History Main / HelpYourselfInTheFuture

* At the end of ''VideoGame/SakuraWars2019'', [[spoiler:Sakura Amamiya is sent 10 years back in time along with Seijuro Kamiyama to meet up with her mother, Hinata. Moments later, Sakura ends up rescuing her 7-year-old self from the demon attack as shown in the ActionPrologue]].

* ''Comicbook/{{Flash}}'':

--->'''Barry:''' Electricity always travels in a circuit... and lightning can strike twice in the same place. Oh, boy... can it ever.
* Inverted in ''[[ComicBook/IncredibleHulk Incredible Hulk: Future Imperfect]]'', in which the present Hulk is summoned to the future to ''kill'' his future self, the Maestro.

* One Franchise/{{Archie|Comics}} comic has Arch reminisce about almost running away from home, except a mysterious man stopped him. He goes to the past on a magical bicycle and guess who the mysterious man was?

* ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsDreamDropDistance'': [[spoiler:Xehanort took advantage of his body-less state as a Heartless to slip into the past and recruit his own boyhood self for his latest scheme involving Sora and Riku's journey through dreams. And it doesn't stop there; Young Xehanort was tasked with gathering other Xehanorts from across time; the end result was TWELVE Xehanorts, including the final bosses of the first two proper games, all gathering to fulfill the present Xehanort's desire for "thirteen Seekers of Darkness"... with Sora as the thirteenth and final vessel. Yen Sid's jaw dropped when he realized what Xehanort was capable of pulling off.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'': David Xanatos, Chessmaster and {{Fiction 500}} CorruptCorporateExecutive, comes from a very poor family, but he received a rare and valuable medieval coin from an AnonymousBenefactor on his 18th birthday, which was the seed money for the corporate empire. His father Petros is still the same humble fisherman he was when David was a child, and is contemptuous of David's fortune having come from absolutely nowhere in the form of that coin. At his own wedding, David -- and several other characters -- are thrown back in time to medieval times, where he obtains a coin... and then uses his Illuminati contacts to ensure that it'll be sent to him anonymously on his 18th birthday. He also [[WriteBackToTheFuture wrote a second letter, to be delivered to himself a week before his wedding]], explaining just where that coin came from and [[StableTimeLoop what he had to do to ensure that it happened again.]] When David gloats that he is in effect a "SelfMadeMan", his father points out that David sent a rather lengthy letter along with that coin -- [[TimeTravelForFunAndProfit future investment advice]] - meaning he's even ''more'' of a lazy cheat than Petros originally thought he was.

** This is the plot of [[Recap/DoctorWhoS10E1TheThreeDoctors "The Three Doctors"]]. The Time Lords decide the Doctor is the only one who can save Gallifrey, and they decide to send someone to help him: himself (his second incarnation).

* At the end of ''VideoGame/ShinSakuraWars'', [[spoiler:Sakura Amamiya is sent 10 years back in time along with Seijuro Kamiyama to meet up with her mother, Hinata. Moments later, Sakura ends up rescuing her 7-year-old self from the demon attack as shown in the ActionPrologue]].

Bob is sent to the future or past to help 'someone important'. When he arrives there, he finds that the person he has to help is [[MyFutureSelfAndMe him]]. After all, who else could Bob trust?

The type of 'help' given varies. It may be a rescue, it may be assisting in a battle, it may just be going back in time to tell yourself "Do NOT drink the punch!" This often plays out in reverse too, the hero is helped by an AnonymousBenefactor who he or she later realizes was [[TimeTravelTenseTrouble (or will be, or had been-- gah!)]] themselves all along.

[[folder:Advertising]]
* Coke Zero presents: [[https://youtu.be/iM4ko9iF8cI The Do Over]]
[[/folder]]

* In the ''AudioPlay/BigFinishDoctorWho'' audio "Day of the Master", [[spoiler:the incarnation of the Master portrayed by Eric Roberts (the "Deathworm Master") assists his future selves, in the form of the War Master and Missy, in stopping the Ravenous, a race of beings who apparently evolved to 'eat' Time Lords. When the crisis is concluded, the "Deathworm Master" also joins the other two Masters in restoring his ability to regenerate, resurrecting a version of himself from shortly in the future of the "Deathworm Master", at a point when he has regressed back to the "Burnt Master" incarnation]].

[[folder:Films -- Animation]]

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]

** At the end of "Deep Breath", Clara is still having difficulty accepting the new Twelfth Doctor... Until the Eleventh calls her from the past. He helps her come to terms with losing him, while at the same time helping her understand that she ''hasn't'' lost him. He's still right there in front of her, at least as frightened as she is and needing her friendship more than ever.
* In the [[Series/KamenRiderDenO Den-O Trilogy: Episode Yellow]], [[Series/KamenRiderDecade Kamen Rider Diend]] travels back in time to correct a [[PhantomThief theft]] gone sour. In the process he runs into his past self, and after a brief confrontation they work together to fight off an enemy before past-Diend takes the stolen object and sneaks off with it. Present-Diend remarks to himself "Just what I'd expect from the past me."

[[folder:Web Comics]]

** Done with [[spoiler:Sarda and the Onion Kid]]

-->'''Thief:''' Well, I deserve this.

* Done with Dave and Future Dave in ''Webcomic/{{Narbonic}}''. Be sure to fill up the swimming pool!
* [[https://cheezburger.com/8422780672/solved-that-issue%23%23 This]] installment of ''Webcomic/ToonHole'' shows how this can backfire.

* In the Literature/{{Discworld}} novel ''Discworld/NightWatch'', Sam Vimes gets sent into the past and ends up assuming the identity of his mentor, Sergeant John Keel, and in turn gives advice to his younger self. This isn't fulfilling a StableTimeLoop, though, the [[TimePolice History Monks]] explain that it's more a "parallel history" - Vimes really was trained by Keel, except the accident that sent him back in time also sent a serial killer with him who murdered the real Keel, so now Vimes has to make a "good enough" timeline to connect the past he remembers to the future he's trying to return to. When he does, it's hinted that Vetinari knows that Vimes was Keel, because [[MagnificentBastard of course he would.]]
* Tiffany Aching is aided by her older self in ''Discworld/IShallWearMidnight''. Slightly subverted however in that she tells her younger self that each iteration is slightly different.

* Coke Zero presents: The Do Over

* The ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'' special ''WesternAnimation/EgoTrip'' features Dexter traveling to the future and assisting his future selves in battle against Mandark and ''his'' future selves.

[[folder:Films -- Animated]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV ]]

[[quoteright:350:[[Webcomic/ToonHole http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/future_me.jpg]]]]

->'''Kevyn Andreyasn:''' Hey, when you want something done right, do it yourself.
->'''Captain Kevyn Andreyasn:''' And if that's not enough, go back in time and tell yourself to try it again.

* Done in ''Webcomic/EightBitTheater'', with [[spoiler:Sarda and the Onion Kid]]
** And [[InvertedTrope Inverted]] with [[spoiler:Thief]] who stole [[spoiler:his class change]] from his own future self. While paying so little attention to the situation his future self will be in at the time that not only does he not realize it's a situation where he ''really needs'' the powers granted to him by [[spoiler:his class change,]] but his future self doesn't realize he's about to get [[spoiler:his class change]] stolen.

* {{Manga/Doraemon}} Movie #3 & #34, ''The Haunts of Evil'': [[Main/SmallSecludedWorld Bauwan's]] prophecy has it that 10 foreigners would come and solve the land's greatest crisis. However, the main protagonists count is only 5. [[spoiler:The rest turns out to be their future selves brought by Shizuka, using Doraemon's Loaning Phone gadget by promising that after defeating the BigBad and going home, they'd go back in time and return to support themselves.]]

* Inverted in ''ComicBook/FinalCrisis : Legion of Three Worlds''; the character of Superboy-Prime is currently tearing through the greatest heroes of the thirty-first century, with the distant aid of a future version of himself who has become the recurring foe the Time Trapper. However, when the heroes lure the Time Trapper from his realm outside Time to the era where Superboy-Prime is currently tearing through their allies, Superboy-Prime's arrogance and anger cause him to attack his future self, this attack destroying the Time Trapper while the accompanying temporal rift sends Superboy-Prime back to his own Earth.

* In [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5213946/1/It_Never_Works It Never Works]], Alphonse goes back in time to stop Ed from attempting to get Al's body back (and therefore saving Ed's life). [[spoiler:It [[YouCantFightFate doesn't work]].]]
* In ''Fanfic/KyonBigDamnHero'', Kyon's future self sends him helpful texts, but is consistently [[FutureMeScaresMe rude and derogatory toward him]]. Of course, that's only because his past self [[IHatePastMe is incompetent]].

* In ''Film/{{Zathura}}'', the Astronaut turns out to be the [[spoiler:older brother]], brought back by the titular board game. He tries to keep his younger self from wishing his brother didn't exist, which got him in that mess in the first place.

* This is the whole plot of ''Film/TheKid2000'', where through unexplained means, Bruce Willis' character, Russ, finds his ten-year-old self in his house. Naturally, they don't get along at first, but they both end up helping each other. [[spoiler:Then it turns out both were being helped by Russ's future self.]]
* This is the villain's plan in ''Film/MenInBlack3'': Boris the Animal steals a time machine and goes back to the 1960's to help himself with his mission to prevent a powerful defensive shield from being deployed around the Earth.

* Vimes assumes the identity of his mentor, John Keel, in the Literature/{{Discworld}} novel ''Discworld/NightWatch''. The novel implies that a parallel history has been created (That is, the Vimes that went back in time was mentored by the real John Keel). Back in the present, Vetinari further confuses the matter by revealing he knows John Keel was really Vimes.
** IIRC, this is because the History Monks (whose job it is, of course, to see that history actually happens) worked it to combine the two time lines into the prime time line, so that Young Vimes was trained both by Keel, and by his elder self posing as Keel, with Vimes' only responsibility being to ensure that the new timeline ends up in basically the same position as the history he remembers.

* ''Literature/TheTimeTravelersWife'': The grown-up main character teaches his younger self to pick locks and steal wallets.
** [[TimeParadox Ontological Paradox!!!]]
* Creator/RobertAHeinlein ''loves'' this trope, though his protagonists sometimes have [[UnwantedAssistance such a warped definition of "help"]] that it probably qualifies as an inversion. (See: ''Literature/AllYouZombies''.)
* One Creator/SpiderRobinson story involves a researcher trying to invent time-travel; when her duplicate shows up, she assumes it's this trope. [[spoiler:It's actually her resentful [[SeparatedAtBirth previously-unknown twin]], intending to screw up her sister's happy life.]]

* ''Literature/AwakeInTheNightLand'' has a variation of it. One of the heroes, Powell, has to team up with several reincarnations of himself, from different ages of the history.

* Inverted in the ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' background: Traveling through the Warp occasionally ends up in getting out before you left. This was demonstrated by an Ork Waaaagh, who ran into each other as the first was preparing to go into the Warp. Despite realizing he was essentially fighting himself, the warboss attacks anyway, as he wished to have two sets of his favorite gun, killing his past self. In the resulting confusion, the Waaaagh loses steam and disbands.

* [[VideoGame/NoTimeToExplain "I am you from the future. There's"]] '''[[TitleDrop No Time To Explain]]''', [[MindScrew follow me to the- OH CHRIST]]!!!

* ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsDreamDropDistance'': [[spoiler:Xehanort took advantage of his body-less state as a Heartless to slip into the past and recruit his own boyhood self for his latest scheme involving Sora and Riku's journey through dreams. And it doesn't stop there; Young Xehanort was tasked with gathering other Xehanorts from across time; the end result was TWELVE Xehanorts, including the final bosses of the first two proper games, all gathering to fulfill the present Xehanort's desire for "thirteen Seekers of Darkness"... with Sora as the thirteenth and final vessel. Yen Sid's jaw dropped when he realized what Xehanort was capable of pulling off.]]
* In two quests from the Bronze Dragonflight in ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'', you Help Yourself. In the first, A 'Future You' is brought to help defend the Hourglass of Eternity. In the second, You help you from the past fight off the Infinite, who are after you from the past because you helped the you from the future...
** Also, both time-displaced 'you's are ''dicks''. The Future version makes comments such as, "I fought like this? No wonder I turned to drinking..." while the Past one makes fun of your equipment.
*** Not to mention that both 'you's are ''IDIOTS''. Future/Past Hunter? MELEE. Future/Past Druid? Melee in unshifted caster form!

* In ''Li'l Mell'', Sergio purposely travels back in time to influence his own childhood development. However, since he lives in a universe where changing the timestream leaves his memories intact, he doesn't actually have any memories of the mysterious substitute teacher who took an interest in him as a child.
* Done with Dave and Future Dave in ''Webcomic/{{Narbonic}}''. Be sure to fill up the swimming pool!

* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/StaticShock'', Static "accidentally" travels to [[WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond the future]] and is roped into rescuing one of Earth's greatest heroes (it's none other than [[FutureBadass Static]]).
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'' movie ''WesternAnimation/ChannelChasers'', Older Timmy comes back in time to help stop Vicky before she takes over the world. He doesn't remember his fairies, but is far more mature, and imparts some wisdom to himself.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'': David Xanatos, Chessmaster and {{Fiction 500}} CorruptCorporateExecutive, comes from a very poor family, but he received a rare and valuable medieval coin from an AnonymousBenefactor on his 18th birthday, which was the seed money for the corporate empire. His father Petros is still the same humble fisherman he was when David was a child, and is contemptuous of David's fortune having come from absolutely nowhere in the form of that coin. At his own wedding, David -- and several other characters -- are thrown back in time to medieval times, where he obtains a coin... and then uses his Illuminati contacts to ensure that it'll be sent to him anonymously on his 18th birthday. He also [[WriteBackToTheFuture wrote a second letter, to be delivered to himself a week before his wedding]], explaining just where that coin came from and [[StableTimeLoop what he had to do to ensure that it happened again.]] When David gloats that he is in effect a "SelfMadeMan", his father points out that David sent a rather lengthy letter along with that coin -- [[TimeTravelForFunAndProfit future investment advice]] - meaning he's even ''more'' of a lazy cheat than Petros originally thought he was.
* The Planeteers of ''WesternAnimation/{{Captain Planet|and the Planeteers}}'' do this one pretty straight in one of their episode.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Sealab 2021}}'': Parodied in "Lost in Time", in which Quinn and Stormy are repeatedly sent back in time by a freak explosion, repeatedly try (and fail) to warn their past selves about the danger, and repeatedly get thrown in the brig.
* The [[WesternAnimation/StarTrekTheAnimatedSeries Star Trek animated episode]] "Yesteryear" involves Spock realizing that his "distant cousin" that helped him in the past was, in fact, himself.
** In a subversion of the trope, however, he fails to accomplish everything he remembers his "distant cousin" doing, leading to a 'present' that's slightly worse than he remembers it. [[spoiler:His childhood pet is fatally injured in the attack he saved himself from.]]
* The ''WesternAnimation/DarkwingDuck'' episode 'Paraducks' leaves us with the implication that Darkwing was his own inspiration to become a superhero.
* The ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'' special "Ego Trip" features Dexter travelling to the future and assisting his future selves in battle against Mandark and his future selves.

[[folder: Anime and Manga ]]

[[folder:Comics]]

* In ''Comicbook/{{Flash}}'', Wally West mentioned a mysterious figure who gave him some wise advice shortly before he gained his powers (he briefly suspects it was Max Mercury, master of speedsters). In the zero issue, he bounces back through his own history, eventually finding himself at that very time and place. For a second he thinks the mysterious figure hasn't shown up, then he realises.

--->'''Barry''': Electricity always travels in a circuit...and lightning can strike twice in the same place. Oh, boy...can it ever.
*** [[ComicBook/FinalCrisis He got better.]]

[[folder: Fan Fic ]]

[[folder:Film]]

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

[[folder: Video Games ]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]

* This created the StableTimeLoop that eventually led to the 'Surreptious Machinations' arc of ''Webcomic/GeneralProtectionFault''. BadFuture Empress Trudy first communicates anonymously with her past self to help set up her world conquest, and eventually just drops all pretense, traveling back in time to give her younger self step-by-step instructions on how to become empress.

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'': David Xanatos, Chessmaster and {{Fiction 500}} CorruptCorporateExecutive, comes from a very poor family, but he received a rare and valuable medieval coin from an AnonymousBenefactor on his 18th birthday, which was the seed money for the corporate empire. His father Petros is still the same humble fisherman he was when David was a child, and is contemptuous of David's fortune having come from absolutely nowhere in the form of that coin. At his own wedding, David -- and several other characters -- are thrown back in time to medieval times, where he obtains a coin... and then uses his Illuminati contacts to ensure that it'll be sent to him anonymously on his 18th birthday. He also [[WriteBackToTheFuture wrote a second letter, to be delivered to himself a week before his wedding]], explaining just where that coin came from and [[StableTimeLoop what he had to do to ensure that it happened again.]] When David gloats that he is in effect a "SelfMadeMan", his father points out that David sent a rather lengthy letter along with that coin - [[TimeTravelForFunAndProfit future investment advice]] - meaning he's even ''more'' of a lazy cheat than Petros originally thought he was.

* The plot of the gay film ''Judas Kiss'' involves a failed filmmaker, Zach, reluctantly returning to his old college to fill in as a student film competition judge. Once there he finds out that one of the competing students is himself, and he's forced to help them both resolve their issues [[spoiler:with their abusive dad]]. This being a time travel film involving gay men, though, that's not [[ScrewYourself all that happens]]. [[spoiler:Then it turns out both were being helped by Zach's future self.]]

* This is the whole plot of ''Film/TheKid2000'', where through unexplained means, Bruce Willis' character, Russ, finds his ten-year-old self in his house. Naturally, they don't get along at first, but they both end up helping each other. [[spoiler:Then it turns out both were being helped by Russ' future self.]]

* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/StaticShock'', Static "accidentally" travels to the future and is roped into rescuing one of Earth's greatest heroes (it's none other than [[FutureBadass Static]]).

* ''Series/{{Smallville}}'': In "Homecoming", Clark travels forward several years to the Daily Planet, and meets with his future self (who at this point is already Superman). Future Clark then tells him to go to the roof to save Lois while he prevents a nuclear reactor meltdown accross town. The catch here was that Future Clark [[StableTimeLoop was already expecting his past self, because he himself had already gone through it.]]