# What fiction characters started out completly diffrent than how they are now? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 11, 2005, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fiction-characters-started-out-completly-diffrent-than-how-they-are-now/294103 "2005-03-11T22:12:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fiction-characters-started-out-completly-diffrent-than-how-they-are-now/294103/1 "2005-03-11T22:12:51Z")
Well, thanks to JSexton, I am now a member, so in celebration, I will start a new thread. I will log off in a few minutes, so I am afraid I will not be able to see if this thread lives or dies until later. As originally conceived, Superman could be harmed by cobalt bombs. Sure, they are really freaking powerful, but he is now invulnerable to all but Kryptonite, and Magic. (Go on, Captain Marvel, drop a train an enchanted train on him! You know you want to, since he stole your sales.) and likewise, Batman didn’t like to kill people, but he did when he had to. I didn’t even realize until recently, that the reprints of Batman I read where “not the same person” as the modern Batman. Does any one else caer to state other fictional beings who used to be different. They don’t need to more powerful, just different, and they don’t have to be from comic books either. Anywhere fictional. Come to think off it, I guess Nixon counts too. ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fiction-characters-started-out-completly-diffrent-than-how-they-are-now/294103/2 "2005-03-11T22:15:07Z")
That is supposed to be “What fiction characters started out completely different than how they are now?” Sorry about the misspelling. ---
**Author:** ![ChoosyChipsAndCeilingWhacks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c77e96/32.png) [@ChoosyChipsAndCeilingWhacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChoosyChipsAndCeilingWhacks)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fiction-characters-started-out-completly-diffrent-than-how-they-are-now/294103/3 "2005-03-11T22:16:50Z")
Actually, Frankenstein comes to mind. But I don’t know if this is the kind of thing you were getting at the the O.P. In Mary Shelley Wollstoncraft’s novel, Dr. Frankenstein was the DOCTOR who created a nameless monster. In later incarnations of this, the monster ends up being called Frankenstein. It was significant, actually, that the monster had no name. L ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fiction-characters-started-out-completly-diffrent-than-how-they-are-now/294103/4 "2005-03-11T22:21:39Z")
It is exactly what I am looking for. Thank you, L. ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fiction-characters-started-out-completly-diffrent-than-how-they-are-now/294103/5 "2005-03-11T22:27:08Z")
In honor of sponsoring you, I will, er…post. Dracula comes to mind. The original character was a horrible monster, an true villain. More recent works hold vampires in general, and Dracula in specific, as romantic anti-heroes. The Terminator, I suppose could count, although technically Arnold played three different characters that all looked identical. Still, going from villain to hero in ten years… The Fonz was much more of a wuss in the earliest Happy Days episodes. ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fiction-characters-started-out-completly-diffrent-than-how-they-are-now/294103/6 "2005-03-11T22:29:49Z")
The original Peter Pan was a young child, not an adolescent. We are told that Peter still has all his baby teeth. ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fiction-characters-started-out-completly-diffrent-than-how-they-are-now/294103/7 "2005-03-11T22:33:22Z")
Thank you. Speaking off Dracula, how did he go from a nasfaratu, to a handsome, black haired count? I think he was handsome in the original, but Nasfaratu was the first filmed version. Woops, I have got to sign off for the weekend. Thanks again. You are pretty 🆒 for having sponsored me. ---
**Author:** ![blowero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/41988e/32.png) [@blowero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blowero)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fiction-characters-started-out-completly-diffrent-than-how-they-are-now/294103/8 "2005-03-11T22:48:54Z")
Hawkeye Pierce was originally a rebellious and headstrong albeit principled guy who didn’t play by the rules. He became a whiny, preachy, overly sensitive, irritable jerk. ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fiction-characters-started-out-completly-diffrent-than-how-they-are-now/294103/9 "2005-03-11T22:53:02Z")
> [@blowero](#): > > Hawkeye Pierce was originally a rebellious and headstrong albeit principled guy who didn’t play by the rules. He became a whiny, preachy, overly sensitive, irritable jerk. Yeah, but that’s really just character development, yes? I think the OP is going for more of a make over or retcon; something that can’t be explained by simple passage of time and experience gained. Madonna, for example. [/kidding, mostly] ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fiction-characters-started-out-completly-diffrent-than-how-they-are-now/294103/10 "2005-03-11T22:53:08Z")
Well, in television, several characters in Babylon 5 really changed. The ones that stand out the most are Gkar, Londo, and Vir. The latter went from picked on, milquetoast “moon-faced assasin of joy” to “how do you like\* THAT\*, spoo for brains?!” Londo went from buffoonish, to treacherous, to tragic hero. G’kar went from slightly sinister to noble. I like G’kar best in the episode with Michael York, the guy who thought he was King Arthur. ---
**Author:** ![blowero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/41988e/32.png) [@blowero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blowero)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fiction-characters-started-out-completly-diffrent-than-how-they-are-now/294103/11 "2005-03-11T22:57:22Z")
> [@JSexton](#): > > Yeah, but that’s really just character development, yes? I think the OP is going for more of a make over or retcon; something that can’t be explained by simple passage of time and experience gained. Um, it was really more a joke than anything else. ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fiction-characters-started-out-completly-diffrent-than-how-they-are-now/294103/12 "2005-03-11T22:59:22Z")
Tarzan started out as disgustingly popular. He’s not next-to-unheard of. ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fiction-characters-started-out-completly-diffrent-than-how-they-are-now/294103/13 "2005-03-11T23:10:20Z")
> [@blowero](#): > > Um, it was really more a joke than anything else. Sigh. Sorry 'bout that. I’m forced to be very literal minded with my cow orkers, and it bleeds over when I post from work. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2005, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fiction-characters-started-out-completly-diffrent-than-how-they-are-now/294103/14 "2005-03-11T23:18:03Z")
The various film verions of Dorian Gray suggests the character is extremely old, having been locked in youth for close to a century. The literary version, though, was only 38. The story is actually creepy in the sense that at age 38, a man has lost all his personal beauty and what remains is “withered, wrinkled, and loathsome”. It kinda makes Oscar Wilde sound like Michael Jackson. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2005, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fiction-characters-started-out-completly-diffrent-than-how-they-are-now/294103/15 "2005-03-12T00:00:23Z")
Bugs Bunny started out as a kind of wacky trouble-maker and gadfly, but he ended up a smug, condescending know-it-all. Daffy Duck began life as a wild and crazy nutjob, but became a bitter, greedy kvetcher. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2005, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fiction-characters-started-out-completly-diffrent-than-how-they-are-now/294103/16 "2005-03-12T00:28:24Z")
> [@Scott\_plaid](#): > > Speaking off Dracula, how did he go from a nasfaratu, to a handsome, black haired count? I think he was handsome in the original, but Nasfaratu was the first filmed version. Actually, IIRC, in Stoker’s novel, Dracula appears human enough, has long flowing locks of hair, and is adorned in antiquated (by 1890s standards) suits, adorned with lots of jewels. Basically, he’s described as appearing like a Medeival prince, only slightly updated for the times. His only non-human characteristic is his rat-like incisors. * * * Wonder Woman went from kinky feminist (golden age) to pacified / neutered secretary-to-the-JLA (silver age) to a humanist ambassador from a time lost civilization (Perez revamp) to a politically-savvy ambassador (current version). Wolverine went from bush-league Hulk bad-guy with artificial claws attached to his gloves (the claws weren’t considered a part of his body until after he joined the X-Men), to irritating nuisance within a popular superteam, to noble ninja warrior. (Lets not even get started on the multiple backstories! Yeesh!) the Thing - Conceived initially as an unstable, unpredictably violent character like the Hulk (during the FF’s first encounter with Dr. Doom, the Thing briefly betrays his team-mates), the Thing was changed first into a sad, self-hating character who was disgusted by his own appearance, and finally to a more comical character. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2005, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fiction-characters-started-out-completly-diffrent-than-how-they-are-now/294103/17 "2005-03-12T00:28:25Z")
Captain Jean-Luc Picard started out as the kind of wimp that would surrender to a garbage scow, & ended up a tactical genius. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2005, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fiction-characters-started-out-completly-diffrent-than-how-they-are-now/294103/18 "2005-03-12T00:44:15Z")
> [@Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor](#): > > Captain Jean-Luc Picard started out as the kind of wimp that would surrender to a garbage scow, & ended up a tactical genius. Well, Captain Kathryn Janeway started out as a short-sighted sanctimonious harpy and ended up as an Admiral. Go figure. ---
**Author:** ![St\_Ides](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@St\_Ides](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/St_Ides)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2005, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fiction-characters-started-out-completly-diffrent-than-how-they-are-now/294103/19 "2005-03-12T00:47:05Z")
If not Hawkeye, then Radar. During the movie and subsequent series, he started as the kind of guy who would be in on Hawkeye and Trapper John’s pranks, and fe found in the colonel’s office, drinking whiskey and smoking cigars, and even getting a piece from the occasional nurse. Later on, he became virginal and innocent… Almost the opposite of how he started. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Mad\_Hermit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b5ac83/32.png) [@The\_Mad\_Hermit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Mad_Hermit)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2005, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fiction-characters-started-out-completly-diffrent-than-how-they-are-now/294103/20 "2005-03-12T01:04:10Z")
How about Dr. Smith from _Lost in Space?_ He started as an evil saboteur, and transformed into a mincing pansy/closet pedophile. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fiction-characters-started-out-completly-diffrent-than-how-they-are-now/294103.md?page=2)