retcon

English

Etymology

A blend of retroactive +‎ continuity. The term retroactive continuity was popularized by comics writer Roy Thomas, who was known for writing superhero comic books set decades in the past such as All-Star Squadron, and attributes it to an anonymous source.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈɹɛtˌkɒn/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Noun

retcon (plural retcons)

1. A situation, in a soap opera or other fiction, in which a new storyline explains or changes a previous event or attaches a new significance to it.
   • 2003, Glen Cadigan, The Legion Companion, page 152:

     TLC: What do you say to the Legion fans who have become disenfranchised with the series due to its various retcons and reboots?

   • 2005, Rhonda Wilcox, Why Buffy Matters: The Art of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, page 9:

     Fans talk of retcon—retroactive continuity—giving information that explains an earlier event, especially seeming plot contradictions or lacunae.

   • 2006, Glenn Yeffeth, editor, The Man from Krypton: A Closer Look at Superman, page 155:

     It's a little trick called retcon, short for "retroactive continuity," […]
     Yet I'm unsure even Millar is fully aware of the power given him by the retcon.

Verb

retcon (third-person singular simple present retcons, present participle retconning, simple past and past participle retconned)

1. To employ such a device.
   • 2003, Jean-Marc Lofficier, The Nth Doctor, page 5:

     While ‘retconning' the scripts, I came up with a number of theories that throw new light on the Doctor, his past, and various other elements […]

   • 2004, Eric Nolen-Weathington, Modern Masters Volume 3: Bruce Timm, page 79:

     A lot of people were like, "Oh, they just retconned their own continuity. They should have used Kyle. I don't like that." So we just threw Kyle in there to say, "No, no, Kyle's still there. He still exists in the animated universe; he's just not stationed on Earth at the moment, regularly."

   • 2006, Len Wein, ed., The Unauthorized X-Men: SF and Comic Writers on Mutants, Prejudice, and Adamantium 92:

     Retroactive continuity (aka retconning), would reveal that Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch are also Magneto's children, showing that this was a guy who was really committed to his cause

   • 2006, Michael Eury, Daniel (CON) Best, Glen (CON) Cadigan, Mike (CON) Esposito, David (CON) Mandel, The Krypton Companion, p. 157:

     Luthor appeared a handful of times, Gary "retconned" the Toyman and created Terra-Man, and Superman would get a worthy opponent whenever Len Wein did a fill-in.

   • 2022 January 7, James Poniewozik, “Wondering When the Pandemic Will End? On TV, It Already Has.”, in The New York Times‎^[1], →ISSN:

     There’s a note of wistful, wishful thinking in all this retconning of reality — would that we could write a time jump into our own scripts!

Translations

to revise existing facts in fiction

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 吃書／吃书 (zh) (chīshū)

See also

• reboot
• Joss

Further reading

• retroactive continuity on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Q517361 on Wikidata.Wikidata

Anagrams

• Cotner, centro-, cornet, corten, creton, cronet