Board Thread:Administrative/@comment-61022-20160816205005/@comment-61022-20160822135917

Ben 1,000,911 wrote: In Sandman's page his origin is referenced in like four points, all conflicting retcons.

Even though this post has been scrubbed because Ben is not an admin, but it's worth commenting on.

I believe he is speaking of the various variations of the Sandman's origins. The original account states that he was on a beach during an atomic bomb test. Later recounting state it was a nuclear experiment gone wrong, a nuclear reactor that blew up, and in one instance it states that it was exposure to radioactive waste that was dumped on the beach.

In each case the only difference is that the cause of radiation exposure is updated for the time. When the Sandman's origins were first told nuclear bomb testing on American soil was still a thing. When that practice was stopped they updated to something more relevant and appeals to our base fears when it comes to new nuclear technology. For example a nuclear accident being relevant at the time and later the fear of toxic waste.

In any case, the primary factors that apply to the Sandman's origins are still basically the same: He was on the run from the law, he tried to escape by fleeing onto a government controlled beach, and it was there he was exposed to radiation.

In the case of the Sandman we'd distill it down to those factors the origin is basically the same. A notation would then be used to break down all the variations that provide a different type of transmission of radiation.