Premise:
Everytime Superman goes back in
time and alters the past, he produces a new iteration of the continuum.
Besides, his same presence in the continuum automatically “branches” in two
versions of him, where the one who alters the past then permanently disappears
from existence once the change has been “sparked/set in motion”.
SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE
Legenda:
Superman 1: the one who travels back in time after Lois has died.
Superman 2: the one who approaches Lois and Jimmy, both alive and safe,
at the very end.
Superman 1 rotates backwards
around Earth at tachyonic speed, and so travels back in time (NOTE: Earth does
not really spin backwards, it’s just a visual representation to depict time
travel). He comes back to the point where the missile has ALREADY hit the
ground and the big wreck is just started. Basically, Superman 1 reaches
Superman 2 and helps him lifting the Saint Andreas Fault better and faster (occurring
off screen). This reduces and “reshapes” the earthquake path and its related
damages to the point Lois’s location will never be involved so deeply and
brutally as “it happened before” (Superman 1’s original timeline iteration).
We can only guess that Superman 1
and Superman 2 have eye contact underneath the Fault and Superman 2, being
essentially identical to Superman 1, suddenly “theorizes” that Superman 1 must
have come back in time for some uncertain and dramatic reason.
After the big struggle below the
Fault, Superman 1 speeds up in the atmosphere in order to avoid any further
contact with Superman 2, then rotates forward around Earth (occurring on
screen) until he disappeares/vanishes/goes erased from the space-time continuum
(occurring off screen). We don’t know why Superman 1 does the forward rotation,
maybe he is able to briefly watch the future time again and thus know if his
alteration has been successful, but quantic physics eventually catches up with
him. Remember, he spent 12 years in the Fortress to learn all the universal
knowledge and test his powers the best he could, so basically he is a scientist
like his biological father.
After having saved many other
people, Superman 2 approaches Lois and Jimmy, both alive and safe. Likely, all
three people are feeling the deja vu effect depicted in the end of Superman II – The Donner’s cut. Jimmy
mentions to having been saved by Superman (2) some time before, so some events
played out like they did in the original iteration.
SUPERMAN II - The Donner’s Cut/Theatrical Cut
Legenda:
Superman 2: the one who comes back in time after the Fortress has
been destroyed.
Superman 3: the one who experiences the events of Superman II – Theatrical Cut.
Superman II – The Donner’s cut is set in 1979. At the very end of
the movie, Superman 2 goes back in time. He destroys the missile some time before
it would reach the exact point in space where The Phantom Zone Shard is fluctuating
(inbetween Moon and Mars). That produces a third iteraration of the timeline.
Superman 2 vanishes from existence. Superman 3 instead “goes on”… as far as we
know, the two “Supermen” never have eye contact, so Superman 3 doesn’t know
about the time travel.
The final scene in which
Clark/Superman 3 teaches a lesson to the bully does not belong to the Donner’s
Cut iteration, but to the Theatrical Cut. It can bee seen as the cinematic “proof”
Donner himself suggested that the Theatrical Cut happened right after the
Donner’s Cut.
After one year (1980), Superman 3
throws the booby trapped elevator in the space. The explosion causes the escape
of the Kryptonian Renegades - the Phantom Zone Shard was fluctuating across our
galaxy back and forth (in the same way as depicted in Supergirl) and it was trespassing the space inbetween Moon and Mars
again. Superman II – Theatrical Cut
occurs.
Cool site. Thumbs up (coming from Imdb as JT)
ReplyDeletePremise: One time line that permits edits.
I do not think that two Supermen are necessary like you describe.... he may not have to “die” (disappear/vanish/goes erased from the space-time continuum (occurring off screen)) in order for it to work.. and also we actually see that “Back to the Future Superman” return to earth, where he left off..... so there is in fact no off-screen annihilation.
I see it more like this: Superman goes back in time and limits the damage from the nuke. Hereafter he goes back to the future to join in on the moments he left to go to the past... this way we have only one Superman that continues and that has experienced all the events chronologically. Imo this is important to make sense of it all.
Also, why do you think Jimmy and Lois experiences deja vu effect? Their experience is exactly like the “first” timeline except the earth this time did not swallow Lois up. Right?
The problem with my idea above is of course that the future Superman does not have a similar point he can land again, because it is a “different” earth... hmmmm, so why not agree on the premise that a time traveller can only ever travel to a point on the timeline that has actually occurred in one form or another (no future travel possible). Like he can go to the past, or back to a “future time” that the time traveller has already lived in... perhaps not in the same iteration, but at the same point on the time line. I can go to the 1930 and kill Hitler, and I can go back to today even though the today would be likely much different. However, I cannot go to tomorrow, because despite my travels this point on the timeline has not occurred as of yet. You follow me??
In this case, what happens if you travel to the edge of a future that has not yet had the opportunity to live out its way in any form yet? Well since this time is truly unwritten (there are no one there yet) and so logically his presence actually creates the time line, And this way he sort of merges with himself. The none time travelling Superman becomes the time travelling superman by this premise. You follow?
"I see it more like this: Superman goes back in time and limits the damage from the nuke. Hereafter he goes back to the future to join in on the moments he left to go to the past... this way we have only one Superman that continues and that has experienced all the events chronologically. Imo this is important to make sense of it all."
ReplyDeleteYeah, but while Superman 2 goes to the future in order to check the income of his time travel mission... Superman 1 has (already) lived the timeline in a linear way and there would be two Supermen approaching Lois at that given time. I understand your "merging" idea/theory, that is happening in the current Flash TV series, but it doesn't seem logic and it's very "unorthodox" in the sci-fi narrative if you ask me.
True... but there is just something about two supermen that I do not like... and also why would one disappear, as he did not in the past when the "cooperated", just because!?!....
ReplyDeletewhat if we imagine it is one time line, and Superman can go in and out of this time line as he wish. But as he enters the timeline he merges with himself.... this way there is only one superman at any one time. A little like Tom Cruise in Edge of Tomorrow.... when he wakes up in the past his mind merges with himself just now with knowledge of the future. Let’s say Superman would merge with himself in a similar wasy so "this" superman then would have knowledge of the future and be able to act appropriately?