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{{examples}}
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==
* The closeness of Musashi/Jessie and Kojiro/James in ''[[Pokémon (anime)|Pokémon]]'' varies with each writer, as well as their good nature.
* ''[[Sailor Moon]]'': Minako/Sailor Venus' maturity varies wildly; sometimes she's the more mature, experienced one, and other times she's an overbearing, [[Malaproper|proverb-confusing]] [[The Ditz|oddball]]. This is more obvious in the anime than anywhere else.
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** Played with to amusing effect in ''[[Super Robot Wars Z]]'' where, due to ''[[Super Dimension Century Orguss]]'''s dimension hopping shenanigans the two versions meet. The cartoon Getter Team are understandably horrified by their [[Darker and Edgier]] counterparts.
== [[Comic Books]] ==
* The comics made of the various [[Disney]] icons, such as [[Donald Duck]].
** Don't forget Scrooge himself: [[Corrupt Corporate Executive|heartless bastard tormenting Donald for the sake of a few more cents, perfectly willing to exploit workers, destroy the environment and let his own family die in the name of profit?]] [[Indiana Jones]]-style treasure hunter? [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold]] who prides on having made his fortune "fair and square" and deeply cares by his family and his friends? Complete and utter badass? An eccentric old man who's not really good or evil?
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* Most of the temperament and Superboy issues have happened in post-Johns runs of ''[[Teen Titans (Comic Book)|Teen Titans]]''. Felicia Henderson is the most blatant example of her bitchiness. There's a reason most readers are jumping for joy at JT Krul replacing her...{{when}}
* ''[[Batman]]'' has had so many writers, he's barely the same character in some appearances. And that's just in the main DCU, and not going into ''All Star Batman and Robin'', the movies, and various TV shows based on him. To list all the different ways he's been portrayed (is he a really good detective or not? Is he admirable or a [[Jerkass]]? Is he the craziest or the [[Only Sane Man]] of the [[Justice League]]?) would take up way too much space.
** And ''that'' is only the "mainstream" DC world, [[Elseworld]] stories and alternate worlds cause him to vary even more.
** This is perhaps best represented in the [http://www.overthinkingit.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/batman-alignment.jpg Batman alignment chart]
** Former sidekick Nightwing arguably gets it worse. While DC will usually run with one interpretation of Batman in all the books and then shift to another, Nightwing gets to be a relatively happy and well-adjusted leader of men in the Bat-books, but shifts into a dark and broody Batman 2.0 in team books.
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** Two-Face's "schtick" tends to ping-pong between a genuine split personality, with the Harvey and "Two-Face" personas engaging in discussions (and, in ''No Man's Land'', a courtroom debate) with disputes between them being resolved by the coin, to a single personality with a violently extreme case of bipolar disorder and obsession with duality. [[Take a Third Option|Or a mixture]].
*** His backstory tends to differ too, as does whether he is deserving of his condition. Some stories make him a [[Tragic Monster]], portraying him as a former [[Crusading Lawyer]] and philanthropist, while others show him as an [[Amoral Attorney]] and [[Corrupt Politician]] from the start. The latter view almost always emphasizes hypocritical statements to the public about his views as a politician, making his condition a [[Karmic Transformation]].
** [[Harley Quinn]] is one of the most inconsistent characters in DC Comics. Adaptations and continuities vary widely on how evil she is (from lovable [[Anti-Hero]] to [[Complete Monster]]) how insane she is (from [[Obfuscating Insanity| fully sane but faking it]] to incurably [[Axe Crazy]]) how smart she is (Some portray her as a capable psychologist who nearly cured Poison Ivy, some suggest she was a slacker who graduated by sleeping with the professor.) how loyal she is to [[The Joker| "Mistuh Jay"]] (anywhere from [[Undying Loyalty]] to [[Woman Scorned| "what the hell could I ever have seen in that creep?"]]), how close ''he'' is to ''her'' (usually views her as an annoying but useful pawn, but not always), how close she is to Ivy (usually [[Friends With Benefits]] but not always) and her physical capabilities as a fighter (anywhere from a [[Non-Action Guy|Non-Action Girl]] to a [[Dark Action Girl]] potentially capable of outfighting someone as skilled as Batman).
* Jason Todd/Robin II/Red Hood. Is he an [[Anti-Hero]], an [[Anti-Villain]], or just a full on villain? He has more interpretations than hair colors.
* ''[[Superman]]'' is probably worse, considering he is the [[Trope Codifier]] of the [[Flying Brick]]. That was the main thing that made ''[[Superman II]]'' fail for the fans, because he was given [[New Powers as the Plot Demands|random powers that had never appeared before]]. When handled at his most popular, his powers are fairly straightforward: [[I Believe I Can Fly|Flight]], [[Nigh Invulnerable|Invulnerability]], [[Eye Beams|Heat Vision]], [[Super Breath|Ice Breath]], and the super abilities of [[Super Senses]], [[Super Speed]] and [[Super Strength]]. [[Power Creep, Power Seep]] aside, writers would give him the most bizarre super-"whatever" power (including super-marble playing and the "S" saran wrap shield). This is probably what gave fan Jerry ''[[Seinfeld]]'' his thoughts about him having "super humor."
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** Both Wolverine and Colossus have an actual physical problem in this area: writers can't seem to decide once and for all whether adamantium and organic steel are ''magnetic''... which is ''kind of important'' given who the X-Men's most frequent recurring big bad is.
** One of the worse examples in the X-Men has to be Polaris and Havok. Either they are insane with rage at the treatment of mutantkind, running screaming into the hills to try and live normal lives (their original default personalities BTW), or are being written as the brainwashed pawns of the villain of the week.
** In one old ''X-
** Nightcrawler, another member of the X-Men, falls prey to this trope as well. In his initial appearances, he's [[Fun Personified]], though some later writers downplay this quality and a few remove it almost entirely. It also happens with his religion, initially he didn't talk about it much and said it was just a matter between him and God, but some writers make him more religious, even to the point where he's training to become a priest.
** A storyline from late in the [[Chris Claremont]]'s classic run has the team killed and resurrected, which renders the lineup at the time, which included Rogue, Storm, and Wolverine<ref>As well as Psylocke, Havok, Colossus, Dazzler, and Longshot</ref> invisible to cameras, a fact referenced and exploited frequently throughout the rest of his run. This is ''completely'' forgotten by the next writer, and since then, whenever one of the eight shows up, they turn up on camera ''unless'' it's written by Chris himself, who makes references to this trait well into the noughties.
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* Namor the [[Sub-Mariner]] has had this basically non-stop since he was first published in the late thirties. He's either a violent and bitter anti-hero with an unjust grudge against humanity, a noble leader who is only seeking the best for his people, a stalwart [[The Lancer|pragmatist]] whose loyalty to his comrades is without question, or some combination thereof. In fact, his writing varies so much that Marvel eventually canonized it: he has a disorder caused by his amphibious physiology that manifests in that way.
* ''[[Runaways]]'': The portrayal of Chase Stein has always swung between [[Jerk Jock]] and [[Cute but Troubled]], but Terry Moore seems to have taken the "Idiot Jock" interpretation and run with it, giving Chase a very immature personality.
** Chase wasn't the only one, virtually all the characters were heavily derailed by Terry Moore. Nico went from a leader to a megalomaniac, Molly went from playing
* Johnny Storm of the ''[[Fantastic Four]]'' has alternated between self-obsessed prima donna and self-obsessed whiny asshat, while Susan Storm has switched between defenseless butterfly to empowered female. Additionally, every new writer of the book seems to like to take a socially well-adjusted Ben Grimm and throw on the angst about his condition so they can take him out again. Reed Richards? Always a dork, but it's not quite clear how many shades of [[Badass Bookworm]] he has.
** Some FF writers, most notably Tom DeFalco, have tried to upgrade Johnny to at least being savvy about his powers and status. Later ones felt the need to make him dumb and dumber both. Also, a character who can end up spending months away from Earth aiding his team and family is frequently taken to task for not going to college. Some courses are crazy, and require you to show up for class.
** None of this compares to Victor Von Doom. Dr. Doom is swung back and forth from being a baby-eating psycho, to practically being an [[Anti-Villain]] more noble and courageous then Reed Richards, and everything in between. In particular, the way he runs his country comes under fire from this- does he make it a complete utopia with happy, contented citizens, or is it just a
*** Just going to note that "baby-eating psycho" isn't an exaggeration of how some writers view him. Here's Mark Waid's take on the character:
{{quote|"The truism that Victor von Doom is, despite his villainy, a noble person is absolute crap. A man whose entire motivating force is jealousy is ridiculously ''petty'', not grandly noble. Yes, Doom is regal and yes, whenever possible, Doom likes to ''act'' as though he possesses great moral character because to him that's what great men have... [but Doom] would tear the head off a newborn baby and eat it like an apple while his mother watched if it would somehow prove he was smarter than Reed."}}
* In most ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]'' adaptations, Raphael is portrayed as a brooding loner who frequently breaks from the group and fights with his brothers—particularly Leonardo, who has a much more commanding presence as a leader. In others, like the original Fred Wolf animated series, Raphael is a good-natured albeit sarcastic jokester while Leonardo seems more toned down and unofficial in his leadership role. Michaelangelo and Donatello remain constant for the most part.
* Depending on who's in control, Solomon Grundy can be incapable of saying anything more than "Solomon Grundy, born on a Monday" or perfectly capable of rational speech. The differences can get quite jarring at times. Surprisingly, there's actually an explanation for this. Every time he dies he comes back with a different personality, and it's very hard to stop him without killing him. A recent miniseries is focused on him returning with his mortal personality and trying to break this cycle. The first arc of the [[Justice League]] revamp began with, surprisingly, Solomon Grundy as the Big Bad and actually the ''brains'' behind the whole scheme (which was to steal Red Tornado's new robot/android/cyborg body and place his soul in it so he'd stop dying). It was extremely odd seeing Grundy looking like a buff, albino gangster.
* How about [[The Punisher]]? Generally a good man who's committed to trying to make sure his family's deaths don't happen again? Psychopathic monster who'll kill people for littering or being junkies? A man on a mission with a singular purpose and great at planning? Barely rational gun-toting lunatic?
* The second female Hawk of ''Hawk and Dove'' named Holly Granger was a case of this in her tenure in the comics. Was she a bad-tempered [[Bratty Teenage Daughter|bratty younger sister]] with a punk edge? Or was she more of a promiscuous seductress? Did she speak in a phony British accent with slang or not? And was she Dawn's younger or older sister (the latter which would technically make her a case of [[Christmas Cake]] when she slept with Power Boy in that [[Squick]]-inducing scene, [[Sarcasm Mode|thank you very much, Judd Winick.]]). {{spoiler|Is it any wonder she became Blackest Night cannon fodder?}}
* [[The Hulk]] has numerous factors of his character that vary between writers; Whether he's a dumb brute that can only speak in [[Hulk Speak]], a completely mindless monster who can't talk at all, or someone with a fairly average intellect with a somewhat odd speech pattern. This is somewhat justified by Banner having multiple personality syndrome and there being thousands of Hulks in his mind. Also depending on the writer is the Hulk's
** One telling comparison is to look at a few recent{{when}} depictions of the Hulk by three very different writers. Greg Pak has been the main writer on the Hulk for about five years now{{when}} and has gone into great lengths to give the Hulk, rather than Bruce Banner, some in
* Portrayals of ''[[The Authority]]'' vary from writer to writer, to the point where it's not consistent whether they're the Wildstorm Universe's greatest force for good or a bunch of sociopathic fascists. Also doesn't help that they get used as punching bags in series other than their own.
* John Constantine in ''[[Hellblazer]]'' suffers from this trope. Is he just an ordinary blue-collar bloke who happens to attract a lot of supernatural attention and who learned some magic in order to deal with this, or a master sorcerer who can casually bend the laws of time and space at will? A more or less decent guy at heart who struggles with his conscience like anyone else would in his situation, or an utter and unrepentant bastard who'd throw anybody under the bus without a second thought? Is he in fact sane, or isn't he? Some of his writers have tried to explain away the changes they make to his personality (an example that springs to mind is externalizing all his guilt into a demon infant and tossing it off a cliff) and some haven't.
* The relative goodness of ''[[Deadpool]]'' varies. Sometimes he's depicted as heavily mentally unstable, even [[Ax Crazy]] covered up by a
* Fin Fang Foom's size, intelligence, backstory, and alignment vary wildly between appearances, as discussed [https://web.archive.org/web/20130602172552/http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2007/08/09/365-reasons-to-love-comics-221/ here.]
* The [[New Gods]]. Oh '''boy''' the New Gods. You have some names and some basic relationships. Just about nothing else will remain consistent between writers or even in different appearances by the same writer. This falls broadly into two camps: people who [[Did Not Do the Research|never actually read the thing]] and people who ''did'' but [[They Just Didn't Care|changed things they didn't particularly care for.]] Examples: the nature of the [[Compelling Voice|Anti]]-[[Brown Note|Life]] [[Eldritch Abomination|Equation]], the nature of the [[Sufficiently Advanced Alien|New]] [[Physical God|Gods]] themselves, whether Neo Genesis and Apokolips were somewhere in space or [[Crisis on Infinite Earths|another dimension entirely]], and [[Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever|what their actual size is]].
* The team formerly known as the [[Micronauts]] has kept reappearing occasionally since 1996 revealed that Arcturus Rann, Mari, and Bug were somehow still alive. They've appeared in ''Cable, Captain Marvel, Earth X, Realm of Kings, Son of Hulk,'' and ''Alpha Flight''. Rann and Mari have had different personalities in each. In the ''Cable'' appearance, Rann was rather genial and avuncular, Mari was taciturn and humorless (along with sporting a lesbian look). In following appearances, they've ranged from having no personality other than a sci-fi plot device (Mari technobabbles like a ''Star Trek'' episode), to Realm of Kings, where Mari acts like a ditzy motormouth amazon and Rann acts bored. Admittedly, since Bug is no longer part of the team, the comic relief falls of the shoulders of Mari and her android sidekick Carl.
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** How heavy is [[Funetik Aksent|Mr. Svenson's accent]]?
== [[Fan Works]] ==
* Very common in fanfics written by more than one author, who are sometimes two existing authors on the same site, but more often than not two friends, or a group, writing together using a shared account. [[Sturgeon's Law|Only ten percent of these]] are done well; the rest of the time, you can usually tell which chapter was written by a different author under the following criteria: characterization, shipping preferences, and what direction the plot goes in, no matter how improbable.
* ''[[Touhou]]'' fanworks. It's extremely common to see takes on characters that either hew close to the official details, exaggerate them for parody or drama, or blatantly ignore them. Complicated with endless arguments about what is canon and fanon. One doujin can make one character extremely nice, another a complete [[Jerkass]], another an [[Axe Crazy]] mass murderer.
== [[Literature]] ==
* The ''[[Star Wars Expanded Universe]]'' has some very bad examples of this, especially in the long, interconnected series of novels. The ''[[New Jedi Order]]'' series (19 novels, 27 stories, 12 different writers) was legendary for this, and its followup, ''[[Legacy of the Force]]'', managed to be almost as bad—despite being only three writers writing three books each.
** Even before then, some parts of the Bantam Spectra-era [[Expanded Universe]] had some serious [[Character Derailment]], Depending on the Writer. Largely this is because writers apparently didn't like one anothers' work and did as they pleased, ignoring the fact that the Star Wars EU is supposed to be continuous. This led to quite a few [[Fix Fic]]s—and see that article for how this was eventually repaired in [[Canon]].
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* [[Older Than Dirt]]: The Mesopotamian ''Epic of Atra-Hasis'' (18th century BCE) tells details of the [[Great Flood]] which contradict the somewhat older ''[[The Epic of Gilgamesh]]''.
== [[Live-Action TV]] ==
* In ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'', Buffy's level of angst, Xander's level of competence, Spike's level of Evil, Cordelia's level of maturity, and how exactly magic works in the Buffy-verse oscillate back and forth depending on who's writing them this episode. This was especially true in the sixth season.
** See also the vampires. Are they demons who just look like you and share some of your memories, or are they you with the morality taken out and a desire to eat people? Add into that Spike in season five doing the Right Thing several times...
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* This is one of the biggest complaints about Alexis on ''[[Ugly Betty]]''. Alexis was a shadowy [[Big Bad]] figure for the first half of season one. Then she had a [[Heel Face Turn]] while retaining her aggressive, competitive personality. From then, it was on. The writers just couldn't decide if she was a good guy or a bad guy. This got so bad that Rebecca Romijn - the actor who plays Alexis - decided to quit the show. Romijn has said that
{{quote|"They made a tremendous amount of changes, especially with the writing staff [during the writers' strike]. And while I know I'll be coming back next season, with all the changes, I'm not sure they can take care of my character they way they have been. So I'll be leaving, back in a recurring capacity, but time for me to leave and find something else."}}
* In ''[[Doctor Who]]'' the Doctor's moral standard varies for better or worse depending on the current writing staff. Partly justified when the change happens between regenerations; at the end of the first Tenth Doctor episode, he gives a speech about how each time he changes he becomes a different type of doctor in personality terms as well.
** More generally, the Time Lords as a collective culture have wildly varied in their depiction according to writers' tastes and political attitudes, from [[Crystal Spires and Togas|benevolent, god-like protectors of the universe]] to [[The Man Behind the Curtain|pompous but weak old codgers]] who can't actually do much to an almost completely self-serving and ruthless [[Deadly Decadent Court]] to {{spoiler|a full-blown [[Omnicidal Maniac]] culture}}. The Doctor did point out that the last one was a result of the Time war however.
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* Sheldon Cooper from [[The Big Bang Theory]]. Since he is "''the crazy"'' character, he can jump from one type of ''"crazy"'' to the other. He can swing wildly from being an extreme contrarian who disagrees with every tradition and social convention (''"Why should we give present on birthdays? It makes no sense."''); or be a crazy-obsessed, ultra-defensive authoritarian capable of rationalizing everything. (''"Going to the movies and don't buy popcorn? Are you out of your mind?"'').
** Also, [[The Other Wiki]] mentioned that Howard can be either extremely elated over no longer being Sheldon's friend (''the Friendship Algorithm''),or hurt and offended when he's deemed simply an "acquaintance" (''the Bozeman Reaction'').
* ''[[Glee]]'', so much. The show's writers don't seem to communicate at all, and it honestly feels like you're watching three separate shows. [[Character Derailment|Characterization]], [[Plot Hole|continuity]], [[Ass Pull|everything changes on a dime]]. From the main trope page: "Brad Falchuk is writing a bittersweet dramedy about people who want to be special, Ian Brennan is writing a black comedy, and Ryan Murphy is writing a quirky Ryan Murphy show."
** This can even fluctuate in episodes written by the ''same person''—in "A Very Glee Christmas," the school's hatred of the New Directions is rather clear when they go around caroling ("YOU'RE MAKING ME HATE CHRISTMAS!"), but by "Prom Queen" they're the ones ''performing all the music'', and the crowd is going wild. Both episodes written by Ian Brennan. [[Sure Why Not|Sure, why not.]]
** Characters who get this the worst are definitely Quinn, Will, Puck and Sam.
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* Sometimes happens in [[Shake It Up]]. Cece and Rocky often switch between [[Tomboy and Girly Girl]]. Also, Cece may be just [[Book Dumb]] or she may be literally unable to add.
* Nearly the entire cast of ''[[Merlin (TV series)|Merlin]]''. [[Anti-Magical Faction|King Uther]] will either respond to the threat of magic with scepticism and bluster or with paranoia and deadly force. Gaius will either be urging Merlin to keep his head down and not interfere with anything, or telling him to step up and embrace his destiny. Arthur can be intelligent and sensitive, or an idiotic bully. The male writing staff write Morgana as a gleefully evil [[Femme Fatale]], whilst the show's sole female writer Lucy Watkins tries to give her some shades of grey. Due to their [[Hidden Depths]], Merlin and Gwen are the only two characters who have managed to sustain some degree of consistency, as most of the time they come across as shy and humble, but can take charge when the occasion calls for it.
* In ''[[Heroes]]'', the characterisation of Sylar changed from episode to episode.
** Firing all the writers in Series 4 and bringing on an entirely new team, certainly didn't help matters.
== [[Music]] ==
* In [[Vocaloid]], the character interpretations may differ from song to song (all of them are made by the fans).
== [[Oral Tradition]], [[Folklore]], Myths and Legends ==
* Myths and legends are highly subject to this, as they originated from [[Oral Tradition]] and thus have no known "original" version. For one specific example, consider the [[Greek Mythology|Greek myth]] of Arachne. The basic details are always the same: Arachne is [[Blasphemous Boast|said to be a better weaver than even Athena (the goddess of weaving) herself]], Athena challenges her to a contest to see who's better, and by the end Arachne is a spider. The specifics, however, change from telling to telling.
** In some versions, Arachne is a [[Jerkass]] who [[Too Dumb to Live|doesn't know when to stop]] (like dancing and singing "I'm better than you, nany-nany boo-boo" in Athena's face); in others she's just a talented weaver who crosses a goddess by virtue of being that good.
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** The transformation itself is subject to this as well. Sometimes it's punishment for her actions, while in others it's comparatively a mercy, Athena choosing to spare Arachne's life and turn her into a form where the whole world can see her beautiful weaving.
== [[Tabletop Games]] ==
* Within ''[[Warhammer 40,000]]'' discussions of [[Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny]] will generally have at least one fan stating the abilities of each army while being portrayed in an adaptation will always depends on the adaptation. Especially the Imperial Guard, who in a Space Marine based book will just run away and die, and in a guard based book will be courageous humans in impossible war situations.
** This actually happens to every faction: They kick ass in their own codex, but only appear in the other codexes [[The Worf Effect|to make that side look good]]. The 2nd Edition Tyranid Codex actually had a company of Space Marines get wiped out seventeen minutes after their [[Big Damn Heroes]] moment.
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* White Wolf tends to have a few problems with this, and one stand-out example is in ''[[Changeling: The Dreaming]]'', where the writers kept going back and forth on what "Banality" was, aside from "the death of hope." Banality was [[Science Is Bad|trying to define and tie down the world too much]]... except the [[Gadgeteer Genius|nockers]] kept insisting that the moon landing resulted in the biggest rush of glamour anyone had seen in several life times. So Banality was [[Measuring the Marigolds|boring, ultra-focused practicalities]]... except there were sample NPCs who got Glamour from those activities because of mindset. When it got to the point that ''[[LARP]]'' was associated with the [[Weirdness Censor|Autumn People]], you knew there was a basic communication breakdown. Sadly, the line was cancelled before ''The Book of Glamour'' (which would have to lay out some basics on Glamour and Banality) could be released.
==
* In any theater production, it is common that the [[Alternate Character Interpretation|way the characters are presented]] will be different depending on the actor and director. For example, in ''[[Oklahoma!]]!'', Jud Fry can be played as a buffoon lacking intelligence, a possessive and evil man, a slightly insane man or a sympathetic and misunderstood man who struggles with depression. Curly could also be played as an overconfident and cocky braggart who is slightly cowardly or a person who is confident and charming. This mostly depends on the depth of the director.
** It can also happen with the choice of actor, too - some characters tend to make a character sound different. Or in the case of a certain character. Brunhilde. They normally had [[Brawn Hilda|fat or extremely masculine looking women]] play her, but with a choice of actress, she becomes a [[Hot Amazon]].
* There are lots of examples from [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]]. Is [[Hamlet]] mad, or just faking it? Does Gertrude drink the poisoned wine deliberately (suggesting a greater understanding of the situation than indicated in the text)? Is Banquo's ghost really there during the feast, or is [[Macbeth]] hallucinating? Is [[The Merchant of Venice|Shylock]] a truly nasty piece of work, or is he an [[Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain]]? Is [[Twelfth Night|Antonio]] [[Ho Yay|in love with Sebastian]]? Just how straight is [[The Taming of the Shrew|Kate's]] end-of-play [[Values Dissonance|lecture on wifely submission]] played? And so on ad infinitum. It all depends on the director and the actor.
* This was the downfall (or, rather, show stopper) of Adolf Hitler in ''[[The Producers]]''.
* In ''[[Hairspray]]'', we have the issue of Penny's voice. In some plays, she's a geeky girl with a voice to match only changing at the end. However in others (like in 2016's play with Ariana Grande), she has just as good a voice as Tracey and Amber, with the only thing changing at the end being her appearance.
== [[Video Games]] ==
* In the ''[[Super Mario Bros.]]'' series, Bowser is often like this. Sure, other characters change personality in most adaptations and spinoffs as well, but Bowser is a character who's completely different between the main series and many spinoffs. In [[Super Mario Bros.]] 1 to 3, [[Super Mario World (video game)|Super Mario World]], [[Super Mario 64]], [[Super Mario Galaxy]] and [[Super Mario Galaxy 2]], he's an extremely powerful threat to the Mushroom Kingdom and greater universe and a competent [[Evil Overlord]], in [[Mario & Luigi]] he's a complete joke who often goes into [[Anti-Hero]] status, in [[Paper Mario (franchise)|Paper Mario]] he's been anything from an [[Evil Overlord]], to a threatening [[Joke Character]] to an [[Anti-Hero]], while the other spinoffs have him basically sell useless stuff to people and act like a nuisance ([[Mario Party]] especially). The cartoons and anime series vary his personality per episode, and even his size varies between appearances.
** Wario too. In [[Super Mario Bros.]] spinoffs, he's more a villain, in ''[[Wario Land]]'' more an [[Anti-Hero]] with near super powers, and in ''[[Wario Ware]]'' a normal person who's merely a greedy jerk.
** The sentience of Bob-ombs varies from game to game. Same thing with pretty much every other [[Mook]].
** Luigi's personality generally contrasts his brother's (clumsy and timid rather than athletic and brave); but some games scrap this for a [[Super Mario Galaxy 2|more adventurous Luigi]] [[Super Paper Mario|who can be foolhardier than his brother]].
*** Well, Mario's treatment of Luigi borders on abuse at times - in Mario Power Tennis, when you win as Luigi, Mario smacks Luigi on the back and steps on his foot, trying to make it look like he's congratulating him.
* In ''[[The Legend of Zelda]]'' series, we have Zelda and Ganon. Zelda can be a [[Princess Classic]], a [[Tsundere]], or even an [[Action Girl]], while Ganon can be a straight [[Evil Overlord]], a tragic figure with a [[Freudian Excuse]], or even a mindless, bestial [[Humanoid Abomination]].
** Partially justified since Zelda is a [[Legacy Character]]. Likewise, versions of Ganondorf from multiple branching timelines have been shown - the ''[[The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker|Wind Waker]]'' version who successfully conquered Hyrule in ''[[The Legend of Zelda:
* In the ''[[Dept. Heaven]]'' series, while most aspects of Nessiah's characterization are generally consistent between games that director Shinichi Ito personally oversees and writes and those he doesn't, he's notably less competent in his manipulations in ''[[Blaze Union]]'' than in the rest of the series. His style of manipulation itself is much more direct and inelegant, and he's also portrayed with typical Asgardian racism against humans. For instance, if in ''[[Yggdra Union]]'' and ''[[Yggdra Unison]]'' Nessiah wants someone to dig himself a hole, he'll provide a situation where that person might want to dig that hole and hand them a shovel, but won't force them into it; ''[[Blaze Union]]'''s Nessiah will just flat-out tell them to dig. Too, in the rest of the series Nessiah prefers humans and demons to his own race, and has a clearly developed soft side. This inconsistency is one of the aspects of ''[[Blaze Union]]'' that gets criticized the most.
* Played exaggerated with Darkrai from the ''[[Pokémon]]'' series. In the main games and in [[Pokémon: The Rise of Darkrai|one of the anime movies]], Darkrai is an [[Dark Is Not Evil|extremely shady yet good-hearted Pokémon]], while in the ''[[Pokémon Mystery Dungeon]]'' series, it is an [[Omnicidal Maniac]] whose favorite hobbies include [[Complete Monster|throwing children into never-ending nightmares, and driving heroes and gods to suicide and insanity.]]
* ''[[World of Warcraft]]'' has had this happen - often with certain [[Internet Backdraft|controversial]] faction leaders or characters...probably best not to mention them here.
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* [[Carmen Sandiego]]'s motivations and morality vary depending on what game and what show she appears in. She's been a straight up villain, [[Anti-Villain]], [[Anti-Hero]], and a [[Loveable Rogue]] who acts [[Just Like Robin Hood]].
== [[Web
* The ''[[Nuzlocke Comics]]'' involve turning [[After Action Report|a playthrough of one of the Pokemon games into a comic strip or written story]], and there are a lot of variations on the rules of the challenge itself, as well as the setting and the characters involved. Does the term "Nuzlocke" have any meaning within the world itself? Is it a Self-Imposed Challenge, a curse, or simply an unnamed rule of the world? Can trainers understand what their pokemon are saying? If so, how? Can only some of their Pokemon communicate with them, via human speech or telepathy, or can all of them speak freely?▼
* [[Slender Man]]. The traits that every Slendy incarnation has had are a black business suit with black tie and white shirt, [[The Blank|no features on his head]], and "arms" that are actually tentacles. Everything else so far has basically been up to the imaginations of the writers and usually relies on [[Rule of Scary]]. Some new traits that have been codified and popularized by the more well-known Slender Man works (which include [[Marble Hornets]], [[Just Another Fool]], and [[Seeking Truth]]) are: his ability to cause electronic interference (typically with cameras); the ability to teleport himself and others; the famous circle with an X through it known as the "Operator symbol" being associated with him; only going after people who had been scared by him as children; making people sick with some mysterious disease; giving people mild amnesia; driving people crazy and presumably making them his acolytes (i.e. totheark, Albert Conaghan); and [[Speak of the Devil|only appearing before people who have been thinking about him constantly]] [[The Fourth Wall Will Not Protect You|on account of having looked at the various works]]. The number of these attributes present in the various blogs typically depends on their tone and how familiar the authors are with the mythos.▼
== [[Web Original]] ==
▲* [[Slender Man]]. The traits that every Slendy incarnation has had are a black business suit with black tie and white shirt, [[The Blank|no features on his head]], and "arms" that are actually tentacles. Everything else so far has basically been up to the imaginations of the writers and usually relies on [[Rule of Scary]]. Some new traits that have been codified and popularized by the more well-known Slender Man works (which include ''[[Marble Hornets]], [[Just Another Fool]]'', and ''[[Seeking Truth]]'') are: his ability to cause electronic interference (typically with cameras); the ability to teleport himself and others; the famous circle with an X through it known as the "Operator symbol" being associated with him; only going after people who had been scared by him as children; making people sick with some mysterious disease; giving people mild amnesia; driving people crazy and presumably making them his acolytes (i.e. totheark, Albert Conaghan); and [[Speak of the Devil|only appearing before people who have been thinking about him constantly]] [[The Fourth Wall Will Not Protect You|on account of having looked at the various works]]. The number of these attributes present in the various blogs typically depends on their tone and how familiar the authors are with the mythos.
* In ''[[Survival of the Fittest]]'', characters whose handlers leave the site are given new writers, whose opinion and take on the character may vary from the original writer. Some characters go through about 3 writers before they're given the personality that we've all grown to know and love, such as [[Satellite Character|Elizabeth Priestly]], [[Cloudcuckoolander|Albert Lions]], [[Malevolent Masked Man|Blood Boy]], and most infamously [[The Scrappy|Liam]] [[Narm|Black]]. The most notable example, though, would be [[Big Bad|Danya himself]]. Due to his role in the story, he gets written by multiple staff members. As a result, due to the [[Alternate Character Interpretation|vast amount of interpretations his character gets]] one person's Danya can be somewhat different from another. A good example was at the start of v4, where, when doing profile conclusions, his main complaint about the students alternated between "too many pacifists" and "too many loners".
* The on-screen characters of most Internet reviewers usually remain constant - and then there's Film Brain. If it's a review show that he has a part in, he can be every bit as snarky and malevolent as his fellow [[Channel Awesome]] reviewers. In the anniversary specials - which are usually written by Doug Walker - he becomes the ultimate hyperactive [[Keet]] whose catchphrase seems to be "I'm excited!" (Not that Mathew minds this; he actually admits the latter is closer to his Real Life personality.)
** Speaking of Doug, he writes [[The Nostalgia Critic]] as a weak, pathetic loser who always folds whenever someone else wants to do a crossover. In other shows ([[Real Life Writes the Plot|usually when there's only time for a Doug cameo and not a whole review]]), he suddenly has the backbone to ignore any request.
* ''[[Shiny Objects Videos]]'': Though there is technically only one writer, the finished video (including the characters) can vary widely depending on the director.
* At least one person in the ''[[Metamor Keep]]'' verse tries to keep their stories between their own characters or only have the [[NPC]]s cameo or be referenced at most specifically to avoid this from happening.
* Invoked by [[Jenny Everywhere]] - she's an open source superhero specifically designed for anybody to interpret any way they wish. She is described on The Shifter Archive (a fansite) as [[Genki Girl|having a ready smile, good body image and loads of confidence and charisma]], and even that could be totally ignored if the writer chose.▼
== [[Western Animation]] ==
* [[Carmen Sandiego]] varies between [[Friendly Enemy]], [[Card-Carrying Villain]] and everywhere in between. Especially notable is her portrayal in the ''[[Where on Earth Is Carmen Sandiego?]]?'' cartoon, which took her to such [[Anti-Villain
* ''[[The Simpsons (animation)|The Simpsons]]:''
*
** This kind of writing was lampshaded by Homer once:
{{quote|"Because that's the kind of guy I am this week!"}}
** Nelson Muntz varies in character over a very broad spectrum. In some episodes, he's an insidious bully to Bart and the other kids at the school and he has no real friends. In other episodes, he is Bart's second best friend. In most episodes, he's just the brat who goes, "Haw haw!"
** Professor Frink can either be a legitimate, well-respected scientist or an lunatic crackpot nobody listens to.
** [[Amusing Alien|
* In ''[[Code Lyoko]]'', Sissi went from being an [[Alpha Bitch]] in the first season (albeit with a handful of [[Pet the Dog]] moments that got undone by the [[Reset Button]]) to being a [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold|sympathetic and even nice character]] in Season 2, getting [[Character Development]] to the point where many speculated she'd become the sixth Lyoko warrior. Enter Season 3 and she's just as much of a bitch as she was in Season 1. In Season 4, she barely shows up and fluctuates between the [[Alpha Bitch]] and [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold]] whenever she does show up. She only becomes fully nice at the very end when the characters offer their hands in friendship (at which point she's a bitch to [[Those Two Guys|Nicolas and Hervé]]).
** The Season 4 fluctuation is justified in that XANA has become such a big threat that the heroes' actions in fighting it have made them seem more suspicious than ever before to Sissi, and given the nature of her character, she can't just let that go even if she's striving to be a nicer person. No
* ''[[Looney Tunes]]'' characters were shared between various writers and directors: [[Bugs Bunny]] and [[Daffy Duck]] under [[Bob Clampett]] and [[Tex Avery]] were manic antagonists. As portrayed by [[Chuck Jones]]'s writer Michael Maltese, they were almost platonic opposites, Bugs being the cool winner to Daffy's jealous loser. Warren Foster, writer for directors [[Bob McKimson]] and [[Friz Freleng]], portrayed Bugs as a more proactive version of the Jones-Maltese model and Daffy as a toned down [[Screwy Squirrel|screwball]].
** The Daffy Duck example caused some problems during the making of ''[[Who Framed Roger Rabbit?]]''. [[Robert Zemeckis]] wanted to do the Bob Clampett version of Daffy, but he was working with Chuck Jones. Jones wanted to do his version of Daffy and had very personally disliked Clampett. Of course, Zemeckis had has way and this was one of the main factors in Jones's [[Creator Backlash]] against the film.
*''[[SpongeBob SquarePants]]''
** SpongeBob goes from being [[The Fool|sweet and stupid]] to being [[Jerkass|aggressive and possibly violently insane]]. He also can go from being very stupid and somewhat childish but with some common sense to being [[Keet|worse than a hyperactive five-year-old on a sugar rush]]. His childish side became a lot more prominent
** Just as often, his [[Platonic Life Partners|friend]] Sandy goes from being a genius obviously in her right mind, but somewhat crazy, to being such an idiot she must have invented all her fabulous machines by accident. She can also either be a scientist or a jock.
** In some episodes, Patrick is somewhat dumb, but still has some hints of intelligence while in other episodes, he is dumber than a rock.
Line 265 ⟶ 273:
{{quote|'''Squidward:''' Patrick, just how dumb are you?
'''Patrick:''' It varies. }}
** Mr. Krabs can, in any given episode, be a true [[Benevolent Boss]], a money-obsessed [[Corrupt Corporate Executive]], and anything in between the two. For example, in the
** Squidward has been a [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold]], a complete [[Narcissist]], a plain old [[Jerkass]], [[The Woobie]], a [[Jerkass Woobie]], and a [[Butt Monkey]], sometimes more than one in a single episode.
* Every character in ''[[6teen]]'' changes depending on the writer. In one episode, they'll make witty pop culture references and act their age, if not older, and then act like eight-years-olds the next episode, complete with five straight minutes of fart jokes.
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** Brian and Lois can play genuine [[Straight Man]] roles and be [[Token Good Teammate|much more compassionate and saner than Peter]], or shallow, self serving [[Jerkass|JerkAsses]] whose [[Bitch in Sheep's Clothing|"nice guy" images are merely a facade for their own sociopathic tendencies]]. Granted this combined with the extreme randomness and [[Comedic Sociopathy]] of the show's humor makes the depictions less Depending on the Writer and more Depending On The Gag.
** Quagmire can be either a [[Lovable Sex Maniac|sex-crazed pervert]] [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold|with a heart of gold,]] or a [[Black Comedy Rape|date rapist]] who [[Kavorka Man|inexplicably gets the ladies]]. [[Refuge in Audacity|Or even a bit of both]].
* On ''[[The Fairly OddParents]]'', at least recently{{when}}, the plot seems to dictate whether some characters will use their [[Flanderized]] personalities or their original personalities. Depending on the story, Crocker can be a competent fairy hunter (Formula For Disaster) or a delusional fool (Bad Heir Day), Tootie can be a sweet girl with a crush (Birthday Wish) or a [[Stalker with a Crush]] (Dread & Breakfast), Trixie Tang can be a pleasant and sweet girl (For Emergencies Only!) or an [[Rich Bitch|arrogant]] [[Spoiled Brat]] (Movie Magic) and Timmy's parents can simply be overworked (Momnipresent, Add-A-Dad) or the most [[Parental Neglect|neglectful parents]] in the world (Fly Boy, Birthday Bashed).
* In most episode of ''[[Ed, Edd 'n' Eddy]]'', Kevin acts as a sort of [[Hero Antagonist]] towards the Eds, and merely mistrusts/dislikes them by default and will only actually start beating them up when he discovers the doing some sort of scam. However, in a couple episode he seems to just immensely hate Eddy even when completely unprovoked, most [[Character Derailment|infamously]] "Your Ed Here", where he blackmails Eddy about his [[Embarrassing Middle Name]] and makes him put up with endless physical abuse and humiliation, ''then tells everyone anyway'', all apparently just because he could.
** He sometimes seems to just really really detest Eddy. At one point he just asked Double D the time of day, and that led to a cheerful and apparently-friendly conversation between the two of them. One episode however seems to hint to Kevin gaining [[Knight Templar]] traits, with him become outright paranoid and deluded upon their disappearance.
** The majority of the cul-de-sac's behavior varies this way, either being benevolent characters who only despise the Eds upon provocation or being obnoxious bullies that generally abuse them for the sheer fun of it, provoked or not. Their treatment of each other also varies, particularly with [[Butt Monkey|Jimmy]].
* ''[[Jem and The Holograms]]'' is made of this. The rules of hologram projection change between almost every episode. On a Jem mailing list, head writer Christy Marx bemoans this. She finally became sick of it and became story editor in the third season to avoid inconsistencies.
* Batman himself from ''[[Batman: The Animated Series|Batman the Animated Series]]'' can be anything from a gritty, gothic, never-smiling character to a Spiderman-esque wise-cracker depending on the episode's writer.
** Robin can either be the [[Deus Ex Machina]] for Batman or the [[Designated Victim]] who does little else but get taken out of action by the villain in the first act. Batman is also more likely to never-smiling character described above when Robin's around to provide the sarcasm.
Line 300 ⟶ 308:
* ''[[The Looney Tunes Show]]'': Bugs can either a smug [[Deadpan Snarker]] (with some shades of [[The Ace]]) or the [[Only Sane Man]] and [[The Woobie]].
** Daffy is either a malicious, sociopathic [[Jerkass]] or a [[Too Dumb to Live]] [[Cloudcuckoolander]] who, while self centered, doesn't seem to mean anyone any harm.
* ''[[My Little Pony:
* Like the above page quote, [[Scooby
* ''[[Arthur (animation)|Arthur]]''
** D.W. varies from being an innocent annoying little sister to a spoiled brat who enjoys tormenting Arthur for no reason. Though the latter got downplayed in later seasons.
** In some episodes, Binky is portrayed as a bully (more so in the
*** Arthur lampshades this in "Brother, Can You Spare a Clarinet?"
**** '''Arthur:''' "Sometimes I just can't figure Binky out. It's like he's two different people. Bully Binky and...that other guy.
==
▲* Invoked by [[Jenny Everywhere]] - she's an open source superhero specifically designed for anybody to interpret any way they wish. She is described on The Shifter Archive (a fansite) as [[Genki Girl|having a ready smile, good body image and loads of confidence and charisma]], and even that could be totally ignored if the writer chose.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120812035655/http://chainletters.net/chainletters/mutually-sadistic-english-assignment/ This creative writing assignment.]
** The [[Dave Barry]]
▲* The [[Nuzlocke Comics]] involve turning [[After Action Report|a playthrough of one of the Pokemon games into a comic strip or written story]], and there are a lot of variations on the rules of the challenge itself, as well as the setting and the characters involved. Does the term "Nuzlocke" have any meaning within the world itself? Is it a Self-Imposed Challenge, a curse, or simply an unnamed rule of the world? Can trainers understand what their pokemon are saying? If so, how? Can only some of their Pokemon communicate with them, via human speech or telepathy, or can all of them speak freely?
{{reflist}}
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