4. Ash Williams
When We First Saw Him... Evil Dead (1981) People seem to forget that the first
Evil Dead movie is a full-on exercise in horror - there's very little comedy to be had here. Which is why in this movie, our hero Ash Williams is something of a normal, everyday straight man. He's more passive in the beginning of the movie, especially, and much more a victim throughout. That's to say, this isn't the Ash character that everybody remembers to this day...
When We Next Saw Him... Evil Dead 2 (1987) I'm not sure why Sam Raimi woke up one day and thought, "I'm going to remake the
Evil Dead, but funnier," but he did, and the world hasn't stopped thanking him since. I'm also not sure how
Evil Dead 2 is even connected to its predecessor, because it starts with a kind of recap of the original (that isn't actually the plot of the original), and then just, like, continues on. As a result of Raimi's decision to comedy the heck of this one, though, Ash's character goes through a dramatic change - instead of being just a "normal guy," he becomes a huge goofball with quippy one-liners from the very start of
Evil Dead 2, before eventually making the transition into ultimate badass. His core character is really different in this one, though, as the character we knew from the original doesn't feel like the character in this one at all. Sam Raimi, you certifiable nutcase.