553:, 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
224:, 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.
356:, 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.
322:: "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
642:. 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."
243:. 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 often appear in
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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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1/ Insertion without contradiction: A retcon does not need justification if it simply fits into the unexplored parts of the story. This means that
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can be maintained if the new elements are well justified. However, if the justification is poor, readers or viewers may perceive a break in
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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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2/ Explicit contradiction: A retcon must be justified if it contradicts previously given information in the story. In this case,
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386:, which may end with the death of a monster that goes on to appear in one or more sequels. The technique is so common in
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426:, Zorro ends his adventures by revealing his identity, a plot point that was carried over to the 1920 film adaptation
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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 correct and overcome errors or problems identified in the prior work since its publication.
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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]
35:
671:
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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is respected even if the new elements were not initially planned.
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To change or clarify how the prior work should be interpreted.
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868:, vol. 1, no. 18 (February 1983).
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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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with the former. The term is also used as a verb, as in "
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Revision of existing facts in succeeding works of fiction
525:(in which the timeline of the family's history must be
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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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493:A notable example of subtractive retconning is the
274:. They are also used in role playing games such as
60:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
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673:. Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi.
543:Though the term "retcon" did not yet exist when
281:Two common scenarios for a retcon (retroactive
1040:"Wilma Flintstone: A fox in leopard clothing?"
667:"A Brief Prehistory of Retroactive Continuity"
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303:. Worse still, if there is no justification,
882:Doyle, Arthur Conan; Eastman, David (1984).
881:
810:. Philadelphia: Westminster Press. p.
740:. New York: Ballantine Books, 1988. Page ix
679:10.14325/mississippi/9781496811325.003.0010
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463:as a "gas-leak year". Other series such as
143:employed retroactive continuity to explain
708:"One of these comic heroes really is dead"
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634:, so this book is not a linear sequel to
481:would notably employ the same technique.
120:Learn how and when to remove this message
756:. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO. p. 510.
172:established through the narrative itself
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806:The Theology of Wolfhart Pannenberg
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343:comic characters age in real time.
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192:To accommodate desired aspects of
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665:Friedenthal, Andrew J. (2017).
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941:Moser, Margaret (1997-06-05).
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785:"A Short History of 'Retcon'"
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335:. The series was set on DC's
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137:The Death of Sherlock Holmes
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527:continually shifted forward
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968:Ryan, Tim (May 22, 2014).
503:X-Men: Days of Future Past
405:apparently killed off in "
394:" has been coined for it.
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1011:: ABC-CLIO. p. 591.
1009:Santa Barbara, California
802:Tupper, E. Frank (1973).
750:Booker, M. Keith (2010).
331:#18 (February 1983) from
153:death in an earlier story
892:Caulfield East, Victoria
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69:"Retroactive continuity"
583:Revisionism (fictional)
506:features the character
423:The Curse of Capistrano
588:Historical revisionism
390:comics that the term "
276:Dungeons & Dragons
261:professional wrestling
227:Retcons are common in
164:Retroactive continuity
160:
922:on September 13, 2012
632:2001: A Space Odyssey
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1086:Narrative techniques
1081:Continuity (fiction)
1001:Cross, Mary (2013).
948:The Austin Chronicle
550:Nineteen Eighty-Four
366:Creation Conventions
305:continuity is broken
231:, and especially in
155:fighting his enemy,
54:improve this article
738:2061: Odyssey Three
623:2061: Odyssey Three
319:Wolfhart Pannenberg
736:Clarke, Arthur C.
403:Arthur Conan Doyle
222:parallel universes
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157:Professor Moriarty
141:Arthur Conan Doyle
894:: Edward Arnold.
886:The Final Problem
866:All-Star Squadron
628:2010: Odyssey Two
434:Johnston McCulley
429:The Mark of Zorro
407:The Final Problem
345:All-Star Squadron
328:All-Star Squadron
255:, movie sequels,
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1048:. Retrieved
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858:Hoberg, Rick
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52:Please help
47:verification
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850:Kubert, Joe
842:Thomas, Roy
626:: "Just as
500:. The film
498:film series
485:Subtraction
451:Bobby Ewing
413:" in 1903.
268:video games
249:soap operas
233:comic books
218:time travel
110:August 2013
1070:Categories
954:2009-03-09
901:089375613X
723:2014-03-02
650:References
460:Family Guy
377:Alteration
362:Adam Malin
358:Roy Thomas
341:Golden Age
301:continuity
297:continuity
290:continuity
283:continuity
180:retconned"
176:continuity
151:after his
80:newspapers
1050:23 August
926:August 9,
870:DC Comics
713:Telegraph
508:Wolverine
447:Pam Ewing
388:superhero
337:Earth-Two
333:DC Comics
18:Retconned
1024:16 March
980:Archived
943:"TV Eye"
827:16 March
769:16 March
717:Archived
640:universe
598:Retronym
561:See also
536:, where
478:Roseanne
257:cartoons
214:diegetic
986:May 26,
860: (
856:),
852: (
848:),
844: (
814:, 221.
472:Newhart
311:Origins
194:sequels
94:scholar
1015:
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547:wrote
475:, and
442:Dallas
264:angles
241:Marvel
168:retcon
149:return
139:: Sir
96:
89:
82:
75:
67:
604:Notes
496:X-Men
418:Zorro
372:Types
245:manga
166:, or
101:JSTOR
87:books
1052:2015
1026:2017
1013:ISBN
988:2014
928:2015
896:ISBN
829:2017
816:ISBN
771:2017
758:ISBN
683:ISBN
636:2010
239:and
182:or "
73:news
812:100
675:doi
364:'s
285:):
220:or
147:'s
56:by
1072::
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978:.
972:.
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697:^
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237:DC
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