Arrowverse
- The Arrowverse (Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, and Legends of Tomorrow) alter many from DC Comics:
- In the comics, both of Oliver Queen's parents were Together in Death (how exactly is Depending on the Writer) before his disappearance. In the show, his father performed a Heroic Suicide when he and Oliver were Lost at Sea so the latter could have all the supplies for himself, while Oliver's mother was killed by Slade Wilson near the end of Oliver's second year as a superhero.
- In the comics, her family's massacre was part of Helena Bertinelli's backstory in becoming the Huntress. Here, her father lives to see her don the identity and is killed in a crossfire during her second year as a costumed vigilante/criminal.
- In the comics, Dinah Laurel Lance's mother and predecessor dies via cancer. In the show, her sister and predecessor was murdered (though she gets better).
- In the comics, the murders of Tatsu Yamashiro's husband and children at the hands of the yakuza are an integral part of her backstory in becoming Katana. In the show, Tatsu's child dies due to a virus outbreak while she forcefully kills her husband in combat while already donning her superhero costume.
- In the comics, Larry Lance dies Taking the Bullet for his wife Dinah Drake. In the show it's still the same, except he did it for the Alternate Self of his late daughter Dinah Laurel Lance.
- Eobard Thawne was initially killed in the comics by Barry snapping his neck. In the show, his ancestor Eddie commits suicide to Ret-Gone him.
- In the comics, Firestorm dies when his physical half, Ronnie Raymond, gets impaled with a special sword and blows up. In the show, Ronnie dies by using the energy he and Martin Stein produce every time they do and undo their Fusion Dance in order to close a wormhole that would have devoured Central City. Stein survives both encounters.
- In the comics, Iris West's mother (usually) dies via cancer. In the show, it's via McGregor's Syndrome.
- In the comics, Henry Allen dies while in prison before his son Barry can prove his innocence. In the show, he was released but is ultimately murdered by Hunter Zolomon to spite Barry.
- The comic version of Savitar was accidentally disintegrated by Barry due to Eobard Thawne tampering with the Speed Force. In the third season of The Flash, Iris shoots Savitar through the back.
- In the comics, Future Flash dies in a Heroic Sacrifice to defeat William Selkirk. In the show, he is subject to a Ret-Gone when Iris' death at Savitar's hands is prevented.
- In the comics, Clifford DeVoe dies of cancer. In the show, he tries to stave off dying from ALS by stealing the bodies of several meta-humans, including Ralph Dibny, but Barry deletes his consciousness with the help of his own Thinking Cap.
- In the comics, Zor-El dies when Krypton exploded (usually). In the show, it's because of an off-screen Heroic Sacrifice to ensure that Argo City would still function.
- In the comics, Martian Manhunter's father did die on Mars. In the show, it's revealed that he actually survived, only to perform a Heroic Sacrifice to save Earth during the Supergirl Season 3 finale.
- In the comics, Green Arrow died sacrificing himself to stop a blimp armed with a bomb that was threatening Metropolis (don't worry, he got better). Here, he dies saving Earth-38's denizens from the Anti-Monitor's forces, then is brought back as the Spectre, then dies again restoring the entire multiverse (only this one sticks, much to the sadness of his teammates).
Game of Thrones
- Game of Thrones did this to several characters that also exist in the books.
- Ser Rodrik Cassel was killed by Theon Greyjoy in the show, as opposed to Ramsay Bolton like in the books.
- In the books, Podrick killed Ser Manden Moore by knocking him into water, where his armor made him sink to the bottom and drown. In the show, Podrick killed him via a lance through the head.
- Pyat Pree was killed by Daenerys' dragons at the end of Season 2, where Pyat Pree was left alive at first, then possibly killed by Euron Greyjoy.
- Mance Rayder is mercy-killed by Jon in Season 5. In the books, he isn't killed by this, but is sent to Winterfell, where according to a letter sent by Ramsay Bolton, he has been taken captive and is being tortured to death.
- Maester Aemon dies at the Wall in the show, rather than on the Cinnamon Wind sailing from Braavos to Oldtown.
- Jon Snow is killed by Alliser Thorne, Olly, and two other members of the Night's Watch due to allowing the Wildlings to move south of the Wall in the show. In the books, he is killed by Bowen Marsh and other black brothers because he decides to personally venture south to attack Ramsay Bolton in retaliation for the letter Ramsay sent him, and the contents therein.
- Ygritte goes from being killed by a nameless archer in a skirmish before the Battle of Castle Black to being killed by Olly during the main battle.
- The Lord o' Bones/Rattleshirt is killed by Tormund at Hardhome versus being burned alive in Mance Rayder's place.
- Styr, the Magnar of Thenn, is killed by Jon Snow bashing a hammer into his head, as opposed to the book death of him falling from the wall while attempting to climb it during the Battle of Castle Black.
- Balon Greyjoy was personally killed by his brother Euron long after the conclusion of the War of the Five Kings, as opposed to the books where he's killed by a Faceless Man in the midst of the war.
- Kevan Lannister is killed by Cersei's wildfire bombing of the Great Sept of Baelor in Season 6 of the show, where in the books, he is killed in the epilogue of A Dance with Dragons by Varys.
- Grand Maester Pycelle is killed by Qyburn in the show, whereas he is also killed by Varys in the epilogue of Dance. However, the manner of death is the same, with him being stabbed to death by Varys' little birds on both counts.
- Doreah, one of Dany's handmaidens, does not die in the Red Waste, and is instead condemned to death by starvation in Xaro's impenetrable vault for her betrayal of Daenerys.
- In the books, Ser Preston Greenfield and Ser Arys Oakheart (two Kingsguard members Demoted to Extra in the show) are killed in a riot and by Areo Hotah, respectively. Both then die at the hands of the Hound in the show’s penultimate episode.
- Gregor "The Mountain" Clegane is a somewhat complicated example: in the books, he died after Oberyn poisoned him with manticore venom, and it is very strongly implied Qyburn brought his headless corpse Back from the Dead as Robert Strong, the newest member of the Kingsguard. In the show, it's ambiguous if Gregor ever died: Qyburn claimed he could save him after he was poisoned and no mention is made of him being decapitated. Either way, there doesn't seem to be much of his original mind left. Though he could easily be a zombie now, plenty of people who want him to survive have made a case for the only thing that changed about him being the color of his skin, which is now pale and purplish. In the show he's killed off for real in the penultimate episode.
- Locke avoided the encounter with Gregor Clegane which was fatal for his book counterpart. But, when it seemed that the viewers would see more of him, he was anticlimactically offed by Bran, of all people (warged into Hodor, but still), though Locke met a nice, clean, quick death, unlike Vargo Hoat, so this may count as "spared".
- Torrhen Karstark, though only for a while. He survives farther into the storyline than his book counterpart, who dies in the Battle of the Whispering Wood protecting Robb from Jaime.
- Smalljon Umber was killed during the Red Wedding in the books. Here, he isn't even introduced until long after that event. He dies during the second battle at Winterfell.
- In the book, Beric Dondarrion dies by giving Catelyn Stark the kiss of life, turning her into Lady Stoneheart. In the show, mostly because Catelyn was Killed Off for Real, he survives until Episode 3 of Season 8.
- In the book, Shae tries to seduce Tyrion, and he responds by strangling her to death with his bare hands. In the show, she tries to attack him with a dagger, and Tyrion garrotes her with a gold chain.
- In the book 13 Reasons Why, it's said that Hannah overdosed on pills. In the TV series, she slits her wrists and bleeds out in the bathtub.
- Alex Rider (2020): In the book, Grief was killed when Alex rammed a snowmobile into his helicopter. In the tv series, he's killed with neurotoxin courtesy of Gregorovitch.
- In American Gods Mad Sweeney drank a full bottle of whiskey and froze to death in the snow, in Starz's adaptation, he is impaled with Gungnir while fighting over it with Shadow, and then sends it to his hoard before dying.
- In the season one finale of Bosch, Johnny Stokes dies courtesy of a vigilante execution, which is derived from City of Bones. In the source material, Officer Edgewood performed the execution to avenge Julia Brasher's death. Since Brasher is alive in the series, a vengeful Mr. Delacroix pulls the trigger instead.
- Cleopatra (1999): Arsinoe is executed in her cell by Cleopatra, which infuriates Caesar. After her real life capture, she was taken to Rome for Caesar's triumph, but spared and confined to the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus. Cleopatra was always worried that Arsinoe would contest her claim to the throne again, who was eventually killed on Antony's orders.
- A Christmas Carol:
- In the original story, it isn't revealed how Jacob Marley died, but it was most likely a drawn-out illness, since in a flashback to the year it happened, another character mentions having heard that he "lies on the point of death." In A Christmas Carol: The Musical, he dies suddenly of a heart attack in his and Scrooge's counting house.
- In the Darker and Edgier 2019 miniseries, rather than Tiny Tim being prophesied to die from his crippling illness, the Ghost of Christmas Future's vision depicts him drowning after skating on thin ice and falling through.
- The Count of Monte Cristo (1998): Caderousse is killed by the illegitimate son of Villefort and Hermine Danglars, Toussaint (whom he found, raised as a thief and made an accomplice) instead of being killed by his unrelated thief accomplice from the novel, named Andrea Cavalcanti.
- Daredevil (2015): Played with for Elektra's death in the season 2 finale, in that while she's impaled on her own sai like in the comics, it's Nobu who does the killing, not Bullseye. Bullseye (renamed Benjamin "Dex" Poindexter) doesn't turn up until season 3 and never crosses paths with Elektra.
- Doom Patrol (2019):
- This continuity's interpretation of the Nazi scientist who turned Morden into Mr. Nobody, named Heinrich Von Fuchs instead of Dr. Brucker, meets his end at the hands of Crazy Jane's Silver Tongue personality. In the comics, Bruckner was killed by Mr. Nobody shortly after he created the latter.
- Garguax gets killed by his servant Samuelson, when in the comics he was killed off at the end of Paul Kupperberg's run after the events of Invasion! (DC Comics) when the Chief ordered a favor from the President and had a laser satellite destroy Garguax's ship.
- Charles Rowland of The Dead Boy Detectives is established to have died of hypothermia by staying in the water as his schoolmates stoned him to death, when his cause of death in the comics was being murdered by the ghosts of his school's most notorious bullies Barrow, Cheeseman and Skinner.
- Malcolm DuPont gets killed by agents of the Bureau of Normalcy, when his comic book counterpart Agent ! was shot by government snipers.
- The Expanse: Fred Johnson is shot dead by Sakai during the Free Navy raid on Tycho. In the books, he dies from a stroke brought on by a combination of old age (the Fred of the books is much older than the one in the show) and having to use low-quality "juice" to avoid being injured by high g-forces for a prolonged period of time. His death in the books also happens an entire book/season later than in the show.
- In End of Watch by Stephen King, Brady Hartsfield commits suicide after Jerome runs him over with a snowplow. In the second season of the TV adaptation Mr Mercedes, note he's shot by Lou Linklatter (Freddi in the books) under completely different circumstances.
- In The Gifted (2017), the Frost Sisters went from being a quintet to being a trio when their creators killed Mindee and Celeste as a punishment for Esme, Phoebe, and Sophie's rebellion against them. In New X-Men, Sophie died from an overdose of Kick, which she had taken in order to defeat Quentin Quire and stop his rampage through the Xavier Academy, while Esme was murdered by Xorn during the "Planet X" mess.
- Gotham had this happen when it was revealed after Barbara Kean shot him that Butch Gilzean was really an alias of Cyrus Gold -- a.k.a. Solomon Grundy, with Gilzean even becoming Grundy. This is not among the ways Gold is stated to died prior to becoming Grundy — which includes being mugged and murdered (his debut in All-American Comics #61), a pimp attempting to blackmail him bludegoning him to death when Gold wouldn't cave (Batman: Shadow of the Bat #39), hanged by a mob suspecting him to be a pedophile (Grant Morrison's Seven Soldiers of Victory), or even suicide (a self-titled miniseries in the lead-up to Blackest Night).
- Hannibal:
- While Bella Crawford dies of her cancer in The Silence of the Lambs, the series makes it an assisted suicide with her husband, Jack, giving her a morphine overdose.
- Mason Verger's death is closer to the book than the film with Margot killing him with his eel. But rather than stuff it down his throat, as she did in the book, Margot dunks him in its tank, with the animal swimming into his mouth on its own.
- Will Graham's wife Molly shoots Francis Dolarhyde in Red Dragon, while Hannibal and Graham team up to take down Dolarhyde in the series finale.
- Maria Clara at Ibarra, a retelling of Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo
- Sisa died in the book from malnutrition since she did nothing but look for her sons. In the series, she was hit by a stray bullet meant for Elias.
- Rizal was vague on how Maria Clara died during El Fili, with adaptations either settling on her succumbing to an illness or being Driven to Suicide similar to Juli (both are mentioned in a Mythology Gag later). Here she dies by Taking the Bullet for Ibarra/Simoun.
- Padre Damaso died due to unknown causes during the interim between Noli and El Fili, with his death being ruled out as either hypertension or heart-attack. Here Ibarra/Simoun chokes him not long after Maria Clara's death.
- Capitan Tiago's death was reported to Basilio while he was in jail. In the series, Basilio was there to witness Tiago's death.
- At the end of El Fili, Simoun was repeatedly gunned before poisoning himself. Here he drinks the poison almost immediately after the lantern bomb plan got foiled.
- The TV adaptation of Mr. Mercedes has Andrew Halliday killed differently. In Finders Keepers, he's killed by Morris Bellamy with a tomahawk. In the show, Canon Foreigner Alma Lane kills him with a pickaxe.
- Orphan Black: 7 Genes altered a few fates from the original Orphan Black:
- Elena kills Ugajin in the Season 1 finale by stabbing him twice. His original series counterpart Tomas was killed-off via Boom, Headshot! early in Season 2 by Mark Rollins, who was Adapted Out in the Japanese version.
- In the Season 1 finale, it's heavily implied that Hiroka Kurosaki ordered her men to have Riki Wakita killed. His original series counterpart Aldous Lekie was unceremoniously killed by Isamu Yoshikawa's counterpart Donnie Hendrix near the end of Season 2, also via (accidental) Boom, Headshot!.
- Sara and Elena's birth mother is long dead in the present, implied to be at Dyard's hands because she knows too much. Her original counterpart Amelia is mortally stabbed by Helena in the Season 1 finale and then dies via blood loss.
- Subverted by Ayano Kimura. Her original counterpart Aynsley Norris dies via choking in the trash compactor, whereas Ayano supposedly did via Death by Falling Over until The Reveal that Ayano is only Faking the Dead, which in turn actually makes her Spared by the Adaptation.
- In the original Peacemaker comics, the title character's father, Wolfgang Schmidt, committed suicide when Christopher Smith was five, long before he took on the Peacemaker identity. In Peacemaker (2022), Auggie Smith is killed by an adult Chris who's years into his career as Peacemaker.
- Preacher (2016):
- Sheriff Root in the source material was ordered by Jesse with the Word of God to go fuck himself, which he did by penetrating himself with his own severed penis and subsequently committed suicide by shooting himself. The television series instead has him die alongside the other denizens of Annville in the season one finale when the city is destroyed by a methane explosion.
- The original comic had Odin Quincannon die when Jesse shot him. Here, he is among the people who die during the aforementioned destruction of Annville by methane explosion.
- Frankie Toscani in the source material was killed when Cassidy drained his blood after Jesse knocked him down. In the television series, his death instead comes from Cassidy firing a gun after shoving it up Frankie's rectum.
- In Rebecca, the eponymous character is shot by her husband. In the 1997 miniseries based on the book, he strangles her instead.
- Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace:
- The real Empress Xiaojingxian predeceased the Yongzheng Emperor. Here she outlives him and is forced to commit suicide to save Ruyi.
- In the novel Ruyi commits suicide to make Qianlong suspicious of Yanwan. In the series Ruyi is terminally ill, but she lives to see Yanwan's downfall.
- The Sandman (2022):
- "Sleep of the Just": In the original comic, Roderick Burgess dies of old age. In the Netflix adaptation, he dies (at least a decade earlier than in the comic) of a head injury accidentally inflicted by his son Alex during an argument.
- In the comic, Jessamy only appears in flashback, and her fate is not depicted, only implied by the fact that in the present she's no longer around and Matthew has succeeded to her position. In the series, she's killed on-screen in "Sleep of the Just" while trying to rescue Morpheus from Burgess.
- "Playing House": In the original comic, Jed's abusive foster parents are killed by an explosion that results when Morpheus demolishes the rogue nightmares' private dreamscape. In the TV version, ending the dreamscape has no effect in the waking world, but instead Jed's foster parents are killed when the Corinthian performs a Villainous Rescue of Jed.
- In A Series of Unfortunate Events, Dr. Orwell is killed by a buzz saw. In the 2017 TV adaptation, she falls into a furnace.
- Sharpe:
- Sharpe's Rifles: Sgt. Williams is killed in the opening ambush, whereas in the novel, he survives unil midway through.
- Sharpe's Eagle: The death of Lt. Berry is an amalgamation of the deaths of Gibbons and Berry from the book: The novel has Sharpe luring Berry off to a secluded spot under the cover of a French attack and stabbing him through the throat with his sword.
- Sharpe's Enemy: In the novel, Hakeswill faces the firing squad and Sharpe personally administers the coup de grace. The film leaves the latter part out.
- Sharpe's Honour: El Matarife's death is altered, being shot by Major Mendoza as he prepares to stab Sharpe in the back rather than having his throat slit by Sharpe.
- Sharpe's Battle: Kiely is taken from behind by Loup and fatally stabbed in contrast to committing suicide in the book.
- Sharpe's Siege: Maquerre's death is altered, with him remaining with the French and being shot from a distance by Hagman, as opposed to being killed by Sharpe.
- Sharpe's Revenge: In the novel, Ducos is executed via firing squad. In the film, Sharpe shoots him as he tries to escape.
- Sharpe's Waterloo:
- In the film, Hagman is killed as a result of Orange's orders. In the novel, he dies in the main battle.
- In the novel, Rossendale is killed by a peasant woman looting the battlefield. In the film, he's bayonetted by French soldiers.
- Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: The season 1 finale "A Quality of Mercy" is an alternate retelling of "Balance of Terror" with Pike as the captain of the Enterprise instead of Kirk (who is the captain of the Farragut in this reality). The Romulan commander originally self-destructed his ship after Kirk damaged it. In this version, Pike manages to convince him to work together, only for the commander's Number Two to call for backup in the form of a Romulan fleet with the praetor herself deciding to declare war on the Federation, which she perceives as weak thanks to Pike's "softness". Pike shows her a recording of the Bird-of-Prey attacking the outpost, and she sees it as a You Have Failed Me moment, since the commander wasn't supposed to be seen. So she orders him to fly his ship in front of the Romulan fleet, which then obliterates the Bird-of-Prey with a volley. The commander has a chance to speak with Pike one last time and, likewise, says that Pike and he could've been friends in another reality.
- Station Eleven: The novel's version of Frank kills himself shortly after the plague. The show version expresses an unwillingness to continue living in the post-apocalypse but is ultimately stabbed by an intruder and bleeds out.
- Titans (2018):
- Don Hall, the original Dove, was crushed to death by falling debris while saving civilians during Crisis on Infinite Earths. In the altered DC Rebirth history, it's established that Don was killed during Mister Twister's final battle with the original Teen Titans. Here, Don was killed in a freak car accident very early on in his superhero career.
- In the original Pre-Crisis continuity, Tony Zucco was given the death penalty after he was arrested for murdering Robin's parents. Post-Crisis, he was instead gunned down by rival gangsters. In the Titans TV show, he was killed by members of the crime family he belonged to after they became worried that he would turn evidence against them as part of a deal with the authorities. Robin had the chance to save him, but refused.
- The Twilight Zone (1959):
- In "Still Valley", Teague dies off-screen of natural causes. In the short story "The Valley Was Still" by Manly Wade Wellman, Sgt. Joseph Paradine decapitates him with his saber after he suggests using the book of Black Magic to defeat the Union.
- In "Number 12 Looks Just Like You", Marilyn Cuberle's father Jack committed suicide as he bitterly regretted undergoing the Transformation and his family covered up his death by claiming that he was killed in the Ganymede Incident. In the short story "The Beautiful People" by Charles Beaumont, he did die in the Ganymede Incident.
- The Twilight Zone (1985): In "Shadow Play", Adam Grant's recurring nightmare always ends with him being hanged. In both the short story "Traumerei" by Charles Beaumont and the original episode, he was killed in the electric chair.
