Yes. It can.
Starting from scratch is the most liberating, and disruptive, thing you can do. Here are a few sketches from the creative minds at Creature Box and how they’ve reimagined known superheroes:

Optimus Prime

The Hulk

Batman
Fresh insights come from a new way of looking at things
The original Optimus Prime, Hulk and Batman all look completely different from the sketches above. These sketches are born from somebody’s imagination. They thought, “hey, why don’t we do it this way?” and voila!
There are many ways you can rethink anything, just ask Director Christopher Nolan. Ask yourself: What’s the new story I want to tell?
It all starts with a “what if?”