What do you think were the most irrelevant/useless retcons

[Koriand'r]

Wonder Woman being Zeus' daughter, she didn't need it.

It also flies in the face of what she's intended to be and weakens her brand.

[Sacred Knight]

Doomsday Clock bringing back Clark's parents

You could go even further than that. Byrne bringing them back in the MOS reboot after COIE proved to be largely irrelevant and meaningless. It enlarged his supporting cast, but really didn't do much else. Ironically, the most iconic and classic moment involving them in the post-Crisis era was when Jonathan brought Superman's soul back from limbo...and he had to be categorically deceased to do it.

[DrNewGod]

Hawkman and Hawkwoman's postHawkworld on-going that wiped their pre-Crisis presence away. It wasn't reversed by John's "Return of Hawkman," but it was so marginalized (along with everything else related Katar and Shayera), it might have well as been erased.

[SiegePerilous02]

I don't know if the living Kents or Zeus parentage for Wonder Woman are retcons since they came about due to reboots in different continuities. They are still bad ideas though.

Dr. Light raping Sue Dibny and the subsequent explanation for his goofy antics (mind wipes) and Barry's dead mom are probably the worst.

[Robotman]

Mister Freeze being a creepy stalker of Nora instead of a devoted husband trying to save her life.

[Tzigone]

I don't know if the living Kents or Zeus parentage for Wonder Woman are retcons since they came about due to reboots in different continuities. They are still bad ideas though.

Dr. Light raping Sue Dibny and the subsequent explanation for his goofy antics (mind wipes) and Barry's dead mom are probably the worst.

While I dislike those intensely, they did have an impact. Particularly all the following mindwipes that were revealed (turning several reformed Flash Rogues bad again) and Batman shenanigans after the mindwipe. This thread was really meant to be about retcons that basically made no difference, but I guess the title wasn't descriptive enough.

[Buried Alien]

Post-COIE changes to Wonder Woman's, Donna Troy's (because of Wonder Woman), the Hawks' (-man, -woman, -girl), Power Girl's, and Justice League's origins. Also problematic was end of Dick Grayson's career as Robin and the beginning of Jason Todd's. Superman's Post-COIE origin (didn't like Byrne's concept of Krypton) and Kal-El's drastically reduced power level. Retroactively broody and unpleasant Batman earlier in career.

Additionally, Dr. Light/Sue Dibny in IDENTITY CRISIS and new "dead mother, imprisoned father" origin for Barry Allen.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[superduperman]

Most of Superman's reboots. I could count on one hand the good ones and still have fingers left over. Most of them added nothing to his mythos and ended up creating more problems than they solved. But far and away the stupidest was Return to Krypton. It added nothing to the mythos and was completely pointless.

Wonder Woman Year One. This was a great story that only lasted three years and now it's gone for some new timeline we know nothing about.

[Gotham citizen]

We've talked about retcons we liked, and retcons we disliked. But what about recons that just didn't really matter? Maybe at first it looked like your chosen retcon would make a difference, but then the plotline fizzled out. Maybe it was just a cover for a previous continuity blunder. Whatever. The question are which retcons do you think ultimately amounted to nothing?

For me, top place is probably taken by Barbara Gordon being Jim Gordon's niece. Or maybe his biological daughter from a liaison with his brother's wife. While I can't say I've read Jim or Barbara extensively in the era immediately after either reveal, neither of these seemed to have actually changed anything, and both seem useless. Probably why they don't exist anymore. Probably followed up closely by Tony Gordon being brought back in the bronze age only to be killed off (or disappear again if not really dead - not sure we saw actual death or body).

Gotham Knight 6: the Commissioner Gordon had an affair with Barbara's mother, so he may be her actual father.
An insignificant retcon, which may also not to be a retcon, of an useless retcon; is there something silliest?

[Holt]

Wonder Woman being Zeus' daughter.

[Buried Alien]

*Plays Rickenbacker 4001 bass guitar.*

*Sings*

You'd think that readers would've had enough of silly retcons.

I read these forums and see: its surely so.

Some writers want to fill the world with silly retcons.

And what's wrong with that?

We already know...

...now here they go...

...AGAAAAAIN!!!


Buried McAlien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[DrNewGod]

Gotham Knight 6: the Commissioner Gordon had an affair with Barbara's mother, so he may be her actual father.
An insignificant retcon, which may also not to be a retcon, of an useless retcon; is there something silliest?

To me, that's really not the point. The point of her being Gordon's daughter to create some extra secret ID angst for Batgirl based on the secret she was keeping from her beloved father. Not saying there's not feelings if she didn't grow up his daughter, with all the usual daddy-daughter moments, but it's not as powerful.

[Tzigone]

To me, that's really not the point. The point of her being Gordon's daughter to create some extra secret ID angst for Batgirl based on the secret she was keeping from her beloved father. Not saying there's not feelings if she didn't grow up his daughter, with all the usual daddy-daughter moments, but it's not as powerful.

I'm not sure if we are talking around each other (well, you weren't replying to me, but I cited the same retcon). My point, at least, when I cited it as an irrelevant retcon was that it changed nothing. Changing Barbara from Gordon's daughter to his niece he got custody of at 13 (I think) changed absolutely nothing about their relationship or her character. I don't think it did his, but definitely not hers. At least, I don't recall anything - not even her ever thinking of her parents that raised her that long or of that loss or anything. It was a pointless retcon that did nothing (which is what I was looking for on this thread). Then along came "maybe she really is Gordon's bio daughter" which also did nothing. In no way changed their relationship. I don't even know that it was ever revisited again. Did make Gordon look bad, or would have, I guess if his pattern (yeah, I think two makes a pattern in this case) of illicit sexual relationships had been treated as a pattern, but it wasn't.

FTR, I also never thought of it as very angsty that Barbara kept her secret ID from her father. It just didn't seem to be depicted as something that tormented her or even bothered her much or caused any personal problems (easier since she wasn't a kid) as originally depicted. May have in later versions, and that's more relevant, I guess, since we're speaking of the post-COIE version, but I tend to think of it as it originally played out and I never thought of it as an issue/angst-provider.

[Gotham citizen]

To me, that's really not the point. The point of her being Gordon's daughter to create some extra secret ID angst for Batgirl based on the secret she was keeping from her beloved father. Not saying there's not feelings if she didn't grow up his daughter, with all the usual daddy-daughter moments, but it's not as powerful.

Actually this was my point:

[…]
An insignificant retcon, which may also not to be a retcon, of an useless retcon; is there something silliest?

but maybe I haven't understood what you wanted say.

[Aahz]

How about Catwoman being Bisexual, that was big News on all comic book sites, and has never come up since.
And now she even back to her status as Batman's primary love interest.