Discussion Main / ReWrite

How is this different from a retcon for most of them? "The story used to be this but now it's that". Redoing an old short story/film into an expanded longer version would be a rewrite, or something like the Hobbit rewrite... but almost all the other examples just seem like retcons.

Pulled these:

• In The Silver Age Of Comic Books, Rainbow Girl first appeared as part of one of the occasional Terrible Interviewees Montages in the Legion of Super-Heroes. She can split into four color-coded versions of herself: red (heat), blue (cold), yellow (brightness), and green (Kryptonite). Since Superboy and Supergirl are members of the Legion, she was rejected. In recent years, with the Green Lantern series establishing the emotional spectrum, Rainbow Girl is reintroduced as a member of the Legion of Substitute Heroes. She uses the power of the emotional spectrum and becomes a Mood-Swinger as a result. Word of God says she doesn't take her powers seriously.
• As of the Flashpoint reboot, Cyborg's Superhero Origin took place concurrently with the formation of the Justice League Of America, resulting in him being a charter member of the team in place of the Martian Manhunter.

These are both the result of Cosmic Retcons; they're not ignoring or contradicting the backstory, that backstory never happened.