A “retcon” is when a writer retroactively changes continuity. Retcons typically get a bad name because people worry about writers changing concepts too much, but the fact of the matter is that a number of very important comic book stories would not have been possible if it were not for them. Here are five retcons that were successful (and one that absolutely bombed).
1 Captain America did not make it out of World War II. This retcon is one of the most important ones around, and a perfect example as to why fans should not be so quick to judge new retcons too harshly. Originally, Captain America Comics lasted until the late 1940s, well after the end of World War II. Later, there was a revival during the 1950s (where Cap’s new enemies were the communists). When Stan Lee introduced the new Marvel Universe of superheroes, he decided to bring Captain America into the fold. However, he also decided to ignore all the stories that had happened after World War II. Instead, in The Avengers #4, Captain America is awoken from a suspended animation he had been in since the tail end of World War II. The “man out of time” element worked wonders for years and is still a strong element for adaptations of Captain America.
2 Alec Holland is dead. For years, Swamp Thing was a straightforward concept: a scientist named Alec Holland was caught in a chemical explosion in the swamp that caused him to turn into a, well, swamp thing. That was the case until Alan Moore took over the character with Saga of the Swamp Thing #20. The next issue, in a story called “The Anatomy Lesson,” Moore revealed that Alec Holland died that day. The chemicals did not turn Alec Holland into a mass of plants; it turned a mass of plants into a being that thought it was Alec Holland! Once people put together the pieces of their brains after Moore just exploded them all, they got ready for an excellent run of stories by Moore, now free to do whatever the heck he wanted to do with this plant that thought it was a man.
3 Magneto is not a sociopath. One of the most controversial figures in comics is Magneto. For years he was one of the greatest villains in all of comics; however, when Chris Claremont began writing the character, he slowly added backstory to Magneto that made him a much more sympathetic figure. First, we learned that he survived a concentration camp during World War II. The idea of a Holocaust survivor also being part of another subjugated group (mutants)? That’s fascinating, especially when you contrast it against some of the extreme actions he proposes in support of mutantkind. Claremont also established an old friendship between Magneto and Professor X that fell apart because of their philosophical differences. Claremont established that Xavier and Magneto were, in essence, the Martin Luther King and Malcolm X of the mutant rights movement. These changes to what was once a one-note villain helped present a much more complex, interesting, and ultimately, more likable Magneto than what we had seen before. It is this version that has been adapted into multiple films now.
4 Bucky was a commando. It never really made sense that a soldier like Captain America would go into battle with a teenage sidekick, which is just what Bucky was in the Golden Age Captain America Comics. Writer Ed Brubaker addressed this when he took over writing Captain America in 2005. As it turned out, Bucky was actually a dangerous commando who would sneak off and slice some throats and otherwise neutralize the bad guys before the next day’s public battle. So, yes, Bucky essentially was Rambo, not a teenager, making his presence in battle scenes a lot more comfortable.
5 Bucky did not die. For years there were two constants in the Marvel Universe: both Spider-Man’s Uncle Ben and Captain America’s partner, Bucky, would stay dead. However, Ed Brubaker ignored that second rule and brought Bucky back to life. And he somehow made it cool! You see, after the same explosion that had left Captain America in suspended animation and Bucky seemingly killed in action, Bucky was rescued (what was left of him—he lost an arm in the explosion) by the Russians, who then brainwashed him into becoming the perfect assassin. Bucky then went on missions for them and when he was finished, they would put him into cryogenic storage. That way, a killing he did in 1948 would not be able to be pinned on him when he shows up in 1955 at the same age as he was seven years earlier. After decades of this (and Bucky aging only into adulthood), Captain America finally comes face-to-face with his old partner. Eventually he snaps Bucky out of the brainwashing, and when Captain America is killed, it is Bucky who steps in and takes over as the new Captain America. A successful retcon indeed: Brubaker took an idea that nobody wanted to see and made it something that pretty much everybody could enjoy.
And now for the worst retcon of all time.…
Flash got his powers from Mopee. The Silver Age Flash had a pretty typical Silver Age origin. Lightning hit some chemicals that splashed on him and he gained superpowers. However, in 1967’s Flash #167, Flash meets Mopee, a short, balding fellow in a robe with big thick glasses who was a magical “heavenly help-mate.” Mopee reveals that it was he who gave the Flash his powers, not a “one in a ten quadrillion billion chance” like the chemicals doing it. This origin must have set a record for the fastest time that a new origin was ignored, as it was never mentioned again after Mopee’s first appearance.