Alternative Universe (fan Fiction) - AU in Original Fiction

AU in Original Fiction

Alternative universes are also used in original fiction works themselves, as an integral part of the storyline. The webcomic Sluggy Freelance had an alternative universe storyline which, while not integral, was revisited for another storyline. As stated above, the What If and Elseworld series have original fiction stories taking place in an alternative universe, e.g. Red Son, a Superman graphic novel in which Superman landed in the USSR instead of the United States.

In the many Gundam anime series, there are six major timelines that are independent of one another, and some fan circles (especially in North America) refer to the timelines created after the original Universal Century as "alternate universes". However, this does not truly fit the standard definition of AU, as the timelines share neither characters nor locations (aside from the solar system itself). Tenchi Muyo! and El-Hazard utilize the more traditional alternative universe concept, each beginning with an OVA series and followed by a TV series that utilizes many of the same characters and locations, but with alterations made to both (some minor and some drastic).

The Star Wars: Infinities comic book series explores alternative universe fiction in a "what if?" style, diverging from the story of the original Star Wars trilogy movies at crucial moments, with a major impact on the evolving story.

The Stargate franchise has included episodes in which characters interact with alternative versions of themselves.

In Star Trek, several episodes make reference to a mirror universe, containing a very different history of events.

In Supernatural, there have so far been eight AU storylines including "What Is and What Should Never Be", "The End", "The French Mistake" and "My Heart Will Go On".

In the Lego Bionicle storyline, there are many alternative universes, which are created whenever a character makes a decision or an event happens. For example, a universe was created when Toa Tuyet betrayed the city of Metru Nui and was defeated; in the alternative universe, Tuyet is aided by her comrade, Toa Nidhiki, and takes over Metru Nui, transforming the other Toa into secret police. These alternative dimensions can be visited using a mask called the Kanohi Olmak, Mask of Dimensional Gates.

Toei's celebration of the tenth anniversary of their long standing tokusatsu franchise Kamen Rider was honored by the creation of their 2009 series Kamen Rider Decade. The series describes every previous Kamen Rider series as alternative universes and worlds, as each world has its own Kamen Rider. A crossover episode with another one of Toei's famous series, Super Sentai, was done, as Kamen Rider Decade traveled into the world of Super Sentai and teamed up with Samurai Sentai Shinkenger.