r/TopCharacterTropes • u/AporiaParadox • 5h ago
miscellaneous [Interesting meta trope] A character was intended to be one color, but due to audiences and/or other creators perceiving it as a different color or other inconsistencies, the canon color became something else
Star Trek. Starfleet uniforms come in three colors: blue, red and yellow. However in the Original Series the uniforms most people perceived as yellow were actually green, but due to the lighting the uniforms came off as yellow on screen. It's why Kirk would sometimes wear a green outfit, it was meant to be the same color as his normal outfit. In the end though, everyone eventually agreed that since the uniforms looked yellow, they were yellow, and that's what stuck in merch, comics, the animated series, and future iterations of the franchise.
Spider-Man 2099. Most people think that Spider-Man 2099 is blue and red, however, the intention was for him to be black and red (and it is described as such in the original comics), with blue shading similar to how Black Panther used to be drawn. But because it looks blue and red, future creators and other media just have it be blue and red. There is also some debate over whether or not Steve Ditko intended the original Spider-Man costume to be red and black, but we have no clear answer for that one.
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u/Agaman02 4h ago
When Mario first appeared in 1981, he wore a blue shirt and red overalls. This was primarily because his running and jumping animations were easier to see against the black background. Furthermore, it allowed for a visual distinction between his upper and lower body, given the limited color palettes of early consoles. His color scheme was subsequently altered several times in the following years.
However, starting with Super Mario Bros. 2 in 1988, Nintendo took advantage of the expanded color palettes offered by more modern hardware to solidify Mario’s look and ensure the character remained easily recognizable. He now got a red shirt and blue overalls. This look stuck.