My multiverse rant

My multiverse rant 

Before I look like a hypocrite I want to let you know yes! I do enjoy different forms of medium that use the multiverse. With that said that doesn't mean I don't have problems with it. For those of you who do know what I'm talking about a multiverse is a collection of different universes that exist to give us different possibilities for the same people. This concept has been around in the comics since 1961 with The Flash. The first time the multiverse was introduced on TV was in an episode of Lois and Clark The New Adventures of Superman. (As far as I know.) The first multiverse movie that I can think of is The One. After the first Injustice game or The Flash season two, the use of the multiverse is on steroids. 

There are four issues I have with the multiverse. First of all, what's the differences between this and alternate timelines? (Or are they both one and the same.) Second, using the multiverse to tell a story could ruin a lot of storytelling elements like character development, creativity, emotional weight, stakes etc. Let's use Batman as an example of what I'm talking about. If you wanted to tell a story about a Batman who isn't rich and is disabled, you can't do that because we already have that with Daredevil. If you wanted to create a version of Batman that kills, we have that with the flashpoint Batman. Do you see what I mean by the multiverse hurts creativity? 

Speaking of the flashpoint Batman the original Batman received a letter from him and faced him in the City of Bane story arc. Those two things don't seem to change or affect the character in any way. What's the point of the main character meeting a different version of themselves if it serves no purpose? The most we can get from doing this is a cautionary tale, but we don't need the multiverse to tell that kind of story. Also, if the writers are going to give us the same character who made a different choice that choice only makes sense if the character had a different life. This is what bugs me about Injustice and Shattered Gird. I don't buy that Superman and Tommy/the Green Ranger would do what they did in those stories. This is the same issue I have with the What If series.   

Third, it seems like the writers are using the multiverse to take a character in a direction you can't take in the prime universe. Doing that takes away the notion that personality is inherent and character is built. (Or is it the other way around?) That's what I like about Everywhere all at once, the main character in that movie was the same person living different lives. That's another thing the multiverse doesn't address, what are the odds of you living a different life under different circumstances? 

I want to talk about Quentin Lance from Arrow. he lost his oldest daughter in season 4 and he meets a doppelganger of her in season 5. Despite being different from his daughter he still wants a relationship with her. In season 6 he died to protect her. Let's say she died instead of him, so he goes to any universe to find another doppelganger instead of grieving. See what I mean by the multiverse eliminates any emotional weight in the story? How can we feel bad if a character dies if he or she can be replaced? Granted the character doesn't have to be the same but why he or she is different has to make sense. Plus, that doesn't matter if you're telling a nature vs nurture story.

Finally, the multiverse can make us more hubris. I mean how arrogant can you be to think your life would have been better if you made a different choice? It's almost impossible to live life without regret because life is too uncertain. I'm surprised that the multiverse hasn't lost its novelty by now. Granted all of them don't operate by the same rules but that's not enough to keep it fresh. Speaking of that I think it's ridiculous that the Spider-verse would have the same consequences as time traveling. Going back to The One movie I would like to see that get remade into a better film. Have a multiverse agent kill the different versions of himself out of spite because he doesn't like being reminded that he's stuck in life. Doing that would make him relatable for the reason I explained earlier. 

I'm surprised this is not used in loved stories because doing that would expose how shallow women are when it comes to picking men. I mean women will tolerate almost anything from men as long as he has money. Plus, it would debunk the notion that true love exist. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 failed to do that. Then again, The Vow did that without using the multiverse. Look I'm not trying to downplay the multiverse however whatever story you can come up with can be replaced with different alternatives like twins/clones, amnesia, body switching, etc. The bottom line is this is a plot device that should be used sparingly.