Eight Scans of Solstice - Favourite Retcon

[sistermagpie]

Remember when Alfred Pennyworth first showed up to work for the already Batmanned Bruce Wayne?



Yeah, neither do I.

Retcons can be brutal. Each one's going to be met from howls of outrage from somewhere. On the other hand, it can be really handy to have that magic wand to erase bad ideas or just replace them with better ones. Comics and soap operas--they're not afraid to retcon.

What's your favorite retcon? It can be big or small. Don't be afraid to go against what seems like popular opinion. There's room for all alternate universes here!

Comments

[astrakhan42]

I'm unable to post scans of it as I'm on mobile, but my favorite has to be the reveal of why Deadpool had a second set of white text boxes in the Daniel Way run that were gone by the time the Duggan and Posehn run started.

During a fight, Deadpool and Madcap were accidentally killed by Thor, and their bodies merged due to their healing factors. The white boxes were actually Madcap's thoughts and they drove Deadpool even crazier, resulting in the really bad "totally wacky" era of the character. Thor then accidentally fixed the situation by killing Deadpool again, allowing them to unmerge. It's one of the rare perfect retcons.

*It answers a pressing question

*It resolves a problematic character era

*No character is permanently killed or otherwise ruined

*Madcap was reinvigorated by the story as Deadpool's new nemesis so both characters were able to benefit

[crinos]

Man, so Pre Crisis Alfred just showed up one day out of the blue and started Butlering for Bruce and Dick? That's kind of awesome.

[sistermagpie]

Iirc, it was due to a deathbed promise to his father.

Apparently that was a thing that used to happen in the 40s, that guys would just show up at mansions and start butlering!

[beyondthefringe]

I could use a surprise butler.

[crinos]

I think that is what they refer to it being a "Simpler time" (As opposed to that being an excuse for old timey racism).

Nowadays I think they call that a home invasion. Or at the very least the scenario involves Bath Salts.

[mazway_75]

The original story has him stumbling onto the Batcave and keeping quiet. At the end of the story, he just shows up with their costumes when the Bat-Signal goes on ("Your cape, sir") and lets them think he figured it out on his own.

Later versions have him brought into it when Bruce is badly injured. Not bad but do like better the idea he was always their butler and Bruce's foster dad.

[lordultimus]

I think a Zero Hour tie-in had this version of Alfred suddenly show up.

[icon_uk]

It did indeed

[alicemacher]

My favourite retcon? No question; it's the one Alan Moore gave the Swamp Thing in "The Anatomy Lesson," just after the beginning of his run. He made the character a plant who'd believed itself once a man but learned otherwise, instead of a man transformed into a plant (and seeking to transform back). This change in origin allowed the protagonist to evolve from a mostly passive, mostly silent, pathetic figure always bemoaning his lot in life -- "Hamlet covered in snot," in Moore's words -- to a proactive, eloquent hero who learned not only to accept his otherness but to exult in, and take increasingly fuller advantage of, it.

Best of all, Moore pulled off the retcon in a way that was fully consistent with the actual events in Swampy's origin as Len Wein had established them (man catches fire and is propelled into the swamp; a plant creature emerges from the swamp). This avoided the need for a complete reboot of the series and allowed nearly everything that preceded it to remain in canon. That way, Moore and subsequent writers could mine earlier stories for ideas (e.g. Moore with Pasko's Rosewood vampires, Bissette with Wein's Patchwork Man) instead of having to treat everything prior to "The Anatomy Lesson" as if it'd never happened.

[jkcarrier]

There were a couple of times in the original run where Swampy was temporarily "cured" and became Alec Holland again, which shouldn't be possible under Moore's scenario. But nobody really cared about that minor hand-waving, because the resulting stories were so good. Which is the real test of a good retcon: Does it make the series better?

[mazway_75]

The recent postings of the "Man of Steel" comic show how great Byrne managed to make so many things work. Like how he considers himself Clark first, Superman second which humanizes him more. Luthor as the super-businessman, explaining more of his powers, not as ultra-powerful as he once was and the Kents alive to give advice, it all made Superman far more effective for a new generation.

[starwolf_oakley]

Byrne also did "Clark was pretty much powerless as a child, and his powers only kicked in during his late teens."

[mcbangle]

As much as it caused headaches for my beloved Legion of Super-Heroes, I do adore Byrne's "Man of Steel" retcon. Luthor the super-businessman was particularly effective.

[freezer]

Luthor the super-businessman was particularly effective.

Once they steered him away from being "Kingpin with Kryptonite" at least.

[mazway_75]

Another good one has to be the "Green Lantern Rebirth" as Johns was brilliant explaining Hal being possessed by Parallax. From his temples going grey to why Kyle's ring worked on yellow, it was so great that you'd think the earlier writers set it all up for Johns to work with.

[zylly]

I liked that retcon overall, though I don’t think the temples needed explaining. I was fine with the idea that Hal was just starting to go grey.

Granted, people like him and Ollie aging while Clark and Bruce stayed fixed would never have worked. Not that comic ages really work now as it is... it’s part of why the Titans generation is always in such an odd spot.

[freezer]

My favorite technically doesn't come from comics, though it featured in plenty of them: Star Wars' "Grey Side/Uniforce" retcon. I might be in the minority in that (and I also suspect that that minority is larger than many might admit). But I liked the idea that there was no such thing as "Light Side" and "Dark Side" and a Force user's intent gave techniques context.

It was also a nice little saving throw on the issue of the SW video games based on approved canon: explaining how a Jedi could throw Force Lightning without instantly turning into a Sith.

Naturally, George "Why We Can't Have Nice Things" Lucas personally stepped in and had them undo the retcon. Apparently "nuance" is not for those such as Jedi.

[teresa_rollins]

Legion of Super-Heroes: The Curse of Validus

[kore]

Remember when Alfred Pennyworth first showed up to work for the already Batmanned Bruce Wayne?

....WHUT

[kore]

My fave retcon is definitely Bucky Barnes is the Winter Soldier. I like Jason's return too.