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{{trope}}
A variation of the [[Bad Future]] trope in which the present ''
As an example, let's say that we have a story with a Japanese [[Samurai]] that [[Fish Out of Water|arrives in the present from 200 years in the past]]. He'd probably be shocked to learn that Japanese culture has largely been replaced by Westernization, and that Japan surrendered to the United States after [[World War
It is also acceptable if [[Characterization Marches On|something terrible happened to a long-running character]] or someone related to them. A past version of said character learns that a loved one has died or left them, or that they themselves have died [[Fate Worse Than Death|or ''worse'']].
Another acceptable version is if a person from the present goes into the past and lets the truth slip. So long as the spirit of the trope is explored, it works just fine.
Could be the result of [[Values Dissonance]] or when stories turn [[Darker and Edgier]]. For some reason, bad guys [[Villains Blend in Better|never seem bothered by this]].
Usually, to prevent [[Status Quo Is God|changes to the status quo]], there'll be a [[You Can't Fight Fate]] [[Aesop]] and actions to the contrary will result in [[Make Wrong What Once Went Right|Setting Wrong What Once Went Right]], possibly resulting in a [[Terminator Twosome]].
[[I Thought It Meant|Not to be confused with]] [[I Got a Rock|horrible gifts]].
{{examples|Examples: }}▼
== [[Comic Books]] ==
* [[Captain America (comics)|Captain America]] is the freaking [[Trope Codifier|KING]] of this trope. ''Every'' incarnation of Captain America uses this trope to some degree or another, but [[Ultimate Marvel|Ultimate Cap]] is probably the most apparent.
* In one arc in the ''[[Green Lantern]]'' comic, Hal Jordan is brought to the present era and learns that not only has Coast City been destroyed, not only is the Corps dead, but the latter was his own doing as part of a massive [[Face Heel Turn]].
* In his title series, [[Nova]] meets his ex-lover Namorita, who is dead in the present, while the two of them are ripped through time. Namorita is blissfully unaware of anything that happens in the future, including the fact that she and Nova were no long a couple long before her death, and that she is one of the parties blamed for the deaths of hundreds of innocents.
* ''[[X-Men
* In the [[Intercontinuity Crossover]] ''[[JLA-Avengers]]'' when they discover their [[Silver Age
* In ''[[The Twelve]]'', a bunch of [[World War
* Another example from ''DC 2000,'' wherein a villain shows the 1940s era Justice Society members the present day in order to convince them everything's gone horribly wrong.
* Similarly, the 1940s [[Marvel Comics]] heroes in ''Avengers/Invaders'' arrive in the aftermath of ''[[Civil War]]'' and briefly think that the Germans won [[World War II]] as a result.
* In ''Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?'', when the [[Legion of Super-Heroes (comics)|Legion of Super-Heroes]] visits [[Superman]] just before what is likely to be his last battle, they bring [[Supergirl]] with them. Since the story is set post-Crisis (but before the new continuity kicked in), Supergirl is dead in the "present", and Superman tells this version of Supergirl that his Supergirl "is in the past," without specifying that it's not on a mission as the visitor thinks.
== [[Film]] ==
* In ''[[Pleasantville]]'', this is done in stark contrast to the idyllic past-set TV show.
* In ''[[Back to The Future]]'', Marty McFly figures out he's returned to his own time when he notices a filthy bum sleeping on the park bench.
** Also from ''Back to the Future'':
{{quote|'''Doc Brown:''' Tell me, Future Boy, who's president of the United States in 1985?
'''Marty:''' [[Ronald Reagan]].
'''Doc Brown:''' Ronald Reagan? The actor? Then who's vice president, Jerry Lewis? I suppose Jane Wyman is the first lady? And Jack Benny is secretary of the treasury!
* In ''[[Transformers (film)|Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen]]'', Jetfire wakes up from a long hibernation and asks Sam Witwicky which side is winning the war. He is ''not'' happy with Sam's answer.
* The movie ''[[Time After Time]]'' has [[H. G. Wells]] and [[Jack the Ripper]] time travel to the modern world of 1979. Wells expects the "future" to be utopia while Jack explains that [[Antagonists Assimilate|he gets along in it quite well]] and the world is a great place for people like him and an awful one for people like Wells.
== [[Literature]] ==
* ''[[Callahan's
* ''[[Soon I Will Be Invincible]]'' has a throw-away reference to a group of villains from the 1950s who traveled forward in time to the present to learn from their future selves or successors how they conquered the world. Instead, they found a ''good'' present where superheroes still prevailed, and became so demoralized they returned to their own time and gave up trying.
* In ''[[Time Scout]]'', The Accident has devastated the present. The past is available for tourism, but the present is [[Author Appeal|eating itself]] with gun control and political correctness and organized crime all running rampant.
== [[Live
* ''[[The Twilight Zone]]'' TOS episode "[[wikipedia:Once Upon a Time (The Twilight Zone)|Once Upon a Time]]" (1960). A janitor from 1890 is sent to 1960 via a time helmet. He finds it much noisier and hectic (including having to dodge cars in the street), finds the prices much higher, is almost arrested by a policeman, etc. He eventually escapes back to the past, which he finds much better.
== [[Tabletop Games]] ==
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== [[Video Games]] ==
* [[Dragon Ball Online]]{{context}}
==
* Played with in ''[[Nodwick]]'', where a time traveler from the heavily [[Magitek]] past arrives in the current feudal world {{spoiler|(only to find out it was bringing his date-minder through the time portal that hosed his "future".}}
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[[The Stinger|What, the article's over already?]] [[Big No|NOOOOOO]]!
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[[Category:Speculative Fiction Tropes]]
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