After discovering a fighter jet within a temple whose construction date surpasses that of Stonehenge, Corbin Quinn and Danny Reilly use this discovery to perfect their dream project: a working time machine. After months of research, they succeed in their efforts, making history, literally.
Following a successful test that brought back high quality footage from the American Civil War, Quinn and Reilly go ahead with a manned flight, with themselves as the first time-travelers. Crafting "chronosuits" using the same design as their time portal, Quinn and Reilly prepare to go back in time. Expectedly, things go wrong and Quinn is seemingly lost. Reilly, loyal friend that he is, jumps into the portal to save his pal, only to find an anachronistic mess of a time period where Quinn is king.
The two then decide to give the timestream the middle finger.
Chrononauts is a four-issue Science Fiction Action-Comedy comic miniseries written by Mark Millar and illustrated by Sean Murphy. If you haven't guessed yet, the series decides to forgo the usual worries about time travel paradoxes and decides to have fun with the fact that the main characters have time machines.
The series was followed by Chrononauts: Futureshock, another miniseries published late 2019.
Contains examples of:
- Anachronism Stew: In spades.Reilly: Dude, there's a gang of samurai riding a tank. We can't leave the timestream looking like this.
- Bittersweet Ending: Played for Laughs. Quinn gets to fix everything he ever wanted while Reilly unfortunately discovers that a reporter he was sleeping with before the time travel is now married to the experiment's head of security with multiple children. One of them punches him in the dick.
- Funny Background Event: In the scene described in Is This Thing Still On?, the following panel is that of a bunch of nuns recoiling in shock and disgust. Meanwhile, the priest with them is returning Reilly's finger guns.
- Is This Thing Still On?: Averted. Reilly is fully aware that his comment about Quinn getting laid is being broadcast on live television.
- The One That Got Away: Rachel, Quinn's ex-girlfriend.
- Really Gets Around: Quinn becomes quite the ladies' man after his offscreen time traveling adventures. He has to keep a chart to keep track of all of the women he got with.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: Reilly red, Quinn blue.
- Refuge in Audacity: The things Reilly and Quinn do via their time traveling. For instance, visiting Jesus Christ during his birth and giving him a cross as a present.
- Rule of Cool: The series ignores the catastrophic consequences of the main characters' reckless time traveling in favor of showing just how cool having the ability to time travel is.
- Set Right What Once Went Wrong: After realizing how much they've screwed up the timestream, Quinn and Reilly get to work on setting things right again. Quinn personally fixes all the problems of his own past by repairing his relationship with his girlfriend and ensuring his father is cured of his alcoholism.
- Stable Time Loop: Yes, surprisingly. Reilly and Quinn are being observed by past versions of themselves so they can immediately win the game they are currently playing.
- The Starscream: Sarvar, Quinn's captain of the guard in Samarkland
- Time Travel: Duh.
- Timey-Wimey Ball: The series does not give a shit about the problems arising from screwing around in the past, i.e. defeating the English in 1314 Scotland using tanks and uzis.
- True Companions: Reilly and Quinn truly do care about each other as best friends. The only reason why Quinn kept his tracker on was so Reilly could join him on his fun.
- Who Shot JFK?: Nobody. Lee Harvey Oswald missed his chance when Reilly and Quinn come speeding into Dallas with a mook on their car. Said mook ends up getting the bullet.Oswald: Crap!
