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Post by myrthman on Mar 17, 2011 21:33:14 GMT -5
In the Star Wars universe, this has been done with a series of comic books (Luke's finale shot at the original death star was a hit but the missile itself was a dud...how would the stories be different?). In another setting, there's a graphic novel based on the idea that baby Kal-El's spaceship crashed in a Soviet-controlled farming compound. I wouldn't be surprised if there are other, already-existing examples that I have not read (probably a ton in the fan-fic realm).
Which well-known fictional history would you like to see as an alternate time line? What follows are just a few of my ideas from the moment I posted this:
The Lord of the Rings: What if Boromir hadn't given in to temptation at the end of "Fellowship"? Would he have journeyed with Frodo or with Aragorn? Would Denethor II have killed himself? Would Faramir have succumbed to the ring's power?
Spider-Man: What if the radioactive arachnid had bitten Mary Jane Watson instead of Peter Parker? Would she be a heroine or a villain? Would Peter still be in love with her?
The Matrix: What if Thomas Anderson had not followed the white rabbit that particular night? How would Morpheus and team have made contact? Would Neo still love Trinity if he hadn't met her in the dark corner of a night club? Would he have stopped for "noodles" on the way to meet the Oracle and been attacked by agents?
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Post by Bainespal on Mar 18, 2011 20:15:35 GMT -5
Sometimes I do wonder how things might have turned out differently when I read/watch fantasy/sci-fi, but I generally dislike it when "canonical" sequels come out that change the timeline of their imaginary worlds. That's what really annoyed me about the most recent Star Trek movie, for instance.
That said, there are those times when you really wish something could have turned out a certain way -- not as if the story would necessarily have been better, but it would have just been more right. So, here's some of mine:
The Lord of the Rings
What if the Fellowship never split, and they all tried to journey to Mordor together?
What if Saruman never became evil and instead tried to unite the armies of good?
What if Denethor repented of his despair and gladly turned authority over to Aragorn?
The other fantasy that I'm highly familiar with is The Wheel of Time, and I could have some "what-if" questions I might ask about its timeline. But since WoT, despite its popularity, isn't really common knowledge like LotR, and because of its convoluted and complicated plotlines, I think I'll stick to LotR for now.
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Post by fluke on Mar 29, 2011 21:07:02 GMT -5
DC ran the Elseworlds series, and Marvel had What If.... Marvel's is very like what you speak of. It has the established continuity with a single point of departure. "What if Barbara Ketch became the Ghost Rider instead of Danny?" "What if the X-Men had stayed in Asgard?"
DC's is a little different. It takes an established character and puts him or her in an entirely new setting. What if Batman grew up in the Victorian era (Gotham by Gaslight). What if Abin Sur's ring found Bruce Wayne instead of Hal Jordan (Batman: Darkest Knight)? What if Kal-el's ship landed at Wayne Manor instead of the Kent farm (Superman: Speeding Bullets)? What if Kal-el's ship landed in Soviet Russia (Superman: Red Son)?
You might find these and like them. I'm sure some are available as trade paperbacks/graphic novels.
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Post by myrthman on Mar 30, 2011 16:15:58 GMT -5
RED SON is the one I've read. Thanks for posting the others, fluke! Any setting you'd like to see redone?
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Post by fluke on Mar 31, 2011 21:21:51 GMT -5
I worked on one once (several hard drives back). It was one of my first writing attempts. What if Jaxom read the Bible that Aivas referenced and became a believer?
Death Gate: What if a group of Patrons in the Labyrinth found Bibles?
DS9: What if Jadxia had chosen Bashir instead of Worf?
Pyrdain: What if Taran had accepted Dalben's offer to go to the Summer Land?
DragonLance: What if Takhesis was truly defeated at the end of Summer Flame?
Discworld: How would Susan have turned out if Mort and Isabella hadn't died in that coach crash?
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Post by waldenwriter on Apr 10, 2011 21:52:31 GMT -5
Wow, there are a lot of possibilities.
The Silmarillion - What if Fëanor had never been tempted to evil by Melkor? (His evil led to many things, including the Kinslaying and the Doom of the Noldor, by which the Noldor were forbidden from returning to Valinor).
[Sorry for the weird example above - big LOTR fan here]
xxxHolic (manga): What if Watanuki had not touched the fence of Yuuko's shop? (The plot of the series, as it currently stands in Japan, would definitely be different...although supposedly it was fate that led him to Yuuko, but of course fate can be changed).
His Dark Materials (The Golden Compass and its sequels):
-What if Lyra did not possess the power to use the alethiometer?
-What if Lyra had chosen to stay with Will rather than returning to her own world?
Narnia:
-What if Lucy had never hid in the wardrobe?
-What if Diggory had never awoken Jadis?
-What if Aslan had not resurrected in book 1?
-What if Shasta had been unable to warn King Lune of the impending invasion? (The Horse and His Boy)
-What if Eustace hadn't changed back from being a dragon? (The Voyage of the Dawn Treader)
Inheritance Cycle (for which the 4th book is FINALLY coming out): What if Eragon had never found Saphira's egg?
Harry Potter: What if James and Lily Potter had not died?
(This reminds me of the popular Potter fandom meme J.K. Rowling mentioned in an interview, "My name is Lily Potter. You Thought I Was Dead. You Were Wrong").
Twilight:
-What if Bella had never met Edward?
-What if Edward had not saved Bella from being hit by a car?
-What if Edward had successfully exposed himself as a vampire to the city in Book 2 and been killed by the Volturi?
(I'm not a big Twilight fan, nor am I an Edward fan, so I almost wish he HAD been killed by the Volturi).
Star Trek:
-What if both of Spock's parents had been Vulcans?
-What if Uhura had never bought a tribble from the merchant?
(This is in reference to the famous award-winning episode "The Trouble With Tribbles." I'm reading a book right now by the scriptwriter for that episode).
Star Wars:
What if Anakin Skywalker had not become Darth Vader?
What if Padmé had not died giving birth to Luke and Leia?
Those are all the ones I can think of right now.
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