The Bourne Series/YMMV


 * Adaptation Displacement : A textbook example, as the movies have pretty much replaced the books.
 * Badass Decay: In the books, Lustbader changes Bourne from an unstoppable juggernaut into a whining wimp who wouldn't win without outside help. See Flanderization on the Literature page.
 * Complete Monster: Arguably Ward Abbott. He's a false patriot and a traitor who used the Treadstone program to enrich himself while committing treason against the United States. When things go south, he shifts the blame to Conklin and has him killed. He later tries to frame Bourne and Conklin for his own treasonous acts, setting in motion events that result in the death of and numerous CIA agents, murders  himself after the latter starts to realise what's going on, and finally . The only strike against him is how downright pathetic he is.
 * Even Better Sequel : Each sequel kept getting more acclaim from critics, with the final film The Bourne Ultimatum generally being seen as the best.
 * Fanon Discontinuity/Sequelitis: The novels written by Eric van Lustbader after Ludlum's death.
 * Magnificent Bastard: Sheng Chou Yang in Supremacy, Spalko in Legacy, and Karim in Betrayal.
 * Memetic Mutation : "He drove off the roof!" "WHAT?!" "HE DROVE OFF THE ROOF!"
 * Pet the Dog/Even Bad Men Love Their Daughters: A minor one - everyone seems to agree Wombosi's a pretty bad guy, but when he sees Jason hesitating to kill him because of the child on his lap, he refuses to use her as a shield. He picks her up and moves her to the side without attempting to move out from under the gun, giving Jason an easy, clear shot to kill him. (He doesn't.)
 * Sequelitis: A notable aversion that is somewhere between this and Surprisingly Improved Sequel. Each film is considered to be quite good and at the least on par with each other. Although there are a group of people who consider the third film the best due to having the highest HSQ.
 * Though some considered Supremacy to be a bit of a step down, with more of an action emphasis and an overload of Jittercam (thankfully toned down in Ultimatum).
 * Unfortunate Implications: The antagonists in Ultimatum all have seemingly Jewish names for some reason. Trope doubly applied in that Bourne is breaking through a government conspiracy.