Over the course of a long-running series, something happens to the main character. He loses his powers, makes a Heroic Sacrifice, or gets Older and Wiser and decides to retire. Sometimes they Dropped a Bridge on Him, or Put Him On A Bus. In a word, he's gone. But the story still goes on! His role is taken by a Suspiciously Similar Substitute, but one with a very different character. He's how the original hero would be if he were a Jerkass, Anti-Hero or (most commonly) Nineties Anti-Hero. This guy is often an effect of Executive Meddling, which arises when editors stupidly declare that audience stopped liking the first hero or never liked him at all; so he will be replaced with someone Darker and Edgier. Of course, most of time they are wrong: the original guy has so many fans that his repl