retcon means A fictional setting in which a new storyline explains or changes a previous event or attaches a new significance to it. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.
retcon is pronounced /ˈɹɛtˌkɒn/.
Why “retcon” is a great word
RETCON — [Noun/Verb] A literary device in fiction where later information retroactively changes or reinterprets previously established events in the narrative. Its etymology is a blend of ‘retroactive’ (acting on a past event) and ‘continuity’ (consistency of narrative); the term ‘retroactive continuity’ was popularized by comics writer Roy Thomas, who attributes the original phrase to an anonymous source. Unlike a “reboot” (which discards an entire continuity to begin anew) or a mere “revision” (which corrects surface details), a retcon is a surgical strike upon memory itself. It is the quiet, unsettling click of a puzzle piece you thought was fixed suddenly shifting its shape: the hero’s long-dead parent revealed to have been an imposter, the climactic victory now framed as a villain’s deliberate sacrifice, or a forgotten footnote becoming the linchpin of an entire saga—a testament to the fact that in fiction, the past is not a fixed point, but the softest of clays in the hands of a storyteller who has run out of future.
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.
noun
- A fictional setting in which a new storyline explains or changes a previous event or attaches a new significance to it.“TLC: What do you say to the Legion fans who have become disenfranchised with the series due to its various retcons and reboots?”
verb
- To employ such a device.“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[…]”