History AbortedArc / ComicBooks

** The 08' ''ComicBook/{{Youngblood}}'' series introduced a back-up feature drawn by Liefeld in issue 8, involving Barack Obama assembling up his own Youngblood team. For some reason, issue 9 then totally did away with the ongoing plot, the back up feature taking over entirely and ignoring everything from the last eight issues in favour of an entirely typical Youngblood series. No further issues of the run were made. Curiously, Shaft's narration does bother to explain why Badrock was back in action after suffering injuuries earlier in the run. And nothing else.

* ''ComicBook/{{Hound|2014}}'': Cú Cullan's decision to visit Skye after the death of his only son by Eva seems to be building up to a payoff for Skye's comment to Eva that "What goes around comes around" upon his departure from the Isle of Skye. This plotline is dropped when Emer goes to Brunaboyne to pray for him, where he saves her from Morrigan before encountering a surprise attack led by Queen Maeve.

* ''ComicBook/{{Hound|2014}}'': Cú Cullan's decision to visit Skye after the death of his only son by Eva seems like it's going to build up to a payoff for Skye's comment to Eva that "What goes around comes around" upon his departure from the Isle of Skye. This plotline is dropped when Emer goes to Brunaboyne to pray for him, where he saves her from Morrigan before encountering a surprise attack led by Queen Maeve.

** As a {{Long Runner|s}}, the comic gets this a lot, but two memorable aborted arcs include the mystery of [[KidAppealCharacter Tails]]' destiny as "[[TheChosenOne Chosen One]]" (a prophecy of him being a bigger hero than [[TheMcCoy Sonic]] or [[TheSpock Knuckles]] combined that faltered several times, due to arguments over exactly ''what'' that was supposed to mean), and the Eggman-backed Dingo invasion of the Echindas' homeland (which petered out when the story shifted to an equally-aborted arc regarding a civil war in the Dark Legion). Both stories were hyped up something fierce, but disappeared so quickly and completely that even the ''writers'' have no idea [[TheChrisCarterEffect how exactly they were supposed to end]].\\\

A constant problem in Creator/{{DC|Comics}} and Creator/MarvelComics of the last few years, especially in series about second- or third-division characters, as character or plot arcs are constantly derailed by massive {{crossover}} events. A [[LampshadeHanging lampshade was hung]] on it in the penultimate issue of Dan Slott's ''Comicbook/SheHulk'' run, in which the characters were forced under threat of death to give the reader a high speed run-through of how all the arcs were ''intended'' to have worked out, before being interrupted by the ''ComicBook/CivilWar'' and ''Comicbook/WorldWarHulk'' crossover events.

* In the ''Series/DoctorWho'' [[Magazine/DoctorWhoMagazine spin-off comics]] a lengthy planned character arc for DarkActionGirl turned companion Destrii was dropped when the TV show was revived, and it was decided that the Ninth Doctor comic strips would be tied strictly into the TV continuity. As a result the Eighth Doctor and Destrii got an AndTheAdventureContinues ending and the comic switched straight into the Ninth Doctor and Rose.

* The ''Malibu Comics'' ''[[ComicBook/MalibuComicsStreetFighter Street Fighter]]'' series was rife with this, as it ended after only three issues. The final issue even hinted at a future crossover with the Malibu hero Amazing Man, and introduced a CanonForeigner fighter named Nida, who had sworn vengeance on Ryu for some reason. The letter column of the issue gave a brief rundown of the various story beats that would have unfolded had the series not been cancelled.

* ''ComicBook/GIJoe2019'' had two cases of this. The second issue ends with the revelation that General Hawk has been forced to make a deal with Destro to obtain the weapons and resources needed to fight Cobra, while issue six ends with Jinx planning to join forces with Snake Eyes to fight Cobra on her own terms after being kicked out of G.I. Joe. Both plot points were quickly forgotten and weren't brought up at all in the ''G.I. Joe: Castle Fall'' one-shot that served as the continuity's conclusion.

* ''ComicBook/GIJoe2019'' had two cases of this. The second issue ends with the revelation that General Hawk has been forced to make a deal with Destro to obtain the weapons and resources needed to fight Cobra, while issue six planning to join forces with Snake Eyes to fight Cobra on her own terms after being kicked out of G.I. Joe. Both plot points were quickly forgotten and weren't brought up at all in the ''G.I. Joe: Castle Fall'' one-shot that served as the continuity's conclusion.

* ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMegaseries'': ''Spotlight: Blaster'' established the rivalry between the communications officers Soundwave and Blaster for the IDW continuity. Blaster was a significant Autobot soldier in charge of morale which caused Soundwave to attempt to assassinate him by brainwashing Beachcomber (which ultimately puts Beachcomber into a coma because of the brain damage). Blaster swears revenge on Soundwave and this is never followed up on. Beachcomber recovers completely offscreen, Blaster fades into the background, and Soundwave pulls a HeelFaceTurn with their rivalry never building to anything. The only thing the issue served to do was create a plot-hole around the Decepticon Bombshell which was dismissed with a hand wave.

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[[folder:DC]]
* Many of the ongoing arcs pre-''ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'' became this by default, since that story rebooted the entire multiverse and condensed every parallel world into one Earth. While certain titles like ''Comicbook/{{Batman}}'', ''[[Comicbook/TeenTitans New Teen Titans]]'', ''Comicbook/GreenLantern'' and ''Comicbook/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica'' were allowed to continue with their respective status quos mostly intact (give or take a few {{Retcon}}s), most of the DCU was completely [[ContinuityReboot rebooted]].
* In ''ComicBook/FiftyTwo'' the original ComicBook/BoosterGold/Skeets arc involved the duo fixing the time-stream after it had been damaged during the Comicbook/InfiniteCrisis. Several issues into the series, after Skeets had already noticed discrepancies between events as they happened and as they were recorded in the future, the writers decided that this plot was overused and too generic. They switched to a new malevolent threat that intended to manipulate time and reality for its own gain [[spoiler:and this leads to the return of Mr. Mind, who had appeared in the early issues]].
* In a very well-known example, Geoff Johns' ''ComicBook/{{Aquaman}}'' run ended with a ''big'' one. Nereus, the former fiance of Mera (Aquaman's love interest), had tracked down Orm, Aquaman's AntiVillain brother. Orm had apparently come to partly accept the surface world, staying with a human woman and her son during and after the ''Forever Evil'' event. Nereus tells Orm that he had found the lost kingdoms of Atlantis, and that he and Orm should take their rightful place besides them as kings. There's even a "to be continued" down the bottom that says the story will continue in an event crossover with Johns' ''Justice League'' run titled "Rise of the Seven Seas". Yes, it even got a name. Johns would later be forced to limit his comics output to two monthly titles at a time, and that quota was filled without ''Aquaman''. Years later, Johns would say it ''was'' being worked on, and even later would say it was being worked on with then-current ''Aquaman'' writer Dan Abnett, but nothing has come of it. Eventually, the plot point of Orm and his surface family returned in a spin-off, ''Mera: Queen of Atlantis'', although his motivations have changed. He instead decides to return to Atlantis after hearing of [[spoiler: Arthur's supposed death]].
* ''Franchise/{{Batman}}''
** Creator/ChuckDixon's ''Comicbook/BatmanAndTheOutsiders'' run set up the deceased [[ComicBook/ElongatedMan Ralph]] and Sue Dibny as a pair of ghost detectives who would act as recurring allies to the team. This was nixed very early on, leading to the Dibnys making only sporadic cameos across the DCU until ''Comicbook/{{Flashpoint}}'' rebooted everything. There was also the matter of an underground club where teens were granted a chance to receive superpowers from one of the surviving ''Bloodlines'' parasites. This too went nowhere.
** From 1995-98, writer Doug Moench and artist Kelley Jones where in charge of the main Batman title. During their first three years on the book, a nameless puppeteer holding a Batman puppet appeared in the background of many stories. He would be there when Batman was solving a case or when he was throwing a party as Bruce Wayne, but he never let his presence be known. The idea was that in the fourth year of their run, which they knew would be their last, they would properly introduce the character as someone who knew Bruce's identity, was capable of manipulating both Bruce and Batman and has been preparing to confront Bats on his own terms, but this was never followed through. Jones latter [[http://www.gothamwdeszczu.com.pl/en/2013/05/17/interview-kellley-jones/ explained]] in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLd6NHwF7N4&t=6159s interviews]] that editorial demanded that in their last year they tied the book with the other bat-titles where they had been allowed to ignore them and just tell their own self-contained stories before. This threw a wrench on the puppeteer arc and some other stories they were planning, including one with Poison Ivy.
** Creator/BrianKVaughan wrote a Batman one-shot where he introduced a mysterious new villain called the Skeleton, who was running around impersonating other Batman foes to cover his tracks. The hope was that Vaughan would become a regular writer on one of the Batman books so that he could make the Skeleton into powerful new player in the franchise, but obviously, this never occurred.
** In the ''Comicbook/DCYearOfTheVillain'' one-shot ''The Riddler'', Apex Lex convinces Nygma that the flaw in his plans is simply being the Riddler in the first place, and that if he could abandon this, in the same way as Lex abandoned his obsession with Superman, he'd be able to decide who he really wanted to be. It's not clear if writer Mark Russell was going anywhere with this, but a few months later, Riddler appears in ''Comicbook/BatmanRebirth'', more obsessed than ever, and just says that didn't work.
** For a few years Black Mask was not Roman Sionis (who was killed by Catwoman in retaliation to [[CompleteMonster what he did]] to her sister) ,but a BrainwashedAndCrazy Jeremiah Arkham. During the New 52 however this was undone...but not via a cosmic retcon since there is dialogue in ''[[ComicBook/NightOfTheOwls Court of Owls]]'' that still indicates his time as Black Mask still happened, but was resolved off panel and the [[AllThereInTheManual DC Comics website]] only vaguely mentions Jeremiah taking on the mantle during Dick Grayson's time as Batman, which is accurate but still doesn't address how it was reversed. Verges into both FridgeHorror and FridgeLogic when you consider how there were [[KarmaHoudini basically no consequences]] for any of the people he killed.
** ''Batman: The Widening Gyre'' saw the HeroKiller Onomatopoeia slowly work his way into Batman's confidence by taking on a new persona as "Baphomet" and slowly winning the Dark Knight's trust. Eventually, Batman comes to see him as a true hero and companion, taking him to the Batcave where his lover Silver St. Cloud was. By then, "Baphomet" reveals himself as Onomatopoeia and slits Silver's throat in front of a horrified Batman, ending the story on a massive cliffhanger. Since then, the audience has been left hanging because there have been no followups or sequels to this story.
* {{Subverted|Trope}} with ''ComicBook/{{Convergence}}''. The series revolves around taking certain arcs that were aborted by the ComicBook/New52 and giving them completion they didn't originally receive before.
* ''ComicBook/TheFlash'':
** Meloni Thawne had left a message for Bart Allen (the fourth Flash) to stay away from his brother. While Bart didn't know it at the time, Owen Mercer, the second Captain Boomerang, was actually his half-brother on their mother's side. Owen even inherited super speed and was learning to use it more efficiently (he could only to small bursts initially). It's implied that this may have had something to do with the Rogues killing Bart... except Owen wasn't a part of that plan. Bart would later return to life and Owen would die, and this warning about their meeting could never occur. In fact, they never even met.
** ''The Flash: Rebirth'' left multiple sequel hooks that weren't followed up on:
*** The ending implied that the Reverse-Flashes of the Silver and Modern Age would be teaming up again (they had briefly worked together one time previously). Hunter Zolomon, the second Reverse-Flash, had lost his powers but approached Eobard Thawne, the first Reverse-Flash, and told him that they could make each other "better". Within the story itself, Eobard had used one of Hunter's signature moves and even explicitly said he learned the trick from Hunter. Then ''Flashpoint'', a Flash story ''by the same writer'' rebooted the DC Universe, and Zolomon and Thawne didn't exist in this universe for ''years'', as a new Reverse-Flash was introduced and seemingly was the first. Later, Eobard would be reintroduced (and even later, he'd regain his pre-Flashpoint history and memories) and use some more of Hunter's signature moves. About a year later, Hunter ''would'' return, but by the time Hunter returned, ''Thawne'' was dead! However, the prison scene ''was'' eventually followed up on, close to a decade after it happened -- Eobard broke Hunter out a while later and explicitly brings up Hunter's offer, and we learn that Eobard and Hunter travelled into the future and worked together before a disagreement divided the two, and Eobard ended up dead.
*** Thawne told Wally West that one of his kids would grow up to ruin his life. Jai, Wally's son, had lost his powers to his sister Irey, and the ending implied that he was now TheResenter because of his sister now having full access to superspeed and being allowed to be part of the Flash Family. There were plans for a ''Green Lantern Corps''-esque series called ''All-Flash'', with Wally West serving as protagonist with numerous Flash characters in supporting roles while Barry Allen kept the main ''Flash'' ongoing, and Wally's son Jai was meant to become the new Turtle after his disconnection from the Speed Force altered him and gifted him with the ability to steal speed, similar to his father. The series never happened because DC were worried that the name "All-Flash" would be too easy a target for critics, and the plot point of Jai's depowering was never brought up again. Then ''Flashpoint'' rebooted Wally and his family out of existence.
*** Wally and his family were supposed to have backup stories in the 2010 ''Flash'' series, but this never came about.
*** It was said that Thawne had done something to Gorilla City's jungles... again, not followed up on.
*** Abra Kadabra returns at the end of the series, saying that he'd been put out of commission by Thawne himself. He is seen preparing a plan that will involve all three Flashes, as well as both Reverse-Flashes. Nothing ever comes of it.
* ''ComicBook/ForeverEvil''
** Owlman (an evil alternate universe version of Batman) had displayed an obsession with the mainstream universe's [[ComicBook/{{Nightwing}} Dick Grayson]] over the course of the series, as ''his'' Dick Grayson had died. Despite the Crime Syndicate basically turning Dick into a bomb, after the bomb is diffused, Owlman goes back for Dick and tells him that he still hopes that the two can be partners. Nothing ever comes of this. Owlman instead played a big role in the ''ComicBook/DarkseidWar'' storyline, and would end up [[spoiler: getting killed by Dr. Manhattan]] as a lead-in to ''ComicBook/DCRebirth''. The fact that ''Rebirth'' was only conceived about a year and a half after ''Forever Evil'' ended makes it obvious Owlman was meant to follow-up on Dick. Regardless, it has never been brought up again, and Dick got another EvilMentor in the form of Raptor.
** In the tail-end of the story, Bruce's "Injustice League" is separated, and he and Comicbook/{{Catwoman}} are on their own. They come across Wonder Woman's Lasso of Truth and Catwoman notes that nobody but Diana herself can use it. Bruce says that he ''can'' use it because of some strong connection to Wonder Woman that's unexplained and leaves Catwoman with a ''very'' jealous look on her face. It's likely referring to something that happened in the five year gap between the Justice League's founding and current stories (where Wonder Woman was dating Superman), but it was never addressed again. Catwoman found a ''different'' reason to hate Batman around the same time when she became a crime lord to rebuild Gotham and then Batman "died" and the Wonder Woman incident has never been brought up since, even after Bruce's return and when Catwoman ''met'' Wonder Woman in the lead-up to the Bat/Cat wedding.
* ''Franchise/GreenLantern''
** Hal Jordan met a rogue Lantern named Malvolio, who used a BatmanGambit to get Hal to replace his own ring with Malvolio's and leave. What this was supposed to accomplish was never followed up on, though many fans pointed to it later as a way to press the ResetButton on Hal's badly done FaceHeelTurn. (In the end, the Button was pressed a different way.)
** Another example is Gerard Jones' characterization of the Guardians of the Universe. Throughout his 45 issues on the book, Jones planted many clues that related to his plans for the Guardians. When ExecutiveMeddling changed the plans, many of the odd behaviors of the Guardians (and characters' observations of same) were left dangling and unresolved.
** Character profiles of the various Lantern Corps introduced characters who seemed like they would be plot-relevant, particularly the "Lost Sapphire" who was clearly intended to be important. This teasing never went anywhere.
** A number of these have come out such as the other six new laws in the Book of Oa and the Lost Star Sapphire. Made even weirder by the fact that the writer who set most of them up, Creator/GeoffJohns, was on the book for another several years afterward, and never explored any of them.
** ''Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps'' eventually brings in Kyle Rayner in his White Lantern form, before he loses those powers and becomes a Green Lantern once again. Kyle's last appearance prior to this series was in ''The Omega Men'', which involved him joining a terrorist organisation called the Omega Men, and after becoming disillusioned with the notion of superheroics and growing to sympathise with the Omega Men's fight against the evil organisation the Citadel, helped the Omega Men overthrow said Citadel, wearing a new costume and being dubbed the Omega Lantern. He returns to Earth at the end of the story and is asked where his loyalties lie, and it's implied that they lie with the Omega Men. ''Nothing'' in ''The Omega Men'' is touched on in ''Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps''.
* ''ComicBook/{{Hawkman}}'' has the ''Death of Hawkman'' miniseries' conclusion, where Katar Hol dead, Adam Strange falling through time and Despero having survived his battle with Hawkman, having gained the healing powers of Nth Metal, with an ending saying "Not the end. Nowhere near it." This wasn't brought up again. Nth Metal and Hawkman (Carter Hall, not Katar Hol) would be a plot point in ''ComicBook/DarkNightsMetal'' but Despero had nothing to do with that and Adam Strange would later return with no explanation for the time trip.
* ''Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica'':
** Creator/DwayneMcDuffie's run had several of these, as he was infamously fired for speaking out against the ridiculous amount of ExecutiveMeddling his run received. In addition to developing a friendship between Comicbook/{{Firestorm}} and Doctor Light, [=McDuffie=] had planned to have Comicbook/{{Icon}} join the team, as well as appearances from some of his other Creator/{{Milestone|Comics}} characters.
** After clearing away the last remnants of [=McDuffie=]'s team, James Robinson assembled a brand new Justice League line-up filled with characters like Mon-El, Comicbook/{{Starfire}}, Comicbook/{{Cyborg}}, the Guardian, Comicbook/TheAtom, Hal Jordan, Doctor Light, and many more. Because of a variety of reasons, the vast majority of these characters had to be written out of the book after just one arc, leading to Robinson having to assemble ''another'' new team.
** Back in UsefulNotes/{{The Bronze Age|Of Comic Books}}, Robert Kanigher set up a LoveTriangle between Batman, ComicBook/GreenArrow and ComicBook/BlackCanary. Mike Friedrich began his run the very next issue, and immediately got rid of the development by claiming Canary actually loved Batman ''like a brother'', not in a romantic sense.
** After ComicBook/GreenArrow killed Prometheus at the end of ''Comicbook/JusticeLeagueCryForJustice'', it was mentioned that Green Lantern and the Flash were unable to find the advanced, computerized helmet Prometheus used [[AwesomeByAnalysis to defeat his opponents]]. Astute readers remembered that prior to his death, Prometheus had essentially lobotomized his partner, Ira Quimby, who mysteriously vanished around the same time the helmet did. It was pretty clear DC was building things up to have Ira become [[LegacyCharacter the new Prometheus]] via a ClothesMakeTheSuperman or BrainUploading situation, but this never occurred.
** Comicbook/{{Stargirl|DC Comics}}'s backstory in the 2013 ''Justice League of America'' volume. In the first issue, it was stated that A.R.G.U.S. had been keeping her under close surveillance due to the unspecified fate of Sylvester Pemberton, the man who wielded the Cosmic Staff before her. After entering a burning building to rescue civilians, Stargirl discovered a glowing pentagram that'd been seared onto a wall, which led to the visibly scared heroine muttering Pemberton's name. As this was happening, Steve Trevor's narration mentioned that Stargirl always sleeps with her bedroom lights on, due to suffering from night terrors brought on by an unknown psychological trauma. All of these hints were seemingly meant to indicate that she was terrified of Pemberton, who'd been menacing her or had attacked her in the past. However, Creator/GeoffJohns left the series before this could be explored any further, and the new writer concocted an entirely different backstory for Courtney, one that firmly established Pemberton as a heroic figure who'd died quite some time ago. While Courtney's fear of the dark was seemingly explained by Shadow Thief having killed her little brother, neither the pentagram nor the suggestion that she was being stalked by Pemberton were ever brought up again.
* ''ComicBook/JusticeSocietyOfAmerica'':
** In a guest-writer spot, Jerry Ordway, author of ''Power of ComicBook/{{Shazam}}'', seemed to be setting up an ongoing storyline about the Shazam characters; it involved Billy and Mary being depowered (undoing the DorkAge where Billy was the wizard and Mary was evil), the wizard acting irrational, and the introduction of the Rock of Eternity's EvilCounterpart, the Rock of Finality. While Ordway never got the chance to continue this, Eric Wallace's subsequent ''Shazam'' one-shots seemed content to keep things in a holding pattern until he did, while adding other elements such as the return of Blaze. Then ComicBook/{{Flashpoint}} and the ComicBook/New52 happened, and Captain Marvel was one of the characters who got completely reset. Not only is the arc aborted; in current continuity ''none of it happened''.
** An earlier issue of ''JSA'' had Sand having a dream with prophetic messages from dead JSA members. Most of these panned out, referring to the two-part Roulette story, the "Stealing Thunder" storyline, and the ''Comicbook/OurWorldsAtWar'' and ''Comicbook/JokersLastLaugh'' crossover issues. But the original Mr Terrific's warning that Michael Holt would need help when he learnt the truth behind his lost love didn't lead to anything. There was some fan speculation that his late wife would turn out to be the new Crimson Avenger, but she was revealed to be someone else entirely, and then Michael had a vision of Paula in the afterlife and got closure, closing that plot thread completely.
* Early ''ComicBook/New52'' comics were clearly setting the Daemonites up as the BigBad of the line, not just in the ex-Creator/{{Wildstorm}} books but with Superman facing them as well. There was even a suggestion that the Comicbook/DemonKnights had got their name from a mishearing of "Daemonites". Then ''Grifter'' and ''Voodoo'' got cancelled, ''Stormwatch'' got retrobooted and ''then'' cancelled, and with the exception of Midnighter and Apollo, all the Wildstorm elements of Prime Earth went very quiet.
* The New 52 ''ComicBook/{{Nightwing}}'' series' last arc had Dick moving to Boston and finally getting an established supporting cast, including his roommates, one of whom worked for the mayor and had a bone to pick with superheroes, especially Nightwing. At the same time, a girl that Dick was babysitting learned that he was Nightwing, and eventually Dick is forced to save her when she steals his gear and tries to avenge her parents. Dick also reconciled with Sonya Zucco, the daughter of his parents' killer, Tony Zucco. All of this was thrown out when Dick was outed in ''Forever Evil'' and never mentioned again.
* ''ComicBook/RedRobin'' was clearly developing a major villain who had been working behind the scenes and was never able to be named on panel before Flashpoint happened. Prior to this the Ünternet arc was cut short of its intended length and had its consequences watered down by executives.
* The origin story of the New 52 ''ComicBook/{{Shazam}}'' was told in the pages of ''Justice League'', and the ending had Black Adam killed from old age (this version of him dies if he transforms back to Teth Adam) -- but Doctor Sivana had gotten away, meeting a new version of Mr. Mind. The story of ''Shazam'' would be stalled for ''years'', and when a new ongoing eventually started, the Shazam family instead were focusing on the Magic Lands and the return of Billy's biological father -- with a large time-skip since the origin story to boot. Subverted when [[spoiler: it turns out Billy's dad's return ''is'' Mr Mind's plot]].
* For readers versed in [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Golden Age]] {{superhero}}es, it is almost obvious that supporting character Mary Kramer from ''ComicBook/StarsAndSTRIPE'' was intended to be the new Merry the Gimmick Girl. She had a similar name (Mary Kramer vs. Merry Creamer), had red hair and was good with technology. She was even seen looking into a box with Merry's costume. This never happened, however, since ''Stars and STRIPE'' was canceled and the Star-Spangled Kid moved to Creator/GeoffJohns' other book, ''[[Comicbook/JusticeSocietyOfAmerica JSA]]'' (where she eventually became Stargirl) and Creator/GrantMorrison ended up creating a brand new "Gimmick Girl" homage for the Comicbook/SevenSoldiers of Victory mini-series.
** In the other direction, Geoff Johns kept implying that Stripesy's biological son (who was screwed over by Courtney stealing the Star Spangled Kid identity from him as well, and his dad openly favored his new step-daughter over his flesh and blood son and was quite neglectful of him in order to play super-hero with Courtney) would become a villain/his half-sister's rival. Sadly, while Stripesy's son would appear in ''Stars and STRIPE'' and ''JSA'', ominously looming over Courtney and reminding her how she ruined his relationship with his father, the plot never culminated into anything.
* ''Comicbook/{{Supergirl}}'':
** In the first issues of the ''Comicbook/RedDaughterOfKrypton'' story arc, writer Tony Bedard started several subplots up, but he had not the chance to develop them. [[http://comicboxcommentary.blogspot.com.es/2014/09/tony-bedard-interview.html He revealed his plans in an interview, though]]:
--->'''Anj:''' You sowed the seeds of future plotlines which may never come to fruition. Can you tell us what you were planning with Blaze? Siobhan? Michael? Shay Veritas?\\
'''TONY:''' I was going to have Blaze create a trio of henchgirls called the Furies. Remember Siobhan’s roommate and her two friends? They were all orphaned in superhero battles and had sworn themselves to finding a way to make super-people pay. They were going to beat Supergirl and take her back to Blaze’s home dimension. Hilarity would ensue. I wanted to get Siobhan in there more, to make her and Kara a team. I had one issue where the newly Red Lanterned Kara fights Silver Banshee, and I contrasted their fight with flashbacks of Kara and Siobhan just having fun roommate moments. That remains one of my favorite things from the run: just letting her have a friend. Michael returns in my final issue, and we’ll see if they do anything with him after that. If not, it was enough that Kara met a guy who had every reason to hate life and yet retained a positive outlook. He was in many ways a good role model for her, and he didn’t want to trick or use her, which is nice for a change. And Shay I wanted to keep playing sort of mysterious. Is she really a friend to Supergirl, or does she view her as another science project? Shay’s still a bit of a cypher to me, which is okay if she’s played for mystery. But I liked doing scenes of her staff at the Block talking about what it’s like being stuck there, having to wear her face, alternating between admiration and resentment. It gave the whole Block set-up a little complexity.
** In ''ComicBook/{{Bizarrogirl}}'', Superwoman's cell gets damaged when Bizarrogirl's ship crash-lands, implying she might get loose in the future. Sterling Gates confirmed she was supposed to get free and join a "Supergirl Revenge Squad" kind of villain team, but that subplot was dropped when he left the book and forgotten when Flashpoint rebooted the universe.
* ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'':
** ''ComicBook/SupermanGrounded'' went through this largely due to writer J. Michael Stracynski leaving the book about halfway in. Chris Roberson took over in the second half, and largely retooled the arc to abandon Stracynski's original premise.
** Peter J. Tomasi's run was cut short when Brian Michael Bendis signed onto DC and was given the ''Superman'' titles. Some things were dropped because of this.
*** The entire series hinted that Jonathan Kent and his neighbour Kathy Brandon were going to get together, with her being present for his significant moments and the two fighting off Manchester Black together... she disappears when Bendis started writing.
*** When Jonathan Kent, Kathy Brandon and Damian Wayne are involved in a fight with Manchester Black that results in time energy escaping and giving them visions, we see a vision of a square Earth and Damian Wayne as Batman, Jonathan Kent as Superman and an adult Kathy. The run had previously already featured a future where Damian and Jon apparently died, after Damian did ''something'' to Jon that Future Tim Drake considered monstrous, with Future Damian being revealed to have survived Future Tim's attempt on his life. This is never explained and Jon, under Bendis, does not interact with Damian nearly as much as he did under Tomasi.
* ''Comicbook/TeenTitans'':
** Mal Duncan abandoned his Hornblower identity and went back to being the Guardian after the Gabriel Horn was stolen, and the plot was never resolved. Had the book continued, it would have been revealed that Mal had hidden it himself because he subconsciously did not want to be a superhero anymore.
** There had been some broad hints in Geoff Johns' run prior to ''Comicbook/InfiniteCrisis'' that the new Aquagirl would be joining the team, with her expressing an interest in the Titans and showing up as Aquawoman in ''Titans Tomorrow''. Plans changed at some point, so she ended up joining and quitting offscreen during the "One Year Later" TimeSkip. She finally joined the Titans for real during Sean [=McKeever=] s run, long after Johns had left the book.
** Likewise, the ''Son of Vulcan'' mini-series ended with the title character going to San Francisco and introducing himself to Beast Boy. This was obviously supposed to set up a plot about Vulcan becoming a member of the Teen Titans, but this never happened.
** The "Origins & Omens" back-up story foreshadowed a number of events which were supposed to affect the team, such as Comicbook/{{Static}} joining, [[Franchise/TheFlash Kid Flash]] returning to life and rejoining the team, Kid Devil dying (in a completely different manner than the way he ''actually'' ended up dying), Comicbook/BlueBeetle hooking up with Comicbook/WonderGirl, and Sun Girl becoming pregnant with Inertia's baby. Aside from Static becoming a Titan, all of these were ignored when writer Sean [=McKeever=] was fired.
** [=McKeever=] had notably planned to resurrect Kid Devil and restore his powers. After ''Comicbook/BlackestNight'' temporarily established that "dead means dead" in Franchise/TheDCU, this plot was dropped as well.
** [=McKeever=]'s run also revealed that Bombshell's mother was EvilAllAlong and the true mastermind behind Project Quantum. The change in writers derailed this subplot, and Bombshell ended up being booted off the team before it could be resolved.
** The same thing happened to JT Krul during his run. His first issue showed glimpses into the future which revealed that Aqualad [[CanonImmigrant from]] ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'' would be joining, and that the Teen Titans would end up involved in a crossover with Comicbook/{{Deathstroke}}'s team of AntiHero Titans. ''Comicbook/{{Flashpoint}}'' rendered all of this moot.
** Felicia D. Henderson's final two arcs were basically an extended [[PoorlyDisguisedPilot Backdoor Pilot]] for a new ''Static Shock'' ongoing. The new series was supposed to have been based around the hook of Virgil trying to get his powers back, but the book ended up being delayed and eventually canceled entirely due to the ComicBook/New52 ContinuityReboot. A new ''Static Shock'' book did launch with the New 52, but it had a different creative team and was completely unrelated to Henderson's proposed series.
** Years prior to this, there was the ill-fated Titans L.A. spin-off that was planned. The group was first hinted at in the ''Beast Boy'' mini-series, the seeds were planted in a ''Titans Annual'', and the team finally assembled in the ''Titans Secret Files'' one-shot only to...never appear again. ComicBook/{{Cyborg}} later confirmed that the team had disbanded with a HandWave line of dialogue.
** There was also the revelation that Terra II was apparently the ''real'' Terra all along. Terra II fell into obscurity before this could go anywhere, and ended up being killed off the next time she made a significant appearance. The whole reveal was later {{retcon}}ned itself, as it turned out Terra II was indeed an impostor, albeit one with IdentityAmnesia. Although, this explanation in turn is similar to Marv Wolfman's original intent for the character, before the later ''New Titans'' editor (Pat Garrahy) had mandated a story to imply the two Terras were the same (which Geoff Johns and Ben Raab intended to expand upon with their reveal).
** At one point, Comicbook/{{Deathstroke}} was shown taking in Poprocket, a homeless teen metahuman. It was stated that he had plans for the girl, but she soon disappeared without explanation. Presumably, they were setting up Poprocket to be part of Deathstroke's AntiHero team of ''[[ComicBook/{{Teen Titans}} Titans]]'', but for whatever reason she ended up not appearing in that book.
** During the second New 52 series, a Durlan girl was introduced to the team and went by Chameleon. Aside from being a big ''Legion of Super-Heroes'' reference (Durlans are prominent in that series, and one of their members goes by Chameleon Boy, and sometimes just Chameleon), she was basically the new version of Miss Martian. Once Scott Lobdell came back on as writer, she was shuffled off and never mentioned again.
** In ''ComicBook/TheLazarusContract'', Wally West was fitted with a pacemaker after some time-travel hijinks. The pacemaker meant that the more that Wally used his speed, the more he would risk his health, and going too fast would basically kill him. Writer Dan Abnett said he had a grand story about defining Wally's role in a world where a Flash and Kid Flash already existed. Wally even wrote a letter to Dick, resigning from the team. But this went to nowhere, as his heart issues were wrapped up quickly in the arc right after ''The Lazarus Contract'', when Kid Flash healed his heart. And after that arc, Wally's story was moved to the main ''Flash'' comic where Joshua Williamson set up his new status quo.
** When Wally returns from the Speed Force in ComicBook/DCRebirth, he's established as having had a relationship with Lilith Clay in the new continuity. In the Rebirth special of ''Titans'', the first thing Omen remembers about Wally is a kiss they shared and she acts fond of Wally during the entirety of the first arc, showing hints of lingering crush on him and some jealousy towards Linda Park, his pre-Flashpoint wife who she says is all he can think of. This plotline is dropped after ''The Lazarus Contract'' once Lilith and Garth enter into a relationship without even mentioning her past with Wally.
* Franchise/WonderWoman famously quit the ''[[ComicBook/JusticeLeagueInternational Justice League Europe]]'' after just one issue. Keith Giffen has stated that Wondy's editors demanded she be written out of the JLE, as they didn't want her to be "sullied" like the other members of the League (who famously underwent a lot of {{Flanderization}} and then [[NeverLiveItDown Never Lived It Down]]).

[[folder:Marvel]]
* At the end of the first arc in ''[[Comicbook/TheInvaders All-New Invaders]]'', Comicbook/TheEternals discovered a comatose ComicBook/{{Galactus}} in the Negative Zone (where he'd been trapped following ''Comicbook/CataclysmTheUltimatesLastStand''), and planned to use the Gods' Whisper to control him and make him destroy the Kree. The planned attack on the Kree never occurred, and Galactus later appeared without any reference to how he'd escaped the Negative Zone.
* ''Franchise/TheAvengers''
** At the end of ''The Avengers'' #16, the departing Comicbook/IronMan told the new Avengers that they should track down Comicbook/TheIncredibleHulk and convince him to rejoin the team, as they currently lacked the raw strength of the original lineup[[note]]As Iron Man, [[Comicbook/TheMightyThor Thor]], and [[Comicbook/AntMan Giant-Man]] all took a collective leave of absence.[[/note]]. Despite the end of the issue promising "The Search for the Hulk!" the following month, issue #17 instead dealt with the Avengers facing the Comicbook/FantasticFour villain Mole Man, with the Hulk subplot essentially being abandoned within the first few pages.
** Near the end of Roger Stern's run, minor ''Comicbook/AlphaFlight'' character Dan Smallwood saw the Avengers on TV, and was shocked to learn his childhood sweetheart Marrina was now a member of the team. According to Stern, this was going to lead to Dan heading to New York and ending up in a LoveTriangle with Marrina and [[Comicbook/SubMariner Namor]]. Unfortunately, Stern was removed from the book by ExecutiveMeddling, and Creator/WaltSimonson ended up killing off Marrina in his very first arc.
** Creator/KurtBusiek's ''Avengers'' run had the team face a powerful villain named Bloodwraith. They were unable to best him, but ComicBook/ScarletWitch managed to bind him to the ruins of Slorenia, making it impossible for him to leave the country's borders. It was mentioned a few issues later that ComicBook/{{SHIELD}} was still monitoring Slorenia to make sure Bloodwraith didn't try anything funny, but Busiek ended up leaving the title before he could revisit that plot thread. The next time Slorenia appeared, absolutely no mention was made of Bloodwraith or where he'd disappeared to.
** Creator/GeoffJohns' first ''Avengers'' arc introduced a new Scorpio. Though his plan was thwarted, the ending showed that he had escaped with the Zodiac key, and that he was actually part of a new incarnation of the Zodiac group. Zodiac's mysterious leader mentioned that the next time, the group would attack as one to ensure the Avengers could not stop them. Unfortunately, there never was a "next time," since Johns left the book before he could continue that subplot. The new Scorpio and Zodiac never appeared again.
** Creator/BrianMichaelBendis hinted at a romance between [[Comicbook/{{Hawkeye}} Clint Barton]] and Echo in ''Comicbook/NewAvengers'', even having the two share a passionate kiss. This was completely dropped once Clint's ex-wife Comicbook/{{Mockingbird}} returned "from the dead" (it's complicated) at the close of ''Comicbook/SecretInvasion''.
** The official tie-in comic for ''ComicBook/TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes'' had a story with the ComicBook/ScarletWitch and ComicBook/{{Quicksilver}}, which heavily implied that the two teens would be joining ComicBook/TheAvengers at a later date. Thanks to the cancellation of both the show and the comic, this never occurred.
* During a crossover between the ''Comicbook/AvengersAcademy'' and ''Young Allies'', it was hinted that Reptil and Spider-Girl harbored an attraction for one another, and were going to hook up. The problem is, ''Young Allies'' got cancelled after just six issues, so their relationship was nixed with a single HandWave line.
* In ''Beyond!'', Creator/{{Dwayne McDuffie}} killed off the teen hero Gravity by having him perform a HeroicSacrifice. However, the final panel of the book hinted that this wasn't the end of Gravity's tale. The character was later resurrected in [=McDuffie=]'s ''Fantastic Four'' run, but hasn't really done anything of note since. It turns out that this is because the original plan was to resurrect Gravity and have him become the new ComicBook/{{Captain Marvel|l}}, but someone else decided it would be a better idea to introduce a Skrull posing as the original Captain Marvel in ''Comicbook/CivilWar'' instead.
* ''ComicBook/BlackPanther'':
** Reginald Hudlin's first run ended with Comicbook/ErikKillmonger's son swearing vengeance against T'Challa after watching Comicbook/MonicaRambeau kill his dad. The son hasn't been seen since then, and his planned revenge has yet to occur.
** In ''The Man Without Fear'', David Liss introduced an EvilCounterpart for T'Challa named the American Panther. The story ended with the villain defeated, but with his costume and mask unaccounted for. The final shot showed someone putting on the American Panther mask and cryptically saying "The world has been waiting for my return. Well...here I am," but the mystery of who this was ended up going nowhere. WordOfGod is that it would have eventually been revealed that the new American Panther was Kasper Cole, the young man who had briefly replaced T'Challa as the Black Panther near the end of [[Creator/ChristopherPriestComics Christopher Priest]]'s run. The next time Kasper officially appeared, it was revealed that he'd given up on crime-fighting altogether, and there was no indication that he'd ever worn the American Panther suit.
* ''ComicBook/CaptainAmerica'':
** Steve Rogers dies in Dan Jurgens' ''Captain America'' vol. 3 #50, which would have been addressed by a follow up mini-series by John Ney Rieber.
** Mark Gruenwald's final ''Captain America'' arc had Steve slowly dying, which led to him training a pair of young heroes named Jack Flag and Free Spirit to take over for him. Creator/MarkWaid then took over the book and promptly cured Steve, allowing him to get back into the action. The subplot about Cap's new proteges was dropped entirely, and Jack Flag wouldn't be seen again for roughly a decade, while Free Spirit wouldn't appear again until ''twenty years later''.
** ''Captain America and ComicBook/TheFalcon'' ended with Cap finding Falcon's costume fluttering in the wind, with it left ambiguous as to whether or not Falcon was dead. This was going to be resolved in a solo ''Falcon'' book by Creator/{{Christopher Priest|Comics}}, but the series never materialized, as Priest didn't want to be typecast as only writing black heroes.
** In the 70s, a crossover between ''ComicBook/CaptainAmerica'' and the ''Comicbook/XMen'' implied that Comicbook/TheFalcon might be a mutant. This was dropped until a decade later, when the solo ''Falcon'' series confirmed this theory by having a Sentinel identify the hero as a mutant. This was ignored until 2001, when Creator/KurtBusiek addressed the inconsistency in an issue of ''ComicBook/TheAvengers'', where it was established that Falcon was ''not'' a mutant, and that the Sentinel had simply been malfunctioning.
** When Steve Rogers returned after his supposed death in Ed Brubaker's run, Bucky -- who had been acting as Captain America to honour Steve -- insisted on giving the Captain America mantle back, even though Steve didn't want it. Steve insists that Bucky keep the title, and justifies it by saying that Bucky has moved beyond using the role to honour him. He later confides in a sleeping Sharon Carter that he'd had a vision of a possible future, and in this future Bucky, as the Winter Soldier and not Captain America, dies after being impaled on debris. Also seen are numerous large tentacled silhouettes and someone wielding Thor's hammer, Mjolnir. The ''ComicBook/FearItself'' crossover, where numerous Mjolnir-like weapons fall from the sky ''and'' Bucky ''was'' seemingly "killed" (but as Captain America), ''could'' be the follow-up, but it doesn't quite line up. The tentacle things never appeared and besides the event being Thor-related, there aren't many similarities. The visual of giant tentacled robots would be used years later in ''ComicBook/SecretEmpire'' (and a CBR article theorised that this could be a case of ArcWelding), but that's it.
** Near the end of Rick Remender's first run, [[Comicbook/{{Agent 13}} Sharon Carter]] returned after she was previously thought to have died in Arnim Zola's Dimension Z. She immediately accused Zola's daughter Jet (who had betrayed her father and sided with the heroes) of being a [[TheMole Mole]], and demanded that the girl be gagged so that she couldn't even defend herself against the accusations. Offended by the claim, as well as the heroes' willingness to believe it, Jet abandoned them and returned to her father's side. The way the situation played out made it seem like Zola might have been behind Sharon's mysterious return and actions, and that her accusations may have been an attempt to frame Jet to get her to turn against the heroes. However, this has never been addressed since then, and Jet ended up in ComicBookLimbo after Remender left the book.
** In ''All-New Captain America'', Comicbook/MistyKnight dropped the bombshell revelation that government organizations like Comicbook/{{SHIELD}} and various superhero teams like the Avengers, X-Men and [[Comicbook/TheInhumans Inhumans]] had been infiltrated by Comicbook/BaronZemo's new Comicbook/{{HYDRA}}. Again, Rememnder left the title before this could be further explored. While the later [[Comicbook/NickSpencersCaptainAmerica Nick Spencer run]] opened with Sam and Misty taking care of the last HYDRA moles within S.H.I.E.L.D., the thread about HYDRA having plants in the superhero community was largely ignored.
* In one of the issues of the ''Comicbook/{{Daken}}'' solo series, the title character reads a news article about the new ComicBook/CaptainAmerica being outed as ComicBook/BuckyBarnes, the man who killed Daken's mother. He's shown looking at Bucky's picture with an intense stare, and there is a strong implication that Daken is planning on confronting Barnes. The book was cancelled before this fight could occur and Daken never brings it up again in any of his appearances.
* The Sky-Walker from ''Comicbook/{{Daredevil}}'' was billed as "the most startling character in the annals of Marveldom" when he first appeared. He showed up in exactly one issue before completely disappearing. WordOfGod from Marv Wolfman is that he had wanted to use the character to set off a big sci-fi story, but by that point he'd become so unhappy with his tenure on the title that he asked to be taken off ''Daredevil'' and moved to another book.
* Creator/KevinSmith's infamous ''Comicbook/{{Daredevil}}/Bullseye: The Target'' mini-series, which was never finished. The first (and only) issue saw a group of Muslim extremists coming to New York to hire Bullseye to kill an extremely valuable target, for which he'd be paid 20 million dollars. It ended with him expressing surprise at the intended victim but then agreeing to do it anyway. We never found out who it was or what happened next, but WordOfGod is that the target would have been revealed to be ComicBook/CaptainAmerica.
* The final issue of ''Comicbook/{{Dazzler}}'' ended with Allison seeking a new status quo, and Comicbook/{{Beast|Marvel Comics}} suggesting that she join Comicbook/XFactor, the new team he and several of his former X-Men teammates were putting together. Dazzler did not end up appearing in ''X-Factor'', as the plan to have her be the team's fifth member was changed when editorial decided to resurrect Comicbook/JeanGrey and have her be part of the group instead.
* Creator/JonathanHickman's ''Comicbook/FantasticFour'' epic, ''The War of the Four Cities''. The four blocs are the Lost City of the High Evolutionary (tied to Silver Age villain the Mole Man), the floating city of the Universal Inhumans (tied to, well, Comicbook/TheInhumans), the hidden lives of the Cult of the Negative Zone (tied to Annihilus), and the Last Kings of Old Atlantis (tied to Namor the Comicbook/SubMariner)... who kind of... died suddenly. Presumably when Hickman realized that with Namor and the surviving Atlanteans living under [[Comicbook/XMen Utopia]] meant there was no way to hold the X-Men off until the GrandFinale. Never mind, we were then treated to the addition of the Kree to the storyline.
* The final issue of Creator/MattFraction's ''Comicbook/{{FF}}'' ended with the implication that Pym Particles could be used to resurrect Cassie Lang, Comicbook/AntMan's dead daughter. Cassie did end up getting resurrected a relatively short time later, but in a manner entirely unrelated to the plot thread from ''FF''.
* Simon Spurrier wrote a companion miniseries to Jason Aaron's ''ComicBook/GhostRider'' run titled ''Ghost Rider: Danny Ketch''. It was basically used to explain why the second Ghost Rider was suddenly a very evil acting WellIntentionedExtremist working for Zadkiel. One of the characters introduced was Mary Le Bow, Danny's confidante and occultist friend. She's "killed" at the end of the story, but her soul ends up in a sort of limbo, where her murderer resides. He says he'll find her a new body and that magic users like her are going to be facing a nebulous threat separate from the war in Heaven that the Ghost Riders were waging. This isn't followed up on, and the following ''Ghost Rider'' series introduces an entirely new Ghost Rider at that. Danny Ketch himself never mentions Mary again and would wind up in comic book limbo.
* ''Comicbook/TheIncredibleHercules'' had a subplot where Comicbook/AmadeusCho visited his deceased family in the afterlife, only to discover that his little sister, whom he had presumed dead as well, was actually still alive. Maddy Cho did finally appear years later in ''Comicbook/TotallyAwesomeHulk'', but her actual reunion with Amadeus apparently took place entirely offscreen.
* Gerry Duggan's ''[[Comicbook/IncredibleHulk Hulk]]'' run ended before the plot about Gammon, Banner's [[AIIsACrapshoot evil A.I.]], could reach any sort of meaningful resolution. Earlier in the same run, there was also {{Foreshadowing}} for a confrontation between Doc Green and Kang the Conqueror. The anticipated fight never happened.
* During the ''Comicbook/{{Inferno}}'' crossover, Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Woman helped form a new team of Avengers in a manner similar to the formation of the original team way back in ''ComicBook/TheAvengers'' #1. Despite clearly being positioned as major players in the new team, they were quickly written out of the book once ''Inferno'' ended. It turns out that this is because Creator/WaltSimonson had been given permission to add the two to the Avengers, only for editorial to change their minds and decide they wanted them back in the ComicBook/FantasticFour instead.
* ''[[Comicbook/TheDefenders The Last Defenders]]'' ended with Kyle Richmond forming a new group of Defenders consisting of Comicbook/SheHulk, Son of Satan, Krang, and the new Nighthawk after learning from the time-traveling villain Yandroth that this team would go down in history as his greatest achievement and an important part of the Marvel Universe. Indeed, the last page had Yandroth ominously stating that these new Defenders were reality's greatest hope for survival. The new team only ever appeared again in the obscure mini-series ''Vengeance'' (where they weren't even the main characters), and then quietly disbanded offscreen. They certainly ''never'' did anything even remotely as important as the achievements Yandroth hinted at.
* A major part of Brian Bendis' short-lived ''ComicBook/MoonKnight'' series revolved around the hero finding a decapitated ComicBook/{{Ultron}} head, with the series' final issue promising that the plot point would be addressed in the then-upcoming ''Comicbook/AgeOfUltron'' crossover. Not only was the subplot about the Ultron head not resolved, but Moon Knight himself hardly appeared in the actual event.
* ''ComicBook/NewXMenAcademyX'' looked to be building up a BigBad in [[MindRape mind-rapist]] Sean Garrison, the PsychoPsychologist father of one of the main characters, Wallflower. However, the original writers on the book were abruptly fired following ''ComicBook/HouseOfM'', and not only was this storyline never mentioned again, but Wallflower was killed in the wave of anti-mutant violence that followed said ''House of M''. The new creative team implied in an interview that Garrison was depowered by the Scarlet Witch's reality warp, but nothing definitive has ever been stated on his fate in canon itself.
* The final story arc of the original ''Comicbook/PowerPack'' featured the appearance of a mysterious homeless man known only as Mr. Raymond, who possessed fire-based superpowers and seemingly had some sort of connection to Frankie Raye. It was strongly implied that this was a grown-up version of Tommy "Toro" Raymond, the Golden Age Human Torch's seemingly-deceased KidSidekick, and that he was also Frankie's biological father (which would explain her powers). This plot thread was never continued, and later stories would definitively establish that Toro did indeed die for real back in ''Comicbook/SubMariner'' #14. In fact, Toro's resurrection was a major plot point in the later ''Comicbook/AvengersInvaders'' crossover.
* The "Home Schooling" arc of ''Comicbook/{{Runaways}}'' featured the Runaways' Malibu home being destroyed by a missile attack that also [[spoiler:kills Old Lace]], Klara going berserk, and Chase running away [[spoiler:and later getting hit by a car while chasing after a girl who looks like Gertrude Yorkes]]. It also revealed that the Runaways had been under surveillance by Chase's mysterious uncle, Hunter Stein. But the series was cancelled before the arc came anywhere near a conclusion, and when the Runaways finally resurfaced several years later in ''Comicbook/AvengersAcademy'', the only part of "Home Schooling" that was acknowledged was Old Lace's apparent death (which was quickly undone - the arc revealed that [[spoiler:Nico cast a previously-unmentioned spell that sent Old Lace into another world where she was restored to life.]])
* Near the end of Nick Spencer's ''Comicbook/SecretAvengers'' run, ComicBook/DaisyJohnson was fired from ComicBook/{{SHIELD}} and replaced by ComicBook/MariaHill. Johnson was later shown recruiting the [[ComicBook/BuckyBarnes Winter Soldier]] for a plot to bring down Hill's regime and expose her shady dealings to the public. The book quickly veered off course into a tie-in to ''Comicbook/{{Infinity}}'' involving one of the new [[ComicBook/TheInhumans Inhumans]], and abandoned the Daisy subplot before being cancelled. Other titles later established that Daisy and Maria had resolved their differences.
* ''Comicbook/SpiderMan'':
** The infamous F.A.C.A.D.E. incident. Long story short, Terry Kavanagh introduced a new baddie named [[http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix5/facadesman.htm F.A.C.A.D.E.]], and a huge deal was made about who he really was under the mask (well, [[PoweredArmor helmet]]). Unfortunately, '"Comicbook/TheCloneSaga" began right after F.A.C.A.D.E.'s debut storyline ended, so the mystery of his true identity has never been resolved. It's become sort of a RunningGag that whenever the character does appear or get mentioned, there's usually some sort of joke about his identity.
** Near the end of Creator/BrianBendis' tenure at Marvel, he began dropping hints that Comicbook/MilesMorales would be abandoning the Spider-Man name in order to step out of Peter Parker's shadow and create his own heroic identity. This, coupled with Comicbook/{{Cable}} commenting that Miles would have a future in espionage, led some to conclude that Miles would become a costumed spy of some kind (rumored to be named Spy-D). This was dropped after Bendis' departure, with the subsequent ''Miles Morales'' series by Saladin Ahmed keeping the character in his role as Spider-Man and focusing more on street-level heroics than spy stuff.
* Creator/WarrenEllis' short-lived ''[[Comicbook/TheMightyThor Thor]]'' run introduced a subplot about Warren Curzon, a British cop who was investigating Thor. When Ellis decided to leave the title after the fourth issue, he had Enchantress casually kill off Curzon, making his whole storyline a ShaggyDogStory.
* ComicBook/UltimateMarvel
** During the ''Comicbook/{{Ultimatum}}'' crossover, Comicbook/TheWasp was [[DroppedABridgeOnHim killed after being eaten off-screen by the Blob]]. Before pulling a HeroicSacrifice, [[Comicbook/AntMan Yellowjacket]] was seen telling Comicbook/IronMan to take the Wasp's body into his lab and activate something known as "The Jocasta Project", hinting that her life might somehow be saved (since in the mainstream comics, Jocasta was an android with the Wasp's brain patterns). This was never mentioned again. In the same event, Comicbook/DoctorStrange was slain by Dormammu. Upon Stephen's death, a mysterious figure appeared in front of his corpse and teleported away with it. Like the business with the Wasp/Jocasta, this was never addressed or even mentioned again.
*** ''Ultimatum'' caused a lot of these. In ''Comicbook/UltimateXMen'', it had been revealed that Comicbook/EmmaFrost (who was thought to be a hero and ally to the X-Men) was actually a [[TheMole Mole]] working for the Hellfire Club. Emma was killed in ''Ultimatum'' (''offscreen'' no less) before this subplot could be continued.
*** In an ''[[Comicbook/UltimateXMen Ultimate Comics: X-Men]]'' arc following ''Ultimatum'', it was revealed that Havok was still alive and in a mental institution. He was released by Nathaniel Essex and introduced to Layla Miller, with the implication that there were plans for the boy. This plot point was never resolved, as the book ended up changing writers who never followed up on any of this.
*** Connected to this was a thread of several characters seeing "ghosts" of loved ones telling them to follow plans that made everything worse for everyone, much like Havok, with the implication that Apocalypse was the one behind it all, and that he was looking for a rematch with The Phoenix (after his last appearance had him be [[CurbStompBattle Curb-stomped]] by it), along with William Stryker Junior's mind being uploaded to all the Sentinels. Then Nick Spencer left, and the incoming Brian Wood didn't even pay lip-service to any of this.
** Well before the ''Ultimatum'' stuff, ''Ultimate X-Men'' #67 had Comicbook/{{Sabretooth}} drop the bombshell that he was Wolverine's son. Nothing ever came of this development, and when the two faced each other again in issue #89, Logan rather dismissively stated that there was no way that could be true.
** Comicbook/{{Mary Jane|Watson}} supposedly had the OZ formula purged from her body at the end of the "Clone Saga" arc in ''Comicbook/UltimateSpiderMan'', but there were still scattered hints that some of it remained. She briefly grew claws at one point during a tense argument between Peter and Comicbook/KittyPryde, and was shown having nightmares where she transformed back into the Demogoblin and killed Peter. This whole subplot was quietly dropped after a while.
** ''ComicBook/UltimateWolverine'': At the end of the series, Jimmy gets a Wolverine suit based on the one worn by Logan in the mainstream Marvel Universe. Despite promotional materials showing Jimmy in the costume, he never ended up actually wearing it.
''Comicbook/UncannyAvengers'':
** During the "Planet X" storyline, Comicbook/TheWasp and Havok had a daughter together named Katie while in the alternate future created by Earth's destruction. Katie was eventually kidnapped by Kang the Conqueror, who used her as leverage to get Havok to play along with his plans. Just prior to ''Comicbook/{{AXIS}}'', Immortus showed up and gave the couple hope by telling them they could get Katie back by conceiving a child at the right date and time, which he claimed would allow Katie to be reborn in the prime timeline. Both Wasp and Havok were written out of the series after ''AXIS'', and the subplot was later abandoned entirely once Remender left the book after ''Comicbook/SecretWars2015''. The romantic relationship between the two was also ended offscreen by subsequent writers, removing any remaining hope for Katie's rebirth.
** Rick Remender's run ended with Comicbook/TheVision learning a horrible secret about Comicbook/ScarletWitch and refusing to divulge it in order to spare her feelings, and the High Evolutionary claiming that his genocidal actions were meant to safeguard the world from some unspecified oncoming threat. Both plot points were dropped when the book was cancelled and relaunched with a new creative team due to the aforementioned ''Secret Wars'' reboot.
* Kieron Gillen's ''ComicBook/UncannyXMen2012'' had Mr. Sinister as the first villain, and he clearly had more plans in store. In the aftermath of ''ComicBook/AvengersVsXMen'', Sinister revealed that he'd been posing as the X-Men's PR expert from even before Gillen's run, and he challenged Scott to stop him once Scott got out of prison -- In fact, it's implied stopping Sinister is partly why Scott decided to break out of prison. None of this is followed up on, and the next time Sinister showed up proper, he had a completely new plan involving the terrigen mists.
* The 2003-2004 ''Comicbook/{{Venom}}'' series ended on a {{Cliffhanger}} where Venom mutated into a larger, even more monstrous form after absorbing the clone Symbiote that had bonded with Patricia. Worse still, he was shown preparing to fulfill the clone's mission to KillAllHumans at the behest of its alien masters. The next time Venom appeared, he'd returned to his classic form without any explanation, and while the clone later did resurface as Mania's Symbiote, the alien genocide plot was never resolved.
* Mike Costa's ''Venom'' run had the titular symbiote produce yet another spawn, and Eddie Brock agreed to work for Alchemax on the condition that they care for it. Costa's run was cut short by ''ComicBook/DonnyCatesVenom'', which featured a destitute Eddie Brock who makes no mention of the newborn symbiote. Eventually, a weekly series called ''Venom: First Host'' was released that allowed Costa to wrap up his story, and the newborn symbiote, dubbed the Sleeper symbiote, was PutOnABus.
* ''Comicbook/XMen'' has had multiple versions of them: the Baby version of Age of Apocalypse, how Comicbook/{{Psylocke}} and ComicBook/JeanGrey switched powers, evil Nurse Annie being sold off into bondage to Elias Bogan by her evil son, Sebastian Shaw being courted by Comicbook/{{Apocalypse}}, ComicBook/{{Magneto}} joining forces with the Neo, new character Sketch being set up to join the X-Men but then falling off the face of the planet as soon as Creator/ChrisClaremont left, Comicbook/KittyPryde supposedly having some sort of connection to the Neo, the mystery mutant that was present outside the Sentinel base in Uncanny X-Men #57-59, etc. One of the most infamous examples was the "Externals" plotline from Creator/RobLiefeld's ''Comicbook/XForce''. This secretive bloodline of mutants, all possessing immortality in addition to their mutant power, were built up to be the next big thing, with two former {{Big Bad}}s revealed to be members of the group, as was a member of the team, whom the others seemed to have various vaguely-defined "plans" for. However, Liefeld left the book before he could tie up all the plot threads, and the next creative team was quick to sweep everything about this story under the rug, with one of the three established characters in the group killing all the new ones and the other two revealed to not actually be Externals anyway. This happened so suddenly that many fans pointed out the fact that the story was essentially ''Franchise/{{Highlander}}'' with the SerialNumbersFiledOff and suspected Marvel canned the story to avoid litigation, though WordOfGod assures us this was not the case. There was also a subplot during Joe Kelly's run that hinted Jean might end up transforming into the Phoenix again. Kelly left the book before this could happen, though Creator/GrantMorrison ended up bringing back Jean's Phoenix abilities in his own run. There was also a plotline, dating back to the early nineties, where Bishop referred to Jubilee as "the last X-man", but that plot line has never resurfaced again.
* Dan Abnett's ''ComicBook/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'' run had the modern Guardians meet the [[TimeTravelTenseTrouble classic/future]] Guardians from the year 3000, who are shocked to see Jack Flag and declare him to be the "chosen one". This was never followed up on as Jack was whisked to ComicBookLimbo following the end of the series until he was brought BackForTheDead in Nick Spencer's ''Captain America'' run.
* Abnett's ''{{ComicBook/Nova}}'' run had an issue that ended with the return of AntiHeroSubstitute Garthan Saal with [[UnexplainedRecovery no explanation]] how he was suddenly BackFromTheDead. He hasn't appeared since.
* Jonathan Hickman's ''Fantastic Four'' run ended with the adult Valeria Richards gaining access to the space between universes that the multiversal Council of Reeds used as their base of operations. It was apparently her plan all along to gain access to this space, and she states that now she can build, an ominous reference to Doctor Doom's previous failed attempt at godhood. While Hickman's ''Fantastic Four'' run led into his ''Avengers'' run in a big way and the multiverse is collapsing within that story, nowhere does adult Valeria show up again.
* The end of the ''Jean Grey'' series had the younger Jean confronted by her older, modern day self, who said she wanted to talk. This isn't followed up on: young Jean goes back to ''X-Men: Blue'' while older Jean goes to ''X-Men: Red'', and the two barely interacted afterwards before the younger Jean was sent back to her own time.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Other]]
* ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics'' :
** As a {{Long Runner|s}}, the comic gets this a lot, but two memorable aborted arcs include the mystery of [[KidAppealCharacter Tails]]' destiny as "[[TheChosenOne Chosen One]]" (a prophecy of him being a bigger hero than [[TheMcCoy Sonic]] or [[TheSpock Knuckles]] combined that faltered several times, due to arguments over exactly ''what'' that was supposed to mean), and the Eggman-backed Dingo invasion of the Echindas' homeland (which petered out when the story shifted to an equally-aborted arc regarding a civil war in the Dark Legion). Both stories were hyped up something fierce, but disappeared so quickly and completely that even the ''writers'' have no idea [[TheChrisCarterEffect how exactly they were supposed to end]].\\\
[[KidAppealCharacter Tails']] "Chosen One" destiny was resolved either when he stopped Mammoth Mogul from destroying TheMultiverse or when he was used by [[AIIsACrapshoot A.D.A.M.]] to gather all the Chaos Emeralds in the galaxy in one place and fuse them together. And the Dingo invasion/Dark Legion civil war stories were interconnected (as the latter allowed the former to gain more ground), and were both brought to an end when [[TheSpock Knuckles]] was tricked into becoming [[PhysicalGod Enerjak]].
** A lawsuit by former ''Sonic'' writer Ken Penders for continuing to use his characters even after he left the comic meant that Archie had to write them all out -- and since Penders had created or helped create ''dozens'' of characters, this ultimately resulted in the implementation of a CosmicRetcon that cut short numerous plot lines, some of which had been building for years. In fact, the only ones that got any closure at all were Silver's [[SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong attempt to fix the past]] (which got [[WrapItUp quickly resolved]] pre-retcon, and then reworked into something different but similar post-retcon) and Ixis Naugus' [[TyrantTakesTheHelm reign as king]] (which is almost ridiculously resolved by him [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere running away]] immediately following the retcon).
** When the title and its spin-off series, ''Sonic Universe'', was ultimately cancelled due to various factors, this left a ''lot'' lingering plot threads behind that the writers were hinting to explore later in rebuilding the new universe.
*** Breezie and Honey's deal which they made at the end of the "Champions" arc. It was obvious Breezie was starting to plan something and Honey would likely end up involved.
*** Wendy looking into finding another conch shell: After Wendy joins Eggman's empire (somewhat unwillingly), Eggman sends her off to find a replacement conch shell. Citing he had lost his initial one somehow (Which ended up destroyed at the beginning of the "Worlds Unite" crossover by a Sigma-possessed Orbot. Since the events of that comic were erased, he only has hazy memories of it).
*** Snively and whatever ulterior motives he had in G.U.N: In the new universe, Sniverly defected from Eggman after the events of Sonic 3 and joined G.U.N as their resident science expert. But he was still planning something malicious, having deflected suspicion off him from his superiors. What's more he was now in possession of Eclipse's ship and the Black Arms technology within.
*** Where Eclipse and his Dark Arms (basically Black Arm versions of Wisps) ended up as they were last seen fleeing Angel Island and crashing into an unknown area. Likewise his vendetta against Shadow.
*** Where Silver, Gold and Von Schlemmer wound up after defeating the Second Devourer. As this story was a prequel before Silver meeting Sonic in the new universe was shown, that meeting will never be revealed.
*** Some plotlines with a few of the Egg Bosses such as Tundra and Akhlut (two leader of their fractions at war with each other), Nephthys (an Egg Boss who only joined to make sure Eggman rule is undermined while not casting suspicion on her. The Freedom Fighters of that area actually being her friends and working with her with the main cast completely unaware), Conquering Storm (her taking over her homeland and the rising rebellion), Maw (Him being tested on with an secretive experimental power that not even the other Egg Bosses save Nephthys knew about and developing a new robotizicer for Eggman) and Cassia and Clove (two young girls who were tricked into serving Eggman when the latter willingly became a cybrog to save herself from an terminal illness. But unbeknownst to her is isn't cured and Cassia quickly finds this out but Eggman essentially holds her sister hostage by that point).
*** The Setting Dawn Pirates returning and whatever was in that temple they had found with the Chaotix, Echo and Princess Undina in their last issue. Their story likewise tied into one of the Egg Bosses, Abyss.
*** Nicole had been left in the backup systems of the Sky Patrol after her old computer was destroyed battling Phage during the final moments of [[VideoGame/SonicUnleashed the Shattered World arc]]. Had both continued, ''Sonic Universe'' would have had an issue where Tails and Sally went to Dr. Elidy to help repair the computer and get Nicole back.
*** And Eggman trying to re-power his Death Egg with the implication he was going to go to the Lost Hex to acquire energy for it (which likewise in turn would lead to an another encounter with the Deadly Six, the first one was in the World Unite crossover but that was erased at the end of the event) and the threat of the adformentioned new robotizicer.
* ''ComicBook/CerebusTheAardvark'': This occurred at least once in an early story arc where Cerebus and a band of mercenaries capture a commander named Krull as part of an elaborate military campaign. A later story even depicts them having difficulty keeping Krull imprisoned; seeming to foreshadow an upcoming conflict or complication. However, the author suddenly and unceremoniously dumps the story line, ultimately having it resolve itself offscreen. Not only that, it is never mentioned how (or even if) Krull affected the campaign's outcome.
* In the ''Series/DoctorWho'' [[Magazine/DoctorWhoMagazine spin-off comics]] a lengthy planned character arc for DarkActionGirl turned companion Destrii was dropped when the TV show was revived, and it was decided that the Ninth Doctor comic strips would be tied strictly into the TV continuity. As a result the Eighth Doctor and Destrii got an AndTheAdventureContinues ending and the comic switched straight into the Ninth Doctor and Rose.
* ''Comicbook/ElfQuest''
** Several storylines used to be published in an anthology title from 1996 to '99. ''Future Quest'', taking place some 900 years after most other stories, was put on hold indefinitely to avoid spoilers for other planned stories. Then the anthology was discontinued for financial reasons. ''Wolfrider'' wrapped up neatly in the trade paperback. ''Mender's Tale'' and ''Wavedancers'' had additional chapters been made available online in 2008, partly in script- or unfinished form; ''Wavedancers'' still has no conclusion.
** Similarly, the Summer Special ''Recognition'' was meant as a teaser for a new trade paperback, but then DC Comics bought the publishing rights for ''Comicbook/ElfQuest'', and did not want to pick that title up. Additional parts are available online now, but there is no conclusion yet.
* Happened entirely too often with Creator/RobLiefeld's creator-owned work. Most quarter bins will have issues from series that never went past the first couple of issues, set-ups for crossovers that never actually happened, storylines that were abandoned mid-plot... the list goes on. Some of the most prominent examples include:
** The 08' ''ComicBook/{{Youngblood}}'' series introduced a back-up feature drawn by Liefeld in issue 8, involving Barack Obama assembling up his own Youngblood team. For some reason, issue 9 then totally did away with the ongoing plot, the back up feature taking over entirely and ignoring everything from the last eight issues in favour of an entirely typical Youngblood series. No further issues of the run were made. Curiously, Shaft's narration does bother to explain why Badrock was back in action after suffering injuuries earlier in the run. And nothing else.
%% ** ''Youngblood: Imperial'' and ''Youngblood: Bloodsport'' minis
** ''Comicbook/{{Supreme}} Sacrifice'' crossover, which would have involved the 90s-era Supreme escaping from Supremacy and wrecking havoc.
** Subverted with the ''Supreme: the Return'' storyline. Seeing as ''Supreme'' has been relaunched, it did continue from The Return storyline while featuring a 90s-era Supreme.
%% ** And most of Creator/AlanMoore's plans for Awesome Comics line in general.
* The ''Malibu Comics'' ''[[ComicBook/MalibuComicsStreetFighter Street Fighter]]'' series was rife with this, as it ended after only three issues. The final issue even hinted at a future crossover with the Malibu hero Amazing Man, and introduced a CanonForeigner fighter named Nida, who had sworn vengeance on Ryu for some reason. The letter column of the issue gave a brief rundown of the various story beats that would have unfolded had the series not been cancelled.
* In 2010, the ''[[Franchise/TransformersTimelines Transformers Collector's Club]]'' dropped their "Nexus Prime" plotline which had been running for about five years across [[TheMultiverse various continuities]], after Hasbro ''themselves'' took charge of stories regarding the thirteen original Transformers.
* ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMegaseries'': ''Spotlight: Blaster'' established the rivalry between the communications officers Soundwave and Blaster for the IDW continuity. Blaster was a significant Autobot soldier in charge of morale which caused Soundwave to attempt to assassinate him by brainwashing Beachcomber (which ultimately puts Beachcomber into a coma because of the brain damage). Blaster swears revenge on Soundwave and this is never followed up on. Beachcomber recovers completely offscreen, Blaster fades into the background, and Soundwave pulls a HeelFaceTurn with their rivalry never building to anything. The only thing the issue served to do was create a plot-hole around the Decepticon Bombshell which was dismissed with a hand wave.
* An early issue of ''ComicBook/BlackScience'' explained the principle of the core of the eververse and teased that the team would have to go their to fix their problems. They got distracted and it never came up again.
* The first two ''ComicBook/{{Sasmira}}'' books had a storyline set in the present day where Stan and Bertille's friends were investigating their disappearance. They unceremoniously vanish in the last two books.
* ComicBook/DiabloChile: Apart of the cancellation of the comic books, in the first arc there was the story of the angelic lovers and their revenge against the Lord of Entropía. After the first arc, there's no mention of them in the rest of the issues.
[[/folder]]

* ''ComicBook/ArchieComicsSonicTheHedgehog'' :

* ''Batman: The Widening Gyre'' saw the HeroKiller Onomatopoeia slowly work his way into Batman's confidence by taking on a new persona as "Baphomet" and slowly winning the Dark Knight's trust. Eventually, Batman comes to see him as a true hero and companion, taking him to the Batcave where his lover Silver St. Cloud was. By then, "Baphomet" reveals himself as Onomatopoeia and slits Silver's throat in front of a horrified Batman, ending the story on a massive cliffhanger. Since then, the audience has been left hanging because there have been no followups or sequels to this story.