History Main / RUnningTheAsylum

* This happens so often in superhero comics that both Franchise/TheDCU and Creator/{{Marvel|Comics}} [[DorkAge/TheDCU have their]] [[DorkAge/Marvel own sections]]on the DorkAge page.

* This happens so often in superhero comics that both Franchise/TheDCU and Creator/{{Marvel|Comics}} [[DorkAge/TheDCU have their]] [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/DorkAge/Marvel own sections]]on the DorkAge page.

* This happens so often in superhero comics that both Franchise/TheDCU and Creator/{{Marvel|Comics}} have their own sections on the DorkAge page.

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* A rare example from the funny papers. Jeff [=MacNelly=] originally drew and wrote ''ComicStrip/{{Pluggers}}'' himself, but after readers began submitting gags, he changed the strip so that ''all'' of the gags were submitted by readers. The trend continued when [=MacNelly=] handed the strip over to Gary Brookins[[note]]who also took over art duties on [=MacNelly's=] other strip, ''ComicStrip/{{Shoe}}'', after [=MacNelly=] died in 2000[[/note]] in 1997.

**** The primary architects of the Modern DCU (Didio, Johns and Morrison) all are fans of the Silver Age and have made efforts to bring aspects of that era back into the zeitgeist with books such as ''52'', ''Comicbook/FinalCrisis'' and ''AllStarSuperman''.

* Franchise/TheSlenderManMythos ''started'' smack dab under this trope. It helps that the Mythos has no real WordOfGod to hinge on except as it pertains to individual works.

** Since the series is up to it's '''sixth(!)''' entry, it's all been confirmed that the ''only'' canon R.E. character to get any real dignity next to Alice is Albert Wesker, the BigBad of the series. Recent entries into the games also affects the movies as well, such as the Plagas and elements from ''Resident Evil 5'' being introduced in a setting that ''never brought them up''. Any canon character who is lucky enough to come back after the film they were introduced in still finds themselves without point, even the games' most popular character Leon S. Kennedy, who somehow must have survived that fatal shooting...

* [=NeverSoft=] were {{Big Name Fan}}s of the ''VideoGame/GuitarHero'' series prior to Creator/{{Harmonix}}'s departure. After Harmonix left, they took over the series and made a lot of [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks questionable changes]] to the series including ''Guitar Hero III's'' infamous [[LuckBasedMission "Guitar Battles"]], {{Mission Pack Sequel}}s, FakeDifficulty, {{Mission Pack Sequel}}s, [[CashCowFranchise more]] {{Mission Pack Sequel}}s and the death of the series through market oversaturation of {{Mission Pack Sequel}}s.

When a franchise expands into a LongRunner, themes, ideas, and interpretations will inevitably start being [[AscendedFanon lifted from the fanbase]]. And when a fictional franchise has lasted long enough to [[PromotedFanboy induct its fandom into the ranks of its professional creators]], the same [[{{Fanboy}} devotion]] that produces FanFic will inevitably emerge in the "{{canon}}" material.

Note that TropesAreNotBad still applies here, even though it's trivia.

Not to be confused with the Creator/EdgarAllanPoe short story "The System of [[IncrediblyLamePun Dr. Tarr and Professor Fether]]" or the video game ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamAsylum'', in which the inmates really do run the asylum. Or with Creator/TheAsylum, a film studio specializing in {{Mockbuster}}s.

* This happens so often in superhero comics that both the TheDCU and {{Marvel}} have their own sections on the DorkAge page.
* TheDCU has been a prime example since the 1970s, at least, when Roy Thomas got handed an entire ''Earth'' of his own, to play around with all of the familiar tropes of FanFic.

** Volume 4 ''ComicBook/{{Legion Of Super-Heroes}}'' comics was infamous for this. Many consider Volume 4 to be the worst, with elements like Element Lad's girlfriend becoming a stalker with a [[GenderBender sex change]] (some fans considered him to be gay), Lightning Lad revealing to be the AlienScrappy and TeamPet Proty that revived him 25 years before, and the [[SpinoffBabies teenage clones]] [[TomatoInTheMirror that might not have been clones...]] The next group of writers to take over considered themselves forced to perform the first complete {{reboot}} of the Legion ever (not even ''CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'' could do that), wiping out all previous history and fan elements. And just to show how much of a BrokenBase the fandom is, the people who liked Volume 4 accused that next group of being the ones RunningTheAsylum.
** Who exactly is Batman's one and only true love? Depends on the author's favorite. Talia al'Ghul is either a near-lunatic woman who raped Batman, a criminal mastermind who happens to have a thing for him and a child by him, or his one and only love who happens to be the daughter of one of his greatest enemies. Catwoman has nearly the same spectrum, from pure enemy to ally when convenient to true love.
** In particular, Dan Didio, GeoffJohns and GrantMorrison made it their mission to retcon just about everything that happened in the DCU since ''Crisis on Infinite Earths''. This includes:
*** Brining back the Multiverse with ''Infinite Crisis'' and ''52''.
*** Bringing back the original Supergirl--with a possible TakeThat at the previous writing/editing team by killing off Harbinger in the miniseries that restored Supergirl (Supergirl was killed and Harbinger introduced in the first ''Crisis''.)
*** Returning Power Girl to being Kara Zor-El from Earth-2 instead of the princess of Atlantis.
*** The Big One: Retconning ''Emerald Twilight'' with ''Green Lantern: Rebirth'', reviving Hal Jordan and revealing that Sinestro and an intergalactic fear bug were responsible for Hal becoming Parallax. Of course, even the writer of ''Emerald Twilight'' admitted this was a good move...

**** Wally West remains a fan favorite despite his current MIA status in the ''{{New 52}}''. He is not the only sidelined speedster. Max Mercury and Jesse Quick are also missing. DC's going to have to deal with questions about Wally for a while, and even the current Flash creative team has expressed an interest in bringing him back--and given their status as rising stars at DC, they may get their wish. DC's all or nothing attitude is odd especially given that DC has several Robins (and ex-Robins) as well as multiple Earth Green Lanterns, pretty much all of whom are still active as of ''New 52'' (except poor Stephanie Brown, who seems to be some kind of an inverted CreatorsPet).
*** Then there's the return of the Silver Age Batgirl Barbara Gordon, who's now forgo her previous identity as Oracle to take back her original title, along with reverting her to her Pre-Crisis backstory (Previously Commissioner Gordon's niece he adopted who had a cynical outlook due to her first hand experience with Joker, she's now Gordon's biological daughter and is once again a WideEyedIdealist of sorts). Fans are split: On one hand, reverting a disabled yet powerful character to what is seen as her inferior persona and what many believe is a much less competent portrayal of her, along with giving her back her legs (removing the most iconic disabled hero, leaving few, if none, in mainstream comics) is seen as incredibly insulting to her legacy and highly offensive, but others, due to Barbara's universal approval by fans, like the fact that what was originally a serious case of Women in Refrigerators has been undone and do appreciate a more human Barbara. The treatment of Barbara's successors, Cassandra Cain and Stephanie Brown, however, has been mostly not well recieved by their fanbases (see below).
*** While not related to ''Crisis'', Geoff Johns also retconned Superboy into becoming the clone of Superman and Lex Luthor in ''Teen Titans'' -- which was foreshadowed by [[http://img72.imageshack.us/img72/3055/geoffjohnslu2.png a fan letter]] sent into Superboy's old book... by one "Geoffrey Johns".
**** The primary architects of the Modern DCU (Didio, Johns and Morrison) all are fans of the Silver Age and have made efforts to bring aspects of that era back into the zeitgeist with books such as 52, FinalCrisis and AllStarSuperman.
**** It's had a notable effect on some characters as well, many BronzeAge, DarkAge, and ModernAge characters, with Wally West (who was all but cast aside for Barry, and is now missing, along with Donna Troy), Stephanie Brown (who's initial [[StuffedInTheFridge Fridging]] was apparently requested by Dan DiDio, not to mention what happened concerning her after ''ComicBook/{{Flashpoint}}''), and Cassandra Cain (who during their run was derailed, dismantled, and discarded, along with also being apparently removed from continuity) being the most notable examples. Its became more or less clear that someone high in DC's editorial who got control during the mid 00s has some serious issues with these three. There are hints that Wally West and Donna Troy will eventually return (Geoff Johns and Grant Morrison both are Wally fans), but apparently Cass Cain and Stephanie Brown are now considered "toxic" by DC.
**** There is a joke amongst comics forums (and this wiki) that someday fans, unsatisfied with the re-emergence of Silver Age aspects, will become DC writers and set things "right" by "putting things back the way they used to be before all this Asylum Running", which basically translates to "Someday new writers will run the asylum so that instead of the Silver Age, it will be DarkAge instead."
**** Curiously, some of this seems to have been undone by the ''{{New 52}}''. Kendra Saunders is [[{{Hawkman}} Hawkgirl]], on ''ComicBook/{{Earth 2}}'', Jason Rusch is still '''a''' {{Firestorm}}, and so on.

** A particularly divisive example of this is ''CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'' itself. Some years after everything went down, it came to light that Marv Wolfman, the man who'd come up with the idea (which the DC execs then signed off on), had been fomenting the essential idea behind ''Crisis'' for a long time... that is to say, ever since he was '''ten years old'''. This has sparked all ''kinds'' of accusations, most of them concerning the idea that the entire DC Universe was allowed to be the plaything of one man's childhood fantasies. This revelation (and the ''incredible'' bad blood it sparked between Wolfman and Thomas, whose own "playground" was removed from existence and relevance utterly) is what essentially sparked the "my continuity is best" attitude at DC, which is still felt to this day.

* MarvelComics got into this a bit slower (they started five years later) but is definitely there. Stuff like ''Avengers Forever'' is sometimes referred to as "ContinuityPorn".
** ''OneMoreDay'' is a particularly loathed example of Running the Asylum, with editor in chief JoeQuesada being twenty-four when Comicbook/{{Spider-Man}} got married and [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks hating that Spidey got changed from when he was a kid]]. Apparently everyone else who has read and enjoyed Spider-Man within the past twenty years [[NoTrueScotsman don't count as real fans]], since they want the case to be "Spidey grows old and dies off". That was a direct quote from Quesada.
*** And he ordered Jean Grey KilledOffForReal and prevents writers from bring her back. And from some of his own words, including his thoughts that she didn't do anything of merit since saving the universe, Cyclops is "more interesting" without her.
*** Hank Pym is also a widower, after killing off his wife, claiming he's ''also'' "more interesting" without her.
*** Quesada seems to have some major issues with wives (but not with [[EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas moms]], which is why Invisible Woman, Jessica Jones, and the ''Comicbook/{{Spider-Girl}}'' continuity's version of Mary Jane are spared).

* Arguably, the famous "The Night Gwen Stacy Died" is a result of this. "Arguably" because there are a number of theories about it.

* ComicBook/{{Cyclops}} is often a victim of this trope too. While he's never been the most popular X-Man, the main reason for those who dislike him stems from the way [[TheBusCameBack he was written back into the comics]] after leaving to be with his new wife and son. Because of a writer who was a fan of the original five, Cyclops and Jean were returned and reunited, but while it wasn't NEARLY as cut and dry as many remember it, it basically involved Scott leaving and through a series of convoluted events was unable to find his wife and son, believed them dead, and so resumed a relationship with Jean. Because of THAT, there's many people who now hate him, and it affected how he was written. Some writers deliberatly write him as unlikable because they dislike him, and because of others reading him like that, its caused his character to be degenerated quite a bit by some writers.

** Brad Meltzer: Vixen, Red Tornado, Dr. Light.
** Robert Kirkman: Onslaught, Cable, Stryfe. ''Dragonball Z'' also has a distinct influence on ''Invincible''.

** Ed Brubaker has said many times in interviews that the first two comics he bought with his own money were Iron Fist and an issue of CaptainAmerica featuring the Evil 50s Cap as a villain; in his later career, he revived Iron Fist in a new solo title and, while writing CaptainAmerica's solo title, brought back Evil 50s Cap. Both these stories are widely acclaimed, [[TropesAreNotBad so this is one of the good examples]].

* JephLoeb has been pretty apparent for this with his ''SupermanBatman'' series and the "Hush" arc of Batman (putting characters in with no explanation).
* ''Comicbook/SonicTheHedgehog'' is now being written by Ian "The Potto" Flynn, a [[BigNameFan somewhat well known fan of the series]], who was even writing his own Sonic fan comic ("Other M") prior to being picked up by Archie. This has been met with a mixed reception that largely depends on where on the internet you go; of course, this ''is'' [[BrokenBase the Sonic fandom]].
** Some complaints include ignorance of canon, derailing several characters, some of which to preserve certain relationships (namely Sonic and Sally's). Some things he's gotten a more positive response for however have been [[AndThereWasMuchRejoicing his killing off very unpopular characters]], rewriting bad stories, cleaning up unresolved plot points, and offering other related fanservice to the fanbase. One of his most notable contributions has been citing a lot of Sonic internet memes. All he's missing is [[ShadowTheHedgehog Vector saying "Find the computer room".]]
* ''{{Transformers}}'' comics suffered from this during their revival by the now-defunct [[ComicBook/TransformersGenerationOne Dreamwave Comics]]. Under Dreamwave, plots tended to be either simple or vague while the authors took time to work in [[FanWank explanations for the toys with rub signs]] and rampant {{Easter Egg}}s that contributed nothing to the story. It didn't help that they essentially just built off the old kid's cartoon from the 80s.

* ReginaldHudlin is a fan of BlackPanther. After he started to write his adventures, T'Challa was turned into a GodModeSue, Wakanda into MarySuetopia, and Storm from ''X-Men'' [[TokenRomance married BP]] and have everybody near him carry {{Idiot Ball}}s.
* In ''{{Daredevil}}'''s case, it seems like all the best writers that get their hands on him (including AnnNocenti, KevinSmith, Creator/BrianMichaelBendis and EdBrubaker) are fans of FrankMiller's run and just like him are trying to make Matt's life [[TheWoobie as miserable as possible]]. [[TropesAreNotBad Fans don't mind]].

* ''ElfQuest'' became almost entirely run by fans after the first few storylines, and the original creators (Wendy and Richard Pini) never seemed to particularly care about the quality of the new art or writing - but still declared all of it canon. Some of the fan-made comics were seriously great. Most of them are not. Examples:

* In a recent interview with Comic Heroes, a British comics industry magazine, AlanMoore essentially said he despised this trope, and blamed it for many of the reasons comics have the reputation they do today. He also said he may retire from the industry due to this trope, but given he's still working on LeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen, it doesn't seem to have occurred yet.
** Given that nearly all of his best-known works, including League, are based on someone else's creations, there is some small hint of irony in his comments.
* This is true of TheBeano and ComicBook/TheDandy with many of those working on the comic having read the comic as children. Seeing as the comic started in the 1930s this was true even in the early days with one of the co-creators of DennisTheMenaceUK having even read TheBeano as a child [[http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/2007/sep/20/guardianobituaries.pressandpublishing ]].
* The current writer of Amazing Comicbook/{{Spider-Man}} Dan Slott has said several times that he has always wanted to write Spider-Man and it is his dream job. One of the cases where it isn't bad because his run on the series is one of the best received by both fans and critics.
** Although even that is arguable. While some enjoy Dan Slott's writing for being more like a "classic" Spider-Man, many others feel that he misses more than he hits, and that it sometimes comes off as glorified fan fiction. His run is particularly polarizing, with some appreciating it for it's "back to basics" approach, while others are turned off by poor characterization, by the numbers plots, and lack of significant progress and more focus on superficial developments. It's far from being "best received" and is often seen as an example of how "being a fan" is not always the best thing for the franchise.
* ''ComicBook/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicIDW'': Both Andy Price and Katie Cook had plenty of G4 fanart on their Website/DeviantArt pages before the series was announced, and Katie has said she was a fan of the original G1 series. This leads to such things as Derpy being featured prominently and being fond of muffins, “flank” being used as a synonym for “butt,” etc.
** Amy Mebberson, Heather Nuhfer, and Heather Breckel were also all big fans before working on the comic. Pretty much everyone involved is a brony/pegasister!

* ''StarWars'' as well; a lot of ExpandedUniverse writers started turning their favorite characters into {{Mary Sue}}s or TheWoobie, or otherwise derailing characters to fit their own fantasies. Popular targets in ''StarWars'' include Luke, Mara, Boba Fett, and, for some reason, [[BadassNormal Talon Karrde]]. Note that Mara and Karrde are ironically ExpandedUniverse characters themselves -- that is, they're ''fan-created characters'' who became popular enough to be ''derailed by other fans''.
** Dr. Curtis Saxton became a technical adviser for the prequels and wrote the ''Incredible Cross-Sections'' supplemental books for Episodes II & III entirely because of the impressive detail of his website, "The Star Wars Technical Commentaries". Of course, it probably helps in not only having a [=PhD=] in astrophysics, but also in that his doctorate thesis paper was essentially Version 1.0 of his website. However, he has received criticism that his works on the ''Incredible Cross Sections'' don't really match up what we see on screen, and in fact overshoot them by several orders of magnitude. His more visceral critics flat out accuse him of [[ArmedWithCanon trying to rewrite]] ''StarWars'' [[UltimateShowdownOfUltimateDestiny to win the online vs. debate]].
* The ''Film/ResidentEvil'' movies are not canon, but whatever canon characters that appear ending up playing second fiddle to the MarySue protagonist, played by the writer-director's love interest.
** A blink-and-miss newspaper clip of an 'Officer Kennedy' being shot and killed, in any other series, it'd be a joke, but just infuriating when it's clear no one could steal Miss Sue's spotlight.

* ''SupermanReturns'' is a textbook example. Bryan Singer, having turned the [[KudzuPlot extremely convoluted]], SpaceOpera-esque ''X-Men'' universe into two down-to-earth, accessible and critically acclaimed hits, was hired on the assumption that he'd do the same with Superman. The problem was that Singer was initially not an ''X-Men'' fan at all, and thus understood what other non-fans (i.e. millions of movie-goers) would find compelling about the source material and made the movies around that stuff. ''[[Film/{{Superman}} Superman: The Movie]]'', on the other hand, was his ''one of his favorite films'', and thus the franchise-making blockbuster he was entrusted to deliver wound up as some sort of vague sequel to films that came out 30 years earlier PACKED with [[ContinuityPorn dozens of quotes and forced homages]] to said films in lieu of new material, and a bizarre plot featuring [[spoiler:Superman as the absentee father of a maybe-half-Kryptonian child which Lois might not remember conceiving depending on whether or not he erased her memory of their affair from either version of ''SupermanII'', prior to the events this film, which they don't explain]]. It did not go over well, and a [[Film/ManOfSteel reboot]] began just seven years after ''Returns'' came out.
* Whit Anderson, the writer for the ''Film/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' ContinuityReboot, is a fan of the JossWhedon [[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer series]] who was the same age as Buffy when the show was first running.

* Creator/HPLovecraft went off and encouraged fans of his work to do this. In fact, he read most of his fanfiction, and on a few occasions even ''expanded'' off his fanfiction.
** Albeit, this was around eighty years ago and his fanbase was relatively small, so most of his fanfiction came from respectable authors.

** In the Classic series: Creator/MatthewWaterhouse, a literal card-carrying fan (he belonged to the Doctor Who Appreciation Society, the biggest ''Who'' fan club in the world) got cast as TheScrappy, Adric. Around the same time another fan, Andrew Smith, had a script accepted. A few years later überfan Ian Levine co-wrote a (not-very-well-received) script for "Attack of the Cybermen" (as well as writing the music for ''K-9 Company'', a SpinOff that died at {{pilot}} stage). In the late '80's, Andrew Cartmel, a young and inexperienced, if wry, writer who got the gig of Script Editor just by applying. The result was three years of {{retcon}}s, postmodern commentary both on the show itself and its fanbase, and the most convoluted storylines ever. Opinions are deeply divided on this era. To some extent, though, it's never really gone away. Technically, though Cartmel had more of an interest in ComicBooks, particularly the work of AlanMoore than in ''Series/DoctorWho''. However, two of his writers, Marc Platt and Ben Aaronovitch, ''did'' consider themselves fans (only because Ben didn't really know what a 'fan' was), the former having contributed articles to the fanzines of the day, the latter contributing two very "fannish" stories. Behind the scenes, the three of them also came up with the "Cartmel Masterplan", a secret {{backstory}} {{retcon}} of the Doctor's history, which never quite found its way to the screen.

** The new series has this from the get-go; RussellTDavies, naturally, was a huge fan. Current showrunner StevenMoffat is also an überfan. The Tenth Doctor, David Tennant, has even stated in interviews that wanting to play the Doctor is what led to his choice of acting when he was young.

** As Series/DoctorWho has been on the air more or less continuously for half a century and has been one of the consitently most popular shows in Britain for that entire time (minus a decade or so), pretty much the only way to avoid having fans running the show is to deliberately select people who hate the show. Or who have spent the last fifty years in a barn.
* In ''Franchise/StarTrek'' Paramount and Pocket Books encourage fan-fic writers to aim for more legit careers with the annual ''Strange New Worlds'' short story competition.

* ''PowerRangers'' has fans, too. The tenth anniversary season, ''Series/PowerRangersWildForce'', promoted long-time fan Amit Bhaumik to head writer status. Reactions are split: the season itself is considered abysmal, but that had just as much to do with the cast and showrunner Jonathan Tzachor[[hottip:*:who is known for being a fanboy... of the ''SuperSentai'' source material, mandating that his ''Power Rangers'' seasons [[ShotForShotRemake skew as closely to the original Sentai programs as possible]]; a mentality that led to previous head writer Judd Lynn quitting at the end of ''Series/PowerRangersTimeForce''. as the writing staff or anything else. On the other hand, there are the two (completely original) [[ReunionShow team-up specials]]. The traditional previous/current season cross is considered one of the best the franchise has to offer, as not only does it bring back a very popular cast, it also provides closure for the season's villains, manages to integrate the two teams almost seamlessly, and even provides some ShipTease: not only could [[ActionGirl Jen]] and Wes have a happier ending than previously thought, but so could ''TF's'' [[SixthRanger Eric]] and ''WF's'' Taylor. Meanwhile, the tenth anniversary special, despite being a banned topic on many message boards and ripping open plot hole upon plot hole, is still plenty entertaining, between the various {{continuity nod}}s and well-choreographed fight scenes. Notably, it also features a reference to a fan hoax known as "Scorpion Rain," which Bhaumik helped perpetuate; he noted that he wrote "Forever Red" as if "Scorpion Rain" was in continuity. See the {{fanon}} page for details.
* The whole ''{{Stargate}}'' franchise, sort of. Some of the people working on it apparently hung out on fan forums and possibly got a lot of ideas there. There were even episodes with alternate universes or time lines in order to throw in some popular relationships or events that don't fit into the normal storyline (most of the characters in SG-1 were in the air force and so could not have romantic relationships). Also fans pointing out mistakes caused things to get changed, such as the steps of the gate room in Atlantis, which displayed Ancient writing with some lines out of order and upside down. It turns out they had already been fixed, but were "fixed" again in response to forum threads and ended up having to be rearranged some more. Who knows if they ever got it right. But after the fans started figuring out how to read the alien text, the art people started hiding messages. This may be more like PanderingToTheBase, except that they were in direct contact with the fan community.
* Several episodes of the 6th season of ''XenaWarriorPrincess'' were written by a (critically acclaimed) fanfic writer who was approached by the creators of the show and asked to write a bunch of episodes.

* A rare example from the funny papers. Jeff [=MacNelly=] originally drew and wrote ''{{Pluggers}}'' himself, but after readers began submitting gags, he changed the strip so that ''all'' of the gags were submitted by readers. The trend continued when [=MacNelly=] handed the strip over to Gary Brookins[[note]]who also took over art duties on [=MacNelly's=] other strip, ''{{Shoe}}'', after [=MacNelly=] died in 2000[[/note]] in 1997.

* {{ECW}}, from Paul [[DrinkingTheKoolAid "Drinking the Kool-Aid"]] Heyman, to PromotedFanboy "Loose Cannon of Commentary" Joey Styles. (Although Heyman is generally regarded as a good booker... just a terrible businessman, and Styles is considered a fine commentator, if one with a reputation of not wanting to play ball with the WWE (however justifiably)).

* ''{{Exalted}}'' does this religiously; multiple current writers for the line got their start creating fan works on the official forums.
** In a case of TropesAreNotBad, the main block of them (the Ink Monkeys) are often liked ''more'' than the original, professional authors. (Though not universally, of course - fanbases always split.)

* TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons had several reasons for this even aside of HouseRules tradition meeting Internet communities. "[=3rd=] party" supplements having [[InNameOnly little to do with]] established canon on any issue are okay and in D&D3 era even inevitable (due to OGL). Development for settings dropped while switching to new editions was taken over by fan communities, as some sort of {{Abandonware}}. And the new generation of designers ran free even through [=WotC/Hasbro=] {{sourcebook}}s supposed to be {{canon}}. A good thing for uncharted areas, but all too often it wasn't expansion, but walking over established parts so obliviously you almost hear "{{Squee}}!" from the page. Things could go smoother if this didn't coincide with the time when focus shifted from modelling specific settings to expanding universal rules, for fan enthusiasm knows no limits.
** Much of the Arthaus product line for the {{Ravenloft}} D&D setting was authored by former members of the Kargatane, a team of fans responsible for Ravenloft-fandom's first major website, netbooks, and fanzine.
** DarkSun and {{Spelljammer}} were taken by their respective online fan communities, expanded and d20-adapted.

** Variety of stuff, sometimes [[{{Animesque}} weird]], fans of other works bring in whether it makes sense -- as in, "we need some huge space monsters in TabletopGame/{{Spelljammer}}'', let's add a giant turtle with a wink to ''Franchise/{{Gamera}}'' -- and where it doesn't -- as in...

*** When the new generation of developers sometimes can't even make up a good name, we have books named after artifacts from earlier editions, or something like [[http://index.rpg.net/display-entry.phtml?articleid=2651 this]] DragonMagazine: ''[[TabletopGame/GeistTheSinEaters Sin Eaters]] of Eilistraee'' (from one of ''[[http://index.rpg.net/display-entry.phtml?mainid=411 Lords of Madness]]: The Book of [[WhatMeasureIsANonCute Aberrations]]'' authors). Nope, not an April issue.
* ''Magic: The Gathering'' turned this trope into a point of prestige. Fans that are good enough to win the Worldwide Invitational are able to design a card for a future set, [[http://mtg.wikia.com/wiki/Invitational_Cards some of which turn out to be quite good]].

* There are quite a few {{LEGO}} set designers, PR workers and other staff who started out as prolific members of LEGO's large PeripheryDemographic. General consensus is that modern set design is for the most part so much the better for it, and it certainly contributes nicely to LEGO's extensive efforts to keep involved with the fandom and its events.

* ''{{Painkiller}}: Overdose'' was originally developed as a fanmade mod to the original game before the publishers of the original game, Dreamcatcher, decided to give the team funding to spin the mod into a full release to score a fast buck. The results show all too well.
* [=NeverSoft=] were {{Big Name Fan}}s of the ''GuitarHero'' series prior to Harmonix's departure. After Harmonix left, they took over the series and made a lot of [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks questionable changes]] to the series including ''GuitarHero III's'' infamous [[LuckBasedMission "Guitar Battles"]], {{Mission Pack Sequel}}s, FakeDifficulty, {{Mission Pack Sequel}}s, [[CashCowFranchise more]] {{Mission Pack Sequel}}s and the death of the series through market oversaturation of {{Mission Pack Sequel}}s.
* Tom Hulett and Simon Lai, the producers of ''[[{{Contra}} Contra 4]]'' for the Nintendo DS, both admit to being bigger fans of the earlier ''Contra'' games for the NES and SNES than the BossRush-filled later sequels like ''Hard Corps'' and ''Shattered Soldier'', making ''Contra 4'' as a homage to those early installments. Hulett in particular also admits to being a fan of the gag localizations of the early titles instead of the more direct and serious localizations of recent titles, which is why the manual of ''Contra 4'' is written in such a tongue-in-cheek tone similar to Konami's manuals during the NES era and which is why the two new main characters accompanying Bill and Lance are named Mad Dog and Scorpion, [[MythologyGag which were the nicknames given to Bill and Lance in the early American versions]]. However, they also retconned the events of ''Operation C'' from being a previous mission of Bill Rizer, to being a previous of the "new characters" Mad Dog and Scorpion.
* It is a common practice for {{MMORPG}}s to hire well-known MMORPG players to write up quests.

* Seems to be the entire business model for TelltaleGames. Opinions vary, of course, but generally their work receives positive reviews from both critics and fans.

* [[AvatarAndTheAirbendingFellowshipOfVampireSlayers Happens]] [[ThePunishersSongOfEvangelionAndIMustScream repeatedly]] [[MyLittleRainbowPrincessPrettyMoonShortcake on this]] [[Pantheon/{{Tales}} very]] wiki.
* TheSlenderManMythos ''started'' smack dab under this trope. It helps that the Mythos has no real WordOfGod to hinge on except as it pertains to individual works.

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* ''{{Exiern}}'', original creator and writer Drowemos first ''sold'' the comic to fan and author Dan Standing. As one of his first acts in charge, Standing invited fans to submit scripts to become the main writers. The first of these main writers to be selected from within the fanbase is Thomas Knapp.
* Deliberately invoked by Tycho of ''WebComic/PennyArcade'' with ''EpicLegendsOfTheHierarchs'' and ''SongOfTheSorcelator''. Tycho invited readers to flesh their wikis out with snippets of hilariously abominable prose.
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* ''TransformersAnimated'' is what happens when fans RunningTheAsylum have a whole shiny new continuity-sandbox to play around in. The result is loads and loads of {{mythology gag}}s, the RuleOfCool reigning supreme, a kid-companion who ''doesn't suck'', [[TropesAreNotBad and a very, very happy audience]].
** This was raised UpToEleven in the Japanese dub, when '''JamProject''' sings the opening theme in that version.
* ''TheSimpsons'' has suffered from this, with new generations of writers who were brought up on and inspired by the more surreal and extreme aspects of the show's humor, focusing on that to the detriment of the characters.

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' has a variation on this. LaurenFaust, the main creative force for the show, had a habit of playing with MLP figures when she was a kid and making up her own personalities for them (although those personalities were usually at least to a certain degree based on the characters canonical ones). Said personalities became the basis for the main cast of her show. [[TropesAreNotBad This wasn't a bad thing]], since she took a franchise whose previous animated adaptations were mostly considered lazy commercials to sell toys, and made a show with interesting characters, good writing, and nice animation (the last one is quite a feat considering it uses AdobeFlash).

* Just about all we know of the philosopher Socrates is through the writing of his fanboy, Plato. There has been much argument as to how much is really Socrates, and how much was Plato using his dead hero as a mouth puppet. Diogenes of Sinope had some scathing opinions on the subject.

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** From the way he writes [[UltimateShowdownOfUltimateDestiny ultimate showdowns of ultimate destiny]], it's apparent that FrankMiller likes {{Batman}} but not any of DC Comics' other heroes.

* ''SupermanReturns'' is a textbook example. Bryan Singer, having turned the [[KudzuPlot extremely convoluted]], SpaceOpera-esque ''X-Men'' universe into two down-to-earth, accessible and critically acclaimed hits, was hired on the assumption that he'd do the same with Superman. The problem was that Singer was initially not an ''X-Men'' fan at all, and thus understood what other non-fans (i.e. millions of movie-goers) would find compelling about the source material and made the movies around that stuff. ''[[Film/{{Superman}} Superman: The Movie]]'', on the other hand, was his ''one of his favorite films'', and thus the franchise-making blockbuster he was entrusted to deliver wound up as some sort of vague sequel to films that came out 30 years earlier PACKED with [[ContinuityPorn dozens of quotes and forced homages]] to said films in lieu of new material, and a bizarre plot featuring [[spoiler:Superman as the absentee father of a maybe-half-Kryptonian child which Lois might not remember conceiving depending on whether or not he erased her memory of their affair from either version of ''SupermanII'', prior to the events this film, which they don't explain]]. It did not go over well, and a reboot began just seven years after ''Returns'' came out.

* * ''ComicBook/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicIDW'': Both Andy Price and Katie Cook had plenty of G4 fanart on their Website/DeviantArt pages before the series was announced, and Katie has said she was a fan of the original G1 series. This leads to such things as Derpy being featured prominently and being fond of muffins, “flank” being used as a synonym for “butt,” etc.

* ''SupermanReturns'' is a textbook example. Bryan Singer, having turned the [[KudzuPlot extremely convoluted]], SpaceOpera-esque ''X-Men'' universe into two down-to-earth, accessible and critically acclaimed hits, was hired on the assumption that he'd do the same with Superman. The problem was that Singer was initially not an ''X-Men'' fan at all, and thus understood what other non-fans (i.e. millions of movie-goers) would find compelling about the source material and made the movies around that stuff. ''[[Film/{{Superman}} Superman: The Movie]]'', on the other hand, was his ''one of his favorite films'', and thus the franchise-making blockbuster he was entrusted to deliver wound up as some sort of vague sequel to films that came out 30 years earlier PACKED with [[ContinuityPorn dozens of quotes and forced homages]] to said films in lieu of new material, and a bizarre plot featuring [[spoiler:Superman as the absentee father of a maybe-half-Kryptonian child which Lois might not remember conceiving depending on whether or not he erased her memory of their affair from either version of ''SupermanII'', prior to the events this film, which they don't explain]]. It did not go over well, and a reboot is currently underway.

-->''You could say that any Batman fan writing a Batman comic is writing fan fiction.''

Not to be confused with the Creator/EdgarAllanPoe short story "The System of [[IncrediblyLamePun Dr. Tarr and Professor Fether]]" or the video game ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamAsylum'', in which the inmates really do run the asylum. Or with TheAsylum, a film studio specializing in {{Mockbuster}}s.

Basically, the "inmates" take over the asylum. Note that TropesAreNotBad still applies here, even though it's trivia.

* MarvelComics got into this a bit slower(they started five years later) but is definitely there. Stuff like ''Avengers Forever'' is sometimes referred to as "ContinuityPorn".

** A particularly divisive example of this is ''CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'' itself. Some years after everything went down, it came to light that MarvWolfman, the man who'd come up with the idea (which the DC execs then signed off on), had been fomenting the essential idea behind ''Crisis'' for a long time... that is to say, ever since he was '''ten years old'''. This has sparked all ''kinds'' of accusations, most of them concerning the idea that the entire DC Universe was allowed to be the plaything of one man's childhood fantasies. This revelation (and the ''incredible'' bad blood it sparked between Wolfman and Thomas, whose own "playground" was removed from existence and relevance utterly) is what essentially sparked the "my continuity is best" attitude at DC, which is still felt to this day.

* ''PowerRangers'' has fans, too. The tenth anniversary season, ''Series/PowerRangersWildForce'', promoted long-time fan Amit Bhaumik to head writer status. Reactions are split: the season itself is considered abysmal, but that had just as much to do with the cast and showrunner Jonathan Tzachor[[hottip:*:who is known for being a fanboy... of the ''SuperSentai'' source material, mandating that his ''Power Rangers'' seasons [[ShotForShotRemake skew as closely to the original Sentai programs as possible]]; a mentality that led to previous head writer Judd Lynn quitting at the end of ''Series/PowerRangersTimeForce''.]] as the writing staff or anything else. On the other hand, there are the two (completely original) [[ReunionShow team-up specials]]. The traditional previous/current season cross is considered one of the best the franchise has to offer, as not only does it bring back a very popular cast, it also provides closure for the season's villains, manages to integrate the two teams almost seamlessly, and even provides some ShipTease: not only could [[ActionGirl Jen]] and Wes have a happier ending than previously thought, but so could ''TF's'' [[SixthRanger Eric]] and ''WF's'' Taylor. Meanwhile, the tenth anniversary special, despite being a banned topic on many message boards and ripping open plot hole upon plot hole, is still plenty entertaining, between the various {{continuity nod}}s and well-choreographed fight scenes. Notably, it also features a reference to a fan hoax known as "Scorpion Rain," which Bhaumik helped perpetuate; he noted that he wrote "Forever Red" as if "Scorpion Rain" was in continuity. See the {{fanon}} page for details.

* ComicBook/{{Cyclops}} is often a victim of this trope too. While he's never been the most popular X-Man, the main reason for those who dislike him stems from the way [[TheBusCameBack he was written back into the comics]] after leaving to be with his new wife and son. Because of a writer who was a fan of the original five, Cyclops and Jean were returned and reunited, but while it wasn't NEARLY as cut and dry as many remember it, it basically involved Scott leaving and through a series of convoluted events was unable to find his wife and son, believed them dead, and so resumed a relationship with Jean. Because of THAT, there's many people who now hate him, and it effected how he was written. Some writers deliberatly write him as unlikable because they dislike him, and because of others reading him like that, its caused his character to be degenerated quite a bit by some writers.

See also AscendedFanon, PromotedFanboy, DarthWiki/WallBanger, DorkAge, CanonDefilement.

** In the 1980s then-unknown Creator/NicholasBriggs and some other fans created an audio series called the DoctorWhoAudioVisuals. They eventually went pro, founded the official audio series BigFinishDoctorWho, and adapted many of their old FanFic stories into radio episodes proper, which are ''still ongoing'' with Briggs as the ShowRunner. Creator/NicholasBriggs also managed to cast many of the Doctors and their companions in his unrelated TV and film works, and currently voices the Daleks and the Cybermen in the TV show.

Not to be confused with the Creator/EdgarAllanPoe short story "The System of [[IncrediblyLamePun Dr. Tarr and Professor Fether]]" or the video game ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamAsylum'', in which the inmates actually do run the asylum. Or with TheAsylum, a film studio specializing in {{Mockbuster}}s.

** Volume 4 ''ComicBook/{{Legion Of Super-Heroes}}'' comics was infamous for this. Many consider Volume 4 to be the worst, with elements like Element Lad's girlfriend becoming a stalker with a [[GenderBender sex change]] (some fans considered him to be gay), Lightning Lad revealing to actually be the AlienScrappy and TeamPet Proty that revived him 25 years before, and the [[SpinoffBabies teenage clones]] [[TomatoInTheMirror that might not have been clones...]] The next group of writers to take over considered themselves forced to perform the first complete {{reboot}} of the Legion ever (not even ''CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'' could do that), wiping out all previous history and fan elements. And just to show how much of a BrokenBase the fandom is, the people who liked Volume 4 accused that next group of being the ones RunningTheAsylum.

* Arguably, the famous "The Night Gwen Stacy Died" is a result of this. Gerry Conway was a PromotedFanboy, who didn't care for Gwen and thought Peter should hook up with Mary Jane. So he basically had Gwen [[DieForOurShip die for his ship]]. BUT, this is still unconfirmed. According to official sources, Gwen was killed off because Conway wanted to kill off Aunt May, but the editors wouldn't let him, and told him to kill off Gwen instead. Its not confirmed if it was indeed a case of him personally proffering Mary Jane.
** Actually, he clears this up somewhat in a graphic novel compilation of the original Clone Saga. The idea of killing Gwen Stacy was already being bandied about when he became the writer, he was simply the guy who executed it. He does admit that he thought Mary Jane was a better love interest for Peter, but more the point, felt that the death of beloved Gwen Stacy would be another defining moment for a character defined by tragedy. As he says, "tragedy and pathos are meat and potatoes to a guy like me."

*** The frustrating part is that Anthony tried GrowingTheBeard with the ''Xanth'' books around the mid teens - and it worked, for a few books. Then around book 20, he seemed to give up even trying to actually write stories, and just stringing the thousands of puns he's sent together and calling them books.
**** Anthony has repeatedly displayed a great deal of insight into the mind of publishers and the consumer public, and a rather cynical view on it. It's likely he realized that coming up with some characters and a plot outline and having the characters 1) meet someone new every chapter, 2) do a full round of introductions and a story recap to that new person, and 3) just wandering from reader-submitted pun to reader-submitted pun in between was a much easier way to meet his word count and get his paycheck than actually bothering to write a story.
* Creator/HPLovecraft actually went off and encouraged fans of his work to do this. In fact, he read most of his fanfiction, and on a few occasions even ''expanded'' off his fanfiction.

* Several episodes of the 6th season of ''XenaWarriorPrincess'' were actually written by a (critically acclaimed) fanfic writer who was approached by the creators of the show and asked to write a bunch of episodes.

* ''Magic: The Gathering'' actually turned this trope into a point of prestige. Fans that are good enough to win the Worldwide Invitational are able to design a card for a future set, [[http://mtg.wikia.com/wiki/Invitational_Cards some of which]] [[CaptainObvious turn out to be quite good]].

* It is actually a common practice for {{MMORPG}}s to hire well-known MMORPG players to write up quests.

* TheSlenderManMythos actually ''started'' smack dab under this trope. It helps that the Mythos has no real WordOfGod to hinge on except as it pertains to individual works.

** The new series has this from the get-go; RussellTDavies, naturally, was a huge fan. Current showrunner StevenMoffat is also an überfan.

**** It's had a notable effect on some characters as well, many BronzeAge, DarkAge, and ModernAge characters, with Wally West (who was all but cast aside for Barry, and is now missing, along with Donna Troy), Stephanie Brown (who's initial [[StuffedInTheFridge Fridging]] was apparently requested by Dan DiDio, [[KickTheDog not to mention what happened concerning her after ''ComicBook/Flashpoint'']]), and Cassandra Cain (who during their run was derailed, dismantled, and discarded, along with also being apparently removed from continuity) being the most notable examples. Its became more or less clear that someone high in DC's editorial who got control during the mid 00s has some serious issues with these three. There are hints that Wally West and Donna Troy will eventually return (Geoff Johns and Grant Morrison both are Wally fans), but apparently Cass Cain and Stephanie Brown are now considered "toxic" by DC.

**** Wally West remains a fan favorite despite his current MIA status in the reboot. He is not the only sidelined speedster. Max Mercury and Jesse Quick are also missing. DC's going to have to deal with questions about Wally for a while, and even the current Flash creative team has expressed an interest in bringing him back--and given their status as rising stars at DC, they may get their wish. DC's all or nothing attitude is odd especially given that DC has several Robins (and ex-Robins) as well as multiple Earth Green Lanterns, pretty much all of whom are still active as of ''New 52'' (except poor Stephanie Brown, who seems to be some kind of an inverted CreatorsPet).

**** It's had a notable effect on some characters as well, many BronzeAge, DarkAge, and ModernAge characters, with Wally West (who was all but cast aside for Barry, and is now missing, along with Donna Troy), Stephanie Brown (who's initial [[StuffedInTheFridge Fridging]] was apparently requested by Dan DiDio, [[KickTheDog not to mention what happened concerning her after the reboot]]), and Cassandra Cain (who during their run was derailed, dismantled, and discarded, along with also being apparently removed from continuity) being the most notable examples. Its became more or less clear that someone high in DC's editorial who got control during the mid 00s has some serious issues with these three. There are hints that Wally West and Donna Troy will eventually return (Geoff Johns and Grant Morrison both are Wally fans), but apparently Cass Cain and Stephanie Brown are now considered "toxic" by DC.

**** Curiously, some of this seems to have been undone by the ''{{New 52}}''. Ryan Choi is TheAtom again, Kendra Saunders is [[{{Hawkman}} Hawkgirl]], on ''ComicBook/{{Earth 2}}'', Jason Rusch is still '''a''' {{Firestorm}}, and so on.

** After the classic series was cancelled, the then-unknown Creator/NicholasBriggs and some other fans created an audio series called the DoctorWhoAudioVisuals. They eventually went pro, founded the official audio series BigFinishDoctorWho, and adapted many of their old FanFic stories into radio episodes proper, which are ''still ongoing'' with Briggs as the ShowRunner. Creator/NicholasBriggs also managed to cast many of the Doctors and their companions in his unrelated TV and film works, and currently voices the Daleks and the Cybermen in the TV show.

*** And don't forget the hat-trick of Hugo Awards that Moffat has won. He has consistently written episodes that are not only great episodes of Doctor Who but great episodes of TV and Science Fiction in general, all the while going against some of the elements of Doctor Who that have routinely been criticized over the years (the often very high death-toll).