History ExiledFromContinuity / ContentReasons

* Catwoman was essentially dropped from ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'' throughout the Silver Age, as she was considered too sexualised for an era when UsefulNotes/TheComicsCode was at its strictest.

* Franchise/TheDCU's ''ComicBook/AmbushBug'' took a lighthearted look at the DC universe... which happened to be a big no-no [[UsefulNotes/TheBronzeAgeOfComicBooks at the time]], causing his series to be sequestered to its own continuity. The character himself exists within the DCU, and gleefully hops between canon and non-canon at will.

* In the ''Series/DoctorWho'' [[Franchise/DoctorWhoExpandedUniverse Expanded Universe]], [[AnthologyComic TV Comic]]'s ''Series/DoctorWho'' comic stories had such high strange "''Who'' meets [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]]" moments such as "Dr. Who" teaming up with Santa Claus to save evil goblins from stealing Christmas (that example just scratches the surface). He also had two grandchildren named John and Gillian, who were created primarily because TV Comic only licensed the likeness of Creator/WilliamHartnell and none of his companions' actors. Needless to say, we haven't heard much from John and Gillian lately, apart from two contradictory appearances[[note]]Continuity contradictions for the sake of storytelling are just how the ''Doctor Who'' Expanded Universe tends to roll.[[/note]] that both make it clear they never existed in the "real" ''Doctor Who'' Expanded Universe in the first place: The ''Literature/DoctorWhoNewAdventures'' novels ''Conundrum'' and ''Head Games'' reinterpreted the TV Comic stories and their characters as being [[Recap/DoctorWhoS6E2TheMindRobber Land of Fiction]] constructs, while the ''Magazine/DoctorWhoMagazine'' strip "The Land of Happy Endings" preferred to portray them as [[AllJustADream a wistful dream]] on the Doctor's part (there are some short stories in the ''Short Trips'' series of books which take place explicitly in the TV Comics universe that still feature the characters, and a pair of child First Doctor companions with these names appear in the Telos novella ''Time and Relative'', although they are instead written as realistic 60s teenagers).

** As of 2021, WesternAnimation/PepeLePew is removed from the character lineup due to his inappropriate behavior. {{Lampshaded}} on ''WesternAnimation/Animaniacs2020'' where Pepé is begging not to be erased by the animator in a brief cameo.
---> '''Pepé''': No, no! Please, ''mon cheri''! Do not erase me! The void, she is cold and dark [[KilledMidSentence and-]]

* For much of the eighties, nineties, and 00s, Creator/VertigoComics, as a part of Creator/{{DC|Comics}}, had many characters who originated in or were linked to the main DC Universe, such as [[ComicBook/{{Hellblazer}} John Constantine]], ComicBook/SwampThing, several characters from ''ComicBook/TheSandman'', and others. While they were technically in DCU continuity, and made token appearances there every now and then, they were not allowed to make any significant DCU guest appearances because their series/stories were too dark and mature to risk some innocent kid picking up an issue of ''Hellblazer'' after a ''Hellblazer[=/=]Franchise/{{Superman}}'' crossover. When Vertigo's shift to publishing mainly creator-owned comics set outside the DCU left most of the affected characters in ComicBookLimbo, the embargo was loosened up during ''ComicBook/BrightestDay'' and officially broken by the ComicBook/New52 reboot[[note]]the in-universe explanation being that Vertigo was one of three split timelines that Pandora used Barry Allen to merge at the end of ''ComicBook/{{Flashpoint}}''[[/note]], with Swamp Thing and Constantine being active members of the new DCU. While the changes in Vertigo publishing policy were the immediate stimulus, it was also recognised that some mainstream DCU titles had come to include just as much graphic violence and horror as Vertigo titles, making the ban appear hypocritical.[[note]]It's been theorized that the ''real'' reason for the division was because Vertigo was launched as a sort of experiment in creator freedom, meaning creators could use parts of the DCU toybox but were also free to let their books progress in real-time instead of ComicBookTime and were ''generally'' exempt from tying into DC's annual {{Crisis Crossover}}s. ComicBook/TheNew52 undid all this because it was part of a general push to consolidate ''everything'' with DC characters in it under one corporate umbrella. Notably it also coincided with a restructuring of Vertigo writers' contracts that phased out creator-owned series and gave new writers a smaller cut of royalties.[[/note]]

** Also, Dream of ''ComicBook/TheSandman'' made a notable appearance in ''ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis'' [[spoiler:to pick up his recently deceased mortal parents]], though the character is never specifically identified. He's also made cameo appearances in ''[[ComicBook/JusticeSocietyOfAmerica JSA]]'', since he had a few connections to the team (his father was the then-current ComicBook/DoctorFate and his mother was Fury of ''ComicBook/InfinityInc''), and a [[HalloweenEpisode Halloween Issue]] of ''[[Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica JLA]]'' (Creator/GrantMorrison said this was intended as the 1990s equivalent of ComicBook/ThePhantomStranger showing up on the JLA Satellite at Halloween). He also plays a significant part in ''ComicBook/DarkNightsMetal''.

** From about 2015-2020, this applied to the TV side of the [[Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse MCU]] as a whole. Due to a variety of factors (the big ones being ContinuityLockOut and the fact that Netflix shows are strictly aimed at an adult audience), none of the TV characters appeared in the movies. Then on the flip side, because the TV shows were very low budget compared to the films, the major characters from the movies never appeared in them. The main exception was ComicBook/NickFury, who appeared in two episodes of ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'''s first season, but then never showed up again after that. Starting in late 2021, characters from the Netflix shows began to appear in the films and Disney+ shows (with Daredevil appearing in ''Film/SpiderManNoWayHome'' and ''Series/SheHulkAttorneyAtLaw'', and Comicbook/TheKingpin being revealed as the true antagonist of ''Series/{{Hawkeye|2021}}''), indicating this trope is no longer in play.

* Ultimately averted with ''ComicBook/{{Alias}}''; though originally conceived as a stand-alone book with no overt ties to the Marvel Universe, the book quickly became tied into the Marvel Universe due to Bendis incorporating ComicBook/JessicaJones into the cast of ComicBook/{{Daredevil}}, as well as retconning Jones as being a previously unmentioned classmate of [[Franchise/SpiderMan Peter Parker]]. She has since married ComicBook/LukeCage and has a daughter with him. The entire reason the book was cancelled and relaunched as ''The Pulse'' in the first place was because Marvel was growing increasingly wary of having their A-list heroes showing up in a book full of F-bombs and sex jokes. Bendis himself acknowledges this in the letter page of the final issue.

** Interestingly, Marvel failed to do the same with the ''heroes'' of the piece, with the result that even though the series was never meant by the editors to be in canon, Marvel eventually incorporated the Nextwave version of Machine Man into canon with his post-series guest spots, as well as a HandWave implying the Nextwave version of Comicbook/MonicaRambeau as being [[CanonDisContinuity from an alternate earth]].

* Marvel's first ''ComicBook/ThePunisher'' series under [[ComicBook/ThePunisherMAX the MAX banner]] takes place in its own continuity, though Castle still has his own ongoing set deeply in main continuity. He still can guest star in other characters' books and encounter superheroes and supervillains on his own, but such appearances in the MAX title were forbidden, with the exception of Nick Fury. Oddly, while the MAX Punisher stories are regarded as noncanon by the main Marvel Universe, the ''reverse'' is not true: in the early Garth Ennis-writ stories, numerous sly references are made to events in the then-concurrently running Marvel KNIGHTS ''Punisher'' series, though you'd only catch them if you'd read both series; none of Marvel's A-list characters appear in the MAX books, and the only outright blatant connection is a social worker who plays a role in the ''Slavers'' arc, who makes a reference to working with Castle during "what happened in the subway tunnels'' in the KNIGHTS book. The post ''ComicBook/{{Civil War|2006}}'' Handbook lampshades it a lot:

* Marvel's first ''ComicBook/ThePunisher'' series under [[ComicBook/ThePunisherMAX the MAX banner]] takes place in its own continuity, though Castle still has his own ongoing set deeply in main continuity. He still can guest star in other characters' books and encounter superheroes and supervillains on his own, but such appearances in the MAX title were forbidden, with the exception of Nick Fury. Oddly, while the MAX Punisher stories are regarded as noncanon by the main Marvel Universe, the ''reverse'' is not true: in the early Garth Ennis-writ stories, numerous sly references are made to events in the then-concurrently running Marvel KNIGHTS ''Punisher'' series, though you'd only catch them if you'd read both series; none of Marvel's A-list characters appear in the MAX books, and the only outright blatant connection is a social worker who plays a role in the ''Slavers'' arc, who makes a reference to working with Castle during "what happened in the subway tunnels'' in the KNIGHTS book. The post ComicBook/CivilWar Handbook lampshades it a lot:

** ComicBook/SquirrelGirl and the rest of the ComicBook/GreatLakesAvengers have had their own mini-series and one-shots, but apart from their own series they have only been featured in a ComicBook/{{Deadpool}} tie-in for ''ComicBook/CivilWar'' and in ONE panel of the latest CrisisCrossover. Justified because the rest of the team are too weak, and Squirrel Girl is [[GameBreaker all too powerful]] to be allowed to affect the {{Status Quo|IsGod}}.

** The Vertigo-character ban led to the creation of [[TrenchcoatBrigade several]] transparent Constantine {{exp|y}}ies in main-DC-universe comics, such as Willoughby Kipling (who has since met and compared notes with Constantine), Rasputin, and Ambrose Bierce (a HistoricalDomainCharacter who {{lampshade|Hanging}}d this practice by claiming "They give you a trenchcoat and steal your razor. Like an assembly line, really.").

** The infamous "Electric Soldier Porygon" episode that caused children in Japan to suffer from seizures basically banned Porygon and its evolutions [=Porygon2=] and Porygon-Z from appearing in the anime ever again, barring minor cameos in some of the "World of Pokémon" intros in the movies. However they continue to appear in the games, manga, trading card game, and merchandising as normal.

--> '''Pepé''': No, no! Please, ''mon cheri''! Do not erase me! The void, she is cold and dark [[KilledMidSentence and-]]

Characters and other things ExiledFromContinuity because of their content, i.e executives exile stuff that might be viewed as problematic, insensitive or just plain stupid to avoid any potential controversy or backlash.

Characters and other things ExiledFromContinuity because of their content, i.e IP owners exile stuff that may be viewed as problematic, insensitive or just plain stupid to avoid any potential controversy or backlash.

Characters and other things ExiledFromContinuity because of their content, i.e IP owner exiles stuff that may be viewed as problematic, insensitive or just plain stupid to avoid any potential controversy or backlash.

Characters and other things ExiledFromContinuity because of their content, i.e stuff viewed as problematic, insensitive or just plain stupid enough that it gets off-limited to avoid any potential controversy or backlash.

Characters and other things ExiledFromContinuity because of their content, i.e stuff viewed as problematic enough that the IP owners just don't want to deal with anymore to avoid potential controversy.

Characters and other things ExiledFromContinuity because of their content, i.e stuff viewed as culturally problematic that the IP owners just don't want to deal with anymore to avoid potential controversy.

Characters and other things ExiledFromContinuity because of their content.

** Because a Jynx with her original black color (criticized for resembling {{Blackface}} caricatures before her color was changed to purple) appeared in Lorelei/Prima's spotlight episode, "The Mandarin Island Miss Match", the Elite Four is the Elite Three in the anime, [[CanonDiscontinuity according to TPCI]].

* While a common part of 90's and 2000's ''ComicBook/XMen'' teams, Northstar as a character pretty much was exiled from any adaptations due to the simple fact he was gay, a notable exception being a single episode of ''WesternAnimation/XMenTheAnimatedSeries''. Even after this stopped being less of an issue in the 2010's the character just pretty much will never be used due to being older than Wiccan.

** This applies to the TV side of the [[Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse MCU]] as a whole. Due to a variety of factors (the big ones being ContinuityLockOut and the fact that Netflix shows are strictly aimed at an adult audience), none of the TV characters appear in the movies. Then on the flip side, because the TV shows are very low budget compared to the films, the major characters from the films never appear in them. The main exception is ComicBook/NickFury, who appeared in two episodes of ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'''s first season, but hasn't been seen on the show since. As of 2021, characters from the Netflix shows like have begun to appear in the films and Disney+ shows (with Daredevil appearing in ''Film/SpiderManNoWayHome'' and ''Series/SheHulkAttorneyAtLaw'', and Comicbook/TheKingpin being revealed as the true antagonist of ''Series/{{Hawkeye 2021}}''), indicating this trope is no longer in play.

** This applies to the TV side of the [[Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse MCU]] as a whole. Due to a variety of factors (the big ones being ContinuityLockOut and the fact that Netflix shows are strictly aimed at an adult audience), none of the TV characters appear in the movies. Then on the flip side, because the TV shows are very low budget compared to the films, the major characters from the films never appear in them. The main exception is ComicBook/NickFury, who appeared in two episodes of ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'''s first season, but hasn't been seen on the show since. As of 2021, characters from the Netflix shows have begun to appear in the films and Disney+ shows, indicating this trope is no longer in play.

** This applies to the TV side of the [[Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse MCU]] as a whole. Due to a variety of factors (the big ones being ContinuityLockOut and the fact that Netflix shows are strictly aimed at an adult audience), none of the TV characters appear in the movies. Then on the flip side, because the TV shows are very low budget compared to the films, the major characters from the films never appear in them. The main exception is ComicBook/NickFury, who appeared in two episodes of ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'''s first season, but hasn't been seen on the show since.
** Later Netflix shows, such as ''Series/{{Luke Cage|2016}}'', ''Series/{{Iron Fist|2017}}'', and ''Series/{{The Punisher|2017}}'' are presumed to have done the same, but as these shows took longer to produce, Luke Cage and Iron Fist were regulars on ''WesternAnimation/UltimateSpiderMan2012'' and Punisher guest starred on ''WesternAnimation/AvengersAssemble''. Ultimately, the cancellation of all of Netflix's Marvel shows means that all of the featured heroes might no longer be under these restrictions.

* For much of the eighties, nineties, and 00s, Creator/VertigoComics, as a part of Creator/{{DC|Comics}}, had many characters who originated in or were linked to the main DC Universe, such as [[ComicBook/{{Hellblazer}} John Constantine]], Comicbook/SwampThing, several characters from ''Comicbook/TheSandman'', and others. While they were technically in DCU continuity, and made token appearances there every now and then, they were not allowed to make any significant DCU guest appearances because their series/stories were too dark and mature to risk some innocent kid picking up an issue of ''Hellblazer'' after a ''Hellblazer[=/=]Franchise/{{Superman}}'' crossover. When Vertigo's shift to publishing mainly creator-owned comics set outside the DCU left most of the affected characters in ComicBookLimbo, the embargo was loosened up during ''Comicbook/BrightestDay'' and officially broken by the Comicbook/{{New 52}} reboot[[note]]the in-universe explanation being that Vertigo was one of three split timelines that Pandora used Barry Allen to merge at the end of ''Comicbook/{{Flashpoint}}''[[/note]], with Swamp Thing and Constantine being active members of the new DCU. While the changes in Vertigo publishing policy were the immediate stimulus, it was also recognised that some mainstream DCU titles had come to include just as much graphic violence and horror as Vertigo titles, making the ban appear hypocritical.[[note]]It's been theorized that the ''real'' reason for the division was because Vertigo was launched as a sort of experiment in creator freedom, meaning creators could use parts of the DCU toybox but were also free to let their books progress in real-time instead of ComicBookTime and were ''generally'' exempt from tying into DC's annual [[CrisisCrossover Crisis Crossovers]]. ComicBook/TheNew52 undid all this because it was part of a general push to consolidate ''everything'' with DC characters in it under one corporate umbrella. Notably it also coincided with a restructuring of Vertigo writers' contracts that phased out creator-owned series and gave new writers a smaller cut of royalties.[[/note]]

** Also, Dream of ''ComicBook/TheSandman'' made a notable appearance in ''Comicbook/InfiniteCrisis'' [[spoiler:to pick up his recently deceased mortal parents]], though the character is never specifically identified. He's also made cameo appearances in ''[[ComicBook/JusticeSocietyOfAmerica JSA]]'', since he had a few connections to the team (his father was the then-current Comicbook/DoctorFate and his mother was Fury of ''Comicbook/InfinityInc''), and a [[HalloweenEpisode Halloween Issue]] of ''[[Franchise/JusticeLeagueOfAmerica JLA]]'' (Creator/GrantMorrison said this was intended as the 1990s equivalent of ComicBook/ThePhantomStranger showing up on the JLA Satellite at Halloween). He also plays a significant part in ''ComicBook/DarkNightsMetal''.

** ComicBook/{{Lucifer}} made an appearance during issues of Comicbook/TheSpectre, fresh out of Hell and enjoying Australia.

* Other comedic series may or may not be in continuity. For instance, the Giffen and [=DeMatteis=] ''[[Comicbook/JusticeLeagueInternational Justice League America/Europe/International]]'' was in-continuity, but the later miniseries ''Formerly Known As The Justice League'' and the ''JLA Classified'' arc "I Can't Believe It's Not The Justice League" don't seem to be -- despite [[WordOfGod the editor-in-chief]] saying that they are. Much, much later, a ''Comicbook/BoosterGold'' story referenced his ''Formerly Known As...'' status ... by saying it wasn't true and he made it up as a prank on Beetle.

** Later Netflix shows, such as ''Series/{{Luke Cage|2016}}'', ''Series/{{Iron Fist|2017}}'', and ''Series/{{The Punisher|2017}}'' are presumed to have done the same, but as these shows took longer to produce, Luke Cage and Iron Fist were regulars on ''WesternAnimation/UltimateSpiderMan'' and Punisher guest starred on ''WesternAnimation/AvengersAssemble''. Ultimately, the cancellation of all of Netflix's Marvel shows means that all of the featured heroes might no longer be under these restrictions.

* Marvel's first ''Comicbook/ThePunisher'' series under [[ComicBook/ThePunisherMAX the MAX banner]] takes place in its own continuity, though Castle still has his own ongoing set deeply in main continuity. He still can guest star in other characters' books and encounter superheroes and supervillains on his own, but such appearances in the MAX title were forbidden, with the exception of Nick Fury. Oddly, while the MAX Punisher stories are regarded as noncanon by the main Marvel Universe, the ''reverse'' is not true: in the early Garth Ennis-writ stories, numerous sly references are made to events in the then-concurrently running Marvel KNIGHTS ''Punisher'' series, though you'd only catch them if you'd read both series; none of Marvel's A-list characters appear in the MAX books, and the only outright blatant connection is a social worker who plays a role in the ''Slavers'' arc, who makes a reference to working with Castle during "what happened in the subway tunnels'' in the KNIGHTS book. The post ComicBook/CivilWar Handbook lampshades it a lot:

** ComicBook/{{Deadpool}} mocks the costuming choices and real world merchandise of the rest of the Marvel Universe but still gets to make guest appearances in ''Comicbook/XMen'' and ''Film/XMenOriginsWolverine''.

** ComicBook/SquirrelGirl and the rest of the ComicBook/GreatLakesAvengers have had their own mini-series and one-shots, but apart from their own series they have only been featured in a ComicBook/{{Deadpool}} tie-in for ''Comicbook/CivilWar'' and in ONE panel of the latest CrisisCrossover. Justified because the rest of the team are too weak, and Squirrel Girl is [[GameBreaker all too powerful]] to be allowed to affect the {{Status Quo|IsGod}}.
*** Well, at least until Squirrel Girl got on the Comicbook/NewAvengers2015 and follow-up series Comicbook/USAvengers, eventually getting a [[ComicBook/TheUnbeatableSquirrelGirl solo title]]. It helps that nowadays her ability to defeat anybody off-screen is downplayed heavily, opting more to TalkingTheMonsterToDeath and [[HeartIsAnAwesomePower creative power use]] tactics.
** Similarly, [[ComicBook/TheAwesomeSlapstick Slapstick's debut limited series]] has been completely ignored by Marvel canon -- most notably the events of issue #4, where an irradiated bum destroys major portions of New York, attracting the attention of Comicbook/TheAvengers, the Comicbook/FantasticFour, the Comicbook/NewWarriors, Comicbook/GhostRider, Comicbook/{{Daredevil}}, and other heroes. However, Slapstick himself was recruited into the New Warriors and appeared as a semi-regular character in ''ComicBook/AvengersTheInitiative''.
** ''Comicbook/SheHulk'' has had several series that either broke the fourth wall constantly or had lots of fun with the legal wranglings of C and D-list characters in ways that are never acknowledged in continuity, but she still gets to show up in ''Hulk'' and ''Fantastic Four'' comics and be treated as a serious character. ''VideoGame/MarvelUltimateAlliance 2'' and ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom3'' both have She-Hulk acknowledge that she used to talk like Deadpool in earlier days, also stating in the earlier game that she has moved on from that speech pattern since.
* Ultimately averted with ''ComicBook/{{Alias}}''; though originally conceived as a stand-alone book with no overt ties to the Marvel Universe, the book quickly became tied into the Marvel Universe due to Bendis incorporating Comicbook/JessicaJones into the cast of Comicbook/{{Daredevil}}, as well as retconning Jones as being a previously unmentioned classmate of [[Franchise/SpiderMan Peter Parker]]. She has since married ComicBook/LukeCage and has a daughter with him. The entire reason the book was cancelled and relaunched as ''The Pulse'' in the first place was because Marvel was growing increasingly wary of having their A-list heroes showing up in a book full of F-bombs and sex jokes. Bendis himself acknowledges this in the letter page of the final issue.

** Later, Marvel actually adopted Nextwave into canon, taking the completely derailed, but hilarious, personalities into their mainstream appearances. This was handwaved with something about mind alteration through drugs. Even The Captain was finally introduced into the main universe, when he appeared in ''Comicbook/{{Nova}}'' (vol. 6) #9 in 2016.