Author's Saving Throw: Difference between revisions

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Some "brave ideas" that have caused popular fandom backlash resulting in a saving throw have been depowering a [[Superhero]] for dramatic purposes and turning [[Face Heel Turn|a good character evil]]. [[Women in Refrigerators|Depowering super-heroines]], in particular, is a brave idea that is nearly always good for causing a fan revolt.
 
Note, however, that not all Author's Saving Throws are necessarily a ''good'' thing; many authors try to "fix" things that [[They Changed It, Now It Sucks|didn't really need it]]. This can be a highly subjective thing; one fan's [[Jumped the Shark]] moment is another fan's [[Growing the Beard]].
 
If the screwup stays prominently in the fandom's memory, it adds to that character's [[Dork Age]]. Contrast with [[Rescued From the Scrappy Heap]], where an originally loathed character or idea is made serviceable.
 
If an Author's Saving Throw attempts to fix an episode-specific problem (typically within that episode) and fails, then it becomes a [[Voodoo Shark]]. Generally, the best tool for making such a save is to provide for the possibility of a [[SchrodingersSchrodinger's Gun]]. Often, clumsier tools such as the [[Cosmic Retcon]] or the regular [[Retcon]] are used instead.
 
Compare [[Canon Dis Continuity]], which just flat out ignores something instead of trying to [[Retcon]] or otherwise explain it.
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Not to be confused with [[Only the Author Can Save Them Now]], where the in-story characters are trapped into a corner and escape through contrived circumstances.
{{examples|Examples:}}
 
== Anime & Manga ==
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* Many ''[[City Hunter]]'' fans were angered when they learned that Ryo Saeba's partner, Kaori Makimura, was killed off in its sequel ''[[Angel Heart (Manga)|Angel Heart]]''. Because of this, Tsukasa Hojo, the author of both titles, went on to proclaim that ''Angel Heart'' was not actually a ''City Hunter'' sequel, but a spin-off set in an [[Alternate Universe]] featuring most of the same characters. However, most fans that got over Kaori's death in ''Angel Heart'' now accept it as a genuine sequel to ''City Hunter''.
* When ''[[Naruto]]'' reached the Pain arc, characters started kicking the bucket left and right, and it actually seemed like it would conclude some character development, but then {{spoiler|Nagato sacrificed himself to save all of his victims.}} On the other hand, some fans wonder if the series really would have been better with the deaths intact.
* One of the many, [[Broken Base|many]] ways to interpret the results of [[Gundam Seed Destiny]]. The [[Spot Light Spotlight-Stealing Squad]] made up of the old cast taking over, then occasionally losing focus could be the result of the staff trying to decide which way to throw the series.
 
== Comic Books ==
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* The [[Executive Meddling|editorially influenced]] attempt in the ''[[Batman]]'' comics to recreate Batgirl III/Cassandra Cain as Robin's erudite [[Dark Action Girl]] nemesis (explained by her returning to her supposed Assassin roots) provoked rather justifiable complaints that the writer and editor involved [[Did Not Do the Research|hadn't bothered to read Batgirl's solo title]]. A few months later, we found out that Deathstroke [[Brainwashed and Crazy|was feeding her mind-control drugs, really]]. Never mind that Cassandra's entire origin involves her complete and utter ''hatred'' of killing, even more so than Batman! Oh, and the who mind-control drug thing doesn't really work when in a Batgirl/The Ghost crossover she was able to overcome the effects of a deadly poison ''[[Badass|by herself]]''. Yeah, no antidote or anything. Still, it was better than being stuck with the villainness that's Cassandra [[In Name Only]].
** DC then gave the writer of the screw-up a new Batgirl miniseries to allow him to explain all the events that led into her [[Face Heel Turn]], thus tearing open a wound that was already considered closed (even if ''badly'' closed). General fan consensus was that he only succeeded in messing up the character even further. Even more confusing, parallel to this she also showed up in Batman and the Outsiders, coming out at the same time as the miniseries but taking place after showing her back to her normal awesome self. She then went into Comic Book Limbo for several years, and only recently starting appearing again in ''Batman Inc.''. They were probably trying to make Batgirl into the new Jason Todd...the only problem with this is that people actually ''like'' Cassandra Cain.
* An issue of ''Robin'' managed ''three'' author's saving throws in one fell swoop: [[Women in Refrigerators|Stephanie Brown]] never died, Leslie Thompkins only faked her death to keep Black Mask away from her. [[Batman]] suspected this--though he wasn't certain--and to give Stephanie Brown privacy never told Robin. This is why he never added Stephanie's Robin suit to the memorial (an [[AuthorsAuthor's Saving Throw]] for using her absence from that memorial to justify the claim that she was never an official Robin) - along with Jason Todd, who was ''already [[Back From the Dead]] at the time''.
* Making Stephanie Brown the new Batgirl could be an added Saving Throw for both the above Cassandra/Stephanie issues. Fan reaction has been divided, especially among the Cassandra fans.
** This itself resulted in yet ANOTHER saving throw, with it being retconned that Cassandra willingly gave the title to Stephanie as part of a plan that had her [[Commuting On a Bus]] to ''[[Grant Morrisons Batman|Batman Inc.]]'' and taking on the new identity of Blackbat... and it's now moot since Stephanie has been demoted to Spoiler again, and it's uncertain just how much of her history is intact. [[Continuity Snarl|Oh, comics]].
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* The Toyman, A B-list ''[[Superman (Comic Book)|Superman]]'' villain, was traditionally just a funny man in a striped suit who built dangerous giant toys to rob banks and give the Man of Steel a hard time, but in the [[Dark Age]] he was re-imagined as a bald child murderer in a black cloak. This didn't go over too well. Fast-forward to 2008, when it's revealed that the bald Toyman was a defective robot decoy created by the ''real'' Toyman, who is now once again a funny man in a striped suit, albeit a dangerously insane one, who will do anything (up to and including murder) to ''protect'' children.
** Funny thing - the [[Darker and Edgier]] Toyman actually started out as a ''parody'' of the trend; he adopted the new persona and modus operandi because he was left out of the latest line of Superman action figures for not being a dangerous enough villain.
* Magneto had long been established as a Jewish [[Well -Intentioned Extremist]], but when Marvel decided to move him back into full-out villainy in the early 90's, they were worried about accusations of Antisemitism. So they presented the [[Retcon]] that he was really a Gypsy, delivering the [[Family -Unfriendly Aesop]] that [[Roma|Gypsies]] are [[Acceptable Targets]]. When people realized what a bad idea this was a few years later, Marvel established that Magneto's Gypsy identity was false, returning him to his Jewish roots.
** Speaking of Magneto, the [[Retcon]] of the ''Planet X'' storyline counts too. [[Grant Morrison]] sees Mags as a [[Draco in Leather Pants]] and so when writing him, took [[Ron the Death Eater]] [[Up to Eleven]] to show him as he "truly" was in Morrison's eyes, and ended with him (intended as) [[Killed Off for Real]]. Needless to say, that didn't last very long. The retcon was exceptionally sloppy (two authors who didn't know what the other was doing ''each'' wrote the story of who Xorn-Magneto "really" was) but hey, Magneto's back to being the Magneto we know and that's what it was to accomplish.
* Current [[Supergirl]], Kara Zor-El, was reintroduced with a shockingly bad origin: Zor-El was evil and sent Kara to Earth to ''kill baby Kal-El''. Fans hated it. Author after author has stepped up to try a saving throw (no, wait, she was sent back to babysit him, no, wait, Zor-El wanted her to kill him after all but she didn't want to but got brainwashed, no, wait, she was sent back to fight off ghosts from the Phantom Zone, and so on, and so forth). Supergirl #35 [[Hand Wave|hand waved]] off all of the previous origins as dementia caused by Kryptonite poisoning and gave her back the classic [[Silver Age]] [[Origin Story]], and Supergirl #34 had her finally take a [[Secret Identity]] ( {{spoiler|Linda Lang. Cute, DC Comics, very cute}}), so things seem to be looking up. Finally.
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** An extremely similar tactic was used to explain the inconsistencies regarding Thunder's status after she was rendered comatose in ''[[Batman and The Outsiders]]''. It is revealed that she had been "in and out of hospitals" since her accident, explaining how some stories had her out and about while others still had her in a coma.
* The [[Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew (Comic Book)|Zoo Crew]] were given a horrific fate at the end of their ''Final Ark'' mini-series where the editors ordered the creators to make [[Put On a Bus To Hell|trapped on the main DC Earth as mute ordinary animals]]. It was always intended that they could return in "The Final Ark", but that reappearance turned out to be a very brief and mostly inconsequential cameo. They got restored to normal, but they're still stranded on Main Earth, and their home Earth is still a flooded-out dystopia ruled by Starro. [[Shaggy Dog Story|And who knows what's become of them post-]][[Flashpoint]].
* [[The Punisher]] began life as a ''[[Spider-Man]]'' villain whose idea of "justice" was "anyone committing any crime eats lead" and went around killing people over things that [[What Do You Mean ItsIt's Not Heinous?|were not heinous]]. The character as we know him today is actually a [[Retool]] made once [[Darker and Edgier]] came into vogue and it was decided he worked as a dark hero. So what do we do about his early appearances, which have things like him ''shooting a couple for littering, and a driver for running a stop sign when he was fleeing from the shots?'' In the first ''Punisher'' miniseries, it was explained away as Jigsaw arranging for him to be exposed to mind-altering drugs in prison.
* The ''Titans: Villains For Hire'' one-shot managed to spark racial controversy after the series ended with Ryan Choi, the second [[The Atom|Atom]] being killed and a new Atom series starring Ray Palmer (Choi's white predecessor) being launched during the [[Brightest Day|same flipping event]]. The 2011 DC relaunch completely retconned the events of the story, with Ryan Choi once again retaking the Atom identity in the new ''Justice League'' series and Ray being demoted to a supporting character in another, far more obscure title.
* The entire idea behind the one-shot ''Faces of Evil: Prometheus''. The author didn't like the fact that the title character, created by [[Grant Morrison]] to be a [[Badass Normal]] so [[Badass]] that he could take on the whole [[JLA]] and only be defeated by cheating, had undergone [[Villain Decay]] to the point where he'd become little more than [[Elite Mook|Elite Mooks]] for [[Batman]] villains. So the whole plot of the story is given over to explaining that the Prometheus who'd been appearing for the past nine years wasn't the real Prometheus, but rather a [[Costume Copycat]], and showing us the real deal's [[Roaring Rampage of Revenge]] to get him back.
* ''[[The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck (Comic Book)|The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck]]'' has one for the richest duck in the universe, describing the incident where he chased a bunch of African villagers out of their homes as [[My Greatest Failure|the biggest regret of his life]] that made his sisters sever all ties with him until years later.
* Possible example from the [[Executive Meddling|ever]]-[[Armed With Canon|editorially]]-[[Added Alliterative Appeal|entroubled]] ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog (Comic Book)|Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' comics; after a [[Time Skip]], [[Cheese -Eating Surrender Monkeys|Antoine]] broke up with Bunnie, got an eye patch out of nowhere, and [[You Have Waited Long Enough|tried to force Sally into an]] [[Arranged Marriage]]. It turns out it was his [[Evil Twin]] from the [[Mirror Universe]] (previously established, mind) and the real Antoine came back and [[They Do|married Bunnie]].
** You might say that Ian Flynn's first year or so on the title was a series of Author's Saving ''Throws''. Sonic going out with Fiona? She was in love with Evil Sonic/Scourge the Hedgehog and thought he'd be the same. Sonic's [[Jerkass]] attitude towards Tails? The little guy finally blows up and socks it to him, making him admit he was wrong. Sally and Sonic are [[Official Couple|back together,]] and Sally is de-[[Chickification|chickified]] back to her [[Action Girl]] roots.
* Another ''[[X Men]]'' one: Early issues of ''X-Men: Legacy'', when it was a Xavier solo title, had him revisit all the [[Jerkass]] things he did over the years. It was sometimes revealed that the more [[Egregious]] ones weren't quite as dickish as they seemed at the time. For instance, the reason he didn't release Danger when he realized she was sentient wasn't because she was just so gosh-darned useful, it was because he didn't know how to remove the code that made her a slave without affecting the code that made her sentient in the first place.
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* An early (if arguable) example of this trope is the Palinode of Stesichorus (a Greek poet, who lived in the [[Older Than Feudalism|7-6th centuries BCE]]), which recants an earlier poem. Legend says that having been struck with blindness after he wrote his original poem, in which the author bashed Helen for causing [[The Trojan War]], he came up with a new story, and was immediately cured. The new version implausibly claims that the real Helen had spent the whole duration of the war in Egypt, and the Helen who went to Troy was just [[Actually a Doombot|a duplicate made out of clouds]]. [[Euripides]] used a version of this story in his ''Helen''. The palinode became a recognized literary form, in which a poet writes a second poem to disavow an earlier one.
* [[Euripides]], for his part, also had to recant one of his works. It is known that he wrote two versions of the story of Hippolytus. Only the [[Hippolytus (Theatre)|second version]] survives, but it is widely believed that in the original version outraged the audience because Phaedra (wife of the great hero Theseus) lusts without shame after her step-son Hippolytus, and brazenly attempts to seduce him. The second, surviving version bends over backwards to make Phaedra blameless (she's deeply ashamed of her feelings, and only seems to come on to her step-son because her nurse betrays her). She still comes to no good end, committing suicide and attempting to frame Hippolytus for rape.
* Another [[Older Than Feudalism]] example is the opening of ''[[The Aeneid (Literature)|The Aeneid]]''. [[Spell My Name With an "S"|Vergil]] was in the difficult position of turning the losers of [[The Trojan War]], the ones who fell for the [[Trojan Horse]], into the heroes of his story. His solution was to add a Greek playing a sacrificial victim. This Greek actor was just too deceptive for the kindhearted, trusting, and heroic Trojans to disbelieve when he told them a story that made bringing the horse inside seem like a great idea.
* Ian Malcolm didn't survive the novel ''[[Jurassic Park]]'', but he lived through the movie. When it was decided that he would be the star of the next book/movie, Michael Crichton took advantage of the fact that his death took place offstage and said he was ''reported'' dead, but had in fact just barely survived his severe injuries.
* A well-known example can be found in [[Sherlock Holmes]] stories. In ''The Adventure of the Final Problem'' Doyle had both Holmes and his nemesis Moriarty apparently die in a waterfall; after public outrage he [[Retcon|retconned]] the event, allowing the detective to defeat the [[Big Bad]] and survive.
** Well, public outrage and [[Money, Dear Boy|big sacks of cash]].
*** [[MommasMomma's Boy|His mama]] telling Doyle to revive Holmes doesn't hurt, either.
*** Doyle claimed that he refused to do that a few times, but publishers persisted and just increased the offers. At last, fed up, he told them he would do it for a price he regarded as utterly ludicrous, figuring that would shut them up. Much to his surprise, [[Springtime for Hitler|the offer was accepted]], whereupon he felt he had to hold up his end of the deal.
* Another modern example is in the novels of [[Evelyn Waugh]]. In ''Vile Bodies'', his fictionalized Britain becomes a little ''too'' fictional, with the inclusion of the King of [[Ruritania]] as a minor character, and the novel ends with a badly predicted second world war which has trench warfare and the French as the allied army with Britain. His later novel, ''Put Out More Flags'' has some of the same characters several years older, but is set in ''real'' [[World War II]] Britain. The film of ''Vile Bodies'', ''Bright Young Things'' [[Canon Dis Continuity|showed awareness of these problems]] by changing the King of Ruritania to one of Romania and depicting the war at the end as it actually occurred in Britain.
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== Music ==
 
* Alanis Morrisette is often criticized for her song "[[Isn't It Ironic?|Ironic]]", because of its highly colloquial and [[You Keep Using That Word|technically incorrect]] use of [[Irony|the word in the title]] (her definition is more akin to a [[Cruel Twist Ending]]). Her [[Parody Retcon]] response? [[Exactly What It Says On the Tin|The song itself is ironic.]]
 
== Toys ==
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== Video Games ==
 
* [[Persona 2]] ''Eternal Punishment'' (English version) pretty much serves as a retroactive [[AuthorsAuthor's Saving Throw]] for the badly translated first game by {{spoiler|compensating for the lousy translation of most of the names like how Takahisa Kandori became Guido Sardenia by breaking even and establishing his real name was Guido Kandori (since Guido is spoken in the first game cutscenes, this was unavoidable), and that his name in the first game was an alias. They also pretend Kei/Nate never had his last name changed from Nanjo to Trinity, among a few other changes to compensate for both continuity and to apparently apologize for doing such a miserable job.}}
* ''[[Fallout 3]]'s'' ending caused some rather... negative reactions, in no small part thanks to its [[Diabolus Ex Machina]]. The DLC/Expansion pack ''Broken Steel'' changes the ending, allowing the game to remain playable after this. [[Word of God]] says the game's default endings (without the expansion) are [[Canon Dis Continuity|non-canon]].
* After many players called out ''[[Metal Gear Solid]]'' for its extremely loose understanding of basic genetics (as relayed by the main antagonist, Liquid Snake), Hideo Kojima stepped up and established that Liquid himself has an extremely flimsy grasp on the subject and didn't actually know a word of what he was saying. It doesn't explain how a man with a supposed I.Q. of 180 and a fluency in seven languages could get such simple scientific facts wrong, or why Ocelot refers to Solid as the "inferior one".
** ''[[Metal Gear Solid 3]]'' introduced a Close-Quarters Combat (CQC) system that allows the player to subdue enemy soldiers using various martial art techniques. This combat system is explained in the game's plot as a fighting style that Naked Snake (the protagonist, who later becomes Big Boss) learned from his mentor The Boss. Solid Snake (the protagonist of the previous games and the cloned son of Big Boss) couldn't use this style in the previous ''MGS'' games, so when the CQC system was implemented in ''[[Metal Gear Solid 4]]'', they had to come up with a reason why Solid Snake never used it in previous games. {{spoiler|1=It turns out Solid Snake always knew CQC, but refused to use it because of his disdain for Big Boss, who taught him the style. After the events of Operation: Snake Eater were "declassified" (i.e. ''MGS3'' came out), many soldiers began developing their own variations of the CQC style, leaving Solid Snake with no choice but to use the skills he learned from Big Boss.}}
* ''[[Prince of Persia]]: Warrior Within'' was written [[Executive Meddling|with a mandate from marketing]] to turn the series away from the [[Arabian Nights (Literature)|Arabian Nights]] feel and make it [[Darker and Edgier]], complete with emo [[Anti -Hero]] Prince and heavy metal music. The fans bashed the change mercilessly, and the writers answered rather innovatively by working the [[Dork Age]] into the plot of the third, making the ''Warrior Within'' Prince into a manifestation of the hero's irresponsibility and not the real thing. It also acknowledges the selfishness inherent in trying to fix the timeline in order to [[Set Right What Once Went Wrong]], and when the Dark Prince taunts him with this near the end, he finally realizes that he needs to stop trying to change the past and solve his problems in the present. This qualifies as some pretty damn good [[Character Development]], which is why it was so well received.
* [[Kingdom Hearts]] [[Kingdom Hearts Days|358/2 Days]] pulls this to [[Retcon]] Axel and Roxas' previously ambiguous [[Ho Yay]] relationship into one of big brother/little brother -- while still leaving plenty of potential [[Ship Tease]] for those who choose to see it that way. Turns out that when Roxas was formed without memories, Axel basically took it upon himself to raise him.
** Speaking of Kingdom Hearts, ''[[Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep (Video Game)|Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep]]'' and ''[[Kingdom Hearts Re Coded]]'' both feature [[Bonus Boss|additional bosses]] that, gameplay-wise, turn out to be [[Expy|close enough]] to the ones previously exclusive to the ''Final Mix'' version of ''[[Kingdom Hearts (Video Game)|Kingdom Hearts]]'' and ''[[Kingdom Hearts II (Video Game)|Kingdom Hearts II]]'', and therefore [[No Export for You|confined to Japan]]. So, the "Unknown" [[It Was His Sled|(Xemnas)]] gets an expy through the ''new'' Unknown in ''[[Birth By Sleep]]'', thus covering KHIFM territory, while Terra's Lingering Will from KHIIFM+ gets his expy thanks to ''Vanitas''' Lingering Will, still in BBS. About Roxas, upgraded from a cutscene (KHII) to a full-fledged boss (KHIIFM+), the fact he was still a storyline boss instead of a bonus boss allowed him to be used as a [[Final Boss]] instead, in ''Kingdom Hearts Re:Coded''. You can basically see [[Tetsuya Nomura]] saying "sorry, western fans".
* ''[[The King of Fighters (Video Game)|The King of Fighters]]'' had this in the ''2002'' edition. After '''98'', the gameplay was changed as there would be four characters being selectable for the fight, with one (or more, in ''2001'') being a [[Assist Character|Striker]], a supportive character that would be called to perform a move in order to stop an opponent or open his guard for your attacks. This, of course, didn't work well, with several bugs and infinite combos as result. In ''2002'', the game went back to 3-on-3 fights with no strikers, like '''98'' and the titles before it.
** Also, there's one involving the storyline. See, most fans were unhappy (euphemism) about [[CreatorsCreator's Pet|Ash Crimson]] taking the role of protagonist previously covered by Kyo and K', just as much as they were unhappy about him {{spoiler|[[Brought Down to Normal|stealing]] both Chizuru and Iori's Sacred Treasures powers}}. Come ''XIII'', Ash {{spoiler|enacts a [[Heroic Sacrifice]] to stop the [[Big Bad]] of that [[Story Arc]]}}. Mind you, he doesn't {{spoiler|die... [[Ret Gone|he is erased from existence.]] [[Cosmic Retcon|Retroactively!]] So he never really existed in the first place!}}
** ''XIII'' itself counts as an example. ''XII'' was labelled as a [[Dream Match Game]], but it ''[[In Name Only|really]]'' was an [[Obvious Beta]] released to earn [[SNK]] Playmore some quick cash in order to alleviate the production costs for [[Art Shift|redrawing the]] [[Loads and Loads of Characters|large cast of characters]] [[Art Shift|in high-definition]]. The end result? ''XII'' was crawling with bugs and infinites, not to mention a drastically reduced roster total from previous games. ''XIII'' addressed these complaints by ironing out most of the gameplay problems and bringing back several fighters who skipped out on the last few titles. Also, while the ''[[Fuun Series|Kizuna Encounter]]''/''[[Marvel vs. Capcom]]''/''[[Neo Geo Battle Coliseum (Video Game)|Neo Geo Battle Coliseum]]''-esque Tactical Shift system in ''2003'' and ''XI'' was actually well-liked by most fans, ''XIII'' assumes the traditional 3-on-3, round-robin format from the series' inception.
* In ''[[Dissidia Final Fantasy]]'', [[Final Fantasy IX|Kuja]], originally an arrogant, cunning, cruel, and poetic mage was reduced to what was essentially a child throwing an eternal temper tantrum, throwing fits when his plans failed, being mocked by the other villains and having his arrogance and faux-Shakespearean dialogue exaggerated heavily. Then ''Dissidia 012'' was released as a prequel, and it reveals {{spoiler|that Kefka set Kuja up to be killed in the 12th cycle of the war, and used this time to implant [[Fake Memories|false memories]] in him that twisted him into the Kuja seen in the 13th cycle of ''Dissidia''. The "real" Kuja seen in ''Dissidia 012'' unaffected by Kefka's manipulations is much more affable, calm, and collected, and even tries to help the heroes before the other villains catch onto his ruse. This both made him a much deeper and sympathetic character and brought his characterization back in-line with the redeemed Kuja glimpsed at the end of his original game.}}
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* The debut trailer for the 2011 ''[[SSX (Video Game)|SSX]]'' game had an extremely [[Darker and Edgier]] feel, realistic and "gritty" graphics, some plot revolving around rival teams of boarders competing to race in the most inhospitable places on Earth and the title ''SSX: Deadly Descents''. Cue numerous cries of [[Ruined FOREVER]] and derogatory nicknames like "[[Call of Duty|Call of SSX]]: [[Dawn of War|Winter Assault]]" and variants. Every single game related media since then has the developers insisting that the characters and the cartoony and over the top feel of the game are still there and that the "Deadly Descents" are just a small part of the game, the others being the classic racing and trick modes. The subtitle was eventually removed.
* Perhaps the [[Ur Example]] for Video Games: Zilpha Keatley Snyder agreed to allow Spinnaker to make a game based on the [[Green Sky Trilogy]]...OnOneCondition. She realized her [[True Art Is Angsty]] ending to the books was a huge goof and wanted the game's plot to center around one of [[The Messiah|Raamo's]] [[True Companions]] coming to his rescue. This being made in 1984, makes it possibly the ''first'' [[Canon]] sequel in video game form to something written for other media.
* Remember [[They Changed It, Now It Sucks|the]] [[Internet Backdraft|outrage]] [[Ruined FOREVER|that ensued]] when it was revealed that ''DmC: [[Devil May Cry (Video Game)|Devil May Cry]]'' was some odd [[Prequel]][[Continuity Reboot|boot]] set before ''3'', but with ''[[In Name Only|drastic]]'' changes to Dante's character and backstory that made it completely incompatible with pre-existing canon (to the point of sounding like a [[Self -Insert Fic]] running on [[Canon Defilement]])? [http://www.siliconera.com/2011/10/31/dmc-devil-may-cry-takes-place-in-a-parallel-world-with-a-different-dante/ Yeah, about that.]
* The best ending of ''[[Mass Effect 3]]'' had caused an [[Internet Backdraft]] of epic proportions. Official polls from Bioware showed ninety-plus percent of people [[Railroading|hated]] [[Shocking Swerve|the]] [[Gainax Ending|ending]] [[Sudden Downer Ending|for]] [[Inferred Holocaust|various]] [[Pyrrhic Victory|reasons]]. The outrage culminated in several campaigns aimed at getting Bioware to notice, including donating tens of thousands of dollars to [[Penny Arcade|Child's Play]]. Finally, two weeks after the game's release, Bioware announced they'd be releasing an extended version of the endings to (hopefully) clear up everything that happened. Only time will tell if this pacifies the fanbase or just makes them angrier.
* The ending of ''[[Syphon Filter]] 2'' apparently had Teresa [[Killed Off for Real|permanently killed off]], but the third game retconned this as [[Faking the Dead]].
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* "Janine, You've Changed" from ''[[The Real Ghostbusters]]'' is generally considered to be one of the most tragically hilarious attempts at this ever made; the show's former writer, [[J Michael Straczynski (Creator)|J Michael Straczynski]], is asked to come back and try to explain all the design changes made to a member of the secondary cast over the years. The end result... was actually fairly funny, had a pretty era-relevant Aesop for female viewers and had a bit of [[Ship Tease|payoff]] for long-time watchers. That it needed [[Executive Meddling|to be done at all]] is where the tragedy lies.
* In ''[[Teen Titans (Animation)|Teen Titans]]'' Cyborg was always shown firing his sonic [[Arm Cannon]] from his right arm, until one day he used his left. Fans pointed out this apparent plot hole, and some time later, during a crucial fight, he simply converts ''both'' arms to cannons. It's hard to tell whether it was planned or this trope, since it makes perfect sense that he can convert both arms, and is simply right-dominant.
* The [[Fully -Absorbed Finale]] for ''[[Batman Beyond (Animation)|Batman Beyond]]'' had it revealed that {{spoiler|1=CADMUS had overwritten Warren McGinnis' genetic material with that of Bruce Wayne, making him Terry and Matt's biological father}}. According to [[Word of God|the creators]], this was due to a realization on their part that the boys' black hair is genetically improbable given Mary's hair is red and Warren's light brown.
* In order to make his [[Heel Face Turn]] work, Kevin 11's character was changed from ''[[Ben 10 (Animation)|Ben 10]]'' to ''[[Ben 10 Alien Force (Animation)|Ben 10 Alien Force]]'', going from an [[Ax Crazy]] [[The Sociopath|sociopath]] to a [[Reformed Criminal|perfectly sane]] [[Jerk With a Heart of Gold]]. His powers were also different; from absorbing energy to absorbing physical matter. All of ''Alien Force'' passed with no explanation. ''Finally'', in [[Ben 10 Ultimate Alien]], it was revealed that Kevin is half Osmosian and [[With Great Power Comes Great Insanity|absorbing energy turns Osmosians insane]]; undergoing the tutelage of [[The Obi -Wan]] when imprisoned taught him to suppress that side by absorbing physical matter. Thus, the explanation behind Kevin's conflicting character presentations and use of powers was finally given a plausible explanation.
** [[Word of God]] [[Dwayne McDuffie]] said on his website for years that Kevin could always absorb energy, but that it made him crazy. It just took a while for it to be stated on the show itself.
* In ''[[South Park]]'', Kenny was killed off for the sixth season and the status quo was experimented with. By the last scene of the season finale, Kenny inexplicably walks back in because, in [[Trey Parker and Matt Stone|Trey Parker]]'s own words, "that's just what he does." However, the big change in the status quo (Butters as the fifth main character) stuck; it's just "unofficial".
** Recently, they've given an explanation for his continual appearance; Kenny turns out to be {{spoiler|the heroic Mysterion, a "superhero" in South Park with the power to be reborn continually after death; his mother ''spontaniously gives birth to a new Kenny after the last one's death'', which then proceeds to grow to the previous one's age. And he [[Nightmare Fuel|remembers everything]], but everyone else forgets his death almost instantly.}}
* The Japanese dub of ''[[The Simpsons]] Movie'' tried to pull an inverted [[Poor MansMan's Substitute]] by replacing the cast used in the regular series with bigger-name actors, but fell straight into [[The Other Darrin]] instead, forcing them to try and make up for it by redubbing the movie with the original cast for DVD.
 
== Religion/Mythology ==
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