Whenever a book, television, cartoon, movie or whatever gets adapted to a different form of media, there will always be fans of the source material who will complain how it isn’t faithful to the thing it’s based on. While that seems like a legitimate complaint, you do have to realize some concessions and changes always have to be made to fit within the new media. A book that’s three to four hundred pages long would come off as too long for a movie. A lot of ideas that may work for a comic but not work for children’s television. You get the idea.

However, there are going to times when the adaptation actually becomes a much bigger hit than what it’s originally based on. It may actually improve on some ideas or totally cast off the original premise to make it work for a different target audience. So, let’s go check out just five adaptations that actually outshines the source material they’re based on.

#1 The Mask (from bloody comic to goofy hero)

For a lot of people, they might not have ever heard of The Mask until Jim Carrey put on that yellow zoot suit and green makeup on for the film adaptation. So, after watching the comedic antics of Stanley Ipkiss who finds Loki’s mask and is gifted with magic powers that has him performing stunts like a Looney Tunes cartoon character, I have a feeling some flocked to their comic stores to get a copy of The Mask comic to laugh at more of his misadventures. Boy, were they in for the shock of their lives as the original Dark Horse comic had Stanley Ipkiss behave more like a homicidal maniac than the good hearted protagonist Jim Carrey portrayed in the film adaptation.

While the premise is still similar as our “hero” gets the Mask and uses its powers for selfish reasons at the start, the comic version of the character is definitely more of a villain as this version of Stanley Ipkiss uses his new found powers to take over the criminal underworld. The movie version, however, makes Stanley Ipkiss more of a hero, who wields the Mask’s abilities to save the city from the mob.

Even with the success of the movie, the Dark Horse comic remains mostly as a footnote to the film’s success. Sure, the comic version of the Mask did eventually crossover with DC’s Lobo and the Joker. But, considering the movie version of the Mask spawned a terrible sequel with Son of the Mask and a pretty decent animated series, I say the film version is still the one think of when you mention the character.

#2 Mission: Impossible (from low-key espionage con games to high octane action films)

I was a big fan of the 1988 revival of the old Mission: Impossible television series. I love how each episode had the Impossible Mission Force or IMF conduct some covert con game to take down some baddie from the inside. I just love the cloak and dagger style of it all as it was mostly about using cunning and brainpower rather than brute force and explosions… even though they always had to blow up that damn recording five seconds after its played.

Well, that certainly changed when Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt took over the IMF team, didn’t it? Heck, to hammer home the idea how this wasn’t your father’s (or even maybe your grandfather’s) Mission: Impossible, they had Jim Phelps, the freaking original leader of the IMF team, be exposed as the big bad in the first movie! The movie Mission: Impossible initially still leaned on the IMF team using subterfuge but, slowly but surely, things started to get a little more crazy, with big car chases, huge action scenes and Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt hanging off a cliff, building, airplane or whatever is very high up.

There’s no denying that the new Mission: Impossible movies are much bigger than the television shows ever became. While the 1988 series got a cute NES game based from it that’s been pretty much forgotten, that’s nothing compared to the toys and video games the movie version has gotten over the years.

#3 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (from dark, edgy homage to comics to radical, pizza eating mutants)

I guess it was simply bad timing as to why I never really got into the entire Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles craze when the cartoon became a phenomenon way back in 1987. Seeing a bunch of cartoony teenaged mutated turtles doing ninja stuff and eating pizza just didn’t appeal to me anymore. I wanted more “serious” stuff. I still love the intro song, though. That was, and still is, a banger.

I do think the original black-and-white comic by Eastman and Laird would’ve been more my style in that regard. The source material comic was definitely much more gritty, with some characters getting killed off, like the Shredder dying in the very first issue.

The comic was a huge underground hit but definitely lacked the mass market appeal it needed when Eastman and Laird sold off the concept to Playmates to make a toyline. Thankfully, Playmates used the tried and true marketing ploy of making half-hour long commercials, known as cartoons, to sell the toys which blew up. While the comic is still held in high regard, it’s the more goofy cartoon people think of when you mention Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

#4 iZombie (from trippy supernatural comic to police procedural with zombies)

I loved the TV series iZombie! It was a quirky detective series but with a pretty interesting twist. Liv Moore is attacked during a party where no one but her survives. Because of this, she becomes a kind of zombie, who has to feed on a human’s brain in order to keep from becoming a mindless monster. She becomes a coroner so she can have steady access to them. However, whenever she does consume someone’s brains, Liv can get access to their memories and she uses this “ability” to help the police solve crimes. The series does become a little more than that later on as it turns out there are more “zombies” just like her out there. The original comic, however, has much more supernatural elements as, yes, there are zombies but there are also ghosts, were-creatures, mummies and monster hunters in the mix as well.

The comic the iZombie television series is based on also isn’t a police procedural. It’s definitely leans more on supernatural adventure as there is some kind of a big bad who is destined to consume all of the souls of the planet and the protagonist of the series may be the only one who can save the world from that fate. It’s weird and trippy.

I’ve had access to both the iZombie television series as well as the comic and, I hate to say it, I do like the television series much more. Maybe it has something to do with it being my first impression to the concept but, more probably, it’s because I just like the characters in the series a whole lot more. The show is much more silly and dumb, making for a more relaxing time. The comic did well enough to last for 28 issues but the iZombie series lasted for five seasons.

#5 Lucifer (from trippy soul searching supernatural drama to police procedural to supernatural love story)

I am honestly surprised how a series named Lucifer, with the namesake protagonist being actually the Fallen Angel himself, managed to last three seasons, get cancelled and then return for an additional three seasons on Netflix because of fans wanting the show to continue! You would have thought people with conservative ideals would’ve gotten the show cancelled as quickly as possible! However, the really weird thing is, not only is the TV series totally different from the comic it’s based on, around halfway through the series, the series becomes a totally different beast as well! Oh, the concept is still the same, with Lucifer getting tired of ruling Hell and opting to live with humans instead. But things really deviate from each other after that.

The comic book version of Lucifer is more of a philosophical take on the idea of free will as Lucifer sees himself as a “hero” against the “tyrannical” rule of his Father as He knows everything, including everyone’s past, present and future actions. The television series, however, starts off, much like iZombie, a police procedural, with Lucifer only helping the police to get close to Detective Chloe Decker, as he is intrigued why he is unable to use his powers of persuasion.

However, the series slowly starts dropping the police procedural element and focus, strangely enough, on Lucifer’s battle with supernatural being, which is more in line with the comics but to a lesser extent. It also becomes more of a love story between Lucifer and Chloe as the pretense behind the cop drama is pretty much lost by the sixth and final season. What a crazy turn of events!

BONUS: Pretty much any Disney fairy tale (from dark tale with a moral lesson to dreams coming true)

I mean, take any of the early Disney animated movies and you will see how vastly different they are from the original fairy tales they’re based on. Heck, by the time they stopped the pretense of titling the film with the original fairy tale name (think Tangled and Frozen), the Disney versions bare very little resemblance to the source material!

Well, the thing is, whenever you think of Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, the Little Mermaid, The Princess and the Frog and, yes, even the Snow Queen and Rapunzel, I’m betting you’re picturing the Disney version of the character, aren’t you? That’s just goes to show you how much Disney has influenced our imagination!

What other adaptations made huge changes to their source material but have gotten much bigger? Let me know in the comments section below!