Adaptational Early Appearance in Western Animation.
- Around the World with Willy Fog: In the original novel, Inspector Fix first appears on the scene when Passepartout encounters him in Suez and asks for directions to the British Consulate, leading to Fix discovering that the description given in Fogg's passport matches that of the suspect in a robbery at the Bank of England. Inspector Dix, on the other hand, makes his debut in the first episode and, along with Constable Bully, follows Fog and his party all the way from London, having seen a newspaper photograph of Fog and noticed that he resembles the suspect identified by an eyewitness to the robbery. (The travellers pass through Suez in Episode 4.)
- The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes has a significant amount of cases for this trope:
- In the comics, Black Panther didn't join the team until The Avengers #52, long after Hawkeye joined the team in The Avengers #16. In The Avengers: EMH, he appears within the first few episodes and joins the team in the fifth episode, while Hawkeye doesn't end up joining the team until after Black Panther.
- Hawkeye himself also counts. While he doesn't join the team until halfway into the first season, he actually shows up within the first few episodes as a fugitive who has been framed by Black Widow.
- Ultron originally debuted in The Avengers #54, where he was created by Hank Pym, who had long since retired his original Ant-Man identity in favor of the name Goliath. The Avengers: EMH instead introduces Ultron in the fourth episode, where he is the creation of a less-experienced Hank Pym who is still using the Ant-Man name. Ultron goes on to serve as a minor recurring character before finally becoming a major villain in the the twenty-third episode.
- Carol Danvers/Ms. Marvel also becomes an Avenger early in the second season, despite not joining the team until issue #183 in the comics.
- Graviton made his first appearance in The Avengers #158, many years after the team was established. In The Avengers: EMH, he's the main antagonist of "Breakout" (the two-part series premier), effectively serving as the first major villain the Avengers have to face as a team.
- Spider-Man, Wolverine, Luke Cage and Iron Fist all join the New Avengers in the second season, even though that team wasn't formed until many years after the debut of the original team in the comics. The Thing and War Machine, both of whom joined the West Coast Avengers in The '80s note , are also part of the adaptation's version of the New Avengers.
- The Batman:
- Batgirl became Batman's first sidekick in season 3, whereas Robin didn't come along until season 4. (In the comics and most other media, Robin comes along before Batgirl) This was done because Robin was currently being used in Teen Titans (2003) and couldn't appear due to the "Bat-Embargo" at the time.
- A number of villains appear earlier than they did in the comics, most notably, Bane. Much like in Arkham Origins, Bane debuts before Bruce could have any sidekicks. Hell, given "Traction" is the third episode of the series, Bane in this universe is literally the third super villain Bruce fought.
- Batman: The Brave and the Bold:
- The series takes place in a Retro Universe that is mostly inspired by the Silver and Bronze Age DC Universe in terms of continuity, aesthetics and tone. As such, the characters and designs used in the series generally range from The '50s to The '70s, meaning Batman is still in his classic blue and gray costume, Dick Grayson is still Robin rather than Nightwing when the series begins, Barry Allen is still alive and the active Flash while Wally West is still Kid Flash, and so on. However, there are some notable exceptions when it comes to the guest characters and certain villains, such as Katana, Vixen, Booster Gold, and the Helena Bertinelli version of Huntress (all from The '80s, with the last two explicitly hailing from the rebooted Post-Crisis DC Universe), Harley Quinn and Bane (The '90s), and the Jaime Reyes version of Blue Beetle, the Jason Rusch version of Firestorm, and the Ryan Choi version of The Atom (all from the Turn of the Millennium).
- The show's version of the Justice League International features Aquaman, Fire and Ice, and the aforementioned Booster Gold and Jaime Reyes as part of the founding roster. In the actual comics, Booster Gold didn't join the team until issue #4, while Fire and Ice didn't join until #14. Aquaman, meanwhile, wasn't even part of the group during the iconic Keith Giffen/J.M. DeMatteis run the cartoon was primarily pulling from, and wouldn't become part of the JLI until the subsequent Justice League Europe run by Gerard Jones. Jaime is the most prominent example, however, as the character wouldn't become associated with the group until the 2010 Justice League: Generation Lost series, which launched just a few months before the team made its animated debut in The Brave and the Bold.
- As Ben 10 has gone through many iterations, Ben 10 (2016), serving as a reboot set around the timeframe of the original series, reintroduces some of the concepts from the later series much earlier.
- Cannonbolt and Wildvine are two aliens he unlocked in the second season of the original series, shortly after he'd already been using his first ten aliens for a while. In the reboot, they are instead part of the starting ten alien roster from the beginning in place of Wildmutt and Ghostfreak.
- Aliens introduced in Ben 10: Alien Force, when Ben was a teenager, are featured when Ben is still a kid. Rath, who was one of the last transformations unlocked in Alien Force, is the first seen, when Doctor Animo turns into Rath to battle Vilgax. Ben would later unlock Rath for himself later, but he would also gain access to Humungousaur, and later Jetray, two of the first ten Alien Force transformations, as well.
- Ben also fought a few villains he wouldn't meet until the original series ended, such as Billy Billions, introduced in Ben 10: Omniverse, and Darkstar, also introduced in Alien Force.
- Blake and Mortimer: In the episode "The Secret of the Swordfish", two prototypes of the eponymous fighter jet have already been built before the Empire's global offensive, with Blake testing one right away as the episode starts and the other being blown up during the offensive to avoid capture. The Swordfish first appears much later in the comic book album, at the base in the Strait of Hormuz (it is the third Swordfish in the episode).
- El Chavo Animado: Every main character (save for La Chilindrina) appears from the very beginning of the series. The most notable case is Jaimito the mailman, who was the last addition to the cast in the original series, appearing in 1979, which finally allowed him to interact with Quico and Don Ramón, since they both left the series that year.
- DC Animated Universe:
- Batman: The Animated Series:
- Bane comes knocking in the DCAU while Dick Grayson is still Robin and relatively early into Barbara Gordon's tenure as Batgirl. In the comics, the events of Knightfall happened not long after Tim Drake took up the Robin mantle, years after Dick and Barbara became Nightwing and Oracle respectively.
- For that matter, Dick's wearing Tim Drake's classic Robin costume — a suit that wouldn't exist until a bit of time after Tim took up the Robin mantle.
- The Justice League cartoon made Hawkgirl, the John Stewart version of Green Lantern and the Wally West version of The Flash into founding members of the group. In the comics, Hawkgirl did not join the team until issue #146, while John straight up wasn't created until The '70s (which in-turn also makes him a case of Adaptational Late Appearance, too, as his comic counterpart predates the below-mentioned Kyle Rayner). Meanwhile, Wally West did exist when the team first formed in the comics, but as the Kid Sidekick to Barry Allen, the Silver Age Flash. Thus, Wally didn't join the League until much later in the 1980s, when he became the new Flash after Barry's death in Crisis on Infinite Earths.
- Superman: The Animated Series:
- Steel was originally one of the replacement Supermen who debuted after Superman's death at the hands of Doomsday. Here, Steel shows up in the second season, while Doomsday doesn't even appear until Justice League many years later.
- Kyle Rayner is the first Green Lantern of Earth to appear in the DCAU. John Stewart and Hal Jordan, both of whom predated Kyle in the comics by decades, don't show up until Justice League (and even then, Hal's appearance is a mere cameo). Though, in a variation of this trope, Justice League establishes that John was a Green Lantern long before Kyle showed up, but was off in space when the events of the Superman episode introducing Kyle occurred.
- Darkseid and his forces don't usually come a-knocking until after the Justice League is already formed. Here, they and Superman cross paths multiple times years before the League exists.
- Static Shock: Rubberband Man debuts in the fifth episode, when his comics counterpart didn't show up until the 33rd issue of Static.
- Batman: The Animated Series:
- DuckTales (2017): In the original cartoon, Fenton Crackshell, alias the superhero Gizmoduck, isn't introduced until the second season, after over 65 episodes, and in-universe after some time has passed since Scrooge first met his grand-nephews. In the new series, the Gizmoduck suit is teased in just the third episode of the series, and Fenton makes his debut a mere eight episodes later in episode 11.
- Fantastic Four: The Animated Series: Both Terrax and Firelord are present during Galactus' two-part debut episode, and battle the heroes during their master's attempt to consume the Earth. The episode is adapted from the original "Coming of Galactus" storyline from 1966, while Firelord and Terrax did not debut until 1974 and 1979, respectively. This also applies to Galactus himself, as he originally appeared after "The Inhumans Saga" in the original Stan Lee / Jack Kirby run in the comics, while the show's adaptation of that storyline didn't happen until Season 2, well after Galactus had made his debut.
- Garfield and Friends did this in the U.S. Acres segment for every member of the cast who wasn't Orson (who was present at the first installment of both the comic strip and the cartoon version anyway).
- Roy Rooster first appeared in the comic in the April 14, 1986 strip, while the Garfield and Friends segment had him an established character from the start.
- Wade Duck did not appear in the comic strip until August 4, 1986, while the very first U.S. Acres episode, "Wanted: Wade", doesn't just feature him, but has him in a major role.
- Orson's adoptive sons Booker and Sheldon were introduced in a May 1986 arc where Orson found and hatched some abandoned chicken eggs. The cartoon again depicted the two chicks as being present among the cast at the beginning.
- Bo and Lanolin made an Early-Bird Cameo in the comic strip in the July 20, 1986 strip before getting their proper introductions in January 15, 1987 (Lanolin) and January 19, 1987 (Bo). The animated version again has them appear as early as possible, giving the twin sheep cameos in "Wanted: Wade" and giving them their first speaking roles in the second U.S. Acres episode "Unidentified Flying Orson".
- Green Lantern: The Animated Series had the Red Lantern Corps, the Blue Lantern Corps, the Star Sapphire Corps and the Orange Lantern Corps appear while Sinestro was still a Green Lantern, when the Sinestro Corps was the first Lantern Corps besides the Green Lantern Corps to have its existence confirmed in the comics.
- The Hello Neighbor video game had Nicky investigate Mr. Peterson's house alone. The Hello Neighbor Animated Series, on the other hand, had him accompanied by Enzo, Maritza, and Trinity, all of whom originally didn't appear until Secret Neighbor, the third game in the series.
- In the Hilda graphic novels Erik Ahlberg only appeared in the final book, "Hilda and the Mountain King". In the animated series, he is introduced in the first episode of season 2, before the events of "Hilda and the Stone Forest".
- Likewise, Baba and her mother make a small appearance in the season 2 episode, The Old Bells of Trolberg. In the graphic novels, the two Trolls won't show up until The Stone Forest storyline.
- Both the comics and the first season finale of Legion of Super Heroes (2006) see the Fatal Five forced into an Enemy Mine with the Legion to stop the Sun-Eater. Only in the comics, it was a massive case of "Nice Job Breaking It, Hero" for the Legion as it was how the group first formed there. In the cartoon, the Five were already a team before that crisis.
- In Muppet Babies (1984) , Muppet mainstays Statler and Waldorf didn't appear until season 7 . In Muppet Babies (2018), their first appearance is in episode 2 .
- Rugrats (2021):
- In the original 1991 series, Susie Carmichael was introduced in "Meet the Carmichaels", the first half of the eighteenth episode of the series' second season. In the reboot, she's an established member of the main cast since the first episode.
- In the 1991 series, Charlotte's first appearance was in "The Santa Experience", the fourteenth episode of the second season. In this series, she's an established member of the main adult cast since the first episode.
- In the 1991 series, Kimi became a main part of the cast after Rugrats in Paris, which took place early in the show's seventh season, and one season after Tommy's younger brother, Dil, was born. In the reboot, she appears as one of Angelica's preschool classmates in the first season while Dil appears in the second.
- While Dil shows up after Kimi is introduced, he appears much earlier in the show's second season, compared to the 1991 series, where he appears later in The Rugrats Movie, which takes place after the series' fifth season but before the sixth.
- Spider-Man: The Animated Series:
- Whereas Hobgoblin in the comics was an imitator of the earlier introduced Green Goblin, in the 90s TV series Hobgoblin was introduced before the longtime Spider-Man archenemy Norman Osborn took up the identity of the Green Goblin. The reason for Green Goblin's later appearance in the show was that a previous producer had decided to use the Hobgoblin instead (possibly because Osborn was dead in the comics at the time, while the Hobgoblin was still being featured). By the time producer John Semper took over the series, the tie-in toyline had already begun production, meaning the executives refused to allow him to drop the Hobgoblin from the show when Hobgoblin action figures were in the works.
- Eddie Brock was already Venom when he first appeared in the comics, and all the stuff about him being a former reporter whose career was accidentally ruined by Spider-Man was only established by exposition and flashbacks. The cartoon introduces Eddie as part of the supporting cast in the very first episode, and slowly builds up his hatred of Spider-Man across several episodes, until he finally becomes Venom near the end of Season 1. Nearly every adaptation since then (including Spider-Man 3, The Spectacular Spider-Man and Marvel's Spider-Man) has adopted this method, introducing Eddie as Peter's coworker or friend in order to actually show audiences why this guy hates Spider-Man so much.
- This also applies to the Venom symbiote itself. In the comics, Spidey first encountered the symbiote during Secret Wars (1984), but in the TV show, Venom appears in Season 1, while Secret Wars doesn't happen until the final season.
- Star Wars Rebels: Grand Admiral Thrawn becomes the Big Bad for the second half of the series. Thrawn originally appeared in The Thrawn Trilogy (which had been retconned along with the rest of the Legends continuity), which takes place after Return of the Jedi, whereas Rebels takes place a couple of years before A New Hope. fittingly, the show would end with Thrawn Put on a Bus as far as the overall saga was concerned, only to begin resurfacing in later works taking place around the same time as his original trilogy.
- Teen Titans (2003):
- As with the X-Men examples on this page, this cartoon starts with the later 1980s additions to the team like Cyborg, Starfire, Raven and Beast Boy already in the main cast, with the founding members in the original comics besides Robin (Aqualad, Speedy, Kid Flash and Wonder Girl) in contrast having their debuts in the cartoon occur later.
- Mad Mod and Ding Dong Daddy were both villains fought by the original roster of the Teen Titans in the comics, but this continuity has Mad Mod debut in the first season episode of the same name and Ding Dong Daddy first appear in the fifth season episode "Revved Up", when in the original comics the Titans fought Ding Dong Daddy before their first encounter with Mad Mod.
- The Titans' 1980s rogues, such as Deathstroke and the Fearsome Five (renamed Slade and the H.I.V.E. Five), also show up much earlier before the two 1960s villains even appear.
- James the Red Engine makes cameos in all six episodes of Thomas & Friends prior to "Thomas And The Breakdown Train/Thomas Saves The Day". This causes a continuity error since the following episode keeps the novels' statement of the events of said episode occurring on his first day. Henry similarly makes cameos prior to "The Sad Story of Henry/Come Out Henry", while Thomas himself appears before the events of the Three Railway Engines stories as a result of "Thomas And Gordon" being adapted as the first episode to fit his leading status.
- This seems to be a recurring tendency for characters newly introduced in feature-length specials. Most seasons produced at the same time will feature said character. The majority of the time the specials are released some time after the season (are a fair number of episodes) have already aired, meaning the character first appears in the TV episodes.
- Also played with in The Adventure Begins, a movie retelling the events of the first two books. In this version, Thomas doesn't arrive on Sodor until after the events of The Three Railway Engines, ("Edward and Gordon" happens before Thomas's arrival, and Edward later retells "The Sad Story of Henry" to Thomas). However, James, who in The Railway Series only showed up at the end of the second book introduced as a "new engine", is there from the beginning, before Thomas even arrives on Sodor. Similarly, Annie and Clarabel, who in the books aren't properly introduced until the fourth book as Thomas's coaches on his branch line, are introduced as coaches assigned to James during Thomas's time as station pilot.
- Similarly to both the Hasbro Comic Universe and Power of the Primes examples above, War For Cybertron: Kingdom features the Maximals and Predacons interacting with both the Autobots and Decepticons via time travel (as unlike in the show, the Autobots and Decepticons do not fall into stasis once the Ark crashed). Furthermore, in the original Beast Wars show, the Autobots and Decepticons did not make cameo appearances until the tail end of Season 2 (when the Ark was located), whereas the Maximals and Predacons in the show are patterned after their Season 1 selves.
- X-Men: The Animated Series:
- Because the series was an Adaptation Distillation, certain characters who didn't join the team until much later on in the comics are present from the beginning. The most notable examples are Jubilee and Gambit, two very recent '90s characters at the time, both of whom show up in the very first episode. This is also true of characters like Bishop and Cable, who both show up in the first season. A side effect is that these characters ended up appearing in adaptations of classic Chris Claremont stories that were written years before many of them were even created, such as Jubilee being in The Dark Phoenix Saga or Bishop playing a central role in Days of Future Past.
- Morph, Wolverine, Storm, and Rogue are also X-Men from the beginning. While Flashbacks in later episodes would establish that they were not founding members of the team, they're still part of the group by the time the first episode starts.
- The Sentinels are the main antagonists of the two-part series premier, despite not appearing in the comics until issue #14 of the original Stan Lee/Jack Kirby run.
- The series also sees Professor X already in his hover chair, long before the team ever met Forge or the Shi'ar Empire (respectively its builder and the source of the technology used in it in the comics). Likewise, the X-Men are depicted in their costumes from the Jim Lee days, whereas barring Wolverine and Beast, most of the costumes wouldn't debut until after many of the stories the series adapted. Additionally, the Danger Room already uses hard-light holographic technology — another thing they gained from their ties to Forge and the Shi'ar in the comics.
- In the comics, Beast started off looking relatively normal outside of having rather large hands and feet, only gaining the blue fur later. Here, he already has the fur.
- X-Men: Evolution:
- Like the Ultimate X Men comics, the series has later '70s additions to the team like Wolverine, Storm and Nightcrawler as part of the cast from the very beginning. 80s recruits like Kitty Pryde and Rogue also end up joining very early on.
- Likewise, the New Mutants join the cast in Season 2. This causes a bit of an Age Lift, since in the comics, the New Mutants were initially introduced as the next generation of teenage X-Men after the original members of the team had all grown up. Here, the New Mutants are roughly the same age as characters like Cyclops and Jean Grey, who were their elders in the comics.
- This also holds true for many of the villains. Mystique, Sabretooth, Destiny and Avalanche didn't start fighting the X-Men in the comics until the 1980s, while they all are present within the first few episodes of the show.
- In addition to Venom, The Spectacular Spider-Man takes after Ultimate Spider-Man and has Peter know the Osborns, Mary Jane, Gwen, Captain Stacy, Jean DeWolff, Black Cat, Hammerhead, Silvermane, Silver Sable, and Miles Warren while in high school instead of college or afterward. It also extends this to other characters like Stan Carter, Glory Grant, Randy Robertson, Sha Shan Nguyen, Roderick Kingsley, Walter Hardy (though in this case, it's because he's a Composite Character with Uncle Ben's killer), and Debra Whitman.
- Young Justice (2010):
- The show depicts Superboy and Miss Martian as part of the first generation of Kid Sidekicks, alongside characters like Dick Grayson as Robin, Wally West as Kid Flash and Roy Harper as Speedy. In the comics, Superboy and Miss Martian weren't introduced until the The '90s and The 2000s, respectively, long after the original Teen Titans had grown to adulthood. They are later joined by Rocket, another 90s creation.
- Red Tornado was a member of the Justice Society of America back during the 1940s, even though he wasn't created in the comics until the late 1960s, long after the JSA's original series had ceased publication.
- Darkseid and his forces don't come into conflict with Earth until after the Justice League already existed for years. Here, Darkseid tried to invade Earth back in Vandal Savage's days as Genghis Khan, centuries before anyone in the League was ever born.
