History AdaptationalBadass / LiveActionTV

* ''Series/LukeCage2016'': Diamondback in the original comics was a [[TokenMotivationalNemesis a very small-time villain that nonetheless had a big influence]] on Luke's past, his main gimmick was fighting with knives and he didn't get to live very long after his introduction, as he was accidentally killed by his own weapons. He is far deadlier in the tv show, being a dangerous mercenary/arms dealer that [[TheDreaded instills fear on everyone who knows his name]] including Cottonmouth. He is capable of [[QuickDraw killing several people in rapid succession]] and instead of knives, he uses a [[PowerFist powered glove]] that he can use it to kill people with just one hit, which he later upgrades to wearing a snake-themed PoweredArmor to fight against Luke hand-to-hand.
* ''Series/IronFist2017'': Harold Meachum was a broken and crippled old man who wanted nothing more than to be put out of his misery. In the series, he is younger, able-bodied and capable of fighting as well as [[spoiler:immortal as a result of striking up a deal with the Hand.]]

** The Boy aka Number 5: in the comics his only power was TimeTravel which as you can imagine has limited use in a fight. In the Netflix show Number 5's power is changed to {{Teleportation}} which he uses to [[TeleportSpam lethal]] [[OneManArmy effect]] when attacked.

* ''Series/BraveNewWorld'': Lenina was a much more shallow character in the books, only deviating mildly from social norms; here, she's fleshed out much more and grows actively defiant. Linda is also a lot stronger here and shows useful skills, whereas in the book she's [[TheLoad a weak, useless person]]. John, unlike his book counterpart, also successfully makes many New Londoners question their society and helps inspire a revolution. He's quick to use violence (or incite others to).

* ''Series/{{Riverdale}}'': In ''ComicBook/ArchieComics'', Archie Andrews was well known as a scrawny klutz, and most of the other characters are regular people not known for getting into fights. Here, Archie is incredibly buff and strong, and he and several characters are well versed in hand to hand combat. Cheryl Blossom is highly trained in archery.

* ''Series/BraveNewWorld'': Lenina was a much more shallow character in the books, only deviating mildly from social norms; here, she's fleshed out much more and grows actively defiant. Linda is also a lot stronger here and shows useful skills, whereas in the book she's [[TheLoad a weak, useless person]]. And John, unlike his book counterpart, successfully makes many New Londoners question their society and helps inspire a revolution.

** Also, Prince Charming is a tried and true sword fighter who is also impeccably brave. He was trained to sword fight by none other than [[Disney/{{Frozen}} Princess Anna]].

** John's military career is given much more emphasis, and it's repeatedly established that he accompanies Sherlock because he misses the danger and excitement of his army days. Though, like his original self, he does like his friend, wants to help him out should he need it, and would ''gladly'' offer his life in exchange for his friend's. For a couple of times (like his [[Literature/SherlockHolmes original self]]), John is able to come up with some very well-reasoned deductions, even if they end up being wrong. He also has excellent aiming skills and [[spoiler: [[BadassAdorable shoots the murderer in the first episode through two windows (they were in adjacent wings of the same building) with a 9mm P226, in the head, ONE HANDED]]]]. While [[CombatPragmatist tied to a chair at the time]], he ended a [[TooDumbToLive Chinese gangster's life]]. During the third episode of the first season, he [[TranquilFury threatened death]] [[WhatAnIdiot on a professional killer that had his best friend in a headlock.]] Then, when John has [[OhCrap a bomb vest strapped to himself]], he [[spoiler: [[SugarWiki/MomentofAwesome grabs onto Moriarty]] [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments and tells Sherlock to get out of the room they're in]]]]! Cue [[BuffySpeak Sherlock being VERY flustered at this.]]

** Season 9 transformed B-list villain The Icicle II into a GameBreaker whose presence alone was enough to turn any room into [[WalkingWasteland an arctic wasteland]]. He's able to take out three Justice Society members before being stopped. Season 10 does the same thing with [[TortureTechnician Desaad]], changing his from a snivelling DirtyCoward into a SerialKiller whose PsychicPowers allow him to take on {{Superman}}.

* In a series that typically keeps most characters similar to the originals, Kat from ''Series/PowerRangersSPD'' is shown to be a better and more competent fighter than her counterpart in ''Series/TokusouSentaiDekaranger''. Unlike her counterpart, Kat does battle a group of mooks unmorphed, and generally is presented a lot more serious and determined. (This even continues into the episode where Swan/Kat gets a one-shot Ranger morph. Perhaps the ''only'' differences between the two versions of that episode: Kat fights the MechaMooks unmorphed for quite some time; Swan morphs the moment they appear. Kat gets to do Judgment Time; Swan doesn't.) Also, [[MonsterOfTheWeek Ben-G]], who had had a beef with sentai Doggie for capturing him earlier, is now a ''general of the invaders who nearly wiped out Doggie's planet in the backstory,'' and gets a two-parter as Doggie tries to overcome his HeroicBSOD and avenge his world.
** A minor version with the Fear Cats and Tyzonn in ''Series/PowerRangersOperationOverdrive'' (Minor because it's confined to one battle.) While the Fear Cats school the Overdrive Rangers as badly as the Questers did the Boukengers, there's two differences: The Overdrive Rangers have some vehicles in their arsenal the Boukengers don't, and the Questers' power source interferes with the Boukengers' suits so badly they could barely ''stand,'' let alone fight, making the SixthRanger with the new power source the only one who could fight at ''all'' in his debut episode, while this plot point was left out of Power Rangers. This means where the Questers beat up on highly compromised Rangers who could barely stand, the Fear Cats were pounding the daylights out of Rangers who were fighting at 100% potential and breaking out things like flying bikes with laser cannons, and the MiniMecha that once took out two monsters ''at once'' without breaking a sweat. (It also means we have to add Tyzonn, the SixthRanger, to this list, because his Ranger debut, singlehandedly taking on both of them and forcing their retreat, is a more impressive feat here.)

** Agatha Cackle and her cronies'' were quite easily defeated by Mildred casting a spell to turn them into snails. In the TV series they manage to outwit her and reach the school, even succeeding in turning Miss Cackle into a frog. They return in the season 1 finale with another plan that comes quite close to succeeding.
** Miss Cackle and Miss Hardbroom in the books were merely just the girls' teachers with little mention of their powers. In the TV series they are very powerful witches and demonstrate great power. Miss Cackle is able to freeze Agatha and her cronies effortlessly while Miss Hardbroom is able to stop a powerful magical blizzard that would have covered the entire world.

* In ''Series/{{Arrow}}'', this is done to the titular [[ComicBook/GreenArrow Arrow]] himself, Oliver Queen, at least in terms of his capabilities in hand-to-hand combat. While Ollie in the comics was never a bad fighter per se, he couldn't hold a candle to the much deadlier hand-to-hand combatants of the DCU (such as [[Franchise/BatMan Batman]] or ComicBook/LadyShiva) and instead relied more on his {{Trick Arrow}}s and [[ImprobableAimingSkills expert marksmenship]]. In the show, Oliver regularly goes up against expert fighters and, due to a limited number of arrows and lack of tricks, he tends to spend more time during fights smacking people with his fists and bow rather then shooting them. This comes to a head in Season 3 where ComicBook/RasAlGhul considers him a WorthyOpponent after [[spoiler: [[BackFromTheDead coming back to life]]]] from their first duel [[spoiler: and tries to make him his heir]] before Ollie manages [[spoiler: to kill him]] at the end of the season.

** The version of Jim Gordon that appears in the series has fought against and defeated many of the most dangerous and deranged criminals that make up Batman's rouges gallery, all without the help of Batman. In some cases even rivalling the prowess of Batman himself.

* This was done to Deianeira in the made-for-tv [[{{Series/Hercules}} Hercules movie]]. In classical myths, she was a human princess that was married with Hercules long after he finished his labors and [[DamselInDistress more famous for having to be saved from some horny centaur]]. In this movie, Deianeira is a [[ActionGirl asskicking wood nymph]] who doesn't require saving at all - on the contrary, she is the one who saves ''him'' a couple of times.

* ''Series/IronFist2017'': Harold Meachum was a broken and crippled old man who wanted nothing more than to be put out of his misery. In the series, he is younger, able-bodied and capable of fighting as well as [[spoiler:immortal as result of striking up a deal with the Hand.]]

** In the [[ComicBook/{{Preacher}} comics]], Tulip is a fairly normal woman who happens to be a crack shot. She toys with the idea of becoming an assassin, but backs out when she sees a photo of her target. In the show, she's a BoisterousBruiser career criminal and action hero who takes out a helicopter with a home-made bazooka in the first episode.
** Starr is given many more opportunities to be badass than his comic counterpart, and his humiliating moments are usually less pronounced. For example, in both versions he's [[spoiler:raped by male prostitutes]], but in the comics he's horrified and develops a complex about it, while in the series he tolerates it with stoic indifference and continues working in the middle of the ordeal.
** Eccarius in the comics is an insufferable poser who bases his whole personality on cheesy vampire fiction. [[spoiler:Cassidy kills him for being a murderous asshole]]. In the show, he still enjoys the trappings of gothic vampirism, but has a sense of humor about it. He is also quite a bit more powerful than his comics version as well as Cassidy himself, [[spoiler:forcing Cassidy to enlist Les Enfants du Sanc to help bring him down]].

* ''Series/IronFist2017'': Harold Meachum was a broken and crippled old man who wanted nothing more than to be put out of his misery. In the tv show, he is younger, able-bodied and capable of fighting as well as [[spoiler:immortal as result of striking up a deal with the Hand.]]
* ''Series/Preacher2016'': In the [[ComicBook/{{Preacher}} comics]], Tulip is a fairly normal woman who happens to be a crack shot. She toys with the idea of becoming an assassin, but backs out when she sees a photo of her target. In the show, she's a BoisterousBruiser career criminal and action hero who takes out a helicopter with a home-made bazooka in the first episode.

** John's military career is given much more emphasis, and it's repeatedly established that he accompanies Sherlock because he misses the danger and excitement of his army days. Though, like his original self, he does like his friend, wants to help him out should he need it, and would ''gladly'' offer his life in exchange for his friend's. For a couple of times (like his [[Literature/SherlockHolmes original self]]), John is able to come up with some very well-reasoned deductions, even if they end up being wrong. He also has excellent aiming skills and [[spoiler: [[BadassAdorable shoots the murderer in the first episode through two windows (they were in adjacent wings of the same building) with a 9mm P226, in the head, ONE HANDED]]]]. While [[CombatPragmatist tied to a chair at the time]], he ended a [[TooDumbToLive Chinese gangster's life]]. During the third episode of the first season, he [[TranquilFury threatened death]] [[WhatAnIdiot on a professional killer that had his best friend in a headlock.]] Then, when John has [[OhCrap a bomb vest strapped to himself]], he [[spoiler: [[CrowningMomentofAwesome grabs onto Moriarty]] [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming and tells Sherlock to get out of the room they're in]]]]! Cue [[BuffySpeak Sherlock being VERY flustered at this.]]

** In both ''Film/BatmanBegins'' and the story arc "Wrath Child", flashbacks to the night the Waynes died had Gillian Loeb, the corrupt police commissioner from ''ComicBook/BatmanYearOne'', as a captain at the time. Here, he's already commissioner.

** John's military career is given much more emphasis, and it's repeatedly established that he accompanies Sherlock because he misses the danger and excitement of his army days. Though, like his original self, he does like his friend, wants to help him out should he need it, and would ''gladly'' offer his life in exchange for his friend's. For a couple of times (like his [[Literature/SherlockHolmes original self]]), John is able to come up with some very well-reasoned deductions, even if they end up being wrong. He also has excellent aiming skills and [[spoiler: [[BadassAdorable shoots the murderer in the first episode through two windows (they were in adjacent wings of the same building) with a 9mm P226, in the head, ONE HANDED]]]]. While [[CombatPragmatist tied to a chair at the time]], he ended a [[TooDumbToLive Chinese gangster's life]]. During the third episode of the first season, he [[TranquilFury threatened death]] [[WhatAnIdiot on a professional killer that had his best friend in a headlock.]] Than, when John has [[OhCrap a bomb vest strapped to himself]], he [[spoiler: [[CrowningMomentofAwesome grabs onto Moriarty]] [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming and tells Sherlock to get out of the room they're in]]]]! Cue [[BuffySpeak Sherlock being VERY flustered at this.]]

** A minor version with the Fear Cats and Tyzonn in ''PowerRangersOperationOverdrive'' (Minor because it's confined to one battle.) While the Fear Cats school the Overdrive Rangers as badly as the Questers did the Boukengers, there's two differences: The Overdrive Rangers have some vehicles in their arsenal the Boukengers don't, and the Questers' power source interferes with the Boukengers' suits so badly they could barely ''stand,'' let alone fight, making the SixthRanger with the new power source the only one who could fight at ''all'' in his debut episode, while this plot point was left out of Power Rangers. This means where the Questers beat up on highly compromised Rangers who could barely stand, the Fear Cats were pounding the daylights out of Rangers who were fighting at 100% potential and breaking out things like flying bikes with laser cannons, and the MiniMecha that once took out two monsters ''at once'' without breaking a sweat. (It also means we have to add Tyzonn, the SixthRanger, to this list, because his Ranger debut, singlehandedly taking on both of them and forcing their retreat, is a more impressive feat here.)

** A minor version with the Fear Cats and Tyzonn in ''PowerRangersOperationOverdrive'' (Minor because it's confined to one battle.) While the Fear Cats school the Overdrive Rangers as badly as the Questers did the Boukengers, there's one difference: The Overdrive Rangers have some vehicles in their arsenal the Boukengers don't, and the Questers' power source interferes with the Boukengers' suits so badly they could barely ''stand,'' let alone fight, making the SixthRanger with the new power source the only one who could fight at ''all'' in his debut episode, while this plot point was left out of Power Rangers. This means where the Questers beat up on highly compromised Rangers who could barely stand, the Fear Cats were pounding the daylights out of Rangers who were fighting at 100% potential and breaking out things like flying bikes with laser cannons and the MiniMecha that once took out two monsters ''at once'' without breaking a sweat. It also means Tyzonn, the SixthRanger, must be very powerful, able to take them on singlehandedly and force them to retreat. Of course, Boukenger has the starting five get the upgraded power source and fighting the Questers became much more doable; this was not explained in Power Rangers but it's not unusual in either series - in ''any'' superhero series, really - for villains and heroes to be much more powerful when they debut, and the Fear Cats were still ''pretty'' tough, so nobody ''much'' said "wait a second, these guys were handing them their asses when they first showed up but now they're... handing them their asses a bit less!"

* ''Series/{{Elementary}}'': While the Watson of this series is less physically capable than the Watson of the books, being a surgeon rather than an ''army'' doctor, her [[AdaptationalIntelligence intellectual capabilities]] are enhanced. In the books, Holmes is the one who brings down Moriarty. In "Heroine", [[spoiler:Watson is the one who figures out that Moriarty is in love with Sherlock and launches the plan to capture her]].

* ''TheWorstWitch''
** Agatha Cackle and her cronies in ''TheWorstWitch'' were quite easily defeated by Mildred casting a spell to turn them into snails. In the TV series they manage to outwit her and reach the school, even succeeding in turning Miss Cackle into a frog. They return in the season 1 finale with another plan that comes quite close to succeeding.

* ''Series/GameOfThrones'':
** In ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'', Eddard Stark is a capable general, but is not particularly large or strong. WordOfGod states that Ned is a pretty average fighter and never as good as his bigger, stronger brother was. In the show, the badasses Jaime Lannister and Barristan Selmy both speak very highly of Ned's skills as a fighter. When Ned and Jaime duel, Ned matches the famous swordsman blow for blow and might be getting the better of the exchange before they're interrupted. Littlefinger also calls Ned "an even more impressive specimen" than his late brother Brandon.
** In the books, Shae is a shallow prostitute that does little more than sleep with men and tell them what they want to hear. In the TV series she has way more attitude, seems to care genuinely for Tyrion and takes on a protective role over Sansa to the point of threatening another woman that was going to rat on her with a knife. She also carries the same knife while the city is under siege and says that she is ready to use it on any enemy soldier that tries to rape her.
** In the books, Ygritte is just another spearwife wildling in terms of her combat abilities. In the show, she's a precision archer who's considered one of the deadliest members of the raiding party.
** Ramsay Snow in the books normally hunts down defenseless women with a pack of dogs, and his most impressive martial feat was killing an elderly knight who thought they were allies until he cut off the man's arm. His father notes that he fights like he was chopping meat, with the strong implication that he'd be killed by any skilled opponent. In the show he's shown to relish battle and charges into a fight shirtless against armed and armored ironborn, emerging unharmed.
** In the books, Brienne has a very awkward and insecure personality, while in the show she's far more confident and bossy. In the books, she's a skilled swordfighter, but tends to just barely survive her encounters. She's on the losing side of her fight with Loras before she tackles him, and only manages to defeat Jaime because of his emaciated condition. In the show, she defeats both Loras and Jaime rather handily and even defeats Sandor Clegane in both swordfighting and brawling.
** In the novels, Stannis Baratheon may not be a slouch, but he prefers to lead as a general instead of at the front like his brother Robert. Not so in the show, where he leads the storm of King's Landing personally.
** In the books, Alliser Thorne is never seen fighting and is implied to be a bit of a SmallNameBigEgo. In the show, he takes control of the Wall's defenses during Mance's siege, delivers a RousingSpeech, and fights expertly before receiving a wound and being dragged away by his men.
** Daenerys shows complete immunity to heat and flame, unlike in the novels where the pyre was a one-time thing (and even then her hair is burnt off). For instance, when she first mounts Drogon in the books, she's left hairless with burns on her hands.
** While still a certifiable badass in the novels, Robb is described as a lesser swordsman (though a better jouster) than Jon and protected by an ample bodyguard including Theon. In the show, Jon and Theon both consider him TheAce and the bodyguard is left mostly implied. His first execution also requires only a single stroke with a longsword instead of several even with a proper axe as in the books.
** Arya is a talented archer in the show, whereas in the book she laments that she has no such skill and can't even bend Anguy's longbow.
** Jojen claims Bran's ability to enter the mind of another human is BeyondTheImpossible in "The Rains of Castamere". In the books, the skinchanger Varamyr not only shows that it's possible (though ''extremely'' taboo) but fails in a way that implies Bran only succeeded because his target was simple-minded.
** Sam shows notable bravery in "The Watchers on the Wall" by soothing Pyp's jangled nerves and killing a Thenn, whereas in the books he's not present for the battle and (though he has improved) largely remains a timid coward who freezes up at the first sign of danger.
** In the books, the Sons of the Harpy are secondary antagonists restricted to nighttime cloak-and-dagger assassination, but the show plays them as primary antagonists capable of overwhelming a cohort of Unsullied in broad daylight using knives with little resistance except from named characters.
** In the books, giants stand 10-12 feet high and are more Sasquatch than human, with limited vision and almost no technology. In the show, they're closer to 18 feet, able to stomp human-sized wights flat, and intelligent enough to wear clothes and use complex technology like bows and saddlery.
** Jaime manages to defeat a Dornish knight in "Sons of the Harpy" and holds his own against Obara Sand in "Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken", while at the equivalent point in the books he continues to get his ass handed to him by a sparring partner who is hardly a gifted swordsman. Of course, in the books he compensates by becoming a badass general and negotiator.
** Xaro Xhoan Daxos is an effeminate, melodramatic NonActionGuy merchant in the books, but a burly man whose first reaction to danger is to reach for his sword in the show.
** In the books, Tycho Nestoris is an obliging clerk sent to offer Stannis funding after Cersei arrogantly defaults on the realm's debt. In the show, he appears to be CEO of the entire Iron Bank and throws Stealth Insults in Stannis' face for coming to him as a supplicant.

* In ''Series/{{Arrow}}'', this is done to the titular [[ComicBook/GreenArrow Arrow]] himself, Oliver Queen, at least in terms of his capabilities in hand-to-hand combat. While Ollie in the comics was never a bad fighter per say, he couldn't hold a candle to the much deadlier hand-to-hand combatants of the DCU (such as [[Franchise/BatMan Batman]] or ComicBook/LadyShiva) and instead relied more on his {{Trick Arrow}}s and [[ImprobableAimingSkills expert marksmenship]]. In the show, Oliver regularly goes up against expert fighters and, due to a limited number of arrows and lack of tricks, he tends to spend more time during fights smacking people with his fists and bow rather then shooting them. This comes to a head in Season 3 where ComicBook/RasAlGhul considers him a WorthyOpponent after [[spoiler: [[BackFromTheDead coming back to life]]]] from their first duel [[spoiler: and tries to make him his heir]] before Ollie manages [[spoiler: to kill him]] at the end of the season.