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'''Retroactive continuity''' or '''retcon''' is the adding of new information to "historical" material, or deliberately changing previously established facts in a work of [[serial fiction]]. The change itself is referred to as a "retcon", and the act of writing and publishing a retcon is called "retconning".  Retconning can be done either on-purpose, or accidentally, wherein a break in continuity is not noticed until later and is then corrected by later writers or editors.

Retcons are common in [[comic book]]s, especially those of large publishing houses such as [[Marvel Comics]] and [[DC Comics]], because of the lengthy history of many series and the number of independent authors contributing to their development; this is the context in which the term was coined. Retconning also occurs in [[soap operas]], [[film|movie]] [[sequel]]s, [[professional wrestling]], [[video game]]s, radio series, series of [[novel]]s, and can be done in any other type of episodic fiction. It is also used in [[Roleplaying game|roleplaying]], when the [[Gamemaster|game master]] feels it is needed to maintain consistency in the story or to fix significant mistakes that were missed during play.

==Origins==
The term "retroactive continuity" was popularized by comic book writer [[Roy Thomas]] in his 1980s series ''[[All-Star Squadron]]'', which featured the [[DC Comics]] [[superhero]]es of the 1940s. The earliest known use of the term is from Thomas' letter column in ''All-Star Squadron'' #20 (April 1983), where Thomas wrote that he heard it at a convention. The term was shortened to "retcon" by Damian Cugley in 1988 on [[USENET]] to describe a development in the comic book ''[[Swamp Thing]]'', in which [[Alan Moore]] reinterpreted the events of the title character's origin. The term "retcon" was also used by the [[Birmingham University]] [[Treasure Trap]] society as early as 1987.

==Types==
Although there is considerable ambiguity and overlap between different kinds of retcons, there are some distinctions that can be made between them, depending on whether they add to, alter, or remove material from past continuity. These distinctions often evoke different reactions from fans of the material.

===Addition===
Some retcons do not directly contradict previously established facts, but "fill in" missing background details, usually to support current plot points. This was the sense in which Thomas used "retroactive continuity", as a purely additive process that did not "undo" any previous work, a common theme in his work on ''[[All-Star Squadron]]''. [[Kurt Busiek]] took a similar approach with ''[[Untold Tales of Spider-Man]]'', a series which told stories that specifically fit between issues of the original ''[[Amazing Spider-Man]]'' series, sometimes explaining discontinuities between those earlier stories. Yet another retroactive continuity book was ''[[X-Men: The Hidden Years]]''.

Related to this is the concept of [[shadow history]] or [[secret history]], in which the events of a story occur within the bounds of already-established events (especially real-world historical events), revealing a different interpretation of (or motivation for) the events. Some of [[Tim Powers]] novels are examples of this, such as ''[[Last Call (novel)|Last Call]]'', which suggests that [[Bugsy Siegel]]'s actions were due to his being a modern-day [[Fisher King]]. [[Alan Moore]]'s additional information about the Swamp Thing's origins didn't contradict or change any of the events depicted in the character's previous appearances, but changed the underlying interpretation of them. This verges on making alterations to past continuity. Such additions and reinterpretations are very common in [[Doctor Who]] novels, though they are not usually referred to as retcons by Doctor Who fans. The [[Star Trek]] books, ''[[Eugenics Wars#Unofficial backstory|The Rise and Fall of Khan Noonien Singh (Volumes 1 & 2)]]'', by [[Greg Cox]], detail the fictional [[Eugenics Wars]], giving alternate explanations for real world events such as the [[India_and_weapons_of_mass_destruction#Nuclear Weapons|Indian nuclear test]] of 1974.

Additions are among the better-received types of retcons, because nothing is actually undone, and because people generally appreciate the explanation of [previously] ambiguous and/or mysterious events.

===Alteration===
This kind of retcon often adds information that effectively states "what you saw isn't what really happened" and then introduces a different version. This is usually interpreted by the audience as an overt change rather than a mere addition. The most common form this takes is when a character shown to have died (sometimes explicitly) is later revealed to have survived somehow. This is well known in [[horror film]]s, which may end with the death of the monster, but when the film becomes successful, the studio plans a sequel, revealing that the monster survived after all. The technique has been used so frequently in [[superhero]] comics that the term ''[[comic book death]]'' has been coined for it. The first famous example in popular culture is the return of [[Sherlock Holmes]]: writer [[Arthur Conan Doyle]] killed off the popular character in an encounter with his foe [[Professor Moriarty]], only to bring Holmes back, due in large part to audience response.<ref>[[Arthur Conan Doyle|Doyle, Arthur Conan]] (1893). "[[The Adventure of the Final Problem]]." [[The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes]].</ref> On the other hand, many of these situations offer plausible explanations for how the character survived, by building on what we thought we saw, in which case they can be considered additions. Fans may invent unofficial explanations for inconsistencies, the challenge itself becoming a source of entertainment. Sometimes these fan made explanations become so popular and widespread that they slip into accepted canon, and the original creators of the characters accept them.

An example of a fan-created retcon is in [[Star Wars]]. In the film, ''[[Return of the Jedi]]'', it appears that the character [[Boba Fett]] suffers a horrible death in the belly of the [[Sarlacc]]. However, the Fett character was extremely popular and few fans were pleased with his inglorious death. Popular casual speculation held that he had somehow escaped "off-screen" and later Star Wars books, graphic novels and even a Star Wars Unleashed [[action figure]] accepted this conjecture and depicted Boba Fett as having escaped the ordeal. How exactly Fett survived is not specified. It is important to note, however, that though George Lucas acknowledged that "some people think he survived anyway" when talking about the character in the commentary for the DVD version of the movie, he did not confirm or deny Fett's fate.

A lesser known example is in the film ''[[The Return of the Musketeers]]'', based on Alexandre Dumas's ''Twenty Years After'' (''Vingt ans aprÃ¨s''), his sequel to ''[[The Three Musketeers]]''. In the film ''[[The Four Musketeers (film)|The Four Musketeers]]'', [[Michael York]], as D'Artagnan, presumably kills De Rochefort, played by [[Christopher Lee]]. However, in ''The Return of the Musketeers'', both York and Lee turn up again, playing the same roles they had in the previous film, and it is explained that De Rochefort was seriously wounded, but not killed.

It is commonplace for characters to remain the same age, or to age out of synch with real time; this can be considered an ongoing implicit retcon of their birthdate. When historical events are involved in their biography, overt retcons may be used to accommodate this; a character who served in the army during [[World War II]] might have his service record retconned to place him in the [[Korean War]], the [[Vietnam War]], the [[Gulf War]], etc. This is similar to a problem faced by many works of [[future history]]: the events they describe happening in years after the initial publication do not conform to history as it actually happens. To accommodate such discrepancies, retcons may be used in later stories, altering dates or other details.

While retconning is usually done without comment by the creators, DC Comics has on rare occasions promoted special events dedicated to revising the history of the DC Comics universe. The most important and well known such event was the [[mini-series]] ''[[Crisis on Infinite Earths]]''; this allowed for wholesale revisions of their entire [[Multiverse (DC Comics)|multiverse]] of characters. It has been argued that these were not true retcons, however, because the cause of the changes to their universe actually appeared within the story, similar to stories in which a [[time travel]]er goes to the past and changes history from how he remembered it.

===Subtraction===
Sometimes retconned alterations are so drastic as to render prior stories untenable. Many of the retcons introduced in ''Crisis on Infinite Earths'' and DC's later ''[[Zero Hour (comics)|Zero Hour]]'' were specifically intended to wipe the slate clean, and permit an entirely new history to be written for the characters. This is commonly referred to as a [[reboot (continuity)|reboot]]. This is often very unpopular, upsetting fans of the material that has been removed from continuity.

Unpopular or embarrassing stories are sometimes later ignored by publishers, never referred to again, and effectively erased from a series' continuity. They may publish stories that contradict the previous story or explicitly establish that it "never happened", for example by claiming that events in a previous installation were "just a dream". Likewise, an unpopular retcon may even be re-retconned away.

One example is in the game series [[Legacy of Kain]], where later released games completely omit the occurrences of the game [[Blood Omen 2]] from the timeline.

(See also [[Fanon (fiction)|Fanon]], [[Soap Opera Rapid Aging Syndrome]].)

===Reconciliation===
Retcons and loose continuity can lead to more retcons. When the "explanation" for an inconsistency makes it into an official work, this is another retcon.

==Related==
Retroactive continuity is similar to, but not the same as, plot inconsistencies introduced accidentally or through lack of concern for continuity; retconning is done deliberately. For example, the ongoing continuity contradictions on episodic TV series such as ''[[The Golden Girls]]'' reflects very loose continuity, not genuine retcons. However, in series with generally tight continuity, retcons are sometimes created after the fact to explain continuity errors. Retconning is also generally distinct from [[List of television show casting changes|replacing the actor]] who plays a part in an ongoing series, which is more properly an example of loose continuity (i.e. the different appearance of the character is ignored), rather than retroactively changing past continuity. An exception to this can be when the difference in appearance is explained, such as the case with "[[Regeneration (Doctor Who)|regeneration]]" in ''Doctor Who''.

Retconning is also distinct from direct revision; when [[George Lucas]] re-edited the original [[Star Wars trilogy]], he made changes directly to the source material, rather than introducing new source material that contradicted the contents of previous material. However, the later series of Star Wars prequels did qualify as "new source material", and many fans have pointed out instances that apparently retcon elements of the original trilogy.

The "clean slate" reinterpretation of characters - as in movie and television adaptations of books, or the reintroduction of many superheroes in the [[Silver Age of Comics]] - is similar to a reboot retcon, except that the previous versions are not explicitly or implicitly eliminated in the process. These are merely alternate or parallel reinterpretations such as the character re-interpretations of the [[DC animated universe]] or the [[Ultimate Marvel]] line of comics.

==Literature Involving Retconning==
In Stephen King's novel, [[Misery (novel)|Misery]], the protagonist, Paul Sheldon, is forced to write a sequel to his book ''Misery's Child'', in which the main character, Misery Chastain, dies. He at first attempts to retcon the events in that book, but his captor, Annie Wilkes, regards this as cheating and makes him create a sequel that doesn't actively deny what the reader already knows.

== Miscellany ==
In the [[BBC]] television series ''[[Torchwood]]'', "retcon" is mentioned as a memory altering drug. One character laments the inevitability of being "retconned", that is to say, having his memories erased and his history effectively changed.

==See also==
*[[List of retcons]]
*[[Back-story]]
*[[Canon (fiction)|Canon]]
*[[Plot hole]]
*[[Prequel]]
*[[reboot (continuity)|Reboot]]
*[[Fanon (fiction)|Fanon]]
*[[fanwank|Fanwankery]]
*[[Jumping the shark]]
*[[Spin-off]]

* {{comic book reference
| title = Saga of the Swamp Thing
| story = Anatomy Lesson
| volume = 2
| issue = 21
| date = February 1984
| writer = [[Alan Moore|Moore, Alan]]
| penciller = [[Stephen R. Bissette|Bissette, Stephen R.]]
| inker = [[John Totleben|Totleben, John]]
| publisher = [[DC Comics]]
}}

==Footnotes==
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<references/>
</div>

{{wikipedia|Retcon}}

[[Category:Continuity (fiction)]]
[[Category:Portmanteaus]]
[[Category:Comic book terminology]]
[[Category:Narratology]]

retroactive continuity - Revision history

Beta M: Anarchopedia:Wikipedia datadump (original research)