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.^[1]

Pronunciation

(UK) IPA^(key): /ˈɹɛtˌkɒn/
Audio (Southern England): (file)

Noun

retcon (plural retcons)

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)

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)

References

^ Roy Thomas (1983 February) “letters column”, in All-Star Squadron, volume 1, number 18, DC Comics:
As for what Roy himself (myself) is trying to do, we like to think an enthusiastic ALL-STAR booster at one of Adam Malin's Creation Conventions 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?

Anagrams

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

[1] Roy Thomas (1983 February) “letters column”, in All-Star Squadron, volume 1, number 18, DC Comics:
As for what Roy himself (myself) is trying to do, we like to think an enthusiastic ALL-STAR booster at one of Adam Malin's Creation Conventions 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?

[1]