Guest Speakers: Darin Kennedy, G.M. Nair, Steven Van Patten
Track Director: Nicole Givens Kurtz
Several multiverses have been expanded lately, namely in the Marvel and DC universes. So what is a multiverse? It is the recognition of parallel universes. The appeal of these from a fictional perspective is the “what if” factor. “What if” I had or had not gotten married? “What if” I had gone to a specific school? It has a direct impact on the character’s point of view. In fact, you can create multiple versions of the same character, as we saw from the Disney+ TV show Loki, or the movie Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse. From a scientific aspect, there are elements such as string theory and higher physics which come into play. It is a strong lure which tantalizes the audience’s sense of curiosity.
The movie Sliding Doors features one timeline where the main character catches a subway change, and as a result, discovers that her husband is cheating on her. In an alternate timeline, she gets tripped and must take the next subway train instead. She never witnesses her husband’s infidelity, and the woman she becomes in each separate timeline is drastically different. This highlights the contrast that a simple action or moment in time can make.
How would you incorporate multiverse aspects into your fiction? In Marvel, the variances are usually minor. It could be fun to do the opposite and go with extreme routes. There’s insane degrees of freedom regarding range in the context of a multiverse, since anything is possible. You can create different personas and circumstances for the characters. Part of this is a result of reboots from different universes (such as Spiderman’s) which the audiences of previous generations have bonded with, and are still valid.
When have you seen a multiverse done really well, verses a time when… not so much? Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox shows the Flash going back in time and preventing his mother’s death. However, this creates a disastrous chain of events. There is no Superman. Aquaman and Wonderwoman have a love affair, and she winds up killing his wife. This sets off a war between Atlantis and the Amazonians. This was an excellent example of a multiverse done well.
A… “not so much” example is from DC when Batman becomes a version of the Joker. In comic book media, this gets rehashed so many times, every few years. There are thousands of conflicts to play upon, but the companies count on that nostalgia from a commercial sense.
How do they go about explaining the aging of superheroes, such as dating back from the 1920’s and 1930’s? The history of the crises, where they try making alternate versions of earth, rebooting universes, etc. A great example of this would be the TV series Stargirl.
Multiverses can bring up philosophical and existential questions, such as “can two (or more) multiverses exist at the same time?” “If not, should one kill the other?” “If so, which one, and why?” Wanda kills everyone in the new Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. It’s cheap, because the writers act like these characters are expendable due to the multiverse aspect, which lowers the stakes. They do this in order to show how powerful the Scarlet Witch is, but they wouldn’t do that for the “main” world or major characters. Therefore, it loses significant impact and meaning. Furthermore, how will the audience respond when the dead characters are alive in other worlds, or even able to beat Wanda in the “main” world? There’s a balance to consider.
Do you have a favorite multiverse, or story that explores multiple timelines or alternate realities? What aspects draw you the most, and why? Personal exploration? Moral philosophy? Scientific possibilities? Let me know in the Comments Section below! One of my favorites is the visual novel Zero Escape: The Nonary Games.
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