History Main / ExpositionOfImmortality

[[folder:Fan Fiction]]

** Shows up in both ''[[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/72998/last-one-standing Last One Standing]]'' and ''[[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/85411/reflections Reflections]].'' In the case of ''FanFic/LastOneStanding'', it's given as a means by which Princess Celestia tries to console Twilight Sparkle by convincing her that [[WhoWantsToLiveForever death is a blessing]] and that there's nothing to be afraid of. In Reflections, it shows up repeatedly throughout the story as Celestia and Luna are talking together about how they miss many mortals long dead whom they remember perfectly. It gives the interesting concept of immortality as a punishment.
** ''FanFic/TheGodEmpressOfPonykind'' is framed as Celestia telling a young Twilight about her past, from her departure from [[TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} her old universe]] to her forming what would become Equestria from practically dust. She casually mentions that she is over four billion years old, possibly older.

* A variant occurs in ''FanFic/AngelOfTheBat''. [[spoiler:The BigBad, the Seraphim, is immortal, but has still only been alive for some 30 or 40 odd years. So instead of listing ancient things he's seen and experienced, he briefly lists off the ways people have tried to kill him.]]

-->'''Jack''': I have no idea, but I'm in [[{{Literature/TheBible}} the Bible]], if that means anything.

* [[TheCaptain Captain John Armstrong Brannigan]] in the ''Literature/RevelationSpace'' trilogy was implied to be ''very'' old courtesy of his [[CyBorg cybernetic implants]], but it's not till the second novel, when a character finds an old helmet with the NASA logo -- now long forgotten six hundred years later -- that points out his true age. Later, the Captain acknowledges that he was on Mars. The ''original'' Mars landing.

* Creator/MikhailAkhmanov's ''Literature/ArrivalsFromTheDark'' series takes place over a number of centuries and largely focused on members of a single family. However, there is one character, who keeps appearing in nearly all novels either as an important character or a cameo. He is a member of a race of [[VoluntaryShapeshifting shapeshifters]], whose lifespans are measured in millennia, and has been among humans since the 13th century, either observing or subtly influencing. He mentions helping to finance one of the first printing presses in Europe, providing a crude drawing of the world to Columbus (glimpsed from his view from orbit centuries before), and then going with him as a simple sailor. He plays a key role in humanity's rise as a galactic power, although he usually works from the shadows. His latest chronological appearance so far is in the spin-off ''Trevelyan's Mission'' series, which takes place many centuries after the main one. He even uses one of his past identities, probably assuming that no one would know. Another character named Heeyar appears in two novels set centuries apart. He is a [[SpaceElves Lo'ona Aeo]], who live for centuries, if not millennia. While most of his kind never leave their space habitats, Heeyar is unique in that his father was human (the Lo'ona Aeo reproduce sort of like the [[VideoGame/MassEffect Asari]]), so he inherited a number of human personality traits like restlessness and wanderlust. In his second appearance, he meets his father's human great-great-great-grandson and casually mentions encountering another member of the family centuries prior.

* Like the film, ''{{Series/Highlander}}'' has it OnceAnEpisode with Duncan sharing flashbacks and Methos' frequent comments about things he experienced over his 5,000 years. Amanda gets into it too sometimes. Characters collect Trinkets, both individual Immortals and the Watchers accumulate Incriminating Evidence over time which can and has been uncovered by mortals. Immortals will also recount memories of historical events and people, and there are many flashbacks involved. However, actually ''showing'' Immortality to those not in on the secret tended less towards material things and more a [[SelfMutilationDemonstration demonstration]] of their {{Healing Factor}}.

* ''Series/NewAmsterdam2008'': John has taken a picture of Times Square almost since cameras were invented, and painted pictures before that, keeping the different pictures in his apartment to see how New York has changed since he was mortal (back when it was called New Amsterdam). He keeps having flashbacks to his past encounters and occasionally surprises his colleagues with his intimate knowledge of old things, such as knowing about a club that used to be a speakeasy in TheRoaringTwenties. He gives his dogs numbers as names; his current one is Thirty-Six. He goes to AA meetings and honestly tells them how long he's been sober (''over 50 years''); when somebody does the math and tries to catch him on that, he simply claims that he looks young for his age. Oh, and then there's the reveal that his friend Omar York (who is 65 years old) is really [[spoiler:his son]].

* A small example in ''Series/BloodTies2007'' pilot. After discovering the truth about Henry, Vicki walks through his apartment and sees a picture of UsefulNotes/{{Henry VIII}}. She asks why he would keep it there? He answers that, like everybody else, he's allowed to keep pictures of family members in his home. Being a bit of a history buff, she immediately realizes that he's Henry [=FitzRoy=], 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset, Henry VIII's bastard son. Henry is impressed with her knowledge. Later, Vicki's ex-partner (an ex-lover) Mike figures out Henry's identity on his own (the Internet helps) since Henry hasn't bothered to change his last name. Henry also occasionally references historical events at which he has been present and famous people he personally knew, such as UsefulNotes/QueenVictoria.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'', General Immortus remarks fondly that [[Literature/TheArtOfWarSunTzu Sun Tzu]] was one of his best students.

* ''ComicBook/TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen'' features Orlando, an immortal GenderBender who frequently makes passing mention of the historical figures s/he has met at various points in their life.

* ''ComicBook/{{Lucifer}}:'' During the opening arc ''The Morningstar Option'', Lucifer returns to Hell for a conversation with Remiel in which he reminisces about the time before The Fall and before the creation of Man.

* ''ComicBook/{{Preacher}}'': [[spoiler:Proinsias]] Cassidy. He's a vampire and was made one during the Easter Rising in Dublin 1916, which makes him 80+ during the series' run. He tells Jesse all about how he was turned and how he came to America and all the friends he's left behind and lost to old age through the years during a long conversation on top of the Empire State Building. [[UnreliableNarrator Turns out he missed a few details, though.]]

* Cyclonus as depicted in the ''ComicBook/HasbroComicUniverse'' is one of the oldest Cybertronians around, having been on board the first Ark alongside Nova Prime. By the late 2000s, many millennia later, he has become a zombie after being exposed to the Dead Universe. The ''ComicBook/TransformersMoreThanMeetsTheEye'' gives more opportunities for him to showcase his longevity. The first issue has him lament the loss of his home city after Cybertron is reformatted, while a later issue has him converse with Tailgate (a FishOutOfTemporalWater from his time period) in [[AntiquatedLinguistics Old Cybertronian]].

* Lucius Heinous VII from ''WesternAnimation/JimmyTwoShoes'' looks like he's in his mid-30s at the oldest. However, according to one episode, it took him 400 years to grow his horns. Since he's essentially {{Satan}}, it's likely he's immortal.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'', [[EldritchAbomination Vaatu]] boasts the "I was old when the world was young" version to Wan during their fight:

* Series/TheTwilightZone1959'': In "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS1E24LongLiveWalterJameson Long Live Walter Jameson]]", the titular character is a history professor who knows his stuff. He has a retiring colleague named Samuel Kittridge who comments on his appearance and found Walter in a Civil War picture. Walter reveals that he is more than 2,000 years old.

* In ''ComicBook/ClanDestine'', a group of villains figure out that Adam Destine is immortal based on finding portraits of him, all at the same apparent age, spanning several hundred years.

* ComicBook/MartianManhunter: The Manhunter has reminisced about his time on Mars prior to the accident that led to him being teleported to Earth in the 50s, which has shown that he was alive on Mars during the 18th century. His unchanging appearance is credited to Martians being very slow-aging.

* ''Franchise/XMen'': True to form for his LargeHam character, ComicBook/{{Apocalypse}} greets the heroes of ComicBook/XFactor with a long BadassBoast about how old he is and the [[GodGuise number of gods he has been known as]] throughout history.