Floating timeline
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A floating timeline (also known as a sliding timescale) is a device used in fiction, particularly in comics and animation, to explain why characters created years or even decades ago seem to have aged little or not at all since their inception (the floating timeline may be considered a subtle form of retroactive continuity). Characters who debuted as teens in the 1940s, such as Robin (now Nightwing); or the 1960s, such as the X-Men, are still relatively young in today's comics. Events in the characters' history are still alluded to but they are simply changed from having taken place years ago to having taken place more recently. This enables the company to continue to use their characters for as long as they wish with or without changing them significantly. If used completely, the floating timeline allows all the volumes of a series to be viewed in any order and still maintain a solid perception of the plot.
The use of a floating timeline is usually abstracted from that of historical events, but containing (mostly non-canon) subtle references to the real timeline. Thus, any relative dates given within the work are relative to the publishing date of the comic (i.e. "10 years ago" means "10 years before you read this").
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[edit] As incongruities between the art and colloquial dialogue in a comic book and contemporary culture
In practice, this often manifests itself as incongruities between the art and colloquial dialogue in a comic book and contemporary culture: for example, early Spider-Man comics appear to be set in the 1960s, but that is simply the interpretation of the Marvel Universe in that particular era. This makes storylines ambiguous, at times, and increases the importance of interpretation in the reading of such a text. Certain aspects of a work may need to be retconned due to this. For instance, during the 1960s, the Marvel character the Thing said he had fought in World War II alongside Nick Fury (and this was shown in Marvel Two-in-One #77); during the 2000s, the Thing himself considered that the idea of him fighting in World War II was ridiculous, as he would be much older. Another instance is the DC character Wonder Woman, who was an active heroine in the 1940s, but as of her most recent adventures implies that she began as a hero in the mid-to-late 1980s. The fact that there was a Wonder Woman in the 1940s is later explained by the retcon that Diana is the second Wonder Woman, having inherited the mantle from her mother, Queen Hippolyta (although the TV series portrays Diana as being ageless, thus making her the same Wonder Woman in both the 1940s and in the "present day" of the 1970s). A similar situation exists for the DC character called Black Canary.
[edit] Western Comics
In the DC multiverse, alternate explanations have been introduced for such enigmas; in the 1960s, it was shown that the stories from various eras took place in different parallel universes, with the Wonder Woman of the 1940s, for example, being not Hyppolyta but an alternate reality Diana; later, in a series of stories entitled Crisis on Infinite Earths, they were consolidated in a single universe from which a new timeline started over again.
Such a timeline often creates confusion due to major historical events such as World War II or the Vietnam War, which many characters, such as Captain America or various members of the Justice Society of America, need to be based on. It seems that only storylines (apart from those based on real-world events such as 9/11, World War II, etc.), character designs, and dialogue abstracted from current affairs are truly canon, though as many of these fade into the distant past it remains to be seen whether characters will be tied to these origins still or retconned for a more recent war. For example, shortly after 1986's Man of Steel miniseries, Superman's adopted father, Jonathan Kent was, revealed to have fought in World War II in the mini-series The World of Smallville. Later, in the aftermath of 1993's Death of Superman he is said to have fought in the Korean War.
Batman's origin often shows his parents murdered in 1930s or '40s fashions, while the adult Bruce Wayne clearly lives in the present (this is shown in fashion and technology).
Another interesting effect has been seen in the Fantastic Four comics when run by artist John Byrne back in the 1980s. In these stories, characters appeared celebrating Christmas in the December issue and then, four issues later, they appeared in full Spring, although the events had happened just a few weeks ago in the storyline. This may be called "seasons shift" in periodical publications such as comic books.
[edit] Syndicated comic strips
This effect is also seen in most syndicated comic strips and, in some cases, is even mentioned by characters. For example, in a certain FoxTrot strip, Andy remarks to Jason "You can stay 10 your whole life. I won't mind."
A different kind of floating timeline occurs in Peanuts. Newly born characters grow to a particular age and then stop aging.
[edit] Webcomics
Continuity-based webcomics often exhibit floating timelines as well; the webcomic 1/0 often mentioned the fact that an hour from the characters' perspective could translate into months to the author and readers, while Megatokyo, since the end of its first year, has had just over one day of in-comic progress per real-world year. Thus, for instance, preview posters for Metal Gear Solid 2 and Metal Gear Solid 4 have been seen within mere months of one another [1]. The comic Least I Could Do had a floating timeline until the July 9th, 2007 strip, in which the cast opened a "letter" from the writer and artist which stated that from that moment on, they would age normally rather than remain a perpetual age 24 or so.
[edit] Novels, anime, and manga series
Outside of comics, many anime and manga series also feature a floating timescale; Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Kōen-mae Hashutsujo (started in 1976) and Golgo 13 (started in 1968) and Pokémon (1996-present) are three such examples. Another example would be Detective Conan, a long running manga/anime series where none of the characters age or progress in their life. Doraemon is another example. However, the use of a floating timeline is rare in eastern comics.
In fiction, author Rex Stout allowed the principal characters in the Nero Wolfe corpus to age, although much more slowly than the world they inhabit. Alternatively, Leslie Charteris' The Saint and Peter O'Donnell's Modesty Blaise have not aged and their stories take place in an eternal present. The James Bond of the novels was a veteran of World War II, but does not age in the movie versions. Don Pendleton's novel series Mack Bolan The Executioner follows a single man who has killed over 10,000 people throughout the series and has traversed the globe countless times on a personal war. The series exists in a similar floating timeline to that of James Bond and other such series.
[edit] Upstairs, Downstairs
The British drama series Upstairs, Downstairs also used a floating (and at times anachronistic and uneven) timeline. At the end of the first season, which was set in the 1901-1909 time period, London Weekend Television ordered a second season. The writers decided to keep the second season in the same time period as the first, interspersing the episodes temporally among those of the first season. However, certain aspects of the plot (Elizabeth's marriage, for instance) were continued as if the events in the first season had taken place immediately before those of the second. When the show was picked up for a third season, it was decided that the show would move forward in time. The final episode of the last season was set in 1930, 28 years after the first episode; while some characters (such as Rose Buck and James Bellamy, both in their 40s at the end of the fifth season) had aged appropriately, others (such as Daisy Peel and Georgina Worsley, both of which were in their mid-20s eighteen years after being introduced at age 18) had not.[2]
[edit] The Phantom
The Phantom is known to be "The Man Who Cannot Die" and "The Ghost Who Walks" since it's a well kept secret that the persona of the Phantom is inherited from father to son. The Phantom still uses a floating timeline which makes it possible for the 21st Phantom to be married to Diana, have slowly aging children and keep his best friend Guran the same age.
[edit] The Simpsons
Another notable example of this is cartoons such as The Simpsons, as the characters in the show never age, despite having significant character development as well as passage of time. Bart Simpson has stayed in the fourth grade, and Lisa Simpson has stayed in the second grade, for almost all of the show's run (with the exception of one episode, "Bart vs. Lisa vs. the Third Grade," in which they were both in the third grade).
A first season episode identified George H. W. Bush as the current President of the United States, while the seventh season episode "Two Bad Neighbors" shows Bush père as a private citizen writing his memoirs. By the 17th season episode "Regarding Margie," Homer had photos showing him "beating up former President Bush" as well as "current President Bush."
New technologies, inventions, and trends appear also, but the age and basic appearance of the characters never changes. In an episode, Bart is in love with a girl and wonders why she rejects him, asking Lisa: "Is it... [T]he fact that I've worn the same clothes day in, day out, for the last four years?", making reference to that he has always used the same T-shirt. However, there is little continuity in The Simpsons, as major developments or changes in one episode are usually ignored in the next. On the other hand, there are all instances of the clear passage of time, such as the aging of Apu Nahasapeemapetilon's octuplets. One fake explanation was made in "Behind the Laughter", which was a parody of the VH1 show Behind the Music with Lisa Simpson stating that she was slipped pills to stunt her growth; the stories are similar to Archie Comics or commedia dell'arte, in which stock characters with identifiable personalities repeatedly appear without much reference to what has gone before.
[edit] Family Guy
In Family Guy, Peter Griffin has commented on this concept in the Season 4 episode "Blind Ambition", pointing out that his neighbor Bonnie Swanson has been pregnant for six years with no signs of progress. The character of Brian Griffin also refers to it in the Season 5 episode "Road to Rupert," when Stewie Griffin mentions his age is one year old and he responds with, "Still?". Some characters have aged at least one or two years through the course of the series. At least two characters have had birthdays shown (Stewie in "Chitty Chitty Death Bang" and Meg in "Peter's Two Dads.")
The third season (2001) episode "Mr. Griffin Goes to Washington" shows Al Gore as U.S. Vice-President performing his duties as President of the Senate, while the fourth season (2005) episode "North by North Quahog" shows Peter reminiscing about how he convinced Congress to go to war against Iraq.[3]
[edit] References
- ^ see 20 and 766
- ^ The Upstairs, Downstairs Web Pages
- ^ A. Delarte, "Nitpicking Family Guy: Season 4", Bob's Poetry Magazine January 2006: 13 - 14. "In this episode, Peter says he convinced Congress to go to war in Iraq by saying that anyone who doesn’t want to go to war is gay. That is is funny, as long as you don’t try to make it fit with the seeming lack of progress for Stewie. The show was cancelled in 2002, and long before that Jay Leno clairvoyantly joked that with George W. Bush as president the economy would take a dive and bombs would fall on Baghdad. By now Stewie should be in first grade."
