The term danglers is a common term derived from the fact that the plot-lines are metaphorically left to "dangle" or "hang". A dangler, or dangling plotline, is a plot device in fiction where a plotline is forgotten, phased out and eventually dropped, thus a resolution is never achieved. Although dangling plot-lines can occur in all forms of media, they typically appear in comic books, movies and book sequels, where the original writer or creative team can be replaced.
Reasons for Danglers
Typically, a writer will pepper their main story with smaller back-stories. It then becomes evident to the reader that these smaller back-stories have the potential to build up into a bigger story and reach a conclusion of some sort.
Editorial mandate can also force a writer to drop a building plot-line due to fan backlash or the editor's lack of interest to pursue such a plot.
Examples of Danglers
In television, when a creative team fears that their show may not be picked up for another season, they will end the season finale with a cliffhanger in order to conjure a fan outcry and interest to continue the series. When the series is not picked up for another season, it creates a dangling plot-line. What will usually occur, is that the original writer, fan of the series, or the company who produced the series, will look to another form of media to continue the story. Twin Peaks was able to resolve some dangling plot-lines due to the release of the theatrical film. Buffy The Vampire Slayer got its own comic book series appropriately named Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season Eight. In an extremely rare occasion, Futurama was continued 6 years later through direct-to-DVD films, which eventually led to the resurrection of the series.
In comic books, writers sometimes resolve their own dangling plot-lines in other comic books within the shared universe. A good example is Frank Tieri, who started a Weapon X story in Wolverine, who then later became the writer of his own Weapon X series and as the series ended abruptly, was forced to continue his some of his side-stories in New Excalibur. Chris Claremont and Warren Ellis are also known for continuing their own stories throughout other books they write for.
See also
 | This vocabulary-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
This article has not been added to any content categories. Please help out by adding categories to it so that it can be listed with similar articles, in addition to a stub category. |