Alternate Universe

Not to be confused with an Alternate Timeline, a different series of events in history.

An Alternate Universe, also called a Parallel Universe, is a world in which the same characters and locations appear, but the setting — let it be time period or overall condition of the world or just the most recurring location — is altered in some way. An Alternate Universe may be a tool employed by the writers that allows them to tell the franchise's story in a new world without having to reboot their franchise. This tool is the UnTrash Alt Universe Storytelling.