This book argues that superhero revision offers new perspectives on the
theory and practice of revision in broader contexts, in particular
composition studies. Key developments in the history of superhero and
composition revision reveal that both are deeply embedded in questions
of narrative temporality. The book looks at three unorthodox revision
strategies: sideshadowing, in which traditional tropes of superhero
narratives are told with "new" characters that clearly evoke traditional
ones*; excavation*, the reintegration and reinterpretation of elements
and influences from earlier texts that have been de-emphasized or
written out of continuity; and homodoxy, the narrative coexistence of
inconsistent elements culled from different versions of a character's
textual history. The ensuing cross-disciplinary exploration helps
correct a distorted stereotype of revision as a neutral mechanical
process, revealing it instead as a potent force operating across a
spectrum that ranges from restrictive adherence to orthodoxies, to
radical resistance against the primacy of tradition.