History Main / ReimaginingTheArtifact

* Ryan Howard of ''Series/{{The Office|US}}'' eventually lost his role as the newcomer, and went through an arc that saw him become a CorruptCorporateExecutive and then fall from grace. Despite having no storyline to advance, he stuck around because he was played by an executive producer on the show. Later seasons remedied this by making the character into a satire of a hipster, thus giving him something unique to do again.

* ''VideoGame/SpiderManPS4'' has J. Jonah Jameson not as a newspaper editor but as a talk-radio pundit and conspiracy theory podcaster á la Alex Jones. And it makes a lot more sense than it should. [[spoiler:So much sense, in fact, that the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse would borrow from this game to modernize Jonah similarly in ''Film/SpiderManFarFromHome''.]] ''The Daily Bugle'' itself, however, is still mentioned as existing as a newspaper separate from Jonah's podcast, with Mary Jane working for them, though it's mentioned that they offer an online edition [[TruthInTelevision like many real-life newspapers do in order to stay afloat in the digital age]].

* [[DoctorWhoS36E11WorldEnoughAndTime "World Enough and Time"]] also did a helluva reimaginging of the infamously shaky first Cyberman costumes. In their first appearance, they looked exactly like what they were: a talented and creative but budget-constrained effects studio's attempt at rendering a robot costume out of grey cloth and whatever assorted tubing and mechanical parts they had hanging around the workshop. For the most part, this was accepted and looked past by audiences who decided "that's just what robots in the Whoniverse look like," and once the show was able to do better, the Cyberman costumes improved considerably. "World Enough and Time," however, gave an origin story to those early costumes... in-universe, they actually '''are''' what they look like, only in this case, they're the end-products of the first crude and BodyHorror-filled Cyber-conversion process... the "grey cloth" is the surgical garments they wear to hold their bodies together, and the "random machine parts" are the life support systems keeping them alive.

* Tomoki Kuroki from ''Manga/NoMatterHowILookAtItItsYouGuysFaultImNotPopular'' was at the beginning of the story the protagonist's main confident, being his brother and one of the few persons he could talk with (and the only male one at that), but given their relationship was also very vitriolic with Tomoki barely being able to stand her for more that a little while, he didn't have much of a role once more recurring characters were introduced and Tomoko actually managed to make friends so she didn't need to talk with his brother anymore. As such he went OutOfFocus for many years until [[spoiler: he became the romantic target of the KnightOfCerebus [[AlphaBitch Sacchi]] ]].

** The Wisps, the colorful aliens from ''Videogame/SonicColors'', became a mainstay in further games in the series. This is despite the fact that they left for their homeworld by the end of ''Colors'', and outside of one mobile game, their presence has never been justified. ''Forces'' uses them, this time imagining them as allies to the Resistance with the use of the Wispon, a weapon that uses channels their power for all members of the Resistance - including the playable Avatar.

* In ''Franchise/StarTrek'', the old [[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries TOS-era]] Klingon foreheads were simply dismissed as [[WatsonianVersusDoylist old budget-level alien makeup effects]] and style evolution... until the [[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine DS9]] episode "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS05E06TrialsAndTribbleations Trials and Tribble-ations]]" brought attention to it by juxtaposing Worf (undercover) next to some old-style Klingons. He said "It's a long story" and the Klingons "don't talk about it with outsiders", making the difference an in-universe affair. Come ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'', a season 4 episode finally gives an explanation: they are the result of a badly botched attempt to match human [[{{Transhuman}} augments]] with Klingon augments of their own, but it went horribly awry and caused a terminal viral disease. The cure involved a blend of human DNA to undo the damage, which had the side effect of loss of cranial ridges for a few generations. Reconstructive surgery is mentioned, hence ''specific'' Klingons showing up in the TNG era with the forehead ridges they hadn't had in their original appearances.

* Ryan Howard of ''Series/{{The Office|US}}'' eventually lost his role as the newcomer, and went through an arc that saw him become a CorruptCorporateExecutive and then fall from grace. Despite having no storyline to advance, he stuck around because as he was played by an executive producer on the show. Later seasons remedied this by making the character into a satire of a hipster, thus giving him something unique to do again.

* Western Union started out in the 1800s as a telegraphing company--including money transfers--that printed money orders on the side, then in the 1900s it became a money order company that sent telegraphs on the side. But by the end of the 20th century, telegraphs had long become obsolete and several retail chains began offering their own money order services (and e-commerce has caused money orders themselves to wane in relevance as an alternative to checks). In the 21st century, the bulk of Western Union's business has been in ''international'' money transfers, particularly to recipients in poorer countries who might not have access to apps like [=PayPal=]. Many ethnic grocers in the US offer money transfer services via Western Union for this exact purpose.

** In earlier editions, there was a [[HalfHumanHybrid half-Eldar]] Ultramarines Librarian by the name of Illiyan Nastase. As the setting developed and the Imperium's attitude of AbsoluteXenophobe was codified, Illiyan was quietly dropped for no longer making sense (not only would the Ultramarines have struggled not kill such a hybrid on sight, let alone induct him into the Chapter, the vastly differing biologies between Eldar and Humans would have made such a hybrid impossible, and the Space Marines had been rewritten assurgically modified SuperSoldiers making induction improbable even if the hybrid ''did'' exist). However, in the Dark Imperium trilogy an Aeldari Farseer liaison to Roboute Guilliman by the rather similar name of Illiyanne Natase is introduced. The name plus his role working closely with the Ultramarines cast Illiyanne as an attempt to update the Illiyan concept while working with the newer canon.

** In earlier editions, there was a [[HalfHumanHybrid half-Eldar]] Ultramarines Librarian by the name of Illiyan Nastase. As the setting developed and the Imperium's attitude of AbsoluteXenophobe was codified, Illiyan was quietly dropped for no longer making sense (not only would the Ultramarines have struggled not kill such a hybrid on sight, let alone induct him into the Chapter, but the vastly differing biologies between Eldar and Humans would have made such a hybrid impossible). However, in the Dark Imperium trilogy an Aeldari Farseer liaison to Roboute Guilliman by the rather similar name of Illiyanne Natase is introduced. The name plus his role working closely with the Ultramarines cast Illiyanne as an attempt to update the Illiyan concept while working with the newer canon.

** In earlier editions, there was a [[HalfHumanHybrid half-Eldar]] Ultramarines Librarian by the name of Illiyan Nastase. As the setting developed and the Imperium's attitude of AbsoluteXenophobe was codified, Illiyan was quietly dropped for no longer making sense (not only would the Ultramarines would have struggled not kill such a hybrid on sight let alone induct him into the Chapter, but the vastly differing biologies between Eldar and Humans would have made such a hybrid impossible). However, in the Dark Imperium trilogy an Aeldari Farseer liaison to Roboute Guilliman by the rather similar name of Illiyanne Natase is introduced. The name plus his role working closely with the Ultramarines cast Illiyanne as an attempt to update the Illiyan concept while working with the newer canon.

** ''Film/KingKong1933' depicts Kong as being a largely [[KillerGorilla mindless and violent monster]] who kidnaps the girl just because of MonsterMisogyny. Subsequent films, but especially the 2005 remake, have taken into account that gorillas are actually very intelligent and mostly peaceful herbivores. This remake plays up the tragedy by showing Kong accepting sacrifices only because he's the LastOfHisKind and desperate for any sort of socialization. Both the [[Film/KingKong1976 1976]] and 2005 remakes depict Dwan/Ann as being far more sympathetic of Kong's plight rather just screaming in terror for the whole ordeal. Both remakes also make the subtle implication Kong let Dwan/Ann live, while all the native sacrifices perished, not because [[MightyWhitey she's white]], but because she asserted herself and entertained him, while the native women probably just went passively to their deaths.

** The [[ArtifactOfDoom Alicorn Amulet]] that Trixie found in "Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E5MagicDuel"? It was initially created to increase the strength of magically weak ponies so they could stand equal to powerful-born ponies. It was ''supposed'' to just be an AmplifierArtifact... but its wearers [[HumansAreTheRealMonsters would end up using their boosted magic to do evil deeds and blame something else for it]], which eventually led to the Amulet itself becoming corrupted.
* While he's still a VR genius who [[TheMostDangerousVideoGame locked ten thousand people in a video game to have at each other]], Akihiko Kayaba is drastically overhauled to fit the GagDub and FixFic elements of ''WebVideo/SwordArtOnlineAbridged''. He has come to genuinely hate every single player due to their stupidity they show for their situation instead of being just apathetic, giving everyone a very real sense that he could kill them at any point for any reason. It's shown that his ''SAO'' game itself is very buggy and stale compared to what everyone was expecting, due to him focusing on the VR experience. Finally, this Kayaba [[spoiler: didn't actually mean for anyone to get killed in the first place, but was so out of his mind staying awake to finish the game on time (ChristmasRushed being an unfortunate real-life scenario as it is) that he didn't realize a glitch was killing players until it was too late. SanitySlippage made him just roll with it and trap everyone to save face]].

** The [[Film/KingKong1933 original film]] depicts Kong as being a largely [[KillerGorilla mindless and violent monster]] who kidnaps the girl just because of MonsterMisogyny. Subsequent films, but especially the 2005 remake, have taken into account that gorillas are actually very intelligent and mostly peaceful herbivores. This remake plays up the tragedy by showing Kong accepting sacrifices only because he's the LastOfHisKind and desperate for any sort of socialization. Both the [[Film/KingKong1976 1976]] and 2005 remakes depict Dwan/Ann as being far more sympathetic of Kong's plight rather just screaming in terror for the whole ordeal. Both remakes also make the subtle implication Kong let Dwan/Ann live, while all the native sacrifices perished, not because [[MightyWhitey she's white]], but because she asserted herself and entertained him, while the native women probably just went passively to their deaths.

** Dr. [=McCoy=]'s nickname from ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'', "Bones", comes from the term "Sawbones", which was an old nickname for doctors. Since the term has fallen from the parlance, the film had Kirk call [=McCoy=] "Bones" because, in his introduction, he explains he's joining Starfleet because "[[DivorceAssetsConflict The ex-wife took the whole damn planet]] in the divorce. All I've got left is my bones."
** Similarly, simply having an African American woman as a major character was revolutionary and progressive in the 1960s, but many more current criticisms would point out that Uhura was "answering the phones" while the white male leads went off on adventures. This criticism wasn't strictly fair, but that didn't stop the Kelvin Timeline films from making sure to point out that Uhura's linguistic skills were extremely valuable and elevating her to an ActionGirl along with the male leads. When dealing with completely foreign cultures, often for the first time, whoever "answers the phone" better be a gifted speaker for your people.

** The Friendship Reports in ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' were originally meant [[AndKnowingIsHalfTheBattle as a recap of the episode's events]], but began to be phased out near the end of Season 2 and were practically non-existent in Season 3. In Season 4, the concept was been brought back after the main cast found the Princess' old diary and decided to keep one for themselves.

* ''Series/MortalKombat'': The franchise's infamous PalletteSwap ninjas, initially conceived as a way to create new characters while [[SerendipityWritesThePlot conserving limited memory]], dominated the franchise's 2D era. When the games went 3D, the ninjas were all made [[DivergentCharacterEvolution visually distinct]] from each other and it was unnecessary to add more, since the newer consoles had much more memory to play with. Since then, only four new characters with the "masked ninja" or "cyberninja" aesthetic have been added to the series: Frost, Skarlet, Triborg, and Tremor. As for the classic ninjas, most of them have since been given maskless alternate costumes, or are even maskless by default unless it's central to their character (like Mileena being a ButterFace).

* ''Series/MortalKombat'': The franchise's infamous PalletSwap ninjas, initially conceived as a way to create new characters while [[SerendipityWritesThePlot conserving limited memory]], dominated the franchise's 2D era. When the games went 3D, the ninjas were all made [[DivergentCharacterEvolution visually distinct]] from each other and it was unnecessary to add more, since the newer consoles had much more memory to play with. Since then, only four new characters with the "masked ninja" or "cyberninja" aesthetic have been added to the series: Frost, Skarlet, Triborg, and Tremor. As for the classic ninjas, most of them have since been given the option to fight with or without a mask via alternate costumes, and some are even maskless by default if it's not central to their character (like Mileena being a ButterFace).