Is retconning a story a sign of bad writing?

I mean, retconning could easily be an attempt to correct previous flaws created by past writers.

For example it's undoubtedly that in future Thor and Phoenix connection Aaron made would be retconned.

Most writers retcon because they feel they can jazz up a long lived characters lore.

It's we the fans or readers who ultimately decide by our reactions whether the retcon is good or bad

I like the Retcon of Thor's parentage to the Phoenix though.

But no to the question. Retconning doesn't mean a story is poorly written. Secret Wars was one of the best stories ever told in comics, and that got retconned as far as Marvel goes.

Despite it being called a retcon, it technically wasn't. Marvel doesn't really retcon stories as DC does.

@byondeon said:

hm interesting.

how so?

Don't know. Though I still wouldn't exactly call it a retcon as Marvel tend to not retcon their stories and characters.

A lot of times, yeah

Hm we'll see.

Usually they try to get away with it with dumb explanations.

Not if done right.

There is still not a single ret-con in Marvel history though. But would love to see where this is going with Thor/Phoenix.

Retcons are mostly good when it's retconning out ooc moments that damaged the character.

Whenever it's retconning out the foundation of a character's past and relationships that's when it's bad.

Sometimes the whole purpose of a retcon in the first place is to fix bad writing so not always

Yes, some writers are lazy and retcon everything when they don't feel like keeping continuity. I'm looking at you, DC.

Not always, but many times it is.

Not always. It could also be writing that’s a little inconsistent.

Yes. It is a sign of bad writing.

No, it's obs not a sign of bad writing.

@asgardianweapon said:

How so?

Not saying Retcon itself is bad, was asking when retcon is involved would it mean that it was due to bad writing such as writing blocks, OOC moments, and plotholes that contradict. Than that means there's sign of bad writing for it to fix or change the continuity of the previous story right?

I stop reading OPM because of all the retcons, it was crazily unbearable downright surpassing DC. felt as though it will continue in the foreseeable future.

Not inherently.

More times than not yes.

Every story gets retconned one way or another

@futureisbest:

Well, I think it depends on the reason for the retcon. And not that’s so much of a big deal, but I don’t think you should have worded the op so much as if there was a bias going about someone being defensive about their favorite story. Hopefully, I can explain why that is.

Look at the Dark Phoenix Saga. It used to be an entire story revolving around the evolution of Jean Grey that made her fall from grace. Though Claremont had a different ending in mind at first, it ultimately is widely received as thee best X-Men Comic Book Stories if all time.

Yet, it is retconned for the purpose of absolving the crimes of Jean Grey. It wasn’t that anyone had qualms with Jean dying in the original story for her crimes, but they wanted to use Jean Grey for the upcoming X-Factor series. They couldn’t do that because Jean Grey was not only dead, but she still killed billions. The Editor at the time didn’t want her living to begin with because she killed so many people. It’s something you don’t come back from. So, they retconned it to be an entity impersonating Jean Grey, instead of Jean herself, absolving her of the crimes and allowing the writer to use Jean Grey in the X-Factor story.

So, by all accounts, not every story that is retconned is bad. It just depends on the context of why the writer wants to retcon a story to begin with.

Depends on the retcon

Depends, it can be used to fix bad writing.

Depends on how it's done and what is being retconned. Latter is more important imo.