Definition[edit]

The term was first defined by comics historian Don Markstein, in a 1970 article in CAPA-alpha.[1]

Markstein's criteria[edit]
1. If characters A and B have met, then they are in the same universe; if characters B and C
have met, then, transitively, A and C are in the same universe.
2. Characters cannot be connected by real people — otherwise, it could be argued
that Superman and the Fantastic Four were in the same universe, as Superman met John F.
Kennedy, Kennedy met Neil Armstrong, and Armstrong met the Fantastic Four.
3. Characters cannot be connected by characters "that do not originate with the publisher" —
otherwise it could be argued that Superman and the Fantastic Four were in the same
universe, as both met Hercules.
4. Specific fictionalized versions of real people — for instance, the version of Jerry
Lewis from DC Comics' The Adventures of Jerry Lewis, who was distinct from the real Jerry
Lewis in that he had a housekeeper with magical powers — can be used as connections;
this also applies to specific versions of public-domain fictional characters, such as Marvel
Comics' version of Hercules or DC Comics' version of Robin Hood.
5. Characters are only considered to have met if they appeared together in a story; therefore,
characters who simply appeared on the same front cover are not necessarily in the same
universe.

Universe vs setting[edit]
What distinguishes a fictional universe from a simple setting is the level of detail and internal
consistency. A fictional universe has an established continuity and internal logic that must be
adhered to throughout the work and even across separate works. So, for instance, many books may
be set in conflicting fictional versions of Victorian London, but all the stories of Sherlock Holmes are
set in the same Victorian London. However, the various film series based on Sherlock Holmes follow
their own separate continuities, thus not taking place in the same fictional universe.
The history and geography of a fictional universe are well defined, and maps and timelines are often
included in works set within them. Even new languages may be constructed. When subsequent
works are written within the same universe, care is usually taken to ensure that established facts of
the canon are not violated. Even if the fictional universe involves concepts such as elements of
magic that don't exist in the real world, these must adhere to a set of rules established by the author.
A famous example of a detailed fictional universe is Arda (more popularly known as Middle-earth),
of J. R. R. Tolkien's books The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion. He created first
its languages and then the world itself, which he states was "primarily linguistic in inspiration and
was begun in order to provide the necessary 'history' for the Elvish tongues."[2]
A modern example of a fictional universe is that of the Avatar film series, as James Cameron has
invented an entire ecosystem, with a team of scientists to test whether it was viable. Additionally, he
commissioned a linguistics expert to invent the Na'vi language.
Virtually every successful fictional TV series or comic book develops its own "universe" to keep track
of the various episodes or issues. Writers for that series must follow the story bible,[3] which often
becomes the series canon.
Frequently, when a series is perceived by its creators as too complicated or too self-inconsistent
(because of, for example, too many writers), the producers or publishers may introduce retroactive
continuity (retcon) to make future editions easier to write and more consistent. This creates an
alternate universe that future authors can write about. These stories about the universe or universes
that existed before the retcon are usually not canonical, unless the franchise-holder gives
permission. Crisis on Infinite Earths was an especially sweeping example.
Some writers choose to introduce elements or characters from one work into another, to present the
idea that both works are set in the same universe. For example, the character of Ursula Buffay from
American sitcom Mad About You was also a recurring guest star in Friends, despite the two series
having little else in common. Fellow NBC series Seinfeld also contained crossover references
to Mad About You. L. Frank Baum introduced the characters of Cap'n Bill and Trot (from The Sea
Fairies) into the Oz series in The Scarecrow of Oz, and they made a number of appearances in later
Oz books. In science fiction, A. Bertram Chandler introduced into his future Galactic civilization the
character Dominic Flandry from Poul Anderson's quite different Galactic future (he had Anderson's
consent) – on the assumption that these were two alternate history timelines and that people could
on some occasions cross from one to the other.

Scope[edit]
Sir Thomas More's Utopia is one of the earliest examples of a cohesive fictional world with its own
rules and functional concepts, but it comprises only one small island. Later fictional universes,
like Robert E. Howard's Conan the Cimmerian stories or Lev Grossman's Fillory, are global in scope
and some, like Star Wars, Honorverse, BattleTech, or the Lensman series, are galactic or even
intergalactic.
A fictional universe may even concern itself with more than one interconnected universe through
fictional devices such as dreams, "time travel" or "parallel worlds". Such a series of interconnected
universes is often called a multiverse. Such multiverses have been featured prominently in science
fiction since at least the mid-20th century.
The classic Star Trek episode "Mirror, Mirror" introduced the Mirror Universe, in which the crew
members of the Starship Enterprise were brutal rather than compassionate. The 2009 movie Star
Trek created an "alternate reality" and freed the Star Trek franchise from continuity issues. In the
mid-1980s, DC Comics Crisis on Infinite Earths streamlined its fictional continuity by destroying most
of its alternate universes.