So, over in the “Retcons That Made You Go…Huh?!” thread (which is a fun little thread you should all go check out), I brought up the retcon of killing off Ma and Pa Kent for the New 52, and how it felt like it removed an essential part of Superman’s “human perspective” from the mythos. I was (very rightly) corrected by having it pointed out that Ma and Pa Kent being alive at all was itself a retcon. They originally both died back in the Golden Age, and were only resurrected for the Silver Age as an extension of the various Superboy retcons.
Anyway, long story short (too late), this got me thinking: what are some examples of good retcons? The kind that actually improve a character or story, or at least aren’t infuriating? For me, I have to go back to the above example of letting Ma and Pa Kent survive to the present. Their continued existence provides Clark with both extra council and a much needed human perspective on matters, something he really can’t get from the all-knowing computer program of Jor-El (let’s be honest, modern comics have a tendency to focus a little too much on Supe’s Kryptonian heritage as is).
Thanks for the compliment on my thread 
If there’s one retcon I truly love, it’s Jack Knight. For a while I think David was Ted Knight’s only son (I could be wrong as I haven’t read his appearance in the Will Payton Starman series in a while) but when Zero Hour hit and James Robinson started his Starman series, we were introduced to Jack, Ted’s second son and David’s younger brother.
Jack is one of my favorite characters. I shared some similarities with him in my teenage years and as I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to appreciate what a layered character he was. And to think, all that came from a retcon.
If I had to pick another, it was the surprise relation of Booster Gold and Rip Hunter in Geoff Johns’ Booster Gold series. I won’t spoil it for anyone who hasn’t read it, but the information and how it was done was very heartwarming.
I generally like retcons that try to explain who in the world was raising Bruce Wayne after the death of his parents. Until 1969, no one even seemed to think that such a topic was worth addressing! I suppose the kid raised himself…
The first answer to the question came in Batman (Vol. 1) #208. This one is a mixed bag. On the one hand, I like the idea that he went into the custody of his Uncle Philip. It’s natural that his new guardian would be a close relative. However, Philip was emotionally distant, and it was actually the housekeeper, Mrs. Chilton, who raised him. And who is Mrs. Chilton? Joe Chill’s mother, of course. A wee bit contrived, methinks.
The second answer came in Detective Comics #574. In this case, his legal guardian was Dr. Leslie Thompkins, a character who had already been retconned into his origin story during the Bronze Age. Assisting her was Alfred Pennyworth, who was retconned to be Thomas Wayne’s butler (instead of merely being the son of his butler, as he had been in pre-Crisis continuity). This one’s probably my favorite, though the lack of a blood relative is odd.
The most recent answer came in Batman (Vol. 2) #21. It’s a combination of the two. Uncle Philip is back, but Bruce was primarily raised by Alfred. This one is fine.
Well, the most historically significant and my personal favorite both relate to the Flash. For the former case, there’s Gardner Fox deciding that the original Flash was still around on a parallel Earth. For the latter, there’s Mark Waid’s introduction of the Speed Force.
Now that I think about it, I guess there are two kinds of good retcons: Those that enrich and flesh out past events, and those that undo something stupid (I guess their evil counterparts are ones that add something stupid and ugly and ones that remove something good, respectively). For the latter category, I’m also fond of Parallax being a yellow space bug.
Black Lightning having daughters was a great retcon. It gave us two interesting characters. At least for a Time.
Agreed. It wasn’t a perfect retcon, but it’s about as close as we were to get as far as “absolve Hal Jordan of all his sins as Parallax” goes.
It’s not in the comics, but I thought the way HBO’s Watchmen retconned Hooded Justice to reveal that he was Will Reeves the whole time was brilliant
Oh yeah, that was great!
Finally bringing Barry Allen back. The best, most heroic version of The Flash. He is and always will be the heart of the DC Universe. Sorry all you Wonder Woman fans out there, but even Diana knows it’s true.
I dunno. Bringing him back led to Flashpoint. I may have to request the mods to move your comment to the Bad Retcons thread. 
This coming from a resurrect Jason Todd retcon fan. Pot meet kettle. 
When Jason Todd had mommy issues, the only consequence was his own death. When Barry Allen had mommy issues, it broke the entire DC universe.
You sacrifice yourself trying to save the multiverse, ya get a mulligan on that one.
At least Barry didn’t come back as a psychotic murder. Jason did. That 
should be in Belle Reve doing multiple life sentences.
He’s too busy serving as a convenient answer for anyone who wishes that Batman were DC’s version of the Punisher: “Look, we already have one!”
And he’s much better at it than that poseur Azrael ever was! 
Yep, that’s Jason Todd…can’t innovate so imitate. 
I was literally about to bring JK up. Best retcon in history. Easily.
Gentlemen, gentlemen, please! Barry Allen and Jason Todd both suck.
Uh, also, um, Steve Englehart’s rewrite of Deadshot’s backstory and personality. There, I’m still on-topic.
Two Aquaman reboots
Peter David in 1984
Geoft Johns in 2012
Bringing back Batwoman as a lesbian, after she was originally introduced to make Batman seem less gay.