10 Words Popularised By Comics

8. Retcon

Nightcrawler Mutants
DC Comics

If you don’t read comics, you can go your whole life without coming across the word "retcon" (retroactive continuity"). However, many comic fans shudder when they hear this term.

A retcon is when a part of the story set in the past is changed, which alters the present. Batman used to live in New York and killed people with a gun. Eventually, this was changed so Batman lived in Gotham and had a No Kill Rule.

Not a big deal, right? But retcons can go a bit nuts. During the Clone Saga, Spider-Man defeated a clone of himself called Ben Reilly. Just to spice things up, the creative team retconned the story so the Peter Parker we all know and love was the clone and Ben was the real Spider-Man. This angered readers so much, the writers spent two years retconning the story again so Ben Reilly was in fact the real clone all along. So, the Clone Saga was forced to retcon a retcon!

Retcons usually happened when part of a story becomes too confusing, too complex, too silly, too inappropriate, or too old-fashioned. More often than not though, retcons are introduced simply to boost sales - as was the case with the New52.

Contributor
Contributor

James Egan has written 80 books including 1000 Facts about Superheroes Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about Horror Movies Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about The Greatest Films Ever Made Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about Video Games Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about TV Shows Vol. 1-3 Twitter - @jameswzegan85