History Main / DivergentCharacterEvolution

* ''WebAnimation:AlgicosathlonRises'': Red and Navy were a duo of like-minded pranksters, but they have gone in different paths through Season 2, as Navy partnered up with Periwinkle to harm more people while Red refrained from doing so, starting his CharacterArc.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid1989'' Ariel's sisters had more-or-less the same face and no known personalities. Future adaptations, such as the ''WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid1992'' cartoon, licensed comics, and ''WesternAnimation/{{The Little Mermaid III|ArielsBeginning}}'' prequel film, give them more varying designs and more individualized personalities.

* ''WebVideo/TheHappyVideoGameNerd'': The Happy Nerd started out with the gimmick that he was the opposite of the Angry Nerd, and many of his early videos are shot-for-shot remakes of the Angry Nerd's videos, only with him extolling a good game instead of swearing at a bad one. Now, he does his own thing, although he still dresses like the Angry Nerd and drinks at the end of every review (which is actually something the ''Angry'' Nerd has generally stopped doing).

* The Shittenou from ''Franchise/SailorMoon'' wear the same uniform. ''Series/PrettyGuardianSailorMoon'' gives them distinct uniforms and different facial types. Jadeite has pretty boy features with his feminine features and curly blonde hair. Nephrite is a FieryRedhead with a uniform to match. Zoisite wear all white and is the most melancholic. Kunzite has the harshest facial features and is the most overly villainous.

* ComicBook/WonderWoman ally Nubia was originally created as the "black Wonder Woman" with the exact same costume and powers, whose connection to Diana varied based on continuity. However, later appearances have made Nubia more distinct by giving her a costume that's primarily blue rather than red, and [[BladeOnAStick polearms]] as her weapon of choice.

* When ComicBook/GreenArrow started out, he ''was'' Franchise/{{Batman}}, except with a Robin Hood costume, and all his gadgets had arrows stuck to them instead of looking like bats. Rich playboy persona, underground cave, goofy-themed car, red-clad teen sidekick, he had it all. Later books evolved him to be fairly different from Batman, highlighting Oliver Queen's "playboy" part over the "rich" part. He eventually branched into politics of all things, becoming a famously loud-spoken far-left activist, something fairly unheard of among superheroes at the time.

* In ''Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica'', all of the characters originally came from self-contained comic books, and they all played the role of TheHero to their own supporting casts. After they united to form the Justice League, their personalities became more diversified so that they could play off of each other more effectively. Franchise/{{Superman}} became more friendly and idealistic, Franchise/{{Batman}} became more cold and stoic, Franchise/WonderWoman became more proud and regal, Franchise/GreenLantern became more cocky and adventurous, and Franchise/TheFlash became more plucky and fun-loving.

* In the first few issues of ''Franchise/XMen'', most of the core characters were clear [[{{Expy}} expies]] of characters from the more-popular ''ComicBook/FantasticFour''. Professor X was a fatherly scientist like Mister Fantastic, the Beast was a tough-talking brute like the Thing, Marvel Girl was an innocent young ingenue with levitation abilities like Invisible Girl, Iceman was the cocky young PluckyComicRelief like the Human Torch (but with [[AnIcePerson ice powers]] instead of [[PlayingWithFire fire powers]]), and ComicBook/{{Magneto}} was a megalomaniac super-villain with a distinctive metal helmet like ComicBook/DoctorDoom. But as the series gradually became more popular, most of the characters gradually developed their own unique roles and personalities: Professor X became more of a MentorArchetype and a political activist, while his surrogate son ComicBook/{{Cyclops}} came into his own as the team leader; the Beast became a BadassBookworm who uses [[SesquipedalianLoquaciousness flowery speech]], even as his appearance became more bestial [[note]] Though it should be noted that as an aviator, engineer, and astronaut, Ben Grimm is himself [[SmarterThanYouLook smarter than he looks]][[/note]]; Marvel Girl became a powerful telepath, and started going by her real name "Jean Grey"; and Magneto became a tormented WellIntentionedExtremist who eventually redeemed himself and became an antihero. As a whole, the X-Men also became established as [[YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters Mutant freedom fighters]] [[HeroWithBadPublicity hated by most of the public]]--strongly contrasting the Four, who were beloved celebrities.

* Rare inverted example; In ''Film/CruelIntentions'', both Kathryn and Sebastian were [[EvilIsSexy attractive]], [[MagnificentBastard intelligent]] young people who pride themselves on their ability to [[ReallyGetsAround bed any member of the opposite sex they choose]]. The two main differences between them are [[DistaffCounterpart their sex organs]] and the expectations society has of them due to said organs. In the prequel ''Film/CruelIntentions2'', [[spoiler:Sebastian is kind and considerate, and Kathryn is cold, calculating, and uses sex as a weapon; and frequently destroys other people's lives for her own amusement or revenge. Both try to convert the other to their way of thinking, but Sebastian is broken by Kathryn and ends up becoming a male version of her.]]

* In online slang, "himbo" has been originally created as a DistaffCounterpart to "bimbo" - a term for a woman with strongly emphasized, or outright exaggerated, physical traits associated with traditional femininity, low sexual inhibitions combined with a strong libido and either [[TheDitz not very bright]] or lacking interest in things beyond good looks and sex. However, himbo quickly became associated with a very specific type of character - a NiceGuy [[{{Hunk}} both handsome and muscular, ofter physically big]] and [[TheDitz not very smart]]. It ended up differentiating from
bimbo" so much to get its own DistaffCounterpart - "fembo", an AmazonianBeauty with a ditzy mind but a wholesome personality.

* Yakko from ''Anime/AkazukinChaCha'' started as Chacha's DarkActionGirl counterpart in her first appearance. After that she switches from magic to alchemy.
* ''Manga/AssassinationClassroom'': Muramatsu and Yoshida were simply just Terasaka's two lackeys, but they weren't as quirky as Terasaka. They later gain distinctive individual traits and interests; Muramatsu is a SupremeChef and becomes more snarky, while Yoshida's interests for vehicles eventually leads to him crafting some of those. Similarly, Hazama who was also hanging a lot with the delinquent trio also has become more distinct and her interests for dark literature and dark writing is often used for some jokes.

*** No. 17 and No. 18 didn't have very distinct movesets, and such, video games would often give them some moves of the other. It isn't until the Tournament of Power where their movesets starts to differentiate from each other, as No. 17's Barrier becomes his SignatureMove and has different variations of it, whereas his older twin never uses a Barrier in the entire series since her introduction in the Cell Saga. In fact, No. 18's movesets is rather generic for the series' standard.
* ''Manga/ElfenLied'': The manga gives us Mariko's four successful clones that were created by Dr. Nousou, named Alicia, Barbara, Cynthia and Diana. They all share the same personality, either with or without the MindControlDevice. However, despite being essentially the same character, each of the four clones have distinct roles in the narrative. [[spoiler:Diana serves as an early SacrificialLamb to demonstrate how far their TykeBomb treat goes, but she later returns as a ChekhovsGunman and the HopeSpot for Arakawa. Alicia and Barbara display their heroic UndyingLoyalty to Nousou by trying to save his life even when he orders them to abandon him, resulting in Alicia getting killed by Lucy. Cynthia, who got [[HalfTheWomanSheUsedToBe cut in half]] by Lucy earlier in the raid, manages to land a sneak attack on her before Lucy can kill Barbara, but half-dead Cynthia is discovered by Dr. Kurama and dies in his arms, which brings back his trauma of losing Mariko again. At the hospital, having become curious of Alicia's and Barbara's love for him, he removes Barbara's MindControlDevice from her head, which results in her killing him for his past sins. Barbara would then go out of her way to fight Nana and be confronted by Kurama, with the result of the conflict ending Kurama's journey of coming in terms with Mariko's death.]]
* In ''Manga/Eyeshield21'', Jumonji, Kuroki, and Togano started out as stereotypical delinquents. This didn't last, with Togano becoming an aspiring artist, Jumonji outed as a smart guy hanging out with the wrong crowd, and Kuroki remaning a typical, but friendlier, thug. Despite all being linemen, they also began to be differentiated by their abilities, with Kuroki being the fastest, Togano the strongest and Jumonji the smartest and most technically skilled.

* ''Manga/MigiAndDali'', being about scheming twins, initially had them start out as pretty similar (and intentionally so since they're pretending to be one person). However, as time goes on they become very distinct from each other; Migi was more emotional, a bit dumb and often seemed to rely on Dali to come up with plans (but had a knack for impersonating his foster mother), while Dali tries to position himself as the older brother but has a hot temper and a BigBrotherInstinct when Migi is pushed too far.

** Outside of piloting the same Gundam set, they had slightly different inclinations. [[spoiler:Neal]] was pretty much "The Sniper" of the team and would only resort to full frontal combat in dire situations. On the other hand, [[spoiler:Lyle]] was more well rounded and while he was a skilled sniper as well, he usually would eschew the rifle in the favor of his handguns. You can see this better when the third gundam, which is tailored closer to his own abilities, puts more emphasis on multi-targeting over outright sniping.

* The twins Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin from ''Anime/OuranHighSchoolHostClub'' start out as SingleMindedTwins, but start to show differences in their personalities once they realize that Haruhi can tell them apart. [[spoiler:Kaoru becomes the more mature of the two, but is overly self sacrificing. By the time the mini arc is over, they're beginning to force themselves to grow apart by dying their hair and nearly drop the twincest act, but decide that is too much.]]
* The Nakano sisters of ''Manga/TheQuintessentialQuintuplets''. As children they were so alike it was but impossible to tell them apart, but by the present time they've all diverged in personality and appearance:

* The Big Five in ''Anime/YuGiOh'': Initially they're an OmniscientCouncilOfVagueness, with the collective goal of taking over [=KaibaCorp=] for unspecified, but undoubtedly sinister intentions. In the "Virtual Nightmare" arc, they're all given separate personalities, and objectives, and while they all share the goal of defeating Kaiba and escaping into the real world, their reasons for hating him are fleshed out, with them gaining separate backstories and motivations. BigBad Oshita/[[DubNameChange Ganzley]] and AmoralAttorney [[EvilGenius Ooka]]/[[DubNameChange Johnson]] are just greedy while the latter is also a cheating coward, the rather pitiable Otaki/[[DubNameChange Crump]] is furious at Kaiba for mocking his penguin obsession, [[TheBrute Ota]]/[[DubNameChange Nezbitt's]] angry about his work being disposed of and his lab destroyed, and [[TheDragon Daimon]]/[[DubNameChange Leichter's]] TheResenter par excellence and believes that he should have inherited the company.
* This has become one of the most attractive traits of the ''Franchise/YuGiOh'' franchise's series. Each series contains a CastOfExpies of characters from a or multiple previous series, only for their differences to become a apparent through CharacterDevelopment as their series goes on. Some of the more prominent examples:
** Manjoume of ''Anime/YuGiOhGX'' starts out as the hero's Seto Kaiba, but unlike Kaiba, he eventually overcomes his arrogance, obsession with defeating the hero, and antipathy to friendship and is able to progress much farther as a duelist and a person at every opportunity where Kaiba explicitly refused to change.

* When ComicBook/AlphaFlight first appeared in the pages of ''ComicBook/XMen'', the twins Northstar and Aurora first appeared as HalfIdenticalTwins with identical mutant powers (super speed, flight, and generating blinding light when they touch), matching costumes, and being stereotypical Snooty Quebecois. But when Alpha Flight spun off into its own series, this trope came into play. Northstar had long disapproved of Aurora's relationship with teammate Sasquatch, and when things came to a head, she ended their informal partnership and had Sasquatch, a geneticist, alter her powers to be distinct from her brother's to where she can generate light on her own, at the cost of her speed being slightly slower. She also designed a new costume for herself. Even though they eventually healed their rift, they remained distinct and even developed further, with Aurora being defined by her SplitPersonality and tumultuous romances, while Northstar came out as gay (the first mainstream superhero to do so) and has closer ties with the X-Men.
* In the early 2000s ''ComicBook/ArchieComics'' tried to censor reprint issues containing Cheryl Blossom, who was a controversial character due to being [[MsFanservice very fanservicey]] even compared to Veronica. They created Ginger Lopez and replaced Cheryl with her. Eventually they stopped this practice but made Ginger into an individual character. This involved smoothing out her design a little bit, so her earliest appearances have a more angular look similar to Cheryl.
* ''ComicBook/{{Batgirl}}'': Inverted. Before 2011, the 'canon' Batgirls were quite distinct. Barbara Gordon was at-the-time written as a woman in her 20s, a librarian by-day who was quite intelligent and took crime-fighting as seriously as Batman did, before retiring. Cassandra Cain was a taciturn, dyslexic OneManArmy who took saving lives more seriously than Batman due to her traumatic childhood. Stephanie Brown was a FunPersonified GenkiGirl who had been fighting crime since she was 15 under other aliases before being given the costume. Essentially, they fell into the same archetypes the Robins did, with Barbara as the brains, Cass as the muscle, and Steph as the heart. After ''ComicBook/TheNew52'' though, Cass and Steph were PutOnABus while Barbara was [[ThrowingOffTheDisability cured of her paralysis]] and returned to being the sole Batgirl, and her ''ComicBook/Batgirl2011'' adventures had her become DenserAndWackier, with a personality similar to Stephanie (by coincidence; her writer at the time, Brendan Fletcher, claims to have never actually read Steph's book and just believed Batgirl-as-a-concept should be FunPersonified regardless of who wears the cowl), and it was treated as if Barbara [[RetCon had always been this way]].
* ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'': During the 60's, Batman's major enemies were giggling, haughty robbers with different gimmicks. In modern times, they've gone in very different directions: the Joker is a terrifying homicidal lunatic, the Penguin is a crafty businessman and black marketer, Catwoman became a morally-ambiguous antihero, Two-Face is a tormented gangster with a {{split personality}}, Poison Ivy is a [[TheVamp seductive]] ecoterrorist, Mister Freeze is a brilliant and stoic {{mad scientist}}, etc. The Riddler has struggled a bit, at various times being a [[VideoGame/BatmanArkhamOrigins cybercriminal]], a [[ComicBook/{{Joker}} drug dealer]], a private eye, or just a resentful guy trying to lash out at his former employers.
* ComicBook/{{Daredevil}} started out in 1964 as a slight variation on Creator/MarvelComics' then-recent {{breakout character}} ComicBook/SpiderMan: a bespectacled {{everyman}} New Yorker who lived a double life as an acrobatic [[RedIsHeroic red-suited]] superhero, was [[YouKilledMyFather motivated by the death of a father figure]] (in this case, his actual father), and spent a lot of time swinging between buildings. His distinctions were that he was [[DisabilitySuperpower blind]], worked as a lawyer (instead of a newspaper photographer), was from Manhattan (instead of Queens), and had a devil gimmick (instead of a spider), but they were otherwise noticeably similar. Creator/FrankMiller's seminal run in the 1980s is generally credited with bringing Matt Murdock out of Peter Parker's shadow; he established Daredevil as a hard-bitten crimefighter with strong FilmNoir influences, cemented the merciless mob boss "The Kingpin" as his ArchEnemy, and made his tragic love affair with ComicBook/{{Elektra}} a lynchpin of his story.[[note]] Ironically, the Kingpin actually started as a villain in ''Spider-Man's'' RoguesGallery, but became permanently associated with Daredevil thanks to Miller's influence.[[/note]] With the introduction of Daredevil's mentor Stick, he also retroactively established him as a highly skilled [[IKnowKungFu martial artist]] with years of training--contrasting Peter Parker, who was a science nerd who mostly taught himself to fight.
* In the 1980's DC introduced ComicBook/{{Deathstroke}}, a BadassNormal mercenary who frequently fought the ComicBook/TeenTitans. A few years later Marvel would introduce ComicBook/{{Deadpool}}, essentially an expy of Deathstroke with a slightly different costume. However, while Deathstroke has remained pretty much the same over the years, Deadpool has transformed into a [[NoFourthWall fourth wall breaking]] [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} cloudcuckoolander]] with [[GoodThingYouCanHeal powerful healing abilities.]]

*** Nestor was brought back by the Brazilian comics in 1967 as José's [[BestFriend closest friend]], and has since become one of the most prominent characters in the locally made stories. Over the years, he also went through considerable Main/ArtEvolution, which gave him a shorter round beak, different clothes and a new "hairstyle", with very distinctive round feathers in his head.

* When ComicBook/GreenArrow started out, he ''was'' Franchise/{{Batman}}, except with a Robin Hood costume and all his gadgets had arrows stuck to them instead of looking like bats. Rich playboy persona, underground cave, goofy themed car, red-clad teen sidekick, he had it all. Later books evolved him to be fairly different from Batman, highlighting Oliver Queen's "playboy" part over the "rich" part. He eventually branched into politics of all things, becoming a famously loud-spoken far-left activist, something fairly unheard of among superheroes at the time.

* ComicBook/MoonKnight was initially pretty much a stand-in for DC's Batman, a comparison helped by the fact he was created by a writer who was known to be massive Batman fanboy. Both were TerrorHero BadassNormal characters with a rich playboy persona, with the biggest difference being Moon Knight [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness had a whole deal with werewolves]] and his backstory involved being a marine blessed by an Egyptian god, and he took the secret identity concept a step further by having ''three'' secret identities (a rich playboy movie producer/businessman, a working class taxi driver, and his ''real'' identity of a retired PrivateMilitaryContractor and ex-marine). As time went on, the character's Terror Hero aspect has became even more pronounced than Batman's, with him depicted as a barely-contained SociopathicHero prone to excessive violence who was a toxic influence on all his friends, his 'blessed by Egyptian moon god' became MaybeMagicMaybeMundane with a serious possibility that it was all in his head, and the alternate secret identities became legitimate split personalities. Now, Moon Knight is best known for his repeated struggles with mental illness, with occasional forays into the supernatural. Also his teen sidekick [[EvilFormerFriend became a]] [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot cyborg zombie serial killer]], and his 'Alfred' became a paraplegic man and also came out of the closet.

* ComicBook/{{Shazam}} started out in the 1940s as "Captain Marvel", a hugely popular superhero who was inspired by and similar to ComicBook/{{Superman}}--to the point that National Comics (predecessor to Creator/DCComics) sued his publisher for copyright infringement and [[ScrewedByTheLawyers got his series cancelled]], largely because they were angry that it was outselling ''Superman''.[[note]]Today, comics historians and legal authorities generally agree that Fawcett foolishly threw in the towel because superhero stories were dipping in popularity at the time (seemingly making the character less valuable), and a publisher who understood their products and their brand would have fought a better case[[/note]] DC Comics eventually bought the rights to him, and he became a character in the Franchise/DCUniverse who inhabited the same continuity as Superman.[[note]] Funnily enough, Superman also borrowed several popular elements from Captain Marvel around that time; Captain Marvel's {{flight}} powers likely inspired Superman's, his DistaffCounterpart Mary Marvel likely inspired ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}, and his young sidekick Captain Marvel Jr. likely inspired ComicBook/{{Superboy}}.[[/note]] The two characters took on their own identities after that, where Captain Marvel's stories tended to emphasize his magical origins (since he got his superpowers from a [[WizardClassic wizard]]), while Superman's stories emphasized his sci-fi origins (since he was born on another planet). Captain Marvel also became noticeably more innocent and optimistic (since he was a [[OlderAlterEgo child in an adult's body]]), while the adult Superman became more wise and mature with age.

* When ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} was first introduced in 1958, she wasn't appreciably different from ComicBook/{{Superman}} apart from her age and gender--and even her age didn't set her apart from Superman ''that'' much, since she debuted when ''ComicBook/{{Superboy}}'' (following the adventures of a teenage Clark Kent) was already a popular long-running comic book. To make her more unique, most modern interpretations of the character strongly emphasize the ChildOfTwoWorlds aspect of her backstory: unlike her cousin Kal-El (who was sent to Earth as an infant, and has effectively no memories of the planet Krypton), Kara Zor-El grew up on Krypton and wasn't sent to Earth until she was a teenager--meaning that her Kryptonian heritage is a deeply ingrained part of her identity, and she actually has to struggle to adjust to human culture.
* This occurred to the original comic book ''ComicBook/{{Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles|Mirage}}'', who, after starting out as flat characters, eventually began developing individual traits. The earliest issues were in black and white, but the colored issues had all their bandannas colored red. The 1987 cartoon differentiated them further by [[{{Flanderization}} focusing each Turtle's characterization on a single trait]] ("[[ExpositoryThemeTune Leonardo leads, Donatello does machines, Raphael is cool but rude, Michelangelo is a party dude!]]"), while the color coding of their bandannas happened about the same time as the comics. All subsequent adaptations have taken their cues from that.

* Early on ''Animation/MashaAndTheBear'', Masha's animals that live with her, a pig, a goat and a dog, were three animals that had the same trait of running away or hiding from [[AndCallHimGeorge Masha's affections and games]]. As the series went by, the pig, who was given the name Rosie, developed her own personality as someone who liked music and dance, [[AscendedExtra she eventually became a more prominent character]], [[AnthropomorphicShift and also became a bit more anthropomorphic]]. Meanwhile [[NoNameGiven the goat and the dog]] remained as {{Flat Character}}s, appearing only in Masha's house or in scenes that required many characters.

* Ninten and Ness from ''VideoGame/{{Mother}}'' look near identical. To distinguish Ninten from his more popular {{expy}} Ness, fans redesign Ninten in fan art. Fans almost always draw Ninten wearing a handkerchief around his neck (something taken from the live action commercial for ''VideoGame/EarthboundBeginnings''). Some differentiate him even more from Ness by changing the colors of his shirt (usually to red, white, and blue instead of its canon blue and yellow, which also comes from the commercial).
* Adeleine and Ado from ''Franchise/{{Kirby}}''. Officially, it's currently ambigious whether they are the same character or not, but evidence from prior to the release of ''Kirby 64'' makes it seem fairly clear that Adeleine was at the very least originally meant to be Ado herself. Most notably, the design used for Ado in manga adaptions looks almost exactly like Adeleine's eventual look. But these days, fans who consider them to be different characters distinguish them via the different traits their sport in ''Dream Land 3'' and ''Kirby 64'' respectively.
* ''Fanfic/CodeGeassPaladinsOfVoltron'': The Lions mostly match up with their ''WesternAnimation/VoltronLegendaryDefender'' selves, but with some differences due to the new ones added into the roster.

** [[TimeMaster Dave Strider]] has abused TimeTravel to create a whole mafia of paradox clones of himself, leaving the eldest clone in charge while he fights crime as the costumed vigilante Crowbro. Most of these clones have very short life expectancies due to their nature as paradoxes, and as a result are significantly more paranoid than Alpha Dave. The eldest clone serving as TheDon, however, has somehow survived for several years in his role, but his belief that as a paradox clone his days are numbered has led to him being significantly more open with his emotions than TheStoic Alpha Dave. Alpha Dave doesn't take kindly to the divergence, however, and ultimately their differences lead to a violent falling-out.

** In series, Saiyans are descendants of Kryptonians whose colony was abandoned and eventually resettled on planet Vegeta and evolved on the planet. The evolution seems to have cost them some of the super abilities a Kryptonian can have (such as super breath and laser vision) in exchange for learning how to use ki for energy blasts and transform into a Golden Super Mode.

** Ditto possesses a telepathic ability to communicate among his duplicates that Echo Echo is noted in Beyond to explicitely not possess.
** Toepick's species evolved from Eye Guy's Optocoid species when stranded on a planet with twelve times gravity and mutatgenic Corrodium which squashed the cartilige forms down into dumpier appearanced and limited the species eye's to their faces while gaining paralyzing gas and light powers.

* In ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'', Chloé and Lila fill similar roles: they're both {{Alpha Bitch}}es who love to torment Marinette, have crushes on Adrien, and eventually [[spoiler:team up with the BigBad]]. In ''Webcomic/ScarletLady'', while Chloé remains the same, Lila ends up undergoing CharacterDevelopment and becoming a nicer person in order to distinguish her from the other girl.

** In [[WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls1998 the original]] ''Powerpuff Girls'' cartoon, the Rowdyruff Boys started out nigh-identical to each other, but eventually started getting their own individual personality traits. ''CN Akumas'' ends up taking the divergence even further -- Boomer is a vain BrainlessBeauty but also the nicest of the three, Brick is the hotheaded leader with some HiddenDepths, and Butch is both the meanest of the three and TheStoner.

* Rare inverted example; In ''Film/CruelIntentions'', both Kathryn and Sebastian were [[EvilIsSexy attractive]], [[MagnificentBastard intelligent]] young people who pride themselves on their ability to [[ReallyGetsAround bed any member of the opposite sex they choose]]. The two main differences between them are [[DistaffCounterpart their sex organs]] and the expectations society has of them due to said organs. In the prequel ''Film/CruelIntentions2'', [[spoiler:Sebastian is kind and considerate, and Kathryn is cold, calculating, and uses sex as a weapon; and frequently destroys other peoples lives for her own amusement or revenge. Both try to convert the other to their way of thinking, but Sebastian is broken by Kathryn and ends up becoming a male version of her.]]
* ''Film/HarryPotterAndThePrisonerOfAzkaban'' gives Crabbe and Goyle some defining quirks and characteristics. Crabbe becomes the group's ButtMonkey who Malfoy constantly abuses, while Goyle becomes Malfoy’s right hand man. Crabbe was also given a few running gags, such as getting injured in his ass, supporting Harry (much to Draco’s annoyance) and [[NotSoAboveItAll letting his emotions get the better off him (also to Draco’s annoyance)]]. Goyle meanwhile is portrayed as [[TheQuietOne quiet]], [[SmugSnake smug]], meaner and [[HairTriggerTemper having a very short temper]]. He also tries to punch his way out of most situations (such as hitting a firework or trying to punch the spider on Draco’s face).

* Leon from ''Film/TheProfessional'' came to be when Creator/LucBesson noticed Creator/JeanReno's character in ''[[Film/{{Nikita}} La Femme Nikita]]'', Victor the Cleaner (also a ConsummateProfessional implacable hitman), was kind of wasted as a One-Scene Wonder, and so decided to make a movie centered around an {{Expy}} of him, played by the same actor. But along the project León and Victor ended up diverging, so while they're both extremely skilled hitmen, Victor is a lot more mature and cold while León is more child-like and humane. Besson describes Léon as "Victor's more humane and principled American cousin".

** Raphael is incredibly muscular compared to the other three. On top of that, his mask is a bandana fashioned like a do-rag, and he's covered in training bandages. He also has a character scarred onto his right shoulder.
** Leonardo sports shoulder guards and other samurai style armor garments. He's also the most "average" build of the four.

** Arcee, Chromia and Elita-1 were very similar in design as the requisite {{Fem Bot}}s, while the movie has them all as motorcycles they are individualized with different unicycle-themed robot modes and weapons.

** Frenzy and Rumble were cassette minions of Soundwave and ThoseTwoGuys to the point the fandom had an in-joke of FIBRIR "Frenzy is blue, Rumble is red" as a moniker to remember which was which, and alternatively FIRRIB because it wasn't consistent between toys and media. In the first film Frenzy appears as his own character entirely who transforms into a boombox and vaguely connected to Barricade rather than Soundwave.

* In the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' novels, the faculty of Unseen University are intitally portrayed as fairly interchangable, even in the Ridcully years when they start being consistent from book to book: a bunch of old men prone to arguing about minutae. While none of them ever ''stop'' being this, the most frequently mentioned members gradually start showing further quirks: the Bursar slowly descends into madness due to having to work with Ridcully; the Dean of Pentangles is fat even by wizard standards, the most rebellious, and most prone to being affected by whatever weirdness is happening this time; the Senior Wrangler is not entirely sure about his wizardly vow of celibacy and the one who at least explains to Ponder Stibbons ''why'' he thinks everything the younger wizard says should be dismissed out of hand, and so on.

** Fred and George are an identical pair of trouble makers (and are twins to boot). In the final book, George gets an ear blown off by dark magic, making it easy to tell them apart. And then, of course, [[spoiler:Fred dies]].

* In ''Literature/TheHungerGames'' Katniss' prep team starts off as basically one character. But through ''Catching Fire'' and ''Mockingjay'', [[TheMcCoy Octavia]] is more emotionally unstable, and [[TheSpock Venia]] is slightly more level headed than the other two.

* In ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'', Agents Fitz and Simmons were originally treated as [[TheDividual near-identical quirky British lab techs.]] In fact, in the series premiere they were first referred to as "[[PortmanteauCoupleName Fitz-Simmons]]" and it was only ''later'' clarified to the audience that they are in fact two separate people. Their only major differences at first were gender, place of birth, and specialty, with Leo Fitz being a male Scottish engineer and Dr. Jemma Simmons a female English biochemist. Over the course of the first season, more differences crop up; Fitz is a CowardlyLion with a crush on Simmons [[CannotSpitItOut he can’t bring himself to tell her about,]] while Simmons is a bit of a NightmareFetishist but a [[BadLiar horrible liar.]] The second season has split them up and put them in different situations several times, and by the time they admit their love and become a couple in the third season, they have both adequately evolved into separate characters.
* The Cylons of ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}'' started out mass-produced, with each model line sharing an identical personality. By the end of the series, the models most sympathetic to humans, especially the Sixes and Eights, had diverged to having unique identities (and even names for the Sixes). Meanwhile the antagonistic models such as the Cavils (Ones), Dorals (Fives), and Simons (Fours) remained monolithic and identical.
* In ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'', Amy was introduced as a DistaffCounterpart to Sheldon, more or less exactly like him in every way. As the show progressed Amy began to spend time with Penny, became her "bestie", and began to open up socially, revealing a lonely and troubled childhood responsible for how she is, and developing normal desires for attention and romance from Sheldon that eventually lead to him declaring them an OfficialCouple.
* In the first three seasons of ''Series/{{Boy Meets World}}'', best friends Cory and Shawn were both originally depicted as class clowns and academic slackers who barely skated by in school. Starting in the fourth season, both characters started to develop their own identities. Cory became an archetype for the white, middle-class, suburban All-American "good boy" who has a steady relationship with his high school sweetheart, generally obeys and honors his parents, has a deep friendship with his best friend, and does fairly decently in school. Shawn, on the other hand, became synonymous with the disturbed, troubled soul who grew up in a broken home and had a lot of social and emotional baggage. Shawn's slacker persona was maintained throughout the high school episodes. However, starting in Season 6, when the characters were all in college, Shawn's knack for writing and his love of English literature and poetry was revealed and established. While neither he nor Cory were on Topanga's academic level by any means, their school performance was drastically better compared to the first two or three seasons.

* In ''Series/{{Farscape}}'', main character John Crichton was split into two identical beings (not cloned- the original Crichton was transformed into two Crichtons, each with an equal claim to being the "real" John Crichton), who were distinguished only by the colour of their shirts. The crew split up into two groups on two different ship, each one taking a Crichton with them. The groups were separate for almost a whole season, and the two Crichtons lived different lives and developed different personalities, [[spoiler: and one of them died]]. This was symbolised by them playing an endless game of rock-paper-scissors when they were first split, and constantly tying, but when the crew reunited, they played one last round [[spoiler: (the survivor against a recording of the dead one)]], and finally broke the tie.
* Brittany and Santana on ''Series/{{Glee}}'' start out as [[AlphaBitch Quinn's]] interchangeable minions (Brittany in particular had next to no lines and was basically a prop), with the occasional throwaway line about them secretly having sex. Over the course of the series however, the two gained distinctive personalities of their own: Brittany a BrainlessBeauty but a LovableAlphaBitch, openly bisexual, and one of the two best dancers in the Glee club; and Santana became one of the best singers in the group, as well as a SpicyLatina and LipstickLesbian whose {{gayngst}} was perhaps the most beloved storyline of the third season. And their relationship went from a minor running gag to being fully explored. After [[TheCharacterDiedWithHim Finn's death,]] they became the show's BetaCouple behind Kurt and Blaine.

* Lindsay and Marly from ''Series/TheNewAdventuresOfOldChristine'' were originally identical snooty blondes. As the series progessed, Marly became the evident assertive leader, and Lindsay started to [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold reveal her heart of gold]].

* ''Series/TheWire'': Herc and Carver start the show as partners and comic relief, who are also known for being hotheaded cops that relish in doing things "the Western District way". Towards the end of season 3, Carver is given a talking to by Major Colvin, and subsequently matures into a much better cop who is more focused on the community than in chasing statistics-based arrests, while Herc doesn't mature and eventually finds himself kicked off the force for political reasons.

** Ruby and Jadu were the TokenMinority characters in the FiveManBand without too much to distinguish them. As the show went on, Ruby's love of modern conveniences was expanded on to make her something of a GadgeteerGenius. Jadu doesn't get the same development, but does show herself to be a great motivational speaker more than once.

* Music/JohnFrusciante of the Music/RedHotChiliPeppers was initially a clone of the man he was replacing, Hillel Slovak. It's especially evident in live performances from the Mother's Milk period, where he nails the old funk-punk songs perfectly (he had been an RHCP fan since the first album and learnt all their songs). However, he had melodic traits which developed over time. Rick Rubin encouraged the band to utilise them, paying off when Frusciante wrote the ballad "Under The Bridge", the band's biggest hit ever. During a period of time away from the band, in which he was addicted to heroin and cocaine, he created some extremely odd, dark and trippy solo music, which was mostly acoustic and not performed with a band. Some of this style, though raw, laid the blueprint for RHCP's own musical evolution into an alternative rock band, notably the ballad "Femininity". When Frusciante returned to the band, he fed some of this dark and melodic playing style into the album Californication, notably in such tracks as "Otherside". Frusciante's next album "To Record Only Water For Ten Days" featured synth textures and drum machine, and an entirely melodic collection of songs. It went over well with the band and producer Rick Rubin, and the style of next album By The Way evolved directly from "To Record Only Water"'s atmospheric qualities, and the full band style of By The Way fed back into John's solo album "Shadows Collide With People". Frusciante, however, kept experimenting over the years, surprising fans with his Letur-Lefr EP and subsequent releases, which were electronic based and didn't feature as much guitar or vocals, to the point where his current style is considerably distinct to the style he created with RHCP that is still their trademark. Unsurprisingly, he has no interest in returning to the band, something which a lot of fans fail to accept.

* Music/MissyElliott's early rap style was essentially a female version of her production partner Music/{{Timbaland}}, as they both had a very similar low-key, talky, digitized rap voice. Initially the only thing that set Missy apart was that she sang more often. But her third album, 2001's ''Miss E...So Addictive'', saw her develop her own distinctive rap style that was louder and more exuberant, which she has been using ever since.

* In Myth/EgyptianMythology, Sekhmet and Bastet seem to have both started out as lion-headed war goddesses. Over time, Bastet was depicted more as [[CatGirl a housecat]] and a protector of the home rather than the nation, and added some associations with fertility, pregnancy and childbirth.

* Wrestling/MsChif and [[Wrestling/HunterJohnston Delirious]] were initially both ruthlessly violent screamers. Delirious was the more active of the two in Gateway Championship Wrestling, so this wasn't much issue at first, but as [=MsChif=]'s winning streak continued to increase and her ring time with it, Delirious instead became an AffablyEvil Unintelligible hyperactive MotorMouth while [=MsChif=] became more of an ambitious schemer and rabble rouser. Delirious's change in personality could be explained by him changing his mask from white to green, as he also wore red masks when acting much more vindictive while on the path of revenge in Wrestling/RingOfHonor and black masks when the thrall of Wrestling/JimmyJacobs caused him to turn on his friends in The Age Of The Fall. All the same, when he was forced to wear white while BrainWashed for Wrestling/UltraMantisBlack's Order Of The Neo Solar Temple and again by Wrestling/DieBruderschaftDesKreuzes in Wrestling/{{Chikara}}, Delirious indeed did go back to something resembling his old personality but never did go back to screaming.

* The Wrestling/BellaTwins's initial act was as a pair of identical sisters who looked, wrestled and acted the same (so they could pull off a TwinSwitch). As of 2013, Nikki had gotten breast implants and started powerlifting to give herself AmazonianBeauty in contrast to Brie's waifier frame. ''Series/TotalDivas'' established Brie as a level-headed, hard-drinking GranolaGirl, and Nikki as a passionate lover of high fashion and expensive gifts. Ring-wise, Nikki came to wrestle a more power-based offence and Brie opted for more aerial moves.
* Wrestling/BulletClub and The Kingdom were coincidentally similar in that the were both {{heel}} power stables who frequently did homages to older acts(Wrestling/{{n|ewWorldorder}}Wo and Wrestling/{{D|generationX}}X for the former, Wrestling/CMPunk and [[Wrestling/MattHardy Hardy]] [[Wrestling/JeffHardy Boyz]] for the latter). However, before the Club made it to Wrestling/{{R|ingOfHonor}}OH, they lost Wrestling/PrinceDevitt and replaced him with Wrestling/AJStyles, a wrestler the fans had all but given up on seeing in ROH again. After his successful [[Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling IWGP]] Heavyweight Title Defense at ''War Of The Worlds'', Styles would be attacked without provocation by Kingdom leader Wrestling/AdamCole, who incidentally was the one member most unlike anyone in Bullet Club at the time, and be saved by Wrestling/HiroshiTanahashi and Wrestling/JushinThunderLiger, giving Styles strong association with established baby {{face}}s and allowing the rest of the Club to collectively HeelFaceTurn in ROH as they went on to support Styles as he sought retribution against Cole and inevitably ran into the rest of The Kingdom.

* Early in his career, Wrestling/{{Sting}} wrestled in a tag team as "Flash" Borden alongside [[Wrestling/UltimateWarrior Jim Hellwig]] (who would later become better-known as "The Ultimate Warrior"), and his look and persona were ''very'' similar to his: bleached blond hair, flamboyant personality, clean-cut All-American attitude, and colorful face paint. The two would ultimately go their separate ways in 1987 after Hellwig was signed to Wrestling/{{WWF}} as the Ultimate Warrior, while Sting went to Jim Crockett Promotions (later renamed Wrestling/{{WCW}}). By the early 1990s, Sting gradually adopted a more distinct look and ring presence, growing out his naturally black hair and wearing darker colors, and displaying a more low-key personality. But during his iconic feud with Wrestling/HulkHogan and the Wrestling/NewWorldOrder in 1996, he ''drastically'' overhauled his entire persona by adopting a {{goth}}ic alter ego inspired by ''ComicBook/TheCrow''--complete with ghost-white face paint, all-black clothing (including a [[BadassLongcoat trench coat]]), and an eerily [[TheQuietOne silent]] and [[TheStoic stoic]] demeanor. His new look and attitude proved to be so popular with fans that they've endured to this day.

* Jaya Ballard was a character that showed up in the flavor text of ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' cards whenever they wanted someone they could attribute a quote to that had to do with PlayingWithFire. She eventually got a card and appeared in the story proper, where she was depicted as a HotBlooded FieryRedhead. She went away, but eventually was replaced by Chandra Nalaar, who also has all of those properties. Eventually, we find out that she actually went to the school of pyromancy Jaya started, and she comes back as a CoolOldLady mentor figure for Chandra. To differentiate them, Chandra fights by making as much fire as she possibly can, while Jaya uses smaller, more precise fire blasts - when a spell is attributed to one of them when they both appear, Chandra's usually do more damage, which Jaya's are usually cheaper and can hit multiple targets.

* Giggles and Petunia from ''WebAnimation/HappyTreeFriends''. They were originally just girly girls with no difference in personality. Giggles' personality stayed basically the same, although with her getting more generally associated with romance (being the girl most commonly paired up with male characters and having a Valentine's Day-themed Smoochie) and having a brief stint as an enviromentalist in one episode. Petunia, however, gained a more concrete character trait in the TV series in the form of a ''[[SanitySlippage serious]]'' NeatFreak streak.
* In ''WebAnimation/RedVsBlue'', Donut and Caboose were originally just an identical pair of dumb rookies. But now, Donut is AmbiguouslyGay with somewhat-below-average intelligence, and Caboose is [[TooDumbToLive a complete idiot who thinks]] [[TheDitz electricity is invisible magic]].

* In early issues of ''WebAnimation/TeenGirlSquad'', the girls were pretty much identical in personality, with their traits being mostly an InformedAttribute. Around the third issue, they became based on various teenage-girl cliches (AlphaBitch, GoGetterGirl, and HollywoodHomely).
* ''WebAnimation/YourFavoriteMartian'': Benatar and Axel started off looking very similarly, with the same features, facial expressions, same hairdo (except Benatar's was blonde and had shorter hair) and the fact they were both just background characters. With the new art style, Axel retained the hairstyle, facial expression and background character status but his muscles grew larger, while Benatar turned into a more PrettyBoy type with softened features and also gained more prominence in the band.

* Occurs with Akuma and Kari in the sprite comic [=AkumaTH=]. They both started out as literal {{Shotoclone}}s, both using the same fighting style. They diverged fairly quickly however, with Akuma focusing on energy attacks and Kari focusing on punches and kicks. Kari did the most [[InnocentInnuendo deviating]], most notably with her [[SignatureMove signature]] Monsoon Kick, a hurricane kick that rotates vertically and moves horizontally, instead of the other way around.

** Elliot and Ellen started out being almost exactly the same apart from their genders, but that is [[JustifiedTrope justified]] since Ellen is a OppositeSexClone of Elliot and was "born" with a perfect copy of his memories and personality. However, her initial CloneAngst and subsequent attempts to establish her own identity led to this trope. (Which is ''[[JustForFun/TropeOverdosed also]]'' [[JustForFun/TropeOverdosed illustrated]] in the same "failed at perversion" comic above.)

* In his very first appearance in ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'', Nale was nearly identical to his twin brother Elan, even going so far as to multiclass to have the same powers as a bard. This was enforced; once Nale had his FaceHeelTurn, he dropped the facade to reveal the cunning mastermind beneath, and has been going further in that direction ever since while Elan becomes even more GenreSavvy in line with his bardic training. [[spoiler:After Nale's death, Elan began to adopt more of his brother's traits; he was no longer restrained to being the "Good" Twin, and felt no guilt for letting their father fall hundreds of feet from an airship.]]
* The earlier strips of ''Webcomic/{{PHD}}'' portrays the University professors as a group of sinister HiveMind whose sole purpose of existence is cause misery to the students during Quals. They have since gained individual characterisation and personalities.

* Rosalie and Marie from ''Webcomic/SisterClaire''. Early in the comic, the two are basically the exact same character, down to being IdenticalTwins. As the story went on, the two branched off to be quite different. Roise developing a hot-headed temperment and bad habit of acting rashly and angrily. While Marie grew into the gentler, more empathic side of the two, with a hinted crush on Claire.
* Azu and Rau from ''Webcomic/AStoryOfFire''. They both begin as callous, murderous oni, but after recovering their human memories they follow completely opposite developments which puts them at odds in the finale.

* ''Roleplay/InkCity'' has a crack community called Labocabana, the events within being noncanon to the main game. This has resulted in certain characters developing ''very'' differently within Labocanon, such as [[WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}} Yakko and Dot]]. This has had direct effects on the main story, thanks to [[spoiler:Labo!Dot crossing the MoralEventHorizon and her mun trying to prevent IC!Dot from making the same choice by showing her what happened through the FourthWall]].

* In ''WebAnimation/MadnessCombat'', the protagonist Hank looked exactly like a normal Madness Combat character but became more different each time he [[DeathIsCheap died and resurrected]] by getting bandages and ninja-like clothes. The same applies to Sanford and Deimos, who we actually see get their unique appearences in real time in ''5.5'' and ''6.5''.
* In ''Franchise/{{Noob}}'', Couette started out as Sparadrap's DistaffCounterpart before she started showing signs of being more self-centered than him (e.g. sometimes complaning about [[WardrobeWound the state of her clothes]] in the middle of a battle) and knowing random pieces of in-game trivia. In the meantime, Sparadrap remained the franchise poster boy for KindheartedSimpleton. The divergent evolution is at different stages depending on the media between Couette being a frequent no-show in the webseries, the novels covering short timespans with much bigger time skips between them and the comic storyline being less advanced than the two previous.
* Zig-zagged by ''WebVideo/TheNostalgiaChick'' and ''WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic''. She started out being just a simple girl version of his basic traits - snarky manchild doing linear reviews – but then something changed. She got a three dimensional characterization of her own, as well as adopting more analysis-review Style, but the similarities ran much deeper (to name but a few; both have histories of abuse, bad {{inferiority superiority complex}}es, desperation for power and psychopathic child tendencies) as well as their differences turning ying-yang (overly dominant/worringly submissive, emotionally repressed/can't hide anything, hates kids but loves animals/hates animals but loves kids), much to her self-loathing denial and his clingy love.

** Between 1992 and 2014, the Subaru Impreza WRX was a performance version of the Impreza. Since 2014, the Impreza name was dropped and the WRX shares less and less parts with the regular Impreza.
* In online slang himbo has been originally created as a DistaffCounterpart to bimbo - a term for a woman with strongly emphasized, or outright exagerrated, physical traits associated with traditional femininity, low sexual inhibitions combined with strong libido and either [[TheDitz not very bright]] or lacking interest in things beyond good looks and sex. However, himbo quickly became associated with a very specific type of character - a NiceGuy [[{{Hunk}} both handsome and muscular, ofter physically big]] and [[TheDitz not very smart]]. It ended diffirentiating from bimbo so much to get its own DistaffCounterpart - fembo, an AmazonianBeauty with ditzy mind, but wholesome personality.

* In ''Manga/{{Eyeshield 21}}'' Jumonji, Kuroki, and Togano started out as stereotypical delinquents. This didn't last, with Togano becoming an aspiring artist, Jumonji outed as a smart guy hanging out with the wrong crowd, and Kuroki remaning a typical, but friendlier, thug. Despite all being linemen, they also began to be differentiated by their abilities, with Kuroki being the fastest, Togano the strongest and Jumonji the smartest and most technically skilled.

* ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam00'' featured a replacement twin who at first appears a lot like his [[spoiler: murdered]] twin older brother. This lasts about three episodes when he starts to get pissed by it and shows some people he is very different. In the end, they are not 'that' different... they have similar core personalities, but simply handle life differently starting from there. [[spoiler: Remarked when the surviving twin kills the BloodKnight who murdered his entire family, and who his brother died trying to get revenge against - yet doesn't do it out of revenge, but because the other rejected the LastSecondChance he gave him. Well, that and the guy was about to shoot ''him''.]]
** However, outside of piloting the same Gundam set, they had slightly different inclinations. [[spoiler:Neal]] was pretty much "The Sniper" of the team and would only resort to full frontal combat in dire situations. On the other hand, [[spoiler:Lyle]] was more well rounded and while he was a skilled sniper as well, he usually would eschew the rifle in the favor of his handguns. You can see this better when the third gundam, which is tailored closer to his own abilities puts more emphasis on multi-targeting over outright sniping.

* In early issues of ''WebAnimation/TeenGirlSquad'', the girls were pretty much identical in personality, with their traits being mostly an InformedAttribute. Around the third issue, they became based on various teenage-girl cliches (AlphaBitch, GoGetterGirl, CoolLoser, and HollywoodHomely).

* ''Migi and Dali'', being about scheming twins, initially had them start out as pretty similar (and intentionally so since they're pretending to be one person). However, as time goes on they become very distinct from each other; Migi was more emotional, a bit dumb and often seemed to rely on Dali to come up with plans (but had a knack for impersonating his foster mother), while Dali tries to position himself as the older brother but has a hot temper and a BigBrotherInstinct when Migi is pushed too far.

*** Nestor was brought back by the Brazilian comics in 1967 as José's [[BestFriend closest friend]], and has since become one of the most proeminent characters in the locally made stories. Over the years, he also went through considerable Main/ArtEvolution, which gave him a shorter round beak, different clothes and a new "hairstyle", with very distinctive round feathers in his head.

** ''Anime/DragonBallZ'': Nappa and Vegeta were both [[BloodKnight bloodthirsty space pirates]] that worked under [[BigBad Frieza]] and wanted to use the Dragon Balls to gain immortality. While the former was killed in the first saga, the latter eventually became an AntiHero, started a family, and discarded the chance at immortality in favor of becoming Goku's [[TheRival rival]].

Named after the biological phenomenon known as [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divergent_evolution Divergent Evolution,]] where two closely related species develop wildly different traits over time. Here it means an act of CharacterDevelopment wherein a character who was extremely similar to another character is given his or her own identity.

** Elliot and Ellen started out being almost exactly the same apart from their genders, but that is [[JustifiedTrope justified]] since Ellen is a OppositeSexClone of Elliot and was "born" with a perfect copy of his memories and personality. However, her initial CloningBlues and subsequent attempts to establish her own identity led to this trope. (Which is ''[[JustForFun/TropeOverdosed also]]'' [[JustForFun/TropeOverdosed illustrated]] in the same "failed at perversion" comic above.)

* ''Series/TheWire'': Herc and Carver start the show as partners and comic relief, who are also known for being hotheaded cops that relish in doing things "[[CatchPhrase the Western District way]]". Towards the end of season 3, Carver is given a talking to by Major Colvin, and subsequently matures into a much better cop who is more focused on the community than in chasing statistics-based arrests, while Herc doesn't mature and eventually finds himself kicked off the force for political reasons.

* The Big Five in ''Anime/YuGiOh'': Initially they're an OmniscientCouncilOfVagueness, with the collective goal of taking over [=KaibaCorp=] for unspecified, but undoubtedly sinister intentions. In the "Virtual Nightmare" arc, they're all given separate personalities, and objectives, and while they all share the goal of defeating Kaiba and escaping into the real world, their reasons for hating him are fleshed out, with them gaining separate backstories and motivations. BigBad Oshita/[[DubNameChange Ganzley]] and AmoralAttorney [[EvilGenius Ooka]]/[[DubNameChange Johnson]] are just greedy while the latter is also a cheating coward, the rather pitiable [[DarkChick Otaki]]/[[DubNameChange Crump]] is furious at Kaiba for mocking his penguin obsession, [[TheBrute Ota]]/[[DubNameChange Nezbitt's]] angry about his work being disposed of and his lab destroyed, and [[TheDragon Daimon]]/[[DubNameChange Leichter's]] TheResenter par excellence and believes that he should have inherited the company.