The passage of time

Discuss chronologies for characters in the main "Marvel Universe"

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AlexEvangeli
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The passage of time

Post by AlexEvangeli »

Does this site do any thing in regards to the AMOUNT of time that passes across Marvel issues.

I am for instance trying to deduce how much actual time passed in between the end of the flashbacks in One Moment in Time (when Mary Jane left Peter whilst he was at the hospital with Aunt May) and when we actually see the Post-OMD Spider-Man universe at the end of ASM #545 and #546.
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Col_Fury
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Re: The passage of time

Post by Col_Fury »

Paul Bourcier's Marvel Calendar explores this very concept! It's been a while since it was updated, but it does cover this period.

The link is at the bottom of every page of the forums, in the menu of links. It's "The Marvel Calendar" in the second to last line, on the right.
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Somebody
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Re: The passage of time

Post by Somebody »

Of course, the core problem with Marvel Time is that it, quite literally, doesn't add up. The rule of thumb is that it's been 12-15 years since F4 (v1) #1, and characters' aging and references to long periods of time passing (five years between 70s clone saga and 90s Clone Saga, etc) roughly reflects this. But if you start adding up individual time references, you either get far too long a time period or - worse - different characters experiencing different amounts of time between any given events...

(And this is before you start considering how many Xmases they get a year. Or the annual US Presidential Elections!)
AlexEvangeli
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Re: The passage of time

Post by AlexEvangeli »

Somebody wrote:Of course, the core problem with Marvel Time is that it, quite literally, doesn't add up. The rule of thumb is that it's been 12-15 years since F4 (v1) #1, and characters' aging and references to long periods of time passing (five years between 70s clone saga and 90s Clone Saga, etc) roughly reflects this. But if you start adding up individual time references, you either get far too long a time period or - worse - different characters experiencing different amounts of time between any given events...

(And this is before you start considering how many Xmases they get a year. Or the annual US Presidential Elections!)
On a tangent to the topic at hand, I tend to compartmentalize and simply look at if not individual character's timelines then franchise timelines.

E.g. for Spider-Man how long he's been around depends upon how strictly you adhere to the idea he was 15 years old in AF #15. That was a retcon though it adds up if you accept A LOT of time passed in those early Ditko issues...or else you ignore a caption or two in them.

In general though at least 15 years would've passed for him since AF #15 if you accept the idea he was 15.

As for seasonal issues, I usually discount them barring some exceptions. I like to think there is some kind of in-universe explanation for this, although unless I am mistaken taking Spider-Man's chronology in isolation he does experience the correct number of Christmases until you hit the mid-1990s.

Somehow Mary Jane gave birth in her third trimester of pregnancy on Halloween in October and yet we saw the Spider books go through a Christmas not too long before hand so that was the longest pregnancy on record apparently
AlexEvangeli
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Re: The passage of time

Post by AlexEvangeli »

Part of my questioning of this time period comes from the fact that ASM Family #4 (?) sees Harry Osborn announced as alive and well and ASM #545 depicts his welcome home party. One would presume the events happen relatively close together and yet the former depicts Peter and Aunt May living at Betty Brant's apartment whilst in ASM #545 Harry Osborn has rebuilt May's Forest Hills homestead...I'm no home owner but...how quickly can you realistically rebuild a whole house, even with all the money you'd need?
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