History RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap / ComicBooks

** Though his degree of success is [[BaseBreakingCharacter debatable]], he is also blatantly ''trying'' to do this to Princess Sally, subverting her FlawlessToken status by having more moments she admits to making a mistake. The bad blood received from slapping Sonic and breaking up with him in public also seems attempted to be rectified, with a couple of conversations where she discusses the situation with another, [[JerkassRealization blatantly ashamed and remorseful over how she acted]]. Many fans do tend to agree that the ContinuityReboot ended up making Sally much better, dumping the baggage the previous 250 issues gave her and made her a much more daring ActionGirl than she was before. It also helps that many of her diehard fans make articles and Youtube videos dedicated to defending her from any hatred she has received in the past by using swift logic to successfully debunk any of the major reasons (and some of the most ridiculous reasons as well) why many people hate her, [[NeverLiveItDown including the issue where she slapped Sonic out of anger]].

'''A Administrivia/{{No Recent Examples|please}} rule applies to this trope'''. Examples shouldn't be added for '''9 months'''. This is measured from the point when the character was introduced or became hated.

** Though his degree of success is [[BaseBreakingCharacter debatable]], he is also blatantly ''trying'' to do this to Princess Sally, subverting her PositiveDiscrimination status by having more moments she admits to making a mistake. The bad blood received from slapping Sonic and breaking up with him in public also seems attempted to be rectified, with a couple of conversations where she discusses the situation with another, [[JerkassRealization blatantly ashamed and remorseful over how she acted]]. Many fans do tend to agree that the ContinuityReboot ended up making Sally much better, dumping the baggage the previous 250 issues gave her and made her a much more daring ActionGirl than she was before. It also helps that many of her diehard fans make articles and Youtube videos dedicated to defending her from any hatred she has received in the past by using swift logic to successfully debunk any of the major reasons (and some of the most ridiculous reasons as well) why many people hate her, [[NeverLiveItDown including the issue where she slapped Sonic out of anger]].

** He also rescued Silver of the much hated ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006'' by turning him into a one man TimePolice who, while well meaning, is a bit of a bumbler.

** ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMegaseries'': Spotlight'' did this for Wheelie, not only emphasizing his survival skills to a near-badass level (remember, the kid ''did'' used to live on a planet full of Sharkticons), but also provided a plausible reason for his constant rhyming.

* Simon Furman goes too far with this in his ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'' comics, rescuing Grimlock from being a brute with no consistent characterization to a cunning if arrogant and temperamental warrior who cares just as deeply for his own troops as does Prime for all Autobots, and who only uses lines like "Me Grimlock" because he feels intellectuals don't get respected enough. Thankfully, he seems to have learned his lesson.
** Some people think Furman's approach to Grimlock has come right around and done the opposite with Grimlock. This could be due to him enduring a bit of WolverinePublicity.
** IDW's ''[[ComicBook/TheTransformersMegaseries Spotlight]]'' did this for Wheelie, not only emphasizing his survival skills to a near-badass level (remember, the kid ''did'' used to live on a planet full of Sharkticons), but also provided a plausible reason for his constant rhyming.
** Drift was rescued from the Scrappy heap thanks to fan-favorite writer James Roberts including him in his new ongoing series, severely downplaying his brooding faction-switching swordsman tendencies in favor of playing up his trend as TheFundamentalist with his blind loyalty to the [[MarySuetopia Circle Of Light]] and playing with his constant habit of delivering pseudo-philosophical speeches about war and morality by making him Rodimus's speechwriter. He's even being written as being flawed and still distrusted by many (and not in a "poor Drift gets no love but he should" way), with Ultra Magnus even considering his likelihood of returning to crime "off the scales".
*** He's also become a big-time DeadpanSnarker and StepfordSmiler.
** Drift is a major case of a phenomenon you see a lot in comic books: a MarySue is hated by all but the writer, then the ''next'' writer gets his hands on the character and opinion turns around. Evidently, it takes someone who can ''step back'' and figure out where he fits and who he ''needs'' to be instead of the creator who can't get past his "I adore him, so, you must too, and I'll keep him onscreen 24/7 until you do!" feelings about [[CreatorsPet his pet]].
** A weird case took place with Getaway. When introduced, he was a reasonably badass spy and escape artist who worked with Skids before. In the second "season", after Dark Cybertron, he became widely hated for creeping on and grooming Tailgate. At no point in his rescue from the Heap did he become a better person, though; instead, Roberts made him ''even more'' of [[HateSink an asshole]] and unambiguously positioned him as a villain, and even the people who hated him became more willing to put up with his presence [[CatharsisFactor in the hope of something bad happening to him eventually]]. [[spoiler:[[CruelAndUnusualDeath Which it did]], in case you were wondering.]]
* Virtually every character in Creator/WarrenEllis's ''{{ComicBook/Stormwatch}}''. Ellis deepened the characterization and turning the focus somewhat away from action. Ellis's run on the title is now considered one of the most important in comic book history and one of the best of the nineties. Most of the characters ended up dead anyway in the crisis crossover.
* Ian Flynn's run on the ''[[ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' comic series has done this for a good number of characters. Some of these include turning Sonic's EvilTwin, err, Evil Sonic, into a [[TookALevelInBadass more distinctive character]] named Scourge. He's also managed to do this for the almost universally despised Monkey Khan, turning him from an obnoxious ''Literature/JourneyToTheWest'' parody into a more well rounded, sympathetic, and [[MyGreatestFailure tragic]] character.

* The ''ComicBook/JemAndTheHolograms'' comic reboot did this to several ''WesternAnimation/{{Jem}}'' characters:

* One of Creator/WillEisner's few mistakes with ''ComicBook/TheSpirit'' was Ebony White, a highly stereotyped black kid who drove the Spirit's cab. ([[FairForItsDay Compared to the other black characters of the era, he was downright progressive]].) Darwyn Cooke's 2007 series turned Ebony into a more realistic and thought-out character (albeit still a thirteen-year-old who drives a cab, but this is a comic).
* Similarly, ''Comicbook/{{Blackhawk}}'''s Chop-Chop started out as a rather horrendous "Chinaman" comic-relief stereotype (even, arguably, by the standards of its time.) Subsequent eras gradually improved the character. By the '60s, Chop-Chop was recognizably human, and by the '80s, he was a competent equal member of the team in the Evanier/Spiegle run, and a worldly, sophisticated, and articulate character going by the name Weng Chan in Creator/HowardChaykin's re-tooling of the series.

!!!DC
* Damian Wayne, the son of Franchise/{{Batman}} and Talia al-Ghul, initially came off as a violent {{jerkass}}. But after he becomes the new Comicbook/{{Robin}} next to Dick Grayson's Batman after his father's death, many fans are surprised to find that he is becoming much more likable, thanks to some character development by Creator/GrantMorrison (his creator) and Creator/PaulDini, who have effectively made him into the {{Tsundere}} youngest member of the Bat-Family who, despite his bravado, has grown to appreciate his new family (he has more-or-less grown to accept Tim Drake ''and'' [[Comicbook/{{Batgirl2009}} Stephanie Brown]], and has admitted to preferring to work under Dick Than his father!) and has been told that there is '''much''' he still needs to improve on. But take notice that this is still at least a work in progress, as the fanbase at large has merely decided to changed their opinion from him being near universally reviled to seeing the character as a BaseBreakingCharacter.
** Probably the biggest part of rescuing him from the Scrappy heap was when he started acting more his age instead of trying to pretend he was older and more mature. There's one moment in particular between him and Dick Grayson that shows how he's starting to open up more, has come to truly respect Dick, and is willing to show his vulnerabilities. It happens after Dick, Damian, and Alfred realize that Bruce really ''is'' still alive, and are exploring secret parts of Wayne Manor to find clues Bruce left for them in the past.
-->'''Damian:''' If my father returns... ''we'' can't be Batman and Robin any more, can we?
-->'''Dick:''' No, I guess not. It's a small price to pay for getting him back alive.
-->'''Damian:''' What will ''I'' do? Do you think my father will let me stay on as Robin?
-->'''Dick:''' You honestly think he'd put up with you the way I do? ''[pause]'' ...Damian, I'm ''joking.''
** This is also a reason people liked Colin Wilkes aka Abuse: Damian was interacting with someone his own age without showing massive disdain for the person. He even fist-bumped him! Given as Damian clearly was supportive of Colin being Abuse, many are hoping for his return to continue to prove Damian isn't a total prick.
* Matter-Eater Lad of the ''Comicbook/{{Legion of Super-Heroes}}'' started out as a total weirdo with an incredibly [[WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway lame power]] who was eventually written out of the storyline, first by going back to his home planet and eventually [[AlasPoorScrappy going into a coma]] after saving the universe by eating a "Miracle Machine" that was warping reality. During the "[[TimeSkip Five Years Later]]" era, though, he was re-imagined with a rock-star persona (CoolShades and all), gleefully reveling in his own absurdity.
-->"All this roughhousing is giving me an appetite * CHOMP* and you don't want to give '''me''' *gulp* an appetite."
** In the most recent [[ContinuityReboot reboot]] of the series, he ''[[TookALevelInBadass bit a guy's finger off]]'' (the guy in question had electrical powers and was threatening to shove said finger through Matter-Eater Lad's eye socket and cook his brain -- thus demonstrating the difference between talking like a badass and actually being one).
** In [[WesternAnimation/LegionOfSuperHeroes the animated series]] he has the "rock star" design and gets this line:
--->'''Brainiac 5''': (to restrained villain) Move anything, and he'll bite it off.\\
(We then get a shot of Matter-Eater Lad with a big-ass grin on his face)
* Kyle Rayner initially received a lot of hate from ''Franchise/GreenLantern'' fans (mainly Hal Jordan fans) when he [[ReplacementScrappy replaced Hal Jordan]] after the controversial ''Emerald Twilight'' arc. However, over time, Rayner was presented as a likable character, thanks to Grant Morrison's run on [[Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica JLA]]. Fans argue that under Creator/GeoffJohns, Kyle lost a good bit of his limelight, but given that he's got his own book (as well as being the sole White Lantern), it seems that he's still in a good place.
** Once Rayner's creator, Ron Marz, got through his period of making him as unlike his predecessors as possible, he also helped temper his previously brash character quite a bit.
* The filk-rock band Ookla the Mok have a song called "Arthur Curry" about what a lame hero Comicbook/{{Aquaman}} is. It includes the line "Not even Creator/PeterDavid can make me cool."
** Except Peter David & Creator/GrantMorrison DID make him cool. And if you give his ''ComicBook/BrightestDay'' incarnation a chance, Creator/GeoffJohns has shown that, yes in the right hands, even [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]] Aquaman can be cool. But not as much as his wife.
* Superboy-Prime had, by ''[[Comicbook/{{Legion of Super-Heroes}} Legion of Three Worlds]]'', become a VillainSue, a StrawFan, and a positively colossal {{Jerkass}}. Then, there came ''Comicbook/BlackestNight'', where he featured in a crazily metatextual story, became the butt of several ''massive'' TakeThatScrappy scenes, started receiving major repercussions, and was shown being almost heroic for once - trying to save the heroes of the DCU from getting killed off in the latest event, something you'd expect from a genuine fan. Some fans have since reevaluated him. Unfortunately, his next appearance put him back into has old Jerkass VillainSue routine in the last issues of the pre-''ComicBook/New52'' ''ComicBook/TeenTitans''.
** [[ComicBook/DarkNightsDeathMetal Death Metal]] has him drop his [[PsychopathicManchild more]] [[ItsAllAboutMe volatile]] [[StrawFan traits]], with Prime coming off as a mixture of his [[ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths Crisis On]] [[UsedToBeASweetKid Infinite Earths]], early-[[ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis Infinite]] [[WellIntentionedExtremist Crisis]], and ''Comicbook/BlackestNight'' incarnations. He's still hung up on how things have gotten so much worse and wants to create a "perfect" world, but he's more of a seriously-jaded fan than a whiny strawman or hypocritical monster like previous appearances. [[HeelFaceTurn He even sides with the Justice League]] after Wonder Woman convinces him that it's worth taking a chance on trying to save all the worlds rather than only protect his desired one, proving that he's finally changed for the better. This ultimately leads to the tie-in ''The Secret Origin'', where Prime battles the Batman Who Laughs and sacrifices his life to give everyone a fighting chance to defeat the monster, being rewarded by being sent back to his Earth-Prime no longer the reviled monster. What makes this poignant is that Prime is doing this on his own volition, knowing hero and villain alike hate his guts and that he could easily just take the villain's power or even side with him. [[TheGreatestStoryNeverTold And no one knows he did this except for Krypto]].
* ComicBook/{{Vixen}}, a charter member of the [[DorkAge widely reviled Detroit-era]] Franchise/{{Justice League|OfAmerica}}, experienced a comeback, after many years of being regulated to ComicBookLimbo and infrequent (and often non-speaking) guest spots. Many fans chalk this up to appearances on the popular ''[[WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague Justice League Unlimited]]'' animated series, as well as ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'', or even earlier with a notable guest appearance in ''ComicBook/AnimalMan''. This is even mentioned in-story at one point, with the narration pointing out that Vixen was experiencing a second wind of sorts after years of obscurity.
* Flamebird (formerly Bat-Girl) of the ''ComicBook/TeenTitans'' was one of the common characters to find on fans' "most hated Titan" lists due to her ditziness, her gaudy costume, and her one-sided obsession with Nightwing. Geoff Johns and Ben Raab attempted to make her a somewhat more serious fighter when she refused to accept Nightwing's demand for her to quit, and gave her a heavily revamped look. But this wasn't convincing for enough fans, as the character wound up back in limbo and was often just trotted out for crowd scenes. After her history with the Titans was erased in the ComicBook/New52 reboot, JH Williams' Batwoman series went back to portraying her as ditzy and clueless to the point where she was brutally stabbed and left in a coma for several issues. Since her healing, she's now taken on the name "Hawkfire" and sports a DarkerAndEdgier costume and attitude about crime-fighting. Time will tell if it sticks.
* As of the ComicBook/New52; it would appear '''ComicBook/{{Vibe}}''' of all people is getting this; getting a re-vamped backstory, a serious power-boost, membership in the new JLA and his own ongoing series. Not too bad for one of the long time contenders of "Worst Member of the Justice League EVER". Of course, being a main character in [[Series/TheFlash2014 the TV series]] probably did him some favors...

!!!Marvel
* Comicbook/{{Cable}} used to symbolize everything wrong with the comics industry; now he's a fairly popular character, since he stopped being a NinetiesAntiHero and gained more characterization than "uses huge-ass guns". It also helps that he was teamed up with one of Marvel's most popular characters, ComicBook/{{Deadpool}}.
** An example of that [[CharacterizationMarchesOn gained characterization]] was when the writers finally came up with a reason for him to be more proactive (aka challenging norms publicly, doing much larger-scale, more-public things) in his work than Xavier. Originally, Cable was just "the guy who gets things done because ''whiny idealism'' like Xavier's doesn't work." A big reason he shifted was because people in the real world started disliking overly violent/murderous solutions to things. A real turning point was in ''Cable and Deadpool'' where Cable admitted that his need to change things in a big way ''now'' can very much be a flaw (TruthInTelevision too - people who go in trying to fundamentally change a system right away are usually kicked/laughed out very fast).
* Cable's ''ComicBook/AgeOfApocalypse'' counterpart and half-brother (his 'mother' is Jean Grey, rather than her clone, Maddie Pryor) Nate Grey a.k.a. ComicBook/XMan enjoyed an initial surge of PopularityPower that got him a solid ongoing series in the late 90s, but he spent most of the time aimlessly WalkingTheEarth while the problem of his power degeneration kept recurring and his somewhat strange supporting cast either went off to do their own thing or suffered ChuckCunninghamSyndrome. Steven Grant and Warren Ellis successfully retooled him into Marvel's 'Mutant Shaman' in issue 63, re-imagining him as a reality-jumping AmbiguouslyHuman CrazySane hero in the style of Doctor Strange, serving as a BarrierMaiden for invasions from other parts of the multiverse. While the series was cancelled after issue 75, and this characterisation stuck when Nate returned during ''ComicBook/DarkReign'' and ''ComicBook/NewMutants'' (though having suffered a {{Depower}}, he wasn't quite what he used to be).
** The character was also rescued, again, after the mixed reception of Ed Brisson's ''[[ComicBook/UncannyXMen2018 X-Men: Disassembled]]'', which seemed to be both a retread of ''ComicBook/AvengersDisassembled'' (right down to the sudden FaceHeelTurn), and part of yet another cheap 'the X-Men are going to be wiped out' storyline, by Zac Thompson and Lonnie Nadler in the following ''ComicBook/AgeOfXMan''. While not regarded as a classic, it was commended for providing a deeper explanation for his Nate's motives, [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone and having him realise]] [[WellIntentionedExtremist how even his best intentions]] can turn into something every bit as bad as [[ComicBook/AgeOfApocalypse the world he came from]], resulting in much-needed CharacterDevelopment.
* Not only does Creator/PeterDavid have a knack for this, he has a vocal ''preference'' for it. He's practically the patron saint of forgotten or tragically uncool X-Men. The entire cast of every iteration of ''Comicbook/XFactor'' is made up of C-list and D-List characters that no one else wanted. Under [[Creator/PeterDavid PAD's]] writing, they've all flourished and grown into their own.
** Layla Miller debuted in ''ComicBook/HouseOfM'' as an obvious plot device, to the point that fans nicknamed her [[http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/285294 Layla MacGuffin]]. When PAD recruited her onto the cast of ''Comicbook/XFactor'', he transformed her into an OracularUrchin, DeadpanSnarker, and frequent CreepyChild, suddenly becoming a fan-favorite. Even after a big crossover punted her into the distant future, fan demand earned her a one-shot comic.
** After he was forced to write Rahne Sinclair out of X-Factor so that she could be in ''ComicBook/XForce'', he added Creator/RobLiefeld creation and epitome-of-the-90s Shatterstar to the book, just because he was so terminally unhip that no other writer would want to poach him. He ended up fleshing out [[RoundedCharacter his personality]], having him discover sex, and along the way, ''finally'' [[AbortedArc discover the connection between him and Longshot.]]
** Creator/PeterDavid also de-Scrappified the Comicbook/IncredibleHulk's sidekick Rick Jones by aging him into an adult and letting him display a more [[RoundedCharacter well-rounded personality]].
** David also made ComicBook/{{Aquaman}} cool again, restoring him from the ''WesternAnimation/{{Superfriends}}'' curse.
* Hard to believe, but in the early days of Creator/ChrisClaremont's epic run on Comicbook/XMen, a vocal group of fans wrote letters demanding that '''ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}''' be killed off (70s readers weren't ready for a NinetiesAntiHero). It didn't help that co-plotter and penciller Dave Cockrum didn't like Wolverine either, focusing his attentions on his own personal creation, Nightcrawler. When John Byrne (a Canadian) replaced Cockrum, he liked the idea of a major hero from the Great White North, and became enamored of the little runt. A SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome or two later, and an EnsembleDarkHorse was born, [[WolverinePublicity and the rest is history...]]
* ComicBook/{{Daken}} was widely despised by the fanbase during his initial appearances in ''ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} Origins'', but started growing into a fan favourite after joining the ComicBook/DarkAvengers.
* Kaine in ''ComicBook/SpiderGirl'': Once he was a {{wangst}}y [[CreatorsPet over-hyped]] NinetiesAntiHero. Now he's a [[DeadpanSnarker snarky]] badass just trying to [[TheAtoner atone]] and [[MysteriousProtector watch out]] for [[PapaWolf his niece and nephew. Excuse me, nephews.]] Doesn't hurt that they gave him a new look either.
** The mainstream version has become quite popular, due to getting his own series, ''ComicBook/ScarletSpider'', giving readers an anti-heroic and hilariously foul-mouthed Spider-Man whose main superpower seems to be making terrible decisions (actual tag-line for the series: "All of the Power, none of the Responsibility"), who is still heroic deep down, but struggles with his DarkAndTroubledPast and the fact that he really doesn't like being a hero and just wants to sit on a beach in Mexico drinking margaritas for the rest of his life. Its cancellation saddened more people than you'd think... until they found out he was heading for the revival of the ''ComicBook/NewWarriors''. After that, PopularityPower made him an integral part of ''ComicBook/SpiderVerse'', the BatFamilyCrossover ''ComicBook/DeadNoMoreTheCloneConspiracy'', and the new ''ComicBook/ScarletSpider'' series.
* The creation of the ComicBook/MarvelAdventures line saw a lot of characters getting a much-needed face lift, but by far, the best-received ReTool was changing ComicBook/TheWasp into [[ComicBook/MarvelAdventures Giant Girl]]. Readers that hated the former loved the latter, and readers who liked the former adored the latter even ''more''. Of all the characters who were axed when the MA: ''Avengers'' series was cancelled in favor of a continuity reboot in MA: ''Super-Heroes'', Giant Girl was the one most fans were saddest to see go.
* ComicBook/RedHulk was introduced by Creator/JephLoeb taking down one major league hero or cosmic entity after another, with no particular motivation and a secret identity that no one cared about. He used to provide the page picture for VillainSue. After Loeb lost control of the character it's been explained that his VillainSue abilities were due to a DeadlyUpgrade by a group that was [[UnwittingPawn using him to dispose of their enemies]], then die. It's been removed, and Red Hulk subsequently went through the process of being cathartically (to both readers and characters) beaten up by the people he trounced while in God Mode and facing up to the consequences of his actions. Commentators on his newer storyline have mentioned how it just feels ''weird'' to actually be interested in Red Hulk as a character.
** A similar rescue has taken place with the Red She-Hulk. Originally she was introduced as a generic 'sexy bad girl', complete with giant guns and a ludicrously [[ClothingDamage ripped costume]], and a prime example of Loeb's inability to come up with good names. Since then the firearms and the torn outfit were unceremoniously dropped, instead putting her and [[Comicbook/IncredibleHulk the Hulk]] into a well-received two-person [[LoveDodecahedron Love Quadrangle]].
* Maria Hill started off as ComicBook/NickFury's replacement after he went into hiding, and her main character trait seemed to be "Mega Bitch", specially in regards to superheroes, and she became one of the poster children for what was wrong with the Pro-Registration side during the Comicbook/CivilWar. Then upon giving up her position to [[Comicbook/IronMan Tony Stark]], she was subsequently changed into a much more likable character, one of Tony's closest confidants and quite badass.
** Invincible Iron Man rescued her for a lot of people, as she was given a backstory, character development, and ended up walking away from Tony when she discovered that he'd do Civil War all over again because he thought he was right. The run eventually led to Maria racing into the middle of Osborn's Dark Avengers to save Thor's life. Even if people don't like her, she's definitely not a Scrappy now.
* ''Franchise/SpiderMan'': Ever since "Spider-Island", Carlie Cooper has slowly gained more fans as Peter's ''ex''-girlfriend than she ever did while dating him. At first, she was a classic bad fanfic MarySue of the "perfect love for the main character ''because I say so''" type. Then she got in the hands of a writer who wasn't basing her on his own daughter, got some character traits that weren't clippings taken from Gwen or [[ComicBook/MaryJaneWatson MJ]], and you can actually go a panel without [[CharacterShilling everyone telling us over and over and over how perfect Carlie is for Peter]] even when they're the last characters you'd expect it from. Nowadays, her appearances usually focus on her role as an NYPD officer or as MJ's quirky civilian friend. By now, Carlie... ''almost'' makes people not see red at the mention of her name. (Her origin and the whole ''Comicbook/OneMoreDay'' thing mean that'll be the best she can do for at least a few more years, though.)
** When first introduced, ComicBook/{{Carnage}} was not met with a warm reception since many had viewed him, as with comics during the 90s, as a poor man's Joker whose character shtick was being a violent nihilist who devotes his entire existence to murdering as many people as possible just because he can. It didn't help matters that he was meant to [[ReplacementScrappy replace Venom, one of Spidey's most famous foes,]] when the latter became good. Then he was killed off by the even less likeable Sentry, [[AlasPoorScrappy causing many fans to actually miss the character wishing him to return.]] They finally got their wish when Carnage was brought BackFromTheDead, and given much more characterization as a villain. With that as well as seeing his Inverted self in ComicBook/{{AXIS}}, Carnage [[BaseBreakingCharacter for the most part]] has been cemented as being redeemed by many of his detractors and has since rivaled Venom in popularity, the character he was supposed to replace as one of Spider-Man's most infamous foes.
** Talking about Venom, Spider-Man's black suit was originally not that well received, mostly because at the time it was intended as [[ReplacementScrappy a permanent replacement]] for his classic look. By turning it into an alien symbiote and having it become a character in its own right, its popularity ''skyrocketed'', to the point that nowadays it is easily Spider-Man's second most iconic look after his original suit, and no adaptation of Spidey is complete without at least ''some'' period of him wearing it.
** Dan Slott also introduced a scrappy of his own, ComicBook/{{Silk}}, during his Spider-Man run. Silk got a lot of flak for basically having all of Spidey's powers but better, and instantly becoming Spidey's new love interest thanks to said powers causing FantasticArousal. But as soon as she was moved to her own comic under writer Robbie Thompson and artist Stacey Lee, she became one of Marvel's most-liked superheroines. Largely they toned down her 'superiority' to Spider-Man (she's the fastest of the Spiders, but she's notably not as strong and her spider-sense is fickle, making her the FragileSpeedster of the bunch), and her Fantastic Arousal powers were completely retconned out, to the point she went from being Peter's love interest to being more LikeBrotherAndSister, and her personality was completely overhauled, turning her into an Adorkable rookie with huge anxiety issues, making her something of Marvel's counterpart to DC's [[ComicBook/GreenLanterns Jessica Cruz]].
* The early years of the ComicBook/FantasticFour had the Invisible Girl be very much TheScrappy. It was even alluded to in the comic book itself much to Sue Storm's dismay and despite her team mates jumping to her defense. Come issue #22 and her [[BarrierWarrior invisible shields]] were introduced for the first time and she was rescued from the Scrappy heap...
* ComicBook/TheSentry was roundly despised outside of his original miniseries, being named the poster boy for CharacterShilling, a massive GodModeSue, and a [[{{Wangst}} compulsive whiner]] with an [[InformedFlaw inconsistent mental illness]]. His death didn't win him any favors, as more popular characters waxed poetic about good deeds he'd never performed on-panel. The ''ComicBook/AgeOfTheSentry'' miniseries ended up winning him a fair number of fans, primarily because it showed him actually ''doing'' the stuff everyone lauded him for, recasting him as a version of the Silver Age Superman. Unfortunately, since ''Age of the Sentry'' is [[CanonDiscontinuity pretty dubious in canon]][[note]]To expand: the Sentry, like other Marvel heroes, has in-universe comics based on his adventures. ''Age of the Sentry'' is basically Reed Richards reading those comics to Franklin with his own interpolations, so how much of it actually happened to 616-Sentry isn't certain. (It did all happen to an AlternateUniverse Sentry, who featured in the [[ComicBook/SecretWars2015 post-Secret Wars]] ''ComicBook/ContestOfChampions''.)[[/note]], plenty of fans didn't make the connection, and treat the likeable Sentry who teamed up with cavemen as basically a separate character from the one who ripped people in half.
** He got a bit of a rescue on his return in ''ComicBook/UncannyAvengers'', in large part because the Void was nowhere to be seen and the Sentry was now entertainingly [[AxCrazy batshit insane]] in his own right.
** His recent appearances in Doctor Strange's series, and his own miniseries, which actually explored his Robert Reynolds persona (distinctly ordinary guy in his late 30s who's getting by, working in a diner and living in a crappy apartment) and his Sentry/Void persona (which is kept in check by a kind of dream-machine, where he has adventures as the Sentry in his dreams in a kind of Silver Age utopia), his interactions with his former kid-sidekick (who's lost an arm and [[spoiler: deeply resents that he doesn't have/no longer has powers like the Sentry's, and becomes the villain to get them back]]), one of his very few genuine villains, Cranio, and the end result: Robert [[spoiler: merging the Sentry and Void personas, accepting the latter in particular, and]] becoming something... new.
* ''ComicBook/TheSuperiorFoesOfSpiderMan'' has been doing this for a whole slew of c-list supervillains and superheroes by giving them fleshed-out backstories and personalities when they had once been generic, one-off crowd fillers or red shirts. Most notable with Mach VII (who wasn't a full on Scrappy, but not many people cared about him) and the Looter (who was widely seen as nothing more than a Silver Age embarrassment).
* ComicBook/{{Daredevil}} villain [[PurpleIsPowerful Purple]] [[CompellingVoice Man]] used to be a symbol for lame supervillains with wasted potential, barely doing anything notable despite his terrifying power (aside from a brief couple of issues of ''ComicBook/XMan'', where he successfully manipulated the titular hero, before finding out that a bad-tempered [[PsychicPowers Omega Class Psychic]] and RealityWarper is not someone you want angry at you). But then, Creator/BrianMichaelBendis revamped him into a frightening, ruthless, and amoral sociopath in ''ComicBook/{{Alias}}'', and now Purple Man may never face VillainDecay ever again. His popularity as a villain only increased in [[Creator/MarkWaid Mark Waid's]] run on ''Daredevil'', in which he gained more character depth and actually came incredibly close to defeating Daredevil.
* Creator/WarrenEllis took Jack Flag, a TotallyRadical 90's washout, and actually managed to do some cool things with him in ''Comicbook/{{Thunderbolts}}''.
* While not an out-and-out Scrappy, ComicBook/BuckyBarnes wasn't terribly popular, best known as the goofy KidSidekick whose tragic death both provided a source of angst for Steve Rogers and (unlike most [[ComicBookDeath comic book deaths]]) actually stuck. [[note]] to the point where a common saying among comic book fans was "The only people who stay dead in comics are Bucky, Jason Todd, and Uncle Ben"[[/note]] Then in 2005 Creator/EdBrubaker came along, [[TookALevelInBadass reinvented him as a badass supersoldier with a robot arm and tragic past as a brainwashed assassin]], and in the process turned him into a fan favorite, becoming one of the pillars of the ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse'' less than a decade later. He's almost the anti-Jason Todd: a sidekick famous solely for dying and staying dead who gets resurrected as a badass AntiHero, only in this case people actually liked it.
* Like Bucky, Doug Ramsey of ''ComicBook/NewMutants'' was in this position - he was a mutant with the ability to understand all language. Compared to the likes of Cannonball, Wolfsbane and Magma, he was just ''lame''. He was murdered part way through the title's run and was seemingly resurrected into the form "Douglock", a combination of Doug with his old friend Warlock (it was later revealed that Douglock was actually Warlock with some of Doug's memories). Flash-forward to the 2000s where Doug was truly resurrected and heavily modified his all language powers to not only include computer language, but also ''body language''. Doug wasn't a bad person - he was just a mutant introduced a few decades too early.
* For the first ten years or so of his creation, ''Franchise/XMen'' villain Azazel was noteworthy mostly for being in one of the most universally hated X-Men stories of all time, Chuck Austen's infamous "The Draco". Between that and his status as Nightcrawler's father supplanting the popular "Mystique is Nightcrawler's father" fan theory, Azazel made far more appearances on "Top 10 Worst X-Men Villains" lists than he did in stories. But then along came ''Film/XMenFirstClass'', which reimagined the character from a second-rate Belasco wannabe into a blade-wielding Russian mutant (and all around Badass) who managed to be powerful but not to VillainSue levels. It would have been easy to make Azazel his own CanonImmigrant after this (something the comics have done before with popular movie revamps) but for his next appearance, writers gave Azazel a reinvention of their own, fashioning him into a LargeHam pirate archetype. This change was received well, and while he will probably never be an A-list villain, Azazel's rescue from the dregs of Scrappydom seems complete.

** [[ComicBook/DarkNightsDeathMetal Death Metal]] has him drop his [[PsychopathicManchild more]] [[ItsAllAboutMe volatile]] [[StrawFan traits]], with Prime coming off as a mixture of his [[ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths Crisis On]] [[UsedToBeASweetKid Infinite Earths]], early-[[ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis Infinite]] [[WellIntentionedExtremist Crisis]], and ''Comicbook/BlackestNight'' incarnations. He's still hung up on how things have gotten so much worse and wants to create a "perfect" world, but he's more of a seriously-jaded fan than a whiny strawman or hypocritical monster like previous appearances. [[HeelFaceTurn He even sides with the Justice League]] after Wonder Woman convinces him that it's worth taking a chance on trying to save all the worlds rather than only protect his desired one, proving that he's finally changed for the better.

* Ian Flynn's run on the ''[[ComicBook/ArchieComicsSonicTheHedgehog Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' comic series has done this for a good number of characters. Some of these include turning Sonic's EvilTwin, err, Evil Sonic, into a [[TookALevelInBadass more distinctive character]] named Scourge. He's also managed to do this for the almost universally despised Monkey Khan, turning him from an obnoxious ''Literature/JourneyToTheWest'' parody into a more well rounded, sympathetic, and [[MyGreatestFailure tragic]] character.

** [[ComicBook/DarkNightsDeathMetal Death Metal]] has him drop his [[PsychopathicManchild more]] [[ItsAllAboutMe volatile]] [[StrawFan traits]], with Prime coming off as a mixture of his [[ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths Crisis On]] [[UsedToBeASweetKid Infinite Earths]] and [[ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis Infinite]] [[WellIntentionedExtremist Crisis]] incarnations. He's still hung up on how things have gotten so much worse and wants to create a "perfect" world, but he's more of a seriously-jaded fan than a whiny strawman or hypocritical monster like previous appearances. [[HeelFaceTurn He even sides with the Justice League]] after Wonder Woman convinces him that it's worth taking a chance on trying to save all the worlds rather than only protect his desired one, proving that he's finally changed for the better.

** [[ComicBook/DarkNightsDeathMetal Death Metal]] has him drop his [[PsychopathicManchild more]] [[ItsAllAboutMe volatile]] [[StrawFan traits]], with Prime coming off as a mixture of his [[ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths Crisis On]] [[UsedToBeASweetKid Infinite Earths]] and [[ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis Infinite]] [[WellIntentionedExtremist Crisis]] incarnations. He's still hung up on how things have gotten so much worse and wants to create a "perfect" world, but he's more of a seriously-jaded fan than a whiny strawman or hypocritical monster like previous appearances. [[HeelFaceTurn Even siding with the Justice League]] after Wonder Woman convinces him that it's worth taking a chance on trying to save all the worlds rather than only protect his desired one, proving that he's finally changed for the better.

** [[ComicBook/DarkNightsDeathMetal Death Metal]] has him drop his [[PsychopathicManchild more]] [[ItsAllAboutMe volatile]] [[StrawFan traits]], with Prime coming off as a mixture of his [[ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths Crisis On]] [[UsedToBeASweetKid Infinite Earths]] and [[ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis Infinite]] [[WellIntentionedExtremist Crisis]] incarnations. He's still hung up on how things have gotten so much worse and wants to create a "perfect" world, but he's more of a seriously-jaded fan than a whiny strawman or hypocritical monster like previous appearances. [[HeelFaceTurn He even sides with the League]] after Wonder Woman convinces him that it's worth taking a risk on trying to save all the worlds rather than only protect his desired one.

** [[ComicBook/DarkNightsDeathMetal Death Metal]] has him drop his [[PsychopathicManchild more]] [[ItsAllAboutMe volatile]] [[StrawFan traits]], with Prime coming off as a mix of his [[ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths Crisis On]] [[UsedToBeASweetKid Infinite Earths]] and [[ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis Infinite]] [[WellIntentionedExtremist Crisis]] incarnations. He's still hung up on how things have gotten so much worse and wants to create a "perfect" world, but he's more of a seriously-jaded fan than a whiny strawman or hypocritical monster like previous appearances. [[HeelFaceTurn He even sides with the League]] after Wonder Woman convinces him that it's worth taking a risk to try and save all the worlds rather than only protect his desired one.

** [[ComicBook/DarkNightsDeathMetal Death Metal]] has him drop his [[PsychopathicManchild more]] [[ItsAllAboutMe volatile]] [[StrawFan traits]], with Prime coming off as a mix of his [[ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths Crisis On]] [[UsedToBeASweetKid Infinite Earths]] and [[ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis Infinite]] [[WellIntentionedExtremist Crisis]] incarnations. He's still hung up on how things have gotten so much worse and wants to create a "perfect" world, but he's more of a seriously-jaded fan/idealist than a whiny strawman or hypocritical monster like previous appearances. [[HeelFaceTurn He even sides with the League]] after Wonder Woman convinces him that it's worth taking a risk to try and save all the worlds rather than only protect his desired one.