Captain America in The Ultimates and changes to Cyclops are examples that go too far in my opinion.

So, what examples do you have where characters were changed for the better and where the changes damaged the characters? As a supplemental debate, what are people's thoughts on the 'why' of changing a character so radically, beyond the 'singer greater than the song' argument.

I personally liked Moore's Swamp Thing 'reinvention' inasmuch as the title had very quickly lost its direction and swiftly returned to its horror roots.

But I can see how other fans could regard these changes as damaging to the characters. 

I was actually around for some Marvel Girl appearances (in the early 70's reprint issues) and followed her into becoming Phoenix.  Never liked the Marvel Girl costume or name (really? everybody in the original X-Men had some mythical/legendary allusion except her! surprised Stan didn't call her "Psyche" or "Oracle" or something) and then she became Phoenix--and it was awesome!  "Dark Phoenix" was a great story, but eventually she (because nobody could separate Phoenix from Dark Phoenix?) came back as just "Jean Grey" (which just seemed lazy to me).  Likewise, I loved the Neal Adams-designed Angel and the blue furry Beast.  (Who became--ugh--"Archangel" and a lion man--and more!)  Those issues with Phoenix and Beast in the snow drawn by Byrne & Austin--with Cyclops elsewhere in the issues and Angel (even in red) showing up sometimes and even a Byrne Iceman over in CHAMPIONS or a HULK annual--showed us glimpses of the team the X-Men COULD have been!  All five originals with great costumes and names, written and drawn by a great team.

Instead, we got decades of increasingly complicated and unreadable stories with hundreds of less interesting characters as the originals got remade over and over, with numerous versions of Jean and/or Phoenix running around.

I still dream of a day when the true Cyclops, Phoenix, Beast, Angel, and Iceman are THE X-Men, done by a team as good as Claremont/Byrne/Austin.

Not a good idea, I think.

Cyclops and Professor X becoming assholes.

The whole Phoenix situation post-Jean's return that led to X-FACTOR.

Iceman coming out of the closet after being around 50+ years. *

Tons of stuff involving Spider-Man (The Clone Saga was bad enough, but One More Day/Brand New Day and Sins Past' are far worse, and from what I've read they've pretty much ruined the character.)

The whole Hydra Cap storyline.

Magneto being made more sympathetic with the concentration camp backstory.

The Scott-Jean-Logan love triangle. Would have been better if Logan's feelings for Jean were one-sided.

Doctor Doom suddenly being a hero (as Iron Man) after threatening to cause a nuclear was a few years ago.

I've said for years that Marvel needs to do what DC does far too often: Reboot.

* I'm not gay bashing. I'm simply saying making a character that has been around over 50 years gay all of a sudden doesn't really make a lot of sense.

Were you referring to Bobby Drake or Johnny Storm? Because I just learned that Johnny's bisexual now...and is "involved" with Wolverine's son. 

For me, the change of the Beast from his original to his blue fuzzy look were fine because his blue look was how I was introduced to him but later changes bother me. 

Dick Grayson becoming Nightwing was OK because I had little attachment to him as Robin and it happened early in my life as a comic reader.

Cyclops and Carol Danvers becoming unlikable jerks bothers me because they are no longer "my" versions of the characters. 

Damien Wayne drives me nuts because "my" Batman would never let a murderer become Robin (at least not until he is reformed). Also, I really liked Tim Drake - he was "my" Robin.

Changes to characters to give us things like the Ultimates don't bother me because, to me, they are obviously intended to be different characters.