10 Alternate Universe Characters That Were Better Than The Original
7. Rorschach
Although not a direct example, the characters in the Watchmen series were essentially alternate universe counterparts of a group of heroes that DC had purchased from Charlton comics in the 1980s. When Alan Moore first pitched the Watchmen series he initially planned to use the Charlton characters as his main cast. The DC execs weren't too happy about the changes that the writer wanted to make to the characters and insisted that he recreate them with new names and roles. Across the board, the Watchmen characters are more brutal, more bloody and more intense than their counterparts in the Charlton universe.
Of the main characters that Moore altered for the Watchmen series, Rorshach stands out as the most interesting when compared to the character he was based on. The Question was a journalist who began using his secret identity to help further his investigations and fight crime. Although he was seen as ruthless in comparison to many of the characters created at the time, the Question eventually took on a more Zen approach to life. Rorschach, on the other hand, is a ruthless sociopathic killer who holds a view of moral absolutism that divides everyone and everything into either god or evil. He considers his continually-shifting mask to be his true face, and is generally utterly mad. The character was so fascinating precisely because he was so twisted, and lives on as the most popular and iconic character of the Watchmen series.
DC has since integrated the Charlton characters into their main universe. However, the characters also still exist in a separate continuity on Earth 4. This alternate universe group were featured in Grant Morisons recent Multiversity book, where they acted as analogues of their Watchmen counterparts. Which is just plain confusing, really.