THE POWER OF THE RETCON

 

Comic books function on their own crazy sorts of internal logic. Explosions and toxic levels of radiation, poisons and energy give you superpowers. Science and magic exist side by side and the cosmos is a never-ending collection of new species, places with Earth itself seemingly full to bursting with secret lands, hidden places and powered people. Even Death itself seems to be mutable and there is always a way out or a twist to it. Much of the magic of comics comes from their emergent storytelling but a lot of it has to do with the almighty retcon.

Retcons have always been used with varying degrees of success in comic books. Often they are used for genuine storytelling reasons while other times they are used purely for production and marketing reasons. Many times this has to do with the ever-changing creative teams assigned to titles and characters. Guy before you kill off a character you really wanted to write or draw? No problem, just pitch  great comeback or a story twist that invalidates what waas written before or rewrites it as something that was believed but untrue. but the use of retcons isn't alway a bad thing. Sometimes it creates truly interesting and memorable moments. 

When running superhero RPGs, the retcon can be a useful tool in a GM's arsenal. moreso than any other genre, the retcon not only seems allowed but even welcome. It can be used to bring back seemingless dead villains, revive lost heroes, or even change the fabric of the campaign should you choose to do so. You can even use the recon to fix mistakes you might have made along your way. Wrote yourself into a corner? Guess what, things never were as the players thought they were. Plot twists can sometimes be retcons though they are not always and the better ones avoid being such. 

The key when using the retcon effectively, is to make it feel as right or appealing as what it is being used to replace. A clumsy retcon will always feel unsatisfactory but a well-orchestrated retcon will feel like a plot twist or plot development. Make your retcon meaningful, even if it's just there to correct a mistake. If the villain you threw at the characters died too easily, then have their death come about in a way that leaves some ambiguity. Even if the death is very obvious and undeniable, you always have the fuzzy logic and weirdness of comics to use to your advantage. A dead villain can come backfro mthe dead, be remade, be copycatted, make a deal with the Devil, be a robot, be a body double, etc, etc. The list goes on forever, but whatever you do, put a little time into the retcon so that when the players figure out what is going on, they get some story with it. 

If your villain comes back as a copycat, figure out why this new person is taking up the mantle of the dead villain. Are they a relative, an admirer, maybe they are that same villain from another dimension or time? Why is the villain suddenly more agile and energetic? Do they look younger? Is the motivation of a relative returning as the villain simply revenge or is there more? 

There is more to retcons than returning characters from the dead. Maybe you've created an organization or team for your game but you really don't like the direction they are going. You can change their nature or character by simply deciding what their new direction will be and writing some logic to explain it. Perhaps you have created an organization that relies on high technology but the campaign really seems to be moving more into magical, supernatural territory. You could shift this organization behind the scenes so that their "tech" is actually magical in nature and simply masquerading as machines in the mundane world of men. Imagine the surprise when the powersuited baddy is destroyed only to reveal that a spirit was housed inside that armored shell. 

The most important thing to remember about retcons is that they aren't there to let you be a lazy GM. Yes, they can clean up messed and they can provide some unplanned changes or developmets in your game, but it is important to always be intentional with your retcons and not use them haphazardly. Retcons should never be used to be mean-spirited. Sure comic book retcons often come in the form of gotchas but you should always strive for "wow" reactions and never groans from your players. 

SOLO HEROES - THE THING SUPERHERO RPGS DO BETTER

I have talked a lot about superhero teams and how they facilitate TTRPGs but there is one place that these games do better and easier than most other TTRPGs is solo games. 

When it comes to solo play (one player & one GM), superhero games shine. Superhero characters are generally quite powerful and capable on their own and do not suffer from systems requiring sinergy between a number of characters to function in play. This is further surpported by a vast collection fo inspirational materials showcasing countless heroes operating primarily on their own. Solo characters are also great for GMs as they often face a revolving door of enemies they face one-on-one, allowing creative GMs to constantly cycle through ideas and inspirations. Such characters can easily adapt to small groups of villains or even mobs of henchmen without needing much adjustment or forethought. 

Logistically speaking, these sorts of characters are great for players who may be isolated by real world availability, unable to coodinate with other players. A willing GM can run a solo character on the side and when the gaming stars align, set up a team-up for that solo hero to set out with - the regular group - or even other solo heroes. 

So, if you have a single player you can still run a very satisfying and meaningful campaign in a superhero RPG.

MEGA TEAMS - THE SECRET TO FLEXIBLE GAMES

Tired of not being able to play when players don't show up? Worried that your campaign won't progress because of so much missed time? Do you have a player who's character dies all the time or who is fickle and never wants to play the same character? 

No problem, play a mega team! 

Mega teams are those teams that seem to have an endless membership. Justice League, Legion of Superheroes, Avengers, Defenders, or even The Green Lantern Corps. These teams usually have extensive memberships made up of an ever-changing, ever-growing roster of primary members, secondary and even back-up members. New members come, go and are and are not available as other missions take up their time or their own private lives keep them out of action. 

These sorts of teams allow for a nearly infinite flexibility in both individual adventures as well as campaign progression. They ccomplish this in a number of ways but it all comes down to allowing play to continue no matter who shows up. Three of the most common and useful to gamers are as follows - 

1) Guest Appearances: These are sessions where character who were not originally involved in the main campaign appear in one or more sessions. This can be done for a number of rreasons such as a new player joining the game or an occasional player being available on a given night. They are also useful for when a regular player has a character taken out of action. The popular Marvel Team-Up series is a great example of this but guest appearances are very common even in the main continuity of comics. 

2) Crossovers: Similar to guest appearances, crossovers have a bit more intent to them. These are best used when a GM know he's not going to have all of one or more of his regular players available for the game for a period of time allowing him to plan a crossover event that includes the characters that will be available. 

3) Spin-Offs: These games are most often played with completely new characters and are best used as palate-clensers, fill-in games, or ways to accomodate an influx of new players. Spin-offs can include characters from the main campaign but should not do so unless they take place at some other point in continuity or those characters are not involved in the main game anymore. They are also a good place to reintroduce returning regular players who may have been left behind by the main campaign. Good examples of this are Justice League International, The New Mutants, or West Coast Avengers. 

The main benefit to keeping campaigns going and enriching the overall campaign experience is that the game and thus the players' comic book universe is perpetually growing as each adventure and character comes with its own NPCs, settings, plots and world-building that grows the whole and creates feedback loop. It is also important to not get overly wound up on ironclad continuities. Comic book continuity has always been a bit loose at times using flawed logic, handwavium and retconning to explain things.

MORE THOUGHTS ON THEMED TEAMS

I thought it would be fun to talk, some more, about another fun way to setup and play a superhero game - theme teams.

A themed team can come in many forms. Whether is is a common origing, style, or focus the one thing they all have in common is that every member fits the theme in some way. Themes can be tight, like the Metal Men pictured along with this article, or loose like the X-Men who all adhere to the theme of "mutants" but are all over the place within that theme. Tight themes are, in my opnion, trickier to work with but ultimately mor satisfying from an artistic point of view but a looser theme can allow for much greater freedom for players to create their characters. 

Some themes are more stylistic, like the Serpent Society, which is a loosely themed team that relies far more on aesthetics and naming conventions than anything more concrete for ots theme. the Green Lantern Corps is an incredibly tight themed team where all the members share pretty much the same power set with what variation there is based on their experience and whatever species-specific traits they might have. Power Pack has the theme of "kids" and, on the surface, that is it. But Power Pack also has a common theme in terms of the origins of their powers. There are some teams, like the Avengers, has a theme that is so loose as to not really be a theme at all. "Earth's Mightiest Heroes" is about the only real theme they have and that tagline seems relatively meaningless given the wide disparity it power level between the team's members. 

In my experience it is better to start with a tight theme and then loosen it as needed. If your theme is "mutants" but one player really has his heart set on playing an Iron Man type character then maybe work with him and let his mutant ability be something like hyper-intelligence, mechanical aptitude, or even some sort machine speech which allows him to make the suit and other cool stuff like the team's transport, training room, etc..Similarly, if the players were making villain characters who were member of the Serpent Society and a character wanted to make an Iron Man type character, you just need to make sure whatever battlesuit they make for themself adhered to the theme of "snakes". Just remember, tight or loose, the important thing is that every player makes their character fit the theme. 

When conceptualizing your character it is up to you, as a player, to make your character fit the theme. While this may seem chalenging at times, it is ultimately your responsibility, in an agreed-upon theme to make your character fit. A handy trick is to look at other themed characters and try to imagine them as something other than the themed character they are. When you realize that that spider-themed, web-slingers, could just as easily have been made as a battlesuit or commando with a handy bag of tricks rather than radioactive spider powers, this reverse engineering of theme can help you to realize that theme is really not all that tricky. 

So, next time you sit down to run or play a superheroes game, consider giving the team a theme. It can be challenging, creatively rewarding and in the end just plain fun.

THEMED TEAMS

When it comes to superhero teams, themed teams are a fun and quick way to establish a sense of place and character for the PCs in your game. It can be argued that almost all superhero teams are themed but for the purposes of this discussion we will be talking about teams that are perhaps a bit more specific in their theme. Yes, "Earth's Mightiest Heroes" might be considered the theme of the Avengers but as themes go this is very general and casts a very broad net when it comes to a sense of person and place in the universe. 

Whether you are talking about classics such as the X-Men or Fantastic Four or cult classics such as ROM and the Space Knights of Galador, or even new favorites like the Spiderverse, establishing a theme up front will provide your players with a shared connection between their characters while not necessarily limiting their character creation options. The theme of "mutant" or "cosmic energy derived powers" certainly hasn't limited the diversity of powers and in some cases we have seen crossover characters such as Cipher, Magik, Mr Fantastic, and Wolverine who combine their mutant abilities with other power sources such as technology and magic. 

A stronger theme can also be very fun and provide a sort of limited palette for creating characters. Great examples of this are concepts such as ROM and the Space Knights, The Spiderverse, or, in the realm of villains, the Serpent Society. In each of these cases there is a stronger sense of theme that extends beyond a simple shared origin. Each character is now a variation on a very identifiable theme and from this come myriad iterations on that theme. Finding new ways to come up with special powers for a Space Knight that distinguishes them from the other knights or a fun way to interpret the Spider-Man concept can be incredibly fun and worthwhile. 

So, next time you are starting a superhero game, consider picking a strong theme and running with it.