History Main / ExiledFromContinuity

[[caption-width-right:350:For the image at full size, see [[http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2f5-WHCPPlA/VNth3jxXsuI/AAAAAAAAyUM/WhTw9G5hSGU/s1600/marvel-rights-3-1200x960.png here]]. For an updated graph, see [[https://i.imgur.com/p6kuIut.jpg here]].]]

%%* ExiledFromContinuity/{{Other}}

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[[folder:Other/Mixed Reasons]]
* The ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}'' bird species Kahu and Kewa (aka Goko-Kahu) were considered non-canon for years, due to LEGO receiving legal threats from Maori activists for using words from their language to promote toys. LEGO introduced a new type of bird called Gukko to fill in their roled instead. Later on, the Kahu and Kewa have been accepted back into canon, explained away as being Gukko sub-species. A number of other Maori-inspired names were however forever lost, and the Matoran villagers' former name, "Tohunga" was de-canonized.
* ''The'' ''FanFic/BrideOfDiscord'' ''Verse'' seems to have done this with Flutterby Lily, the daughter of The Shining Armor and Cadence in this universe, ever since the introduction of their canon daughter in the show, Flurry Heart. DF mentioned at her panel at [=BronyCon=] 2018 that when deciding what elements to omit when adapting ''Daughter of Discord'' as an audio drama, Flutterby Lily was one since most people are more familiar with Flurry Heart by this point. She also hasn't been seen in any of the fanfics set in the BOD universe since Flurry Heart debuted.
* ''Franchise/DCComics'':
** [[Characters/BatmanAndBatFamily Jean-Paul Valley]], the first ''Comicbook/{{Azrael}}'', was never seen nor heard from again after his death in ''Azrael: Agent of the Bat'' #100, (aside from briefly popping up in ''Comicbook/BlackestNight'', where he did nothing but walk past Scarecrow and kill a few random shmucks.) This is mainly because the editors didn't really know what to do with him after ''Comicbook/{{Knightfall}}'' ended. This was exacerbated by factors such as that Jean-Paul had never appeared outside of his own title in anything but a Bat-book and one issue of ''ComicBook/BatmanAndTheOutsiders'', where he appeared as [[FanNickname AzBats]], not ever being particularly popular, and having the exact same creative team for the entire run of his own title. Ironically, Jean-Paul's death took place at the same time as ''ComicBook/BatmanHush'', which focused on how Batman interacted with his allies, enemies, and loved ones. ''[[SarcasmMode Real nice DC]].''
*** Jean-Paul finally returned in ''ComicBook/BatmanAndRobinEternal'', ''ComicBook/{{Flashpoint}}'''s CosmicRetcon allowing him to start over fresh with the Batfamily.
** In the wake of DC's ''Comicbook/{{New 52}}'' reboot, former Batgirls [[Comicbook/{{Batgirl 2000}} Cassandra Cain]] and [[Comicbook/{{Batgirl 2009}} Stephanie Brown]] have been declared off-limits by editorial. Creator/GailSimone pitched a team book that would have starred Stephanie, Bumblebee, Misfit, and Black Alice, but it was not approved, and Steph was subsequently pulled from a scheduled guest appearance in the ''Series/{{Smallville}}'' comic. Meanwhile, Cass has not been seen or mentioned in ''[[Comicbook/GrantMorrisonsBatman Batman Inc]]'', despite the fact that she was one of Bruce's agents (as well as the Batman of China) in the pre-New 52 volume.
*** Creator/ScottSnyder and Creator/GrantMorrison also have mentioned wanting to use them, but being barred. Those two are also bunched with Donna Troy and pre-New 52 Wally West in the exiled club.
*** Stephanie finally turned up in a cameo in 2014 in ''Batman'' #28, and later as a newly debuted Spoiler in Comicbook/BatmanEternal. Donna Troy (or at least some version of her) was introduced in Meredith & David Finch's run on Wonder Woman. Cassandra returned in ''Comicbook/BatmanAndRobinEternal'', while Wally returned in ''Comicbook/DCRebirth''.
** When ComicBook/GreenArrow was brought back by Creator/KevinSmith, he insisted on a one-year moratorium that forbade Ollie from showing up in any other titles (despite half the DCU being featured in Kevin Smith's run on the book, including a cameo from the usually exiled [[Comicbook/TheSandman Morpheus]]). The reason? Smith was afraid some moron would botch up his "this'll take a year to resolve" plotline by dropping misleading hints or botching the "amnesia" sub-plot or mucking up the story's timing (the entire 12-issue run takes place over [[ExtremelyShortTimespan only a very short period of time]]). It made sense, so DC ran with it.
** Comicbook/{{Hawkman}} was declared off-limits by DC editorial from 1996-2001, due to the character's ComicBook/PostCrisis ContinuitySnarl, caused by the 1989 reboot of the character, even though both Hawkmen were already established in Post-Crisis continuity. For his run on ''JLA'' (which featured the old favorites or their {{Legacy Character}}s), Creator/GrantMorrison created [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute Zauriel]] as a stand-in for Hawkman.
** After ''Comicbook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'', Marv Wolfman and George Perez took the opportunity to revise the history of the ''Comicbook/TeenTitans''. While some of the past Titans that they didn't care for got to stay in revamped forms (such as Bat-Girl becoming Flamebird), the character of Duela Dent/Harlequin was one that Wolfman wanted completely gone. She was excluded from the Post-Crisis backstory, and for a time, she was forbidden to be referenced in the comics. Phil Jimenez attempted to set up a plot thread for her in the ''Team Titans'' book, but had the story nixed by the editorial team. Duela was finally allowed to be fully re-introduced in the JLA/Titans miniseries, although her past with the Teen Titans was now inconsistent. Some writers retconned her as only being an occasional ally to the original team, while others depicted her as a member in flashbacks.
* VideoGame/{{Banjo|Kazooie}} and Conker were replaced with Tiny and Dixie Kong in ''VideoGame/DiddyKongRacing DS'', effectively banishing the Microsoft-owned bear and squirrel from the Nintendo-owned ''Franchise/DonkeyKong'' universe ([[VideoGame/ConkersBadFurDay Conker's shift]] into a BlackComedy character since the original game may also play a hand in this); Tiptup, a recurring ''Banjo-Kazooie'' character, is still there. WordOfGod was vague on whether their absence was at the request of Microsoft or Creator/{{Nintendo}} (though it was strongly implied ''one'' of the two was responsible). Many of the DKR-exclusive characters are owned by Creator/{{Rare}} and yet were allowed in anyway, and Tiptup's roles in the ''Banjo-Kazooie'' series have been pretty minor (and his character design has been noticeably altered), so it's likely the developers assumed they could get away with it.
* Hey, hoping for a crossover between ''WesternAnimation/StarVsTheForcesOfEvil'' and ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls''? Well too bad, because [[WordOfStPaul per Adam [=MacArthur=]]], Disney has a rule preventing their original animated series from crossing over with each other (possibly due to different animation styles or genres). [[note]]Obviously, this doesn't apply to their live action programs.[[/note]] Considering that the company had allowed for crossovers with their shows in the years past, the (seemingly new) mandate comes off as rather questionable.
** Not to mention the crossovers years prior which all involved ''WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitchTheSeries''-- though it's possible that show, being a spin-off from a Disney film, was under different rules. It may also be related to issues with the creators of shows and having to get them involved too.
** What makes this rule particularly confusing is that there have been two, completely original shows that crossed over, ''WesternAnimation/HandyManny'' and ''WesternAnimation/SpecialAgentOso'' .
* ''Franchise/DoctorWhoExpandedUniverse'':
** ''Radio/BigFinishDoctorWho'' spent most of its lifespan avoiding recasting dead actors, or those who did not want to reprise their role. And then there were cast members whose advancing age restricts them from reprising their characters except as equally aged characters. This limited storytelling somewhat, as setting stories in certain eras became impossible with an AbsenteeActor, leading to many spinoff ranges (such as giving Sarah Jane a solo show, and partnering Leela and K-9 up with Romana), role changes (Katy Manning plays Franchise/IrisWildthyme, and only occasionally Jo Grant), and prose stories narrated by companions. A few stories did hint around the edges of recasts — a recast Fourth Doctor is heard briefly in "The Kingmaker", a recast (mad but more importantly [[TimeShiftedActor elderly]]) Adric appears in "The Boy that Time Forgot", and companion actors would occasionally 'play' absent parts in the context of their character imitating their friends, but for a long time it was felt that actively recasting would be disrespectful. Fans kept asking, however, and in the mid-late 2010s full-cast First, Second and Third Doctor audios began appearing, with new actors replacing lost Doctors and fan-favourite companions like Barbara and Ben. (In particular, Frazier Hines' version of the Second Doctor in his Companion Chronicles audios was known for being uncannily accurate; he now plays the Second Doctor, as well as his usual role as Jamie.) Which roles are recast still depends on a number of factors: There is no genuine interest in recasting soundalike actors to revisit younger versions of characters played by still living actors/actresses who have simply aged out of their roles (i.e. their voice has changed too much with age making it implausible to reprise their character except as older versions) and it is unlikely Sarah Jane will ever be recast, due to the rawness of Creator/ElisabethSladen's death.
** One of the very few absolute rules for writers of the ''Literature/DoctorWhoNewAdventures'' was a complete ban on use of the Valeyard, simply because the character's [[EnemyWithout vague]] and [[FutureMeScaresMe confusing]] origin made him such a walking ContinuitySnarl. Later novels in the series did acknowledge his existence without having him actually appear on the page, and he finally appeared in prose ''Doctor Who'' in the BBC Books-era ''Literature/PastDoctorAdventures''.
* The ''Roleplay/GlobalGuardiansPBEMUniverse'' absolutely averted this trope. If you submitted a character (be it a player or a non-player character) to the setting, it was fair game to be used in someone else's story. Granted, that someone else was required to work with you to do it, and wasn't allowed to turn your character into TheChewToy without your permission, but you couldn't refuse someone else's requests to use your guy.
* ''{{Series/Highlander}}'' did have Christopher Lambert appear as Connor Macleod in the pilot. However, they couldn't re-use any of the material he shot as flashbacks without paying Lambert another appearance fee, something the budget simply wouldn't allow. So, when footage from the pilot was re-used in a season 4 ep, Lambert/Connor was edited out.
* Like ''ComicBook/JemAndTheHolograms'', ''ComicBook/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicIDW'' is not branded with the ''ComicBook/Revolution2016'' label. However, unlike Jem (who is part of the following ComicBook/HasbroComicUniverse via references, cameos and other, subtle means), the MLP universe is the one mainstream Hasbro IDW comic not a part of the shared comic universe. The settings are apparently too incompatible, though the authors are hoping to one day avert this. One can only imagine the fan reactions when they do...
** And now that the ''Transformers'' comics (the nucleus of the HCU) has been rebooted after the ''[[ComicBook/TheTransformersUnicron Unicron]]'' CrisisCrossover, the status of the ''Jem'' comics within the new universe (if IDW does create a new HCU) is unclear. Prior to the reboot, the ''ComicBook/DungeonsAndDragons'' comic was left out (due to being too complicated to tie in), while their adaptation of ''TabletopGame/{{Clue}}'' was, like ''Jem'', another semi-connected title.
* ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters'' has also now suffered from this as SNK is now eliminating all references to the character K9999 who WAS a CaptainErsatz of [[Manga/{{Akira}} Tetsuo]]. Notably for ''King of Fighters 2002 Ultimate Match'', which is a remake of a game that originally had K9999 in it, they replaced him moveset-wise with the new character "Nameless" or Ж'.
* ''Franchise/MarvelComics'':
** When adapting ''Disney/BigHero6'' from an obscure Marvel comic to a Disney animated movie, both Disney and Marvel mutually agreed to divorce ''Big Hero 6'' from the Franchise/MarvelUniverse entirely. Not only does the movie not reference any Marvel elements, but Marvel exiled the team from the comics as well, [[note]]Even if they legally could, it wouldn't happen. Marvel Universe movies target adults while Disney's animated projects always target families. [[/note]][[KeepCirculatingTheTapes declining to reprint the original comic]] or bring the characters out of ComicBookLimbo (their most recent appearance in the main Marvel continuity was in 2012, when they appeared in ''The Amazing Spider Man'' storyline ''ComicBook/EndsOfTheEarth''), which disappointed fans, who were hoping the success of the film would result in the characters making a return to the main Marvel comics. Also, because of the above-mentioned issues with Fox, Sunfire and Silver Samurai were excluded from the movie (since both are technically ''X-Men'' characters). Silver Samurai and Sunfire don't appear in this movie because Creator/TwentiethCenturyFox has film rights to all ''[[Film/XMenFilmSeries X-Men]]'' related and mutant characters.
** After ''Comicbook/GhostRider'' was abruptly canceled in 1998, Danny Ketch made a single appearance in ''Peter Parker: Spider-Man'', where the dangling plotlines from his own book were tied up in a very quick and unsatisfactory fashion, but leaving him still active within the Franchise/MarvelUniverse. His predecessor Johnny Blaze was soon brought back as Ghost Rider, but Danny was barely - if at all - mentioned, and for reasons unknown, never once appeared in any Marvel comic until a decade later.
** During the 90's, Marvel Comics held a contest where readers were able to design a villain for the ''ComicBook/{{Thunderbolts}}'' title. The winning character, Charcoal, proved popular enough that he was added to the team as a main character. The fan who created Charcoal soon threatened to sue Marvel for ownership of the character right around the time he was [[DeathIsCheap supposedly killed off]]. Though the death was meant to be temporary and the lawsuit never gained any traction, the writers decided to leave Charcoal dead due to the actions of his creator. He has not been seen or mentioned since.
** Comicbook/KittyPryde was pretty much the only major member of the team to never appear in the beloved 90s ''WesternAnimation/XMen'' cartoon. According to the creators, this was because the execs didn't want her involved due to the failure of the ''WesternAnimation/PrydeOfTheXMen'' pilot a few years earlier.
* ''Series/NinjaTurtlesTheNextMutation'' character Venus De Milo was barred from appearing in anything under Peter Laird's ownership of the series, due to his complete hatred of the character (to the point that ''jokes'' about her are not allowed). Only now is it possible for Venus to appear again due to [[{{Creator/Nickelodeon}} a change in ownership]] over the Turtles, but even this may not be possible considering her [[BaseBreakingCharacter mixed status]] among the fans.
* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'':
** [[Anime/{{Pokemon}} The anime adaptation]] has three examples, one involving a ''move''.
*** Porygon has never been featured (and the evolutions not shown ''at all'') in the anime, except as a FreezeFrameBonus during a montage at the beginning of one of the movies and in the Poké Rap (despite the show's [[MerchandiseDriven nature]]) after the first form's "[[TheScapegoat involvement]]" in an incident involving EpilepticFlashingLights. Qualifies as a combination of Legal and Corporate, as the episode containing the incident in question is under an actual legal ban.
*** The move "Earthquake" has twice been banned from being depicted in the anime, due to two earthquakes in Japan.
** The ''TabletopGame/{{Pokemon}}'' TCG has Kadabra, with this sometimes extending to its entire family, due to Kadabra having similarities to Uri Geller, who threatened to sue. A Kadabra card hasn't been seen since ''Skyridge'' (Abra and Alakazam appeared in ''Mysterious Treasures'', but not Kadabra), Abra hasn't been seen since ''Mysterious Treasures'', and Alakazam hasn't been seen since ''Rising Rivals''.
*** In addition, Kadabra has been exiled from other Pokémon-related things as well, as it hasn't been seen in [[Anime/{{Pokemon}} the anime]] since the episode "Fear Factor Phony" and ''[[VideoGame/PokemonRanger Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia]]'' featured Abra and Alakazam, but not Kadabra.
*** Alakazam was featured as a Pokémon-EX and Mega Pokémon in an ''X and Y'' set, more than six years after its last appearance. However, Kadabra is still subject to its current fate in the TCG.
** It must be noted that these edicts only apply to [[AlternateContinuity the Anime]]. Porygon and Kadabra can and have made appearances in the various manga series. Porygon and its evolutions continue to appear in the TCG as well.
* While not exactly a retcon, later ''Anime/{{Robotech}}'' projects such as ''WesternAnimation/RobotechTheShadowChronicles'' have refrained from using names such as Macross, Zentraedi, and other recognizable elements from ''Anime/SuperDimensionFortressMacross'', the original version of the first segment of the original 1985 series. As evidence, Maia Sterling in ''Shadow Chronicles'' only mentioned that she was "half alien", not "half Zentraedi", despite the fact that fans would know that her parents were Max and Mirya and the Zentraedi were an allied race that Marcus and Alex would have been familiar with. The word "protoculture" and the abbreviation "SDF" however, are not protected by trademark or copyright and can be used by ''Robotech''. In any case, SDF now stands for Shadow Dimensional Fortress, due to an upgrade using Shadow Technology. These restrictions are probably due to the very confusing licensing agreement between Harmony Gold and Big West, the Japanese rights holders to ''Macross''. There is a similar restriction on recognizable ''Anime/SuperDimensionCavalrySouthernCross'' material, but those restrictions are mostly character and mecha designs. It helps that unlike in the Macross Saga, everything was renamed in the Masters segment.
* In a downplayed example, ''Anime/{{Robotech}}'' is technically part of the Palladium Megaverse, and there are conversion rules for Robotech mecha in the ''TabletopGame/{{Rifts}} Conversion Book''. However, there have been no canonical crossovers between the two universes. In the case of the Robotech-verse, this is plainly because ''Robotech'' was a strong property of its own and its tone might clash badly with the ''Rifts'' kitchen sink, but it's also speculated that ''Rifts'' doesn't carry canonical ''Robotech'' material because Palladium only owned the license off-and-on and didn't want to have to scythe it out of existing ''Rifts'' material.
* ''{{VideoGame/Skullgirls}}'' has a perplexing example with one character that's technically already in the game but whose design was created by a fan - Juju the Sniper. Created as part of a fan design contest, Juju was actually accepted into the roster since her design was unique and she was, as stated, already in the game as one of the original roster member's support characters. However, the designer went and broke the (very clear and simple) Non-disclosure Agreement mere ''hours'' after the design was accepted. This left the developers in an awkward but legally-binding position: Juju, as designed by the fan, ''cannot make an appearance in the game''. Her role in the game as of the agreement still stands, but she will likely not see any more development unlike a great deal of other side characters.
* A similar but slightly more amicable example is Mallow, Geno, Smithy, and the other original characters from ''VideoGame/SuperMarioRPG''. While they (especially Geno) proved popular, Square Enix holds the trademarks to them, essentially cutting them off from the rest of the ''Mario'' universe. Geno was able to make exceedingly brief cameos in ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiSuperstarSaga''[[note]]this cameo was sadly not retained in the remake.[[/note]] and ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosForNintendo3DSAndWiiU'' (as a DLC Mii Fighter costume for the latter, and alongside a character from [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII a game fully owned by Square Enix]]) with permission from Square. As a result, {{exp|y}}ies of the Seven Stars that were the game's {{MacGuffin}}s appeared in ''VideoGame/{{Paper Mario|64}}''.
* There was a small amount of furor for ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsOriginalGeneration'' after its first AnimatedAdaptation ''Divine Wars'' removed nearly every appearance of the Huckebeins, HumongousMecha [[{{Expy}} that basically look like]] Franchise/{{Gundam}}s with the SerialNumbersFiledOff. Many fans feared the exile of the entire line, especially after the previews of the ''Original Generations'' VideoGameRemake on the UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 also omitted them, as well as all Huckebeins' plastic model kits ceasing sale. These fears alleviated when the game was released, as all Huckebeins were present and accounted for.
** The {{Irony}} is no one was especially afraid after ''Divine Wars'' because the Huckebein ''did'' show up (just briefly in the last episode as a set of blueprints). When the second promotional trailer for ''Original Generations'' was released, the Huckebein animation was removed and replaced with a different unit. At this point, a malicious but clever fan spread rumors then-Bandai (before their merge with Namco) sued Banpresto over its use of the Huckebein. For some indiscernible reason, a large part of the fanbase believed it, ''despite'' Bandai OWNING Banpresto and later merging with them. Cue massive screaming to the point where Banpresto discovered the rumor and intentionally kept it alive [[ItAmusedMe for the sole purpose of their amusement]].
** It happened again in ''The Inspector'', an adaptation of ''Original Generation 2'' and sequel to ''Divine Wars''. One character, who in the games is supposed to use a Huckebein, starts with an anime-exclusive mass-produced Wildschwein, which looks less like a Huckebein. This really didn't matter in the long run, as the character will acquire a more powerful super robot, yet most fans believed Creator/BandaiNamcoEntertainment ordered the Huckebein removed because they didn't want a knockoff of the popular Gundam making what amounts to a cameo appearance, since most of the cast in ''The Inspector'' will be using their character-exclusive HumongousMecha by the end of the show, none of them being Huckebeins.
*** Fortunately, ''The Inspector'' justifies the disappearance of the Huckebein: InUniverse, TheFederation scraps its development. Rather than relegate another character using a Huckebein, he gets to pilot the "[=EXbein=]", another anime-exclusive unit which, in-story, is the ''[[SuperPrototype prototype]]'' to the intended Huckebein. Then again, any ''Super Robot Wars'' fan is hardly fooled to see the [=EXbein=] ''is'' a Huckebein, with the difference simply removing the signature "V-fin" on its head, while adding a pair of giant visors around the eyes. The fact the mechanical designer for the [=EXbein=] is the same person who designed the Huckebein for the games says something about the similarities between them.
*** ''The Inspector'' essentially chimes in on this trope later with the "Guarbein", a Huckebein with a Guarlion Custom's head and shoulders. HilarityEnsues as its pilot, who's wearing [[PaperThinDisguise a terrible disguise]], is using a Huckebein with a terrible disguise. Lampshaded by the villain when the Guarbein makes its debut:
---->"[=GuarBein=]?! Your camouflage can't fool me!"
** Although the [=EXbein=] makes its way into the games, ''Original Generation'' decided to use this trope to its fullest: [[spoiler:all Huckebeins ever manufactured are destroyed in a mandatory story event]]. At that point, fans were divided on whether this was a mean-spirited joke by Banpresto or there's truly a legal problem to be had with Bandai Namco. However, the Huckebein appears as is for ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsV'', making this an aversion.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformers'', use of the Decepticon Mini-Cassette Buzzsaw was discouraged since his toy was packaged with Soundwave's, and as such he didn't need to appear so long as Soundwave did. He did make a few appearances, but his function as spy was largely taken over by Laserbeak.
** The Decepticon Reflector appeared prominently in Season One, but by Season Two the character was barred from usage. Although Reflector's toy was planned as a last-minute addition to the 1984 catalogue, Hasbro passed up on it as they thought it would be "too boring" for kids. As such, he was kept in the cartoon to fill out the rather small Decepticon army, and by the time more Decepticons appeared, the character was only present at the animators' discretion (ironically, the Reflector toy would see release after the fact as a mail order item in 1986).
* ''Franchise/{{Tron}}'': Disney green-lit ''VideoGame/TronTwoPointOh'' as a SequelInAnotherMedium because they didn't have any interest in another film at that time. ''2.0'' spun off its own (small) canon with a sequel game and a comic book miniseries. But between ''2.0'' and the runaway success of the "Space Paranoids" level in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'', Disney changed its mind about a second film, and made ''Film/TronLegacy'', declaring all 2.0 material non-canon. The main difference in the canons is the fate of [[SmallRoleBigImpact Lora Baines-Bradley]] who was killed (becoming [[VirtualGhost Ma3a]] in 2.0 canon), but is alive in ''Legacy'' canon and features in the AlternateRealityGame establishing the film's backstory. The other difference is in Tron's fate; [[spoiler: in 2.0, he was uploaded to archive and became a KingInTheMountain, upgraded and restored in the system's time of need. In ''Legacy'' canon, he is put through a TraumaCongaLine and his ultimate fate is to be ReforgedAsAMinion before suffering a DisneyVillainDeath and falling into the dead Simulation Sea and UncertainDoom.]]
* The Alien Spell from ''Series/UltraSeven'' seems to have been given this fate, mainly due to the UnfortunateImplications of its design, which was inspired by survivors of the atomic bombings (and its episode is also a BannedEpisode). Starbem Gyeron, another {{Kaiju}} from the same series, was believed to have suffered this fate as well, since its episode was removed from circulation as a result of the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster; however, said rumor turned out to be false, since Gyeron later reappeared in episode 20 of ''Series/UltramanGeed''.
* The Vehicle ''Anime/{{Voltron}}'' and all the characters associated with it seem to have met this fate. The Lion Force Voltron is simply more popular and more iconic. There is also the fact that Voltron is a licensing of ''Anime/{{Golion}}'', the licensing of which is probably expensive, given the popularity it gained as ''Voltron''. It is possible that WEP simply chose not to renew the licensing for ''Anime/DairuggerXV'' as its lack of popularity probably gives them little incentive to do so.
** However, the series finale of ''WesternAnimation/VoltronLegendaryDefender'' hinted at that continuity's version of Vehicle Voltron during the WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue-- several of the vehicles were shown as were the pilots, but VV itself wasn't seen, likely as a SequelHook.
* Elijah "Eli" Bradley, aka Patriot of the Comicbook/YoungAvengers, hasn't been seen in the Marvel Universe since the conclusion of ''Comicbook/TheChildrensCrusade'' in 2012. Writer Creator/KieronGillen mentioned that he was not allowed to have Eli as one of the leads in the subsequent 2013 ''Young Avengers'' relaunch, which led to him using Comicbook/AmericaChavez instead. A page from the ''Comicbook/AgeOfUltron'' event from that same year was also altered to replace a photo of Eli with a photo of the aforementioned America Chavez, lending more fuel to the theory that there was some sort of embargo on using the character. Marvel eventually went so far as to introduce a brand new Patriot named Rayshaun Lucas during the ''Comicbook/SecretEmpire'' crossover, seemingly cementing that there were no plans to bring back Eli anytime soon. There's been no official word as to why exactly Eli has been put on ice, but the rumor is that it may be due to a dispute with the estate of Robert Morales, the writer of ''Truth: Red, White & Black'', the mini-series that the character was originally spun-off from.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Commercial/Corporate Reasons]]
[[center:[-It is these that really get up in people's rig. These are almost entirely the result of ExecutiveMeddling.-][==]]]
* The ComicBook/AmalgamUniverse was a joint crossover project between Creator/DCComics and Creator/MarvelComics, and so neither company can use elements of it without the permission of the other. This means that Marvel couldn't use "Spider-Boy" characters (Franchise/SpiderMan[=/=]ComicBook/{{Superboy}} mashups) in ''ComicBook/SpiderVerse'' and DC couldn't use any Amalgam character in ''ComicBook/{{Convergence}}''. In fact, crossover events between intellectual properties under different ownership in general tend to fall under this trope, since any later {{Continuity Nod}}s that might be made to the crossover will have to be vague by necessity.
* The current Creator/{{Atari}}, Inc.[[note]]Formerly Infogrames[[/note]] cannot acknowledge or use anything pertaining to the post-1984 Atari arcade catalog, due to the arcade division being spun off from the original Atari (the pre-1984 arcade catalog remained with the newly-formed Atari Corporation, though). The catalog changed hands several times throughout the years before ultimately ending up with Creator/WarnerBros in 2009, following their acquisition of Creator/MidwayGames[[note]]Who in turn acquired the arcade division from Warner in 1996, renaming it Midway Games West to avoid getting in trademark trouble with Atari's then-owners Creator/{{Hasbro}}[[/note]]. This has led to a double whammy for both parties: Warner is not able to use the Atari name for future re-releases of the catalog to avoid paying trademark royalties, while Atari completely leaves out the games from any of their compilations showcasing their expansive archive of games.
* Despite (and because of) being the most popular character in Creator/ChaosComics's stable, the rights to ComicBook/LadyDeath remained with creator Brian Pulido while the other Chaos! properties were sold. Lady Death is currently being published in her own series by Boundless Comics, while the other Chaos! characters were kept together through several revivals, the latest (as of this writing) by Creator/DynamiteComics. Given how pivotal Lady Death was to the original Chaos! Comics universe, this has led to some in-universe weirdness, like Lady Demon, who started out as Lady Death's [[EnemyWithout split personality]], appearing in her own series by Dynamite, and vague references to Evil Ernie's obsession with Lady Death when he appeared in ''ComicBook/HackSlash.'' In the Dynamite revival, Lady Death has been replaced by [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute Lady Hel]].

** The ''DC Universe'' streaming service is supposed to include almost every media adaptation of works by Creator/DCComics. Unfortunately, the serial films ''Film/TheBatman'' and ''[[Film/BatmanAndRobinSerial Batman and Robin]]'' (not to be confused with [[Film/BatmanAndRobin another film from 1997]]) and the 1966 ''Series/{{Batman}}'' TV series (as well as its [[Film/BatmanTheMovie tie-in movie]]) are unlikely to be included in the service as all three adaptations are under different ownership (Sony for the first two; Disney/Creator/TwentiethCenturyFox for the third, with WB only being licensed to handle home video distribution for that one). It was because of these ownership issues that caused them to be left out of the service's free access event for ''Batman''-related media during an 80th anniversary franchise celebration. Also affected are the ''Film/{{Red}}'' movies, all of which are owned by Creator/{{Lionsgate}}[=/=]Creator/SummitEntertainment, ''Film/RoadToPerdition'', co-owned between Creator/DreamWorks[=/=]Creator/{{Paramount}} and Disney/Fox, and the ''ComicBook/WildCATS'' cartoon, owned by Creator/{{Nelvana}}. The biggest loser from this, though, is ComicBook/SwampThing, as ''all'' of his movies and shows are under different ownership[[note]]To clarify, [=StudioCanal=] and MGM own the first film, the sequel ''Return of Swamp Thing'' is owned by Lightyear Entertainment, the live-action series is owned by Creator/{{Universal}}, and the animated series is owned by Creator/DHXMedia[[/note]], which may explain why WB opted to produce an original show for him on the service.
** It's believed that a contributing factor to the planned ''Comicbook/{{Nightwing}}'' movie ending up in DevelopmentHell is that the live-action ''Series/{{Titans}}'' TV series currently features Dick Grayson as a main character. Likewise, there has been some speculation that Comicbook/{{Cyborg}} being a main character in the ''Series/DoomPatrol2019'' TV series may be part of the reason why there's been no movement on the planned ''Cyborg'' solo movie that was announced back in 2014.
** Similarly, one of the alleged reasons that the Franchise/WonderWoman prequel series ''Amazon'' never made it to air is that it was in production right around the time WB finally started serious pre-production on a ''Film/{{Wonder Woman|2017}}'' live-action movie.
** Similar to the Bat-Embargo, ComicBook/HarleyQuinn was barred from appearing in Season 3 of ''Series/{{Arrow}}'' because of her role in the ''Film/SuicideSquad2016'' movie. She had been given a brief {{Cameo}} in Season 2 (shown only from behind), but future planned appearances were axed once the movie was officially given the go-ahead from WB. Comicbook/{{Deadshot}} and Amanda Waller were killed off in Seasons 3 & 4 respectively for the same reason. [[ComicBook/BlueBeetle Ted Kord]] was intended to have a recurring role in Season 3 (building off mentions to his company Kord Industries); before the season started filming, DC Executives pulled an embargo due to having unspecified plans for Blue Beetle in the Franchise/DCExtendedUniverse (rumoured to be a team-up/buddy flick with ComicBook/BoosterGold), and the character was rewritten to be [[ComicBook/TheAtom Ray Palmer]]. The writers also got around the Deadshot embargo by having his Earth-2 counterpart (ironically, a ''terrible'' shot, who can't hit a target from six feet away) show up in Season 2 of ''Series/TheFlash2014''.
** Comicbook/{{Deathstroke}} was also exiled from the Arrowverse continuity right around the time Deadshot was killed off. Slade was not dead though - just sitting in his cell in Lian Yu, seemingly never to be seen or heard from again due to his appearances in the upcoming ''Film/JusticeLeague'' movie and the solo Creator/BenAffleck Batman SpinOff. However, as rewrites of DCEU movies resulted in Deathstroke no longer being in the ''Film/JusticeLeague'' movie and ''The Batman'' script undergoing total rewrite, Arrow!Slade's TheBusCameBack, with him appearing again in Seasons 5 and 6. However, now that he HAS appeared in ''Film/JusticeLeague,'' they're apparently losing him again.
** Initially, the writers of ''Series/{{Smallville}}'' wanted to do a similar series about [[Franchise/{{Batman}} Bruce Wayne]] rather than Clark Kent. They got vetoed because [[Film/TheDarkKnightTrilogy another Batman movie was in the works]]. This also prevented them from doing a storyline where Bruce Wayne comes to Metropolis, leading to the recurring 3rd season character Adam Knight (name being a play on [[Series/{{Batman}} Adam West]] and the Dark Knight nickname) who was a CaptainErsatz of Batman before he was turned evil and ComicBook/GreenArrow becoming a recurring character in seasons 6 and 7 and gaining main character status in season 8. As with ''JLU'', other minor DCU characters have gotten the ''Smallville'' treatment and thus have been better highlighted. Interestingly, there's a reference to Oliver Queen as early as the very first episode, implying that they'd seen this coming from the start.
** Franchise/WonderWoman was also not allowed to appear on ''Smallville'', leading to nearly four seasons where all non-original superheroes who appeared on the show were men. Then ComicBook/BlackCanary came on board. The final season featured a scene where Chloe Sullivan implied that she had met both Batman and Wonder Woman during her globe-trotting adventures, with the implication that they would end up meeting Clark sometime after the show's final episode.
** It's widely believed that for many years, DC did not allow the character Comicbook/BlackLightning to appear in any DC animation (thus resulting in several [[ElectricBlackGuy expies]]) because that would require paying royalties to the character's creator. This seems to have finally broken in 2009, and the character has since appeared in ''WesternAnimation/SupermanBatmanPublicEnemies'', ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'', ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueCrisisOnTwoEarths'', ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'', and a series of WesternAnimation/DCNation shorts. According to ''[=BatB=]'''s staff, the entire thing turned out to be because the legal team were under the impression that DC didn't have rights to the character. When the show's staff asked exactly who did, further investigation turned up the fact that there weren't any legal hang-ups with Black Lightning in the first place. Go figure.
** The Bat-Embargo in ''[[WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague Justice League Unlimited]]''; Franchise/{{Batman}} characters couldn't appear in the series, because ''WesternAnimation/TheBatman'' was airing at the same time, and executives feared "[[ViewersAreMorons confusion]]". A similar restriction was in place for ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'', although this one was mutual and prevented Robin from showing up on ''WesternAnimation/TheBatman'' until the fourth season (which gave us Comicbook/{{Batgirl}} appearing first). Later, when Comicbook/{{Aquaman}} received the failed live-action pilot for the CW, Aquaman and his supporting cast could not appear on JLU either (leading to the creation of "Devil Ray", and, likely, the replacement of Wonder Woman for Aquaman in the plot of "To Another Shore").
*** Confusingly, rights or confusion issues didn't seem to get in the way of JLU using ''Superman'' characters when ''Series/{{Smallville}}'' was airing concurrently. Unless "No flights, no tights" makes sense as a justifying distinction.
*** Also, both ComicBook/PlasticMan and ComicBook/BlueBeetle were referenced without appearing on-screen in ''Justice League Unlimited''; neither could appear properly due to licensing reasons. Both characters later showed up in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'', and even starred in the first two episodes. Beetle eventually became one of the more recurring characters.
*** The Bat-Embargo didn't go over entirely badly though, since it made room for [[EnsembleDarkhorse interesting minor DCU antagonists]], like ComicBook/AmandaWaller, to appear in animation for the first time. Just goes to show how good writers can work around any problem. Still... not being able to fully complete the ''WesternAnimation/SuperFriends'' MythologyGag of including Scarecrow and the Riddler in the new LegionOfDoom was sad, as was the lack of any Ra's al Ghul plots.
*** What makes it even sadder is that the writers [[WhatCouldHaveBeen had originally planned]] to do a ''ComicBook/BirdsOfPrey'' episode.
** ''WesternAnimation/TheBatman'' itself wasn't allowed to use either Two-Face, Scarecrow, or Franchise/WonderWoman. Its first version of Clayface appears to be a CaptainErsatz for the first of these, the second was almost reversed but fell through (with Hugo Strange having to take the role instead), and the last ended up making the Franchise/{{Justice League|OfAmerica}}'s use of TheSmurfettePrinciple even worse. Likewise, ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'' was denied use of Superman and Wonder Woman during its first two seasons.
** Not that Bat-Embargos were new... back in the days of the ''WesternAnimation/SuperFriends'', when the ''Challenge'' series (with the Legion of Doom) took place, Creator/{{Filmation}}'s ''WesternAnimation/TheNewAdventuresOfBatman'' was still on the air. That's why you'd never see Joker or Catwoman on the Legion of Doom. The Joker and Penguin appeared in one episode each of ''Superfriends'' during the ''Galactic Guardians'' series, after the Filmation cartoon's license on him had run out (and, of course, [[MerchandiseDriven both had figures in the Super Powers Collection]]). On the other hand, Riddler and Scarecrow could not be seen on ''New Adventures'' (except for the former in the opening sequence, inexplicably in a '''pink''' costume).
* After Creator/{{Disney}} snapped up Marvel Comics, its channels ditched all content based off DC properties, while [[Creator/WarnerBros Time Warner]] did the same thing with Marvel content on ''its'' channels (with the sole exception of ''WesternAnimation/TheSuperHeroSquadShow'', which remained on Creator/CartoonNetwork for contractual reasons). Prior to this, both ''WesternAnimation/StaticShock'' and ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'' had been airing in reruns on Creator/DisneyXD, while Creator/{{Boomerang}} was running both Creator/HannaBarbera[='=]s ''[[WesternAnimation/TheFantasticFour1967 Fantastic Four]]'' cartoon and ''WesternAnimation/FantasticFourWorldsGreatestHeroes'' (the former still airs on occasion internationally, though).
* Disney's upcoming Creator/DisneyPlus service is intended to be the exclusive home for the ''Franchise/StarWars'' franchise and the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse. Unfortunately, ''Film/CaptainMarvel2019'' will be the first MCU film featured on Disney+, as several of the recent movies like ''Film/BlackPanther'' and ''Film/ThorRagnarok'' will still be available on Netflix when Disney+ launches, and [[Creator/{{TNT}} Turner]] [[Creator/{{TBS}} Broadcasting]] has exclusive broadcast and streaming rights to other films like ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar'' and ''Film/DoctorStrange''. Also, since ''Film/SpiderManHomecoming'' and ''Film/SpiderManFarFromHome'' are technically Sony productions, those will presumably be off-limits as well (as Sony has an output deal with Creator/{{Starz}}). As for ''Star Wars'', they ''almost'' fell into this as Turner Broadcasting has exclusive rights to all films up to ''Film/SoloAStarWarsStory'' until 2024, but Disney and Turner were able to work something out (presumably, they paid money and gave Turner certain MCU movies, such as the aforementioned titles) to get the streaming rights, though Turner still holds the TV rights.
** Disney+ is also unlikely to host any productions of its characters owned by third parties, such as the ''Franchise/IndianaJones'' franchise,[[note]]Although Disney/Lucasfilm owns the franchise outright, ''Series/TheYoungIndianaJonesChronicles'' is currently distributed by Creator/{{CBS}}, while the movies are distributed by Creator/{{Paramount}}[[/note]] Creator/StudioGhibli (which Disney never actually owned; they only distributed their films), or ex-subisidiary Creator/{{Miramax}}.

** The ''Series/DoctorWho'' [[Literature/DoctorWhoNovelisations Target novelisations]] had a rule that no Doctor other than the current incumbent was allowed to be depicted on the cover. This naturally affected almost every single one of the First and Second Doctor books, with a handful of exceptions beyond the point when anyone cared any more. This also affected foreign reprints of the books, leading to many an old-school American fan confused to discover that it had actually been the ''Third'' Doctor rather than the Fourth running around fighting dinosaurs with Sarah Jane.
** The contract Creator/BigFinish had with the BBC stipulated that all elements of the new ''Series/DoctorWho'' series cannot be used in their ''Doctor Who'' [[AudioPlay/BigFinishDoctorWho audio dramas]]. That didn't stop them from throwing in the occasional implied ContinuityNod and ShoutOut. For example, the framing story for the [[ADayInTheLimelight Companion Chronicle]] ''The Catalyst'' apparently takes place after the Last Great Time War from the new series, which, for legal reasons, they don't explicitly mention. And a ShoutOut to the "What the Shakespeare!" line from the series 1 episode [[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E3TheUnquietDead "The Unquiet Dead"]] appeared in ''The Kingmaker''.[[note]]Along with, ''possibly'' a background appearance by the Ninth Doctor, or just someone described as a "big eared northern chap". Nice and vague.[[/note]]
*** As of 2015 the ban has been EX-TERMI-NATED, Big Finish being allowed to use characters introduced in TV stories all the way up to [[Recap/DoctorWho2013CSTheTimeOfTheDoctor "The Time of the Doctor"]].
* The creators of the ContinuityReboot of the classic Disney Comics/Disney Afternoon SharedUniverse ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales2017'' wished to include WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse in the rebooted universe, but Disney forbade them from doing so.
* This extends to ''WesternAnimation/TheLEGOMovie'', despite Marvel having a successful line of LEGO tie-ins. The movie was made by Creator/WarnerBros, which is why you see appearances from Franchise/{{Batman}}, Franchise/WonderWoman, and the Franchise/{{Justice League|OfAmerica}}, but not Spider-Man, the X-Men, or the Avengers.

** The ''Franchise/SpiderMan'' storyline ''ComicBook/SpiderVerse'' promised to show off "Every. Spider-Man. Ever.", but there are a few that couldn't be used. Eight were mentioned, but seven were confirmed - the Creator/TobeyMaguire Spider-Man from the ''Film/SpiderManTrilogy'', the Creator/AndrewGarfield Spider-Man from ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderManSeries'', the Spider-Man from ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManTheNewAnimatedSeries'', the Spider-Man from ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan'' and Spider-Boy/Spider-Boy 2099 from the above-mentioned ''ComicBook/AmalgamUniverse''. The Live-Action and Cartoon ones are owned by Sony and the Amalgam characters co-owned by Creator/DCComics as Spider-Boy is one-half Spider-Man, one half ComicBook/{{Superboy}}. However, in ''Spider-Verse'' #2, the Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield Spider-Men were indirectly mentioned as being part of the army of Spider-Men (one Spider-Man mentioned a version of Spidey who "looked just like the guy in ''Film/{{Seabiscuit}}''" while the Spider-Man he was talking to said he thought he "saw the guy from ''Film/TheSocialNetwork''"). In addition, Spider-Boy makes a ([[LawyerFriendlyCameo mostly obscured]]) cameo appearance in the group shot at the issue's end.
** Herbie the Robot infamously replaced the ComicBook/HumanTorch on ''WesternAnimation/TheFantasticFour1978'' cartoon because Universal had the rights to the Human Torch for another project but never used them. It's not the case as rumored that worrying network executives feared that children would attempt to light themselves on fire.
** Rights issues similarly prevented the Human Torch from being in ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManAndHisAmazingFriends'' and thus led to the creation of Firestar as a [[GenderFlip Gender Flipped]] {{Expy}}.
** The Creator/HannaBarbera ''[[WesternAnimation/TheFantasticFour1967 Fantastic Four]]'' cartoon was unable to use [[ComicBook/SubMariner Namor]], since his rights were tied up in ''WesternAnimation/TheMarvelSuperHeroes''. Prince Triton was created as an {{Expy}}. Likewise, ComicBook/AntMan couldn't be used in the show's adaptation of "The Micro World of Doctor Doom", so he was simply AdaptedOut.
** The Hanna-Barbera Fantastic Four cartoon also caused problems concerning rights issues with ''The Marvel Super Heroes'' with the episode "Doctor Doom's Day/Doomed Allegiance/Tug of Death". In spite of Doctor Doom appearing in the episode, Grantray-Lawrence Animation could not secure the rights to the Fantastic Four because of their use in the 1967 cartoon, so they got around the restriction by [[RoguesGalleryTransplant making Doom an enemy of the X-Men]], who were referred to as the Allies for Peace for unknown reasons.
** Sandman could not appear on ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManTheAnimatedSeries'' or the concurrently-running ''WesternAnimation/FantasticFour'' because he was to be the villain in the aborted Creator/JamesCameron film. The writers attempted to get around the Sandman ban by using Hydro-Man in his place. Electro was the other villain meant to be used in the Cameron film, preventing his use for most of the series, but the film fell through while the show was still running, so they eventually wrote him in with a completely different identity than his usual one, which had the interesting effect of highlighting just how dangerous someone with Electro's powers would be if they used them intelligently, something the ordinary Electro struggles with.
** This extends to costumes and designs as well, since Marvel comics, cartoons, and video games can usually use costume designs from Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse films, but not Marvel films made by Fox or Sony. For instance, in both ''[[VideoGame/MarvelAvengersAlliance Avengers Alliance]]'' and ''VideoGame/MarvelHeroes'', you can use Iron Man's ''Film/IronMan3'' outfit, ComicBook/CaptainAmerica and ComicBook/{{Hawkeye}}'s ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}'' outfits, and ComicBook/TheFalcon's ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier'' outfit, but not Franchise/{{Wolverine}}'s ''Film/XMenDaysOfFuturePast'' outfit or ComicBook/SpiderMan's ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan'' outfit. Although in ''Avengers Alliance'', Marvel did eventually come up with a licensing agreement with Sony to use Spidey's new costume from ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan2''.
** Marvel made a deal with Sony and regained the animation rights for ''Spider-Man'' at the end of ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan'''s run. Hence, due to only regaining the animation rights at-the-time recently, Spidey wasn't able to appear on ''WesternAnimation/TheSuperHeroSquadShow'' despite one: having toys on the ''SHS'' toy line and two: most every other prominent Marvel character appearing in the series as well. (He did make a retroactive appearance via ''WesternAnimation/UltimateSpiderMan'', though.)
** Spider-Man can really suffer from this. For the many different Marvel cartoons out there, Spider-Man rarely ever crossed over for any team-ups. He did formally appear on the 70s ''Spider-Woman'' cartoon series, but outside of that? Borderline {{Lawyer Friendly Cameo}}es on ''WesternAnimation/XMen'' and ''WesternAnimation/FantasticFourWorldsGreatestHeroes''. In fact, in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/FantasticFour'', viewers can see a cameo of ComicBook/ScarletSpider instead of ol' web-head. Before 2012, if Spidey was going to team-up with another hero, it had to be on one of his shows instead of one of theirs.
** On the subject of cartoons, Comicbook/GhostRider was barred from appearing in ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManTheAnimatedSeries'' because Marvel had pitched a ''Ghost Rider'' cartoon to Creator/{{UPN}} (the channel that aired ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibleHulk''), which led to Fox refusing to promote a superhero who could have potentially ended up on a rival network. The aforementioned ''Hulk'' cartoon airing on UPN also prevented the Hulk from appearing on ''Spider-Man: The Animated Series'', limiting the character to being occasionally mentioned and preventing him from appearing in the three-part adaptation of ''ComicBook/SecretWars1984'' (his role was filled by The Lizard instead).
** When adapting ''Disney/BigHero6'' from an obscure Marvel comic to a Disney animated movie, both Disney and Marvel mutually agreed to divorce the characters from the Franchise/MarvelUniverse entirely. Not only does the movie not reference any Marvel elements outside of a Creator/StanLee cameo during the credits, but Marvel exiled the team from the comics as well, to the point where Marvel has stated they'll never reprint the old comics. The team's last appearance in Marvel continuity was in 2012, where they appeared in the ''Spider-Man'' storyline ''ComicBook/EndsOfTheEarth''. Whether the characters of Sunfire and Silver Samurai are exempt from this is yet to be seen, as they were excluded from the movie due to being ''X-Men'' characters, which Creator/TwentiethCenturyFox (which wouldn't be brought by Disney for another few years) had exclusive film rights to.
** Video games (at least those in the 6th-7th generations of consoles) were, similarly, not affected by the contracts on virtue of Creator/{{Activision}} holding the video game rights to the ''entire'' Marvel comic book universe before December 2013 as well as those to the ''Spider-Man'' and ''X-Men'' film tie-ins (and before them, there was ''[[VideoGame/CapcomVsWhatever Marvel vs. Capcom]]''), with one notable exception...
*** ...namely, Creator/{{Sierra}} had the game rights to the comic and film incarnations of the Hulk (by proxy of being owned by Vivendi, which also owned Universal Studios, which held the film rights to the character at the time), meaning that only Bruce Banner could appear in Creator/{{Activision}}'s ''VideoGame/MarvelUltimateAlliance'' (they did sneak in the Hulk's arm in the FMV preceding the final stage though); after Activision and Vivendi merged into Activision Blizzard, the Hulk was finally released as a Xbox 360 exclusive DLC character, and is an unlockable character in the sequel.
** Namor was also removed from ''VideoGame/MarvelAvengersAlliance'' when it turned out there were legal issues, and all references to his name were replaced with an allusion to "an Atlantean".
* Prior to the conceptualization of the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse, Marvel sold off the film rights to its various characters to multiple different studios, making crossovers between them highly unlikely. As time went on and the license agreements began to expire, Marvel Studios started getting more and more of their characters back, integrating them into their shared movie and TV universe. Sometimes though even when Marvel gets a certain character back, they aren't eager to use them in the movies due to already having generated a bunch of cash-cow properties in the meantime and only getting these franchises back in the first place because the previous movie franchises failed at the box office.
-->'''Kevin Feige''': Whenever a character comes back to us, it's usually because the other studios don't want to make the movies anymore - and that usually means the [previous] movies may not have been particularly well-received. They all have potential, but we're not going to say 'We got it back - make it.'
** ''ComicBook/NickFury'' appeared in a 1998 MadeForTVMovie ''Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.'' and was supposed to appear in the second ''Film/FantasticFour2005'' movie. Fox had the rights to the character in 1998, but during production of ''Rise of the Silver Surfer'' found out that their rights to the character had expired and reverted to Marvel, so the writers had to create the character of General Hager as an {{Expy}}. Nick Fury himself kicked off the entire MCU with his then-unexpected appearance in TheStinger for ''Film/IronMan1''.
** ''ComicBook/BlackPanther'' rights were sold off to ''Creator/ColumbiaPictures'' and returned to Marvel in 2005, as Columbia never turned them into an actual film.
** ''Comicbook/IronMan'' rights were sold off to ''Creator/NewLineCinema'' and similarly returned to Marvel in 2005, with the studio never acting on them.
** ''ComicBook/TheMightyThor'' rights were sold off to ''Creator/{{Sony}}'' and fully returned to Marvel in 2006.
** ''Comicbook/BlackWidow'' rights were sold off to ''Creator/LionsGate'' and returned to Marvel in 2006, same year as Thor.
** ''Comicbook/IncredibleHulk'' rights were sold to ''Creator/{{Universal}}'', who released ''Film/{{Hulk}}'' by Creator/AngLee in 2003. The film flopped both critically and in box office, leaving Universal in no hurry to produce a sequel until Marvel Studios approached them with an idea for a reboot. 2008's ''Film/TheIncredibleHulk'' was one of the two films that launched the ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse'', produced by Marvel Studios but distributed by Universal. The arrangement made at that time meant that Marvel was free to use the character in their movies, but Universal still held the rights to distribute (and keep the profits from) any film with "Hulk" in the title. This is the main reason why another solo Hulk film will not happen in the near future, though Marvel eventually found a way around it by incorporating elements of the fan-favorite ''ComicBook/PlanetHulk'' storyline into ''Film/ThorRagnarok''.
** Comicbook/CaptainAmerica rights have never left Marvel. Along with Comicbook/IronMan, Comicbook/IncredibleHulk, Comicbook/TheMightyThor, ComicBook/NickFury and Comicbook/BlackWidow, he was prominent in the MCU since Phase 1, culminating in ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}''.
** ''ComicBook/{{Blade}}'' rights were sold off to New Line, who made them into the successful ''Film/BladeTrilogy''. Unable to produce the fourth film for various reasons, the rights eventually expired and returned to Marvel in 2011.
** ''ComicBook/{{Daredevil}}'' rights were sold off to Fox, who made the 2003 ''Film/{{Daredevil}}'' movie and 2005 ''Film/{{Elektra}}'' spinoff. In 2012, the rights returned to Marvel, who used them to create the ''Series/{{Daredevil|2015}}'' TV series, which kicked off the Creator/{{Netflix}} branch of the MCU that would eventually grow into six series interconnected with each other, but mostly separated from the movies despite nominally being set in the same world.
** ''Comicbook/GhostRider'' rights were sold off to Sony, who released the ''Film/GhostRider'' film in 2007 and ''Film/GhostRiderSpiritOfVengeance'' sequel in 2012. In 2013 the rights returned to Marvel, which allowed for ''ComicBook/AllNewGhostRider'' Robbie Reyes to prominently feature in the fourth season of ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD''
** ''ComicBook/ThePunisher'' was turned into three standalone, unconnected movies between 1989 and 2008 - one by Artisan Entertainment and two by Lionsgate. Marvel acquired the rights from Lionsgate in 2013, leading to Frank Castle's appearance in season two of ''Series/{{Daredevil|2015}}'', from where he was spun off into his own solo series ''Series/{{The Punisher|2017}}''.
** ''ComicBook/LukeCageHeroForHire'' rights were sold off to Sony, and returned to Marvel in 2013, with the character appearing in multiple Netflix series, including his own ''Series/{{Luke Cage|2016}}''.
** Particular oddballs in the licensing issues are ComicBook/ScarletWitch and ComicBook/{{Quicksilver}} who, being equally known in comics as mutants and as Avengers, [[https://moviepilot.com/p/avengers-2-what-s-the-deal-with-the-mutants/395144 have their film rights licensed to BOTH Marvel Studios and Fox]]; the catch is that Marvel Studios cannot have them be mutants in their films and Fox cannot reference the Avengers through them. In ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'' it's explained that they got their powers due to being experimented with Chitauri technology by HYDRA, rather than being mutants. On a related note, the MCU TV series ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'' has referred to obviously-mutant characters under other names, such as "gifted".
*** The Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver issues seem to extend to the video games as well, to a degree. Neither character is present in ''VideoGame/AvengersAcademy'', with Scarlet Witch having her role in the game's ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar'' tie-in taken by Sif. They were also absent from ''VideoGame/DisneyInfinity'', despite ''3.0'' having a heavy ''Civil War'' emphasis, making Scarlet Witch the only superhero from that movie who doesn't appear in the game in any form. When asked about the absence of Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, John Vignocchi implied that there are legal issues preventing the two from appearing in certain games. This seems to vary from title to title though, as both characters ''are'' playable in ''VideoGame/LEGOMarvelsAvengers''. In 2018, following a gradual thawing of relations between Disney and Fox due to the potential buyout, Scarlet Witch was finally allowed to appear in ''Avengers Academy'' as part of the ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'' tie-in.
** As a result of this, Ike Perlmutter eventually instituted an extremely controversial embargo on characters whose movie rights were owned by other studios, preventing them from appearing other adaptations. X-Men and Fantastic Four characters were barred from appearing in the later seasons of TV shows like ''WesternAnimation/UltimateSpiderMan'' and ''WesternAnimation/AvengersAssemble'', as well as games like ''VideoGame/LEGOMarvelsAvengers'', ''VideoGame/DisneyInfinity'', ''VideoGame/AvengersAcademy'' and ''VideoGame/LEGOMarvelSuperHeroes2''. Even ''VideoGame/MarvelHeroes'', which already had Fantastic Four characters, was forced to stop selling them in 2017. Especially notable (and [[InternetBackdraft controversial]], perhaps the highest-profile case of the embargo) was the complete absence of any X-Men or FF characters in ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcomInfinite'', despite characters like Franchise/{{Wolverine}}, Comicbook/{{Magneto}}, Comicbook/{{Storm}} and Comicbook/DoctorDoom having been longtime fan favorites in the previous ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom'' games.
** This also extended to certain pieces of merchandise as well. [[https://www.bleedingcool.com/2015/05/13/replacing-the-ff-and-x-men-on-secret-wars-image-with-marvel-studio-characters/ Bleedingcool reported on a T-shirt being sold at Walmart]] that recreated the iconic cover of ''Comicbook/SecretWars1984'' #1, but with all of the X-Men and Fantastic Four characters (Comicbook/{{Cyclops}}, Comicbook/{{Rogue}}, Comicbook/{{Nightcrawler}}, Storm, the Human Torch, the Thing, Colossus and Wolverine) replaced with characters who have been featured in the MCU (Comicbook/BlackPanther, Daredevil, Comicbook/DoctorStrange, Comicbook/LukeCage, Comicbook/BlackBolt, [[Comicbook/TheMightyThor Thor]] and Comicbook/IronFist). It is also believed this is the reason why Creator/{{Hasbro}} no longer includes X-Men or FF characters in Marvel Legends waves that aren't exclusively devoted to those franchise, to the point that they weren't allowed to include a classic Comicbook/{{Onslaught}} head in the Red Onslaught Build-A-Figure series, since the wave mostly consisted of Captain America figures.
** Likewise, Disney later published a book called ''Marvel: Powers of a Girl'', which highlighted the women of the Marvel Universe. While the book featured a wide range of Marvel heroines like [[Comicbook/CarolDanvers Captain Marvel]], Comicbook/SpiderGwen, Comicbook/{{Shuri|Marvel Comics}}, Comicbook/{{Valkyrie|Marvel Comics}}, Comicbook/{{Gamora}}, Comicbook/{{Mantis|Marvel Comics}}, the [[Comicbook/UnstoppableWasp Wasp]], Comicbook/MonicaRambeau and [[Comicbook/MsMarvel2014 Kamala Khan]], all of the female X-Men were absent, even the incredibly popular ones like Storm and Comicbook/JeanGrey.
** Another casualty of conflicting licenses are entire alien species, restricted from the MCU due to being tied to the ''Comicbook/FantasticFour'' rights:
*** The Badoon film rights are firmly held by Fox, so even though Marvel could use them in ''Film/ThorTheDarkWorld'' Prelude ''comic'', their proposed appearance in ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'' had to be replaced with Sakaarans, despite the Badoon being the team's traditional enemies.
*** The Skrulls were thought to be off-limits to MCU, which is why the alien invasion force in ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}'' used the Chitauri instead. However, it was later revealed that only specific characters (such as the Super-Skrull) belonged to Fox, and the Skrulls will feature prominently in the ''Film/{{Captain Marvel|2019}}'' movie.
*** The Watchers were also revealed to be another shared case. The Watchers themselves can be used by both studios, but the most famous one, Uatu, is off-limits to Marvel. This allowed a generic group of Watchers to appear in ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol2''.
** In 2015, Marvel made a historic announcement that they were able to negotiate ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'' film rights with Sony. That studio had previously released the ''Film/SpiderManTrilogy'', but when the fourth film got stuck in DevelopmentHell, leading to the risk of them losing the license like above examples, opted for a full reboot instead of having the rights return to Marvel. ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderManSeries'' was intended to start its own Spider-themed shared universe until the plans fell through due to disappointing reception of ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan2''. In this case, Sony kept all their distribution, licensing and merchandising rights and profits from solo movies such as ''Film/SpiderManHomecoming'', while Marvel Studios has creative freedom to use the character in both solo films and crossover movies starting with ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar''. Interestingly, [[WhatCouldHaveBeen there were plans]] for a [[http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/06/15/a-spider-manavengers-crossover-almost-happened collaboration between Sony and Marvel even before that]]. Oscorp Tower from ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan'' was supposed to appear in ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}'', but the CGI modeling for the building couldn't be completed on time and according to Creator/HughJackman himself, he was originally going to make a cameo as Franchise/{{Wolverine}} in the first ''Film/SpiderMan1'' movie, but plans fell through when nobody could find his costume.
*** Sony eventually still chose to proceed with solo movies focused on Spider-Man supporting cast, seemingly unconnected with MCU. ''Film/Venom2018'' was the first solo movie to be announced, followed by movies dedicated to ComicBook/{{Morbius}}, ComicBook/SilverSable, and ComicBook/BlackCat.
** The ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol2'' script by Creator/JamesGunn prominently featured Ego the Living Planet because he didn't realize at first that the character's rights were owned by Fox.[[note]]Ironically, Ego was chosen because other villains he wanted to use (Annihilus and Kang the Conqueror) were unavailable, on account of being tied up in the Fox-owned Fantastic Four movie rights (while Kang is best-known as an Avengers villain, he debuted in ''Fantastic Four'' and is implied to be a descendant of both Reed Richards and Doctor Doom). How Fox got the rights to Ego is unclear, seeing as he's primarily part of Thor's RoguesGallery; it may have something to do with Ego also being a frequent opponent of the Silver Surfer.[[/note]] In this case, ExecutiveMeddling actually came to the rescue, as Marvel was able to receive the character rights from Fox in exchange for letting them change the powers of Negasonic Teenage Warhead in the ''Film/{{Deadpool 2016}}'' movie.
*** Interestingly, ''Film/{{Deadpool 2016}}'' also managed to feature a LawyerFriendlyCameo from Bob, Agent of Comicbook/{{Hydra}} by removing all referenced to the MCU-exclusive organization and set the final action scene on what is obviously a decomissioned S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier by altering the design just enough to stand out from MCU helicarriers.
** While Creator/{{Universal}} no longer has the full film rights to [[ComicBook/SubMariner Namor]], it's still complicated enough, so don't expect to see him popping up in MCU in the near future.
** The only prominent characters that still weren't back under Marvel's domain were the ''[[Film/XMenFilmSeries X-Men]]'' and ''[[Film/FantasticFour2005 The Fantastic]] [[Film/FantasticFour2015 Four]]'', both licensed to Creator/TwentiethCenturyFox. This prevented [[Film/XMenFilmSeries Wolverine]] from tangling with the Hulk, and Thor being able to fight the Thing. Finally, in December 2017 Disney outright offered to buy 20th Century Fox for $52 billion. After going through regulations to alleviate antitrust concerns, the deal was eventually finalized on March 20, 2019, meaning that Disney now has full rights to Marvel's characters and franchises.
* The ''WesternAnimation/OKKOLetsBeHeroes'' episode "[[Recap/OKKOLetsBeHeroesS2E18CrossoverNexus Crossover Nexus]]" is jam-packed with cameos and references to many of Creator/CartoonNetwork's shows, both current and past, but there were several programs that couldn't be referenced or represented in the episode because of legal reasons and the short timeframe of the episode.
** ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'', ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsCloneWars'', and ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'' are not represented in spite of being co-productions with Cartoon Network because the ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'' and ''Franchise/StarWars'' franchises belong to Creator/{{Hasbro}} and Creator/{{Disney}} respectively.
** ''WesternAnimation/ClassOf3000'' and ''WesternAnimation/TheSecretSaturdays'' had no legal barriers and were planned to have references in the episode. According to the show's creator their scenes were just cut for time.
** No Cartoon Network co-productions with Creator/WarnerBros other than ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitansGo'' are represented, despite the ''many'' series made for the network like ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueAction'' and ''WesternAnimation/TheLooneyTunesShow''.
** Despite being at the core of the network for years, Creator/HannaBarbera, WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes and [[WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry MGM]] characters were all absent from the crossover outside a few references, thanks to the pre-AT&T [=TimeWarner=] discouraging much synergy between divisions, in turn making things difficult between CN and WB Animation (which has the rights to all the aforementioned characters).
** References to ''WesternAnimation/SpaceGhostCoastToCoast'' and ''Creator/{{Toonami}}'' were also largely absent, thanks to those shows/blocks being retroactively considered part of Creator/AdultSwim despite starting on CN before AS' existence (and [[ThinkOfTheChildren not wanting kids to watch Adult Swim]]). There's a graffiti doodle of Clyde 49, Toonami's first mascot, and a small cameo of Ghost Planet near the end of the ep, but that's about it.
** ''WesternAnimation/{{Ninjago}}'', ''WesternAnimation/SonicBoom'', and ''WesternAnimation/MegaManFullyCharged'' are absent due to being owned by the LEGO Group, SEGA, and Creator/{{Capcom}} respectively.
** ''WesternAnimation/{{Mixels}}'' is classified as a Cartoon Network Original, but was left out due to LEGO owning a fraction of the franchise through the merchandise.
** There are no representations of the ''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama'' franchise, presumably due to co-ownership with Creator/FreshTV.
** The episode does not include representations of third-party acquired programs, such as anime, that aired on the network at one point or another.
** Only two foreign CN productions are included in the crossover: ''WesternAnimation/{{Villainous}}'' and ''WesternAnimation/JorelsBrother''.
* ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'': Eggman Nega was been declared off-limits to the [[ComicBook/ArchieComicsSonicTheHedgehog Archie comic]] for unknown reasons. The character was acknowledged as existing, had been referenced a handful of times, and even had some build up as an UltimateEvil, but had to be called ''Doctor'' Nega. According to writer Ian Flynn, it took a lot of effort just to get permission to use that much.
* Chapel from ''ComicBook/{{Youngblood}}'' did not appear in the ''Film/{{Spawn}}'' movie despite his pivotal role in the comics (he was the one who killed the title character in the first place), since his film rights belonged to Creator/RobLiefeld. The character Jessica Priest was created [[{{Expy}} in his place]].
* ''Franchise/StarWars'':
** Creator/GeorgeLucas placed an ExecutiveVeto on new Wookiee or Hutt Jedi in ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends''. Lowbacca, an existing Wookiee Jedi, was effectively PutOnABus because of this, and Obsidian had to scrap the plans for making Hanharr a Dark Jedi in ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic II''. The ban on Wookiee Jedi would be relaxed later, as we see a Wookiee padawan in ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'', though it is mentioned that Wookiee Jedi are a rarity.
** It's come to light that there is an extensive internal memo listing all the various species of aliens that are "banned" from Jedi-hood: Gamorreans (pig guards), Sand People (excepting Tahiri and A'Sharad Hett owing to their [[RaisedByNatives origins]]), Ewoks, Vulptereens and other as-yet unrevealed races. The principal reasoning appears to be that these species lack the "mental capacity" to become Jedi. Take that as you may.
** Lucas also put a similar veto on a ''specific character'': Yoda. Authors are discouraged from exploring much, if any, of Yoda's history prior to the events of the prequel trilogy, including a more specific ban on creating an 'origin story' of sorts, showing his home planet, or giving a name to his species. This has also led to a general reticence in creating additional characters of Yoda's species. In all of canonical Star Wars material, only one other member of the species has been shown (Yaddle, a DistaffCounterpart who appears on the Jedi Council in ''Film/ThePhantomMenace'' without any focus or speaking lines before being promptly PutOnABus prior to the next movie). Non-canon works have only seen 3 other named members of the species in various comics and video games where their scope of importance can be limited to the work in question.
* Since Creator/{{Sony}} Pictures acquired the film rights to the ''Franchise/{{Barbie}}'' franchise, both Barbie and Ken have been placed off-limits from the ''Franchise/ToyStory'' series. This explains why neither character shows up in the specials ''WesternAnimation/ToyStoryOfTerror'' and ''WesternAnimation/ToyStoryThatTimeForgot'', although [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abo0VB3BcSU Barbie has been confirmed to appear in]] ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory4'' in a flashback sequence. A similar case happened with the ''Trolls'' franchise. The Troll dolls made appearances in the first three films, but shortly following the release of ''Toy Story 3'', Pixar competitor Creator/DreamWorksAnimation acquired the ''Trolls'' intellectual property in order to make [[WesternAnimation/{{Trolls}} a movie out of them]]. As a result, any doll resembling the Trolls isn't allowed to appear in any ''Toy Story'' media anymore.
* Syaoran and the rest of the four main cast members from ''Manga/TsubasaReservoirChronicle'' didn't appear or were mentioned in the anime adaptation of ''Manga/{{Xxxholic}}'' by Creator/ProductionIG because its anime adaptation by Creator/BeeTrain was airing at that time, which put the TRC characters (including the white Mokona or Soel) in embargo. With that, the staff had to compensate with the appearance of black Mokona (Larg) by having her jump out of the storage room when Watanuki was cleaning on his first day in Yuko's shop instead of being together with Soel in stasis and found by Watanuki in the storage. However, Yuuko did appear in the TRC anime since her role is very vital to Syaoran's group while Watanuki made a few cameo appearances. In fact, this is somewhat similar to Quicksilver's situation above; provided that Yuuko is a very important character in the ''TRC/xxxHolic''-verse, she appeared in both animes but Watanuki would have to be in ''xxxHolic'' because it's his story and any connection to TRC would not be mentioned.
** Production IG is responsible for the original TRC movie which ties to the xxxHolic movie but Bee Train and NHK got dibs on the TRC characters for the TV series. After the show ended, Production IG took charge in producing the TRC [=OVAs=] which features the Acid!Tokyo and Nihon arcs and disregards the latter filler episodes from the TV series. However, the xxxHolic [=OVAs=], particularly the one [[spoiler:which details Yuuko's death and Watanuki inheriting the shop]], never explained the reasons behind it since it's tied to TRC.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Other/Mixed Reasons]]
* The ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}'' bird species Kahu and Kewa (aka Goko-Kahu) were considered non-canon for years, due to LEGO receiving legal threats from Maori activists for using words from their language to promote toys. LEGO introduced a new type of bird called Gukko to fill in their roled instead. Later on, the Kahu and Kewa have been accepted back into canon, explained away as being Gukko sub-species. A number of other Maori-inspired names were however forever lost, and the Matoran villagers' former name, "Tohunga" was de-canonized.
* ''The'' ''FanFic/BrideOfDiscord'' ''Verse'' seems to have done this with Flutterby Lily, the daughter of The Shining Armor and Cadence in this universe, ever since the introduction of their canon daughter in the show, Flurry Heart. DF mentioned at her panel at [=BronyCon=] 2018 that when deciding what elements to omit when adapting ''Daughter of Discord'' as an audio drama, Flutterby Lily was one since most people are more familiar with Flurry Heart by this point. She also hasn't been seen in any of the fanfics set in the BOD universe since Flurry Heart debuted.
* ''Franchise/DCComics'':
** [[Characters/BatmanAndBatFamily Jean-Paul Valley]], the first ''Comicbook/{{Azrael}}'', was never seen nor heard from again after his death in ''Azrael: Agent of the Bat'' #100, (aside from briefly popping up in ''Comicbook/BlackestNight'', where he did nothing but walk past Scarecrow and kill a few random shmucks.) This is mainly because the editors didn't really know what to do with him after ''Comicbook/{{Knightfall}}'' ended. This was exacerbated by factors such as that Jean-Paul had never appeared outside of his own title in anything but a Bat-book and one issue of ''ComicBook/BatmanAndTheOutsiders'', where he appeared as [[FanNickname AzBats]], not ever being particularly popular, and having the exact same creative team for the entire run of his own title. Ironically, Jean-Paul's death took place at the same time as ''ComicBook/BatmanHush'', which focused on how Batman interacted with his allies, enemies, and loved ones. ''[[SarcasmMode Real nice DC]].''
*** Jean-Paul finally returned in ''ComicBook/BatmanAndRobinEternal'', ''ComicBook/{{Flashpoint}}'''s CosmicRetcon allowing him to start over fresh with the Batfamily.
** In the wake of DC's ''Comicbook/{{New 52}}'' reboot, former Batgirls [[Comicbook/{{Batgirl 2000}} Cassandra Cain]] and [[Comicbook/{{Batgirl 2009}} Stephanie Brown]] have been declared off-limits by editorial. Creator/GailSimone pitched a team book that would have starred Stephanie, Bumblebee, Misfit, and Black Alice, but it was not approved, and Steph was subsequently pulled from a scheduled guest appearance in the ''Series/{{Smallville}}'' comic. Meanwhile, Cass has not been seen or mentioned in ''[[Comicbook/GrantMorrisonsBatman Batman Inc]]'', despite the fact that she was one of Bruce's agents (as well as the Batman of China) in the pre-New 52 volume.
*** Creator/ScottSnyder and Creator/GrantMorrison also have mentioned wanting to use them, but being barred. Those two are also bunched with Donna Troy and pre-New 52 Wally West in the exiled club.
*** Stephanie finally turned up in a cameo in 2014 in ''Batman'' #28, and later as a newly debuted Spoiler in Comicbook/BatmanEternal. Donna Troy (or at least some version of her) was introduced in Meredith & David Finch's run on Wonder Woman. Cassandra returned in ''Comicbook/BatmanAndRobinEternal'', while Wally returned in ''Comicbook/DCRebirth''.
** When ComicBook/GreenArrow was brought back by Creator/KevinSmith, he insisted on a one-year moratorium that forbade Ollie from showing up in any other titles (despite half the DCU being featured in Kevin Smith's run on the book, including a cameo from the usually exiled [[Comicbook/TheSandman Morpheus]]). The reason? Smith was afraid some moron would botch up his "this'll take a year to resolve" plotline by dropping misleading hints or botching the "amnesia" sub-plot or mucking up the story's timing (the entire 12-issue run takes place over [[ExtremelyShortTimespan only a very short period of time]]). It made sense, so DC ran with it.
** Comicbook/{{Hawkman}} was declared off-limits by DC editorial from 1996-2001, due to the character's ComicBook/PostCrisis ContinuitySnarl, caused by the 1989 reboot of the character, even though both Hawkmen were already established in Post-Crisis continuity. For his run on ''JLA'' (which featured the old favorites or their {{Legacy Character}}s), Creator/GrantMorrison created [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute Zauriel]] as a stand-in for Hawkman.
** After ''Comicbook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'', Marv Wolfman and George Perez took the opportunity to revise the history of the ''Comicbook/TeenTitans''. While some of the past Titans that they didn't care for got to stay in revamped forms (such as Bat-Girl becoming Flamebird), the character of Duela Dent/Harlequin was one that Wolfman wanted completely gone. She was excluded from the Post-Crisis backstory, and for a time, she was forbidden to be referenced in the comics. Phil Jimenez attempted to set up a plot thread for her in the ''Team Titans'' book, but had the story nixed by the editorial team. Duela was finally allowed to be fully re-introduced in the JLA/Titans miniseries, although her past with the Teen Titans was now inconsistent. Some writers retconned her as only being an occasional ally to the original team, while others depicted her as a member in flashbacks.
* VideoGame/{{Banjo|Kazooie}} and Conker were replaced with Tiny and Dixie Kong in ''VideoGame/DiddyKongRacing DS'', effectively banishing the Microsoft-owned bear and squirrel from the Nintendo-owned ''Franchise/DonkeyKong'' universe ([[VideoGame/ConkersBadFurDay Conker's shift]] into a BlackComedy character since the original game may also play a hand in this); Tiptup, a recurring ''Banjo-Kazooie'' character, is still there. WordOfGod was vague on whether their absence was at the request of Microsoft or Creator/{{Nintendo}} (though it was strongly implied ''one'' of the two was responsible). Many of the DKR-exclusive characters are owned by Creator/{{Rare}} and yet were allowed in anyway, and Tiptup's roles in the ''Banjo-Kazooie'' series have been pretty minor (and his character design has been noticeably altered), so it's likely the developers assumed they could get away with it.
* Hey, hoping for a crossover between ''WesternAnimation/StarVsTheForcesOfEvil'' and ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls''? Well too bad, because [[WordOfStPaul per Adam [=MacArthur=]]], Disney has a rule preventing their original animated series from crossing over with each other (possibly due to different animation styles or genres). [[note]]Obviously, this doesn't apply to their live action programs.[[/note]] Considering that the company had allowed for crossovers with their shows in the years past, the (seemingly new) mandate comes off as rather questionable.
** Not to mention the crossovers years prior which all involved ''WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitchTheSeries''-- though it's possible that show, being a spin-off from a Disney film, was under different rules. It may also be related to issues with the creators of shows and having to get them involved too.
** What makes this rule particularly confusing is that there have been two, completely original shows that crossed over, ''WesternAnimation/HandyManny'' and ''WesternAnimation/SpecialAgentOso'' .
* ''Franchise/DoctorWhoExpandedUniverse'':
** ''Radio/BigFinishDoctorWho'' spent most of its lifespan avoiding recasting dead actors, or those who did not want to reprise their role. And then there were cast members whose advancing age restricts them from reprising their characters except as equally aged characters. This limited storytelling somewhat, as setting stories in certain eras became impossible with an AbsenteeActor, leading to many spinoff ranges (such as giving Sarah Jane a solo show, and partnering Leela and K-9 up with Romana), role changes (Katy Manning plays Franchise/IrisWildthyme, and only occasionally Jo Grant), and prose stories narrated by companions. A few stories did hint around the edges of recasts — a recast Fourth Doctor is heard briefly in "The Kingmaker", a recast (mad but more importantly [[TimeShiftedActor elderly]]) Adric appears in "The Boy that Time Forgot", and companion actors would occasionally 'play' absent parts in the context of their character imitating their friends, but for a long time it was felt that actively recasting would be disrespectful. Fans kept asking, however, and in the mid-late 2010s full-cast First, Second and Third Doctor audios began appearing, with new actors replacing lost Doctors and fan-favourite companions like Barbara and Ben. (In particular, Frazier Hines' version of the Second Doctor in his Companion Chronicles audios was known for being uncannily accurate; he now plays the Second Doctor, as well as his usual role as Jamie.) Which roles are recast still depends on a number of factors: There is no genuine interest in recasting soundalike actors to revisit younger versions of characters played by still living actors/actresses who have simply aged out of their roles (i.e. their voice has changed too much with age making it implausible to reprise their character except as older versions) and it is unlikely Sarah Jane will ever be recast, due to the rawness of Creator/ElisabethSladen's death.
** One of the very few absolute rules for writers of the ''Literature/DoctorWhoNewAdventures'' was a complete ban on use of the Valeyard, simply because the character's [[EnemyWithout vague]] and [[FutureMeScaresMe confusing]] origin made him such a walking ContinuitySnarl. Later novels in the series did acknowledge his existence without having him actually appear on the page, and he finally appeared in prose ''Doctor Who'' in the BBC Books-era ''Literature/PastDoctorAdventures''.
* The ''Roleplay/GlobalGuardiansPBEMUniverse'' absolutely averted this trope. If you submitted a character (be it a player or a non-player character) to the setting, it was fair game to be used in someone else's story. Granted, that someone else was required to work with you to do it, and wasn't allowed to turn your character into TheChewToy without your permission, but you couldn't refuse someone else's requests to use your guy.
* ''{{Series/Highlander}}'' did have Christopher Lambert appear as Connor Macleod in the pilot. However, they couldn't re-use any of the material he shot as flashbacks without paying Lambert another appearance fee, something the budget simply wouldn't allow. So, when footage from the pilot was re-used in a season 4 ep, Lambert/Connor was edited out.
* Like ''ComicBook/JemAndTheHolograms'', ''ComicBook/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicIDW'' is not branded with the ''ComicBook/Revolution2016'' label. However, unlike Jem (who is part of the following ComicBook/HasbroComicUniverse via references, cameos and other, subtle means), the MLP universe is the one mainstream Hasbro IDW comic not a part of the shared comic universe. The settings are apparently too incompatible, though the authors are hoping to one day avert this. One can only imagine the fan reactions when they do...
** And now that the ''Transformers'' comics (the nucleus of the HCU) has been rebooted after the ''[[ComicBook/TheTransformersUnicron Unicron]]'' CrisisCrossover, the status of the ''Jem'' comics within the new universe (if IDW does create a new HCU) is unclear. Prior to the reboot, the ''ComicBook/DungeonsAndDragons'' comic was left out (due to being too complicated to tie in), while their adaptation of ''TabletopGame/{{Clue}}'' was, like ''Jem'', another semi-connected title.
* ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters'' has also now suffered from this as SNK is now eliminating all references to the character K9999 who WAS a CaptainErsatz of [[Manga/{{Akira}} Tetsuo]]. Notably for ''King of Fighters 2002 Ultimate Match'', which is a remake of a game that originally had K9999 in it, they replaced him moveset-wise with the new character "Nameless" or Ж'.
* ''Franchise/MarvelComics'':

[[folder:Creator Reasons]]
* James Robinson's ''Comicbook/{{Starman}}'' hasn't appeared regularly since his series ended because Robinson retains control of the character until his death. Jack Knight ''can'' still appear, if Robinson gives his okay. (He did write an extra issue of the series as part of ''Comicbook/BlackestNight'', but Jack was conspicuously absent.) Jack's only actual appearances since have been merely background cameos in large gatherings, such as [[ComicBook/IdentityCrisis Sue Dibny's funeral]].
* The Endless from Creator/NeilGaiman's ''ComicBook/TheSandman'' series are blocked by a similar agreement. While Gaiman didn't have anything specific in his contract, he has enough leverage to basically have the Endless be de facto off-limits to the rest of the DCU unless he says otherwise. There is one major exception to this: Destiny, who was created before ''The Sandman'' and therefore not created by Gaiman. The fact that these characters (again, with the exception of Destiny) fall so squarely into Creator/VertigoComics territory also kept them from entering into the DCU much.
** However, [[spoiler:the second]] Dream did appear in ''[[Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica JLA]]'' for a story arc (with Gaiman's blessing), in ''ComicBook/DarkNightsMetal'' (again with Gaiman's blessing), and also in a few one-or-two-panels guest shots in ''[[ComicBook/JusticeSocietyOfAmerica JSA]]'' between its relaunch and ''Comicbook/InfiniteCrisis''.
** Destiny has appeared much more often since then; for instance, a twelve-issue arc in ''The Brave and the Bold'' revolved around the Book of Destiny.
** Gaiman's version of Death did appear in an issue of ''Comicbook/CaptainAtom'' while ''Comicbook/TheSandman'' was still being published, apparently without Gaiman's knowledge or consent.
*** There was permission, but he didn't like what was done, as she only appeared as an "aspect" of Death (the merciful one, compared to Nekron and Black Racer) and she's supposed to be all Death of every kind everywhere.
** In 2010, Death appeared in Creator/PaulCornell's "[[ComicBook/TheBlackRing The Black Ring]]" story arc in ''ComicBook/ActionComics'', with Gaiman's consent and cooperation this time.
** With both the Endless and Jack Knight, it's not so much that Gaiman and Robinson maintain control of the characters; they don't and if DC wanted, they could use the Endless and Jack Knight all they wanted. The "agreement" is more a gentleman's agreement of "we won't use these characters without your approval" based on respect for Gaiman and Robinson and how seminal both of those works are.
* During her run on ''Franchise/WonderWoman'', Creator/GailSimone was denied permission to use Veronica Cale, a villainess created by Creator/GregRucka. Rucka later allowed Keith Giffen to use Veronica as a supporting character in his ''Comicbook/DoomPatrol'' run. Similarly, Simone wasn't allowed to use [[Comicbook/Batgirl2000 Cassandra Cain]] in her ''ComicBook/BirdsOfPrey'' run because Creator/GrantMorrison had called dibs on the character for his ''[[Comicbook/GrantMorrisonsBatman Batman Inc.]]'' series. This led to Cass being entirely absent from the DCU for almost a year, much to the ire of her fans.
* ''WesternAnimation/StarTrekTheAnimatedSeries'' was struck from continuity by Creator/GeneRoddenberry sometime around the later films or when ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' was getting started, probably because of its more cartoonish elements and a couple of continuity issues. However, there has been a fan backlash (particularly over "Yesteryear", TAS' best episode and one which reveals a lot more of Spock's backstory), and a couple of references in ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise''`s ContinuityPorn-laden fourth season tried to reverse this.
** Paramount pretty much considers the series to be canon now after a fan poll overwhelmingly favored its inclusion.
** Yet they haven't adopted anything from TAS without a Live Action Canon background (outside of a few random shout-outs).
** It is very doubtful, however, that [[Creator/LarryNiven the Kzinti]] will ever be appearing in ''Star Trek'' again. Especially since Niven has stated that he never intends to license them to ''anyone'' ever again.
*** ''Enterprise'' did apparently manage to get a provisional okay to use them for an episode. It fell through because ''Kilkenny Cats'' was planned to be a fifth season episode -- and ''Enterprise'' only got four seasons.
** Plus, it was actually the animated series that first gave Kirk's middle name as Tiberius, nearly two decades before Roddenberry entered it into "official" canon in the sixth film.
** Elements from "Yesteryear" ended up being used in the flashback sequences in the [[Film/StarTrek2009 reboot Star Trek film]]. For instance, the scene with Spock being bullied by his classmates has dialogue that is almost taken word for word from a similar exchange in the original episode.
*** The bullying by other Vulcan children was already canon in dialogue from "Journey to Babel".
* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
** This was the point behind the epic 1967 serial ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS4E9TheEvilOfTheDaleks The Evil of the Daleks]]''. The serial was supposed to depict the true and genuine final end of the Daleks. It was going to stick -- because Terry Nation, the creator of the Daleks wanted to sell a Dalek show in America. The pilot fell through, and [[Recap/DoctorWhoS9E1DayOfTheDaleks by 1972]], the Daleks were back from their long exile from continuity. (This was parodied on a special feature on the DVD of "The War Games" in which two CloudCuckooLander Time Lords dubbed into the trial sequence cut off the Doctor from showing images of the Daleks 'for copyright reasons'.)
** The [[BigfootSasquatchAndYeti Yeti]]. Despite being one of the most popular monsters of Troughton's era at the time, the showrunner at the time fell out with the creators of the Yeti (both of whom fell out with each other at the same time as well - over who should have ownership of legendary shit monster the Quarks) and banned the monster from ever being in the series again to avoid giving them any money. Some have speculated that the Cybermen in "The Invasion" were supposed to be Yeti, as they come up from the sewers in a Yeti-like manner and the story features characters from Yeti serial "The Web of Fear". Note that Professor Travers and Miss Travers from "The Web of Fear" are absent from "The Invasion", replaced by CaptainErsatz versions, so as not to pay for rights - and that Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart has received a promotion to the rank of Brigadier. The Yeti does show up in "The Five Doctors" as Troughton's monster to fight, in the mid-1980s. The Great Intelligence (the HiveQueen controlling the Yeti) has made a reappearance in the new series, but the Yeti still didn't - the GI instead started using ''[[{{Snowlems}} literal]]'' {{snow|lems}}men instead of the Abominable kind.
** Some have speculated that the Master, an evil Time Lord created to provide the Third Doctor with an archnemesis, was created to avoid paying royalties to the creators of the virtually identical evil Time Lord the War Chief from Troughton's last serial, "The War Games" - a character with a similar appearance, personality, [[CharmPerson special power]] and relationship with the Doctor. Some fans and ExpandedUniverse material even {{Fan Wank}}s that the War Chief and the Master are the same person, and War Chief was just the Master's job title (of course, other ExpandedUniverse material goes into detail about how they are separate people and [[DivergentCharacterEvolution fleshes out the War Chief's personality along different lines]]).
** The Rani has not made an appearance in the new series despite her character being one of the only well-liked and fondly-remembered creations from a generally forgettable DorkAge. This is in part due to the fact that her creators said they would only allow her to be used if they could write it, which is not likely to happen due to the fact that their writing was a major factor responsible for said generally forgettable DorkAge.
** ''VideoGame/DoctorWhoLegacy'' has characters added very slowly depending on which actors are granting their likenesses, leading to some odd situations:
*** The Fourth Doctor, despite being the most beloved Classic Doctor, was the last Doctor missing from ''VideoGame/DoctorWhoLegacy'' due to difficulty obtaining his likeness. Some sources say that this was because Creator/TomBaker was reticent while others say that Tom was excited to be in the game but the BBC didn't want to grant the rights to the "star" Classic Doctor until they knew the game would be a success. Whatever the reason, he was eventually added when "In the Forest of the Night" aired, along with a small amount of content based on his story "The Deadly Assassin", with his Season 18 outfit and a more detailed quest storyline for him added later.
*** Several characters do not resemble their onscreen counterparts due to rights issues. Brian Williams is modelled after Arthur Darvill as Rory Williams rather than the actor who played the character, and Stormageddon is drawn as a generic baby (since obviously the baby who played him onscreen cannot grant rights). Vincent Van Gogh was originally added in a form that resembled the historical Vincent rather than his portrayal in "Vincent and the Doctor", but his art was replaced once the actor granted the rights - his original artwork was eventually released as a paid download.
** For a very small and localised example, K-9 was excised from "Destiny of the Daleks" because Terry Nation hated the character and only granted the BBC the rights to use the Daleks if they promised never to pit him against the Daleks. As it is there is a small SurrealHumor sequence at the beginning of the story explaining his absence, written by Creator/DouglasAdams, and he does not appear in the main story at all.
** "Destiny of the Daleks" was intended by Douglas Adams to feature the Emperor Dalek. Terry Nation insisted on replacing him with Davros, as Davros was one of his own creations, and the Emperor Dalek was created by his former cowriter David Whitaker, meaning he'd get more royalties.
** The "[[FanNickname Whomobile]]", a super-cool [[{{Zeerust}} retro-futuristic]] FlyingCar that shows up in a couple of late Third Doctor stories, couldn't make an appearance again due to ownership issues - the car was owned and paid for by Pertwee himself. It remained in his possession all of his life, so appeared with him in the ''More Than 30 Years In The TARDIS'' documentary and the occasional public appearance, but as soon as Tom Baker shows up he's restricted to Bessie and the Whomobile is never mentioned. Even though you'd think a flying car would be a lot more useful when fighting a [[MakeMyMonsterGrow giant robot]].
* While there's a lot of series the licensed installments of ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars'' can't use for many reasons, there are two developer Banpresto and publisher Creator/BandaiNamcoEntertainment cannot touch by any means: ''Manga/GiantRobo'' (due to the death of creator Mitsuteru Yokoyama, and its expensive licensing fees[[note]]Characters from other Yokoyama works have their licenses tacked onto the ''Giant Robo'' license by estate holders, meaning Banpresto/Namco Bandai must pay for ''Giant Robo'' AND extras to use the supporting cast, as it currently represents a collection of separate licenses instead of one[[/note]]) and any series created by Ouji Hiroi, even series that belong to Bandai Namco and its subsidiary Creator/{{Sunrise}} like ''Granzort'' and the ''Anime/MashinHeroWataruSeries'' (Hiroi despises ''Super Robot Wars'' and swore to never allow Banpresto to include ''VideoGame/SakuraWars'' in a game[[note]]Furthermore, there's the time period the series occurs in and the fact many of its characters (especially Kouran and Iris) hate waging wars against fellow humans[[/note]]).
** {{Irony}} ensues when it didn't stop ''VideoGame/ProjectXZone'' from including ''Sakura Wars'' AND ''Super Robot Wars'' characters in the same game ([[LoopholeAbuse though not in the]] MechaGame [[LoopholeAbuse capacity]]). This was eventually subverted when ''Sakura Wars'' made its debut in ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsXOmega''. Similarly, ''Mashin Hero Wataru'' made its ''Super Robot Wars'' debut in ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsX'', also subverting this entirely. This is even subverted later, when the rest of the ''Sakura Wars'' cast, Kouran and Iris included, appears later and to make the irony even further, their debut episode include a plot when they have to face [[spoiler:[[Anime/CrossAnge Embryo]]]], of all people.[[note]]This could be an ActorAllusion, as [[spoiler:Creator/ToshihikoSeki, Embryo's voice actor, voiced Kasha, one of the villains who appears in ''Sakura Wars 2''. And while Kasha is a [[HumanoidAbomination humanoid demon]], Embryo is technically a human being, he has the ability of [[BackFromTheDead returning from the dead as he wishes]]. That skill, along his massive jerkassery and the fact he mass-murdered millions of human beings, makes him a monster in the eyes of the rest of the cast, including the ones from ''Sakura Wars'']].[[/note]] This also can be explained as [[GodDoesNotOwnThisWorld Ouji Hiroi left Sega years ago, and he cannot enforce this rule anymore]].
** Due to Banpresto erroneously putting a [[Manga/TheFiveStarStories Mortar Headd LED Mirage]] in place of a similar looking unit from ''Anime/HeavyMetalLGaim'' in ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars4'', ''Manga/TheFiveStarStories'' creator Mamoru Nagano got his BerserkButton pushed, and will never consent to the series being included in ''Super Robot Wars'', disliking the idea a Mortar Headd he designed being damaged and destroyed by HumongousMecha from another artist than himself.
** It's rumored ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' averted this trope due to series director Creator/HideakiAnno insisting on the series appearing in ''Super Robot Wars'', vetoing the higher ups at Creator/StudioGainax.
** Sometimes this trope is applied on Bandai Namco/Banpresto themselves when they simply don't want to include a series (or are rumored not to), partly because of its premise and/or setting. Examples include ''VisualNovel/LimeIroSenkitan''[[note]]Like ''Sakura Wars'', it takes place in an ancient era, specifically the UsefulNotes/MeijiRestoration era, and due to the fact the main battleship ''Amanohara'' relies on DeusSexMachina to work, that aspect is unlikely to change without any form of LampshadeHanging. Ironically, Banpresto is the ''sponsor'' of its AnimatedAdaptation[[/note]], ''Manga/DaimidalerTheSoundRobot''[[note]]The series' premise requires its main pilot to ''grope girls''[[/note]] and ''Anime/{{Vandread}}''[[note]]The BigBad is [[spoiler:''the Earth'']], where most ''Super Robot Wars'' installments usually take place[[/note]]. On the other hand, ''VisualNovel/{{Demonbane}}'' averted this by using its [[BleachedUnderpants tamer TV adaptation]] as its basis rather than its original VisualNovel (though elements from the latter are referenced). Ultimately {{downplayed|Trope}} when ''Daimidaler'' and ''Vandread'' make their debut in ''X-Ω'' without incorporating their respective settings - an easy task as ''X-Ω'' is a TowerDefense game rather than the traditional story-driven TurnBasedStrategy.
** While there are plenty of series technically containing {{Mecha}} elements, they don't necessarily fit the definition of the word "robot" (with the exception of [[Anime/TekkamanBlade series]] [[Anime/DetonatorOrgun centered]] [[Anime/{{Iczer}} around]] PoweredArmor), such as SpaceOpera-centric titles (''Anime/SpaceBattleshipYamato'', ''Anime/CowboyBebop'', ''Anime/LegendOfGalacticHeroes''), {{Sentai}}, {{Tokusatsu}} or {{Kaiju}}; inevitably, any non-Japanese series are excluded (sorry, ''WesternAnimation/MegasXLR'' fans). However, this point is moot since ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsV'' included ''Anime/SpaceBattleshipYamato2199'', while ''X-Ω'' paved the way for ''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}'' and ''Series/KyoryuSentaiZyuranger''.
*** ''Zyuranger'' in ''X-Ω'' actually plays with this: while the titular Rangers and their HumongousMecha "Daizyujin" appear, the former only appear in their morphed forms, with none of their enemies from ''Zyuranger'' in ''X-Ω''. As is standard with modern video games for ''Franchise/SuperSentai'' and its brother franchise ''Franchise/KamenRider'', Bandai Namco only had the rights for the characters in their suits and robots, but not the likeness of their actors. This turns egregious when ''Zyuranger'' villain Bandora is mentioned at the end of the ''Zyuranger'' special stage - she doesn't appear on-screen, yet her "voice" is heard via text[[note]]Bandora was a human villain without a PeopleInRubberSuits form; other video games for said two series just side-step the issue by depicting human villains exclusively in their rubber suit form and excluding any without one[[/note]].
** ''Super Robot Wars'' began receiving English localization for its Southeast Asia releases beginning with ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsV'', rendering the internationally legally-[=FUBARed=] ''Anime/{{Macross}}'' franchise getting the boot out of the MassivelyMultiplayerCrossover, at least until 2021, when the ''Macross'' license in Harmony Gold's possession is set to expire. While ''X-Ω'' did get ''Anime/MacrossDelta'', the game is distributed exclusively through Japanese smartphone app stores with no plans for international translations.
** Series whose rights are tied toward a specific platform (such as ''VideoGame/GunparadeMarch'' for Sony consoles, and ''Franchise/StarFox'' for Creator/{{Nintendo}} consoles) are very unlikely to appear anytime soon, since it's very likely Bandai Namco only prefer to use series which can be used in whatever console they like, especially in remakes and ports.
** In a very bizarre twist on this, ''Manga/LinebarrelsOfIron'' suffer of this in a very unexpected way: While the series was used in previous games without any problems, in ''X-Ω'' the character designs were changed from the animated TV adaptation to the original ones used in the manga. This is is for many reasons, including the fact the TV adaptation wasn't very liked anyways and also the fact the game uses plotlines and characters which didn't appear in the anime.[[note]]Which is particularly bizarre, if you consider ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsUX'' used elements from the manga, like [[spoiler:Deus Ex Machina]].[[/note]]
* In a similar way, the ''[[Anime/QueensBlade Queen's Gate Spiral Chaos]]'' game excluded [[VideoGame/DeadOrAlive Kasumi]] because Tomonobu Itagaki, ''Dead or Alive''[='=]s creator and former director, has an intense hatred of Namco's ''VideoGame/{{Tekken}}''.
* This is the reason for ''ComicBook/ArchieComicsSonicTheHedgehog'''s soft reboot, combined with a helping of ScrewedByTheLawyers: former head writer Ken Penders sued to regain use of his characters and reached a settlement with Archie Comics, but instead of being a good sport, he attempted to strong arm Archie into still using his ideas and stories with incredibly restrictive stipulations with the canon & characters. As such, they jettisoned the characters and rebooted the universe, though they still reprint the old comics featuring them.
* Music/{{Nas}}'s ''Stillmatic'' album has the song "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkpLTA4QbEM Braveheart Party]]", which was removed from the album at the request of Music/MaryJBlige, who sings the chorus. Most fans have never heard the song unless they happened to buy the album immediately after its 2001 release. It's considered a bit [[BigLippedAlligatorMoment out-of-place]], both thematically and in-terms of quality, on ''Stillmatic'' (which is a very highly regarded album) so everyone is generally happy to forget this one.
* The ''ComicBook/{{Spawn}}'' characters Angela, Cogliostro, and Medieval Spawn were introduced in an issue guest-written by Neil Gaiman, but were subsequently re-used by Todd [=McFarlane=] without Gaiman's permission, and so were omitted for years while the two fought a long legal battle over who owned them. It was eventually established that each owned half; [=McFarlane=] traded his half of Angela for Gaiman's half of Cogliostro and Medieval Spawn, which allowed him to keep using them but rendered Angela completely off-limits. Gaiman later sold Angela to Marvel, who made [[ComicBook/AngelaMarvelComics a new Asgardian character out of her]] with a backstory completely detached from ''Spawn''.
* The ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' characters that [[StarSystem appear]] in ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' are heavily focused on characters created by Creator/TetsuyaNomura, as he felt uncomfortable redesigning and assigning new roles to characters designed by other artists. Setzer, one of the two characters created by Nomura from the Amano-designed ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'', appears in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'', along with a small cameo from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'''s Vivi (a variation on the common "Black Mage" template that appears throughout the series). It seems he got over his issues by the time ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy'' happened, which required him to redesign the protagonist and villain of every entry in the series, and variations of Nomura's ''Dissidia'' redesigns designs have appeared in ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts3D''.
* According to Aaron Sparrow, the ''Franchise/ToyStory'' film series and related media isn't allowed to so much as acknowledge the existence of ''WesternAnimation/BuzzLightyearOfStarCommand'' because of John Lasseter's [[DisownedAdaptation distaste for the series]].
* Appears to have been done to ''VideoGame/{{Persona}}'' and ''VideoGame/Persona2'' in regards to the ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTenseiPersona'' franchise. Ever since the directors of these installments left Atlus, the concepts and characters introduced (including the butterfly motif, Philemon, and Nyarlathotep) have not appeared or been referenced in later games. The characters do not appear in spinoffs like ''VideoGame/PersonaQ'' or the ''Persona Dancing'' series, which feature characters from ''VideoGame/Persona3'' onwards throughout their installments. This does not seem to apply to minor nods; the ''Featherman'' series (a show introduced in ''Persona 2'') is referenced with different series throughout multiple games, and the St. Hermerlin and Seven Sisters uniforms are available to wear in ''VideoGame/Persona5'' (which also resurrects the butterfly motif). The games' main themes also appear as DLC in ''[[VideoGame/Persona3DancingInMoonlight Dancing in Moonlight]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/Persona5DancingInStarlight Dancing in Starlight]]'' as part of a pack of franchise opening themes.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Legal Reasons]]
* In the years since the death of Creator/JimHenson, the rights to his various Muppet characters have been divided up among several different companies (key amongst them is Creator/{{Disney}}'s buyout of Franchise/TheMuppets, including the word "Muppet", and the Sesame Street Muppets being granted to Sesame Workshop), which affects modern productions featuring the characters. For example, Kermit the Frog doesn't appear much on ''Series/SesameStreet'' any more, and the characters from ''Series/FraggleRock'' are no longer allowed to be identified as Muppets (Sesame Workshop has a deal with Disney that allows them to continue to refer to their characters as Muppets).
* The SPECTRE fracas in ''Film/JamesBond'' movies is a good non-comics example. The villainous terrorist organization debuted in ''Literature/{{Thunderball}}'', a book written by Creator/IanFleming based on a screenplay he worked on with several other people. One of said people, Kevin [=McClory=], brought him to court in a complicated brouhaha; eventually, it was settled out of court, but the terms prevented SPECTRE from appearing in ''Film/TheSpyWhoLovedMe''. This is also what led to the Creator/DanielCraig films using the {{Expy}} organization Quantum. This legal battle finally ended on November 15, 2013 when MGM and Danjaq, LLC (the owners of the ''James Bond'' franchise) acquired the rights and interests of the estate of Kevin [=McClory=] (who died in 2006, about ten years after [[http://variety.com/1998/film/news/mclory-makes-official-claims-to-bond-rights-1117478405/ trying to inflate how he much contributed to Bond]]), and the title of the next Bond movie ended up being...''Film/{{SPECTRE}}.''
* The estates of Siegel & Shuster, original creators of Franchise/{{Superman}}, won a court ruling that the concept of ComicBook/{{Superboy}} belonged to them. This is believed to have led to the death of one character, UsefulNotes/{{the Modern Age|OfComicBooks}} clone ComicBook/{{Superboy|1994}}, and the renaming of another. Even the ''WesternAnimation/LegionOfSuperHeroes'' cartoon, which was ''based on'' the concept of Superboy, instead has a teenage "young Superman" as its star. And the DVD of the '60s Filmation Superman cartoons had the Superboy shorts deleted. A later ruling determined that Kon-El (the '90s clone Superboy) is different enough from the original Superboy ("our" Superman as a teenager) to be used with impunity. Even more, it's since been ruled that Superboy is now owned by DC Comics instead. However, there was the problem of ''Superman'', which started this mess and what many people think is the main reason for The Comicbook/{{New 52}}. Since then, it's been ruled that DC owns Superman and his concepts flat out.
* Creator/BigFinish could not use Grace in ''AudioPlay/BigFinishDoctorWho'' audios because the character is partly owned by Creator/{{Universal}}. (They could get her actress to voice different characters.)
** Nor could BBC Books when they started the Literature/EighthDoctorAdventures, which led to a prologue to ''Vampire Science'' that hastily established the Eighth Doctor knew ''another'' [[{{Expy}} female doctor in San Francisco]].
** Interestingly, the Magazine/DoctorWhoMagazine comic ''was'' able to get away with using Grace twice (in "The Fallen" and "The Glorious Dead").
** And she appears in a 50th anniversary comic book series from IDW, ''ComicBook/DoctorWhoPrisonersOfTime''.
* In ''[[Franchise/TransformersGeneration1 The Transformers]]'', the Jetfire toy was a licensed reissue of the Bandai [[Anime/SuperDimensionFortressMacross VF-1S Valkyrie]] toy, and in [[Comicbook/TheTransformers the comics]] and [[WesternAnimation/TheTransformers the cartoon]], the character was to resemble the toy [[MerchandiseDriven for obvious reasons]]. However, difficulties with one of the entities involved with ''Anime/{{Macross}}''/''Anime/{{Robotech}}'' (It's not clear whether it was Big West, Creator/TatsunokoProduction or Harmony Gold who put their foot down) made it obvious to Creator/{{Hasbro}}, Sunbow and Creator/ToeiAnimation that the character could not be used without a major hassle. Instead, the cartoon featured "[[CaptainErsatz Skyfire]]"... and the comic books used Skyfire but ''called him Jetfire.'' Thanks to the multiversal nature of ''Transformers'' fiction, none of this is a ''problem''--Skyfire and Jetfire are considered AlternateUniverse counterparts who happen to be unusually divergent, and modern depictions tend to feature a "Jetfire" who [[CompositeCharacter combines elements of both]]--but it's still weird.
** Similarly, issues over the ownership of Comicbook/DeathsHead and Circuit Breaker; Marvel ramrodded both into non-''Transformers'' appearances (Circuit Breaker appeared in cameo in ''ComicBook/SecretWarsII'' and Death's Head in an editorial cartoon) before they "officially debuted" in their respective ''Transformers'' comics to ensure that they own the two characters and not Hasbro, meaning that their issues can't be reprinted by IDW Comics. Which in the case of Death's Head means that none of his UK stories ("Galvatron: Wanted Dead or Alive" and "The Legacy of Unicron") can be published in the United States (though both stories did see release via comic shops via importing of the UK published trade paperbacks). Circuit Breaker's situation is more complicated, as the first three [=TPBs=] had to replace her early appearances with text summaries, though apparently IDW was FINALLY able to strike some sort of deal with Marvel to reprint #72-80 in full come the release of volume #5 of their reprint series.
** The Deluxe Insecticons and the Deluxe Vehicles didn't appear in either the cartoon or the comic (though they did appear in the UK comic... [[NoExportForYou despite not being sold in the UK]]). Like with Jetfire, their toys were licensed from another company - in this case Bandai, who were the main competitor of Takara (whom Hasbro collaborated with for ''Transformers'') in Japan. Since including them would mean advertising a competitor's product, they were left out.
* For many years, there was an embargo of Franchise/WonderWoman-related characters due to an obscure clause in the licensing agreements that forbade their use in any project wherein they were not featured in a "starring" role. This has meant that the second ComicBook/WonderGirl, Donna Troy, was initially not able to appear in DC's ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice''. Prior to this, Donna had been barred from appearing in ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'' and Wonder Woman was the only ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' cast member not to appear on ''WesternAnimation/StaticShock''. The Franchise/WonderWoman (and, by extension, Donna Troy and Cassie Sandsmark) embargo was eventually cleared up. Since then, Wonder Woman has appeared in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'', the Cassie Sandsmark version of Wonder Girl joined ''Young Justice'' in Season 2 (though Donna did not), and Donna Troy was featured in the ''WesternAnimation/SuperBestFriendsForever'' shorts.
* Creator/LaurenFaust ran into this problem during the creation of ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic''. Turns out Hasbro lost the rights to nearly all of the 1980's ''Franchise/MyLittlePony'' character names (save for Applejack, Spike, and a few ponies whose names were reused for G3), so most of the main cast of the current cartoon ended up being {{Suspiciously Similar Substitute}}s of the originals with the G3 ponies' names. This seems to have improved as Tirek and Scorpan appear in the series, as has The Smooze and Grogar.
* Don't expect to see Deep Jungle, the world based on ''Disney/{{Tarzan}}'', ever again in any ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' games past [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsI the first]], [[CanonDiscontinuity even in the form of flashbacks or recaps]], as Creator/{{Disney}} is unable to secure the ''Literature/{{Tarzan}}'' trademarks from the Creator/EdgarRiceBurroughs estate[[note]]''Tarzan'' and all elements pertaining to it are in the public domain as the copyrights to the novels have expired, but the trademarks to these elements were retained by the Burroughs estate, thus subjecting them to similar restrictions[[/note]].
** Surprisingly, Creator/SquareEnix was able to produce a HD remaster for the original game ''and'' retain Deep Jungle, which would be otherwise impossible without cutting the world out. And since some items relating to the controversial world have appeared in ''coded'', it's possible that it's a sign saying that the trope could be [[TheBusCameBack averted one day]].
** Enforced in the games themselves to a certain degree; Disney has strict rules about how the franchises interact. This leads to both TheStationsOfTheCanon (in that the plots of the levels loosely follow the movies they're based on) and an AlienNonInterferenceClause (in that the natives of each world can't be told about other worlds). The rule of thumb seems to be that if you're tied to a particular movie, you're LockedOutOfTheLoop, though some characters get a bit of leeway in this, including [[spoiler: The Beast being a partner during Hollow Bastion]] in ''Kingdom Hearts I'', [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII Cloud, Zack]] and [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyX Auron]] being plot-critical in the Colosseum stages in ''1'', ''Birth By Sleep'', and ''2'', [[spoiler: and the TRON level being Hollow Bastion's operating system]] in ''Kingdom Hearts II''.
* ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' itself is entirely absent from [[Ride/DisneyThemeParks Disneyland and Disneyworld]]. While Disney owns the rights to all ''Kingdom Hearts'' characters, they're still not included for a few reasons: [[PopCulturalOsmosisFailure a good number of people wouldn't know who the characters are]], the few that do know probably wouldn't care, and Disney doesn't want to run afoul of any licensing issues that might come up with Square Enix. Sora could be seen in the parks back when [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsI the first game]] came out, but [[http://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/disney/images/4/47/Sora_DLP.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20111030182254 the costume]] [[UncannyValley left much to be desired]]. The Mitsukoshi store at Epcot's Japan pavilion carries some ''Kingdom Hearts'' merchandise, but that's about it.
* Avoiding this is part of the reason that the Daleks have at least one obligatory appearance in ''Series/DoctorWho'' in any given season of the new series, even if just a cameo appearance as was the case with [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E16TheWatersOfMars "The Waters of Mars"]] in the 2009 specials and [[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E13TheWeddingOfRiverSong "The Wedding of River Song"]] in Series 6. In the license agreement with the estate of Creator/TerryNation, the Daleks have to make regular appearances of some sort on the show (and Nation's estate has to be given final approval on any Dalek story) or the estate can exercise a clause allowing them to revoke all rights to the Daleks and shop the creatures around independent of ''Doctor Who''. Speaking of which, the Daleks' cameo in ''Film/LooneyTunesBackInAction'' (2003) [[WhatCouldHaveBeen nearly]] exiled the creatures from the new series (which began in 2005), because Creator/WarnerBros used them without the approval of the estate, which made them very angry to the point of burning bridges with Creator/TheBBC; it wasn't until Creator/SteveMartin (who would only do the movie if there were Daleks cameos) wrote an apology to the estate that the BBC was allowed usage of the Daleks. In retrospect, this helps explain the near-genocide of the Daleks in the Time War as a legal safety net.
* The embargo on ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' and ''Series/{{Angel}}'' crossovers is a good example of this. When Buffy moved to Creator/{{UPN}}, Angel remained on Creator/TheWB, and until the networks came to agreement a season later, no crossovers could be done. This made things extremely difficult when Buffy wanted to meet and talk to Angel after her resurrection. Neither series could use the other network's character, so the meeting had to take place between Sunnydale and L.A. Additionally, by the time the ''Buffy'' tie-in novels set in season 3 were being released, Wesley had already left for ''Angel'' and that series had the rights to him. None of the season 3 set novels feature Wesley at all, only the episode novelizations do.
* Way back when, Creator/{{FASA}} had obtained a license to use a number of mecha from three anime shows -- ''LightNovel/CrusherJoe'', ''Anime/FangOfTheSunDougram'' and -- yep, you guessed it -- ''Anime/SuperDimensionFortressMacross'' for use in their ''[=BattleDroids=]'' wargame. Never heard of ''[=Battledroids=]''? That's because Creator/GeorgeLucas threatened a lawsuit over the word "Droid". So, the game became ''TabletopGame/BattleTech''. Then, in 1994, [[{{Anime/Robotech}} Harmony Gold]] complained and threatened a lawsuit over use of the ''Macross'' mecha in the game. The problem was that FASA had rights to the miniatures that originally came with the game, which were based on the aforementioned designs. But because of the way they were licensed, FASA did not necessarily have rights to the ''artwork'', which Harmony Gold took them to task over. The battlemechs based on those designs continued to be used (The Warhammer and Marauder are some of the most famous 3025-era battlemechs), but not depicted in images, being dubbed the "Unseen".
** A year or so ago, Catalyst Game Labs (the game's current publisher) gained the rights to use the artwork for much of the Unseen... except for Macross based designs, which Harmony Gold still retains control over.
** Another attempt to bypass problems with the Unseen was the ''Technical Readout: Project Phoenix'', which published updated, original artwork for the designs, using the art style for current-era Battlemechs. The different look is explained in-universe as a simple retooling of production lines to match current Inner Sphere tech standards, letting the new Reseen mechs exist alongside the original Unseen designs in the background and still allowing Reseen designs to be used in the art.
* The prequel film ''Film/OzTheGreatAndPowerful'' pays homage to many aspects of the 1939 film ''Film/TheWizardOfOz'' due to its widespread popularity. However, ''Oz: The Great and Powerful'' is owned by Creator/{{Disney}}, ''The Wizard of Oz'' was made by [[Creator/MetroGoldwynMayer MGM]] (but owned by Creator/WarnerBros due to a [[ChannelHop complicated distributor change]]), and [[Literature/TheWonderfulWizardOfOz the original novel]] is in the public domain, so Disney could not use elements that originated in the MGM movie like the Ruby Slippers (they were silver in the book), the swirl of the Yellow Brick Road, and even the Wicked Witch of the West's green skin tone (they got around the last one by making it a ''slightly'' different shade of green). This was also the reason why ''Film/ReturnToOz'', Disney's [[DarkerAndEdgier surprisingly dark]] "sequel" to the 1939 film, emphasized characters and concepts from Creator/LFrankBaum's Oz books as opposed to the 1939 film. Baum's public domain characters who aid Dorothy in ''Return'', [[PoorMansSubstitute such as Tik-Tok and Belina the Chicken]], ended up alienating moviegoers who were otherwise familiar with the characters in the 1939 film, who either didn't appear or were [[DemotedToExtra "turned into stone"]] throughout most of the film. The Scarecrow does appear later in the movie,[[note]]the Lion and Tin Man make brief crowd appearances after the climax of the film[[/note]] as do Dorothy's ruby slippers,[[note]]which Disney had to pay MGM to use in the film[[/note]] but the reduced emphasis of many of the characters that appeared in ''The Wizard of Oz'', along with the film's nightmarish tone, caused ''Return to Oz'' to flop and be mostly forgotten among the wave of fantasy films of the 1980s.
* In ''TabletopGame/{{Deadlands}}'', the town of Gomorra was extensively featured in the spinoff game ''Deadlands: Doomtown''. Unfortunately, all IP for the spinoff game wound up being transferred to AEG and because Gomorra was so heavily tied to the game, any reference to the town became a copyright gray area. Realizing they couldn't write about the town any more, future ''Deadlands'' RPG supplements from Pinnacle explained that there was "[[NoodleIncident the Gomorra Incident]]" resulting in the town getting [[StuffBlowingUp blown sky high]] with nothing left to tell a story about and nobody left to explain what happened.
* ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' was originally going to include Vima Sunrider from the ''ComicBook/TalesOfTheJedi'' comic series as a companion character, but legal issues with other companies had since developed over the name "Sunrider" and so Bastila Shan, a new character, was created to replace her. Oddly enough, her mother Nomi Sunrider is still mentioned once in the first game, but the creators said it was an oversight.
** Creator/BioWare ran into this ''again'' with ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic.'' The Noeticon (a holocron recorded from several Jedi Masters) had an entry from Nomi Sunrider... but, the rights were an issue. So, they cleverly dodged it by having the character called Nomi Da-Boda, which used the name of a descendant seen in the comics, and was handwaved as being her maiden name.
** And now that ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'' has been relegated to ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'' (and is the only part of that continuity still in production due to a GrandfatherClause), this makes a trifecta for Creator/BioWare.
* ''VideoGame/StarTrekOnline'' has this imposed on the game. Because Paramount owns the rights to the movies, they can't use anything from the J.J. Abrams films with the sole exception of mentioning what happened to Spock (as that happened in the Prime universe). To circumvent that, they've created a number of ships based on the ''Narada'' (they did originally identify them ''as'' Narada-class -- presumably, the fact that technically the ''Narada'' was from the Prime Universe made it borderline legally allowable) and the U.S.S. ''Vengeance'' in theme, but not in look. As well, they also can't use the Kzinti and, as such, created the SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute Ferasan. The whole problem with the J.J. Abrams films was ultimately solved in time for the third expansion, ''Agents of Yesterday'', which allowed players to hop into the "Kelvin Timeline", buddy up with the character 0718 and even get to fly that universe's ''Constitution''-class. It was also ultimately revealed that Paramount had no problems with this -- it was Bad Robot Cryptic had to deal with.
* In the ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'' and ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' metaseries, Creator/GamesWorkshop ran into some issues with the fifth god of chaos, Malal. Rather than fight John Wagner and Alan Grant for his rights, however, they just dropped Malal entirely and stuck to "the Big Four". Malal has since crept back in as "Malice", who is either a rogue Daemon Prince or a minor deity in the Chaos pantheon depending on which FanWank you subscribe to.
* Thanks to the complex status of VideoGame/{{Strider}} Hiryu, which requires the OK from both Capcom and manga studio Moto Kikaku to be used, he was beyond the grasp of U.S. Gold when they decided to create their own sequel to the original. Instead of bothering with that, they simply swapped the sprite's uniform white, named him "Hinjo" and called it a day. This was also the reason he was dropped from the roster in ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom3''. Fortunately, thanks to all the fan support he received, Capcom decided to work things out and he was finally included in ''Ultimate''.
* Video games based on Franchise/TolkiensLegendarium have long faced similar restrictions from two opposite directions, because the licenses to adapt original literature works and {{Creator/Peter Jackson}}'s [[Film/TheLordOfTheRings movies]] were sold to separate studios. On one side were the games unable to use any of the designs, original lines or likeness of actors from the movies (''The Fellowship of the Ring'', ''VideoGame/TheHobbit2003'', ''VideoGame/TheLordOfTheRingsWarOfTheRing'', ''VideoGame/TheLordOfTheRingsOnline''). On the other side were the games unable to include anything from the books that wasn't explicitly referenced on-screen in the movies (''The Two Towers'', ''The Return of the King'', ''VideoGame/TheLordOfTheRingsTheThirdAge'', ''VideoGame/TheBattleForMiddleEarth''). And of course nobody at all has the rights to ''Literature/TheSilmarillion'' and ''Literature/UnfinishedTalesOfNumenorAndMiddleEarth'', placing events and characters exclusive to those books permanently off-limits.
** Eventually, some studios were able to obtain both licenses, allowing for the games ''The Battle for Middle-Earth II'' (and its expansion pack) and ''War in the North'' to combine the likeness of actors and design choices with various elements that were AdaptedOut from the movies. The general consensus is that (quality of the gameplay notwithstanding) this allows for a much more coherent Middle-Earth experience.
** Meanwhile, ''VideoGame/TheLordOfTheRingsOnline'' is still going after seven years, but its license is limited to ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' and its Appendices only. Rumours are, even ''Literature/TheHobbit'' material canot be used if it wasn't explicitly mentioned in LOTR as well. This, among other things, prevented the developers from making a proper tie-in to ''Film/TheHobbitAnUnexpectedJourney'' - players had to revisit Bilbo's path in the "present" days of the War of the Ring instead.
* ''Anime/GundamBuildFighters'' suffered an unusual version of this. Due to various legal agreements with Japanese TV networks, none of the ''Gundam'' shows that had aired on MBS or TBS within the past five years could be represented in ''Build Fighters'', which covered ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam00''[='s=] second season and [[Anime/Gundam00AWakeningOfTheTrailblazer movie]] as well as ''AGE'' itself. Reportedly, the contract on ''00 Second Season'' ended '''one day before''' the final episode of ''Build Fighters'' aired, which allowed the staff to include [[spoiler:Yuuki[=/=]Meijin turning his damaged Amazing Gundam Exia into a "Repair" version]]. As of the sequel ''Anime/GundamBuildFightersTry'', all licensing issues seem to be resolved, as references to ''AGE'' (namely [[spoiler:Kei Karima using the Vagan Gear SID and a [[Anime/MobileFighterGGundam Gundam Spiegel]] wielding AGE-1 Spallow's combat knife]]) have begun to crop up.
* The official Creator/{{Marvel|Comics}} Universe Wiki has a policy forbidding the creation of articles whose content is licensed to Marvel or is no longer owned by Marvel. This means any article based off ''ComicBook/TheTransformers'', ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'', Creator/HannaBarbera or ''ComicBook/MarvelStarWars'' comics are forbidden. This could be either due to the Wiki being focused on characters explicitly in the Marvel Universe and created by Marvel, or due to fears of legal issues from the parent companies or artists of said licensed material. This is not the case with Wikia's Marvel Comics Database, which is not owned by Marvel.
* Want to see the characters that only appear in VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaCDIGames appear in future games in the ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' series from Creator/{{Nintendo}}? Keep dreaming because it's highly unlikely that will happen. The games are property of Philips, not Nintendo, and the characters that were created strictly for the games (such as Gwonam from ''Link: The Faces of Evil'' and Duke Onkled from ''Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon'') are Philips' property. Of course, the games themselves [[CanonDiscontinuity are considered nonexistent]] by Nintendo, so the chances of ''anything'' pertaining to the CD-i games appearing in Nintendo's official canon, even if the legal problems weren't in play, are slim.
** Another casualty is King Harkinian, who appears in both [[WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfZelda the animated series]] and the CD-i games, but not in any of the Nintendo games. The legal status of said character is unknown since he's in a legal tangle with Philips, Nintendo, and Creator/DHXMedia (successors to Creator/DICEntertainment, the studio who made the animated series), so he is believed to be forbidden from appearing in any ''Zelda'' games.
** Also affected by this is the ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' series, as none of the characters from the CD-i games or King Harkinian make any appearances in that series, nor are there any trophies, stickers or chronicles pertaining to either of them.
* Similarly, characters that appeared in Creator/DICEntertainment-produced cartoons based on video games, such as [[WesternAnimation/SuperMarioBros Oogtar and the cavemen]], [[WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfSonicTheHedgehog Scratch, Grounder, and Coconuts]][[note]]Though Grounder is based on an existing design from ''Sonic 2'' onward, they were red in the games save one teal one meant as a ShoutOut.[[/note]], [[WesternAnimation/SonicSatAM Sally Acorn and the other Acorn characters]], and even [[WesternAnimation/CaptainNTheGameMaster Captain N]] are believed to be banned from appearing in their video game source material due to messy rights issues with the characters (though in the case of Captain N, he wasn't created by Nintendo nor appears in any Nintendo video games whatsoever). This is possibly the reason why they don't appear or get referenced at all in the ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' series, and it also doesn't help that the characters often suffer from SnarkBait by fans. The only official game appearances the Acorn characters and Scratch, Grounder and Coconuts ever made were ''VideoGame/DoctorRobotniksMeanBeanMachine'' and ''VideoGame/SonicSpinball'', as both were essentially MerchandiseDriven fare for the TV shows and developed in the United States.
* A Theme Park example: Because of a perpetual licensing agreement Creator/MarvelComics made with Ride/UniversalStudios in 1994, Creator/{{Disney}}, Marvel's parent company since 2010, is not allowed to build anything Marvel-related, be it attractions or character experiences, in [[Ride/DisneyThemeParks Walt Disney World]] Resort in Orlando or the Tokyo Disney Resort in Japan (though they are allowed to preview Marvel films or sell Marvel merchandise, albeit without the "Marvel" branding) due to Universal having parks and Marvel attractions in both regions. This meant that while a monorail train themed after ''[[Film/TheAvengers2012 The Avengers]]'' was allowed to travel between the parking lot and the Magic Kingdom gate, it couldn't go to Epcot since it would entail actually entering the park. Averted with Disney's other resorts, in which they are free to build Marvel attractions whenever they please[[note]]In California, the Universal deal originally extended to their Hollywood park as well, but after the disastrous ''Spider Man Rocks'' and a licensing dispute between Marvel and Universal, the Hollywood rights reverted to Marvel in 2008, just a year before Disney acquired the company[[/note]].
* Ironically, Universal themselves got into a similar mess after acquiring Creator/DreamWorksAnimation in 2016. Since [=DreamWorks=] and The Rudolph Company licensed the 1964 likeness of ''WesternAnimation/RudolphTheRedNosedReindeer'' to Ride/SeaWorld months before Universal purchased the studio, Universal is unable to use the character or its related elements in their Orlando or Hollywood parks, where [=SeaWorld=] also has a presence. They ''can'' build ''Rudolph'' experiences in Japan and Singapore, of course, provided that they receive blessings from The Rudolph Company. Additionally, Universal also cannot use the characters in markets where [=DreamWorks=] has pre-acquisition licensing agreements in place, such as Australia, Dubai, Russia and China. On a side note, ''WesternAnimation/{{Madagascar}}'' characters would've ''also'' been banned from the Orlando and Hollywood parks as well... had [=SeaWorld=] [[LaserGuidedKarma chosen to renew its licensing agreement in late 2015]].
* Don't expect to see Creator/{{Hasbro}}-co-owned Creator/DiscoveryFamily airing the ''WesternAnimation/DungeonsAndDragons'' cartoon anytime soon since Creator/{{Disney}} holds the rights to the series[[note]]Which they got by complete accident; it was part of the Marvel Productions library that Disney bought when they acquired the Fox Family channel in 2001, even though Disney had no interest in it.[[/note]]. Despite popular belief, Hasbro isn't buying the cartoon from Disney, and they're not willing to do so.
* When Disney bought the rights to ''WesternAnimation/{{Doug}}'' in 1995, this included all the merchandising rights for the show. As such, Creator/{{Nickelodeon}} is not allowed to use any of the ''Doug'' characters in '90s Nick-related merchandise (however, Nick still owns the broadcasting and video rights for the original version of the show). To make up for it, Disney released a few ''Doug'' t-shirts in the late 2000s around the time Nick started releasing their '90s Nick related merchandise at stores such as Hot Topic and Spencers, but haven't ever since (granted, it's very rare for Disney to release any merchandise based off of their older television shows, and when they do it's normally only shows from the first few years of The Disney Afternoon).
* Since the mid-2000s, Nickelodeon rarely acknowledges ''WesternAnimation/KaBlam'' and leaves the show's characters out of all '90s Nick-related merchandise. This is due to Nickelodeon losing ownership of the show's one-shot shorts (mainly rejected Nicktoon pilots) which had their rights reverted back to their original creators, as well as the music rights for the music video segments (Nick still owns the show's "regular" segments, such as ''Life With Loopy'' and ''Prometheus and Bob''). Thus making it difficult for Nick to ever air the show again or release it on DVD without having to make major edits to episodes to remove segments and music they can no longer use. As such, Nick tends to leave the show out of most of their promotional material, most likely as not to overpromote a series they legally can't do too much with anymore. While they finally began to acknowledge the series more around 2016, such as airing the show on [=NickSplat=] now and again, featuring fanart during breaks when the show does air, and showing a Loopy cosplayer's photo during Halloween 2016, the fact that they only have a very limited amount of episodes they can air without major edits makes the possibility of any merchandise extremely slim.
* Disney was unable to reuse Bowser from the ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' franchise in the ''Disney/WreckItRalph'' sequel ''Disney/RalphBreaksTheInternet'', whilst once again omitting Mario from the feature after having previously cut him from ''Wreck-it Ralph'', after the ''Super Mario Bros.'' franchise's movie rights were acquired by Creator/{{Universal}} Studios almost a year before its release. To make up for their absence, an EasterEgg was added to where the background of Spamley's shack has yellow question mark blocks hidden in a stash full of game items. It should be noted that Creator/{{Nintendo}} ''did'' give Disney permission to use Mario in ''Wreck-it Ralph'', but the filmmakers didn't know where to fit him without turning the whole movie into a full-blown ''Mario'' adaptation. On the flip side, [[Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog Sonic and Dr. Eggman]], both of whom appeared in the previous film and whose [[Film/SonicTheHedgehog2019 movie rights]] were tied up with Creator/{{Paramount}}, were allowed to appear in ''Ralph Breaks the Internet'' at Paramount's blessing.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Licensing Reasons]]
* Creator/{{Marvel|Comics}} has had a bunch of series over the years that were integrated into the Franchise/MarvelUniverse, only to be discarded when the licensing stopped. Typically, Marvel keeps the rights to the characters who were created specifically for the comic books; these characters sometimes appear in cameos after the main characters can no longer be used.
** There was ''ComicBook/RomSpaceKnight'', who was created [[MerchandiseDriven to sell toys]]. The thing is, while the comics series was a rousing success, the toy flopped. Inexplicably, Marvel has never been able to get the rights back. This has the side effect of preventing other comics in which he appeared from being collected in trades - most notably an issue of ''Heroes for Hire''. (ROM has been able to make a few cameos, unnamed, in his humanoid form.)
*** Interestingly, the Dire Wraiths were first mentioned in commercials for the toy, but never received figures of their own. As such, pretty much everything else about them, including their backstory and appearance, was created by Marvel for the ''ROM'' comic book. When IDW began publishing a new ''[[ComicBook/RomIDW ROM]]'' series decades later, they were allowed to use the name "Dire Wraiths," but the creatures themselves had to be completely redesigned so that they'd be visually distinct from Marvel's Dire Wraiths.
** ''ComicBook/{{Micronauts}}'' was another toy-based comic. In this case, one concept from it, ComicBook/CaptainUniverse, managed to escape into the greater Franchise/MarvelUniverse. The non-toy based characters have made a few appearances in Marvel under the name "Microns", and one of these, Bug, played a decent-sized role in ''Annihilation: Conquest'', later joining the ComicBook/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy.
** And much like the ''ROM'' example above, Creator/{{Hasbro}} owns the franchise now (it helps that, via Takara's ''Microman'', they're also related to ''Transformers''), so when IDW created a [[ComicBook/MicronautsIDW Micronauts]] title of their own, most of the toy based characters had to be reworked and others replaced or dropped entirely.
** Franchise/{{Godzilla}} had a [[ComicBook/GodzillaKingOfTheMonsters 24-issue series]] in which he fought S.H.I.E.L.D., the Comicbook/FantasticFour, Comicbook/TheAvengers, and countless other Marvel heroes. He then disappeared. Marvel has been able to "cheat" a bit here, though, by having the villain from the series later capture the big G (offscreen) and send him in a mutated mind-controlled form (practically a CaptainErsatz) against Comicbook/IronMan. Red Ronin, a HumongousMecha from the series, has made semi-periodic appearances since the series.
*** The S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier that was used to hunt Godzilla later appeared in ''Comicbook/TheIncredibleHercules''. Like all Helicarriers, it fell from the sky.
*** In later comics, Godzilla ''does'' make a brief cameo appearance in his regular form, though he's never mentioned by name. This is called attention to in the Marvel Monsters Handbook, where Elsa Bloodstone is baffled that they don't have a monster profile on Godzilla.
*** After the end of the Millennium series of ''Godzilla'' films in Japan, Toho was willing to license out Godzilla, and Marvel took the opportunity to license ''Godzilla'' just long enough to reprint the 24 issue series as a single Essentials paperback.
** ''Comicbook/TheTransformers'' and the ''[[Comicbook/GIJoeARealAmericanHeroMarvel G.I. Joe]]'' series were specifically set in {{Alternate Continuit|y}}ies which were similar but not quite the same as the regular Marvel Earth.
*** ''ComicBook/TheTransformers'' was initially set on the regular Marvel Earth, with Comicbook/SpiderMan guest-starring in the third issue, although it was quickly shifted to an alternate continuity as the series went from a four-issue limited series to an ongoing title. Likely in reference to how unlikely this was to stick, Nick Fury appeared in one panel and [[LampshadeHanging demanded not to have to fight the giant radioactive lizard again]]. This meant that Creator/{{IDW|Publishing}}'s first reprint TPB series couldn't reprint said issue (a text synopsis was used instead) nor could they reprint any Marvel UK stories involving Comicbook/DeathsHead (another Marvel character that appeared in Transformers UK). In the second reprint TPB series, they could reprint said issues below thanks to IDW negotiating with Marvel.
*** While Comicbook/DeathsHead is unequivocally a Marvel character, replacing the character with newer versions (Death's Head II and Death's Head 3.0) does neatly avoid the original's back story involving him being taken from the ''Transformers'' universe to the Franchise/MarvelUniverse via the [[Series/DoctorWho TARDIS]]. This causes problems in reprints of the original stories, though the gaps are usually {{lampshade|Hanging}}d as the result of "incomplete" archives. Death's Head may have had a reprieve, however -- both Panini in the UK and IDW in the US were able to reprint the Magazine/DoctorWhoMagazine comic strip in which he crossed over, and he appeared in the Kieron Gillen ''S.W.O.R.D'' series.
*** ''G.I. Joe'' also crossed over with the main Marvel universe on a couple of occasions, but these were tiny cameo appearances. In one issue of G.I. Joe, [[Franchise/SpiderMan J. Jonah Jameson]] happened to ask from a newspaper seller if they carried the Daily Bugle, though the actual character was not referred to by name. One issue of Spider-Man featured soldiers in a couple of panels who bore a striking resemblance to the Joes, though again, names were not mentioned.
*** Of course, since Circuit Breaker's motivation is that she ''hates Transformers,'' Marvel has no use whatsoever for her, unlike Comicbook/DeathsHead. It seems pretty unlikely that we'll ever see her again ''anywhere'' at this point. The only reason Marvel even has the rights to her is that she debuted in her heroic alias in ''ComicBook/SecretWarsII'', as Hasbro ended up owning the rights to ''The Transformers''' original characters.
** ''ComicBook/NFLSuperpro'', the only character whose entire existence can be considered a DorkAge, was only stopped because the UsefulNotes/{{N|ationalFootballLeague}}FL pulled its license. He is still in continuity, and was mentioned in an issue of ''Marvel Team-up'' (as just Superpro) a year or three back. Robert Kirkman, writer of ''Marvel Team-Up'', wanted to actually use Superpro in a story, but wasn't allowed to.
** Likewise, in reprints of old issues of things like ''Marvel Team-Up'' or ''Marvel Two-In-One'', they've had to skip issues that include team-ups with Franchise/DocSavage, Literature/{{Kull}}, Franchise/ConanTheBarbarian, SolomonKane...
** ''Comicbook/ShangChi: Master of Kung Fu'' is a modern day continuation of the ''Literature/FuManchu'' stories with the title character being the rebellious son of the villain. While Marvel can still use Shang Chi, the expired license means the original series is very rarely in print (though Sax Rohmer's estate did eventually allow Marvel to reprint the original ''Shang-Chi'' stories in four omnibuses), and that Shang-Chi's father can no longer be referred to by his original name.[[note]]For a time, Marvel simply got around this by just calling him things like "Shang-Chi's father," before ''Comicbook/SecretAvengers'' flat-out rechristened the character Zheng Zu.[[/note]]
** Before Panini bought up Marvel UK, the ''Magazine/DoctorWhoMagazine'' comic strip was more-or-less part of the Franchise/MarvelUniverse. While both DWM and Marvel still make occasional nods to the shared mythology invented by Creator/AlanMoore and others, they can't refer directly to each other any more. Notably, the Special Executive never mention their Gallifreyan origins.
** During Marvel's run of ''Franchise/StarTrek'' comics in the late-nineties, they put out two issues of a Star Trek/X-Men crossover (one issue with the TOS crew, one with the TNG crew), which also spawned a novel. Odds of Storm or Wolverine mentioning that they actually met Captain Kirk or Captain Picard? Pretty much nil.
** ''Shogun Warriors'', a comic that featured ''Anime/CombattlerV'', ''[[Anime/{{Raideen}} Brave Raideen]]'', and ''Anime/PlanetRoboDanguardAce''. Not a chance of them showing up ever again, though in this case it's because all three machines were explicitly ''[[McLeaned destroyed]]'' after the license ran out. As with the ''Micronauts'' example above, the non-toy characters (such the human pilots of the aforementioned robots) survived, and have made sporadic appearances in the Marvel Universe.
* ''[[Comicbook/HarleyQuinn Harley's Little Black Book]]'' #5 is a sequel to the infamous ''Comicbook/{{Superman}} vs. UsefulNotes/MuhammadAli'' crossover from the 1970's. Because of the licensing problems involved, Ali isn't mentioned by name. This is even jokingly referenced in the solicitation for the issue.
-->([[ComicBookTime Mumble-mumble]]) years ago, the alien race known as the Scrubb forced Superman into a boxing match for the ages, against Earth’s greatest heavyweight champion, ([[YouWannaGetSued mumble-mumble]])!
* The tabletop wargame ''TabletopGame/StarFleetBattles'' (and its RPG spin-off ''Prime Directive'') is an interesting case; they're only licenced to use elements of ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' and ''WesternAnimation/StarTrekTheAnimatedSeries'', but not the actual characters. So in addition to the ''Enterprise'' crew never being directly mentioned, the game is set in an AlternateContinuity that lacks Cardassians, Borg, Ferengi, and many of the now-established races of TheFederation. On the other hand, it's also the only ''Franchise/StarTrek'' spin-off that still uses [[Literature/KnownSpace the Kzinti]].
** The Star Trek CCG was only able to use characters from ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' onward, since a CCG based around the original series had been licensed to a different company. Subverted in that, when the ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' episode "Trials and Tribble-ations" aired, almost all of the original series characters were now [=DS9=] characters too, and promptly got cards.
* The [[Creator/MilestoneComics Milestone heroes]] were barred from appearing in DC's ''Comicbook/BlackestNight'' crossover so the company could avoid possible issues with future reprints. The 2011 DC relaunch had Comicbook/{{Static}} moving to New York, presumably as a way for DC to avoid using the rest of the Dakota-based Milestone heroes. Despite this, Static appeared in ''[[WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague Justice League Unlimited]]'' without much issue, and both Rocket and Icon appeared in ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice''.
** While Rocket, Icon, and Static can appear in the television episodes of ''Young Justice'', Rocket and Icon have since been pulled from the tie-in comic. Rocket appeared with Zatanna for a brief scene in issue #20, but when Zatanna reappeared in following issues, Rocket had disappeared. Icon was notably shown on the solicited covers for two different issues, but by publication time, he'd been photoshopped out.
* During the 1980's, there were several anti-drug [=PSA=]s starring the ''Comicbook/TeenTitans''. The [=PSA=]s were sponsored by cookie manufacturer Keebler, but because Nabisco was already using Comicbook/{{Robin}} for its cookie packs, he had to be omitted and replaced with a CanonForeigner named the [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute Protector]].
* Creator/DCComics briefly published a series of titles centered around the Red Circle heroes, who were owned by Franchise/ArchieComics. Archie has now regained publishing rights to the characters and has relaunched them in their own titles, meaning that DC can no longer use or mention any of the Red Circle characters, even those who interacted with other DC heroes. (The ''ComicBook/{{Flashpoint}}'' CosmicRetcon helps in this regard.)
* ''ComicBook/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' and ''Series/{{Angel}}'' had this problem after the 'Angel' license was dropped by Creator/{{Dark Horse|Comics}} and picked up by [[ComicBook/AngelIDW IDW]]. Eventually, an agreement of sorts allowed the use of a couple of characters, and in 2010, at Creator/JossWhedon's request to have everything ''Buffy'' comics under one publisher and thus avoid this trope, IDW voluntarily surrendered the ''Angel'' license to Dark Horse. Dark Horse later threw IDW a (very little) bone in 2013 by letting them do an [[CoversAlwaysLie utterly lying]] "Film/MarsAttacks Spike" variant cover for their "Mars Attacks [[Franchise/TransformersGeneration1 The Transformers]]" one-shot.
* In the ''Franchise/StargateVerse'', the only ''[[Series/StargateSG1 Stargate SG-1]]'' characters to appear in the pilot episode of ''Series/StargateAtlantis'' were Jack O'Neill and Daniel Jackson, even though other characters like Col. Samantha Carter would have made sense given that the new series was very tech-heavy. Producer Brad Wright noted that MGM only allowed them to use pre-existing characters from the [[Film/{{Stargate}} original movie]] for the pilot, although they were permitted to bring the other cast members in for later episodes. Things seem to have gotten straightened out later on because the pilot of ''Series/StargateUniverse'' had both Samantha Carter and Walter Harriman from SG-1 making an appearance.
* The Daleks never made an on-page appearance in the ''Literature/DoctorWhoNewAdventures'' because the publishers couldn't afford to pay Creator/TerryNation his royalties. The video game ''Doctor Who and the Mines of Terror'' had to replace the Daleks with Controllers, and K-9 with a robotic cat named Splinx.
* Lord British doesn't appear in newer ''VideoGame/{{Ultima}}'' games because Richard Garriott took the rights to his AuthorAvatar with him.
* ''Pinball/ThePartyZone'' features a CrossOver [[TheCameo cameo]] with the party monsters of ''Pinball/ElviraAndThePartyMonsters'' -- except for [[Creator/ElviraMistressOfTheDark Elvira]], who was not licensed for the game.
* Leiji Matsumoto is responsible for the artistic designs in ''Anime/SpaceBattleshipYamato'' even though the franchise was owned by the late Yoshinobu Nishizaki, the show's producer. Matsumoto can have a ship called the Yamato (with the same exact design) in his own manga such as ''Manga/GalaxyExpress999'', but he can't use characters and situations from Yamato such as the Yamato crewmembers, the Gamilas, or Iscandar. Nishizaki, on the other hand, couldn't use Matsumoto's character designs (such as the trademark circular gauges or "potatohead" character designs). Nor could he use Matsumoto's ship designs.
* Peter Cushing's "Dr. Who" cannot make appearances in most ''Series/DoctorWho'' media, especially not visual media - he can't even appear in the show in poster format (scuppering a bit of tasty LiteraryAgentHypothesis FanWank that would have appeared in "Day of the Doctor") as the BBC do not own the rights to him. ''Short Trips and Sidesteps'' contained a short Film/HammerHorror-esque story with his Doctor and TARDIS - or rather ''Tardis'' - crew, but due to being a book it did not use his visual likeness. The story also made sure to use his ''Tardis'' team from ''Film/DrWhoAndTheDaleks'', where they were named Ian, Barbara, and Susan (the same names as the companions from the show itself and therefore owned by the BBC), rather than his team from ''Film/DaleksInvasionEarth2150AD'', Louise, Tom, and Susan. However, ''Magazine/DoctorWhoMagazine'' was able to do a Cushing strip in a special about the movies, perhaps related to DWM not being a BBC title. That said, it remains the character's sole original comic.
* ''[[{{VideoGame/Shinobi}} The Revenge of Shinobi]]'' had many parodies of characters like the Terminator, Hulk, Batman, Spider-Man and Godzilla, but as time went by, the game was modified to change these appearances, Spider-Man remaining since SEGA had his license for a game at the time. Years later when the game was released to modern platforms, Spider-Man was recolored pink since SEGA didn't have the license anymore.
* The ''Game & Watch Gallery'' series of UsefulNotes/GameAndWatch ports for UsefulNotes/GameBoy and UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance were unable to port ''Mickey Mouse'', ''Mickey and Donald'' and ''VideoGame/{{Popeye}}'' to the series due to Creator/{{Disney}} and King Features Syndicate, respectively, refusing to license the characters to Nintendo. They weren't able to reissue to originals through the Nintendo Mini Classics line, either. ''Snoopy Tennis'', based on ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'', was rereleased as a Mini Classic in 2000 thanks to negotiations with United Media, but that game was reissued by Creator/TakeTwoInteractive instead of Nintendo.
* ''TabletopGame/{{Ravenloft}}'' is a ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' setting that has a habit of grabbing nasty characters from the game's other settings. As such, darklords from the TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms, TabletopGame/{{Greyhawk}}, and TabletopGame/DarkSun settings can be found along with home-grown villains. When Wizards of the Coast licensed White Wolf to publish the setting for D&D Third Edition, the contract did not include any other settings, so the new books had to be scrubbed of all such references in favor of vague terms like "a distant land." It also spelled the end of Lord Soth, a major TabletopGame/{{Dragonlance}} villain, who was replaced with a character original to the setting.
[[/folder]]

!!Examples

[[folder:Content Reasons]]
* For much of the eighties, nineties, and 00s, Creator/VertigoComics, as a part of Creator/{{DC|Comics}}, had many characters who originated in or were linked to the main DC Universe, such as [[ComicBook/{{Hellblazer}} John Constantine]], Comicbook/SwampThing, several characters from ''Comicbook/TheSandman'', and others. While they were technically in DCU continuity, and made token appearances there every now and then, they were not allowed to make any significant DCU guest appearances because their series/stories were too dark and mature to risk some innocent kid picking up an issue of ''Hellblazer'' after a ''Hellblazer[=/=]Franchise/{{Superman}}'' crossover. When Vertigo's shift to publishing mainly creator-owned comics set outside the DCU left most of the affected characters in ComicBookLimbo, the embargo was loosened up during ''Comicbook/BrightestDay'' and officially broken by the Comicbook/{{New 52}} reboot[[note]]the in-universe explanation being that Vertigo was one of three split timelines that Pandora used Barry Allen to merge at the end of ''Comicbook/{{Flashpoint}}''[[/note]], with Swamp Thing and Constantine being active members of the new DCU. While the changes in Vertigo publishing policy were the immediate stimulus, it was also recognised that some mainstream DCU titles had come to include just as much graphic violence and horror as Vertigo titles, making the ban appear hypocritical.[[note]]It's been theorized that the ''real'' reason for the division was because Vertigo was launched as a sort of experiment in creator freedom, meaning creators could use parts of the DCU toybox but were also free to let their books progress in real-time instead of ComicBookTime and were ''generally'' exempt from tying into DC's annual [[CrisisCrossover Crisis Crossovers]]. ComicBook/TheNew52 undid all this because it was part of a general push to consolidate ''everything'' with DC characters in it under one corporate umbrella.[[/note]]
** The Vertigo-character ban led to the creation of [[TrenchcoatBrigade several]] transparent Constantine {{exp|y}}ies in main-DC-universe comics, such as Willoughby Kipling (who has since met and compared notes with Constantine), Rasputin, and Ambrose Bierce (a HistoricalDomainCharacter who {{lampshade|Hanging}}d this practice by claiming "They give you a trenchcoat and steal your razor. Like an assembly line, really.").
** Also, Dream of ''ComicBook/TheSandman'' made a notable appearance in ''Comicbook/InfiniteCrisis'' [[spoiler:to pick up his recently deceased mortal parents]], though the character is never specifically identified. He's also made cameo appearances in ''[[ComicBook/JusticeSocietyOfAmerica JSA]]'', since he had a few connections to the team, and a [[HalloweenEpisode Halloween Issue]] of ''[[Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica JLA]]'' (Creator/GrantMorrison said this was intended as the 1990s equivalent of ComicBook/ThePhantomStranger showing up on the JLA Satellite at Halloween). He also plays a significant part in ''ComicBook/DarkNightsMetal''.
** The second version of ''ComicBook/ChallengersOfTheUnknown'', which existed in a sort of halfway-house between Vertigo and the DCU, alongside ''Fate'' and ''Night Force'', managed to feature a quick cameo by Constantine during a ''Superman'' crossover. The two characters never actually met, though.
** Speaking of, ''Fate'' featured an appearance from Swamp Thing, albeit unnamed and largely out of sight.
** Creator/KevinSmith also liked throwing in Vertigo references: Morpheus cameos in a late issue of his run on ComicBook/GreenArrow, his Batman makes references to Swamp Thing's once {{Retcon}}ned attack on Gotham, and [[InsistentTerminology Fun Land]], a ''Sandman'' serial-killer with a thing for kids and amusement parks, shows up for a BatmanColdOpen. Presumably, he can do what he wants because, hey... Kevin Smith.
** Death of the Endless had a major role in Creator/PaulCornell's "[[ComicBook/TheBlackRing Black Ring]]" story arc in ''ComicBook/ActionComics'', with a prominent ad campaign. Gaiman has said that he's a little less leery about giving permission. He however was consulted prior to the issue, and even contributed some of Death's dialogue.
** ComicBook/{{Lucifer}} made an appearance during issues of Comicbook/TheSpectre, fresh out of Hell and enjoying Australia.
** A notable exception was ComicBook/{{Zatanna}}, who made intermittent appearances in both the main DC universe and Vertigo titles without any apparent issue (as caricatured in [[http://comicsalliance.com/great-comics-that-never-happened-8-best-of-both-worlds/ this cartoon]]). This may have been due either to her essentially light-toned nature even in her Vertigo appearances, or to the fact that most of the time she never had a solo title in either universe.
* Subverted with ''ComicBook/{{Alias}}''; though originally conceived as a stand-alone book with no overt ties to the Marvel Universe, the book quickly became tied into the Marvel Universe due to Bendis incorporating Comicbook/JessicaJones into the cast of Comicbook/{{Daredevil}}, as well as retconning Jones as being a previously unmentioned classmate of [[Franchise/SpiderMan Peter Parker]]. She has since married ComicBook/{{Luke Cage|HeroForHire}} and has a daughter with him. The entire reason the book was cancelled and relaunched as ''The Pulse'' in the first place was because Marvel was growing increasingly wary of having their A-list heroes showing up in a book full of F-bombs and sex jokes. Bendis himself acknowledges this in the letter page of the final issue.
* Creator/WarrenEllis originally wanted to use ComicBook/NickFury, SHIELD, and Hydra in ''ComicBook/{{Nextwave}}''. Marvel vetoed it (apparently having Nick Fury inject pureed chicks subcutaneously was beyond the pale), so he invented a host of {{Captain Ersatz}}es. Nick was replaced by Dirk Anger, SHIELD by HATE, and Hydra by the Beyond Corporation.
** Interestingly, Marvel failed to do the same with the ''heroes'' of the piece, with the result that even though the series was never meant by the editors to be in canon, Marvel eventually incorporated the Nextwave version of Machine Man into canon with his post-series guest spots, as well as a HandWave implying the Nextwave version of Comicbook/MonicaRambeau as being [[CanonDisContinuity from an alternate earth]].
** Later, Marvel actually adopted Nextwave into canon, taking the completely derailed, but hilarious, personalities into their mainstream appearances. This was handwaved with something about mind alteration through drugs. Even The Captain was finally introduced into the main universe, when he appeared in ''Comicbook/{{Nova}}'' (vol. 6) #9 in 2016.
** The official canon explanation is that the main characters were all the real deals, but that the series itself took place in an alternate universe the Beyond Corporation teleported the heroes to. This solves the problem of having Monica and the others reference the series despite the fact that it couldn't possibly have taken place in the mainstream canon.
* Franchise/TheDCU's ''ComicBook/AmbushBug'' took a lighthearted look at the DC universe... which happened to be a big no-no [[UsefulNotes/TheBronzeAgeOfComicBooks at the time]], causing his series to be sequestered to its own continuity. The character himself exists within the DCU, and gleefully hops between canon and non-canon at will.
* Other comedic series may or may not be in continuity. For instance, the Giffen and [=DeMatteis=] ''[[Comicbook/JusticeLeagueInternational Justice League America/Europe/International]]'' was in-continuity, but the later miniseries ''Formerly Known As The Justice League'' and the ''JLA Classified'' arc "I Can't Believe It's Not The Justice League" don't seem to be -- despite [[WordOfGod the editor-in-chief]] saying that they are. Much, much later, a ''Comicbook/BoosterGold'' story referenced his ''Formerly Known As...'' status ... by saying it wasn't true and he made it up as a prank on Beetle.
** Giffen and [=DeMatteis'=] ''ComicBook/JusticeLeague3000'' is in continuity with ''Formerly Known As...'', and outside the main DCU continuity.
* In the Franchise/MarvelUniverse, there's a whole sub-set of superheroes that live their lives sliding in and out of continuity in varying degrees. Many [[BreakingTheFourthWall break the fourth wall]] regularly and parody other characters whenever they appear in their own series, but are welcomed into continuity with open arms.
** ComicBook/{{Deadpool}} mocks the costuming choices and real world merchandise of the rest of the Marvel Universe but still gets to make guest appearances in ''Comicbook/XMen'' and ''Film/XMenOriginsWolverine''.
*** ''Film/{{Deadpool 2016}}'' is set in the same continuity as the other ''[[Film/XMenFilmSeries X-Men]]'' movies, which is alluded to by a fourth wall breaking reference asking if Professor X was "Stewart or [=McAvoy=]" (the two actors who have played Professor X in the X-film franchise).
** ComicBook/SquirrelGirl and the rest of the ComicBook/GreatLakesAvengers have had their own mini-series and one-shots, but apart from their own series they have only been featured in a ComicBook/{{Deadpool}} tie-in for ''Comicbook/CivilWar'' and in ONE panel of the latest CrisisCrossover. Justified because the rest of the team are too weak, and Squirrel Girl is [[GameBreaker all too powerful]] to be allowed to affect the {{Status Quo|IsGod}}.
*** Well, at least until Squirrel Girl got on the Comicbook/NewAvengers2015 and follow-up series Comicbook/USAvengers, eventually getting a [[ComicBook/TheUnbeatableSquirrelGirl solo title]]. It helps that nowadays her ability to defeat anybody off-screen is downplayed heavily, opting more to TalkingTheMonsterToDeath and [[HeartIsAnAwesomePower creative power use]] tactics.
** Similarly, [[ComicBook/TheAwesomeSlapstick Slapstick's debut limited series]] has been completely ignored by Marvel canon -- most notably the events of issue #4, where an irradiated bum destroys major portions of New York, attracting the attention of Comicbook/TheAvengers, the Comicbook/FantasticFour, the Comicbook/NewWarriors, Comicbook/GhostRider, Comicbook/{{Daredevil}}, and other heroes. However, Slapstick himself was recruited into the New Warriors and appeared as a semi-regular character in ''ComicBook/AvengersTheInitiative''.
** ''Comicbook/SheHulk'' has had several series that either broke the fourth wall constantly or had lots of fun with the legal wranglings of C and D-list characters in ways that are never acknowledged in continuity, but she still gets to show up in ''Hulk'' and ''Fantastic Four'' comics and be treated as a serious character. ''VideoGame/MarvelUltimateAlliance 2'' and ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom3'' both have She-Hulk acknowledge that she used to talk like Deadpool in earlier days, also stating in the earlier game that she has moved on from that speech pattern since.
* In the Franchise/DoctorWhoExpandedUniverse, [[AnthologyComic TV Comic]]'s ''Series/DoctorWho'' comic stories had such high strange "''Who'' meets [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]]" moments such as "Dr. Who" teaming up with Santa Claus to save evil goblins from stealing Christmas (that example just scratches the surface). He also had two grandchildren named John and Gillian, who were created primarily because TV Comic only licensed the likeness of Creator/WilliamHartnell and none of his companions' actors. Needless to say, we haven't heard much from John and Gillian lately, apart from two contradictory appearances[[note]]Continuity contradictions for the sake of storytelling are just how the Doctor Who Expanded Universe tends to roll.[[/note]] that both make it clear they never existed in the "real" Doctor Who Expanded Universe in the first place: The ''Literature/DoctorWhoNewAdventures'' novel "Conundrum" reinterpreted the TV Comic stories and their characters as being [[Recap/DoctorWhoS6E2TheMindRobber Land of Fiction]] constructs while the ''Magazine/DoctorWhoMagazine'' strip "The Land of Happy Endings" preferred to portray them as [[AllJustADream a wistful dream]] on the Doctor's part (there are some short stories in the ''Short Trips'' series of books which take place explicitly in the TV Comics universe that still feature the characters, and a pair of child First Doctor companions with these names appear in the Telos novella ''Time and Relative'', although they are instead written as realistic 60s teenagers).
* Marvel's first ''Comicbook/ThePunisher'' series under [[ComicBook/ThePunisherMAX the MAX banner]] takes place in its own continuity, though Castle still has his own ongoing set deeply in main continuity. He still can guest star in other characters' books and encounter superheroes and supervillains on his own, but such appearances in the MAX title were forbidden, with the exception of Nick Fury. Oddly, while the MAX Punisher stories are regarded as noncanon by the main Marvel Universe, the ''reverse'' is not true: in the early Garth Ennis-writ stories, numerous sly references are made to events in the then-concurrently running Marvel KNIGHTS ''Punisher'' series, though you'd only catch them if you'd read both series; none of Marvel's A-list characters appear in the MAX books, and the only outright blatant connection is a social worker who plays a role in the ''Slavers'' arc, who makes a reference to working with Castle during "what happened in the subway tunnels'' in the KNIGHTS book. The post ComicBook/CivilWar Handbook lampshades it a lot:
-->"Although recently Castle has escalated his war on crime even further, with record-breaking body counts, he is paradoxically now rarely encountered in the field by any super hero save Daredevil. (...)It’s almost like he inhabits two worlds, one where heroes can capture him and one where they can’t, and he can slip from one to the other with ease."
* The Doctor is barred from making an appearance in ''Series/{{Torchwood}}'' on the grounds that children should not be watching the show at all, and should not be encouraged to do so by a cameo from him. His companions Jack and Martha are allowed to show up, his severed hand makes an appearance, and one plot features a major character played by an actor who [[YouLookFamiliar went on to play the Doctor several years later]], but that's as far as it goes. One US trailer for "Children of Earth" actually provides a particularly heartbreaking [[WatsonianVersusDoylist Watsonian]] explanation for the Doctor's absence in these DarkerAndEdgier storylines, when Gwen tearfully admits to the camera that she thinks the reason the Doctor never shows up is that he's disgusted with the DirtyBusiness Torchwood gets involved in. In contrast, the Doctor is allowed to show up on ''Series/TheSarahJaneAdventures'', which he did in both Creator/DavidTennant and Creator/MattSmith forms (and would have done in Creator/TomBaker form if not for Creator/ElisabethSladen's death), and on ''[[Series/Class2016 Class]]'', which he did in Creator/PeterCapaldi form.
* Because Jynx (a character sometimes criticized for resembling {{Blackface}} caricatures) appeared in Lorelei/Prima's spotlight episode, "The Mandarin Island Miss Match", the Elite Four is the Elite Three in the ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' anime, [[CanonDiscontinuity according to TPCI]].
* Similar to the ''Torchwood'' example from above, [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids the developers weren't allowed]] to make ''Series/{{Daredevil 2015}}'' and ''Series/{{Jessica Jones|2015}}'' levels in the ''VideoGame/LEGOMarvelsAvengers'' video game, despite the game being a big celebration of the [[Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse MCU]] in general.
** Likewise, Disney Interactive's VP of Production said it was unlikely that Daredevil will ever be featured in ''VideoGame/DisneyInfinity'' because the Netflix show is too dark for the game's family audience.
** This applies to the TV side of the [[Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse MCU]] as a whole. Due to a variety of factors (the big ones being ContinuityLockOut and the fact that Netflix shows are strictly aimed at an adult audience), none of the TV characters appear in the movies. Then on the flip side, because the TV shows are very low budget compared to the films, the major characters from the films never appear in them. The main exception is ComicBook/NickFury, who appeared in two episodes of ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'''s first season, but hasn't been seen on the show since.
* ComicBook/UltimateMarvel characters were completely off-limits to interdimensional meetings with the mainstream Marvel Universe, to keep it self-contained. There was, however, a crossover with the ComicBook/MarvelZombies universe, which meant that the mainstream universe did exist somewhere, by proxy. This law was finally broken by the ''ComicBook/SpiderMen'' crossover, 12 years afterwards. And with very good reason: the whole pre-Crisis mayhem at DC comics, with so many versions of the same characters running around, was more than enough justification.
* Same thing goes for ComicBook/SupremePower. The author, however, was fine with a crossover between just both pocket universes, as long as the main one stays uninvolved.
[[/folder]]

** Disney+ is unlikely to host any productions of its characters owned by third parties, such as the ''Franchise/IndianaJones'' franchise,[[note]]''Series/TheYoungIndianaJonesChronicles'' is owned by Creator/{{CBS}}, while the movies are distributed by Creator/{{Paramount}}[[/note]] Creator/StudioGhibli, or Creator/{{Miramax}}.

** Comicbook/CaptainAmerica rights have never left Marvel. Along with Comicbook/IronMan, Comicbook/IncredibleHulk, Comicbook/TheMightyThor, ComicBook/NickFury and Comicbook/BlackWidow, he was prominent in the MCU since Phase 1, culminating in ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}''. However, the films say that Captain America's shield is made of pure vibranium, while in the comics, it's made of vibranium and adamantium, the latter of which belongs to Fox due to its use in the X-Men films.

* Disney's upcoming Creator/DisneyPlus service is intended to be the exclusive home for the ''Franchise/StarWars'' franchise and the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse. Unfortunately, ''Film/CaptainMarvel2019'' will be the first MCU film featured on Disney+, as several of the recent movies like ''Film/BlackPanther'' and ''Film/ThorRagnarok'' will still be available on Netflix when Disney+ launches, and [[Creator/{{TNT}} Turner]] [[Creator/{{TBS}} Broadcasting]] has exclusive broadcast and streaming rights to other films like ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar'' and ''Film/DoctorStrange''. Also, since ''Film/SpiderManHomecoming'' and ''Film/SpiderManFarFromHome'' are technically Sony productions, those will presumably be off-limits as well. As for ''Star Wars'', they ''almost'' fell into this as Turner Broadcasting has exclusive rights to all films up to ''Film/SoloAStarWarsStory'' until 2024, but Disney and Turner were able to work something out (presumably, they paid money and gave Turner certain MCU movies, such as the aforementioned titles) to get the streaming rights, though Turner still holds the TV rights.

* Disney's upcoming Creator/DisneyPlus service is intended to be the exclusive home for the ''Franchise/StarWars'' franchise and the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse. Unfortunately, ''Film/CaptainMarvel2019'' will be the first MCU film featured on Disney+, as several of the recent movies like ''Film/BlackPanther'' and ''Film/ThorRagnarok'' will still be available on Netflix when Disney+ launches, and Turner Broadcasting has exclusive broadcast and streaming rights to other films like ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar'' and ''Film/DoctorStrange''. Also, since ''Film/SpiderManHomecoming'' and ''Film/SpiderManFarFromHome'' are technically Sony productions, those will presumably be off-limits as well. As for ''Star Wars'', they ''almost'' fell into this as Turner Broadcasting has exclusive rights to all films up to ''Film/SoloAStarWarsStory'' until 2024, but Disney and Turner were able to work something out (presumably, they paid money and gave Turner certain MCU movies) to get the streaming rights, though Turner still holds the TV rights.

* Disney's upcoming Creator/DisneyPlus service is intended to be the exclusive home for the ''Franchise/StarWars'' franchise and the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse. Unfortunately, thanks to deals with [[Creator/{{TBS}} Turner]] [[Creator/{{TNT}} Broadcasting]], all of the ''Star Wars'' movies up to ''Film/{{Solo}}'' won't be available on Disney+ until 2024 at the least. Disney even tried to get Turner to end the deals early, but was quickly rebuffed. You'll just have to wait. Likewise, ''Film/CaptainMarvel2019'' will be the first MCU film featured on Disney+, as several of the recent movies like ''Film/BlackPanther'' and ''Film/ThorRagnarok'' will still be available on Netflix when Disney+ launches. Also, since ''Film/SpiderManHomecoming'' and ''Film/SpiderManFarFromHome'' are technically Sony productions, those will presumably be off-limits as well.

* Creator/LaurenFaust ran into this problem during the creation of ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic''. Turns out Hasbro lost the rights to nearly all of the 1980's ''Franchise/MyLittlePony'' character names (save for Applejack, Spike, and a few ponies whose names were reused for G3), so most of the main cast of the current cartoon ended up being {{Suspiciously Similar Substitute}}s of the originals with the G3 ponies' names. This seems to have improved as [[spoiler:Tirek and Scorpan]] appear in the series, as has [[spoiler:The Smooze]].

** The only prominent characters that still weren't back under Marvel's domain were the ''[[Film/XMenFilmSeries X-Men]]'' and ''[[Film/FantasticFour2005 The Fantastic]] [[Film/FantasticFour2015 Four]]'', both licensed to Creator/TwentiethCenturyFox. This prevented [[Film/XMenFilmSeries Wolverine]] from tangling with the Hulk, and Thor being able to fight the Thing. Finally, in December 2017 Disney outright offered to buy 20th Century Fox for $52 billion, meaning it would have full rights to its characters and franchises if the sale goes through.

** {{Irony}} ensues when it didn't stop ''VideoGame/ProjectXZone'' from including ''Sakura Wars'' AND ''Super Robot Wars'' characters in the same game ([[LoopholeAbuse though not in the]] MechaGame [[LoopholeAbuse capacity]]). This was eventually subverted when ''Sakura Wars'' made its debut in ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsXOmega''. Similarly, ''Mashin Hero Wataru'' made its ''Super Robot Wars'' debut in ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsX'', also subverting this entirely. This is even subverted later, when the rest of the ''Sakura Wars'' cast, Kouran and Iris included, appears later and to make the irony even further, their debut episode include a plot when they have to face [[spoiler:[[Anime/CrossAnge Embryo]]]], of all people.[[note]]This could be an ActorAlusion, as [[spoiler:Creator/ToshihikoSeki, Embryo's voice actor, voiced Kasha, one of the villains who appears in ''Sakura Wars 2''. And while Kasha is a [[HumanoidAbomination humanoid demon]], Embryo is technically a human being, he has the ability of [[BackFromTheDead returning from the dead as he wishes]]. That skill, along his massive jerkassery and the fact he mass-murdered millions of human beings, makes him a monster in the eyes of the rest of the cast, including the ones from ''Sakura Wars'']].[[/note]]

** ''Comicbook/ShangChi: Master of Kung Fu'' is a modern day continuation of the ''Literature/FuManchu'' stories with the title character being the rebellious son of the villain. While Marvel can still use Shang Chi, the expired license means the original series is very rarely in print (though Saxton Rohmer's estate did eventually allow Marvel to reprint the original ''Shang-Chi'' stories in four omnibuses), and that Shang-Chi's father can no longer be referred to by his original name.[[note]]For a time, Marvel simply got around this by just calling him things like "Shang-Chi's father," before ''Comicbook/SecretAvengers'' flat-out rechristened the character Zheng Zu.[[/note]]

** ''Comicbook/ShangChi: Master of Kung Fu'' is a modern day continuation of the ''Literature/FuManchu'' stories with the title character being the rebellious son of the villain. While Marvel can still use Shang Chi, the expired license means the original series is very rarely in print, and that Shang-Chi's father can no longer be referred to by his original name.[[note]]For a time, Marvel simply got around this by just calling him things like "Shang-Chi's father," before ''Comicbook/SecretAvengers'' flat-out rechristened the character Zheng Zu.[[/note]]

** Likewise, Disney later published a book called ''Marvel: Powers of a Girl'', which highlighted the women of the Marvel Universe. While the book featured a wide range of Marvel heroines like [[Comicbook/CarolDanvers Captain Marvel]], Comicbook/SpiderGwen, Comicbook/{{Shuri|Marvel Comics}}, Comicbook/{{Valkyrie|Marvel Comics}}, Comicbook/{{Gamora}}, Comicbook/{{Mantis|Marvel Comics}}, the [[Comicbook/UnstoppableWasp Wasp]], and [[Comicbook/MsMarvel2014 Kamala Khan]], all of the female X-Men were absent, even the incredibly popular ones like Storm and Comicbook/JeanGrey.

** ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol2'' script by Creator/JamesGunn prominently featured Ego the Living Planet because he didn't realize at first that the character's rights were owned by Fox.[[note]]Ironically, Ego was chosen because other villains he wanted to use (Annihilus and Kang the Conqueror) were unavailable, on account of being tied up in the Fox-owned Fantastic Four movie rights (while Kang is best-known as an Avengers villain, he debuted in ''Fantastic Four'' and is implied to be a descendant of both Reed Richards and Doctor Doom). How Fox got the rights to Ego is unclear, seeing as he's primarily part of Thor's RoguesGallery; it may have something to do with Ego also being a frequent opponent of the Silver Surfer.[[/note]] In this case, ExecutiveMeddling actually came to the rescue, as Marvel was able to receive the character rights from Fox in exchange for letting them change the powers of Negasonic Teenage Warhead in the ''Film/{{Deadpool 2016}}'' movie.

** It's believed that a contributing factor to the planned ''Comicbook/{{Nightwing}}'' movie ending up in DevelopmentHell is that the live-action ''Series/{{Titans}}'' TV series currently features Dick Grayson as a main character. Likewise, there has been some speculation that Comicbook/{{Cyborg}} being a main character in the upcoming ''Series/DoomPatrol2019'' TV series may be part of the reason why there's been no movement on the planned ''Cyborg'' solo movie that was announced back in 2014.

** Likewise, in reprints of old issues of things like ''Marvel Team-Up'' or ''Marvel Two-In-One'', they've had to skip issues that include team-ups with Franchise/DocSavage, KingKull, Franchise/ConanTheBarbarian, SolomonKane...
** ''Shang Chi: Master of Kung Fu'' is a modern day continuation of the ''Literature/FuManchu'' stories with the title character being the rebellious son of the villain. While Marvel can still use Shang Chi, the expired license means the original series cannot be reprinted.

** The ''DC Universe'' streaming service is supposed to include almost every media adaptation of works by Creator/DCComics. Unfortunately, the serial films ''Film/TheBatman'' and ''[[Film/BatmanAndRobinSerial Batman and Robin]]'' (not to be confused with [[Film/BatmanAndRobin another film from 1997]]) and the 1966 ''Series/{{Batman}}'' TV series (as well as its [[Film/BatmanTheMovie tie-in movie]]) are unlikely to be included in the service as all three adaptations are under different ownership (Sony for the first two; Creator/TwentiethCenturyFox for the third, with WB only being licensed to handle home video distribution for that one). It was because of these ownership issues that caused them to be left out of the service's free access event for ''Batman''-related media during an 80th anniversary franchise celebration. Also affected are the ''Film/{{Red}}'' movies, all of which are owned by Creator/{{Lionsgate}}[=/=]Creator/SummitEntertainment, ''Film/RoadToPerdition'', co-owned between Creator/DreamWorks[=/=]Creator/{{Paramount}} and Fox, and the ''ComicBook/WildCATS'' cartoon, owned by Creator/{{Nelvana}}. The biggest loser from this, though, is ComicBook/SwampThing, as ''all'' of his movies and shows are under different ownership[[note]]To clarify, [=StudioCanal=] and MGM own the first film, the sequel ''Return of Swamp Thing'' is owned by Lightyear Entertainment, the live-action series is owned by Creator/{{Universal}}, and the animated series is owned by Creator/DHXMedia[[/note]], which may explain why WB opted to produce an original show for him on the service.

** The ''DC Universe'' streaming service is supposed to include almost every media adaptation of works by Creator/DCComics. Unfortunately, the serial films ''Film/TheBatman'' and ''[[Film/BatmanAndRobinSerial Batman and Robin]]'' (not to be confused with [[Film/BatmanAndRobin another film from 1997]]) and the 1966 ''Series/{{Batman}}'' TV series (as well as its [[Film/BatmanTheMovie tie-in movie]]) are unlikely to be included in the service as all three adaptations are under different ownership (Sony for the first two; Creator/TwentiethCenturyFox for the third, with WB only being licensed to handle home video distribution for that one). It was because of these ownership issues that caused them to be left out of the service's free access for ''Batman''-related media during an 80th anniversary franchise celebration. Also affected are the ''Film/{{Red}}'' movies, all of which are owned by Creator/{{Lionsgate}}[=/=]Creator/SummitEntertainment, ''Film/RoadToPerdition'', co-owned between Creator/DreamWorks[=/=]Creator/{{Paramount}} and Fox, and the ''ComicBook/WildCATS'' cartoon, owned by Creator/{{Nelvana}}. The biggest loser from this, though, is ComicBook/SwampThing, as ''all'' of his movies and shows are under different ownership[[note]]To clarify, [=StudioCanal=] and MGM own the first film, the sequel ''Return of Swamp Thing'' is owned by Lightyear Entertainment, the live-action series is owned by Creator/{{Universal}}, and the animated series is owned by Creator/DHXMedia[[/note]], which may explain why WB opted to produce an original show for him on the service.

** The ''DC Universe'' streaming service is supposed to include almost every media adaptation of works by Creator/DCComics. Unfortunately, the serial films ''Film/TheBatman'' and ''[[Film/BatmanAndRobinSerial Batman and Robin]]'' (not to be confused with [[Film/BatmanAndRobin another film from 1997]]) and the 1966 ''Series/{{Batman}}'' TV series (as well as its [[Film/BatmanTheMovie tie-in movie]]) are unlikely to be included in the service as all three adaptations are under different ownership (Sony for the first two; Creator/TwentiethCenturyFox for the third, with WB only being licensed to handle home video distribution for that one). Also affected are the ''Film/{{Red}}'' movies, all of which are owned by Creator/{{Lionsgate}}[=/=]Creator/SummitEntertainment, ''Film/RoadToPerdition'', co-owned between Creator/DreamWorks[=/=]Creator/{{Paramount}} and Fox, and the ''ComicBook/WildCATS'' cartoon, owned by Creator/{{Nelvana}}. The biggest loser from this, though, is ComicBook/SwampThing, as ''all'' of his movies and shows are under different ownership[[note]]To clarify, [=StudioCanal=] and MGM own the first film, the sequel ''Return of Swamp Thing'' is owned by Lightyear Entertainment, the live-action series is owned by Creator/{{Universal}}, and the animated series is owned by Creator/DHXMedia[[/note]].

** ''WesternAnimation/ClassOf3000'' and ''WesternAnimation/TheSecretSaturdays'' were planned to have references in the episode, but according to the show's creator, had their scenes cut for time.
** No Cartoon Network co-productions with Creator/WarnerBros other than ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitansGo'' are represented, despite the many series made for the network like ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueAction'' and ''WesternAnimation/TheLooneyTunesShow''.
** Despite being at the core of the network for years, Creator/HannaBarbera, WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes and [[WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry MGM]] characters were all absent from the crossover outside a few references, thanks to the pre-AT&T [=TimeWarner=] discouraging synergy between divisions from some reason and in turn making things difficult between CN and WB Animation (which has the rights to all the aforementioned characters).

** {{Irony}} ensues when it didn't stop ''VideoGame/ProjectXZone'' from including ''Sakura Wars'' AND ''Super Robot Wars'' characters in the same game ([[LoopholeAbuse though not in the]] MechaGame [[LoopholeAbuse capacity]]). This was eventually subverted when ''Sakura Wars'' made its debut in ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsXOmega''. Similarly, ''Mashin Hero Wataru'' made its ''Super Robot Wars'' debut in ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsX'', also subverting this entirely.

* Eli Bradley, aka Patriot of the Comicbook/YoungAvengers, hasn't been seen in the Marvel Universe since the conclusion of ''Comicbook/TheChildrensCrusade'' in 2012. Writer Creator/KieronGillen mentioned that he was not allowed to have Eli as one of the leads in the subsequent 2013 ''Young Avengers'' relaunch, which led to him using Comicbook/AmericaChavez instead. A page from the ''Comicbook/AgeOfUltron'' event from that same year was also altered to replace a photo of Eli with a photo of the aforementioned America Chavez, lending more fuel to the theory that there was some sort of embargo on using the character. Marvel eventually went so far as to introduce a brand new Patriot named Rayshaun Lucas during the ''Comicbook/SecretEmpire'' crossover, seemingly cementing that there were no plans to bring back Eli anytime soon. There's been no official word as to why exactly Eli has been put on ice, but the rumor is that it may be due to a dispute with the estate of Robert Morales, the writer of ''Truth: Red, White & Black'', the mini-series that the character was originally spun-off from.

* Eli Bradley, aka Patriot of the Comicbook/YoungAvengers, hasn't been seen in the Marvel Universe since the conclusion of ''Comicbook/TheChildrensCrusade'' in 2012. Writer Creator/KieronGillen mentioned that he was not allowed to use Eli in the subsequent 2013 ''Young Avengers'' relaunch, which led to him using Comicbook/AmericaChavez instead. A page from the ''Comicbook/AgeOfUltron'' event from that same year was also altered to replace a photo of Eli with a photo of the aforementioned America Chavez, lending more fuel to the theory that there was some sort of embargo on using the character. Marvel eventually went so far as to introduce a brand new Patriot named Rayshaun Lucas during the ''Comicbook/SecretEmpire'' crossover, seemingly cementing that there were no plans to bring back Eli anytime soon. There's been no official word as to why exactly Eli has been put on ice, but the rumor is that it may be due to a dispute with the estate of Robert Morales, the writer of ''Truth: Red, White & Black'', the mini-series that the character was originally spun-off from.