What DC Character Has Changed The Most From Their Debut?

[Midnighter]

Guy Gardner by a country mile.

Cookie cutter good guy who worked with special need kids. Gets knocked into a coma trying to help Hal out.

Comes back as kind of a psychopath after Crisis. Became comedy relief/jobber in JLI. Got knocked on the head which caused a personality change so he was super sweet, then back again.

Loses his GL ring in a bet. Gets Sinestro's ring. That gets destroyed. Ted Kord makes him an exosuit.

Gets revealed to be a half alien with Vuldarian powers which cures his brain damage. Becomes a respected member of the hero community and opens a bar for superheroes. Gets killed in OWAW and sent to hell then takes it over and escapes.

Rejects his Vuldarian DNA becomes a Green Lantern again. Saves Oa gets promoted to the GL Honor Guard. Becomes a Red Lantern
,then a Green Lantern again.


*2nd would be Jason Todd.

[j9ac9k]

The Question went through that change from Ditko's Objectivist to O'Neil's zen warrior after getting shot in the head and trained with Richard Dragon. He's gone through a few more changes or tweaks, but he's still mostly the zen Vic.

[M L A]

Remember when DC killed Tim's dad, best friend, and girlfriend within a year and hasn't been the same since?

[Digifiend]

Though the best friend (Superboy) and girlfriend (Spoiler) both later came back.

[manwhohaseverything]

Superman. Wally west(in a good way) and barry allen.

[Aahz]

Alfred Beagle/Pennyworth

From a overweight clumsy Buttler and Hobbydetective has little resemblance to the current incarnation.

[JLH]

If I remember correctly Lucius Fox was introduced in the late 70s as a high-up figure in Wayne Foundation but is now tech savvy seemingly to the nth degree.

[Sutekh]

Green Flame/Fire.
First appearing in 1979 with a very minor power, she went full-on Human Torch following Invasion.

Ooh, definitely this one! I was a kid reading the Superfriends when she appeared and had some 'mystical green flame' that she breathed that could be hot or cold, allowed her to change her clothes, create illusions or even fly! And then she was re-imagined for the Bwa-Ha-League as able to breathe only a six inch tongue of flame, and finally became a 'green Human Torch' metahuman. (Tora's mystical background was also ditched for the metahuman version.)

I miss the older more complex Bea, with all the unanswered questions as to the source of her mystical powers and the intriguing mish-mash of powers, mystical flame that can be spun into illusions? Sounds like the same sort of proto-substance behind a kitsune's 'fox fire' or a genie's 'smokeless fire' or a celtic faeries 'glamour'... It could have been fun to explore how all of these cultures have such a similar root concept, a 'magical fire' or 'glow' that can be spun into illusions (or perhaps even temporary solid objects with unusual properties).

But no. Metagene. Cuz chicks don't need origins. Sigh.

[Agent Z]

Slade Wilson went from an irredeemable scumbag who had trouble with a bunch of kids to "villain with a code" who can suddenly give trouble to Justice League members.

Ooh, definitely this one! I was a kid reading the Superfriends when she appeared and had some 'mystical green flame' that she breathed that could be hot or cold, allowed her to change her clothes, create illusions or even fly! And then she was re-imagined for the Bwa-Ha-League as able to breathe only a six inch tongue of flame, and finally became a 'green Human Torch' metahuman. (Tora's mystical background was also ditched for the metahuman version.)

I miss the older more complex Bea, with all the unanswered questions as to the source of her mystical powers and the intriguing mish-mash of powers, mystical flame that can be spun into illusions? Sounds like the same sort of proto-substance behind a kitsune's 'fox fire' or a genie's 'smokeless fire' or a celtic faeries 'glamour'... It could have been fun to explore how all of these cultures have such a similar root concept, a 'magical fire' or 'glow' that can be spun into illusions (or perhaps even temporary solid objects with unusual properties).

But no. Metagene. Cuz chicks don't need origins. Sigh.

How does "I have a metagene" = "chicks don't need origins"? I mean, by your own account they didn't get into exactly what her mystic green flame was. Never mind that she was hardly the only female member of JLI and all if not most of them had their origins explained. Seriously, Plastic Man couldn't make a stretch that illogical.

Also, given superhero comics' rather lousy history with non-Western cultures, changing it to a metagene instead of some vaguely defined mystical nonsense that could have ended up being potentially offensive was probably for the best.

[Digifiend]

DC's metagene isn't just X-Men style mutant powers - the gene still has to be activated, for example, Barry and Wally getting hit by that thunderbolt and covered in chemicals, turning them into speedsters. DC metahuman heroes should ALWAYS have an origin, unless their powers are genetically inherited (like Jon Kent, whose powers come from his father).

[Lee Stone]

DC's metagene isn't just X-Men style mutant powers - the gene still has to be activated, for example, Barry and Wally getting hit by that thunderbolt and covered in chemicals, turning them into speedsters. DC metahuman heroes should ALWAYS have an origin, unless their powers are genetically inherited (like Jon Kent, whose powers come from his father).

True.
You could say that her early flame power was basically a tapping into her metagene that was always present. Like a psychic that shows potential early on.
With or without Invasion, something down the line could have triggered it, but it would have to be 'the right circumstances' for her, such as being in a fiery explosion involving strange chemicals.
Something that would kill a normal person, but would just amplify and reveal her metagene due to the nature of its catalysts.
Invasion just became her lightning bolt by forcing the gene to activate prematurely, thus Invasion became a major part of her origin.

[The Darknight Detective]

Guy Gardner by a country mile.

Cookie cutter good guy who worked with special need kids. Gets knocked into a coma trying to help Hal out.

Comes back as kind of a psychopath after Crisis. Became comedy relief/jobber in JLI. Got knocked on the head which caused a personality change so he was super sweet, then back again.

Loses his GL ring in a bet. Gets Sinestro's ring. That gets destroyed. Ted Kord makes him an exosuit.

Gets revealed to be a half alien with Vuldarian powers which cures his brain damage. Becomes a respected member of the hero community and opens a bar for superheroes. Gets killed in OWAW and sent to hell then takes it over and escapes.

Rejects his Vuldarian DNA becomes a Green Lantern again. Saves Oa gets promoted to the GL Honor Guard. Becomes a Red Lantern
,then a Green Lantern again.

I tend to agree. The others mentioned here pale in comparison, IMO.

[Dr. Ellingham]

Guy Gardner by a country mile.

Totally. Paraphrasing your list, it's really impressive how much writers changed Guy up:

Schoolteacher who worked with special need kids
Becomes back-up to Hal
Sinestro puts him in a coma
Post-coma he's a psychopath
Becomes ranting comedy relief/jobber in JLI
Knocked on the head and turns sweet, briefly
Loses his GL ring in a bet
Gets Sinestro's ring, which is destroyed
Ted Kord makes him an exosuit
Revealed to be a half alien with Vuldarian powers which cures his brain damage, opens Warriors bar
Killed in OWAW and sent to hell then takes it over and escapes
Rejects his Vuldarian DNA, becomes a Green Lantern again
Promoted to the GL Honor Guard
Becomes a Red Lantern
Becomes a Green Lantern again


In interviews Steve Englehart has lamented the fact that he has no ownership participation in Guy Gardner. When he brought Guy back during Crisis, the intent was to create an "edgy", Wolverine-like character out of him, hence the brain damage and makeover. Whereas if he'd have been an all-new character, Engelhart would've made regular cash on Guy for decades.

[married guy]

Alfred - From bumbling fat comic relief to septuagenarian James Bond!
Jason Todd - From Dick Grayson clone to edgy street punk
Superman - From strongman who battled regular street thugs (he could only leap tall buildings in a single bound remember) to God-level being
Guy Gardner - School teacher, to thug, to human/alien hybrid to hard arse take no shit fully formed character.

[K7P5V]

Definitely Talia al Ghul

Before:


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