History Main / AlternateSelf

** [[spoiler:Dirk Strider]] has this in spades, with [[spoiler:Lil Hal]], an AI clone of his 13 year-old brain, [[spoiler:Brain-Ghost-Dirk]], an imaginary version of him manifested via [[spoiler:Jake's Hope powers]], and [[spoiler:[[Literature /TheHomestuckEpilogues Ultimate Dirk]], an amalgamation of all his alternate selves.]]

* In ''Webcomic/ProblemSleuth'' the character Pickle Inspector has many of these such as Future Pickle Inspector, Past Pickle Inspector,[[spoiler:and God Head Pickle Inspector,Past Future Pickle Inspector and Future Future Pickle Inspector]]This is then taken to the extreme when[[spoiler: One of the alternate Pickle Inspectors Creates smaller and smaller alternate versions of himself until they make all matter on the atomic scale.]]

** [[spoiler:Dirk Strider]] has this in spades, with [[spoiler:Lil Hal]], an AI clone of his 13 year-old brain, [[spoiler:Brain-Ghost-Dirk]], an imaginary version of him manifested via [[spoiler:Jake's Hope powers]], and [[spoiler:Ultimate Dirk, an amalgamation of all his alternate selves]]

* WebOriginal/JennyEverywhere has an infinite number of them living in all possible realities. (Thus making her able to fit into any possible story.)

* The ''WesternAnimation/InvaderZim'' fic ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13488673/1/When-Gamers-Collide When Gamers Collide]]'' features two versions of [[GamerChick Gaz]] meeting each other due to interdimensional accidents in their respective universes transport them both to a PocketDimension. Specifically the cruel misanthrope from the original series (dubbed Black-Gaz) and the kinder JerkWithAHeartOfGold from the comics and TV movie (Blue-Gaz). At first they get along, but their different personalities cause them to [[OtherMeAnnoysMe come to blows]], with Black seeing Blue as a cheap imitation and mockery of everything she stands for, while Blue sees Black as a sociopath and all her worst qualities intensified.
* The ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'' fanfic "[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14261834/1/Fractal-Chaos Fractal Chaos]]" revolves around a failed experiment causing members of Team RWBY and JN_R (plus Neo) to periodically switch places with alternate counterparts from parallel timelines. They vary rarely swap with their own doubles however, allowing them to directly interact with their alternates. These include a timeline where Ruby and Yang lost their father instead of their mother, one where Blake fell back into terrorism and became even more radicalized, and one where [[Fanfic/AnArcForEverySeason all of Team RWBY has Maiden powers]] and have already managed to beat the BigBad. Yang calls out the ones from that reality for being on "easy mode".

* This is the main plot point of ''Film/EverythingEverywhereAllAtOnce''. Every choice you make creates an alternate universe where you chose differently — and through the power of verse jumping, you can send your mind into your alternate self, [[FlashSideways and borrow their skills and memories for use in your universe]]. Evelyn in the “main” universe is a woman in a failing marriage running a failing laundromat, but in other lives she’s a martial artist and movie star, a blind singer, the scientist who discovered verse jumping, a martial artist who exclusively trained with her pinkies, a teppanyaki chef, a HumanSubspecies with sausages for fingers, a piñata, a pencil doodle, an inanimate rock…
* ''Film/SlidingDoors'' is built on this trope. Just a few minutes into the movie, the main character misses the tube. But wait, she did get on the tube. Two timelines, and two lives that are quickly becoming more and more different.

* ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse:'' Quite a few of them were created in ''Film/AvengersEndgame'', and some survived to appear in later films:
** [[spoiler:When Nebula and Rhodey travel to back in time to the beginning of ''Film/{{Guardians Of The Galaxy|2014}},'' 2014 Thanos gets wind of their plans and teleports to their present where he's already been killed. He is accompanied by Gamora, Nebula, the Black Order and his entire army. Most of them are snapped out of existence by Tony Stark, with a few, including 2014 Nebula, killed beforehand in the climactic battle. 2014 Gamora, however, survives and will reemerge in ''Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.'']]
** [[spoiler:When Tony Stark, Cap and Scott Lang travel back in time to the aftermath of the Battle of New York in ''Film/TheAvengers2012,'' they encounter 2012 Loki. He manages to snatch the Tesseract and escape, creating a divergent timeline. His subsequent adventures are chronicled in ''Series/Loki2021''.]]
** ''Film/SpiderManNoWayHome'' reveals that Creator/SamRaimi's ''Film/SpiderManTrilogy'' and Marc Webb's ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderManSeries'' are parallel universes to the MCU, retroactively making many characters in those franchises alternate selves to their MCU counterparts and each other. [[spoiler:Peter Parker ends up meeting his own counterparts from both of said universes.]]
* ''Film/StarTrek2009'': The Kelvin Timeline plays host to a younger iteration of ''The Original Series'' crew, where the destruction of the ''Kelvin'' by the mad Romulan known as Nero causes Starfleet to take up a more aggressive stance. The ''Enterprise'' is delayed from launching by 13 years to be completely redesigned into a more tech-heavy powerhouse, Kirk starts off as a brilliant recluse who's living in his father's shadow (since his dad was the one who sacrificed himself on the ''Kelvin''), and the rest of the ''Enterprise'' crew is already serving on the ship well before they were meant to. [[spoiler:Spock-Prime, the original Spock from the Prime timeline, ended up in this reality for the rest of his life, even parting words of wisdom to his younger self.]]
* ''Film/SuperiorUltraman8Brothers'': The film features an alternate universe with various counterparts to characters such as [[Series/UltraQ Jun Manjome]], [[Series/{{Ultraman}} Shin Hayata/Ultraman, Akiko Fuji]], [[Series/{{Ultraseven}} Dan Moroboshi/Ultraseven, Anne Yuri]], [[Series/ReturnOfUltraman Hideki Go/Ultraman Jack, Aki Sakata]], [[Series/UltramanAce Seiji Hokuto/Ultraman Ace, Hokuto Minami]], [[Series/UltramanTiga Daigo Madoka/Ultraman Tiga, Rena Yanase (though known here as Rena Hayata due to being Shin Hayata's daughter), Hikari Madoka]], [[Series/UltramanDyna Shin Asuka, Ryo Yumimura]], [[Series/UltramanGaia Gamu Takayama/Ultraman Gaia, Atsuko Sasaki, Hiroya Fujimiya and Reiko Yoshii]]. Notably in this universe the Showa Ultras lived as humans after their exploits and married their love interests, Hayata and Fuji are Rena's parents and Hiroya doesn't transforms into Agul and finally all Ultras come from M78.

* In the Creator/AlgisBudrys novel ''Rogue Moon'', teleportation is done in the ''Franchise/StarTrek'' way of decomposition and reconstitution. (''Series/{{Star Trek|The Original Series}}'' came out later.) ''Rogue Moon'' is more interested in the implications though: two copies of the same person genuinely are the same person, so much so that they can communicate with each other using {{telepathy}} until they diverge enough. This is useful in [[spoiler:investigating an alien machine that kills its occupants. The decomposition is lethal, no ifs, ands, or buts. The scan can then be reconstituted any number of times, but this is a separate process.]] ''Rogue Moon'' is messed up.
* In the ''Literature/LabyrinthsOfEcho'' by Max Frei, Murakoks are people with a life-long (but variable in strength) PsychicLink to lots of Alternate Selves [[TheMultiverse in other worlds]]. The downside is having to keep one's place in the net--a travel to another world leads to insanity. The only one appearing was Koba[[note]]not the only hint that among his alternates was one [[UsefulNotes/HistoryOfTheUSSR Joseph Dzhugashvili]].[[/note]], the Dean of Beggars in the capitol. He has more than enough of skills magical and social, but turned down an offer to join Secret Investigations, arguing he must be a beggar for the balance between the alternates. He's a ''very'' rich "beggar", though.
* ''Literature/MotherOfLearning'': The protagonist discovers that [[spoiler: the world he is living in is an exact copy of the real world, including the people. Suffice to say, he eventually has a confrontation with his original self.]]
** His [[spoiler:[[ExpendableClone simulacrums]]]] also fit this trope.
* Well presented in the third book in the Literature/RogueAgent series, ''Literature/WizardSquared'', where the reader is presented with an [[AlternateTimeline alternate take]] on the climax of the first book, and the [[ButterflyOfDoom domino effect]] shows how terribly poorly that universe went when the characters crossover. Interestingly, the point of divergence was a possibility that the character in the original timeline discounted as too dangerous. Cue EvilOverlord.
* In ''Literature/TheTalisman'' people in our world tend to have a twinner in the Territories. Fundamentally the two people will be at least similar.
* In the Franchise/{{Mistborn}} series, burning gold lets you see alternate selves had your past been different while burning electrum lets you see various possible futures depending on the choices you make. This usually leads to a strong feeling of OtherMeAnnoysMe, at least with more self loathing characters, and is described as very disturbing. But in The Alloy of Law it's revealed that you can form a sort of MentalFusion with your alternate self, though it's not the focus of the plot.
* The premise of the short story "The Wheels of If" by Creator/LSpragueDeCamp is that, as part of a ploy to discredit a political rival, someone in an AlternateUniverse comes up with a way to cycle the consciousnesses/souls of seven people in seven universes who happen to be similar enough to count as Alternate Selves. The rival is one of these, ending up with the mind of a man from our timeline. Unfortunately for the villain, the man from our timeline is himself a capable political operator and knows tricks that haven't yet been thought of in the alternate universe.
* A few examples from ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'': in ''Literature/ThiefOfTime'' [[spoiler:the characters Jeremy Clockson and Lobsang Ludd turn out to be the same person, but duplicated due to the unusual circumstances of their birth, being the son(s) of the AnthropomorphicPersonification of Time]]; in ''Literature/{{Jingo}}'' Vimes makes an important choice as he goes to pick up his "Dis-organiser", which normally tracks what appointments he is due to have in the day--he picks it up as his two selves diverge, and each of them get the wrong one, meaning Vimes gets to find out [[BadFuture what would have happened]] if he had made the other choice.
* Examples of this are seen in a number of books in the ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' series: ''The Stranger'' featured an alternate counterpart of Rachel while later the ''The Familiar'' and the last ''Megamorphs'' book feature alternates of the whole team. Interestingly, the third ''Megamorphs'' book deliberately excluded Rachel in its presentation of a dystopian future while including everyone else.
* ''Literature/TheRifter'': Ravishan & Kahlil. Kahlil, after a lonely youth training in Rathal’pesha, spent years in Nayeshi waiting to bring the Rifter (John) to Basawar; then his key to the gates fell into John’s hands and John crossed through. He landed at an earlier point in time and met Ravishan the trainee-Kahlil; together the two of them [[AlternateTimeline changed history radically]]. Now the future where Ravishan becomes Kahlil will never happen, but his future self is still over in Nayeshi, not knowing that events he remembers have been wiped out of existence. Kahlil crosses to Bashawar and arrives thirty years after John’s arrival. He [[NeverTheSelvesShallMeet doesn’t meet himself]] because by this time Ravishan is dead. However, he does pick up Ravishan’s memories; he describes having two timelines in his mind as being like the reflection in a windowpane where you can see both the reflection and the view outside, and focus on one or the other. Eventually the two selves merge even further.
* In ''Literature/TimeRiders'', [[spoiler:Foster]] looks to be one for [[spoiler:Liam]], until ''City of Shadows'' when the team finds out that [[spoiler: they are all [[ArtificialHuman support units]] and Liam and Foster are separate Liam units.]]

* In ''Literature/TheWorldShuffler'', when O'Leary is transported from [[TheGoodKingdom Artesia]] to the parallel world of Melange, he encounters several folks who are alternate versions. The princess Adoreanne, who rules Artesia, is now a barmaid of loose morals named Swinehilde, and her consort, the Count Alain, is now a jealous barkeep named Hulk. O'Leary's wife is now a noblewoman, Lady Andragorre, and worst of all, there appear to be ''several'' Lafayette O'Learys, from several different worlds, all working at cross-purposes.

* ''Literature/TheLastHorizon'': Using his father's DoppelgangerAttack spell heightened to epic levels, Varic tries to steal the magical abilities from alternate lives. This is specifically described as possibilities and probabilities, not true other selves from alternate universes. Unfortunately, they didn't anticipate that the ritual would work too well; Varic wakes up not just with the power of his alternate selves, but the full memories of six lives. Oh, and the other five were from at least a few years in the future, so he also remembers the various apocalypses that are going to be visiting the galaxy soon.

* The seven different timelines formed in ''Series/{{Community}}''[='s=] [[Recap/CommunityS3E04RemedialChaosTheory "Remedial Chaos Theory"]] allow for seven alternate versions of each of the seven main characters.

* ''[[VideoGame/GhostTrick Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective]]'': Ray is revealed at the end of the story to be an alternate version of [[spoiler:Missile]], who originally came from a BadFuture where his only option was to travel back to the past and wait out until everything began to set a plan in motion to save everyone.
* ''VideoGame/InjusticeGodsAmongUs'' is an alternate universe where ComicBook/TheJoker blows up Metropolis, and Franchise/{{Superman}} kills him, which is the StartOfDarkness that leads to a FaceHeelTurn for Supes. The characters of the main universe end up going to the Injustice universe, and have to deal with the corrupt, totalitarian state that it's become, including many Alternate Selves that have also made a FaceHeelTurn. Main-Superman especially calls out Injustice-Superman once the two finally come face to face.
* In the video game ''VideoGame/SpiderManShatteredDimensions'', three of the four Spideys are alternate Peter Parkers.
* Shows up in ''VideoGame/BioShockInfinite'', thanks to the multiverse exploration aspect of Elizabeth's "tears". Turns out [[spoiler:not only is Rosalind Lutece's "brother" Robert actually [[OppositeSexClone an alternate version of herself]] according to her audio logs, but Booker [=DeWitt=] is actually an alternate version of the game's BigBad, Zachary Hale Comstock.]]
* ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia2'':
** Shows up a lot, due to a large portion of the plot involving heading to fractured dimensions - versions of the prime dimension, but with minor altercations. Several of the characters encountered (and fought) are some of those who have died during the previous game. Some, like Gilland, are not much different. But there are some like Agria or [[DiscOneFinalBoss King Nachtigal]], who are very different.
** There are also alternate selves of the party members, but due to how their journey goes, are usually never met. But there is the special case of Alternate Milla. In her dimension, she succeeded in destroying Exodus at a young age and has lost her status as Lord of Spirits since, and her personality is [[{{Tsundere}} vastly different]] from [[TheStoic regular]] Milla. [[spoiler: The party also encounters Ludger's alternate self in a fractured dimension, but it turns out that this Ludger has gone insane over his knowledge of being from a fractured dimension, has killed majority of the Xillia cast and is intent on killing Ludger, to take his place.]]

** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' features this due to time travel. All of the second-generation characters get alternate selves in the "Future Past" DLC episodes, [[spoiler:Morgan gets a ''second'' alternate self in said DLC episodes]], and the playable version of [[spoiler:Yen'fay]] is explicitly an alternate self to the NPC version of the character. Not to mention that the game's GreaterScopeVillain is [[spoiler: an alternate-future version of the Avatar, the player character, who is possessed by an EldritchAbomination]].

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask'': Most moderately-significant characters, and even a few significant ones like Tatl, are implied to be alternate versions of characters from ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]]''.

* ''VideoGame/ChronoCross'' makes extensive use. The game's set up us that when the main hero was a child, he was attacked by a demonic panther. In one world, he lived, in the other world, he died. This is what allows him to travel between worlds. Some characters are also changed between worlds-the main hero's childhood friend is far more somber in the other world, and his mother is nowhere to be found.

* Many of the characters in the ''VideoGame/NappleTaleArsiaInDaydream'' exist in two places — one in Napple Town and another one, described as a warped mirror image out in the "seasons" -- the game's {{platform| game}}ing levels. The characters aren't identical, but they are linked to each other.
* ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'':
** Hakumen is [[spoiler: Jin Kisaragi's]] alternate self. Specifically, he's from a timeline when [[spoiler: Noel Vermillion]] didn't exist, and Tsubaki was his secretary. [[spoiler: Tsubaki is killed by Nu, trying to stop Jin from going after Ragna as he normally does in the present timeline. When Nu tries to fuse with Ragna like she always does, Jin runs after the two and flung back in time as a result. His body is damaged beyond repair, and so he is installed in the Susanooh unit which explains his current appearance.]]
** ''Blazblue Bloodedge Experience'''s takes place in one of the franchise's [[TimeyWimeyBall many]] alternate timelines, connected to all the other ones by the Boundary. The protagonist is Naoto Kurogane, who is eventually revealed to be the Alternate Self of the main series protagonist Ragna the Bloodedge. When Naoto enters the main series timeline in ''VideoGame/BlazBlueCentralFiction'', Rachel remarks that his presence makes Ragna's own existence thinner. ''Bloodedge Experience'' also has Raquel Alucard, the counterpart to Rachel Alucard, and like Ragna Naoto has a sister named Saya.
* ''VideoGame/{{Elsword}}'' gives us the (as of this writing, unreleased outside of Korea) third job path for Add, the Diabolic Esper, which invokes this in its backstory. [[spoiler: Specifically, Add perfected the ability to go back in time to prevent his family from being killed, but he miscalculated and wound up in another timeline in which he found that his family had never been killed and his young self was living happily with his family.]]
* In ''VideoGame/TheWitchAndTheHundredKnight'', there are at least 3 alternate versions of Metallia shown throughout the game. One is shown as a high school delinquent, the other is a sick patient in a hospital, and [[spoiler: Torude]] who is revealed at the end of chapter 12 as Metallia questions her about changing her own name.
* ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'' introduced an alternate version of the ''Fate'' series' iconic Saber ([[GenderFlip Altria]] [[Myth/KingArthur Pendragon]]) as a Lancer. This version traded Excalibur for the holy spear Rhongonmyniad; this has some positive benefits (she's more mature, both [[BuxomBeautyStandard physically]] and mentally, because Excalibur [[NotAllowedToGrowUp suppressed her growth]]) and some negative ones (like the spear turning her into a KnightTemplar). There's even a slight variation on this within the game, as the playable version gave up Rhongonmyniad after 10 years and mellowed out while the NPC version held onto it and went full villain and [[PhysicalGod goddess]].
** A truly shocking example comes in the form of [[spoiler: [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter Fou]]]]. In another life, they would be more well known as [[spoiler: [[BeastOfTheApocalypse Primate Murder]]]].
** The ''Cosmos in the Lostbelt'' story arc introduced the concept of "Lostbelt Variants", where due to some AlternateHistory events or the Servant summoning system getting corrupted for the {{Arc Villain}}s, every Servant summoned within a Lostbelt ends up wildly different from the version in Proper Human History, even moreso than the ShadowArchetype comprising the Alter category or the situation with Lancer Altria, as some Lostbelt Variants are pretty much InNameOnly due to the changes. This is shown best by the Faerie Knights from the Britain Lostbelt, as Gawain, Tristan, and Lancelot are not only [[HistoricalGenderFlip the opposite gender]], there's only about one or two similarities with the Proper Human History Gawain, Tristan, and Lancelot.
* ''VideoGame/DragonBallXenoverse'' takes Dragon Ball Z a bit further with Time Patrol Trunks. Originally simply Future Trunks, the addition of ''Dragon Ball Super'''s Goku Black arc caused another split, which the sequel ran with by having TP Future Trunks go back in time and save Gohan by defeating Androids 17 and 18 himself before they killed him.
* In ''VideoGame/PersonaQ2NewCinemaLabyrinth'', the female protagonist of ''VideoGame/Persona3'' ''[[UpdatedRerelease Portable]]'' is from an alternate world where she is the main lead instead of the male protagonist. When she meets the main timeline SEES, she recognizes all of them, but none of them recognize her. Later on when both counterparts meet, they also note that they feel like they know each other.
-->'''Female Protagonist:''' I'm him, and he's me...?
* One of major premises in ''VideoGame/{{IMGCM}}'', as the end of Chapter 12 shows that Omnis and his heroines encounter their alternate selves from [[TheMultiverse several]] {{alternate universe}}s. [[spoiler:Also it’s revealed that some demons the heroines fight are [[WasOnceAMan once their alternate selves from other alternate universes]] before they’re slain and corrupted by demons and their demonized selves, [[AndThenJohnWasAZombie including the ones from player protagonist Tobio's party]]]].
* In the ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' series, Mario and VideoGame/DrMario are treated as two different people, despite being the same person.
* ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClankRiftApart'' deals with a temporal problem that results in alternate universe versions of characters making appearances, with the most prominent being Rivet, an alternate DistaffCounterpart of Ratchet as well as Kit, who's the same for Clank. Aside from them there are various other alternate versions of characters who are typically just as if not more capable than their mainline counterparts with the most prominent being Emperor Nefarious, who is bigger, nastier and overall a more successful supervillain than Dr. Nefarious.
* ''VideoGame/{{Rakuen}}'': Several of the characters found around the hospital share more than just the exact same name and personality as the villagers of Morizora's Forest.
** Employees such as Panky and Jacky and visitors like Danielle, Cora, and Kazuko also have the same general occupation as their fantasy counterparts.
** Patients and their loved ones share the exact same issues, relationships, and backstories as their counterparts, but the details of the latter are slightly altered to match the fantastical nature of Morizora's Forest. Each time the Boy successfully helps one of the villagers, the result carries over to their real world counterparts in some way.

* ''VideoGame/PuyoPuyoQuest'': There are alternate versions of characters that are treated as a different person than their "prime" counterpart. "Steam City Arle", for example, is not the same Arle we all know, being a singer in a steampunk city.

* ''Fanfic/SpiderNinja'': This fic centers around a [[GenderFlip female]] Peter Parker/Spider-Man, named Petra/Spider-Ninja. It's stated by the [[WordOfGod author]] to take place in a different part of the Spider-Verse than Earth-616, specifically one where the [[Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles TMNT]] exist. Due to this Spider-Person losing [[DeathByAdaptation Aunt May]] and [[DoomedByCanon Uncle Ben]] when she was four, she was found and raised by Master Splinter. This leads to a lot of differences between her and most versions of Peter Parker (i.e. [[PointOfDivergence she never attended public school and thus never met Mary Jane Watson, Harry Osborn, or experienced bullying]]). [[InSpiteOfANail But]], she's still bitten by the spider and has many of the traits/qualities associated with Spider-Man.

* ''Fanfic/SpiderNinja'': This fic centers around a [[GenderFlip female]] Peter Parker/Spider-Man, named Petra/Spider-Ninja. It's stated by the [[WordOfGod author]] to take place in a different part of the Spider-Verse than Earth-616, specifically one where the [[Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles TMNT]] exist. Due to this Spider-Person losing [[DeathByAdaptation Aunt May]] and [[DoomedByCanon Uncle Ben]] when she was four, she was found and raised by Master Splinter. This leads to a lot of differences between her and most versions of Peter Parker (i.e. [[ForWantOfANail she never attended public school and thus never met Mary Jane Watson, Harry Osborn, or experienced bullying]]). [[InSpiteOfANail But]], she's still bitten by the spider and has many of the traits/qualities associated with Spider-Man.

* ''Literature/TheRifter'': Ravishan & Kahlil. Kahlil, after a lonely youth training in Rathal’pesha, spent years in Nayeshi waiting to bring the Rifter (John) to Basawar; then his key to the gates fell into John’s hands and John crossed through. He landed at an earlier point in time and met Ravishan the trainee-Kahlil; together the two of them [[AlternateTimeline changed history radically]]. Now the future where Ravishan becomes Kahlil will never happen, but his future self is still over in Nayeshi, not knowing that events he remembers have been wiped out of existence. Kahlil crosses to Bashawar and arrives thirty years after John’s arrival. He [[NeverTheSelvesShallMeet doesn’t meet himself]] because by this time Ravishan is dead. However, he does pick up Ravishan’s memories; he describes having two timelines in his mind as being like the reflection in a windowpane where you can see both the reflection and the view outside, and focus on one or the other. Eventually the two selves merge even further.

* The Musical ''Theatre/IfThen'' is a SplitTimelinesPlot that follows a woman named Elizabeth as she starts a new life in New York City. A choice presented to her on her first day in town winds up leading her life in very different directions, and to help differentiate the two in one timeline she goes by "Liz" and in the other "Beth". By the end of the play both Liz and Beth and the people closest to them [[ForWantOfANail have lived quite different lives as a result]].

* The ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'' fanfic "[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14261834/1/Fractal-Chaos Fractal Chaos]]" revolves around a failed experiment causing members of Team RWBY and JN_R (plus Neo) to periodically switch places with alternate counterparts from parallel timelines. They vary rarely swap with their own doubles however, allowing them to directly interact with their alternates. These include a timeline where Ruby and Yang lost their father instead of their mother, one where Blake fell back into terrorism and became even more radicalized, and one where [[Fanfic/AnArcForEverySeason'' all of Team RWBY has Maiden powers]] and have already managed to beat the BigBad. Yang calls out the ones from that reality for being on "easy mode".

* In ''Fanfic/ThroughTheLookingGlassMyNextLifeAsAVillainess'', Gerald and Keith from ''Literature/MyNextLifeAsAVillainessAllRoutesLeadToDoom'' switch places with the Geord and Keith from the in-universe game ''Fortune Lover'' after all four make a wish involving their current lives by a runestone Gerald and Geord were studying [[note]]To summarize, Gerald wanted his fiance Katarina to love him romantically, Geord wanted his Katarina to not love him so he can end their engagement, Isekai!Keith wanted Katarina to see him less as a brother and more of a romantic option, and Game!Keith wanted a loving and caring family. Of course, these wishes almost never go as intended for them[[/note]]. Later, [[spoiler:the Katarinas from both worlds switch place after making wishes themselves in reaction to the other Gerald/Geord]].

* The ''WesternAnimation/InvaderZim'' fic ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13488673/1/When-Gamers-Collide When Gamers Collide]]'' features two versions of [[GamerChick Gaz]] meeting each other due to interdimensional accidents in their respective universes transport them both to a PocketDimension. At first they get along, but their different personalities (one being a misanthrope, the other being a JerkWithAHeartOfGold) cause them to [[OtherMeAnnoysMe eventually come to blows]].

[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
* The ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirls'' franchise is a human HighSchoolAU spin-off that takes place in a parallel dimension to the main ''[[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Friendship Is Magic]]'' series.
** [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirls1 The first film]] has FIM Twilight Sparkle meet human versions of her Equestrian friends at Canterlot High. TheStinger of [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsRainbowRocks the sequel]] introduces [=EG=] Twilight Sparkle, who spends [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsFriendshipGames the third film]] investigating the strange happenings at the school and naturally freaked out by all these people she's never met knowing her name. It is also briefly [[DiscussedTrope discussed]] much later on in ''[[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirlsMagicalMovieNight Magical Movie Night]]'', when a character from Equestria asks to visit the human world.
--->'''Sunset Shimmer:''' Well, I haven't ever seen you in that world. So chances are you aren't gonna run into yourself.\\
'''Starlight Glimmer:''' ...[[ARareSentence is something you don't hear everyday]].
** Notably averted by ExBigBad[=/=]HeroProtagonist Sunset Shimmer, who originated from Equestria but permanently resides in the human world. The character doesn't seem to have a human counterpart; if she does, they have yet to be mentioned, and even the very idea of a native human equivalent is never discussed in canon, making this is a major source of FanficFuel.

* ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManAcrossTheSpiderVerse'' continues the tradition and cranks it up to eleven. The Spider-Society, lead by [[ComicBook/SpiderMan2099 Miguel O'Hara]] is host to ''thousands'' of variations of Spider Men across all eras and media.
** [[spoiler:The plot hinges upon the fact that the Miles Morales of Earth-1610B was supposedly never meant to be Spider-Man since the mutated spider from Earth-42 teleported to Miles' dimension and bit 1610B's variant instead and is therefore an aberration - a threat to the multiverse in Miguel's eyes.]] [[spoiler:In the finale, Miles accidentally teleports into Earth-42 and encounters his alternate self - the Miles that didn't get bitten by said mutated spider and instead became [[MirrorSelf The Prowler]] in a CrapsackWorld.]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Amphibia}}'': In "Wax Museum", [[WesternAnimation/GravityFalls Frog Soos]] postulates there are perhaps alternate universe versions of themselves.

** In the episode "The Farnsworth Parabox", the characters travel to a whole slew of alternate universes in which they meet their appropriate counterparts. The universe they interact with the most, though, is defined by opposite coin flips, and differing hair colors.
** In the Futurama movie ''Bender's Big Score'', the paradox-free time travel creates temporal duplicates, however its nature as a paradox-correcting time code means the duplicates are always doomed. Fry's duplicate (created due to time travelling on the day he got frozen) managed to last long enough to become a more mature and savvy version of [[TheDitz Fry]], and as it turned out [[spoiler:was Leela's new boyfriend Lars Filmore.]]
* Naturally, ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' had a two-part episode about this. In a parallel universe, Lex Luthor killed the Flash and, as a result, is murdered by Superman (it's also implied that Lex, who had become President of the United States in that timeline, was about to start a nuclear World War III). This ultimately leads to the remaining five members of the League rebranding themselves as the Justice Lords, who turn the planet into a police state with themselves in control and drop their generalized rules of ThouShaltNotKill--yes, even ''Batman''. Since they virtually eliminated all crime, Lord Batman started fiddling with interdimensional travel and found the main-universe Justice League. Then the Justice Lords decide to do it all again in the Justice League's universe.

* ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerbTheMovieAcrossThe2ndDimension'' sees the cast of ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'' travelling to an AlternateUniverse, so naturally they meet their doppelgangers. In the second dimension, Doctor Doofenshmirtz has successfully conquered the Tri-State Area, Perry the Platypus is his brainwashed cyborg henchman, and Candace is the leader of the Resistance. The two Doofs perform [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hI1evqEYEeA an entire song]] about it!

* ''Fanfic/{{Spider-Ninja}}'': This fic centers around a [[GenderFlip female]] Peter Parker/Spider-Man, named Petra/Spider-Ninja. It's stated by the [[WordOfGod author]] to take place in a different part of the Spider-Verse than Earth-616, specifically one where the [[Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles TMNT]] exist. Due to this Spider-Person losing [[DeathByAdaptation Aunt May]] and [[DoomedByCanon Uncle Ben]] when she was four, she was found and raised by Master Splinter. This leads to a lot of differences between her and most versions of Peter Parker (i.e. [[ForWantOfANail she never attended public school and thus never met Mary Jane Watson, Harry Osborn, or experienced bullying]]). [[InSpiteOfANail But]], she's still bitten by the spider and has many of the traits/qualities associated with Spider-Man.

** Then, the crossover event ''Series/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'' does this to nearly every major DC property, featuring (or featuring via another character from the same series) alternate versions of Batman (from [[Film/Batman1989 Earth-89]], [[Series/Batman1966 Earth-66]], [[Series/Titans2018 Earth-9]], and [[Creator/KevinConroy Earth-99]]), Superman (from [[Film/SupermanTheMovie Earth]]-[[Film/SupermanReturns 96]] and [[Series/{{Smallville}} Earth-167]]), and The Flash (featuring the return of the [[Series/TheFlash1990 Earth-90 Flash]] and even a [[spoiler:cameo from the Franchise/DCExtendedUniverse Flash]]). It also retroactively declares the Oliver Queen from the future timeline of 2046 from ''Series/LegendsOfTomorrow'' as hailing from Earth-16, features a [[spoiler: deceased]] counterpart for Batwoman on Earth-99, and separates the ''Titans'' and ''Series/DoomPatrol2019'' shows into different Earths after characters from the latter series appeared on the former.

** During her crossover with ComicBook/MilesMorales, she finds herself on the utopian Earth-8. Turns out that Gwen-8 is married to Miles-8. Oh, and they [[BabiesEverAfter have kids]].

* As part of the ComicBook/SpiderVerse event, the ''WesternAnimation/UltimateSpiderMan2012'' series had its own feature-length take on a team up across the multiverse, as Spider-Man pursued the Green Goblin from one universe to the next. The participants were new versions of [[GenderFlip Spider-Girl,]] ComicBook/SpiderMan2099, ComicBook/SpiderManNoir, ComicBook/SpiderHam, [[DungeonPunk Spyder-Knight]], and even young ComicBook/MilesMorales.

** An alternate continuity was introduced with the 20th movie called ''Anime/PokemonIChooseYou'', where Ash's story was changed [[ForWantOfANail by receiving a rainbow feather from Ho-Oh the day he started off on his journey]]. The resulting change created a timeline where he started out more competent and humble than his canon self did, and failed to encounter many of his original Pokémon or traveling companions [[spoiler:though the credits imply he eventually will]].