Sometimes a superhero has a cool superpower that looks fantastic in the panels of a comic book, but when adapted to a different medium like a live action film or television show, there are budgetary restrictions that don't allow that superhero's powers to be showcased. So the writers severely water down the superpower to fit the medium, or in some cases, they just completely change the character's skill set.
There are a variety of reasons to change a superpowered character's abilities, but money is usually the main reason. Special effects are expensive, and having to show every week a flying superhero punching airplanes from the sky and firing balls of energy at bad guys can put a serious strain on the production budget. Also, the excessive use of CGI or bad special effects can fail.
Sometimes it is a matter of story: A character is given new powers to help smooth out the plot. Perhaps the powers they were given come from a different character altogether in the original work. That way the story can move along without introducing loads of characters that only serve one purpose in the original work. Maybe the character in the original work is a functional god and the adaptation has to dial down their skillset to something a little more believable, and not interfere with the viewer's Suspension of Disbelief.
Occasionally the change in superpowers can occur simply because a superpower that seems really cool in a comic could seem extremely silly when translated into Live-Action.
Note that this can occur in the opposite direction too. With a TV show being adapted into a comic book or movie, or if the character from the adaptation gets included in the source material, now the budgetary strain is not so prevalent, so characters are given new powers, or their old ones are expanded to be more showy.
If the change in power improves the character's fighting prowess, expect them to be an Adaptational Badass. If the superpower change results in them having less power and less effective in fighting, then consider them an Adaptational Wimp. Power Creep, Power Seep may occur when several characters from different works get together and are hit with this. If someone's mundane talents are changed, that's Adaptational Skill and Adaptational Weapon Swap.
Adaptational Superpower Change has been suggested to play 2 roles. Click below to see other actors suggested for each role, and vote for who you think would play the role best.
