Contrasting Replacement Character

A Contrasting Replacement Character is a person who replaces or fills in for another person, and has opposite or contrasting attributes.

When a character is removed from a show, whether they were killed off or Put on a Bus, they leave a void that needs to be filled for fear of ruining the overall dynamic. Instead of going with a substitute with nearly-identical traits, writers may instead introduce a person who is nothing like their predecessor.

If the difference is addressed by the characters themselves, they may be seen as an In-Universe example of a Replacement Scrappy.

Contrast with Suspiciously Similar Substitute and Replacement Flat Character. If it's a sequel with a new main character, see Contrasting Sequel Main Character. See Contrasting Sequel Antagonist for a sequel with a new villain.

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Examples:

Anime and Manga

• Doraemon: Nobita's New Dinosaur is a loose remake of Doraemon: Nobita's Dinosaur, with Nobita adopting two dinosaurs named Kyu and Myu, instead of just one, Piisuke, from the original. While Piisuke from the earlier film is an aquatic dinosaur, Kyu and Myu are both feathered flyers, with many underwater scenes from the original being substituted with flying scenes in the remake. Nobita's friends in the original doesn't know about Piisuke until one-third into the movie, unlike the remake where they found out about Kyu and Myu around fifteen minutes in. While Piisuke was constantly stalked by the hostile dinosaur hunters, Kyu and Myu are observed by the benevolent Time Patrol, who's following them because they belong to a new, undiscovered dinosaur species.
• Attempted with Dragon Ball. A third into the overall run, Gohan is introduced as an equivalent to Goku as a child, although he's very timid, well-spoken and has no true desire or aptitude for fighting, the opposite of his father. By the end of the Cell Arc, Goku has died and left his role to Gohan: his first solo arc has him in high school and devise a goofy Sentai alter-ego known as Great Saiyaman, and getting into a complicated relationship with a girl named Videl. A few chapters in however, Akira Toriyama felt that Gohan wasn't suited for the part, so he put Goku back into the story as the main character again with the arc ending with him alive and well.
• Naruto: After the Time Skip, Sai, a member of the secret "Root" group, is put in Team 7 with Naruto and Sakura as the missing Sasuke's replacement. While Sasuke was aloof but with hidden violent emotions, Sai is polite and smiles often but is often said to not actually feel anything.
• Episode of Chopper Plus: Bloom in Winter, Miracle Sakura as a reimagining of the Drum Kingdom arc, takes place after Enies Lobby, which means that Robin has replaced Vivi in the crew. Both of them play the Only Sane Man role at times, but Vivi is considerably more emotional than Robin, resulting in them acting differently at times. For example, Vivi becomes comically angry when Luffy and Usopp claim to have never gotten sick, whereas Robin has no reaction. Both characters slap Usopp awake after the avalanche, but Robin uses her Devil Fruit powers to do so, and claims that he got frostbite with a straight face.
• This briefly comes up at the tail end of Kaguya-sama: Love Is War once Shirogane's second term as president ends and he, Kaguya, and Fujiwara are no longer on the student council. The three new members that the recently elected Iino recruits contrast each of them:
  • Takano is a reverse Shirogane. Both of them are impures and the top of their grades, but while Shirogane is a Nice Guy who hides an inferiority complex, Taikoku has a full blown superiority complex and uses his position to lord over others.
  • Kanegae is basically Kaguya's opposite in every way save for both coming from zaibatsu families. While she was the top of her class and Hopeless with Tech, he's both Book Dumb and tech savvy.
  • Tono is the anti-Fujiwara. Both both of them are troublemakers, but they are exact opposites when it comes to romance (Fujiwara remains single for the entire run of the series while Tono litteraly defines her worth by how many boys she can get to go out with her). And unlike with Fujiwara (the only member of the original student council that Ishigami never got along with), she's the only one of the new student council members that Ishigami actually considers to be dependable.

Comic Book

• In Batman, he needs a Robin to act as his sidekick and Morality Pet. However, every official Robin is very different from the last one.
  • Dick Grayson's loving parents were murdered and he was taken under Bruce's wing out of sympathy. His tenure of Robin established the role as a lovable, wise-cracking sidekick and foil to Batman. Despite his guardian's anti-social tendencies, Dick is arguably one of the most beloved and sociable characters in the DC Universe next to Superman and is a natural-born leader because of this.
  • Jason Todd grew up on the streets with a dad who walked out on him and a drug addict for a mother. He was adopted by Bruce after he caught Jason stealing the tires off the Batmobile. His personality was coarser and was betrayed by his own mother to the Joker. Depending on the Writer, Bruce didn't like or tolerate Jason as much when compared to Dick. After his resurrection, Jason becomes the Red Hood, a dark and gritty Anti-Hero willing to cross lines that Batman won't.
  • Tim Drake was born into an upper-middle class family with a neglectful father who wanted a Jerk Jock for a son. Instead of Batman stumbling upon him by accident, Tim sought him out and offered to become Robin after seeing the turmoil Batman went through in the wake of Jason's death. Initially depicted as a chipper and talented teenager, he slowly becomes grimmer and more brooding after a number of tragedies in his life.
  • Damian Wayne is Bruce's biological son with Talia al Ghul. He's an Insufferable Genius who is already a master of hand-to-hand combat and trained in every skill one could expect a Robin to have. But his brutal upbringing under the League of Assassins made him indifferent to murder, which makes him come to blows with his father and adoptive brothers. In time, he grows to appreciate his role as Robin and steps away from his murderous past, making him a much kinder and more empathetic young man, even if he retains his penchant for Brutal Honesty and snark.
• The Batgirls are similar:
  • Barbara Gordon is an assertive bookworm who was practically born into crime fighting, as both her (adopted) father and stepmother were cops. Her greatest strengths, her iron will and brilliant mind, meant that she continued to act as an effective hero well after she was paralyzed by the Joker.
  • Cassandra Cain, by contrast, was born to assassins and raised to be a killer. She's an unparalleled fighter, but her upbringing has given her a mental disability that makes it difficult for her to speak and nearly impossible for her to learn how to read.
• Runaways (Rainbow Rowell):
  • Abigail, introduced as a stand-in for Klara, is filled with Sugary Malice compared to Klara's Sugar-and-Ice Personality - while Klara would close herself off to people because of her traumatic past and resultant trust issues, she was very loyal to those who earned her trust. Meanwhile, Abigail, who grew up in a happy, functional family, makes friends very easily and is outwardly affectionate towards them, but beneath the surface, she's a cruel, manipulative bully.
  • Gib, introduced as a replacement for Xavin, has a past similar to Xavin's, being the child of an Absolute Xenophobe race, but where Xavin was a former child soldier who struggled to shake off years of indoctrination, Gib is more of a blank slate who only hatched recently and is still figuring out his own morality.
  • The series also contrasts Klara and Gert when they finally meet. Whereas Klara started off as an Innocent Bigot conservative who grew more open-minded during her time with the team, Gert started off as an enlightened liberal and has never felt the need to scrutinize her beliefs. The contrast is especially clear in their attitudes towards homosexuality - where Klara started off as a homophobe but has since become so accepting that she now has two dads, Gert still thinks that merely tolerating Karolina's existence is sufficient, and doesn't realize (or possibly, doesn't care) how offensive she's being when she tells Klara she would be better off with no parents at all.
• Like with the Robins and Batgirls, the Aquaman's sidekicks have also varied:
  • The first Aqualad was an introverted sorcerer and former prince named Garth who was abandoned because of a superstition about children with purple eyes.
  • While he never used the Aqualad moniker - or any code name for that matter - Aquaman's illegitimate son Koryak more or less filled the role to Garth that Jason Todd did to Dick Grayson. Like Jason, Koryak came from a marginalized background, being the son of an Inuit woman. While Garth was a full-blooded Atlantean who was raised underwater, Koryak was an Atlantean-human hybrid who grew up on land. While Garth was introverted and introspective, Koryak was hot-tempered and reckless. While Garth had a variety of magical abilities, Koryak only had enhanced physical stats and the ability to shape water.
  • The second Aqualad was a contrast to both Garth and Koryak. While Garth was a full-blooded Atlantean, Jackson was a hybrid. Jackson certainly has more in common with Koryak; both are hybrids, both were raised on land, both can shape water and both are racial minorities (Jackson is black, Koryak is Inuit). However, Jackson lacked Koryak's temper. Finally, Garth and Koryak were children of Atlantean royalty while Jackson was the son of Black Manta, a human enemy of Atlantis.
  • Tula, the first permanent Aquagirl^note  There were two previous Aquagirls but they were one-shot characters was an Atlantean princess. The second Aquagirl Lorena Marquez was a human who was transformed into an Atlantean. While Tula was white, Lorena was latina.
  • This even applies to Aquaman's two love interests, Mera and Dolphin. The former is a Fiery Redhead who dresses in green and can control water. The latter was a mute with white hair and wasn't even an Atlantean merely a human granted the ability to survive underwater.
• The various Wildcats are all pretty different. Ted Grant was a former Badass Normal boxing champ who loves to fight and show off, Yolanda Montez was a Mexican American woman who developed cat-like augmentations due to experiments done to her mother, and Tommy Bronson—Ted's illegitimate son—is an incredibly powerful were-cat who loathes fighting. While Ted eventually became an Empowered Badass Normal it rarely comes into play as he picked up Resurrective Immortality from a botched spell relating to the cats have nine lives saying.

Film - Animation

• Toy Story: Andy and Bonnie are both the caring and imaginative owners of Woody and the gang. However, Andy himself was an energetic individual all around while Bonnie was very shy while in public. Even more so in Toy Story 4, while Andy loved Woody more than all the other toys, Bonnie plays with all the other toys, while ignoring Woody.

Film - Live Action

• Transformers: Dark of the Moon introduces Carly Brooks-Spencer as the Replacement Goldfish for Mikaela Banes from the previous two movies. Whereas Mikaela is a Tomboy and Wrench Wench Action Girl who never hesitates to jump into the fray, Carly is much more feminine with her dresses and heels, and is a Non-Action Guy who doesn't fight at all, favoring words over punches.

Live Action TV

• The Avengers (1960s):
  • Emma Peel has a few things in common with Cathy Gale - they're both widows (though Emma's husband was eventually revealed to be alive) and they both kick ass while wearing black leather. That said, Emma is lot more easy-going and less uptight than Cathy, as well as having a more playful, flirtatious relationship with Steed. Whereas Cathy's fighting style was judo, Emma was into kung-fu and karate. Whereas Cathy was motivated by a desire to help the innocent, Emma just loves the adventure and adrenaline.
  • Tara King is significantly younger and less experienced than either of her predecessors. Whereas they were equal partners with Steed who enjoyed a bit of flirtatious banter, Steed took on a teacher/father role to Tara. She's also sported the shortest haircuts out of the three partners of Steed. Whereas both Cathy and Emma were both widows, Tara was single woman who hero-worshipped Steed.
• On Babylon 5, this treatment was made to several characters.
  • Ko'dath, G'kar's first attaché, is very rough and even growls at Londo when touched by him. Contrast with her replacement, Na'toth, who appears more learned, has finesse, and can also be devious (think Romulan but with a Narn filter).
  • The station's first Commanding Officer, Jeffrey Sinclair, was a quiet, somewhat gloomy, strongly spiritual man; a good administrator and adept Rules Lawyer who knew how to work the system to get what he wanted; and a man who suffered from strong PTSD after his experiences at the Battle of the Line. Sinclair's replacement John Sheridan was the opposite in almost every way: younger, more cheerful, more energetic, preferred combat command to administration, and prone to taking the shortest route to his goal regardless of the difficulty or the possible consequences.
  • Lyta Alexander had a rough, almost tomboyish edge to her characterization. Contrast that with the more feminine, soft-spoken, and more "stuck-up" Talia Winters. Then Talia gets replaced by Lyta again, who has become even more rough after being on the run from Psi Corps.
  • The first Vorlon Ambassador, Kosh, though very enigmatic, appears genuinely curious about humans and the other races on the station. Contrast that with the darker, somewhat more malevolent Ulkesh who makes it apparent that he cares little for the Younger races as his predecessor did.
  • Susan Ivanova is a snippy, sarcastic, at times pessimistic person who hates being political and genuinely wants to do what's right. She is also genuinely religious. Elizabeth Lockley is more low-key in her sarcasm, has more experience being political. She is also somewhat religious, and unlike Ivanova, her childhood trauma was from running away and being an addict and not the loss of a parent from Psi Corps.
• In Charmed (1998), when Prue was replaced by Paige. Whereas Prue was the oldest child and frequently meddled in Piper and especially Phoebe's lives, Paige was raised as an only child and strives to maintain her own identity, keeping her suspicions about Cole to herself. Prue witnessed her mother's death, which left her with a fear of the water, and blames her father for abandoning the family afterward, until Character Development kicks in. Paige witnessed her adopted parents' deaths, which didn't leave her with any phobias, but she blamed herself. Even their most prominent Love Interests contrast: Andy and Henry are both cops, but Andy was Prue's childhood sweetheart, whereas Henry and Paige first met late in the show. Andy decides he doesn't want magic to be part of his life, so he breaks up with Prue (despite still loving her); Henry is so accepting of magic, he duels another half-witch/half-whitelighter for Paige's hand and ends up marrying her.
• Community: Buzz was introduced in Season Five to replace Pierce as the elderly member of the main cast. While Pierce was a Scatterbrained Senior who would often cause problems for the group, Buzz was often the voice of reason and usually only reluctantly went along with whatever wacky hijinks were going on.
• Doctor Who when Doctors and companions change. Some glaring examples:
  • Whether deliberately or not, Doctors often seem to be opposite to their predecessor in some personality element.
    • Compared to the sometimes intimidating and morally dubious First Doctor, the Second Doctor was more laid back but also more strongly moralistic, with a conscious obligation to fight evil.
    • Compared to the anti-authority Second Doctor, the Third Doctor was much suaver and more comfortable interacting with authority figures on an equal level.
    • Compared to the sociable Third Doctor, the Fourth Doctor was much more self-sufficient and aloof.
    • Compared to the aloof and sometimes inconsiderate Fourth Doctor, the Fifth Doctor was more of a people-pleaser.
    • By contrast again, the Sixth Doctor was extremely abrasive.
    • Compared to the short-tempered Sixth Doctor, who would often lash out at whim when angered, the Seventh Doctor was an ice-cold Manipulative Bastard.
    • But before that, he was a loveable buffoon who used Obfuscating Stupidity to stop his foes.
    • Compared to the ruthless Seventh Doctor, the Eighth Doctor was almost too sensitive at times.
    • Compared to the gentle Eighth Doctor, the Ninth Doctor was extremely abrasive again.
    • Compared to the self-questioning Ninth Doctor, the Tenth Doctor was extremely convinced of his own righteousness, sometimes to a Well-Intentioned Extremist degree.
    • Compared to the Tenth Doctor, who allowed his companions to become obsessed with him to a degree that was sometimes damaging to them, the Eleventh Doctor was very concerned about encouraging his companions not to get too co-dependent with him.
    • Compared to the "manic pixie dream Doctor" Eleventh Doctor, the Twelfth Doctor was initially very stern and unsympathetic, although he later mellowed.
    • Compared to the Twelfth Doctor, the Thirteenth Doctor is less intimidating and also less willing to interfere massively in the situations she finds, preferring to solve immediate problems and then leave people to solve the bigger issues.
  • Companions:
    • Compared to the highly intelligent and poised Liz Shaw, Jo Grant is cute and ditzy.
    • Compared to the somewhat scatter-brained but resourceful Action Girl Jo whom the Third Doctor harbored romantic feelings for (feelings that were obviously not reciprocated, much to The Doctor's clear sorrow), Sarah Jane Smith is more grounded but still very intelligent, while at the same time the romantic dynamic is reversed — she sometimes seems to be flirting with/falling for The Doctor while he's totally oblivious to it, to the point of unceremoniously dumping her in Aberdeen when he's called back to Gallifrey.
    • Leela was specifically created by Philip Hinchcliffe to be a more proactive character after hearing a little girl say that she identified more with the male Doctor than the female Sarah Jane. Whereas Sarah Jane was a clued-in but physically delicate Muggle Best Friend, Leela was an intelligent but undereducated Nubile Savage who the Doctor tended to pick on as an inferior and who specialised in intuition and violence.
    • Leela's replacement Romana was similarly conceived as a contrast to her. Where Leela was worldly but uneducated, Romana was intellectual but inexperienced, having a greater technological knowledge than the Doctor but, at least initially, being largely ignorant of how the universe worked having led a sheltered life on Gallifrey, compared to Leela's tough upbringing in a tribal system. While she occasionally got into scuffles, she was far more inclined to try and think her way out of a problem rather than using violence.
    • Mel, a stereotypical screamer, is replaced by Ace, one of the toughest female companions ever.
• Farscape: Frequently. Spiritual and educated Team Mom and The Medic Zhaan was replaced by Stark on the spiritual side and Jool on The Smart Guy side. But Stark is practically insane compared to Zhaan's composed serenity, while Jool is bratty load. Jool was later replaced by Sikozu, a Know-Nothing Know-It-All, and Stark by Noranti, a Cloudcuckoolander Cool Old Lady.
• Homicide: Life on the Street: Steve Crosetti and his replacement Mike Kellerman were entirely different outside of their friendship with Meldrick Lewis. Crosetti was a middle-aged, overweight family man who was fairly scatterbrained and wasn't particularly competent. Kellerman was an attractive young man who was something of a womanizer and was very competent at his job.
• Law & Order
  • Rey Curtis replaced Mike Logan. Once again, the two were ostensibly very similar—young, good-looking, Catholic—but that's where the similarities ended. Curtis was a devout Catholic and Happily Married family man, in sharp contrast to Logan, who was a lapsed Catholic and implied to be quite a womanizer.
  • The original psychiatric consultant, Elizabeth Olivet, was sensitive and tactful and tended to see in shades of grey, although at the end of the day she was fine with being a prosecution witness. From Season 8 onward she was—aside from a few The Bus Came Back episodes—replaced by Emil Skoda. He was blunter and had a more black-and-white philosophy, making no bones about the fact that he just plain didn't like most of the suspects he interviewed.
• Law & Order: UK: DS Sam Casey replaces DS Matt Devlin. Despite some obvious similarities with his predecessor (being young, good-looking, having absent and possibly abusive father), there are some equally obvious differences. Matt's temper was generally limited to certain issues, whereas Sam appears to have a short fuse about everything. Matt also clearly cherished the "surrogate father figure" he had in Ronnie. Sam seems to resent Ronnie's attempts at playing the father despite generally getting along. And the two simply do not have the rapport that Matt and Ronnie did.
• Every replacement surgeon from M*A*S*H
  • Henry Blake was the Commanding Officer in name only; in everyday life he was The Alleged Boss who both Trapper and Hawkeye would cheerfully evade, and who Burns and Houlihan had no respect for. The Korean War was also his first war as a CO and he wasn't very military; he was a civilian doctor in fatigues, and it showed. In contrast, Sherman Potter was a career Army man who served in both World Wars, came up through the ranks from enlisted man to Colonel, and (most important) had the attitude of a Commanding Officer, so he demanded, and received, the respect and obedience that was his due.
  • Frank Burns was a Jerkass whose surgery skills was subpar at best. He was also bullied by Hawkeye and Trapper and later B.J.. His replacement, Charles Winchester, was more of a Jerk with a Heart of Gold and was a excellent surgeon. His relationship with Hawkeye and B.J. was also slightly better and he wasn't above joining in playing pranks.
  • B.J. Hunnicutt is a downplayed example for Trapper John. They both filled the same role as second banana to Hawkeye Pierce. However, B.J. was a family man who loved his wife Peg to the point that he felt ashamed that he cheated on her. In contrast, Trapper constantly cheated on his wife with zero regret for his actions. There was also a contrast in morals. One episode during BJ's tenure recycled a plot from an earlier episode with Trapper. Hawkeye wants to perform unnecessary surgery to keep a particularly callous officer off the front for a little while longer. Trapper had gone along with that plan no problem, BJ considered it a horrific violation of the Hippocratic Oath. This severely strained Hawkeye and BJ's friendship (and strained Alan Alda and Mike Farrell's working relationship).
• Midnight Caller: Jack's original boss Devon King pretty much gave him free rein and seemed more interested in well-researched, even-handed coverage of social issues than in ratings. Her replacement Nicky Molloy is much tougher and stricter and cares about building the business above all else.
• Monk: Sharona Fleming is Monk's assistant/nurse from season 1 through season 3, and Natalie Teeger takes over the role from season 3.5 through the end of the series. While Natalie was initially presented as a similar substitute for Sharona since the two were single mothers (and some of her first episodes used scripts originally written for Sharona), their circumstances were very different. While Sharona was a divorcee with a scum ex-husband, Natalie was a widow who was Happily Married. Sharona also came from a working class background and who was a nurse most of her life while Natalie came from a rich family and had multiple jobs. Oh, and Sharona had a son while Natalie had a daughter.
• Both seasons of Mystery Road have Jay Swan investigating a crime with the help of a local female cop. However, Emma in the first season is the middle-aged white cop in charge of the local force, who is a member of the community's most important family, while Fran in the second season is a young Aboriginal constable who has strained relations with her family members, who disapprove of her being a cop.
• Mystery Science Theater 3000.
  • Joel is a father figure to the bots (after all, he did build them) and generally pretty calm and laid-back. His replacement, Mike, interacts with the bots as their equal (at best), tends to be more overtly sarcastic, and more often tries to rebel against his captors. While the bots see Joel as a father figure, they see Mike as a brother figure, and thus are more inclined to mess around with Mike and prank him relentlessly than they would Joel.
  • Jonah takes Mike's place in season 11, bringing to the role a mix of Mike's energy and more optimism than even Joel had. The bots have even less respect for Jonah than they did for Mike—if Mike was a brother figure, then Jonah's the younger kid from next door who keeps trying to hang out.
  • Dr. Clayton Forrester's original second banana, Dr. Laurence Erhardt, starts off close to Clayton's equal, then develops into something of a Professional Butt-Kisser. He's also quite chipper about being capital-E Evil. His replacement, TV's Frank, starts off clearly subservient to Clayton, but they both develop into a weirdly codependent and mercurial relationship, where Frank might be Clayton's Butt-Monkey in one scene, then they'd act Like an Old Married Couple in the next. Frank's also more dim-witted and affable than Larry.
  • When Frank leaves, his role is filled by Clayton's overbearing mother, Pearl Forrester. She becomes the first character to consistently scare Clayton into submission.
  • Then Clayton Forrester leaves, and Pearl slots into his role instead. Where Clayton had been a manic Mad Scientist, Pearl becomes more of an evil adventurer (and later, would-be Diabolical Mastermind) who dabbles in science on the side. She's also even more of a bully towards Mike and her own minions than Clayton had been.
  • The new minions, Observer and Professor Bobo, are collectively even more bumbling and ineffectual than Frank had been. Bobo is just dumb as a brick; Observer is the Only Sane Man who nevertheless is powerless because no one takes him seriously. (And they slotted nicely into a Comic Trio, with Pearl as their misguided navigator.)
  • Kinga Forrester (daughter of Clayton) takes over as the head Mad in season 11. She approaches her villainy as an evil media mogul first and a mad scientist second: instead of taking over the world, her goal is to sell the Mystery Science Theater 3000 brand to Disney for a billion dollars. Personality-wise, she's the least mature of the Forresters, alternating between cloying sweetness and shrieking temper tantrums at the drop of a hat.
  • Kinga's minion Max (aka TV's Son of TV's Frank) is the closest the show's come to a Suspiciously Similar Substitute, with the in-story justification that he's deliberately emulating his father's appearance and role. Max is still somewhat distinct: he's more consistently a Yes-Man than Frank ever was, and he has an unrequited crush on Kinga.
• New Tricks: Generally replacements of UCOS members would contrast quite heavily with each other:
  • The straight-laced, calm and wise Jack Halford is a serious, no nonsense investigator but also a warm and grandfatherly figure, who nevertheless had a hidden strength and can be a strong authority figure and voice of reason when required. He was replaced, by the debonair, smartly dressed, action prone Steve McAndrew, who is far more happy to bend the rules when he felt it is warranted, as well as play the tough guy and be a follower.
  • Both UCOS The Smart Guy heavily contrast, Brian Lane is a brilliant but troubled man, struggling with both OCD and Paranoia, as well as a history of strained family relationships and alcoholism. He nevertheless maintained lovingly close relationship with his wife Ester and was overall a nerdish but outgoing man. By contrast Dan Griffin, a suave Deadpan Snarker who could seemingly do just about anything, who nevertheless is introverted and struggles with loneliness due to his daughter leaving for College, and his difficulties to get back into dating.
  • Gerry Standing is an old fashioned, dependable but grounded and realistic detective, who is both a charismatic ladies man and a caring family man. His replacement Ted Case was a superstitious, imaginative man who is open minded in his investigations and capable of linking seemingly unconnected threads. Ted was also happily married to another man.
  • Both UCOS's Deputy Assistant Commissioners contrast as well. DAC Donald Bevan is a smug, and somewhat belligerent man, who's obsessed with bureaucracy and only cares about politics. Disliking the teams successes as he only intended them to be a PR stunt and several expose corruption in the police force. DAC Robert Strickland meanwhile, whilst a political animal and something of a Glory Hound quickly proves to be a strong willed and supportive Reasonable Authority Figure. Whilst somewhat self-serving, Strickland first and foremost cares about cases resolved correctly and the guilty being exposed reguardless of the ramifications. Thus he regularly uses his political know how to navigate team through political quagmires and often sticks his neck out to protect them during investigations liable to result in backlash.
• In The Orville, Talla replaces Alara in season 2. Whereas Alara spent much of her tenure struggling with crippling self-doubt because of her "learning disability" (she has only slightly-above-human intelligence, whereas most of her peers are geniuses), Talla has no such disability. On the other hand, whereas Alara's issues made her humble and thus made her very popular with her crewmates, Talla's confidence sometimes makes her crewmates assume that she's arrogant.
• Our Miss Brooks: In the fourth television season of the series, Miss Brooks receives two successive love interests. For a few episodes, Miss Brooks is pursued by Clint Albright; for about half a season, it's Gene Talbot. Miss Brooks' love interest on the radio and TV up to this point had been Mr. Boynton Miss Brooks marries Mr. Boynton at the end of The Movie Grand Finale ; notable for being shy and oblivious. In direct contrast, the gym teachers Clint Albright and Gene Talbot are much more aggressive. Albright flirts with Miss Brooks immediately on seeing her, soon catching Miss Brooks under mistletoe and forcing a kiss on her. Talbot calls Miss Brooks honey, and by the end of his tenure Connie's furious at him for taking her up to the Hollywood Hills on dates . . . late into the night. As to the gym teachers' reception by fans, by the end of the season, The Bus Came Back with Mr. Boynton aboard.
• In Parks and Recreation, Mark was initially placed in the role of Leslie's love interest, presented as a playboy type who was relaxed and cynical about government. At the end of season two he was written out and new character Ben was added who then took on that role, him being a neurotic geek who could be a hard-ass but deeply believed in government and had high ambitions like Leslie.
• Power Rangers had several Rangers be replaced during the Zordon Era^note Mighty Morphin to In Space before the tradition of starting an entirely fresh premise and cast in each new season.
  • Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers:
    • The original Red Ranger was Jason Lee Scott, a serious-minded leader. He was replaced by Rocky DeSantos a laid-back goofball who served as the comic relief and was not the leader.
    • The original Black Ranger was Zack Taylor, an outgoing extrovert. His replacement, Adam Park, was more shy and introverted until Character Development kicked in. Also, while Zack was African-American Adam was Asian-American.
    • Downplayed with the Yellow Ranger and her replacement. The original Yellow Ranger was Trini Kwan, a studious Asian-American girl and was the Tomboy to Kim's Girl Girl. Her replacement, Aisha Campbell, was more or less the same with the exception of being a Sassy Black Woman. Aisha would later be replaced by Tanya Sloan who was more introverted.
    • The original Pink Ranger, Kimberly Ann Hart, was your typical All-American Valley Girl. Her replacement was Kat Hillard, a shy Australian girl.
  • Power Rangers Zeo: Trey of Triforia, the original Gold Ranger, was an alien from outer space. He was temporarily replaced by Jason Lee Scott who is human and from Earth.
  • Power Rangers Turbo:
    • Tommy, the Red Turbo Ranger, is Native American^note Though his actor is white. and is a Long-Haired Pretty Boy. His replacement, TJ Johnson, is a black Bald of Authority. While Tommy was known for his fighting prowess, TJ's cunning and strategic skills were displayed more.
    • Katherine, the Pink Turbo Ranger, was smart, white, Australian and traditionally feminine. Her replacement, Cassie Chan, was an Asian-American tomboy and something of an airhead.
    • Adam, the Green Turbo Ranger, was mature and level-headed. His replacement, Carlos Vallerte, was a hotheaded Jerk with a Heart of Gold who had to learn the value of teamwork.
    • Tanya, the Yellow Turbo Ranger, was an aspiring DJ. Her replacement, Ashley Hammond, was a cheerleader.
    • In the Turbo movie, Rocky injures his back while practicing for a martial arts tournament and his place as the Blue Turbo Ranger is taken by Justin. While Rocky was a Book Dumb teenager, Justin is a pre-teen Child Prodigy.
• In the third season of Robin of Sherwood, Baron Simon de Belleme was replaced (with no in-story explanation) with Gulnar as the recurring Evil Sorceror villain. The two characters are diametrically opposed in personality and style - de Belleme is a cold, calm Hermetic occultist who goes toe-to-toe with Robin throwing spells at him, while Gulnar is a twitchy, giggling Welsh pagan shaman who determinedly avoids combat, and tends to work through mooks or magically created or summoned entities.
• In the first season of Shining Time Station, Harry Cupper was the titular station's engineer. He could come off as a gruff, humourless and grumpy man to those who don't know him, but he is a wise old man who really cares deeply about his friends, especially his granddaughter, Tanya, and only yells at them if it's his intention to keep them safe. In the show's second season, Harry had been transferred to Fort Farley, and Billy Twofeathers became the Station's new engineer. Like Harry, Billy is wise, but Billy is a bit younger and a lot more friendly, rarely losing his temper and not being the kind of guy who'd hold a grudge against someone, save for Hobart Hume III from "Schemer's Special Club", who insults his Native American heritage by calling him an "Indian". Harry and Billy meet each other in "One of the Family", the third of four one-hour-long family specials produced after the show ended its original three-season run, when Harry visits his other granddaughter, Kara.
• On Star Trek: The Next Generation, Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) was replaced for second season by Dr. Katherine Pulaski (Diana Muldaur). Where Crusher was soft-spoken and got along with pretty much everyone, Pulaski was more sharp-spoken, more cynical, and more directly confrontational when she thought someone was wrong about something. At the time, some fans believed that the Pulaski character, and especially her interactions with Picard and Data, was a deliberate attempt to evoke the Kirk-Spock-McCoy dynamic from the Original Series - an attempt that failed, so she was transferred out and Crusher came back on board.
• In Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Jadzia is The Ace: smart, strong, skilled at everything she does, able to keep up with Ferengi at the gambling table and with Klingons in a fight (and in bed). She's later replaced by Ezri, who is shy and awkward and was totally unprepared for hosting a Trill symbiont. Complicating matters is that Ezri is carrying the same symbiont that Jadzia was, casting her in this light to many of Jadzia's former crewmates and even Ezri herself.
• In Season 2 of Star Trek: Discovery, the almost preposterously noble Chris Pike takes over as The Captain from the devious Gabriel Lorca. It takes the crew a while to adjust.
• In Three's Company, the first two roommates of Chrissy and Cindy Snow were dumb blondes while the third blonde of Terri Alden was much smarter.
• In the second season of Twin Peaks, after BOB's identity is revealed, he seemingly disappears and a new villain starts menacing the town: Wyndham Earle. While BOB is an animalistic monster and force of nature with no dialog or comprehensible motivations (he's just Made of Evil), Wyndham Earle is an Evil Genius with comprehensible motivations and a love of gambits, disguises, and hammy dialog.
• The X-Files
  • Agent Mulder's mysterious informants: X was very different from Deep Throat, replacing grandfatherly benevolence with deadly pragmatism.
  • Marita, X's replacement, was quite different from either of her predecessors and turned out to be a mole acting for the conspiracy to boot.
  • Agents of Doggett and Reyes were very different from Mulder and Scully, replacing the Absolute Believer/Healthy Skeptic dichotomy with Absolute Skeptic/Open-Minded, and replacing Mulder and Scully's relationship with a more conventional gender dynamic. While they become close, they're never as emotionally dependent on each other as Mulder and Scully, and they're on a First-Name Basis right from the start while Scully and Mulder never stop using surnames.

Video Games

• BlazBlue: In the first game, there's the Robot Girl Nu-13, who mostly acts robotic... But when she's around Ragna, her personality changes to that of a highly psychotic and obsessed one, and deep down she also harbors desire to destroy the world. She then appeared to meet her demise in the end. In the second game, her predecessor Lambda-11 is introduced; unlike Nu, she's a straight Robot Girl, monotonous and obedient to her master, Kokonoe. She does also have some attraction to Ragna, though not as strongly.
• Devil May Cry: The first three games pair Dante with a heroine who aids him, each one differing from the last in a number of ways.
  • Devil May Cry 1: Trish is a demon created in the image of Dante's mother by Mundus to lure the devil hunter to a trap where Mundus will kill him. Trish pulls a Heel–Face Turn and becomes an ally to Dante.
  • Devil May Cry 2: Lucia is a member of the Protectors of Vie de Marli, a clan of demon hunters. Like Trish, Lucia brings Dante to the island where the plot takes place and is revealed to be a demon created by the main villain. Unlike Trish, however, Lucia was unaware of this initially and her allegiance doesn't change, remaining a hero throughout the game. While Trish is a blonde white woman who dresses in black leather, Lucia is a dark-skinned redhead whose most striking article of clothing is her white cape.
  • Devil May Cry 3: Unlike Trish and Lucia, Lady is a human with no demonic heritage and relies on her skills with guns. She is also very openly hostile towards Dante for being part demon initially, though she gets over this once she realizes Dante's heroism.
• The King of Fighters introduced in 2001 K9999, who, due to looking a bit too much like AKIRA's Tetsuo Shima for SNK's taste, got booted out of 2002: Unlimited Match in favor of Nameless. Although the two have the same general moveset, they look and act nothing alike - for starters, while K9999 is a complete dick who treats his own allies like dirt, Nameless is a good man on the wrong side who devotes himself completely to his beloved Isolde.
• Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords has plenty of party members who contrast the party from Knights of the Old Republic.
  • Kreia, twice over.
    • She contrasts Bastila Shan. Both are the deuteragonists of their respective stories and have a significant amount of the plot revolve around your relationship with them. However, Bastila is a young padawan who very firmly believes in the Jedi code while Kreia is a burnt-out old woman who has lost all faith in it. Both betray you for the dark side, but while Bastila can be saved and redeemed, Kreia remains resolute and dies no matter what you do.
    • She contrasts Jolee Bindo. Both are older Consulars who have neutral alignment and are estranged from the Jedi. However, Jolee's personal philosophies lie much closer to the Jedi than the Sith, while Kreia is the opposite. Jolee never falls to the dark side under any circumstances and ultimately either returns to the Jedi after the first game's events (light side) or dies in combat with the just-fallen protagonist (dark side), while Kreia returns to the Sith and dies in combat with the Exile no matter what.
  • Atton Rand to Carth Onasi. They are the first muggle companions you meet, and couldn't be any more different; Carth is a completely upstanding Republic soldier who remains a Badass Normal, while Atton is a neutral scoundrel who can be swayed to either the light or the dark by the Exile and trained as a Jedi Sentinel.
  • Hanharr to Zaalbar. Both are Wookie scouts with the exact same stat spread and have major plot threads involving their life-debts. However, Hanharr is an Ax-Crazy bounty hunter who wants to kill Mira to get out of his debt and voluntarily estranged himself from Wookie society, while Zaalbar is a Gentle Giant who upholds his debt until and unless you decide to kill his best friend Mission and was exiled due to attacking his brother in a rage.
• E-102 Gamma from Sonic Adventure was a robot who was part of the E-100 series, who initially worked for Dr. Eggman but soon turned against him due to a combination of Eggman mistreating his brothers and Amy showing kindness towards him after she saved him from Sonic (due to Gamma releasing her from her prison cell). After rescuing the animals trapped inside his brothers, Gamma was mutually killed off by an upgraded E-101 Beta at the end of his storyline, only re-appearing in Sonic Shuffle as an unlockable character. Sonic Heroes introduced E-123 Omega, the Power member of Team Dark. While Omega is also a member of the E-100 series of robots, somewhat sharing Gamma's physical appearance and having also turned against Eggman, Omega is a lot more violent and destructive than Gamma is, destroying anything that stands in his way instead of just what needs to be destroyed.
• Star Ocean: The Last Hope has Faize, a Royal Rapier wielding Magic Knight whose's physical damage is fairly weak but balanced by the wide array of symbology magic he can use. He's also a Nice Guy whose desperation to save his people results in him leaving the party and becoming the final boss of the game. He is replaced by Arumat, a Sinister Scythe wielding brooding, edgy Type-III Anti-Hero with a Dark and Troubled Past, and is by far the strongest physical fighter out of the entire cast.

Web Original

• Shadowrun Storytime:
  • Trout is an incompetent murderhobo who shot up an orphanage and neither can nor will perform his job as the team Infiltrator, due to having a massive bounty on his head that's broadcasted to the police at all times. He also displays a tendency toward bragging despite his utter lack of competence. Bend is a Tir Ghost-turned Shadowrunner and a pacifist, making him a supremely skilled stealth operator who does his best not to hurt others and has the least visible info on him even as the team becomes internationally-famous 'runners.
  • 2D is a scrawny, Psychopathic Manchild and Troll who uses his natural Technomancer powers to remote-control powerful drones or burn out the brains of his enemies; he eventually leaves Shadowrunning to become Head Security Spider for Ares Macrotechnology's Seattle branch. Wildcard is a Consummate Professional who uses his extensive intelligence-enhacing brain implants and wired reflexes to act as the team's getaway driver and hacker, supplementing both with personal combat skills; he retires from 'running to start his own criminal empire and work toward robbing the Corporate Court itself.
  • Geppetto is a sociopathic disciple of Adversary who relishes using Blood Magic, forcing people to commit Psychic-Assisted Suicide, and performing acts of casual cruelty for his own amusement, all while wearing nothing but a nice suit and commanding a number of Spirits; he leaves Shadowrunning to become a full-time mafioso. Locke is a follower of the Aztec gods who defected from Aztechnology to avoid being forced to use Blood Magic and commit Human Sacrifice, who wears a suit of milispec armour and uses a LMG; he leaves Shadowrunning to start a safe, legal career.

Western Animation

• Bojack Horseman: Sarah Lynn and Hollyhock Manheim-Mannheim-Guerrero-Robinson-Zilberschlag-Hsung-Fonzarelli-McQuack are the daughter archetype who acted as Bojack's Morality Pet. Sarah had a traditional family unit of a mother and a stepfather. However, the mother only cared about her acting career and didn't care what she wanted and her stepfather was implied to have molested her. She also attempted to latch onto Bojack as a father figure but who ended up as an Anti-Role Model who was partially responsible for her death. In contrast, Hollyhock was Happily Adopted to 8 men who are in a gay polygamous relationship. She also didn't want a father-daughter relationship with Bojack but instead wanted to connect to her birth mother. Bojack himself actually made attempts to not ruin Hollyhock's life and became a wreck when he thought he was responsible for Hollyhock's accident overdose.
• There's Stella from The Loud House for Ronnie Anne who moved away. Both were introduced rather similar with them never appearing on-screen in their debut episodes. However Stella is a Tomboy with a Girly Streak and a genuine friendly girl unlike Ronnie Anne who's a rough lad-ette with a Hidden Heart of Gold. Also while Ronnie Anne is presented as a potential love interest with Lincoln with both She Is Not My Girlfriend and Will They or Won't They?, Stella is someone Lincoln actually had a crush on but settled for being Just Friends.
• After Lionel Hutz was retired from The Simpsons, "Good Old" Gil Gunderson usually served as the Simpsons' lawyer. However, Hutz was suave and extroverted whereas Gil is whiny and introverted.
• The Transformers: After the treacherous, scheming Decepticon second-in-command Starscream is killed off in the movie, his role as The Dragon is taken by Cyclonus, an unwaveringly loyal Noble Demon.

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