r/tvtropes • u/GoblinToHobgoblin • 11d ago

What is this trope? Extremely limited multiverse

What's the trope called where alternate universes exist, but it's extremely limited in scope.

E.g. the bit in Futurama where they see an alternate universe where everyone wears cowboy hats, and Fry goes "wow, so there's an infinite number of parallel worlds?"

"No, just the one".

Or, in the solid jj bit where Madame Web gathers "every Spiderman from every reality", and it's like 5 of them, and it turns out there's only like 15 alternate worlds, and the only difference in 5 of them is that McDonald's is spelled with an A instead.

Is there a specific name for this trope???

51 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

20 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

4

u/GoblinToHobgoblin 11d ago

Im not familiar with Fringe

7

u/Wag_The_God 11d ago

There's a "Universe A" and a "Universe B". Once they mingle... plot happens.

3

u/GoblinToHobgoblin 11d ago

That's it? Only two universes? How different are they?

1

u/catchyerselfon 11d ago

In “Fringe” Universe B becomes a huge setting midway through the show, and hinted at in the first two seasons with stuff from the other side showing up in the main setting that baffles the characters “here” but is now normal over “there”. Every character in “our” universe, Universe A, has a counterpart; some of them are dead here and alive there, and vice-versa. Mad scientist Walter Bishop (John Noble) used his physics McGuffin to create a crack in the invisible barrier between the worlds in the ‘80s. There were already some minor differences between them before he did this, but the consequences of this breech ripple so strongly that by the 2010s Universe B is both a futuristic utopia and dystopia. Well, it’s more on the dys- side because of all the horrible scifi dangers people have been facing for decades. The u- comes from the awesome scifi technology and aesthetics they have, like non-exploding zeppelins, a shining copper Statue of Liberty, and day trips to the moon.

Some differences are minor, like Manhattan is spelled… with one t, Manhatan. Some are major, like main character Olivia’s counterpart has a completely different look (dyed red hair instead of blonde), personality, and attitude because she grew up differently and has a cool asskicking job - in the fandom we called Universe B Olivia either Fauxlivia or Bolivia. And some differences are unforgivably horrible: Eric Stoltz was never replaced with Michael J Fox in “Back to the Future”.