Comics canon under the influence (of adaptations)

We're used to characters and storylines jumping from the comics page to television, movies and video games. But what happens when those adaptations infiltrate the source material?

Why, that's synergy, the Winston-Salem (N.C.) Journal tells us.

"It's no longer enough to follow a character in just the comic books," Tim Clodfelter writes in the newspaper's entertainment section. "You've got to be willing to follow a character in movies, TV and video games."

Clodfelter uses the disappearance of Nightcrawler between the second and third X-Men films as the most recent example -- it's explained in the video game -- but points out that it's hardly a new phenomenon: Before the Fleischer Studios cartoons, the comic-book Superman didn't fly; he leaped. (Remember that whole, "Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound" thing?)

He cites other notable crossovers, including Harley Quinn from Batman: The Animated Series, Firestar from Spider- Man and His Amazing Friends, and Wendy and Marvin (pictured), who became part of mainstream DC Comics continuity with April's Teen Titans #34, some 30 years after their debut on the Super Friends cartoon.