History Main / OutdatedByCanon

* Flandre Scarlet from ''Franchise/TouhouProject'' made her first appearance as the {{superboss}} in ''VideoGame/TouhouKoumakyouTheEmbodimentOfScarletDevil'', but the number of her appearances after that can be counted on one hand. Since she's introduced as living in the basement of Scarlet Devil Mansion and has done so for 495 years, she was immediately pegged as a MadwomanInTheAttic, and years of {{Fanon}} built up around her being AxCrazy to the point of being a well-known MemeticPsychopath. However, ''Webcomic/TouhouChireikidenFoulDetectiveSatori'' eventually revealed that Flandre isn't as crazy as many fans assumed she was; she's shown to be more of a LittleMissSnarker and she actually ''likes'' living in the basement, since as a vampire she dislikes sunlight, and all her meals are brought to her. However, she's still extremely violent and borderline evil, just in regard to [[BloodKnight fighting]] as opposed to rampant destruction.

Outdated by Canon is when fan works (and the theories backing them) are {{Jossed}} by revelations or events in the canonical product; most often in regards to characterization. For example, a fanfic writer might decide that Bob's unseen mother is a RetiredBadass who instilled and promoted Bob's own thirst for adventure. This fanfic becomes popular and soon the entire fandom chooses this as their {{fanon}}, with other fanfics following suit. Various stories are made about Bob's mom teaching him how to fight, or giving him hero advice, or even coming out of retirement to help Bob and his friends stop the BigBad. Then several installments later, when the creators of the canonical work finally take us to Bob's childhood home to meet his mom, it turns out she's [[MyBelovedSmother an overprotective woman]] who's terrified of even leaving her house. This leaves future fans who find these old fics wondering why the story they just stumbled upon has Bob's mom threatening to [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu punch out an eldritch abomination]] instead of fainting at the sight of one.

---> ''He had dark curly hair that he got from his father's side of the family, but had been sorted into Slytherin because his mother's side has been there for generations.

** The author of ''Fanfic/TheHungerGamesPrequelCollection'' had previously written a fic about the First Hunger Games (called simply ''The First Annual Hunger Games'') in which the Games were portrayed as though they were always the spectacle they eventually became. When it was revealed that many elements of the Games were not introduced until the Tenth Games or later, the author embarked on a new story about the First Hunger Games called ''Phoenix Rising'' which keeps the same characters, but has a different plot to reflect what ''Ballad'' revealed about the early Games.

* Flandre Scarlet from ''Franchise/TouhouProject'' made her first appearance as the {{superboss}} in ''VideoGame/TouhouKoumakyouTheEmbodimentOfScarletDevil'', but the number of her appearances after that can be counted on one hand. Since she's introduced as living in the basement of Scarlet Devil Mansion and has done so for 495 years, she was immediately pegged as a MadwomanInTheAttic, and years of {{Fanon}} built up around her being AxCrazy to the point of being a well-known MemeticPsychopath. However, ''Webcomic/TouhouChireikidenFoulDetectiveSatori'' eventually revealed that Flandre isn't as crazy as many fans assumed she was; she's shown to be more of a LittleMissSnarker and she actually ''likes'' living in the basement, since as a vampire she dislikes sunlight and all her meals are brought to her. However, she's still extremely violent and borderline evil, just in regards to [[BloodKnight fighting]] as opposed to rampant destruction.
* In the Japanese ''VideoGame/UmaMusume'' fanfic ''[[https://syosetu.org/novel/271427/ Ogon no Bokun X Eiein no Nibante = Hoshi no Koutei (Boku)]]'', the [[Main/OriginalCharacter OC]] protagonist [[{{Main/Reincarnation}} reincarnates]] in to a [[FanCreatedOffspring fictional foal]] of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verxina Verxina]] before ultimately reincarnating once again in to the ''Umamusume'' universe... With Verxina as her[[note]]As a horse, the protagonist was a stallion, not a mare[[/note]] mother once again. Any chances of Verxina appearing as a parental figure to even her RL foals have been wiped out as of Season 3, specifically its 7th episode, of [[Anime/UmaMusume the anime]] as Verxina is properly introduced as an elder sister/fellow student to Cheval Grand.

** The 2014 oneshot ''Fanfic/IvoryBones'' revolves around Weiss' abusive home life. It depicts her father as more hands-on abusive, while in canon Jacques' abuse is primarily emotional. Weiss also lacks her older sister Winter or her younger brother Whitley. On a more subtle note, it's implied that Blake has a DarkAndTroubledPast involving her parents. In canon, Blake's parents are just fine and her issues mainly start after she [[TheRunAway ran off]] to join the White Fang.

* The release of ''WesternAnimation/OctonautsAboveAndBeyond'', which features non-anthropomorphic deer and tigers, caused this trope to happen to the fanfic ''Fanfic/JuniorOfficers'', which features anthropomorphic deer[[note]]Deborah, Margaret, David, Stacy, Gertrude, Humphrey, Mildred, and Pamela[[/note]] and tigers[[note]]Triton[[/note]].

* ''VideoGame/MetalGear'': ''Webcomic/TheLastDaysOfFoxhound'', a webcomic focusing on the QuirkyMinibossSquad from ''Videogame/MetalGearSolid'', started a year before ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'' and was finished less than two weeks before ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'' came out; in the words of the author, ''Guns Of The Patriots'' came out just in time to contradict [[IKnewIt most]] of his ideas. A few examples include Big Boss being a ghost since his death in Zanzibar, him handling Liquid's education himself and his "sons" being born in 1977. Canonically, Big Boss survived Zanzibar but was imprisoned by the Patriots, he wanted nothing to do with his "sons" out of his life and his clones were born in 1972. To the author's credit, people being unable to say the name of [[AncientConspiracy The Patriots]] due to a nanomachine mental block and Liquid's [[ArtisticLicenseBiology tenuous grasp on genetics]] ''are'' canonical.

* ''VideoGame/MetalGear'': ''Webcomic/TheLastDaysOfFoxhound'', a webcomic focusing on the QuirkyMinibossSquad from ''Videogame/MetalGearSolid'', started a year before ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'' and was finished less than two weeks before ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'' came out; in the words of the author, ''Guns Of The Patriots'' came out just in time to contradict [[IKnewIt most]] of his ideas. A few examples include Big Boss being a ghost since his death in Zanzibar, Big Boss handled Liquid's education himself and his "sons" were born in 1977. Canonically, Big Boss survived Zanzibar but was imprisoned by the Patriots, he wanted his "sons" out of his life and his clones were born in 1972. To the author's credit, people being unable to say the name of [[AncientConspiracy The Patriots]] due to a nanomachine mental block and Liquid's [[ArtisticLicenseBiology tenuous grasp on genetics]] ''are'' canonical.

* ''Fanfic/InfinityTrainBlossomingTrail'' (''WesternAnimation/InfinityTrain'', ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'') has Professor Cerise oblivious to his daughter's dislike for Pokémon and how he focuses more on his research and on Ash and Goh. This was written before Episode 31 revealed that he actually was aware of his daughter's insecurities and encouraged her to try something new. In fact, Chloe would eventually begin a character arc about learning to love Pokémon her own way, to the point where Professor Cerise thinks she isn't focusing as much on him any more.

* [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13917838/1/SPBRR-Fusion SPBRR Fusion]] by Creator/NanTheKeybladeMaster has the ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'' characters leaving the Galactic Federation in disgust over their corruption with Promised Day being about Samus and her team fighting back against the corruption and [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14088996/1/Super-RWBY-3D-Land Super RWBY 3D Land]] has Samus revealing a Neo Galactic Federation was created to protect the galaxy.. A month after Fusion was released, [[https://old.reddit.com/r/Metroid/comments/p8kx25/a_mistranslation_from_fusion_has_finally_exploded/ It turns out that the Federation in the game was a rogue faction in the Galactic Federation's military and the main Federation itself still holds Samus in high regard]], which ''VideoGame/MetroidDread'' confirmed. Likewise, the ending depicts an X Parasite evolving into a new SA-X and heading to ZDR, only for ''VideoGame/MetroidDread'' to reveal that the brief glimpse of the SA-X in the trailer is all there is of it in the game, appearing as a recap of ''VideoGame/MetroidFusion''. Likewise, [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14129184/1/RWBY-and-the-Seven-Sirens RWBY and the Seven Sirens]] states that ''VideoGame/{{Cuphead}}'' happened first, followed by ''WesternAnimation/TheCupheadShow''. [[spoiler:The ending of the series finale of ''The Cuphead Show'' has it be the other way around.]]

* In a pretty silly and general example of this, ''Literature/TheEpicOfGilgamesh'' mentions an encounter with the giant Humbaba, but as chunks of the poem are lost, historians weren't very clear on the exact details. In 2015, fragmentary remains of a version of the poem ''were'' discovered, which filled out Humbaba's personality in greater detail--establishing him as more of a GoodIsNotNice NatureSpirit who is [[TheGoodKing beloved by all beings of the forest]], with Gilgamesh being treated as [[GreenAesop morally ambiguous at best]] in choosing to fight and kill him. This means that many depictions of Humbaba in fiction that depicted him as nothing more than a violent monster (for instance, ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'''s Humbaba) are outdated.

* [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7128772/1/The_Hidden_One "The Hidden One"]], a one-shot short story about the life of Amunet from ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed'', was written in 2011 six years before ''[[VideoGame/AssassinsCreedOrigins Origins]]'' was released. Just like her canonical counterpart, Amunet was a "Hidden One" and she was responsible for the death of UsefulNotes/{{Cleopatra}}; however, the circumstances for how she became an Assassin were completely different in ''Origins'' and its sequel comic. She was not her sister, Arsinoe IV, but instead she was a woman named Aya of Alexandria, who was married to Bayek of Siwa; they had a son named Khemu, who would be later killed by the proto-Templar Order of the Ancients. Also, she gave the queen a vial of poison to kill her. Additionally, Amunet and her husband are never called "Assassins" but instead "Hidden Ones" in-universe.

* ''Franchise/{{Splatoon}}'' fanfic ''Fanfic/FirstAidKitsAndDeepSecrets''. It was written prior to [[VideoGame/Splatoon2 the sequel]]'s release, and thus it's outdated on many accords. For example, Inklings know how to identify Octolings, which was something shared by many other fics at the times. In canon, over a century of the species not interacting means that most Inklings during the time period of the first two games saw their sister race as little more than vaguely "exotic" Inklings... at least, in Inkadia.[[note]]The [[VideoGame/Splatoon3 third game]] would reveal that there was no Great Turf War in the neighboring Splatlands region, and thus the two species never stopped interacting over there.[[/note]]

* The webcomic ''Webcomic/GrimTalesFromDownBelow'', a crossover series between many cartoons created Chi: the daughter of Aku from ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack''. Born from him thanks to VoluntaryShapeshifting, she's a CuteMonsterGirl with lesbian undertones (due to AuthorAppeal) that can be described as Aku as a cute girl, bringing [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes the best out of him]]. In 2017, ''Samurai Jack'' returned for one more season, featuring Ashi, the actual daughter of Aku: a DarkActionGirl born as a member of the Daughters of Aku, a team of assassins who served an Aku-worshiping cult and Jack's eventual LoveInterest. And while she ''is'' revealed to be Aku's literal daughter, ''she is not'' a DaddysLittleVillain, as he wasn't even aware she existed and both see each other as enemies. [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking And Aku didn't give birth to anyone.]]

* The release of ''WesternAnimation/OctonautsAboveAndBeyond'', which features non-anthropomorphic deer and tigers, caused this trope to happen to the fanfic ''Fanfic/JuniorOfficers'', which features anthropomorphic deer[[note]]Deborah, Margaret, David, Stacy, Gertrude, Humphrey, Mildred, and Pamela[[/note]] and tigers[[note]]Triton[[/note]].

* Any ''{{Franchise/Hellaverse}}'' fics where the cast of ''WebAnimation/HelluvaBoss'' find themselves in the middle of an Extermination and hunted down by Exorcists have become this with the reveal in ''WesternAnimation/HazbinHotel'' that only Sinners are actively targeted during the purge - Hellborn demons might get caught in the crossfire of an Extermination, but they're not otherwise affected.

* Any ''{{Franchise/Hellaverse}}'' fics where the cast of ''WebAnimation/HelluvaBoss'' find themselves in the middle of an Extermination and hunted down by Exorcists have become this with the reveal in ''WesternAnimation/HazbinHotel2024'' that only Sinners are actively targeted during the purge - Hellborn demons might get caught in the crossfire of an Extermination, but they're not otherwise affected.

* ''WesternAnimation/HazbinHotel'': The four year gap between the Pilot and the show made this inevitable. A prominent example is the Youtuber Paranoid DJ, who produced songs from the point of view of various characters. Notably, he made both Lucifer and Pentious {{CardCarryingVillain}}s. The former [[spoiler: is established in the very first scene as having sympathetic motivations,]] while the latter [[spoiler: has a HeelFaceTurn in episode 2.]]

* ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12849210/1/Lord-of-the-Castle Lord of the Castle]]'' (''WesternAnimation/Castlevania2017'', ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague''[[note]]Though it takes major inspiration from the [[{{Franchise/Castlevania}} both]] [[Creator/DCComics franchises]] as a whole, having villains from the former like [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent Cornell]] and [[SinisterMinister Shaft]] and heroes from the latter like [[Characters/HellblazerJohnConstantine John Constantine]] and [[{{ComicBook/Mister Terrific}} Mister Terrific]].[[/note]]): Because this story was published at the release of Season 2, it became outdated in many ways following Seasons 3 and 4;

** ''WebVideo/FixingWRBY'' created its own backstory for Roman Torchwick [[spoiler:tying him to Brunswick Farm and the Apathy]] and how he met Neo. This was before Rooster Teeth released ''Literature/RWBYRomanHoliday'', which is the origin story of both Roman and Neo's partnership.

* "WesternAnimation/HazbinHotel": The four year gap between the Pilot and the show made this inevitable. A prominent example is the Youtuber Paranoid DJ, who produced songs from the point of view of various characters. Notably, he made both Lucifer and Pentious {{CardCarryingVillain}}s. The former [[spoiler: is established in the very first scene as having sympathetic motivations,]] while the latter [[spoiler: has a HeelFaceTurn in episode 2.]]

* "WesternAnimation/HazbinHotel" had this happen as a somewhat inevitably as a result of the the four year gap between the pilot and the series. However, it's notable that the VERY FIRST SCENE of the actual show seems to present a version of Lucifer who has almost nothing in common with any fanwork version. [[spoiler: Rather than a ManipulativeBastard or SmugSnake, Lucifer is a GageteerGenius who, together with Lilith, gave knowledge to Eve out of a 100% sincere desire to lift humanity out of ignorance. Being trapped in Hell was his punishment because he's only ever allowed to see the worst consequences of his actions, never the successes.]] To be fair, we're given all this information from his daughter Charlie, who may be an UnreliableNarrator.
** This also applies to Lilith to a lesser extent, since her role wasn't as widely agreed upon by fans, but it was typically assumed that she had power purely because her husband had granted it to her. [[spoiler: The series strongly implies that she's not only a powerful beings in her own right, but she's the one who wants to rebel against Heaven.]]