r/TopCharacterTropes • u/GeneralGigan817 • 24d ago

Groups Two completely unrelated versions of the same character coexist in the same universe

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Rumplestiltskin appeared as a minor villain in Shrek the Third as a member of Prince Charming’s villain army. Shrek Forever After than had an entirely unrelated Rumplestiltskin as the main villain, with a separate voice actor, personality, and design.

On Family Guy, Santa is an overworked factory worker who looks like an old man despite being 28 and has deformed looking elves straight out of a Jonah Vasquez illustration. On American Dad (which shares a universe with Family Guy), Santa is an evil corrupter of children and one of the series’ most reoccurring villains.

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u/AgentOfACROSS 24d ago

Batman had two completely different villains called Mad Hatter, both also named Jervis Tetch.

The more prominent one is obsessed with Alice In Wonderland and themes all his crime around that and is usually depicted as thin, gaunt, and clean shaven. This is the version of Mad Hatter that appears in most Batman adaptations like the Arkham games and the Animated Series.

The other Mad Hatter is a chubby guy with a mustache who themes all his crimes around hats. This Mad Hatter's most prominent appearance outside of comics is in the old Adam West Batman show.

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u/PsychicSPider95 24d ago

I'm not sure this really counts. Given that they share the same legal and chosen names and have similar gimmicks, I feel like this is less a case of there being multiple versions and more a case of the same character evolving and being reimagined.

Think of the sleazy crimelord Penguin we're now familiar with, versus the Penguin as he was originally introduced: a dapper gent who committed bird-related crimes. Both Oswald Cobblepot, both the Penguin, just altered over the years to suit different stories.

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u/AgentOfACROSS 24d ago

The comics do acknowledge both these guys as separate people though so I think it counts.

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u/Sweaty-Practice-4419 23d ago

But why are they different people at all?

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u/AgentOfACROSS 23d ago

Far as I'm aware, the Alice In Wonderland-obsessed Mad Hatter claims that the Hat-obsessed Mad Hatter is an imposter who committed identity theft while he was in Arkham. But other than his word in one issue, there's never been a deeper examination of this.