The Artifact: Difference between revisions

 

== Anime and Manga ==

** For the first three seasons, the Monsters-of-the-Day actually did something relevant to the [[Plot]], but in the fourth and fifth seasons, their only purpose was to give the girls something to fight before the end of the episode. It became especially bad in the last season; the targets were supposed to be potential Sailor Senshi (hence why they're attacked very early in the original comic) but no attempt is ever made to target those that ''show up to every single fight, in costume''.

* [[The Lancer|Brock]] from ''[[Pokémon (anime)|Pokémon]]'' became this during "Johto Journeys" and stayed that way for a ''loooooong'' time. The writers seemed to have forgotten all about his stated goal of breeding Pokémon, and were probably keeping him around just to avoid the fan backlash that might result from removing him.

* Likewise Chrono's very distinctive outfit in ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]]'' is back from when he was designed to be a more important lead character -- and a villain -- rather than a side character. There [[Improbably-Female Cast|not being much to compare him to]], even Elio's outfit is much less flashy.

** The name of Raising Heart also qualifies, since [[media:Nanoha.jpg|its original design]] was a fairly normal-looking [[Magic Wand]] with a [[Heart Symbol]] on it.

* An in-universe example is brought up in the final episode of [[Ghost in the Shell]]:[[Stand Alone Complex]] where a few of [[The Protagonist|the protagonists]] meet in a library. One points out the uselessness of printed media to which another points out that it is just a habit of mankind.

* The character of Index can't really be dropped from the series ''[[To Aru Majutsu no Index]]'' but her character and abilities after the initial arc don't really add anything. However, she's fairly popular and, again, her name is in the title. So as the story introduces two more protagonists and something of a rival main heroine, poor Index is largely confined to either comedy scenes or used as a macguffin. Some of the less kind fans have taken to calling her a [[Half Life|headcrab]] in response to her perceived uselessness and most common running gag.

== Comic Books ==

* In his earliest incarnation, [[Superman]] held a job at ''The Daily Planet'' so he would be the first to hear about misdeeds he could set right. As the character became increasingly more powerful over the decades, the need for him to learn about such things from the ''Planet'' was obviated; however, the job is such a central part of the mythos (it's impossible to conceive of his [[Secret Identity]] without it) that it has continued into every [[Continuity Reboot]] and adaptation to date - and now often sees Clark Kent mysteriously getting all the good [[Superman]] stories... In 1971, writer Denny O'Neil actually did do away with the job at the Planet, with Clark taking the more modern job as a news anchor on a national station, with Lana Lang as co-anchor. This was eventually changed back Post-[[Crisis on Infinite Earths|Crisis]] to tie in with the [[Superman]] movies, which featured Clark at the Planet with his classic supporting cast. Also, the idea of Clark as a well known TV personality who is seen by millions of Americans every day makes his [[Clark Kenting|questionable disguise]] even more unbelievable.

** Superman also had lots of artifacts like Krypto the Superdog, and odd powers like Super-ventriloquism, that disappeared with the reboot of the character in the 1980s. (Superdog's back now, though not used as a part of Supes' evil-fighting. He certainly fit this trope for a while because he didn't exactly fit the mood of [[The Iron Age of Comic Books|Iron Age]] comics. Nowadays he fits better, what with {{spoiler|Kandor coming back and its citizens coming to our world}} and all.)

* Storm of the ''[[X-Men (Comic Book)|X-Men]]'' can be this way [[Depending on the Writer|under anyone who isn't Chris Claremont]]. In theory, she's one of the most popular X-Men, and the company likes what she brings to [[Twofer Token Minority|representation]], but many writers are at a loss what to do with her, especially when Cyclops is in the mix.

** Some more recent comics, such as 4, bring his elastic body back into the foreground by showing how useful such a power is when in the hands of the smartest man on the planet. His secondary powers from his plastine skin (such as not needing to sweat, or enhanced heat resistance) come up often too.

* The ''[[Legion of Super-Heroes (comics)|Legion of Super-Heroes]]'' has a group called the Legion of Super-Villains. This sort of [[Silver Age]] name would never be used nowadays (since nobody thinks of themselves as villains), but is so closely associated with the group that it can't be changed in the comic. (The [[Legion of Super-Heroes (TV series)|cartoon]] used '''L'''ight '''S'''peed '''V'''anguard.)

* In the superhero genre, the [[Secret Identity]] trope often exists as an artifact, used whether or not it makes sense for the individual hero in question. Many early superheroes had secret identities pretty much because [[Superman]] had one, and [[Follow the Leader|if he did it, that must be a trope worth copying]]. Notably, many adaptations and "new" incarnations of superhero characters either dispense with the [[Secret Identity]] altogether or use it, but have it known to a large number of friends and family:

** Reading [[Wonder Woman]]'s early [[The Golden Age of Comic Books|Golden Age]] stories, one gets the distinct impression the standard "secret identity protection" tropes are used mostly due to the [[Follow the Leader|"Superman does it"]] school of [[Executive Meddling]]. The tropes are there, but usually dealt with in a perfunctory manner, and you can practically sense that writer William Moulton Marston is bored with them and eager to move on to the fun stuff. Notably, apart from sheer physical strength, Diana Prince is almost indistinguishable from Wonder Woman -- extremely smart and capable, and recognized as a top counter-intelligence agent in her own right. Most recent incarnations of Wonder Woman have dispensed with Diana Prince altogether.

** Many modern writers have found [[The Mighty Thor|Thor]]'s "Dr. Donald Blake" secret identity to be dispensable, and it's only used in [[Thor (film)|the 2011 movie]] as a brief [[Continuity Nod]] (and because, well, were the scientists ''supposed'' to say, "hey, this is a guy who fell from the sky and says he's a depowered god" or "this is my brother Donald"?)

** The Jaime Reyes [[Blue Beetle]] is an example of a more modern approach to the secret identity. He technically has one, but his close friends and immediate family are all [[Secret Keeper|in on the secret]].

*** And on that note, Cap's whole origin. Although it [[Zeerust Canon|probably made sense to Jack Kirby and Joe Simon in 1940]] to have one [[Mad Scientist|lone scientist]] (Dr. Erskine) in charge of ''an entire government program'', such that if he got killed, all his research was lost, by the end of [[World War II]] and the revelation of the Manhattan Project, during which multiple groups of physicists were working all across the country, often with no knowledge of what others were doing or, indeed, that there ''were'' others to begin with, it should have been clear [[Did Not Do the Research|government programs do not work that way]]. Still, almost all subsequent adaptations and reboots have kept the lone Dr. Erskine around because that's how the story goes.

*** There is also the problem of Bucky, Cap's [[Kid Sidekick]]. While Robin gets a pass because of Batman's "eccentricities," Bucky is much harder to justify for a superhero during [[World War II]] who is a definite agent of the US Military having an clearly [[Child Soldier|underage partner]]. As a result, most modern talents tend to fudge about his age to get by.

** Except most superheroes, including Spider-Man spend a disproportionate amount of time rescuing their own loved ones. Heck, Peter Parker is know as Spider-Man's photographer so attacking him and his loved ones would be a good way to draw Spider-Man into a trap.

* Speaking of Batman, ''Robin'' is becoming more and more an artifact of the Gold and Silver Age. Teen sidekicks used to be everywhere, but these days it reeks of irresponsible child endangerment (especially with the current Robin being a ''pre-teen''). Robin is virtually the only one left, because he's integral to the character. (And yet, note his absence from the [[Christopher Nolan]] films.)

** And in the Tim Drake era, Robin generally only occasionally appears as a regular in Batman's series, appearing more in his own book and in [[Teen Titans (Comic Book)|Teen Titans]].

* [[Spider-Man|Spider-Man's]] Aunt May. Her original purpose was to be an unwitting obstruction in Peter's life for drama's sake: She was very frail so illness could strike at any moment, she didn't have much money so Peter had to get a job to support the family and her constant worrying about Peter not meant sneaking out to be Spider-Man was tricky but kept Peter from telling her his secret (out of fear she'd die of shock). When Peter finally moved out of the house and was on his own he was free from her smothering while May herself was able to sell her house and move in with her friend, meaning she had a nest egg to live off of and had someone to take care of her. After that there wasn't really anything for her to do in the book except die.

* In the ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (film)|Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]'' movies, which are PG, they can't exactly show the Ninja Turtles slicing and dicing their opponents. However, Leonardo's katanas are so iconic to him that he can't have any other weapon. For that reason, he will almost exclusively fight with his bare hands, leaving only Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo to use their weapons, which are significantly less bloody.

* [[The Fool|Jar Jar Binks]] in episodes 2 and 3 of the ''[[Star Wars]]'' trilogy (left over from episode 1).

** This may be where the "force ghost" concept came from - as an alternative method of dispensing said advice.

** In the [[Expanded Universe]], [[The Smart Guy|C-3PO]] does this a lot. So does [[Sixth Ranger|Lando]] to a lesser extent.

 

== Literature ==

** Similarly, any visual version of Hitchhiker's Guide suffers from the complication of giving Zaphod a second head and a third arm. Both elements were completely unimportant in the actual books and radio play and just inserted to be weird. Yet if you were to design a one headed, two armed Zaphod, you'd have a riot of galactic proportions.

** The radio version's differing plot for the second season kept Zaphod in a fairly important role, and he was a popular character; so they gave him an expanded role in the adapted series.

*** Zaphod's role is likewise expanded in the book written by [[Eoin Colfer]].

** He's in the main credits because the actor who plays him is also one of the producers, not because of the importance of his character.

* The patient of the week on ''[[House (TV series)|House]]'' has been secondary to the main characters' personal issues since Season 4, whereas the show's original premise was "a medical drama in the style of a cop detective show". The fact that the audience found the characters so engaging is a credit to the writers, but means that more and more frequently the episode will sideline the patient or sometimes not even feature one.

* Same with ''[[American Dreams]]'': its original gimmick of ''[[American Bandstand]]'' performances (and then modern-day stars doing faux-Bandstand performances) seemed more and more awkwardly included, as the show attempted to become refocused as a serious drama that just happened to take place in the 60s.

* ''[[Mighty Morphin Power Rangers]]'' ran headlong into this as a result of being adapted from three different [[Super Sentai]] shows. The first season was based solely on ''[[Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger]]'', so things worked just fine. But for the second season, rather than adopting Super Sentai's tradition of making a completely new show and storyline every year, Saban chose to take the [[Monsters of the Week|monsters]] and [[Humongous Mecha|robots]] from ''[[Gosei Sentai Dairanger]]'' while retaining the Zyuranger suits for the heroes and keeping the same main villains. The same thing was done for the third season with ''[[Ninja Sentai Kakuranger]]'', though in this instance the Kakuranger suits were used for a another team of Rangers. Overall this results in quite a few oddities, since the motifs of the three Sentai teams did not match: while the animal robots and suits in Zyuranger were based on prehistoric beasts, the ones in Dairanger were based on Chinese mythology and the ones in Kakuranger were based on Japanese mythology. The ranger roster and colors also did not match: while all three teams had their respective red, blue and yellow rangers, Dairanger had a "regular" green ranger instead of black and a white sixth (which resulted in the Black Ranger piloting a green-colored lion robot and Tommy being forced to switch suits and powers in the middle of Season 2), while Kakuranger had a female white ranger instead of pink and no sixth (forcing the White and Pink Rangers to share the same Shogunzord). This also holds true for the villains, as the character of Rita Repulsa and her minions stayed on the show for a total of six seasons despite the fact that their Sentai counterparts (Bandora the Witch and her gang) were sealed away at the end of ''Zyuranger''. The most stand-out case is Finster, who was the villains' monster-maker and [[Mad Scientist]], but had his role greatly reduced in the second and third seasons when [[Always a Bigger Fish|new]] [[Big Bad|Big Bads]] with the power to make their own monsters were introduced.

** After the death of Zordon the word Zord itself was an artifact of a previous era of ''[[Power Rangers]]'' history.

** The lightning-bolt in the logo was (and is) put there for [[Rule of Cool]]. However, the original seasons tried to justify it, by having the teens teleport in a bolt of lightning of their color. Since abandoning them, it now has even less purpose.

* ''[[Hikari Sentai Maskman]]'' was supposed to be called "The Fiveman", hence why the number "5" served as the emblem on their suits and why their first [[Humongous Mecha|giant robot]] was called Great Five. Once it got retitled, the "5" is only there for the [[Rule of Cool]].

* ''[[3rd Rock from the Sun]]''. Classic, very [[Egregious]] example. It was only to be expected that no matter how stupid or naive the aliens were they would eventually become conversant with Earth culture after living there for years. It was also to be expected that you can only do really ridiculous science-fiction-esque gags involving the "home planet" for so long before it gets old. Still, watch a later-season episode and see if you can find ''any clue at all'' that the main characters are extraterrestrials rather than just a family of weird, quirky people - any clue other than the increasingly incongruous sci-fi-themed opening credit sequence, of course. This is occasionally [[Lampshaded]] by having the aliens wonder if they'd become "too human".

* Little John, Allan-a-Dale and Much were pretty much pointless throughout all of season three of ''[[Robin Hood (TV series)|Robin Hood]]'', and kept on simply because they were the famous characters of legend (though they fared better than Will Scarlett, who was [[Put on a Bus]] at the end of season two and never seen again). A typical B-plot had Much, Allan and John merely walking across the countryside in the search for water during a drought, and the crisis only ending thanks to Robin's activities in the A-plot. Eventually actor Joe Armstrong (who had a ''huge'' role in season two, and was the show's [[Breakout Character]]) asked the writers to kill off Allan, simply because he was bored with [[Demoted to Extra|playing a character that no longer did anything]]. The writers gave him a [[Red Shirt]] death, which speaks volumes about how unimportant he was at that stage.

* Mr Lucas on ''[[Are You Being Served?|Are You Being Served]]'' was presented as the young, straight, white, male [[This Loser Is You]] in the series's black and white pilot. The series soon progressed into typical British farce and he was demoted into a [[Deadpan Snarker]].

* ''[[Degrassi the Next Generation]]'' was originally a drama about teenagers and a parallel one about twentysomethings (now-adult former students of [[The Eighties]]' ''[[Degrassi High]]''), in near-equal parts. The older cast was de-emphasized until most of them left at the end of season 5 leaving only Snake / Mr. Simpson, and even the parts of his personal life outside school were phased out.

* ''[[Psych]]'' has Shawn's psychic pretence as something of an artifact. While it's occasionally important, most of the time they don't even bother with him hiding how he figured everything out.

* ''[[Dick Tracy]]'' had a [[Dork Age]] in the 1960s involving space travel, wherein Junior married [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|Moon Maid]] and they had a daughter, Honey Moon. Moon Maid later got [[Killed Off for Real]], but Honey is still around. It's simply never mentioned anymore that her cute little pigtails are there to hide the antennae she inherited from Mom.

* Lyman was removed from the comic strip ''[[Garfield]]'' because the title character usurped Lyman's role of giving Jon someone to talk to.

** Shermy, who spoke the first line in the strip, was the first to suffer. His original role was to be better than Charlie Brown at everything Charlie Brown loved to do; as early as the late 1950s his appearances become rare and he has only one line in ''[[A Charlie Brown Christmas]]''. He last appeared in 1969 and was last mentioned in 1977. Schulz didn't mind getting rid of him as he said he was basically down to using Shermy when he needed [[Generic Guy|a character with almost no personality]]. And he didn't like Shermy's haircut, either.

** Patty, originally the mother hen and [[Alpha Bitch]], diminished as Lucy took over most of her role. She last appeared in a speaking part in 1976, with occasional cameos thereafter. When ''You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown'' was revived on Broadway in late 1990s, her role was rewritten to be Sally instead, as most modern audiences would not have been familiar with the character.

 

== [[Tabletop Games]] ==

* In the switch from third edition to fourth edition ''[[Dungeons and Dragons]]'', ability scores ceased to matter much beyond the ability bonus. Yet we still have the old ability scores from 3-18 where the limits can be broken and the players never have one below 8. In some ways, this is an artifact because if it were ever removed, it would only increase the litany of cries that "4E is [[WoW]]" from 3rd edition grognards.

** It's been [[The Artifact]] since the switch to Third. In Second, an ability check was made by rolling a D20 and trying to roll less than your ability score. In addition, there were mechanical differences which made all ability scores different rather than having breaks at every even number. In Third, the ability scores could have been replaced almost entirely with ability modifiers, transforming a stat line into something like: Str +2, Dx +1, etc. (''True20'' and ''[[Mutants and Masterminds]]'' 3rd edition, based on d20 Open Content, did just that.) Almost no mechanics would be changed, and most of those would be simplified, and modifying creatures or changing sizes would be a cinch. This sort of statline is quite common in other games.

* A common occurence in many a [[MMORPG]], as new content, released via patches or expansion packs, frequently leaves older content of less importance. Some examples include:

** ''[[World of Warcraft]]'s'' pre-expansion content had hints of this. Quest design was much more varied and interesting in Northrend, Outlands, or even the Bloodelf and Draenei starting areas. Blizzard attempted to fix this with the ''Cataclysm'' expansion pack, which changed the pre-expansion content (even for players who didn't purchase the expansion pack) to clear up any remaining artifacts and grant the older continents some of the smoother gameplay aspects developed in the expansion worlds.

** Pre-issue 6 content in ''[[City of Heroes]]'' is in many ways quite lacking in comparison to what came afterwards. While the newer content that has been added since (including all of ''[[City of Villains]]'') shows many of the lessons that the development team learned, especially in terms of writing and avoidance of [[Fake Longevity]], they have done little to go back and fix the old content. As of 2010 only one zone, Faultline, has been revamped and brought up to the post-issue 6 standard back in issue 9. The main issues that the old content has are:

*** Sloppy, contrived writing.

*** Old story arcs being much, much longer than they need to be with redundant missions and overkill objectives (you only need to question the gang leader but still are required to defeat every gangmember, even if you stealthed past them all).

*** Old contacts sharing identical missions and story arcs rather than having unique content. That guy in Independence Port is likely to give you the exact same missions as that girl over in Talos Island, and chances are many of the missions will end up being over in Talos Island anyway.

** ''[[Runescape]]'' has been fixing this one: they eventually removed an ancient quest based on ''[[Romeo and Juliet]]'' and replaced it with a quest that, while not entirely original, at least is more than ''Romeo & Juliet'' via [[Fetch Quest]].

** ''[[Final Fantasy XI]]'' has managed to avert this for the most part. The original series of missions, despite technically being the easiest, is still arguably the most important lore wise. Many of the missions intended to be difficult are level capped low enough that you cannot out level them. Some of them can be soloed by some classes, but it isn't substantially easier for a high level player to do so then a character actually at the level cap.

 

== Webcomics ==

* The robots in ''[[Questionable Content]]'' have taken a smaller and smaller role since almost the beginning; even their [[Plucky Comic Relief]] appearances are coming fewer and farther between.

** This may have been true years ago, but starting around strip [http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1780 1780] the comic has introduced a lot of exposition on AnthroPCs in general, and featured the ones in the cast (particularly Momo) more often. One might say that they are an ''aversion'' of [[The Artifact]] and of [[Shoo Out the Clowns]], in that they started out as weird elements nobody commented on, and then turned into an integral part of the "post-singularity" Science-Fiction setting.

* Hack and Slash in ''[[Re Boot]]'' fell into this during season 3. While the series got [[Darker and Edgier]], they didn't. For the most part they were ignored unless some comic relief was needed.

* ''[[Total Drama Island|Total Drama]]'' started with twenty-two contestants in the first season, but while the second and third still had most of the cast competing, a few characters were stuck watching from the sidelines. With such a large main cast, some pairs of characters were [[Not So Different]] from one another, which made a few like [[Hair-Trigger Temper|Eva]], [[The Dividual|Katie and Sadie]] redundant as [[Team Mom|Cour]][[Tsundere|tney]], [[Dumb Blonde|Lindsay]] and [[Geek|Beth]] respectively took on their defining traits. The three only competed in the first season as a result, and have been [[Out of Focus]] ever since.

** Sort of subtly [[Lampshaded]] in ''[[Phineas and Ferb The Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension]]''--Phineas is [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhdaOH9CpIQ&feature=related singing] part of the show's theme song, but gets distracted before he can finish the line "driving our sister insane" (around 1:15). He doesn't try to drive her insane or even seem to realize that he's doing it, so it wouldn't make any sense for him to say that.