History ReplacementScrappy / TheDCU

** Jason Todd as the second Robin. Originally a carbon-copy of Robin I, Dick Grayson, he was [[CosmicRetcon ret-conned]] into having a [[StreetUrchin street urchin]] origin and no longer having Dick's approval. He was also written as much angrier and prone to lashing out, including one story where it was left vague whether he ''outright murdered'' someone or not (after his resurrection, it was revealed that, yes, he murdered the person). [[note]] In fairness to Jason, said person was a [[AssholeVictim scumbag rapist]] who caused one of his friends to commit suicide after he got off the rape charge due to DiplomaticImpunity and threatened to come after her again. [[/note]] This led to the second Robin becoming so controversial that DC had a ''call-in vote'' to see if fans wanted Jason to [[ComicBook/ADeathInTheFamily die a gruesome death at the hands of the Joker.]] Ultimately, Jason's hatedom won and Jason Todd was [[DeadSidekick dead]] for two decades before being restored to life as the Red Hood, which rescued him from scrappydom until misuse resulted in him being thrown back into the pile.

* Deathstroke's team of "Titans" when ''[[ComicBook/TeenTitans Titans]]'' was remade into a series about Slade's mercenary team stealing the Titans name after the actual, adult Titans had disbanded following ''ComicBook/JusticeLeagueCryForJustice'' and ''ComicBook/BlackestNight''. The run immediately got off to a bad start by killing off [[ComicBook/TheAtom Ryan Choi]] in an extremely graphic and dragged out manner just to show how "dangerous" this new team was, which landed DC a number of accusations about inter-company racism; Ryan's creator Creator/GailSimone actually broke her legendary politeness to say how much she hated how he died. A few years later, DC released ''{{ComicBook/Convergence}}'' with two miniseries, ''Convergence: The Atom'' and ''Convergence: Titans'' meant to specifically address and undo the damage this run on the book did. Added to the accusations about Ryan's death were:

** Jason Todd as the second Robin. Originally a carbon-copy of Robin I, Dick Grayson, he was [[CosmicRetcon ret-conned]] into having a [[StreetUrchin street urchin]] origin and no longer having Dick's approval. He was also written as much angrier and prone to lashing out, including one story where it was left vague whether he ''outright murdered'' someone or not (after his resurrection, it was revealed that, yes, he murdered the person). This led to the second Robin becoming so controversial that DC had a ''call-in vote'' to see if fans wanted Jason to [[ComicBook/ADeathInTheFamily die a gruesome death at the hands of the Joker.]] Ultimately, Jason's hatedom won and Jason Todd was [[DeadSidekick dead]] for two decades before being restored to life as the Red Hood, which rescued him from scrappydom until misuse resulted in him being thrown back into the pile.

* ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'':

* Franchise/TheFlash has had issues with this.

** But when Bart Allen had his turn as Franchise/TheFlash, fans were much more in agreement about their loathing of the character due partly to the {{Wangst}}, partly due to his being [[PlotRelevantAgeUp artificially aged]] to shoehorn him into the role, but mostly because the character lost his FunPersonified sense of humor and cheerful demeanor.

* Franchise/GreenLantern. Stories featuring Hal Jordan, one of the longest-running and most respected heroes in ''Franchise/TheDCU'', just weren't selling that well, and [[ExecutiveMeddling it was decided that a fresher look at the character was needed]] rather than just switching Jordan out for backup Lanterns Guy Gardner or John Stewart. So [[DroppedABridgeOnHim a bridge was dropped on Hal Jordan]] in a way [[DyingToBeReplaced that was not only stupid]], but was [[FaceHeelTurn demeaning to the character and his long history as a hero]] (he eventually got a HeroicSacrifice a few years later). Not only that, but the entire [[TheChosenMany Green Lantern Corps]] was brought down as well. Thus his replacement, Kyle Rayner, wasn't just a ReplacementScrappy for Hal Jordan, but for the entire corps. Cut to almost 10 years later, and many GL fans come around to liking the character (mostly because of Creator/GrantMorrison's deft handling of the character), and some people liked the character from the beginning. So when fans of Hal Jordan gained control of the title and decreed that ''their'' hero would return, naturally some of them didn't take it very well. Nevertheless, Hal gained support after starring in one of the most beloved and influential GL runs ever, a run which also ended up featuring Guy, John and Kyle in a large capacity.

* ''Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica'':

** ComicBook/{{Cyborg}} himself isn't hated, his removal from the Franchise/TeenTitans' history and replacement of the ComicBook/MartianManhunter as a founding member of the League ''was'' loathed by many fans.

** Superman had an interesting case with the ''ComicBook/New52''. Many people disliked the New 52 Superman ([[FanNickname NuSupes]]) for being much angrier and jerkier than his Pre-Flashpoint counterpart, gaining a strange solar flare power that seemed to exist only to depower him every other week, along with issues with him dating Franchise/WonderWoman rather than ComicBook/LoisLane. While he gained some fans eventually, he also lost some with the ''ComicBook/SupermanTruth'' storyline, which had him return to being a Jerkass while also giving him an uglier costume and haircut. It didn't help that, by that point, the Pre-Flashpoint Superman had migrated over to the New 52 universe with his Lois Lane and their son, and said Superman was considered ''much'' more interesting. In the end, DC pulled the trigger and killed the New 52 Superman right before the ''ComicBook/DCRebirth'' initiative, which led to...

* Speaking of the Teen Titans, the New 52 series and its team is hated by pretty much all of the Titans fans combined, even the fans of the characters. The team is hated by fans of the original Titans for specifically being the first team to call themselves the Titans, meaning the original team never existed -- indeed, only Dick Grayson and Roy Harper initially even existed in the New 52. Fans of the team that is the ''basis'' for the New 52 team hate it for the changes it made to their characters, namely making Cassie (more) of an angry asshole, the ''complete'' change to Bart Allen's character and finally going 100% in making Tim Drake a mini-Bruce Wayne in terms of his obsessiveness.

** Holly Granger (as the third person to bear the title of "Hawk") also got this reception by fans, though it didn't help matters that [[DependingOnTheWriter writers had no clue what kind of personality she had]], or bothered to flesh out a personality or backstory for her to begin with. Being retconned in as "only child" Dawn Granger's sister and an usurper of Hank Hall's Hawk powers only rubbed the salt in further for her hatedom. They rejoiced as Hank Hall was eventually brought back to life while Holly was killed off, and she appears to no longer exist at all in the New 52 continuity.

** Cassandra Cain, the third Batgirl was this for a number of fans. Not only was she a replacement for the first Batgirl Barbara Gordon, but she was also seemingly created just to wear the costume given up by the short-lived (as Batgirl) second Batgirl, Helena Bertinelli (who would return to her old identity as the Post-Crisis ComicBook/{{Huntress}}). Helena was intended to be temporary to begin with, but still... She was also a considerable departure from the original character, being a mute super-martial artist. However, she developed a fandom after her introduction, and even got her own solo series, and a lot of Barbara fans eventually accepted her, thanks to her mentor/pupil relationship with Barbara.

** At the beginning of the ''Comicbook/New52'' Wally didn't even ''exist'', and the role of the first Kid Flash was given to the second Kid Flash Bart Allen. Later on, they brought Wally back with some ''very'' controversial changes to his character. This Wally was pretty firmly disliked by classic Wally fans for his increased Jerkass tendencies, stereotypical portrayal, changes to Wally's relationships (he isn't close to his aunt Iris anymore, comes from a broken family, and outright hates the Flash), among other things. DC later brought back the original Wally in ''ComicBook/DCRebirth'' while keeping New 52 Wally around as the classic version's cousin, and this had the added benefit of classic Wally fans giving Wally West II another chance now that he wasn't supposed to be their Wally anymore. Plus, the more controversial parts of his character had been heavily reined in by then.

** After ''ComicBook/BatmanEndgame'', Jim Gordon takes the identity of Batman. A lot of the hate towards this Batman is because he spends a lot of time running around in PoweredArmor and ramping up the Batdickery by attempting to arrest or kick out any costumed character who wanders into Gotham. At the same time, his entire character essentially becomes "cop", with none of the nuance to vigilantes that he previously held, and many just find him ''boring''. It says something that the most-liked scenes from his run [[SpotlightStealingSquad involve the possibility of Bruce Wayne returning to the role]].

** After ''ComicBook/BatmanEndgame'', Jim Gordon takes the identity of Batman. A lot of the hate towards this Batman is because he spends a lot of time running around in PoweredArmor and ramping up the Batdickery by attempting to arrest or kick out any costumed character who wanders into Gotham. At the same time, his entire character essentially becomes "cop", and many just find him ''boring''. It says something that the most-liked scenes from his run [[SpotlightStealingSquad involve the possibility of Bruce Wayne returning to the role]].

** After ''ComicBook/BatmanEndgame'', James Gordon takes the identity of Batman. A lot of the hate towards this Batman is because he spends a lot of time running around in PoweredArmor and ramping up the Batdickery by attempting to arrest or kick out any costumed character who wanders into Gotham. At the same time, his entire character essentially becomes "cop", and many just find him ''boring''. It says something that the most-liked scenes from his run [[SpotlightStealingSquad involve the possibility of Bruce Wayne returning to the role]].

** When Barbara Gordon returned to the role in ''ComicBook/Batgirl2011'', the former Batgirls' fans felt it was an insult against them on DC's part. Some of Barbara's ''own fans'' even felt this way about the New 52 version of her, as they ''liked'' her as the disabled superhero Oracle, which this version of Barbara never was (until it was alter retconned). Eventually, DC split the difference: Barbara's spinal implant began failing, so she now only suits up as Batgirl when it's really necessary, while also passing then mantle to both Cass ''and'' Steph, with all three now being Batgirls. This solution has been widely accepted by the fandom.

** At the same time as the Death of Superman arc, Batman also got a ReplacementScrappy in [[AntiHeroSubstitute Azrael]], who took up the mantle after Batman's back was broken. He went over terribly with the fans, but like Superman, the writers never intended, and the readers never believed, that ComicBook/{{Azrael}} would ever be a ''permanent'' replacement.

** When Barbara Gordon returned to the role in ''ComicBook/Batgirl2011'', the former Batgirls' fans felt it was a perceived insult against them on DC's part.

** Averted entirely when Dick Grayson became Batman. The decision for both Bruce and Dick to act as Batman simultaneously is seen as a welcome third option. Some fans really didn't want him returning to his role of Nightwing.
** Played straight with Tim Drake becoming the new Batman Beyond, replacing Terry [=McGinnis=]. Terry is a pretty big EnsembleDarkHorse, and is synonymous with the Batman Beyond role. But ''Futures End'' ends up replacing Terry with Tim, and Tim gets to be the protagonist of the new, canon ''Batman Beyond'' ongoing. A large group of fans are not picking up the new series purely on the basis of it not starring Terry.
** Then played straight again towards the post-''ComicBook/BatmanEndgame'' Batman, James Gordon. A lot of the hate towards this Batman is because he spends a lot of time running around in PoweredArmor and ramping up the Batdickery by attempting to arrest or kick out any costumed character who wanders into Gotham. At the same time, his entire character essentially becomes "cop", and many just find him ''boring''. It says something that the most-liked scenes from his run [[SpotlightStealingSquad involve the possibility of Bruce Wayne returning to the role]].

** Cassandra Cain, the third Batgirl was this for a small number of fans. Not only was she a replacement for the first Batgirl Barbara Gordon, but she was also [[TheRealRemingtonSteele seemingly created just to wear the costume given up by]] the short-lived (as Batgirl) second Batgirl, Helena Bertinelli (who would return to her old identity as the post-Crisis ComicBook/{{Huntress}}). Helena was intended to be temporary to begin with, but still... She was also a considerable departure from the original character, being a CuteMute CharlesAtlasSuperpower martial artist. However, she ''did'' develop a big fandom after her introduction, and even got her own solo series, and a lot of Barbara fans eventually accepted her, thanks to her relationship with Barbara, which moved Babs into an interesting role as TheMentor. Cass was ''so'' liked that this led to...
** The next Batgirl ([[ComicBook/{{Batgirl2009}} Stephanie Brown]], formerly Spoiler) has been seen as this as well, due to her being a blonde Caucasian female who replaced one of the few Asian superheroes in all of comicdom (and the only female Asian hero to maintain a long-running solo series). Steph would eventually win over a a number fans by being a really fun character. Though her book wasn't a smash hit (it had enough sales to be in the top hundred comics being sold, but not on par with usual Bat-books), she managed to win over a very vocal fanbase that protested heavily once she was removed from the role.
** The ComicBook/{{New 52}} relaunch, where the original Batgirl [[ComicBook/{{Batgirl 2011}} returned to the role]], is an interesting situation. Nobody hates Barbara ''per se'', but there is a perceived insult against Steph on DC's part, plus moving Babs away from being the InformationBroker and HandicappedBadass Oracle rubs many of her fans the wrong way as stripping her of her unique qualities.
** It seemed apparent at the start of the reboot that DC's own [[ExecutiveMeddling higher-ups]] considered both Cassandra and Stephanie to be this trope, and [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome wanted nothing more to do with them]]. While both characters reappeared eventually, neither got the prominence that their fans wanted.
** InUniverse, pre-''ComicBook/{{Flashpoint}}'', Barbara viewed anyone taking up the name Batgirl as this. When Helena took up the identity and Batman new, Barbara threw a fit. She kept a close eye on Cass and was wary of Steph taking up the identity. When Misfit initially tried to pass herself off as Batigirl, Barbara once again flipped. In Barbara's eyes, they're not just taking her name, they're taking her ''legs''.

** After the original ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} was [[HeroicSacrifice killed]] and {{Ret Gone}}d, DC initiated a legacy implosion policy which prevented the existence of any Kryptonians besides Superman. Creator/JohnByrne then replaced her with Matrix, a Supergirl that was basically an ArtificialHuman from a PocketDimension. Matrix was generally impopular among long-time Superman/Supergirl fans, who saw no point in replacing a beloved character with an inferior and convoluted substitute just so that Superman was the only survivor of Krypton (and DC did not lost the Supergirl trademark), and ignored by newer fans who did not care about any Supergirl. After many failed storylines and attempted revamps (which include Matrix being Brainiac's dupe, romancing Lex Luthor and merging with a Satan worshipper to become an angel of fire), the character was finally retired for good in 2003.

** Damian Wayne (Robin V) for Tim Drake (ComicBook/{{Robin|Series}} III). When Damian was introduced he was arrogant, cruel, obnoxious and outright homicidal: some of his very first actions were to murder a B-list villain and return to the cave proudly waving about the severed head, before trying to murder Tim (and very nearly succeeding). Bruce's response to Damian's behaviour amounts to little more than mild scolding, and many people feel Damian gets off too lightly because he's Bruce's biological son (which has its own UnfortunateImplications about adopted sons not being "real" family). Damian didn't officially take up the identity of Robin until after Bruce's "death", when Dick Grayson unceremoniously fired Tim from the role to make way for Damian. Tim would then be restricted to his own solo series as ComicBook/RedRobin (which furthered his "Batman Jr." {{Flanderization}}) and had his formerly brotherly relationship with Dick reduced to something more like co-workers, while Damian was prominently featured in multiple series with a big push on promoting him and Dick as brothers. Later on, with the ComicBook/New52 reboot, Tim only regularly appeared in the much-loathed ''Teen Titans'' ongoing where he was isolated from the rest of the Batfamily, while Damian was the co-lead in the much more well-liked ''Batman and Robin'' where he was promoted as Batman's "true" son and got away with things no other Robin could get away with (including [[https://i.redd.it/3vuuv9uxcuj51.jpg beating one person until he was braindead]] and outright killing another – and Bruce's response to the latter was to [[https://i.redd.it/0lsq716zcxj51.jpg hide the fact from Dick and Tim]] ''because it would make Damian look bad''). To sum up, many Tim Drake fans hate Damian for getting such a large push from DC at Tim's expense, up to and including Tim's place in the Batfamily – meanwhile, Jason Todd fans also hate him for the double-standard in terms of how he's treated in-universe by Bruce and Dick.
* [[ComicBook/TeenTitans The Joker's Daughter]] wasn't universally loved, but she gained a small, devoted fanbase. That said, the fans of this Duela Dent absolutely hated the new Joker's Daughter created for the New 52. Original Duela's fans saw her as a cheap, unnecessarily edgy knock off with a convoluted backstory, lacking the original Duela's humor and style, and grew to hate her more and more with every appearance she made because of how hard DC was shoehorning her into their books. What sunk this version from the beginning was that she literally had no connection to the Joker whatsoever, and was just some random, mentally unbalanced woman who found the Joker's face and started wearing it like a mask in an effort to make her "father" happy. [[WordOfGod The creator of Duela Dent]] has said ComicBook/HarleyQuinn is basically the SpiritualSuccessor to everything lovable about the original anyway. A rare case of the replacement being created completely independently, still filling their niche, and being far more popular than the original ever was.
* ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}:
** After the original was [[HeroicSacrifice killed]] and {{Ret Gone}}d, DC initiated a legacy implosion policy which prevented the existence of any Kryptonians besides Superman. Creator/JohnByrne then engaged in a bit of LoopholeAbuse and gave us Matrix, a Supergirl that was basically an ArtificialHuman from a PocketDimension. While thought inferior to the original, she was at least ''a'' Supergirl and existed for several years.
** Her popularity decreased and Creator/PeterDavid was allowed to completely revamp the character in his own run on Supergirl. His Supergirl was actually [[OurAngelsAreDifferent an angel]], created when the Matrix Supergirl fused with a human named Linda Danvers. His run, while making [[MythologyGag a number of references to the original Supergirl]], touched on religious and supernatural themes. It was seen by many as a departure from the original character and the Superman mythos. Peter David finished the series with ''[[ComicBook/ManyHappyReturns an arc]]'' that reintroduced the original Supergirl with the hope of turning it into a new series. Unfortunately it didn't happen and Linda was PutOnABus.

** And finally a new version of the original Supergirl, Kara Zor-El, was created to get rid of the [[ContinuitySnarl confusing origins]] of the previous Supergirls once the policy was overturned. Although her initial appearances were promising (except for people who were upset with Linda's disappearance), she garnished significant hatred for being both DarkerAndEdgier and MsFanservice for a short while. Several {{Authors Saving Throw}}s by writers Tony Bedard and Sterling Gates -- who were fans of original Supergirl -- finally softened her character and clarified her history, and she became popular again.
* Done in-universe (they were this trope to the readers as well, but here it was intentional) with the four replacement Supermen that cropped up after ComicBook/TheDeathOfSuperman. The first three were: [[EvilCounterpart a Cyborg that eventually turned out to be evil]]; [[NinetiesAntiHero a cold, elitist Kryptonian]]; and [[ComicBook/{{Superboy}} a loud, '90s-ish punk teenager]]. [[ComicBook/{{Steel}} The fourth was a heroic, moral, upstanding guy... who really, really didn't want to replace Superman]].
* ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'':
** Superman had an interesting case with the New 52. Many, ''many'' people disliked the New 52 Superman ([[FanNickname NuSupes]]) for being much angrier and jerkier than his Pre-Flashpoint counterpart, gaining a strange solar flare power that seemed to exist only to depower him every other week, along with issues with him dating Franchise/WonderWoman rather than ComicBook/LoisLane. While he gained some fans eventually, he also lost some with the ComicBook/SupermanTruth storyline, which had him return to being a Jerkass while also giving him an uglier costume and haircut. It didn't help that, by that point, the Pre-Flashpoint Superman had migrated over to the New 52 universe with his Lois Lane and their son, and said Superman was considered ''much'' more interesting. In the end, DC pulled the trigger and killed the New 52 Superman right before the ''ComicBook/DCRebirth'' initiative, which led to...
** Pre-Flashpoint Superman (Super Dad) becoming a ReplacementScrappy for [=NuSupes=]! While it's ''much'' less common to find people who prefer [=NuSupes=], there are quite a few people who do feel bad for [=NuSupes=]' fans. However, in this case the Super Dad detractors are in the minority, and the overall consensus is that the Rebirth Superman line is the strongest the franchise has been in ''years''. An AuthorsSavingThrow was later attempted with the ''ComicBook/SupermanReborn'' crossover, which explained that ''both'' Supermen were merely parts of the real, whole Superman, validating both as equal parts of Superman... Except that Super Dad was the "blue" half of Superman while [=NuSupes=] was the "red", and in the original stories where Superman was split in two, the blue half is the real one... and when the two fused together, the resulting "complete" Superman is basically Super Dad, but with [=NuSupes=]' dead parents, so it seems like even ''DC's staff themselves'' prefer the pre-Flashpoint Superman. Even the dead parents would eventually be done away with and all that remained of [=NuSupes=] would be his costume being something Superman wore at one point.

** This can happen for whole teams as well. After the original ''{{ComicBook/Gen 13}}'' ended with the team being [[KilledOffForReal killed with a nuclear bomb]], the book was relaunched with an all-new team created by Creator/ChrisClaremont. The combination of the heavy-handed, [[ExecutiveMeddling editor-mandated]] deaths of the old team and the FiveTokenBand nature of the replacements meant that the results were pretty unpopular. The "new" ComicBook/Gen13 was cancelled after 16 issues, ending with the original team being bought back to life. The "new" Gen 13 have never even been mentioned again.

** During ''ComicBook/GrantMorrisonsJLA'' run, Huntress is this InUniverse to Batman (she was brought in as a last second replacement for [[ComicBook/GreenArrow Connor Hawke]]). He eventually kicks her out after her continued disregard for rules leads to her almost executing a defeated villain.

* When DC decided to kill off underdog fan-favorite ComicBook/BlueBeetle (Ted Kord, himself the second character to use that name), fans were enraged. His replacement, Jaime Reyes wasn't really disliked by people, but fans hated DC's callous treatment of Kord and turning him into a laughing stock for the other heroes, which came off as CharacterShilling for Reyes.

* When DC decided to kill off underdog fan-favorite Blue Beetle (Ted Kord, himself the second character to use that name), fans were enraged. His replacement, Jaime Reyes wasn't really disliked by people, but fans hated DC's callous treatment of Kord and turning him into a laughing stock for the other heroes, which came off as CharacterShilling for Reyes.

* Jason Rusch (ComicBook/{{Firestorm}}) for Ronnie Raymond, since Ronnie was unceremoniously killed off to make way for Rusch. The New 52 continuity not only retconned the death of Ronnie Raymond (the first Firestorm who was killed to make way for Jason) but now made it possible for both he and Jason to become Firestorm at the same time, alleviating some of the tension between the characters' respective fanbases.