History Main / PublicDomainCanonWelding

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'' is in a world where AllMythsAreTrue ("but not all myths are accurate"), created by a self-described "Shakespeare nut"; as a result, its version of TheFairFolk includes the likes of [[Myth/EgyptianMythology Anubis]] and [[Myth/NorseMythology Odin]], but also [[Theatre/AMidsummerNightsDream Oberon, Titania, Puck]] and [[Theatre/{{Macbeth}} the Weird Sisters]]. [[Myth/ArthurianLegend King Arthur]] also shows up, as does the {{Golem}} of Prague, while a one-off character is the {{Reincarnation}} of [[Myth/CelticMythology Cu Chullain]].

* ''Anime/TadaNeverFallsInLove'' [[ShowWithinAShow features a popular shojo manga series]] by the title ''Sunflower Express -A Police Blotter in Love-'', the heroine of which is the granddaughter of Franchise/HerculePoirot ([[WritingAroundTrademarks changed here]] to "Poiro'''n'''"). She even mentions how the grey cells she inherited from her grandfather have begun to fire while piecing together clues, a nod to one of Poirot's {{Catchphrase}}s.

->''"I won the 2004 Hugo Award for Best short story for an H.P.Lovecraft /Arthur Conan Doyle [[Literature/AStudyinEmerald mashup fiction]], so fanfiction had better be legitimate, because I'm not giving the Hugo back. Or the 2005 Locus Award for Best Nouvellete. I'm not giving that one back either. "''
-->-- ''Creator/NeilGaiman''

* ''LightNovel/AriaTheScarletAmmo'' has a majority of the characters being descendants of famous literary characters such as Sherlock Holmes, Arsène Lupin, and Captain Nemo. (If that wasn't enough, the full name of Lupin's descendant[[labelnote:*]]Riko Mine Lupin IV[[/labelnote]] and their status as Lupin IV [[LawyerFriendlyCameo implicate]] a connection to ''Franchise/LupinIII'', mentioned below.)

*** ''Imperishable Night'' is effectively a sequel to ''Literature/TheTaleOfTheBambooCutter''; the TrueFinalBoss of the main story is Princess Kaguya, as instead of returning to the Moon as in the original story, Eirin killed the other lunar emissaries tasked with taking her back, and they've been hiding within Eientei for centuries. Fujiwara no Mokou, her rival and the game's BonusBoss, is based on the fifth daughter of Fujiwara no Fuhito, the man who Kuramochi no Miko, one of Kaguya's suitors from the original folk tale, is presumed to based on.

* Creator/PhilipJoseFarmer developed what is commonly called the Wold-Newton Family, a group of public domain characters such as Sherlock Holmes, Tarzan, Arsene Lupin and others, who are either descended from or influenced by people who came in contact with [[MetaOrigin the radiation of]] [[GreenRocks a meteorite]] that struck near the titular town in England in the late 1700s.

** ''Literature/AnnoDracula'' adds the characters of ''Literature/{{Dracula}}'' to the real-life UsefulNotes/JackTheRipper murders, with cameos by numerous other literary characters of the period, including [[Literature/TheStrangeCaseOfDrJekyllAndMrHyde Dr. Jekyll]], several different characters from the ''Literature/SherlockHolmes'' series, etc. The sequel ''Literature/TheBloodyRedBaron'' does something similar with characters from around the period of World War I.

* In the backstory of the ''VideoGame/SoulSeries'', it's revealed that the titular Soul Calibur's name similarity to {{Excalibur}} is not a coincidence: Excalibur ''is'' Soul Calibur, and Myth/KingArthur was one of the earliest wielders of the holy sword. While this detail was AllThereInTheManual for a large portion of the series' run, ''VideoGame/SoulcaliburVI'' would be the first installment to explicitly mention this fact in-game while adding that he also founded the Aval Organization, a major driving force behind the game's events (and the group to which newcomer Grøh belongs), later in his life.

* ''LightNovel/AriaTheScarletAmmo'' has a majority of the characters being descendants of famous literary characters such as Sherlock Holmes, Arsène Lupin, and Captain Nemo. (If that wasn't enough, the full name of Lupin's descendant and their status as Lupin IV [[LawyerFriendlyCameo implicates]] a connection to ''Franchise/LupinIII'', mentioned below.)

* ''LightNovel/AriaTheScarletAmmo'' has a majority of the characters being descendants of famous literary characters such as Sherlock Holmes, Arsene Lupin, and Captain Nemo.
* The eponymous character of the ''Anime/LupinIII'' franchise is explicitly a descendant of ''Literature/ArseneLupin'' who's continuing his legacy as a GentlemanThief.
** The first half of ''Anime/LupinIIIPart6'' specifically focuses around Lupin being chased around by Franchise/SherlockHolmes (or possibly his descendant.)

* ''[[Literature/VampireHunterD Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust]]'' has the BigBad revealed to be Literature/{{Carmilla}}, who attacks Meir Link and then drains and kills his LoveInterest, Charolette, to revive herself.

* ''ComicBook/TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen'' does this with characters from classic literature, film, theatre, television and even comics ranging from the Victorian period all the way to the 20th century and beyond. And this is not counting specific {{Lawyer Friendly Cameo}}s from characters not yet in the public domain but are recognizable nonetheless.

** ''Literature/AnnoDracula'' adds the characters of ''Literature/{{Dracula}}'' to the real-life UsefulNotes/JackTheRipper murders, with cameos by numerous other literary characters of the period, including [[Literature/TheStrangeCaseOfDrJekyllAndMrHyde Dr Jekyll]], several different characters from the ''Literature/SherlockHolmes'' series, etc. The sequel ''Literature/TheBloodyRedBaron'' does something similar with characters from around the period of World War I.
** ''Literature/AngelsOfMusic'' features a 19th-century version of ''Series/CharliesAngels'', with Literature/ThePhantomOfTheOpera as Charlie and a rotating cast of public-domain heroines (including the Phantom's own Christine Daae, [[{{Literature/Trilby}} Trilby O'Ferrall]], [[Literature/SherlockHolmes Irene Adler]], and [[{{Theatre/Pygmalion}} Elizabeth Eynsford Hill]]) as his Angels, fighting a rogues gallery similarly drawn from period fiction.

* The UpdatedRerelease of ''VideoGame/Persona2 Eternal Punishment'' reveals that it's not just Creator/HPLovecraft's {{Eldritch Abomination}}s that are in fact real (which they are, considering [[spoiler:the BigBad for this game and the previous ones is none other than Nyarlathotep]], but the Franchise/CthulhuMythos happened. The extra scenario features mentions of the Dreamlands, a cameo from Randolph Carter (a recurring protagonist in Lovecraft's work), an opportunity to [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu to actually punch Cthulhu]], and more. However, later games in the series do not use these elements at all, except for a rare ShoutOut.

** ''VideoGame/SherlockHolmesTheAwakened'' features Holmes and Watson investigating a mystery involving the Cthulhu Mythos. It was originally released in 2006, with an Updated Re-release arriving in 2008.

* In the backstory of ''VideoGame/SoulcaliburVI'', it's revealed that the titular Soul Calibur's name similarity to {{Excalibur}} is not a coincidence: Excalibur ''is'' Soul Calibur, and Myth/KingArthur was one of the earliest wielders of it. He founded the Aval Organization, a major driving force behind the game's events, later in his life.

* ''Series/TheLibrarians'' has a the concept of canon welding as its whole second season. Prospero, of Creator/WilliamShakespeare's ''The Tempest'' has come to life, and uses his knowledge of magic to summon [[Literature/SherlockHolmes Professor Moriarty]] to aid him. Flynn and Baird are able to stop him by using a time machine stored in the Library (which also housed other time machines, including the one by Creator/HGWells and (while not public domain) we get a hint of a [[Series/DoctorWho blue police box.]]

* ''Manga/MoriartyThePatriot'' is primarily a ''Sherlock Holmes'' adaptation. This makes it all the more notable when Literature/JamesBond makes an appearance as an agent of [=MI6=], especially after becoming the post transition identity of [[spoiler:Irene Adler]].

* ''Manga/MoriartyThePatriot'' is primarily a ''Sherlock Holmes'' adaptation. This makes it all the more notable when Literature/JamesBond makes an appearance as an agent of MI6, especially after becoming the post transition identity of [[spoiler:Irene Adler]].

* ''Manga/MoriartyThePatriot'' is primarily a ''Sherlock Holmes'' adaptation. This makes it all the more notable when Literature/JamesBond makes an appearance as an agent of M6, especially after becoming the post transition identity of [[spoiler:Irene Adler]].

* The protagonist of ''Manga/RonKamonohashiDerangedDetective'' is a descendant of both Sherlock Holmes and James Moriarty. The "M" side of his family are set up to be antagonists.
* ''Manga/MoriartyThePatriot'' is primarily a ''Sherlock Holmes'' adaptation. This makes it all the more notable when Literature/JamesBond makes an appearance as an agent of M6, especially after becoming the post transition identity of [[spoiler:Irene Adler]].
* ''LightNovel/AriaTheScarletAmmo'' has a majority of the characters being descendants of famous literary characters such as Sherlock Holmes, Arsene Lupin, and Captain Nemo.

* The original ''Literature/ArseneLupin'' stories are an odd example, since they featured ties to ''Literature/SherlockHolmes'' -- except Holmes wasn't in public domain ''at the time'', so the main characters were renamed "Herlock Sholmes" and "Wilson" to dodge copyright. It's become a straight example since both have fallen into the public domain, and works welding themselves to Lupin have the opportunity to use Holmes/"Sholmes" as well.

** ''Literature/AngelsOfMusic'' features a 19th-century version of ''Series/CharliesAngels'', with Literature/ThePhantomOfOpera as Charlie and a rotating cast of public-domain heroines (including the Phantom's own Christine Daae, [[{{Literature/Trilby}} Trilby O'Ferrall]], [[Literature/SherlockHolmes Irene Adler]], and [[{{Theatre/Pygmalion}} Elizabeth Eynsford Hill]]) as his Angels, fighting a rogues gallery similarly drawn from period fiction.

** Many of the summonable Servants originate from works of fiction; for example, you meet [[Literature/{{Frankenstein}} Frankenstein's Monster]], Literature/SherlockHolmes, [[Literature/TheStrangeCaseOfDrJekyllAndMrHyde Dr. Jekyll]], [[Literature/TwentyThousandLeaguesUnderTheSea Captain Nemo]], and more. It's acknowledged InUniverse that they're featured in books, and the explanation is that they're based on their actual lives, and don't differ too much from reality -- [[AmbiguousSituation in some cases]].

*** ''Imperishable Night'' is effectively a sequel to ''Literature/TheTaleOfTheBambooCutter''; the TrueFinalBoss of the main story is Princess Kaguya, as instead of returning to the Moon as in the original story, Eirin killed the other lunar emissaries tasked with taking her back, and they've been hiding within Eientei for centuries. Fujiwara no Mokou, her rival and the game's BonusBoss, is based on the fifth daughter of Fujiwara no Fuhito, the man who Kuramochi no Miko, one of Kaguya's suitors from the original ''Tale of the Bamboo Cutter'', is presumed to based on.

[[quoteright:350:[[VideoGame/SherlockHolmesTheAwakened https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sherlock_holmes_vs_cthulhu.png]]]]