multiverse question

[spidervenom]

Whats the differencce between an alternate timeline and an alternate universe.

[MAK15]

Whats the differencce between an alternate timeline and an alternate universe.


....weeelll.
there really isnt.
an alternate timeline is usually someone going back in time, fixing something, and then seeing how he changed the world. (like cable and Bishop in Marvel)
and alternate universe could be that too, or it could result in something as small as the flip of a coin (from future-ama)
but usually the altered timelines become universes of their own, and thus becoming alternate universes

[Kelson]

An alternate timeline has a shared history with another timeline. Some event happened differently in each, resulting in different events.

An example would be JLA: The Nail. In one timeline, Kal-El is found by the Kents. In the other, he's found by someone else. Up until that point, they had the same history, but from then on they were different.

An alternate universe, in the sense that it's used with the classic DC Multiverse or with the 52 Multiverse, is distinctly separate. It might have a similar history to another universe, but it's not one timeline branching into two, it's two parallel timelines.

Visually:
Y = alternate timeline
|| = alternate universe

People do use the terms interchangeably fairly often, though.

[MAK15]

An alternate timeline has a shared history with another timeline. Some event happened differently in each, resulting in different events.

An example would be JLA: The Nail. In one timeline, Kal-El is found by the Kents. In the other, he's found by someone else. Up until that point, they had the same history, but from then on they were different.

An alternate universe, in the sense that it's used with the classic DC Multiverse or with the 52 Multiverse, is distinctly separate. It might have a similar history to another universe, but it's not one timeline branching into two, it's two parallel timelines.

Visually:
Y = alternate timeline
|| = alternate universe

People do use the terms interchangeably fairly often, though.

oh wow, color me corrected inside the lines, then.