History Main / IconicCharacterForgottenTitle

* The obscure {{Doujinshi}} fighting game ''VideoGame/{{Monster}}'' is all but forgotten nowadays -- no thanks to it becoming {{Vaporware}} -- but one of the characters, Delga, has managed to rise above the game's obscurity thanks to his popularity on the internet, especially in a [[UsefulNotes/FurryFandom certain demographic]]. It's more likely that anyone who's heard of Delga as a character doesn't even know he's ''from'' a video game in the first place.

* This happened early on with Franchise/{{Superman}}. ''ComicBook/ActionComics'' was at first supposed to feature a variety of characters but Superman quickly took off and interviewing newstand owners revealed that kids were asking, not for Action Comics, but for "that comic book with Superman in it." Eventually, the title shifted to some variation of "Action Comics starring Superman" or "Superman in Action Comics " (this has shifted back and forth over the decades). Of course, he has additional titles in his own name.
* A similar thing happened with ''ComicBook/DetectiveComics'' and Franchise/{{Batman}}.
* ''ComicBook/AdventureComics'' eventually became a vehicle for ComicBook/{{Superboy}}, and later on the ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes.
* ''ComicBook/TwoThousandAD'' is primarily known as the comic with ''ComicBook/JudgeDredd'' in it, and has spawned a sister comic titled as such. ("Judge Dredd Magazine", that is, not "The Comic with Judge Dredd in It".)
* ''[[ComicStrip/DennisTheMenaceUK Dennis the Menace]]'' (UK) has been headlining the British comic book ''ComicBook/TheBeano'' since 1974. And like Judge Dredd, Dennis now has a magazine in his own name.
* Similarly, ''Desperate Dan'' was the main draw in ''ComicBook/TheDandy'' from 1984 until its demise, with only a short interruption in 1999.
* The word ''ComicBook/{{Hellblazer}}'' just gets smaller and smaller, while the words "ComicBook/JohnConstantine" get larger and larger. Ironic, because the original title was chosen specifically because they didn't think anyone would know who Constantine was (despite his appearances in the ''Comicbook/SwampThing'').
* ''ComicBook/JourneyIntoMystery'' is another example of a book that was originally supposed to be an anthology but eventually became dominated by stories about its [[BreakoutCharacter most popular character]] before finally just being renamed for him. In this case, it became ''ComicBook/TheMightyThor.'' The title ''Journey Into Mystery'' has since been revived on occasion heavily featuring Thor's supporting characters as its focus, with the most recent run centering first on Loki and later Lady Sif.
* The [[MilestoneCelebration 100th issue]] of ''Tales of Suspense'' saw the series renamed ''ComicBook/CaptainAmerica'', after the superhero who co-starred (alongside ComicBook/IronMan) since issue #59.
* Similarly, ''Tales to Astonish'' became ''Comicbook/TheIncredibleHulk'' with #102, after the character who'd been co-starring since issue #59.
* ''ComicBook/{{Alias}}'', whose collected editions are downright called ''Comicbook/JessicaJones: Alias''. [[Series/{{Alias}} The unrelated TV series with Jennifer Garner]] and [[Series/JessicaJones2015 the live-action adaptation that goes for the character name]] don't help matters.
* ComicBook/{{Deadpool}} is currently one of the most popular and iconic superheroes in the world, but relatively few people could tell you that he was introduced as a recurring antagonist in the ''ComicBook/XMen'' {{spinoff}} ''ComicBook/XForce''. Overlaps with MorePopularSpinoff, since most people would agree that his various solo series are also much more popular and iconic than the various incarnations of ''X-Force''.

* M.C. Escher's ''Relativity'' is often simply known as the "Impossible Stairs" or "Crazy Stairs", among other names.

[[folder:Films -- Animated]]

* Due to the iconic line "TheyCallMeMisterTibbs," the name of the character Virgil Tibbs is way better known than the name of the movie that introduced him, ''Film/InTheHeatOfTheNight''. The movie's first sequel just straight-up titled itself, ''[[Film/TheyCallMeMisterTibbs1970 They Call Me Mister Tibbs!]]''.

* A number of people mistake the name of ''WesternAnimation/{{Jem}}'' as "Jem and the Holograms" because that's the actual name of the band she performs with in the show. Even [[http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/videolinks/thedudette/nostalgia-chick/31375-jem-and-the-holograms The Nostalgia Chick]] did this when reviewing the show. In the 2010s the name of the series was outright changed to "Jem And The Holograms". The LiveActionAdaptation, IDW comics, dvds, and reruns refer to it as such.

* A few books of Literature/{{the Bible}} fall under this category. Most people know that Samson, Delilah, David, Goliath, and Solomon are from the Old Testament (or the Tanakh, if you're [[UsefulNotes/{{Judaism}} Jewish]]), but relatively few people could tell you the actual ''books'' of the Old Testament where they appear. For the record: Samson and Delilah are from the Literature/BookOfJudges, David and Goliath are from the Literature/BooksOfSamuel, and Solomon is from the Literature/BooksOfKings.

* ''Manga/SgtFrog'' is often simply called "Keroro" by casual fans due to the popularity of the original Japanese anime (titled ''Keroro Gunso'') on [=YouTube=] back in the mid-to-late 2000s and due the show's Japanese theme song, wherein Keroro's name is sang repeatedly throughout.