The superhero Wolverine time travels and changes storylines. On Torchwood, there''s a pill popped to alter memories of the past. The narrative technique of retroactive continuity seems rife lately, given all the world-building in comics. Andrew J. Friedenthal deems retroactive continuity, or "retconning," as a force with many implications for how Americans view history and culture.
Friedenthal examines this phenomenon in a range of media, from its beginnings in comic books and now its widespread shift into television, film, and digital media. Retconning has reached its present form as a result of the complicated workings of superhero comics. In comic books and other narratives, retconning often seems utilized to literally rewrite some aspect of a character''s past, either to keep that character more contemporary, to erase stories from continuity that no longer fit, or to create future story potential.
From comics, retconning has spread extensively, to long-form, continuity-ri
