Splinter timeline

Look there's the splinters.

A splinter timeline is a universal stream that has split off from a pre-existing universal stream. In these cases, the originating continuity can look like a tree, with tiny branches signifying distinct and unreconcilable storyline directions.

Sometimes, such divergent timelines are referred to as quantum realities. The theory states that anything that can happen, does happen somewhere in the multiverse.

Whether all splinter timelines are unstable or volatile is a subject open to debate.

Due to the laws of quantum uncertainty, whole new branch universes are spawned every moment. However, most of these universes are dead ends that exist only for seconds to minutes at most and then subsequently collapse.

Fiction

Generation 1 continuity family

Generation 1 cartoon continuity

Deviations

In one quantum reality, Optimus Prime survived the events of 2005. Deviations

See also

• Continuity, for an out-of-universe discussion of this phenomenon