. The manga predates the Team Rocket Executives so other characters were used to fill in roles, even though this may go against their personalities in the games.
** ''Anime/PokemonOrigins'' is a later adaptation (being released over 10 years into the franchise's life) but has one detail that stands out: Red's personality. He's an energetic StockShonenHero partially because the anime predates ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'' and ''VideoGame/PokemonMasters'' canonizing him as stoic and quiet.
** Being one of the earliest ''Pokémon'' manga adaptations, ''Manga/PocketMonsters'' contains ''a lot'' of Early Adaptation Weirdnesses. Most notably, the main character's Pokémon starter is a Clefairy, which is a nod to when Clefairy was intended to be Pokémon's SeriesMascot instead of Pikachu (although Pikachu remains as a major character of the series, and is established to be Clefairy's cousin). Among other oddities, most Pokémon can speak human language, Pokémon can "devolve", Giovanni has a brother, an OffModel Mewtwo unceremoniously appears as a wild Pokémon, Bill is a FatSlob while Blue is a big-chinned hunk, there are [[https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Pokemon-pocket-monsters-Red-Mystery-Mon.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=740&h=370&dpr=1.5 made-up]] Pokémon that appear nowhere else, and most infamously, it features a lot of VulgarHumor and NSFW jokes that would be unthinkable to include in modern ''Pokémon'' media.
* Masaomi Kanzaki's [[Manga/StreetFighterIITheManga manga adaptation]] of ''VideoGame/StreetFighterII'' only had the original 12 fighters to work with (since it was drawn before the ''Super'' iterations that added more fighters) and thus the author had to improvise to flesh out the story. Ryu is a much goofier hero than his gaming counterpart and a bit of a glutton, E. Honda has a one-sided infatuation with Chun-Li, Blanka is a thug who wants to join the ranks of Shadaloo, Guile is responsible for his friend Charlie's death (who was under the influence of M. Bison's mind control drug) and has a rivalry with Zangief, Balrog (the boxer) is a sympathetic character who ends up abandoning Shadaloo, Vega (claw) is responsible for the death of Chun-Li's father, and Sagat is a mere lackey who was already working for M. Bison when he was scarred by Ryu instead of a disgraced champion who joined the organization to seek revenge. The manga did end up giving a name and face to Ryu and Ken's sensei Gouken, who prior to the manga was just a nameless character alluded to in character bios, but even then his death at the hands of M. Bison was something that was not incorporated into the games, as Akuma (a character introduced in the later games) was responsible for the deed.
* The first anime series of ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'' is of a very different tone than the manga, having a slower pace, emphasis on [[{{Beat}} comedic pauses]], and several original quiet slice-of-life scenes. The low ratings on Japanese TV lead it to being {{cancell|ation}}ed with episodes still unaired, and the studio reshuffled the staff (including changing the director) to continue with a DenserAndWackier series [[TruerToTheText closer in tone to the manga]], which ended up lasting several years.
* ''Manga/CmonDigimon'' was released in the early years of the ''Franchise/{{Digimon}}'' brand and it shows, Digimon are [[Toys/{{Digimon}} virtual pets like in real life]], the artstyle is noticeably different, Perfect[=/=][[DubNameChange Ultimate]] is treated as the last stage, the main Digimon are {{Canon Foreigner}}s (albeit based on preexisting designs) never seen before or since, and the Digital World isn't even mentioned.

* You can very easily tell when an issue of ''ComicBook/StarWarsMarvel1977'' came out by checking which character Luke is getting ShipTease with. The writers were seemingly convinced that Luke/Leia was the OfficialCouple, and even after ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'' put a lot of focus on Han/Leia, they still more or less ignored it and kept on trying to develop Luke/Leia. Needless to say, this abruptly stopped after ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi''[='=]s release in 1983.
* The ''Comicbook/TalesOfTheJedi'' comics came out many years before the Star Wars prequels, and boy, it shows:
** Jedi have a very loose hierarchy, often train multiple apprentices at once, have no problem with romance, and some of them begin their training well into adulthood. Future works try to reconcile this portrayal by stating that as a result of numerous wars and conflicts with the Sith, Jedi ended up becoming much more rigid, close-minded and dogmatic.
** Speaking of the Sith, they aren't much better: none of them use the "Darth" title, instead going by their given names, and their lightsabers can be of any color as opposed to just red. It wasn't until ''Film/ThePhantomMenace'' where it was codified that all Sith go by a "Darth Something" title and use red lightsabers.
** These examples ''could'' be justified by the fact that this comic takes place a whooping four thousand years before the original movies... if not for the fact that works that are set in the same era, some which are direct sequels (like the ''Videogame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' videogame, which only takes place a couple decades after ''Tales'') depict Jedi just as rigid and dogmatic as they were shown in the prequel movies, as well as Sith using the "Darth" title and red lightsabers.

* ''Le Reina de la Costa Negra'' was a comic book adaptation of Creator/RobertEHoward's ''Literature/QueenOfTheBlackCoast'' and served as the first adaptation of Franchise/ConanTheBarbarian in 1952. In it, Belit was the protagonist, Conan her blond Viking-like sidekick, their ship was called the "Vengeance" rather than the "Tigress", its crew were Vikings rather than black corsairs and Belit actually survived the entire series, including the adventure that killed her in the original Howard canon.
* Combining this with RecursiveAdaptation, ''ComicBook/TheBatmanAdventures'', set in the same continuity as ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'', featured a guest appearance of Superman. He's based on ComicBook/{{Superman}} as he was in the early-mid 90s, with a mullet, a Lex Luthor with red hair and a beard, and an established friendly relationship with Batman at the time of ''BTAS''. Then ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries'' started airing in the same continuity, and it showcased a Superman with short hair fighting a bald Lex Luthor, who only encountered Batman years later, at the time of ''The New Batman Adventures''.

* ''Film/{{The Batman|Serial}}'' serials of the 1940s and its successor ''Film/{{Batman and Robin|Serial}}'' depict Batman and Comicbook/{{Robin}} as officially sanctioned government agents going against ordinary mobsters and crooks. Super-villains as we know it didn't exist back then and Batman's famous RoguesGallery was still in its infancy. The 1943 Batcave (which didn't exist prior to this, and was [[RealLifeWritesThePlot created due to budget constraints]]) is a small cave that contains only a desk and a few chairs. Bruce's love interest in the 1943 serial is a now forgotten character named Linda Page rather than one of his better known comic book flames like [[Comicbook/{{Catwoman}} Selina Kyle]] or Vicki Vale. There's no Batmobile, and the dynamic duo instead drive around in an unmodified Cadillac in the first serial and a Ford Mercury in the follow-up (again, largely owing to the low budget). Perhaps most infamously, there are jarring propagandistic overtones in the first serial, with the narrator using anti-Japanese slurs and even attempting to justify the U.S. government's internment of Japanese-American citizens.
* Due to being an InNameOnly adaptation, the ComicBook/CaptainAmerica serial from 1944 is quite different from all later adaptations. Rather than a super-soldier named Steve Rogers, the hero's true identity is a district attorney named Grant Gardner, rather than using a shield he uses a gun (which would become one of Bucky's weapons upon taking up the mantle), he did not fight Nazis, Bucky was nowhere to be seen and he was a vigilante rather than a government-created superhero.
* As seems to be the standard for live-action adaptations of the character, ''Film/CaptainAmerica1979'' portrays Steve as a contemporary man with his father having been a 1940's government agent nicknamed "Captain America" due to a very patriotic attitude, making him both an example of DecompositeCharacter and LegacyCharacter. He also makes use of a van, from which launches a modified motorcycle with a multitude of functions and its windshield being non-other than Captain America's iconic shield, which is made of "Jet Age plastics", with the "white" portion simply being transparent. And then there is the costume, which has him wearing a motorcycle helmet instead of his famous cowl.

* ''Literature/TheThrawnTrilogy'', as one of the first spinoffs of ''Franchise/StarWars'', was working with the best information available and couldn't know that things would change over a decade later with the release of the Prequel Trilogy in 1999, starting with ''Film/ThePhantomMenace''. One of the biggest parts is that its depiction of cloning using "Spaarti cylinders" is completely at odds with that seen on Kamino in ''Film/AttackOfTheClones'', though that's easily handwaved by saying that Spaarti and Kaminoan cloning use different methods with different side effects. Another major plot point is that it's been about 40-odd years since the Clone Wars (based on backstory given by Lucas at the time), while the prequels later established it as 20-something instead.

* The first ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}'' novel, ''Tale of the Toa'' by C. A. Hapka was hastily written in 2003 to adapt the 2001 story, which was never fully told before because the original comics, the ''[[VideoGame/{{Bionicle}} Mata Nui Online Game]]'' and the unreleased ''The Legend of Mata Nui'' PC game all relayed different portions of the story in incompatible ways. At the time, Toys/{{LEGO}} didn't even acknowledge the ''MNOG'' as part of canon, thus the novel completely ignores it. Takua, ''MNOG'''s protagonist who'd be a major character later, is not mentioned once, and so the charge he leads to protect the Kini Nui temple while the Toa battle [[BigBad the Makuta]] underground is not part of the story. None of the important supporting characters from ''MNOG'' make an appearance apart from Jaller and Onepu. The Makoki stones the Toa use to enter the temple and [[FusionDance merge into Toa Kaita]] are absent too. More significantly, Makuta himself never shows up, meaning the story's climax itself doesn't happen. The [[EvilDoppelganger six Shadow Toa]] are the final villains instead, but the [[OpponentSwitch way they're defeated]] was {{retcon}}ned by later books as Hapka's version of the showdown differed from LEGO's plans. Years later, the book itself would be declared only half-canon and ''MNOG'' was accepted into the official story, although certain scenes from the book override those of the game. This means the 2001 ''BIONICLE'' arc has no fully canon, officially sanctioned version in any media.
* The very first Franchise/StarWars novel, ''Literature/SplinterOfTheMindsEye'', had this in spades:
** Like most early Franchise/StarWarsLegends works, several references are made to pieces of technology that were current at the time but are now obsolete, mostly tapes as a data storage medium. Luke's "if I twist these two knobs, I can use my lightsaber to cut a locked door open without making it obvious" trick has never been seen since this book. And Chewbacca has a pair of {{Suspiciously Similar Substitute}}s in Hin and Kee the Yuzzem. Those are just the most obvious ones.
** Both Luke and Leia suffer from extreme {{UST}}, which makes itself clear in practically every interaction between them. Later films got rid of this element, both because Harrison Ford's return to the franchise created the possibility of a Leia/Han relationship, and because of other [[SurpriseIncest reasons that are obvious in hindsight.]]

* The ''Series/Batman1966'' show is full of this because it was created during a transitional stage in comics. Along with being a full-blown comedy series, it features forgotten Silver Age stuff, such as Dick Grayson having an aunt, Batman and Robin operating in broad daylight, and many of the villains (such as Comicbook/MrFreeze) display characterizations that have long since changed. The show originated [[Comicbook/{{Batgirl}} Barbara Gordon]], but it features her as a brunette who wears a redheaded wig for disguise (something associated with [[ComicBook/{{Batwoman}} Kate Kane]] instead of the naturally redheaded Barbara) and also depicts her as several years Dick's senior[[note]]Since the 1990s, they've been depicted as the same age and have been PromotedToLoveInterest)[[/note]].
* ''Series/TheIncredibleHulk1977''
** While not the first adaptation of the character to the screen, having come eleven years after ''WesternAnimation/TheMarvelSuperHeroes'', as the first live-action adaptation, the show takes surprising liberties, such as Hulk being rendered mute for the most part, instead communicating in growls and grunts, Banner being referred to by his given name rather than his middle name of "Bruce", his given name itself having been changed from "Robert" to "David", General Thaddeus Ross having been replaced with journalist [[CanoneForeigner Jack McGee]] and every other character having been AdaptedOut.
** ''The Incredible Hulk Returns'' also features this in the form of Thor. Also having first appeared in television in ''WesternAnimation/TheMarvelSuperHeroes'', this was the first live-action portrayal of the Marvel portrayal and rather than Blake and Thor being the same individual, they are two different characters (The Kenneth Branagh film would do something similar, but with Blake being TheGhost and becoming a brief alias of Thor), with Thor not being a god, but a Norse warrior whom Blake summons by holding a magic hammer and calling the name of "Odin".
** ''The Trial of the Incredible Hulk'' features similar examples. While the Kingpin had been appearing on the screen since ''WesternAnimation/SpiderMan1967'', this was his first portrayal in live-action and differs from what came after by never being referred to as "the Kingpin", only by "Wilson Fisk", having facial hair as well as averting BaldOfEvil. Likewise, this was the first portrayal of Daredevil, as ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManAndHisAmazingFriends'' had only portrayed him as Matt Murdock, and rather than the red suit everyone is familiar with, he wears a black ninja-like outfit and was inspired by a police man to be a hero, rather than seeking to avenge his father's death.

* The ''Shirley Temple's Storybook'' adaptation of ''Literature/TheLittleMermaid'' featured one thing that makes it weird compared to all other adaptations that follow the original story: the titular mermaid kept her voice. The only other adaptation to do this was a Russian film from 1976, which changed the plot completely, keeping only a few small things.

* TheMusical adaptation of ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'', ''Theatre/YoureAGoodManCharlieBrown'', was first produced in 1967 and only uses six characters: Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy, Linus, Schroder, and Patty, the last of whom was already being DemotedToExtra in the strip by that point (and tellingly doesn't even get a solo song). Notably, the 1999 Broadway revival completely revamped the libretto to replace Patty with Charlie Brown's sister Sally, a far more popular character.
* The 1826 opera adaptation of ''Literature/{{Ivanhoe}}'' featured the only case of Isaac of York and his daughter Rebecca being not only renamed (Ishmael and Leila), but explicitly changed from Jewish to Muslim as well, with the latter at least turning out to be Edith, the long-lost daughter of the "last descendant of Saxon kings", making her a combination of Rebecca and Rowena, Ivanhoe's proper love interest who is a descendent of UsefulNotes/AlfredTheGreat. This in turn makes Brian de Bois-Guilbert a combination of himself and Maurice de Bracy, Rowena's AbhorrentAdmirer, and Reginald Front-de-Boeuf, the owner of the castle where Rowena and Rebecca were held captive.

* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants: Legend of the Lost Spatula'' was made when the TV show was in its first season, and it shows. Characters use their less refined designs from the first season, the Flying Dutchman is the BigBad and rules over a FireAndBrimstoneHell that's never seen or referenced in any other media, Plankton is a background NPC with two lines of dialogue, and the game features characters, locations, and places that have almost never been referenced since: [=SpongeBob=] can wear his hall monitor uniform and equip the moon rock gun from "Sandy's Rocket", "the carnival" (an assortment of fishing bait) appears as a platforming area, and the boss of Jellyfish Fields is the giant jellyfish from "Jellyfishing" instead of the King Jellyfish from "I'm Your Biggest Fanantic". Additionally, Bubble Bass appears as an enemy, and he didn't really become a major character until after ''WesternAnimation/TheSpongeBobMovieSpongeOutOfWater''.
* ''VideoGame/TheSimpsons'' arcade game was developed during the show's first two seasons. Signs of this include the cast sporting their first-seasons designs, most of the enemies being made-up or based on bit characters and gags from early episodes rather than any of the more recognizable antagonist characters the show would introduce in later years, Sideshow Bob showing up as a minor ally (due to his first appearance on the show being as a silent background extra) and a few animations showing Marge hides rabbit ears under her haido ([[EarlyDraftTieIn something that was planned in pre-production but scrapped for the show proper]]). Another notable bit of weirdness is that one stage takes place at the Channel 6 studio, except in place of the recurring reporter {{Kent Brockman|News}} (who is recognizable even to the most casual fan of the show), the news is anchored by [[https://frinkiac.com/img/S01E07/1008205.jpg a one-off reporter from the Season 1 episode "The Call of the Simpsons"]].
* ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom2'' (2000) came out in the waning days of the era where ''Franchise/XMen'' was Marvel's biggest CashCowFranchise, and it really shows in the roster: [[SpotlightStealingCrossover eighteen of the 28 Marvel representatives]] hail from that series in some sense, including two versions of ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}. The really telling part is the presence of Marrow, though; an absolute E-lister who wouldn't warrant an appearance even in a purely ''X-Men'' fighting game nowadays, but she was actually getting something resembling a push in the mid-late 90s [[ShooOutTheNewGuy (one that did not last)]]. Other oddities of the era include Cable wearing a Creator/JimLee X-Men uniform instead of his more famous Creator/RobLiefeld look (which he did wear in the comics - for less than six months), and Sabertooth having Birdie as his GirlFriday (the character was very short-lived, and in fact had already been killed off in the comics by the time ''Marvel 2'' came out).

* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}: Shattered Blade'' was being developed and came out right when the Arrancar arc was starting up, but includes a number of characters on its roster who, at the time of that arc, had very little to work with in terms of moveset material for a fighting game character. Consequently, several characters end up with powers that they never canonically had, and powers they would have had at the time the game takes place being completely absent--for instance, Hisagi never uses his Shikai, and Ukitake and Kyoraku have their Shikai working completely differently from how they'd be revealed to work in canon. Ulquiorra stands out because at the time the game came out, he hadn't fought ''at all'', barring deflecting one attack with an OffhandBackhand, so the only thing the game makers had to work with were said backhand and two powers that he never used in combat (opening portals, and crushing his eye to convey information).

* The 1940s ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheatricalCartoons'' serials are the second earliest adaptation of ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'' (coming just a year after ''Radio/TheAdventuresOfSuperman'') and contain a lot of weirdness. Clark was raised in an orphanage without his adopted parents around and he doesn't fight any supervillains barring the occasional mad scientist who has no connection to Lex Luthor. Kryptonite is completely absent (it hadn't even been created yet!), as are pretty much all notable characters except Lois Lane and Perry White. Also, Superman's power is a lot lower--his enhanced senses, EyeBeams, and freeze breath are absent, and in one OutOfOrder short, Superman gets around by jumping, not flying. Superman gained his flight specifically because it was easier to draw and it was later [[RetCanon added onto the comics]].
* The early ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'' TV specials like ''WesternAnimation/ACharlieBrownChristmas'' and ''WesternAnimation/ItsTheGreatPumpkinCharlieBrown'' were made before fan favorite characters like Woodstock, Peppermint Patty and Marcie were introduced. In their place are characters like Frieda[[note]]she of the "naturally curly hair"[[/note]], Shermy[[note]]the kid with spiky hair[[/note]] and Violet[[note]]the black-haired girl with the ponytail[[/note]], who were later DemotedToExtra or written out altogether. The Apple TV+ specials have been bringing back the early characters, however.

** Pit being called "VideoGame/KidIcarus" wasn't a mistake; Creator/{{Nintendo}} insisted on it so the characters would be saying the name of the game as much as possible.

* ''Series/TheSuperMarioBrosSuperShow'' was a loose adaptation even at the time, but much of it appears even more loose when compared to later ''Mario'' canon. For example, not only are there no [[ImpliedLoveInterest implications of romance]] between Peach (who is [[AdaptationDyeJob redheaded]] instead of blonde because her design is based on her [[SuddenlyBlonde palette limited sprite]]) and Mario, but Peach is implied to be a teen while Mario is middle aged. This contrasts with the two being twenty-something year old ChildhoodFriends and love interests in most post-1980s media. Among other weirdnesses, Mario and Luigi have thick New York accents instead of their signature Italian accents, Bowser uses his Japanese name, King Koopa, and is presented as a CompositeCharacter between Wart, the BigBad of ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros2''. The show also prominently features enemies from that game that are largely ignored in ''Mario'''s current canon such as Tweeters, Albatosses, Trouters, Flurries, Mouser, Tryclyde, etc.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes'', which ran from 2010-2012, is a glimpse of a different, pre-''Film/TheAvengers2012'' Marvel than [[WesternAnimation/AvengersAssemble what'd come afterward]] (which would be as close to the MCU as possible): Hank Pym and Janet van Dyne are main characters, Black Widow is only a recurring character, Carol Danvers is called "Ms. Marvel" and not "Captain Marvel", Loki is an unrepentant villain, the Guardians of the Galaxy behave professionally, and characters related to the X-Men and Fantastic Four made guest appearances and cameos. The only big change from the MCU that made the jump at first was Jarvis being Tony Stark's AI instead of his butler. (This all stemmed from the show beginning production at the time only ''Film/IronMan'' and ''Film/TheIncredibleHulk2008'' had been created, and the only thing they really drew from the latter was Abomination's backstory and accent.) ''Anime/MarvelDiskWarsTheAvengers'' and ''Anime/MarvelFutureAvengers'' would carry over some of these with MDA and MFA having Janet as a main character, Black Widow being a recurring character and the X-Men appearing while MDA kept Loki as an unrepentant villain but the toyline and [=3DS=] game show Carol Danvers as Captain Marvel. MFA has Captain Marvel and Loki more as an AntiVillain.
* ''WesternAnimation/SpiderMan1967'' is the only time the title character has been portrayed using a different voice as Spider-Man, something that no other adaptations have followed suit with.

* Toei's ''Anime/{{Yu Gi Oh|FirstAnimeSeries}}'' anime has several inconsistencies with the ''Manga/YuGiOh'' manga even at the time as well as later events in the manga, as well as characterization differences, CharacterExaggeration, and episodes with original villains with powers normally reserved for the supernatural.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes'', which ran from 2010-2012, is a glimpse of a different, pre-''Film/TheAvengers2012'' Marvel than [[WesternAnimation/AvengersAssemble what'd come afterward]] (which would be as close to the MCU as possible): Hank Pym and Janet van Dyne are main characters, Black Widow is only a recurring character, Carol Danvers is called "Ms. Marvel" and not "Captain Marvel", Loki is an unrepentant villain, the Guardians of the Galaxy behave professionally, and characters related to the X-Men and Fantastic Four made guest appearances and cameos. The only big change from the MCU that made the jump at first was Jarvis being Tony Stark's AI instead of his butler. (This all stemmed from the show beginning production at the time only ''Film/IronMan'' and ''Film/TheIncredibleHulk'' had been created, and the only thing they really drew from the latter was Abomination's backstory and accent.) ''Anime/MarvelDiskWarsTheAvengers'' and ''Anime/MarvelFutureAvengers'' would carry over some of these with MDA and MFA having Janet as a main character, Black Widow being a recurring character and the X-Men appearing while MDA kept Loki as an unrepentant villain but the toyline and [=3DS=] game show Carol Danvers as Captain Marvel. MFA has Captain Marvel and Loki more as an AntiVillain.

* ''Manga/CmonDigimon'' was released in the early years of the ''Franchise/{{Digimon}}'' brand and it shows, Digimon are [[Toys/{{Digimon}} virtual pets like in real life]], the artstyle is noticeably different, Perfect[=/=][[DubNameChange Ultimate]] is treated as the last stage, the main Digimon are CanonForeigners (albeit based on preexisting designs) never seen before or since, and the Digital World isn't even mentioned.

* Combining this with RecursiveAdaptation, ''ComicBook/TheBatmanAdventures'', set in the same continuity as ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'', featured a guest appearance of Superman. He's based on ComicBook/{{Superman}} as he was in the early-mid 90s, with a mullet, a Lex Luthor with red hair, and an established friendly relationship with Batman at the time of ''BTAS''. Then ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries'' started airing in the same continuity, and it showcased a Superman with short hair fighting a bald Lex Luthor, who only encountered Batman at the time of ''The New Batman Adventures''.

* ''WesternAnimation/SouthParkBiggerLongerAndUncut'' has many notable differences compared to how [[WesternAnimation/SouthPark the show]] is recently due to being created around the same time as the show's third season. If someone who was introduced to the later episodes of the show watched this film, they would notice the much cruder animation, art style and jokes that were standard during those times, [[GeographicFlexibility and how much smaller the town of South Park used to be]]. Cartman himself is the bratty jerk he was known for early on [[CharacterizationMarchesOn instead of]] the cunning and manipulative sociopath of the later seasons. Also, certain characters [[AscendedExtra who would rise to prominence much later on]], such as Craig and Token, are just background characters. It's odd to see such a big event where Butters is nothing more than a SpearCarrier (or for that matter, where [[DemotedToExtra Kenny]] actually ''does'' get focus). Even Randy, who has since gone on become the most prominent adult character of the show, only had one single speaking line in the whole movie (questioning the V-chip).

** While not the first adaptation of the character to the screen, having come eleven years after ''WesternAnimation/TheMarvelSuperHeroes'', as the first live-action adaptation, the show takes surprising liberties, such as Hulk being rendered mute for the most part, instead communicating in growls and grunts, Banner being referred to by his given name rather than his middle name of "Bruce", his given name itself having been changed from "Robert" to "David", General Thaddeus Ross having been replaced with original character Jack [=McGee=] and pretty much every other character having been AdaptedOut.

** ''The Trial of the Incredible Hulk'' features similar examples. While the Kingpin had been appearing on the screen since ''WesternAnimation/SpiderMan1967'', this was his first portrayal in live-action and differs from what came after by never being referred to as "the Kingpin", only by "Wilson Fisk", having facial hair as well as averting BaldOfEvil, by actually having hair. Likewise, this was the first portrayal of Daredevil, as ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManAndHisAmazingFriends'' had only portrayed him as Matt Murdock, and rather than the red suit everyone is familiar with , he wears a black ninja-like outfit and was inspired by a police man to be a hero, rather than seeking to avenge his father's death.