Characters that were drastically changed for the better

[Tzigone]

Blue Beetle.
From fairly generic clean cut good guy to jokester who gets no respect but has hidden depths.

I much prefer him from his '80s solo series. Know I'm in the minority, but that's how I feel.

Super-Boy Prime. I think the various oops moments speak for themselves.

I hate good characters going bad in principle, and I hate happy endings revealed to be bad ones, so not a fan of that one at all.

Rebirth Barbara Minerva as Wonder Woman's Two-Face.

Don't care for it. Liked her was Diana's friend, don't as enemy. But I hate all the heroes having to have personal connections with their villains, anyway. First time I saw it, it added drama. Now it's just boring and repetitive. Especially when retconned in.

Barbara Gordon going from Batgirl to Oracle.

I really liked her as Oracle the '90s, but I quite liked her as Batgirl in a good portion of '70s comics, too. The '80s were not good to her, and she was barely used. And I didn't like what happened with the character in New 52.

[Riv86672]

I much prefer him from his '80s solo series. Know I'm in the minority, but that's how I feel.

That’s fair.
I collected that book, and, it could have been so much better. No offense to Len Wein but he just kinda meandered through that run. Plotlines that went nowhere, story arcs that weren’t that good and lasted way too long, pretty much zero attention payed to the almost non existent supporting cast and Kord Industries...
Ted changed for the better thanks to his JLI appearances.

[Jadeb]

I hate good characters going bad in principle, and I hate happy endings revealed to be bad ones, so not a fan of that one at all.

I thought his debut story was way better than everything that came after it. He’s a meme now, rather than a character.

[caj]

Dream Girl of the Legion of Super Heroes thanks to writer Paul Levitz

From 'dumb blonde' who is always in distress and needing saving to sharp, intelligent member who became only the second female Legion Leader of the group.

[caj]

Super-Boy Prime. I think the various oops moments speak for themselves.

I hated that one. What Geoff Johns did to all four of the 'and they lived happily ever after in paradise' characters of COIE was horrible IMO.

[BlueElf94]

Swamp Thing for sure. I love original Wein/Wrightson stuff but Moore's run really proved how versatile you could get with the character.

Lobo also comes to mind. He really didn't come into his own until he became the living pastiche of the grimdark trends of the 90's. (Of course, there's that OTHER major change that happened to Lobo during N52 that we won't talk about here).

I would also be remiss if I didn't mention BTAS' take on Mr. Freeze.

[Gaius]

Don't care for it. Liked her was Diana's friend, don't as enemy. But I hate all the heroes having to have personal connections with their villains, anyway. First time I saw it, it added drama. Now it's just boring and repetitive. Especially when retconned in.

I usually don't care for it either but I felt it was something needed in the Minerva Cheetah's case as it gives a reason why she'd take a higher spot in prominence in WW's rogues gallery that was lacking before.

[Riv86672]

Swamp Thing for sure. I love original Wein/Wrightson stuff but Moore's run really proved how versatile you could get with the character.

In the same vein, Animal Man and The Doom Patrol.
Doom Patrol was especially jarring (in a good way) since it happened part way through an already ongoing series.

[married guy]

Guy Gardner - from dumb thug to take no **** hardass. (Thanks Beau Smith!)
Oliver Queen - from Batman rip-off (complete with Arrow Cave) to a flawed liberal crusader with a heart of gold
Booster Gold - From half of costumed Laurel & Hardy to unheralded crusader of the timestream
Bane - from a one-note Bat villian into a multi faceted, complicated human being (Thank You Gail Simone!)

[hareluyafan1]

Dolphin when she was reintroduced in "Rebirth."

I realise she didn't start off as an "Aquaman" character but now that she's well-established as a part of the Aqua-Family, her current origin as a Sea-changed Atlantean fits far better I think. "Human abducted by aliens and altered into a pseudo-Atlantean" seems contrived to me, even by comic standards, while not really making any practical difference. Sea-changed Atlantean is far more streamlined while also making her more distinctive in terms of her powers/appearance.

Plus bringing back her muteness. That was excellent.

[lemonpeace]

Dolphin when she was reintroduced in "Rebirth."

I realise she didn't start off as an "Aquaman" character but now that she's well-established as a part of the Aqua-Family, her current origin as a Sea-changed Atlantean fits far better I think. "Human abducted by aliens and altered into a pseudo-Atlantean" seems contrived to me, even by comic standards, while not really making any practical difference. Sea-changed Atlantean is far more streamlined while also making her more distinctive in terms of her powers/appearance.

Plus bringing back her muteness. That was excellent.

I didn't know Dolphine was an old character! I kinda figured that character was made for rebirth. yeah, her current iteration is definitely more streamlined and to the point.

[Robanker]

Guy Gardener from JLI to Tomasi is a pretty drastic change that fully realized him as a character.
Barbara Gordon as Oracle (still sad she's reverted to Batgirl)
Green Arrow going more liberal and street focused under Denny O'Neil was an inspired touch.
Batman losing the gun in the golden age and again under Denny's revitalization.
Booster Gold from the JLI into the Greatest Hero You've Never Heard OfTM
Black Canary into one of the DCU's premier fighters.
Dick Grayson from Robin to Nightwing.

To name a few.

[hareluyafan1]

I didn't know Dolphine was an old character! I kinda figured that character was made for rebirth.

Dolphin's first appearance was in "Showcase" #79 in 1968.

yeah, her current iteration is definitely more streamlined and to the point.

Thanks. I'm glad you agree.

[Zero Hunter]

I didn't know Dolphine was an old character! I kinda figured that character was made for rebirth. yeah, her current iteration is definitely more streamlined and to the point.

Dolphin actually had a thing with Aquaman for a bit while he and Mera were seperated after the death of their kid. Dolphin ended up marring Aqualad/Tempest and they had a kid. Saddly both Dolphin and her son were killed when the insane Spectre destroyed Atlantis during Infinite Crisis.

[lemonpeace]

Dolphin actually had a thing with Aquaman for a bit while he and Mera were seperated after the death of their kid. Dolphin ended up marring Aqualad/Tempest and they had a kid. Saddly both Dolphin and her son were killed when the insane Spectre destroyed Atlantis during Infinite Crisis.

oh wow, she was a pretty prominent character back in the day I see. I wasn't an Aquaman fan (even though I felt he was unjustly **** on) until Rebirth, so I guess I just didn't see his corner of the DC landscape enough to notice her. Now her relationship with Arthur during the Underworld/Coram Rath arc makes so much more sense.