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retcon
[ ret-kon ]
noun
- a subsequent revision of an established story in film, TV, video games, or comics:
In an awkward retcon of his origin story, the hero’s parents survived the attack but suffered complete memory loss.
verb (used with object)
- to later revise (an established element of a fictional story):
The writers retconned the origin of her powers, newly attributing them to alien ancestry.
Word History and Origins
Origin of retcon1
Example Sentences
The transformation of Sol's lightsaber draws from material in the "Darth Vader" comic books, which itself is a retcon of the first offscreen explanations of red lightsabers from the age before Disney.
Technically "Secret Invasion" is a lead-in to "Armor Wars," an upcoming feature starring Don Cheadle's James Rhodes, aka War Machine, and it forces a major retcon on his character that may end up irritating fans more than jump-starting his story.
It also smooths out significant canonical wrinkles via retcon, which more devoted Trek observers than I have explained in detail.
It could no longer be about just the story, but an attempt to cash in on an identity retroactively, to retcon Dumbledore.
As Merriam-Webster describes it, "Retcon has had a busy life for such a young word," — it was added to Merriam-Webster's dictionary only in 2021 — including its "change from a noun to a verb, and move from the jargon-filled chat rooms of the Internet to general parlance."
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More About Retcon
What does retcon mean?
Retcon is an informal term for a revision made to an established story after the story was published or released, as in Fans were frustrated with the retcons that eliminated some of the TV series’ early characters. The term is a shortening of retroactive continuity.
It is also used as a verb meaning to later revise an established story, as in I can’t believe they retconned a romance between the hero and the villain!
Retcon is used mostly informally in reference to movies, television, video games, comic books, and similar types of entertainment with an ongoing story. A retcon is a plot point, reveal, or significant change that invalidates or changes the past of the story in order to maintain continuity within the whole of the story.
Example: The fact that he had a son we never heard about does make sense, so I’m okay with the retcon.
Where does retcon come from?
The first records of retcon come from around the 1980s. It is a shortening of the phrase retroactive continuity, with retroactive meaning “relating to past occurrences” and continuity meaning “the entire scenario or story in order.” Retcon effectively means “changing the details of the past later in the story.”
Typical retcons include explaining plot points as a dream or false memory and bringing back a character who was presumed dead. Stories are often retconned to please newer fans or to refresh a long-running story. This is often seen as a negative to long-time fans of the story.
The term has gained such popularity in pop culture discussions that it is now used more formally in some discussions of history and planning. In these types of situations, retcon is sometimes used to describe when people go back on their promises and pretend they did not make them or when people so frequently misrepresent past events that the event’s history becomes confused or changed in the public’s opinion.
Did you know … ?
What are some synonyms for retcon?
- retroactive continuity
What are some words that share a root or word element with retcon?
What are some words that often get used in discussing retcon?
How is retcon used in real life?
Retcon is almost always used in reference to entertainment media that has been revised, often dissatisfying audiences.
I know a lot of you are confused by the “Mary” of it all in today’s VENOM #9. But I promise it’s all going to make sense.
These are not canon errors or a retcon. We’re aware of how weird and “out of place” it all is.
That’s the point.
You’ll see.
— DONNY CATES (@Doncates) December 5, 2018
Him: You weren't there?
Me: Nope.
Him: Hmm… I think I just retcon you into all my memories.
Me: That's very romantic.— veronica@xoxo.zone (@Veronica) July 1, 2016
As a note for people arguing about when “the new decade” begins, today:
We didn’t start counting from year 1 in the Gregorian calendar. We started counting from 1582.
[We projected back to a year 1, but that’s just a big ol’ retcon.]— Kurt Busiek (@KurtBusiek) January 1, 2020
Updated on
Try using retcon!
True or False?
An example of a retcon is recasting an actor but keeping the story the same.
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