The Marvel Chronoverse
| The T.V.A. |
| T.V.A. stands for the Time Variance Authority. They have the harrowing task of maintaining order in the Marvel Universes' chaotic structure of time travel. The T.V.A. are an infinitely large bureaucracy governing a sizable number of Universes in the ever expanding multiverse and dedicated to keeping tabs on every universe in existence. It is their job to write up what happens when different realities are created. They also try to prevent beings that exploit time travel and create too many alternate realities. |
| The Admin Section |
| Is manned entirely by a series of clones who work in a business type format with Mr Alternity being in charge and a standard corporate heirachy. The universe they are in is out of reality. Using their computers one could find information on almost anything in any reality. |
| The Justice Section |
| The T.V.A. uses Justices to maintain their laws. If someone has done something really bad they can be up for inspection from the Temporal Infraction Committee. A serious offender can be erased from existence in ALL timelines. |
| Cross Time Express |
| This is a train that goes through the T.V.A. dimension where one can get to all of the Universes that the T.V.A. govern. |
Principles of Time Travel in the Marvel
Universe
1. The Marvel Universe
is part of a multiverse (a system of related universes) which diverge from one
another at critical junctures. (This has been demonstrated in numerous issues of
WHAT IF? as well as other titles.)
2. The act of time travel always produces a critical juncture diverging a
new alternate timeline or world at the moment one enters the reality of another
time period, past or future of the time period one set out from. It creates one
timeline where an extra temporal person or element materialized via time travel
and one 'virgin' timeline where that person or element did not.
3. Because it is impossible to travel to the 'virgin' timeline (the
timeline one did not travel to), and because divergent timelines are
dimensionally displaced from one's root timeline, all time travel actually
involves dimensional travel. A time traveller does not travel straight backwards
or forwards in time, but backwards or forwards and a bit off to the side to a
divergent timeline now running parallel to one's timeline of origin. Since this
timeline will have been identical to the 'virgin' timeline until the moment of
divergence, there will be virtually no differences between the two timelines
until the time traveller's actions produce some. Consequently, most time travellers
have no reason to be aware that they are not the 'virgin' timeline.
4. If one travels to a second time to an era one has already been to, one
will not materialize on the 'virgin' timeline nor the timeline diverged by one's
previous trip, but a third timeline diverged from one or the other. A time traveller
can never travel back to the exact same timeline more than once. Again,
since, the second and third divergent timelines are identical until the time traveller's
arrival, they will be indistinguishable at first.
5. When one travels a second time to any era in which one already exists
(either indigenously or through time travel), it will be possible to meet a
temporal counterpart of one's self already there. A new counterpart diverges
into being every single time a time traveller travels to a timeline one already
exists in. Subsequently, multiple temporal counterparts could co-exist through
multiple time trips to the same period.
6. The co-existence of multiple counterparts of the same being on one
timeline does not cause time paradoxes. Time paradoxes (a paradox being a set of
contradictory conditions) are only possible in single timeline universes.
7. Altering an
incident in the past will indeed affect the futures reality of the timeline
diverged by the time travellers presences. One can create any number of different
divergences by one's significant actions, the act of time travel being the
first. Whether one will be able to return to the present of the timeline where
one did no reality-tampering divergences or one which diverged as a consequence
of one's past actions is a function of a means of time travel.
8. Returning to one's present also creates a divergent reality (a
timeline where one returned, another where one did not). If one has been gone
any length of time, one may find differences have accumulated in accordance with
the length of time away. (This is no different if one returned to one's home
after a simple trip to another city rather than another time period.)
9. Selective alterations in the present as a consequence of the time
travels actions in the past do not occur. (For instance, the fading of Marty
McFly's image from a family portrait in Back to the Future would not happen in
the Marvel Universe.) An alteration in the past will create an entirely new
timeline with events proceeding smoothly from the point of divergence. To the
denizens of that time lines present, the past is a continuous series of events
that always happened as they happened. Were one to see selective
dematerializations, they would either be caused by something other than the act
of time travel unto itself or would be hallucinations.
Beside the normal time travel (which is more diagonal
than forwards or backwards) There have been instances where one did travel
directly back and altered there own universe. These instance are VERY rare and
would need significant REALITY altering powers. Its is not that the person just
jaunts back in time but the whole reality is put in rewind except for the
individual(s) who were set out of the rewind process. These changes can be set
right if the anomaly time-changer is simply prevented from changing the past.
The number of times the past has actually been changed can be counted on one
hand.
The Age of Apocalypse-Legion, who reality powers have been developing, was able
to do this as he reversed time and accidentally killed Professor X. This changed
time and it flowed all the way to the present-where Apocalypse ruled the world.
This reality was very unstable and trying to destroy itself. During the infinity gauntlet saga, Nebula used the
Gauntlet to rewind time by 24 hours. Those who were nearby to Nebula were aware
of the lost time but their bodies reverted to what they were 24 hours before.
They slowly forgot about what happed during that time.
The female Sphinx altered the present to a world that she ruled. It is unknown
if she actually changed everything or if it was a mass delusion.
Crossing Dimensions
Nexus of Realities - There are many of these scattered across worlds and most have a protector. From these people can travel to different places in their reality or to other realities through the Axis of Realities. The big Nexus on Earth is in Florida and protected by Man-Thing.
Crossroads of Reality - Probably an in-reality dimension in which millions of dimensions can be reached. Other realities can be reached by going to Limbo. Many portals lead through Limbo and is a very common way to travel through realities. It is maintain by Immortus and reaches over about 80, 000 years. Time travel before or after this 80,000 years would probably use a different Limbo. Limbo is normally seen as just white but can be seen however Immortus chooses. Besides Immortus his son Marcus as well as Space Phantom can be found there.
Nexus Interzone - This out of reality place in the center of every thing and where the Cosmic Axis is located. All the realities revolve around the axis as it is the seat of all power in the Multiverse. This Interzone may actually be located in the reality that is shown in the comics, though there is only one. All the Nexus’s of Reality have portals that go here but it is the only way to go. The Nexus Guardian will try to stop any being who tries to enter the A Interzone. The Nexus are the only known way to enter the Interzone. Earth's only natural Nexus (Excalibur's old Lighthouse may be one and there may be one in Canada created by Indian deities) is located in Florida and its guardian is Man-Thing. The Congress of Realities is a group of about a dozen Nexus Guardians (Man-Thing not included) that are there to maintain that nothing goes wrong in the Interzone. Most of them were slaughtered by the Deviant Ereshkigal.