Rescued from the Scrappy Heap: Difference between revisions

A few series can even do this intentionally, and have an otherwise unlikable [[Smug Snake]] [[Dynamic Character|evolve into]] a more human, three-dimensional character.

* 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.

** Also in ''00'', {{spoiler|Andrei Smirnov}} jumped full-on into the Scrappy Heap after {{spoiler|killing his father Sergei, the series' resident [[Cool Old Guy]] and one of the most [[Reasonable Authority Figure|reasonable authority figures]] in the series, ''[[Murder by Mistake|because he jumped to a conclusion]]''}}. [[The Movie]] gives him {{spoiler|a [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]] [[Heroic Sacrifice]], which jumped him out of "despised" if not into "well-liked". Obviously doubles with [[Alas, Poor Scrappy]]}}.

** Also, Nena Trinity once she killed an even ''bigger'' Scrappy than herself: {{spoiler|Wang Lu Mei.}} Unfortunately, Nena wasn't able to do much of anything after being rescued from the heap, as she {{spoiler|dies ''immediately'' afterwards.}}

* This happened to Bart in ''[[Vandread]]'' as a result of his [[A Day in the Limelight]] episode. The [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]] made him [[Badass]], and the [[Important Haircut]] (or rather, the reason for it) made him [[Character Development|sympathetic]]. Though his [[Let's Get Dangerous|newfound competence]] helped, it was still primarily the [[Character Development]] that did it in earlier episodes, culminating in a blurb before the new season where the older version boggles at the younger version and wonders if he used to be that silly.

* A rather odd example: ''[[Naruto]]'''s Sasuke has been considered a Scrappy for the longest time [[Americans Hate Tingle|in America]]. But once he's been pitted against [[Invincible Villain|Danzou]], American fans have actually started ''[[Black and Grey Morality|rooting]]'' for him. Though this may be more because it's his [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]] than him just being the lesser of two evils.

*** To others, being pitted against [[Creator's Pet|Sasuke]] also rescued ''Danzo'' from the scrappy heap for many fans, having people who previously dismissed him as a nasty [[Smug Snake]] commenting that Danzo had [["The Reason You Suck" Speech|several good points]] and [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|awesome moments]] during his surprisingly even fight with Mr. [[Plot Armor]] himself. This combined with his [[Alas, Poor Villain]] moment had many fans declare Danzo a more honorable and sympathetic character than Sasuke at this point. {{spoiler|Sasuke killing Danzo}} made some fans like him a little, but it also made a lot of people hate him ''more''.

** Also happened to Karin when {{spoiler|Sasuke sacrificing her to kill Danzou turned her into [[The Woobie]]. Although she survived, she made it clear she didn't care about Sasuke after what he did. Not only did this remove her from the shipping equation, but she also displayed, what some fans believe, more common sense than other characters in the series.}}

* Suzaku Kururugi from ''[[Code Geass]]'', {{spoiler|after Lelouch Geass-es him to "Live!", which causes him to revert from his fake (and debatably hypocritical) nice guy persona to his brash, rude, and brutally honest "true self".}}

** 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.

* 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.

* 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.

** Sadly, the process was reversed with Sekai Saionji. While she's portrayed in games and anime as being impulsive and idiotic yet having a good heart and showing remorse for her actions, Sekai in the manga is shown as quite the self-centered and manipulative bitch... and two of the [[PlayStation]] endings definitely go this route as well, ''without'' giving her the madness excuse that Kotonoha tends to have when she goes [[:Category:Yandere|Yandere]].

* 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.

* Miaka Yuuki, main character of ''[[Fushigi Yuugi]]'', appears to have gotten a little less flak from some of her haters thanks to ''Eikoden''; their reasoning was that no matter how bad they thought Miaka was, she at least had good intentions and cared a lot for other people than herself, whereas Mayo was a hundred times worse.

* The little duck billed bratty demon, Kanchome, of ''[[Zatch Bell]]'', was generally useful for little more than a random flawed disguise on the spot to help his ... *sigh* [[True Companions]], and his attitude had [[The Scrappy]] written all over it. The anime gave him a [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]] by having him nearly defeat a stronger foe with a new spell that made replications of himself, but he would go on to be much more badass in the manga - he saved the Earth from destruction by Clear Note (the [[Big Bad]]) by ''transforming into the Earth'' and hypnotizing Clear to think it was the real thing.

** And now, as of chapter 449 {{spoiler|Orihime}} seems to be going in this direction, as she finally got her wish to {{spoiler|be the [[Combat Medic]] and an active part of the [[True Companions]].}}

* In ''[[One Piece]]'', Usopp was heavily criticized by the fanbase for dueling Luffy and leaving the crew over Luffy's decision to replace the irreparable Going Merry, causing some of his detractors to bring up his relative weakness compared to the rest of the crew. Later in the arc, he adopted the persona of Sogeking to avoid getting a large bounty for attacking Enies Lobby as well as to prevent his former crewmates from noticing who he was, although only Luffy and Chopper didn't notice, and demonstrated a powerful new weapon with new techniques and far greater accuracy. Then he later apologized for his actions and rejoined the crew. Considering how Oda seems to work, he had probably planned the story that way all along.

* ''[[Higurashi no Naku Koro ni]]'''s [[The Chew Toy|Chew Toy]], the sometimes annoying crybaby [[Bratty Half-Pint|Satoko]], gained a fanbase after standing up to Shion while being ''stabbed to death''. In some fan's eyes, {{spoiler|Takano Miyo}}'s flashback arc did a great job at making {{spoiler|her}} sympathetic and cheer-worthy in the eyes of a lot of fans, even though {{spoiler|she's}} the [[Big Bad]].

** ''[[Umineko no Naku Koro ni]]'' seems to be trying to do the same thing for [[Creepy Child|Maria]] as of the fourth arc.

* Matter-Eater Lad of the ''[[Legion of Super-Heroes (comics)|Legion of Super-Heroes]]'' started out as a total weirdo with an incredibly [[What Kind of Lame Power Is Heart, Anyway?|lame power]] who was eventually written out of the storyline, first by going back to his home planet and eventually [[Alas, Poor Scrappy|going into a coma]] after saving the universe by eating a "Miracle Machine" that was warping reality. During the "[[Time Skip|Five Years Later]]" era, though, he was re-imagined with a rock-star persona ([[Cool Shades]] and all), gleefully reveling in his own absurdity.

{{quote|"All this roughhousing is giving me an appetite * CHOMP* and you don't want to give '''me''' *gulp* an appetite."}}

** In [[Legion of Super-Heroes (TV series)|the animated series]] he has the "rock star" design and gets this line:

{{quote|'''Brainiac 5''': (to restrained villain) Move anything, and he'll bite it off.

(We then get a shot of Matter-Eater Lad with a big-ass grin on his face) }}

** [[Peter David]] also de-Scrappified the [[Incredible Hulk|Incredible Hulk's]] sidekick Rick Jones by aging him into an adult and letting him display a more [[Rounded Character|well-rounded personality]]. In fairness, the original teenaged Rick worked well as an angst-ridden kid hanging around the Hulk [[Failure Knight|out of guilt for causing Banner's curse]]; he only became [[The Scrappy]] when Marvel separated him from the Hulk and made him, implausibly, a serial sidekick to a host of other more mainstream superheroes, making him a [[Marty Stu]], (though give him points for bluntly telling [[Captain America (comics)]] to quit his [[My Greatest Failure|incessant "Bucky is dead" moaning]]). David brought Rick back to his roots. Ironically, David himself later teamed Rick with the hero Genis-Vell, but the dynamic was much the same as Rick/Hulk, since Genis was ''also'' a dangerous, psychologically unstable, very powerful character.

*** Not only does he have a knack for it, he seems to have a ''preference'' for it. After he was forced to write Rahne out of X-Factor so that she could be in X-Force, he said that part of the reason he brought Shatterstar into the book was because the character was considered so terminally uncool that no one else was even considering having him in their books, and this gave him lee-way to revamp the character and play around with him without worrying that he'd get poached for another title.

* Kyle Rayner initially received a lot of hate from ''[[Green Lantern]]'' fans (mainly Hal Jordan fans) when he [[Replacement Scrappy|replaced Hal Jordan]] after the controversial ''Emerald Twilight'' arc. However, over time, Rayner was presented as a likable character, thanks to Grant Morrison's run on [[Justice League of America|JLA]]. Fans argue that Geoff Johns is trying to throw him back in with his role as the clueless whipping-boy of the Sinestro Corps.

** Except Peter David & [[Grant Morrison]] DID make him cool. And if you give his ''[[Brightest Day]]'' incarnation a chance, [[Geoff Johns]] has shown that, yes in the right hands, even [[The Silver Age of Comic Books|Silver Age]] Aquaman can be cool. But not as much as his wife.

* [[Daken]] was widely despised by the fanbase during his initial appearances in ''[[Wolverine]] Origins'', but is starting to grow into a fan favourite after joining the [[Dark Avengers]].

** 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 creation of the [[Marvel Adventures]] line saw a lot of characters getting a much-needed face lift, but by far, the best-received [[Retool]] was changing [[The Wasp]] into [[Marvel Adventures|Giant Girl]]. Readers that hated the former loved the latter, and readers who liked the former adored the latter even ''more''. Of all the characters who were axed when the MA: ''Avengers'' series was cancelled in favor of a continuity reboot in MA: ''Super-Heroes'', Giant Girl was the one most fans were saddest to see go.

* [[Red Hulk]] was introduced by [[Jeph Loeb]] taking down one major league hero or cosmic entity after another, with no particular motivation and a secret identity that no one cared about. He used to provide the page picture for [[Villain Sue]]. Recently (and after Loeb lost control of the character) it's been explained that his [[Villain Sue]] abilities were due to a [[Deadly Upgrade]] by a group that was [[Unwitting Pawn|using him to dispose of their enemies]], then die. It's been removed, and Red Hulk is going through the process of being cathartically (to both readers and characters) beaten up by the people he trounced while in God Mode and facing up to the consequences of his actions. Commentators on his newer storyline have mentioned how it just feels ''weird'' to actually be interested in Red Hulk as a character.

** A similar rescue has taken place with the Red She-Hulk. Originally she was introduced as a generic 'sexy bad girl', complete with giant guns and a ludicrously [[Clothing Damage|ripped costume]], and a prime example of [[Jeph Loeb|Jeph Loeb's]] inability to come up with good names. Since then the firearms and the torn outfit were unceremoniously dropped, instead putting her and [[Incredible Hulk|the Hulk]] into a well-received two-person [[Love Dodecahedron|Love Quadrangle]].

== Fanfic ==

* ''[[The Hill of Swords]]'', a [[Zero no Tsukaima]] 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.

* ''[[Ultimate Sleepwalker|Ultimate Sleepwalker: The New Dreams]]'' and ''[[Ultimate SpiderWoman|Ultimate Spider-Woman: Change With The Light]]'' both deliberately emphasize this trope. Heroes and villains alike who are typically [[C-List Fodder]] in the official comics are given the spotlight, as the author very deliberately subverts the traditional pecking order of the Marvel Universe. In this universe, characters like Sleepwalker and Darkhawk take center stage away from the likes of Wolverine and the Punisher, while villains like 8-Ball, the Dreadknight, Jack O' Lantern and Firebrand are just as dangerous as the likes of the Green Goblin or Bullseye.

* ''[[Hunting the Unicorn]]'' does this for [[Glee|Blaine Anderson]] due to the story's [[Cerebus Retcon]] fleet. Klaine is a shallow [[Fairy Tale]] romance? The story's plot parallels '''''[[The Last Unicorn]].''''' Blaine is a [[Relationship Sue]]? With his [[Lonely Rich Kid|nonexistent]] [[Dysfunction Junction|family]] and [[Break the Cutie|incredibly damaged]] [[Heroic Self-Deprecation|self-esteem]], it's no wonder [[Love Martyr|he'd latch onto Kurt so fast]]. They're [[But Not Too Gay|too chaste?]] It turns out in Blaine's last relationship, {{spoiler|''he tried to invoke '''[[Sex Equals Love]]'''.}} [[It Got Worse|At sixteen.]]'' [[Tear Jerker|And it didn't work.]] Essentially, Blaine is why an actual [[Relationship Sue]] would [[Deconstruction Fic|desperately need therapy]]<ref>which he's actually gotten</ref> [[The Woobie|and hugs]]. Most of the readers are already Klaine fans, but a few of them didn't like Blaine at all before reading the fic.

* 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.}}

*** His scrappy status ended as soon as he wore that [[Nice Hat|Fez]]. [[Nice Hat|Fezes are cool.]]

** The most egregious Doctor Who example, Adric, seemed to manage this in the 2008 audio ''The Boy that Time Forgot'', a tribute to the character and his status within the show's history, in which he is played by 'an actor' (Andrew Sachs) as opposed to Matthew Waterhouse; before that, his larger, more active role and [[Heroic Sacrifice]] in his final story went some way to redeem him, although that falls more under [[Alas, Poor Scrappy]].

** Unfortunately, it didn't last. She had her level in badass taken away again and any good the attempt had done was instantly gone.

* ''[[Jericho]]'s'' Emily became [[The Scrappy]] very quickly, and remained so for all of Season One. Although she was now in a relationship with the hero, Season Two still made a good effort to rectify this, by giving her approximately two minutes of screentime an episode.

* ''[[House (TV series)|House]]''

** Dr. Cameron was initially hard to like, but the fanbase seems to have warmed up to her (especially in comparison to her replacement on House's team, Thirteen). It was difficult to like Cameron because she usually became emotionally involved with the patients and would usually disagree with House and sometimes the rest of the team simply because whatever House had planned was immoral. She was probably planned to be sort a straight man or voice of reason, but due to the strong personalities of the other characters, especially House, she became more like a preachy, annoying character who made stupid mistakes that sometimes did more harm than good for the sake of her morals. After being replaced by the new team, she reappears occasionally but is ''much'' less irritating.

* Say what you will about the [[Jumping the Shark|show in recent years]], but most people agree that Peter Petrelli from ''[[Heroes (TV series)|Heroes]]'' became ''much'' more likable after {{spoiler|his [[God Mode Sue]] status was undone as he was [[Brought Down to Normal]]}}, which forced him to actually use his brain and drop the [[Idiot Ball]].

** How about Hiro? Popular in volumes 1 and then deeply annoying in 3 and 4 due to his development from the first two seasons being rejected in favor of him being a childish moron again. Then redeemed in 5 due to his cancer and Charlie arcs making him more serious again and him no longer appearing in every episode.

=== Roleplaying Games ===

** Half-Elfs and Half-Orcs in 3.5 were some of the worst race options a player could pick (outside of Diplomacy maximizing for Half-Elfs), with only some minor boosts to skills and immunity to sleep effects that high level characters are immune to anyways (Half Elfs) or the only race feature to make up for their unbalanced racial modifers<ref>a net -2 with the norm +0</ref> being Darkvision, which other races have anyways (Half-Orc) compared to a Human's bonus feat and extra skill points. In Pathfinder both races get to pick +2 to any atribute with no penalties. Half-Elfs can pick any Skill Focus or Weapon Proficiency feat for free,<ref>neither all that great on their own, but common requirements for worthwhile things</ref> can pick two favored classes and have the best Bard and Summoner favored class alterentives. Half-Orcs have actual racial features and a decent range of alternate features to customize themself with.

== Video Games ==

* Sometimes this can happen entirely without conscious effort on the creators' part, due to the fickle minds of fans. Take Nero from ''[[Devil May Cry]] 4'' for example; When it was first revealed that he and not series lead Dante would be the protagonist for the installment in question, the [[Internet Backdraft]] was frightening as disgruntled fans decried him for [[Replacement Scrappy|aspiring to Dante's position]]. Then subsequent trailers came out, dropping [[Moment of Awesome (Sugar Wiki)|Moments of Awesome]] for Nero, and hate gave way to... like? The additional cool feats he pulled off in the full game endeared him even more to fans. Although both Dante and Credo dramatically [[Overshadowed by Awesome|overshadow him in awesome]].

** Similarly, most people warmed up to Vanille after her mask broke in chapter 8.

** Every character in the game is made to appear extremely unlikeable in the first part of the game, but they slowly reveal their much greater depth as the plot progresses in the second half.

** [[Mortal Kombat 3|Kurtis Stryker]], ''the'' original Scrappy in the [[Mortal Kombat|MKverse]], got a new design in ''[[Mortal Kombat Armageddon|Armageddon]]'', which was well-received. But the real rescuing for him came with ''[[Mortal Kombat 9]]'', where he gets a [[Genre Savvy]] personality, an even cooler outfit, and an overall better design.

*** Raiden is now seen as this by much of the fandom due to his [[What an Idiot!|idiotic moments throughout the story]].

* [[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]].

* Several [[NPC]]s who were something of [[The Scrappy]] in the first ''[[Baldur's Gate|Baldurs Gate]]'' become more tolerable or even acceptable in its sequel (for example, Quayle, rather than being a near-useless party member, turns out to have matured considerably in becoming an NPC). Other characters who were tolerable or acceptable become awesome ({{spoiler|Jaheira's}} reaction to finding the butchered body of {{spoiler|Khalid}} is notably heart-rending).

** Also, in ''[[Baldur's Gate|Baldurs Gate]] II'' you got Anomen. He starts with a self-righteous, Holier Than Thou attitude that makes him annoying at best and insufferable at worse. After you complete his personal quest in the right way he gets '''much''' better. If you finish the wrong way, however...

* Some ''[[Super Mario Bros.|Super Mario Bros]]'' fans began warming up to Waluigi after, well... [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6CLfZl0m88 This.] He is one of the strongest assist trophies in ''[[Super Smash Bros.]]: Brawl''.

** ''[[Brawl in the Family]]'' also helped Waluigi gain fans.

* As a comic relief character in a fairly dark and serious game, Jansen Friedh of ''[[Lost Odyssey]]'' seemed doomed to [[The Scrappy]] heap at first glance. Fortunately, in the English dub, at least, his voice actor's naturalistic performance and improvisation managed to rescue him, transforming what could have been an irritating sidekick into a genuinely funny and sympathetic character. That he received quite a bit of [[Character Development]] along the way, particularly once he {{spoiler|fell in love with an immortal queen}}, also helped.

* People hated Raiden of ''[[Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty]]'' for [[Replacement Scrappy|replacing Snake]] as the protagonist and for his annoying tendencies. The fourth game, however, shows that, when you get right down to it, he is not someone you want to screw with.

* This arguably happened to Axl when he [[Shut UP, Hannibal|interrupted]] Lumine's [[Not So Different]] [[Hannibal Lecture|speech]] [[Talk to the Fist|with a judicious amount of gunfire]] in ''[[Mega Man X]] 8''.

** It also helped the ''X8'' cleaned up Axl's gameplay, making him easier to use than in ''X7''.

* Beowulf from ''[[Fire Emblem]]: [[Fire Emblem Jugdral|Genealogy of the Holy War]]'' was once known as a universally hated character for lying and cheating on Lachesis, people think he's a big liar and philanderer. But suddenly, it's revealed that Lachesis was still in love with her brother Eltoshan and may have had an affair with Finn in Thracia 776. Thus, fan reaction towards him has softened ever since (those who are pissed with him are probably going on his mediocre stats, and his 'stupid grin').

** In turn, however, fans started ragging on Lachesis as "one slutty princess". Still, she has yet to be completely pushed to the Scrappy Heap thanks to her sympathetic [[Character Development]] and [[Game Breaker]] status.

{{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.

** ''[[Sonic Generations]]'' seems to be causing the fanbase to finally warm up to Silver the Hedgehog. Considering Sega gave him a new voice actor, made him less of a whiny [[Jerkass]], and made his boss battle enjoyable, it's a big step up from [[Most Annoying Sound|"IT'S NO USE!"]]

* [[World of Warcraft|The Cataclysm]] expansion's entire ''raison d'etre'' is to rescue the most hated zones in the game from the Scrappy heap, by nuking them and building new quests around picking up the wreckage. (As this is ''[[World of Warcraft]]'', at least one quest will actually be about picking up wreckage.)

*** In the fight with Krauser, this strategy seems to work entirely on [[Rule of Cool]], as the way to figure out by yourself it is a good strategy would be to be Badass enough to take on Krauser on a knife fight. A reason for the knife working better than guns here is that he moves towards you while dodging bullets moving left or right pretty damn fast, but the knife, being a horizontal attack, manages to hit him pretty well when close enough.

** It probably doesn't hurt that the enemies feel pain in 4 without being made-of-muscle, badass, bio0weapons.

* In ''[[Super Robot Wars Z]]'', they manage this with most of the ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny]]'' [[Adaptation Distillation|characters and story]]. Shinn Asuka is less [[Wangst|whiny]] and [[Jerkass|mean]], Stellar Lousier gains some credible intelligence and is more than just a mentally impaired girl, they toned down the "Jesus" and philosophies in Kira "[[God Mode Sue|Jesus]]" Yamato, {{spoiler|Neo Roanoke doesn't just turn into Mu La Flaga out of whim and forget his past life}}, and Gilbert Durandal becomes a respectable villain and still makes sense.

* ''[[Castlevania Judgment]]'' received all kinds of flack ever since it was announced, from reports of terrible controls to [[They Changed It, Now It Sucks|heavy bashing of the new artstyle]]. Now that the game is out, the general consensus is that it's a pretty good Wii fighting game with awesome music... among some of the fans, anyway. [[Reviews Are the Gospel|The game critics]] still don't like it.

* ''[[Dissidia Final Fantasy]]'', which had a similar cold reception, won its way out by repeatedly leaking details to set the [[And the Fandom Rejoiced/Video Games|Fans Rejoicing]].

** His rescue came even earlier: The DS remake of ''[[Final Fantasy IV]]'' gave him genuinely useful abilities, pleasing design, and a good voice actor.

** And before that, the GBA remake increased the chances of status effects with his attacks, to where he became a legitimate powerhouse.

** This seems to be happening to the [[Pokémon Black and White|Generation V]] water starter, Oshawott (or [[Fan Nickname|"Wotter"]]), long before Black and White are even out. When first revealed, Oshawott was largely considered inferior to the other two new starters, and was often bashed even without the comparison. Cue someone creating a comic of a [[The Woobie|poor, cute Oshawott being sad about not getting picked by anyone]], and some speculation that its evolutions may be [[Crazy Awesome|samurai sea otters]]. A lot of people are reconsidering their coming choice of a starter now.

*** Oh, and the samurai sea-otters? [[I Knew It!|IT HAPPENED!]]

** With the [[Hype Backlash]] having died down, and a fair amount of quality games being available for the system, Sony seems to have been pulling off a successful rebranding, with the new PlayStation Slim (countering the accusations of the original being oversized) having a much more subdued ad campaign ("It only does everything.").

* In ''[[Jak II Renegade]]'' the Hellcat was clunky, slow, and generally a piece of crap. ''[[Jak 3]]'' fixed it, upping its firepower, and making it essential for [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|taking down the KG War Factory]].

* [[Spell My Name with an "S"|Butz/Bartz]], the protagonist from ''[[Final Fantasy V]]'', isn't really all that bad...he's just dull. To make it worse, his main adversary Exdeath is - well, [[When Trees Attack|a tree]]. Then ''[[Dissidia Final Fantasy]]'' came along and made him into an actually likable character, with a design that found balance somehow between his forgettable sprite and his somewhat... odd [[Yoshitaka Amano|Amano]] design. Even his blandness and lack of character angst compared to the other heroes get mocked properly. Plus, dual wielding the two most badass weapons in the whole series? Who wouldn't be loved after doing that?

** She's still getting in the way of Ash and Emily's relationship, so [[Die for Our Ship|she's not out of the woods yet]].

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

** Similarly, Kharisma, whose self-absorption, vanity, and contempt for others had her squarely in the scrappy zone from her first appearance. She's [[Break the Haughty|suffered quite a bit since then]], but in the process she's gained quite a lot of sympathy from the readers. As [http://www.somethingpositive.net/swst06142011.shtml the author put it:] "I have to say I'm surprised by how many people actually look forward to Kharisma strips and more stunned it's not to see her suffer."

* 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.

== Western Animation ==

* ''[[Justice League (animation)|Justice League Unlimited]]''

{{quote|'''Aquaman:''' King of the seas, remember?}}

*** This actually began with [[Peter David]]'s work on Aquaman in the late nineties, though the JLU origin for the hook hand was far more cool.

*** ''[[Batman: The Brave And The Bold|Batman the Brave And The Bold]]'' continues the Descrappification process by depicting him as a [[Large Ham]] and a [[Boisterous Bruiser]]. "Outrageous!!!"

*** 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]]''.

* Speaking of Scrappy-Doo, they tried to change him during the "All-New Scooby and Scrappy-Doo" and the "New Scooby-Doo Mysteries": "Scrappy is now even more matured, and softened down from before, having a much bigger sense of danger. He will even back down if a monster growls loud enough, and can even be seen shivering in fear and crying for help; unthinkable in his earlier life. He is now the 'new Freddy', solving the mystery with Daphne, while Shaggy and Scooby return to their prior role as the comedy relief who only keep the ghosts busy while Scrappy and Daphne find the clues." ...sadly, hardly any of this showed up on the ''screen'', and he remains [[The Scrappy]] to this day.

*** Yeah, they had [[Ethnic Scrappy|Flim Flam]] for that.

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

*** And now in ''[[Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated|Scooby Doo Mystery Incorporated]]'', she gets to temporarily join the Hex Girls and sing an [[Crowning Music of Awesome|incredibly badass goth rock song]], "Trap Of Love". [[Character Development]] is a beautiful thing.

* Gwendolyn "Gwen" Tennyson of ''[[Ben 10]]'' was [[Base Breaker|polarizing]], with opinions varying from "obnoxious [[Mary Sue]] who just annoys Ben" to "[[Only Sane Man|The only one with any sense or responsibility]]". However, after the [[Time Skip]] for ''[[Ben 10: Alien Force|Ben 10 Alien Force]]'', she's much more soft-spoken and Ben isn't doing nearly enough crap for her to complain about, which was enough to satisfy plenty of her haters, [[Broken Base|while the people who liked her beforehand now hate her.]]

* Dil and Kimi, despite being loathed Scrappies in ''[[Rugrats]]'', were actually quite liked when they became preteens in ''[[All Grown Up!]]''. Although some argue that Kimi's personality took a [[Little Miss Snarker|turn for the worse]].

* Enzo Matrix from ''[[Re Boot]]'' started off as an obnoxious, trouble-making [[Bratty Half-Pint]], then got caught in something simultaneously a [[Time Skip]] and [[Plot-Relevant Age-Up]], and changed into a gun-wielding, renegade bad-ass [[The Lancer|lancer]] type between one season and the next.

* Spyke from ''[[X-Men: Evolution|X-Men Evolution]]'' was changed from an underdeveloped [[Totally Radical]] [[Token Minority|Token Black Guy]] with powers that were unintentionally similar to an existing X-Man to a maturing [[Badass]] hero for the downtrodden Morlocks with cartilage armor and the ability to light his spikes on fire. Many Spyke detractors liked the change but unlike [[X-23]], [[Canon Foreigner|it wasn't enough to get him in the comic]]. He did have a counterpart in the third movie, but he was a villain.

** Spyke ''did'' appear in the comics as a member of the X-Force (which later became X-Statix)...although as [[Canon Immigrant|canon immigrants]] go, this wasn't a very good one; Comic Spike was a beefy, arrogant adult instead of a wiry, carefree teenager. They didn't even have the same real name...but the inspiration, at least, was clear.

** His appearance in ''Final Wars'' also helped, where he acted like a true kaiju and decimated Sydney, Australia by himself.

* 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.

* Courtney from ''[[Total Drama Island]]'' seemed to be undergoing this early in Season 3, after she was changed into a [[Villain Sue]]/ [[Jerk Sue]]/ [[God Mode Sue]] in Season 2. She was simply back in her Season 1 persona.

** Ahsoka Tano. It's generally been accepted that she started to get better as a character in Season 2 once they pulled back from having her in nearly every episode. As of Season 3 and [[A Day in the Limelight|several episodes]] later, it's safe to say Ahsoka has become a good example of a character being rescued from the Scrappy Heap. The good blood Ashley Eckstein has built up in the fanbase thanks to Her Universe probably helped a little too.

** Anakin from the Clone Wars (CGI) series is arguably his best characterization

* 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.

* [[Great Gazoo|Bat-Mite]] in ''[[The New Adventures of Batman]]'' was generally hated. In ''[[Batman: The Brave And The Bold|Batman the Brave And The Bold]]'', he provides a lot of humor to make up for it.

* [[Ant-Man]] and to a lesser extent [[The Wasp]] [[Never Live It Down/Comic Books|haven't had the greatest reputation in comic books]] so, it seems likely that their rather different and much more sympathetic portrayals in ''[[The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes|Avengers Earths Mightiest Heroes]]'' is an intent to do this. Instead of a mentally unstable wife-beater, Ant-Man is one of the most moral team members, and rather than being a [[Rich Bitch]], Wasp is a likable [[Non-Idle Rich]] [[Genki Girl]].