Hypertime is afictional concept inDC Comics which first appeared in the 1999The Kingdom limited series.[1][2] It is a variation of themultiverse concept that existed in DC Comics before 1985'sCrisis on Infinite Earths limited series and was created byMark Waid andGrant Morrison.[3][4]
Hypertime, described inThe Kingdom #2 as "the vast interconnected web of parallel time-lines which comprise all reality", was an attempt by Waid to resolve the various tangled continuity issues that were supposed to have been solved byCrisis on Infinite Earths. Keith Dallas and Jason Sacks wrote: "Through Hypertime, Waid sought to resolve the contradictions in DC's continuity once and for all. Indeed, Hypertime allows for contradictions because anything that didn't make sense can be attributed to overlapping timelines".[5]
Separately, in philosophy, hypertime (orsupertime) is a concept proposed as part of themoving spotlight theory of time.[6][7]
Hypertime is a network of alternate timelines that branch off from theDC Universe. These timelines sometimes overlap with each other, causing alterations in reality. Characters can cross from one timeline to another if needed.[8] It has been analogized to a river network that branches out and then runs 'up stream' to feed back into itself before splitting off again.[2][9]
Hypertime has been used as a device to explaincontinuity errors. Some fans welcomed the idea as an explanation for earlier continuity errors. while others criticized it for being a license to create more narrative problems.[5]
The Hypertime concept was first introduced inThe Kingdom, Mark Waid's sequel toKingdom Come, and exists within the larger multiverse used withinDC Comics publications.[2][3][4][10]
Waid stated that "the possibilities are endless. Hypertime is an unashamed reaction to nearly 15 years of comics being made 'more realistic', less 'larger than life'. As far as we're concerned, DC Comics shouldn't be about rules and regulations and 'can't happen's and 'shouldn't be's; they should be about anything and everything that tells a good story and gets fans excited".[9]
WhenSuperboy-Prime fractures reality from the pocket universe he is residing in, images of the world ofKingdom Come includingGog fromThe Kingdom limited series appears while doing so, showing that Superboy-Prime's actions created Hypertime.[11]
Mister Mind, disguised asSkeets, refers toWaverider as "the seer of Hypertime".[12]
An olderBooster Gold, while explaining his duties to his sonRip Hunter, mentions the concept of Hypertime.[13]
Hypertime is used to explain the formation and alteration of the 52 universes formed at the end of52.[14]
Hypertime has been mentioned several times in the Prime Earth continuity.[15][16]
Hypertime is presented as one of two halves of the Divine Continuum, the other half being the Omniverse. The Omniverse represents Space, while Hypertime represents Time. Where the Omniverse is fundamentally conceptual in nature, Hypertime is characterized as being emotional, with branches happening whenever decisions of great importance take place. Previous Crises are classified as being either Omniverse Crises (Crisis on Infinite Earths,Infinite Crisis,Final Crisis,The Multiversity,Dark Nights: Metal, andDark Crisis) or Hypertime Crises (Zero Hour,The Kingdom,Flashpoint,Convergence, andDoomsday Clock).[17]
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