History Main / AdaptationalBackstoryChange

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[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* ''Manga/{{Bokurano}}'':
** Jun Ushiro, and, by extension, his mother, [[spoiler:Misumi Tanaka]]. In the manga, Jun's mother left him with her former teacher, then disappeared not long after he was born. In the anime, Jun's father was killed by his enemies from the {{Yakuza}}, and his mother left him with her sister.
** While Kanji's mother is connected with the Ascension Towers, the circumstances differ between the manga and the anime. In the manga, Kanji's mother helped design the Ascension Towers before she committed suicide, while in the anime, she's a scientist who works in the towers.
** Both versions of the story show that Machi [[spoiler:is from another universe]], but while the manga indicates that [[spoiler:she and her brother(Koyemshi) were holdovers from their universe's team of pilots, sent to the next one]], the anime suggests that [[spoiler:she and Koyemshi have gone to several different universes, helping each one win the game]].
* The ''Anime/{{Doraemon}}'' short, ''Typhoon Fuuko'', was later expanded into a long story (and feature-length film), ''Anime/DoraemonNobitaAndTheWindmasters'', where in both stories Nobita becomes the owner of a new CoolPet, a sentient, adorable wind elemental born from an egg which he names "Fuuko" ("wind's child"). In the original short, Fuuko was an artificial lifeform created by meteorologists from the 22nd Century to study tornadoes and cyclones, but the remake instead has Fuuko being one of three ancient {{Cosmic Egg}}s which forms the all-powerful Wind Deity, Mafuga the Storm Dragon, which unexpectedly ends up in Nobita's possession after it's hatched.
* The 2003 anime of ''Anime/FullmetalAlchemist'' changed the order in which Winry's parents died. In the [[Manga/FullmetalAlchemist manga]] they died after Trisha, while in the 2003 anime they died beforehand. While they both died in the Ishbalan Rebellion in both versions, their killer is different- it was [[spoiler:Scar]] in the manga, and [[spoiler:Roy Mustang]] in the anime.
* A ''Manga/TheLegendOfZeldaI'' manga had Link as a [[FantasticRacism bullied]], [[HalfHumanHybrid half-elf]] boy. Unknown to him, he's the [[OlderThanTheyLook older]] half-brother of Princess Zelda. Link's backstory is never given in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI'' but it's never mentioned that he's anything but a Hylian KidHero sent to save the (unrelated) Princess Zelda due to him being TheChosenOne.
* ''Franchise/LyricalNanoha'':
** In ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha'', Precia Testarossa's fall from grace and [[spoiler:the death of her daughter]] were stated to be the result of an experiment she was performing causing a massive explosion. The movie continuity changed her to an IgnoredExpert and the explosion was due to a reactor she was designing that was activated before it could be properly tested. Given the RecursiveCanon nature of the movies, Fate probably insisted on these changes so that her mother would be portrayed more sympathetically.
** All of the video game original character have different backstories in ''[[Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaReflection Reflection]]'' and ''[[Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaDetonation Detonation]]''. For starters, all of them have past ties to Eltria rather than just the Florian sisters.
* ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'':
** The anime removes all references to May and Serena recently moving to their hometowns. This means that they're likely Hoenn and Kalos natives respectively.
** Iris is now a newbie trainer instead of a ChildProdigy. In the games she is a seasoned trainer who can lead a gym [[spoiler:and eventually becomes a Champion]], but in the anime she only just received her Axew, though [[spoiler:she becomes a Champion later on]].
** AdaptationExpansion on Misty and Brock's backstories caused this. Nowhere do the games imply either have large families, nor that Brock's parents [[ParentalAbandonment ran off]] and left him PromotedToParent. Despite her young age, Misty in the games is a Gym Leader, while in the anime her three older sisters are the actual Gym Leaders until they eventually hand Misty the gym at the end of the Johto arc.
** Lillie doesn't meet Nebby until after she's already met Professor Kukui. In the games Nebby was the reason she ran away from home in the first place. Lillie isn't even a runaway in the anime as it's shown she still lives at home. In the anime, Lillie is afraid of touching Pokemon, not just seeing them get hurt in battle like in ''Sun and Moon'', as well.
** [[spoiler:Lillie's brother]] Gladion isn't associated with Team Skull, which changes his backstory greatly.
** Rose's father is revealed to have died in a coal mine collapse. In the games, such a thing was never hinted at.
* AdaptationExpansion causes this to many, many ''Manga/PokemonAdventures'' characters whose backstories are largely or completely unspecified in the games, and in many cases just straight-up changes things:
** All of the protagonists (except for Blake) have this to an extent by virtue of already having a Pokémon before they get their starter. One of them, Black, even has a fully-evolved one. The characters who aren’t supposed to represent the player character and don’t appear in-game are also given completely different original backstories, hailing from completely different towns.
** Silver and Green were kidnapped as little kids and were raised, alongside the Johto Elite Four, by [[spoiler:Pryce]]. None of this is from the games. Years afterwards the games showed Silver's background in the ''VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver'' remake. Silver and his father Giovanni parted ways only three years ago, right after Team Rocket disbanded in ''[[VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue FireRed and LeafGreen]]''.
** Lance is a villain in this series because he grew up with abused Pokemon. He also has magical healing powers. Absolutely none of this is in the games.
** X, Y, Shauna, Trevor, and Tierno are all {{childhood friend}}s. In the games only Serena and Calem live in the same town and one of them (the protagonist) only recently moved as a teenager. X also used to be a famous battle prodigy who was hounded into becoming a {{Hikikomori}} and already has a Keystone, while in the games both protagonists are new trainers, and they get a Keystone later in the game.
** [[spoiler:Ruby and Sapphire]] used to play together years ago. In contrast, [[spoiler:Brendan and May]] only just met in the games.
** Red's backstory is never mentioned, but it's implied he has no parents, unlike in the games where Red's mom is one of the only mothers to appear in two separate titles. Also in the games, Red and Blue are childhood friends but in the manga they only recently met.
** Blake is an Interpol Officer at the ripe old age of 12. His game counterpart, Nate, is an average kid just like the other game protagonists. Rosa’s counterpart Whitley also used to be part of Team Plasma, while obviously this isn’t the case in the games.
** Professor Oak was a powerful trainer and is a Champion in his youth. Granted, this is a popular fan theory for the games, but this is never stated.
* ''Manga/PokemonDiamondAndPearlAdventure'' is loosely based on ''VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl''. In the games the protagonist and their rival are normal childhood friends living in Twinleaf Town. They meet the opposite-gender protagonist the day they get their Pokemon. In the manga Hareta is a WildChild who was abandoned by his dad. Hareta meets Mitsumi when Professor Rowan sends her to get him. Hareta and Mitsumi don't meet Jun until several days after Hareta goes on his journey.
* In the ''LightNovel/WelcomeToTheNHK'' manga, Misaki lied about [[spoiler:being abused by her parents]]. In the anime and original light novel that is the truth.
* Unlike the original ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'', the Asuka of ''Anime/RebuildOfEvangelion'' [[spoiler:is the last of a series of clones similar to Rei instead of naturally-born human]].

[[folder:Comic Books]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Jem}}'', Shana and Aja were two of the many foster girls that the Bentons took care of. They were the original two, so they became close friends with Jerrica and Kimber. In ''ComicBook/JemAndTheHologramsIDW'', they were the only foster/adopted children of the Bentons. This means that the comic [[RelatedInTheAdaptation puts much more emphasis]] on them being the HappilyAdopted sisters of Jerrica and Kimber, rather than treating them as simply TrueCompanions.
* ''{{ComicBook/Norby}}'': Rather than Albany [[TheNudifier losing her clothes]] in school, the story is changed to trick fountain pens. She's still recognized as the first victim and Fargo as the culprit.
* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman'': The Amazons (including Diana) get hit with this a lot when the universe gets rebooted:
** For starters, the original Amazons of ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1942'' were women from across time and the world who ended up on Paradise Island as refugees, started Amazonian training, took oaths to uphold Aphrodite's law and drank from the Fountain of Youth attaining immortality while on the island. Their small nation was founded by the war-like Amazons of myth who left that lifestyle behind to live on Paradise Island which they were lead to by Aphrodite in exchange for their oaths to never kill again.
** Sometimes, like in ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1987'', ''all'' the Amazons are women who were killed by men and granted new immortal bodies fashioned of clay by the Greek goddesses, sometimes Diana and Nubia are the only two who were brought to life as fatherless daughters, sometimes Donna is added to this trio of clay Amazons, and in the ComicBook/New52 Diana was given [[ComicBook/WonderGirl Cassie]]'s backstory as a demigod daughter of Zeus.
** In the [[ComicBook/WonderWoman2011 New 52]] the Amazons went from being the pinnacle of peaceful human society meant as a standard and inspiration to us all to a group of misandrist mass murderers and habitual rapists who routinely go out and rape and murder men and then kill any male offspring. This continuity also wiped out their {{magitek}}nological advancements and had their tech level trapped in the iron age.
** The New 52 version of Donna Troy was never Wonder Girl and was created as a [[AdaptationalVillainy murderous misandrist to lead the Amazons in slaughtering their male offspring]]. This change was undone in ''ComicBook/WonderWomanRebirth'' and ''ComicBook/TitansRebirth'' where it's revealed her mind was tampered with and her past as Wonder Girl did really occur. For more on Donna's ever changing backstory see [[ContinuitySnarl/DonnaTroy Continuity Snarl.Donna Troy]]
** In ''ComicBook/{{The Legend of Wonder Woman|2016}}'' Vol 2 the Amazons are now the creation of Zeus instead of a group of goddesses carefully acting to hide their work from him, Diana's mother and aunts are all the champions of male Olympians and the Amazons are separated from humanity in order to continue providing the gods with worship rather than as a sanctuary away from cruel men.
** In ''ComicBook/WonderWomanWarbringer'' the Amazons are all female warriors who fell in battle protecting others, and were thus given an afterlife on a paradise like island where they can still interact with the outside world. Though if they prevent or cause the death of any of those still living, it will wreak Paradise Island.
** In ''ComicBook/WonderWoman77 Meets Series/TheBionicWoman'' ComicBook/{{Nubia}} is Carolyn Hamilton from ''Series/WonderWoman1975'', a former San Francisco cop and friend of ComicBook/SteveTrevor's who ended up leaving the force while undercover when she fell in love with the leader of the terrorist cell she was infiltrating. She later broke her own heart when she turned in her love due to her sense of right and wrong, and the comic continuation shows her subsequently becoming Commander of the Amazons and taking the name Nubia. In the [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1942 source comics]] Nubia is Diana's twin sister, who was raised by Ares on Slaughter Island.
* ''ComicBook/Batman89'' delves more into Harvey Dent's backstory while [[CanonDiscontinuity ignoring]] ''Film/BatmanForever'', which takes this approach to both his coin and Burnside.
** Unlike the trendy Burnside introduced in ''ComicBook/Batgirl2011'', Burnside is presented as a low-income inner-city neighborhood where Harvey comes from.
** On the flip side, Harvy's trademark coin is changed from an item Harvey's abusive asshat of a father used in a rigged game to beat him to an item of encouragement from a far more-benevolent father figure (saying if it came up heads, the future would be bright).

[[folder:Comic Strips]]
* In the normal ''ComicStrip/{{Garfield}}'' comic strips, Jon Arbuckle's other pet Odie was actually that of his friend Lyman, who appeared for a certain number of strips as Jon's live-in partner and then vanished altogether without explanation. In one of the stories from ''ComicBook/GarfieldHis9Lives'' (the story that retells Garfield's origin), Jon saw that Garfield was lonely and so he bought Odie from the pet store -- the same pet store that Garfield was in -- and brought him home to keep Garfield company.

[[folder:Fan Works]]
* ''Fanfic/AnimorphsTheReckoning'':
** In canon, Tobias was raised by two neglectful relatives. In this version, he becomes a rough orphan living in an institution who went from one adoptive family to another.
** In canon, Mr. Tidwell was a teacher at the kids' school. In this version, he's a private security guard.
* ''Fanfic/CodeGeassPaladinsOfVoltron'': In ''VisualNovel/CodeGeassLostColors'', Rai was [[spoiler:a former prince of Britannia, who briefly ruled over the Empire and was given Geass by an unknown Code Bearer]]. In this story, while he's still [[spoiler:a Britannian Prince (if the last scene of ''Tears of the Balmera'' is any indication), his Geass is indicated to have come from the Galra druids running experiments on him]].
* ''Fanfic/CodexEquus'':
** Prince Blueblood one to justify his canon behavior. For one, he had a terrible childhood, and his parents were emotionally abusive and had high standards of what a unicorn Scion of Princess Platinum should be. The sheer misery he would suffer motivated Celestia to adopt him once she learned what was happening. His [[PrinceCharmless boorishness]] towards Rarity was also explained as one of many [[HiddenHeartOfGold facades]] - years of being roadblocked by incompetent, cruel, and entitled nobles forced him to develop ways to circumvent them and help Equestria without endangering himself, and dealing with messy breakups and scandals caused by mares who only wanted his title and wealth influenced him to behave so repulsively in public that any mare pursuing him will be disgusted and driven away.
** In the IDW comics, Urtica was just a Changeling bureaucrat from Thorax's Hive who was really excited to see Princess Twilight, given the latter's heroic reputation. Here, she's an aspiring historian and ShrinkingViolet who idolized Princess Twilight/Amicitia and was bullied by other young Changelings. When she meets Twilight/Amicitia in person during the 'Convocation of Creatures' event, she was super excited to meet her idol.
** In ''Warhammer 40k'' canon, the Emperor of Mankind's backstory is mostly a mystery, with his backstory of [[MergerOfSouls being the collective reincarnation of multiple human shamans]] being quietly retconned, and the only bit from his childhood involving his father being murdered by an EvilUncle. Golden Scepter is a son of one of the Thirteen Empyreans, ''the'' first Alicorns that King Equus ever created, the second-born of male fraternal triplets, and a war veteran from the 'Twilight of the Alicorns'. He founded and ruled the [[TabletopGame/Warhammer40000 Imperium of Ponykind]] sometime after the Alicorn Civilization's fall, but being a ShellShockedVeteran brought out his worst flaws and influenced him to make a slew of mistakes that got him wounded and sealed away, while his Imperium collapsed and was destroyed by benevolent factions. Peachy/Queen Rhodonite Mirror's entry reveals that he's also the creator of the mortal Earthpony tribe, with Peachy being the first Earthpony mare to be born.
** In the IDW comics, Aspen is the father of Bramble and the leader of Thicket, a secluded Deer village in the Everfree Forest. Here in the Codexverse, Aspen was once the only male child and heir of an Alvslog Deer kingdom that was brutally attacked by forces led by Hydianite Covens. The attack killed both Aspen's parents and most of his sisters, which greatly traumatized him and planted the seeds of vengeance. He became a student of High King Irminsul, who helped foster his natural talents, yet influenced Aspen to develop the same toxic, bigoted, and hypocritical mindsets that would color his personality later on. After brutally decimating the Hydianite forces that wiped out most of his family, he Ascended to demi-godhood, and he would go found the kingdom of Thicket in the Everfree Forest after Ascending to true godhood under Irminsul's tutelage.
** The various "Ponyfriends" from [[Franchise/MyLittlePony Generation 1]] are depicted in the Codexverse as the first sapient members of their races to be born, whether as Llamas, Camels, Elephants, Mooses, Kangaroos, etc. Zigzag the Zebra in particular is responsible for why the Ponyfriends are deities in the Codexverse - she was living as a mortal Zebra at the time, and while living in Paradise Estate, she befriended the first generation of Ponyfriends. When she regained her memories and divine station as Queen Mzazi, she rewarded her friends for their kindness by helping them Ascend, which also gave them the power to uplift their respective races into sapience. The first generation of Ponyfriends then proceeded to help teach the second generation of Ponyfriends how to Ascend, with the same results.
** Princess Maya Dolos Ponyland, born [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyAndFriends Masquerade of G1]], served as [[ComicBook/MyLittlePony Queen Majesty]]'s spymaster and fought many threats, including Fallen deities like Abbadon, before Ascending to godhood at one point in her life. Her entry also explains how she was enslaved by the Jewel Wizard: She was pursuing a career in acting when the Jewel Wizard kidnapped her and forced her to work in his mines in total darkness for years, temporarily blinding her, until Applejack I intervened. The experience gave her PTSD and severe claustrophobia that went untreated for four Ages [[StepfordSmiler due to her hiding them so well]].
** Blacktip was bullied and scorned by his fellow Dragons for wanting to become an intellectual, and he grew up in an environment that promoted hypocritical, toxic, and bigoted teachings. This often forced him to hide his true self, even though deep down it made him absolutely miserable. He also had self-loathing issues that turned him into a Boomerang Bigot for a time, especially after learning from Prince Arcaniss that the Dragons were responsible for burning down the civilization of 'Amorea' and driving Changelingkind to near-extinction out of greed and cruelty. This wasn't apparent in the IDW comics he came from.
** [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyAndFriends Knight Shade]]'s birth father [[DisappearedDad abandoned him and his mother]] when he was very young, which spurred him to pursue music so he could support his mother, who struggled to provide for him alone. This and other factors like a lack of proper management (he was still a minor at the time), and the stress that came from wanting to provide for his struggling mother, influenced him to make a DealWithTheDevil with Arabus.
** The [[QuirkyMiniBossSquad Dark Purveyors]] of ''VideoGame/LollipopChainsaw'' lacked backstories that explained their personalities and how they came to be. The Codex versions of the Dark Purveyors have backstories... but they're [[AdaptationalAngstUpgrade utterly horrific and sad]].
*** Lewis Legend is an elite zombie from [[{{Hell}} Rotten World]], with no backstory to explain who he is. In the Codexverse, Prince Dühroham Erobreseg was a mortal Pegasus who, as a foal, was [[{{Tykebomb}} weaponized]] physically, magically, and psychologically by his AbusiveParents. A chance encounter with Blue Suede Heartstrings [[HeelRealization made him realize his parents' warmongering ways are wrong]], but was actively prevented from turning good until he reached his RageBreakingPoint during a genocidal war campaign, where he snapped and brutally massacred the entire army he was part of. A sojourning Yarost finds him in the throes of his breakdown, kicking off a series of events that not only leads to his native kingdom's destruction, but also his [[DeityOfHumanOrigin Ascension to godhood]] once he overcomes the worst parts of his foalhood psychological conditioning.
*** Mariska is an elite zombie from [[{{Hell}} Rotten World]], with no backstory to explain who she is. In the Codexverse, Princess Voľná Láska was a mortal Deer doe who, as a fawn, was turned into a JunkieProphet by her parents so they can exploit her precognitive visions. Her fawnhood friend Tiszta tried saving her and was [[CruelAndUnusualDeath brutally executed]] as punishment for it. A sojourning Pokhot later finds her while she was suffering an overdose, kicking off a series of events that not only leads to her Neo-Alvslog community's destruction, but also her [[DeityOfHumanOrigin Ascension to godhood]] once she overcomes the worst parts of her trauma and grief.
* Canonically, Mulder from ''Series/TheXFiles'' has a sister who was abducted by aliens. In the AI-written fanfic ''Fanfic/{{Coveralls}}'', she "disappeared down the drain".
* In the DCEU story, ''Fanfic/DaughterOfFireAndSteel'', rather than being Zod's reanimated corpse like in ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice'', Doomsday is a Kryptonian SuperSoldier of Zor-El's creation gone wrong. Additionally, while his Doomsday identity was given to him by Lex Luthor in canon, here it's derived from him taking the Kryptonian sigil for Doomsday as his own.
* ''Fanfic/EmpathTheLuckiestSmurf'' changes the backstory of Franchise/TheSmurfs, from the Smurfs all being sons of Papa Smurf that were born through DeliveryStork to them being the sons of Papa Smurf's fellow Smurfs born through natural physical means, with the parents perishing through an OnlyFatalToAdults [[ThePlague plague]] and Papa Smurf having to adopt them all as his sons. [[spoiler:Papa Smurf himself is the father of the series' main character Empath, while Brainy, who assumed that he was Papa Smurf's son, was actually fathered by a friend of Papa Smurf who gave Empath's mother another son after it was assumed that Empath was brought to the Psyche Master by Papa Smurf to be put to death.]] The backstory of the Smurflings is also changed, with Nat, Snappy, and Slouchy being Smurflings that came straight from Smurfling Island where nobody ever ages, and Sassette being an actual female Smurf who was put into a CrystalPrison by an evil female wraith and made to believe that she was an artificially-created female Smurf like Smurfette when she was released years later.
* ''VideoGame/HoloFunk'': Enforced to prevent an insensitive RippedFromTheHeadlines plot and backstory for Mano Aloe; the circumstances of her graduation from ''WebAnimation/{{hololive}}'' - instead of doxxing herself and getting harassed by antis, subsequently leaving out of stress and mental exhaustion - were changed to a VideoGame/{{Yakuza}}-styled plot consisting of the conflict between the Mano Kai and the Dearest Mob, and the following years affecting Aloe heavily. She was forced to quit because of Mr. Kurayami, AKA [[VideoGame/FridayNightFunkin Daddy Dearest]], finding her years after her first attempt at the music and entertainment industry, with her choosing to leave ''hololive'' lest she risk losing another loved one like her adoptive dad.
* In the ''[[Fanfic/WitnessGoodNeighbors Good Neighbors]]'' series, Shinsou Hitoshi has a DarkAndTroubledPast, having lived on the streets for quite some time before meeting Izuku... by trying to steal his wallet.
* ''Fanfic/JauneArcLordOfHunger'': In canon, Jaune's parents allowed him to attend [[ExtranormalInstitute Beacon Academy]] but otherwise didn't show much support for his dream of becoming a Huntsman. Here, they were [[MyBelovedSmother extremely overprotective of him]] to the point where he had to [[TheRunaway run away from home]] in order to enroll at Beacon.
* ''Fanfic/KnightsOfTheOtherworld'' has the [[Series/KamenRiderRyuki Advent Decks]] be created by Merlin as a means to bind and control the Contract Monsters for people to use.
* ''FanFic/LiquidsResidentEvil'': Unlike in the games, ''Downfall'' states that Claire was born and raised in Raccoon City. Robert Kendo and Chief Irons both recognize her on sight and vice versa.
* ''Fanfic/TheMoonsFlashPrincess'': [[LightNovel/SwordArtOnline Kirito's]] parents died in one of the first [[Anime/SailorMoon Youma attacks]], instead of a car accident - and he not only witnessed the attack, but only survived thanks to a few magical words he had learned from [[RelatedInTheAdaptation his brother Akihiko]].
* In ''Fanfic/MyFathersSon'', Cersei did get pregnant by Jamie in their youth, but Tywin found out about it, and forced her to have moon tea, thus aborting the child (whom the story indicates would've become Joffrey)
* In ''Fanfic/NewIslandLife'', Hajime is accepted into Class 77-B as Ultimate Reserve Student, instead of staying in the Reserve Course.
* In the original version of ''Fanfic/TheNightUnfurls'', Soren was a thief working for a street thug owning the streets. After a failed attempt to steal Sanakan's coin purse, he is RecruitedFromTheGutter into one of Kyril's [[TheApprentice apprentice hunters]]. The remastered version has him eventually become a mercenary of the Black Dogs, who [[DefectorFromDecadence defects from his own group]] and assists Kyril for his GreatEscape to be set into motion upon overhearing Vault's intentions of rape and enslavement.
* ''Fanfic/OneDayAtATimeFanfic'':
** Subverted with Carrie Kelley. Her backstory is relatively the same, up to and including becoming Robin after she saved the current Batman's life.
** Helena Wayne's backstory is a remix of her Pre-Crisis and New 52 origins. Here, Bruce was dead before she was born, causing Selina to give up being Catwoman and flee Gotham under an assumed name. She raised Helena alone for the next ten years, until Black Mask II tracked them down and tried to force Selina to work for him. Selina refused, then went back on the run with Helena in hopes of getting Jason's help; however, Black Mask's men cornered them in Gotham. Before she was killed, Selina sent Helena to find Jason, who immediately realized who she was and took her in upon her mother's death.
** Terry [=McGinnis=]' origin story is modified so his parents ''were'' murdered back when he was kid, leaving him and his younger brother orphans. Talia, however, ensured they wouldn't be manipulated any longer by killing both the assassin and their employer, and then arranged it so they would meet and be adopted by Jason.
* Master Fu's DarkAndTroubledPast in ''FanFic/TheOneToMakeItStay'' involves an EvilFormerFriend who betrayed the Guardians, leading to the Butterfly and Peacock Miraculous being lost and the latter being damaged as well. This [[PlotParallel parallels]] Marinette's troubles with certain allies of hers, particularly [[spoiler:Chat Noir -- both he and Bo joked around a lot and were more focused upon their personal desires than the responsibility their respective roles demanded of them]].
* ''Our Own League'' series:
** In DC canon, Kara Zor-El escapes Krypton's destruction in a spaceship as Superman did. In ''Teen Titans: Together for Tomorrow'', Kara was in Kandor when the city was shrunken and stolen by Brainiac, and lived imprisoned (and [[OlderThanTheyLook unaging]]) in the bottled city for thirty years until Superboy helped release her.
** Rather than because Aquaman accidentally murdered his father, Mera's {{Exposition}} in ''Teen Titans: Witch-Hunt'' explains David Hyde became the villain Black Manta and swore revenge on Atlantis because his Atlantean lover Sha'laina was brutally executed under suspicion of treason, an event which predates Aquaman's reign.
* ''Fanfic/PhoenixsTearReignition'':
** Hare was unlocked [[AgeLift much later than his canonical counterpart]], and [[AdaptationOriginConnection has a history]] with the Evil General Durahan that he's hiding from the others, along with [[YoungerThanTheyLook his actual age]] and [[PlayingWithFire everything]] [[HealingHands concerning]] [[LieToTheBeholder the]] [[MineralMacGuffin Phoenix's Tear]].
** Golem's backstory [[AdaptationExpansion gets fleshed out]] in ''Reminiscence'': other monsters lived in the ancient fortress, until tragedy left him as the SoleSurvivor, along with [[spoiler:blood on his hands from his ExtremeMeleeRevenge he took on the perpretrators and considerable trauma]].
* ''Fanfic/PokemonHarmonyAndChaos'': The origin of Holder's Boulder, the giant rock on the Pie family Rock Farm, is changed. In canon, it was found in a dragon nest that was supposedly "older than time itself" and the farm was built around it. Here it is explained it was formed generations ago during a confrontation with Regirock, Terrakion, and Diancie, three Legendary Rock-type Pokémon.
* ''Fanfic/TalesOfKarmicLiesAftermath'': In TheMovie adaptation, ''Ladybug: Miraculous Journey'', Bridgette and Felix have a strained relationship due to Bridgette being a StalkerWithACrush. Adrien was [[ObliviousToLove completely oblivious]] to Marinette's crush. Notably, Marinette seems to have approved of the movie taking this tack specifically because she's ashamed of her past behavior ''and'' wants to show that she was never perfect, and that people can change for the better.
* ''FanFic/TalesOfSonicTheHedgehog'':
** Sticks' backstory was barely explored in ''WesternAnimation/SonicBoom'', whereas here, it's fully explored. [[spoiler:She grew up under the thumb of her father Jebediah Badger, a CorruptCorporateExecutive who groomed her into taking over his empire. Having only seen the bad side of Mobius' citizens through him, eventually Sticks ran away, shedding her birth name and becoming the WildChild she is.]]
** In ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfSonicTheHedgehog'', the members of the [[GoldfishPoopGang Super Special Sonic Search and Smash Squad]] were intended to be {{Hypercompetent Sidekick}}s that could easily defeat Sonic, only to [[GoneHorriblyRight come out the exact opposite]]: LethallyStupid clowns that [[IneffectualSympatheticVillain posed no threat to Sonic at all]]. Here, Robotnik created them solely to serve as cannon fodder, admitting to Metal Sonic that he ''deliberately'' made them as stupid as they are so they wouldn't think of rebelling against him (though even he admits that he dialed back their processing power a bit too much).
* ''Fanfic/UltimateMisfits'':
** Pizzazz is Jerrica and Kimber's adopted sister. Their fathers were best friends, so Harvey left his daughter to Emmett in his will. He and his ex-wife died when Pizzazz was two, so Pizzazz doesn't remember her biological parents.
** Stormer is Kimber's childhood friend. As a result, she's known Pizzazz for years.
** Jetta and Roxy were in a band together prior to joining with Stormer and Roxy. They've also been friends for a long time because their fathers were both wrestles. Roxy never [[TheRunaway ran away from home]] as a teen.
** Raya is a friend of Shana's from school. In canon, they only meet as adults when Raya enters a contest to be Jem and the Hologram's new drummer.
** Techrat was the assistant of Emmett in his last few years.
** Stormer and her brother Craig didn't grow up together. Craig's a LongLostRelative to Stormer.
** Ba Nee's backstory is implicitly different because of the story's SettingUpdate. She's too young to have been born during the Vietnam War. It's also mentioned that she's not fluent in English, meaning she came to America at an older age than in canon.
* ''Fanfic/UnbreakableRedSilkenThread'': Jasmine and Samey did not meet until the season they debuted in. In this story, they had been pen pals ever since the second grade.
* ''Fanfic/BlazBlueAlternativeRemnant'': The fused settings of ''Franchise/{{RWBY}}'' and ''Franchise/BlazBlue'' cause many of the characters' pasts to alter from what they were in canon.
** Ragna still has a scarring past, but Terumi had no involvement at all and he was adopted normally by Jubei, having never had his home burned to the ground and having never lost his arm.
** Jin was shown to have been adopted into the Kisaragi family when two members visited the orphanage rather than him being left to wander until he stumbled upon them. He was also never brainwashed into insanity by Terumi.
** Penny is one of the biggest recipients of this trope. Unlike canon, where she was the result of the PENNY Project, which was an effort by Atlas to create a cybernetic soldier capable of generating Aura, she's instead [[spoiler:the tenth Murakumo Unit that escaped her creators' custody and is now living in hiding]], having no connections to Atlas.
** Platinum's backstory is altered from being an ArtificialHuman whose personalities were the result of the [=LunaSena=] System to them simply being two children orphaned after an attack by the Branwen tribe, with Luna becoming the vessel for Trinity after discovering the Muchourin in a cave, with Sena's soul entering her body upon his death because of it.
* While Peter's powers came to him in his teens after being bitten by a radioactive spider in the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse, in ''Fanfic/HellsKitchenFullOfGrace'' he was born with them, both of his parents being DifferentlyPoweredIndividuals.

[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
* ''WesternAnimation/SupermanUnbound:'' In the comic story, Zor-El used Brainiac's shield generators to protect his home city during the destruction of Krypton, and Brainiac found it floating in space. Here, Brainiac went back to Krypton and abducted Argo City and its people before the planet's destruction because Zor-El was studying ways to fight him.
* The WesternAnimation/DCAnimatedMovieUniverse version of the Flash has a very different backstory from the comics thanks to a combination of Henry Allen being AdaptedOut in ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueTheFlashpointParadox'' completely and WordOfGod stating that this version of Barry started off as the Kid Flash seen in the opening flashback in ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitansTheJudasContract'' (something he never was in the comics) and a member of the Teen Titans before forming the Justice League.
* ''WesternAnimation/GreenLanternFirstFlight'': Sinestro is still a renegade Green Lantern who obtains a yellow power ring, but has his betrayal of the Corps and the acquiring of his yellow ring happen under different circumstances from the comics. In the comics, Sinestro was caught abusing his power ring by using it to conquer his own planet to maintain order and was punished when the Guardians stripped him of his ring and banished him to Qward, where he subsequently had the Weaponers make him a yellow power ring. In this movie, Sinestro planned a coup while still affiliated with the Green Lanterns and the yellow ring was an ancient weapon he heard of from conspiring with Kanjar Ro and obtained it by traveling to Qward and convincing the Weaponers to give him the ring.

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
* This happened in general with Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse, which changed not just the time of the origins of superheroes and villains set in the present, but also made various heavy modifications compared to [[Franchise/MarvelUniverse the original source]]. A good example is ''ComicBook/{{Hydra}}'' organization, which was founded by ComicBook/RedSkull as the scientist arm of the Nazi Party in the 40s instead of being just an evil organization founded by Baron Zemo that allied the Nazi as in the comic books.
* ''Franchise/DCExtendedUniverse'':
** ''Film/WonderWoman2017'': The film mixes Franchise/WonderWoman's pre-New 52 and ComicBook/New52 origins together. It's implied that she was created from clay [[spoiler:however Zeus gave her life instead of the other gods]]. This makes Diana [[spoiler:non-blood related half-siblings with the BigBad Ares]]. It also changes her first appearance in Man's World from UsefulNotes/WorldWarII (the Golden Age version's original story) to UsefulNotes/WorldWarI.
** ''Film/TheSuicideSquad'': In part due to the SettingUpdate, Bloodsport isn't a PhonyVeteran who suffers from delusions that he served in UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar caused by the guilt of his draft dodging and his brother taking his place (and becoming a quadruple amputee), but a genuine vet who's ironically the OnlySaneMan among the new Squad.
* ''Franchise/AlvinAndTheChipmunks'': In [[WesternAnimation/AlvinAndtheChipmunks the 1983 animated series]], the episode, "The Chipmunk Story" reveals that infant versions of Alvin, Simon, and Theodore [[DoorstopBaby were left at the door of Dave Seville's house]] by their mother, due to it being a particularly brutal winter, and she hadn't had the resources to feed them. In [[Film/AlvinAndTheChipmunks the 2007 live-action movie]], Alvin, Simon, and Theodore lived in a tree from the forest that was being cut down and used as a Christmas tree for the company Dave worked for, and stowed away in a muffin basket that Dave stole from a co-worker.
* ''Film/XMenApocalypse'' eliminated major chunks of [[ComicBook/{{Cyclops}} Scott's]] backstory. Instead of growing up in an orphanage after a plane crash supposedly killed his parents, he lives with his family and knows his brother, who in this universe is older than him.
* ''Film/KimPossible'':
** In the [[WesternAnimation/KimPossible cartoon]], Ron brought a baby Rufus from Smarty Mart as a middle schooler. A naked mole rat was the only pet he could find that his father wasn't allergic to. In the live-action adaptation, Ron meets an adult Rufus as a high school freshman. He rescues him from a lab while on a mission with Kim. Rufus' unusual intelligence is stated to be because he was experimented on. Kim's reaction to meeting Rufus is also different: in the cartoon she was disgusted by him and took a while to get used to him, but she instantly likes him in the film.
** Implied with Shego due to an AdaptationalSuperpowerChange. She no longer has green skin and her HandBlast power is provided by bracelets. In the cartoon, her green coloring and powers were due to her being a meta-human. Shego's family all gained powers after being hit by a rainbow comet.
* ''Film/{{Ophelia}}'' makes some changes to the backstories of [[Theatre/{{Hamlet}} Ophelia and Gertrude]], overlapping with AdaptationExpansion as most of it either doesn't contradict the original too much and/or because the characters don't have much backstory to begin with.
** In ''Hamlet'', Ophelia is just one of Gertrude's ladies-in-waiting and presumably nobility. Here, it's specified that Ophelia isn't noble by birth and that Gertrude made her one of her ladies after taking a liking to her (and learning she had no mother), which results in the other ladies regarding her as an outsider. The fact she's technically a commoner is also significant in that it makes her even more 'unsuitable' as Hamlet's potential bride. Furthermore, it's never mentioned in ''Hamlet'' what happened to Ophelia's mother; here, it's stated that she [[PosthumousCharacter died many years ago]].
** Gertrude isn't given much backstory in ''Hamlet''. It's revealed here that Gertrude was raised in a convent in France and has a twin sister named Mechtild. Gertrude was a target of bullying growing up, with Mechtild defending her. After Mechtild got pregnant out of wedlock and was persecuted as a witch, Gertrude apparently helped her go into hiding and kept her survival a secret.
* ''Film/TheWizardOfOz'': In ''Literature/TheTinWoodmanOfOz'', the Tin Woodman was a human, until the Wicked Witch of the West cursed his axe to chop him into bits. It was too dark for the 1939 version so he was simply made by a tin smith.
* The [[Film/ThePunisher1989 first]] [[Film/ThePunisher2004 two]] ''ComicBook/ThePunisher'' movies change it so Frank Castle's family is killed by a mob based retaliation for him being a cop/FBI Agent, instead of the result of them accidentally witnessing a mob hit, as happened in the comics, maybe because that makes more sense than the mob executing people in a public park which people could then stumble across.
* ''Film/PainkillerJane'': In the original comic (and [[Series/PainkillerJane TV series]]), Jane was a police officer when she's changed. Here, she's a Special Forces soldier.

[[folder:Literature]]
* In ''Series/TheTwilightZone1985'' episode "Healer", Harry Faulk is Jackie Thompson's neighbor and they seemingly did not have much of a relationship until they began using the healing stone to make money. In the short story adaptation by Alan Brennert, Harry is the closest thing that Jackie has to a father. They met when they were both serving sentences in Vacaville Prison ten years earlier. Since their release, they had worked together on numerous scams and swindles and the occasional burglary but only made enough money to pay their bills until Jackie stole the stone.

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* There's actually quite a few for the ''Series/{{Arrowverse}}'':
** ''Series/{{Arrow}}'':
*** John Diggle ended up becoming this over the years thanks to the eventual revelation that he's the series' version of John Stewart. The original John was a former architect and sniper in the U.S. Marine Corps who ended up becoming a Green Lantern as a replacement backup for Hal Jordan, after Guy Gardner was taken out of commission. John Diggle, on the other hand, was a former member of the U.S. Army, a father, a husband, and a former bodyguard who ended up becoming a key cornerstone to Oliver Queen's crusade in fighting crime (effectively becoming what Hal Jordan was to Green Arrow in the comics). The series eventually confirms that he is John Stewart when its revealed his stepfather's name is General "Stewart", and the series ends with [[spoiler: him receiving a Green Lantern ring, though this has yet to be followed up upon]].
*** Black Canary was established as a LegacyCharacter in the comics, as Dinah Laurel Lance inherited the role from her mother, Dinah Drake Lance, a former member of the Justice Society of America, who attempted to discourage her daughter from assuming the role. In the show itself, Dinah's mother was never a superhero, with her sister Sara (who apparently died in the sinking of the ''Queen's Gambit'' along with Oliver Queen)) taking on the mantle upon her return to Starling City; Dinah herself was a district attorney. It's only after Sara dies [[spoiler: thanks to a brainwashed Thea Queen]] that Dinah takes up the role, and even then Sara is eventually resurrected. Not only that, but Dinah's sonic powers are the result of an experimental soundwave collar built by Cisco Ramone rather than a natural genetic superpower. Her relationship with Oliver is equally as complicated as in the comics, but rather than having gone through the ups and downs of divorce, Dinah's dislike of Oliver was mostly motivated by Sara's apparent death being the result of Oliver cheating with her, and the two would try on and off for a few years. Eventually, Dinah would [[spoiler: die at the hands of Damian Darkh in Season 4, leaving the mantle empty for a time]].
*** Further complicating matters is the two women who would later become the Canary in Dinah's absence. First, another woman by the name of Dinah Drake would take up the mantle, only she was a police officer who was accidentally turned into a metahuman on the same night that Franchise/TheFlash was created (via the same means), whereas the original Dinah Drake was not a metahuman whatsoever, and was denied the chance to become a cop. Later, the next person to become the Canary is the Earth-2 version of Dinah Laurel Lance, who was already a metahuman to begin with (albeit an evil one), and was transplanted to Earth-1 for a time to act a supervillain before undergoing a HeelFaceTurn and taking up the mantle of Black Canary.
*** Roy Harper was originally the son of a deceased forest ranger, who was raised by a tribe of Native Americans before being taken under Green Arrow's wing, later founding the Teen Titans before their initial disbanding and his mentor's absence led him to spiral into drug addiction, before he cleaned up his act, became Arsenal, and later went through various tragedies and identities. Here, Roy was a petty thief who had an on-off relationship with Thea Queen, becoming inspired by the Arrow to do good and clean up his act, and subsequently dealing with an addictive drug that led him to become Arsenal for a time until he took the fall for Oliver and faked his death, only coming back to aid his old mentor on occasion. Unlike their mainstream counterparts, Roy never showed too much disdain for Oliver, whereas the two in the comics could go from a father/son relationship to Roy hating his mentors guts.
*** Deathstroke the Terminator was an American assassin in the comics, having been a discharged military veteran who allowed himself to be tested for an experimental serum that increased 90% of his brain power, not to mention he only works for those who can afford his steep price. Here, Slade Wilson was a former Australian SAS agent who was hunting his rogue partner on Lian Yu, formed a bond with Oliver Queen when he ended up stranded there, and went mad with grief when a woman named Shadow (whom he was in love with) died thanks to Oliver choosing Sara Lance's life over hers. He also gained his powers thanks to Doctor Anthony Ivo's "Mirakuru" formula, and lost his eye at Oliver's hands when his grief (mixed with the drug) drove him mad, leading him to try and kill his former friend many years later. Moreover, while comics Slade still acts in his own interests, this Slade underwent [[spoiler: a HeelFaceTurn when the drug flushed out of his system, and teamed up with his old foe to find his son]].
* ''Series/TheBoys2019'':
** Kimiko. She was accidentally exposed to Compound V as a baby and taken prisoner by some scientists in [[ComicBook/TheBoys the comics]]. The show [[DarkAndTroubledPast gives a different backstory to her]].
** Vought International is different from Vought American from the comics. In the comics, they started out as a defense contractor in UsefulNotes/WorldWarII with very faulty products. In the show, they're a pharmaceutical company that was founded after the war by a German defector named Dr. Frederick Vought.
** "Love Sausage", a Russian Supe patient at the Sage Grove Psychiatric Center. He is originally a former member of a Soviet-era government superhero team in the comics, while he gets his powers from a stay said mental institution.
* ''Series/Daredevil2015'':
** Karen Page didn't have much of a backstory in the comics, so for her expanded role as the female lead of the show, [[DarkAndTroubledPast she's given one]].
** While Wilson Fisk did kill someone with a hammer when he was a child, the comic arc where this is revealed suggests it to be a random individual, and not his own father like happened in the show.
* In ''Series/FateTheWinxSaga'', Bloom was [[spoiler:kidnapped from her biological parents by blood witches and Rosalind sent her to the First World as changeling after the destruction of Aster Dell]]. In ''WesternAnimation/WinxClub'', [[spoiler:her older sister Daphne transported her to Earth as witches attacked their home planet, Domino. Bloom ended up a burning building and was adopted by the fire-fighter who rescued her along with his wife]].
* ''Series/JessicaJones2015'': In the comics, Kilgrave was a Croatian spy who got sent to infiltrate a chemical refinery and was accidentally doused with a chemical that turned his hair and skin purple, and which also gave him his mind control powers. In the show, Kilgrave is a British man who got his powers as a side effect of his parents' efforts to treat a degenerative brain disease he had as a child.
* ''{{Series/Legion|2017}}'': In the comics, David Haller was born in Israel as the illegitimate son of Charles Xavier and Gabrielle Haller. He was an only child who was raised by his single mother. In the show, David Xavier was born in America as the legitimate son of Charles Xavier and his wife Gabrielle. He was given up for adoption when he was still a baby and was taken in by the Haller family, where he grew up with two adoptive parents and an adoptive sister.
* ''Series/LukeCage2016'':
** In the comics, Luke was from Harlem, his half-brother was James "Coldfire" Lucas, Jr. who had superpowers of his own, and he was involved in street crime before he went to prison. In the show, Luke is from Savannah, Georgia, his half-brother was Willis "Diamondback" Stryker, and he served in the Marines and was a Sheriff's deputy when he went to prison.
** Raymond "Piranha" Jones in the comics grew up in poverty and lost all of his teeth by the age of 15, and had them replaced with long, sharpened steel spikes. These, and his habit of using them on his enemies, gained him the nickname "Piranha". In the Netflix show, he was looked after by the Stokes family, who paid his way through college, and he went into the world of finance, where he takes the nickname "Piranha" because he sees himself as the "little fish you don't see coming" in the cutthroat world of stock trading.
** Since Cottonmouth and Mariah are cousins in the show, whereas they were completely unrelated in the comics, much of their backstories have changed accordingly.
* On the ''Literature/TheMysteriousBenedictSociety'' television series, Sticky Washington moved to live with his aunt and uncle after his parents died and it was they who abused him financially. In the books, his parents are both still alive.
* On ''Series/MoonKnight2022'', Marc Spector's wife kept her backstory (daughter of archaeologist murdered by a colleague of Marc) among many changes, but her eventual superheroine identity had a case of this. [[spoiler:The Scarlet Scarab of the comics owed its powers to an artifact, the Ruby Scarab, but in the show, it's actually for the character being empowered by Taweret just like Moon Knight is an avatar of Khonshu.]]
* ''Series/ShadowAndBone'':
** In the books, Alina was born along the Ravka-Shu Han border, and her parents were killed in the Border Wars' crossfire. In the show, her parents died in the Fold.
** The origin of the scar on her hand differs between mediums, but the core sentiments remain the same. In the show, Alina squeezed a broken piece of pottery to help hide her powers when she went through the Grisha test and the injury left a scar. In the book, she got it as a teenager from, likewise, squeezing a piece of broken pottery she was supposed to be repairing when Mal gave her a platonic TwirlOfLove, which lead Alina to have a LoveEpiphany. In both cases, she equates the scar to Mal and her feelings for him and often rubs a thumb over it as a form of comfort.
** Alina originally was solely Ravkan. Due to actress Jessie Mei Li being mixed race (Chinese/English) this was changed to be similar, with her being half Shu Han as well now, adding an extra layer as she [[HalfBreedDiscrimination faces racism]] over it.
* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'':
** In "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS4E119PassageOnTheLadyAnne Passage on the Lady Anne]]", the Ransomes' six year marriage is falling apart due to Alan being concerned with his job than with Eileen. In the short story "Song for a Lady" by Charles Beaumont, they are a newly married and very much in love couple on their honeymoon.
** In "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS5E123NightmareAt20000Feet Nightmare at 20,000 Feet]]", Bob Wilson suffered a nervous breakdown on a plane six months earlier. In the short story by Creator/RichardMatheson, the equivalent character Arthur Jeffrey Wilson is extremely apprehensive about flying but no specific reason is given as to why.
** In "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS5E139NightCall Night Call]]", the caller is Miss Elva Keene's fiancé Brian Douglas who was killed in a car accident a week before they were to be married in 1932. At her insistence, Elva had been driving. She lost control of the car and crashed it into a tree. Brian was thrown out through the windshield and Elva was paralyzed. In the short story "Long Distance Call" by Creator/RichardMatheson, the caller is never identified and what caused Elva's paralysis is not revealed.
* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1985'':
** In "Nightcrawlers", nothing is revealed of the backstory of the waitress at Big Bob's diner. In the short story by Robert R. [=McCammon=], she is a former hippie named Cheryl Lovesong who lived in UsefulNotes/SanFrancisco in UsefulNotes/TheSixties and experimented with drugs while she was there.
** In "Wong's Lost and Found Emporium", David Wong decides to assume management of the Lost and Found Emporium after he finds his compassion. In the short story by William F. Wu, he had already been running the emporium for several months before he regained his compassion.
** In "One Life, Furnished in Early Poverty", Gus Rosenthal had a difficult relationship with his father Lou growing up and regretted never telling him that he loved him before he died when Gus was in his teens. In the short story by Creator/HarlanEllison, Gus' relationship with both of his parents was even more difficult. He was sent to a military school at seven years old because of his poor behavior and ran away from home when he was thirteen.
** In "Gramma", there are no details given about Georgie's relationship with his elder brother Buddy. In the short story by Creator/StephenKing, it is mentioned that Buddy [[BigBrotherBully regularly bullies Georgie, both physically and verbally]]. [[spoiler:At the end of the story, Georgie is possessed by their grandmother's spirit and plans his revenge against Buddy for the years of torment.]]
** In "Dead Run", Johnny Davis decides to help the wrongfully condemned people whom he had been transporting to {{Hell}} only one day after taking the job. In the short story by Greg Bear, he is on the job for two years before his conscience gets the best of him and he begins to help the damned escape to {{Heaven}}.
* [[spoiler:Hooded Justice]] got hit with this ''hard'' in ''Series/Watchmen2019''. Granted, what was assumed in [[ComicBook/{{Watchmen}} the original comic]], it was only speculation, even in-universe, but the 2019 version was most definitely [[spoiler:''not'' named Rolf Müller, homosexual, a white German, a genuine Nazi sympathizer, a former circus strongman, or even dead. Instead, he's [[AdaptationNameChange Will Reeves]], a [[SparedByTheAdaptation still-living]] [[AdaptationalSexuality bisexual]] [[RaceLift African]]-[[AdaptationalNationality American]] [[AdaptationJobChange former NYPD member]] [[AdaptationalHeroism who became a costumed hero to fight against racism]] (though WordOfGod is he ''feigned'' support for Nazi Germany as a smokescreen to cover his true identity). About the only thing Hollis got right is that Reeves was involved with Captain Metropolis.]]
* ''Series/TheWheelOfTime'':
** In the books Nynaeve comes from Emond's Field, and had been living with the previous Wisdom since her mid-teens after her parents died. In the series she was an orphan from outside the Two Rivers raised by the Wisdom from a much younger age.
** Siuan left home here because someone burned her house down and marked her as a Darkfriend. No such incident was mentioned in the books, rather she just left for the White Tower when it was found she could channel (while both still have a fisherman father).
** Young Min has lived a rough life in Tar Valon instead of uneventful life with aunts in Baerlon. Her gift first manifested when [[spoiler:she saw Tam al'Thor with baby Rand]]. Moiraine hides her in Fal Dara to protect her from troubles her gift should attract.

[[folder:Radio]]
* ''Radio/XMinusOne'': In [[Recap/XMinusOneE083ASaucerOfLoneliness episode eighty-three]], Jason Bernaides is a journalist who investigates Janet Boyce's encounter with the FlyingSaucer in 1957 and later prevents her from drowning herself on June 25, 1962. It was [[AudioAdaptation adapted]] from Creator/TheodoreSturgeon's "Literature/ASaucerOfLoneliness", where the [[NamedByTheAdaptation unnamed equivalent character]] has no connection with the woman until he finds the copy of the saucer's message that she placed in a bottle and does not meet her until the night that he saves her.

[[folder:Theatre]]
* In the original ''Film/{{Newsies}}'', Jack Kelly claims his parents are out west looking for a ranch to live, but towards the end it's revealed that his mother is dead, his father is a prison inmate, and he has even lied to the other newsies about his real name. In the [[Theatre/{{Newsies}} stage version]], Jack implies in the first scene that his father was worked to death and there's no indication that he's lied to anyone about his name or anything else about his life.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* The ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil2Remake'' makes a few changes from the original game.
** In the original, Leon was late for his first day at work because he had broken up with his girlfriend and drank so much he overslept. In the remake, this has been changed to him receiving a phone call to stay away from Raccoon City and await further orders. After one week of radio silence, Leon decides to go to the city to investigate.
** Robert Kendo, who was a NiceGuy and handed guns to civilians to protect themselves, reacted with hostility and held Leon at gunpoint and tried to kick him out of the gun shop. Only because his daughter has been infected and he was afraid Leon or Ada would kill her.
** Despite their shady line of work, William and Annette Birkin were HappilyMarried. In the remake, though they were still close, Annette confesses to Claire that they were more married to their work instead of each other and became distant.
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' changes the backstories for a lot of the characters it borrows from other games in the franchise.
** The Weapons from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' were {{Kaiju}} spawned by the Planet to protect it from existential threats like [[EldritchAbomination Jenova]]. ''XIV'' reimagines them as manmade biomechanical HumongousMecha built to [[KillTheGod slay]] [[PhysicalGod Primals]].
** [[LizardFolk Ba'Gamnan]] from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'' was a ruthless BountyHunter with no redeeming qualities. ''XIV'' reimagines him as a former Dalmascan knight who failed to protect his princess during the Garlean invasion and wants to avenge her death by destroying Garlemald with the power of the auracite.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Animation]]
* ''WebAnimation/DCSuperheroGirls'' does this to a majority of the cast due to them being YoungerAndHipper and due to the amount of AdaptationalHeroism. Most characters backstories haven't been discussed throughly but it's fair game to believe that most have been edited:
** ComicBook/HarleyQuinn's StartOfDarkness in the comics was her meeting ComicBook/TheJoker when she was a [[DependingOnTheWriter psychiatrist/psychologist]] at Arkham Asylum. Harley in ''DC Superhero Girls'' is too young to be a psychiatrist (under [[TeenGenius most circumstances]]) and was bullied by the Joker when she was younger. Her backstory has only briefly been mentioned. Harley had wanted to be a superhero since she was little, so she probably worked hard to get into the SuperheroSchool given that she's a BadassNormal with no powers. Harley is a through-and-through hero unlike her villainous (occasionally AntiHero) comic book version.
** ComicBook/{{Batgirl}}'s origin didn't involve Franchise/{{Batman}} at all. She received her title without any relation to Batwoman or Batman, unlike in her other incarnations where she intentionally styled herself after Batman. She received her name due to ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}, who called her "Bat Girl" due to Barbara liking bats.
** ComicBook/{{Starfire}} and her sister Blackfire are friends, not [[CainAndAbel enemies]], for once. This obviously means Starfire was never made a slave. It's more likely that the reason she is on Earth is just because she chose Superhero High to be her high school.
** ComicBook/{{Katana}}'s comic backstory makes no sense anymore due to her young age. Her sword isn't even implied to be the soul-taker it is in the comics. It's just a normal sword.
* ''WebAnimation/FridayNightFunkinLogic'' changed the backstories of several mod characters.
** In the canon lore of ''WebAnimation/HappyTreeFriends'', Flippy fought in a [[Recap/HTFOperationTigerBomb nondescript war]] while he was still an army private. Here, Flippy has explicitly stated that he fought in the UsefulNotes/VietnamWar. [[NotMakingThisUpDisclaimer No, seriously.]]
** In his mod's canon, Whitty was born in a facility all alone, had to raise himself, and had been a bomb-headed humanoid his whole life. In [=GameToons=] canon, he was actually [[WasOnceAMan a human child that was kidnapped and turned into a humanoid bomb]].
** Taki's origins were never stated in ''VideoGame/FridayNightFever'''s lore; all that was known of her was that she [[GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere shows up from the blue after beating Wee twice]] and was appointed to be a nun by Fever himself. ''FNF Logic'' did explore into Taki's creator's statement that she came from another planet, with her arrival being quite similar to that of ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}''.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Webcomic]]
* ''Webcomic/VixenNYC'': Comics Mari (''ComicBook/{{Vixen}}'') was the daughter of the President of from the [[{{Bulungi}} small African nation]] of Zambesi; she fled to America when her father was killed. This version of Mari is a Ghanaian-American teenager whose normal parents both live in North Carolina.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Arcane}}'': There are major and minor changes from the Champion backstories established in VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends.
** Vi's backstory in the game says that she's an amnesiac orphan who spent her childhood in a Zaunite orphanage called House Hope, whereas here, Vi and Jinx were raised by Vander after their parents were killed in the civil war he started. She also teamed up with a gang called the Factorywood Fiends that caused a mining accident, and Vi used gauntlets to save the trapped miners, none of which happens in the show.
** In the game, it's mentioned that Jayce's patron was Clan Giopara. In the show, it's actually Clan Kiramman. The game also mentions that he first met Viktor at a Progress Day party, while in the show, it's shortly after his apartment blows up. The game also mentions nothing of him inventing hextech, even implying that it was already around by the time he makes a name for himself. Him and Viktor revolutionizing it is a plot point in the show. There's also Jayce's mentor Stanwick Piddidly. In the show, he's something of a historical figure and isn't mentioned to be apart of Jayce's life in any meaningful way.
** Jinx's lore in the games mentions that she was always mischievous and would frequently travel to Piltover to play pranks on them just for the sake of creating chaos that slowly grew more serious as time went on. It also keeps the details of her early life intentionally ambiguous. In the show, not only do we see Jinx's life while under Vander's care, it's also heavily implied that she had not been to Piltover prior to breaking into Jayce's apartment.
* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'':
** ComicBook/{{Cyborg}}'s origin was shown in the ''ComicBook/TeenTitansGo'' tie-in comic. He used to love racing cars but one day got into an accident. He was saved but [[WeCanRebuildHim only by replacing his damaged body with cybernetic parts]]. In the comics, Cyborg was a football player injured in a science accident that also [[MissingMom killed his mother]].
** Beast Boy's true origin is never referenced; however, his time with the ComicBook/DoomPatrol is. In the ''Teen Titan'' verse they were SparedByTheAdaptation, simply missing instead of KilledOffForReal. Beast Boy also never had his pre-80s element, such as trying (and failing) to join the Teen Titans due to not having parental permission.
** ComicBook/{{Starfire}} was still enslaved, however she ended up escaping early on, removing the RapeAsBackstory and years of abuse that her comic version suffered.
** ComicBook/{{Robin}}'s backstory is never discussed, however he seems to have the same origin that Dick Grayson always has. He, however, doesn't have his pre-''New Teen Titans'' friendships with characters like Donna Troy, Roy Harper, and Garth.
** Finally, this team itself came together as result of fighting the alien slavers that Starfire had recently escaped from, rather than a call from Raven asking for help to take down her father Trigon, as in ''The New Teen Titans''.
* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitansGo'' is a DenserAndWackier adaptation of the 2003 ''Teen Titans'' cartoon that actually ended up reinstating most character backstories.
** While one episode shows Cyborg as always being half-robot, even as an infant, as part of a gag, later episodes confirm that he actually was a high school football star who was in an accident, which is more in-line with his comic book backstory.
** Starfire's backstory initially replaces the aforementioned slavery aspect with her simply being exiled from her home planet by her older sister, Blackfire. The episode "Real Origins" reveals that this was still very much the case, though she escapes just as early as she did in the 2003 series thanks to Robin.
** Beast Boy's backstory is elaborated on and revealed to be the same as the comics, with him being a sickly infant whose parents' gave a serum that not only cured him, but also gave him his shapeshifting abilities. With that in mind, this version of the character was never a part of Doom Patrol.
** The team-up story still differs from the comics, however, as these Titans came together as a result of Dick Grayson wishing to escape the shadow of Batman and actively hunting down sidekicks... er, teammates for a new team. Definitely teammates. (Everyone will know they're really sidekicks, though.)
* ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice2010'':
** Miss Martian is a half-White Martian, half-Green Martian mix. White Martians suffer from heavy discrimination by Green Martians. This is in heavy contrast to the comics where ComicBook/MartianManhunter was the only Green Martian at the time and M'gann was fully White Martian. She was the WhiteSheep of the AlwaysChaoticEvil of White Martians. In the comics, she is also an only child with deceased parents. In the cartoon she has many siblings, living parents, and is Martian Manhunter's biological niece.
** Beast Boy's origin is completely changed. In the comics his parents were scientists living in a jungle. As a toddler Garfield received an injury and the only way to save him was to use an experimental drug, which ended up changing his body to green and giving him superpowers. His parents later died and Garfield was adopted into the Doom Patrol as "Changeling". They too died and he eventually became a Teen Titan, All this was removed in ''Young Justice''. Garfield met the unnamed team as a kid while living with his single ex-actress mother. His green skin and superpowers are due to Miss Martian using her powers to save him. Garfield's mom died during the timeskip and he was taken in by Miss Martian.
*** [[spoiler:Season 3 however reveals that Gar's powers are a result of a green monkey god, a nod to his comic incarnation.]]
** Jade Nguyen aka Cheshire was kidnapped as a child and sold into sexual slavery before being adopted by Chinese freedom fighter, Weng Chan. [[note]]This was later retconned into her being a ChildByRape who was sold into sexual slavery because of the shame it brought on her mother's family[[/note]]. In the show, Jade is the daughter of the villains Lawrence Crock and Paula Nguyen aka Sportsmaster and Huntress respectively and is the sister of Artemis Crock. Also, while Jade is typically a freelance mercenary, here she is a member of the League of Shadows.
* Hawkgirl in the comics was primarily Comicbook/{{Hawkman}}'s girlfriend, and both their backstories were caught in an infamous ContinuitySnarl: DC couldn't decide if they were reincarnations of ancient Egyptian heroes, or HumanAlien law enforcement officers from planet Thanagar. For her appearance in ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'', Hawkgirl was reimagined as a hero completely independent of Hawkman. She was still a Thanagarian police officer, though teleported to Earth by accident and searching for a way home--until the season 2 finale revealed [[spoiler:that whole backstory was a lie, and she was actually a spy for Thanagar's invasion force]]. Then later seasons teased the possibility that she was the reincarnation of [[AncientAstronauts a marooned Thanagarian who ruled over ancient Egypt as a queen]], but the series never confirmed if that was true or not.
* In ''WesternAnimation/MarvelRisingInitiation'', ''ComicBook/SpiderGwen'''s backstory sees some minor changes to better fit into the "mainline" universe of the animated series, as the character resides within an alternate universe within the pages of Marvel Comics (Earth-65 rather than Earth-616). In the comics, Gwen Stacy initially used her powers for fun and profit before hearing her father criticize her persona for wasting her talents. Afterwards, she begins crime-fighting, but her commitment to do so is only cemented after she fights the Lizard, who turns out to be her best friend Peter Parker. [[ILetGwenStacyDie Peter dies from his injuries]] after reverting back to normal, and Gwen spends over thirty issues as a fugitive, with the goal of becoming a better hero so her best friend wouldn't have died in vain. In the cartoon, it's implied that this Gwen was a hero from day one. Instead of Peter Parker, her best friend was an Inhuman named Kevin, and rather than him accidentally dying by Gwen's hands, he's murdered by a Kree villain, with Gwen [[ClearMyName being framed for the crime]]. Oh, and Gwen Stacy's hero name is changed from "Spider-Woman" to "Ghost-Spider", though that change that would [[RetCanon later extended to the comics]] to [[OneSteveLimit reduce any possible confusion]] with [[ComicBook/SpiderWoman Jessica Drew]].
* In the comics and previous animated shows, ComicBook/{{Venom}} is an alien creature, but in ''[[WesternAnimation/UltimateSpiderMan2012 Ultimate Spider-Man]]'', it's been created from Spider-Man's blood.
* ''WesternAnimation/EarthwormJim'':
** [[AllThereInTheManual The manual]] for the original ''VideoGame/EarthwormJim'' video game states that the reason why Professor-Monkey-For-A-Head [[NoPlansNoPrototypeNoBackup can't make another super suit identical to Jim's]] is because his monkey half ate the plans. In the cartoon series, the reason why he can't make another super suit is because he doesn't have a spare Battery of the Gods, and the Gods are not willing to give one to him.
** Another notable example is Princess What's-Her-Name, from being the typical (and apathetic) DamselInDistress in the games to an ActionGirl with a major role in the cartoon series.
* ''WesternAnimation/SonicTheHedgehogSatAM'': Sonic's origin doesn't match the western origin given in ''Script/SonicTheHedgehogBible'' and ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogPromoComic''. In the original origin, Sonic was a prickly brown hedgehog who befriended a human named Dr. Kintobor. Eventually, both Sonic and Kintobor got into an accident that turned Sonic blue and turned the benevolent scientist into the evil Dr. Robotnik. In ''[=SatAM=]'', Sonic was always blue, he's more sociable and has been friends with Sally since childhood, and his backstory has nothing to do with Robotnik.
* ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfSonicTheHedgehog'' show that Sonic met a lost Tails when the latter was a toddler. Sonic reluctantly adopts Tails as his brother. In the games, Tails and Sonic met when Sonic landed on West Side Island. Tails was bullied by others for his two tails but became interested in the cool hedgehog. Sonic originally thought of Tails as just a pesky kid, but after Tails helped him on his adventure Sonic began to respect Tails.
* In the ''ComicBook/JohanAndPeewit'' comic books, their first meeting with the Smurfs took place in the story "The Smurfs And The Magic Flute", in which they sought the help of the Smurfs to retrieve a magic flute that Peewit found that was stolen by Matthew [=McCreep=] and used for robbery. In the AnimatedAdaptation that was part of ''WesternAnimation/TheSmurfs1981'' cartoon show, their first meeting happened in "The Cursed Country", where Hefty and Smurfette sought their help in rescuing their fellow Smurfs from being abducted by an evil dragon tamer.
* Speaking of ''Franchise/TheSmurfs'', the comic books had their first encounter with Gargamel taking place within the present time period in "The Smurfnapper", where Gargamel abducts one Smurf to use for his gold-making formula and the other Smurfs spend the night in Gargamel's hovel seeking an opportunity to rescue the Smurf. In the AnimatedAdaptation, however, their first meeting with Gargamel happened about ten years prior to the present time period, as revealed in "Gargamel's Time Trip", when Gargamel sought to capture a Smurf to finish his sorcerer's school project so that he could graduate.
* ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales2017'':
** The show's versions of WesternAnimation/DarkwingDuck and Negaduck both have different origin stories. The former is [[spoiler:a young actor and fan of the ShowWithinAShow version of Darkwing Duck who was inspired by Launchpad to become a real-life version of their hero]]; the latter is neither a version of Darkwing from a MirrorUniverse nor Darkwing's evil side made manifest, but instead [[spoiler:the former actor in the Darkwing role, driven insane after he was replaced in the role for a reboot and got caught in an explosion]].
** In [[WesternAnimation/DuckTales1987 the original 1987 series]], Webby Vanderquack was Mrs. Beakley's biological granddaughter. Here, she's the older woman's ''foster'' granddaughter, with the GrandFinale revealing that [[spoiler:Scrooge [=McDuck=]]] is her biological father.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSmurfs2021'':
** In "The Smurfs: The Pluffs!". Unlike the comic version, the Pluffs are evil counterparts of the Smurfs from an alternate universe, while in the comic, they were evil darker toned duplicates of the Smurfs magically created by Papa Smurf.
** One episode ''reversed'' this trope. In Unsmurfable Smile", according to what Papa Smurf says, the Bzz Fly affected Grouchy by making him transform into a grouchy Smurf, as in what happened in the comic book story "The Black Smurfs".
* In ''ComicBook/JLA1997'', General Wade Eiling acquired his hulking supervillain form by having his mind transferred into the old Justice League villain Shaggy Man (which he then had shaved so he wouldn't look like a hippie). In ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'', he gained it from taking Captain Nazi's SuperSerum.
* In ''WesternAnimation/XMenTheAnimatedSeries'', Beast's childhood photos in "Beauty and the Beast" suggest that his blue-furred form is a natural result of his mutation, rather than the result of [[ProfessorGuineaPig self-experimentation]].
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Superfriends}}'': ''Challenge of the Superfriends'' gave Wonder Woman's enemy Giganta a different origin from what the comics established, revealing in the episode "History of Doom" that she used to be an ordinary human woman until she eavesdropped on Apache Chief gaining his size-changing abilities and swiped the magic powder that gave Apache Chief his powers to use on herself. Her comic origin at the time was that she was an ape who was transformed by experimentation into a human woman who was tall and incredibly strong.
[[/folder]]

** Silver and Green were kidnapped as little kids and were raised, alongside the Johto Elite Four, by [[spoiler:Pyrce]]. None of this is from the games. Years afterwards the games showed Silver's background in the ''VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver'' remake. Silver and his father Giovanni parted ways only three years ago, right after Team Rocket disbanded in ''[[VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue FireRed and LeafGreen]]''.

** AdaptationExpansion on Misty and Brock's backstories caused this. Nowhere do the games imply either have large families, nor that Brock's parents [[ParentalAbandonment ran off]] and left him PromotedToParent. Despite her young age, Misty in the games is a Gym Leader, while in the anime her three older sisters are the actual Gym Leaders.

** Iris is now a newbie trainer instead of a ChildProdigy. In the games she is a seasoned trainer who can lead a gym [[spoiler:and eventually becomes a Champion]], but in the anime she only just received her Axew.

** In part due to the SettingUpdate, Bloodsport isn't a PhonyVeteran who suffers from delusions that he served in UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar caused by the guilt of his draft dodging and his brother taking his place (and becoming a quadruple amputee), but a genuine vet who's ironically the OnlySaneMan among the new Squad.

* On the ''Litereature/TheMysteriousBenedictSociety'' television series, Sticky Washington moved to live with his aunt and uncle after his parents died and it was they who abused him financially. In the books, his parents are both still alive.

** All of the protagonists have this to an extent by virtue of already having a Pokémon before they get their starter. One of them, Black, even has a fully-evolved one. The characters who aren’t supposed to represent the player character and don’t appear in-game are also given completely different original backstories, hailing from completely different towns.

* ''VideoGame/HoloFunk'': Enforced to prevent an insensitive RippedFromTheHeadlines plot and backstory for Mano Aloe; the circumstances of her graduation from ''WebAnimation/{{hololive}}, instead of doxxing herself and getting harassed by antis, subsequently leaving out of stress and mental exhaustion, she was forced to quit because of Mr. Kurayami, AKA [[VideoGame/FridayNightFunkin Daddy Dearest]] of the Dearest Mob finding her once again years, leaving her with the choice to risk losing another loved one like her adoptive dad or to leave everyone at the end of the month.

* ''VideoGame/HoloFunk'': Enforced to prevent an insensitive RippedFromTheHeadlines plot and backstory for Mano Aloe; the circumstances of her graduation from ''WebAnimation/{{hololive}} -- instead of doxxing herself and getting harassed by antis, subsequently leaving out of stress and mental exhaustion -- Aloe was forced to quit because of Mr. Kurayami, AKA [[VideoGame/FridayNightFunkin Daddy Dearest]] finding her once again years, with the well-being of her loved ones being threatened by his Yakzua clan leaving her with the choice to risking losing another loved one,.

* In ''WesternAnimation/XMen'', Beast's childhood photos in "Beauty and the Beast" suggest that his blue-furred form is a natural result of his mutation, rather than the result of [[ProfessorGuineaPig self-experimentation]].

[[folder:Web Original]]

** In part due to the SettingUpdate, Bloodsport isn't a PhonyVeteran who suffers from delusions that he served in UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar caused by the guilt of his draft dodging and his brother taking his place (and becoming a quadruple amputee), but a genuine vet who ironically the OnlySaneMan among the new Squad.

** On the flip side, Harvy's trademark coin is changed from an item Harvey's abusive asshat used in a rigged game to beat him to an item of encouragement from a far more-benevolent father figure (saying if it came up heads, the future would be bright).

** In part due to the SettingUpdate, Bloodsport isn't a PhonyVeteran who suffers from delusions that he served in UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar caused by the guilt of his draft dodging and his brother taking his place (and becoming a quadruple amputee), but a genuine vet who ironically TheOnlySaneMan among the new Squad.

* ''Franchise/DCExtndedUniverse'':

* ''Film/WonderWoman2017'': The film mixes Franchise/WonderWoman's pre-New 52 and ComicBook/New52 origins together. It's implied that she was created from clay [[spoiler:however Zeus gave her life instead of the other gods]]. This makes Diana [[spoiler:non-blood related half-siblings with the BigBad Ares]]. It also changes her first appearance in Man's World from UsefulNotes/WorldWarII (the Golden Age version's original story) to UsefulNotes/WorldWarI.

* In ''ComicBook/GrantMorrisonsJLA'', General Wade Eiling acquired his hulking supervillain form by having his mind transferred into the old Justice League villain Shaggy Man (which he then had shaved so he wouldn't look like a hippie). In ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'', he gained it from taking Captain Nazi's SuperSerum.