Retcon Hour

Retcon Hour was a Classic LNH crossover that started on June 28, 1994 and ended September 8, 1994. Kicked off by the approval of rec.arts.comics.creative, it was complicated, ridiculous and all over the place, one of the biggest LNH crossovers ever!

Writers

• Russ Allbery aka Eagle
• David Anastasion
• Robert Armstrong aka Mystic Mongoose
• Hubert Bartels
• Mike Escutia
• Patrick Gearman
• Paul Hardy
• Scott Johnson aka Zagyg
• Jeff McCoskey
• Peter Milan aka Tick
• Martin Phipps
• Matt Rossi aka Badger
• Eric Sturgeon, aka The Stirge
• Dave Van Domelen

The Plot

Low-Spoilers Version

A giant figure has appeared above Net.ropolis! rec.arts.comics.creative has been approved – and the Looniverse is along for the ride! The Time Crapper plans to take advantage of the cosmic chaos – but so does the Time Crapper! The RACCelestial Madonna Pageant begins in response, but as multiple timelines start layering atop each other and realities begin to clash, the true mastermind manipulates everyone, with the goal of gaining ultimate power and controlling all of time!

(Also, there's a crossover with the Omaha Project in there.)

Full Summary

Spoilers ahead for the whole goshdarn thing...

In order to confuse the LNH, the Time Crapper was creating alternate timelines and allowing them to exist simultaneously. Amongst other things, this resulted in multiple versions of Myk-El and Squalor. It was revealed that Acton Lord had been responsible for Myk-El turning evil in the first place, and thus, some of the alternate Myk-Els were evil and some were good.

In order to stop TC, Entity arranged a RACCelestial Madonna Pageant, which would choose the RACCelestial Madonna to gain the power to defeat the Time Crapper. Knowing that he'd be defeated by the RACCelestial Madonna, the post-Cry.Sig version of the Time Crapper tried to prevent the Pageant, but was defeated by Decibel Dude and Panta.

The pre-Cry.Sig version of TC was oblivious to all this: he was busy trying to coerce Contraption Man into creating a machine capable of shaping time as he saw fit. However, Contraption Man was under the influence of wReamicus Maximus, having been kidnapped between panels in Jungle Cheesecake and brainwashed into being an Acolyte of Dfandom. wReamicus Maximus reasoned that the LNH would try to recover the Ring of Retcon as a means of stabilizing time, and laid in wait for that eventuality; he told his Acolyte to play along with TC, but stall rather than build his machine.

Sure enough, Continuity Champ Junior, working with his fellow Generation Y-ers, managed to retrieve the Ring of Retcon. wReamicus Maximus sent the Legion of Unliving Legionnaires against Gen Y and stole the ring. When wReamicus put on the ring, he started making retcons right and left. (The Omaha Project part happens somewhere in here, and so does Retcon Midnight, I think.) This then got the attention of the RACCtre, who gathered up heroes to defeat him.

Meanwhile, VAMMO Woman was crowned RACCelestial Madonna and teamed up with one of the variant Myk-Els to defeat TC I and II. They then proceeded to join the other heroes in defeating wReamicus Maximus. With wReamicus defeated, VAMMO Woman used her power as RACCelestial Madonna to recover continuity... with the stipulation that the divergent, heroic Myk-El remain in this timeline and be her consort.

Retcon Hour ended with the introduction of the Legion of Occult Heroes and Dvandom Force, and the promise of many future adventures for them and for the Legion!

Timeline

Title	Author
LNH Triple Play #4	Jeff McCoskey
Swordmaster and the Load Island Renegades #11	Badger
Generation Y #7	Martin Phipps
Constellation #30	Dave Van Domelen
Nicks of Time #1	Tick
System Corruptors #16	Badger & Jeff McCoskey
Generation Y #8	Martin Phipps
U-Force #8	Mystic Mongoose
Swordmaster and the Load Island Renegades #12	Badger
Swordmaster and the Load Island Renegades #0	Badger
Nicks of Time #2	Badger & Jeff McCoskey
Generation Y Annual #1	Jeff, Martin, & Mongoose
Retcon Happy Hour	Paul Hardy
Omaha Project #16	Russ Allbery & David Anastasion
Errand Boy #6	Stirge
U-Force #9	Mystic Mongoose
Nicks of Time #3	Jeff McCoskey
Tales of the LNH #310	Hubert Bartels
LNH #88: This is Your Life!	Martin Phipps
U-Force #10	Mystic Mongoose
Constellation #31	Dave Van Domelen
Unlikely Aliens #5	Scott Johnson
Unlikely Aliens #6	Scott Johnson
Surreal Tales #6	Patrick Gearman
Legion of Occult Heroes #0	Paul Hardy
Tales of the LNH #311	Hubert Bartels
Nicks of Time #4	Tick
LNH Comics Presents #21	Badger & Jeff McCoskey
Tales of the LNH #312	Hubert Bartels
Retcon Hour Omega	Jeff McCoskey, Badger, Martin Phipps and the Mystic Mongoose
Decibel Dude & Vigilante Guy #0	Tick
LNH Comics Presents #22	Martin Phipps

Legacy

Two series spun directly out of Retcon Hour – the Legion of Occult Heroes by Paul Hardy, and Dvandom Force by Dave Van Domelen. As well, Pliable Lad #24 tied in, leading to the Retcon Midnight miniseries. LNH Triple Play #5 was a direct sequel, dealing with Contraption Man's brainwashing and betrayal.

Retcon Hour was divisive, with some disliking its chaotic nature. This lead to several writers creating what they thought a crossover should be, limited in scope and plotted out in advance, resulting in the Crisis of Infinite Sidekicks.

Nonetheless, Retcon Hour was influential, the model for many later crossovers. Few of them rivaled its scope and level of engagement, partially because the event it celebrated – the founding of rec.arts.comics.creative – resulted in many members of the LNH community founding their own imprints and focusing on those instead, and the LNH itself becoming less unified. Retcon Hour itself tends to be remembered fondly, with references and homages continuing to the present day; Legion of Net.Heroes Volume 3 #2 deals with a consequence of Retcon Hour 25 years later.

Where to Read

The whole overcomplicated thing can be read on the Eyrie Archive over here.

It was also reposted by Arthur Spitzer as part of his Classic LNH Adventures series:

• Retcon Hour Alpha (LNH Triple Play #4, Swordmaster and the Load Island Renegades #11, Generation Y #7)
• Retcon Hour Beta (Constellation #30, Nicks of Time #1, System Corruptors #16)
• Retcon Hour Gamma (Generation Y #8, U-Force #8, Swordmaster and the Load Island Renegades #12)
• Retcon Hour Delta (Swordmaster and the Load Island Renegades #0, Nicks of Time #2, Generation Y Annual #1)
• Retcon Hour Epsilon (Errand Boy #6, U-Force #9. Retcon Happy Hour)
• Omaha Project - The Retcon Hours (Omaha Project #16-19)
  • Only #16 is necessary to read for the crossover – we beg of you, don't dive into the Omaha Project unprepared!
• Retcon Hour Phi (Nicks of Time #3, Tales of the LNH #310, LNH v1 #88, U-Force #10)
• Retcon Hour Chi (Constellation #31, Unlikely Aliens #5-6)
• Retcon Hour Psi (Legion of Occult Heroes #0, Tales of the LNH #311, Nicks of Time #4, LNH Comics Presents #21)
• Retcon Hour Omega (Retcon Hour Omega) (naturally)
• Retcon Hour Odds and Ends (Decibel Dude & Vigilante Guy #0, LNH Comics Presents #22)

Notes

See also Kid Not Appearing In Any Retcon Hour Story.