Last week and the week before that were probably my two favorite Thought Bubble Thursdays. I don't know how I could ever top those. So, I wont. Instead, what I'm going to do is to dial it back a bit. Dial it back to simpler times. I could very well end up in times of conflict, but I have an equal chance of arriving at a time of great innovation and enlightenment. Who knows? In this wibbly wobbly, timey wimey affair we're in, the only thing that we could be certain of is uncertainty. So, with that, let's Travel Through Time... Thursdays!
We've talked about reality warpers before, so we're not exactly blazing a new trail here. Time travel is quite a familiar trope, not only in comics but in other media as well. Back to the Future, Terminator, Doctor Who—these are but some of the multitudes of franchises that rely heavily on time travel. It's way easier to wrap our heads around this literary device as compared to reality manipulation, and while we may think that we're able to explain this complicated concept, we're undoubtedly explaining ourselves into a corner.
How hard can it be? Well, no matter how much science tries to explain it, no one can really ever know for sure. The greatest minds in the world have dedicated their lives either trying to prove that it exists or debunking it as fantasy. Whole courses are taught in universities specifically concerning the very foundation of this concept. And, rightfully so.
Next to reality manipulation, time travel has to be the second most powerful ability one could have. The fascination for this might stem from the writers trying to undo mistakes they've made and correct them. Or, it could be an excuse for lazy writing once again. Let's examine the different way comics travel through time.
From the future, changing the past
Now, this is some Terminator shit. So, try and keep up. This has to be one of the most overused directions of time travel there is. From Cable going back in time to stop a dystopic future from happening, to Bishop going back in time to stop a dystopic future from happening. Wait, hmm... I'm sensing a trend here. Hold on. Waverider, Deathlok, Future Flash. Well, I guess most of the heroes that go back in time go back for the reason of stopping a cataclysmic event or a future dystopia from becoming a reality. That's noble and all, but I feel like it brings more questions than solutions, doesn't it?
If they go back in time and stop the cataclysmic event from happening, how sure are they that they won't cause an even more catastrophic event or a more grim future? Are they even a wild card or have they always been predestined to travel back in time, therefore rendering the past to be unchangeable? What if they go back in time and accidentally step on a butterfly? Would that cause the end of the world? Does their intervention even make a difference? If they do go back and change it, would they even have any recollection of the former dystopia when they return? Would they even be born if the future turns out bright and shiny? If they sleep with a woman that gives birth to a child that would turn out to be their parent, does that make them their own grandpa?
I told you there would be more questions. The more we poke holes in this, the less appealing time travel becomes. Suspension of disbelief is the key to enjoying time travel stories that follow this direction.
On the flip side, there are villains like Kang the Conqueror, Immortus, Monarch, Chronos, Epoch, Abra Cadabra, Professor Zoom, Time Trapper (boy, DC sure has lots of time travelling villains) who want to go back in time for their own personal gain.
The way some comics deal with this is that new realities are formed, new futures come to life. So, when time travelers go back to the future, they're not going back to their original future. They are, in fact, going to a different reality. That means the dystopic future that they've left behind remains exactly how they left it. Though, there are others that still try to force feed that time travelers are wild cards and that they make a difference to the future. Personally, I go for the former. I'm a big believer in the many worlds interpretation that's why this is the truth I choose to live.
DC's Flashpoint event was caused by Barry Allen going back in time to stop Professor Zoom from killing his mother. It created a dystopic present, and rewinding that caused all of DC continuity to be rebooted. While the original Age of Ultron storyline, realized the convoluted nature of time travel and just completely fucked up the timestream after multiple jumps.
Oh hey, at least we have Booster Gold to provide some lighthearted romp. He traveled back in time to become a famous superhero instead of trying to change the future. We should all be like Booster.
From the past, jumping to the future
This one's less used, but equally tricky to navigate. Perhaps because the stakes are lower that's why it isn't as appealing for writers. This one plays on the trope that if a person knows the future (and it's not to their liking) what can they do to change it. Well, at least that's the conundrum that they're often presented with when they get back. But, is the future set in stone or is it still fluid? If they're able to change their future, then what future did they initially see? Aren't people who catch a glimpse of their future doomed to repeat it?
Superboy, Flash, Iron Lad, these are but some of the characters that have travelled forward in time. The lessons these characters learn undoubtedly shape their life moving forward when they return to the past. It's doubly weird when the lesson they learned was caused by their future past selves, which in turn was influenced by the events that their past future selves experienced in the past of the future they would live in. Just roll with it. Trying to logicize time travel is futile.
In summation
So, what have we learned here today? To tell you honestly, for me, not that much. Time travel is a complicated concept with overreaching consequences. They do more harm than good, not only to the story, but to continuity itself. It may be a way to correct past errors, but it could easily be the cause of future ones too. If writers operating in the same universe would just establish a unified concept when it comes to time travel, it would be for the better.
In terms of the comics, it seems like Marvel's resestting the field with their new "Fresh Start" initiative. With regard to the movies, I feel like DC does need a "Flashpoint" level to help their universe keep up. No, I don't mean a time travel scenario to help smoothen up the DCEU. I meant they actually need a time traveller to go back and tell them to branch out a whole universe from Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy.
And with that, we're out of time. Thought Bubble Thursdays has had a good twelve weeks (thirteen if you count the break). With the wedding coming up, this series would be going on an indefinite hiatus. Thank you to everyone who has supported this series through comments, votes and resteems! I mean that from the bottom of my heart. As I'll be going through a major life change, I would be retooling some things to adjust to my new routine. I don't know when or if this weekly series would return, so I appreciate all the wonderful interaction it has received during its 12-week run. As they say, only time will tell.
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