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  1. #1
    Incredible Member Superfan90's Avatar
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    Default Most influential retcons

    What are some examples of retcons in marvel comics which are so ingrained in the mythos that they are no longer thought as retcons but with the character from the start?

    Like Thor was originally just Don Blake with Thor's powers but Stan Lee himself retconned that Don was just a mortal guise for Thor.

    Or Namor and Captain America never knew each other in golden age and Invaders is a retcon by Roy Thomas.

  2. #2
    Tyrant Sun User leokearon's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Superfan90 View Post
    What are some examples of retcons in marvel comics which are so ingrained in the mythos that they are no longer thought as retcons but with the character from the start?

    Like Thor was originally just Don Blake with Thor's powers but Stan Lee himself retconned that Don was just a mortal guise for Thor.

    Or Namor and Captain America never knew each other in golden age and Invaders is a retcon by Roy Thomas.
    Magneto being Wanda and Pietro's father is one of the biggest ones (even after it got retconed itself)
    Bucky and Cap presumed dead until Cap was found by the Avengers and later Bucky's return as the Winter Soldier
    Last edited by leokearon; 11-27-2019 at 08:19 AM.

  3. #3
    Mighty Member Hybrid's Avatar
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    Captain America getting frozen itself is one. Originally, him and Bucky’s adventures continued into the ‘50s, but it was retconned that those two weren’t the real versions of them, and Cap had been on ice since 1942 and Bucky was killed, thanks to the newly introduced Baron Zemo.

    Also, Bucky surviving, and getting brainwashed to become the Winter Soldier is another one. That works in direct tandem with the above, and is also a crucial part of the lore.

  4. #4
    Tyrant Sun User leokearon's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Hybrid View Post
    Captain America getting frozen itself is one. Originally, him and Bucky’s adventures continued into the ‘50s, but it was retconned that those two weren’t the real versions of them, and Cap had been on ice since 1942 and Bucky was killed, thanks to the newly introduced Baron Zemo.

    Also, Bucky surviving, and getting brainwashed to become the Winter Soldier is another one. That works in direct tandem with the above, and is also a crucial part of the lore.
    Cap was frozen in 1945 not 1942

  5. #5

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    The entire Clone Saga springs to mind ... but the most influential one is definitely bringing back Jean Grey after the Dark Phoenix saga.

  6. #6
    Mighty Member Hybrid's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by leokearon View Post
    Cap was frozen in 1945 not 1942
    I thought I heard Jack de-canonized all stories he wasn't involved with? Whatever.

    Anyways, you get the point.

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    Tyrant Sun User leokearon's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Hybrid View Post
    I thought I heard Jack de-canonized all stories he wasn't involved with? Whatever.

    Anyways, you get the point.
    Maybe that itself is a retcon, as Cap is supposed to fight in D-Day and these days it is around April 1945
    Last edited by leokearon; 11-27-2019 at 08:40 AM.

  8. #8
    Tyrant Sun User leokearon's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by jsafanforever View Post
    The entire Clone Saga springs to mind ... but the most influential one is definitely bringing back Jean Grey after the Dark Phoenix saga.
    That's another one, it wasn't Jean, just a cosmic chicken that took her form and has been obsessed with Redheads ever since

  9. #9

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    Quote Originally Posted by leokearon View Post
    Cap was frozen in 1945 not 1942
    That's a retcon of the retcon. When the story was first narrated, in Avengers #4, it was "more than twenty years ago". The comic is from 1963, so that was at least 1942... casually, the year when Jack Kirby ended his first run with Cap.

    But there is a problem with that: it left 3 more WWII years without Cap around. So later versions of the story displaced the event a couple of years, so it happened when the war was already ending.


  10. #10
    Tyrant Sun User leokearon's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ultimate Captain America View Post
    That's a retcon of the retcon. When the story was first narrated, in Avengers #4, it was "more than twenty years ago". The comic is from 1963, so that was at least 1942... casually, the year when Jack Kirby ended his first run with Cap.

    But there is a problem with that: it left 3 more WWII years without Cap around. So later versions of the story displaced the event a couple of years, so it happened when the war was already ending.

    Yeah, retcons of retcons

  11. #11

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    Another one: in Amazing Fantasy #15, Uncle Ben never said that "With great power comes great responsibility". It was the narration who said that.


  12. #12
    Incredible Member Superfan90's Avatar
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    All nice picks. Also Hulk having multiple personalities and a healing factor is all a retcon. Paul Jenkins retconned it further as Bruce having thousands of personalities.

  13. #13
    Extraordinary Member Mike_Murdock's Avatar
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    A lot of Daredevil's backstory comes from Frank Miller - particularly the whole idea of Stick training him with the use of his powers. Also, a college girlfriend named Elektra was a pretty noteworthy retcon.
    Matt Murdock's cooler twin brother

    I'd give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety's sake!
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    Interested in reading Daredevil? Not sure what to read next? Why not check out the Daredevil Book Club for some ideas?

  14. #14
    Condescending Member manymade1's Avatar
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    Wolverine has more than a few. The reveal of his whole skull being made of adamantium was pretty huge. Also, his healing factor was simply "accelerated healing" at first, before it took on the strength that it has now.

    Quote Originally Posted by Ultimate Captain America View Post
    Another one: in Amazing Fantasy #15, Uncle Ben never said that "With great power comes great responsibility". It was the narration who said that.
    Was it ever retconned so that Uncle Ben said it? I thought him not saying it was always canon and it was just something that people got confused about.

  15. #15
    Formerly Assassin Spider Huntsman Spider's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by manymade1 View Post
    Wolverine has more than a few. The reveal of his whole skull being made of adamantium was pretty huge. Also, his healing factor was simply "accelerated healing" at first, before it took on the strength that it has now.



    Was it ever retconned so that Uncle Ben said it? I thought him not saying it was always canon and it was just something that people got confused about.
    In Spider-Man Vs. Wolverine by Christopher Priest, I believe, which was about 25 years after Spider-Man's debut in Amazing Fantasy #15.
    The spider is always on the hunt.

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