Adaptational Intelligence

When adapting an existing character for a new work the character is often altered in transition from the source material. They might become nicer, nastier, more badass or a lot less badass. Maybe even more heroic, or more sinister, and in other cases dumber, if not completely non-sapient. Or they might become smarter. This trope is about taking a character who wasn't particularly smart in the source material and might even have been The Ditz and turning them into The Smart Guy. There are several reasons why a character might gain IQ points in an adaptation. Some reasons include: The adapted character is actually a Composite Character — Bob might have been Book Dumb in the original novel but he was given traits from Insufferable Genius Steve for the movie. A more serious take might turn an Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain into a serious threat. Values Dissonance. The character was originally an Ethnic Scrappy Plucky Comic Relief and their stupidity wouldn't fly for modern audiences. Perhaps the original material only has one female character and might even come across as The Load or a Brainless Beauty to modern audiences. As alternative to Xenafication she might be turned into the brains of the group instead (or she might go through both this trope and that one). Rarely, a comedy might turn a character previously portrayed as The Ditz into a genius for the sake of a joke. See also Adaptation Personality Change, Adaptational Comic Relief, Adaptational Heroism, Adaptational Villainy, Adaptational Badass, Adaptational Wimp, Adaptational Skill, and Xenafication. Compare and contrast Dumbass No More where a character increases their intellect inside the particular work, and Adaptational Dumbass, this trope's polar opposite.