Xenafication: Difference between revisions

* ''Lots'' of characters are susceptible to this in fanfic.

* ''[[Smallville]]'''s Chloe Sullivan is a prime example. On the actual show itself, for several seasons, she was a relatively competent scrapper in a fight, but certainly nowhere near expert-level in fighting skill. Not so in the wonderful world of ''Smallville'' fanfic, where Chloe (who usually acts as a [[Possession Sue]] in these fics) suddenly can trade blows with the best of them, even becoming a sparring partner for ''Batman'' in "Chruce" shipper fics. Some fics do make somewhat of an effort to make it seem more natural, by having Chloe start out with her canon level of skill and then undergo [[Training from Hell]] to gain her new level of fighting ability, but even these fics often have it happen way too fast, and the reader is treated to a montage of Chloe progressing from a merely competent, average-level fighter to a skilled, dan-grade martial artist in a matter of weeks. Now granted, on the show itself Chloe eventually ''did'' [[Take a Level In Badass]] and become a very skilled fighter...but by the time that happened it was already Season 9, waaay after most of these fanfics were written.

 

== Films -- Animation ==

* ''[[The Little Mermaid]] II'' completely flipped the roles of Eric and Ariel. In the original film, Eric had to do all the action sequences and save a rather helpless Ariel in the climax. Meanwhile, in ''The Little Mermaid II'', Ariel was so action-oriented when Morganna tried to kidnap her infant daughter Melody, that she actually ripped Eric's sword out of its scabbard while he stood there slackjawed. Eric was mostly useless in the action scenes. Apparently only ''one'' member of that couple can be an action team.

** Ariel was also generally ''far'' more adventurous and action-oriented on the television series, which took place [[Prequel|before the first film]].

 

== Films -- Live Action ==

* In an attempt to make her an actual character (and cut down on the [[Loads and Loads of Characters]]), Arwen from ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' was given a big chase scene on horseback that Glorfindel did in the book. She was originally intended to fight at Helm's Deep as well, in order to allow her and Aragorn to actually interact, but it was cut in favor of sticking closer to the books. By that point, however, fans had already dubbed her Xenarwen. Liv Tyler even comments on this in the extended version's behind the scenes, saying she had done months of swordplay training to prepare for Helm's Deep, before the fans caught wind and dubbed her "Liv Tyler, Warrior Princess", and the idea was scrapped.

* Susan Pevensie in the ''[[Chronicles of Narnia]]'' series of movies. In ''The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe'', she has a scene devoted to training, while she's never seen fighting in the book (despite being stated in ''Prince Caspian'' that she ''was'' already trained in bowmanship). In fact, when she is given her bow by Santa Claus in the book, she is expressly told not to use it, because "''[[Stay in the Kitchen|battles are ugly when women fight]]''". Also, in the scene when the wolf attacks, she gives herself and Lucy time to escape by throwing a blanket at it. In the book, she just climbed up a tree and nearly fainted—though it's understandable, because would '''you''' be super coolheaded when a [[Big Badass Wolf]] who doubles as [[The Dragon]] is chasing you? Surely you wouldn't, kids.

** Arguably justified, because when they returned to Narnia, they regained the fighting skills they had after years of royal training. Peter was able to defeat the [[Big Bad]].

*** Susan was also ''already'' trained as [[The Archer]] in the real world, whereas the much younger Lucy picked up her archery skills in Narnia itself. On the other hand, she was trained as archery [[Passionate Sports Girl|as a sport]] than as survival means - which explains why she panicked horribly when Fenris was around, since until then she only had used her archery skills to point at blanks and not at living beings, much less wolves.

* Alice in [[Tim Burton]]'s ''[[Alice in Wonderland (film)|Alice in Wonderland]]''.

* While Irene Adler has [[Breakout Villain|gotten an expanded role]] in [[Sherlock Holmes]] adaptations for a long while, in ''[[Sherlock Holmes (film)|Sherlock Holmes]]'', she becomes a definite [[Action Girl]], which is showcased in a [[Mugging the Monster]] scene. This probably has to do with the fact that the film also emphasizes Holmes and Watson's (canonical) fighting prowess.

* In-universe example in the 2003 live action ''[[Peter Pan (film)|Peter Pan]]'' film. Wendy's version of [[Cinderella (novel)|Cinderella]] swashbuckles with pirates trying to steal her glass slippers and gutting any pirate who dares to call her "girly".

* ''[[Snow White and the Huntsman]]'' has Snow White donning knight's armor and leading a rebellion against the Evil Queen.

 

* In ''[[Lost in Oz]]'', Princess Ozma is mentioned as having been trained from birth to fight the Wicked Witch, and is apparently in her 20s. {{spoiler|It's actually a subversion, as by the time the heroes rescue her she's lost all fighting capabilities and has been enchanted to be an eight-year-old}}.

* Nicely [[Averted]] with Guinevere from ''[[Merlin (TV series)|Merlin]]''. It would have been easy for the writers to simply give her a sword and have her display unlikely physical prowess in battle ...but she never does. Instead her worth is founded on [[Badass Damsel|her kindness and intelligence]], and she's managed to get herself out of several dangerous situations by using her wits or stalling for time until she's either rescued by other parties, or manages to escape by herself. On the odd occasion when she ''does'' wield weapons in self-defense, she's portrayed as a competent but hardly skilled fighter. As such, she's something of a [[Base Breaker]] in fandom, with half appreciating her as a strong female character whose strength does ''not'' lie with the ability to swing a sword, and the other considering her a case of [[Real Women Never Wear Dresses]].

* As mentioned above, Maid Marian from the BBC's ''[[Robin Hood (TV series)|Robin Hood]]'' had a secret identity as the Night Watchman, a masked and hooded vigilante who was giving alms to the poor long before Robin came up with the idea. Despite Marian having a reputation as an [[Action Girl]] and [[Badass]] in the original ballads, the Night Watchman was clearly an attempt on the writers' behalf to have a "strong, modern take" on Marian, an idea that (in the context of the show) was somewhat unnecessary for several reasons: a) Marian already had a vitally important role as the spy and informant within Castle Nottingham, b) the concept was stuffed full of [[Fridge Logic]] (why didn't anyone notice that the NWM had breasts? Why did Marian need the guise in the first place considering taking food/money to the poor was hardly illegal? Where did she get her combat skills in the first place?<ref>She claims her father had her trained so that she "would have choices", but given that Sir Edward spends the entire show fretting over her and forbidding her to do things means that this explanation makes even ''less'' sense</ref>), and c) despite being presented as a skilled fighter, the writers often had her thrown into the role of [[Damsel in Distress]] ''anyway'' (and most of her best [[Badass]] moments were done ''without'' the disguise). For the most part, the writers get away with it considering their Marian ''was'' a three-dimensional character in her own right, and the idea fitted in well with Marian's rebellious attitude, but often the Night Watchman just felt like an excuse to have their lead female do an occasional back-flip or karate chop.

 

 

* Yuna in [[Final Fantasy X-2]]. She goes from being a White Mage / Songstress / Summoner (All the stock 'female' jobs in that franchise) to being gun slinging [[Action Girl]] who thanks to the metagame Dressphere system, can be any of several 'boyish' jobs such as Warrior, Dark Knight and Berserker.

* Fitting with the Alice in Wonderland example in Film, Alice takes ''several'' levels in [[Badass]] in [[American McGee's Alice]]. Justified as it's a [[Battle in the Center of the Mind]].

** [[Super Mario 3D Land]] has Peach become strong enough to {{spoiler|actually escape Bowser's Lair on her own. However, she is not competent enough to get away before recapture. Still, A for effort.}}

*** [[Paper Mario]] actually allowed the player, as Peach, to sneak around the captured castle and help Mario by gathering information, sending him useful items and badges, and essentially causing trouble for Bowser and his minions. She also gives Mario the power needed to finally beat Bowser in the final battle.

** On a similar note, Princess Daisy. When she was first introduced in ''[[Super Mario Land]]'', she was actually portrayed as a [[Damsel in Distress]] where she is kidnapped by the evil alien Tatanga, and Mario had to defeat the alien to save her. Now, she's a [[Tomboy Princess]] who appears in various spinoff games alongside Peach and prefers competing in sporting events more.

 

== Western Animation ==

[[Category:Character Derailment Tropes]]

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