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Canon, in the context of a Fictional Universe , comprises those novels, stories, films, etc., that are considered to be genuine or officially sanctioned, and those events, characters, settings, etc., that are considered to have existence within the fictional universe. In order for a setting to appear cohesive, especially in fictions that contain multiple parts, both creators and audiences sometimes find it useful to define what has and has not "actually happened" in that universe. Items that are considered canon usually come from the original source or author of the fictional universe, while non-canon material comes from adaptations, Spin-off s or unofficial items, often in different Media . Fan Fiction is usually an example of non-canonical fiction. The word "canon" originally meant the books which the Catholic Church officially chose to be included in the Bible; by extension, it means the authoritative "holy writ" of a fictional universe. However, the practice of defining a "canon" ''within'' a fictional world derived from the concept of a Literary Canon , a specified collection of works considered to be both representative and the best of a particular form, Genre or Culture . In that more common use of the word, works forming a canon do not have to bear any relation to each other other than their high quality or historical influence. The use of "canon" to describe the degree to which a work adheres to the standards of its fictional world, appears to have originated amongst devotees of the Sherlock Holmes stories, as a way to distinguish between the original works of Arthur Conan Doyle and adaptions of those works or original works by other writers utilising related characters and settings. However, much of the interest in and controversy over issues of canonicity have appeared in recent decades in the Fan Followings of films and television shows, such as Science Fiction Franchises '' Star Wars '' and '' Star Trek ''. One particular problem are Spin-off television shows and Prequels contradicting information from earlier, original television shows or films. Such contradictions may either be a result of bad research, an attempt of Revisionism or an act of correction, the latter depending on who is in artistic control. While many favor the Principle Of First Mention , arguing that the information in the original television show or film is the foundation, following works have to respect, others claim that it is the latest work that is up-to-date and the one to be considered as canon (critics have pointed out that this attitude is an open invitation to Dystopian revisionism as practised in Nineteen Eighty-Four ). NATURE OF FICTIONAL CANONS Canonicity of fiction is a distinctly modern idea. In addition to the modern concepts of genre fiction and fictional universes, the notion of Intellectual Property (IP) distinguishes between "official" and "unofficial" sources of stories. However, whereas IP laws are designed to dictate where the revenue generated by a story goes, they do not necessarily confer the right to determine canonicity. No actual industry label exists for definitively designating published works as canonical. Canonicity is largely a subjective notion, referring to a shared understanding that exists between the published works in a fictional series and the level of acceptance by a vocal but otherwise accepting wide audience. As such, the word canon can simultaneously refer to the considerations of the publishers of a fictional series as well as what the fanbase chooses to consider as authentic. Generally, " Expanded Universe s" are not considered canonical; by analogy with the idea of a canon of Scripture , such stories are considered " Apocrypha l". (See Biblical Canon .) However, there are exceptions which are considered near-canon, or in the case of '' Star Wars '', the Expanded Universe is considered fully canonical. '' Doctor Who '', which began life as a television series but has also been produced in prose, audio and graphical formats, has never had a single author or authority to pronounce on the issue of canon, with fans running a spectrum between those who consider only the television series canonical and those who consider everything labelled as ''Doctor Who'' canonical. The fact that a majority of fans of a fictional setting view certain things as non-canonical, or even an official statement to that effect from its creators, does not oblige everyone to agree. In addition, a story can belong to two overlapping canons. One of the most obvious examples of this is Philip José Farmer 's Wold Newton Family . Some (but not all) of the adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Tarzan , Doc Savage , etc. are canonical in the Wold Newton setting. This does not mean that the events of Farmer's books are canonical from a Sherlockian perspective. Similarly, fans of Laurie R. King 's novels of Sherlock Holmes and Mary Russell consider all the Holmes stories to be canonical in King's setting. The difference can be even less clear-cut than this. Current ''Star Trek'' novels maintain a tight continuity with each other, and avoid contradicting the television series. When a '''' was announced, but was completely invalidated by the series; there are some ''Trek'' fans who prefer the ''Starfleet: Year One'' version of events as canon, rejecting the TV series. Generally, though, in the case of televised fiction, only facts which appear in the as-originally-aired version of a program are considered canonical (including scenes cut from re-runs, but not including such things as deleted scenes and scenes from unaired pilots and other such material that 'leaks out' over the Internet). Furthermore, the issue is also complicated when the definition of a canon changes well after the fictional universe is established. As an example, in the 1970s and 1980s, there were a number of reference works published by '', would be considered non-canonical in 1995. In some fictional universes, interviews and other communications from authors are also considered canonical — like The Letters Of J. R. R. Tolkien with relation to Middle-earth ; also items such as interviews, Internet chat sessions, and websites (''e.g.'', the website of J. K. Rowling in relation to the '' Harry Potter '' series). This usually only happens in cases where all works in the universe have the same author. In almost all cases, Fan Fiction is not considered canonical, as fan fiction is usually produced by amateurs. Sometimes, however, events or characterizations portrayed in fan fiction can become so influential that they are respected in fiction written by many different authors, and may be mistaken for canonical facts by fans. This is referred to as " Fanon ". The use of fan fiction to fill gaps or Continuity errors in a canon is derisively called "fanwanking," or " Fanwank ." (The terms "fanon" and "fanwank" can apply to officially-licensed works, as well.) A intentional inversion of the exclusion of fan fiction came in Eric Flint 's ''1632'' Universe ; in February 2000 , fans and other established authors were invited on the Internet forum Baen's Bar to shape the Multiverse , and the fan-fic, once vetted, is itself published in the various '' Grantville Gazettes '', themselves under the direct editorial control of Flint and a ''1632'' editorial board. This is an ongoing process that apparently will continue indefinitely, as the series continues to burgeon in popularity. EXAMPLES OF FICTIONAL CANONS ''Babylon 5'' See Also: Babylon 5 Novels, novelizations, short stories, and comic books Unique to the '' Babylon 5 '' universe among virtually all other Shared Universe s is the sanctioned canonicity of many of its offshoot novels and comic book stories; nearly all of the ''Babylon 5'' novels and novelizations to date having been based on outlines written directly by J. Michael Straczynski . The later Del Rey books are considered to be more canonical than some of the earlier Dell ones, although – per Straczynski's own remarks – canonical elements exist in every single book published to date; Straczynski's deeper involvement in the novel-publishing program from 1996 onward having ensured a greater level of canonicity within such works. ''Buffy''verse See Also: Buffyverse canonical issues The ''''. All of the tie-in novels and video games, along with most of the comics, are largely considered either non-canon or Apocrypha . Some of the comics are written by members of Mutant Enemy writing staff; the canonical status of these materials is still unclear. The 1992 movie is not considered canon. The movie was remade into comic format, titled ''The Origin'' and this is considered canon instead. DC Universe See Also: DC Universe Most, but not all, '' and the '' Action Comics Weekly'' strip featuring Captain Marvel ). The events may not have occurred exactly as shown, however, owing to the Floating Timeline . Appearances of the DC Comics characters in other media are not considered canon; however, the appearance of a Marvel Comics character, Jigsaw, during a Marvel/DC comics publishing Crossover , is apparently considered a piece of canon for the adventures of Jean-Paul Valley, aka Azrael , who at one point took up the role of The Batman . Jigsaw was an enemy of Frank Castle, a Marvel Comics character called The Punisher . Some discrepancies in the DC Universe's canon (continuity errors) by concepts such as Hypertime or through the use of Retcon s. ''Dungeons & Dragons'' See Also: Dungeons & Dragons campaign settings The concept of canon plays an important role in the fantasy Role-playing Game '' Dungeons & Dragons '' (D&D). Over the years, a number of Campaign Setting s have been published for ''D&D'', each detailing a world or worlds that provide a setting in which the game can be played. There are two types of canon issues that arise from this situation. The first issue is intra-setting canon, which deals with the backstory, locations and gameplay dynamics considered to be canon within a specific setting. Because ''D&D'' generally falls into the fantasy sub-genre of Sword-and-sorcery , canon discrepancies can arise beyond just the typical issues in fiction of history, plot and character. For example, debates regarding canon within a given setting may include such arcana as the source of various magical powers and how they operate within the setting. Theological issues related to the various Deities that may exist within the setting occur, as do disagreements regarding the canon Cosmology of the setting's universe. The second type of canon problem that arises in ''D&D'' is inter-setting canon, concerned primarily with the relationships between different settings. Many ''D&D'' publications have discussed how the various settings are related to each other within the ''D&D'' Multiverse of various Planes Of Existence , although these relationships are debated or even denied by some fans of the game. There is no single "official" canon for ''D&D''. From the very beginnings of the game in the 1970s through to the present, the issue of canon has been left up to each individual Dungeon Master , who runs the game session for the other players. The Dungeon Master is free to determine which published materials ( Adventure Modules , novels, sourcebooks, video games, comic books, etc.) are canonical in his or her own campaign, and how the various ''D&D'' rules apply to that campaign. Nevertheless, ''D&D'' players often move between games managed by different Dungeon Masters, and many also congregate for gaming tournaments, play in shared Living Campaigns , or play the game online with different participants than in their normal gaming sessions. In order to achieve even a basic level of continuity among these various game instances, ''D&D'' fans must therefore confront the issue of canon. To achieve the desired level of continuity, various mechanisms are employed to manage ''D&D'' "canon." The organizers of gaming tournaments, for example, will often specify which sets of rules and conventions are "in force" for tournament gameplay. Living campaigns may attempt to develop a more comprehensive set of canon materials and sourcebooks, such as the '' Living Greyhawk Gazetteer '' for the '' Living Greyhawk '' campaign. And for individually-run games, it is common for Dungeon Masters to briefly discuss their own vision of ''D&D'' canon with each new player who joins his or her campaign. Finally, following the emergence of the ''. http://www.canonfire.com/ Harry Potter The canon of the Harry Potter universe is considered by most fan groups, including the The Harry Potter Lexicon , to consist of: {Link without Title}
The films and computer games are not considered canon, nor are statements made in interviews that are contradicted in the novels. Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy See Also: Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy The canon of the fictional '' Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy '' series, though written entirely by Douglas Adams (or, in parts, in collaboration with the author), is nevertheless an inconsistent one. The ''Hitchhiker's Guide'' material encompasses a radio series, television series, five books, a short story, a computer game, and a film -- all with full or partial writing credit belonging to Adams. Nevertheless, the best efforts to determine what is canon within ''Hitchhiker's'' is difficult. To address this problem, in the introduction to the first Omnibus edition of the ''Hitchhiker's'' books, Adams wrote the "Definitive Guide to the Guide" which, as he put it, would at least ''"get everything definitively wrong."'' There is still debate amongst fans as to what comprises ''Hitchhiker's'' canon; however that the author acknowledged (and embraced) the inconsistencies makes ''Hitchhiker's'' a unique example of self-conscious canonicity. Marvel Universe See Also: Marvel Universe Most, but not all, comic books published by Marvel Comics are set in a shared world known as the Marvel Universe . The canon for this world comprises all the comics not stated to be set in an Alternate Universe , except those specifically contradicted by later stories. The events may not have occurred exactly as shown, however, owing to the Floating Timeline (For instance, during the 1960s, Ben Grimm said he had fought in World War II alongside Nick Fury; during the 2000s, Grimm himself considered that the idea of him fighting in World War II was ridiculous, as he would be much older). Alternate universes in Marvel Comics include, for example, the "Ultimate" line of Marvel comics, which have their own canon independent of the core Marvel universe. Appearances of the Marvel Comics characters in other media are not considered canon. One of the few exceptions is the video game version of Ultimate Spider-Man , which was made with the intention of being canon. Middle-earth See Also: Middle-earth canon Defining the Middle-earth canon is difficult, because many key writings were not published by J. R. R. Tolkien before his death. A considerable number of Tolkien Fans do not believe that a canon can be defined at all, preferring to observe the evolution of Tolkien's stories in the many versions and drafts published posthumously in '' The History Of Middle-earth '' series. Most, however, agree that '' The Hobbit '' and '' The Lord Of The Rings '' are canon, and also include a substantial amount of material published in '' The Silmarillion '', '' Unfinished Tales '', and other posthumous books, as well as information from Tolkien's Letters . Works outside of canon include fan fiction (like Nick Perumov 's "Ring of Darkness"), art books (except for the collections of Tolkien's own art) and video games; the ''Lord of the Rings'' movies by Ralph Bakshi and Peter Jackson are generally considered non-canonical, as well. However there are a group of Tolkien fans, sometimes called "Continuationists" who consider Roleplaying games, Video Games and the films as canon, unless they contradict with Tolkien's own works. Sherlock Holmes See Also: Canon of Sherlock Holmes The Sherlock Holmes canon consists of the stories and novels written by Arthur Conan Doyle . This was decided by The Baker Street Irregulars , a group of Holmes enthusiasts, to distinguish the original stories from the Pastiche s that followed Holmes' retirement, and is probably the first use of the word in this context. However certain Conan Doyle items were disregarded for other reasons and additions to the current canon of sixty mysteries has been discussed. Star Trek See Also: Star Trek canon The ''''" from canon, and made no references to the events of that episode after it was made; officially, however, being an onscreen, televised story, it remains canonical. The canonicity of the various reference books such as '' The Star Trek Encyclopedia '' and various companions accompanying the series is still debated. Many consider such reference works to be canon, while others do not; there is currently no clear answer solving this problem. It should be noted that most of the information from the ''The Star Trek Encyclopedia'' and ''The Star Trek Chronology'' comes directly from the television series and movies, which themselves are canon, and the books were written by people who worked on the production staff, and sometimes were used as internal references. A similar problem exists with Trading Card s cataloging information from the series. Paramount has made a formal comment on its website http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/help/faqs/faq/676.html about precisely what items are considered canon. ''Star Wars'' See Also: Star Wars canon The '' Star Wars '' canon is a complex issue, and Lucas Licensing has devised a four-level system called the Holocron continuity database to keep track of the ''Star Wars'' canon. The purpose of this database is to chronicle all ''Star Wars'' stories, and settle any disputes that may arise within the various productions. The basic rule, however, is that the ''Star Wars'' canon comprises the six ''Star Wars'' films, along with all officially licensed ''Star Wars'' stories not contradicting the films. The DK Guide to the entire universe utilizes many spin-offs to help describe the six films. Derivative works such as the ''Star Wars'' books have aimed to be completely in continuity with each other and with the ''Star Wars'' movies. ''Transformers'' See Also: Transformers (fiction) The '' series, the Unicron Trilogy , consisting of the ''Armada'', ''Energon'', and ''Cybertron'' lines, and the world featured in the 2007 live-action feature film. Even within these completely disparate universes, there are multiple stories that contradict each other; for instance, under the banner of "Generation One" are several completely different comic book series from four different publishers, the Japanese "Headmasters" series, which openly replaces the events of the U.S. "Rebirth" miniseries, as well as Gamebooks , coloring books, audio cassettes, young adult novels, and video games, as well as the toy packaging itself, all of which take various liberties with the same characters. As such, the Transformers universe includes such problems as multiple origin stories for the Constructicons and Optimus Prime . The general position of Hasbro , owners of the line, is that all Transformer stories are in fact true, and exist in multiple and separate alternate universes, so that the Marvel Comics stories are just as true as the coloring books, which are as true as the animated shows. All of these universes are connected by the existence of Primus and Unicron , who are singularities; they exist in all of the Transformer universes. http://transformers.wikia.com/wiki/Canon SEE ALSO
Canonical terms in fiction REFERENCES |
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