hypertime
{{short description|Fictional concept in DC Comics}}
Hypertime is a fictional concept in DC Comics which first appeared in the 1999 The Kingdom limited series.{{cite book |last1=Ndalianis |first1=Angela |title=Science Fiction Experiences |date=2011 |publisher=New Academia Publishing |isbn=9780982806180 |page=83 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZH701fKb2dgC&pg=PA83 |access-date=August 9, 2020}}{{cite web |last1=Kieran |first1=Shiach |title=What Does Hypertime's Return Mean For The DC Universe's Rebirth? |url=https://www.cbr.com/dc-comics-hypertime-rebirth-theory/ |website=Comic Book Resources |access-date=July 4, 2020 |date=May 20, 2017}} It is a variation of the Multiverse concept that existed in DC Comics before 1985's Crisis on Infinite Earths limited series and was created by Mark Waid and Grant Morrison.{{cite book |last1=Wolk |first1=Douglas |title=Reading Comics: How Graphic Novels Work and What They Mean |date=2008 |publisher=Da Capo Press |isbn=978-0786721573 |page=281}}{{cite book |last1=Klock |first1=Geoff |title=How to Read Superhero Comics and Why |date=September 6, 2002 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=0826414192 |pages=23–24}}
Hypertime, described in The Kingdom #2 as "the vast interconnected web of parallel time-lines which comprise all reality", was an attempt by Waid to resolve the various tangled continuity issues that were supposed to have been solved by Crisis on Infinite Earths. Keith Dallas and Jason Sacks wrote: "Through Hypertime, Waid sought to resolve the contradictions in DC's continuity once and for all. Indeed, Hypertime allows for contradictions because anything that didn't make sense can be attributed to overlapping timelines".{{cite book |last1=Dallas |first1=Keith |last2=Sacks |first2=Jason |title=American Comic Book Chronicles: The 1990s |date=5 December 2018 |publisher=TwoMorrows Publishing |isbn=9781605490847 |page=268}}
Separately, in philosophy, hypertime (or supertime) is a concept proposed as part of the Moving Spotlight Theory of time.Skow, Bradford. "On the Meaning of the Question 'How Fast Does Time Pass?'", Philosophical Studies 155, no. 3 (2011): 325-344.
Concept
=''The Kingdom''=
Hypertime is a network of alternate timelines that branch off from the DC Universe. These timelines sometimes overlap with each other, causing alterations in reality. Characters can cross from one timeline to another if needed.The Kingdom #2 (Feb. 1999) It has been analogized to a river network that branches out and then runs 'up stream' to feed back into itself before splitting off again.{{cite web |last1=Yarbrough |first1=Beau |title=HYPERTIME! Mark Waid on the origins of Hypertime |url=https://www.lby3.com/1998/12/31/hypertime |website=LBY3 |access-date=July 7, 2020 |date=December 31, 1998}}
Hypertime has been used as a device to explain continuity errors. Some fans welcomed the idea as an explanation for earlier continuity errors while others criticized it for being a license to create more narrative problems.
The Hypertime concept was first introduced in The Kingdom, Mark Waid's sequel to Kingdom Come, and exists within the larger multiverse used within DC Comics publications.{{cite book |last1=Wallace |first1=Dan |editor1-last=Dougal |editor1-first=Alistair |title=The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe |date=2008 |publisher=DK Publishing |location=London |isbn=9780756641191 |pages=20–21 |chapter=Alternate Earths}}
Writer Mark Waid stated that "the possibilities are endless. Hypertime is an unashamed reaction to nearly 15 years of comics being made 'more realistic', less 'larger than life'. As far as we’re concerned, DC Comics shouldn't be about rules and regulations and ‘can’t happen’s and ‘shouldn’t be’s; they should be about anything and everything that tells a good story and gets fans excited".
=''Infinite Crisis''=
{{main|Continuity changes during Infinite Crisis}}
When Superboy-Prime fractures reality from the pocket universe he is residing in, images of the world of Kingdom Come including Gog from The Kingdom limited series appears while doing so, showing that Superboy-Prime's actions created Hypertime.{{cite comic|writer=Marv Wolfman|artist=Dan Jurgens|story=Infinite Crisis|title=Infinite Crisis Secret Files|volume=1|issue=#1|date=March 2006|publisher=DC Comics|location=|page=|panel=|id=}}
=''52''=
Mister Mind, disguised as Skeets, refers to Waverider as "the seer of Hypertime".52 Week Twenty-Seven (Nov. 2006)
=Booster Gold=
An older Booster Gold, while explaining his duties to his son Rip Hunter, mentions the concept of Hypertime.Booster Gold (vol. 2) #30 (May 2010)
=''Multiversity''=
Hypertime is used to explain the formation and alteration of the 52 universes formed at the end of 52.The Multiversity Guidebook (March 2015)
=Rebirth=
Hypertime has been mentioned several times in the Prime Earth continuity.The Flash (vol. 5) #22 (May 2017)Justice League (vol. 3) #25 (July 2017)
=Flashpoint Beyond=
Hypertime is presented as one of two halves of “the Divine Continuum”, the other half being the Omniverse. The Omniverse represents Space, while Hypertime represents Time. Where the Omniverse is characterized as being fundamentally conceptual in nature, Hypertime is characterized as being emotional, with branches happening whenever decisions of great importance take place. Previous Crises are reclassified as being either Omniverse Crises (the Crisis on Infinite Earth, Infinite Crisis, Final Crisis, Multiversity, Dark Nights, and Dark Crisis) or Hypertime Crises (Zero Hour, The Kingdom, Flashpoint, Convergence, and Doomsday Clock).Flashpoint Beyond #5 (2022) Citation info provided by Erdag Ahmet Yılmaz
See also
References
{{reflist}}
Further reading
- {{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UsyLAgAAQBAJ&dq=Hypertime+dc+comics&pg=PA287 |page=287 |title=The Contemporary Comic Book Superhero |isbn=978-1135213947 |date=May 7, 2009 |orig-year= 2008 |type=E-book |location=New York, New York |publisher=Routledge, Taylor & Francis |language=en |editor-first1=Angela |editor-last1=Ndalianis}}
- {{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tBNjDwAAQBAJ&dq=hypertime+dc+comics&pg=PT431 |title=Baby Boomer Comics: The Wild, Wacky, Wonderful Comic Books of the 1960s |first1=Craig |last1=Shutt |location=Iola, Wisconsin |publisher=Krause Publications |orig-year=2003 |isbn=978-1440225130 |date=February 28, 2011}}
- {{cite book |title=The Multiversity Deluxe Edition|number=1–2 |author1=Morrison, Grant |isbn= 978-1401262938 |date=October 27, 2015 |publisher=DC Comics |language=en |author2=Illustrator: Frank Quitely}}
- {{cite book |title=The Multiversity: Guidebook (2014-) |number=1 |author1=Morrison, Grant |type=E-book|publisher=DC Comics |language=en |author2=Illustrators: Andrew Robinson, Ben Oliver, Cameron Stewart, Chris Burnham, Chris Sprouse, Dan Jurgens, Darwyn Cooke, Declan Shalvey, Doc Shaner, Duncan Rouleau, Emanuela Lupacchino, Gary Frank, Gene Ha, Giuseppe Camuncoli, Jae Lee, Jed Dougherty, Joe Prado, Jon Bogdanove, Kelley Jones, Marcus To, Nicola Scott, Paulo Siqueira, Pete Woods, Todd Nauck |year=2014 |location=N.p.}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20091027095507/http://geocities.com/hypertime2000/index2.html Unofficial Hypertime Website]
- {{cite web |url= https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=hypertime+dc+comics&qpvt=hypertime+dc+comics&view=detail&mid=2FF7BE60D38ECC8EC5862FF7BE60D38ECC8EC586&&FORM=VRDGAR&ru=%2Fvideos%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Dhypertime%2Bdc%2Bcomics%26qpvt%3Dhypertime%2Bdc%2Bcomics%26FORM%3DVDRE |author=IamMemoAcebo |via=YouTube |date=May 18, 2017 |title=DC Comics {{ndash}} Hypertime |format=Video}}
- [http://www.hyperborea.org/flash/hypertime.html Time and Hypertime]