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What are the worst Retcons in fiction
- Thread starter Impulse
- Start date
The Hougyoku (Bleach) - Despite the insistence of the FV Bleach section, it was in fact CLEARLY established to be just a device used to break a single race's natural limitations by turning them into Hybrids. It was NOT a wish granting plot orb like it becomes later. Aizen himself spent the better part of multiple chapters explaining what it did in the SS arc and he had no reason to lie, nor was there any reason not to believe it.
Anyway the issue here is obviously that the retcon allowed Kubo to use the Hougyoku to give Aizen random power-ups out of the ass and make him immortal because "fuck you, I want to keep him around". There was no good reason to do this, just have Aizen hollowfy himself (which already would be more then enough of a power-up considering how OP he is to begin with) and have him use his bankai. All this would still justify Ichigo using Final Getsuga to beat him, the difference being Aizen would die in that scenario and it'd be much more climactic than what we got.
Anyway the issue here is obviously that the retcon allowed Kubo to use the Hougyoku to give Aizen random power-ups out of the ass and make him immortal because "fuck you, I want to keep him around". There was no good reason to do this, just have Aizen hollowfy himself (which already would be more then enough of a power-up considering how OP he is to begin with) and have him use his bankai. All this would still justify Ichigo using Final Getsuga to beat him, the difference being Aizen would die in that scenario and it'd be much more climactic than what we got.
The entirety of the Star Wars Expanded Universe being made non-canon (not even the decency of being moved to another parallel universe; being made straight up non-canon), so that we could have the Kennedy-Rian-Abrams visions of Star Wars. I don't know if that counts as a retcon, but it should.
On the subject of Star Wars, Karen Travis forgetting that the Galaxy had already fought a race of Force immune intergalactic invaders.
The MCU in Loki deciding that the multiverse, after very clearly existing in Doctor Strange 1, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame...that the multiverse actually didn't exist all that time, free will was a lie (not because of any cosmic force, but because time police who have no right beating even a normal human with a gun come to arrest them) to the point it makes all the heroes achievements worthless, and all so they can...set up the multiverse for future titles. Which already existed. I cannot get over how fucking stupid this is.
On the subject of Star Wars, Karen Travis forgetting that the Galaxy had already fought a race of Force immune intergalactic invaders.
The MCU in Loki deciding that the multiverse, after very clearly existing in Doctor Strange 1, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame...that the multiverse actually didn't exist all that time, free will was a lie (not because of any cosmic force, but because time police who have no right beating even a normal human with a gun come to arrest them) to the point it makes all the heroes achievements worthless, and all so they can...set up the multiverse for future titles. Which already existed. I cannot get over how fucking stupid this is.
I think that's more of a complete reboot than a retcon, but yeah definitely among the worst no matter what you class it as.
On the subject of the MCU
Thor Ragnarok: "The hammer was only meant to help you channel your power, it was never your source of strength" - Not only because this completely ignores Thor 1 in it's entirety, since the entire plot hinges on M'jolnir very much being his source of strength, but because of how quickly they fucking back-pedaled on it after Ragnarok. Both to give Thor a means to fuck with Thanos and later, to give Jane Thor's powers.
If you're gonna retcon something, at least have the integrity to stick to your fucking guns, regardless of how bad it was.
Don’t know if this is an actual retcon or not but Ichigo being half-Quincy. Mostly cause it just redoes the ‘main villain actually created Ichigo schtick’ which wasn’t even good to begin with.
Impulse
Illustrious
Forgot to do some of mine though For me it is
Wanda and Quicksilver not being mutants but was genetically changed by the high evolutionary and were disguised as a mutant- Why Marvel
Barry accident that gave him his powers was the thing that created the speed force and that he powers the speed force and is it source- wished that DC just kept the speed force as a fundamental force of the universe that always existed but Geoff Jones wanted Barry to be even more important than already is
Don't know if this counts but Gwen Stacy and Norman romance and Gwen getting kids out of nowhere while I think Gwen was together with Peter at the time 
Wanda and Quicksilver not being mutants but was genetically changed by the high evolutionary and were disguised as a mutant- Why Marvel
Barry accident that gave him his powers was the thing that created the speed force and that he powers the speed force and is it source- wished that DC just kept the speed force as a fundamental force of the universe that always existed but Geoff Jones wanted Barry to be even more important than already is
Don't know if this counts but Gwen Stacy and Norman romance and Gwen getting kids out of nowhere while I think Gwen was together with Peter at the time
I would actually defend this twist (there is SOME foreshadowing for it, not a lot but it's still not technically a retcon), on the grounds that it actually explains Ichigo's rate of growth and his sheer potential, much better than him simply being the child of a noble Soul Reaper.
The issue, beyond what you mentioned, is Kubo really didn't take advantage of the opportunity Ichigo being a hybrid of all races presented. IE That you could significantly expand on his extremely limited tool-kit. Even the Quincy ability he did use (Blut Vene) was only used once and never again, and Gran Ray Cero was just an upgraded version of Getsuga Tensho (mixed with a cero).
Serious missed opportunity there.
I heard that apparently Aizen originally said that Ichigo was part human instead of shut up by the seal. But yeah I disliked the fact that Ichigo never really went to spec into Quincy powers. Like him not using his hollow powers makes some sense since he probably doesn’t want to go out of control. But him not training his Quincy powers? There’s like no real drawback to it unlike Hollowification.
Also you saying Ichigo only used blut vene reminded that some people on FN said that Ichigo used blut vene all the way back in the SS arc? Which just made me blue screen.
It seems to depend on the translation, Viz says human.
While this one says Soul Reaper (well Shinigami but I prefer the namer Soul Reaper)
Regardless though, it doesn't actually negate the notion of Masaki having been a Quincy as Quincy are human.
That's the thing though, he DID expand on his Hollow powers. He got a new transformation (fully getting his hollowfication under control for once), he mixed Cero with his Getsuga etc.
The fact that he DID do that, but didn't learn Quincy abilities really makes it even worse.
I would assume they are referring to when Old Man Zangetsu (who represents Ichigo's Quincy powers) stopped his bleeding in the Kenpachi fight. It's the one time pre-skip that he ever used any Quincy power.
Granted I don't take this the way other people try to push it, ie Kenpachi fanboys in particular using to say he needed a massive one-time power up to beat him. It was used to stop his bleeding, the power up came from working with his Zanpaktou, which it's not like he stops doing after that.
It's just people trying to act like Kenpachi isn't head and shoulders the weakest Captain at the start of the series.
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If Russell T. Davies has any courage left not stuck up the regressive asshole, he'll do as the rumors say he will, and retcon the Timeless Children.
seth
Paramount
Honestly doctor who is dead at this point. I doubt I will matter fans still will be Vary of watching itIf Russell T. Davies has any courage left not stuck up the regressive asshole, he'll do as the rumors say he will, and retcon the Timeless Children.
Fucking Devimon with the "My Black Gears will let me conquer the Digital World."
Is Defeated
"Psyche, turns out there are several evil Digimon who could bend me over, you've achieved nothing by defeating me".
Oh, it is. I'm just saying, if they want any chance of reviving it, and yes, that's with the blatant diversity hire playing the Doctor, retconing Timeless Trash will be like step zero in fixing the shit sandwich that Chinball made during his tenure.
Its not the source of his strength.
Odin stripped Thor of his natural powers and cursed the Hammer to give whoever is worthy Thor’s power.
That’s why he literally says “shall possess the Power of Thor” not the power of his hammer.
Odin literally created the curse so that Thor could take back his powers if he proved himself worthy again.
But if that’s the case then wouldn’t destroying the hammer destroy Thor’s power? Which goes against all of Ragnarok?
i fucking hate the Shroud in Transformers so much
the goal was to free up writers from the confusing lore of the past
except I really like that lore and now nobody can use it, or if they do the shroud has "always been there" (according to one writer) so even future fiction that involves cross universal silliness is counted as "pre-shroud"
it pretty much singlehandedly kills any future cosmic TF story potential, and also removes the constant threat Unicron poses to everything because he's currently divided into infinite pieces
one of the coolest things about transformers lore is that everything is constantly in danger of being eaten and if Primus loses, that's IT
the shroud just fucked up the status quo in the lamest way possible, I don't even care about the power level stuff but story potential has just gone out the window with it
the goal was to free up writers from the confusing lore of the past
except I really like that lore and now nobody can use it, or if they do the shroud has "always been there" (according to one writer) so even future fiction that involves cross universal silliness is counted as "pre-shroud"
it pretty much singlehandedly kills any future cosmic TF story potential, and also removes the constant threat Unicron poses to everything because he's currently divided into infinite pieces
one of the coolest things about transformers lore is that everything is constantly in danger of being eaten and if Primus loses, that's IT
the shroud just fucked up the status quo in the lamest way possible, I don't even care about the power level stuff but story potential has just gone out the window with it
Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning.
They changed the outcome of the battle with Tirnoch. Fate somehow still exists. When it was established to have been destroyed. It's treated as a bad thing that The Fateless One is destroying it by existing, and he is banished to another land because of it. In order to preserve fate. When fate was never a good thing, and fucked over a lot of people.
They changed the outcome of the battle with Tirnoch. Fate somehow still exists. When it was established to have been destroyed. It's treated as a bad thing that The Fateless One is destroying it by existing, and he is banished to another land because of it. In order to preserve fate. When fate was never a good thing, and fucked over a lot of people.