512:, the totalitarian regime depicted in that book is involved in a constant, large-scale retconning of past records. For example, when it is suddenly announced that "Oceania was not after all in war with Eurasia. Oceania was at war with Eastasia and Eurasia was an ally" (Part Two, Ch. 9), there is an immediate intensive effort to change "all reports and records, newspapers, books, pamphlets, films, sound-tracks and photographs" and make them all record a war with Eastasia rather than one with Eurasia. "Often it was enough to merely substitute one name for another, but any detailed report of events demanded care and imagination. Even the geographical knowledge needed in transferring the war from one part of the world to another was considerable." See
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Retroactive continuity is similar to, but not the same as, plot inconsistencies introduced accidentally or through lack of concern for continuity; retconning, by comparison, is done deliberately. For example, the ongoing continuity contradictions on episodic TV series such as
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to explain why they are not getting any older) reflects intentionally lost continuity, not genuine retcons. However, in series with generally tight continuity, retcons are sometimes created after the fact to explain continuity errors. Such was the case in
210:, an author may diegetically reintroduce a popular character they had previously killed off. More subtle and nondiegetic methods would be ignoring or expunging minor plot points to remove narrative elements the author doesn't have interest in writing.
315:, a reader remarked that the comic "must make you feel at times as if you're painting yourself into a corner", and, "Your matching of Golden Age comics history with new plotlines has been an artistic (and I hope financial!) success." Writer
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Retcons sometimes add information that seemingly contradicts previous information. This frequently takes the form of a character who was shown to have died but is later revealed to have somehow survived. This is a common practice in
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on Earth-Two; as it was in the past of an alternate universe, all its events had repercussions on the contemporary continuity of the DC multiverse. Each issue changed the history of the fictional world in which it was set. In the
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Unpopular stories are sometimes later ignored by publishers, and effectively erased from a series' continuity. Later stories may contradict the previous ones or explicitly establish that they never happened.
281:: "Pannenberg's conception of retroactive continuity ultimately means that history flows fundamentally from the future into the past, that the future is not basically a product of the past."
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Retcons are used by authors to increase their creative freedom, on the assumption that the changes are unimportant to the audience compared to the new story which can be told. Retcons can be
601:. Developments since 1964 make total consistency impossible, as the later stories incorporate discoveries and events that had not even taken place when the earlier books were written."
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229:. The long history of popular titles and the number of writers who contribute stories can often create situations that demand clarification or revision. Retcons also appear in
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597:. They must all be considered as variations on the same theme, involving many of the same characters and situations, but not necessarily happening in the same
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wanted to return to the series. This season is sometimes referred to as the "Dream Season" and was referred to humorously in later TV series such as
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in San Diego came up with the best name for it a few months back: 'Retroactive
Continuity'. Has kind of a ring to it, don't you think?"
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are adjusted, ignored, supplemented, or contradicted by a subsequently published work that recontextualizes or breaks
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An early published use of the phrase "retroactive continuity" is found in theologian E. Frank Tupper's 1973 book
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traveling in time to 1973 to prevent an assassination that, if carried out, would lead to planetary extinction.
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was mistakenly given two separate maiden names over the course of the series: "Pebble" and "Slaghoople".
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A printed use of "retroactive continuity" referring to the altering of history in a fictional work is in
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for short, is a literary device in which facts in the world of a fictional work that have been
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To match reality, when assumptions or projections of the future are later proven wrong.
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kept all the elements of his original story, but retroactively ignored its ending.
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There are various motivations for applying retroactive continuity, including:
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responded, "we like to think that an enthusiastic ALL-STAR booster at one of
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annulled its entire Season 9 as just the dream of another character,
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Encyclopedia of Comic Books and
Graphic Novels [Two Volumes]
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Retcon Game: Retroactive
Continuity and the Hyperlinking of America
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was retconned early in his existence. In the original 1919 novel,
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To change or clarify how the prior work should be interpreted.
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An early example of this type of retcon is the return of
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To respond to negative fan reception of previous stories.
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Revision of existing facts in succeeding works of fiction
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or derivative works which would otherwise be ruled out.
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100 People who
Changed 20th-century America, Volume 1
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452:A notable example of subtractive retconning is the
49:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
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632:. Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi.
502:Though the term "retcon" did not yet exist when
999:"Wilma Flintstone: A fox in leopard clothing?"
626:"A Brief Prehistory of Retroactive Continuity"
260:. They are used in role-playing games such as
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841:Doyle, Arthur Conan; Eastman, David (1984).
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769:. Philadelphia: Westminster Press. p.
699:. New York: Ballantine Books, 1988. Page ix
638:10.14325/mississippi/9781496811325.003.0010
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422:as a "gas-leak year". Other series such as
132:employed retroactive continuity to explain
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593:, so this book is not a linear sequel to
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109:Learn how and when to remove this message
715:. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO. p. 510.
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765:The Theology of Wolfhart Pannenberg
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486:continually shifted forward
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462:X-Men: Days of Future Past
364:apparently killed off in "
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970:: ABC-CLIO. p. 591.
968:Santa Barbara, California
761:Tupper, E. Frank (1973).
709:Booker, M. Keith (2010).
290:#18 (February 1983) from
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58:"Retroactive continuity"
542:Revisionism (fictional)
465:features the character
382:The Curse of Capistrano
547:Historical revisionism
349:comics that the term "
263:Dungeons & Dragons
247:professional wrestling
213:Retcons are common in
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148:, fighting his enemy,
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591:2001: A Space Odyssey
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1040:Continuity (fiction)
960:Cross, Mary (2013).
907:The Austin Chronicle
509:Nineteen Eighty-Four
325:Creation Conventions
217:, and especially in
43:improve this article
697:2061: Odyssey Three
582:2061: Odyssey Three
278:Wolfhart Pannenberg
695:Clarke, Arthur C.
362:Arthur Conan Doyle
208:parallel universes
154:
150:Professor Moriarty
130:Arthur Conan Doyle
853:: Edward Arnold.
845:The Final Problem
825:All-Star Squadron
587:2010: Odyssey Two
393:Johnston McCulley
388:The Mark of Zorro
366:The Final Problem
304:All-Star Squadron
287:All-Star Squadron
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36:verification
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809:Kubert, Joe
801:Thomas, Roy
585:: "Just as
459:. The film
457:film series
444:Subtraction
410:Bobby Ewing
372:" in 1903.
254:video games
235:soap operas
219:comic books
204:time travel
99:August 2013
1029:Categories
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860:089375613X
682:2014-03-02
609:References
419:Family Guy
336:Alteration
321:Adam Malin
317:Roy Thomas
300:Golden Age
169:continuity
69:newspapers
1009:23 August
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672:Telegraph
467:Wolverine
406:Pam Ewing
347:superhero
296:Earth-Two
292:DC Comics
983:16 March
939:Archived
902:"TV Eye"
786:16 March
728:16 March
676:Archived
599:universe
557:Retronym
520:See also
495:, where
437:Roseanne
243:cartoons
200:diegetic
945:May 26,
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811: (
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803: (
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431:Newhart
270:Origins
180:sequels
83:scholar
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434:, and
401:Dallas
250:angles
227:Marvel
161:retcon
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563:Notes
455:X-Men
377:Zorro
331:Types
231:manga
159:, or
90:JSTOR
76:books
1011:2015
985:2017
972:ISBN
947:2014
887:2015
855:ISBN
788:2017
775:ISBN
730:2017
717:ISBN
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595:2010
225:and
62:news
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634:doi
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