Ms. Marvel quietly retconned a continuity error involving The MCU’s model of the Statue of Liberty. It is a textbook case of doing extra with much less. Continuity is an important a part of any storytelling, however on this period of elaborate sagas just like the Marvel Cinematic Universe, its challenges have grown exponentially. Each new sequence or film provides particulars that must be tracked, and whereas the MCU has developed its timeline with thoroughness and care, errors nonetheless occur. That makes retconning extra vital than ever not simply understanding when to make corrections however the best way to make them.
Retconning can typically tackle elaborate types, and certainly some franchises have developed decades-long subplots to elucidate comparatively minor inconsistencies. However massive gestures aren’t at all times the most effective gestures, and typically a small correction is greater than sufficient to cope with a seemingly massive retcon. Ms. Marvel demonstrates how to do this by quietly correcting a big continuity error. It did not make a fuss; it merely fastened the problem.
The correction facilities on the Statue of Liberty, which has been a staple of New York Metropolis that it is easy to miss. Within the MCU’s continuity, Woman Liberty has undergone a refurbishing for the reason that occasions of Avengers: Endgame: restoring its copper floor whereas including a colossal model of Captain America’s protect to carry aloft. That serves because the centerpiece for Spider-Man: No Means Residence’s finale, because the trio of variant Peter Parkers confronts a phalanx of their traditional foes. It ended with the protect collapsing, however the statue’s shade remained gleaming and metallic somewhat than the inexperienced that also defines it in the actual world.
Ms. Marvel takes place after No Means Residence, and initially missed the change to Woman Liberty. Season 1, Episode 6, “No Regular” depicts the Statue in its trademark inexperienced, with out accounting for the brand new look. The MCU responded not by developing with a prolonged justification, however by digitally altering the shot. Woman Liberty presently seems to be copper-colored the error corrected with out additional clarification.
The urge to go massive with a retcon might be large, and a franchise can typically do sensible issues with an elaborate effort to shut a seemingly incidental loophole. Essentially the most outstanding instance probably comes from Star Trek, which confronted a minor however outstanding continuity error when it up to date the look of Klingons for Star Trek: The Movement Image. They have been very human-like within the authentic sequence, which lacked the price range for intensive prostheses. Thus, the Klingons acquired their well-known brow ridges for the primary time within the new film. The franchise hemmed and hawed across the variations earlier than offering an elaborate (and efficient) clarification in Star Trek: Enterprise Season 4, Episode 16, “Divergence.” The human-appearing Klingons within the authentic sequence are the negative effects of a treatment for a devastating pandemic, which included utilizing human DNA to facilitate the correct antibodies.
In Star Trek’s case, the retcon works fairly nicely. Nonetheless, franchises play with hearth in the event that they hope to deal with each continuity error in such an elaborate style. Doing so dangers including extra continuity errors, or tripping up some future manufacturing in an analogous method. Against this, smaller corrections run far much less danger of damaging continuity. In reality, Marvel itself dealt with this adroitly for years within the comics with its “No Prize” awarded to readers who may clarify away a given error.
Ms. Marvel follows within the spirit of that by choosing the less complicated route. It does not hassle with massive explanations or elaborate new subplots. It merely alters the colour of the Statue of Liberty digitally, the identical approach it’d make an editorial correction to a script in improvement. It is a ample mea culpa to placate followers, nevertheless it does not have to take an opportunity on a extra elaborate clarification. Continuity errors are a reality of life for franchises just like the MCU. Fortunately it appears to know when much less can do extra, and finds a correctly gentle contact for this specific retco
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