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* ComicBook/UltimateMarvel deconstructed most of the characters from Marvel Comics, bringing them back to their initial premise and placing them in a SettingUpdate. In many cases they became AdaptationalJerkass as a result. The superhero team The Avengers was reimagined as a military operation (in ComicBook/TheUltimates) and the supervillain group the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants was reimagined as a terrorist group (in ComicBook/UltimateXMen).
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* ComicBook/UltimateMarvel ''ComicBook/UltimateMarvel'' deconstructed most of the characters from Marvel Comics, bringing them back to their initial premise and placing them in a SettingUpdate. In many cases cases, they became AdaptationalJerkass as a result. The superhero team The Avengers was reimagined as a military operation (in ComicBook/TheUltimates) in ''ComicBook/TheUltimates'', and the supervillain group the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants was reimagined as a terrorist group (in ComicBook/UltimateXMen).in ''ComicBook/UltimateXMen2001''.
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* ''ComicBook/SupremePower'' is a darker and edgier reimagining of the original ''ComicBook/SquadronSupreme'', with some of the grittier details including Hyperion becoming more cynical and distrustful towards humanity after learning he had been used as a tool by the government, Nighthawk being a violent vigilante who has no issue with killing criminals, Doctor Spectrum being controlled by his own Power Prism to go on bloody rampages in his sleep and Emil Burbank being a sociopathic rapist who manages to make his depiction in the original Mark Gruenwald series look like a saint.
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* ''ComicBook/SupremePower'' is a darker and edgier reimagining of the original ''ComicBook/SquadronSupreme'', with some of the grittier details including Hyperion becoming more cynical and distrustful towards humanity after learning he had been used as a tool by the government, Nighthawk being a violent vigilante who has no issue with killing criminals, Doctor Spectrum being controlled by his own Power Prism to go on bloody rampages in his sleep during blackouts and Emil Burbank being a sociopathic rapist who manages to make his depiction in the original Mark Gruenwald series look like a saint.
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Adding some context to the Supreme Power entry.
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* ''ComicBook/SupremePower'' is a darker and edgier reimagining of the original ''ComicBook/SquadronSupreme''.
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* ''ComicBook/SupremePower'' is a darker and edgier reimagining of the original ''ComicBook/SquadronSupreme''.''ComicBook/SquadronSupreme'', with some of the grittier details including Hyperion becoming more cynical and distrustful towards humanity after learning he had been used as a tool by the government, Nighthawk being a violent vigilante who has no issue with killing criminals, Doctor Spectrum being controlled by his own Power Prism to go on bloody rampages in his sleep and Emil Burbank being a sociopathic rapist who manages to make his depiction in the original Mark Gruenwald series look like a saint.
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Superior Spider-Man has become a disambiguation page for three comics of the same title.
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* ''ComicBook/SuperiorSpiderMan'' runs on this trope. The plot involves Otto Octavius becoming the new Spider-Man after [[GrandTheftMe stealing Peter Parker's body]], and taking up his predecessor's war on crime while ignoring his ThouShaltNotKill rule. He's more vicious, brutal, and [[InsufferableGenius condescending]] than Peter, and even sports a black and red outfit in contrast to Spidey's classic, colorful duds. Fun fact, [[RetCanon the costume was originally designed by Alex Ross for the first]] Creator/SamRaimi ''Film/SpiderMan1'' movie. The suit was mostly black because Ross felt it'd make the outfit [[MovieSuperheroesWearBlack more serious and realistic]]. Ultimately, Superior subverts it by having Otto realize that Peter and his LighterAndSofter approach are superior, making Peter the true Superior Spider-Man.
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* ''ComicBook/SuperiorSpiderMan'' ''ComicBook/SuperiorSpiderMan2013'' runs on this trope. The plot involves Otto Octavius becoming the new Spider-Man after [[GrandTheftMe stealing Peter Parker's body]], and taking up his predecessor's war on crime while ignoring his ThouShaltNotKill rule. He's more vicious, brutal, and [[InsufferableGenius condescending]] than Peter, and even sports a black and red outfit in contrast to Spidey's classic, colorful duds. Fun fact, [[RetCanon the costume was originally designed by Alex Ross for the first]] Creator/SamRaimi ''Film/SpiderMan1'' movie. The suit was mostly black because Ross felt it'd make the outfit [[MovieSuperheroesWearBlack more serious and realistic]]. Ultimately, Superior subverts it by having Otto realize that Peter and his LighterAndSofter approach are superior, making Peter the true Superior Spider-Man.
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* ComicBookNewXMenAcademyX. After ''ComicBook/HouseOfM'', the title was hit by Darker and Edgier ''hard'', but the change was especially marked in contrast with the first half of the series. Under Weir and [=DeFilippis=], the book was fairly light-hearted fluff that focused on relationship drama. When Kyle and Yost took over, dozens of students were immediately blown up, and everyone else was left traumatized by their failed rescue attempts. Then a main character was shot in the head and killed. And ''another'' main character betrayed the team, was mutilated, and died. They were replaced by a former assassin TykeBomb. Succeeding plotlines saw the entire team sent to HELL, one of them tortured and spending a lot of time crying herself to sleep, and so forth and so forth. In fact, most of Kyle and Yost's work falls under this trope. See also: X-Force, mentioned above.
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* ComicBookNewXMenAcademyX. ''ComicBook/NewXMenAcademyX'': After ''ComicBook/HouseOfM'', the title was hit by Darker and Edgier ''hard'', but the change was especially marked in contrast with the first half of the series. Under Weir and [=DeFilippis=], the book was fairly light-hearted fluff that focused on relationship drama. When Kyle and Yost took over, dozens of students were immediately blown up, and everyone else was left traumatized by their failed rescue attempts. Then a main character was shot in the head and killed. And ''another'' main character betrayed the team, was mutilated, and died. They were replaced by a former assassin TykeBomb. Succeeding plotlines saw the entire team sent to HELL, one of them tortured and spending a lot of time crying herself to sleep, and so forth and so forth. In fact, most of Kyle and Yost's work falls under this trope. See also: X-Force, mentioned above.
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** Franchise/SpiderMan (Super hero with the proportionate strength of a spider) -- Venom (Obsessed lunatic with the proportionate strength of a spider) -- Carnage (Crazed serial killer with the proportionate strength of a spider) -- Bile (Cannibalistic madman with the proportionate strength of a spider)
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** Franchise/SpiderMan ComicBook/SpiderMan (Super hero with the proportionate strength of a spider) -- Venom (Obsessed lunatic with the proportionate strength of a spider) -- Carnage (Crazed serial killer with the proportionate strength of a spider) -- Bile (Cannibalistic madman with the proportionate strength of a spider)
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* [[ComicBook/NewMutants New X-Men: Academy X]]. After ''ComicBook/HouseOfM'', the title was hit by Darker and Edgier ''hard'', but the change was especially marked in contrast with the first half of the series. Under Weir and [=DeFilippis=], the book was fairly light-hearted fluff that focused on relationship drama. When Kyle and Yost took over, dozens of students were immediately blown up, and everyone else was left traumatized by their failed rescue attempts. Then a main character was shot in the head and killed. And ''another'' main character betrayed the team, was mutilated, and died. They were replaced by a former assassin TykeBomb. Succeeding plotlines saw the entire team sent to HELL, one of them tortured and spending a lot of time crying herself to sleep, and so forth and so forth. In fact, most of Kyle and Yost's work falls under this trope. See also: X-Force, mentioned above.
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* [[ComicBook/NewMutants New X-Men: Academy X]].ComicBookNewXMenAcademyX. After ''ComicBook/HouseOfM'', the title was hit by Darker and Edgier ''hard'', but the change was especially marked in contrast with the first half of the series. Under Weir and [=DeFilippis=], the book was fairly light-hearted fluff that focused on relationship drama. When Kyle and Yost took over, dozens of students were immediately blown up, and everyone else was left traumatized by their failed rescue attempts. Then a main character was shot in the head and killed. And ''another'' main character betrayed the team, was mutilated, and died. They were replaced by a former assassin TykeBomb. Succeeding plotlines saw the entire team sent to HELL, one of them tortured and spending a lot of time crying herself to sleep, and so forth and so forth. In fact, most of Kyle and Yost's work falls under this trope. See also: X-Force, mentioned above.
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Dork Age was renamed
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*** And then there was the whole Terrigen Cloud/M-Pox plot, which led to ''ComicBook/InhumansVsXMen''. This particular era was regarded as such a huge DorkAge in large part because it tried to app the previous Darker turn, when it was barely even old history and most fans were calling it out on repeating the same story beats, only without Cyclops to act as the scapegoat for the X-Men's harsher actions to survive. Not helped was that the Inhumans/X-Men conflict was intended as a BothSidesHaveAPoint plot, but the Inhumans' desire to force the mutant population to just ''deal'' with a painful and uncurable pathogen that was wiping them out and objected to their attempts to stop it because of its cultural importance to them instead just turned the Inhumans franchise into a VillainProtagonist group.
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*** And then there was the whole Terrigen Cloud/M-Pox plot, which led to ''ComicBook/InhumansVsXMen''. This particular era was regarded as such a huge DorkAge AudienceAlienatingEra in large part because it tried to app the previous Darker turn, when it was barely even old history and most fans were calling it out on repeating the same story beats, only without Cyclops to act as the scapegoat for the X-Men's harsher actions to survive. Not helped was that the Inhumans/X-Men conflict was intended as a BothSidesHaveAPoint plot, but the Inhumans' desire to force the mutant population to just ''deal'' with a painful and uncurable pathogen that was wiping them out and objected to their attempts to stop it because of its cultural importance to them instead just turned the Inhumans franchise into a VillainProtagonist group.
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** [[ComicBook/IncredibleHulk Green Hulk]] (Mindless rampaging monster) -- Gray Hulk (Intelligent rampaging monster) -- New Green Hulk (Intelligent rampaging monster with a big gun) -- [[HilariousInHindsight Red Hulk]] (Intelligent rampaging monster with a big gun and razor-sharp claws)
* Marvel as much as said at the time that the thinking behind [=US Agent=], ComicBook/WarMachine, and Thunderstrike was to have Darker And Edgier versions of ComicBook/CaptainAmerica, ComicBook/IronMan, and ComicBook/TheMightyThor, without losing the originals. There's even a famous ''[[ComicBook/TheAvengers Avengers]]'' cover of the two versions facing off. Though created prior to the decade, they would see their heyday as {{Nineties Anti Hero}}es.
* Marvel as much as said at the time that the thinking behind [=US Agent=], ComicBook/WarMachine, and Thunderstrike was to have Darker And Edgier versions of ComicBook/CaptainAmerica, ComicBook/IronMan, and ComicBook/TheMightyThor, without losing the originals. There's even a famous ''[[ComicBook/TheAvengers Avengers]]'' cover of the two versions facing off. Though created prior to the decade, they would see their heyday as {{Nineties Anti Hero}}es.
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** [[ComicBook/IncredibleHulk [[ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk Green Hulk]] (Mindless rampaging monster) -- Gray Hulk (Intelligent rampaging monster) -- New Green Hulk (Intelligent rampaging monster with a big gun) -- [[HilariousInHindsight Red Hulk]] (Intelligent rampaging monster with a big gun and razor-sharp claws)
* Marvel as much as said at the time that the thinking behind[=US Agent=], ComicBook/USAgent, ComicBook/WarMachine, and Thunderstrike ComicBook/{{Thunderstrike}} was to have Darker And Edgier versions of ComicBook/CaptainAmerica, ComicBook/IronMan, and ComicBook/TheMightyThor, without losing the originals. There's even a famous ''[[ComicBook/TheAvengers Avengers]]'' cover of the two versions facing off. Though created prior to the decade, they would see their heyday as {{Nineties Anti Hero}}es.
* Marvel as much as said at the time that the thinking behind
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Up To Eleven is a defunct trope
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* ''Marvel Year In Review 1993'' parodied this in their own titles, by taking characters that this had been done for, and then making new characters that turned it UpToEleven:
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* ''Marvel Year In Review 1993'' parodied this in their own titles, by taking characters that this had been done for, and then making new characters that turned it UpToEleven:up to eleven:
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*** Following ''ComicBook/{{ResurrXion}}'', however, there was a decided swing to the LighterAndSofter end, with the X-Men being more traditionally heroic. Jean Grey, long-dead during the aforementioned periods, was resurrected and [[ComicBook/XMenRed lead an X-Men team that was all about making the world a better place]], while Kitty Pryde, the moral centre after her, became their new leader. This unfortunately didn't last and things got even darker with ''ComicBook/UncannyXMen2018'', starting with the ''Dissassembled'' storyline and the subsequent run by Matthew Rosenberg which saw Cyclops and Wolverine, back from the dead, struggling to maintain what's left of the mutant community in the wake of the apparent death of the X-Men and the forced mass curing of the mutant population. The series was a lame duck, put out to pass time until ComicBook/JonathanHickmansXMen relaunch, so the creative team just decided to have 'fun' by making everything as depressing and bleak as they can.
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*** Following ''ComicBook/{{ResurrXion}}'', however, there was a decided swing to the LighterAndSofter end, with the X-Men being more traditionally heroic. Jean Grey, long-dead during the aforementioned periods, was resurrected and [[ComicBook/XMenRed lead an X-Men team that was all about making the world a better place]], while Kitty Pryde, the moral centre after her, became their new leader. This unfortunately didn't last and things got even darker with ''ComicBook/UncannyXMen2018'', starting with the ''Dissassembled'' storyline and the subsequent run by Matthew Rosenberg which saw Cyclops and Wolverine, back from the dead, struggling to maintain what's left of the mutant community in the wake of the apparent death of the X-Men and the forced mass curing of the mutant population. The series was a lame duck, put out to pass time until ComicBook/JonathanHickmansXMen ''ComicBook/XMen2019'' relaunch, so the creative team just decided to have 'fun' by making everything as depressing and bleak as they can.
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!!Franchise/MarvelUniverse
* ''Marvel Year In Review 1993'' parodied this in their own titles, by taking characters that this had been done for, and then making new characters that turned it UpToEleven:
** Franchise/SpiderMan (Super hero with the proportionate strength of a spider) -- Venom (Obsessed lunatic with the proportionate strength of a spider) -- Carnage (Crazed serial killer with the proportionate strength of a spider) -- Bile (Cannibalistic madman with the proportionate strength of a spider)
** ComicBook/CaptainAmerica (Liberalistic flag-waving symbol of democracy) -- U.S. Agent (Extremist right-wing hard-nosed American) -- The Patriot Missile ("Blow all them foreigners to hell and let God sort 'em out!")
** [[ComicBook/TheMightyThor Thor]] (Norse God of Thunder) -- Thunderstrike (Norse God of Thunder from Brooklyn) -- Godhead (Convinced he is God. Holed up in his compound, waiting for Ragnarok)
** ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} (Savage killing machine with the soul of a Samurai) -- Sabertooth (Uncontrollable, savage killing machine with the attitude of a psychopath) -- Clawjaw (Unhousebroken, uncontrollable killing machine with poor bodily hygiene)
** ComicBook/IronMan (High-tech armored Avenger) -- War Machine (High-tech armored Avenger with an attitude) -- Terror Device (High-tech armored Avenger with two attitudes and PlausibleDeniability)
** [[ComicBook/IncredibleHulk Green Hulk]] (Mindless rampaging monster) -- Gray Hulk (Intelligent rampaging monster) -- New Green Hulk (Intelligent rampaging monster with a big gun) -- [[HilariousInHindsight Red Hulk]] (Intelligent rampaging monster with a big gun and razor-sharp claws)
* Marvel as much as said at the time that the thinking behind [=US Agent=], ComicBook/WarMachine, and Thunderstrike was to have Darker And Edgier versions of ComicBook/CaptainAmerica, ComicBook/IronMan, and ComicBook/TheMightyThor, without losing the originals. There's even a famous ''[[ComicBook/TheAvengers Avengers]]'' cover of the two versions facing off. Though created prior to the decade, they would see their heyday as {{Nineties Anti Hero}}es.
** Interestingly, Thunderstrike was probably the furthest from this trope, as he was a man juggling between being a dad and a superhero. The only time he really entered this trope was when he was possessed by the Executioner's battle axe Bloodaxe.
* [[ComicBook/NewMutants New X-Men: Academy X]]. After ''ComicBook/HouseOfM'', the title was hit by Darker and Edgier ''hard'', but the change was especially marked in contrast with the first half of the series. Under Weir and [=DeFilippis=], the book was fairly light-hearted fluff that focused on relationship drama. When Kyle and Yost took over, dozens of students were immediately blown up, and everyone else was left traumatized by their failed rescue attempts. Then a main character was shot in the head and killed. And ''another'' main character betrayed the team, was mutilated, and died. They were replaced by a former assassin TykeBomb. Succeeding plotlines saw the entire team sent to HELL, one of them tortured and spending a lot of time crying herself to sleep, and so forth and so forth. In fact, most of Kyle and Yost's work falls under this trope. See also: X-Force, mentioned above.
* Since his debut Frank Castle, ''ComicBook/ThePunisher'' had held the rank of Captain of the Dark Age of Comic Books. Then he was the tip of the spear of a darker, gritter run, ''Creator/MarvelKnights'' that took him and other "heroes" into their own Darker, Edgier works. Then Castle was promoted to full Dark Lord with ''ComicBook/ThePunisherMAX'' which was a run where, hmm, most may know Jean Grey, she had a Max run that was boarderline lesbian erotica. Now take the Punisher as he was and remove any limits of violence, language, and vigilante gore. Numerous examples were put up as the image source for PayEvilUntoEvil and they were all deemed far too violent.
* The Creator/MarvelComics two-issue miniseres by Creator/WarrenEllis entitled ''ComicBook/{{Ruins}}'', a darker take on ''ComicBook/{{Marvels}}'' where everything in the Marvel Universe has gone horribly wrong and the few characters who aren't horrifically disfigured or horribly killed by the accidents that gave them their powers in the regular Marvel Universe are corrupt and vile. Notable examples include Bruce Banner becoming a barely living mass of tumors instead of the Hulk, Charles Francis Xavier becoming a [[PresidentEvil corrupt president]] who imprisons mutants and mutilates them to keep their powers in check (e.g. blinding Cyclops to disable his optic blasts and de-limbing Quicksilver to prevent him from using his super speed), and Peter Parker's radioactive spider bite covering his body with a terminal web-like rash.
* Here's one way to kill the party: Turn [[FunPersonified cheerful, bouncy]] Robbie Baldwin from the [[PersonalityPowers playfully heroic]] Speedball into an apparent murderer with a [[{{Angst}} guilt complex]] worthy of Series/{{Angel}}. Now he calls himself Penance, and wears a suit with 612 built-in points of pain, one for each person killed that day. His new powers can only manifest when he is in pain.
** In ''ComicBook/{{Thunderbolts}}'', however, Penance has come to terms with the Stamford incident not being his fault. [[BatmanGambit He reveals to Nitro the real reason for the suit.]] [[spoiler:The suit wasn't for Robbie, it was for Nitro. Robbie captured Nitro in Latveria to punish him for the Stamford incident, put him in the suit and proceeded to beat the CRAP out of him, after which he removes the last spike from his own chest to symbolize that he's freed himself of guilt.]]
** He later returns to the Speedball identity as an instructor at the ComicBook/AvengersAcademy, but retains his more serious demeanor. He leaves the school after finally coming to terms with the Stamford incident, and has since appeared in ''ComicBook/{{Nova}}'' with his previous cheerful personality restored. He still occasionally uses the Penance helmet though, as it's apparently the only way he can access his pain-based powers.
* ''ComicBook/SuperiorSpiderMan'' runs on this trope. The plot involves Otto Octavius becoming the new Spider-Man after [[GrandTheftMe stealing Peter Parker's body]], and taking up his predecessor's war on crime while ignoring his ThouShaltNotKill rule. He's more vicious, brutal, and [[InsufferableGenius condescending]] than Peter, and even sports a black and red outfit in contrast to Spidey's classic, colorful duds. Fun fact, [[RetCanon the costume was originally designed by Alex Ross for the first]] Creator/SamRaimi ''Film/SpiderMan1'' movie. The suit was mostly black because Ross felt it'd make the outfit [[MovieSuperheroesWearBlack more serious and realistic]]. Ultimately, Superior subverts it by having Otto realize that Peter and his LighterAndSofter approach are superior, making Peter the true Superior Spider-Man.
* ''ComicBook/SupremePower'' is a darker and edgier reimagining of the original ''ComicBook/SquadronSupreme''.
* ComicBook/UltimateMarvel deconstructed most of the characters from Marvel Comics, bringing them back to their initial premise and placing them in a SettingUpdate. In many cases they became AdaptationalJerkass as a result. The superhero team The Avengers was reimagined as a military operation (in ComicBook/TheUltimates) and the supervillain group the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants was reimagined as a terrorist group (in ComicBook/UltimateXMen).
* ''ComicBook/XForce'' demonstrated the trope more than once:
** The original ''X-Force'' book was a Darker and Edgier version of ''ComicBook/NewMutants''.
** The 2008 ''X-Force'' series starred a team led by Wolverine, functioning as the X-Men "black ops" team. [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/7d/X-Force-1-cover.jpg Where everyone wears black leather and has red eyes, and there is much growling and slashing had by all]]. Or in other words, it was a Darker and Edgier version of an already Darker and Edgier book! The book sometimes reached StealthParody levels, or occasionally overt self-parody, as with a reprint of the first three issues with a variant cover showing [[http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=218997 puppies and rainbows coming out of wounds like blood.]] There is also a hint of deconstruction. Deadpool grows increasingly disgusted and angered over the dark actions the team takes over the course of the series. You know things are getting bad when ''Deadpool'' is having to be the OnlySaneMan/moral compass.
* ''ComicBook/XMen'' were always one of the darker comic books since the 80s, what with their focus on a discriminated minority group who often fought against extremists and genocidal bigots who were ANaziByAnyOtherName, and storylines such as the ''Morlock Massacre''. But in the 2000s, after ''ComicBook/HouseOfM'' came the ''Decimation'', where mutant numbers were dropped down to barely past 300, many of whom were immediately murdered, forcing the X-Men to abandon traditional heroics and move towards a more pragmatic, militarised and compartmentalised structure. Not helped was that shortly before this saw ComicBook/JeanGrey, arguably TheHeart of the X-Men, be KilledOffForReal[[note]]under the belief that her death would make Cyclops 'more interesting', and also because those RunningTheAsylum apparently didn't like her original resurrection[[/note]] and her place as the main female lead being replaced by Emma Frost, who functioned as an AntiHeroSubstitute for Jean.
** What's commonly pointed to was the CharacterDevelopment of ComicBook/{{Cyclops}}, who ''started'' this period suffering from PTSD after an incident with Apocalypse, and then manipulated by Emma Frost [[MindRape into a psychic affair during their therapy sessions]] followed by Jean's death and Cyclops being psychically forced into a relationship with Emma afterward. This combined with everything the X-Men were going through prompted him to take decisive action to maintain the survival of the mutant race, even as he was forced to make moral compromises other heroes dared. This was best shown by the formation of ''ComicBook/XForce'', a black-ops hit-squad taking the best and most capable killers among the X-Men's ranks, as well as a BoxedCrook or two. Even Wolverine was a little disturbed by the lengths Cyclops was willing to go to, which eventually caused a bloody falling out between the two.
** The whole "Professor X is no better than ComicBook/{{Magneto}}" creep from the Ultimate to the main universe that was exemplified by ''Deadly Genesis'', where it was [[RetCon revealed]] that Professor X led a team of X-Men to their deaths in rescuing his original team from Krakoa and just mind-wiped everyone into forgetting that it happened and trying again with another new team. And that Professor X later realized that the Danger Room was becoming sentient, but ignored it, leading to Danger being created years later.
** This all came to a head with the finale of ''ComicBook/AvengersVsXMen'', where Cyclops snapped and killed the Professor while possessed by the Phoenix Force. Now he's on the run with his own team of outlaw X-Men, though this is somewhat zig-zagged, however. With mutant numbers restored, Cyclops' team actually returned to the old 'hated and feared' roots, going out of their way to protect those who would harm these new and re-powered mutants, while Wolverine (who had seemingly became LighterAndSofter after a falling out with Cyclops over the aforementioned extreme actions) regularly comes off as a thoroughly sanctimonious and HolierThanThou hypocrite considering his past. He's not alone in it either, something which, after ComicBook/BattleOfTheAtom, Kitty Pryde, moral centre of the X-Men, calls them out for. Indeed, Cyclops' team is arguably still fairly idealistic - specifically, when Magneto reprimands Teen Jean for [[spoiler: trying to mind control Teen Angel into staying with the O5]], he says, "That is not what Charles Xavier taught you, young lady!" It was overall more a case of the team being subject to a lot of InformedWrongness from Wolverine and his team that made them seem Darker and Edgier, especially as while Wolverine's book got ''weirder'' briefly, also lead to an arc where Wolverine loses his powers and becomes so much of a toxic JerkAss as a result it alienates most of the people who cared about him before he was then killed off.
*** And then there was the whole Terrigen Cloud/M-Pox plot, which led to ''ComicBook/InhumansVsXMen''. This particular era was regarded as such a huge DorkAge in large part because it tried to app the previous Darker turn, when it was barely even old history and most fans were calling it out on repeating the same story beats, only without Cyclops to act as the scapegoat for the X-Men's harsher actions to survive. Not helped was that the Inhumans/X-Men conflict was intended as a BothSidesHaveAPoint plot, but the Inhumans' desire to force the mutant population to just ''deal'' with a painful and uncurable pathogen that was wiping them out and objected to their attempts to stop it because of its cultural importance to them instead just turned the Inhumans franchise into a VillainProtagonist group.
*** Following ''ComicBook/{{ResurrXion}}'', however, there was a decided swing to the LighterAndSofter end, with the X-Men being more traditionally heroic. Jean Grey, long-dead during the aforementioned periods, was resurrected and [[ComicBook/XMenRed lead an X-Men team that was all about making the world a better place]], while Kitty Pryde, the moral centre after her, became their new leader. This unfortunately didn't last and things got even darker with ''ComicBook/UncannyXMen2018'', starting with the ''Dissassembled'' storyline and the subsequent run by Matthew Rosenberg which saw Cyclops and Wolverine, back from the dead, struggling to maintain what's left of the mutant community in the wake of the apparent death of the X-Men and the forced mass curing of the mutant population. The series was a lame duck, put out to pass time until ComicBook/JonathanHickmansXMen relaunch, so the creative team just decided to have 'fun' by making everything as depressing and bleak as they can.
* ''Marvel Year In Review 1993'' parodied this in their own titles, by taking characters that this had been done for, and then making new characters that turned it UpToEleven:
** Franchise/SpiderMan (Super hero with the proportionate strength of a spider) -- Venom (Obsessed lunatic with the proportionate strength of a spider) -- Carnage (Crazed serial killer with the proportionate strength of a spider) -- Bile (Cannibalistic madman with the proportionate strength of a spider)
** ComicBook/CaptainAmerica (Liberalistic flag-waving symbol of democracy) -- U.S. Agent (Extremist right-wing hard-nosed American) -- The Patriot Missile ("Blow all them foreigners to hell and let God sort 'em out!")
** [[ComicBook/TheMightyThor Thor]] (Norse God of Thunder) -- Thunderstrike (Norse God of Thunder from Brooklyn) -- Godhead (Convinced he is God. Holed up in his compound, waiting for Ragnarok)
** ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} (Savage killing machine with the soul of a Samurai) -- Sabertooth (Uncontrollable, savage killing machine with the attitude of a psychopath) -- Clawjaw (Unhousebroken, uncontrollable killing machine with poor bodily hygiene)
** ComicBook/IronMan (High-tech armored Avenger) -- War Machine (High-tech armored Avenger with an attitude) -- Terror Device (High-tech armored Avenger with two attitudes and PlausibleDeniability)
** [[ComicBook/IncredibleHulk Green Hulk]] (Mindless rampaging monster) -- Gray Hulk (Intelligent rampaging monster) -- New Green Hulk (Intelligent rampaging monster with a big gun) -- [[HilariousInHindsight Red Hulk]] (Intelligent rampaging monster with a big gun and razor-sharp claws)
* Marvel as much as said at the time that the thinking behind [=US Agent=], ComicBook/WarMachine, and Thunderstrike was to have Darker And Edgier versions of ComicBook/CaptainAmerica, ComicBook/IronMan, and ComicBook/TheMightyThor, without losing the originals. There's even a famous ''[[ComicBook/TheAvengers Avengers]]'' cover of the two versions facing off. Though created prior to the decade, they would see their heyday as {{Nineties Anti Hero}}es.
** Interestingly, Thunderstrike was probably the furthest from this trope, as he was a man juggling between being a dad and a superhero. The only time he really entered this trope was when he was possessed by the Executioner's battle axe Bloodaxe.
* [[ComicBook/NewMutants New X-Men: Academy X]]. After ''ComicBook/HouseOfM'', the title was hit by Darker and Edgier ''hard'', but the change was especially marked in contrast with the first half of the series. Under Weir and [=DeFilippis=], the book was fairly light-hearted fluff that focused on relationship drama. When Kyle and Yost took over, dozens of students were immediately blown up, and everyone else was left traumatized by their failed rescue attempts. Then a main character was shot in the head and killed. And ''another'' main character betrayed the team, was mutilated, and died. They were replaced by a former assassin TykeBomb. Succeeding plotlines saw the entire team sent to HELL, one of them tortured and spending a lot of time crying herself to sleep, and so forth and so forth. In fact, most of Kyle and Yost's work falls under this trope. See also: X-Force, mentioned above.
* Since his debut Frank Castle, ''ComicBook/ThePunisher'' had held the rank of Captain of the Dark Age of Comic Books. Then he was the tip of the spear of a darker, gritter run, ''Creator/MarvelKnights'' that took him and other "heroes" into their own Darker, Edgier works. Then Castle was promoted to full Dark Lord with ''ComicBook/ThePunisherMAX'' which was a run where, hmm, most may know Jean Grey, she had a Max run that was boarderline lesbian erotica. Now take the Punisher as he was and remove any limits of violence, language, and vigilante gore. Numerous examples were put up as the image source for PayEvilUntoEvil and they were all deemed far too violent.
* The Creator/MarvelComics two-issue miniseres by Creator/WarrenEllis entitled ''ComicBook/{{Ruins}}'', a darker take on ''ComicBook/{{Marvels}}'' where everything in the Marvel Universe has gone horribly wrong and the few characters who aren't horrifically disfigured or horribly killed by the accidents that gave them their powers in the regular Marvel Universe are corrupt and vile. Notable examples include Bruce Banner becoming a barely living mass of tumors instead of the Hulk, Charles Francis Xavier becoming a [[PresidentEvil corrupt president]] who imprisons mutants and mutilates them to keep their powers in check (e.g. blinding Cyclops to disable his optic blasts and de-limbing Quicksilver to prevent him from using his super speed), and Peter Parker's radioactive spider bite covering his body with a terminal web-like rash.
* Here's one way to kill the party: Turn [[FunPersonified cheerful, bouncy]] Robbie Baldwin from the [[PersonalityPowers playfully heroic]] Speedball into an apparent murderer with a [[{{Angst}} guilt complex]] worthy of Series/{{Angel}}. Now he calls himself Penance, and wears a suit with 612 built-in points of pain, one for each person killed that day. His new powers can only manifest when he is in pain.
** In ''ComicBook/{{Thunderbolts}}'', however, Penance has come to terms with the Stamford incident not being his fault. [[BatmanGambit He reveals to Nitro the real reason for the suit.]] [[spoiler:The suit wasn't for Robbie, it was for Nitro. Robbie captured Nitro in Latveria to punish him for the Stamford incident, put him in the suit and proceeded to beat the CRAP out of him, after which he removes the last spike from his own chest to symbolize that he's freed himself of guilt.]]
** He later returns to the Speedball identity as an instructor at the ComicBook/AvengersAcademy, but retains his more serious demeanor. He leaves the school after finally coming to terms with the Stamford incident, and has since appeared in ''ComicBook/{{Nova}}'' with his previous cheerful personality restored. He still occasionally uses the Penance helmet though, as it's apparently the only way he can access his pain-based powers.
* ''ComicBook/SuperiorSpiderMan'' runs on this trope. The plot involves Otto Octavius becoming the new Spider-Man after [[GrandTheftMe stealing Peter Parker's body]], and taking up his predecessor's war on crime while ignoring his ThouShaltNotKill rule. He's more vicious, brutal, and [[InsufferableGenius condescending]] than Peter, and even sports a black and red outfit in contrast to Spidey's classic, colorful duds. Fun fact, [[RetCanon the costume was originally designed by Alex Ross for the first]] Creator/SamRaimi ''Film/SpiderMan1'' movie. The suit was mostly black because Ross felt it'd make the outfit [[MovieSuperheroesWearBlack more serious and realistic]]. Ultimately, Superior subverts it by having Otto realize that Peter and his LighterAndSofter approach are superior, making Peter the true Superior Spider-Man.
* ''ComicBook/SupremePower'' is a darker and edgier reimagining of the original ''ComicBook/SquadronSupreme''.
* ComicBook/UltimateMarvel deconstructed most of the characters from Marvel Comics, bringing them back to their initial premise and placing them in a SettingUpdate. In many cases they became AdaptationalJerkass as a result. The superhero team The Avengers was reimagined as a military operation (in ComicBook/TheUltimates) and the supervillain group the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants was reimagined as a terrorist group (in ComicBook/UltimateXMen).
* ''ComicBook/XForce'' demonstrated the trope more than once:
** The original ''X-Force'' book was a Darker and Edgier version of ''ComicBook/NewMutants''.
** The 2008 ''X-Force'' series starred a team led by Wolverine, functioning as the X-Men "black ops" team. [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/7d/X-Force-1-cover.jpg Where everyone wears black leather and has red eyes, and there is much growling and slashing had by all]]. Or in other words, it was a Darker and Edgier version of an already Darker and Edgier book! The book sometimes reached StealthParody levels, or occasionally overt self-parody, as with a reprint of the first three issues with a variant cover showing [[http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=218997 puppies and rainbows coming out of wounds like blood.]] There is also a hint of deconstruction. Deadpool grows increasingly disgusted and angered over the dark actions the team takes over the course of the series. You know things are getting bad when ''Deadpool'' is having to be the OnlySaneMan/moral compass.
* ''ComicBook/XMen'' were always one of the darker comic books since the 80s, what with their focus on a discriminated minority group who often fought against extremists and genocidal bigots who were ANaziByAnyOtherName, and storylines such as the ''Morlock Massacre''. But in the 2000s, after ''ComicBook/HouseOfM'' came the ''Decimation'', where mutant numbers were dropped down to barely past 300, many of whom were immediately murdered, forcing the X-Men to abandon traditional heroics and move towards a more pragmatic, militarised and compartmentalised structure. Not helped was that shortly before this saw ComicBook/JeanGrey, arguably TheHeart of the X-Men, be KilledOffForReal[[note]]under the belief that her death would make Cyclops 'more interesting', and also because those RunningTheAsylum apparently didn't like her original resurrection[[/note]] and her place as the main female lead being replaced by Emma Frost, who functioned as an AntiHeroSubstitute for Jean.
** What's commonly pointed to was the CharacterDevelopment of ComicBook/{{Cyclops}}, who ''started'' this period suffering from PTSD after an incident with Apocalypse, and then manipulated by Emma Frost [[MindRape into a psychic affair during their therapy sessions]] followed by Jean's death and Cyclops being psychically forced into a relationship with Emma afterward. This combined with everything the X-Men were going through prompted him to take decisive action to maintain the survival of the mutant race, even as he was forced to make moral compromises other heroes dared. This was best shown by the formation of ''ComicBook/XForce'', a black-ops hit-squad taking the best and most capable killers among the X-Men's ranks, as well as a BoxedCrook or two. Even Wolverine was a little disturbed by the lengths Cyclops was willing to go to, which eventually caused a bloody falling out between the two.
** The whole "Professor X is no better than ComicBook/{{Magneto}}" creep from the Ultimate to the main universe that was exemplified by ''Deadly Genesis'', where it was [[RetCon revealed]] that Professor X led a team of X-Men to their deaths in rescuing his original team from Krakoa and just mind-wiped everyone into forgetting that it happened and trying again with another new team. And that Professor X later realized that the Danger Room was becoming sentient, but ignored it, leading to Danger being created years later.
** This all came to a head with the finale of ''ComicBook/AvengersVsXMen'', where Cyclops snapped and killed the Professor while possessed by the Phoenix Force. Now he's on the run with his own team of outlaw X-Men, though this is somewhat zig-zagged, however. With mutant numbers restored, Cyclops' team actually returned to the old 'hated and feared' roots, going out of their way to protect those who would harm these new and re-powered mutants, while Wolverine (who had seemingly became LighterAndSofter after a falling out with Cyclops over the aforementioned extreme actions) regularly comes off as a thoroughly sanctimonious and HolierThanThou hypocrite considering his past. He's not alone in it either, something which, after ComicBook/BattleOfTheAtom, Kitty Pryde, moral centre of the X-Men, calls them out for. Indeed, Cyclops' team is arguably still fairly idealistic - specifically, when Magneto reprimands Teen Jean for [[spoiler: trying to mind control Teen Angel into staying with the O5]], he says, "That is not what Charles Xavier taught you, young lady!" It was overall more a case of the team being subject to a lot of InformedWrongness from Wolverine and his team that made them seem Darker and Edgier, especially as while Wolverine's book got ''weirder'' briefly, also lead to an arc where Wolverine loses his powers and becomes so much of a toxic JerkAss as a result it alienates most of the people who cared about him before he was then killed off.
*** And then there was the whole Terrigen Cloud/M-Pox plot, which led to ''ComicBook/InhumansVsXMen''. This particular era was regarded as such a huge DorkAge in large part because it tried to app the previous Darker turn, when it was barely even old history and most fans were calling it out on repeating the same story beats, only without Cyclops to act as the scapegoat for the X-Men's harsher actions to survive. Not helped was that the Inhumans/X-Men conflict was intended as a BothSidesHaveAPoint plot, but the Inhumans' desire to force the mutant population to just ''deal'' with a painful and uncurable pathogen that was wiping them out and objected to their attempts to stop it because of its cultural importance to them instead just turned the Inhumans franchise into a VillainProtagonist group.
*** Following ''ComicBook/{{ResurrXion}}'', however, there was a decided swing to the LighterAndSofter end, with the X-Men being more traditionally heroic. Jean Grey, long-dead during the aforementioned periods, was resurrected and [[ComicBook/XMenRed lead an X-Men team that was all about making the world a better place]], while Kitty Pryde, the moral centre after her, became their new leader. This unfortunately didn't last and things got even darker with ''ComicBook/UncannyXMen2018'', starting with the ''Dissassembled'' storyline and the subsequent run by Matthew Rosenberg which saw Cyclops and Wolverine, back from the dead, struggling to maintain what's left of the mutant community in the wake of the apparent death of the X-Men and the forced mass curing of the mutant population. The series was a lame duck, put out to pass time until ComicBook/JonathanHickmansXMen relaunch, so the creative team just decided to have 'fun' by making everything as depressing and bleak as they can.
