Retcon

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Etymology

Short for “retroactive continuity,” a phrase used in comics fandom that gained traction in the 1980s, notably around DC’s All-Star Squadron under writer Roy Thomas. The underlying phrase had earlier surfaced in a theological context, but fans made it a storytelling term. Serialized universes that run for decades need retcons to reconcile their accumulated contradictions.

noun · /RET-kon/
A revision that rewrites a story’s established past to fit new needs, treating old facts as never having happened.
What it names
The after-the-fact editing of canon, a staple of long-running serialized fiction.
Example
The sequel retconned the villain’s death, revealing that the body was a decoy all along.
Related idea
A retcon rewrites the established past, whereas canon is the body of accepted facts a retcon edits; every retcon is an argument about what canon really is.