In After the Jungle, many of the characters, both new and from the original cartoon and contrasted each other.
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Shortman, Sherman & Pataki Families
Arnold and Andy
- While Andy's just as kind, friendly and polite as his dad was, Andy's generally more aggressive than his dad ever was and can be very blunt with people (at least when the situation calls for it) and also isn't afraid to physically fight back (but only as a last resort).
- While Arnold was (and still is) into sports, Andy proves to be a lot more passionate about sports, particularly when it comes to karate.
- Arnold didn't take up karate until he was 9, and the main reason he started taking it was because, after getting mugged, he wanted to learn how to defend himself in case he had to physically fight back.
- Andy started taking karate when he was six and, as noted in "Andy's Tournament," he genuinely loves the activity and wants to get better at it.
- Rather than take up some academic-related career like his dad did, Andy (as an adult) becomes a top professional athlete and even manages to compete at the Olympics more than once.
- When it comes to stuff like girls and romance, Andy's a little better than his dad was as a kid—for example, in "Sixth Grade Girls II" (the official introduction of Connie and Maria's daughters, Bonnie and Maritza), Andy tells Kiara (who's secretly in love with him) that he'd rather go for a smart/bookish girl instead of a mean/pushy/rude Brainless Beauty like Bonnie or Maritza.
Helga and Megan
- Helga and Megan are both blondes who love the color pink, are very intelligent and can be sneaky, manipulative and short-tempered. However, while Helga had been The Bully and The Unfavorite as a child, Megan received the same amount of love and attention as her brothers and while she did have a temper, she was more Spoiled Sweet than anything else.
- Helga was also more aggressive and confrontational as a child, while Megan seems to have better control of her temper and prefers manipulating people to get her way. She also doesn't seem to use violence (such as kicking shins) unless she's provoked enough to do so.
- Their love lives are also a big contrast to each other—while Helga really only ever had eyes for Arnold and was his Loving Bully when they were growing up, Megan's shown to be rather boy-crazy (even when she's still only in Kindergarten) and, as a teenager, becomes a Serial Romeonote . Megan also generally treats her crushes nicely, unlike how Helga treated Arnold until they became an official couple.
- Helga was also the youngest child in her family and had an older sister, while Megan's both the middle child and the only girl among her siblings.
Patrick Sherman (Olga's Husband) and Arnold Shortman (Helga's Husband)
- Just like Arnold, Patrick's the husband to a daughter of the Pataki-family—but while Patrick's a lazy musician who has trouble holding down a job, Arnold's a hard-working anthropologist who's been consistently working the same job since graduating from college.
- While Arnold gets along just fine with Helga's parents, Patrick's never gotten along with Bob and Miriam (the former especially) and Mr. and Mrs. Pataki have always made it clear that they prefer Arnold over Patrick and that they don't approve of Olga's relationship with Patrick.
- How Patrick and Arnold ultimately got together with their wives greatly contrast each other:
- Arnold and Helga have known each other since their first day preschool (when they were around three), started dating in middle school and continued dating throughout both high school and college—Arnold proposed to Helga few months after they graduated college and got married about a year later. Overall, Arnold and Helga were together (as a couple) for at least twelve years by the time they finally got married.
- Olga met her husband when she as in late 20s (when her sister would've been in high school) and, as revealed in "A Perfect Disaster," she and Patrick married after only six months of dating.
Megan and Big Bob
- Various fanfics have shown that, even by the time she's only 5 (and a Kindergartener at that), Megan's very business savvy, probably more so than her maternal grandfather ever was. Also, in stark contrast to her maternal grandfather, Megan's proven herself to be a much nicer and more ethical businessperson, which is best shown in "Megan's Lemonade Stand"note : after the titular stand makes at least $100 in profit after just the first day, Megan's more than willing to evenly split the profits between herself and her three BFFs.
- As an adult, Megan becomes the CEO of a major corporation that's based all the way out in New York City.
- While Bob's beeper "empire" was (relatively) successful (at least until it finally went belly up), it's clear that Bob wasn't nearly as good of a businessman as he thought he was—it was shown throughout the original series that he never had any other locations outside of that one store, especially since his aggressive/expansionist/mercenary methods and client-unfriendly policies generally did more harm than good. Also, since he stubbornly clung to beepers instead of upgrading to something more high-tech (like cellphones/smartphones), it's no real surprise that he ultimately bankrupted himself (leaving his family with major financial issues for years afterwards).
Helga and Olga
- Combined with Dark Horse Sibling and Successful Sibling Syndrome, by the time Andy's a 9-year-old 4th-grader, their lives have turned out very differently from each other:
- While Helga's an award-winning/top-selling poet/novelist/short story writer and is married to a world-renowned anthropologist, they live in big but nice house with their three kids (with whom they have a close/loving relationship).
- After failing to make it big as an actress, Olga's forced to go back to working as a schoolteacher to support herself and her family—by the time Andy and Megan have started 4th-grade and Kindergarten, respectively, at P.S. 118, Olga's a 5th-grade teacher at that same time school. And despite how passionate she was about teaching in the original series, it's clear that Olga has long since lost her passion for the job.
- Olga and her family aren't as well-to-do as Helga and her family are—they live in a cheap/rundown apartment and have had to switch apartments every few years or so. Also, because Patrick's trouble with holding down a job, Olga's been left as the sole breadwinner for their family at times (which she clearly resents).
- Unlike Helga towards her husband and their children, Olga has kind of a rocky relationship with Patrick and also doesn't have as good of a relationship with the twins (particularly Lisa), especially since Olga basically tries doing to the twins what her own parents (particularly Bob) had done to her and Helga when they were growing up.
- While Helga still may not be all that close to her parents and still tends to call them by their first names, it's clear that her relationship with Bob and Miriam has improved tremendously as she's gotten older and is comparably closer to them as an adult than she ever was as a kid—in fact, it's to the point of where Helga does call her parents "Mom" and "Dad" more frequently. Olga, by contrast, is still closer to Bob and Miriam than Helga is, but it's clear that Olga doesn't have as good a relationship with them as she did back in the original series. TO go into greater detail:
- It's been stated that Olga had a bit of falling out with Bob and Miriam when she decided to give up her job as a teacher to pursue a career as an actress.
- Bob and Miriam (the former especially) have always made it clear that they don't approve of Olga's relationship with Patrick, although Miriam's generally a bit more willing to put up with him than her husband is.
- Due to Olga's family's...financial issues, Olga has resorted to borrowing from her sister and their parents (the latter especially), which Bob clearly resents.
- It depends on how you look at it, but in contrast to the original series, Bob and Miriam now seem to favor Helga over Olga—although this could be partially because of how Helga's ultimately become the more successful one of their two daughters.
Helga and Miriam
- In contrast to how her own mother, Miriam, was to her growing up, Helga proves to be a much more competent parent to her own children.
- While Miriam did genuinely love Helga (in her own way), she wasn't able to be much of a mother to her due to her alcoholism and depression, only rarely having tender moments with her youngest daughter. Helga, in contrast, manages to learn from her own struggles and manages to become a much stronger, more competent and ultimately happier woman and loving mother.
- Miriam was mostly a Housewife for the majority of Helga's childhood—Helga, by contrast, DOES have a job (as a high-ranking author) but is able to work primarily from home.
- Helga and Miriam's overall lives also end up being an inversion to one another:
- Miriam's implied to have been a lot like her oldest daughter when she was young—but her life went downhill after she married Bob, which (at least in "Olga Gets Engaged") she appears to have regretted doing.
- Helga, by contrast, had a rough childhood (mainly due to being The Unfavorite)—but she managed to get her life together as she got older, thanks in part to the help/influence of Arnold and his family, and manages to accomplish many of her life goals (with her biggest one being that she was able to marry Arnold and have a family with him).
Megan and Olga
- They're both blondes who're related to Helga in some way (Megan is Helga's daughter while Olga is Helga's sister) and both are also overachieving Girly Girls and were fairly popular among their schoolmates.
- Megan has a way better relationship with Helga that Olga ever did (both as a kid and as an adult)—also, for as much of an overachiever as Megan can be, Helga didn't want Megan or either of her brothers under the same kind of pressure that her parents put on her and Olga when they were growing up, so Helga's daughter is ultimately a more positive example of Go-Getter Girl.
- Olga, for all of her talents and achievements, was a deeply flawed Broken Ace who was under a lot of pressure by her parents (particularly her father)—also, Megan (like her parents when they were kids) is regularly shown to be very smart and mature for someone her age while her Aunt Olga (though certainly very academically-skilled/gifted and all that) was shown to be rather whiny and childish (which only got worse as the original series went on). Even as an adult, Olga still has a tendency of acting like Womanchild Drama Queen.
- Megan appears to be fairly popular at school (at least partly because, for as bratty/bossy/self-centered as she can be, she's ultimately a good person) and is friends with many of her classmates (the only real exceptions being students like Roxanne, Lonnie and Maya). And while Olga seemed to have an active social life (at least when it came to extracurricular activities when she was in school), it was never shown if Olga had friends because she was hardly ever seen interacting with people her own age. It was implied that Olga had a Friendless Background because of how childish and whiny she is.
- In "Megan Meets Her Match," Megan gets upset upon discovering that she's getting a C in one of her classes—Helga notes (to herself) that, for as upset as Megan is, she's taking things comparably better than Olga did the time when Helga had tricked into her thinking that she got a B+ in one of her classes when she herself was in college.
- They both end up leaving their hometown of Hillwood to moving to New York City at some point in their lives.
- In her quest to pursue a career as a theater actress, Olga ended up moving to NYC so she could audition for Broadway. However, since she ultimately failed to make it big as an actress and was forced to find a different job, she eventually moved back to Hillwood, where she went back to working as a schoolteacher (ultimately becoming a 5th-grade teacher at P.S. 118).
- Megan moved to New York City at some point in her adulthood, but unlike her aunt, she ends up staying there permanently (presumably), especially once she becomes the head of big company that's based in NYC.
Others
Patrick Sherman to Doug LeSham
- Unlike Doug, who only loved Olga for her family's money and was willing to lie/cheat/manipulate others (and smugly showed no guilt over it) in order to get what he wanted, Patrick (for all of his flaws) genuinely loves and cares about Olga and truly isn't a bad person.
Andy and Kiara
- While Andy tends to be rather impulsive and hotheaded, Kiara's generally the calmer and more collected one.
- Andy and Kiara are both good students (academically and athletically), but Andy's a lot more passionate about sports than Kiara is while Kiara's more interested in academic pursuits.
- As adults, Andy becomes a professional athlete (even managing to compete at the Olympics more than once) while Kiara becomes a physician.
Andy and W.J (Wolfgang Junior)
- Both Andy and W.J are the sons of characters from the original series, as well as athletic blonde boys...however Andy's more of a Lovable Jock at best and is always willing to defend others while W.J. is The Bully who enjoys picking on younger kids.
- As shown in stories like "Spelling Bee II"note and especially "Andy's Tournament"note , Andy (for as aggressive and competitive as he can get when it comes to sports and competitions in general) would never resort to cheating and/or seriously hurting someone in order to win at something—win or lose, Andy would much rather play fair-and-square. WJ, by contrast, is perfectly willing to not only cheat in a competition, but also seriously hurt someone in order to do itnote —and not just to win the competition itself, but also for the chance to beat Andy at something.
- Their family lives are also way different:
- Andy's got two younger siblings and their stern-but-loving parents are still married—Andy was also born into a fairly affluent family and lives in a regular house.
- W.J. appears to be an only child and his parents are divorced, with his mom (a woman named Mary-Jo) having primary custody of him. In "Andy's Tournament," it's stated that Wolfgang works at fast food restaurant as part of the custodial staff (i.e., he's a janitor)—it's unknown where he lives, but Wolfgang's ex-wife, at least, is established as living in an apartment complex instead of a regular house. Also, Wolfgang Senior is shown to be a terrible father—although his ex-wife does her best to be a good parent to their son (as shown in "Andy's Tournament," Mary-Jo appears to be rather strict with her son and isn't afraid to harshly punish if the situation calls for it).
Olga and Summer
- They both tried pursuing acting careers, but they failed to make it big as actresses—and the few roles that they were able to get in very low-budget productions.
- Summer was more interested in screen acting (i.e., movies and TV-shows) and moved to Los Angeles, California after graduating high school (when she would've been around 18). All her "acting career" ends up amounting to was a series of cheesy commercial and some low-budget horror movie that, by the events of "A Trip to the Beach," has long since faded into obscurity.
- Olga was more interested in stage acting (i.e., musical theater and Broadway) and apparently didn't try seriously pursuing a career as an actress until she was in her mid-20s (when Helga would've been around 12 or 13). Olga even eventually moved to New York City to audition for Broadway—but whether in Hillwood or NYC, the few roles that Olga was able to actually get were in (very) off-Broadway style productions.
- They both eventually got married and had kids of their own, and neither really have the greatest relationship with their husbands.
- Olga and her husband, Patrick, have a pair of boy-girl fraternal twins named Logan Robert Sherman and Lisa Miriam Sherman, who're about three years older than Helga's oldest child/son, Andy. Also, despite her and her husband, Patrick, having kind of a rocky relationship, they really do love and care about each other and are still married by the time Helga's youngest child is a year old. Olga and Patrick also didn't meet until they were in their late-20s and didn't have the twins until they were around 33 or 34.
- Summer ends up having two sons named Sky (who's about a year older than Andy) and Sonny (who's around the same age as Megan) and two daughters named June (who's about a year younger than Andy) and Britney (who's about a year older than Henry), and their dad is some guy that Summer met when she was in LA. However, their relationship was even worse than Olga and Patrick's, and they eventually got divorced (with Summer getting primary custody of their kids).
- When it comes to the relationship they have with their children, Summer has a comparably better relationship with her kids than Olga does with Logan and Lisa—while Olga really does love and care about the twins, she basically tries doing to them what her own parents (particularly her father) had done to her. Summer, by contrast, does make sure her kids are okay and taken care of—honestly, the worst she does is simply tell them to avoid the Shortman and Johanssen kids in "A Trip to the Beach."
- Olga and Summer are both blondes who have antagonized Helga in some way.
- Olga's more an unintentional/indirect example—for all her issues and flaws, Olga really isn't a bad person and genuinely loves and cares about her family (not just her husband and kids but her sister and her family as well).
- Summer has purposely antagonized both Helga and Arnold, such as using Arnold to try and win the sandcastle-building in "Summer Love" and then trying to cheat in that same contest in "Summer Love II."
- In the end, after they fail to make it big as actresses and are forced to find other jobs to support themselves and their families, it's clear that Summer has long since given up any hope of becoming an actress while Olga (even by the time she's well into her 40s) still has "delusions" (as Helga calls it) of making it big as an actress, even though it's obvious to everyone around her that she just doesn't have what it takes.
Megan and Roxanne
- While both tend to be spoiled by their parents and can also be rather bratty and self-centered, Megan's ultimately a good person while Roxanne has no real redeeming qualities.
- Both girls come from affluent families, but the Smythe-Higgins (Roxanne's family) are one of the wealthiest families (if not the wealthiest) in Hillwood and are also very much "Old Money"-richnote . The Shortmans (Megan's family), by comparison, are more of a mix of "Upper Middle Class" and "Nouveau Riche"note .
Oskar Kokoshka and Franklin Jones
- The former is Suzie's ex-husband while the latter is Suzie's current husband, but the only thing they actually have in common is their connection to Suzie. As noted by Suzie in "Reunion at the Boarding House," Franklin is pretty much everything Oskar isn't (and most likely never will be):
- While Oskar was a Lazy Bum who had a tendency to lie, Franklin's very hard-working and has always been honest with Suzie.
- Franklin has a steady job as a bank teller and abhors gambling while Oskar never had a real job (outside of being a "paper boy") and would often gamble away the money that Suzie (Oskar's main source of income when they were still married) earned.
- Oskar got married (and divorced) two more times after Suzie left him while Franklin and Suzie have been together (as a married couple) since at least three years after Suzie finally divorced Oskar.
- While Oskar and Suzie never had children when they were together (and neither of them, presumably, had any children through any previous relationships), Franklin and Suzie eventually had a son together named Morgan. Oskar also never had children through his second or third wives.
