Line #61 Main/BackportedDevelopment


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9	Sometimes, [[CharacterDevelopment characters develop over the course of a show]]. And sometimes, [[{{Flashback}} shows will present new scenes from earlier time periods]]. And sometimes, characters in a flashback (or a prequel) will exhibit character unlike the way they acted before the time the flashback is occurring.
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11	For example, when [[AliceAndBob Bob]] started on the show in 1991 he was characterized as a {{Jerkass}}, but became a JerkWithAHeartOfGold in 1993, and then just became a nice guy by 1995, but is shown in a recent flashback to 1991 to have been a NiceGuy in that year, with no explanation/extenuating circumstances.
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13	Usually, this happens unintentionally due to {{Flanderization}} and CharacterizationMarchesOn, often due to the too many flashbacks to track characterization in an ExpansionPackPast. This might be used to {{Retcon}} an existing flashback, maybe because it also had to be reshot since it was a FlashbackWithTheOtherDarrin. If you not only pick up your old characterization but also your old visual style, it's a RetrauxFlashback. It's also this trope rather than FlashbackWithTheOtherDarrin when a present-day actor or character design is used to represent a character in a new scene set in the past.
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15	Trope name comes from "backporting," a concept in software development where features from a new codebase are imported to an older branch of development.
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18	!!Examples:
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20	[[foldercontrol]]
21
22	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
23	* ''Manga/AyakashiTriangle'': Early on, Lu was shown as slightly interested in the occult in general, then became completely obsessed with aliens specifically [[AlienFairFolk when she mistook an ayakashi for one]]. But in a later flashback, she's shown just as focused on aliens in middle school, immediately assuming a vanished Suzu was abducted by an UFO.
24	* ''Anime/CardfightVanguard'' features a bunch of those due to the MerchandiseDriven nature of the anime.
25	** In the original anime series Booster Set names were often explicitly spelled out, implying that the in-universe card releases were the same as the ones from the real card game. This didn't stop the series to also show flashbacks to years before the start of the series showing cards that shouldn't be out yet.
26	** In ''Anime/CardfightVanguardG'', there's a flashback to at least 15 years before the start of the original series. A fight in this scene includes characters using Stride Units, a mechanic that wasn't actually developed until several years later.
27	* Shinichi Kudo, the hero of ''Manga/CaseClosed'', began the series as a rather callous figure who only solved cases to pursue his own dream of becoming more like his idol Literature/SherlockHolmes, and [[GlorySeeker get famous]] along the way. He approached his investigations with little concern for other people's emotions, and even expressed his contempt for the criminals he caught no matter how [[SympatheticMurderer sympathetic]], even going so far as to tell a culprit who had previously attacked his [[ChildhoodFriendRomance childhood friend and crush]] Ran that if he was going to commit suicide, [[SuicideDare he should just get it over with already]]. It wasn't until the day a particularly sympathetic and kindly culprit actually succeeded in committing suicide in front of him that he realized his mistakes and adopted his creed, "A detective who corners a culprit with logic but then allows them to commit suicide is no different than a murderer." Then in the WholeEpisodeFlashback ''Shinichi Kudo's New York Case'', set two years before the main series, Shinichi doesn't hesitate to [[SaveTheVillain save the life]] of a remorseless SerialKiller who had been attacking Ran only a few seconds before, even telling the killer "I don't need a logical reason to help someone, right?" with a smile on his face.
28	** A reversed example from the same series, involving the same character. In ''The Night Baron Murder Case'', Ran, feeling down because her martial arts idol is emerging as the prime suspect in the case, remembers Shinichi once told her that if someone he cared about were ever a suspect, he would investigate them thoroughly. However, when Shinichi's soccer idol Ray Curtis is a suspect in ''The Three Ks of Osaka Case'', Shinichi intentionally underperforms for fear that he might prove Curtis's guilt. This is a more ambiguous example, though, because while it might be out of character for pre-character development Shinichi to suspect someone he cares about, it would be ''entirely'' in character for him to ''say'' he would, just because [[RuleOfCool it sounds like a cool line a Great Detective might say]].
29	* In ''Manga/OnePiece'' we have Luffy, the straw-hat-wearing hero. He got the hat, which is his NumberOneDime, as a seven-year-old. At the start of the series, where he is seventeen, this caused a problem for him because the hat would often fall off in battles so that he would have to make another person hold it for him. After the Alabasta arc, he gets a string strap for it so that he can have it hanging from his neck while fighting which gives him much more flexibility (probably because he was very close at losing the hat in the Alabasta arc). Some time later, we get a flashback to when he was seven years old, and suddenly, it appears that he already had the string strap back then.
30	* ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'':
31	** Whenever Ash appears in flashbacks he is an [[{{keet}} excitable]] FriendToAllLivingThings and an all-around NiceGuy. This is ignoring his personality in the original series (Kanto and Johto) where he was a more bratty and stubborn character. Even ''Anime/PokemonIChooseYou'' features the less cocky, less hardheaded Ash. It was his CharacterDevelopment that transformed him into a more tame and gentle character by Hoenn.
32	** Likewise, every flashback with Pikachu will depict him as a kind-natured and naïve NiceGuy, despite the fact that Pikachu started off a disobedient and lazy {{jerkass}} when Ash received him in the first episode. Even throughout Kanto, Pikachu had some mean elements, which were watered away as time went on. The origin episode in ''Anime/PokemonJourneysTheSeries'' does show him being a jerk to Ash during their first meeting, though.
33	** In the credits of ''Anime/MewtwoStrikesBackEvolution'' (a CGI remake of [[Anime/PokemonTheFirstMovie the first film]]), the mother-daughter duo who first appeared in Movie 8, can be seen in the background, most likely because they'd been in most ''Pokémon'' movies since then (only missing out on movies 9 and 17).
34	[[/folder]]
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36	[[folder:Audio Plays]]
37	* Downplayed in the audiobook version of ''Literature/RedDwarf: Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers'', Chris Barrie does an impression of Robert Lewellyn doing a [[FakeNationality Fake Canadian]] accent as Kryten, even though the scenes are based on Krytyen's Season II introduction episode, where he was played by David Ross sounding like [=C3P0=]. However, the novels are an AlternateContinuity from the TV series, so it's not even technically a retcon in the first place.
38	[[/folder]]
39
40	[[folder:Comic Books]]
41	* ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}:''
42	** Up until the 80s, Batman and Robin were not very different as characters--Batman was a well-adjusted swashbuckling adventurer and hero, and Robin was more or less the same, but younger and a bit less skilled and mature. In the 80s, though, Batman's personality took its more iconic form as a grim and troubled crimefighter. To contrast this, the third Robin, Tim Drake, was explicitly introduced with the intent of being a more lighthearted and affable sort. Nearly every future ''Batman'' story since has run with this interpretation of Batman and Robin as a CynicIdealistDuo--not just for Tim Drake, but backporting the relationship to Dick Grayson as well, playing him up as a laughing young daredevil to contrast Batman's straightlacedness.
43	** Jason Todd was mostly written as a SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute to Dick Grayson, developing a hint of an edge in the late 80s. After ''ComicBook/ADeathInTheFamily'', though, it became increasingly common to portray Jason as erratic and maladjusted--something that was only furthered by his resurrection as the Red Hood.
44	** This explains the controversy about Damian Wayne's conception. His mother, Talia al Ghul, spent her early years [[MadScientistsBeautifulDaughter conflicted between loyalty to her villainous father and her love for Batman]]; ultimately, she chooses villainy. When Damian was introduced, he was explained as a result of [[ChildByRape Talia drugging Bruce]], essentially {{retcon}}ning away her moral ambiguity and any actual romance between the two. It's since been retconned back to a consensual relationship.
45	* ''ComicBook/ChaosWar'': ''Chaos War: Ares'' shows [[GodOfChaos Amatsu-Mikaboshi]] wearing his present-day duds in a flashback to the original Ares miniseries.
46	* ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'': ComicBook/TheThing used to speak fairly eloquently (while simultaneously being far more irascible), and his skin was muddy rather than rocky. However, this quickly changed, and by the time of Doctor Doom's first appearance, his crustier look (and speaking style) had already asserted themselves. In many flashbacks, he's portrayed as being like this from the start, save for in ''ComicBook/MarvelTwoInOne'' #50, in which the Thing travels back in time and meets himself.
47	-->'''Present Thing:''' Wait! Hold it! [[FunetikAksent Lissen ta me, willya?]] I can't fight you! I AM you!\
48	'''Past Thing:''' Don't mock me, monster! [[DramaticIrony I would give my soul to look as human as you!]]
49	* ''ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk'': A very brief example happened in the ''Origins of Marvel Comics'' compilation -- the Hulk was recolored to be green, as he is in the present, seemingly making it so he was green from the very beginning, when in the original publication, [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness he was grey]] (or meant to be, but coloring errors often messed that up). Once the Grey Hulk was made into an important part of the canon, this sort of thing stopped happening. [[AvertedTrope Now, the Hulk is always shown as being grey in his earliest days]].
50	* ''ComicBook/JudgeDredd'': Judge Anderson, a psychic Judge in the Dreddverse, was a very flippant and easy-going character when she first appeared, though would get serious when the situation mandated it. As time went on, [[CharacterDevelopment she became]] a rather serious character most of the time, and her dominant mood was vague despair at the [[CrapsackWorld shape of the world]]. In late 2010, possibly as part of the buildup to the new ''Film/{{Dredd}}'' movie, Alan Grant started writing a {{prequel}} series, ''Cadet Anderson'', set [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin during Anderson's days as a cadet]]. In the prequel series, she is a very serious character who wishes the world could be better, in seeming contrast to the fun and light-hearted lady who first fought Judge Death.
51	* ''ComicBook/SonicTheComic'': The 1998 story "Amy's Secret Past" depicts a tomboyish ActionGirl Amy even prior to her becoming a Freedom Fighter. In early comics, Amy had a more chipper and girly personality. It also depicts Robotnik with his "evolved" design despite that not appearing until several issues into the series.
52	* ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'': General Sam Lane, originally Lois's gruff father who didn't like Clark much and wasn't entirely impressed with Superman, but had a good heart beneath it all, died during the alien invasion of ''ComicBook/OurWorldsAtWar''. When he came BackFromTheDead, his experiences in that war had left him with a new anti-alien attitude that turned him into a GeneralRipper declaring war on ComicBook/NewKrypton. In the ''ComicBook/SupermanSecretOrigin'' miniseries, Sam was gunning for Superman from the first moment he learned Metropolis's new hero was an alien, and is responsible for creating Metallo as his anti-Kryptonian weapon.
53	* ''ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}'': Wolverine's personality has remained pretty consistent throughout his decades of publication, but his speaking style hasn't. Modern incarnations of Wolvie have him speak in a very coarse, almost Texan drawl-like FunetikAksent, and in his worse days, he'll refer to ''everyone'' as '[[VerbalTic bub]]', no matter the situation. It can be very jarring to go back to early issues and find he had a pretty normal way of speaking during the seventies. Being over 200 years old, he occasionally guest-stars in flashback issues, such as his appearance in ''ComicBook/AgentsOfAtlas'', in which he inevitably talks in the familiarly rough dialect he uses in the present day.
54	[[/folder]]
55
56	[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
57	* Bo Peep from ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory1'' is depicted as "gentle, ladylike, and kindhearted". When she re-appears in ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory4'' after being PutOnABus in ''3'', she is shown to be a free-spirited and tomboyish ActionGirl. A flashback in the 4th film to the time before she was given away shows her organizing RC's rescue together with Woody, even though her role in the first film was more of TheHeart than Woody's NumberTwo.
58	[[/folder]]
59
60	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
61	* As ''Series/DadsArmy'' progressed, Warden Hodges became the Chief ARP Warden, Private Frazer went from running a philatelists shop to being an undertaker, and TheVicar and the Verger were gradually established as characters. In ''Film/DadsArmy1971'', all of these elements are present from the start.
62	* As the ''Film/HarryPotter'' films went along, [[GeographicFlexibility the architecture of Hogwarts kept getting altered]]. Despite being prequels, the ''Film/FantasticBeasts'' films use the ''[[Film/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows Deathly Hallows]]'' version of the castle.
63	* ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse'': Initially, Thor is depicted with the sort of personality you'd expect the prince of a ProudWarriorRace like Asgard to have. ''Thor: Ragnarok'' changes him to be slightly more of a doofus, with a more casual way of speaking and acting. ''Avengers: Endgame'' depicts his ''Avengers'' self acting in much the same way.
64	* Anything related to [[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries the original]] ''Franchise/StarTrek'' treats Chekov as having been there from the beginning, and ignores details about the clothing and technology that were different in the first two pilots. Most notably, ''[[Film/StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan Wrath of Khan]]'' has Khan explicitly remembering Chekov from the events of "Space Seed", an episode Chekov did not appear in.
65	* In ''Film/StarTrekNemesis'', they show a picture of Jean-Luc Picard when he was young, and for some reason, he was bald, despite the fact that his balding had everything to do with his age, as previously shown in the show. This also makes the villain's baldness quite baffling. However, Creator/PatrickStewart himself really ''had'' lost his hair by this age, really muddling things. One handwave that swims dangerously close to being a VoodooShark is the fact that both the picture and Shinzon have stubble, indicating both the young Picard and his clone both shaved their heads on purpose. Other flashback Picards with hair had just let it grow back.
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67
68	[[folder:Literature]]
69	* The ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}'' novel series began in 2003 but the first two books [[BroadStrokes very loosely adapted]] the 2001 and 2002 stories as well.
70	** The concept of the Three Virtues, Unity, Duty and Destiny, which became the core pillars of the lore in 2003, were retroactively written into the previous stories and were constantly referred to in the dialogue.
71	** Lewa originally spoke normally but for his appearance in the 2003 movie ''Mask of Light'', he adopted the Le-Matoran tribe's characteristic "[[WeWillUseWikiWordsInTheFuture treespeak]]" dialect. In the first two books he speaks treespeak to begin with even before he meets his tribe and learns their special language. This created a continuity gaffe when a 2008 book flashed back to Lewa's earlier self, where he also talked completely normally.
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73
74	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
75	* ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'': In the flashback episode "The Staircase Implementation," Sheldon acts like his current [[NoSocialSkills socially inept]] self instead of his more socially conscious earlier persona, despite the fact that the episode takes place four years before the series begins.
76	* In ''Series/BoyMeetsWorld'', Topanga is originally a HopelessSuitor for Cory and a CloudCuckooLander. The high school era made her a totally different character with none of the weirdness that had defined her in the first couple of seasons, and gave her and Cory a RelationshipUpgrade. All flashbacks and references to the past from then on pretended that Topanga had always been exactly as she is now, and that she and Cory had been in love since preschool. This was given a HandWave as Cory having been going through a GirlsHaveCooties phase in the first season.
77	* Every time the Doctor's days on Gallifrey are referenced in ''Series/DoctorWho'', it sounds like they're talking about a younger version of the ''current'' Doctor, not First. For instance in the Fourth Doctor story "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS14E3TheDeadlyAssassin The Deadly Assassin]]", we're told that the young Doctor had a "propensity for vulgar facetiousness".
78	* ''Series/{{Frasier}}:'' Martin was supposedly insufferably crabby and unpleasant before Frasier moved back to Seattle, which is used to explain why Frasier rarely visited when he lived in Boston. Flashbacks in some later seasons definitely show family tension, but Martin’s personality isn’t noticeably different (he’s even apologetic for what little crabbiness he displays), making a lot of the pre-series family drama a mostly InformedFlaw.
79	* ''Series/{{Highlander the Series}}'': In the pilot, it is stated that Duncan has remained "out of the Game" for over a century. Later, throughout the series he is depicted in flashbacks defending himself from other Immortals and taking heads throughout said century. Of course, given [[ThereCanBeOnlyOne the nature of immortals]] in Highlander, it's impossible to survive if you aren't good at defending yourself and willing to end an opponent before he does the same to you, even if you're not after the ultimate power the last immortal standing is supposed to receive. Yes, they can't attack you on holy ground, but that means you'd have to hole up in a church somewhere and never set foot off its property for one moment ''ever.'' Nope, you'd better be good enough with the sword to at least survive a trip to the store for more toilet paper.
80	* In ''Series/{{Loki\|2021}}'', the title character is shown in a 1971 flashback acting much like he does in in the first ''Avengers'' movie and onwards, being confident, snarky and enjoying himself as he's playing deadly pranks (in this case, [[StockUnsolvedMysteries pretending to be D.B. Cooper]]). This is a sharp contrast to how his younger self in the first ''Thor'' movie was an insecure ShrinkingViolet who shows opposition to getting into trouble with Thor. Furtherrmore, the variant of Loki the audience is following appears to go through much of the character development that his Sacred Timeline self went through over the course of the movies in a matter of hours, simply through Mobius ''telling'' him what happened to his counterpart following ''Film/{{The Avengers\|2012}}'' (and watching it play out in the Time Theater).
81	* Averted in ''Series/{{Lost}}'', which cuts around with its flashbacks, but keeps characterization as established when the scene takes place (noticeably when Shannon and Boone are shown shortly around the time of the crash, Shannon is still doing nothing but complaining.)
82	* ''Series/MyNameIsEarl'' had this twice, both with heavy lampshades. Two flashbacks saw Earl being the good guy despite the show's entire premise being he was an awful person until he "discovered" Karma. One featured Earl saving Joy from a killer bee while his [[TheAce cousin]] cowered in a tent, and the other was his [[{{Retcon}} reasoning]] for [[AuthorsSavingThrow raising two kids who were not his own]]. Both were described as the only good thing he did before he made the list.
83	* ''Series/RedDwarf'':
84	** In flashbacks to shortly after the revival of Rimmer (Series I), the style of the 'H' on his head and his uniform were the ones from Series VII.
85	** Kryten's [[TheOtherDarrin changed appearance]] is handwaved by the explanation that Lister rebuilt him after a spacebike crash, yet a few episodes later we see a moving photograph of Kryten pre-crash and he looks and speaks) the same as post-crash. Additionally, the other Series 4000 mechanoid we meet, Able, looks like the "rebuilt" Kryten as do his spare heads in "DNA" and "Beyond a Joke".
86	** The flashback in series 2's "Stasis Leak" to before the accident maintains the set design and props that were added to the bunk room in series 2.
87	* ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' had this in the series finale.
88	** The captain's chair shown in the past is the same one as the then-current chair, with little lights under the arm-rests instead of the folding panels the first season chair had.
89	** Past Worf's makeup design was slightly modified from the current version rather than being the version from the beginning of the series (which took much longer to apply and was more uncomfortable for the actor). His forehead ridges were TOTALLY different in Season 1, not just created by different makeup techniques.
90	** Also, O'Brien was treated as a major character, though originally, it wasn't clear that Colm Meaney's background redshirt in the premiere was intended to be O'Brien, who didn't become a major character until well into Season 2. Assuming that it ''is'' him lets them bring a major character BackForTheFinale, and it's easy to say that the time-travelling Picard gave him more attention because he ''now'' knows his true potential.
91	** Finally, there's no avoiding the fact that the actors don't look exactly the same. Tasha's a little chubbier than she was before because Denise Crosby hadn't had to keep herself in playing-a-starship-security-chief shape in a long time.
92	** It's all especially noticeable because, to their credit, they otherwise ''totally'' [[ShownTheirWork nailed the differences]] between Season 1 and the rest of the series.
93	* In Season 4 of ''Series/StrangerThings'', we get to see flashbacks to Eleven's time living in Hawkins Laboratory while under Dr. Brenner's care. In Season 1, Eleven was shown to be very unfamiliar with social cues and had a stilted vocabulary due to her sheltered life, yet she's shown speaking full sentences and understanding things quite well during the flashback sequences.
94	[[/folder]]
95
96	[[folder:Toys]]
97	* ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}'':
98	** There is an {{enforced\|Trope}} example. Originally, the [[{{Hobbits}} race of diminutive villagers]] was called "the Tohunga" until [[RealLifeWritesThePlot Maori activists threatened to sue]] the Franchise/{{LEGO}} Group for trying to MediaNotes/{{trademark}} culturally sensitive words from their language via the Platform/GameBoyAdvance game ''Tales of the Tohunga''. The Story team wrote a scene to [[MeaningfulRename change around a few names]], with the Tohunga becoming "the Matoran" in celebration of their newfound unity. That was until the story expanded beyond the island of Mata Nui with a {{prequel}} arc. Since they certainly couldn't reuse the old names, the word "Tohunga" was {{retcon}}ned out, and later story pretended Matoran had always been their name. This also happened to other characters and terms that had to be renamed for legal reasons (Jala - Jaller, Huki - Hewkii, Koli - Kolhii, etc.), as prequel scenes had to stick to their altered names.
99	** Tahu received a new toy design in 2010. Thus, in the online narrated blog ''Mata Nui Saga'', a flashback to his ancient self [[SealedGoodInACan being put into stasis]] showed that version, rather than his original 2001 look. Some fans tried to justify the change, as Tahu ''had'' rebuilt himself after his muscles had decayed during his stasis, arguing the 2010 design was his more muscular pre-rebuilt form. But in reality, it was simply done for the sake of marketing the new set.
100	* When NECA decided to do a collecter-aimed throwback to the ''Film/{{Aliens}}'' [[Franchise/AlienVsPredator and]] ''Franchise/{{Predator}}'' toylines Creator/{{Kenner}} did, it incorporated elements of the movies that came since those days, including tying the Nightstorm and Scavage Predators to the Black Predators first seen in ''Film/{{Predators}}'' (with the former even being the [[EvilCounterpart Eviller Counterpart]] to the Clan Leader Predator). Additionally, they made two figures in the scale and style of the Kenner toyline for the Berserker Predator/[[ProductionNickname Mr. Black]] from ''Predators'' and the Neomorph from ''Film/AlienCovenant''.
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102
103	[[folder:Video Games]]
104	* Averted in ''VideoGame/CrisisCore: VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', where despite having undergone {{Flanderization}} in sequels and spin-offs, Cloud [[CharacterRerailment acts really close to his original characterisation]] (or at least as close as you'd reasonably expect considering how much younger he is). Aerith also returns to being [[PluckyGirl bossy and intelligent]] rather than being IncorruptiblePurePureness and Yuffie goes back to being sneaky, sarcastic and manipulative rather than a goofy GenkiGirl.
105	* ''[[VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiSuperstarSaga Mario & Luigi Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions]]'' updates the standard Mario characters and species to resemble their equivalents in later [=RPGs=], leading to things like the Toads being made into mere palette swaps and quite a few monsters being given designs based on the main series rather than the original game. It also brings over the Elite Trio and Dr Toadley from ''Bowser's Inside Story'' too, opening up a few plot holes in the process (the former are wearing outfits that mark their promotion in ''Dream Team'', the latter apparently never met the Mario Bros before ''Bowser's Inside Story'').
106	* Solid Snake in the original ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' was extremely buff, but relatively compact, suiting someone who did have to crawl through air vents as part of his job description (his body was modelled on Creator/JeanClaudeVanDamme). In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty'' he has a thicker physique, which was intended to indicate him ageing from early 30s to middle-age and putting on weight. In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'', his father Big Boss is buffer still, compared in the casting sheet to an Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger type. Several later appearances of the character outside of the core series buff up Solid to his father's level, such as his appearance in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl'', and his frighteningly muscular render for ''The Legacy Collection'' where his biceps are significantly thicker than his entire head.
107	* ''Franchise/MortalKombat'': The story of ''VideoGame/MortalKombat9'' picks up right after [[VideoGame/MortalKombatArmageddon the previous game]], but none of the characters look as they did in ''Armageddon'' when we rewind and go back to [[VideoGame/MortalKombat1992 the first tournament]] (Johnny has short brown hair rather than the longer blondish hair he had at the time, Sonya wears her black leather outfit and has her hair in a long ponytail instead of wearing a bomber jacket and having her hair shorter, etc). And ''VideoGame/MortalKombatX'' flashes back to the ''VideoGame/MortalKombatII'' part of ''[=MK9=]'', and the characters look as they do in ''MKX'' rather than ''[=MK9=]''!
108	* ''VideoGame/Portal2'' changes the design on many items such as the elevators and the Material Emancipation Grills, yet when you return to destroyed areas from the first game they are fitted with the new design. Visiting "Old Aperture" later on reveals that these new designs were apparently in use in test chambers from decades before the first game took place. The devs specifically avoided this with the [[spoiler:original, burn-marked but intact CompanionCube]], though.
109	* Applied across the board in ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClank2016''. The characterization of Ratchet, Clank and Qwark are much more similar to that of the [=PS3=] titles, with Clank being more street-smart, Qwark being bumbling but not outright evil, and Ratchet having dreams of becoming a hero, a desire not introduced until ''[[VideoGame/RatchetAndClankAll4One All 4 One]]'' where he already became a hero. This also applies to the overall lore and worldbuilding that incorporates many developments that occurred since the original game: races like Fongoids and Tharpods from the later games appear, and companies like [=GrummelNet=] and Megacorp also have a presence far earlier than in the video games. Even the Protopet from the second game gets a tease far earlier than before. This is arguably justified by the game being [[UnreliableNarrator Qwark's]] recollections of the original game's story.
110	* ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'':
111	** In the first ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure'' game, Tails and Amy have flashbacks dating back to the times of the classic Mega Drive games. In them, Sonic, Tails and Amy are depicted in their modern designs. The devs apparently didn't feel like making alternate models for a few seconds worth of footage. This wasn't really a problem until ''VideoGame/SonicGenerations'' came out and established that the characters used to look like their classic designs in their younger years, though.
112	** In ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'', there are numerous cutscenes which show Shadow fifty years ago. Throughout the game, he acquires numerous bits of equipment, and the items you've got are visible on his character model even in the flashback cutscenes.
113	* ''[[VideoGame/SoulSeries Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny]]''[='=]s version of Yoshimitsu strongly resembles his ''VideoGame/{{Tekken}} 6'' appearance, where he looks like an alien rather than a samurai which is what he's supposed to be in the ''Soul'' series (it takes place centuries earlier). In the first ''Tekken'', Yoshimitsu looks more like a knight, which is more consistent with how he would have looked when the ''Soul'' series is set. Justified by the fact that the Yoshimitsu in both series are [[LegacyCharacter separate individuals bearing the same name]]. As theorized for years and finally confirmed in ''Soulcalibur V'' (which included a "Yoshimitsu the Second," the successor to the Yoshimitsu in the preceding four games), the leader of the Manji clan is whomever has ownership of a particular sword, also named Yoshimitsu, which is earned by [[KlingonPromotion defeating the previous Yoshimitsu in a]] DuelToTheDeath and assuming their name, allowing the cursed katana to accept them as their rightful wielder. The new Yoshimitsu then adopts the mannerisms, fighting style, and identity of their predecessor, [[LegacyImmortality thus continuing on the folk legend of Yoshimitsu]]. Beyond this, Yoshimitsu's design almost always changes between games (''[[DreamMatchGame Tekken Tag Tournament]]'' is the only exception to date, reusing his ''T3'' attire), and quite drastically. Even in his ''Soulcalibur'' appearances, where he conforms to a samurai-influenced aesthetic, does Yoshimitsu look wildly different between games.
114	[[/folder]]
115
116	[[folder:Web Animation]]
117	* Zig-zagged in ''WebAnimation/RedVsBlue''. Caboose is implied to have gotten to his current stupidity after he got possessed by an evil AI at the end of Season 1. Yet two episodes with flashbacks before that (in Seasons 3 and 14) he's already depicted with his SimpletonVoice and mannerisms. The flashbacks also have Sarge speaking in his Southern drawl instead of the R. Lee Ermey-esque ruff talk from Season 1. On the other hand, the OriginsEpisode in Season 14 displays [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness an inconsistent dynamic from the first episode]], where Sarge seemingly likes Grif better than Simmons (when later Sarge would display a borderline homicidal hatred for Grif, while respecting Simmons for being [[ProfessionalButtKisser a sycophantic]] NumberTwo).
118	[[/folder]]
119
120	[[folder:Webcomics]]
121	* This happens in ''Webcomic/MSPaintMasterpieces'', where Ferretvision and current strips contradict each other. In this case, though, it's a conscious retcon.
122	[[/folder]]
123
124	[[folder:Western Animation]]
125	* When Mr. Freeze was cloned in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'', he was depicted as still being bald despite having hair when we see a pre-Freeze Victor Fries in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' -- though considering the clone later redeveloped Freeze's inability to tolerate warm temperatures, maybe it was a sign of CloneDegeneration.
126	* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanReturnOfTheCapedCrusaders'', a tie-in movie to the '60s ''Series/{{Batman\|1966}}'' show, has a mention of Alfred as having worked for the Waynes since Bruce was a child. However, this was an idea introduced post-''ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'' with ''ComicBook/BatmanYearOne'', which was around 20 years after the show ended. Pre-''Crisis'', Alfred only joined Bruce's employ after Dick Grayson became Robin.
127	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Ninjago}}'': In a few of the ''Tales from the Monastery of Spinjitzu'' shorts, flashbacks to new Season 1 and 2 era adventures show the ninja in their current forms. [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] and [[JustifiedTrope justified]] in "Elemental Rider" where the memory is shown via "enhanced visual augmentation" (see the quote below). It's also [[https://twitter.com/TommyAndreasen/status/1075713014085640193 explained]] by one of the creators that "the stories are memories, fantasies, dreams, visual augmentations which means they are saturated by the ninja's current state of mind and self image."
128	-->'''Kai''': Hey, we didn't look like that back then.\
129	'''Zane''': I told you, it was an enhanced visual augmentation.\
130	'''Kai''': Whatever.
131	* The ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'' [[UnCanceled revival]] in 2019 was slightly rewritten to reflect changes made in canon since its cancellation in 2013/2014, such as adding references to ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels'' (the inclusion of Ursa, cameos from Depa Billaba and Caleb/Kanan), ''Film/{{Solo}}'' (cameo from Dryden Vos), and ''Series/TheMandalorian'' (Maul commenting that Mandalorians aren't meant to live in the sewers).
132	* Garnet from ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' is introduced as completely stoic and emotionally closed off, but becomes more friendly, snarky and open with her emotions as the show goes on. Later on, flashbacks from before Steven was born continue portraying her as friendly and laid back. Many fans took this to imply that she was hardened after the death of Rose Quartz. But then the episode "Three Gems and a Baby" (which takes place shortly after Rose's death) was released and Garnet is once again warm and maternal, seemingly retconning her original cold persona into a case of CharacterizationMarchesOn.
133	* Much like Batman in ''Justice League vs. the Fatal Five'', the [[WesternAnimation/TeenTitans2003 2003 version of Robin]] is seen using a similar ''The Dark Knight Trilogy'' and ''Arkham''-inspired glider cape in ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitansGoVsTeenTitans''.
134	* While still set in the same universe (and [[UsefulNotes/The90s the same time]]) as the original ''WesternAnimation/XMenTheAnimatedSeries'', SequelSeries ''WesternAnimation/XMen97'' does see elements introduced in the comics since the original show's end, such as the Hellfire Gala from ''ComicBook/XMenTheKrakoanAge'', and characters such as Glob Herman, Pixie, Darwin, Nature Girl, and [[spoiler:Vulcan]].
135	[[/folder]]
136

Context Main / BackportedDevelopment