History Main / RidiculouslySuccessfulFutureSelf

* Ben of ''WesternAnimation/{{Ben 10}}'' runs into two version of his future self, Ben 10,000, from different timelines, one in the original series and one in ''Ben10UltimateAlien''. Both versions have a BadassBeard, are quite buff and good-looking, respected as heroes throughout the universe and can wield their shape-changing devices to their full potential. Justified in that Ben is already working towards achieving such a future even before meeting his future self.

* Dawson Leary of ''DawsonsCreek'' is the creator of a hit television series based on his life by the age of twenty-four or twenty-five.

* Lisa Simpson was President of the US at the age of 38 in a glimpse of the future in ''TheSimpsons''. Okay, she is a genius, but that is still five years younger than Kennedy, the youngest person ever elected President, and he was a war hero. Lisa is also an unmarried, vegetarian Buddhist. She must have had one heck of a campaign manager... Then again, it's mentioned in the same episode that she is the first ''heterosexual'' female President.
** Let's not forget Bart's future career path in the several flashfoward episodes: Garage band member to unemployed stoner to demolition man to law school student to (down the road) Supreme Court Justice. Apparently the Simpsons become the next Kennedy family.
* In ''Ferpect Crime'', the main antagonist becomes a rich designer in just enough time for the main character to grow his beard. He unbelievably falls for her then.
* Kind of approached from the other direction in ''Discworld/NightWatch''. Vimes, a happily married man awaiting the birth of his first child, an alcoholic who has very successfully quit drinking, one of the richest people in Ankh-Morpork, a duke, at the top of his profession and one of the most powerful people in the city, goes back in time thirty years, meets his eighteen-year-old self and realises what an idiot he was.
* This can happen to bad guys, too. In the ''DannyPhantom'' episode "The Ultimate Enemy", we learn that--at the age of about twenty-four--Danny is now an evil half-Vlad, half-Danny mutant who has taken over Amity Park and rules it with an iron fist. And by "rules," of course, we mean "punches."
** Hell, as the movie starts, it's heavily implied that Amity Park is the only place he ''hasn't'' taken over. Managing ''that'' is merely his EstablishingCharacterMoment.
* Similarly, in "A Sitch in Time", ''KimPossible'' villain Shego has taken over the entire world at the ripe young age of about thirty-five or forty ([[VagueAge possibly]]). At that point, she and Danny are both ridiculously successful--though not, you know, in a good way.
* Accidentally subverted by Cartman himself in ''SouthPark''. A successful and healthy future Cartman arrives to inform present Cartman that he can achieve greatness if he goes on a diet, works hard, and stays away from drugs. Due to the events of the episode, Cartman immediately dismisses it as propaganda and proceeds to tell his future self that he'll start acting even ''worse'' just to spite him. The instant Cartman walks away, the future Cartman transforms into a poor, fat slob.
* In ''RocketPower'', Reggie flashed ahead about ten years and was a publishing mogul living on top of a skyscraper- at about 22.

* Subverted in ''SluggyFreelance'' when Torg starts acting all smart and educated after some information a [[TimeTravel Time Traveler]] left behind indicates he becomes a world famous professor in the future.
-->'''Riff:''' Actually he's destined to ''play'' "The Professor" in a musical version of ''GilligansIsland'' and the Demon is going to force the world to watch. ''(shudder)'' I just didn't have the heart to tell him.
* Subverted once again in ''[[TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutron Jimmy Neutron]]'' where Jimmy screws up the future by giving a megalomaniac complex to Libby, which twists the futures of Carl, Sheen, and Jimmy into a fashion outcast, a Dumpster diver, and a dimwitted loser who's married to Cindy, respectively.
** Although, the original futures they viewed for themselves (before they screw it up) are this trope played straight: Jimmy's won the Nobel Prize in ''every'' category, Carl's a professional llama breeder whose llamas can ''breathe underwater'' and ''talk'', and Sheen's a fashion model so popular that (according to Jimmy) it's headline news whenever he ''changes his socks''.
* The ''CodenameKidsNextDoor'' DistantFinale (with {{Flashback}}s) revealed that Number 4 -- BookDumb during the present, his stupidity a constant RunningGag -- graduated from ''Harvard'' with honors and became a doctor. And {{The Ditz}}y {{Cloudcuckoolander}} Number 3 ([[spoiler:whom he married]]) Took over the Rainbow Monkey corporation and became a successful businesswoman.

* Rayne from ''LeastICouldDo'' witnesses a great future for himself during a hallucination - he takes over the company after Marcy, has a mansion shaped like Minas Tirith, lives with his favorite niece, still has all his friends, and grows a beard worthy of SeanConnery. It's a justifiable exaggeration as it's his fantasy.
* In ''MeetTheRobinsons'', HeartwarmingOrphan and [[BunglingInventor unsuccessful inventor]] Lewis actually travels to the future, which has become a Utopian place thanks to the inventions of scientific genius Cornelius Robinson. Later we find out that [[spoiler:Cornelius is actually Lewis' future self.]]
* The title characters of ''PhineasAndFerb'' don't actually meet their counterparts when they go twenty years into the future, because Phineas is in Sweden "for the awards ceremony" while Ferb is at Camp David. Given what the pair can accomplish in an afternoon, [[JustifiedTrope this is hardly surprising.]]

* One episode of ''BoyMeetsWorld'' had a FlashForward to seven years in the future in which Jack has become a "captain of industry" despite the fact that he would only be 27 or 28 at that point. However, this sequence is not canon and is implied to be an extended ImagineSpot in Eric's head.
* {{Bones}} is extremely successful without time travel, but at her high school reunion she just can't do her usual thing of casually bringing up the fact that she's very sexually attractive/intelligent/wealthy/famous despite (or perhaps because of) Booth's coaching.

* Done twice with the {{player character}} in ''GrimFandango''. First, Manny arrives in the port town of Rubacava and takes a job sweeping up in a nightclub, which he owns a year later. Then he leaves and begins washing decks on a ship. After another year, he's the ship's captain.

When a series involving young characters skips ahead to the future it will rarely be more than a few years into the future (unless TimeTravel is involved of course), which keeps the characters fairly close to the people we know, and sa[[redirect:HomePage]]ves on the age makeup. Such is the temptation to show where the character ends up however, that many writers show the character already well established and very successful in their chosen career, even if only a few short years have passed and logic would suggest they should still be somewhere at the bottom, working their way up.
[[redirect:HomePage]]

* Accidentally subverted by Cartman himself in ''Sout[[redirect:HomePage]]hPark''. A successful and healthy future Cartman arrives to inform present Cartman that he can achieve greatness if he goes on a diet, works hard, and stays away from drugs. Due to the events of the episode, Cartman immediately dismisses it as propaganda and proceeds to tell his future self that he'll start acting even ''worse'' just to spite him. The instant Cartman[[redirect:HomePage]] walks away, the future Cartman transform[[redirect:HomePage]]s into a poor, fat slob.

* In ''Series/{{Charmed}}'' (episode 2 season 2), the sisters travel 10 years to their future selves for a day, and Prue finds herself the super rich owner of numerous big successful auction houses over the word. [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] because they change that future from happening, and later made[[redirect:HomePage]] impossible because of [[spoiler:Prue's early death]].

** Although, the original futures they viewed for themselves (before they screw it up) are this trope played straight: Jimmy's won the Nobel Prize in ''every'' category, Carl's a professional llama bre[[redirect:HomePage]]eder whose llamas can '[[redirect:HomePage]]'breathe underwater'' and ''talk'', and Sheen's a fashion model so popular that (accor[[redirect:HomePage]]ding to Jimmy) it's headline news whenever he ''changes his socks''.
* The ''CodenameKidsNextDoor'' DistantFinale (with {{Flashback}}s) revealed that Number 4 -- BookDumb during the present, his stupidity a constant RunningGag -- graduated from ''Harvard'' with honors and became a doctor. And {{The Ditz}}y {{Cloudcuckoolander}} Number 3 ([[spoiler:whom he married]]) Took over the Rainbow Monkey c[[redirect:HomePage]]orporation and became a successful businesswoman.
* Done twice with the {{player character}} in ''GrimFandango''. First, Manny arrives in the port town of Rubacava and takes a job sweeping up in a nightclub, which he owns a year later. Then he leaves and begins washing[[redirect:HomePage]] decks on a ship. After another year, he's the ship's captain.
* Rayne from ''LeastICouldDo'' witnesses a great future for himself during a hallucination - he takes over the company after Marcy, has a mansion shaped like Minas Tirith, lives with his favorite niece, still has all hi[[redirect:HomePage]]s friends, and grows a beard worthy of SeanConnery. It's a justifiable exaggeration as it's his fantasy.
* In ''MeetTheRobinsons'', HeartwarmingOrphan and [[BunglingInventor unsuccessful inventor]] Lewis actually t[[redirect:HomePage]]ravels to the future, which has become a Utopian place thanks to the inventions of scientific genius Cornelius Robinson. Later we find out that [[spoiler:Cornelius is actually Lewis' future self.]]
* The title characters of ''PhineasAndFerb'' don't actually meet their counterparts when they go twenty [[redirect:HomePage]]years into the future, because Phineas is in Sweden "for the awards ceremony" while Ferb is at Camp David. Given what the pair can acc[[redirect:HomePage]]omplish in an afternoon, [[JustifiedTrope this is hardly surprising.]]

* One episode of ''BoyMeetsWorld'' had a FlashForward to seven years in the future in which Jack has become a "captain of industry" despite the fact that he would only be 27 or 28 at that point. However, this sequence is not canon and is implied to be an extended ImagineSpot in Eric's head.[[redirect:HomePage]]

When a series involving young characters skips ahead to the future it will rarely be more than a few years into the future (unless TimeTravel is involved of course), which keeps the characters fairly close to the people we know, and saves on the age makeup. Such is the temptation to show where the character ends up however, that many writers show the character already well established and very successful in their chosen career, even if only a few short years have passed and logic would suggest they should still be somewhere at the bottom, working their way up.

* Accidentally subverted by Cartman himself in ''SouthPark''. A successful and healthy future Cartman arrives to inform present Cartman that he can achieve greatness if he goes on a diet, works hard, and stays away from drugs. Due to the events of the episode, Cartman immediately dismisses it as propaganda and proceeds to tell his future self that he'll start acting even ''worse'' just to spite him. The instant Cartman walks away, the future Cartman transforms into a poor, fat slob.

* In ''Series/{{Charmed}}'' (episode 2 season 2), the sisters travel 10 years to their future selves for a day, and Prue finds herself the super rich owner of numerous big successful auction houses over the word. [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] because they change that future from happening, and later made impossible because of [[spoiler:Prue's early death]].

** Although, the original futures they viewed for themselves (before they screw it up) are this trope played straight: Jimmy's won the Nobel Prize in ''every'' category, Carl's a professional llama breeder whose llamas can ''breathe underwater'' and ''talk'', and Sheen's a fashion model so popular that (according to Jimmy) it's headline news whenever he ''changes his socks''.
* The ''CodenameKidsNextDoor'' DistantFinale (with {{Flashback}}s) revealed that Number 4 -- BookDumb during the present, his stupidity a constant RunningGag -- graduated from ''Harvard'' with honors and became a doctor. And {{The Ditz}}y {{Cloudcuckoolander}} Number 3 ([[spoiler:whom he married]]) Took over the Rainbow Monkey corporation and became a successful businesswoman.
* Done twice with the {{player character}} in ''GrimFandango''. First, Manny arrives in the port town of Rubacava and takes a job sweeping up in a nightclub, which he owns a year later. Then he leaves and begins washing decks on a ship. After another year, he's the ship's captain.
* Rayne from ''LeastICouldDo'' witnesses a great future for himself during a hallucination - he takes over the company after Marcy, has a mansion shaped like Minas Tirith, lives with his favorite niece, still has all his friends, and grows a beard worthy of SeanConnery. It's a justifiable exaggeration as it's his fantasy.
* In ''MeetTheRobinsons'', HeartwarmingOrphan and [[BunglingInventor unsuccessful inventor]] Lewis actually travels to the future, which has become a Utopian place thanks to the inventions of scientific genius Cornelius Robinson. Later we find out that [[spoiler:Cornelius is actually Lewis' future self.]]
* The title characters of ''PhineasAndFerb'' don't actually meet their counterparts when they go twenty years into the future, because Phineas is in Sweden "for the awards ceremony" while Ferb is at Camp David. Given what the pair can accomplish in an afternoon, [[JustifiedTrope this is hardly surprising.]]

* One episode of ''BoyMeetsWorld'' had a FlashForward to seven years in the future in which Jack has become a "captain of industry" despite the fact that he would only be 27 or 28 at that point. However, this sequence is not canon and is implied to be an extended ImagineSpot in Eric's head.

In extreme cases the character, who has barely started out a particular path before the time skip is at the very pinnacle of their profession when we rejoin him four years later. Compare AlternateUniverseReedRichardsIsAwesome. It can be [[JustifiedTrope justified]] if the future self was using TimeTravelForFunAndProfit.[[redirect:HomePage]]

In extreme cases the character, who has barely started out a particular path before the time skip is at the very pinnacle of their profession when we rejoin him four years later. Compare AlternateUniverseReedRichardsIsAwesome. It can be [[JustifiedTrope justified]] if the future self was using TimeTravelForFunAndProfit.

* In ''{{Charmed}}'' (episode 2 season 2), the sisters travel 10 years to their future selves for a day, and Prue finds herself the super rich owner of numerous big successful auction houses over the word. [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] because they change that future from happening, and later made impossible because of [[spoiler:Prue's early death]].

* [[DoctorWho The Doctor]] and Amy bring Vincent Van Gogh to the present to show him that his paintings are extremely popular, not to mention extremely expensive. [[spoiler: unfortunately it doesn't prevent his suicide (and might have actually exacerbated it since it might've been caused by visions of The Doctor's death)]]

* Ben of ''{{Ben 10}}'' runs into two version of his future self, Ben 10,000, from different timelines, one in the original series and one in ''Ben10UltimateAlien''. Both versions have a BadassBeard, are quite buff and good-looking, respected as heroes throughout the universe and can wield their shape-changing devices to their full potential. Justified in that Ben is already working towards achieving such a future even before meeting his future self.

* One episode of ''BoyMeetsWorld'' had a FlashForward to seven years in the future in which Jack has become a "captain of industry" despite the fact that he would only be 27 or 28 at that point. However, this sequence is not canon and is implied to be an extended ImagineSpot in Eric's head.

* The title characters of ''PhineasAndFerb'' don't actually meet their counterparts when they go twenty years into the future, because Phineas is in Sweden "for [[AwardSnub the awards ceremony]]" while Ferb is at Camp David. Given what the pair can accomplish in an afternoon, [[JustifiedTrope this is hardly surprising.]]

* The title characters of ''PhineasAndFerb'' don't actually meet their counterparts when they go twenty years into the future, because Phineas is in Sweden "for the awards ceremony" while Ferb is at Camp David. Given what the pair can accomplish in an afternoon, [[JustifiedTrope this is hardly surprising.]]

* Accidentally subverted by Cartman himself in ''SouthPark''. A successful and healthy future Cartman told present Cartman he can achieve greatness if he go on diet and stay out of drugs. Present dismiss it as a lie from an organization with actors pretending to be children of the future with terrible future. Cartman told his future self that he would continue to be unhealthy and may do drugs. Future Cartman becomes a poor fat slob as a result of this.

** Also, [[AsianAirhead Stacy]] is President of Uruguay. Interestingly, WordOfGod says they came up with an explanation for how this happened when somebody at the studio asked them about it, but didn't reveal what.

* Ben of ''{{Ben 10}}'' runs into two version of his future self, Ben 10,000, from different timelines, one in the original series and one in Ben10UltimateAlien. Both versions have a BadassBeard, are quite buff and good-looking, respected as heroes throughout the universe and can wield their shape-changing devices to their full potential. Justified in that Ben is already working towards achieving such a future even before meeting his future self.

* Ben of ''{{Ben10}}'' runs into two version of his future self, Ben 10,000, from different timelines, one in the original series and one in Ben10UltimateAlien. Both versions have a BadassBeard, are quite buff and good-looking, respected as heroes throughout the universe and can wield their shape-changing devices to their full potential. Justified in that Ben is already working towards achieving such a future even before meeting his future self.

Contrast FutureMeScaresMe

* Ben of {{Ben10}} runs into two version of his future self, Ben 10,000, from different timelines, one in the original series and one in Ben10UltimateAlien. Both versions have a BadassBeard, are quite buff and good-looking, respected as heroes throughout the universe and can wield their shape-changing devices to their full potential. Justified in that Ben is already working towards achieving such a future even before meeting his future self.

* Dawson Leary of ''[=~Dawson's Creek~=]'' is the creator of a hit television series based on his life by the age of twenty-four or twenty-five.

* Lisa Simpson was President of the US at the age of 38 in a glimpse of the future in ''TheSimpsons''. Ok, she is a genius, but that is still five years younger than Kennedy, the youngest person ever elected President, and he was a war hero. Lisa is also an unmarried, vegetarian Buddhist. She must have had one heck of a campaign manager... Then again, it's mentioned in the same episode that she is the first ''heterosexual'' female President.

* Kind of approached from the other direction in Discworld/NightWatch. Vimes, a happily married man awaiting the birth of his first child, an alcoholic who has very successfully quit drinking, one of the richest people in Ankh-Morpork, a duke, at the top of his profession and one of the most powerful people in the city, goes back in time thirty years, meets his eighteen-year-old self and realises what an idiot he was.

* Similarly, in "A Sitch in Time", ''KimPossible'' villain Shego has taken over the entire world at the ripe young age of about thirty-five (I think?). At that point, she and Danny are both ridiculously successful--though not, you know, in a good way.
** She's about 25 in the present, and I think the BadFuture was around twenty years later.

* In ''{{Charmed}}'' episode 2 season 2, the sisters travel 10 years to their future selves for a day, and Prue finds herself the super rich owner of numerous big successful auction houses over the word. [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] because they change that future from happening, and later made impossible because of [[spoiler:Prue's early death]].

* Done twice in ''GrimFandango''. First as you arrive in the port town of Rubacava and are the owner of a successful nightclub a year later, and then again as you begin washing decks on a ship and a year later are the ship's captain.
* [[LeastICouldDo Rayne]] witnesses a great future for himself (he takes over the company after Marcy, has a mansion shaped like Minas Tirith, lives with his favorite niece, still has all his friends, and grows a beard worthy of Sean Connery) during a hallucination. Justified in that he's making most of it up himself.

* The title characters of ''PhineasAndFerb'' don't actually meet their counterparts when they go twenty years into the future, because Phineas is in Sweden "for the awards ceremony" while Ferb is at Camp David. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] because [[BeyondTheImpossible they're Phineas and Ferb]], after all.

* Brooke Davis of ''OneTreeHill'' has become a millionare leader in the fashion world by four years after graduating high school. She runs her ultra successful clothing line, magazine and tv channel at the ripe old age of twenty two.

* Accidently subverted by Cartman himself in South Park. A successful and healthy future Cartman told present Cartman he can achieve greatness if he go on diet and stay out of drugs. Present dismiss it as a lie from an organization with actors pretending to be children of the future with terrible future. Cartman told his future self that he would continue to be unhealthy and may do drugs. Future Cartman becomes a poor fat slob as a result of this.

In extreme cases the character, who has barely started out a particular path before the time skip is at the very pinnacle of their profession when we rejoin him four years later. Compare AlternateUniverseReedRichardsIsAwesome.

* The ''CodenameKidsNextDoor'' DistantFinale (with {{Flashback}}s) revealed that Number 4 -- BookDumb during the present, his stupidity a constant RunningGag -- graduated from ''Harvard'' with honors and became a doctor. And {{The Ditz}}y {{Cloudcuckoolander}} Number 3 ([[spoiler:whom he married]])? Took over the Rainbow Monkey corporation and became a successful businesswoman.

* In ''{{Charmed}}'' episode 2 season 2, the sisters travel 10 years to their future selves for a day, and Prudence finds herself the super rich owner of numerous big successful auction houses over the word.

* In ''MeetTheRobinsons'', HeartwarmingOrphan and [[BunglingInventor unsuccessful inventor]] Lewis actually travels to the future, which has become a Utopian place thanks to the inventions of scientific genius Cornelius Robinson. Later we find out that [[spoiler:Cornelius is actually Lewis' future self.]]

* [[LeastICouldDo Rayne]] witnesses a great future for himself (he takes over the company after Marcy, has a mansion shaped like Minas Tirith, lives with his favorite niece, still has all his friends, and grows a beard worthy of Sean Connery) during a hallucination. Justified in that he's making most of it up himself.

* Done twice in ''GrimFandango''. First as you arrive in the port town of Rubacava and are the owner of a successful nightclub a year later, and then again as you begin washing decks on a ship and a year later are the ship's captain.

* Lisa Simpson was President of the US at the age of 38 in a glimpse of the future in ''TheSimpsons''. Ok, she is a genius, but that is still five years younger than Kennedy, the youngest person ever elected President, and he was a war hero. Lisa is also an unmarried, vegetarian Buddhist. She must have had one heck of a campaign manager...
** ...then again, it's mentioned in the same episode that she is the first ''heterosexual'' female President. SoYeah.