MULTIPLE THINGS CAN BE TRUE - HOW INCONSISTENCY CAN WORK

 

The true disposition of Madrox was left in a weird state of limbo for years with multiple possible version of the "real" him in play.

When playing TTRPGs it can be easy to believe that everything needs to make perfect sense - all nicely wrapped up in logical bows and perfect story writing. This is, of course, the benefit of a type of game that is often written with very specific encounters, pacing, events and characters in mind. Comics, are not always written this way and so you can relax a bit and even capitalize on this when you run your games.

Comic books are famous for inprecise, often contradictory canon which is sometimes intentional, sometimes the product of layers of writing and sometimes just plain lazy. While most tabletop campaigns will not run for the length of time it requires for these sort of wrinkles in continuity to develop organically, they may still come up in games and can, in many cases, be used to your advantage. More importantly, it needn't be a point of worry when your players catch you in an unintended mixup. No, instead you can embrace the fact that it is very possible for multiple things to be true at the same time in a comic book.

The origin of the Maximoff twins has been retold so many times that it has required compiling into a single origin several times. 

There are plenty of characters in comic books who have existed in states of uncertainty. Often these inconsistencies are fixed with later retcons or story development but they can remain unspecified for decades. Scarlet Witch and Qiicksilver have had their origins written and rewritten time and again through various layers of unreliable narration and even outright deceit. Captain America was at one time dead but active and then only later revealed to have been frozen while an imposter was carrying out his duties. Jean Grey and the various fallout of the Phoenix Saga have left that character in an indeterminate state of reality from the 80's all the way to the present. 

As a player and a GM, acceptance of these inconsistencies can actually enhance the experience of being in a comic book universe. Going back to my earlier psots about creating questions, planting seeds and retcons, this is where so many of those fun comic book elements are often born. Being okay with them means you are leaving yourself open to the possibilities and creating a much easier time of it for your GM to develope comic book style stories. Who cares if you are sure that the villain in that last scenario should have been half a world away when you encountered him? it's just another mystery to unravel. 

So, what sorts of inconsistencies have you encountered in your games?

What are some of your favorite comic book inconsistencies?