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**How strong is the wall-crawler himself? The 'proportional strength of a spider' goes from "a lot of work to lift a car" to "easily hoisted up a tank and slammed it against the ground, crushing it." The official stat is (or was at one time) 10 tons, but we've seen both much weaker and much stronger than that.
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** Ollie hasn't fared much better in The ComicBook/{{New 52}}. His creative team changed three times in the first year, with the first two teams writing him as a generic action hero with none of the personality of the classic Oliver Queen. Creator/AnnNocenti wrote him as a womanizing beatnick, who spouted free-verse poetry while wandering the rooftops. Creator/JeffLemire improved things somewhat, making Ollie a competent hero if not a particularly memorable one. And the most recent creative team - made up of Series/{{Arrow}} Executive Producer Andrew Kreisberg and writer Ben Sokolowski - write Green Arrow like Oliver Queen on the TV series.
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** Ollie hasn't fared much better in The ComicBook/{{New 52}}. His creative team changed three times in the first year, with the first two teams writing him as a generic action hero with none of the personality of the classic Oliver Queen. Creator/AnnNocenti wrote him as a womanizing beatnick, who spouted free-verse poetry while wandering the rooftops. Creator/JeffLemire improved things somewhat, making Ollie a competent hero if not a particularly memorable one. And the most recent creative team - made up of a fill-in arc by Series/{{Arrow}} Executive Producer Andrew Kreisberg and writer Ben Sokolowski - write portrayed Green Arrow like Oliver Queen on the TV series.series. Eventually, Benjamin Percy and ComicBook/DCRebirth came along and did a good job of merging Ollie's disparate characterizations.
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** Depending on who's in control, Solomon Grundy can be incapable of saying anything more than "Solomon Grundy, born on a Monday" or perfectly capable of rational speech. The differences can get quite jarring at times. Surprisingly, there's actually an explanation for this. Every time he dies he comes back with a different personality, and it's very hard to stop him without killing him. A recent miniseries is focused on him returning with his mortal personality and trying to break this cycle. The first arc of the Franchise/{{Justice League|of America}} revamp began with, surprisingly, Solomon Grundy as the Big Bad and actually the ''brains'' behind the whole scheme (which was to steal Red Tornado's new robot/android/cyborg body and place his soul in it so he'd stop dying). It was extremely odd seeing Grundy looking like a buff, albino gangster.
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** Depending on who's in control, Solomon Grundy can be incapable of saying anything more than "Solomon Grundy, born on a Monday" or perfectly capable of rational speech. The differences can get quite jarring at times. Surprisingly, there's actually an explanation for this. Every time he dies he comes back with a different personality, and it's very hard to stop him without killing him. A recent miniseries is focused on him returning with his mortal personality and trying to break this cycle. The first arc of the Brad Meltzer's Franchise/{{Justice League|of America}} revamp run began with, surprisingly, Solomon Grundy as the Big Bad and actually the ''brains'' behind the whole scheme (which was to steal Red Tornado's new robot/android/cyborg body and place his soul in it so he'd stop dying). It was extremely odd seeing Grundy looking like a buff, albino gangster.
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** Barbara's biological relationship to her father Jim varies. In the 1980s, Jim's age was lowered and as a result Barbara became his niece who he adopted as his daughter. At other times she's biologically his daughter.
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** ComicBook/{{Nightcrawler}}, another member of the X-Men, falls prey to this trope as well. In his initial appearances, he was a [[TheWoobie woobie]] and a case of IJustWantToBeNormal. The next writer turned him into FunPersonified. Later writers have gone with one portrayal, the other, or [[SadClown a combination of the two]]. It also happens with his religion, initially he didn't talk about it much and said it was just a matter between him and God, but some writers make him a more devoted religious, even to the point where he trained to become a priest.
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** ComicBook/{{Nightcrawler}}, another member of the X-Men, falls prey to this trope as well. In his initial appearances, he was a [[TheWoobie woobie]] and a case of IJustWantToBeNormal. The next writer turned him into FunPersonified. Later writers have gone with one portrayal, the other, or [[SadClown a combination of the two]]. It also happens with his religion, initially he didn't talk about it much and said it was just a matter between him and God, but some writers make him a more devoted devotedly religious, even to the point where he trained to become a priest.
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*** How Two-Face handles his coin flips is also highly variable. Sometimes it's something Harvey does on purpose because he knows his evil side will obey the coin (like it or not), other times it's a psychological compulsion, and still other times it comes off as nothing more than a villainous CharacterTic. This also coincides with how likely he is to keep his promises; sometimes he's a man of his word, and other times he'll use ExactWords and other loopholes to get around them. ''Film/BatmanAndRobin'' took it even further, showing Two-Face repeatedly flipping the coin until he got the result he wanted.
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** ComicBook/{{Nightcrawler}}, another member of the X-Men, falls prey to this trope as well. In his initial appearances, he was a [[TheWoobie woobie]] and a case of IJustWantToBeNormal. The next writer turned him into FunPersonified. Later writers have gone with one portrayal, the other, or [[SadClown a combination of both]]. It also happens with his religion, initially he didn't talk about it much and said it was just a matter between him and God, but some writers make him a more devoted religious, even to the point where he trained to become a priest.
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** ComicBook/{{Nightcrawler}}, another member of the X-Men, falls prey to this trope as well. In his initial appearances, he was a [[TheWoobie woobie]] and a case of IJustWantToBeNormal. The next writer turned him into FunPersonified. Later writers have gone with one portrayal, the other, or [[SadClown a combination of both]].the two]]. It also happens with his religion, initially he didn't talk about it much and said it was just a matter between him and God, but some writers make him a more devoted religious, even to the point where he trained to become a priest.
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** ComicBook/{{Nightcrawler}}, another member of the X-Men, falls prey to this trope as well. In his initial appearances, he's FunPersonified, though some later writers downplay this quality and a few remove it almost entirely. It also happens with his religion, initially he didn't talk about it much and said it was just a matter between him and God, but some writers make him more religious, even to the point where he's training to become a priest.
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** ComicBook/{{Nightcrawler}}, another member of the X-Men, falls prey to this trope as well. In his initial appearances, he's FunPersonified, though some later he was a [[TheWoobie woobie]] and a case of IJustWantToBeNormal. The next writer turned him into FunPersonified. Later writers downplay this quality and have gone with one portrayal, the other, or [[SadClown a few remove it almost entirely. combination of both]]. It also happens with his religion, initially he didn't talk about it much and said it was just a matter between him and God, but some writers make him a more devoted religious, even to the point where he's training he trained to become a priest.
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** It's [[DiscussedTrope discussed]] in ''ComicBook/TheUnbelievableGwenpool,'' where Batroc is depicted as the BadassNormal TeamDad. When Gwen realizes that her book is almost cancelled, she tells Batroc that, once the book is over, his characterization will be up to the whims of different writers. She tearfully says good-bye to her friend, knowing that writers will likely never use this version of his characterization again.
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* ComicBook/GreenArrow suffered from this a fair bit in the 21st century. Creator/KevinSmith wrote Oliver Queen as a sadder but wiser version of Dennis O'Neil's wise-cracking swashbuckling GeniusBruiser. Creator/JuddWinick wrote him as an unrepentant dirty old man who could barely tie his shoes unaided and was only good at shooting arrows (in the first half of his run; in the [GrowingTheBeard far superior]] second half of Winick's run Ollie became a hypercompetent mayor and Arrow-family leader who only had eyes for Black Canary). Creator/MarkWaid and Creator/JoeKelly were little better, with the former making references to Ollie chasing after teenage girls in ''ComicBook/TheBraveAndTheBold'' and the later depicting Ollie having an affair with the wife of Manitou Raven. Most of this characterization of Ollie as a womanizer seems to have been based on the portrayal of the character in flashbacks written by Creator/ChuckDixon, where Ollie talked about all the women he slept with in the early days of his hero career and on misinterpretation of the Creator/MikeGrell run of ''ComicBook/GreenArrow'' where Ollie [[DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnMale unknowingly fathered a child with the assassin Shado]]. This is doubly vexing for fans of the classic Green Arrow, as Oliver Queen was usually depicted as being overprotective and jealous of his girlfriend ComicBook/BlackCanary and was once depicted as being so devoted to Dinah Lance that his love and willpower allowed him to overcome both Zatanna's magic and Poison Ivy's pheromones.
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* ComicBook/GreenArrow suffered from this a fair bit in the 21st century. Creator/KevinSmith wrote Oliver Queen as a sadder but wiser version of Dennis O'Neil's wise-cracking swashbuckling GeniusBruiser. Creator/JuddWinick wrote him as an unrepentant dirty old man who could barely tie his shoes unaided and was only good at shooting arrows (in the first half of his run; in the [GrowingTheBeard [[GrowingTheBeard far superior]] second half of Winick's run Ollie became a hypercompetent mayor and Arrow-family leader who only had eyes for Black Canary). Creator/MarkWaid and Creator/JoeKelly were little better, with the former making references to Ollie chasing after teenage girls in ''ComicBook/TheBraveAndTheBold'' and the later depicting Ollie having an affair with the wife of Manitou Raven. Most of this characterization of Ollie as a womanizer seems to have been based on the portrayal of the character in flashbacks written by Creator/ChuckDixon, where Ollie talked about all the women he slept with in the early days of his hero career and on misinterpretation of the Creator/MikeGrell run of ''ComicBook/GreenArrow'' where Ollie [[DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnMale unknowingly fathered a child with the assassin Shado]]. This is doubly vexing for fans of the classic Green Arrow, as Oliver Queen was usually depicted as being overprotective and jealous of his girlfriend ComicBook/BlackCanary and was once depicted as being so devoted to Dinah Lance that his love and willpower allowed him to overcome both Zatanna's magic and Poison Ivy's pheromones.
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* ComicBook/GreenArrow suffered from this a fair bit in the 21st century. Creator/KevinSmith wrote Oliver Queen as a sadder but wiser version of Dennis O'Neil's wise-cracking swashbuckling GeniusBruiser. Creator/JuddWinick wrote him as an unrepentant dirty old man who could barely tie his shoes unaided and was only good at shooting arrows. Creator/MarkWaid and Creator/JoeKelly were little better, with the former making references to Ollie chasing after teenage girls in ''ComicBook/TheBraveAndTheBold'' and the later depicting Ollie having an affair with the wife of Manitou Raven. Most of this characterization of Ollie as a womanizer seems to have been based on the portrayal of the character in flashbacks written by Creator/ChuckDixon, where Ollie talked about all the women he slept with in the early days of his hero career and on misinterpretation of the Creator/MikeGrell run of ''ComicBook/GreenArrow'' where Ollie [[DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnMale unknowingly fathered a child with the assassin Shado]]. This is doubly vexing for fans of the classic Green Arrow, as Oliver Queen was usually depicted as being overprotective and jealous of his girlfriend ComicBook/BlackCanary and was once depicted as being so devoted to Dinah Lance that his love and willpower allowed him to overcome both Zatanna's magic and Poison Ivy's pheromones.
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* ComicBook/GreenArrow suffered from this a fair bit in the 21st century. Creator/KevinSmith wrote Oliver Queen as a sadder but wiser version of Dennis O'Neil's wise-cracking swashbuckling GeniusBruiser. Creator/JuddWinick wrote him as an unrepentant dirty old man who could barely tie his shoes unaided and was only good at shooting arrows.arrows (in the first half of his run; in the [GrowingTheBeard far superior]] second half of Winick's run Ollie became a hypercompetent mayor and Arrow-family leader who only had eyes for Black Canary). Creator/MarkWaid and Creator/JoeKelly were little better, with the former making references to Ollie chasing after teenage girls in ''ComicBook/TheBraveAndTheBold'' and the later depicting Ollie having an affair with the wife of Manitou Raven. Most of this characterization of Ollie as a womanizer seems to have been based on the portrayal of the character in flashbacks written by Creator/ChuckDixon, where Ollie talked about all the women he slept with in the early days of his hero career and on misinterpretation of the Creator/MikeGrell run of ''ComicBook/GreenArrow'' where Ollie [[DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnMale unknowingly fathered a child with the assassin Shado]]. This is doubly vexing for fans of the classic Green Arrow, as Oliver Queen was usually depicted as being overprotective and jealous of his girlfriend ComicBook/BlackCanary and was once depicted as being so devoted to Dinah Lance that his love and willpower allowed him to overcome both Zatanna's magic and Poison Ivy's pheromones.
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* ''Franchise/SpiderMan'' 's [[DaEditor J. Jonah Jameson]], editor-in-chief of the Daily Bugle, gets this treatment when it comes to the reasoning behind his newspaper's anti-Spidey reporting: to some, it's because he's [[GreenEyedMonster jealous of the fact the Spider-Man is more heroic than he could ever be]]; to others, it's just a case of JJ being an [[JerkAss asshole]]. Still others give him a motive that is, on the face of it, reasonable. Even more inconsistent is his personality beyond the Spidey-hate; is he a JerkWithAHeartOfGold to his employeees and a decent newspaperman with one unfortunate blind-spot, or is he a BadBoss and a headline-chasing scaremongerer?
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* ''Franchise/SpiderMan'' 's [[DaEditor J. Jonah Jameson]], editor-in-chief of the Daily Bugle, gets this treatment when it comes to the reasoning behind his newspaper's anti-Spidey reporting: to some, it's because he's [[GreenEyedMonster jealous of the fact the Spider-Man is more heroic than he could ever be]]; to others, it's just a case of JJ being an [[JerkAss asshole]]. Still others give him a motive that is, on the face of it, reasonable. Even more inconsistent is his personality beyond the Spidey-hate; is he a JerkWithAHeartOfGold to his employeees and a decent newspaperman with one unfortunate blind-spot, or is he a BadBoss and a headline-chasing scaremongerer?scaremongerer? What's also often is the indecisiveness of how far his hate for Spider-Man goes. Is it exclusive only for Spidey, or does Jameson have a hatred for the entire superhero community in general? One moment he'd be very hesitant to start going after the likes of the Fantastic Four, and the next he's calling Galactus's first appearance a hoax.
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** Sister Dawn doesn't fare much better, either being portrayed as younger naive sheltered college girl who is introverted and can't hold her liquor when around the more popular seasoned heroines or is she more of a proper peer and experienced heroine who has lots of living behind her. Hell Whether or not she is romantically interested in Hank goes back in forth depending on the writer.
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** Sister Dawn doesn't fare much better, either being portrayed as younger naive sheltered college girl who is introverted and can't hold her liquor when around the more popular seasoned heroines or is she more of a proper peer and experienced heroine who has lots of living behind her. Hell Hell, Whether or not she is romantically interested in Hank goes back in and forth depending on the writer.
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** This was a major issue with the ComicBook/New52 Superman, and likely a major reason for why the guy didn't take. Grant Morrison wrote him as an arrogant callous hothead in the past, but going through CharacterDevelopment into a well-rounded IdealHero with an aggressive and anti-authoritarian streak [[OlderAndWiser by the modern day.]] Thing was, a lot of writers, including George Perez and Scott Lobdell, didn't get the memo on the second half, and wrote the modern Superman as a straight-up self-righteous JerkAss who punched people for no good reason. And then you had writers like Scott Snyder, who basically ignored both approaches and just wrote him like his pre-New 52 counterpart...
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** This was a major issue with the ComicBook/New52 Superman, and likely a major reason for why the guy didn't take. Grant Morrison wrote him as an arrogant arrogant, callous hothead in the past, but going through CharacterDevelopment into a well-rounded IdealHero with an aggressive and anti-authoritarian streak [[OlderAndWiser by the modern day.]] Thing was, a lot of writers, including George Perez and Scott Lobdell, didn't get the memo on the second half, and wrote the modern Superman as a straight-up self-righteous JerkAss who punched people for no good reason. And then you had writers like Scott Snyder, who basically ignored both approaches and just wrote him like his pre-New 52 counterpart...
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** Sister Dawn doesn't fair much better, either being portrayed as younger naive sheltered college girl who is introverted and can't hold her liquor when around the more popular seasoned heroines or is she more of a proper peer and experienced heroine who has lots of living behind her. Hell Whether or not she is romantically interested in Hank goes back in forth depending on the writer.
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** Sister Dawn doesn't fair fare much better, either being portrayed as younger naive sheltered college girl who is introverted and can't hold her liquor when around the more popular seasoned heroines or is she more of a proper peer and experienced heroine who has lots of living behind her. Hell Whether or not she is romantically interested in Hank goes back in forth depending on the writer.
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** Sister Dawn doesn't fair much better, either being portrayed as younger naive sheltered college girl who is introverted and can't hold her liquor when around the more popular seasoned heroines or is she more of a proper peer and experienced heroine who has lots of living behind her. Hell Whether or not she is romantically interested in Hank goes back in forth depending on the writer.
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*** It's almost always agreed upon that Harley is [[ObfuscatingStupidity smarter than she lets on]] but just ''how'' much and how sensible she can be varies greatly from story to story. She can be a DumbBlonde, a GeniusDitz, a DitzyGenius, in reality her [[StepfordSmiler entire personality can be a facade]] [[BeneathTheMask that she changes depending on the situation]], or she could be anything in-between. Similarly, is she clinically insane or does she understand her actions?
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*** It's almost always agreed upon that Harley is [[ObfuscatingStupidity smarter than she lets on]] but just ''how'' much and how sensible she can be varies greatly from story to story. She can be a DumbBlonde, a GeniusDitz, a DitzyGenius, in reality her [[StepfordSmiler entire personality can be a facade]] [[BeneathTheMask that she changes depending on the situation]], or she could be anything in-between. Similarly, is she clinically insane or does she understand her actions?
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*** It's almost always agreed upon that Harley is [[ObfuscatingStupidity smarter than she lets on]] but just ''how'' much and how sensible she can be varies greatly from story to story. She can be a DumbBlonde, a GeniusDitz, a DitzyGenius, in reality her [[StepfordSmiler entire personality can be a facade]] [[BehindTheMask that she changes depending on the situation]], or she could be anything in-between. Similarly, is she clinically insane or does she understand her actions?
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*** It's almost always agreed upon that Harley is [[ObfuscatingStupidity smarter than she lets on]] but just ''how'' much and how sensible she can be varies greatly from story to story. She can be a DumbBlonde, a GeniusDitz, a DitzyGenius, in reality her [[StepfordSmiler entire personality can be a facade]] [[BehindTheMask [[BeneathTheMask that she changes depending on the situation]], or she could be anything in-between. Similarly, is she clinically insane or does she understand her actions?
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*** It's almost always agreed upon that Harley is [[ObfuscatingStupidity smarter than she lets on]] but just ''how'' much and how sensible she can be varies greatly from story to story. She can be a DumbBlonde, a GeniusDitz, a DitzyGenius, in reality her [[StepfordSmiler entire personality can be a facade]] [[BehindTheMasm that she changes depending on the situation]], or she could be anything in-between. Similarly, is she clinically insane or does she understand her actions?
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*** It's almost always agreed upon that Harley is [[ObfuscatingStupidity smarter than she lets on]] but just ''how'' much and how sensible she can be varies greatly from story to story. She can be a DumbBlonde, a GeniusDitz, a DitzyGenius, in reality her [[StepfordSmiler entire personality can be a facade]] [[BehindTheMasm [[BehindTheMask that she changes depending on the situation]], or she could be anything in-between. Similarly, is she clinically insane or does she understand her actions?
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*** Is Harley a psychologist or a psychiatrist? In ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' she was a psychologist, but the comics have zigzagged between the two. It's possible the writers don't recognize they're two very different careers and mix them up. ''Why'' was Harley a psychologist/psychiatrist in the first place? Her original backstory from ''Mad Love'' depicted her as [[SexForCredits sleeping through college]] (implying she couldn't get through it herself) and had her only become a psychologist so she could become a television psychologist and make money. Other interpretations however portray her as genuinely being interested in the career and being a genuine psychologist/psychiatrist who was led astray by the Joker. Did Harley sleep with her teachers because the schooling was too hard, was she too lazy, was she perfectly capable of doing the work but found it easier to manipulate her grades, or did she never sleep with her teachers at all? The New 52 reimagined that aspect as her simply blackmailing her teachers.
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*** Is Harley a psychologist or a psychiatrist? In ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' she was a psychologist, but the comics have zigzagged between the two. It's possible the writers don't recognize they're two very different careers and mix them up. ''Why'' was Harley a psychologist/psychiatrist in the first place? Her original backstory from ''Mad Love'' depicted her as [[SexForCredits [[SextraCredit sleeping through college]] (implying she couldn't get through it herself) and had her only become a psychologist so she could become a television psychologist and make money. Other interpretations however portray her as genuinely being interested in the career and being a genuine psychologist/psychiatrist who was led astray by the Joker. Did Harley sleep with her teachers because the schooling was too hard, was she too lazy, was she perfectly capable of doing the work but found it easier to manipulate her grades, or did she never sleep with her teachers at all? The New 52 reimagined that aspect as her simply blackmailing her teachers.
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*** Is Harley a psychologist or a psychiatrist? In ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' she was a psychologist, but the comics have zigzagged between the two. It's possible the writers don't recognize they're two very different careers and mix them up.
*** It's almost always agreed upon that Harley is [[ObfuscatingStupidity smarter than she lets on]] but just ''how'' much and how sensible she can be varies greatly from story to story. She can be a DumbBlonde, a GeniusDitz, in reality her entire personality can be a facade that she changes depending on the situation, or she could be anything in-between. Similarly, is she clinically insane or does she understand her actions?
*** It's almost always agreed upon that Harley is [[ObfuscatingStupidity smarter than she lets on]] but just ''how'' much and how sensible she can be varies greatly from story to story. She can be a DumbBlonde, a GeniusDitz, in reality her entire personality can be a facade that she changes depending on the situation, or she could be anything in-between. Similarly, is she clinically insane or does she understand her actions?
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*** Is Harley a psychologist or a psychiatrist? In ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' she was a psychologist, but the comics have zigzagged between the two. It's possible the writers don't recognize they're two very different careers and mix them up.
up. ''Why'' was Harley a psychologist/psychiatrist in the first place? Her original backstory from ''Mad Love'' depicted her as [[SexForCredits sleeping through college]] (implying she couldn't get through it herself) and had her only become a psychologist so she could become a television psychologist and make money. Other interpretations however portray her as genuinely being interested in the career and being a genuine psychologist/psychiatrist who was led astray by the Joker. Did Harley sleep with her teachers because the schooling was too hard, was she too lazy, was she perfectly capable of doing the work but found it easier to manipulate her grades, or did she never sleep with her teachers at all? The New 52 reimagined that aspect as her simply blackmailing her teachers.
*** It's almost always agreed upon that Harley is [[ObfuscatingStupidity smarter than she lets on]] but just ''how'' much and how sensible she can be varies greatly from story to story. She can be a DumbBlonde, a GeniusDitz, a DitzyGenius, in reality her [[StepfordSmiler entire personality can be afacade facade]] [[BehindTheMasm that she changes depending on the situation, situation]], or she could be anything in-between. Similarly, is she clinically insane or does she understand her actions?
*** It's almost always agreed upon that Harley is [[ObfuscatingStupidity smarter than she lets on]] but just ''how'' much and how sensible she can be varies greatly from story to story. She can be a DumbBlonde, a GeniusDitz, a DitzyGenius, in reality her [[StepfordSmiler entire personality can be a
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** How strong and physically capable is Harley? Above average for a gymnast or an outright BadassNormal with almost superhuman moveablity?
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** Damian Wayne, the latest Comicbook/{{Robin}}, gets this too. With his creator, Grant Morrison, he tends to be written as a SociopathicHero who is excellent at everything. Other writers tend to downplay his skills in combat.
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** Damian Wayne, the latest Comicbook/{{Robin}}, gets this too. With his creator, Grant Morrison, he tends to be written as a SociopathicHero who is excellent at everything. Other writers tend to downplay his skills in combat. With some writers he's still the unrepentant {{Jerkass}} he was introduced as despite years of character development. With other writers (i.e. Tomasi), he's actually much kinder than he lets on and struggles to express his genuinely positive feelings for others due to his upbringing.
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** This was a major issue with the ComicBook/New52 Superman, and likely a major reason for why the guy didn't take. Grant Morrison wrote him as an arrogant callow hothead in the past, but going through CharacterDevelopment into a well-rounded IdealHero with an aggressive and antiauthoritarian streak [[OlderAndWiser by the modern day.]] Thing was, a lot of writers, including George Perez and Scott Lobdell, didn't get the memo on the second half, and wrote the modern Superman as a straight-up selfrighteous JerkAss who punched people for no good reason. And then you had writers like Scott Snyder, who basically ignored both approaches and just wrote him like his pre-New 52 counterpart...
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** This was a major issue with the ComicBook/New52 Superman, and likely a major reason for why the guy didn't take. Grant Morrison wrote him as an arrogant callow callous hothead in the past, but going through CharacterDevelopment into a well-rounded IdealHero with an aggressive and antiauthoritarian anti-authoritarian streak [[OlderAndWiser by the modern day.]] Thing was, a lot of writers, including George Perez and Scott Lobdell, didn't get the memo on the second half, and wrote the modern Superman as a straight-up selfrighteous self-righteous JerkAss who punched people for no good reason. And then you had writers like Scott Snyder, who basically ignored both approaches and just wrote him like his pre-New 52 counterpart...
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* [[WretchedHive Madripoor.]] Whoever is in charge of the island nation can vary as quickly as whoever is writing the story. One moment, Tiger Tyger is in control and pushing through reforms to transform it into a respectable nation. The very next it's right back into a haven for human and drug trafficking and other organized crime under the control of the likes of Viper or Sabretooth, with no explanation of how the regime changed. It's even happened across issues of two different series ''released in the same month''. While it could be handwaved since Madripoor is often fractious, and divided into territories controlled by different individuals with differing goals, (so Tyger's part of the city is a progressive mecca of legitimate business, while Daken's territory makes [[Film/StarWarsANewHope Mos Eisley]] seem quaint) the books rarely actually utilize this, (at least until the gang warring becomes a plot point itself) and applies the current situation across the whole island.
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** Is Betty a [[{{Tsundere}} sore loser]], or a sad loser? Does she have a crush on Archie, or is she [[StalkerWithACrush obsessed with him]]?
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** Is Betty a [[{{Tsundere}} sore loser]], or a sad loser? loser, or even a loser at all? Does she have a crush on Archie, or is she [[StalkerWithACrush obsessed with him]]?him]]? Are she and Veronica content to "share" Archie, with only a {{Friendly Rivalry}}, or does each one go ballistic whenever he eyes the other?
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* ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'' is probably worse, considering he is the TropeCodifier of the FlyingBrick. That was the main thing that made ''Film/SupermanII'' fail for the fans, because he was given [[NewPowersAsThePlotDemands random powers that had never appeared before]]. When handled at his most popular, his powers are fairly straightforward: [[IBelieveICanFly Flight]], [[NighInvulnerable Invulnerability]], [[EyeBeams Heat Vision]], [[SuperBreath Ice Breath]], and the super abilities of SuperSenses, SuperSpeed and SuperStrength. PowerCreepPowerSeep aside, writers would give him the most bizarre super-"whatever" power (including super-marble playing and the "S" saran wrap shield). This is probably what gave fan Jerry ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'' his thoughts about him having "super humor." One strip has him use super-puppeteering to put on a play for Lois, and super-memory to learn the script quickly. Superman's powers were never really set in stone during the Golden and Silver ages. Superman was rife with NewPowersAsThePlotDemands up until John Byrne's post-crisis revamp gave a definite set of powers for Superman, removing some like freezing breath, forgetting others like "Super Ventriloquism" and "Super Elastic Facial Muscles" (this is not a joke), and limiting others like his super strength and speed. (Seriously, how else could a mook like the Toyman be even kind of a threat?) That is until later writers decided to undo all of that since a superhero with limits just wasn't [[InvincibleHero "interesting" enough]].
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* ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'' is probably worse, considering he is the TropeCodifier of the FlyingBrick. That was the main thing that made ''Film/SupermanII'' fail for the fans, because he was given [[NewPowersAsThePlotDemands random powers that had never appeared before]]. When handled at his most popular, his powers are fairly straightforward: [[IBelieveICanFly Flight]], [[NighInvulnerable Invulnerability]], [[EyeBeams Heat Vision]], [[SuperBreath Ice Breath]], and the super abilities of SuperSenses, SuperSpeed and SuperStrength. PowerCreepPowerSeep aside, writers would give him the most bizarre super-"whatever" power (including super-marble playing and the "S" saran wrap shield). This is probably what gave fan Jerry ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'' his thoughts about him having "super humor." One strip has him use super-puppeteering to put on a play for Lois, and super-memory to learn the script quickly. Superman's powers were never really set in stone during the Golden and Silver ages. Superman was rife with NewPowersAsThePlotDemands up until John Byrne's post-crisis revamp gave a definite set of powers for Superman, removing some like freezing breath, forgetting others like "Super Ventriloquism" and "Super Elastic Facial Muscles" (this is not a joke), and limiting others like his super strength and speed. (Seriously, how else could a mook like the Toyman be even kind of a threat?) That is until later Other writers decided to undo all of that have since a superhero crept his power up and down, with limits just wasn't [[InvincibleHero "interesting" enough]]. freeze breath eventually showing up again and various applications of other powers being used.
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** Even his eating habits are subject to this. Some writers have claimed he's a vegetarian, with the justification that his SuperSenses make it hard for him to enjoy eating any kind of farmed meat. Other writers show him having no problem with meat, and his canonical favorite food is beef bourguignon.
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** Then there's the role of Clark Kent. Some writers take the view that Clark Kent is more or less just a disguise for him that lets him live a normal existence and ground himself, while others take the view that he considers Clark Kent to be his "true" identity and the person he's been his whole life. Quite a few comics, like ''ComicBook/SupermanBirthright'', seemingly TakeAThirdOption in suggesting that neither Superman nor Clark Kent are "the real one", with both being exaggerated personas to some degree, and the closest thing to "the real one" is how he acts when around people who know his identity, like his parents or Lois Lane. And how Clark Kent himself acts fluctuates quite a bit; in some comics, he's TheAce who's respected by everyone and more or less acts like Superman if he didn't have powers and was a reporter, while in others, he's a borderline DitzyGenius who baffles people in his ability to uncover massive corporate conspiracies [[TheKlutz then trip over his shoelaces.]]
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** This was a major issue with the ComicBook/New52 Superman, and likely a major reason for why the guy didn't take. Morrison wrote him as an arrogant callow hothead in the past, but going through CharacterDevelopment into a well-rounded IdealHero with an aggressive and antiauthoritarian streak [[OlderAndWiser by the modern day.]] Thing was, a lot of writers, including George Perez and Scott Lobdell, didn't get the memo on the second half, and wrote the modern Superman as a straight-up selfrighteous JerkAss who punched people for no good reason. And then you had writers like Scott Snyder, who basically ignored both approaches and just wrote him like his pre-New 52 counterpart...
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** This was a major issue with the ComicBook/New52 Superman, and likely a major reason for why the guy didn't take. Grant Morrison wrote him as an arrogant callow hothead in the past, but going through CharacterDevelopment into a well-rounded IdealHero with an aggressive and antiauthoritarian streak [[OlderAndWiser by the modern day.]] Thing was, a lot of writers, including George Perez and Scott Lobdell, didn't get the memo on the second half, and wrote the modern Superman as a straight-up selfrighteous JerkAss who punched people for no good reason. And then you had writers like Scott Snyder, who basically ignored both approaches and just wrote him like his pre-New 52 counterpart...
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Comics as a medium are heavily subject to this trope, especially when they run for decades and necessarily have many different writers, some of whom are cavalier about consistency.
!!!DC
* ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' books are full of this.
** First there's the caped crusader himself. He's had so many writers that he's barely the same character in some appearances. And that's just in the main DCU, and not going into ''ComicBook/AllStarBatmanAndRobinTheBoyWonder'', the movies, and various TV shows based on him. To list all the different ways he's been portrayed (is he a really good detective or not? Is he admirable or a JerkAss? Is he the craziest or the OnlySaneMan of the Franchise/{{Justice League|Of America}}?) would take up way too much space. This is perhaps best represented in the [[http://www.overthinkingit.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/batman-alignment.jpg Batman alignment chart]]
** Former sidekick ComicBook/{{Nightwing}} arguably gets it worse. While DC will usually run with one interpretation of Batman in all the books and then shift to another, Nightwing gets to be a relatively happy and well-adjusted leader of men in the bat-books, but shifts into a dark and broody Batman 2.0 in team books. Maybe they are both correct. He's grim and broody, but compared to Batman he looks cheery and well-adjusted!
*** Dick's relationship with Bruce is very inconsistent. For decades DC has written them as being familial instead of just "Batman and his ward" but whether they're [[HappilyAdopted father and son]] or more like brothers varies. Part of this could be because they're closer in age nowadays.
** Don't even get started on the Joker...
*** From the earliest comics to Film/TheDarkKnightSaga to the various animated series, he's been portrayed as a HarmlessVillain, MagnificentBastard, TheMadHatter, AffablyEvil, FauxAffablyEvil, BoredWithInsanity, etc... listing everything he's been would warrant [[ComicBook/TheJoker its own section!]] It's probable that ''all'' of these are true. A text story by Creator/GrantMorrison in ''Batman and Son'', leading to the Joker's role in ''Batman RIP'', has him ''deciding'' it's time for a new persona and considering various options.
*** Another aspect also in flux is the Joker's fighting ability. Sometimes he's got a glass jaw and has to hide behind his schemes, sometimes he can hold off Batman or even take him on toe-to-toe, or even take on [[VideoGame/MortalKombatvsDCUniverse monsters, gods and the greatest martial artists in the world]].
** The Riddler... Nerdy milquetoast with a debilitating gimmick who is considering not even worth killing by other members of Batman's Rogue gallery... or a suave, calculating and MagnificentBastard with an intellect possibly comparable to the dark knight himself? There's also the fact that some interpretations have him as hyperactive and rather reminiscent of the Joker (think [[Series/{{Batman}} Frank Gorshin]] and [[Film/BatmanForever Jim Carrey]]), while others portray him as more of a smooth-talking, calm intellectual (think [[WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries John Glover]] and [[WesternAnimation/TheBatman Robert Englund]]).
** Killer Croc gets altered ''constantly'' both in [[DependingOnTheArtist appearance]] and character. Is his intelligence below average, is he retarded, is he an animal? Is he just a thug, a thug with a cannibalistic MO, or just a savage monster who wants to eat everyone in the room? The only thing writers seem to agree on is that he's not very bright and has some sort of skin condition. Croc gets it worse than most examples here in that they can't even keep his ''race'' consistent. Is he a white old-time gangster film heavy? A black inner city thug? Or is he just a big green reptile? None of these interpretations are even remotely in line with the pre-Crisis version of Croc, who was a rather intelligent (not super-genius or anything, but still at least average) gang leader that just happened to have a skin condition. He wasn't even green. Early on, there was even some debate as to the character's proper ''name'', and he would variously be King Croc, Killer Croc, or simply, as he was listed in Who's Who, Croc. And this same Who's Who profile claimed that Croc had no actual powers; he just had leathery skin and was abnormally, not superhumanly, strong. Compare most modern versions and you'll see the obvious discrepancy here. Some of this has been explained, albeit through {{Retcon}}; Chuck Dixon's ''Batman'' run said Croc was in a process of mutation that started out as a skin condition and gradually led to him becoming more reptilian. Why he's now ''more'' human than he was when Dixon left him is another story...
** The ''ComicBook/{{Planetary}}'' / ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' CrossOver "Night on Earth" is essentially an issue-long LampshadeHanging of this trope as it pertains to Batman; it involves reality 'shifting' around Crime Alley in Gotham City, with the Planetary team meeting variations of Batman ranging from Adam West to Frank Miller to Neal Adams and more besides in their varying universes. However, the actions of the issue still play out exactly the same and perfectly in character for each version of Batman, the point being that for all the different interpretations they're all nevertheless the same essential character.
** Damian Wayne, the latest Comicbook/{{Robin}}, gets this too. With his creator, Grant Morrison, he tends to be written as a SociopathicHero who is excellent at everything. Other writers tend to downplay his skills in combat.
** The Mad Hatter. Sometimes he's a somewhat sympathetic Carrol-obsessed loony, who truly seems to think of his mind-controlled henchmen as his friends, however delusionally. Other times he's a murderer and a child molester... with a thing for blonde girls.
** ComicBook/TwoFace's "schtick" tends to ping-pong between a genuine split personality, with the Harvey and "Two-Face" personas engaging in discussions (and, in ''No Man's Land'', a courtroom debate) with disputes between them being resolved by the coin, to a single personality with a violently extreme case of bipolar disorder and obsession with duality. [[TakeAThirdOption Or a mixture]]. Also, his appearance changes drastically between each adaptation.
** Jason Todd/Robin II/Red Hood. Is he an AntiHero, an AntiVillain, or just a full-on villain? He has more interpretations than hair colors.
*** The varying changes in portrayal of Jason Todd goes all the way back to his days as Robin. After Post-Crisis some writers portrayed him in a sympathetic light as a character learning to come into his own while other writers such as Jim Starlin, who did not like Robin, intentionally wrote him in a negative light going against all the characterization he had.
** Depending on who's in control, Solomon Grundy can be incapable of saying anything more than "Solomon Grundy, born on a Monday" or perfectly capable of rational speech. The differences can get quite jarring at times. Surprisingly, there's actually an explanation for this. Every time he dies he comes back with a different personality, and it's very hard to stop him without killing him. A recent miniseries is focused on him returning with his mortal personality and trying to break this cycle. The first arc of the Franchise/{{Justice League|of America}} revamp began with, surprisingly, Solomon Grundy as the Big Bad and actually the ''brains'' behind the whole scheme (which was to steal Red Tornado's new robot/android/cyborg body and place his soul in it so he'd stop dying). It was extremely odd seeing Grundy looking like a buff, albino gangster.
*** His Strength Level. He ranges from getting a beatdown from Batman up to solely curbstomping the whole Justice League, including Superman.
** ''ComicBook/DeathOfTheFamily'': The ''Batman'' franchise started in 1939, so this trope had to happen, and this storyline is no exception to the rule. For instance, Catwoman's personality and perhaps intelligence are portrayed quite differently between Creator/JuddWinick and Creator/AnnNocenti.
** ComicBook/HarleyQuinn is not quite as bad as ComicBook/TheJoker, but just like him, she's been quite up for interpretation:
*** Is Harley a psychologist or a psychiatrist? In ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' she was a psychologist, but the comics have zigzagged between the two. It's possible the writers don't recognize they're two very different careers and mix them up.
*** It's almost always agreed upon that Harley is [[ObfuscatingStupidity smarter than she lets on]] but just ''how'' much and how sensible she can be varies greatly from story to story. She can be a DumbBlonde, a GeniusDitz, in reality her entire personality can be a facade that she changes depending on the situation, or she could be anything in-between. Similarly, is she clinically insane or does she understand her actions?
*** Whether Harley has AntiVillain traits or not fluctuates.
* Minor Catwoman opponent Cyber-Cat has appeared only a few times, but nobody can seem to agree on her motivation or whether she's actually evil or just arrogant. Is she simply trying to ensure her own technical skills are good enough? Is she a MadDoctor, or does she want to sell things to terrorists? Who knows?
* Is ComicBook/BlackCanary a genuine, butt-kicking, ActionGirl? Or is she a FauxActionGirl who, as ComicBook/GreenArrow's DesignatedLoveInterest, needs Green Arrow to get her out of trouble? Depends on who's writing her, and what comic it is. If it's ComicBook/BirdsOfPrey, expect the former. If it's anything with "Green Arrow" in the title (or if Judd Winick is at the helm), expect the latter. Strangely enough, if it's Franchise/{{Justice League|of America}} where she would be more likely to find herself out of her depth, she, like Batman, kicks all kinds of ass, probably for the same reason Batman does, because writers always feel the need to justify the BadassNormal and low power characters on the team.
* Is ComicBook/CaptainAtom a god, as much more powerful than, say, Superman, as Superman is compared to a normal human, or is he of mid-level power by the standards of the DCU? Does he like having power over other people, even to a pathological extent, or does he see leadership as a burden that he'll take up only because he's the only one who can? Does he have problems with authority, or is he a stereotypical military man who will salute and say yes sir? Is he stuck as Captain Atom, losing his connection to humanity, or is he able to transform back and forth at will, facing him with the dilemma that he can always just walk away from being a superhero?
* Kimiyo Hoshi, the female [[AffirmativeActionLegacy Doctor Light]], was initially written as an AlphaBitch. When she joined the [[ComicBook/JusticeLeagueInternational JLE]], her personality was softened and it was explained that her earlier behavior was the result of drinking too much soda (no, really). Later writers ignored this development and brought her back to said AlphaBitch personality, with Kimiyo fluctuating between these characterizations ever since. Creator/JuddWinick had Kimiyo lose her powers. Creator/GailSimone (possibly erroneously) then had her using her powers when she guest-starred in ''Comicbook/BirdsOfPrey''. Creator/{{Dwayne McDuffie}} ended up splitting the difference via a retcon establishing that her powers had returned, but were now wildly unstable.
* ComicBook/GreenArrow suffered from this a fair bit in the 21st century. Creator/KevinSmith wrote Oliver Queen as a sadder but wiser version of Dennis O'Neil's wise-cracking swashbuckling GeniusBruiser. Creator/JuddWinick wrote him as an unrepentant dirty old man who could barely tie his shoes unaided and was only good at shooting arrows. Creator/MarkWaid and Creator/JoeKelly were little better, with the former making references to Ollie chasing after teenage girls in ''ComicBook/TheBraveAndTheBold'' and the later depicting Ollie having an affair with the wife of Manitou Raven. Most of this characterization of Ollie as a womanizer seems to have been based on the portrayal of the character in flashbacks written by Creator/ChuckDixon, where Ollie talked about all the women he slept with in the early days of his hero career and on misinterpretation of the Creator/MikeGrell run of ''ComicBook/GreenArrow'' where Ollie [[DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnMale unknowingly fathered a child with the assassin Shado]]. This is doubly vexing for fans of the classic Green Arrow, as Oliver Queen was usually depicted as being overprotective and jealous of his girlfriend ComicBook/BlackCanary and was once depicted as being so devoted to Dinah Lance that his love and willpower allowed him to overcome both Zatanna's magic and Poison Ivy's pheromones.
** The disagreement about whether or not Oliver Queen was a cheating jackass became so great, in fact, that it caused a RetCon during ComicBook/BlackestNight where Black Lantern Ollie claimed that his rape at the hands of the assassin Shado during the Creator/MikeGrell run wasn't really a rape, so that all of his previous out-of-character womanizing could be justified.
** Ollie hasn't fared much better in The ComicBook/{{New 52}}. His creative team changed three times in the first year, with the first two teams writing him as a generic action hero with none of the personality of the classic Oliver Queen. Creator/AnnNocenti wrote him as a womanizing beatnick, who spouted free-verse poetry while wandering the rooftops. Creator/JeffLemire improved things somewhat, making Ollie a competent hero if not a particularly memorable one. And the most recent creative team - made up of Series/{{Arrow}} Executive Producer Andrew Kreisberg and writer Ben Sokolowski - write Green Arrow like Oliver Queen on the TV series.
* The second female Hawk of ''Hawk and Dove'' named Holly Granger was a case of this in her tenure in the comics. Was she a bad-tempered [[BrattyTeenageDaughter bratty younger sister]] with a punk edge? Or was she more of a promiscuous seductress? Did she speak in a phony British accent with slang or not? And was she Dawn's younger or older sister (the latter which would technically make her a case of ChristmasCake when she slept with Power Boy in that {{Squick}}-inducing scene, [[SarcasmMode thank you very much, Judd Winick.]]). [[spoiler:Is it any wonder she became Blackest Night cannon fodder?]]
* The ComicBook/NewGods. Oh '''boy''' the New Gods. You have some names and some basic relationships. Nothing else will stay consistent between writers or even in different appearances by the same writer. This falls broadly into two camps: people who never actually read the thing and people who ''did'' but changed things they didn't particularly care for. Examples: the nature of the [[CompellingVoice Anti]]-[[BrownNote Life]] [[EldritchAbomination Equation]], the nature of the [[SufficientlyAdvancedAlien New]] [[PhysicalGod Gods]] themselves, whether Neo Genesis and Apokolips were somewhere in space or [[ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths another dimension entirely]], and [[AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever what their actual size is]].
* ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'' is probably worse, considering he is the TropeCodifier of the FlyingBrick. That was the main thing that made ''Film/SupermanII'' fail for the fans, because he was given [[NewPowersAsThePlotDemands random powers that had never appeared before]]. When handled at his most popular, his powers are fairly straightforward: [[IBelieveICanFly Flight]], [[NighInvulnerable Invulnerability]], [[EyeBeams Heat Vision]], [[SuperBreath Ice Breath]], and the super abilities of SuperSenses, SuperSpeed and SuperStrength. PowerCreepPowerSeep aside, writers would give him the most bizarre super-"whatever" power (including super-marble playing and the "S" saran wrap shield). This is probably what gave fan Jerry ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'' his thoughts about him having "super humor." One strip has him use super-puppeteering to put on a play for Lois, and super-memory to learn the script quickly. Superman's powers were never really set in stone during the Golden and Silver ages. Superman was rife with NewPowersAsThePlotDemands up until John Byrne's post-crisis revamp gave a definite set of powers for Superman, removing some like freezing breath, forgetting others like "Super Ventriloquism" and "Super Elastic Facial Muscles" (this is not a joke), and limiting others like his super strength and speed. (Seriously, how else could a mook like the Toyman be even kind of a threat?) That is until later writers decided to undo all of that since a superhero with limits just wasn't [[InvincibleHero "interesting" enough]].
** At the Superman rollercoaster at Six Flags Great Adventure, there are giant plaques hung up that you can read while advancing through the line. Superman's plaque lists one of his powers as "Super-Intelligence". Now, we ''are'' talking about a guy who, canonically, built functional android duplicates of himself realistic (and powerful) enough to take his place if he's indisposed. He actually is supposed to be scary smart. But, well ... you know. His weaknesses suffer this too. Kryptonite is often shown to have him on the ground in pain in seconds just from waving it in front of his face while red sunlight shuts his powers off instantly. Then he'll turn around and fly through a Kryptonite asteroid belt (he is the TropeNamer for FightOffTheKryptonite) and a red star and still somehow survive a crash landing on a planet before his powers completely fade.
*** Though some of this is genuine retconning. Red sunlight was changed to cause rapid power depletion instead of instant powerlessness for a couple of decades before it went back to being his off switch.
** His vulnerability to magic can be even more confusing. Do you have a pencil that's magically enchanted to write what you say? You can stab Superman with that even though nothing about the magic actually makes it a better weapon. On the other hand some writers have him able to square off with Thor and Captain Marvel who should be able to tear him apart if the above was true. His weakness to magic was originally supposed to be lack of resistance to spells that violate the laws of nature so he can be turned into a frog as easily as the next guy but magic super strength is no better than regular super strength against him.
** Another issue is his mortality; the pre-New 52 modern comics (as well as Smallville) basically said that he'll live forever as long as no one kills him. However this is certainly not true in the Silver Age: for instance the Earth-2 Superman is obviously in late middle-age.
** His character in the comics tends to vary as well, from being completely content identifying as a human to being all too aware of his status as an outsider. Among other heroes he's generally optimistic and upbeat but still serious whereas his solo titles tend to show him brooding and angsting over his role, whether or not he's doing enough, balancing his heroic and personal life (at least since UsefulNotes/{{the Bronze Age|OfComicBooks}}), and so forth. Its possible that he outwardly projects optimism and confidence to fulfill his role as a leader while keeping his doubts to himself.
** Superman's [[RealityWarper reality warping]] enemy, Mr. Mxyzptlk, flips back and forth between sociopathic pest and StealthMentor. In ComicBook/WhateverHappenedToTheManOfTomorrow, he explained that he gets bored and switches personas every so often.
** Much of this owes to something of an ArmedWithCanon debate, with some writers preferring the pre-Crisis Superman, others preferring the John Byrne reboot, and constantly tug-of-warring between the two. He's usually somewhere in the middle-ish.
** This was a major issue with the ComicBook/New52 Superman, and likely a major reason for why the guy didn't take. Morrison wrote him as an arrogant callow hothead in the past, but going through CharacterDevelopment into a well-rounded IdealHero with an aggressive and antiauthoritarian streak [[OlderAndWiser by the modern day.]] Thing was, a lot of writers, including George Perez and Scott Lobdell, didn't get the memo on the second half, and wrote the modern Superman as a straight-up selfrighteous JerkAss who punched people for no good reason. And then you had writers like Scott Snyder, who basically ignored both approaches and just wrote him like his pre-New 52 counterpart...
** Is ComicBook/LexLuthor a CardCarryingVillain, a NobleDemon, or a WellIntentionedExtremist? Considering he started as a MadScientist and was rectonned into being a CorruptCorporateExecutive, he has legitimately fallen into more than one of these categories but even within his incarnations, writers have different takes on just how much Lex really wants to help mankind (to the exclusion of aliens) and how much he's in it for himself or at least his pride. His hatred of Superman is consistent but the motivations for that hatred have varied considerably.
* Franchise/WonderWoman might as well be the patron saint of this trope. Every writer since her re-creation in the 1980s has wanted to put their own stamp on the character to the point where they flat out ignore what the previous writer has done with the character. Her revolving supporting cast and extraordinarily minor RoguesGallery are testaments to this.
** Post-''[[ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths Crisis]]'', the biggest element to swing back and forth with her is whether she's going to be the man-hating StrawFeminist that makes a little more sense when she first leaves Themyscira, or the more mature, rounded character who actually has a sense of humor and good relationships with several male characters.
*** Pretty bad in the ComicBook/{{New 52}}: Azzarello's Wonder Woman in her own book is a completely different person from Geoff Johns' Wonder Woman in ''Justice League''. This gets lampshaded and justified when Greg Rucka returns to her in ''ComicBook/DCRebirth'', with Diana realizing the contradictions in her life, and setting out to discover the truth of herself.
*** One of the other big differences is her attitude regarding killing. In some portrayals she's as much or more ThouShaltNotKill as Batman or Superman (with those two characters on their own sliding scale). In others where's she's seen more as a warrior hero, she feels no guilt over killing her enemies when she feels it necessary, to a degree that can shock the other two members of the Trinity. Basically, if she's carrying a sword it's not good to be a bad guy facing her.
** Cassandra Sandsmark (the second ComicBook/WonderGirl): Is she a confident CuteBruiser? Is she filled with Wangst and ill-tempered at the level of the AlphaBitch? Has she gotten over her boyfriend's (temporary) death or not? And is she the Tomboy or TheChick? Such writing inconsistencies have derailed her character practically since she became a Teen Titan, though she originally started out as TheScrappy when written by John Byrne. It took Peter David to deliver the first "fix" on her character, though Byrne decried it, along with the very idea that Cassie would ever join a superhero team. According to Byrne, she was not supposed to be "unique". Byrne would later become incensed by the revelation that Cassie's father was Zeus, as well as the idea that she would lose her virginity to ComicBook/{{Superboy}}.
* Characters' dietary habits are rarely kept consistent. Franchise/WonderWoman and ComicBook/{{Zatanna}} have been written as vegetarian but often aren't.
!!!Marvel
* John Byrne's ''ComicBook/AlphaFlight'' were (his protests to the contrary) well-{{Rounded Character}}s with depth and interest. After he quit, they rapidly went to being whiny losers and have never been portrayed consistently since, until they all died [[TheWorfEffect to show how powerful a random villain was]] (and pave the way for Omega Flight).
* ''ComicBook/CaptainAmerica'' foe Batroc the Leaper was a borderline IneffectualSympatheticVillain who considered himself lucky to get in a hit on the good Captain on his first appearance, and a WorthyOpponent who gave Cap a very close match in a spectacular fight scene in his very next appearance. Ever since then, he's sort of sine-waved between HarmlessVillain and BadassNormal. In general, if he's in a serious story, expect him to be treated as among the best martial artists in the world, [[OvershadowedByAwesome held back only by the fact that he's fighting]] [[OneManArmy Captain America]]; if he's in a more comedic story, expect him to be a goofy PunchClockVillain who gets lucky on the days when he isn't laid out in one punch. Some writers have also claimed that his MauriceChevalierAccent is affected as part of his swashbuckler image, others have him even ''thinking'' in a thick FunetikAksent.
* A common criticism of ''ComicBook/CivilWar'' was that the Superhero Registration Act was this. Writers of pro-registration books tended to treat it as being like a driver's license - give your name, pass a few tests, and the government'll leave you alone from now on unless you're looking for protection or want to do your part. Anti-registration books, on the other hand, approached it like a forcible draft, with even teenagers, mutants born with minor powers or conscientious objectors being pulled in and trained to kill, with resistance being punishable by imprisonment without trial in a hellish alternate dimension. In particular, the ComicBook/{{Thunderbolts}} Initiative was either a legitimate attempt to help compliant and registered supervillains redeem themselves, or a gang of PsychosForHire being used as attack dogs against people guilty of no crime beyond wanting to be left alone. This left a good chunk of readers confused as to what on Earth Marvel was implying by claiming the pro-registration side were the good guys.
** This is also a problem with ''ComicBook/CivilWarII''. One of the main problems is the characterization of [[ComicBook/MsMarvel Carol Danvers]]. Sometimes she's portrayed as a heroine who, despite the moral ambiguity of using a precog to stop potential crimes, is conflicted on if she's doing the right thing and relying on other heroes to help guide her in her path, not wanting to have anything like [[spoiler:the death of War Machine]] happen again. Other times, she's depicted as an authoritarian JerkAss who'd happily detain anyone and everyone who even idly dreams of a crime, making her conflict with [[ComicBook/IronMan Tony Stark]] seem less like a conflict of morals and more of a morality-based dick-measuring contest.
* The relative goodness of ComicBook/{{Deadpool}} varies. Sometimes he's depicted as heavily mentally unstable, even AxCrazy covered up by a facade of goofiness, whereas at other times, he's a CrazyAwesome anti-hero who would NeverHurtAnInnocent. The ''WesternAnimation/HulkVs'' series kind of splits the difference, having an amusing Deadpool who is also completely malevolent. Possibly justified given the nature of his condition (well, usually): his healing factor is lodged within a brain tumour, which constantly shifts in size, meaning that the contents of his skull are being constantly kicked about.
* ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'':
** Johnny Storm has alternated between self-obsessed prima donna and self-obsessed whiny asshat, while Susan Storm has switched between defenseless butterfly to empowered female. Additionally, every new writer of the book seems to like to take a socially well-adjusted Ben Grimm and throw on the angst about his condition so they can take him out again. Reed Richards? Always a dork, but it's not quite clear how many shades of BadassBookworm he has, and tends to be either a socially ignorant genius who's more interested in his work, than his family, to a guy who really does care about his family. Some FF writers, most notably Tom [=DeFalco=], have tried to upgrade Johnny to at least being savvy about his powers and status. Later ones felt the need to make him dumb and dumber both. Also, a character who can end up spending months away from Earth aiding his team and family is frequently taken to task for not going to college. Some courses are crazy, and require you to show up for class.
** None of this compares to [[ComicBook/DoctorDoom Victor Von Doom]]. Dr. Doom is swung back and forth from being a baby-eating psycho, to practically being an AntiVillain more noble and courageous then Reed Richards, and everything in between. In particular, the way he runs his country comes under fire from this -- does he make it a complete utopia with happy, contented citizens, or is it just a facade the citizens put on because Doom will kill anyone who disagrees, and Doom himself only cares for them as a master would care for his pet? [[ArmedWithCanon Writers almost always wind up disagreeing with one another about Doom's correct portrayal and declare stories they don't approve of to have been Doombots instead.]] "Baby-eating psycho" isn't an exaggeration of how some writers view him. Here's Mark Waid's take on the character:
--->"The truism that Victor von Doom is, despite his villainy, a noble person is absolute crap. A man whose entire motivating force is jealousy is ridiculously ''petty'', not grandly noble. Yes, Doom is regal and yes, whenever possible, Doom likes to ''act'' as though he possesses great moral character because to him that's what great men have... [but Doom] would tear the head off a newborn baby and eat it like an apple while his mother watched if it would somehow prove he was smarter than Reed."
*** Dr. Doom gets an additional layer about running his own country. Does he truly care about his citizens? Does he act the monarch just for arrogant sense of self-entitlement, and to gain access to the resources of a nation and diplomatic immunity? Are the people of Latveria genuinely happy under his rule? Is Latveria a police state where no public display of malcontent is allowed?
* Fin Fang Foom's size, intelligence, backstory, and alignment vary wildly between appearances, as discussed [[http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2007/08/09/365-reasons-to-love-comics-221/ here.]]
* The Comicbook/IncredibleHulk has numerous factors of his character that vary between writers; Whether he's a dumb brute that can only speak in HulkSpeak, a completely mindless monster who can't talk at all, or someone with a fairly average intellect with a somewhat odd speech pattern. This is somewhat justified by Banner having multiple personality syndrome and there being thousands of Hulks in his mind. Also depending on the writer is the Hulk's power level; while it is in a state of flux depending on his emotional state, some writers have him being knocked out by an average python choking him for less than a minute, and dying from being impaled by a triton when he's previously survived wounds that make that seem like a papercut by comparison.
** One telling comparison is to look at a few recent depictions of the Hulk by two very different writers. Greg Pak has been the main writer on the Hulk for about five years now and has gone into great lengths to give the Hulk, rather than Bruce Banner, some in-depth character development through such storylines as ''ComicBook/PlanetHulk'', ''ComicBook/WorldWarHulk'', and ''ComicBook/FallOfTheHulks'', which paint a complex and sympathetic picture of the Jade Giant. Then there's Mark Millar's run on ''ComicBook/TheUltimates'' and the ''ComicBook/OldManLogan'' mini series. The former shows Banner as weak willed and insecure (not completely unjustified given it's meant to be early on in the character's history) and the Hulk as, among other things, an active cannibal. The latter shows Banner/Hulk as an insane redneck who leads a gang of his inbred mutant children (sired with his cousin, ComicBook/SheHulk, suggested to have been by rape) and rules over the ruins of the west coast. Granted, Millar's versions are an [[UltimateUniverse alternate universe]] and BadFuture, respectively, but one gets the idea that he doesn't think highly of the character.
* Namor the ComicBook/SubMariner has had this non-stop since he was first published in the late thirties. He's either a violent and bitter anti-hero with an unjust grudge against humanity, a noble leader who is only seeking the best for his people, a stalwart [[TheLancer pragmatist]] whose loyalty to his comrades is without question, or some combination thereof. In fact, his writing varies so much that Marvel eventually canonized it: he has a disorder caused by his amphibious physiology that manifests in that way.
* How about Comicbook/ThePunisher? Generally a good man who's committed to trying to make sure his family's deaths weren't in vain and others don't suffer the same fate? Psychopathic monster who'll kill people for littering or being junkies? A man on a mission with a singular purpose and great at planning? Barely rational gun-toting lunatic?
** Creator/GarthEnnis' take, as a sadistic torturer who enjoys killing for its own sake. [[Comicbook/WelcomeBackFrank Tricking a crime boss]] into following him into a polar bear enclosure and riling them up to attack her because he is unarmed? Okay, proactive self defense. Kicking same crime boss, who was an elderly woman and is now a quadruple amputee, into a house fire? Well...
** Then came ''Born'' from the [[Comicbook/ThePunisherMAX MAX imprint]], which puts a stunning twist on his origin: Not only was it was never about vengeance for his family, he (unwittingly) ''caused'' their murders. What happened was that in Vietnam, he'd grown to love war, both because he was a master of killing and he liked being able to punish wrongdoers. He made a deal with a mysterious unseen entity (the Grim Reaper, according to the author's notes) that once the Vietnam War ended, he could have his own war which would never end...for an unspecified price. It was only after he returned that he learned that the price was his family.
** The the last four [[Comicbook/ThePunisherMAX Max]] arcs (Kingpin, Bullseye, Frank, and Homeless) muddle things even further. It turns out that the aforementioned deal with Death was just a possibility, and that avenging his family was still on the table (although that too was only a possibility). Then in Frank, Frank himself denies both explanations and gives the "punishing himself" rationale given by ''previous'' authors (which at the time was mostly an attempt to keep the moral guardians at bay). Bullseye himself lampshades this, spending several ''days'' just pondering the possible origins.
* ''ComicBook/{{Runaways}}'': The portrayal of Chase Stein has always swung between JerkJock and CuteButTroubled, but Terry Moore seems to have taken the "Idiot Jock" interpretation and run with it, giving Chase a very immature personality. And Chase wasn't the only one, virtually all the characters were heavily derailed by Terry Moore. Nico went from a leader to a megalomaniac, Molly went from playing naive and innocent to throw people off to actually thinking "we could build a fort!" is an appropriate response to an emergency, Victor stopped being funny, Xavin became too funny, and Klara lost anything resembling a personality. The closest thing to a consistent character is Karolina, who still seems to have lost her backbone.
* ''Franchise/SpiderMan'' 's [[DaEditor J. Jonah Jameson]], editor-in-chief of the Daily Bugle, gets this treatment when it comes to the reasoning behind his newspaper's anti-Spidey reporting: to some, it's because he's [[GreenEyedMonster jealous of the fact the Spider-Man is more heroic than he could ever be]]; to others, it's just a case of JJ being an [[JerkAss asshole]]. Still others give him a motive that is, on the face of it, reasonable. Even more inconsistent is his personality beyond the Spidey-hate; is he a JerkWithAHeartOfGold to his employeees and a decent newspaperman with one unfortunate blind-spot, or is he a BadBoss and a headline-chasing scaremongerer?
* Just how much of a ManipulativeBastard [[Comicbook/UltimateMarvel Ultimate]] Comicbook/NickFury is varies on who is writing him. His characterization can jump around anywhere from that of a GoodIsNotSoft CynicalMentor, to a WellIntentionedExtremist, to an outright VillainProtagonist. To give you an example, when Peter Parker died, Creator/BrianBendis had Fury break down in tears and genuinely blame himself, while Creator/MarkMillar seemed to imply that Fury might have ''intentionally caused Peter's death'' as part of a XanatosGambit.
* ''Comicbook/XMen'' example:
** ComicBook/{{Cyclops}} tends to go from badass leader, to whiny emo-kid, to punchable [[CharacterDerailment asshat who treats his women like shit due to his constant infidelity]].
** ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} is even worse, as he can be a murder-happy asshole, honorable warrior, fatherly mentor, and the gruff veteran super-hero whose violent nature is a source of conflict within him. His personality being all over the place is par for the course, but combine that with his tendency to be [[WolverinePublicity everywhere at once in various different costumes]]. And his powers aren't even consistent. He goes from taking a gunshot to the stomach and taking a few days to heal to standing right next to Nitro when he goes off and regenerating from only his skeleton in seconds.
** Both Wolverine and Colossus have an actual physical problem in this area: writers can't seem to decide once and for all whether adamantium and organic steel are ''magnetic''... which is ''kind of important'' given who the X-Men's most frequent recurring big bad is.
** One of the worse examples in the X-Men has to be Polaris and Havok. Either they are insane with rage at the treatment of mutantkind, running screaming into the hills to try and live normal lives (their original default personalities BTW), or are being written as the brainwashed pawns of the villain of the week. A controversial moment in ''Comicbook/UncannyAvengers'' had Havok declaring to the public that he despises the "m-word" and wished to be treated just like everyone else. A number of people online pointed out that a statement such as this was ''extremely'' out of character for Havok, who in the past had been shown to be very proud of his mutant heritage.
** In one old X-Men comic, Colossus is shown to be especially weak to Storm's lightning because he's made of metal, the tiniest spark sending him into bouts of pain. Only a few issues later, he takes one of Storm's normal lightning bolts with a smile on his face. Maybe he just became a masochist.
** ComicBook/{{Nightcrawler}}, another member of the X-Men, falls prey to this trope as well. In his initial appearances, he's FunPersonified, though some later writers downplay this quality and a few remove it almost entirely. It also happens with his religion, initially he didn't talk about it much and said it was just a matter between him and God, but some writers make him more religious, even to the point where he's training to become a priest.
** A storyline from late in Creator/ChrisClaremont's classic run has the team killed and resurrected, which renders the lineup at the time, which included Rogue, Storm, and Wolverine[[note]]As well as Psylocke, Havok, Colossus, Dazzler, and Longshot[[/note]] invisible to cameras, a fact referenced and exploited frequently throughout the rest of his run. This is ''completely'' forgotten by the next writer, and since then, whenever one of the eight shows up, they turn up on camera ''unless'' it's written by Chris himself, who makes references to this trait well into the noughties.
** Another is the use of the word "human" by sympathetic characters -- certain villains draw a bright line, but whether aliens feel the need to specify "humans and mutants" or whether the X-Men themselves refer to "humans" or "non-mutant humans" depends far more on the writer than the characters. Justified since the terms aren't being used scientifically; mutants are a ''subspecies'' of human rather than a separate species. All mutants are humans, but not all humans are mutants.[[note]]Some writers have referred to them as separate species, but if two populations can and do interbreed regularly, as is the case here, they are the same species.[[/note]]
** The portrayal of ComicBook/{{Sabretooth}} is all over the place. He can go from animalistic berserker to calm criminal mastermind ''within the same storyline'', and not in a Jekyll-and-Hyde way. Likewise, his looks vary from completely monstrous to human with slight orthodontic issues.
** At one point during Claremont's run, Kitty Pryde discovered that she was slightly nearsighted, and was occasionally depicted wearing glasses, especially when working on computer hardware. Subsequent writers tend to ignore this limitation. Maybe she started wearing contacts?
** Many comic-book villains alternate between NobleDemon and baby-eating psycho depending on who's writing them (Dr. Doom and Magneto being the most obvious). It's very strange to see ComicBook/{{Magneto}} go between being Creator/ChrisClaremont's WellIntentionedExtremist Magneto and Creator/GrantMorrison's parody [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]] drug addict Magneto. Which is why Grant Morrison's Mags [[{{Retcon}} officially wasn't him]]. And afterward Magneto (written by Chris Claremont) commented "Why would anyone think I was capable of that?"
* The teen Vision from ''Comicbook/YoungAvengers'' had the memories of the original Vision, but the writers were unsure how far to take this. ''Young Avengers'' made it clear that the new Vision had his own distinct personality and was [[LegacyCharacter for all intents and purposes a new character]], while ''Comicbook/NewAvengers'' and ''ComicBook/CaptainAmerica'' seemed to indicate [[TheNthDoctor he was essentially the original Vision in a new body]].
** The ''Avengers Assemble'' annual {{Lampshaded}} this by having Comicbook/IronMan and [[ComicBook/AntMan Hank Pym]] state that they left the original Vision in storage because [[Comicbook/TheAvengers the team]] assumed the new Vision was just the classic version with an upgraded appearance.
!!!Other
* The comics made of the various {{Creator/Disney}} icons. Such as WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck.
** Scrooge himself: [[CorruptCorporateExecutive heartless bastard tormenting Donald for the sake of a few more cents, perfectly willing to exploit workers, destroy the environment and let his own family die in the name of profit?]] Franchise/IndianaJones-style treasure hunter? JerkWithAHeartOfGold who prides on having made his fortune "fair and square" and deeply cares about his family and his friends? Complete and utter badass? An eccentric old man who's not really good or evil?
** [[ComicBook/DisneyDucksComicUniverse Scrooge's]] money bin may be a simple box made of stone or a blue and red dome; it may be his residence, or just the place where he keeps his cash while he actually lives in a mansion; the Beagle Boys may frequently hide out in an old trailer or a shack or under the very foundations of Duckburg; Flintheart Glomgold may live in South Africa or in Duckburg as a member of the Billionaires' Club (or alternatively, he may not exist at all, with John D. Rockerduck in his place); Donald may range from being an average chef to a LethalChef; Magica de Spell may be a real powerful sorceress or a normal person who dabbles in sorcery; Granma Duck may be Scrooge's sister or not related to him at all; Gladstone Gander may be really lucky because a Triple Distelfink sign was painted on the barn door on the day of [[InTheBlood his mother's birth]] or because the goddess of fortune is in love with him.... The list goes on.
** The Beagle Boys' competence (and numbers) also seem to flip-flop (from as few as three to as many as eleven). And do they use guns, or are they simply too poor to even afford those?
** Even Rockerduck himself, despite not even existing in most writers' minds, has flip-flopped between honorable businessman Scrooge likes to screw with for fun, slightly crooked bastard who enjoys spying, swindling and bribing to get his way, white-collar criminal, and murderous gang leader.
** For a while, European stories had what effectively amounted to an alternative continuity, with the largest change being Scrooge being American-born with Grandma Duck as his older sister and a younger brother named Gideon. An epic-length Italian story even detailed it in its last part. Nowadays this is completely ignored, with some products of that time (namely Paperinik with his comprimaries, Dickie Duck, Brigitta [=McBridge=], Jubal Pomp and Gideon) still around but included in the standard continuity (Gideon being Scrooge's brother is quietly ignored, [[WildMassGuessing with fans taking him as Scrooge's younger half-brother from his father's supposed second wife or mistress]]).
*** Even Paperinik's backstory as [[LegacyCharacter heir of Fantomius]], the GentlemanThief, has two different versions. The original version, shown through various details in Paperinik's stories, presents Fantomius as a GentlemanThief active in the Twenties, operating as "a gentleman masquerading as a thief" with his fiancee Dolly Paprika to humiliate the arrogant rich people of Duckburg and sometimes [[JustLikeRobinHood giving part of his loot to the poor]], before ''dying'' (as stated in Paperinik's debut story) at some point in the Thirties, with his manor becoming the property of the City of Duckburg and won by Gladstone in a lottery before being destroyed and the land ultimately ending as Scrooge's property. The Dutch series "The Legacy", however, shows Fantomius as still alive (he just retired and disappeared), having operated strictly by [[JustLikeRobinHood stealing to the riches to give to the poor]] with an accomplice named Ireyon, and the land of his manor still being Gladstone's property. The Italian series "The Amazing Adventures of Fantomius-Gentleman Thief", detailing Fantomius' adventures, completely ignores the Dutch version.
* The original ComicBook/PhantomLady, between cosmic reboots, has gone from a superspy goverment agent to a bored senator's daughter with a gimmick - and personality-wise from a delicate Ice Queen who's impossibly ace to a tough talking bruiser.
* In most ''Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'' adaptations, Raphael is portrayed as a brooding loner who frequently breaks from the group and fights with his brothers -- particularly Leonardo, who has a much more commanding presence as a leader. In others, like the original Fred Wolf animated series, Raphael is a good-natured albeit sarcastic jokester while Leonardo seems more toned down and unofficial in his leadership role. Michaelangelo and Donatello remain constant for the most part.
* Portrayals of ''ComicBook/TheAuthority'' vary from writer to writer, to the point where it's not consistent whether they're the Wildstorm Universe's greatest force for good or a bunch of sociopathic fascists. Also doesn't help that they get used as punching bags in series other than their own.
* John Constantine in ''ComicBook/{{Hellblazer}}'' suffers from this trope. Is he just an ordinary blue-collar bloke who happens to attract a lot of supernatural attention and who learned some magic in order to deal with this, or a master sorcerer who can casually bend the laws of time and space at will? A more or less decent guy at heart who struggles with his conscience like anyone else would in his situation, or an utter and unrepentant bastard who'd throw anybody under the bus without a second thought? Is he in fact sane, or isn't he? Some of his writers have tried to explain away the changes they make to his personality (like externalizing all his guilt into a demon infant and tossing it off a cliff) and some haven't.
* The team formerly known as the ComicBook/{{Micronauts}} has kept reappearing occasionally since 1996 revealed that Arcturus Rann, Mari, and Bug were somehow still alive. They've appeared in Cable, Captain Marvel, Earth X, Realm of Kings, Son of Hulk, and Alpha Flight. Rann and Mari have had different personalities in each. In the Cable appearance, Rann was rather genial and avuncular, Mari was taciturn and humorless (along with sporting a lesbian look). In following appearances, they've ranged from having no personality other than a sci-fi plot device (Mari technobabbles like a Star Trek episode), to Realm of Kings, where Mari acts like a ditzy motormouth amazon and Rann acts bored. Admittedly, since Bug is no longer part of the team, the comic relief falls of the shoulders of Mari and her android sidekick Carl.
* ''[[ComicBook/SpirouAndFantasio Spirou]]'' changed writers many times over the years. Aside from being very visible, the storylines vary, too. ''Rob-Vel'' started Spirou being an actual bellboy, ''Franquin'' turned him into an journalist adventurer, ''Fournier'' made him run into more surreal stuff, various other writers had their own stint before ''Tome'' and ''Janry'' made the series return to the ''Franquin'' era, with the stories getting progressively DarkerAndEdgier, while starting a SpinOff about Spirou in his youth, and, after a commercially failed attempt at a (sort of) realistic story, ''Morvan'' and ''Munuera'' took a more Manga-style take at it, the stories no longer stuck to the present day. The current team, ''Yoann'' and ''Vehlmann'', have been leaning heavily on surreal sci-fi elements.
** While Spirou usually remains a NiceGuy who is either clueless with women, ObliviousToLove or simply not interested, Fantasio alternates between being a ChickMagnet, ChivalrousPervert, CasanovaWannabe, and a [[HoYay closet gay in love with Spirou]].
* The ''Franchise/ArchieComics'' are famous for this:
** Is Archie a nice guy, or a {{Jerkass}}? [[BettyAndVeronica Does he chase Veronica and ignore Betty, or does he treat them both equally?]] His obliviousness or ditzy nature has been the subject of the laughs for years, but exactly ''how'' stupid he is depends on the writer - sometimes he's flat out TooDumbToLive, but other times he's the OnlySaneMan.
** How much does [[BigEater Jughead]] eat? Does he really hate girls, or does he have secret crushes? [[spoiler: Or is he gay? Wait, best not answer that.]] Then Chip Zdarsky and Ryan North added ''another'' new interpretation by running with an explicitly [[{{Asexuality}} asexual]] Jughead.
** How rich is Veronica? For that matter, how much of a RichBitch or SpoiledSweet is she?
** Is Reggie a {{Jerkass}}, a JerkWithAHeartOfGold, or just a nice guy? How well does he get along with Archie and Jughead? Is he the TokenEvilTeammate or just a DeadpanSnarker?
** Is Moose BookDumb, TheDitz, TooDumbToLive, or [[SmarterThanYouLook Smarter Than he Looks]]? Does he [[BerserkButton go crazy]] when other guys so much as look at Midge, or is he kind and accepting?
** Is Chuck madly in love with Nancy, or does he ignore her for his art?
** Is Betty a [[{{Tsundere}} sore loser]], or a sad loser? Does she have a crush on Archie, or is she [[StalkerWithACrush obsessed with him]]?
** Is Ethel [[{{Gonk}} completely repulsive]] or HollywoodHomely? (Also a case of DependingOnTheArtist too)
** How smart is Dilton, and how socially awkward is he?
** Is Mr. Lodge completely on edge, or is he a JerkWithAHeartOfGold?
** Is Ms. Grundy crabby and grouchy, or is she kind and caring?
** How heavy is [[FunetikAksent Mr. Svenson's accent]]?
* When Creator/ReneGoscinny was writing ''ComicBook/{{Asterix}}'', he kept Asterix himself as a fairly bland StandardizedLeader IdealHero character who was [[BoringInvincibleHero almost never wrong about anything]], and gave the CharacterDevelopment to TheLancer Obelix, who was a sweet, profound and adorably [[TheDreaded frightening]] take on a ManChild. When Creator/AlbertUderzo took over, Asterix got a lot of CharacterDevelopment and became more complicated and sympathetic, developed weaknesses and was no longer infallible, but at the same time Obelix was severely {{Flanderized}} into being significantly more stupid and selfish, and usually TheMillstone to boot. This is most noticeable in ''The Magic Carpet'', where Asterix almost fails on multiple occasions because he has to constantly babysit Obelix. On the bright side, Uderzo introduced a lot more memorable female characters than Goscinny managed to do (Bravura, Melodrama, Orinjade, Latraviata...) and fleshed out some of Goscinny's SpearCarrier and SatelliteLoveInterest female characters (like Fulliautomatix's wife and daughter, and Obelix's perennial love interest Panacea) into more well-rounded human beings.
* While the Franchise/{{Transformers}} franchise as a whole is prone to this, it is particularly noticeable in [[ComicBook/TheTransformers the original Marvel Comics' series]] -- most of the stories were written by either Bob Budiansky or Simon Furman, who often had sharply different depictions of key characters. To pick but one example, Grimlock was a vain and power-mad DesignatedHero under Budiansky, whereas Furman writes him as a NobleSavage of a ProudWarriorRace.
** The two biggest examples, though, are Fortress Maximus and Scorponok. Divergences include: are they the BigGood and BigBad, or merely high on the chain of command? Are they taller than most guys, or the size of an entire armored base? They're (usually) Headmasters, but how does that work - are they organic beings bonded to intelligent robots, organic beings piloting lifeless robots, or robotic beings piloting lifeless robots? And who's bonded/piloting them? Spike? Cerebros? Fortress? Zarak? Dante? And that's not even getting into their personalities - is Fortress Maximus a TechnicalPacifist, an InvincibleHero, or a BrokenBird? Is Scorponok an EvilOverlord, a MadScientist, or a NobleDemon? Even the wiki's summary of their characters basically amounts to "they're big, they're highly-ranked, and they don't like each other, everything else is up for debate."
* ComicBook/{{Diabolik}} has been handled by different writers and publishers, and he can vary from a ruthless assassin who will pre-emptively kill anyone who might interfere with his plans (this is usually in books where he is TheGhost), to a thief who plans around not killing his victims and only does so as a last resort, to having a twisted sense of justice in rewarding those who help him, or (as in the LighterAndSofter cartoon) almost a Robin Hood figure.
** His partner Eva Kant usually has a similar competence and outlook as whatever he is, to the point where they can be TheDividual, but in some older books would be reduced to a damsel in distress rather easily. In others she takes on a vigilante role to bring down particularly heinous criminals.
!!!DC
* ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' books are full of this.
** First there's the caped crusader himself. He's had so many writers that he's barely the same character in some appearances. And that's just in the main DCU, and not going into ''ComicBook/AllStarBatmanAndRobinTheBoyWonder'', the movies, and various TV shows based on him. To list all the different ways he's been portrayed (is he a really good detective or not? Is he admirable or a JerkAss? Is he the craziest or the OnlySaneMan of the Franchise/{{Justice League|Of America}}?) would take up way too much space. This is perhaps best represented in the [[http://www.overthinkingit.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/batman-alignment.jpg Batman alignment chart]]
** Former sidekick ComicBook/{{Nightwing}} arguably gets it worse. While DC will usually run with one interpretation of Batman in all the books and then shift to another, Nightwing gets to be a relatively happy and well-adjusted leader of men in the bat-books, but shifts into a dark and broody Batman 2.0 in team books. Maybe they are both correct. He's grim and broody, but compared to Batman he looks cheery and well-adjusted!
*** Dick's relationship with Bruce is very inconsistent. For decades DC has written them as being familial instead of just "Batman and his ward" but whether they're [[HappilyAdopted father and son]] or more like brothers varies. Part of this could be because they're closer in age nowadays.
** Don't even get started on the Joker...
*** From the earliest comics to Film/TheDarkKnightSaga to the various animated series, he's been portrayed as a HarmlessVillain, MagnificentBastard, TheMadHatter, AffablyEvil, FauxAffablyEvil, BoredWithInsanity, etc... listing everything he's been would warrant [[ComicBook/TheJoker its own section!]] It's probable that ''all'' of these are true. A text story by Creator/GrantMorrison in ''Batman and Son'', leading to the Joker's role in ''Batman RIP'', has him ''deciding'' it's time for a new persona and considering various options.
*** Another aspect also in flux is the Joker's fighting ability. Sometimes he's got a glass jaw and has to hide behind his schemes, sometimes he can hold off Batman or even take him on toe-to-toe, or even take on [[VideoGame/MortalKombatvsDCUniverse monsters, gods and the greatest martial artists in the world]].
** The Riddler... Nerdy milquetoast with a debilitating gimmick who is considering not even worth killing by other members of Batman's Rogue gallery... or a suave, calculating and MagnificentBastard with an intellect possibly comparable to the dark knight himself? There's also the fact that some interpretations have him as hyperactive and rather reminiscent of the Joker (think [[Series/{{Batman}} Frank Gorshin]] and [[Film/BatmanForever Jim Carrey]]), while others portray him as more of a smooth-talking, calm intellectual (think [[WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries John Glover]] and [[WesternAnimation/TheBatman Robert Englund]]).
** Killer Croc gets altered ''constantly'' both in [[DependingOnTheArtist appearance]] and character. Is his intelligence below average, is he retarded, is he an animal? Is he just a thug, a thug with a cannibalistic MO, or just a savage monster who wants to eat everyone in the room? The only thing writers seem to agree on is that he's not very bright and has some sort of skin condition. Croc gets it worse than most examples here in that they can't even keep his ''race'' consistent. Is he a white old-time gangster film heavy? A black inner city thug? Or is he just a big green reptile? None of these interpretations are even remotely in line with the pre-Crisis version of Croc, who was a rather intelligent (not super-genius or anything, but still at least average) gang leader that just happened to have a skin condition. He wasn't even green. Early on, there was even some debate as to the character's proper ''name'', and he would variously be King Croc, Killer Croc, or simply, as he was listed in Who's Who, Croc. And this same Who's Who profile claimed that Croc had no actual powers; he just had leathery skin and was abnormally, not superhumanly, strong. Compare most modern versions and you'll see the obvious discrepancy here. Some of this has been explained, albeit through {{Retcon}}; Chuck Dixon's ''Batman'' run said Croc was in a process of mutation that started out as a skin condition and gradually led to him becoming more reptilian. Why he's now ''more'' human than he was when Dixon left him is another story...
** The ''ComicBook/{{Planetary}}'' / ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' CrossOver "Night on Earth" is essentially an issue-long LampshadeHanging of this trope as it pertains to Batman; it involves reality 'shifting' around Crime Alley in Gotham City, with the Planetary team meeting variations of Batman ranging from Adam West to Frank Miller to Neal Adams and more besides in their varying universes. However, the actions of the issue still play out exactly the same and perfectly in character for each version of Batman, the point being that for all the different interpretations they're all nevertheless the same essential character.
** Damian Wayne, the latest Comicbook/{{Robin}}, gets this too. With his creator, Grant Morrison, he tends to be written as a SociopathicHero who is excellent at everything. Other writers tend to downplay his skills in combat.
** The Mad Hatter. Sometimes he's a somewhat sympathetic Carrol-obsessed loony, who truly seems to think of his mind-controlled henchmen as his friends, however delusionally. Other times he's a murderer and a child molester... with a thing for blonde girls.
** ComicBook/TwoFace's "schtick" tends to ping-pong between a genuine split personality, with the Harvey and "Two-Face" personas engaging in discussions (and, in ''No Man's Land'', a courtroom debate) with disputes between them being resolved by the coin, to a single personality with a violently extreme case of bipolar disorder and obsession with duality. [[TakeAThirdOption Or a mixture]]. Also, his appearance changes drastically between each adaptation.
** Jason Todd/Robin II/Red Hood. Is he an AntiHero, an AntiVillain, or just a full-on villain? He has more interpretations than hair colors.
*** The varying changes in portrayal of Jason Todd goes all the way back to his days as Robin. After Post-Crisis some writers portrayed him in a sympathetic light as a character learning to come into his own while other writers such as Jim Starlin, who did not like Robin, intentionally wrote him in a negative light going against all the characterization he had.
** Depending on who's in control, Solomon Grundy can be incapable of saying anything more than "Solomon Grundy, born on a Monday" or perfectly capable of rational speech. The differences can get quite jarring at times. Surprisingly, there's actually an explanation for this. Every time he dies he comes back with a different personality, and it's very hard to stop him without killing him. A recent miniseries is focused on him returning with his mortal personality and trying to break this cycle. The first arc of the Franchise/{{Justice League|of America}} revamp began with, surprisingly, Solomon Grundy as the Big Bad and actually the ''brains'' behind the whole scheme (which was to steal Red Tornado's new robot/android/cyborg body and place his soul in it so he'd stop dying). It was extremely odd seeing Grundy looking like a buff, albino gangster.
*** His Strength Level. He ranges from getting a beatdown from Batman up to solely curbstomping the whole Justice League, including Superman.
** ''ComicBook/DeathOfTheFamily'': The ''Batman'' franchise started in 1939, so this trope had to happen, and this storyline is no exception to the rule. For instance, Catwoman's personality and perhaps intelligence are portrayed quite differently between Creator/JuddWinick and Creator/AnnNocenti.
** ComicBook/HarleyQuinn is not quite as bad as ComicBook/TheJoker, but just like him, she's been quite up for interpretation:
*** Is Harley a psychologist or a psychiatrist? In ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' she was a psychologist, but the comics have zigzagged between the two. It's possible the writers don't recognize they're two very different careers and mix them up.
*** It's almost always agreed upon that Harley is [[ObfuscatingStupidity smarter than she lets on]] but just ''how'' much and how sensible she can be varies greatly from story to story. She can be a DumbBlonde, a GeniusDitz, in reality her entire personality can be a facade that she changes depending on the situation, or she could be anything in-between. Similarly, is she clinically insane or does she understand her actions?
*** Whether Harley has AntiVillain traits or not fluctuates.
* Minor Catwoman opponent Cyber-Cat has appeared only a few times, but nobody can seem to agree on her motivation or whether she's actually evil or just arrogant. Is she simply trying to ensure her own technical skills are good enough? Is she a MadDoctor, or does she want to sell things to terrorists? Who knows?
* Is ComicBook/BlackCanary a genuine, butt-kicking, ActionGirl? Or is she a FauxActionGirl who, as ComicBook/GreenArrow's DesignatedLoveInterest, needs Green Arrow to get her out of trouble? Depends on who's writing her, and what comic it is. If it's ComicBook/BirdsOfPrey, expect the former. If it's anything with "Green Arrow" in the title (or if Judd Winick is at the helm), expect the latter. Strangely enough, if it's Franchise/{{Justice League|of America}} where she would be more likely to find herself out of her depth, she, like Batman, kicks all kinds of ass, probably for the same reason Batman does, because writers always feel the need to justify the BadassNormal and low power characters on the team.
* Is ComicBook/CaptainAtom a god, as much more powerful than, say, Superman, as Superman is compared to a normal human, or is he of mid-level power by the standards of the DCU? Does he like having power over other people, even to a pathological extent, or does he see leadership as a burden that he'll take up only because he's the only one who can? Does he have problems with authority, or is he a stereotypical military man who will salute and say yes sir? Is he stuck as Captain Atom, losing his connection to humanity, or is he able to transform back and forth at will, facing him with the dilemma that he can always just walk away from being a superhero?
* Kimiyo Hoshi, the female [[AffirmativeActionLegacy Doctor Light]], was initially written as an AlphaBitch. When she joined the [[ComicBook/JusticeLeagueInternational JLE]], her personality was softened and it was explained that her earlier behavior was the result of drinking too much soda (no, really). Later writers ignored this development and brought her back to said AlphaBitch personality, with Kimiyo fluctuating between these characterizations ever since. Creator/JuddWinick had Kimiyo lose her powers. Creator/GailSimone (possibly erroneously) then had her using her powers when she guest-starred in ''Comicbook/BirdsOfPrey''. Creator/{{Dwayne McDuffie}} ended up splitting the difference via a retcon establishing that her powers had returned, but were now wildly unstable.
* ComicBook/GreenArrow suffered from this a fair bit in the 21st century. Creator/KevinSmith wrote Oliver Queen as a sadder but wiser version of Dennis O'Neil's wise-cracking swashbuckling GeniusBruiser. Creator/JuddWinick wrote him as an unrepentant dirty old man who could barely tie his shoes unaided and was only good at shooting arrows. Creator/MarkWaid and Creator/JoeKelly were little better, with the former making references to Ollie chasing after teenage girls in ''ComicBook/TheBraveAndTheBold'' and the later depicting Ollie having an affair with the wife of Manitou Raven. Most of this characterization of Ollie as a womanizer seems to have been based on the portrayal of the character in flashbacks written by Creator/ChuckDixon, where Ollie talked about all the women he slept with in the early days of his hero career and on misinterpretation of the Creator/MikeGrell run of ''ComicBook/GreenArrow'' where Ollie [[DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnMale unknowingly fathered a child with the assassin Shado]]. This is doubly vexing for fans of the classic Green Arrow, as Oliver Queen was usually depicted as being overprotective and jealous of his girlfriend ComicBook/BlackCanary and was once depicted as being so devoted to Dinah Lance that his love and willpower allowed him to overcome both Zatanna's magic and Poison Ivy's pheromones.
** The disagreement about whether or not Oliver Queen was a cheating jackass became so great, in fact, that it caused a RetCon during ComicBook/BlackestNight where Black Lantern Ollie claimed that his rape at the hands of the assassin Shado during the Creator/MikeGrell run wasn't really a rape, so that all of his previous out-of-character womanizing could be justified.
** Ollie hasn't fared much better in The ComicBook/{{New 52}}. His creative team changed three times in the first year, with the first two teams writing him as a generic action hero with none of the personality of the classic Oliver Queen. Creator/AnnNocenti wrote him as a womanizing beatnick, who spouted free-verse poetry while wandering the rooftops. Creator/JeffLemire improved things somewhat, making Ollie a competent hero if not a particularly memorable one. And the most recent creative team - made up of Series/{{Arrow}} Executive Producer Andrew Kreisberg and writer Ben Sokolowski - write Green Arrow like Oliver Queen on the TV series.
* The second female Hawk of ''Hawk and Dove'' named Holly Granger was a case of this in her tenure in the comics. Was she a bad-tempered [[BrattyTeenageDaughter bratty younger sister]] with a punk edge? Or was she more of a promiscuous seductress? Did she speak in a phony British accent with slang or not? And was she Dawn's younger or older sister (the latter which would technically make her a case of ChristmasCake when she slept with Power Boy in that {{Squick}}-inducing scene, [[SarcasmMode thank you very much, Judd Winick.]]). [[spoiler:Is it any wonder she became Blackest Night cannon fodder?]]
* The ComicBook/NewGods. Oh '''boy''' the New Gods. You have some names and some basic relationships. Nothing else will stay consistent between writers or even in different appearances by the same writer. This falls broadly into two camps: people who never actually read the thing and people who ''did'' but changed things they didn't particularly care for. Examples: the nature of the [[CompellingVoice Anti]]-[[BrownNote Life]] [[EldritchAbomination Equation]], the nature of the [[SufficientlyAdvancedAlien New]] [[PhysicalGod Gods]] themselves, whether Neo Genesis and Apokolips were somewhere in space or [[ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths another dimension entirely]], and [[AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever what their actual size is]].
* ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'' is probably worse, considering he is the TropeCodifier of the FlyingBrick. That was the main thing that made ''Film/SupermanII'' fail for the fans, because he was given [[NewPowersAsThePlotDemands random powers that had never appeared before]]. When handled at his most popular, his powers are fairly straightforward: [[IBelieveICanFly Flight]], [[NighInvulnerable Invulnerability]], [[EyeBeams Heat Vision]], [[SuperBreath Ice Breath]], and the super abilities of SuperSenses, SuperSpeed and SuperStrength. PowerCreepPowerSeep aside, writers would give him the most bizarre super-"whatever" power (including super-marble playing and the "S" saran wrap shield). This is probably what gave fan Jerry ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'' his thoughts about him having "super humor." One strip has him use super-puppeteering to put on a play for Lois, and super-memory to learn the script quickly. Superman's powers were never really set in stone during the Golden and Silver ages. Superman was rife with NewPowersAsThePlotDemands up until John Byrne's post-crisis revamp gave a definite set of powers for Superman, removing some like freezing breath, forgetting others like "Super Ventriloquism" and "Super Elastic Facial Muscles" (this is not a joke), and limiting others like his super strength and speed. (Seriously, how else could a mook like the Toyman be even kind of a threat?) That is until later writers decided to undo all of that since a superhero with limits just wasn't [[InvincibleHero "interesting" enough]].
** At the Superman rollercoaster at Six Flags Great Adventure, there are giant plaques hung up that you can read while advancing through the line. Superman's plaque lists one of his powers as "Super-Intelligence". Now, we ''are'' talking about a guy who, canonically, built functional android duplicates of himself realistic (and powerful) enough to take his place if he's indisposed. He actually is supposed to be scary smart. But, well ... you know. His weaknesses suffer this too. Kryptonite is often shown to have him on the ground in pain in seconds just from waving it in front of his face while red sunlight shuts his powers off instantly. Then he'll turn around and fly through a Kryptonite asteroid belt (he is the TropeNamer for FightOffTheKryptonite) and a red star and still somehow survive a crash landing on a planet before his powers completely fade.
*** Though some of this is genuine retconning. Red sunlight was changed to cause rapid power depletion instead of instant powerlessness for a couple of decades before it went back to being his off switch.
** His vulnerability to magic can be even more confusing. Do you have a pencil that's magically enchanted to write what you say? You can stab Superman with that even though nothing about the magic actually makes it a better weapon. On the other hand some writers have him able to square off with Thor and Captain Marvel who should be able to tear him apart if the above was true. His weakness to magic was originally supposed to be lack of resistance to spells that violate the laws of nature so he can be turned into a frog as easily as the next guy but magic super strength is no better than regular super strength against him.
** Another issue is his mortality; the pre-New 52 modern comics (as well as Smallville) basically said that he'll live forever as long as no one kills him. However this is certainly not true in the Silver Age: for instance the Earth-2 Superman is obviously in late middle-age.
** His character in the comics tends to vary as well, from being completely content identifying as a human to being all too aware of his status as an outsider. Among other heroes he's generally optimistic and upbeat but still serious whereas his solo titles tend to show him brooding and angsting over his role, whether or not he's doing enough, balancing his heroic and personal life (at least since UsefulNotes/{{the Bronze Age|OfComicBooks}}), and so forth. Its possible that he outwardly projects optimism and confidence to fulfill his role as a leader while keeping his doubts to himself.
** Superman's [[RealityWarper reality warping]] enemy, Mr. Mxyzptlk, flips back and forth between sociopathic pest and StealthMentor. In ComicBook/WhateverHappenedToTheManOfTomorrow, he explained that he gets bored and switches personas every so often.
** Much of this owes to something of an ArmedWithCanon debate, with some writers preferring the pre-Crisis Superman, others preferring the John Byrne reboot, and constantly tug-of-warring between the two. He's usually somewhere in the middle-ish.
** This was a major issue with the ComicBook/New52 Superman, and likely a major reason for why the guy didn't take. Morrison wrote him as an arrogant callow hothead in the past, but going through CharacterDevelopment into a well-rounded IdealHero with an aggressive and antiauthoritarian streak [[OlderAndWiser by the modern day.]] Thing was, a lot of writers, including George Perez and Scott Lobdell, didn't get the memo on the second half, and wrote the modern Superman as a straight-up selfrighteous JerkAss who punched people for no good reason. And then you had writers like Scott Snyder, who basically ignored both approaches and just wrote him like his pre-New 52 counterpart...
** Is ComicBook/LexLuthor a CardCarryingVillain, a NobleDemon, or a WellIntentionedExtremist? Considering he started as a MadScientist and was rectonned into being a CorruptCorporateExecutive, he has legitimately fallen into more than one of these categories but even within his incarnations, writers have different takes on just how much Lex really wants to help mankind (to the exclusion of aliens) and how much he's in it for himself or at least his pride. His hatred of Superman is consistent but the motivations for that hatred have varied considerably.
* Franchise/WonderWoman might as well be the patron saint of this trope. Every writer since her re-creation in the 1980s has wanted to put their own stamp on the character to the point where they flat out ignore what the previous writer has done with the character. Her revolving supporting cast and extraordinarily minor RoguesGallery are testaments to this.
** Post-''[[ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths Crisis]]'', the biggest element to swing back and forth with her is whether she's going to be the man-hating StrawFeminist that makes a little more sense when she first leaves Themyscira, or the more mature, rounded character who actually has a sense of humor and good relationships with several male characters.
*** Pretty bad in the ComicBook/{{New 52}}: Azzarello's Wonder Woman in her own book is a completely different person from Geoff Johns' Wonder Woman in ''Justice League''. This gets lampshaded and justified when Greg Rucka returns to her in ''ComicBook/DCRebirth'', with Diana realizing the contradictions in her life, and setting out to discover the truth of herself.
*** One of the other big differences is her attitude regarding killing. In some portrayals she's as much or more ThouShaltNotKill as Batman or Superman (with those two characters on their own sliding scale). In others where's she's seen more as a warrior hero, she feels no guilt over killing her enemies when she feels it necessary, to a degree that can shock the other two members of the Trinity. Basically, if she's carrying a sword it's not good to be a bad guy facing her.
** Cassandra Sandsmark (the second ComicBook/WonderGirl): Is she a confident CuteBruiser? Is she filled with Wangst and ill-tempered at the level of the AlphaBitch? Has she gotten over her boyfriend's (temporary) death or not? And is she the Tomboy or TheChick? Such writing inconsistencies have derailed her character practically since she became a Teen Titan, though she originally started out as TheScrappy when written by John Byrne. It took Peter David to deliver the first "fix" on her character, though Byrne decried it, along with the very idea that Cassie would ever join a superhero team. According to Byrne, she was not supposed to be "unique". Byrne would later become incensed by the revelation that Cassie's father was Zeus, as well as the idea that she would lose her virginity to ComicBook/{{Superboy}}.
* Characters' dietary habits are rarely kept consistent. Franchise/WonderWoman and ComicBook/{{Zatanna}} have been written as vegetarian but often aren't.
!!!Marvel
* John Byrne's ''ComicBook/AlphaFlight'' were (his protests to the contrary) well-{{Rounded Character}}s with depth and interest. After he quit, they rapidly went to being whiny losers and have never been portrayed consistently since, until they all died [[TheWorfEffect to show how powerful a random villain was]] (and pave the way for Omega Flight).
* ''ComicBook/CaptainAmerica'' foe Batroc the Leaper was a borderline IneffectualSympatheticVillain who considered himself lucky to get in a hit on the good Captain on his first appearance, and a WorthyOpponent who gave Cap a very close match in a spectacular fight scene in his very next appearance. Ever since then, he's sort of sine-waved between HarmlessVillain and BadassNormal. In general, if he's in a serious story, expect him to be treated as among the best martial artists in the world, [[OvershadowedByAwesome held back only by the fact that he's fighting]] [[OneManArmy Captain America]]; if he's in a more comedic story, expect him to be a goofy PunchClockVillain who gets lucky on the days when he isn't laid out in one punch. Some writers have also claimed that his MauriceChevalierAccent is affected as part of his swashbuckler image, others have him even ''thinking'' in a thick FunetikAksent.
* A common criticism of ''ComicBook/CivilWar'' was that the Superhero Registration Act was this. Writers of pro-registration books tended to treat it as being like a driver's license - give your name, pass a few tests, and the government'll leave you alone from now on unless you're looking for protection or want to do your part. Anti-registration books, on the other hand, approached it like a forcible draft, with even teenagers, mutants born with minor powers or conscientious objectors being pulled in and trained to kill, with resistance being punishable by imprisonment without trial in a hellish alternate dimension. In particular, the ComicBook/{{Thunderbolts}} Initiative was either a legitimate attempt to help compliant and registered supervillains redeem themselves, or a gang of PsychosForHire being used as attack dogs against people guilty of no crime beyond wanting to be left alone. This left a good chunk of readers confused as to what on Earth Marvel was implying by claiming the pro-registration side were the good guys.
** This is also a problem with ''ComicBook/CivilWarII''. One of the main problems is the characterization of [[ComicBook/MsMarvel Carol Danvers]]. Sometimes she's portrayed as a heroine who, despite the moral ambiguity of using a precog to stop potential crimes, is conflicted on if she's doing the right thing and relying on other heroes to help guide her in her path, not wanting to have anything like [[spoiler:the death of War Machine]] happen again. Other times, she's depicted as an authoritarian JerkAss who'd happily detain anyone and everyone who even idly dreams of a crime, making her conflict with [[ComicBook/IronMan Tony Stark]] seem less like a conflict of morals and more of a morality-based dick-measuring contest.
* The relative goodness of ComicBook/{{Deadpool}} varies. Sometimes he's depicted as heavily mentally unstable, even AxCrazy covered up by a facade of goofiness, whereas at other times, he's a CrazyAwesome anti-hero who would NeverHurtAnInnocent. The ''WesternAnimation/HulkVs'' series kind of splits the difference, having an amusing Deadpool who is also completely malevolent. Possibly justified given the nature of his condition (well, usually): his healing factor is lodged within a brain tumour, which constantly shifts in size, meaning that the contents of his skull are being constantly kicked about.
* ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'':
** Johnny Storm has alternated between self-obsessed prima donna and self-obsessed whiny asshat, while Susan Storm has switched between defenseless butterfly to empowered female. Additionally, every new writer of the book seems to like to take a socially well-adjusted Ben Grimm and throw on the angst about his condition so they can take him out again. Reed Richards? Always a dork, but it's not quite clear how many shades of BadassBookworm he has, and tends to be either a socially ignorant genius who's more interested in his work, than his family, to a guy who really does care about his family. Some FF writers, most notably Tom [=DeFalco=], have tried to upgrade Johnny to at least being savvy about his powers and status. Later ones felt the need to make him dumb and dumber both. Also, a character who can end up spending months away from Earth aiding his team and family is frequently taken to task for not going to college. Some courses are crazy, and require you to show up for class.
** None of this compares to [[ComicBook/DoctorDoom Victor Von Doom]]. Dr. Doom is swung back and forth from being a baby-eating psycho, to practically being an AntiVillain more noble and courageous then Reed Richards, and everything in between. In particular, the way he runs his country comes under fire from this -- does he make it a complete utopia with happy, contented citizens, or is it just a facade the citizens put on because Doom will kill anyone who disagrees, and Doom himself only cares for them as a master would care for his pet? [[ArmedWithCanon Writers almost always wind up disagreeing with one another about Doom's correct portrayal and declare stories they don't approve of to have been Doombots instead.]] "Baby-eating psycho" isn't an exaggeration of how some writers view him. Here's Mark Waid's take on the character:
--->"The truism that Victor von Doom is, despite his villainy, a noble person is absolute crap. A man whose entire motivating force is jealousy is ridiculously ''petty'', not grandly noble. Yes, Doom is regal and yes, whenever possible, Doom likes to ''act'' as though he possesses great moral character because to him that's what great men have... [but Doom] would tear the head off a newborn baby and eat it like an apple while his mother watched if it would somehow prove he was smarter than Reed."
*** Dr. Doom gets an additional layer about running his own country. Does he truly care about his citizens? Does he act the monarch just for arrogant sense of self-entitlement, and to gain access to the resources of a nation and diplomatic immunity? Are the people of Latveria genuinely happy under his rule? Is Latveria a police state where no public display of malcontent is allowed?
* Fin Fang Foom's size, intelligence, backstory, and alignment vary wildly between appearances, as discussed [[http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2007/08/09/365-reasons-to-love-comics-221/ here.]]
* The Comicbook/IncredibleHulk has numerous factors of his character that vary between writers; Whether he's a dumb brute that can only speak in HulkSpeak, a completely mindless monster who can't talk at all, or someone with a fairly average intellect with a somewhat odd speech pattern. This is somewhat justified by Banner having multiple personality syndrome and there being thousands of Hulks in his mind. Also depending on the writer is the Hulk's power level; while it is in a state of flux depending on his emotional state, some writers have him being knocked out by an average python choking him for less than a minute, and dying from being impaled by a triton when he's previously survived wounds that make that seem like a papercut by comparison.
** One telling comparison is to look at a few recent depictions of the Hulk by two very different writers. Greg Pak has been the main writer on the Hulk for about five years now and has gone into great lengths to give the Hulk, rather than Bruce Banner, some in-depth character development through such storylines as ''ComicBook/PlanetHulk'', ''ComicBook/WorldWarHulk'', and ''ComicBook/FallOfTheHulks'', which paint a complex and sympathetic picture of the Jade Giant. Then there's Mark Millar's run on ''ComicBook/TheUltimates'' and the ''ComicBook/OldManLogan'' mini series. The former shows Banner as weak willed and insecure (not completely unjustified given it's meant to be early on in the character's history) and the Hulk as, among other things, an active cannibal. The latter shows Banner/Hulk as an insane redneck who leads a gang of his inbred mutant children (sired with his cousin, ComicBook/SheHulk, suggested to have been by rape) and rules over the ruins of the west coast. Granted, Millar's versions are an [[UltimateUniverse alternate universe]] and BadFuture, respectively, but one gets the idea that he doesn't think highly of the character.
* Namor the ComicBook/SubMariner has had this non-stop since he was first published in the late thirties. He's either a violent and bitter anti-hero with an unjust grudge against humanity, a noble leader who is only seeking the best for his people, a stalwart [[TheLancer pragmatist]] whose loyalty to his comrades is without question, or some combination thereof. In fact, his writing varies so much that Marvel eventually canonized it: he has a disorder caused by his amphibious physiology that manifests in that way.
* How about Comicbook/ThePunisher? Generally a good man who's committed to trying to make sure his family's deaths weren't in vain and others don't suffer the same fate? Psychopathic monster who'll kill people for littering or being junkies? A man on a mission with a singular purpose and great at planning? Barely rational gun-toting lunatic?
** Creator/GarthEnnis' take, as a sadistic torturer who enjoys killing for its own sake. [[Comicbook/WelcomeBackFrank Tricking a crime boss]] into following him into a polar bear enclosure and riling them up to attack her because he is unarmed? Okay, proactive self defense. Kicking same crime boss, who was an elderly woman and is now a quadruple amputee, into a house fire? Well...
** Then came ''Born'' from the [[Comicbook/ThePunisherMAX MAX imprint]], which puts a stunning twist on his origin: Not only was it was never about vengeance for his family, he (unwittingly) ''caused'' their murders. What happened was that in Vietnam, he'd grown to love war, both because he was a master of killing and he liked being able to punish wrongdoers. He made a deal with a mysterious unseen entity (the Grim Reaper, according to the author's notes) that once the Vietnam War ended, he could have his own war which would never end...for an unspecified price. It was only after he returned that he learned that the price was his family.
** The the last four [[Comicbook/ThePunisherMAX Max]] arcs (Kingpin, Bullseye, Frank, and Homeless) muddle things even further. It turns out that the aforementioned deal with Death was just a possibility, and that avenging his family was still on the table (although that too was only a possibility). Then in Frank, Frank himself denies both explanations and gives the "punishing himself" rationale given by ''previous'' authors (which at the time was mostly an attempt to keep the moral guardians at bay). Bullseye himself lampshades this, spending several ''days'' just pondering the possible origins.
* ''ComicBook/{{Runaways}}'': The portrayal of Chase Stein has always swung between JerkJock and CuteButTroubled, but Terry Moore seems to have taken the "Idiot Jock" interpretation and run with it, giving Chase a very immature personality. And Chase wasn't the only one, virtually all the characters were heavily derailed by Terry Moore. Nico went from a leader to a megalomaniac, Molly went from playing naive and innocent to throw people off to actually thinking "we could build a fort!" is an appropriate response to an emergency, Victor stopped being funny, Xavin became too funny, and Klara lost anything resembling a personality. The closest thing to a consistent character is Karolina, who still seems to have lost her backbone.
* ''Franchise/SpiderMan'' 's [[DaEditor J. Jonah Jameson]], editor-in-chief of the Daily Bugle, gets this treatment when it comes to the reasoning behind his newspaper's anti-Spidey reporting: to some, it's because he's [[GreenEyedMonster jealous of the fact the Spider-Man is more heroic than he could ever be]]; to others, it's just a case of JJ being an [[JerkAss asshole]]. Still others give him a motive that is, on the face of it, reasonable. Even more inconsistent is his personality beyond the Spidey-hate; is he a JerkWithAHeartOfGold to his employeees and a decent newspaperman with one unfortunate blind-spot, or is he a BadBoss and a headline-chasing scaremongerer?
* Just how much of a ManipulativeBastard [[Comicbook/UltimateMarvel Ultimate]] Comicbook/NickFury is varies on who is writing him. His characterization can jump around anywhere from that of a GoodIsNotSoft CynicalMentor, to a WellIntentionedExtremist, to an outright VillainProtagonist. To give you an example, when Peter Parker died, Creator/BrianBendis had Fury break down in tears and genuinely blame himself, while Creator/MarkMillar seemed to imply that Fury might have ''intentionally caused Peter's death'' as part of a XanatosGambit.
* ''Comicbook/XMen'' example:
** ComicBook/{{Cyclops}} tends to go from badass leader, to whiny emo-kid, to punchable [[CharacterDerailment asshat who treats his women like shit due to his constant infidelity]].
** ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} is even worse, as he can be a murder-happy asshole, honorable warrior, fatherly mentor, and the gruff veteran super-hero whose violent nature is a source of conflict within him. His personality being all over the place is par for the course, but combine that with his tendency to be [[WolverinePublicity everywhere at once in various different costumes]]. And his powers aren't even consistent. He goes from taking a gunshot to the stomach and taking a few days to heal to standing right next to Nitro when he goes off and regenerating from only his skeleton in seconds.
** Both Wolverine and Colossus have an actual physical problem in this area: writers can't seem to decide once and for all whether adamantium and organic steel are ''magnetic''... which is ''kind of important'' given who the X-Men's most frequent recurring big bad is.
** One of the worse examples in the X-Men has to be Polaris and Havok. Either they are insane with rage at the treatment of mutantkind, running screaming into the hills to try and live normal lives (their original default personalities BTW), or are being written as the brainwashed pawns of the villain of the week. A controversial moment in ''Comicbook/UncannyAvengers'' had Havok declaring to the public that he despises the "m-word" and wished to be treated just like everyone else. A number of people online pointed out that a statement such as this was ''extremely'' out of character for Havok, who in the past had been shown to be very proud of his mutant heritage.
** In one old X-Men comic, Colossus is shown to be especially weak to Storm's lightning because he's made of metal, the tiniest spark sending him into bouts of pain. Only a few issues later, he takes one of Storm's normal lightning bolts with a smile on his face. Maybe he just became a masochist.
** ComicBook/{{Nightcrawler}}, another member of the X-Men, falls prey to this trope as well. In his initial appearances, he's FunPersonified, though some later writers downplay this quality and a few remove it almost entirely. It also happens with his religion, initially he didn't talk about it much and said it was just a matter between him and God, but some writers make him more religious, even to the point where he's training to become a priest.
** A storyline from late in Creator/ChrisClaremont's classic run has the team killed and resurrected, which renders the lineup at the time, which included Rogue, Storm, and Wolverine[[note]]As well as Psylocke, Havok, Colossus, Dazzler, and Longshot[[/note]] invisible to cameras, a fact referenced and exploited frequently throughout the rest of his run. This is ''completely'' forgotten by the next writer, and since then, whenever one of the eight shows up, they turn up on camera ''unless'' it's written by Chris himself, who makes references to this trait well into the noughties.
** Another is the use of the word "human" by sympathetic characters -- certain villains draw a bright line, but whether aliens feel the need to specify "humans and mutants" or whether the X-Men themselves refer to "humans" or "non-mutant humans" depends far more on the writer than the characters. Justified since the terms aren't being used scientifically; mutants are a ''subspecies'' of human rather than a separate species. All mutants are humans, but not all humans are mutants.[[note]]Some writers have referred to them as separate species, but if two populations can and do interbreed regularly, as is the case here, they are the same species.[[/note]]
** The portrayal of ComicBook/{{Sabretooth}} is all over the place. He can go from animalistic berserker to calm criminal mastermind ''within the same storyline'', and not in a Jekyll-and-Hyde way. Likewise, his looks vary from completely monstrous to human with slight orthodontic issues.
** At one point during Claremont's run, Kitty Pryde discovered that she was slightly nearsighted, and was occasionally depicted wearing glasses, especially when working on computer hardware. Subsequent writers tend to ignore this limitation. Maybe she started wearing contacts?
** Many comic-book villains alternate between NobleDemon and baby-eating psycho depending on who's writing them (Dr. Doom and Magneto being the most obvious). It's very strange to see ComicBook/{{Magneto}} go between being Creator/ChrisClaremont's WellIntentionedExtremist Magneto and Creator/GrantMorrison's parody [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]] drug addict Magneto. Which is why Grant Morrison's Mags [[{{Retcon}} officially wasn't him]]. And afterward Magneto (written by Chris Claremont) commented "Why would anyone think I was capable of that?"
* The teen Vision from ''Comicbook/YoungAvengers'' had the memories of the original Vision, but the writers were unsure how far to take this. ''Young Avengers'' made it clear that the new Vision had his own distinct personality and was [[LegacyCharacter for all intents and purposes a new character]], while ''Comicbook/NewAvengers'' and ''ComicBook/CaptainAmerica'' seemed to indicate [[TheNthDoctor he was essentially the original Vision in a new body]].
** The ''Avengers Assemble'' annual {{Lampshaded}} this by having Comicbook/IronMan and [[ComicBook/AntMan Hank Pym]] state that they left the original Vision in storage because [[Comicbook/TheAvengers the team]] assumed the new Vision was just the classic version with an upgraded appearance.
!!!Other
* The comics made of the various {{Creator/Disney}} icons. Such as WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck.
** Scrooge himself: [[CorruptCorporateExecutive heartless bastard tormenting Donald for the sake of a few more cents, perfectly willing to exploit workers, destroy the environment and let his own family die in the name of profit?]] Franchise/IndianaJones-style treasure hunter? JerkWithAHeartOfGold who prides on having made his fortune "fair and square" and deeply cares about his family and his friends? Complete and utter badass? An eccentric old man who's not really good or evil?
** [[ComicBook/DisneyDucksComicUniverse Scrooge's]] money bin may be a simple box made of stone or a blue and red dome; it may be his residence, or just the place where he keeps his cash while he actually lives in a mansion; the Beagle Boys may frequently hide out in an old trailer or a shack or under the very foundations of Duckburg; Flintheart Glomgold may live in South Africa or in Duckburg as a member of the Billionaires' Club (or alternatively, he may not exist at all, with John D. Rockerduck in his place); Donald may range from being an average chef to a LethalChef; Magica de Spell may be a real powerful sorceress or a normal person who dabbles in sorcery; Granma Duck may be Scrooge's sister or not related to him at all; Gladstone Gander may be really lucky because a Triple Distelfink sign was painted on the barn door on the day of [[InTheBlood his mother's birth]] or because the goddess of fortune is in love with him.... The list goes on.
** The Beagle Boys' competence (and numbers) also seem to flip-flop (from as few as three to as many as eleven). And do they use guns, or are they simply too poor to even afford those?
** Even Rockerduck himself, despite not even existing in most writers' minds, has flip-flopped between honorable businessman Scrooge likes to screw with for fun, slightly crooked bastard who enjoys spying, swindling and bribing to get his way, white-collar criminal, and murderous gang leader.
** For a while, European stories had what effectively amounted to an alternative continuity, with the largest change being Scrooge being American-born with Grandma Duck as his older sister and a younger brother named Gideon. An epic-length Italian story even detailed it in its last part. Nowadays this is completely ignored, with some products of that time (namely Paperinik with his comprimaries, Dickie Duck, Brigitta [=McBridge=], Jubal Pomp and Gideon) still around but included in the standard continuity (Gideon being Scrooge's brother is quietly ignored, [[WildMassGuessing with fans taking him as Scrooge's younger half-brother from his father's supposed second wife or mistress]]).
*** Even Paperinik's backstory as [[LegacyCharacter heir of Fantomius]], the GentlemanThief, has two different versions. The original version, shown through various details in Paperinik's stories, presents Fantomius as a GentlemanThief active in the Twenties, operating as "a gentleman masquerading as a thief" with his fiancee Dolly Paprika to humiliate the arrogant rich people of Duckburg and sometimes [[JustLikeRobinHood giving part of his loot to the poor]], before ''dying'' (as stated in Paperinik's debut story) at some point in the Thirties, with his manor becoming the property of the City of Duckburg and won by Gladstone in a lottery before being destroyed and the land ultimately ending as Scrooge's property. The Dutch series "The Legacy", however, shows Fantomius as still alive (he just retired and disappeared), having operated strictly by [[JustLikeRobinHood stealing to the riches to give to the poor]] with an accomplice named Ireyon, and the land of his manor still being Gladstone's property. The Italian series "The Amazing Adventures of Fantomius-Gentleman Thief", detailing Fantomius' adventures, completely ignores the Dutch version.
* The original ComicBook/PhantomLady, between cosmic reboots, has gone from a superspy goverment agent to a bored senator's daughter with a gimmick - and personality-wise from a delicate Ice Queen who's impossibly ace to a tough talking bruiser.
* In most ''Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'' adaptations, Raphael is portrayed as a brooding loner who frequently breaks from the group and fights with his brothers -- particularly Leonardo, who has a much more commanding presence as a leader. In others, like the original Fred Wolf animated series, Raphael is a good-natured albeit sarcastic jokester while Leonardo seems more toned down and unofficial in his leadership role. Michaelangelo and Donatello remain constant for the most part.
* Portrayals of ''ComicBook/TheAuthority'' vary from writer to writer, to the point where it's not consistent whether they're the Wildstorm Universe's greatest force for good or a bunch of sociopathic fascists. Also doesn't help that they get used as punching bags in series other than their own.
* John Constantine in ''ComicBook/{{Hellblazer}}'' suffers from this trope. Is he just an ordinary blue-collar bloke who happens to attract a lot of supernatural attention and who learned some magic in order to deal with this, or a master sorcerer who can casually bend the laws of time and space at will? A more or less decent guy at heart who struggles with his conscience like anyone else would in his situation, or an utter and unrepentant bastard who'd throw anybody under the bus without a second thought? Is he in fact sane, or isn't he? Some of his writers have tried to explain away the changes they make to his personality (like externalizing all his guilt into a demon infant and tossing it off a cliff) and some haven't.
* The team formerly known as the ComicBook/{{Micronauts}} has kept reappearing occasionally since 1996 revealed that Arcturus Rann, Mari, and Bug were somehow still alive. They've appeared in Cable, Captain Marvel, Earth X, Realm of Kings, Son of Hulk, and Alpha Flight. Rann and Mari have had different personalities in each. In the Cable appearance, Rann was rather genial and avuncular, Mari was taciturn and humorless (along with sporting a lesbian look). In following appearances, they've ranged from having no personality other than a sci-fi plot device (Mari technobabbles like a Star Trek episode), to Realm of Kings, where Mari acts like a ditzy motormouth amazon and Rann acts bored. Admittedly, since Bug is no longer part of the team, the comic relief falls of the shoulders of Mari and her android sidekick Carl.
* ''[[ComicBook/SpirouAndFantasio Spirou]]'' changed writers many times over the years. Aside from being very visible, the storylines vary, too. ''Rob-Vel'' started Spirou being an actual bellboy, ''Franquin'' turned him into an journalist adventurer, ''Fournier'' made him run into more surreal stuff, various other writers had their own stint before ''Tome'' and ''Janry'' made the series return to the ''Franquin'' era, with the stories getting progressively DarkerAndEdgier, while starting a SpinOff about Spirou in his youth, and, after a commercially failed attempt at a (sort of) realistic story, ''Morvan'' and ''Munuera'' took a more Manga-style take at it, the stories no longer stuck to the present day. The current team, ''Yoann'' and ''Vehlmann'', have been leaning heavily on surreal sci-fi elements.
** While Spirou usually remains a NiceGuy who is either clueless with women, ObliviousToLove or simply not interested, Fantasio alternates between being a ChickMagnet, ChivalrousPervert, CasanovaWannabe, and a [[HoYay closet gay in love with Spirou]].
* The ''Franchise/ArchieComics'' are famous for this:
** Is Archie a nice guy, or a {{Jerkass}}? [[BettyAndVeronica Does he chase Veronica and ignore Betty, or does he treat them both equally?]] His obliviousness or ditzy nature has been the subject of the laughs for years, but exactly ''how'' stupid he is depends on the writer - sometimes he's flat out TooDumbToLive, but other times he's the OnlySaneMan.
** How much does [[BigEater Jughead]] eat? Does he really hate girls, or does he have secret crushes? [[spoiler: Or is he gay? Wait, best not answer that.]] Then Chip Zdarsky and Ryan North added ''another'' new interpretation by running with an explicitly [[{{Asexuality}} asexual]] Jughead.
** How rich is Veronica? For that matter, how much of a RichBitch or SpoiledSweet is she?
** Is Reggie a {{Jerkass}}, a JerkWithAHeartOfGold, or just a nice guy? How well does he get along with Archie and Jughead? Is he the TokenEvilTeammate or just a DeadpanSnarker?
** Is Moose BookDumb, TheDitz, TooDumbToLive, or [[SmarterThanYouLook Smarter Than he Looks]]? Does he [[BerserkButton go crazy]] when other guys so much as look at Midge, or is he kind and accepting?
** Is Chuck madly in love with Nancy, or does he ignore her for his art?
** Is Betty a [[{{Tsundere}} sore loser]], or a sad loser? Does she have a crush on Archie, or is she [[StalkerWithACrush obsessed with him]]?
** Is Ethel [[{{Gonk}} completely repulsive]] or HollywoodHomely? (Also a case of DependingOnTheArtist too)
** How smart is Dilton, and how socially awkward is he?
** Is Mr. Lodge completely on edge, or is he a JerkWithAHeartOfGold?
** Is Ms. Grundy crabby and grouchy, or is she kind and caring?
** How heavy is [[FunetikAksent Mr. Svenson's accent]]?
* When Creator/ReneGoscinny was writing ''ComicBook/{{Asterix}}'', he kept Asterix himself as a fairly bland StandardizedLeader IdealHero character who was [[BoringInvincibleHero almost never wrong about anything]], and gave the CharacterDevelopment to TheLancer Obelix, who was a sweet, profound and adorably [[TheDreaded frightening]] take on a ManChild. When Creator/AlbertUderzo took over, Asterix got a lot of CharacterDevelopment and became more complicated and sympathetic, developed weaknesses and was no longer infallible, but at the same time Obelix was severely {{Flanderized}} into being significantly more stupid and selfish, and usually TheMillstone to boot. This is most noticeable in ''The Magic Carpet'', where Asterix almost fails on multiple occasions because he has to constantly babysit Obelix. On the bright side, Uderzo introduced a lot more memorable female characters than Goscinny managed to do (Bravura, Melodrama, Orinjade, Latraviata...) and fleshed out some of Goscinny's SpearCarrier and SatelliteLoveInterest female characters (like Fulliautomatix's wife and daughter, and Obelix's perennial love interest Panacea) into more well-rounded human beings.
* While the Franchise/{{Transformers}} franchise as a whole is prone to this, it is particularly noticeable in [[ComicBook/TheTransformers the original Marvel Comics' series]] -- most of the stories were written by either Bob Budiansky or Simon Furman, who often had sharply different depictions of key characters. To pick but one example, Grimlock was a vain and power-mad DesignatedHero under Budiansky, whereas Furman writes him as a NobleSavage of a ProudWarriorRace.
** The two biggest examples, though, are Fortress Maximus and Scorponok. Divergences include: are they the BigGood and BigBad, or merely high on the chain of command? Are they taller than most guys, or the size of an entire armored base? They're (usually) Headmasters, but how does that work - are they organic beings bonded to intelligent robots, organic beings piloting lifeless robots, or robotic beings piloting lifeless robots? And who's bonded/piloting them? Spike? Cerebros? Fortress? Zarak? Dante? And that's not even getting into their personalities - is Fortress Maximus a TechnicalPacifist, an InvincibleHero, or a BrokenBird? Is Scorponok an EvilOverlord, a MadScientist, or a NobleDemon? Even the wiki's summary of their characters basically amounts to "they're big, they're highly-ranked, and they don't like each other, everything else is up for debate."
* ComicBook/{{Diabolik}} has been handled by different writers and publishers, and he can vary from a ruthless assassin who will pre-emptively kill anyone who might interfere with his plans (this is usually in books where he is TheGhost), to a thief who plans around not killing his victims and only does so as a last resort, to having a twisted sense of justice in rewarding those who help him, or (as in the LighterAndSofter cartoon) almost a Robin Hood figure.
** His partner Eva Kant usually has a similar competence and outlook as whatever he is, to the point where they can be TheDividual, but in some older books would be reduced to a damsel in distress rather easily. In others she takes on a vigilante role to bring down particularly heinous criminals.
