View source for Parallel universes in fiction

{{short description|Plot device in fiction}}
{{Distinguish|Parallel novel}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
A '''parallel universe''', also known as an '''alternate universe''', '''world''', or '''dimension''', is a [[plot device]] in fiction which uses the notion of a hypothetical [[universe]] co-existing with another, typically to enable alternative narrative possibilities. The sum of all potential parallel universes that constitute reality is often called the "[[multiverse]]".

The device serves several narrative purposes. Among them, parallel universes have been used to allow stories with elements that would ordinarily violate the [[Scientific law|laws of nature]], to enable characters to meet and interact with alternative versions of themselves or others from their home universe, thus enabling further [[Character arc|character development]],<ref name="esquire">{{Cite web |last=Clark |first=Jonathan Russell |date=2024-01-16 |title=The End of the Multiverse |url=https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/books/a46318135/multiverse-end/ |access-date=2025-03-26 |website=Esquire |language=en-US}}</ref> and to serve as a starting point for [[speculative fiction]], particularly [[alternate history]].

== History ==

=== Early examples ===
One of the first science-fiction examples of a parallel universe is [[Murray Leinster]]'s short story ''[[Sidewise in Time]]'', published in 1934. Although Leinster's story was not the first example of parallel universes, it is credited with popularizing the concept.<ref>{{Cite web |title=NOVA {{!}} Parallel Worlds, Parallel Lives {{!}} Science Fiction and Fact (non-Flash) |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/manyworlds/time-nf.html |access-date=2025-03-26 |website=www.pbs.org}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite magazine |last=Burt |first=Stephanie |date=31 October 2022 |title=Is the Multiverse Where Originality Goes to Die? |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/11/07/is-the-multiverse-where-originality-goes-to-die |magazine=The New Yorker |via=www.newyorker.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Wolfe |first=Gary |date=2007-07-04 |title=Surfing the multiverse |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/448025a |journal=Nature |language=en |volume=448 |issue=7149 |pages=25–26 |doi=10.1038/448025a |issn=1476-4687}}</ref>

The use of parallel universes as a device in [[superhero fiction]] was popularized with the publication of the 123rd issue of ''[[The Flash (comic book)|The Flash]]'', "[[Flash of Two Worlds]]", in 1961. In the issue, the [[The Flash|Flashes]] of [[Earth-One]] and [[Earth-Two]], [[Barry Allen]] and [[Flash (Jay Garrick)|Jay Garrick]], meet, establishing the concept of the [[Multiverse (DC Comics)|DC Comics multiverse]].<ref name="esquire" />

=== Modern examples ===
The multiverse has seen much usage in popular media in the late 2010s and early 2020s, particularly in [[superhero films]], such as the [[Multiverse (Marvel Cinematic Universe)|Marvel Cinematic Universe]] (MCU) and the animated ''[[Spider-Verse (franchise)|Spider-Verse]]'' franchise, as well as the 2022 film ''[[Everything Everywhere All at Once]]''.<ref>'{{Cite magazine |last=Dockterman |first=Eliana |date=27 April 2022 |title=A Guide to All the Major Cinematic Multiverses |url=https://time.com/6169255/cinematic-multiverse-list/ |magazine=TIME}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> Some filmmakers and critics, including MCU director [[Russo brothers|Joe Russo]], have expressed concern that film studios may be embracing multiverse-centric plotlines to capitalize on characters and intellectual property with pre-existing popularity, ultimately to the detriment of originality and creativity in filmmaking.<ref>{{cite web |last=Weiss |first=Josh |date=24 February 2022 |title='Avengers: Endgame' co-director Joe Russo warns multiverse could be too much of a good thing |url=https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/avengers-endgame-director-joe-russo-warns-of-multiverse-oversaturation |website=[[Syfy]]}}</ref><ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Kain |first=Erik |date=November 14, 2023 |title=The Madness Of The Multiverse: How Infinite Universes Are Killing The Superhero Genre |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2023/11/14/we-truly-are-living-in-a-multiverse-of-madness-and-it-needs-to-stop/ |website=Forbes}}</ref>

== Associated genres ==

===Isekai===
{{Main|Isekai}}

Isekai is a subgenre of Japanese fantasy light novels, manga, anime, and video games revolving around a normal person being transported to or trapped in a parallel universe. Often, this universe already exists in the protagonist's world [[Story within a story|as a fictional universe]], but it may also be unbeknownst to them.<ref name="crunchyroll">{{Cite news |last=Dennison |first=Kara |date=January 17, 2018 |title=Hacking the Isekai: Make Your Parallel World Work for You |url=http://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-feature/2018/01/17/hacking-the-isekai-make-your-parallel-world-work-for-you |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180320105703/http://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-feature/2018/01/17/hacking-the-isekai-make-your-parallel-world-work-for-you |archive-date=March 20, 2018 |access-date=March 20, 2018 |publisher=[[Crunchyroll]] |language=en}}</ref>

==Fan fiction==
In [[fan fiction]], parallel universes are commonly used as a setting for a story that departs from the [[Canon (fiction)|canon]] of the [[fictional universe]] that the fan work is based on. Such works are usually referred to as "alternate universe" works, often abbreviated to "AU".<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Finn |first=Kavita Mudan |last2=McCall |first2=Jessica |date=2016 |title=Exit, pursued by a fan: Shakespeare, Fandom, and the Lure of the Alternate Universe |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26382275 |journal=Critical Survey |volume=28 |issue=2 |pages=27–38 |issn=0011-1570}}</ref> Common motivations for writing such stories are to either explore alternative narrative possibilities not depicted in the original media, or to "fix" plot points which were disliked by the [[fandom]].<ref>{{cite thesis |last= Koning |first= A. J. |date= June 25, 2015 |title= THE FAMOUS AND THEIR FOLLOWERS FANFICTION AS AN ALTERNATIVE FORM OF LITERARY CRITICISM |url= https://studenttheses.uu.nl/bitstream/handle/20.500.12932/20326/BAThesis%20Janieke%20Koning%203858863.pdf?sequence=1 |type= BA |chapter= Chapter 3 A Quest For Family |publisher= Utrecht University}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of fictional works featuring parallel universes]]
* [[Alternate history]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Commons category-inline|Multiverse (science fiction)}}

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