I think the line gets a little blurry for some of the really archetypal characters/stories. Consider Romeo & Juliet. West Side Story is clearly a reimagining of R&J, but does that mean that every story of two lovers from warring families is a re-imagining of R&J?
What ficitonal character has been "reimagined" the most?
- Thread starter Bullgrit
- Start date
I think the line gets a little blurry for some of the really archetypal characters/stories. Consider Romeo & Juliet. West Side Story is clearly a reimagining of R&J, but does that mean that every story of two lovers from warring families is a re-imagining of R&J?
True enough. Whether something is a reimagining of a character or just heavily influenced by is a judgement call. I'm happy to stick with "do they use the same name?" to place it in the former category, but I can see where folks would find exceptions to that.
For me it's - is it actually supposed to be the same character? Christopher Lee and Gary Oldman both portrayed the same character (a certain Mr. Dracula); but other vampires of different names aren't portrayals of that character in my mind - they're merely influenced by him.
An archetype isn't the same as a specific character. Costner and Crowe both played Robin Hood. Many other actors played characters inspired by Robin Hood, but they didn't play Robin Hood.
Otherwise, I just fall back to that "weary cop" who's been portrayed a thousand times since I started typing this post. We can pick any of them as the character who's being reimagined.
Tonguez
A suffusion of yellow
archetypes go a bit too far imho and the whole discussion becomes moot. Afterall we may as well go to the mythic archetypes of peasant hero (Luke Skywalker) and Mentor (Merlin) or Fast Hero and Strong Buddy (Gilgamesh and Enkidu).
I think at the very least there needs to be an obvious connect (like Sun Wukong and Sun Goku of Dragonball Z)
I think at the very least there needs to be an obvious connect (like Sun Wukong and Sun Goku of Dragonball Z)
James Bond? Only a half dozen times. Long, long way behind!
delericho
Legend
Don't forget the various pastiche authors, and things like the "Young James Bond" stories. Still, you're right, he's a long way behind.
Oh, another one for the list: the Three Musketeers.
I think Dr. Who has James Bond beat.
Which reminds me of He Eternal Champion...
Which reminds me of He Eternal Champion...
Whether or not he does, it's far too few versions. Just over a dozen or so (if you add in animations and the movies). Some of those listed have hundreds.
SimonMoon5
First Post
Is every retelling of a character's story a re-imagining? In some ways yes, in some ways no. Every time a different group of people put on a play, they have different actors with different acting choices affecting the way the characters emote and interact with others; does that mean that every time a play is performed, that's a new interpretation? If so, then the characters in popular plays (particularly Shakespearean ones but let's not forget Peter Pan or Little Orphan Annie) are being constantly re-imagined. But, to me, that's a boring answer.
Does every cameo appearance of someone like Dracula count? To me, that's not very satisfying. He's appeared in serious movies, humorous movies, serious TV shows, humorous TV shows, serious comic books, humorous comic books, serious novels, humorous novels, etc. To say that the version of Dracula that met Abbot and Costello is some grand re-imagining... that feels a little weak to me.
For me, a re-imagining occurs when a character's story is different; not only do the minor details change, but the story itself is significantly different. And for that to happen, the character's story must be told, so minor appearances wouldn't count. That still leaves an awful lot of Robin Hoods and Tarzans. Wikipedia lists over 60 TV shows and films about Robin Hood, and that doesn't even count the cameos or ancient ballads.
But then, when we talk about comics, do we consider "alternate reality" tales to be re-imaginings? Batman... who is rarely reimagined in the actual comics canon... has been featured in many many "Elseworlds" and "Imaginary Stories". Do these count? Do I count the stories where Batman is a pirate or a Green Lantern or a cowboy or whatever? And then, there's the story where baby Kal-El is adopted by the Waynes and becomes Batman (with all the powers of Superman) when the Waynes are murdered. Is that a re-imagining of Superman or a re-imagining of Batman?
Does every cameo appearance of someone like Dracula count? To me, that's not very satisfying. He's appeared in serious movies, humorous movies, serious TV shows, humorous TV shows, serious comic books, humorous comic books, serious novels, humorous novels, etc. To say that the version of Dracula that met Abbot and Costello is some grand re-imagining... that feels a little weak to me.
For me, a re-imagining occurs when a character's story is different; not only do the minor details change, but the story itself is significantly different. And for that to happen, the character's story must be told, so minor appearances wouldn't count. That still leaves an awful lot of Robin Hoods and Tarzans. Wikipedia lists over 60 TV shows and films about Robin Hood, and that doesn't even count the cameos or ancient ballads.
But then, when we talk about comics, do we consider "alternate reality" tales to be re-imaginings? Batman... who is rarely reimagined in the actual comics canon... has been featured in many many "Elseworlds" and "Imaginary Stories". Do these count? Do I count the stories where Batman is a pirate or a Green Lantern or a cowboy or whatever? And then, there's the story where baby Kal-El is adopted by the Waynes and becomes Batman (with all the powers of Superman) when the Waynes are murdered. Is that a re-imagining of Superman or a re-imagining of Batman?
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