When the only change I like is the kind that jingles in my pockets.

(I am working on compiling the names for the winners in the Demon Blood contest — I’ll have those up by mid-day.)

This week, I’ve seen two of my favorite fictional characters undergo changes. One, as you may have heard about, is Wonder Woman. I’m not sure if I’ve ever gone about it at length on this blog, but she’s my favorite superheroine from way, WAY back… and, well, this isn’t the first time she’s undergone a MAJOR NEW DIRECTION! and had her costume changed. I don’t love it, I don’t hate it, and I’m curious to see where the new writer takes her (and if all of this buzz generates movie buzz, all the better.)

Unless, of course, the movie ends up like my second favorite fictional character to undergo changes this week. Racebending aside — and that is its own huge issue — THE LAST AIRBENDER shouldn’t be crap. It simply shouldn’t be, not given the source material. It takes a rare talent indeed to strip the charm from a character like Aang. It’s a change that I’m NOT looking forward to. Maybe I’ll be surprised.

(Also — if you haven’t seen the Avatar: The Last Airbender cartoon series, I can’t recommend it enough. It’s funny and goofy, with bright and clean animation, amazing characterizations… just pure fun. I can’t recommend it enough if you’re six years old, either — my daughter is obsessed.)

Despite the title of this post, I’m pretty willing to see my favorite characters undergo changes, as long as it serves the story, or lets a writer tell a great tale. In comic books, that’s easiest — and often the character goes back to default mode, anyway, once the storyline is done (is that a good or a bad thing? It’s hard to tell.)

In books and movies, however, that change often lasts … and is why it’s the most difficult to watch happen. Readers (including myself here) often become possessive of their characters. And when those characters are changed, either by the original author/creator or because they’ve gone from one medium to another, it’s sometimes very hard to accept those changes. “That’s not my Aang!” I shout. And it isn’t my Aang, in a very real and legal sense.

But when I’m sitting with my kid and laughing and loving a television show, it’s hard not to feel at least a little bit possessive. 😀

So, I’m wondering — which characters are you possessive of, and have there been any changes to them that made you rip your hair out with worry? Have there been any changes that scared you, but that ended up for the better?