POLL: What’s the Best Time Travel Story in Pop Culture?

Time travel refers to the hypothetical/theoretical concept of traveling into the past or future from the present. Prevalent in philosophy and fiction, it can often be achieved through devices and machines or magic and spells. Many creators have taken the concept for a spin, writing television series and films considering the ramifications or benefits of achieving time travel. Even genres outside of sci-fi and fantasy deal in non-linear narratives, futuristic concepts, and the deep desire of humans to escape their present circumstances.

The film Sliding Doors, for instance, posits potential parallel realities. The Butterfly Effect suggests a single small decision can cause ripples across time, altering the fate of ourselves and others. Time travel constantly calls into question causality, perception of time itself, special and general relativity, and more. So with such a large and exciting sandbox to play in, of course humans are always inventing new ways to sneak it into their stories. But which piece of media in pop culture did it best?

Browse our list below, fill in the poll, then keep reading for more!

• Back to the Future
• Tenet
• The Terminator
• Death Stranding
• Avengers: Endgame
• Star Trek: TOS, “City on the Edge of Forever”
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
• Attack on Titan
• DC’s Flashpoint
• Outlander
• Star Wars: Ahsoka™
• Doctor Who, “Vincent and the Doctor”

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Back to the Future

Forty years after its release, Back to the Future remains one of the most beloved time travel stories. The film follows Marty McFly. This young and somewhat bumbling student is thrown headfirst into Doc Brown’s scientific schemes. More importantly, BTTF gives us so many futuristic staples, including hoverboards and flying cars. Fans everywhere love driving DeLoreans to showcase their love for the franchise, and you can’t walk more than five feet at a comic con without hearing “Great Scott!”

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Tenet

All fictional time travel usually involves some sort of loose scientific explanation. Yet Christopher Nolan’s Tenet introduces a wholly new and unique concept. “Inversion” is a type of temporal radiation which affects objects and people alike. Events occur simultaneously, yet one version of the inverted item is moving forward while the other is moving backward. Cause and effect reverse. Combined with the international espionage, a fresh-faced Protagonist, and intense action sequences, this type of time travel makes for a riveting film experience.

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The Terminator

Back in the 1980s, sci-fi really had something special. Set in both 2029 and 1984, The Terminator follows a cybernetic assassin sent back to alter the events that lead to his creator’s defeat. Skynet’s superior androids boast healing factors, combat skills, and artificial human appearances. Action-packed and iconic, this film showcases high stakes (nuclear Armageddon) as well as genuinely touching emotional moments with Final Girl Sarah Connor.

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Death Stranding

Everything about Death Stranding is complex. This genre-blending, mind-melting video game loves to confound its players with brand new types of horror and extremely unreliable narrators. Additionally, Death Stranding features multiple time traveling aspects in the form of different realms and travel through tar. Sam Bridges encounters both his father and an old rival in military-inspired sequences. Plus, Sam’s own daughter appears as two different characters, disappearing in her past as baby Lou to emerge as the teenager Tomorrow.

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Avengers: Endgame

Super hero stories love to use time travel to create plot points and solve problems. One of the most famous pop culture examples includes a blockbuster Marvel movie. In Avengers: Endgame, the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes reverse their defeat at the hands of the Mad Titan Thanos through sheer shenanigans. That’s what got us the iconic Captain America versus Endgame Cap fight — as well as Ant-Man’s much-quoted line about America’s, um, assets.

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Star Trek, “City on the Edge of Forever”

The Enterprise Crew experiences their fair share of time travel shenanigans across all iterations of Star Trek. Yet none are so poignant as season 1, episode 28, in which Dr. McCoy accidentally alters the course of history. Thrust into Depression-era NYC, Kirk and Spock must figure out how to reverse the damage or accept the complete absence of the Federation. Achingly romantic, intelligently written, and undeniably tragic, it is still one of the most critically acclaimed Trek episodes ever.

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Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Hermione Granger’s Time Turner is a fascinating and powerful magical artifact. Not to be abused or misused, the Time Turner’s primary function in Harry Potter is for Hermione to attend multiple classes at once. Good on her for making the most of her education. But when Buckbeak the Hippogriff is sentenced to death and Sirius Black is captured, Harry and Hermione use her Time Turner in order to retract their steps and set things right. Three turns should do it!

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Attack on Titan

In this anime’s intriguing take on time travel, the traveling itself mostly takes place within characters’ minds. Eren Yeager, the main character in Attack on Titan, possesses the Attack Titan. Intelligent and powerful, the Attack Titan displays extraordinary battle abilities. But it can also see into the past and future, connecting all the memories of every single Attack Titan before and after itself. And in a mystic realm called The Paths, the former and future Titans can communicate as well as “walk” through one another’s histories.

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DC Flashpoint

If you had the option and the opportunity to save your doomed parent, would you take it? Barry Allen does. In DC’s critically acclaimed Flashpoint arc, The Flash uses his super speed to time travel back to the night of his mom’s murder. When he wakes up the next day, Nora and Henry are alive, but everything’s different. Super heroes are basically nonexistent, while the Flash’s greatest enemy is his city’s greatest hero. The consequences of Barry’s seemingly selfish act — and the moral dilemma surrounding it — make Flashpoint one of the greatest crossover events to date.

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Outlander

Romance and time travel are a complicated pair. But it sure makes for some heart-wrenching, sweeping storytelling. In Outlander, Claire accidentally gets transported from her post-WWII time period to 1743 Scotland. There, she must navigate her burgeoning love for Jamie Fraser while also fighting for her rights as a woman. As the seasons progress, the non-linear narrative lends itself to intrigue, mystery, and delicious misunderstandings. Plus, it’s cool to see strong “modern” feminism interjected into a less-than-stellar point in history.

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World Between Worlds (Star Wars)

Just like AoT above, the “time travel” in Star Wars™ is more metaphysical. Characters must traverse the World Between Worlds, a fantastical manifestation of the living Force. Ahsoka Tano and Ezra Bridger are especially adapt at traveling these paths. Ahsoka even uses the World Between Worlds to reconnect with Anakin Skywalker after his fall to the dark side. Appearing in both Rebels™ and Ahsoka™, this fascinating Force realm is an excellent tool for the franchise.

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Doctor Who, “Vincent and the Doctor”

Don’t think we’d forget the most timey-wimey series of them all! Although every single episode of Doctor Who revolves around time travel, we have to give a special shout-out to season 5, episode 10. Exploring the intersection of monsters and mental illness, the plot gives us a peek at a fictional version of a famous painter. But he was not famous or loved in his own time. Thankfully, the Doctor shows Van Gogh how his paintings continue to impact millions in one of the most tear-jerking scenes from all of Doctor Who.

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What, in your opinion, are the greatest time travel stories? Did we forget your favorite? Share your picks at side.show/geekgroup or in the Sideshow Social Network. And as always, don’t forget to Let Your Geek Sideshow!