Rescued from the Scrappy Heap: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

{{quote|"''Jar-Jar, you're a genius!''"

 

Sadly, the [[Mary Sue]]'s aura of awesome does not extend out of the pages she's written on, and that "sympathetic" [[Creator's Pet|teen genius Wesley]] and "adorable" [[The Scrappy|feisty pup Scrappy]] aren't exceptions either. Even the "cool" plot twist can go awry. What's an author to do? There's always the option of [[Put on a Bus|Putting Them on a Bus]], or hoping to succeed with an [[Author's Saving Throw]], but this character, for various reasons, just can't be done away with like that.

Not to be confused with [[Took a Level in Badass]], which, while capable of being a step in the right direction, is about a wimp becoming a badass. This is about a hated character [[Dynamic Character|becoming]] a much less hated character. To illustrate the difference:

 

* If Scrappy Doo were to grow up a little, and stop trying to fight monsters all the time and doing all his other stuff that irritates fans (while keeping his lack of monster-fighting skill), that'd be this trope.

 

** The events that take place during the [[Time Skip]], {{spoiler|namely his handing Lelouch over to the Emperor in return for a promotion, while still unrealistically touting his idea of changing Britannia from the inside}}, seem to have booted Suzaku right back into [[The Scrappy]] Heap (at least by those who don't know of or care about "[[Memetic Mutation|Spinzaku]]"). Between episodes 14 and 20 of R2, Suzaku's actions became wildly erratic, until {{spoiler|his [[Heel Face Turn|becoming Lelouch's Knight of Zero]]}} in episode 21.

** Then we have [[Tyke Bomb|Rolo Lamperouge]], {{spoiler|performing a heartwrenching [[Heroic Sacrifice]] in order to take Lelouch away from being shot by the Black Knights, killing himself in the process through Geass overuse.}}

* Sakuno Ryuzaki from the animated version of ''[[The Prince of Tennis]]'' is portrayed as a [[Shrinking Violet|"sweet and earnest, but klutzy and stuttering child"]], and thus, she's often reviled and hated. But several Sakuno haters have come to like her better after reading the manga, which tones down her klutziness and makes her a pint-sized, more self-assured [[Yamato Nadeshiko]]. Same goes to her Chinese drama self, where Sakuno is more outspoken and independent ''and'' a promising artist on top of that.

** Conversely, some fans (often of the [[Het Is Ew]] type) dislike manga!Sakuno's portrayal as the ideal girlfriend for Ryoma (whom they see as a possible [[Purity Sue]]), but prefer her anime counterpart as the clumsiness and insecurity are semi-realistic character flaws.

* [[Inverted Trope]] with Rossiu from ''[[Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann]]'', where he went from the [[Only Sane Man]] in the first half of the show to a [[Wrong Genre Savvy]] [[Obstructive Bureaucrat]] with a stick up his ass the size of a [[This Is a Drill|Giga Drill]]. Fortunately, he gets a [[Take That, Scrappy!]] in the form of Simon, the main character, ''[[Crowning Moment of Awesome|inventing teleportation specifically to punch him in the face]].''

* The ''[[School Days]]'' manga portrays main character Makoto Itou as more sympathetic than his other versions (that of an idiotic [[Jerkass]] who cares only about boning as many girls as possible). In the manga, he is portrayed as a well-intentioned idiot who actually ''cares'' for the girls, other than just schtupping them.

* Bat from ''[[Fist of the North Star]]'' went from annoying brat to capable warrior between the first and second series. He grew up pretty well.

* Shiho is considerably more tolerable in ''[[Mai-Otome (manga)|Mai-Otome]]'' than her ''[[Mai-HiME (manga)|Mai-HiME]]'' counterpart was, since she doesn't spend her time [[Clingy Jealous Girl|watching over Yuuichi]] (a.k.a. [[Role-Ending Misdemeanor|Sir-Not-Appearing-In-This-Series]]) like a hawk, and actually gets to be her own character for a change. At the very least, the complaints about her whininess don't seem to be as loud with the new series. Although some still prefer her ''[[Mai-HiME (manga)|Mai-HiME]]'' self since she had more dramatic weight instead of being a [[Running Joke]] character.

* Elizabeth Middleford of ''[[Black Butler]]'' in chapter 57. {{spoiler|This sweet, adorable and harmless [[Damsel in Distress]] reveals herself as a [[Badass Adorable]] in Chapter 57 and confesses that she desperately wanted for her fiancé Ciel to not see her "uncute" side, and deliberately hid her badass side up until then. Even nearly at the cost of her own life. Shortly after Ciel berates her for such behavior (Prioritizing lady-manners over survival), when she is about to die while Ciel, who despite his best efforts ends up injured and unable to save her, is in danger, Elizabeth spontaneously leaps into action and stabs down the zombies using swords in both hands. While tearfully declaring that she'll protect him, even.}}

** [[Character Development|It's more than that, really.]] {{spoiler|She lives in Victorian England, where a lady must be prim and proper; her mother Frances taught her swordsmanship since she was quite the [[Child Prodigy]] at it... which young Ciel had no idea at the time, [[No Guy Wants an Amazon|only wishing to marry sweet Elizabeth and not a savage warrior like Frances.]] Then we see her train of thoughts as she has to sacrifice so much for Ciel's safety, vowing that [[Violently Protective Girlfriend|she would become a powerful wife so she could protect him]].}} Such stuff is HUGE [[Woobie]] material.

* In ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]'', Chisame was fairly unpopular early in the series for her excessively abrasive personality. Then Mahorafest rolled around and [[Character Development|developed her]] into an [[Only Sane Man]] / [[Meta Guy]] / [[Audience Surrogate]], at which point she was much more well received.

** [[Snake Person|Obanai Iguro]] wasn't nearly as hated, but was criticized for being a [[Flat Character|bland]] [[Jerkass]] with no heroic traits unlike the other Hashira, a fact not helped by being [[Out of Focus]]. He rescued himself in a big way in the [[Final Battle]], finally explaining his backstory and proving himself to be the best part of a battle that was considered [[Arc Fatigue|underwhelming]] by a lot of fans. {{spoiler|His [[Star-Crossed Lovers|tragic yet heartwarming]] romance with [[Rose-Haired Girl|Mitsuri]]}} only sealed the deal.

 

== Comic Books ==

* Ian Flynn's run on the ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog (comics)|Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' comic series has done this for a good number of characters. Some of these include turning Sonic's [[Evil Twin]], err, Evil Sonic, into a [[Took a Level in Badass|more distinctive character]] named Scourge. Most recently, he's managed to do this for the almost universally despised Monkey Khan, turning him from an obnoxious ''[[Journey to the West]]'' parody into a more well rounded, sympathetic, and [[My Greatest Failure|tragic]] character.

** He starts doing this by showing Monkey Khan being picked on by orphans. Do I sense a ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Abridged Series|Yu-Gi-Oh the Abridged Series]]'' reference, or is it just me?

* Kaine in [[Spider-Girl]]: Once he was a [[wangst]]y [[Creator's Pet|over-hyped]] [[Nineties Anti-Hero]]. Now he's a [[Deadpan Snarker|snarky]] [[Badass Grandpa]] just trying to [[The Atoner|atone]] and [[Mysterious Protector|watch out]] for [[Papa Wolf|his niece and nephew. Excuse me, nephews.]] Doesn't hurt that they gave him a new look either.

** Kaine's run as the Scarlet-Spider in the main canon is also well loved.

* ''[[The Hill of Swords]]'', a ''[[The Familiar of Zero]]'' fanfic by Gabriel Blessing which does this ''in spades'' for [[Tsundere|Louise]]. It has been observed by some that the vast majority of reasons for Louise's Scrappy-hood can be traced back to a combination of her low self-esteem and having an idiot of a love interest who can't stop pushing her [[Berserk Button]]s and damaging her self-image further still. Gabe's response was to replace Saito with someone who would dodge said [[Berserk Button]]s and help Louise [[Inept Mage|get her magic working]], namely [[Fate/stay night|Shirou Emiya]]. The result sees Louise getting massive amounts of [[Character Development]] and turning into an admirable young lady with Shirou's help. The story worked so well that it sparked the creation of an onslaught of fanfics following similar variations on the "Replace Saito with _____" premise.

* ''[[Sailor Moon Millenials]]'' gives [[Bratty Half-Pint|Chibi-Usa]] this treatment by having her come back from the future ''as a [[She's All Grown Up|teenager]]''. She isn't quite [[Future Badass]] levels, but the upgrade from Sailor Chibi Moon to Neo Sailor Moon has clearly [[Took a Level in Badass|done some good things for her]].

* ''[[Shinji and Warhammer40K]]''. When Shinji Ikari finds a [[Warhammer 40,000|strange little box]] washed up on his shore, [[Took a Level in Badass|things]] [[The Messiah|begin]] to [[Psychic Powers|change.]] [[Better Than It Sounds|Oh yes.]]

* The ''[[Pony POV Series]]'' does a combination of this and [[Alas, Poor Scrappy]] with {{spoiler|the ''entire G3 world''. The biggest complaint about G3 were the characters were bland and seemed to all have the same personality and stuck so close to the model it was hard to tell them apart.}} So how does the fic do this? {{spoiler|[[The End of the World as We Know It]]. Their universe begins to ''die'' because the spell used to make their world "perfect" violates the laws of magic and the laws of the universe to the point it begins to ''break'', and threaten to take the timeline with it. The only way to stop this is with a [[Cosmic Retcon]] by [[Physical God|the Alicorns and Draconequi]], essentially erasing the timeline, and its inhabitants, from existence so the timeline can be saved. As their world dies, the characters [[Take a Level In Badass]] and undergrow character growth in response to what they're faced with, becoming complex and likable characters...which makes it that much of a [[Tear Jerker]] when they ultimately fail to save their world in the end, resulting in the creation of the G4 timeline.}}

* ''[[Undocumented Features]]'', in job lots. As one reader put it, "...''UF'' is where characters go to become awesome again after their original writers forget how to treat them right."

 

== Professional Wrestling ==

** And the really funny part? By most accounts [[Dwayne Johnson]] ''actually is'' as nice as the Rocky Maivia character was.

* [[ECW]]'s Tommy Dreamer began as a green suspenders-wearing pretty boy that the fans hated. ECW was starting to be known as the blue-collar hardcore promotion people know today and Tommy stuck out like a WCW reject. He gets put in a "Singapore Cane Match" where the loser gets caned by his opponent. He lost to the Sandman, who went to town on Tommy with his now famous cane. By the third strike Tommy's back was bleeding but he wouldn't stay down. After the tenth shot, he stumbled to the mic and defiantly cried, "[[Animal House|Thank you, sir. May I have ANOTHER]]?!", which he promptly got. At the end of the caning, Tommy walked over to Sandman and told him that he took Sandman's best and was still standing. It was the first step to Tommy becoming the poster boy of ECW.

* [[Spoony Bard|Deekin]], in ''[[Neverwinter Nights]] Shadows of Undrentide'', was generally obnoxious. Hordes of the Underdark did a much better job with him by giving him some generally humorous dialogue ("Drows be fatty. Gots it.") and his big [[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming]] in the endgame.

* ''[[City of Heroes]]'' does this at times. This is rather important, given that nearly every [[NPC]] ally you get tends to start out yelling "[[The Scrappy|Puppy Power]]!" and [[Leeroy Jenkins|diving headfirst into groups of powerful enemies]]. The most notable case is probably Penelope Yin, who starts as a combination of [[The Ditz]] and [[Creator's Pet]] with bits of [[Faux Action Girl]] for flavor, a psychic with vast but [[Informed Ability|non-combat]] powers and the interest of several different major factions of the game. Thankfully, by the next time you run into her, she's a useful in-combat ally, with slightly more reasonable chat text. She still makes mistakes, but it's a bit more reasonable. Fusionette, on the other hand...

** Fusionette, in fact, is an interesting case of it being attempted but not working out as well as intended. Her boyfriend, Faultline, shows up as a combat [[NPC]], but his Stone/Stone powerset means that he gets some of the best defensive powers in the game, essentially making his role as a Tank plausible and effective. Poor Fusionette, an Energy/Energy [[Squishy Wizard]] Blaster, draws lots of enemy fire that she's utterly incapable of dealing with, especially compared to PCs of the same level.

*** Fusionette comes into her own as an extra damage dealer in solo play or small teams, especially if a "support" PC keeps her healthy and buffed. Other NPCs that are useless to large competent teams and tend to die quickly unless an active effort is keep them alive and powered up include Daedalus and Imperious from the Imperious Task Force, and (in a rather disconcerting example of [[Gameplay and Story Segregation]]) the entire Freedom Phalanx during the Mender Silos Task Force. Which makes their "help" something of an [[Escort Mission]].

{{quote|"Ice Cream!" (everyone stares in silence.)}}

** ''Chronicles'' also toned back Amy Rose from [[Stalker with a Crush]] to a more tolerable [[Clingy Jealous Girl]], and polished Rouge into a [[Deadpan Snarker]] par excellence. Say what you will about the gameplay and plot, but Bioware did a magnificent job with the characters.

*** From a purely technical perspective, his gameplay is probably the least broken out of the three main heroes.

*** It may also help that he kicks the ''new'' scrappy of the game, Silver, [[Take That, Scrappy!|in the head]].

** [https://web.archive.org/web/20110103080229/http://www.misfile.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10001/4_Concrete_Dreamscape_2_0.pdf This] [https://web.archive.org/web/20110103082649/http://www.misfile.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10001/5_Electric_Dreams_2_0.pdf fanfiction] does the same for Jenny the Second.

* Mike from ''[[Something*Positive]]''. While still quite prone to forays into dumbass territory, he has become a much wiser, more mature, and more decent person than he was in his first appearance. He has handled the pressures of being a family man with amazingly few missteps, and he was depicted as dealing with a stint working fast food with surprising grace. When you consider that most of the strip's antagonistic characters either stay antagonistic or [[It Got Worse|sink to new lows]], his evolution as a character is remarkable.

* Marigold from ''[[Questionable Content]]'' . During her first appearances she was [[Acceptable Target|your stereotypical otaku/ gamer nerd]]: far less attractive than any other character, a virgin, ridiculously slobby, a stereotypical [[Yaoi Fangirl]] with bad skin and [[No Social Skills]]. The first story arc she was used in involved her lusting after a guy who wanted another girl (one of the main characters) instead, and was written in such a clumsy way that implied [[Unfortunate Implications|otaku/geek-girls are untouchable]]. She still ends up as the [[Butt Monkey]] a lot and the [[Pair the Spares|the implied beginnings of a relationship with Dale, who she has no real chemistry with]] is a little annoying. Lately, she's become a lot more likable (and less offensive), with her appearance being updated ( [[Art Evolution|or to be more accurate, "completely changed"]]), quickly getting over her crush after she learns it wasn't viable and being less mopey and self-obsessed than most of other main characters.

* Lyonel from ''[[Samurai Princess]]'' was introduced in such a way ( {{spoiler|Giving a well liked character a [[Traumatic Haircut]]}}) that he was doomed from the start. He is now becoming a more likable and enjoyable character.

** Even moreso for Sportsmaster, a Z-list supervillain from [[The Golden Age of Comic Books]] [[Adaptational Badass|who gets reimagined]] as a [[Badass Normal]] mercenary.

*** The show in general has a habit of turning various villains into rightous [[Adaptational Badass|badasses]], even those who were pretty good before. Mister Twister was suddenly a huge threat, and Clayface (not an unpopular villain before) became downright fucking ''[[Nightmare Fuel|terrifying]]''.

** Daphne herself went from a [[Damsel Scrappy]] to one of the coolest characters over the years.

*** ''Aloha, Scooby Doo'' is practically a manifesto on rescuing Daphne from the Scrappy Heap. She dons a [[Bare Your Midriff|midriff-baring]] version of her traditional outfit - when she isn't just wearing a bikini - and the plot hinges on the world-class [http://www.southseascinema.org/Toon%20Images/Aloha%20Scooby%20Doo%20Daphne%20surfing%202%20crop.jpg surfing abilities] you probably didn't know she had (it's not like it would have come up often).

*** It ALSO counted as a [[Take That, Scrappy!]]. Once the "real" Big G showed up in Sydney, Zilla came charging in like a maniac for what looked like would be a battle of a [[Lightning Bruiser]] vs. [[Mighty Glacier]]. Nope; Godzilla smacks his CGI counterpart away with his tail - taking out the Opera House at the same time - and with one big Atomic Breath attack annihilates him. At least it was funny!

* A controversial example would be [[The Simpsons (animation)|Lisa Simpson]]. Some have always loved her, while others think she became a scrappy in later seasons, once she turned from [[The Smart Guy]] into a [[Soapbox Sadie]]. For the latter group, the show's last three seasons should seem like a good example of this trope. Starting from season 19, the show has had an unwritten ban on stories where Lisa gets involved in politics, in favor of returning her to her roots as a socially isolated smart girl.

** [[Stalker with a Crush|Sierra]] has always been and remains a [[Base Breaker]], but even many detractors will admit that she's more tolerable in the last few episodes of season three, when some quick and long-needed [[Character Development]] has her finally realize that she should treat [[Cool Loser|Cody]] more like [[Better as Friends|a friend]] than a prize to be won.

* ''[[Star Wars: The Clone Wars|Star Wars the Clone Wars]]''

* The LGM from ''[[Toy Story (franchise)|Toy Story]]'' went from annoying gag characters to {{spoiler|[[Big Damn Heroes]] when they rescued the gang from the incinerator.}}

* Bucky Buenaventura spent the first season of ''[[The Zeta Project]]'' as an insufferable little borderline sociopath. He reappears in Season 2 with a flattering redesign, a new voice actor, a reasonable grasp of common sense and friendship, and a mild (and hilarious) crush on Ro, but keeps the mad hacking skills and snarky dialogue. The overall result takes him from horrendous brat to surprisingly likable [[The Lancer|lancer]].

* Sandy Cheeks of ''[[SpongeBob SquarePants]]'' began as a somewhat grating [[God Mode Sue]] and near [[Purity Sue|incorruptible]] [[Only Sane Man]] for the other far more flawed cast members. Following the second season however, the show began to [[Lampshade Hanging]] Sandy's somewhat excessive talents and also [[Character Development|develop]] [[Cloudcuckoolander|some]] [[Small Name, Big Ego|valid]] [[Large Ham|flaws]] for the character (episodes such as "Pressure" and "SpongeBob, Sandy and the Worm" seemed to focus largely how Sandy ''wasn't'' good at everything). Ironically she is arguably the one main character in the newer episodes that hasn't had her [[Jerkass|callous]] or [[Too Dumb to Live|idiotic]] habits heavily [[Flanderization|Flanderized]], almost making her a single rescuee of the show's ever-growing Scrappy Heap.

* Nabu from ''[[Winx Club]]'' wasn't a very popular character when he was first introduced in season 3. Understandable, seeing as he was introduced late into that season, didn't get much [[Character Development]] and it was pretty obvious that he was [[Shallow Love Interest|just there to give Layla a love interest]]. He didn't even appear in the first movie apart from a brief cameo appearance at the very end. Season 4 gave him some more [[Character Development]] and some chances to show off his awesome magical fighting skills, which quickly helped make him a lot more popular. There's also Roxy, who was introduced in that season. At first the fans were a bit skeptical to her as they felt a seventh fairy wasn't necessary, but as the season progressed the fans seemed to warm up to her as she became more confident with being a fairy.

* Cubert from ''[[Futurama]]'' lost his oft-annoying skepticism at the end of his debut episode.

*** [[Serious Business|There were also a lot of viewers concerned]] that Hasbro [[Merchandise-Driven|ordered the show to have another winged unicorn.]] This was supposed to be a special thing for the royal sisters, but Cadance more than proved that she is as awesome as them.

** Rainbow Dash was also flirting with [[Creator's Pet]] territory in early season two with too much of a focus on her arrogance and having her act like a jerk without the [[Jerkass With a Heart of Gold|heart of gold]] trait she's better known for. The second half of the season with episodes such as "Read It and Weep" and "Hurricane Fluttershy" have been working on making her a more likable character again.

* In the [[Netflix]] version of ''[[Carmen Sandiego]]'', Zach and Ivy were Scrappy-like in Season 1, being [[Plucky Comic Relief]] sidekicks for Carmen who usually served little purpose than to be annoying. This didn't truly change in Season 2 (still annoying) but by then, their antics started to become [[Actually Pretty Funny]].

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Characterization Tropes]]

[[Category:Scrappy Index]]

[[Category:Index to The Rescue]]

[[Category:YMMV Trope]]

[[Category:Esoteric Trope Names]]