When Jen Miller wrote about her EMP experience in Seattle, it reminded me of my visit to the Museum of Science Fiction in the summer of 2011. I came across Tron 2.0 action figures on a shelf right next to ones from Tron: Legacy. I didn’t recognize any of the 2.0 characters. I just assumed they were from a yet to be released video game. I was partly right. According to Wikipedia:
I’d never heard of this game, and I’m assuming it was the equivalent of a box office dud. I find it shocking that in 2011 you could still buy the four 2.0 action figures: Jet Bradley, Mercury, Ic Regular, and Thorne.
Even the new animated series Tron: Uprising has me worried. An article on Tron wiki states the following:
“It is currently unknown if the series will be canon with the movies, but it is leaning towards non-canon, as it is introducing characters that cannot be logically placed into the flow of events set up by the movies. Furthermore, if Clu's villainous intentions are known by this time, then Tron would have to be Rinzler and could not be training a program and Flynn would be in hiding with Quorra. The first trailer of Tron: Uprising shows Rinzler subduing Beck, asking him, 'Do you really think that if they believe Tron's alive it will inspire a revolution?' This means that Tron has already become Rinzler by the time Beck starts his revolution. In addition, the bio for Tron mentions that the latter lives in seclusion after being damaged in a battle against Clu, looking for a program to become his successor. When or how Tron eventually becomes Rinzler in the chronological timeline of the Tron universe is a mystery as it interferes with the story lines set by Tron: Legacy and Tron: Evolution, adding further question about the canonicity of the series. The premiere of the series, "Beck's Beginning" has in Tron's narration of his defeat as having been left for dead rather then being immediately placed under Clu's control with Rinzler initially serving as a disguise.”
On May 18th, 2012, I watched the premiere of the animated Tron: Uprising on the Disney Channel. Everything this Tron wiki article states is confirmed. My only hope is that the animated storyline will write its way out of the Rinzler mystery, but I don’t see how.
There is only one constant in the world of Tron - confusion. Disney needs to make a commitment to syncing every novel, graphic novel, and game into one whole. There needs to be a true novelization of Legacy. Moreover, novels and/or graphic novels based on the video games such as Tron: Evolution would be nice. If Microsoft can do that with Halo, why can’t Disney? A decision must be made to organize, clarify, and canonize, or Tron’s potential as a franchise will be lost