History Main / ImMrFuturePopCultureReference

* This becomes an important plot point in the Creator/{{Vertigo comic|s}} ''ComicBookBraveOldWorld''. After the characters realize they're not the only people transported back to the year 1900, they round up the dozens of other refugees by announcing a talk to be given by Mr. John Lennon and Mr. Mick Jagger.

* Accidental example in the ''WesternAnimation/WhatIf'' episode, "[[Recap/WhatIfS1E4WhatIfDoctorStrangeLostHisHeartInsteadOfHisHands What If... Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands?]]" where O'Bengh thinks Dr Strange's name is Armani after he describes his suit and calls him that for the rest of the episode.

-->-- ''Film/BackToTheFuture''

** ''[[Film/BackToTheFuture Back to the Future Part I]]'':

** ''Film/BackToTheFuturePartIII'': When Marty goes back to TheWildWest, he says his name is "[[TheNameIsBondJamesBond Eastwood]], Creator/ClintEastwood". Buford Tannen replies "[[ItWillNeverCatchOn What kind of stupid name is that?]]" The line "Everybody everywhere will say, 'Clint Eastwood is the biggest yellow-belly in the West.'" is also hilarious. They needed Eastwood's permission to use his name and they got it because Creator/ClintEastwood is a big fan of the [[Film/BackToTheFuture first film]] (just like Music/MichaelJackson and UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan).

-->'''Chon Wang:''' My name is Chon Wang.\\

-->'''Stan:''' Ms. Crabtree, there's another creepy homeless person on the bus!
-->'''Ms. Crabtree:''' Sit down and shut up!
-->'''Stan:''' But they smell like pee!
-->'''[=VSM471=]/"Bill Cosby":''' I am not a homeless person! I am a fourth grade student! My name is... Bill Cosby.

-->'''Officer Barbrady:''' I ''knew'' you weren't Bill Cosby.

* In ''Fanfic/FateNobleShade'', the protagonist picks [[VideoGame/AssassinsCreedII Ezio Auditore]] as an alias because he's in 2004 (before ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreed'' was released) and is channeling the powers of an Assassin-class Servant (who happens to have been a leader of the actual [[UsefulNotes/TheHashshashin Assassins]] in life). He does eventually switch to using his real name.

*** And he uses a walkman with a [[Music/VanHalen heavy metal cassette]] to "melt his brain." You can also see a hair dryer tucked into his belt, from an extended version of the scene where Marty pretends it's a gun.

* Merges with BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy in the ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' novel trilogy "Millennium". Near the end of the second book, Vash and alternate future versions of Nog and Picard go back in time to ancient Bajor to become the seers "Eilin", "Shabren", and "Naradim", who are famous in the future because of their predictions of recent events.

For more general cases where a character makes refences to stuff outside their time period, see TheGenieKnowsJackNicholson.

* This becomes an important plot point in the Creator/{{Vertigo comic|s}} ''Brave Old World''. After the characters realize they're not the only people transported back to the year 1900, they round up the dozens of other refugees by announcing a talk to be given by Mr. John Lennon and Mr. Mick Jagger.

* From ''Film/ShanghaiNoon'', when Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson introduce themselves:

* Backfires horribly in the ''Literature/SixteenThirtyTwo'' series, when a character tries using this kind of name for misinformation. Turns out the person he was trying to fool had managed to buy a copy of the Encyclopedia Britannica from the late 20th century, as opposed to the 1911 edition that most others have acquired, and did ''not'' appreciate being told that his prisoner, Mr. Film/JamesBond, was engaged to a Creator/MarilynMonroe, and they could expect a visit from a great gunmaker from the future, Music/ElvisPresley. Whoops.

* In the Creator/TimPowers novel ''Literature/TheAnubisGates'', a character adopts the alias "Humphrey Bogart" in early-19th-century London. A variation in that the character is not himself a time traveller, but picked up the name from another character who is.

* With as often as he uses pop culture reference aliases in the present, surprisingly ''averted'' by John Crichton of ''Series/{{Farscape}}'' during time travel plots.

* In ''Series/{{Life On Mars|2006}}'', Sam goes undercover as "Tony Blair" at one point, with Annie as "Cherie". Later, when Gene tags along, he's given "Gordon Brown" as his alias.

** [[DontExplainTheJoke It's funny because no one can ever remember Gordon Brown's wife's name.]] (It's Sarah.)

** And in the US remake, Sam introduces himself to his mother in 1973 as Luke Skywalker. He says it's Navajo when she comments on how odd it sounds. In this case, he panicked when she asked for his name and that was the only thing he could think of.

* In the ''Series/StargateSG1'' episode "1969", Jack O'Neill attempts this by claiming to be "Captain James T. Kirk, of the Starship Enterprise", despite the fact that ''Series/{{Star Trek|the Original Series}}'' actually did exist in 1969, although the interrogating officer in the scene had apparently never heard of it (which isn't too far-fetched, given the original run of the show was much less popular). Jack later admits to giving a fake name, instead claiming to be "[[Franchise/StarWars Luke Skywalker]]".

*** Teal'c in particular became an avid ''Franchise/StarWars'' fan. Which later created a joke when Vala (another alien) mentions how she got pregnant without having sex, asking if anyone had ever heard of such a thing. Mitchell and Carter both seem to think of Jesus (actually Mitchell's thinking of King Arthur) but instead, it's Teal'c who exclaims "Darth Vader", prompting a worried Vala to ask "How did that turn out?"
*** None of those examples turned out well, of course, including Vala's own child.
* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'', "In the Beginning": Dean can't give his actual last name because he's just met his father in the past, so he introduces himself as "Dean van Halen".
** Of course, the Winchesters use musical references as aliases in the present too. Only one person ever noticed, and he just thought it was a funny coincidence.

*** Likewise, Doc Brown's alias in 1931 is Creator/CarlSagan. Lampshaded by [[spoiler:First Citizen Brown]] who recognizes the reference and remarks "The 'billions and billions' guy?"

** Those people did exist during that time, but they weren't famous yet. Which made them both sufficiently German-sounding (duh) and easy to remember.
*** Good thing they didn't try to use [[AcePilot Hermann Goering,]] then.

* In ''Fanfic/FateNobleShade'', the protagonist picks [[VideoGame/AssassinsCreedII Ezio Auditore]] as an alias because he's in 2004 (before ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreed'' was released) and is channeling the powers of an Assassin-class Servant (who happens to have been a leader of the actual [[UsefulNotes/TheHashashin Assassins]] in life). He does eventually switch to using his real name.

** Inverted in ''Film/AustinPowersInternationalManOfMystery''. Having missed out on thirty years of pop culture, Austin picks the aliases [[Series/HappyDays Richie Cunningham]] and Oprah for himself and Vanessa. Similarly, Dr. Evil, having gone through the same freezing process, calls his moon laser the [[Franchise/StarWars Death Star]] and the task of assembling it Music/TheAlanParsonsProject. Having gone back to 1969, however, only [[GenreSavvy Scott]] realizes the idiocy.
** In ''Film/AustinPowersTheSpyWhoShaggedMe'', Dr. Evil uses footage from the film ''Film/IndependenceDay'' to frighten the president and others into thinking the White House is being attacked. But tells him that's what's gonna happen.

** In the spinoff ''Series/AshesToAshes2008'', Alex gets a request to meet from someone calling himself "UsefulNotes/BorisJohnson". [[spoiler:Of course, it's to give her a clue that he's also a coma-time-traveller.]]

** In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E2TheFiresOfPompeii "The Fires of Pompeii"]], when pressed for a name, the Doctor sputters "I am ... [[IAmSpartacus Spartacus]]."[[note: Given the time and place, this would be rather like telling a modern American your name is "Benedict Arnold".]] His companion Donna leaps in with "And so am I." In the same episode, he also explains away her ignorance of what an augur is with "[[Series/FawltyTowers She's from Barcelona]]".

** In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E2TheFiresOfPompeii "The Fires of Pompeii"]], when pressed for a name, the Doctor sputters "I am ... [[IAmSpartacus Spartacus]]." His companion Donna leaps in with "And so am I." In the same episode, he also explains away her ignorance of what an augur is with "[[Series/FawltyTowers She's from Barcelona]]".

* In ''Film/BlackKnight'', Jamal Walker introduces himself to the medieval people as Jamal Skywalker.

** In the second episode, Martin Stein introduces himself as "Professor Elon Musk". Naturally, he couldn't very well introduce himself as "Martin Stein", since he was talking to his younger self.

* [[Literature/TheTalesOfPaulTwister Paul Twister]] is TrappedInAnotherWorld rather than in the past, but he otherwise plays this trope completely straight, making up aliases for himself based on superhero names. This is explicitly so that if anyone else finds themselves trapped, they will come looking for him.

** In "Frontierland", Dean introduces himself to the residents of 1861 Wyoming as Creator/ClintEastwood, and then gives Sam's name as [[Series/WalkerTexasRanger Walker and says he's a Texas Ranger]].

** In "Time After Time", Dean meets Eliot Ness and makes an idiot of himself babbling on about ''Film/TheUntouchables'', but can't resist introducing himself as "Special Agent Costner".