History Main / AlternateTimelineAncestry

* In ''Anime/DualParallelTroubleAdventure'', when Kazuki travels to an AlternateTimeline, most of the people he knew are still around, with the exception of himself for an unknown reason. This includes Mitsuki Sanada, who is instead named "Mitsuki Rara" in this world because in this world, her mother had a child with a different man. Rara's sweet personality is the polar opposite of Sanada's bossy {{Tsundere}} attitude, but the two look almost identical aside from having a different hair color and style. [[spoiler:At the end of the series, the two worlds are merged and in the rewritten reality, the two Mitsukis are cousins instead, with their mothers being sisters.]]

* ''ComicBook/{{Superboy}}'': While the first Superboy is simply Franchise/{{Superman}} as a child, every successor has been some variation of his offspring -- both natural and otherwise. [[ComicBook/Superboy1994 Conner Kent]] was revealed after a while to be a clone of both Superman and ComicBook/LexLuthor. When the timeline was rebooted, he was replaced by a [[ComicBook/SuperboyNew52 Superboy who was also a clone]] of Superman's son with Lois Lane, named Jon Lane Kent. Even later still, an ''{{unreboot}}'' introduced Superman and Lois's real child, ComicBook/JonathanSamuelKent, and also brought back Conner. The entire basis of the ''House of Kent'' storyarc was dealing with the weirdness of having two Superboys with such similar but incredibly different origins existing at the same time.

'''NOTE: Both ancestries ''must'' be part of the same narrative continuity. This trope does ''NOT'' include adaptations, retcons or reboots.''' Those are covered by AdaptationRelationshipOverhaul, UnrelatedInTheAdaptation, RelatedDiffentlyInTheAdaptation and RelatedInTheAdaptation; they don't apply ''unless'' one of the following also applies:

'''NOTE: Both ancestries ''must'' be part of the same narrative continuity. This trope does ''NOT'' include adaptations, retcons or reboots.''' Those are covered by AdaptationRelationshipOverhaul, UnrelatedInTheAdaptation, and RelatedInTheAdaptation and don't apply ''unless'' one of the following also applies:

** In one episode, Peter accidentally changes the course of history when he goes back in time and blows off a date with Lois. In the new timeline, Lois married Quagmire, and thus Meg, Chris, and Stewie were all fathered by him.

* ''WesternAnimation/BobsBurgers'': In "Sliding Bobs", Tina imagines what things would be like if Linda had married her ex-fiance Hugo instead of Bob. The Belcher children, along with having Hugo's blond hair, have personalities that are the opposite of the Belcher children: boy-obssessed Tina becomes Mona, who has no interest in boys at all; LargeHam Gene becomes shy, soft-spoken Dean; and tomboyish EnfantTerrible Louise becomes Charlize, an AdorablyPrecociousChild in a pink princess dress. The mere concept terrifies every member of the family, and Louise outright calls Tina a monster for reimagining history.

* Played with in the ''Warlords of Draenor'' timeline of ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft''. Despite it being confirmed that the timeline varied from ours even before the obvious PointOfDivergence, it's still extremely close to ours when we get there and tends to coincidentally follow some of the same beats, despite drastically different circumstances (and certain new family trees being retconned to be true of both timelines). It is averted in the mag'har questline though, taking place another 30 years down that timeline. In the main timeline, Durotan and Draka had a son, Go'el. In the alternate timeline, they had a daughter, Geya'rah, who is in many ways Go'el's opposite and can scarcely be considered the same character. Exarch Hellscream is a bit muddier. In the alternate timeline, Grommash Hellscream did not have a son with Golka before she was killed, so the son he had by the time of the mag'har questline has a different parent and a different birthdate than Garrosh Hellscream from the main timeline. Nevertheless, the questline's focus on how Garrosh turned out heroically in most other branches of the timeline, and Exarch Hellscream turning against his father instead of defiantly following in his footsteps to the end like our Garrosh, paint a direct comparison between the two.

* Played with in the ''Warlords of Draenor'' timeline of ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft''. Despite it being confirmed that the timeline varied from ours even before the obvious PointOfDivergence, it's still extremely close to ours when we get there and tends to coincidentally follow some of the same beats, despite drastically different circumstances (and certain new family trees being retconned to be true of both timelines). It is averted in the mag'har questline though, taking place another 30 years down that timeline. In the main timeline, Durotan and Draka had a son, Thrall. In the alternate timeline, they had a daughter, Geya'rah, who is in many ways Thrall's opposite and can scarcely be considered the same character. Exarch Hellscream is a bit muddier. In the alternate timeline, Grommash Hellscream did not have a son with Golka before she was killed, so the son he had by the time of the mag'har questline has a different parent and a different birthdate than Garrosh Hellscream from the main timeline. Nevertheless, the questline's focus on how Garrosh turned out heroically in most other branches of the timeline, and Exarch Hellscream turning against his father instead of defiantly following in his footsteps to the end like our Garrosh, paint a direct comparison between the two.

* Played with in the ''Warlords of Draenor'' timeline of ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft''. Despite many things being different independent of the PointOfDivergence, other things about the alternate timeline would coincidentally conspire to turn out like the main timeline on their own. The mag'har questline deals with ancestry most directly, where it's averted by Geya'rah. In the main timeline, Durotan and Draka had a son, Thrall. In the alternate timeline, they had a daughter, Geya'rah, who is in many ways Thrall's opposite and can scarcely be considered the same character. Exarch Hellscream is a bit muddier. In the alternate timeline, Grommash Hellscream did not have a son with Golka before she was killed, so the son he had by the time of the mag'har questline has a different parent and a different birthdate than Garrosh Hellscream from the main timeline. Nevertheless, the questline's focus on how Garrosh turned out heroically in most other branches of the timeline, and Exarch Hellscream turning against his father instead of defiantly following in his footsteps to the end like our Garrosh, paint a direct comparison between the two.

* Played with in the ''Warlords of Draenor'' timeline of ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft''. Despite many things being different independent of the PointOfDivergence, other things about the alternate timeline would coincidentally conspire to turn out like the main timeline on their own. The mag'har questline deals with ancestry most directly, where it's averted by Geya'rah. In the main timeline, Durotan and Draka had a son, Thrall. In the alternate timeline, they had a daughter, Geya'rah, who is in many ways Thrall's opposite and can scarcely be considered the same character. Exarch Hellscream is a bit muddier. In the alternate timeline, Grommash Hellscream did not have a son with Golka before she was killed, so the son he had by the time of the mag'har questline has a different parent and a different birthdate than Garrosh from the main timeline. Nevertheless, the questline's focus on how Garrosh Hellscream turned out heroically in most other branches of the timeline, and Exarch Hellscream turning against his father instead of defiantly following in his footsteps to the end like our Garrosh, paint a strong parallel between the two.

* Played with in ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventure''. Part 7 introduces a new timeline and begins with very different versions of familiar characters. Johnny Joestar is, in many ways, a Foil to the original Jonathan Joestar. Further, Johnny marries into the Japanese Higashikata family instead of the English Pendleton family. However, according to a family tree shown in Part 8, Johnny's kid is still George Joestar II who still marries an Elizabeth, they still have a Joseph Joestar, who proceeds to marry a Suzi Q, who in turn have a Holy Joestar. Just like with Johnny, however, the circumstances surrounding these events and characters can vary wildly from the originals.

* In ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventure'', versions of characters persist between the main two alternate universes, albeit with somewhat different names and/or lives, which includes differing ancestries. (Such as how the Joestar family is mostly Japanese in the latter.)

* ''WesternAnimation/BobsBurgers'': In "Sliding Bobs", Tina imagines what things would be like if Linda had married Hugo the health inspector instead of Bob. The children, along with having Hugo's blond hair, have personalities that are the opposite of the Belcher children: boy-obssessed Tina becomes Mona, who has no interest in boys at all; LargeHam Gene becomes shy, soft-spoken Dean; and EnfantTerrible Louise becomes Charlize, an AdorablyPrecociousChild in a pink princess dress.

* {{Discussed}} in ''ComicStrip/{{Mafalda}}'', of all places, although it's mostly to showcase [[BookDumb Manolito]]'s stubbornness and tenuous grasp on logic.
-->'''Mafalda:''' If you think about it, we are just a choice made by our parents. A change of mind and we would have never been born.
-->'''Manolito:''' HA! ''I'' would never take that kind of nonsense from my parents. Today I'd have a different family, a different face and a different surname, but I'd be born anyway, by God!

* {{Discussed}}, in ''ComicStrip/{{Mafalda}}'', of all places, although it's mostly to showcase [[BookDumb Manolito]]'s stubbornness and tenuous grasp on logic.

* ''ComicBook/{{Superboy}}'': While the first Superboy is simply Franchise/{{Superman}} as a child, every successor has been some variation of his offspring -- both natural and otherwise. [[ComicBook/Superboy1994 Conner Kent]] was revealed after a while to be a clone of both Superman and ComicBook/LexLuthor. When the timeline was rebooted, he was replaced by a [[ComicBook/SuperboyNew52 Superboy who was also a clone]]...of Superman's ''real'' son with Lois Lane, named Jon Lane Kent. Even later still, an ''{{unreboot}}'' introduced Superman and Lois's real child, ComicBook/JonathanSamuelKent and also brought back Conner. The entire basis of the ''House of Kent'' storyarc was dealing with the weirdness of having two Superboys with such similar but incredibly different origins existing at the same time.

* ''ComicBook/XMen'': ComicBook/{{Cable}} and ComicBook/XMan are technically the same person, with the same [[ComicBook/{{Cyclops}} father]] but two different mothers. Cable's mother is Madelyne Pryor, a clone of ComicBook/JeanGrey, while X-Man's is Jean herself.

* In a one shot story from ''ComicBook/TheSimpsons'' comic, a mishap in professor Frink's lab that resulted from one of his monkeys putting aluminum foil in microwave near some equipment led to reality being warped, with only Frink and a flying monkey being the only ones who know everything's changed. In this new reality, Bart an Lisa are in Mr. Bergstrom's fourth grade class, though it seems because they're the same age, as Lisa sees no point in his puzzles, which she thinks are too complex. However, Lisa seems to be an only child as she's the daughter of Marge and her ex-husband Artie Ziff, while Bart is Maggie's older brother and they, along their father Homer, [[MissingMom were abandoned by Mindy]].

* ''ComicBook/{{Superboy}}'': While the first Superboy is simply Franchise/{{Superman}} as a child, every successor has been some variation of his offspring -- both natural and otherwise. [[ComicBook/Superboy1994 Conner Kent]] was revealed after a while to be a clone of both Superman and ComicBook/LexLuthor. When the timeline was rebooted, he was replaced by a [[ComicBook/SuperboyNew52 Superboy who was also a clone]]...of Superman's ''real'' son with Lois Lane, named Jon Lane Kent. Even later still, an ''{{unreboot}}'' introduced Superman and Lois's real child, ComicBook/JonathanSamuelKent and also brought back Conner. The entire basis of the ''House of Kent'' storyarc was dealing with the weirdness of having two Superboys with such similar but incredibly different origins existing at the same time.

* ''Fanfic/OversaturatedWorld: Group Precipitation'': From [[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/323071/221/group-precipitation/retroactive-discontinuity-by-fome-and-masterweaver "Retroactive Discontinuity"]]: Rainbow Dash's mother had two possible mothers. The fanfic's [[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/269241/5/oversaturation/clashing "Firefly"]] mentioned in a previous story, and "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS7E7ParentalGlideance Windy Whistles]]", from the source show. The fanfic, and therefore Rainbow Dash, had to choose between her possible mothers. She stuck with Firefly. That choice propagates backwards {{Retgone}}-ing Windy Whistles, but Apple Bloom, effectively the Norn of the Past, from Myth/NorseMythology, saves her.

[[folder:Film - Live Action]]

* Played with in the pilot of ''Series/{{Timeless}}''. Lucy continues to exist despite her parents never meeting, but her sister Amy is [[RetGone erased from existence]]. This results in Lucy's realization that she and Amy must have had different fathers before the time travel stuff even started.

* All over the place in the ''VideoGame/FireEmblem'' series, but taken UpToEleven in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' and ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'' as every female character in the core cast plus Chrom and Male Robin in ''Awakening'' and every male character in the core cast plus Azura and Female Corrin in ''Fates'' has a set child that they can have with almost anyone (generally, the {{Player Character}}s can romance and have their opposite-gender child with any other character while everyone in the core cast can romance one another). All this changes is the respective child's hair color (in fact, the parent/child support is the same no matter who the other parent is) and the existence of a sibling in the cases of Lucina, Morgan, Kana, and Shigure should their respective parents achieve S-Support with someone with their own child.

** In "Chap Stewie", Stewie, tired of living in the Griffin family, goes back in time and breaks up his parents before he was conceived. Instead of no longer being born, Stewie is instead born as the son of rich British parents (He surmises that his soul was simply transferred to the next birth at that point in time).

[[/folder]]

* Going by the timey-wimey rules present in the first film, and the timey-wimey shenanigans that Biff Tannen pulls off in ''Film/BackToTheFuturePartII'', the subsequent chain of events that occur plop Marty McFly and Dr. Brown into an alternate 1985 where [[JerkJock Biff Tannen]] is now basically the ruler of Hill Valley, and is subsequently abusive as a father to Marty, and as a husband to Lorraine.

!! Examples

* Deke Shaw in Series/AgentsOfSHIELD, grandson of Jemma Simmons and Leo Fitz, continues to exist after the team manages to change the BadFuture timeline he was born in. While they are still alive and he is still genetically related to them, the circumstances of his birth no longer happened, so he is a "man out of time."

* Deke Shaw in Series/AgentsOfSHIELD, grandson of Jemma Simmons and Leo Fitz, continues to exist after the team manages to change the BadFuture timeline he was born in. While they are still alive and he is still genetically related to them, the circumstances of his birth no longer happened.

[[folder:Videogames]]
* ''Videogame/ChronoTrigger'':

* VideoGame/DragonQuestV: The Hero's children Parry and Madchen are functionally identical in personality (which makes sense as they only meet their parents later in life, having been raised by friends of the family after [[spoiler:both parents are turned into statues]]), the only difference between the three versions is their hair color (blonde, blue or black), which they inherited from their mother (depending on whether you picked Bianca, Nera or Deborah to marry). Going by the official artwork, the Hero went with Bianca (and an UrbanLegendOfZelda claimed that ''not'' choosing her in the very first version of the game caused Bianca's DeathByDespair and limited Nera to a very low level).
* All over the place in the ''VideoGame/FireEmblem'' series, but taken UpToEleven in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' and ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'' as every female character in the core cast plus Chrom and Male Robin in ''Awakening'' and every male character in the core cast plus Azura and Female Corrin in ''Fates'' has a set child that they can have with almost anyone (generally, the {{Player Character}}s can romance and have their opposite-gender child with any other character while everyone in the core cast can romance one another). All this changes is the respective child's hair color (in fact, the parent/child support is the same no matter who the other parent is) and the existence of a sibling in the cases of Lucina, Morgan, Kanna, and Shigure should their respective parents achieve S-Support with someone with their own child.