Adaptational Villainy: Difference between revisions
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The villain of an adaptation or retelling of a story is a familiar character who wasn't as bad in the source material. Sure, they may have been [[Jerkass|annoying at times]], or [[True Neutral|couldn't care less about the good guys]], but they weren't ''evil''. Maybe they were even an ally of the main characters who leaned a little too far on the [[Sliding Scale of Anti-Heroes]], or a villain [[Even Evil Has Standards|with standards]] or who was [[Pet the Dog|known to show a softer side]]. Maybe the character rubbed the heroes the wrong way, but never caused any real harm and was otherwise a decent person.
In any case, the character '''seriously''' [[Took a Level in Jerkass]] in the [[POV Sequel]], [[The Movie]], [[The Film of the Book]], or any other
[[Tropes Are Not Bad|This is not always a bad thing]], however, and indeed some iconic villains have come about in this way, although it will probably lead to accusations of [[Adaptation Decay]] or [[Character Derailment]] from purists. Unlike [[Ron the Death Eater]], there is usually more justification for the change in the character. Sometimes Adaptational Villainy is a result of [[Composite Character]] - the composite mixes the harmless character and a more villainous one - or [[Adaptation Expansion]], when [[No Antagonist|there is no obvious villain]] in the original work, and a [[The Ghost|Ghost]] or another minor character [[Ascended Extra|gets the part]]. Sometimes it's to [[Lighter and Softer|make the moral lines of an otherwise edgy story more clear]] or to [[Adaptation Distillation|simplify]] a complex character. A [[Perspective Flip]] often uses this deliberately to subvert the audience's expectations of who the hero and villain are. If the adaptation does well, the darker incarnation of the character may become more popular and [[Adaptation Displacement|eventually overshadow the original]]. This may happen for [[Adaptation Displacement|a variety]] [[Evil Is Cool|of]] [[Draco in Leather Pants|reasons]].
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{{examples}}
== Anime and Manga ==
* In
* To a lesser extent, King Dedede of ''[[Kirby: Right Back at Ya!]]''. While still rarely exceeding a petty comedic [[Jerkass]], his anime counterpart has far fewer [[Pet the Dog|benevolent moments]] than that of the [[Kirby|original games]] (
* Some of the Gym Leaders and Elite Four members in ''[[Pokémon (anime)|Pokémon]]''. While most of them (with the exception of Giovanni) are basically good guys in the games - Lance and Lorelei even helping out the player character at key points - Lt. Surge, Koga, Sabrina, Agatha, Lorelei, Lance, Karen, Will and {{spoiler|Pryce}} became villains in the manga adaptation ''[[Pokémon Special]]''. {{spoiler|To be fair, though, Pryce is a more sympathetic [[Anti-Villain]], Lance is a [[Well-Intentioned Extremist]], and most of the other characters listed [[Heel Face Turn|reform]] later on, with the exception of Agatha.}}
** And occasionally the Pokémon themselves (particularly either Poison- or Dark- types), such as in the ''[[Pokémon Mystery Dungeon|Mystery Dungeon]]'' games. In the games and anime, even Pokémon seen working for the antagonists aren't really evil, [[Punch Clock Villain|just doing their jobs]].▼
** This is utilized to a lesser extent with their anime counterparts. Sabrina is converted into something of a demonic witch who antagonizes Ash and co., while many others are egotistical [[Jerkass]]es that have a bigoted or bullying demeanor regarding how they handle Pokémon. Just about all of them [[Defeat Equals Friendship|make friends with the heroes]] in the end, however, similar to their manga counterparts (this is something of an important plot point early on, since more often Ash earns his first gym badges out of reformed kindness from the leaders rather than actually winning against them).
▲** And occasionally
* Gendo Ikari from ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]''. In the anime, he is [[Ambiguously Evil]] and before his death he regrets having been a bad father to Shinji. In the manga adaptation, he is unquestionably evil and hates Shinji.
** To a smaller extent, Kaworu. In the original anime, he was pretty nice (outside of, you know, {{spoiler|being the seventeenth Angel}}). In the manga, he [[Kick the Dog|kick's a cat]]. This has been done to the point where fans have nicknamed him [[Fan Nickname|Evil Manga Kaworu]].
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* [[Dumbo|The Ringmaster]] in Disney's ''[[Disney's Villains' Revenge]]''.
* [[Casting a Shadow|Darkrai]] is portrayed as a [[Dark Is Not Evil]] Pokemon in the [[Pokémon]] games, hiding itself away voluntarily to try and prevent its power to trap other creatures in nightmares from afflicting others. In the [[Pokémon Mystery Dungeon|Mystery Dungeon]] series, it is a much more malicious character who plots to plunge the world into eternal darkness [[For the Evulz]]. However, this Darkrai eventually loses its memory and can be recruited postgame.
* ''[[The Simpsons Arcade|
* Unlike his comic book counterpart who would rather control New York than destroy it, Kingpin in ''Spider-Man vs. the Kingpin'' is cut from an entirely different cloth. Instead of the de-facto top dog of NYC's criminal underground, he's practically a Bond villain who seeks to nuke the city as part of his greater plan to take over the world, and will happily force Spider-Man to watch as he dunks Mary Jane in a vat of acid in one of the game's bad
* Mysterio tends to bounce between being an ineffective goofball and a genuinely terrifying lunatic depending on who's writing him in the comics, but he's a full-on [[Omnicidal Maniac]] in ''[[Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions]]'' who's willing to destroy the multiverse itself so he can reshape it into something that's more to his liking.
* Hammerhead was always a bad guy in the original ''[[Spider-Man]]'' comics, but he was no worse than your average mobster and had his fair share of redeeming qualities, such as being against hurting women and children. His incarnation in
== Web Originals ==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130621053829/http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/blogs/write/entry/top-five-miscast-disney-villains This page] lists five well-known characters who were reimagined into villains through Disney movies in this way.
* The ''[[Day of the Barney Trilogy]]'' takes Barney and Baby Bop, who are portrayed as sincere and good friends to the kids on ''[[Barney and Friends]]'', and portrays them as [[Complete Monster]]s who successfully get the world's children to kill any adult they come across,
* In the movie [[Downfall (film)|Downfall]], [[wikipedia:Hermann Fegelein|Hermann Fegelein]] is simply Heinrich Himmler's Number Two man who Hitler killed for trying to leave the Bunker and flee Berlin. In [[Hitler Rants]], however, he's portrayed as a malicious [[Trickster Archetype]] and [[Screwy Squirrel]] whose "antics" constantly bamboozle [[Butt Monkey|Hitler]] at the drop of a hat, making Fegelein the [[Big Bad]]. Granted, this stuff is [[Poke the Poodle]] compared to the [[Real Life]] [[Complete Monster|Fegelein's]] "[[Moral Event Horizon|antics]]" in Russia.
* In the ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' games, and most cartoon adaptations, Dr. "Eggman" Robotnik is villainous, but with a highly [[Affably Evil|affable]] and clownish demeanor, and in some cases leans into [[Anti-Villain]] territory. The Robotnik of ''[[Sonic Sat AM]]'' and [[Sonic Underground]], however, is a monstrous (and far less humorous) dictator that not only has taken over most of the planet, but thrives almost lustfully on having any remaining civilians [[Transformation Trauma|painfully]] [[Unwilling Roboticisation|robotocized]]. This depiction is drifted in and out for both comic adaptations (although they refer to his more petty, comical personality a lot more).▼
▲== Western Animation ==
** Inverted in ''[[Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog]]'', where Robotnik is instead portrayed as an oafish, cowardly buffoon who does nothing but get kicked around by not only Sonic and Tails, but also his own cronies Scratch and Grounder as well.▼
▲* In the ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' games and most cartoon adaptations, Dr "Eggman" Robotnik is villainous, but with a highly [[Affably Evil|affable]] and clownish demeanor, and in some cases leans into [[Anti-Villain]] territory. Robotnik of ''[[Sonic Sat AM]]'' and [[Sonic Underground]], however, is a monstrous (and far less humorous) dictator that not only has taken over most of the planet but thrives almost lustfully on having any remaining civilians [[Transformation Trauma|painfully]] [[Unwilling Roboticisation|robotocized]]. This depiction is drifted in and out for both comic adaptations (although they refer to his more petty, comical personality a lot more).
▲** Inverted in ''[[Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' where Robotnik is instead portrayed as an oafish, cowardly buffoon who does nothing but get kicked around by not only Sonic and Tails, but also his own cronies Scratch and Grounder as well.
* In the song ''[[Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer]]'', Cousin Mel is mentioned a grand total of once, playing cards with Grandpa after Grandma's death. In the [[Christmas Special]] based on the song, she is a [[The Grinch|Christmas-hating]] [[Gold Digger]] and wannabe [[Corrupt Corporate Executive]] who [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking|sings one of the]] [[Disney Acid Sequence|oddest]] [[Villain Song]]s [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking|ever written]].
* In the book ''[[Cranberry Christmas]]'', Cyrus Grape is a [[Grumpy Old Man|curmudgeonly old man]] who refuses to let anyone skate on his pond, but gets his comeuppance when Mr. Whiskers finds a deed that proves the lake is actually on his property. In the animated special, Cyrus is a much more active antagonist, sneaking around and messing up Mr. Whiskers's house in order to keep Mr. Whiskers from finding that deed (whereas in the book he had no idea it existed).
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** Ammit, on the other hand, is portrayed as a pet of the [[Big Bad]]. In Egyptian mythology she was a neutral enforcer of order and punisher of evil, although this quality made her feared by the ancient Egyptians.
* The ''[[Street Fighter (animation)|Street Fighter]]'' animated series made Zangief into one of M. Bison's lackeys, despite the fact that Zangief actually opposed Shadaloo in the games.
* In
** Oh, and Gambit, you know, ''the'' X-Man? He's a member of the Thieves' Guild who only cares about the money, to the point where he'll steal a weapon for the MRD, who he knows will use it against mutants, '''his own kind''', for money. Man, what a [[Jerkass]].▼
▲**Oh, and Gambit, you know, the X-Man? He's a member of the Thieves' Guild who only cares about the money, to the point where he'll steal a weapon for the MRD, who he knows will use it against mutants, '''his own kind''', for money. Man, what a [[Jerkass]]
▲**Oh, yeah. Another good guy, Multiple Man, works for Sinister.
* From ''[[The Smurfs]]'':
** In the original version of "King Smurf", Brainy was ''not'' the eponymous villain as he was in the cartoon. Rather this role was taken up by an unnamed smurf. Brainy was, in fact, a member of [[La Resistance| the faction that opposed King Smurf.]]
** More a case of "Not the Hero By Adaptation", Brainy's role in "The Weather Smurfing Machine". In the original, he was the one who destroyed saved the day by tying his kite to the out-of-control Machine in order to draw lighting to it and blow it to pieces. In the animated version, Handy thinks this up, crafting the kite from Brainy's umbrella. Whether this change of plot was good or not is debatable; one could say that forcing Handy to destroy his own machine was a nice touch.
* [[Harley Quinn]] is a character who has gone all the way up and down the [[Sliding Scale of Anti-Villains]], often into true villain territory, but most of the time, she’s regarded as a tragic figure corrupted by the Joker, who in [[New 52]], went so far as to dunk her in the same vat of chemicals that drove him mad. In the 2019 series, however, this origin is changed. Harley’s backstory reveals that she was likely [[Evil All Along]], having been a [[Yandere]] towards a boy as early as age 11 (having spent time in juvie for it) and possibly having killed her [[Alpha Bitch]] rival in high school. This is finally cinched by [[Repressed Memories]] that shows the Joker did ''not'' push her into that vat of chemicals - she willingly ''jumped'' in, and later rationalized that Joker pushed her in to absolve herself of any responsibility for it. This revelation causes Harley to embrace her dark side and plot to outshine the Joker in notoriety, which has been a major part of the ongoing plot.
* [[Mad Scientist|Professor Piddy P. Poopypants]] from ''[[Captain Underpants|Captain Underpants: The Epic First Movie]]''.
{{reflist}}
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