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* ''Literature/ATwistedTale'' is a series focusing on What If questions for Disney movies, usually about things going wrong for the heroes ([[MeaningfulName hence the name]]) such as WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}} never finding the lamp, or [[WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid1989 Ariel]] never defeating Ursula.
* Older tropers and ones who frequent used bookstores may be aware of a SciFi pulp magazine titled "if: Worlds of Science Fiction".
* Creator/NaomiNovik's ''Literature/{{Temeraire}}'' saga can be best summed up as "The Napoleonic Wars [-[[RecycledInSPACE WITH DRAGONS!]]-]".
* ''Literature/TheTripods'' series of novels by Creator/JohnChristopher are a What If for Creator/HGWells' ''Literature/TheWarOfTheWorlds'': What if the aliens won, and instituted VichyEarth?

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* ''Literature/ATwistedTale'' ''Literature/AnnoDracula'' is a series focusing based on What If questions for Disney movies, usually about things going wrong for the heroes ([[MeaningfulName hence premise "What if Dracula didn't get distracted from his original plans in moving to England in favour of stalking Lucy and Mina?" And also "What if vampires were ''frickin' everywhere''?"
* ''Literature/TheBeginningAfterTheEnd'': [[spoiler:To unlock
the name]]) such as WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}} fourth keystone, Arthur is forced to endure a GroundhogDayLoop by reliving his reincarnation with his PastLifeMemories, both from Earth and from when he entered the keystone, being clouded with every time he fails seeing him sent back to the beginning. In the first loop, he manages to prevent himself from being separated from his family during the fateful bandit ambush while on the way to Xyrus. Among the changes is that Arthur only becomes a dual attribute mage, never finding meets Sylvia nor rescues Tessia (though the lamp, latter [[InSpiteOfANail still ended up becoming]] StudentCouncilPresident of Xyrus Academy), does not develop connections with either the Eraliths or [[WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid1989 Ariel]] Glayders, manages to get Eleanor to awaken early at the cost of Lilia never defeating Ursula.
* Older tropers
awakening, and ones who frequent used bookstores may be aware ultimately becomes much more of a SciFi pulp magazine titled "if: Worlds of Science Fiction".
{{Jerkass}} than he was OTL before meeting his end in the ClassTrip to Widow's Crypt]].
* Creator/NaomiNovik's ''Literature/{{Temeraire}}'' saga Karzahni in the ''Toys/{{Bionicle}} Legends'' books has "What If" as his [[MaskOfPower mask power]]; his mask, called the Kanohi Olisi, can be best summed up give people visions of possible past or future outcomes. He tends to use this as "The Napoleonic Wars [-[[RecycledInSPACE WITH DRAGONS!]]-]".
* ''Literature/TheTripods'' series of novels by Creator/JohnChristopher are
a What If for Creator/HGWells' ''Literature/TheWarOfTheWorlds'': What psychological attack, showing "What if you didn't survive that situation?" or "What if you couldn't save that guy at that crucial moment?" in order to keep his subjects hopeless and subservient. It's rarely pretty... and when it ''is'' pretty, it becomes a LotusEaterMachine. When Jaller's team try to escape from him, they dare him to show what would happen if the aliens won, [[PhysicalGod Great Spirit]] died. When he does so, he finds out that the answer is "the end of the universe," and instituted VichyEarth?that [[SmallSecludedWorld his realm]] is not nearly as important as he likes to think. Realizing that [[IgnorantOfTheirOwnIgnorance he was completely oblivious]] to the world around him causes him to go [[HeroicBSOD BSOD]], giving his prisoners time to flee.



* ''Literature/WorldWar'' by Creator/HarryTurtledove asks "What if UsefulNotes/WorldWarII was interrupted by an AlienInvasion?" His other main series, Literature/Timeline191, is based on the more conventional question, "What if the south won the American Civil War?" while his earlier novel ''Literature/TheGunsOfTheSouth'' poses, [[spoiler: "What if a racist group from South Africa in the near future travelled back in time to supply the Confederacy with AK-47s?"]]

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* ''Literature/WorldWar'' by Creator/HarryTurtledove asks "What if UsefulNotes/WorldWarII was interrupted by an AlienInvasion?" His other main series, Literature/Timeline191, is based on the more conventional question, "What if the south won the American Civil War?" while his earlier novel works:
**
''Literature/TheGunsOfTheSouth'' poses, [[spoiler: "What if a racist group from South Africa in the near future travelled back in time to supply the Confederacy with AK-47s?"]]AK-47s?"]]
** ''Literature/Timeline191'', is based on the more conventional question, "What if the South won the American Civil War?"
** ''Literature/WorldWar'' asks "What if UsefulNotes/WorldWarII was interrupted by an AlienInvasion?"'
* Martin Cruz Smith's ''The Indians Won'' postulates that after gathering together to fight and win the Greasy Grass (Little Big Horn) battle, the Great Plains nations decide not to split up and go home. Instead, they stay together and draw the attention of European investors, who provide them with the supplies they need to withstand Manifest Destiny. This attracts other tribes to join them, at last forming the United Indian Nations. The U.S. is finally forced to capitulate and cede to them what would have become the Midwestern and Great Plains states from Canada to Mexico. So now you have [=EastUSA=] and [=WestUSA=] and a nice big Indian Nation at the center.
* Discussed in the ''Film/IronMan 2'' novelization, where Tony suspects that being brought up by an alcohol-and-rage-fuelled father in Siberia would have caused him to turn out like Ivan Vanko.
* Older tropers and ones who frequent used bookstores may be aware of a SciFi pulp magazine titled "if: Worlds of Science Fiction".
* Creator/NaomiNovik's ''Literature/{{Temeraire}}'' saga can be best summed up as "The Napoleonic Wars [-[[RecycledInSPACE WITH DRAGONS!]]-]".
* ''Literature/TheTripods'' series of novels by Creator/JohnChristopher are a What If for Creator/HGWells' ''Literature/TheWarOfTheWorlds'': What if the aliens won, and instituted VichyEarth?
* ''Literature/ATwistedTale'' is a series focusing on What If questions for Disney movies, usually about things going wrong for the heroes ([[MeaningfulName hence the name]]) such as WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}} never finding the lamp, or [[WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid1989 Ariel]] never defeating Ursula.



* Discussed in the ''Film/IronMan 2'' novelisation, where Tony suspects that being brought up by an alcohol-and-rage-fuelled father in Siberia would have caused him to turn out like Ivan Vanko.



* Martin Cruz Smith's ''The Indians Won'' postulates that after gathering together to fight and win the Greasy Grass (Little Big Horn) battle, the Great Plains nations decide not to split up and go home. Instead, they stay together and draw the attention of European investors, who provide them with the supplies they need to withstand Manifest Destiny. This attracts other tribes to join them, at last forming the United Indian Nations. The U.S. is finally forced to capitulate and cede to them what would have become the Midwestern and Great Plains states from Canada to Mexico. So now you have EastUSA and WestUSA and a nice big Indian Nation at the center.



* ''Literature/AnnoDracula'' is based on the premise "What if Dracula didn't get distracted from his original plans in moving to England in favour of stalking Lucy and Mina?" And also "What if vampires were ''frickin' everywhere''?"
* Karzahni in the ''Toys/{{Bionicle}} Legends'' books has "What If" as his [[MaskOfPower mask power]]; his mask, called the Kanohi Olisi, can give people visions of possible past or future outcomes. He tends to use this as a psychological attack, showing "What if you didn't survive that situation?" or "What if you couldn't save that guy at that crucial moment?" in order to keep his subjects hopeless and subservient. It's rarely pretty... and when it ''is'' pretty, it becomes a LotusEaterMachine. When Jaller's team try to escape from him, they dare him to show what would happen if the [[PhysicalGod Great Spirit]] died. When he does so, he finds out that the answer is "the end of the universe," and that [[SmallSecludedWorld his realm]] is not nearly as important as he likes to think. Realizing that [[IgnorantOfTheirOwnIgnorance he was completely oblivious]] to the world around him causes him to go [[HeroicBSOD BSOD]], giving his prisoners time to flee.

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** Various cases included "What if Gwen Stacy survived", "What if The Punisher received the Venom symbiote" and "What if every member of the Fantastic Four received the same power" to "What if Wolverine ended up in the Conan universe", "What if Aunt May was bitten by the radioactive spider", "What if Galactus was Ben and May's nephew" and, of course, "What if Magneto, Iron Man, Colossus and Dr Doom got stuck in the same elevator"?

to:

** Various cases included "What if Gwen Stacy survived", "What if The Punisher received the Venom symbiote" and "What if every member of the Fantastic Four received the same power" to "What if Wolverine ended up in the Conan ''Franchise/ConanTheBarbarian'' universe", "What if Aunt May was bitten by the radioactive spider", "What if Galactus was Ben and May's nephew" and, of course, "What if Magneto, Iron Man, Colossus and Dr Doom got stuck in the same elevator"?



--> '''What if Black Bolt [[OhCrap got hiccups?]]'''
--> ''[[ForegoneConclusion (cut to a shot of Black Bolt - with hiccups - walking, with a wrecked NY behind him)]]''

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--> '''What if Black Bolt [[OhCrap got hiccups?]]'''
-->
hiccups?]]'''\\
''[[ForegoneConclusion (cut to a shot of Black Bolt - with hiccups - walking, with a wrecked NY behind him)]]''



*** An example of the latter is "[[ComicBook/ThePunisherKillsTheMarvelUniverse What if Punisher killed the Marvel Universe?]]", where not only do Frank Castle's family get killed in the crossfire of a superhero battle, but the roster of heroes involved include those who only became heroes long after the Punisher himself became active. Furthermore, the only reason Frank is able to kill everyone is because he has the backup of a Mysterious Organisation the covertly supplies him with access and weaponry... and yet somehow isn't on the radar of organisations like SHIELD or HYDRA nor characters who specialise on keeping informed like Doctor Doom or Nick Fury. Furthermore, many of the heroes and villains are [[AdaptationalWimp killed off fairly easily]] (like Juggernaut being killed by a nuke alongside the X-Men and the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, despite his powers allowing him to tank even that sort of damage).

to:

*** An example of the latter is "[[ComicBook/ThePunisherKillsTheMarvelUniverse What if Punisher killed the Marvel Universe?]]", where not only do Frank Castle's family get killed in the crossfire of a superhero battle, but the roster of heroes involved include those who only became heroes long after the Punisher himself became active. Furthermore, the only reason Frank is able to kill everyone is because he has the backup of a Mysterious Organisation the mysterious organization that covertly supplies him with access and weaponry... and yet somehow isn't on the radar of organisations organizations like SHIELD or HYDRA nor characters who specialise specialize on keeping informed like Doctor Doom or Nick Fury. Furthermore, many of the heroes and villains are [[AdaptationalWimp killed off fairly easily]] (like Juggernaut being killed by a nuke alongside the X-Men and the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, despite his powers allowing him to tank even that sort of damage).



* Creator/DCComics was doing these type of stories years before Marvel, but they called them "Imaginary Stories." In later years, the name "Imaginary Story" came to viewed as corny, so DC took to calling them "[[{{Elseworld}} Elseworlds]]" stories, instead. The Elseworlds tales more frequently focused on plunking the characters into a different setting, rather than changing a historical incident, but some like Alan Davis's ''ComicBook/TheNail'' do take the classic, well, "for want of a nail" approach.

to:

* Creator/DCComics was doing these type of stories years before Marvel, but they called them "Imaginary Stories." In later years, the name "Imaginary Story" came to viewed as corny, so DC took to calling them "[[{{Elseworld}} Elseworlds]]" "{{Elseworld}}s" stories, instead. The Elseworlds tales more frequently focused on plunking the characters into a different setting, rather than changing a historical incident, but some like Alan Davis's ''ComicBook/TheNail'' do take the classic, well, "for want of a nail" approach.



** ''ComicBook/TalesFromTheDarkMultiverse'' imagines how key events from DC history like ''ComicBook/{{Knightfall}}'', ''ComicBook/TheDeathOfSuperman'', ''ComicBook/BlackestNight'', ''ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis'', ''ComicBook/TheJudasContract'', ''ComicBook/BatmanHush'', ''ComicBook/FlashpointDCComics'', ''ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'' (and in this case, ''ComicBook/LastDaysOfTheJusticeSociety'' by extension), ''ComuicBook/WarOfTheGods'', and ''ComicBook/DarkNightsMetal'' might have turned out. The Dark Multiverse being the manifestation of the fears and hopes of those in the main DC Multiverse, it offers a HandWave for how things change and how they turn out.

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** ''ComicBook/TalesFromTheDarkMultiverse'' imagines how key events from DC history like ''ComicBook/{{Knightfall}}'', ''ComicBook/TheDeathOfSuperman'', ''ComicBook/BlackestNight'', ''ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis'', ''ComicBook/TheJudasContract'', ''ComicBook/BatmanHush'', ''ComicBook/FlashpointDCComics'', ''ComicBook/{{Flashpoint|DCComics}}'', ''ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'' (and in this case, ''ComicBook/LastDaysOfTheJusticeSociety'' by extension), ''ComuicBook/WarOfTheGods'', ''ComicBook/WarOfTheGods'', and ''ComicBook/DarkNightsMetal'' might have turned out. The Dark Multiverse being the manifestation of the fears and hopes of those in the main DC Multiverse, it offers a HandWave for how things change and how they turn out.out.
** The four-issue miniseries ''ComicBook/DeathInTheFamily: Robin Lives!'' explores a reality where Jason Todd survived the bomb that killed him and his mother, and how he deals with the trauma of the Joker beating him with a crowbar.

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* The main plot of ''Film/DonnieDarko'' is essentially a few days of a "What If" scenario for a handful of people, eventually ending by returning where the tangential universe started in the first place and avoiding the "What If".



* ''Film/ItsAWonderfulLife'', "What if I'd never been born?"



* ''Film/YoungEinstein'': What if UsefulNotes/AlbertEinstein had been Tasmanian? And consequently, history as we know it had gone ''totally nuts''.

to:

* ''Film/YoungEinstein'': The main plot of ''Film/DonnieDarko'' is essentially a few days of a "What If" scenario for a handful of people, eventually ending by returning where the tangential universe started in the first place and avoiding the "What If".
* ''Film/{{Hook}}'':
What if UsefulNotes/AlbertEinstein had Peter Pan grew up?
* ''Film/ItsAWonderfulLife'', "What if I'd never
been Tasmanian? And consequently, history born?"
* Two separate ''Franchise/KamenRider'' movies, ''Film/OOODenOAllRidersLetsGoKamenRiders'', the 40th anniversary MilestoneCelebration, and ''Film/SuperHeroTaisenGPKamenRider3'', which revived an idea for a [[CanonImmigrant character]] dropped 40 plus years ago, both depict an [[AlternateTimeline altered history]] where, under different circumstances, the original Series/{{Kamen Rider}}s were defeated and [[LegionOfDoom Shocker]] [[TheBadGuyWins succeeded in taking over the world]]. Of course
as we know it had gone ''totally nuts''.they both involve TimeTravel, characters from ''Series/KamenRiderDenO'' feature in both movies.



* Two separate ''Franchise/KamenRider'' movies, ''Film/OOODenOAllRidersLetsGoKamenRiders'', the 40th anniversary MilestoneCelebration, and ''Film/SuperHeroTaisenGPKamenRider3'', which revived an idea for a [[CanonImmigrant character]] dropped 40 plus years ago, both depict an [[AlternateTimeline altered history]] where, under different circumstances, the original Series/{{Kamen Rider}}s were defeated and [[LegionOfDoom Shocker]] [[TheBadGuyWins succeeded in taking over the world]]. Of course as they both involve TimeTravel, characters from ''Series/KamenRiderDenO'' feature in both movies.


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* ''Film/YoungEinstein'': What if UsefulNotes/AlbertEinstein had been Tasmanian? And consequently, history as we know it had gone ''totally nuts''.
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Trope was cut/disambiguated due to cleanup


--> '''[[MakeMeWannaShout What if Black Bolt]] [[OhCrap got hiccups?]]'''

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--> '''[[MakeMeWannaShout What '''What if Black Bolt]] Bolt [[OhCrap got hiccups?]]'''
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* The famous ''ComicBook/XMen'' crossover "ComicBook/AgeOfApocalypse" is an AlternateUniverse saga that essentially begins with the question "What if Charles Xavier had died before he had a chance to form the X-Men?". The answer? ComicBook/{{Apocalypse}} seizes his chance to strike and conquer most of North America with Mister Sinister as his [[TheDragon Dragon]], knowing that [[DividedWeFall Xavier and Magneto could easily have driven him back with their combined forces]]. Meanwhile, a benevolent Magneto founds the X-Men instead, [[ComicBook/{{Cyclops}} Scott Summers]] and his brother [[ComicBook/{{Havok}} Alex]] grow up as "Prefects" leading Mister Sinister's [[PraetorianGuard elite forces]], [[ComicBook/{{Beast|MarvelComics}} Hank McCoy]] becomes a MadScientist working for Apocalypse, ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} loses his hand and ends up shacking up with ComicBook/JeanGrey, Moira [=MacTaggert=] and Bolivar Trask end up married and serving on a "Human High Council" alongside [[ComicBook/{{Psylocke}} Betsy]] and [[ComicBook/CaptainBritain Brian Braddock]], and Mister Sinister successfully breeds an "Ultimate Mutant" from Scott and Jean's DNA--who grows up as Nate Grey, known as "ComicBook/XMan".

to:

* The famous ''ComicBook/XMen'' crossover "ComicBook/AgeOfApocalypse" is an AlternateUniverse saga that essentially begins with the question "What if Charles Xavier had died before he had a chance to form the X-Men?". The answer? ComicBook/{{Apocalypse}} seizes his chance to strike and conquer most of North America with Mister Sinister as his [[TheDragon Dragon]], knowing that [[DividedWeFall Xavier and Magneto could easily have driven him back with their combined forces]]. Meanwhile, a benevolent Magneto founds the X-Men instead, [[ComicBook/{{Cyclops}} Scott Summers]] and his brother [[ComicBook/{{Havok}} [[Characters/XMen60sMembers Alex]] grow up as "Prefects" leading Mister Sinister's [[PraetorianGuard elite forces]], [[ComicBook/{{Beast|MarvelComics}} Hank McCoy]] becomes a MadScientist working for Apocalypse, ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} loses his hand and ends up shacking up with ComicBook/JeanGrey, Moira [=MacTaggert=] and Bolivar Trask end up married and serving on a "Human High Council" alongside [[ComicBook/{{Psylocke}} Betsy]] and [[ComicBook/CaptainBritain Brian Braddock]], and Mister Sinister successfully breeds an "Ultimate Mutant" from Scott and Jean's DNA--who grows up as Nate Grey, known as "ComicBook/XMan".
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* ''ComicBook/TransformersTwilightsLastGleaming'' asks "What if the Decepticons had won [[Film/{{Transformers}} the Battle of Mission City]]?"

to:

* ''ComicBook/TransformersTwilightsLastGleaming'' asks "What if the Decepticons had won [[Film/{{Transformers}} [[Film/Transformers2007 the Battle of Mission City]]?"

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