Stable Time Loop: Difference between revisions

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** The best part came, of course, when they BOTH decided to go after 7:30 Calvin, because he was the one who was supposed to be doing it. That didn't work either.
** The best part came, of course, when they BOTH decided to go after 7:30 Calvin, because he was the one who was supposed to be doing it. That didn't work either.
*** Eventually, it indirectly does work. Both the 6:30 and 8:30 versions of Hobbes wrote a story about [[Lampshade Hanging|how stupid Calvin was to attempt this plan in the first place]]. It got Calvin an "A+" for creativity.
*** Eventually, it indirectly does work. Both the 6:30 and 8:30 versions of Hobbes wrote a story about [[Lampshade Hanging|how stupid Calvin was to attempt this plan in the first place]]. It got Calvin an "A+" for creativity.
* In ''[[The Invisibles (Comic Book)|The Invisibles]]'', Gideon is introduced to The Invisible College by an elderly Edith Manning, who recognises him as a [[Time Travel|time traveller]] from her youth. After entering the college, he is taught to [[Time Travel]], which results in him going back and meeting her as a young woman...
* In ''[[The Invisibles]]'', Gideon is introduced to The Invisible College by an elderly Edith Manning, who recognises him as a [[Time Travel|time traveller]] from her youth. After entering the college, he is taught to [[Time Travel]], which results in him going back and meeting her as a young woman...
* The elves in ''[[Elf Quest]]'' are only on the planet because their alien ancestors ("the coneheads," later termed "the High Ones") were attracted by the human tales of elven beings. The coneheads shapeshifted into elven beings and turned their spacecraft into a palace, then, as they were landing, were flung back to the caveman days, where all their powers stopped working and they were nearly killed. The few survivors founded some cultures that became the elves that begat the stories that prompted the coneheads to attempt to land in the first place.
* The elves in ''[[Elf Quest]]'' are only on the planet because their alien ancestors ("the coneheads," later termed "the High Ones") were attracted by the human tales of elven beings. The coneheads shapeshifted into elven beings and turned their spacecraft into a palace, then, as they were landing, were flung back to the caveman days, where all their powers stopped working and they were nearly killed. The few survivors founded some cultures that became the elves that begat the stories that prompted the coneheads to attempt to land in the first place.
** Later on, the magic-user Rayek attempts to stop the event that flung the High Ones into the past. It's pointed out that those who were born as a result of this event would cease to exist should he succeed, but he doesn't care (except, it seems, for the few he knows personally). He's talked out of it by the three people most dear to him, who choose to suffer the same fate as the planet; as Rayek can't bring himself to erase them, he stands aside and lets the event happen as it already has.
** Later on, the magic-user Rayek attempts to stop the event that flung the High Ones into the past. It's pointed out that those who were born as a result of this event would cease to exist should he succeed, but he doesn't care (except, it seems, for the few he knows personally). He's talked out of it by the three people most dear to him, who choose to suffer the same fate as the planet; as Rayek can't bring himself to erase them, he stands aside and lets the event happen as it already has.
** His plan, more specifically, was to merge the two magical spaceships (the actual one and the one that took [[The Slow Path]] for 10000 years) and prevent the time loop by making the spaceship ''stable'' through the power of applied [[Object Paradox]].
** His plan, more specifically, was to merge the two magical spaceships (the actual one and the one that took [[The Slow Path]] for 10000 years) and prevent the time loop by making the spaceship ''stable'' through the power of applied [[Object Paradox]].
* In the [[Marvel Universe]], [[Cable (Comic Book)|Cable]] was infected by a [[Sci Fi Name Buzzwords|techno-organic]] virus by Apocalypse, who, it is revealed later, got the virus in the past from Cable.
* In the [[Marvel Universe]], [[Cable]] was infected by a [[Sci Fi Name Buzzwords|techno-organic]] virus by Apocalypse, who, it is revealed later, got the virus in the past from Cable.
* In the [[Elseworlds]] book ''[[Superman Red Son]]'', it's revealed that Superman was sent back in time as a baby, because {{spoiler|Lex Luthor was the ancestor of Jor-L, and therefore Krypton is actually Earth in the future. That might explain why the ''Red Son''-verse doesn't have Kryptonite.}}
* In the [[Elseworlds]] book ''[[Superman Red Son]]'', it's revealed that Superman was sent back in time as a baby, because {{spoiler|Lex Luthor was the ancestor of Jor-L, and therefore Krypton is actually Earth in the future. That might explain why the ''Red Son''-verse doesn't have Kryptonite.}}
** Ironic in that {{spoiler|Jor-L sends his son to the past, as opposed to another planet, because he dislikes how placid humanity has become. Humans think they've learned all there is to learn and now just ''"have nothing left to do but wait and die"''. Jor-L hopes that sending his son to the past will change that. However, the antagonism between Superman and Lex Luthor is what inspires [[Cut Lex Luthor a Check|Luthor]] [[You Can't Fight Fate|to engineer the Golden Age]] Jor-L hopes to avert.}}
** Ironic in that {{spoiler|Jor-L sends his son to the past, as opposed to another planet, because he dislikes how placid humanity has become. Humans think they've learned all there is to learn and now just ''"have nothing left to do but wait and die"''. Jor-L hopes that sending his son to the past will change that. However, the antagonism between Superman and Lex Luthor is what inspires [[Cut Lex Luthor a Check|Luthor]] [[You Can't Fight Fate|to engineer the Golden Age]] Jor-L hopes to avert.}}
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* One ''[[The Simpsons|Radioactive Man]]'' comic from the 1960s features a villain being sent back to the 1860s via a [[Applied Phlebotinum|Trans-spatial Stair Climber]]. When a damaged robot appears out of thin air, he repairs it and programs it to kill Radioactive Man before placing it in a time capsule due to be opened in 100 years time. At the end of the comic, the robot is damaged by Radioactive Man before being hit by Dr. Broom's Time Machine Gun - and sent back to 1863. When Fallout Boy wonders about who built the robot in the first place, Radioactive Man reminds him that "we're dealing with two mad scientists, and that's a [[Incredibly Lame Pun|pair o' docs]] left well enough alone."
* One ''[[The Simpsons|Radioactive Man]]'' comic from the 1960s features a villain being sent back to the 1860s via a [[Applied Phlebotinum|Trans-spatial Stair Climber]]. When a damaged robot appears out of thin air, he repairs it and programs it to kill Radioactive Man before placing it in a time capsule due to be opened in 100 years time. At the end of the comic, the robot is damaged by Radioactive Man before being hit by Dr. Broom's Time Machine Gun - and sent back to 1863. When Fallout Boy wonders about who built the robot in the first place, Radioactive Man reminds him that "we're dealing with two mad scientists, and that's a [[Incredibly Lame Pun|pair o' docs]] left well enough alone."
* The [[The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck|Uncle Scrooge]] story, "Of Ducks, Dimes, and Destinies," features Scrooge's nemesis Magica DeSpell travelling back in time to steal Scrooge's legendary number one dime. The man who was supposed to pay Scrooge the dime for a shoeshine decides to go out for a drink after Scrooge passes out shining his ridiculously muddy shoes. Magica intercepts the man and steals the dime, only to realize that since she stole it ''before'' it was given to Scrooge, it is no longer the first coin earned by the world's richest man (the last component she needs for a spell to create an amulet that can turn things into gold). Magica winds up giving the dime to an unconscious Scrooge, completing the loop.
* The [[The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck|Uncle Scrooge]] story, "Of Ducks, Dimes, and Destinies," features Scrooge's nemesis Magica DeSpell travelling back in time to steal Scrooge's legendary number one dime. The man who was supposed to pay Scrooge the dime for a shoeshine decides to go out for a drink after Scrooge passes out shining his ridiculously muddy shoes. Magica intercepts the man and steals the dime, only to realize that since she stole it ''before'' it was given to Scrooge, it is no longer the first coin earned by the world's richest man (the last component she needs for a spell to create an amulet that can turn things into gold). Magica winds up giving the dime to an unconscious Scrooge, completing the loop.
* [[X-Men (Comic Book)|Rita Wayword]] was captured and changed into the [[Multi-Armed and Dangerous]] [[X-Men/Villains/Characters|Spiral]]... when [[Dimension Lord|Mojo]] sent Spiral to attack her past self.
* [[X-Men (Comic Book)|Rita Wayword]] was captured and changed into the [[Multi-Armed and Dangerous]] [[X-Men/Characters/Villains|Spiral]]... when [[Dimension Lord|Mojo]] sent Spiral to attack her past self.
* [[She Hulk]] once dealt with a rather complicated [[Stable Time Loop]] for her law firm. The case: A billionaire named Charles Czarkowski shot an unarmed man (dubbed "John Doe"), in the back, in broad daylight, in front of a dozen eye-witnesses, ''and'' it was caught on film. Czarkowski claimed that before the shooting he received a message from the future warning that John Doe was destined to shoot him, and Czarkowski shot him in self-defense. Fearing for his life when a time-robot attacked the courtroom, Czarkowski traveled through time, used a DNA scrambler to alter his appearance, and tried to send a message back in time to warn his past self. But when he saw his altered face in the mirror he realized that ''he'' was John Doe all along. The message he sent to warn himself accidentally implicated his future self in the murder of his past self. Then the [[Time Police|Time Variance Authority]] showed up and forced Czarkowski to go back in time again and get shot to maintain the time loop. On the plus side, the TVA had to drop the attempted murder charge against him.
* [[She Hulk]] once dealt with a rather complicated [[Stable Time Loop]] for her law firm. The case: A billionaire named Charles Czarkowski shot an unarmed man (dubbed "John Doe"), in the back, in broad daylight, in front of a dozen eye-witnesses, ''and'' it was caught on film. Czarkowski claimed that before the shooting he received a message from the future warning that John Doe was destined to shoot him, and Czarkowski shot him in self-defense. Fearing for his life when a time-robot attacked the courtroom, Czarkowski traveled through time, used a DNA scrambler to alter his appearance, and tried to send a message back in time to warn his past self. But when he saw his altered face in the mirror he realized that ''he'' was John Doe all along. The message he sent to warn himself accidentally implicated his future self in the murder of his past self. Then the [[Time Police|Time Variance Authority]] showed up and forced Czarkowski to go back in time again and get shot to maintain the time loop. On the plus side, the TVA had to drop the attempted murder charge against him.
* {{spoiler|[[Marvel Zombies]] turns out to be this in Marvel Zombies Return.}}
* {{spoiler|[[Marvel Zombies]] turns out to be this in Marvel Zombies Return.}}
* Robo finds himself in one of these in ''[[Atomic Robo]] and the Shadow from Beyond Time'', where three future versions of Robo instruct him to learn the ''hell'' out of hyperdimensional mathematics so he can return to that point in time-space to defeat the [[Eldritch Abomination]] they're fighting. It's not a ''true'' [[Stable Time Loop]], of course, because Robo is very insistent that [[Arbitrary Skepticism|there's no such thing as time travel]].
* Robo finds himself in one of these in ''[[Atomic Robo]] and the Shadow from Beyond Time'', where three future versions of Robo instruct him to learn the ''hell'' out of hyperdimensional mathematics so he can return to that point in time-space to defeat the [[Eldritch Abomination]] they're fighting. It's not a ''true'' [[Stable Time Loop]], of course, because Robo is very insistent that [[Arbitrary Skepticism|there's no such thing as time travel]].
* When [[Sonic the Comic]] did an adaptation of [[Sonic CD]] (a game where time travel is one of the main mechanics), it pulled off a loop so neat that, in the last part of the story, they could reprint an unedited page from an earlier issue and have it make perfect sense and not seem like laziness on the part of the writer or artist. (The first time the page appeared, the audience perspective is that of present Sonic; the second time, we're following future Sonic, [[It Makes Sense in Context|who's been shrunk]].)
* When [[Sonic the Comic]] did an adaptation of [[Sonic CD]] (a game where time travel is one of the main mechanics), it pulled off a loop so neat that, in the last part of the story, they could reprint an unedited page from an earlier issue and have it make perfect sense and not seem like laziness on the part of the writer or artist. (The first time the page appeared, the audience perspective is that of present Sonic; the second time, we're following future Sonic, [[It Makes Sense in Context|who's been shrunk]].)
* In ''[[Dial H for Hero (Comic Book)|H-E-R-O]]'', this is the fate of the HERO dial. At the end of the series, it gets thrown back in time, where it's found by its very first user, who featured in a [[Whole-Episode Flashback]] earlier in the series.
* In ''[[Dial H for Hero|H-E-R-O]]'', this is the fate of the HERO dial. At the end of the series, it gets thrown back in time, where it's found by its very first user, who featured in a [[Whole-Episode Flashback]] earlier in the series.
* [[The Mighty Thor|Thor's]] grandfather, Bor, was defeated in battle against Frost Giants. He did not expect them to use magic, and therefore wasn't protected when a sorcerer cursed him and turned him into living snow. He told his son, Odin, to find a stronger sorcerer and undo the curse, but Odin stalled for years. When Thor was born, Odin noticed he had Bor's eyes, and was ridden with guilt Bor's spirit came to him and told him he'd be forgiven if he adopts a child who's father he'd kill in his next war. As it happens, Odin's next war was against Frost Giants as well, and the child whose father he killed was Loki. Thus was Loki adopted as an Asgardian. {{spoiler|The truth is Loki was the sorcerer who turned Bor into living snow. He returned back in time to do that, and then he appeared to Odin as Bor's spirit and told him to adopt the child. Then he went to his younger self and instructed him exactly what to do and say so to incite war between the Frost Giants and the Asgardians, so he'd be adopted as an Asgardian and become the man he's today.}}
* [[The Mighty Thor|Thor's]] grandfather, Bor, was defeated in battle against Frost Giants. He did not expect them to use magic, and therefore wasn't protected when a sorcerer cursed him and turned him into living snow. He told his son, Odin, to find a stronger sorcerer and undo the curse, but Odin stalled for years. When Thor was born, Odin noticed he had Bor's eyes, and was ridden with guilt Bor's spirit came to him and told him he'd be forgiven if he adopts a child who's father he'd kill in his next war. As it happens, Odin's next war was against Frost Giants as well, and the child whose father he killed was Loki. Thus was Loki adopted as an Asgardian. {{spoiler|The truth is Loki was the sorcerer who turned Bor into living snow. He returned back in time to do that, and then he appeared to Odin as Bor's spirit and told him to adopt the child. Then he went to his younger self and instructed him exactly what to do and say so to incite war between the Frost Giants and the Asgardians, so he'd be adopted as an Asgardian and become the man he's today.}}


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* In ''[[Teen Titans (animation)|Teen Titans]]'' the [[Time Travel|time-travelling]] villain Warp ''thinks'' he's taking part in a [[Stable Time Loop]]; he goes back in time to steal a special clock because, a hundred years in the future, the historical records say that he went back in time to steal it. Unfortunately for him, the Teen Titans prove themselves able to [[Screw Destiny]] and stop Warp from stealing the clock, wrecking the time loop.
* In ''[[Teen Titans (animation)|Teen Titans]]'' the [[Time Travel|time-travelling]] villain Warp ''thinks'' he's taking part in a [[Stable Time Loop]]; he goes back in time to steal a special clock because, a hundred years in the future, the historical records say that he went back in time to steal it. Unfortunately for him, the Teen Titans prove themselves able to [[Screw Destiny]] and stop Warp from stealing the clock, wrecking the time loop.
* An episode of ''[[Family Guy]]'' explicitly pointed out the trope when Stewie and Brian accidentally caused the Big Bang due to time travel.
* An episode of ''[[Family Guy]]'' explicitly pointed out the trope when Stewie and Brian accidentally caused the Big Bang due to time travel.
* In the ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic|My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic]]'' episode "[[My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic (Animation)/Recap/S2 E20 Its About Time|It's About Time]]", Twilight Sparkle comes across her (very badly injured) future self, who came from next Tuesday morning to give her a very serious message, but Twilight keeps interrupting her future self, until she gets sent back to the future before she could finish her warning. Present Twilight spends the next several days worrying about averting impending doom and getting more and more injured because of random events, matching up her future self's injuries {{spoiler|until next Tuesday morning comes, and absolutely nothing bad happens,}} which is when Twilight decides to use a special magic scroll to go back in time and warn her past self that nothing bad was going to happen and she had no reason at all to worry about. {{spoiler|Unfortunately, her past self kept interrupting her until the time travel spell wears out and Twilight returns to the future- which is now her present. Then she realizes what she has done: her half-done attempt to warn her past self about not worrying is what made her worry in the first place and created a stable time loop. After a few moments, she decides to shrug it off and declares it her past self's problem now.}}
* In the ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic|My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic]]'' episode "[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic/Recap/S2 E20 Its About Time|It's About Time]]", Twilight Sparkle comes across her (very badly injured) future self, who came from next Tuesday morning to give her a very serious message, but Twilight keeps interrupting her future self, until she gets sent back to the future before she could finish her warning. Present Twilight spends the next several days worrying about averting impending doom and getting more and more injured because of random events, matching up her future self's injuries {{spoiler|until next Tuesday morning comes, and absolutely nothing bad happens,}} which is when Twilight decides to use a special magic scroll to go back in time and warn her past self that nothing bad was going to happen and she had no reason at all to worry about. {{spoiler|Unfortunately, her past self kept interrupting her until the time travel spell wears out and Twilight returns to the future- which is now her present. Then she realizes what she has done: her half-done attempt to warn her past self about not worrying is what made her worry in the first place and created a stable time loop. After a few moments, she decides to shrug it off and declares it her past self's problem now.}}
* In one episode of [[Justice League Unlimited]], Braniac 5 summons [[Green Lantern]], [[Green Arrow]], and [[Superman|Supergirl]] to the 31st century to help in a conflict as history records show that the three time-traveled once- but Supergirl didn't return, implying that she died. At the end {{spoiler|Supergirl doesn't die, but she enjoys 31st century-Earth more like the advanced society she grew up in, as well as developed a crush on Braniac 5, that she decides to stay voluntarily.}}
* In one episode of [[Justice League Unlimited]], Braniac 5 summons [[Green Lantern]], [[Green Arrow]], and [[Superman|Supergirl]] to the 31st century to help in a conflict as history records show that the three time-traveled once- but Supergirl didn't return, implying that she died. At the end {{spoiler|Supergirl doesn't die, but she enjoys 31st century-Earth more like the advanced society she grew up in, as well as developed a crush on Braniac 5, that she decides to stay voluntarily.}}


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