10 DC Comics Retcons that Don’t Make Sense

DC Comics has become the king of the retcon. Over the decades, even before the dreaded term “retroactive continuity” reared its ugly head, the publisher had to retcon numerous things. This makes sense, of course. No one working on comics back in the day figured they were anything other than disposable stories for kids, so they didn’t put as much thought into the future and how their stories would affect those who came after them. Eventually, retcons would become a normal part of the comic industry, with DC leading the way in using them to fix all kinds of problems created by their older comics.

Over the decades, some retcons have become favorites of fans or have taken the position of “load-bearing continuity”. However, there are plenty of retcons that the more you look at them, the less sense they make. These 10 DC Comics retcons make no sense, and it’s strange the company every thought they would be a good idea.

10) The New 52 Superman Costume

Superman has some well-known weaknesses, but he’s also known for being nigh-indestructible. That’s what made the change to his costume in the New 52 so nonsensical. Instead of having a costume made by the Kents, his costume was Kryptonian battle armor. There was no reason for him to wear this, since one of his powers is invulnerability. It was such a strange thing to change, and it still doesn’t make any sense to this day.

9) Lobo vs New 52 Lobo

Lobo is one of the toughest beings in the universe, but DC hasn’t really known what to do with him for a while. In the New 52 (yes, you’ll be seeing that a lot), a newer, prettier version of the character was introduced. Fans did not warm up to the character, and then DC did something terrible: they had this new version kill the old version, because he was the “real Lobo”. This retcon angered fans even more than the last, as everyone hated the new version of Lobo. This is one of those choices that was just made to anger the fans and that’s it.

8) The Three Jokers

Back at the end of the New 52, writer Geoff Johns included a plot line in “Darkseid War” where Batman asked the Moebius Chair who Joker was. This idea was brought up again in the Johns-written DC Rebirth #1, but it would be years before it was paid off in Three Jokers, by Johns and Jason Fabouk. Johns tried to retcon the Joker by saying that there were three different versions of the Clown Prince of Crime. Nothing about this made sense, and it’s most been ignored by everyone that has came after.

7) Wonder Woman’s Post-Crisis Origin

There are numerous versions of Wonder Woman, but one of the most beloved is the post-Crisis version of the character. Her reboot by George Perez was amazing, and one of the best reboots in the history of comics. However, when you think about what had to be changed to make Perez’s story work, it doesn’t really make sense. Basically, instead of being a longtime hero, she first appeared in the superhero community in the present. It was such a weird retcon, and while it did come from the best modern Wonder Woman run, it still doesn’t make a lot of sense.

6) Reverse Flash Killing Barry’s Mom

Reverse-Flash has had quite a history, and his return in the late ’00s saw him reach a new level. He became known as the greatest hater ever, and gained the power to change time with his actions. This led to him killing Barry Allen’s mom, which led to Flashpoint. However, when it comes right down to it, why do we even need Reverse-Flash killing her? Barry and Thawne are both time travelers and they could have done anything to change time to make Flashpoint possible. It’s one of many changes that Geoff Johns made to DC history that doesn’t really make any sense the longer you think about it.

5) The Sue Dibney Assault

Identity Crisis, by Brad Meltzer and Rags Morales, gave readers one of the most hated retcons ever. Issue #2 introduced the idea that Sue Dibney, the wife of Justice Leaguer Elongated Man and de facto member of the team, was sexually assaulted by Doctor Light, who snuck onto the Justice League Satellite one night years ago while she was waiting for her husband. Basically, the only reason this existed was to bring “maturity” to the DC Universe, and it did it in the most tasteless way possible. Fans have rebelled against this retcon in the years since, and it’s become a stain on the publisher.

4) The Post-Crisis Legion Fixes

The Legion of Superheroes fell from grace years ago, and you can point to Crisis on Infinite Earths as to why. This changed the DC Multiverse into the DC Universe, and led to some major changes to the publisher’s continuity. Superboy and Supergirl were removed from history, which pulled away a huge part of the Legion’s history and origin. So, to make up for that, a pocket universe was created where Superboy and Supergirl existed so they could still be a part of Legion history. It was basically a Band-Aid on a gunshot wound, and it was one of many reasons the Legion stopped working, leading to a complete reboot in the mid ’90s.

3)Zero Hour‘s Hawkman Fix

Hawkman was a Golden Age member of the Justice Society as a reincarnated pharaoh turned archeologist. In the Silver Age, he was an alien police member of the Justice League, and the multiverse allowed both of them to exist at once. However, when Earth-One and Earth-Two’s histories were combined, the characters stopped making sense. DC ignored it for years, but in Zero Hour: Crisis in Time, they tried to fix him. The problem was they just merged the timelines without any thought behind it, and it just didn’t work. The character faded away, and it wouldn’t be until the early ’00s, with JSA was at the height of its powers, that the character was finally fixed.

2) Wally West Being Removed in the New 52

The New 52 was a massive change to DC Comics, restarting the DC Multiverse from scratch and trying to modernize everything. However, there were numerous characters missing and the most noticeable one was Wally West. Wally was completely removed from the history of the superheroes. Barry Allen never had a sidekick in the New 52, and fans were outraged. The reason behind it was simple: then DC head honcho Dan DiDio didn’t like the character. That’s the entire reason behind this retcon and it remains ridiculous all these years later.

1) Man of Steel Retcons

Superman was rebooted post-Crisis by writer/artist John Byrne and he retconned everything important about the character. He changed Krypton into a loveless, science-dominated world. Kal-El was launched in a birthing matrix instead of a rocket, so he was born when he landed, taking away his immigrant nature. There were no years as Superboy, no surviving Kryptonians, and Clark was an all-American kid who was popular and played football. There was no reason for any of these retcons other than Byrne not liking any of that stuff, and it robbed the character of so much that made him special.

What are your least-favorite DC retcons? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!

10 Best DC Stories of the 90s