When adapting a project from either historical events or another fictional source, one may find that there are more individuals with significant or necessary contributions to the storyline than one has time to adequately present to the audience. One solution is to invoke artistic license and compress two or more such figures into a single character with traits drawn from all of them. Commonly involved in Adaptation Distillation and Adaptation Decay. See also Economy Cast. Sometimes a many-for-one Captain Ersatz / Expy is formed this way. Sometimes a cause of Adaptational Villainy.