DC Database:Retcon Roulette



"The past is like wet cement."

- Rip Hunter

The DC Universe is a stupidly complicated place. In an ideal world, all of the continuity would make perfect sense and everything would fit together perfectly. However, in a shared universe containing thousands of characters built by hundreds of creators over the course of several decades, this is just too much to ask for. Sometimes it's an editorial edict, sometimes the writer just fucked up. So rather than staying up crying into our cereal attempting to decipher a world that doesn't exist, we have created this handy guide. If you are ever presented with a retcon that just absolutely doesn't make sense, even in the constant reality-warping Multiverse-changing context of the DCU, pick a random item off this list. Then go outside.

Hypertime
Mark Waid created this really cool concept called Hypertime, specifically for people like you. The idea is that time is like a river with tributaries constantly flowing in and out, so time is changing all the time and nobody even realizes it. That's why Black Canary had the wrong eye color in that one issue of Justice League you thought might be valuable. Hypertime.

Superboy-Prime punching reality
Superboy-Prime punched the walls of reality themselves, irreversibly changing whatever the fuck writers want him to. This is an intentional catch-all excuse for anything that goes wrong, so they covered themselves pretty well.

The Decreator
Grant Morrison introduced this really cool idea in his Doom Patrol run called the Decreator, a malevolent entity created when God cast a shadow at the beginning of time. He is slowly in the process of erasing the entire universe, although it's been slowed down to a rate where it's barely noticeable. Maybe he "ate" whatever stupid thing you're complaining about.

Something something something Zero Hour
I'm going to be completely honest here and say that nobody actually read Zero Hour. It's probably responsible for changing whatever that thing is. Because, you know... entropy... and stuff.

Dan DiDio
If all else fails, and you absolutely cannot find an excuse that satisfies your stupid nerd problem, it's easiest to just blame Dan DiDio. Try screaming his name while you shake your fist angrily at the sky. Remember, he is the only person working at DC who ever does anything wrong and should be treated as such.