Line #82 Main/AdaptationalKarma


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6	An adaptation of a story changes the fate of a character who was a KarmaHoudini in the original work, by having them receive a fitting karmic punishment. This trope was mandated by MediaNotes/TheHaysCode, and thus, often sprung up in films made during that period. Similarly, it can sometimes occur to appease other MoralGuardians.
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8	Sometimes, however, it may simply be used by directors who think that the story is strengthened by a KarmicTwistEnding, or are simply responding to fan complaints about how the villain should have been punished. In any event, it adds an element of NotHisSled for adaptations of very well-known stories.
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10	In some instances, the film is an adaptation of the first installment of a series, and the change allows for finality when sequels are unplanned or uncertain. This may overlap with DeathByAdaptation and SuperheroMovieVillainsDie.
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12	Not just limited to official adaptations — a lot of FanFiction does this, as disgruntled fans who want to see the villain get comeuppance but have no official material to supply this may decide to [[RevengeFic write their own]].
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14	Examples are sorted by medium of adaptation, not by medium of the source material. If the Karma Houdini eventually gets their comeuppance within a subsequent installment set in the same continuity, then it's KarmaHoudiniWarranty.
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16	!!Due to the trope's nature, unmarked spoilers abound in the examples below.
17	----
18	!!Examples:
19	[[index]]
20	* AdaptationalKarma/FanWorks
21	[[/index]]
22
23	[[foldercontrol]]
24
25	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
26	* ''Manga/AkameGaKill'' ended later than its anime adaptation. In the anime, General Esdeath, the most dangerous of all villains, dies, but gets rewarded for her obsession with Tatsumi by freezing herself and his corpse so they can always be together. In the manga, Tatsumi outlives her, and she dies lamenting about how she can never be with him.
27	* ''Manga/BlackLagoon'''s anime adaptation of the "El Baile de la Muerte" arc, "Roberta's Blood Trail" does this to Roberta. While she still gets to go home and retire in peace after a RoaringRampageOfRevenge, she does so [[AnArmAndALeg minus an eye and several limbs]].
28	* The novel and anime versions of ''Manga/CandyCandy'' never show the fall-out of Neil Legan's failure to get Candy for himself. In the manga, he is publicly humiliated due to Albert's intervention and is last seen literally crying to his mommy about it, much to his sister Eliza's secondhand embarrassment.
29	* ''{{Manga/Doraemon}}'': In "The Truthbeaker", Nobita lies to his friends about his dad being able to perform amazing feats, such as smashing a boulder with his bare hands, so Doraemon him gives a gadget that turns all of his lies into truths. In the manga and 1979 anime, Nobita suffers no consequences from this, and even makes his dad buy a telescope and bike for him ([[BrickJoke this is a callback to the beginning of the story.]] When Nobita is about to ask his dad to smash a boulder, his dad assumes that he's going to ask him for a bike or telescope). In the 2005 anime, after saying that his dad is a super hero, Nobita says that his his dad has [[ExactWords zero tolerance for those who deceive others.]] His dad then [[HoistByHisOwnPetard flies towards him and punches him in the face, ending the episode.]]
30	* ''Manga/DragonBallSuper'': In the [[Anime/DragonBallSuper anime]], Goku Black is an InvincibleVillain who never lost a fight and a KarmaHoudini who [[spoiler: fused with Future Zamasu so he never paid for his crimes as an individual]]. In the manga, he isn't so lucky, getting beaten and humiliated by Vegeta twice and driven into a VillainousBreakdown.
31	* In the [[Anime/FullmetalAlchemist2003 first anime adaptation]] of ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'', Envy got away with a lot of his evil deeds, [[spoiler:including [[HeroKiller temporarily killing Edward]] and ''permanently'' killing [[EnsembleDarkhorse fan-favorite Maes Hughes.]]]] While he does die in the FinaleMovie ''[[Anime/FullmetalAlchemistTheConquerorOfShamballa The Conqueror of Shamballa]]'', it's only after he achieves his life dream of killing [[DisappearedDad Hohenheim]], meaning he still goes basically unpunished even in death. Manga author Creator/HiromuArakawa must've really taken notice of fan complaints, as in the manga and subsequent ''Brotherhood'' anime, Envy suffers ''[[HumiliationConga a lot]]'' [[HumiliationConga of humiliation]] once the heroes understand how to fight him, culminating in Mustang [[KillItWithFire flaming him repeatedly]] in revenge for [[spoiler: Hughes' death]] to the point that he's forced to revert back to his pathetic smaller form and ultimately taking his own life when he realizes he can't manipulate the heroes anymore.
32	* ''Anime/LesMiserablesShojoCosette'': In the original book, M. Thenardier manages to escape to America with Marius' money. That does not happen here, since Javert decided (at the last second) not to commit suicide and was able to arrest him.
33	* Cyrus from ''VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl'' suffers nothing beyond frustration at his plan to [[OmnicidalManiac destroy and remake the universe]] failing. But in [[Anime/PokemonTheSeriesDiamondAndPearl the anime]], he ends up DeaderThanDead when he jumps into his new universe as it's fading from existence.
34	** Colress from ''VideoGame/PokemonBlack2AndWhite2'' got no comeuppance for his role in Team Plasma's EvilPlan, mainly due to his disdain for Ghetsis and respect for the protagonist causing a HeelFaceTurn. The anime has him [[AdaptationalVillainy remain unrepentant]] and arrested along with the rest of the team.
35	* ''Anime/Persona5TheAnimation'': In [[VideoGame/{{Persona 5}} the original game]], during Makoto's Confidant, the harasser Tsukasa's only comeuppance was that he got his plan exposed that he had to stop on that, and nothing else. In the adaptation, however, Eiko proceeds to put his misdeeds on her in the Phan-Site and then his other victims follow suit. This made him a target for the Phantom Thieves, who proceeded to eventually defeat his Shadow in Mementos.
36	* In ''Manga/ShamanKing'', the BigBad, Hao/Zeke, obtains the Great Spirit, making him invincible [[TheBadGuyWins which eventually makes him as the Shaman King]]. In the anime (the first one at least, the series got a remake later), Yoh defeats him by cutting him in half despite Hao still getting the Great Spirit.
37	* In ''VideoGame/{{SiN}}'', [[TheBaroness Elexis Sinclaire]] always escapes from getting caught, usually using [[DistractedByTheSexy her sex appeal to distract Blade long enough for a getaway]]. In ''Anime/SiNTheMovie'', after Blade has defeated the monstrous mutant form of her father, [[DisneyVillainDeath the ensuing explosion throws Elexis off the SinTek tower, and she presumably falls to her death]]. There is no indication she survived, making this the one time Elexis is directly punished for her crimes.
38	* In ''Literature/SorcererStabberOrphen'', Azalie Cait Sith was a BrokenBird character in the first anime but she still got away with a lot of her misdeeds, particularly when she took over Childman's body and engaged in all sorts of shady acts. Despite all that, Orphen would continue to defend her and try to help her, no matter what evidence to the contrary was presented or how much Claiomh tried to tell him Azalie wasn't the same person he once knew. Towards the end, Azalie is brought back to normal and gets to sail off into the sunset without really having to answer for much of anything. In the 2020 anime, the Bloody August story with Azalie is resolved relatively early on and towards the end of it, Orphen finally comes around to seeing the kind of person Azalie is and calls her out for her wrongdoings against him and Childman, culminating in a sword fight where Azalie is beaten down.
39	* In ''Manga/TegamiBachiLetterBee'', Colbasso, Rei's senior maid, is a {{Jerkass}} who treats Kimidori, the younger maid, like dirt and is rather cold to Lag Seeing. She listens in on Lag's conversation with Kimidori and finds out that while Kimidori was the one who anonymously sent the picture postcards to Rei, Kimidori has no intention of revealing herself. Colbasso then lies and says that she was the sender, so she can ask Rei for a reward, prompting Lag to use his Shindan to show Rei the feelings Kimidori put into her postcards. In the manga, Colbasso is never seen again, and the end of the chapter focuses on Rei recognizing Kimidori as her old friend, as well as Lag considering sending a picture postcard to his friend Gauche. In the anime, there's a brief scene of Colbasso swearing revenge on Lag, and the fact that she's wearing civilian clothes and carrying suitcases implies that Rei fired her for her deception.
40	* The 1981 AnimatedAdaptation of ''Manga/UruseiYatsura'' contains a downplayed example. In all of her manga stories, Ryoko Mendo gets away with any plan she concocts to indulge her {{sadist}} tendencies, and likewise she does the same in most of the anime. However, in episode 133, the second half of the adaptation of the arc introducing Asuka Mizunokoji, she experiences a never-before-seen karmic backlash: after she petulantly takes some of the Mendou family's private military to attack the Mizunokoji estate out of anger that her brother Shutaro is being considered for an ArrangedMarriage, she accidentally finds herself put in the role of piloting a suit of PoweredArmor called the Octopussy, which turns out [[PaperTiger to have no special powers whatsoever]]. She spends several minute in an unprecedented state of panic as the entirety of the Mizunokoji army concentrates its fire on ''her'', forcing her to run for her life to avoid being shot or blown to bits.
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43	[[folder:Comic Books]]
44	* ''ComicBook/TheChildrensCrusadeVertigo'' when originally printed ended with the slaver who took on the form of Jack Rabbit to manipulate everyone into helping him enslave the children of Free Country escaping after he was found out, with [[ComicBook/TheDeadBoyDetectives Edwin Paine and Charles Rowland]] talked out of pursuing him on the grounds that he was no longer any of their concern. In the 2015 hardcover collection ''Free Country: A Tale of the Children's Crusade'' (which only collected the two bookend issues and [[ReCut replaced the Annual issues from other Vertigo titles that originally tied in to the storyline with a new chapter to bridge the gap between the main miniseries' beginning and ending issues]]), one of the revisions made to the story was that the slaver was successfully captured by Edwin and Charles and subsequently imprisoned in a cage.
45	* In the ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2003'' cartoon, there were a few characters who escaped their comeuppance. Agent Bishop, despite eventually having a HeelFaceTurn and repenting of his evil ways, still committed arguably the most horrific acts in the series and never had to directly pay. And there was Darius Dun, Cody's EvilUncle, who managed to still be at-large due to ''Fast Forward'' not being extended into another season. In the ''ComicBook/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesIDW'' series, Bishop is killed by a Slash clone during a battle against the Turtles, and Darius Dun is defeated, then executed by Jennika on Splinter's orders.
46	[[/folder]]
47
48	[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
49	* ''WesternAnimation/AstroBoy'': Hamegg generally gets away unpunished with his cruel actions against robots in most versions of ''Astro Boy'', but in the film as he tries to escape again, Astro's friends steal his car as Zog holds him.
50	* Both the [[WesternAnimation/AnimalFarm1954 1950s animated film]] and the 1999 live-action film of Creator/GeorgeOrwell's ''Literature/AnimalFarm'' end with the pigs' regime falling. In the former, the animals, led by Benjamin the donkey, overthrow and presumably kill the pigs. In the latter, the animals decide to leave the farm after deciding the pigs have gone too far and it fully collapses upon Napoleon's death.
51	* In ''Recap/AsterixAndTheSoothsayer'', Prolix the con artist soothsayer leaves unharmed. In ''WesternAnimation/AsterixAndTheBigFight'', [[BoulderBludgeon he's bashed with a menhir]], ending up a cackling madman.
52	* Averted in the 2008 film adaptation of ''[[WesternAnimation/HortonHearsAWho2008 Horton Hears a Who!]]''. Originally, everyone ''was'' going to turn their backs on the Sour Kangaroo, but the producers decided instead to stay true to Dr. Seuss' creative style, which did not include comeuppance.
53	* In the aftermath of ''ComicBook/TheJudasContract'', the ComicBook/TeenTitans decide to preserve Terra's reputation and hide the fact she was really TheMole for ComicBook/{{Deathstroke}} and Slade himself managed to escape going to prison. ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitansTheJudasContract'' sees the public aware of what Terra really was and [[spoiler:Slade's possibly dead and even if he isn't, he's not going to be so lucky to escape legal repercussions]].
54	* The Sea Witch in ''Literature/TheLittleMermaid'' is an unnamed, amoral figure who [[DealWithTheDevil merely gives people what they want for a price]]. In Disney's ''WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid1989'', she is [[NamedByTheAdaptation named Ursula]], [[AdaptationalVillainy upgraded]] to [[BigBad a rival for Triton's throne]], and dies in the end when Eric [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice impales her on a ship's bow]].
55	* In the ''Franchise/MortalKombat'' reboot trilogy, D'Vorah got away with little to no repercussions for her murders of [[spoiler:Mileena, Baraka, and the present-day Hanzo Hasashi]]. ''WesternAnimation/MortalKombatLegendsBattleOfTheRealms'' sees D'Vorah get beaten by Sonya Blade.
56	* Inverted in ''WesternAnimation/{{Pinocchio}}'': in [[Literature/TheAdventuresOfPinocchio the original book]], the Fox and the Cat are reduced to beggary in the end, but in the Disney version, Foulfellow and Gideon are {{Karma Houdini}}s.
57	* In ''Literature/{{Rapunzel}}'', the witch is never seen again after throwing Rapunzel and the Prince out of the tower. In ''WesternAnimation/{{Tangled}}'', her counterpart Mother Gothel gets a DisneyVillainDeath combined with such RapidAging that she hits the ground as a pile of dust.
58	* The Wicked Fairy in ''Literature/SleepingBeauty'' disappears from the story after cursing the princess, and gets no comeuppance for her evil deed. In Disney's ''WesternAnimation/SleepingBeauty'', Maleficent is slain by Prince Phillip when she [[ScaledUp turns into a dragon]] to stop him from breaking the curse.
59	* ''WesternAnimation/TheTaleOfDespereaux'': In the original book, big bad rat Botticelli simply stalks off in anger after he's denied the chance to manipulate Roscuro, leaving not on his terms but otherwise as a total KarmaHoudini. The animated version, on the other hand, is last seen locked in a cat cage--with the cat. Horrible ScreamDiscretionShot ensues.
60	[[/folder]]
61
62	[[folder:Films -- Live Action]]
63	* Inverted with Uncle Ben's killer in ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderManSeries''. Unlike other versions, Peter never managed to catch him at all in either film.
64	* In [[Literature/AnimalFarm the book it is based on]], Napoleon and pigs get away with taking control of the farm, with animals unable to tell difference between them and humans. In ''Film/AnimalFarm1999'', we get FlashForward as the farm collapses from their tyranny, with them presumably dying.
65	* In ''Theatre/TheBadSeed'', the DevilInPlainSight EnfantTerrible Rhoda manages to survive [[OffingTheOffspring her mother's attempt to kill her]] when she discovers what [[TheSociopath kind of being]] her daughter is and it is implied that she has a new victim in her sights. The 1956 movie adaptation, because it was made during the Hays Code era, wasn't going to allow such a monster to live... and because her mother failed, Rhoda was [[BoltOfDivineRetribution struck down by lightning]] on the very last scene (an epilogue right after that has the actresses of Rhoda and her mother break character and, in a pretty [[MoodWhiplash comedic moment]], [[BigLippedAlligatorMoment Rhoda's actress gets spanked]]).
66	* Thanks to the fact that JokerImmunity wasn't in play, ComicBook/TheJoker is actually killed in Creator/TimBurton's first ''Film/{{Batman\| 1989}}'' movie rather than being sent to a CardboardPrison.
67	* ''Literature/TheChocolateWar'': In the original book, Archie gets away with manipulating everyone and setting Jerry up to suffer a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown at the hands of [[TheBully Emile Janza]]. In the film, his luck runs out when he draws a black marble and is forced to take Janza's place in the boxing match he himself set up. The end result: Archie himself suffers a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown at Jerry's hands, and Obie takes his place as the Vigils' Assigner with Archie himself demoted to Obie's secretary.
68	* The 1987 adaptation of ''Film/FlowersInTheAttic'' had this enforced by the studio. In the book, Corrine marries another man and doesn't get any form of comeuppance until the third in the series (where she tries to win back her children's love and dies in a fire). The higher-ups felt the audience would want to see Corrine get punished, and so she is exposed by her children and hung on her wedding day. Understandably, the sequels where she plays a big role never got adapted.
69	* ''Film/GoneInSixtySeconds2000'': In [[Film/GoneInSixtySeconds1974 the original film]], the people who hired Maindrian Pace to steal fifty cars end the film completely untouched by the law (and aside from the scene in which they hire Pace, not appear any further in the film). [[BigBad Raymond Calitri]], however, ends this film very much dead and it's heavily implied that the people who hired him to get the cars will have the LAPD on their tails in very short order.
70	* In the film adaptation of ''Literature/TheHandmaidsTale'', Offred kills the Commander (one of the movers and shakers of the intensely awful Republic of Gilead, who has been keeping Offred as a breeding slave) before she is taken away. In the original novel, the Commander is still alive and in power at the end.
71	* In the original version of ''Film/TheHobbitTheBattleOfTheFiveArmies'', Alfrid, the greedy servant of the corrupt Master of Laketown, escapes with a haul of money and is never seen again. In the director’s cut, Alfrid dies in a hilarious way when he hides in the launching arm of a catapult. The weight of his gold triggers the catapult and he is launched into the mouth of a troll, killing both himself and the troll.
72	* The three villains of ''Film/{{Holes}}'' are arrested by the Texas attorney general's office at the end of the movie, while the book doesn’t mention their fate (and furthermore, the continuation has [[KarmaHoudini the Camp reactivated a few years later and them getting back their old positions]]).
73	* The novel ''Film/InThisOurLife'' saw Stanley framing Parry for her drunk driving accident and getting away with everything. Per the Hays Code, Roy and Craig find out what she did and she dies in a fiery car crash while being chased by police.
74	* ''Film/KindHeartsAndCoronets'' is a case of this in regard to the source novel ''Israel Rank'': in the film, the VillainProtagonist narrowly escapes being executed for a death in which he had no involvement, but then the film ends with him realizing that he left his Memoirs (in which he had confessed to everything) in his cell. In the source novel, ''Israel Rank'', there isn't this kind of twist (the VillainProtagonist is on trial for the murders he did commit), but an AdaptedOut love interest kills herself and takes the blame for the crimes.
75	* In the [[Film/LadyAndTheTramp2019 2019 remake]] of ''WesternAnimation/LadyAndTheTramp'', Aunt Sarah and her cats are forced to leave the house after Jim Dear and Darling find out about her mistreatment of Lady. In the original, they don't get much punishment, and Aunt Sarah apparently [[TookALevelInKindness learns her lesson]] after realizing she misjudged Lady and sends a gift of dog biscuits for Christmas.
76	* ''Film/ALittlePrincess1995'' does this to the evil Miss Minchin, who was a KarmaHoudini in the original novel, by having her lose the school and forced to become a chimney sweep.
77	* In the original musical version of ''Film/LittleShopOfHorrors'', Audrey II is able to kill Seymour and the original Audrey, sell itself to every household in the world, and start an apocalypse. This was the plan for the movie, too, but test audiences didn’t like the ending, so they changed it so that Seymour is able to save Audrey, then destroy Audrey II by electrocuting it, making a case of two characters having switched the role of {{Karma Houdini}} and {{Karma Houdini warranty}} with Audrey II gaining the punishment he had previously avoided, and Seymour getting no punishment for murdering people to feed Audrey II.
78	* Subtly done in ''Film/{{Matilda}}'' with the setting change from the UK to America. In the end of the book, the Wormwoods flee the authorities to Spain. At the end of the film, they flee to Guam. [[FridgeBrilliance But since Guam is a US territory]], [[DidntThinkThisThrough it's likely that the FBI might catch up to them]], thus giving them a direct comeuppance for their abuse of Matilda.
79	* ''Film/LesMiserables2012'' has this with the Thenadiers in regard to both [[Literature/LesMiserables the original novel]] and [[Theatre/LesMiserables the source musical]]:
80	** In the novel, M. Thenardier, who is the evilest character in the book, is given money by Marius to settle a debt, and the narration indicates that he became a wealthy slave trader in America.
81	** In the musical, Thenardier and his wife (who is SparedByTheAdaptation) have the role of PluckyComicRelief but still do the same evil stuff as in the novel. At the end, they crash Marius' wedding and are paid by him as in the book, and sing a cheery song about how people like themselves who scavenge off society without moral compunction always win.
82	** In the newer film (which is mostly an adaptation of the musical but is also in some respects more faithful to the novel), the Thenardiers are physically thrown out of Marius' wedding and don't receive any payment (although oddly, they still sing the same song about "winning"). This may have been a case of WhatCouldHaveBeen, as set photos show the pair crashing the cake and generally having a good time of things.
83	* ''Film/NotesOnAScandal'': In the book, Barbara's plan worked and she got Sheba all to herself, with no end in sight and Sheba's completely emotionally broken. In the film, Sheba finds out about Barbara's behaviour, gives her a blistering ReasonYouSuckSpeech, and leaves her alone. It's not what she deserved, but it's still a change from the book.
84	* Adaptations of ''Literature/PrideAndPrejudice'' tend to do something regarding Wickham who, after nearly ruining Lydia, is bribed into marrying her to save the family's honour. [[Film/PrideAndPrejudice2005 Joe Wright's film]] implies that DomesticAbuse might be in their future, ''Film/BrideAndPrejudice'' has him getting busted by Darcy before he can do anything harmful to Lydia, and ''Film/PrideAndPrejudiceAndZombies'' has Lizzie [[AssholeVictim stabbing him in the chest]].
85	* The Creator/GeorgeSanders film ''The Private Affairs of Bel Ami'' has the VillainProtagonist Georges Duroy get in trouble for posing as an aristocrat. In the novel the film is based on, Creator/GuyDeMaupassant's ''Literature/BelAmi'', Duroy gets away with everything and the "posing as aristocrat" is a minor detail (he is from a town called Canteleu starts calling himself Du Roy de Cantel).
86	* ''Literature/ReadyPlayerOne'':
87	** The book's climax suggests that Nolan Sorrento may get away with his many wrongdoings due to lack of solid evidence and very good corporate lawyers (on the other hand, the protagonists now have enough wealth to get lawyers of their own along with the support of millions of people that can act as witnesses). In the [[Film/ReadyPlayerOne film]], the last we see of him is getting locked away in a police car and getting socked in the face by a disgruntled ex-employee that was arrested with him, making it clear that no lawyer is going to save him.
88	** This also applies to one of his henchmen, I-R0k. In the book, he disappears from the plot after giving Sorrento the location of one of the keys. But in the movie, Sorrento activates a bomb that wipes out all the avatars in the area- and I-R0k is the first to be killed.
89	* ''Literature/{{Rebecca}}'' had Mrs. Danvers escaping Manderly after she burns it to the ground. The film — by order of the Hays Code — shows her dying in the fire.
90	* In ''Theatre/AStreetcarNamedDesire,'' Stanley was able to win back Stella, despite being an abusive husband and [[spoiler:raping Blanche and getting her sent to a mental institution]]. In the film, it cuts to the credits after he kept crying "Stella," heavily implying that she was finally going to leave him.
91	* ''Film/{{Topkapi}}'' ends with the [[CaperCrew band of thieves]] and the protagonist Arthur Smith breaking rocks in prison, but on good terms and plotting escape/future jobs. In the source novel ''The Light of Day'', the thieves escape and Smith (who in both versions was planted as a SixthRangerTraitor by the Turkish police) who is a much more anti-heroic character, leaves with a small reward, but is essentially stateless. At the end of the sequel novel ''Dirty Story'' (written after ''Film/{{Topkapi}}''), he ends up in a slightly better position.
92	* In ''Literature/TreasureIsland'', Long John escapes with some loot, is believed to have settled down after that, and the protagonist makes no effort to pursue him. In ''Film/MuppetTreasureIsland'', Long John Silver escapes with the loot, but his previous warning to Arrow about unsafe lifeboats [[AccidentalTruth turned out more accurate than he expected]]. He ends up trapped on a desert island with its annoying inhabitants. An interesting example because Silver in this version is much more affable.
93	* The Hong Kong film ''Film/TheWarlords'' is a remake of the Creator/ShawBrothers war epic ''Film/BloodBrothers1973''. Both movies revolve around a trio of [[SwornBrothers blood brothers]] joining a war and getting promoted, only for a PlotIncitingInfidelity to strike in the form of a love affair between the oldest brother and the second brother's wife. This leads to the two brothers betraying and killing each other, with the youngest of the trio eventually seeking {{Revenge}} causing the brotherhood to end in ruins. ''Film/BloodBrothers1973'' ends with the three brothers dead and the wife, whose flirtation leads to all the mess, alone but alive; but in ''Film/TheWarlords'', the unfaithful wife ends up being stabbed by the youngest brother in the third act.
94	* In ''Film/WitnessForTheProsecution'', Christine Vole commits perjury in her husband Leonard's murder trial, and deliberately gets caught doing so, in order to sabotage the case against him and get him acquitted. The Creator/AgathaChristie short story it was based on ends with her admitting what she did to Leonard's defense attorney and the reason she did it: she knew he was guilty. In the movie, Leonard abandons Christine for another woman shortly after his acquittal, and [[WomanScorned she murders him in rage]].
95	[[/folder]]
96
97	[[folder:Literature]]
98	* In ''Literature/RomanceOfTheThreeKingdoms'', the eunuch, Huang Hao, is one of the few people responsible for the downfall of Shu by manipulating Liu Shan into his favor. After Shu surrendered to Wei, Sima Zhao had the eunuch executed. In historical records of the [[UsefulNotes/ThreeKingdomsShuWeiWu Three Kingdoms Era]] in ImperialChina which the novel is based from, Deng Ai ''wanted'' to execute the eunuch after he heard of his reputation, [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney but he escaped by bribing his officials]].
99	* ''Franchise/StarWars'': In [[Franchise/StarWarsLegends Legends continuity]], the last that is heard of Mas Amedda after the Empire's formation in which he was a direct accomplice is him being demoted but taking delight in collecting Sith knowledge for the Empire. In Disney's continuity, the [[Literature/StarWarsTheAftermathTrilogy Aftermath Trilogy]] and ''[[Literature/StarWarsLostStars Lost Stars]]'' show that after Palpatine's downfall, Mas is driven to despair and becomes suicidal as his influence wanes and the Rebels refuse his surrender, and whilst he is pardoned of his war crimes, he's consigned to be nothing more than a puppet ruler for the rest of his days and is remembered by history as a weak-willed sycophant of Darth Sidious.
100	* The Bulgarian adaptation of ''[[Literature/AesopsFables The Wolf and the Crane]]'' by Ran Bosilek. Yeah, the ungrateful bear had managed to get out of paying the stork with the usual excuse... but what happens when she needs to get ''another'' bone out? Well, the stork doesn't want to be fooled a second time, so, just in case, he's going to pull out the bear's teeth first.
101	[[/folder]]
102
103	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
104	* After episodes of ''Series/AlfredHitchcockPresents'' ending with a criminal still at large, Hitchcock's closing remarks would often dish out some OffscreenKarma by stating that they were brought to justice afterwards; this was generally not present in the original short stories being adapted. It should be noted, however, that Hitchcock himself did not actually want to include these in his closing remarks and only did so in order to [[ExecutiveMeddling placate the sponsors]].
105	* In ''Literature/HortonHearsAWho'' and most adaptations of the work, Jane Kangaroo is EasilyForgiven for harassing Horton the entire story, and a HappyEnding ensues without forcing so much as an apology from her. In ''Series/TheWubbulousWorldOfDrSeuss'' however, a lot of Jane's nastier or more careless moments backfire onto her, to the point of nearing CantGetAwayWithNuthin, with her nearly always displaying remorse and trying to make amends. This is an unusual case where the trope also leads to AdaptationalNiceGuy, since these consequences often made the show's version of Jane rather sympathetic.
106	* Happens in both the BBC and the ITV adaptations of the Literature/MissMarple novel ''Literature/AtBertramsHotel'' by Creator/AgathaChristie. In the original novel, the murderer is not seen to be apprehended, although Chief Inspector Fred "Father" Davy vows to go after her. In both screen adaptations, she is exposed by Miss Marple and taken into custody.
107	* ''Series/{{The Sandman\|2022}}'', "[[Recap/TheSandman2022S01E09Collectors Collectors]]": In the original comic book story, Morpheus rescues Rose from the serial killer Fun Land by using his supernatural ability to render Fun Land unconscious; a later comic book issue confirmed that Fun Land survived to continue his career. In the TV adaptation, Morpheus has not yet arrived and instead there's a VillainousRescue by the Corinthian, who wants Rose alive for his own purposes, and simply knifes Fun Land in the back, killing him instantly.
108	* ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' adapted the final scene of ''Film/ItsAWonderfulLife'' (which ended with Mr. Potter being a KarmaHoudini) for one of their sketches... which immediately goes this route by having Uncle Billy finally remember that he had accidentally left the missing $8,000 in the newspaper he gave to Potter and then learning from a bank teller that Potter deposited the cash in his own account after he left. George mobilizes everyone gathered at the Bailey house to confront Potter and he, Mary, and Harry proceed to take turns beating Potter into a pulp.
109	* ''Series/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents2017'':
110	** In the books, Mr. Poe [[DepartmentOfChildDisservices placed the Baudelaires in one abusive home after another]] throughout the first seven books (except Book 2) and never got punished for either doing that or [[IdiotHoudini just being an incompetent moron]]. Here, he has to face the consequences for his incompetence when the Baudelaires run off at the end of ''The Wide Window'' and almost loses his job at the beginning of ''The Miserable Mill''.
111	** In the books, editor in chief of the Daily Punctilio Eleanora Poe got away with publishing libel, incredibly inaccurate stories, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking grammatical mistakes]] without a single consequence. [[spoiler:The final episode of the series shows Eleanora Poe behind bars, with the final issue of the Daily Punctilio claiming it's going out of print for false reporting.]]
112	* In the ''Literature/SherlockHolmes'' story "The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax", the villains get away. In the adaptation by Granada starring Jeremy Brett, they are caught — although Lady Frances also suffers brain damage.
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114
115	[[folder:Video Games]]
116	* In the ''WesternAnimation/AllGrownUp'' episode, "Susie Sings the Blues", a con artist poses as a record producer who swindles Susie out of $1,000.00. In the ''Express Yourself'' game for the Platform/GameBoyAdvance, Angelica follows her around and calls the police on her, getting her arrested for her actions.
117	* While Uncle Ben's killer in ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderManSeries'' is an inversion, ''VideoGame/TheAmazingSpiderMan2'' game does see Uncle Ben's killer die at the hands of a pre-Carnage Cletus Kasady.
118	* Todd Ianuzzi of ''WesternAnimation/BeavisAndButthead'' never got any punishment in the show and the one on-screen moment he got decapitated in the second movie only took place in a daydream. However, in the video game ''Virtual Stupidity'', Todd is legitimately humiliated by the duo and then arrested, being the only time he's received any comeuppance in any media format whereas he got away with just about everything in the series proper.
119	* In Disney's ''WesternAnimation/{{Cinderella}}'', the wicked stepmother and stepsisters don't face any punishment for their treatment of Cinderella besides losing their live-in servant. Conversely, the [[VileVillainLaughableLackey silliest]] of the villains, the stepmother's RighthandCat Lucifer, gets the closest to a comeuppance ([[LaserGuidedKarma being chased by the dog Bruno, who previously got in trouble for doing so]]), and falling out the tower window (he survives and returns in the sequels). In the level it inspired in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep'', Lucifer is merely chased off by the protagonists, whilst the stepfamily try to murder Cinderella out of hatred with [[TheHeartless a summoned Unversed]], and one of [[HoistByHisOwnPetard the monster's bombs ends up hitting the stepfamily instead]]. It is not known if they died, but Aqua hints that the trio [[KarmicTransformation might have become Heartless]].
120	* Bendy from the ''WesternAnimation/FostersHomeForImaginaryFriends'' episode, "[[Recap/FostersHomeForImaginaryFriendsS2E2AWiltWayEveryoneKnowsBendy Everyone Knows Its Bendy]]" managed to get away with doing bad things and blaming them on Wilt, Eduardo, Coco, and Bloo, even when Bloo exposed him through an elaborate scheme. In the ''Imagination Invaders'' game for the Platform/NintendoDS, Bendy breaks some busts and draws on the wall. When Bloo tells on him to Frankie, Bendy lies to her that Bloo has been blaming him for his wrongdoings. This time, Frankie doesn't believe Bendy's lie and sends him to his bedroom as punishment.
121	* ''Franchise/TheIncredibles'':
122	** In [[WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles1 both]] [[WesternAnimation/Incredibles2 movies]], villains Bomb Voyage and the Underminer both are able to escape with hauls of money and are never seen again. In ''VideoGame/LEGOTheIncredibles'', however, both return for a pair of attacks upon the city and are subjected to boss battles before being arrested.
123	** In ''[[VideoGame/TheIncrediblesRiseOfTheUnderminer Rise of the Underminer]]'', a non-canon game, the Underminer is killed when he is thrown into his own machine, causing it to explode.
124	** In the console versions of the tie-in game for the first movie, Bomb Voyage decides to attack Mr. Incredible again after he gets the bomb he puts on Buddy off. He loses the fight when Mr. Incredible blows up his helicopter, and presumably doesn't escape this time.
125	* In the Disney film ''WesternAnimation/{{Pinocchio}}'', Pinocchio merely escapes the Coachman and his slave camp on Pleasure Island. In [[VideoGame/{{Pinocchio}} the video game of the film]], Pinocchio kicks the Coachman off a cliff.
126	* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' "WesternAnimation/TreehouseOfHorror [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS12E1TreehouseOfHorrorXI XI]]", the third segment ended with King Snorky and his dolphin army successfully kicking out the people of Springfield and forcing them to live in the sea. In ''VideoGame/TheSimpsonsGame'', there's a level based on that segment that ends with Bart and Lisa killing Snorky by [[ElectrifiedBathtub dropping him in an aquarium tank with a jellyfish]].
127	* ''Franchise/StarFox'': A retroactive example due to ''VideoGame/StarFox2'' taking [[TheShelfOfMovieLanguishment until 2017]] to be released. In the [[VideoGame/StarFox1 original]] continuity, Andross escapes from [[KarmaHoudini receiving punishment]] despite Star Fox itself thwarting his plans. In the first [[VideoGame/StarFox64 rebooted]] continuity, Andross dies at least twice and [[KilledOffForReal stays dead]] in ''[[VideoGame/StarFoxAdventures Adventures]]''.
128	* One of the perks of the ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars'' series is that if there is an anime villain that became a KarmaHoudini in their origin game, chances are you will be able to have a HotBlooded HumongousMecha pilot swing the hammer of justice without fail onto these villains. [[Anime/MartianSuccessorNadesico Haruki Kusakabe]] is one of the most common examples of this.
129	* Inverted in the 2012 reboot of ''VideoGame/TwistedMetal'': while [[JackassGenie Calypso]] gets killed, arrested, DraggedOffToHell, or punished in some other way in several of the endings of the previous games in the series, here he comes out unscathed while all three of the game's protagonists are killed by their wishes. The game ends on a SequelHook where Needles Kane/Sweet Tooth's son Marcus vows to take revenge on Calypso for killing his father, but this ultimately went nowhere.
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131
132	[[folder:Web Animation]]
133	* ''WebAnimation/GamingAllStars Remastered'': [[spoiler:[[VideoGame/Rayman2TheGreatEscape Admiral Razorbeard]]]] suffers this fate. While he manages to flee with his goons prior to the final battle in ''The Ultimate Crossover'', he isn't so lucky in this version, when [[spoiler:[[VideoGame/{{Killzone}} Ra]][[BigBad dec]] decides [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness he no longer needs the robo-pirates' help and murders him]]]].
134	[[/folder]]
135
136	[[folder:Web Videos]]
137	* In ''Literature/PrideAndPrejudice'', Wickham seduces Lydia and is bribed into marrying her to save the family's honor. In ''WebVideo/TheLizzieBennetDiaries'', he gets busted by Darcy before he can do anything harmful to Lydia.
138	* In ''Literature/SwordArtOnline'', the BigBad of the first arc, Akihiko Kayaba, escaped justice for the 4000 deaths his game caused because his WinToExit scheme ended in his own death. In ''WebVideo/SwordArtOnlineAbridged'', [[spoiler:he's not only alive but on the run as "the most wanted man on the face of the planet"]].
139	[[/folder]]
140
141	[[folder:Western Animation]]
142	* In the book ''Literature/{{Babar}}'s Story'', the hunter completely disappears from the story after killing Babar's mother. In the Nelvana animated series ''WesternAnimation/{{Babar}}'', he returns in a later episode and dies in a forest fire [[HoistByHisOwnPetard that he caused himself]].
143	* [[{{Jerkass}} Captain]] [[LightIsNotGood Phoebus]] in the ''WesternAnimation/SuperLittleFantaHeroes'' version of ''Literature/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame'' [[spoiler:gets transformed into a hunchback and forced to be the new bell ringer]], considering how much of a Karma Houdini he is in the original novel.
144	[[/folder]]

Context Main / AdaptationalKarma