History Main / Canon

Finally, a note on grammar: "canon" is a singular noun that refers to the official story of a work (typically according to the writers of said work) and should generally come after a singular specifying article (such as "the" or "a") or have an "s" applied to the end of the word when referring to more than one individual canon. "Canonicity" is the collective noun form and is the word to use when referring to the idea of canonical or non-canonical things in general, which can be used in lieu of "canon" without preceding it with a singular specifying article. "Canonical" is the adjective form describing something that is or isn't part of the canon in question. "Cannon" is a noun for large explosive artillery and common misspelling of "canon," and is completely unrelated.

Over time, particularly in the realm of jargon and other informal settings, the term "canon" has grown in popularity when used adjectivally ("this is a non-canon event"). However, this practice should be understood as a less orthodox attributive form of the noun, given that English dictionaries solely recognize "canon" as such. For formal writing, the term "canonical" should be viewed as highly preferable to ensure both clarity and conformity to established linguistic standards ("a canonical character").

The linguistically conventional terminology becomes clear through these example sentences: "Let's discuss canonicity. Because this particular detail is canonical, it aligns with established canonicity and thus belongs to the official canon. However, this other conflicting detail, being non-canonical, falls outside the canon." Should any confusion persist, an easy-to-remember guide for correct use is to pair up the idea of "canon" with "continuation," "canonical" with "continual," and "canonicity" with "continuity."

* Catalyst Game Labs has a tiered view of canon for ''TabletopGame/BattleTech''. The main source of canon consists of the sourcebooks and novels [[note]]though there is a gradiation of canon here due to the UnreliableNarrator tendencies of the sourcebooks, which are almost always presented as in-universe documents from [=ComStar=] or other powers and so reflect the biases or incomplete information of the in-universe author -- and in some Jihad-era books, out-and-out in-universe lies known as "canon rumors". [[{{Retcon}} This has proved very convenient to the various developers when changes had to be made to canon or when two sources conflict]]. Conversely, Catalyst has said that information related in a novel is unimpeachable canon unless explicitly retconned. With one exception: due to a variety of reasons mostly revolving around licensing snags that have made reprinting the novel impossible as well as some EarlyInstallmentWierdness, the events of the early novel ''The Sword and the Dragon'' are considered BroadStrokes in terms of canonicity -- Hanse Davion was replaced by a body double, and this still is one of his ''casus belli'' for launching the Fourth Succession War, but otherwise the novel's events are not often referenced and the novel itself is [[MissingEpisode not counted in the official list]] of ''TabletopGame/BattleTech'' novels.[[/note]], and materials supporting the click-base miniature spinoff ''[=MechWarrior=]: Dark Age'' and ''[=MechWarrior=]: Age of Destruction'' games. A secondary tier exists with the computer games. Both due to their more open nature and due to the licensing issues surrounding the split intellectual property[[note]]Topps owns the tabletop game rights which they license to Catalyst, Microsoft owns the computer and video-game rights[[/note]], the canonicity is BroadStrokes, in that events of the games generally ''happened'', but it may not be in the exact way that any player experienced it in their own playthrough of the game and the characters created for the games may or may not exist in canon[[note]]notable CanonImmigrants from the video games include the Crescent Hawks mercenary company from ''The Crescent Hawks' Inception'' and ''The Crescent Hawks' Revenge'', and the entirety of the Aurigan Coalition from ''VideoGame/BattleTech2018''[[/note]]. The ''WesternAnimation/BattleTech'' cartoon of the '90s, the various comic books, and official magazines with the possible exception of the currently-running ''Shrapnel'' magazine, also fall into this tier[[note]] for instance, the cartoon is not canon, but Adam Steiner, Nicolai Malthus and many of the other characters [[CanonImmigrant are]]. It's just that the events in the cartoon ([[WordOfGod officially]] a PropagandaPiece WartimeCartoon created by the Lyran Alliance in-universe) do not always match up with what actually occurred in canon[[/note]].

* In ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'', all 19 flagship games are canonical (and not [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaCDiGames the games by Phillips]], SpinOff games like ''VideoGame/LinksCrossbowTraining'' or ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriors'', or the games released on Platform/{{Satellaview}}), albeit in three {{Alternate Timeline}}s that diverge at ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]]'', according to the 25th anniversary encyclopedia ''[[AllThereInTheManual Hyrule Historia]]''. These games include multiple people named Link and Zelda (about ten each).
* ''VideoGame/{{Pikmin}}''. In the bad ending of ''Pikmin 1'', Olimar fails in collecting all the ship parts and doesn't make it home. This obviously isn't canonical because in ''Pikmin 2'' he lands on Hocotate and it is requested that he go back.

* Superhero comics have wildly fluctuating levels of canonicity with generally the most popular stories written by currently established writers being considered canonical, often even if they weren't originally. For example, ''ComicBook/KingdomCome'', originally an {{Elseworlds}} story, was eventually retconned to be the official future of the DC Universe (and later retconned to be one of the Fifty Two earths with the Superman of that universe interacting with his mainstream universe counterpart.) Often after a major retcon or reboot, classic stories are considered canonical until proven otherwise by new canonicity. ''[[ComicBook/SupermanBirthright Birthright]]'' was considered Franchise/{{Superman}}'s origin story even after ''ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis'' until Johns wrote ''ComicBook/SupermanSecretOrigin''.

* In ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'', all 19 flagship games are canonical (and not [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaCDiGames the games by Phillips]], SpinOff games like ''VideoGame/LinksCrossbowTraining'' or ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriors'', or the games released on UsefulNotes/{{Satellaview}}), albeit in three {{Alternate Timeline}}s that diverge at ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]]'', according to the 25th anniversary encyclopedia ''[[AllThereInTheManual Hyrule Historia]]''. These games include multiple people named Link and Zelda (about ten each).

Finally, a note on grammar: "canon" is a singular noun that refers to the official story of a work (typically according to the writers of said work) and should generally come after a singular specifying article (such as "the" or "a") or have an "s" applied to the end of the word when referring to more than one individual canon. "Canonicity" is the collective noun form and is the word to use when referring to the idea of canonical or non-canonical things in general, which can be used in lieu of "canon" without preceding it with a singular specifying article. "Canonical" is the adjective form describing something that is or isn't part of the canon in question.

Not to be confused with the VisualNovel ''VisualNovel/{{Kanon}}'', or the camera company Canon, or with singer/songwriter K'naan, or with Music/PachelbelsCanon, or the ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' BigBad Ganon, or with actual cannons.

* In Islam, there's Literature/TheQuran, the Word of God, and the Hadith, things said by Muhammad that aren't part of the Koran. The Hadiths have to be reliably traced back to Muhammad, fit with existing proven Hadiths, and so on, but which ones count and which don't depends on who you ask.

The linguistically conventional terminology becomes clear through these example sentences: "Let's discuss canonicity. Because this particular detail is canonical, it aligns with established canonicity and thus belongs to the official canon. However, this other conflicting detail, being non-canonical, falls outside the canon." If confusion remains, a simple mnemonic for proper usage compares "canon" to "continuation," "canonical" to "continual," and "canonicity" to "continuity."

Over time, particularly in the realm of jargon, the term "canon" has grown in popularity when used adjectivally within informal settings, like fan discussions ("this is a non-canon event"). However, this practice should be understood as a non-standard attributive form of the noun, given that English dictionaries solely recognize "canon" as such. For formal writing, the term "canonical" should be viewed as highly preferable to ensure both clarity and conformity to established linguistic standards ("a canonical character").

The more linguistically orthodox terminology becomes clear through these example sentences: "Let's discuss canonicity. Because this particular detail is canonical, it aligns with established canonicity and thus belongs to the official canon. However, this other conflicting detail, being non-canonical, falls outside the canon." If confusion remains, a simple mnemonic for proper usage compares "canon" to "continuation," "canonical" to "continual," and "canonicity" to "continuity."

Over time, particularly in the realm of jargon, the term "canon" has grown in popularity when used adjectivally within informal settings, like fan discussions ("this is a non-canon event"). However, this practice should be understood as a non-standard attributive form of the noun, given that English dictionaries solely recognize "canon" as a noun. For formal writing, the term "canonical" should be viewed as highly preferable to ensure both clarity and conformity to established linguistic standards ("a canonical character").

Finally, a note on grammar: online communities, especially {{fandom}}s, often freely use "canon" interchangeably as both a noun and an adjective: "This trait has been confirmed to be canon!" On the other hand, professional, academic, and religious communities still prefer the declension "canonical" when discussing matters of canonicity.

* ''Franchise/DragonBall'' is a tricky beast because after several decades of adaptations and additional stories, what is canonical is a ''very'' open question. Not helping matters is that there's no word for canon in Japanese[[note]]Toei often use "takes place in an alternate universe", which doesn't accurately convey the concept[[/note]], and Creator/{{Toei}} [[ShrugOfGod prefers not to say]] in case they torpedo popular ''GT'' merch. For most fans, canonicity is SeriousBusiness, and plenty a FlameWar has erupted over what is and isn't canonical. Complicating this is that many properties (plus a ''lot'' of {{Filler}}) have been developed without Creator/AkiraToriyama's direct influence, and many of the franchises' [[EnsembleDarkhorse beloved characters]] either weren't thought up him or plain don't fit in anywhere. There are also many [[FanDumb fans]] who feel the need to [[StopHavingFunGuys explicitly tell other fans]] what parts of the series they are ''allowed'' to "count" and what parts not, to the point where they insist that separate ''scenes'' in an episode should be disregarded. In the more reasonable parts of the fandom, it's generally agreed that there are several "categories" of canonicity with a sort of pyramid arrangement:

*** Though as the series progressed,it became increasingly clear that the producers didn't really care about the notion of both anime and manga being canon, and went back doing fillers that have no bearing at all in the manga plot, as shown by the anime episodes set after the Kawaki arc, which contain many contradictions and retcons to what the manga stated and did, and aren't referenced in any way once the anime covered the following arc from the manga.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheGhostAndMollyMcGee'' jokes about this one of the videos done as part of Creator/DisneyChannel's "Theme Song Takeover" series. Halfway through Libby's video, Molly compliments her friend's amazing singing voice, before recalling that the show proper has an entire episode dedicated Libby being an absolutely horrid singer. Libby dismisses a confused Molly's concerns by pointing out that these Takeover videos are usually non-canon gag shorts.

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': The show is the main canon. [[Franchise/MyLittlePonyGeneration4 Everything else]]... it's a bit less clear. While many of the spinoff works don't contradict the show, the show very rarely in turn references things that originate in the comics, chapter books, etc. to prevent ContinuityLockOut. The fandom generally holds material created by the show's writers (such as the ''[[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirls Equestria Girls]]'' SpinOff) as closer to canonicity than other works, but for the most part everything is considered unofficial until it's shown in the show itself.

** ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'', like ''Dragon Ball'', is another LongRunner with a lot of {{Filler}}, as such the majority of the fandom hold the claim that "If it was written by Creator/MasashiKishimoto, it's canonical"; officially though what's also considered canonical by WordOfGod are the ''LightNovel/NarutoHiden'' novels (some of which were adapted in the ''Shippudden'' anime, and some of their [[CanonImmigrant filler villains and characters even appearing briefly in the manga]] during the Fourth Ninja War). For the movies, while ''Anime/NarutoTheMovieRoadToNinja'' was made with the author's involvement it is not considered part of the Canon since [[NonSerialMovie it doesn't fit in any part of the continuity]] and because of the author's own admission. The next movie ''Anime/TheLastNarutoTheMovie'', on the other hand was the first movie to be explicitly stated to be part of the manga continuity, and had Kishimoto directly involved as a story supervisor.

* In ''TabletopGame/BattleTech'', there is now 'divergent canonicity', thanks to WizKids' improper seizure and use in 2001 of a FASA-era submission, which included an extensive history of the 'Eridani Light Horse' mercenary unit. WizKids and the author arrived at a settlement whereby he provided a new version and it was treated as canonical --- without the author signing over the rights in his contribution, the only known time this has occurred regarding official Battletech material. Topps later bought WizKids and, after a few years, hijinks ensued, followed by a lawsuit. Ultimately the US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed that the submission is a contribution to part of the Battletech property. Many of its details have been contradicted by new canonical material since its publication, but since the author still retains copyrights in his contribution, it effectively forms its own branch of Battletech canonicity which he has stated he intends to build upon at some point.

* ''LightNovel/HowARealistHeroRebuiltTheKingdom'': According to a note in the afterword of volume 6, author Dojyomaru considers the published LightNovel volumes the canon version of the property, rather than the original WebSerialNovel or the anime and manga adaptations.

[[folder:Anime]]

A related term is [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deuterocanonical_books Deuterocanon]] (known here on Wiki/TVTropes as WordOfDante), which in this context refers to those persons, places and/or events which are not explicitly shown on-screen, but which are considered "official" or close to it. For canonicity that comes not from the source material but from pronouncements by the creator, see WordOfGod. For the contrary idea that something is canonical ''only if'' it appears in the source material (external opinions of the creator, DummiedOut content, and {{Deleted Scene}}s ''not'' included), see DeathOfTheAuthor.

Many video games (and especially {{Visual Novel}}s) have the problem of the StoryBranching into MultipleEndings, thus creating a number of mutually exclusive but canonical happenings. This becomes particularly relevant when the source material is adapted to a linear medium like a TV series and [[CuttingOffTheBranches one of the paths has to be chosen]], adding "extra canonicity" to it. The same applies to sequels. Choose wrong, and the original fans will be up in arms; and there likely is no right answer. See ''VisualNovel/{{Tsukihime}}'' for an example. Most frequently, [[NoCanonForTheWicked the "good" ending is the one chosen]] (because the "bad" ones usually [[KillEmAll leave too many of the principals dead]]).

[[caption-width-right:350: "A cannon can be used to ''[[ArmedWithCanon reinforce]]'' canonicity".]]

->''"'''Warning:''' The game you are about to play is canon." [sic]''