History Main / MultipleChoicePast

* In Myth/ClassicalMythology, for example, different authors gave different parents to many heroes, monsters and deities, and told events in their pasts differently. The Kabeiroi, Kouretes, and Korybantes, related sets of minor deities, had several different genealogies and origin stories. Humanity itself had separate creation myths in different cities, along with different explanations for how they got fire, writing, and so forth.

* ''Literature/BennyRoseTheCannibalKing'': The exact origins of Benny Rose are never given, with it, being left unclear if he was a SerialKiller before or after a fire that burned down the hospital he worked at. It's left deliberately unclear whether he always hunted and ate children or only started it to save himself from dying in the basement of the hospital after the fire but than gained a taste for it which he now continues. The novel does lean in the direction at the end that he was a normal person before the fire at the hospital, but it's still left up to the reader to decide which, if any, is the real origin.

Have you noticed that some characters have different origins when different people are writing the story? Sometimes this is done on purpose, to give an air of UnreliableNarrator. Sometimes it's caused by repeated {{retcon}}s. Sometimes it's just because the writers got it wrong, sometimes the result of a deliberate {{retcon}}, {{rewrite}} or by creators ArmedWithCanon. This trope is particularly common in comic books, as a single character may be written by dozens of writers over their history. Sometimes, as evidenced in the TropeNamer, it is also done in order to depict the character giving his/her backstory as being too insane to give a true account of their past, believing every single account they gave about themselves; or to cultivate [[MysteriousPast an air of personal mystery]], a common play by a ConsummateLiar. Having messed-up memories due to a case of LaserGuidedAmnesia that [[SubvertedTrope isn't so laser-guided]], TraumaInducedAmnesia, and/or implantation of FakeMemories also works just fine.

** The Time Trapper has at various points been a Controller, a future version of his/her own sidekick, a future version of [[TheLeader Cosmic Boy]], a future version of [[BrattyHalfPint Lori Morning]], and a future version of Superboy-Prime. Following that last revelation, Brainiac 5 hypothesized that the Trapper is the AnthropomorphicPersonification of failed timelines, and exactly what history leads to someone at the End of Time wearing a purple cloak and fighting the Legion changes every time the Trapper does anything.

*** '''War Hero''': Shepard was recognized as a war hero for his/her role in repelling the Skyllian Blitz, an attack on the colony of Elysium by Batarian slavers (Whatever the background, Shepard was present at the Blitz, but War Hero Shepard rallied the colonists against the invaders and single-handedly sealed a breach in their defenses). Choosing this path grants extra Paragon points, and alters the playthrough of a mission where you tangle with the mastermind behind the Blitz.

* ''TabletopGames/RottedCapes'', probably unintentionally, has some of this in its backstory. It's generally consistent that the turning point in the zombie apocalypse was when the setting's main hero team, the Protectors, were overrun by the entire audience of hundreds of newly-turned undead at an outbreak in a music hall. In the story text at the beginning of the book, they were defeated because of a surprise attack from the Titan, basically the setting's equivalent to ComicBook/{{Superman}}, because he'd become an evil zombie. Other tellings in the same book, including the version on Titan's own character sheet, say it was the other way around, where the Protectors being zombified was what led to Titan's own transformation to the undead, because before then there weren't zombies powerful enough to hurt Titan and make him vulnerable to the bite-transmitted virus.

* ''Rotted Capes'', probably unintentionally, has some of this in its backstory. It's generally consistent that the turning point in the zombie apocalypse was when the setting's main hero team, the Protectors, were overrun by the entire audience of hundreds of newly-turned undead at an outbreak in a music hall. In the story text at the beginning of the book, they were defeated because of a surprise attack from the Titan, basically the setting's equivalent to ComicBook/{{Superman}}, because he'd become an evil zombie. Other tellings in the same book, including the version on Titan's own character sheet, say it was the other way around, where the Protectors being zombified was what led to Titan's own transformation to the undead, because before then there weren't zombies powerful enough to hurt Titan and make him vulnerable to the bite-transmitted virus.

-->-- '''[[Characters/BatmanTheJoker The Joker]]''', ''ComicBook/TheKillingJoke''

** According to "Boy Meets Curl," Lisa's signature pearl necklace was a gift from Marge to celebrate her learning to read at a twelfth-grade level, while in "How Lisa Got Her Marge Back," Marge gave it to her on her first day of school. Most episodes before and since then depict Lisa as having worn the necklace since she was a baby. Marge's red necklace is, according to "Homer the Vigilante," a "priceless Bouvier family heirloom" ([[LimitedWardrobe as are all the identical ones in her drawer]]), while in "Adventures in Baby-Getting" Homer bought it for her using money he earned by donating sperm.
** Maggie's pacifier-sucking habit: "And Maggie Makes Three" shows her grabbing one off a table and popping it in her mouth [[EarlyPersonalitySigns moments after being born]], while "Mr. Lisa's Opus" has her developing the addiction instantly upon a desperate Marge giving her one to deal with her early colic.
** The boat painting hanging over the family's TV is said to have been painted by Marge in "The Trouble With Trillions" and by Lisa in "Barthood" (though Lisa herself derides it as a "[[InsufferableGenius derivative amateur seascape]]" in the CouchGag of "The Cad and the Hat"); other episodes, such as "Diatribe of a Mad Housewife," treat it as an outside purchase, with its value ranging anywhere from the family having a closet full of identical replacements ready to go ("Homer and Ned's Hail Mary Pass") to its destruction being seen as a loss and the family searching garage sales for an affordable substitute while implying that the original was more expensive ("The War of Art").
** Two different episodes in the same season ("The Musk Who Fell to Earth" and "The Kids are All Fight") imply, respectively, that Bart and Homer named Maggie.
** Principal Skinner's had several different stories about how he became a POW during the Vietnam War and his time during his imprisonment. In addition, "The Principal and the Pauper" claims he was actually a street thug named Armin who got swapped with the real Seymour Skinner during the war, but this was retconned by a later episode showing Mrs. Skinner pregnant with him.
** Grandpa Simpson is a ScatterbrainedSenior notorious for his [[RamblingOldManMonologue nonsensical, historically impossible autobiographical stories]], meaning [[UnreliableNarrator he wouldn't be a credible source of information on his early life]] even if the series had actual continuity. He has had flashbacks showing him in the Army, Navy, and Air Force. When called on this, he said that [[VoodooShark this sort of confusion was common when he was in the Marines]]. In "Havana Wild Weekend" Marge describes him as "a veteran of every branch of the service."
** [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Mr. Burns]] has this in spades, primarily due to his VagueAge being drawn out to absurd lengths (it was once implied he was born in ''Pangaea''); thus, his backstory has wavered quite a bit (ie. sometimes he had poor parents, but other times he had rich parents; he was shown fighting in the US Army in world War II alongside Abe Simpson, but other episodes showed he worked with the Nazis, etc.).

* ''Rotted Capes'', probably unintentionally, has some of this in its backstory. It's generally consistent that the turning point in the zombie apocalypse was when the setting's main hero team, the Protectors, were overrun by zombies in a battle at a music hall. In the story text at the beginning of the book, they were defeated because of a surprise attack from the Titan, basically the setting's equivalent to ComicBook/{{Superman}}, because he'd become an evil zombie. Other tellings in the same book, including the version on Titan's own character sheet, say it was the other way around, where the Protectors being zombified was what led to Titan's own transformation to the undead, because before then there weren't zombies powerful enough to hurt Titan and make him vulnerable to the bite-transmitted virus.

->''"What is it with you? What made you what you are? Girlfriend killed by the mob, maybe? Brother carved up by some mugger? Something like that, I bet. Something like that... Something like that happened to me, you know. I... I'm not exactly '''sure''' what it was. Sometimes I remember it one way, sometimes another... if I'm going to have a past, I prefer it to be '''multiple choice!'''"''

* ''Rotted Capes'', probably unintentionally, has some of this in its backstory. It's generally consistent that the turning point in the zombie apocalypse was when the setting's main hero team, the Protectors, were overrun by zombies in a battle at a music hall. In the story text at the beginning of the book, they were defeated because of a surprise attack from the Titan, basically the setting's equivalent to ComicBook/{{Superman}}, because he'd become an evil zombie. Other background details, including Titan's own character sheet, say it was the other way around, where the Protectors being zombified was what led to Titan's own transformation to the undead because before then there weren't super-zombies powerful enough to do the damage needed for him to be infected too.

* ''Rotted Capes'', probably unintentionally has some of this in its backstory. It's generally consistent that the tide swung against the heroes when the setting's main hero team, the Protectors, were overrun by zombies in a battle at a music hall. In the story text at the beginning, they were defeated because of a surprise attack from the Titan, basically the setting's equivalent to ComicBook/{{Superman}}, because he'd become an evil zombie. Other background details, including Titan's own character sheet, say it was the other way around, where the Protectors being zombified was what led to Titan's own transformation to the undead because before then there weren't super-zombies powerful enough to do the damage needed for him to be infected too.

* ComicBook/TheJoker again, this time from ''Film/TheDarkKnight'', gives two totally different stories explaining "[[CatchPhrase how I got these scars]]". The first story claims he got them from a from his [[AbusiveParents abusive]] [[TheAlcoholic alcoholic father.]] Later he tells a second story that the scars were self-inflicted after a group of [[LoanShark loan sharks]] gave similar scars to his wife (who left him because "she couldn't stand the sight of me."). The third time he tries this, [[spoiler:while he has Batman pinned, Batman pulls a ShutUpHannibal and shanks him in the face with his gauntlet blade-launcher.]]

* A TeamRocket-themed episode of ''Anime/{{Pokemon}} Chronicles'' implied that Jessie and James didn't know each other before joining Team Rocket, but an early episode implied they knew each other fairly long before that. Hell, Team Rocket is ''full'' of these. Did Jessie go to nursing school or did she join a bike gang (though admittedly she could have gone to school after leaving the gang)? Did Jessie and James meet in the bike gang, at an academy they flunked out of, or when they joined Team Rocket? Was Meowth Giovanni's right-hand 'mon until Persian came around, or was he a servant?

* ''VideoGame/SteambotChronicles'' had a literal version of this, where after meeting with Mallow you can recover from your amnesia and reveal your past. Or not, if you didn't feel inclined. Unfortunately, this leads to some [[PausedInterrupt incredibly stilted]] dialog in the following scenes.

** The Dinobots are also known for various origins on if they where pre-existing Autobots or not and how they got their namesake Dinosaur modes. [[WesternAnimation/TheTransformers The original cartoon]] explained they were built by [[AbsentMindedProfessor Wheeljack]] and [[TheMedic Ratchet]] based on fossils found in the Autobot base. The Marvel Comics said they were an existing subgroup of Autobots who were on the Ark and were given their Dinosaur modes by the ship's computer to fight Shockwave in the [[LostWorld Savage Land]] [[note]] Yes, ''that'' [[ComicBook/XMen Savage Land]] - Creator/MarvelComics was known to perform CanonWelding with their licensed works at the time. [[/note]] with the dinosaurs inspiring their beast modes. ''ComicBook/GIJoeVsTheTransformersMarvel'' has the Dinobots being Autobots being sent back in time and given their Dinosaur modes to fit into the past. [[ComicBook/TheTransformersIDW Spotlight: Shockwave]] reveals the [[SpellMyNameWithAnS Dynobots]] were Autobots with a [[ItsPersonal personal grudge]] against the the titular Decepticon scientist who tracked him down to prehistoric Earth and adopted Dinosaur modes to protect from the [[MythologyGag Energon Radiation]].

*** Meanwhile Mechagodzilla is either [[Film/GodzillaVsMechagodzilla a robotic doppelganger built by a race of evil aliens in an attempt to]] TakeOverTheWorld, [[Film/GodzillaVsMechagodzillaII a robot built by Japan (and the US) to fight Godzilla using future tech recovered from Mecha-King Ghidorah]], [[Film/GodzillaAgainstMechagodzilla or a cyborg built to fight Godzilla using the skeleton of the original Godzilla as a frame]], or [[spoiler: [[Anime/GodzillaCityOnTheEdgeOfBattle an abandoned prototype intended to fight Godzilla Earth that didn't activate]][[TheAssimilator and is assimilating the Earth from the titular city]]]]

** There are several myths concerning different accounts of what Dionysus was doing in the mortal world before he joined the rest of his family in Olympus. Some say he was a wanderer who [[WalkingTheEarth walked the Earth]], others say that he was a madness-inducing conqueror who developed a mad cult of debauchery who brought chaos to whoever opposed Dionysus, other origin stories have varying accounts of those events and other origins stories don't mention what he was doing before becoming a god at all.
** Several monsters in Greek mythology are also prone to this. Arachne and Medusa are good examples. In well-known versions of their stories, they both got screwed over by Athena and got turned into monsters out of anger and spite. However, earlier versions of those stories instead suggest that Athena didn't turn Arachne into a spider out of anger or spite, but for other reasons (because in those versions, Arachne commited suicide after their weaving contest and when Athena learned this, she decided to resurrect Arachne by turning her into a spider out of respect and pity). And earlier versions of Medusa's story suggest that her origin has nothing to do with Athena or Poseidon and that she was always a gorgon.

* Creator/HankAzaria had several different stories about how he originated his voice as Apu in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', with some stories suggesting that the producers asked him whether he could do an Indian accent and others suggesting he himself decided to make Apu an Indian-American due to the script for Apu's first episode merely identifying him as "Clerk".

* Princess Ozma of the ''Literature/LandOfOz'' series had retcons even within the books written by Baum himself. Originally the human daughter of Pastoria, she was also of the fairy lineage of Lurline. This creates confusion with her species. Is Ozma human, half-human/half-fairy, or fairy?

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Kaeloo}}'': Mr. Cat's life before coming to live in Smileyland, and why he went there. For example, in one episode he explains that he was [[RaisedByWolves raised by a salmon]] after being tied in a sack and thrown in a river, but another one says he [[TheRunaway ran away from home]] because of his abusive family. Though all of the backstories he's given are sad enough to give him a FreudianExcuse, and a reason for being as psychologically messed up as he is. The fifth season explains that his true backstory is the one about running away from his abusive family, and the one about the salmon was a lie that he made up.

* In UsefulNotes/{{Islam}}, [[{{Satan}} Iblis]] is said to have been banished from Heaven after refusing to bow to Adam, saying [[FantasticRacism he was an inferior being]]. However, according to different accounts, he is either a FallenAngel, an [[OurGeniesAreDifferent evil jinn]], or [[TakeAThirdOption something else entirely]]. People who believe in the jinn background see Iblis as such thinking that angels have no free will and exist only to serve {{God}}. While there are verses in Literature/TheQuran saying that angels do not disobey Him, they [[SadlyMythtaken never actually clarify if it's because of a lack of free will, or if it's something angels choose to do on their own]].

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Shrek}}'', Princess Fiona says that a witch cursed her to turn into an ogress at night and locked her in a tower, while ''WesternAnimation/Shrek2'' says that she always turned into an ogress (though possibly the curse happened the day she was born) and her parents locked her up.

* ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'': St. Germain is a chronic liar who gives a different origin story and motive every time.

* One episode of ''LightNovel/{{Slayers}} Next'' has a chef who tells four different stories about his motivation for wanting to prepare dragon cuisine, one for each of the main characters. It is then subverted at the end when all four back stories turn out to be true.

* Peter Parker [[InvokedTrope invokes]] this [[TheGadfly for laughs]] in ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/23465365/chapters/56981347#workskin Peter Parker: Intern]]''. When the Avengers start wondering about how Spider-Man got his powers, he sets out to deliberately lie about it; so far, the origins of his powers include the internet and [[WesternAnimation/HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse Castle Grayskull]].

* In ''VideoGame/TheCatLady'', this trope is [[InvokedTrope invoked]] during one of the consults with Dr. X, which he asks Susan a couple of questions about her parents. The player can choose if she had a good or bad relationship with her father and her mother respectively (or if they even are [[MissingMom around during]] [[DisappearedDad her childhood]]), which means that part of Susan's backstory can diverge from different players and/or different playthroughs.

* Creator/JRRTolkien never managed to come up with a satisfactory backstory for the Orcs; he had created them so his bad guys had some AlwaysChaoticEvil mooks, but this clashed with his Catholic beliefs that [[WhiteAndGreyMorality no free willed being could be pure evil]]. Origins for the Orcs include: corrupted Elves (featured in the published [[Literature/TheSilmarillion Silmarillion]]), [[AmbiguouslyHuman corrupted Men]] (although this doesn't fit the timeline), intelligent animals (Contradictory to [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings The Cirith Ungol chapter of Return of the King]]) or simply primitive tribes.

*** Often repeated is some variant of: "Of this matter two things are said, the truth of which is known only to the Wise Ones who are gone . . . ."

** [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Mr. Burns]] has this in spades, primarily due to his VagueAge being drawn out to absurd lengths (it was once implied he was born in ''Pangaea''); thus, his backstory has wavered quite a bit (ie. sometimes he had poor parents, but other times he had rich parents; he was shown fighting in the US Army in world War iI alongside Abe Simpson, but other episodes showed he worked with the Nazis, etc.).