The Multiverse: Difference between revisions

Line 1:

[[File:1441923-~~dc_multiverse_super_6505~~.jpg|frame|The many incarnations of [[The Flash]]]]

[[File:1441923-dc multiverse super 6505.jpg|frame|The many incarnations of [[The Flash]]]]

Line 11:

This provides all sorts of interesting ideas for things you can do, for good or bad. If it involves trans-universe [[Sex Tourism]], you have "[[Your Universe or Mine?]]" (or [[Screw Yourself]] sometimes). However, beware [[Evil Twin]], and similar beings.

Sometimes, the Multiverse is protected by a [[Guardian of the Multiverse]]. The [[Multiversal Conqueror]], on the other hand, wants to [[Captain Obvious|conquer]] or destroy it.

Sometimes, '''the Multiverse''' is protected by a [[Guardian of the Multiverse]]. The [[Multiversal Conqueror]], on the other hand, wants to [[Captain Obvious|conquer]] or destroy it.

''Not'' the same thing as [[Alternate Continuity]], but it makes a handy way to link them if the writers are so inclined. See also [[Bizarro Universe]], [[Another Dimension]] and [[Alternate Universe]]. Compare [[Rubber Band History]].

Line 30:

* ''[[The Slayers]]'' takes place in one (sometimes called “the red world”) of four universes, each of which has a good and evil god with five subordinates a piece, all projections floating atop a multiversal golden sea of chaos, A.K.A. {{spoiler|The Lord of Nightmares}}. This doesn't really come into play for the most part, aside from in the anime-original ''TRY'' season, which concerns “overworlders” searching for five [[Plot Coupon]] weapons from their universe…

** Though [[Jossed|the author says it's not so]], [[Fanon]] holds that ''[[Lost Universe]]'' takes place in the “black world” from ''Slayers TRY''.

* ''[[When They Cry]]'' uses and abuses this concept for its [[Groundhog Day Loop~~|Groundhog Day Loops~~]]. The multiverse can be viewed only in the sea of kakera/pieces/fragments. In that sea, each fragment is essentially one possible path that the world can take. ''[[Umineko no Naku Koro ni]]'' introduces the idea of voyager witches, such as Bernkastel and Lambdadelta, who are the only beings capable of traveling the different fragments, and creator witches, who are the only ones capable of creating new fragments.

* ''[[When They Cry]]'' uses and abuses this concept for its [[Groundhog Day Loop]]s. The multiverse can be viewed only in the sea of kakera/pieces/fragments. In that sea, each fragment is essentially one possible path that the world can take. ''[[Umineko no Naku Koro ni]]'' introduces the idea of voyager witches, such as Bernkastel and Lambdadelta, who are the only beings capable of traveling the different fragments, and creator witches, who are the only ones capable of creating new fragments.

* ''[[Katekyo Hitman Reborn]]'' has {{spoiler|Byakuran}} become a [[Physical God]] of all parallel universes, using the [[MacGuffin|three sets of rings and pacifiers]] in order to do so.

Line 54:

* The Multiverse plays an important part in [http://alaxr274.deviantart.com/gallery/33810717 Super Milestone Wars] and it's sequel.

* ''[[The Open Door]]'' is centered around the concept of the so-called heroes exploring the [[Mega Crossover]] multiverse in search of ways to improve themselves in preparation to [[Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?|Punch Out their enemies]]. Universes are sorted according to an "energy gradient", which roughly serves as a [[Sorting Algorithm of Evil]] by paralleling each universe's capacity for technology, magic and psychic power. Parts of it have been sealed off and can only be accessed from other parts of the multiverse through "hub universes", with that of ''[[Suzumiya Haruhi]]'' serving as one of these. Interestingly, it also has [[Alternate Universe~~|Alternate Universes~~]]; the second chapter shows that at least one version of ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'' different from the native ''[[Thousand Shinji]]'' one exists, while later chapters also show that {{spoiler|[[Warhammer 40000|canon!40k]] }} also exists.

* ''[[The Open Door]]'' is centered around the concept of the so-called heroes exploring the [[Mega Crossover]] multiverse in search of ways to improve themselves in preparation to [[Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?|Punch Out their enemies]]. Universes are sorted according to an "energy gradient", which roughly serves as a [[Sorting Algorithm of Evil]] by paralleling each universe's capacity for technology, magic and psychic power. Parts of it have been sealed off and can only be accessed from other parts of the multiverse through "hub universes", with that of ''[[Suzumiya Haruhi]]'' serving as one of these. Interestingly, it also has [[Alternate Universe]]s; the second chapter shows that at least one version of ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'' different from the native ''[[Thousand Shinji]]'' one exists, while later chapters also show that {{spoiler|[[Warhammer 40000|canon!40k]] }} also exists.

* JLA Watchtower and [[DC Nation]] laughed off "52 Pick Up" (as referenced above), going with the older concept of Hypertime.

* [http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3990441/1/Chance_Encounter_III_Return_to_Middle_Earth The Chance Encounter crossover series] Uses this as a plot device, with the main characters hopping around a collection of universes (LOTR verse, Kingdom of Heaven verse, POTC universe and the Troy universe), mostly by means of shipwreck.

Line 95:

** Also in ''Lords and Ladies'' Ponder Stibbons (a wizard version of a physicist) tries to explain the "many worlds'' principle to the Archchancellor (chief Wizard). Of course this goes badly as the Archchancellor is mainly concerned about why his trousers have anything to do with it, and why his parallel self never sent him a wedding invite...

* Introduced as the Whole Sort of General Mish-Mash in the fifth part of the ''[[Hitch Hikers Guide to The Galaxy]]'' trilogy.

* In ''[[The Wheel of Time]]'', there is a multitude of possible other 'verses, called the 'Worlds That Might Be', which are basically [[Alternate Universe~~|Alternate Universes~~]]. The less likely they are, the more faded they look. A channeler can be transported to one of these by using a Portal Stone and the One Power.

* In ''[[The Wheel of Time]]'', there is a multitude of possible other 'verses, called the 'Worlds That Might Be', which are basically [[Alternate Universe]]s. The less likely they are, the more faded they look. A channeler can be transported to one of these by using a Portal Stone and the One Power.

* ''[[Anathem]]'' by Neil Stephenson combines this with of all things Platonic Epistemology to very severely deconstruct many aspects of the multiverse. For example, atomic nuclei are subtly different between universes so any reaction between molecules from different universes is retarded (i.e. breathing).

* Colin Kapp's ''The Dark Mind'' (also published as ''The Transfinite Man'') uses this. The alternate universes were originally empty until mankind (in the form of the evil Failway Company) discovered them and, basically, turned them into vice dens.

Line 118:

** ''[[Star Trek: Enterprise]]'' revisited this again in "In a Mirror, Darkly", just to hammer it home that [[Humans Are Bastards]].

*** ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'' had an episode with Worf bouncing between various [[In Spite of a Nail]] alternate universes. According to [[Word of God]], this is distinct from the usual [[Mirror Universe]] though.

* ''Charlie Jade'': the Alphaverse (a [[Crapsack World]] ''and'' a [[Dystopia]]) is running out of clean water from its excessive pollution. So they use a portal to steal water from the [[~~Utopia|utopian~~]] Gammaverse. Charlie Jade ends up in the world in ~~between -- the~~ Betaverse, a.k.a. our ~~world -- when~~ things go wrong with the portal. Later on he finds out that the halucinations he's had through his life are actually {{spoiler|the result of his ability to travel between the verses}}, and he returns home before deciding he liked the Betaverse better than Alphaverse. Long story short, the whole series is based around this trope, including the cliffhanger season finale (from which the show didn't get renewed) that would have revealed a ''fourth'' universe.

* ''Charlie Jade'': the Alphaverse (a [[Crapsack World]] ''and'' a [[Dystopia]]) is running out of clean water from its excessive pollution. So they use a portal to steal water from the [[utopia]]n Gammaverse. Charlie Jade ends up in the world in between—the Betaverse, a.k.a. our world—when things go wrong with the portal. Later on he finds out that the halucinations he's had through his life are actually {{spoiler|the result of his ability to travel between the verses}}, and he returns home before deciding he liked the Betaverse better than Alphaverse. Long story short, the whole series is based around this trope, including the cliffhanger season finale (from which the show didn't get renewed) that would have revealed a ''fourth'' universe.

* In ''[[Lexx]]'' there are only the Light Universe and the Dark Zone. And the Dream Zone. And the Other Zone.

* In ''[[Kamen Rider Decade]]'' the titular Kamen Rider Decade must travel through nine Heisei-Era Rider Worlds to save the Multiverse...only to discover there are a lot more than nine. Decade also crosses over with ''[[Samurai Sentai Shinkenger]]'', a world without Kamen Riders.

Line 148:

* ''[[Transformers]]'' has a whole pile of alternate universes which sometimes cross over, and which [[Word of God|Hasbro and Takara]] disagree over which are actually separate and which simply occur to the side of other stories. The Transformers of the [[Transformers Trans Tech|Axiom Nexus]] have grouped all continuities into a number of [http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Universal_stream universal streams], with each stream corresponding to a continuity group. Thus, for example, Primax is the G1/Beast Era family, Tyran is the live-action movies, Gargent is the [[Challenge of the Go Bots|GoBots]], [[Fourth Wall|Quadwal]] is the [[Real Life|real world]], etc. Some of these are [[Mirror Universe|negative-polarity universes]] in which Decepticons are good and Autobots are evil; these are assigned negative numbers. To make things ''really'' nuts, there are also multiversal singularities, of which only one exists in all reality. Some of these, such as Alpha Trion, exist in every universe simultaneously, while others, like Vector Prime and The Fallen, travel between universes. There are also [[Our Souls Are Different|sparks]] that resonate across the universe, giving rise to multiple similar but separate versions of Optimus Prime, Megatron, Starscream, and various others.

** It should be noted that this is [[All There in the Manual]]. There's no sign in any of the televised series or available-at-your-comics-shop comic books <ref> Aside from Fun Publications' ''[[Transformers Timelines]]'', which do receive limited direct market print runs</ref> - that is, any canonical stories - that you could "[[Sliders|slide]]" from ''[[Transformers Armada]]'' into ''[[Transformers Animated]],'' despite years of "collector's club" and convention exclusive materials that suggest you can. Fingers are still crossed around the fandom for a ''[[Turtles Forever]]'' sort of project someday, somehow.

** It should be noted that this is [[All There in the Manual]]. There's no sign in any of the televised series or available-at-your-comics-shop comic books <ref>Aside from Fun Publications' ''[[Transformers Timelines]]'', which do receive limited direct market print runs</ref> - that is, any canonical stories - that you could "[[Sliders|slide]]" from ''[[Transformers Armada]]'' into ''[[Transformers Animated]],'' despite years of "collector's club" and convention exclusive materials that suggest you can. Fingers are still crossed around the fandom for a ''[[Turtles Forever]]'' sort of project someday, somehow.

** The [[Transformers Aligned Universe]], which includes ''[[Transformers Prime]]'', the ''[[Transformers War For Cypertron|War for Cybertron]]'' video game series and the novels retelling the narrative of the games, are apparently considered to be outside the multiverse.

Line 222:

* The ''[[Atop the Fourth Wall]]'' / ''[[The Spoony Experiment]]'' amalgam seems to have this property, most easily accessed by forcing someone to review some part of the Ultimate Warrior series of comics, which are so awful they break reality. In the course of both sets of reviews, Linkara and Dr. Insano flash through a long series of alternate universes, depicted as female/hippy/plushie/reversed versions of themselves/bad actors/etc. Dr. ''Link''sano purposefully uses this to {{spoiler|gather an army of Insanos -- and it works. Unfortunately they all start fighting each other afterwards.}}

* ''[[Little Lenny Penguin And The Great Red Flood]]'' references a multiverse frequently. [[Word of God]] says that this multiverse is "anywhere where space and time exists", which is 99% of pretty much ''everywhere'', broadening the concept to disturbingly confusing new heights.

* Really, what would [[The Multiverse]] be like without [[Jenny Everywhere]]?

* Really, what would The Multiverse be like without [[Jenny Everywhere]]?

== Western Animation ==

* ''[[Futurama]]'' did this, and we discover a world where coin flips always have the opposite ~~results -- as~~ a result, Leela and Fry are married, Bender is gold-plated instead of his usual color ("Bite my glorious golden ass!"), etc. As it turns out, both universes are stored in a box in the other one.

* ''[[Futurama]]'' did this, and we discover a world where coin flips always have the opposite results—as a result, Leela and Fry are married, Bender is gold-plated instead of his usual color ("Bite my glorious golden ass!"), etc. As it turns out, both universes are stored in a box in the other one.

** They later visit dozens of other ~~universes -- ones~~ where they're all [[Planet of Hats|robots, or hippies, or Romans...]]

** They later visit dozens of other universes—ones where they're all [[Planet of Hats|robots, or hippies, or Romans...]]

** Also, in an earlier episode of ''[[Futurama]]'', there was another universe from across the edge of the ~~universe -- where~~ the Planet Express crew saw their counterparts dressed as cowboys. At that time, it was said to be the only other universe.

** Also, in an earlier episode of ''[[Futurama]]'', there was another universe from across the edge of the universe—where the Planet Express crew saw their counterparts dressed as cowboys. At that time, it was said to be the only other universe.

*** [[Word of God]] claims in the [[DVD Commentary]] that the cowboy one was a parallel universe (thus they're always the same distance from each other but never accessible to each other), the others are ''[[Shown Their Work|perpendicular]]'' universes (which means they're accessible to each other but only for a limited amount of time).

* ''[[Family Guy]]'', "Road to the Multiverse". Another Brian and Stewie [[Road Trip]] episode, this time going through a Sliders-inspired adventure. Some universes were an [[Alternate History]] (where Japanese never surrendered in WWII, the Cuban missile crisis, etc.), while others were the characters done in different art styles (the Disney universe, Robot Chicken universe, political cartoon universe, blocky universe, etc.). There was even a short trip to the real world.