EARTH PRIME

'Earth Prime' (or 'Earth-Prime') is a term sometimes used in works of speculative fiction involving parallel universes or a multiverse, and refers either to the universe containing "our" Earth, or to a parallel world with a bare minimum of divergence points from Earth as we know it.

Contents

DC Comics

Sliders

The Dark Tower

DC Comics

In the original DC Multiverse, Earth-Prime is the home of DC Comics and its staff. This Earth is very similar to the "real" Earth, with a very similar history. On Earth-Prime, the writers of DC Comics unconsciously base their stories on the adventures of the heroes on Earth-One and Earth-Two. Earth-Prime's first appearance is in ''Flash'' #179 (May, 1968), when the Flash (Barry Allen) accidentally travels there from Earth-One. The Flash, stranded, contacts DC Comics editor Julius Schwartz, who helps him construct a cosmic treadmill to return to Earth One.
In ''Flash'' #228 (July/Aug 1974), Earth Prime's Cary Bates travels to Earth-One, where he discovers that the stories he writes are not only based on events on Earth-One, but can actually influence these events as well. This power turns for the worse in ''Justice League of America'' #123 (October 1975), when Bates is accidentally transported to Earth-Two. The interdimensional trip temporarily turns Bates into a supervillain, and he quickly kills the Justice Society of America. Luckily fellow DC writer Elliot S! Maggin, with the help of the Justice League and the Spectre, is able to restore matters on both Earths (in ''Justice League of America'' #124 (November, 1975).
Earth-Prime's history significantly deviates from "real" Earth's history with the advent of two superheroes. The first, Ultraa, is introduced in ''Justice League of America'' #153. Like Superman, Ultraa is the sole survivor of a destroyed alien world, rocketed to Earth-Prime as a baby. After his first encounter with the Justice League, Ultraa decides Earth-Prime is not ready for superheroes and relocates to Earth-One. Post-Crisis, Ultraa is retconned into being from the planet Almerac, homeworld of Maxima.
The second superhero is Superboy-Prime, who first appears in ''DC Comics Presents'' #87 (Nov. 1985). This Superboy's powers first manifest around the time of the passage of Halley's Comet in 1985. Superboy-Prime meets Earth-One's Superman just prior to the events of the Crisis on Infinite Earths. Earth-Prime is destroyed is subsequently destroyed in ''Crisis on Infinite Earths'' #10. Superboy-Prime escapes his universe's destruction, and later joins Earth-Two's Superman, Lois Lane Kent, and Alexander Luthor in a "paradise dimension."
In issue #6 of the ''Infinite Crisis'' mini-series, a now villainous Superboy-Prime convinces Alexander Luthor that Earth-Prime was the ideal world and urges him to draw his inspiration for making a new Earth from Earth-Prime. Luthor begins searching through the myriad Earths for Earth-Prime and turns toward the readers, reaching out towards them and Earth-Prime.
In 2004, DC revisited the Earth-Prime concept in the miniseries ''. Writer Kurt Busiek states in the introdution to the collected volume of the series that the original appearance of Superboy-Prime was the inspiration for his graphic novel.

Sliders

Earth Prime, as used in the television show Sliders, is the name of the alternate Earth where the four original sliders (Quinn Mallory, Wade Welles, Rembrandt Brown, and Maximillian Arturo) started their journey. This Earth was very similar to our Earth until 1997 or 1998, when the Kromaggs slid onto Earth Prime and took humanity hostage.

The Dark Tower

Much of the action in the last few books of Stephen King's Dark Tower series takes place in "the keystone world", essentially the Earth Prime concept under a different name, complete with appearances by King himself as a character.
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