History Main / DecompositeCharacter

*** Then there is Tiago Rodriguez, better known as Raoul Silva, played by Creator/JavierBardem from ''Film/{{Skyfall}}'' who takes some cues as well. With regard to how he is a Hispanic criminal/agent of some kind portrayed as Bond's equal/dark counterpart who he must track down and defeat, because he has been causing the deaths of several agents, after returning from a leave of absence that led to everyone believing he was dead and in need of redeeming himself to [=MI6=]. Both could also be described as being sexually ambiguous to some degree. They also each have a "William Tell" scene with Bond.

[[AC:''Franchise/MissionImpossible'']]

* ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/4849822/ The Future Child, Today]]'': has the premise that Wilbur isn't actually from the future, though he's mentally unwell enough to believe that he is. Removing the TimeTravel element means that [[BigBad Bowler Hat Guy]] is no longer the future version of [[spoiler:Goob]], while he takes on Lewis' role as [[spoiler:Wilbur's father]].

[[AC:''Franchise/MegaMan'']]
* ''Fanfic/LimitlessPotential'': While Dr. Cain is still the one who discovers X just like in the ''VideoGame/MegaManX'' canon, his role in the creation of Reploids is given instead to an OriginalCharacter named Sho Fujiwara, a robotics specialist who provides the resources and laboratory, while Cain works more as an advisor.

* ''Film/TheMaskOfZorro'' famously splits [[Franchise/{{Zorro}} Zorro]] up into two characters. There’s the original Zorro from the novel, classic movies and comics Diego de la Vega (played by Creator/AnthonyHopkins) and Alejandro Murrieta (Creator/AntonioBanderas) whom Diego trains to be his successor as Zorro. Funnily enough there’s a further decomposite as Alejandro Murrieta is based upon the RealLife outlaw Joaquin Murrieta who is not only Alejandro‘s brother in the film but actually inspired the original author Johnston [=McCulley=] when creating Zorro. Alejandro, funnily enough actually takes his from name Diego’s father Alejandro de la Vega from the original novel and Diego when disguised plays the role of “Bernardo” the manservant [[CompositeCharacter who is another character]] in original stories — just make things even more confusing.

* ''Film/TheMaskOfZorro'' famously splits [[Franchise/{{Zorro}} Zorro]] up into two characters. There’s the original Zorro from the novel, classic movies and comics Diego de la Vega (played by Creator/AnthonyHopkins) and Alejandro Murrieta (Creator/AntonioBanderas) whom Diego trains to be his successor as Zorro. Funnily enough there’s a further decomposite as Alejandro Murrieta is based upon the RealLife outlaw Joaquin Murrieta who is not only Alejandro‘s brother in the film but actually inspired the original author Johnston [=McCulley=] when creating Zorro.

** ''Film/GodzillaVsKong'': Due to there being only one Godzilla in the ''Franchise/MonsterVerse'' [[SparedByAdaptation who survived the Oxygen Destroyer]], the original Godzilla's role in ''Film/GodzillaAgainstMechagodzilla'' of possessing Mechagodzilla (who'd been built over his skeleton) is given to King Ghidorah, who was killed in the [[Film/GodzillaKingOfTheMonsters previous film]].

** "Das Bus" parodies ''Literature/LordOfTheFlies'', and Lisa and Milhouse divide Piggy's role. Lisa is the voice of reason who tries to keep everyone civilized, while Milhouse is the physically-incapable [[TheLoad Load]] and [[TheScapegoat Scapegoat]] whose glasses are used to start a fire.
** Krusty the Klown was originally planned to be Homer's alter ego (hence the similar appearance), however this idea was scrapped as they thought it was too complicated. The season 6 episode "Homie The Clown" would still explore this idea, as Homer goes to Krusty's clown college and becomes one of his impersonators and gets in trouble with the mob due to the MistakenIdentity.
** The "Treehouse Of Horror V" segment "The Shinning" parodies ''Film/TheShining'', and Danny Torrance's part is split between the Simpsons children. Bart has the titular power, Lisa sees the waterfall of blood spilling out of the elevator, and Maggie spells out "REDRUM" with her blocks.

** The episode "Das Bus" parodies ''Literature/LordOfTheFlies'', and Lisa and Milhouse divide Piggy's role. Lisa is the voice of reason who tries to keep everyone civilized, while Milhouse is the physically-incapable [[TheLoad Load]] and [[TheScapegoat Scapegoat]] whose glasses are used to start a fire.
** Krusty the Klown was originally planned to be Homer's alter ego (hence the similar appearance), however this idea was scrapped as they thought it was too complicated.

* ''WesternAnimation/DCAnimatedMovieUniverse'':
** Aquaman is replaced as a founding member of the Justice League by Shazam in ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueWar''. In fact, Arthur wouldn't make his debut in this universe until its sequel, ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueThroneOfAtlantis'', where he was presented as first becoming Aquaman in that movie.
** ''WesternAnimation/SonOfBatman'', based on the first arc of the ''ComicBook/BatmanGrantMorrison'' run, "Batman and Son", sees Characters/{{Deathstroke}} take [[Characters/BatmanTaliaAlGhul Talia Al-Ghul]]'s role as the BigBad of the story, resulting in Talia being closer to her original characterization in the movie.[[note]]Though in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBadBlood'' she TookALevelInJerkass and become closer to Morrison's depiction.[[/note]]
** ''WesternAnimation/BatmanHush'' sees quite a few:
*** [[spoiler:[[Characters/BatmanTheRiddler The Riddler]] as Hush instead of Tommy Elliot.]]
*** Additionally, while Barbara Gordon appears in the film, she's Characters/{{Batgirl}} and replacing [[Characters/BatmanHuntress Huntress]], while her original role in the story, which was during her time as Oracle is more or less filled with Alfred and Characters/{{Nightwing|DickGrayson}}.
*** With Talia's death, and elements of ''ComicBook/ForeverEvil2013'' being folded into ''WesternAnimation/ReignOfTheSupermen'', her role as Batman's contact in Lexcorp is given to Lex Luthor himself.
*** [[Characters/BatmanLadyShiva Lady Shiva]] take Ra's' role as the person to inform Batman of an outsider's use of a Lazarus Pit, what with Ra's being already dead and all.

* ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManIntoTheSpiderVerse''[='=]s versions of [[Characters/MarvelComicsTheKingpin The Kingpin]] and the Green Goblin are from its version of [[Characters/UltimateSpiderManMilesMorales Miles Morales]]' Earth, but [[spoiler:it's Fisk and not Osborn who kills that world's Peter]].

* ''WesternAnimation/TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes'':
** ComicBook/NickFury serves as the present-day director of S.H.I.E.L.D., but his {{Identical Grand|son}}father '''Jack''' Fury led the [[ComicBook/SgtFuryAndHisHowlingCommandos Howling Commandos]] in UsefulNotes/WorldWarII. Nick Fury [[ComicBookTime filled both roles]] in the comics, but the writers eventually had to explain that [[HandWave he used an "Infinity Serum" to extend his lifespan]].
** [[Characters/SpiderWomanTitleCharacter Spider-Woman]]'s role in ''ComicBook/SecretInvasion'' is split between ComicBook/BlackWidow ([[DoubleReverseQuadrupleAgent Triple agent]] working for Nick Fury who can't prove her innocence after Fury goes into hiding) and Characters/{{Mockingbird|MarvelComics}} (Costumed ComicBook/{{SHIELD}} agent who is kidnapped and impersonated by Queen Veranke).
* [[CanonForeigner Ethan Bennett]] is given Basil Karlo's role as the original [[Characters/BatmanClayface Clayface]] in ''WesternAnimation/TheBatman''. Season Four shows that Karlo does indeed exist and he steals a sample of Ethan's tissue to become Clayface himself.

* ''Franchise/DCAnimatedUniverse'':
** Summer Gleeson and Veronica Vreeland of ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' were made as two separate halves of Vicki Vale, with Summer filling the role of the news reporter and Veronica being the rich socialite.
** Aquaman's role as a founding member of the WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague was given to Hawkgirl. Hawkgirl's arc in the first two seasons also incorporated elements of the story ''ComicBook/JusticeLeagueOfAmericaTowerOfBabel'', namely [[spoiler:Batman's role as the "traitor" who went behind the others' back to devise ways to take their teammates out and whose plans wound up in enemy hands]].
** Hal Jordan is confirmed to exist in the DCAU, but his appearances were limited to an allusion in ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries'' and cameos in an episode of ''Unlimited'' and the ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueVsTheFatalFive'' film. As such, his origin story was given to Kyle Rayner, while his roles as the Green Lantern who helped found the Justice League and (thanks to ''WesternAnimation/StaticShock'') the GL responsible for getting [[Characters/GreenLanternThaalSinestro Sinestro]] booted out of the GLC were given to John Stewart.
** The DCAU version of the Rudy Jones Parasite died in the penultimate episode of ''JLU''. However, "[[Recap/JusticeLeagueUnlimitedS2E13Epilogue Epilogue]]" sees a version of the Parasite that resembles how [[http://www.angelfire.com/comics/edmcguinness/EdParasite.jpg Ed McGuinness drew Jones]][[note]]Which was basically to take the monstrous Parasite form Jones had in the mid-to-late 1990s and slap the DCAU costume on him[[/note]] appears in the era of ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'' and the late Creator/DwayneMcDuffie confirmed this was a separate person from Jones.
** For the sake of AdaptationalModesty, [[Characters/RobinTimDrake Tim Drake]]'s classic Robin costume was given to [[Characters/{{Nightwing|DickGrayson}} Dick Grayson]]'s time as Robin with Tim getting a modified red and black suit when he debuts.

* ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManTheAnimatedSeries'': In UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks, the superhero Black Marvel was secretly a wealthy socialite named Daniel Lyons. In the show, Black Marvel was actually Omar Mosely, Lyons' black chauffeur. Due to the racial attitudes of the 1940s, Daniel agreed to act as a decoy for Omar to prevent anyone from knowing the real Black Marvel was African American.

* ''[[WesternAnimation/UltimateSpiderMan2012 Ultimate Spider-Man]]'':
** In the comics and most media, Peter Parker became the Black Suit Spider-Man. In the show the role of Black Suit Spider-Man is given to Harry Osborn. Likewise, his desire of wanting to work for the ''Daily Bugle'' was taken by Mary Jane Watson.
** Peter Parker briefly uses the Iron Spider identity before ditching the armor and returning to the classic Spider-Man ID. The Iron Spider armor and name end up in the hands of Amadeus Cho in Season 3.
** [[spoiler: While a CompositeCharacter of Ben Reilly and Kaine, the Scarlet Spider is only this universe's version of Ben, as despite his personality and costume being based on Kaine post-HeelFaceTurn, he himself isn't this universe's Kaine, who's a separate clone.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/XMenTheAnimatedSeries'':
** In the comics, the Reavers were composed of several of the Hellfire Club guards Wolverine mutilated in ''ComicBook/TheDarkPhoenixSaga''. While their debut in the cartoon does help set-up the show's version of the arc, it's well before the actual ''Dark Phoenix'' arc and hence before the Inner Circle (as the Hellfire Club was called on the show) make their debut, meaning that they aren't the guards Wolverine fought in this version.
** Minor one, but in the show's adaptation of ''ComicBook/DaysOfFuturePast,'' the appearance Characters/{{Mystique}} assumed to lure Senator Kelly into her trap was taken from an aide that she had BoundAndGagged. Mystique employed that exact same disguise in the original comic, but there it was a unique identity she'd created from scratch (even using her real name, "Raven Darkholme") rather than an impersonation of an actual person.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Young Justice|2010}}''
** The series splits the comic's version of Roy Harper into two characters: Roy Harper, whom we meet in the first episode, and [[spoiler:the ''original'' Roy Harper whom the other was cloned from]]. The former takes the name "Red Arrow" and [[DatingCatwoman has a relationship]] [[DeliverUsFromEvil and child]] with [[Characters/TeenTitansCheshire Cheshire]], while the latter loses his arm and takes the name "Arsenal." As of Season 3, [[spoiler:clone!Roy]] has changed his name to Will Harper.
** In the original comics, a teenage [[Comicbook/{{Superman}} Clark Kent]] served as the eventual inspiration for the formation of [[spoiler:the Comicbook/LegionOfSuperheroes centuries in the future. In the series, it's instead Clark's teenage clone, Conner, that inspired the formation of the Legion.]]
** While ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} does eventually appear in the show [[spoiler:as a Furie of Granny Goodness]] during Season 4, pretty much all her character traits (especially her trouble fitting into human society and her bright loving personality) were already given to/carried out by [[Characters/MartianManhunter M'gann aka Miss Martian]].
** During ''Comicbook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'', the Comicbook/GreenLantern Corps member Tomar-Re perished in battle, with his power ring passing to John Stewart. In the series, [[spoiler:John has already been a Green Lantern and a member of the Justice League for years by the time Tomar-Re is killed, so the ring instead passes to the female Forager that the heroes had encountered on New Genesis.]]

* Crimson Dynamo in both ''WesternAnimation/TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes'' and ''WesternAnimation/AvengersAssemble'' is Ivan Vanko, the CompositeCharacter of the original Dynamo and Whiplash from ''Film/IronMan2'', right down to having "Ivan Vanko" as his real name, but without the Whiplash elements, the degree of this varies as the only way to know this about the ''EMH'' Dynamo is through [[AllThereInTheManual promotional materials and]] [[ComicBook/TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes the tie-in comic]], and his real name in never mentioned in the show itself, whereas the ''AA'' version is actually referred in-show to as "Ivan Vanko" and [[ComicBookFantasyCasting is modeled on]] Creator/MickeyRourke. This becomes bizarre in Season 3 of ''AA'' as the Anton Vanko Whiplash, who is based on the ''Iron Man 2'' Whiplash, actually appears in one episode.

** In-universe example in the episode where the Gaang sees a play detailing their adventures. In one scene, a mysterious masked warrior named the Blue Spirit rescues Aang from Prince Zuko which is weird because in reality [[spoiler:the Blue Spirit was actually Zuko in disguise. It's likely that the writer of the play didn't know that]].

* This is basically the reason Soundwave wasn't in the first ''Film/{{Transformers}}'' movie. His role was originally going to be tracking down the Witwicky glasses through the use of deployers like Frenzy and Ravage. But there came a moment when he would change his al-mode from a helicopter to a humvee, as per Transformers tradition of {{Size Shift|er}}ing. When Creator/MichaelBay came on board he made a verdict of no size changing for the robots, insisting they fit inside their vehicles. So to fit the story together they had to split up the role among different characters, with the reduced screentime they chose to leave him out rather than do it sub-par. The helicopter Blackout was the closest approximation (with extreme loyalty to Megatron and a dislike of Starscream) and the cop car Barricade filling part of his role.

** The [[https://archives.bulbagarden.net/media/upload/2/2b/Pokemon_Journal.jpg nurse design]] from ''Red and Blue'' served as a basis for both Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny. Ironically, later games would [[RetCanon redesign the nurses to look closer to Nurse Joy.]]

** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'', the Goron chief Darbus was turned into Fyrus when he touched the Fused Shadow. In ''Manga/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess2016'', Luda's friend Darb becomes Fyrus, and he assimilates the chief when he tries to fight him.

* ''WesternAnimation/HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse2021'' takes a few character traits from the originals in ''WesternAnimation/HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse1983'' and shuffles them around, creating new characters or {{Composite Charactor}}s.

** To an extent, the space arc characters are based on the crew of ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'', with Arthur as Kirk, Lancelot as Spock and Guenevere as a {{Gender Flip}}ped [=McCoy=]. But a ''Webcomic/TheHeroOfThreeFaces'' strip [[http://www.arthurkingoftimeandspace.com/3faces/bbol.htm revealed]] that a space arc riff on ''Film/StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan'' would have seen the death of [[spoiler: Merlin -- who in the ''Star Trek'' analogy is generally a permanent ''Series/DoctorWho'' crossover]] -- in Spock's role, with [[spoiler: Nimue]] as [=McCoy=]. (The other difference is that the death would have been permenant, because ''AKOTAS'' had already done a looser riff on ''Film/StarTrekIIITheSearchForSpock'', with the resurrected character being [[spoiler: Guenevere]]).

** In ''Manga/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'' manga, Sheik and Zelda are two different characters. [[spoiler:Zelda asked Impa to brainwash her, so her mind was inactive while [[MultiGenderedSplitPersonalities a "Sheik" persona]] took over.]] In the [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime game]], Sheik is just Zelda [[SweetPollyOliver in disguise]].

* ''Fanfic/ADiplomaticVisit'':
** In show canon, Queen Novo is queen of the hippogriffs of Mount Aris, who later had to transform into seaponies and move underwater to hide from the Storm King. In this fic's chapter 18, Celestia mentions Queen Novo and the queen of the hippogriffs as separate beings. Chapter 21 cements this when Luna identifies them both by name to Twilight -- Queen Novo is still queen of the seaponies of Seaquestria, while Queen Skydancer is ruler of the hippogriffs of Mount Aris (the first sequel would reveal that they still had to transform into seaponies and move underwater, becoming a part of Queen Novo's kingdom, with Queen Skydancer giving her life to hold off their attackers).
** In chapter 5 of the third sequel, ''The Diplomat's Life'', when talking about Starswirl's allies, Celestia mentions that their Mage Meadowbrook, an Earth Pony and herbalist, is a different individual from the Mage Meadowbrook who was an Eastern unicorn known for her eight enchanted artifacts.
* The Franchise/MarvelUniverse[=/=]''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'' crossover ''Fanfic/RemnantsMightiestHeroes'' sees Kang the Conqueror take [[spoiler:Adam Taurus's role as the one who cut off Yang's arm]], but chapter 12 does confirm [[spoiler:Adam]] exists.
* ''Fanfic/RemnantInferisDoom'': ''VideoGame/DoomEternal'' reveals Doomguy and Doom Slayer are the same person. In the fic, Doom Slayer is Doomguy's son.
* In "[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14114693/1/Gargoyles-and-Turtles-Unsung-Defenders Gargoyles and Turtles: Unsung Defenders]]", as part of the fic involves a mix of features from various ''Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'' adaptations, Ch’rell and the Shredder are colleagues; in [[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2003 the 2003 series]], Shredder and Ch’rell were the same person, with ‘Shredder’ being a robot suit controlled by Ch’rell.

* In ''Fanfic/WhereTalentGoesOnVacation'', both Himeno Himemiya and Tatsuki Tachibana adopt traits of [[VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair Fuyuhiko Kuzuryuu]]. Himemiya has a close relationship with her {{Childhood Friend|s}} and servant Kanae Tsukimura, not unlike Fuyuhiko's relationship with Peko. As for Tatsuki, [[spoiler:both she and Fuyuhiko commit a murder for the sake of their sister, which eventually results in them losing the person they care about most]].
* In ''Fanfic/{{Lady Fairy|IDontKnowWhatsGoingOnEither}}'', because the villain of the story possesses the Peacock Miraculous while Marinette uses the Butterfly Miraculous for good, the various Akumatized villains are instead sentimonsters while their canon-selves are selected to be the Champions meant to stop them. While Stone Heart is the first sentimonster to wreak havoc in Paris, Lady Fairy turns Ivan into Stone Warrior to fight him. Riposte is a sentimonster while Ryuko ([[AdaptationalContextChange being a product of the Butterfly Miraculous instead of the Dragon Miraculous]]) is the champion meant to stop her.

* In the ''Anime/LoveLive''/''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventure'' crossover ''Fanfic/HonokasBizarreAdventure'', many of [[Manga/DiamondIsUnbreakable Josuke Higashikata's]] traits are split among some of the girls of µ's.
** Honoka takes Josuke's role as the main protagonist and his starting fight against a criminal Stand User.
** Josuke's status as a HeroicBastard is also shared between Hanayo and Kotori. Kotori, in particular, taking the role of TheMedic [[spoiler:and being the child of a previous Jojo character]].

* A much more literal example in ''Fanfic/SixesAndSevens'': Agent Axis from the comics was a villain ''literally'' fused together from a German (Berthold Volker), an Italian (Aldo Malvagio), and a Japanese man (Hiroyuki Kanegawa). Here the first two are individual characters, and [[spoiler: their deaths would make Agent Axis' creation seem unlikely]]. Kanegawa hasn't made an appearance, though that's understandable since the fic focuses on the European front.
* ''Webcomic/{{Springaling}}'': Due to the comic not having {{retcon}}s about the origins of characters that take later ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys'' games into account, the Fazbear Entertaiment employee who murdered several children and ultimately became Springtrap is a separate person from [[spoiler:the Afton Robotics employee who designed the Funtime animatronics]].
* In ''Fanfic/WhatIfTheYeerksWereTheGoodGuys'', Edriss 562 was one of the cruellest and highest-ranking Yeerks back when they had an empire, but Eva is infested by a different [[DeadGuyJunior Edriss]].

* In "Fanfic/WhatIfTomWasNeverAController", Tom's role in the first ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' book (host of Temrash 114, who tries to lure the Animorphs into the Sharing at the beach party) is given to a random cheerleader.
* ''Fanfic/QueensOfMewni'': The character design for who in canon is Crescenta the Eager was given to an original character named Solena the Smitten, while Crescenta has a different character design altogher. To be fair, this was before canon established the bunny-cheeked ballerina queen was Crescenta, so blame OutdatedByCanon for this one.
* ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/34988074/chapters/87137299 The Miraculous Tales of Consistent Narrative and Characterization]]'': Two of Ladybug's canon roles are handed to different characters. Her ability to purify the akumas is handed to Chat Noir (described as an extension of his Destruction powers) while her role as the Guardian goes to Viperion.

** DecompositeCharacter/MarvelUniverse
*** DecompositeCharacter/MarvelCinematicUniverse

* ''Fanfic/AbraxasHrodvitnon'': Keizer Ghidorah exists as a separate creature from [[AdaptationalHeroism Monster X]] instead of being Monster X's OneWingedAngel form as in ''Film/GodzillaKingOfTheMonsters2019''.
* ''Fanfic/AshAndSerenasAtomicOdyssey'': In ''VideoGame/PokemonUranium'', the character Kellyn is supposed to be an adult version of the player character from ''[[VideoGame/PokemonRanger Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia]]'', who also appears in the main anime series. In this story, Anime!Kellyn is the eldest son of ''Uranium''!Kellyn, making him the older brother of Vitor and Natalie (the player characters in ''Uranium'').
* ''Fanfic/AvatarTheLastAlicorn'': The roles of Jet, Mai and Katara are all split up, sometimes even among the same character.
** Prince Blueblood represents Jet pre-season 2 in being antagonistic to team avatar despite sharing similar goals at first. However, he then takes on the role of Mai, in being the "prince zuko" of the fic's {{Love Interest|s}}.
** "Flowerbloom" represents Mai's combat skills, and being one of the Azula's best friends.
** Suri takes on Jet's obsessive pursuit of water benders when in Ba Sing Se.
** Rainbow Dash has Katara's combat prowess and fierce temper.
** Fluttershy meanwhile has Katara's healing abilities, and motherly personality.
* ''Fanfic/AlternateTailSeries'': Mira's role as a barmaid and model was passed to her sister Lisanna while she maintained her Satan Soul magic.
* ''WebVideo/{{Banditale}}'': Gaster's role in ''Undertale's'' story is split between two characters in Banditale; Dr. Neo Cortex plays the "former Royal Scientist" part, whilst Grimly plays the "character that's wiped from existence" part.
* ''Fanfic/BlazBlueAlternativeRemnant'': Ragna in the main series was the same person as Bloodedge due to being sent back to the events of the Dark War via time travel. Here, he was never Bloodedge. Instead, [[spoiler:Ozpin was Bloodedge]].
* In ''Fanfic/{{Connieswap}}'', a ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' AU in which Jasper, Lapis Lazuli, Peridot and Connie are the Crystal Gems, Steven's mom is obviously not Rose Quartz, but Mary Universe. Despite this, Mary still has some aspects of Rose in her design, name (''[[MeaningfulName Rose]]''mary) and personality. Rose Quartz meanwhile, though she has yet to make a full appearance, was a member of the Gems [[spoiler: and apparently a traitor]].
* ''Fanfic/{{Daemorphing}}'': Loren's HandyHelper is her daemon, Jaxom, instead of Champ, who's now a regular dog owned by the Chee.
* ''Fanfic/ADevilsDiamond'': Koichi Hirose is AdaptedOut. As such, his role in ''Manga/DiamondIsUnbreakable'' is split among different characters.
** Issei takes the role of Josuke's close friend, the two being ChildhoodFriends rather than newly introduced when the story begins like Koichi was.
** Asia takes the role of Rohan's disciple, Rohan being Asia's contract.
** Gasper takes the role of being both the softer counterpart to Jotaro and [[spoiler:Yukako's target of affections.]]
* ''Fanfic/EmpathTheLuckiestSmurf'':
** Clumsy and Dimwitty appear as separate characters, whereas in the comic books Dimwitty and Clumsy are assumed to be one and the same.
** Tracker and Tapper have characteristics from the adult Nat Smurf divvied up between the two of them since Nat Smurf in the series does not appear as anything but a Smurfling from Smurfling Island.

%%* ''Fanfic/TheFourthSimpsonChild'', a ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' AU, splits Lisa's role in the series with the OC Samantha (her older sister and the titular character). This is done so that the two could serve as {{Foil}}s of each other. Both are quite intelligent young girls, but Lisa lets that go to her head, making her an arrogant JerkAss, whilst Samantha is a WideEyedIdealist who is genuinely kind to everyone she meets.
* ''Fanfic/TangledInTime'': [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker Tetra]] and [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Sheik]] are alternate identities used by Zelda in canon, but they are now three separate characters and are each other's siblings.
* ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/5739975/1/A_Trail_a_Mile_Wide A Trail a Mile Wide]]'': Spock's role in "Music/BannedFromArgo" is split between two characters -- Thane is the one who almost (but not quite) gets slipped an aphrodisiac, while Joker is the one who teaches the ship's AI how to swear.

* Weirdly common in ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'' fanfics, where "Danny" and "Phantom" will inexplicably be presented as two separate characters. To be fair, there was an episode [[LiteralSplitPersonality where this happened]], but in fanfic it's just presented as a permanent fact, and the two sides generally don't have the personalities from that episode. Also, in fanfic, these two [[ScrewYourself are usually paired together]].
* ''[[Fanfic/StarWarsVsWarhammer40K Star Wars vs Warhammer 40K]]'': [[spoiler:The difference in characterization between the [[WesternAnimation/StarWarsCloneWars 2003 version]] and [[WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars 2008 version]] of General Grievous is explained as them being two different people; the 2003 version is the original and true Grievous, whilst the 2008 version is an inferior fake whom Palpatine and Dooku installed in the former's place when they deemed he was becoming too hard to control.]]

* In ''Fanfic/PokemonResetBloodlines'', Ash's "Ashley" disguise from canon is turned into a real person, a waitress who looks a lot like it except older. [[spoiler: And given the hints so far, they might be half-siblings.]]

* In ''Webcomic/DisneyHighSchool,'' Vanessa is the school's AlphaBitch while Ursula is her mother.
* ''Fanfic/Earth27'': While in the comics the Crimson Fox was an identity shared by Vivian and Constance D'Aramis, here each sister has their own secret identity.

* The ''WesternAnimation/MeetTheRobinsons'' fic ''The Future Child, Today'' has the premise that Wilbur isn't actually from the future, though he's mentally unwell enough to believe that he is. Removing the TimeTravel element means that [[BigBad Bowler Hat Guy]] is no longer the future version of [[spoiler:Goob]], while he takes on Lewis' role as [[spoiler:Wilbur's father]].
* In ''Fanfic/MikesNewGhostlyFamily'', Glitchtrap and [[Characters/FiveNightsAtFreddysWilliamAfton William Afton]] are separate entities, the former being the latter's SoulFragment given form, as opposed to being the same character per canon, with Glitchtrap being [[HauntedTechnology Afton's ghost possessing the VR game]].

* ''Fanfic/CodeGeassPaladinsOfVoltron'': A few, since there are now seven Paladins instead of five.
** Shirley and Milly take traits from Hunk, with Shirley being the one who goes to the Balmera and finds her lion on a Galra mining colony, while Milly is the one to inherit Hunk's cooking and mechanical skills.
** Lelouch and Rai are a decomposite of Shiro, with the former having Shiro's position of the Black Paladin and the latter being the one who was kidnapped by the Galra.

* Some ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' human AU fanfics make Garnet into Ruby and Sapphire's daughter instead of their fusion.

* ''Fanfic/HuntersOfJustice'':
** Instead of using one of ComicBook/WonderGirl's many origins, the writers instead just gave her Characters/{{Wonder Woman|TheCharacter}}'s {{golem}} origin and just gave Diana herself her ComicBook/New52[=/=]Franchise/DCExtendedUniverse origin as Zeus's daughter.
** A non-canon short story based on ''ComicBook/BatmanLastKnightOnEarth'' makes [[spoiler:[[WebAnimation/{{RWBY}} Ruby Rose]] into [[FallenHero Omega]] instead of Batman.]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* ''Series/AroundTheWorldIn80Days2021'': Detective Fix from the original novel has been split into Abigail Fix, who inherited his name and main character status, and Thomas Kneedling, a much less sympathetic Dirty Cop who knows that Fogg isn't actually a criminal.
* ''Series/{{Beetleborgs}}'':
** Jagul, the {{Evil Sorcere|r}}ss from ''Series/JuukouBFighter'' who created [[EvilTwin Black Beet]], was used [[ShesAManInJapan as the male monster]] Hypnomaniac in ''Big Bad Beetleborgs''. Her [[OneWingedAngel ultimate form]] was later used as the separate monster, Borgslayer. Her role as [[DubNameChange Shadowborg's]] creator was given to Vexor.
** Similarly, Mother Melzard (the BigBad of ''Series/BFighterKabuto'') was divided into multiple roles in ''Beetleborgs Metallix''. Her role as overall leader of the villains was taken by Nukus, while her first form was used as the Monster Mother (first appearing as a fictional character in Les Fortunes' "Brainsucker Comics", and later appearing in the real world as a creation of Dr. Frankenbeans). Her ultimate form of Jadow Mothera became Repgillian, the last monster faced in the series.
* ''Series/TheBoys2019'':
** CorruptCorporateExecutive James Stillwell in the [[ComicBook/TheBoys original comic]] was split into Madelyn Stillwell who had his surname, and Stan Edgar who kept his [[DissonantSerenity personality]] and status.
** In the comic, Joseph Vogelbaum was a former Nazi who invented the SuperSerum and defected to the Allies. In the show there's Joseph Vogelbaum who created Homelander, and Frederick Vought who invented the serum before that [[AdaptationalVillainy and was a loyal Nazi]].
* On ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' both Xander and Angel have characteristics in common with Pike, a character from [[Film/BuffyTheVampireSlayer the movie]].
* On ''Series/ChillingAdventuresOfSabrina'':
** Salem's role and backstory from the [[Series/SabrinaTheTeenageWitch 90s sitcom]] was split into two characters, Salem the cat, and Ambrose Spellman, Sabrina's cousin. Ambrose takes on Salem's role as Sabrina's confidant, and his background as a warlock being punished for breaking the rules of the magic world. Salem the actual cat has been downgraded from a warlock to a goblin who has taken the role of a {{familiar}}.
** Sabrina typically had one best friend in addition to her romance with Harvey. The series gives her two in Rosalind and Susie, each giving them qualities from her various friends in the sitcom and AnimatedAdaptation. Rosalind is a SoapboxSadie like Jenny (and technically Roxie from the college seasons) and [[spoiler: develops supernatural powers]] like Dreama. Susie is unpopular and awkward like Valerie, and androgynous like Pi from the animated series. Both girls eventually become [[spoiler: Sabrina's SecretKeeper]] like Chloe from the animated series.
** Sabrina's AlphaBitch rival in the sitcom was Libby, and Gem in the animated series. Here she now has to contend with a trio of evil witches called the Weird Sisters. While Libby and Gem had a GirlPosse, the Weird Sisters are more developed characters.
* Naomi Misora does not appear in the ''Series/DeathNote'' live-action drama, but her role in the plot is split between two other characters. Her role as Raye Penber's fiancee is given to a CanonForeigner named Cathy Campbell, while Shoko Himura ([[spoiler:AKA [[CanonCharacterAllAlong Halle Lidner]]]]) looks a lot like Naomi and has her background as a former FBI agent and L's ally.
* In ''Series/Dracula2020'', [[Literature/{{Dracula}} Abraham Van Helsing]] is split into two different characters, [[spoiler:Agatha and Zoe]].
* ''Series/{{Elementary}}'':
** This series has a CompositeCharacter who combines Irene Adler with Moriarty. But all of Moriarty's traditional characteristics were given to another character who took over Moriarty's criminal empire in her absence. This character, who is a professor, is someone the audience would recognize as Prof. James Moriarty in all but name.
** The BigBad of the final season, Odin Reichenbach, also has Moriarty elements; his name is a reference to Reichenbach Falls, he mentions his field of study was mathematics, and [[spoiler: Sherlock uses their final encounter to fake his death, leading to the series' version of the Great Hiatus]].
** In many versions Mycroft Holmes has the ability to pull strings and work behind the scene in politics to get things done, almost to the point of secretly running the world. In this series those qualities are given to Sherlock's father, Morland Holmes.
** The first season episode "M" introduced Sebastian Moran as a mercenary working for Moriarty. The GrandFinale, "Their Last Bow" is partly based on Colonel Moran's only appearance in the books, and splits his role between two characters: [[spoiler: Herman Zielenko is the card cheat who played with Ronald Adair, while Ellory from the season 6 episode "You've Come a Long Way, Baby" is the Moriarty lieutenant who killed him]].
* ''Series/FateTheWinxSaga'' the {{live action adaptation}} of ''WesternAnimation/WinxClub'':
** Terra effectively fills the same role in the show as the Winx fairy with Earth Magic, which Flora had in the original cartoon. However Flora is implied to exist in this continuity, as Terra mentions she has a cousin with that name.
** Sam takes over the role of love interest to Musa that Riven had in the cartoon, despite Riven also being a character on the show.
* ''Series/TheFlash2014'': Allegra Garcia has AdaptationalHeroism, introduced as a nonviolent criminal who quickly undergoes a HeelFaceTurn. Her ruthless and murderous comic book counterpart is closer to series-Allegra's cousin, Esperanza, who doesn't exist in the comics (although she's named after Allegra's adopted mother).
* Though ''Series/GameOfThrones'' usually goes the CompositeCharacter route, it has a few examples of this.
** Xaro Xhoan Daxos seems to have been split between the series Xaro, who was also given a RaceLift and became an AdaptationalBadass, and The Spice King, a TV-exclusive character who has the book Xaro's appearance and AmbiguouslyGay mannerisms.
** Likewise, Reek from the books has his traits split between [[spoiler:Ramsay Snow, his secret identity in the books after the real one was killed, known simply as "the boy" prior to TheReveal]] and Dagmer, an Ironborn who acts as Theon's NumberTwo when they invade Winterfell [[spoiler:who eventually betrays him]].
** Theon's lowborn bedmate Kyra is replaced by Ros in Season 1, Osha in "The Old Gods and the New", and Tansy in "The Lion and the Rose".
** Donal Noye's roles setting Jon straight when he first comes to Castle Black, leading the defense of Castle Black, and holding the gate against Mag the Mighty are divided between Tyrion, Alliser Thorne, and Grenn respectively.
** A Greyjoy mook handles the hounds during Theon's hunt in "A Man Without Honor" instead of Farlen the kennelmaster (who was shown standing up to Theon's occupation in "The Old Gods and the New").
* ''Series/{{Gotham}}'':
** The series's approach to [[Characters/BatmanTheJoker The Joker]] was to introduce a veritable smorgasbord of characters with his various personality traits, any of whom could potentially become him, including at least one who hints at a GenderFlip, to keep everyone guessing.
*** In the first episode we see a stammering comedian in Fish's nightclub, whose features are always hidden by a purple spotlight. This references (one of) Joker's origin(s) from ''ComicBook/TheKillingJoke''.
*** Later on, we meet the Red Hood Gang, yet another ''Killing Joke'' reference; since anyone who wears the Hood seems to be infected by the same persona, this emphasizes that virtually anyone could become the Clown Prince.
*** Jerome Valeska is a homicidal, grinning lunatic with a menacing laugh, making him a very obvious and probable candidate... but he dies in his second appearance. [[spoiler: After he's resurrected in Season 3, his horrifying, stitched-on face is a reference to the nigh-supernatural serial killer Joker from the New 52 comics.]]\\\
[[spoiler: Jerome's brother Jeremiah is initially introduced as a GoodCounterpart, although Jerome himself disputes this. In any case, after his FaceHeelTurn he takes on more of the classical Joker appearance and his assistant Echo becomes distinctly Harley-like. He's also got more of the Joker's scientific ability.]]
** Jerome's legions of fans seem to be inspired by the Jokerz from ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'' (or several comparable groups from the comics). However, a point is made that any of them could eventually be Joker as well.
*** Sonny Gilzean takes an instant disliking to Bruce, whom he beats down while giggling hysterically, and the word Bruce chooses to insult him with is "clown".
*** Clyde the Fence is also a disturbingly cheerful guy and his henchmen wear logos that resemble Harley Quinn.
** ''Gotham'' does this as well with Sal Maroni by [[spoiler:subjecting him to a type 2 of DeathByAdaptation, killing him off before Bruce Wayne ever becomes Batman, meaning that someone else will take his role as the man who makes Harvey Dent Two-Face]].
* In the ''Series/{{Grimm}}'' take on ''Literature/PeterPan'', which has the Lost Boys as a group of homeless Wesen kids who kidnap women to be their mother, there are three Wendys: the previous "mother", who dies in the first scene and is actually named Wendy; Rosalee, who they kidnap to replace her; and their "sister" Lily (despite being named after Tiger Lily), an ill girl the boys attempt to treat with a vague understanding of how herbal tea works.
* A French MadeForTVMovie distant adaptation of Creator/AgathaChristie's ''[[Literature/HerculePoirot Hercule Poirot's Christmas]]'' split the [[spoiler:illegitimate son]] killer into two characters and introduced one early, to keep a bit of mystery for those who had read the original material.
* In ''Series/TheHollowCrown'', the Duke of Aumerle in ''Richard II'' and the Duke of York in ''Henry V'' are based on the same historical character, but are portrayed on screen as quite different people.
* ''Series/HouseOfCardsUS'''s Christina and Rachel are decomposites of the original series' Penny. Penny is the personal assistant and lover of Roger O'Neill, Peter Russo's original series counterpart, as is Christina to Russo. In the original series, Francis Urquhart pressures O'Neill into getting Penny to sleep with the Foreign Secretary. In the US series, Frank Underwood undertakes a similar gambit (to a different end), but as his target is Russo himself, it wouldn't have made sense to use Christina, and so the prostitute Rachel serves this purpose instead.
* In the MadeForTVMovie ''[[Series/TheIncredibleHulk1977 The Incredible Hulk Returns]]'' [[Characters/TheMightyThorThorOdinson Thor]] appears; but instead of Don Blake [[SharingABody turning into Thor]], Blake and Thor are separate characters. Blake calls upon Odin while holding Thor's warhammer and Thor magically appears. Presumably in the spinoff series that never happened, [[WunzaPlot one's a doctor, one's a Norse God and they fight crime]].
* In ''ComicBook/JupitersLegacy'', Blackstar was a villain that required both the Union and several other superheroes to defeat him in a fight that happened in the first issue. The same battle is featured in the first episode of [[Series/JupitersLegacy the tv adaptation]], climaxing with Brandon killing Blackstar, only for it to later be revealed as a clone with the real Blackstar still locked up in the Supermax prison.
* ''Franchise/KamenRider'':
** Originally, in ''Series/KamenRiderBlackRX'', General Jark assumed a OneWingedAngel form named Jark Midler. In ''Series/MaskedRider'', Jark Midler becomes Dregonator, an evil(er) clone of Count Dregon, to the point that both characters appear together in original footage.
** In ''Series/KamenRiderDragonKnight'', we have Kit as Dragon Knight (aka Ryuki, main Rider Shinji's shiny suit in the original ''Series/KamenRiderRyuki'' version) until his disloyal alternate self takes over after his DisneyDeath. After his return, Kit becomes Onyx (aka Ryuga, evil alternate Shinji's shiny suit.) However, we first saw Onyx in a dream of Kit's involving him taking Xaviax's lure. This means Dragon Knight is a composite of Ryuki and Ryuga, but Onyx is splitting Ryuga into two guys. So this is a [[PlayingWithATrope composite and decomposed character]].
** Since Kotaro Minami is the only Franchise/KamenRider to star in two different shows (''Series/KamenRiderBlack'' and ''Series/KamenRiderBlackRX''), team-ups and anniversary specials usually split him into two separate characters. For instance, ''Series/KamenRiderDecade'' used dimension-hopping to have Kotaro team up with a MirrorUniverse version of himself who never adopted the Black RX identity, allowing both Riders to appear simultaneously.
* ''Series/TheKilling'': In ''Series/{{Forbrydelsen}}'', the Season 1 killer is [[spoiler:Vagn, Theis's best friend]] and a sadistic serial killer who is suspected via a significant photograph to have been killing for decades. Maybe. While this character is in the remake, as a sad-sack loner, but [[spoiler:isn't the killer.]] The sexual sadism, unfound victims, and significant photograph are given to the Season 3 BigBad, the Pied Piper.
* ''Series/LoisAndClark'':
** Winslow Schott appears in one episode, but he doesn't use the codename "Toyman". It's instead used by a villain of a later episode.
** In the comics, the Prankster is Oswald Loomis. In this series, the Prankster is Kyle Griffin. Randall Loomis is introduced as a suspect.
** In the comics, Lex Luthor the Second is the original Lex Luthor using a new body to cheat death and posing as his own son to keep running [=LexCorp=]. In this series, Lex Junior is really his son.
* ''Series/Merlin2008'':
** The sorceress who Merlin taught in mythology had many names, the most popular of which were Nimue and Vivian. In the series, Nimueh is the antagonist of the first season while Vivian is the mother of Morgana and Morgause. There's also [[OneSteveLimit another Vivian]] -- this one a princess who is a potential suitor for Arthur.
** In some myths, Nimue/Vivian is also the Lady of the Lake. In the series the Lady of the Lake is an unrelated character called Freya.
* ''Series/{{Nikita}}'' does this with its main character, creating a new character, Alex, in order to simultaneously tell the traditional ''Film/{{Nikita}}'' story of the woman who is kidnapped by a government organization and made into an assassin, and the story of what happens after that woman escapes and turns against her former masters. Alex is the rookie assassin working inside the organization, while Nikita herself is the veteran one fighting against it.
* ''Series/OnceUponATime'':
** ''Once Upon a Time'' is more known for its {{composite character}}s, however it decomposites Literature/PeterPan into three characters: [[spoiler: Rumpelstiltskin cut off Hook's hand and doubles as the crocodile, his son Baelfire wound up in Kensington Gardens and befriended the Darling family, and his father Malcolm became the actual Peter Pan]]. The Shadow is also a separate entity from Pan that actually originates in Neverland.
** In season 4, an interesting case happens: it features Elsa from ''WesternAnimation/Frozen2013'', who was based on the titular character from the novel ''Literature/TheSnowQueen''. However, the Snow Queen of the novel also appears, as Elsa's aunt.
** Ursula. Her role as an antagonist for [[WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid1989 Ariel]] is given to Regina when she impersonates the goddess Ursula, while her actual backstory is a lot like Ariel's.
** Briar Rose is Aurora's mother, and Maleficent tried the Sleeping Beauty curse twice, both of which have different aspects of [[WesternAnimation/SleepingBeauty the animated version]]. It was Briar Rose's prince who Maleficent threatened in dragon form, but Aurora's prince is called Philip. (GeniusBonus: In the Perrault tale, Aurore is the daughter of the unnamed Sleeping Beauty.)
** Within Arthurian mythology, Nimue is often the Lady of the Lake as well. In the show Nimue was Merlin's former lover, and the first Dark One. The Lady of the Lake is Lancelot's mother.
** In the soft reboot Season 7, Tiana from ''WesternAnimation/ThePrincessAndTheFrog'' isn't the [[ForcedTransformation amphibianised]] true love of Robert, Literature/TheFrogPrince (because [[spoiler: Robert and his true love are actually frogs, and Robert was transformed into a human]]). Naveen appears as a separate character from Robert as well.
* ''Series/TheOrville'', befitting it's nature as a SpiritualSuccessor to ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' and the three series set during the ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' era, takes the Klingon species and splits their role in Star Trek into two separate species.
** The Krill hold the 1960's Cold War metaphor of "deadly enemy right next door" element.
** The Moclan take the ProudWarriorRaceGuy aspect, as well as the ''Series/DeepSpaceNine'' side where the Klingon Empire is an ally to the Federation.
* The Franchise/PowerRangers franchise provide many examples:
** ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'':
*** The normal version of ''[[Series/KyoryuSentaiZyuranger Zyuranger]]'''s [[MonsterOfTheWeek Dora Franke]] became FrankensteinsMonster, while his second and third forms Zombie Franke and Satan Franke became two different forms of the same character, Mutitus.
*** Dai Satan's role in split as his Sentai footage goes to Lokar, who's another lackey of Rita, and CanonForeigner Lord Zedd taking over Dai Satan's role as Rita/Witch Bandora's boss. Franchise-wide, while Zedd also has Emperor Gorma XV's role as the boss of the ''Dairanger'' monsters, the Gorma costume was used for ''Wild Force''[='=]s Master Org.
*** Col. Shadam, [[spoiler:the true BigBad]] of ''Dairanger'', also had his role taken by Lord Zedd, while his masked form became Mondo the Magician.
*** The normal form of Dairanger's Kabuki Novice became Bookala and [[EvilTwin Evil Bookala]], while his machine form became a separate MonsterOfTheWeek, Weldo.
*** The third season initially had the Power Rangers use the robots from ''Series/NinjaSentaiKakuranger'', but not the actual Sentai costumes. Instead, the ''Kakuranger'' costumes would be worn by the Aquitar Rangers during the ''Mighty Morphin' Alien Rangers'' mini-series.
*** While Zordon is a mush-up of [[Series/KyoryuSentaiZyuranger Barza the Wizard, Daizyuzin]], [[Series/GoseiSentaiDairanger Master Kaku]], [[Series/NinjaSentaiKakuranger Sandayū Momochi]], [[Series/ChourikiSentaiOhranger Chief Naoyuki Miura]], [[Series/GekisouSentaiCarranger Dappu]], and [[Series/DenjiSentaiMegaranger Professor Kubota]], Daizyuzin's sentai footage was used for the original Megazord and Zordon ends up sharing the roles of Dappu and Kubota with [[Series/PowerRangersTurbo Dimitria]] and [[Series/PowerRangersInSpace Andros]] respectively.
** ''[[Series/PowerRangersZeo Zeo]]'': Prince Buldont of ''[[Series/ChourikiSentaiOhranger Ohranger]]'', who [[PlotRelevantAgeUp later grew into an older form]], Kaiser Buldont, became the brothers Prince Sprocket (younger) and Prince Gasket (older).
** ''Series/PowerRangersTurbo'' famously put most of the Rangers [[PutOnABus On A Bus]] partway through the series, and then replaced them with a group of new characters. This meant that four of the five core heroes from ''Series/GekisouSentaiCarranger'' were split into two counterparts each: Kyousuke/Red Racer into Tommy and T.J., Youko/Pink Racer into Kat and Cassie, Minoru/Green Racer into Adam and Carlos, and Natsumi/Yellow Racer into Tanya and Ashley.
** The conversion of ''[[Series/SeijuuSentaiGingaman Gingaman]]'' to ''[[Series/PowerRangersLostGalaxy Lost Galaxy]]''.
*** The BigBad Captain Zahab was split off into Scorpius and his more direct counterpart, Captain Mutiny.
*** Sanbash, the first enemy general, had his role taken by Furio, who was portrayed by the costume of [[Series/DenjiSentaiMegaranger Dr. Hinelar's]] final form. Sanbash's costume, not available at the time, was later used for a new character named Villamax.
*** Illies, the third enemy general, was adapted late into the season as filler villain Hexuba. Her successful plot against her predecessor, Budoh, was used by Trakeena, who otherwise filled Steerwoman Shelinda's role.
*** [[spoiler: In ''Gingaman'', Saya is the only Pink Ranger during its run. Since Kendrix "[[DisneyDeath dies]]" during the middle of the show, a reformed [[Series/PowerRangersInSpace Karone]] took her place from then on.]]
** In the conversion of [[Series/RescueSentaiGoGoFive GoGoFive]] to [[Series/PowerRangersLightspeedRescue Lightspeed Rescue]], Dr. Mondo Tatsumi (TeamDad, creator of the team's technology) was split into Captain Mitchell and Dr. Fairweather.
** Twice when converting ''[[Series/MiraiSentaiTimeranger Timeranger]]'' to ''[[Series/PowerRangersTimeForce Time Force]]''. The costume of BigBad Don Dolnero was used for comic relief character Gluto, and the BigBad with some of Dolnero's role was original-design Ransik. Meanwhile, the Rangers' commanding officer Captain Ryuya was split into Captain Logan and, more directly, Alex.
** ''[[Series/PowerRangersNinjaStorm Ninja Storm's]]'' Motodrone: he's based off the adult form of ''[[Series/NinpuuSentaiHurricaneger Manmaruba]]'', while Eyezak, a MonsterOfTheWeek he used, is actually Manmaruba's OneWingedAngel form.
** ''[[Series/PowerRangersDinoThunder Dino Thunder]]'': Due to Trent turning good far sooner than [[Series/BakuryuuSentaiAbaranger Mikoto]] did, Abare Killer's remaining stint as a bad guy was fulfilled by a White Ranger clone.
*** Dezumozorlya, the BigBad of Abaranger, is replaced by Mesogog as the main villain, but all four of its forms are used seperately:
*** Dezumorijewel: Fridgia, a MonsterOfTheWeek.
*** Dezumovoorla: An unnamed MonsterOfTheWeek.
*** Dezumogevirus: Zeltrax's megazord.
*** Dezumovangelus: Zeltrax's powered up form.
** ''[[Series/PowerRangersJungleFury Jungle Fury]]'': Long, the ultimate BigBad of [[Series/JukenSentaiGekiranger Gekiranger]], was split into Dai Shi (inheriting his BigBad status and OneWingedAngel form) and General Scorch (inheriting his Phantom Beast form and TreacherousAdvisor status). Dai Shi possesses Jarod so in a way Long's Power Ranger counterpart is also Jarod who is also Rio's counterpart.
** ''Series/PowerRangersDinoCharge'':
*** New Sorrowful Knight Icerondo became lawyer-themed Scumlaw, while his cloak-and-mask disguised form became music-themed Conductro.
*** In Kyoryuger, [[TheMentor Torin]] is Kyoryu Silver, who passes his powers to Dantetsu Kiryu after allowing the latter [[spoiler:to kill him]]. In Dino Charge, Keeper is TheMentor while Torin's design and Silver Ranger role was used for Zenowing. Meanwhile, Dantetsu's counterpart James Navarro becomes the Aqua Ranger instead.
*** Chaos keeps the BigBad role of Kyoryuger until his SealedEvilInACan boss appears in the closing two or three episodes. Dino Charge gives the BigBad role to Sledge (leading the villains that were Chaos's in sentai), Heckyl and Snide (taking over after Sledge's death [[spoiler: which doesn't stick]]), and then Sledge's [[spoiler: superior, Lord Arcanon, who has Chaos's appearance and two later-appearing generals, eventually ousting Heckyl and Snide and running the existing crew as well]], and finally [[spoiler: back to Sledge, once he returns and uses an ArtifactOfDoom to take back his crew and wipe out Arcanon's.]]
** ''Series/PowerRangersNinjaSteel'':
*** [[Series/ShurikenSentaiNinninger Ninninger's]] [[TheDragon Kyuemon Izayoi]] was used design-wise as Madame Odious; [[ShesAManInJapan her]] role of [[MakeMyMonsterGrow up-sizing the monsters]] and summoning the [[GiantMook Giant Mooks]] fell to Cosmo Royale, whose costume is a HeadSwap of [[Series/ResshaSentaiToQger the previous Sentai's]] Baron Nero.
*** ''Ninninger's'' first MonsterOfTheWeek, {{Youkai}} Kamaitachi, appeared as two identical monsters in ''Ninja Steel'', Ripperrat and Trapsaw.
** In the [[Series/KyoryuSentaiZyuranger first]] [[Series/BakuryuuSentaiAbaranger two]] Dinosaur-themed [[Franchise/SuperSentai Sentai]] series, the SixthRanger would be evil. However, when the third Dinosaur themed sentai, ''Series/ZyudenSentaiKyoryuger'', aired, it ended up splitting the character into two -- while the team still did get a SixthRanger, Kyoryu Gold, who represented the two at their most heroic, the villainous aspects went to a movie-exclusive ranger, Deathryuger.
* ''Series/{{Reacher}}'':
** Dawson Kliner isn't in the book and has some but not all of his cousin KJ's personality traits and [[spoiler:role as the head of the hit squad and the man who kicked Joe's dead body]].
** In the book, the corrupt guard Spivey is also responsible for moving Reacher and Hubble back to the general population of the prison after his effort to get them killed fails (while seeking to cover up his crime). In the show, a second (seemingly honest) guard does that.
* The titular hero from ''Series/ReturnOfUltraman'' was originally written to be the same Ultraman from the [[Series/{{Ultraman}} 1966 series]], but due to mixed reception, a {{retcon}} was introduced in Episode 18 that established him to be a separate Ultrabeing. In 1984 he was officially dubbed Ultraman Jack to distinguish from the original Ultraman.
* ''Series/RobinOfSherwood'' accounts for the diverse/contradictory characterizations of RobinHood through a combination of this trope and SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute. The initial Robin on the show, Robin of Loxley, covers the "oppressed Saxons fighting against the Normans"/traditional English myth part of the story, and after this death, he is replaced by Robert of Huntington, who fits the characterization of Robin Hood as a nobleman of Norman ancestry who sympathizes with and defends the poor.
* The 1979 ''Literature/SalemsLot'' mini-series gives much of Kurt Barlow's dialogue to [[TheRenfield Straker]], since this version of Barlow is TheSpeechless.
* Raphael Santiago's role in [[spoiler:Simon's vampirism]] in ''Literature/CityOfAshes'' is largely given to Camille Belcourt on ''Series/{{Shadowhunters}}'' despite Raphael still existing as a separate character.
* ''Series/{{Sherlock}}'' is another Sherlock Holmes adaptation that spreads Professor Moriarty around a bit (arguably because all ''good'' Sherlock Holmes enemies seem a bit like Moriarty).
** The most obvious: Jim Moriarty. Sherlock's intellectual equal, but puts his efforts into pulling off crimes, and his rivalry with Holmes culminates in the series' equivalent of the Reichenbach incident. He is (or poses as) a children's show host, a reference to the literary Moriarty's day job as a teacher.
** Charles Augustus Magnussen, although based on a character from another Holmes story, has a bit of Moriarty in him. He is "the Napoleon" of his own special kind of crime but enjoys an unassailable position. John Watson had never heard of him and had no evidence of his crimes in his debut episode. His appearance also cleaves a bit closer to the description in the books.
** Eurus [[spoiler: Holmes]] as well, to a degree. She knew the aforementioned Jim personally and "introduces" herself with viral ads hinting that he's returned.
** More puzzlingly, Sherlock's mother has the literary Moriarty's mathematics career and has written a book with "The Dynamics of" in the title. She's not a criminal mastermind or anything, so far as we know, so it's more a MythologyGag than anything.
* ''Series/{{Smallville}}'':
** When the creators made the controversial decision to [[DeathByAdaptation kill off]] [[Characters/SupermanJimmyOlsen Jimmy Olsen]] in the Season 8 finale, they performed a last second {{Retcon}} that established that "Jimmy" had actually been named Henry James Olsen, and that the ''real'' Jimmy (the one who would later grow up to be a Daily Planet employee and Superman's pal) was actually his little brother.
** There were also two separate, completely unrelated versions of Professor Hamilton from the comics. The first was a middle-aged African-American scientist, while the second was a young, AmbiguouslyBrown guy who joined the cast in the later seasons.
* When ''Theatre/{{Hamlet}}'' was adapted into ''Series/{{Sons of Anarchy}}'', Ophelia was split into Tara, the old flame of the Hamlet-analogue, and Opie, the son of the Polonius-analogue who is the Hamlet-analogue's best friend and has a name based on Ophelia's. Interestingly, this also makes Opie a {{composite character}} since he also fills Horatio's role.
* In ''Series/SpartacusWarOfTheDamned'', the historical German RebelLeader Castus was divided into two characters; Agron, who took most of his characterizations sans name, and Castus, an InNameOnly character who is instead the SixthRanger to Spartacus' LaResistance. Ultimately, the latter [[DoomedByCanon suffered his namesake's fate]] ([[DeathByAdaptation albeit a little early]]), while the former was SparedByTheAdaptation.
* ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'':
** A common complaint about Captain Kirk from ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' was that he is the worlds worst captain, always leaving his post to go down to planets to risk his life and meet alien women. So when it came time for ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'', the part was split between Captain Picard the Patriarchal [[TheLeader Leader]] who stood on the Bridge, made decisions, and gave [[PatrickStewartSpeech passionate speeches]], and Commander Riker, who went down on mission and had Swashbuckling Adventures and macked on Alien Women.
** Data, Worf, and Troi all share Spock's persona from ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries''. Data is the emotionless logical thinker, Worf is the token alien who's sometimes torn between his loyalties to his Federation comrades and his own people, and Troi is the HalfHumanHybrid who often bickers with their same-sex/alien parent.
* ''Series/SupermanAndLois'': Superman's son from the comics, Jonathan Samuel Kent, is split into fraternal twins Jon and Jordan -- Jordan has the dark hair and powers, while Jon has much of [[TheAllAmericanBoy his comic-book counterpart's personality]]. Jordan overlaps with CanonForeigner.
* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'': Aspects of Myth/{{Lilith}}, the mythological mother of all demons, were given to two separate characters. In the show, Lilith is the first demon, the very first human corrupted by the Archangel Lucifer. Much later, we're introduced to Eve, the so-called "Mother of All Monsters," as she is the ancestor of all monsters in the series. She would have been called "Lilith," but [[OneSteveLimit that name was already taken]].
* ''Series/TinMan'':
** There are two characters who correspond to the Great and Powerful Oz in ''Literature/TheWonderfulWizardOfOz''. The Mystic Man is the humbug wizard and former ruler of the Central City, and [[spoiler:DG's father Ahamo]] is the guy with the hot air balloon and former co-ruler of the Outer Zone.
** Likewise, there are two characters who fill the role of the Wicked Witch. There's Azkadellia, a psychopathic sorceress who pursues the heroes in search of a magical MacGuffin, and [[spoiler: the original Wicked Witch]], a withered old woman with a soul of pure evil. Although it turns out that [[spoiler: Azkadellia is actually ''possessed'' by the spirit of the original Wicked Witch. The real Azkadellia is kind and pure of heart]].
* ''Series/UtopiaUS'': Milner and Dr Christie. In ''Series/{{Utopia}}'', [[spoiler:Dr Christie's closest counterpart -- Letts -- was a RedHerring for Mr Rabbit, while Milner is Mr Rabbit]]. However, in this version, Dr Christie is [[spoiler:Mr Rabbit, not Milner. However, Milner is still a traitor who's working with Mr Rabbit and captures Jessica Hyde, but Christie also survives the end of Season 1]].
* ''Series/TheWalkingDead'':
** Due to debuting much later than his comic counterpart, the role of Tyreese in the first two seasons was distributed to three different characters, namely; T-Dog (his CaptainErsatz), Shane (for his role as TheLancer and the LoveTriangle gone bad storyline) and Daryl (for his relationship with Carol [[spoiler: and later TheLancer after Shane's death]]). It's also worth noting that [[spoiler: Hershel Greene suffered his death in the comics [[SparedByTheAdaptation instead of him]]]].
** Speaking of which, a lot of Dale's characteristics as TeamDad and serving as a voice of reason to Rick were instead given to Hershel [[spoiler: due to Dale dying much earlier in the show than he did in the comic. Once Hershel himself finally dies (timely, this time), Bob picks up the remaining slack and suffers Dale's fate]].
** Hershel Greene only has one late wife in the comics. Here, he had two, with some of their children [[ZigZaggingTrope remixing]] their character relations to either of the late wives (those who weren't AdaptedOut, at least).
** Due to being InNameOnly characters, Allen and his son Ben's CharacterDevelopment are respectively given to Ryan Samuels and [[GenderFlip his daughter Lizzie]].
** Dr. Stevens from the comics was split into Dr. Stevens, a {{Gender Flip}}ped InNameOnly character, and Milton Mamet, his more direct counterpart.
** Much like Dale above, [[spoiler: Andrea dies, but unlike him, her comic counterpart is currently alive and well. Because of this, her characterizations were distributed to several characters; Carol becomes the group's resident badass sniper and LadyOfWar, Sasha picks up her character arc in Season 5 (the Fear the Hunters arc where Dale was supposed to die), and her best friend Michonne picks up her role as Rick's female [[TheLancer Lancer]], [[TheConfidant confidant]], and his SecondLove]].
** While Alice is physically AdaptedOut, her important character traits were distributed to both Andrea (as the wry Woodbury {{Elite Mook|s}}) and Milton (as the one who's interested in studying walkers). Since both have comic counterparts [[note]] Milton is basically a {{Gender Flip}}ped Dr. Stevens, who appeared as anInNameOnly character in the show. In turn, this also makes them another example of this trope. [[/note]], this makes her both a Decomposite ''and'' CompositeCharacter.
** The three Marauders in the comics became seven in the show. Since all of them were NamedByTheAdaptation, it's hard to determine if they really underwent this trope or the additional four are {{Canon Foreigner}}s.
** Ron Anderson from the comics was split into the brothers [[InNameOnly Ron]] (older) and Sam (younger). The older was given AdaptationalVillainy and becomes a nemesis to Carl, while the younger was given the character arc from the comics.
** A large number of the character traits of the Alexandria residents were split into ([[CompositeCharacter sometimes combined with]]) different characters.
* The ''Series/{{Westworld}}'' series has not two, but outright three characters that share traits with the [[Film/{{Westworld}} original film]]'s antagonist, the android known as The Gunslinger (played by Yul Brynner).
** Hector Escaton is the closest in terms of function. He's a tough, black-clad bandit, whose main purpose is to serve as an antagonist for guests interested in foiling the robberies he pulls off in Sweetwater and elsewhere. The Gunslinger's main role was challenging and provoking guests into gunfights with him.
** The Man in Black, who wears clothing highly reminiscent of the Gunslinger's outfit (a grey shirt, black hat, black waistcoat, black pants and black shoes) and shows signs of the macabre joviality exhibited by the Gunslinger at certain points in the film. [[spoiler:All the more strange, because he's actually ''a human guest'' who's grown obsessed with Westworld. He has a dark past intertwined with the park, and learning who he was and how he became who he is forms one of the main mysteries in the first season. The Man in Black also comes across Hector at least once, making this a case of decomposite characters meeting.]]
** Finally, also [[spoiler:''Dolores''. A Cavalry variant of the [[CoolGun Colt Single Action Army]], the sidearm of the Gunslinger in the film, is intertwined with the dark secrets of her past. It becomes her sidearm during her adventures, and once she (re)gains full consciousness and learns of her past, she continues to use it as the vengeful leader of a robot uprising against humans. Fittingly enough, it's ''her'', rather than the Man in Black, who exhibits the Gunslinger's signature steely-eyed, stoic DeathGlare. Dolores and the Man in Black [[FromNobodyToNightmare gradually develop]] from seemingly heroic characters (in their past) to some of the main antagonists of the series (in the present), all the while reflecting different aspects of the 70s film's antagonist they're inspired by]].
* ''Series/TheWire'': The RealLife Avon Barksdale's life of crime was so long and eventful that the writers had trouble fitting it all in. As such, many of the traits and acts perpetrated during his years as a juvenile offender were transferred to Bodie instead.
* ''Series/YoungSheldon'': On ''The Big Bang Theory'', Billy Sparks was mentioned as Sheldon's childhood bully. However, on this show, Billy is much more good-natured, whereas his sister Bobbi is the one who bullies Sheldon.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* As ''VideoGame/AgeOfEmpiresII'' expands its civilization roster, this has happened a few times.
** The ExpansionPack ''The Forgotten'' introduced the Slavs, who broadly represent the UsefulNotes/KievanRus and other cultures that surround them. The later expansion ''Dawn of the Dukes'' introduces the Bohemians and Poles as standalone civilizations, leaving the Slavs to represent just the Rus.
** ''The Forgotten'' also introduced the Indians, a civilization intended to represent all of India. This received some criticism that India is too ethnically and culturally diverse to be represented as a single entity, even in a game that is openly flexible with what each civilization is intended to represent. A later expansion, ''Dynasties of India'', addresses this by creating three new Indian civilizations, the Bengalis, Dravidians, and Gurjaras, while reworking the old Indian civilization into the Hindustanis.
** ''Lords of the West'' introduces the Burgundians and the Sicilians, both of whom were previously represented by the Franks and Italians respectively in a few campaign levels.
* ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedIII'': Charles Lee and Haytham Kenway are, in many ways, a decomposite character of the real life Charles Lee. Haytham receives Real!Lee's strategic acumen and good relations with the Mohawks (including a Mohawk wife and son), and Game!Lee takes Real!Lee's hot temper and resentful nature.
* ''VideoGame/Battlefield4'' does this with weapons by making two classes out of the sniper rifles of previous games: smaller, faster-firing and higher-capacity ones that don't hit as hard or reach as far are reclassed as Designated Marksman Rifles that can be used by any kit, while the larger rifles that reach further and punch harder but tend towards lower capacities and bolt-action operation remain as proper Sniper Rifles exclusive to the Recon class.
* ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamCity'': Despite the Maroni family being mentioned in the [[AllThereInTheManual Arkham City Stories]], Sal Maroni's role as the one who made Harvey Dent Two-Face is taken by Carmine Falcone, as Two-Face himself in an audio tape explicitly identifies Falcone was the one who did it.
* ''Franchise/BlazBlue'' divides the Japanese god [[Myth/JapaneseMythology Susano'o]] with the two users of the Susano'o Unit armor. Hakumen represents the original's gradual HeelFaceTurn and defeats the {{Orochi}}-like Black Beast, while [[spoiler: Yuuki Terumi turns out to be the original Susano'o and is revealed to have his identity and goal based on his mythological hatred for his sister Amaterasu]].
* ''VideoGame/BridgeToAnotherWorld: Alice In Shadowland'' is a HiddenObjectGame based on the ''Literature/AlicesAdventuresInWonderland'' books, but plays fast and loose with the canon a lot. For one thing, the Queen of Hearts is both composited and decomposited. Her evil and vain nature is put on the King of Hearts, and the look of the queen is given to Alice, whom the king marries, and she becomes the Queen of Hearts (complete with a dainty CoolCrown, short PimpedOutDress and [[PrettyInMink ermine wrap]]). Then there's the matter of seeming to be two Alices...
* ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}}'' has a tendency to mash together separate entities to create a single civ, or draw from thousands of years of history when it comes to devising a civ's leader, unique units and special abilities, resulting in things like Mahatma Gandhi leading war elephants to defend Mughal castles. But recent entries have reversed the trend in some cases.
** ''Civilization IV'' introduced the notion of multiple leaders for a single civilization, representing more time periods and bringing different bonuses, so France could be led by Louis XIV for a monarchist flair, Napoleon for some warmongering, or Charles de Gaulle for a defensive stance.
** ''Civilization II'' represented the Nordic countries with a generic "Vikings" civilization, but ''Civ V'' split it into Denmark, which retained the Vikings' medieval berserker unit and focus on naval raids, and Sweden, which was equally adept at diplomacy and war with superior gunpowder infantry. ''Civ VI'' switched out Denmark for Norway for the "Viking" angle and gave Sweden even more of a focus on diplomacy and culture.
** Athens and Sparta were both part of a "Greek" civilization under Alexander the Great until ''Civ VI''. In that game, Pericles of Athens and Gorgo of Sparta were alternate Greek leaders with very different playstyles and bonuses, while Alexander was eventually reintroduced in a fully Macedonian civilization.
** A blanket Celtic civ has been around since ''Civ II'', which resulted in UsefulNotes/{{Boudica}} reigning from her capital of Edinburgh in ''Civ V''. ''Civ VI'' instead introduced an explicitly Scottish civilization under Robert the Bruce and represented ancient Celtia with a Gallic civilization led by Ambiorix.
** ''VI also adds "Personas" which add in different fascits of a leader already in the game, such as Qui Shi Huang who builds wonders vs unifing China, or Sultan vs Vizier Saladin. The most notable is UsefulNotes/TheodoreRoosevelt who had his leader abilities from the base game split into two Personas: "Rough Rider" based around military and diplomacy and "Bull Moose" based around nature and land appeal.
** Game mods can of course go even further -- one of the most extensive breaks ''Civ V'''s Polynesia into separate civs for Hawaii (its leader, King Kamehameha), Tonga (its ability to cross oceans long before normal), Maori (its Maori Warrior unique unit), and Rapa Nui (its moai improvements).
* ''VideoGame/{{Contra}} 4'' turned the various character designs and {{Dub Name Change}}s of series protagonists Bill Rizer and Lance Bean into seven different playable characters:
** "Bill" and "Lance" use their original names along with the designs based on their NES incarnations (shirtless with color-coded pants).
** "Mad Dog" and "Scorpion" use their names from the American manual of the original ''Contra'' and used Bill's and Lance's colors (green and purple respectively) from the arcade version of ''Super Contra''. (Story-wise, they're also {{Retcon}}ned into being the protagonists of ''Operation C''.)
** "Jimbo" and "Sully" use their names from the American manual of ''Contra III: The Alien Wars'' and designs from the same game.
** Finally, "Probotector" is based on the robots ([=RC011=] and [=RD008=], although those names are never used in ''Contra 4'') that replaced the human characters in the {{Bowdlerise}}d European games.
* Some characters from ''VideoGame/DefenseOfTheAncients'' were decomposed into separate characters on ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends''. Sniper, for example, had his increasing range passive transferred to Tristana, his ultimate skill transferred to Caitlyn, and his basic skill transferred to Miss Fortune.
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'':
** Cloud was originally designed with slicked black hair, but this look was later given to Zack.
** Early production documents show a character named Aerith but with a design much more similar to Tifa, who had elements of both eventual characters (she would have been both an ecoterrorist who runs a bar, and an Ancient well-versed in magic). These two aspects of the character were eventually split -- perhaps explaining the unusual personality inversion between both characters (Tifa being a sexy-looking physical fighter and bartender but gentle and sensitive, Aerith being a delicate magic healer and florist whose personality is forward and assertive).
* ''VideoGame/GodOfWarI'' had Erinys, an expy of the mythological Furies introduced in ''VideoGame/GodOfWarGhostOfSparta'', she later became this trope in retrospective when the actual Furies appeared in ''VideoGame/GodOfWarAscension'' which was released way after ''Ghost of Sparta''.
* ''VisualNovel/TheGreatAceAttorney'' has a few examples to deviate from the stories of ''Literature/SherlockHolmes''.
** In the original stories, Sherlock is accompanied by his ever faithful companion John Watson, who records and narrates his adventures. In this duology, while John Wilson exists in the story, the role of Sholmes' chronicler falls to his daughter Iris while the role of his StraightMan falls to Ryunosuke. [[spoiler:It also turns out that Wilson being Sholmes' partner is a misassumption -- that role is filled by Yujin Mikotoba, and Wilson is effectively an InNameOnly version of the character.]]
** In the first game of the duology, Eggert Benedict/[[spoiler:Ashley “Graydon” Milverton]] and Magnus [=McGilded=] represent different aspects of [[spoiler: Charles Augustus Milverton. Ashley is a villain who steals information for profit as with the original, but because he’s upgraded to a younger, more average-looking man with a more sympathetic past, [=McGilded=] gets the character’s older, stocky design and HatedByAll status]].
** In the backstory of the second game, The Professor was an infamous murderer who’s initially set up as a straightforward CompositeCharacter of Professor Moriarty and Rodger Baskerville. [[spoiler: However, it’s later revealed that he was manipulated by Mael Stronghart, who skews much closer to Moriarty by being a criminal mastermind with a strong public image and making sure his own hands are never dirty]].
* In Myth/ClassicalMythology, Zagreus was typically identified as Dionysus in his first life as the son of Zeus and Persephone. ''VideoGame/{{Hades}}'', however, goes with Aeschylus's AlternativeCharacterInterpretation of Zagreus as the son of Hades (and thus cousin to Dionysus) instead. The more traditional setup is alluded to when Dionysus suggests Zagreus should prank the House of Hades's court musician, Orpheus, and convince him that they're the same person, not quite realizing [[ItWillNeverCatchOn Orpheus would turn it into the]] central lore of one of the Greece's most famous {{Mystery Cult}}s.
* ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters'':
** ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters '99'' features Kyo-1 and Kyo-2, two clones of Kyo Kusanagi, the series' former protagonist. Kyo-1 uses Kyo's moveset from ''KOF [='94=]''-''[='95=]'', while Kyo-2 uses his moveset from ''[='96=]''-''[='97=]''. Likewise, Kusanagi from ''KOF 2002'' and ''2003'' wears Kyo's original costume and uses a variation of his '''95'' fighting style, essentially allowing both the classic and modern versions of Kyo to appear in the same game.
** Almost a decade after Rugal Bernstein's canonical demise, we are introduced to his two children. When seen together, they both are easily Rugal himself in all but name, but individually, his son Adel inherits his fighting prowess, while his daughter Rose inherits his prideful disposition, which factors into their SiblingYinYang dynamic.
* ''VideoGame/KillingFloor2'' split off two new classes from two of its existing ones: Sharpshooter, formerly focused both on rifles and handguns, was split into focusing on just rifles while handguns went to the new Gunslinger, and Medic's submachine guns with healing darts were replaced by a new set of futuristic medic guns, with the conventional submachine guns going to the new SWAT perk.
* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'':
** ''Literature/HyruleHistoria'' stated ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast'''s Link was the same as in the ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames'', but they were referred to as separate characters in the non-canon ''Hyrule Encyclopedia''.
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask'' takes place in a parallel universe to the one Hyrule exists in, and as such has many alternate counterparts to characters from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime''. Some of these counterparts are actually the result of single characters from ''Ocarina of Time'' being split into multiple characters; Romani and Cremia are respectively based on the young and adult forms of Malon, and the three Gorman Brothers look just like Ingo.
** In [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI the]] [[VideoGame/ZeldaIITheAdventureOfLink first]] [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast four]] [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening games]], there is an enemy race of monstrous FishPeople called the Zoras. ''Ocarina of Time'' introduces non-villainous and more humanoid Zoras who are stated to be close allies of the Royal Family of Hyrule and who gladly help Link on his quest, implying a HeelRaceTurn. ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames Oracle of Ages]]'', however, portrays the former Zoras (called "River Zora") and the latter Zoras (called "Sea Zora") as two separate races.
** Similarly to the ''Smash Bros.'' and ''Mario Bros.'' examples, ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriors'' has multiple versions of key characters on its playable roster: The base game includes both Zelda and Sheik, though story mode never includes both at once since as far as the story goes they're the same person. DLC adds more variants: Young Link and Toon Link for regular Link, Tetra and Toon Zelda for Zelda, and Twili Midna for Midna. This extends to Ganondorf to a certain degree as well, since Ganon is a boss character.
** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'', the [[BirdPeople Rito]] are portrayed as the radically altered descendants of the [[FishPeople Zora]], and they even use the same three-crescent emblem on their clothes and other objects. In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'', however, the Rito and Zora are portrayed side by side as separate species, with the Rito adopting a new emblem resembling a stylized bird.
** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkBetweenWorlds'', a sequel to/reimagining of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast'':
*** Zelda is split into Zelda (princess of Hyrule, keeper of the Triforce of Wisdom and Bow of Light), Seres (one of the Sages, captured by the villain at Sanctuary), and [[spoiler:Hilda (Link's advisor during the second half of his quest)]].
*** In ''A Link to the Past'', Link finds a maiden in prison who turns out to be the dungeon boss (Blind) in disguise. In ''A Link Between World'''s equivalent dungeon, Thief Girl and Stalblind are wholly different characters.
*** In ''A Link to the Past'' it's not exactly clear how separate Agahnim and Ganon are (Ganon's spirit is seen leaving Agahnim's body after his death, and Ganon refers to Agahnim as his "alter-ego"). ''A Link Between Worlds''' Yuga is clearly entirely separate from Ganon; even when the two merge, Yuga's the one in charge.
*** Link's pink bunny Dark World form from ''A Link to the Past'' is the basis for Ravio's design, [[spoiler:foreshadowing that Ravio is the Lorulean version of Link]].
** Subverted in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'': Impa seems to be split into Zelda's Sheikah protector and the keeper of the Sealed Temple who advises Link on his quest, but the ending reveals [[TwoAliasesOneCharacter they're the same person]], separated by TheSlowPath.
* There are two separate versions of Characters/{{Wolverine|JamesLoganHowlett}} featured in ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom2''. The standard Wolverine utilizes his fighting style from the previous ''[[VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcomClashOfSuperHeroes Marvel vs. Capcom]]'' game, while the Bone Claw Wolverine uses his style from ''VideoGame/XMenVsStreetFighter''.
* ''VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork'' splits the role of Dr. Light from ''VideoGame/MegaManClassic'': PosthumousCharacter Tadashi Hikari has the visual resemblence, and his invention -- the internet -- causes Wily to become jealous and turn to villainy just like the Classic series. However, [=MegaMan.EXE's=] creator and the heroic doctor of the series is Tadashi's son Yuichiro Hikari.
* ''VideoGame/MegaManStarForce'', being the sequel series to ''VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork'', takes the roles and character traits of the first protagonist's circle of friends and reuses them in various combinations. Battle Network had Yai, the brainy rich girl with a complex about her diminutive stature, which Star Force takes and splits into Zack, the brainy kid with a height complex, and rich girl Luna. Battle Network's musically-inclined love interest Mayl, is split into musically-inclined love interest Sonia and [[LoveTriangle other love interest]] Luna (making her both an example of Decomposite Character ''and'' CompositeCharacter). Luna and Sonia both also borrow a plot element from Yai, whose vast family fortune was frequently used to write the cast both in and out of various problems, as Luna's parents are just as obscenely rich as Yai's and Sonia is a wildly popular pop star.
* ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'' did this with the cut ''VideoGame/{{Metal Gear Solid 2|SonsOfLiberty}}'' boss Oldboy, a hundred-year-old soldier who was supposedly Big Boss' mentor in the past. The characters of The Boss (Big Boss' mentor) and The End (a hundred-year-old sniper) were created from aspects of his character. This is in interesting contrast to what happened to the other cut boss, Chinaman, who instead [[CompositeCharacter had his powers and a boss arena meant for him given to Vamp]].
* ''VideoGame/MonsterHunter'': Your AI-controlled companions (Palicoes in ''[[VideoGame/MonsterHunterFreedom2 Monster Hunter Freedom Unite]]'' and onward, as well as Cha-Cha in ''VideoGame/MonsterHunter3Tri'' plus Kayamba in ''3 Ultimate'', can be tailored to provide extra damage or provide support with buffs, field gadgets like traps and trampolines, and heals. ''VideoGame/MonsterHunterRise'' introduces the Palamute, a dog companion with dedicated offensive support, with the Palicoes now being more focused in non-offensive assistance.
* One of the originally proposed characters for ''VideoGame/MortalKombat1'' was a male African-American soldier named Kurtis Stryker. He would end up getting a GenderFlip and a RaceLift in the finished game, becoming Sonya Blade, as the developers felt the character roster needed female representation. The original concept for Sonya would end up being repurposed for her partner Jax Briggs in ''VideoGame/MortalKombatII'', while the name Kurtis Stryker would end up being used for the police officer character in ''VideoGame/MortalKombat3''.
* ''VideoGame/{{Omori}}'': In the ''Webcomic/{{Omoriboy}}'' comics, Omori was more outwardly self-loathing and would occasionally make comments about his life in the real world. By the time of the game, this would be split into two aspects of the same character: Sunny handles all matters relating to the real world and must confront his trauma, while his mental counterpart Omori keeps to Headspace [[spoiler:and represents Sunny suppressing his memories and guilt]].
* ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}'':
** Hanzo and Genji were originally a single ninja character, but the character was considered so cluttered and unfocused both in design and mechanics that he was split into two different characters, with Hanzo focusing on archery and Genji being a shuriken-throwing swordsman.
** One of the heroes in early development was an [[RidiculouslyHumanRobots omnic]] named Wildebeest, who fought with a shield and a flail. Wildebeest was eventually split into Reinhardt and Orisa before the game's release, with his flail going to Brigitte.
* Two characters from ''VideoGame/Persona5'' are derived from Mitsuru Kirijo from ''{{VideoGame/Persona 3}}'': Makoto Niijima inherited Mitsuru's primary position as the StudentCouncilPresident of her school, her intelligence, her serious personality, and her position as a secondary analyst for the Phantom Thieves (as Mitsuru was SEES' navigator before Fuuka joined them, whereas Makoto handles analyzing enemy weaknesses, even after Futaba becomes the MissionControl). Haru Okumura, meanwhile, inherited Mitsuru's immense wealth (albeit on a more realistic scale: she's the daughter of the president of a fast food company, whereas Mitsuru's father owned a MegaCorp), her Arcana (The Empress), and parts of her backstory, namely that she's locked in an ArrangedMarriage for her company's sake. Both of them are also third-years like Mitsuru, and like Mitsuru, Makoto is a bit out of touch with her peers due to spending much of her time studying.
* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'':
** During the development of ''VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire'', Latias and Blaziken were initially imagined [[WhatCouldHaveBeen as one Pokémon]] affectionately referred to [[FanNickname by the fanbase]] as "Latiken".
** ''VideoGame/PokemonLetsGoPikachuAndLetsGoEevee'' has playable characters and a rival separate from Red/Leaf and Blue from ''VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue'' and ''Pokémon [=FireRed=] and [=LeafGreen=].'' The ''Let's Go'' protagonists take Red's place in challenging Gyms and fighting Team Rocket (particularly Jessie and James from the anime, who appeared in ''VideoGame/PokemonYellow''), while the rival takes Blue's place. Meanwhile, Red, Blue, ''and'' Leaf can all apparently be battled in ''Let's Go,'' thus making it a case of this trope in action.
** ''VideoGame/PokemonMasters'' splits the player roles between the protagonists. For example, Hilda fought the champion but Hilbert took down Team Plasma. Lyra mentions fighting Red, but she owns a Marill like the NPC Lyra and Ethan isn't related to the Daycare Couple like his NPC version is.
* ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'':
** In the original 1996 version of ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil1'', S.T.A.R.S. Bravo Team's helicopter pilot Edward Dewey was simply a name listed in the game's manual. He was never depicted in any form (manual art or in-game), although it is implied that the disembodied hand that Joseph Frost finds in the live-action opening belonged to him. Fast-foward to the 2002 remake and Bravo Team's pilot is now a different character named Kevin Dooley, while the actual Edward Dewey is an active member of Bravo Team who gets killed off earlier in the prequel ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilZero''. The reason for this change was likely due to a photograph in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil2'', which depicted all the S.T.A.R.S. members from the first game, plus two extra members who were never shown before. Naturally one of them was likely Edward Dewey, leaving the other one unaccounted.
** ''Resident Evil 1.5 '' had many of its elements decomposited and integrated into ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil2''.
*** John, a character who was meant to appear in the police department's cell block, was split off into Ben Bertolucci, who kept his role as a civilian in one of the cells, and Robert Kendo, who was given his appearance.
*** Ada was originally a scientist (initially named “Linda”) who was actually a spy working for Umbrella. In the final game Ada is still a spy but her female scientist role is taken by Annette, who actually turned into a monster in the original version.
** Two early versions of ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'' became their own games. The first is ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry1'' whose HackAndSlash gameplay was considered too radically different from the usual SurvivalHorror tone thus was turned into its own franchise, with the only connecting elements being Dante, whose jokey cool guy personality is akin to [=RE4=]'s Leon and the creepy castle. The second was ''VideoGame/HauntingGround'' which borrowed many elements (and even textures) from [=RE4=] while managing to be uniquely creepy, although Hewy the CanineCompanion makes a cameo in [=RE4=] as a different but no less helpful dog.
* In ''VideoGame/ShrekSuperSlam'', both of Princess Fiona's forms (human and ogre) were split into two different characters, each with their own playstyles: Human Fiona takes her ninja-like fighting ability to become lightning-fast while Ogre Fiona focuses on her raw ogre strength and singing ability to be more of a JackOfAllStats. Furthermore, both characters have different default outfits, with human Fiona wearing her iconic green dress from the first movie and ogre Fiona wearing a {{Valkyrie|s}} outfit.
* ''VideoGame/SixAges'', the successor to ''VideoGame/KingOfDragonPass'', features an entirely new FantasyPantheon--albeit one where most of the new gods have clear counterparts among the old ones. The exception is Vinga, [=KODP=]'s goddess of explorers and female warriors. Her role is split between two new gods: Osara shares Vinga's association with {{Action Girl}}s and has a similar relationship with her father [[ThePowerOfTheSun Elmal]] to the one Vinga has with [[TopGod Orlanth]], while Zarlen shares Vinga's rune (Motion), provides her Pathfinder blessing, and is the new patron of explorers. Both of them share her [[FieryRedhead often-mentioned red hair]].
* In recent years, this has happened to the title character of Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog. Starting with ''VideoGame/SonicGenerations'' there was an implied split between the [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog1 Sega]] [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2 Genesis]] [[VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles "Classic" era]], the [[VideoGame/SonicAdventure Dreamcast]]-[[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006 2006]] [[NonindicativeName "Dreamcast" era]] and the [[VideoGame/SonicUnleashed post-2006]] [[VideoGame/SonicColors "Modern"]] [[VideoGame/SonicGenerations era]], with Classic Sonic returning as [[MeetYourEarlyInstallmentWeirdness "Sonic as he was at ten years old"]] as a result of time travel. In the years since, Classic Sonic has become his own brand of sorts, getting equal footing and presence with Modern Sonic and his own merchandise. By the time ''VideoGame/SonicMania'' and ''VideoGame/SonicForces'' arrived, Sega had quietly ret-conned Classic Sonic into being his own stand-alone character from his own stand-alone dimension, splitting him entirely from Modern Sonic and in turn allowing both to get even more attention and presence. However, to the frustration of Dreamcast era fans, this also resulted in the entirety of the Dreamcast era becoming OutOfFocus outside of the occasional [[BitingTheHandHumor memes and jabs.]]
* ''VideoGame/SoulSeries'':
** In the Asian (non-Japanese) versions of ''Soul Edge'', the samurai Mitsurugi was replaced by Korean swordsman Hwang due to a law in South Korea which bans media depicting samurais. In the Version 2 revision of the arcade game and subsequent [=PlayStation=] port (titled ''Soul Blade'' in the west), Hwang and Mitsurugi were made into separate characters. The character of Arthur in the original ''VideoGame/{{Soulcalibur}}'', an English swordsman who substituted Mitsurugi in certain versions of the arcade game, was also made into a separate character in ''[=Soulcalibur=] III''.
** What was effectively done with Siegfried and Nightmare, TheHero and the BigBad of the series respectively. Originally, Siegfried became Nightmare after claiming [[ArtifactOfDoom Soul Edge]] and was BrainwashedAndCrazy into being the host of the blade, and was treated as his evil alter ego. In ''Soul Blade'', Nightmare was foreshadowed with a bonus costume title "Siegfried!", in ''Soulcalibur'' they appeared as {{Moveset Clone}}s with little variation, and in ''Soulcalibur II'' Nightmare has replaced Siegfried entirely. However, lore-wise Siegfried broke free of Soul Edge's grasp, and was freed of becoming Nightmare. Then, Nightmare was able to operate without a host due to [[TheChessmaster Zasalamel]] using his sorcery to bond Soul Edge to Inferno's energy, making the two into completely separate characters. From that point on, they've been treated as different entities, and in fact ''VideoGame/SoulcaliburV'' retconned the lore by stating that "Nightmare" is a [[LegacyCharacter mantle]] given to those who wield Soul Edge.
* ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'':
** There is a tendency to do this in SpinOff titles to increase the character roster. For example, [[SpinOffBabies baby versions]] of various Mario characters have appeared alongside their adult selves with no explanation. A few of Mario's and other character's powered-up forms have also evolved into their own separate characters. Some examples include Metal Mario, Dr. Mario, Tanooki Mario, Cat Mario, Pink Gold Peach, Cat Peach and Dry Bowser.
** The woman in ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong'' was just referred to as "Lady". While in English works she has been named "Pauline" since the NES port, in Japan she wasn't named until ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong94''. Even though they're the exact same character with a redesign, a lot of 1990s and 2000s Japanese media treated them like two separate individuals. It wasn't until ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosForNintendo3DSAndWiiU'' that Japanese media began consistently listing them as the same character.
* From ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'':
** Mario has multiple versions of himself appear in the games, which are treated as separate characters: Mario has Dr. Mario as an alternate character and Metal Mario as a boss in the first game.
** In ''[[VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosMelee Melee]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl Brawl]]'', a few characters could switch between different forms: Zelda could transform into her alter-ego Sheik, Samus could lose her armor and become Zero Suit Samus, and the Pokémon Trainer could switch between Squirtle, Ivysaur, and Charizard. As of the fourth game, the devs made a concerted effort to drop these mechanics; and as a result Zelda, Sheik, Samus, and Zero Suit Samus are all separate characters and the Pokémon Trainer was replaced with just Charizard (though ''Ultimate'' re-composites Charizard by bringing back the Trainer).
** Dark Pit started off as a "FallenAngel"-themed PaletteSwap of Pit in ''Brawl''. In ''VideoGame/KidIcarusUprising'', Sakurai decided to make him into a character. As of ''3DS/Wii U'', he's now got his own slot on the roster (albeit as a MovesetClone of Pit).
* In the original ''Franchise/TombRaider'' continuity, Lara's tech support was provided by a wise-cracking African-American hacker named Zip. In [[Film/LaraCroftTombRaider the movies]], the same basic role was filled by a white British guy named Bryce, who was more of a DeadpanSnarker and more of a stereotypically awkward geek than the self-assured Zip. Come ''VideoGame/TombRaiderLegend'', Zip got [[AdaptationalAttractiveness a makeover]], but also a second-in-command named Al*ister, another white British techie with less overt social confidence, who seems to have been created to incorporate Bryce's qualities into the games while retaining Zip as a separate character.
* ''VideoGame/{{Warframe}}'' has an unusual example in that it's both the original work and the adaptation (thanks to the developers constantly updating the game): the original boss of Mars was Sergeant Nef Anyo, a Corpus military figure responsible for overseeing the Solar Rail network. Update 16.4 split him into the Sergeant, who retained the old appearance and role as boss, and Nef Anyo, a con man posing as a preacher who instigated the False Profit event. It seems that Nef's new boss fight, which had been in the works for quite some time, wasn't ready when the event launched, so he was temporarily split in two; it's likely that the Sergeant will be quietly replaced once the new fight is ready. Oddly, the same did ''not'' happen for Tyl Regor, the Grineer scientist who had a very similar situation with the very next event in Update 16.5, possibly because his character and personality remained fairly similar.
* In ''VideoGame/WatchDogs'' the stand-in for Google in-universe were Blume due to its operating system monopoly. Come ''VideoGame/WatchDogs2'', both Nudle (search engine and maps) and Haum (smart home) were also stand-ins for Google.
* ''VideoGame/TwistedInsurrection'' does this with itself as more-or-less the original work -- 0.9 split GDI and Nod into two subfactions each (outside the campaigns), the explanation being that over the versions the mod's incarnations of the factions had becoming increasingly cluttered with too many units dragging the faction thematics into different directions. To fix this, GDI was split into Falcon Division (the classic GDI slow-and-powerful juggernaut) and Phoenix Regiment (a faster, lighter hit-and-run faction) while Nod was split into the Sons of Kane (focusing on stealth and traditional Nod technology) and the Genesis Legion (focusing on cybernetics and exotic technology).
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