Board Thread:Policies/@comment-61022-20161101184807

With an US election just days away it shouldn't come as any surprise that whoever becomes the next President of the United States is likely going to make on panel appearances in future Marvel Comics.

I thought this would be a great time to remind everyone that the Earth-616 universe operates on a Sliding Timescale. As a direct result of this virtually all real world people who appear in the comics are considered topical references.

What Are Topical References?

A topical reference is a reference to a person, place, or event that was current at the time the story was published but -- over the passage of time -- is now dated and would prematurely age the heroes of the Marvel Universe.

The opposite of this are factual references, that are references that remain true no matter how much time passes in the Marvel Universe.

What This Means To You

As such, even if it's a comic book published on November 9, 2016 and features whoever is the new president, that should be considered a topical reference because it will eventually become a dated reference. As such you should be writing your edits in such a manner that, once a reference becomes dated, we don't have to go back and edit it to clarify that it is a topical reference.

Where Do Topical References Come Into Play?

This applies to any events that take place in the Modern Age or in the immediate past. The modern age is every "present day" event that happened from onward.

"Immediate Past" refers to the lifetime of characters who appear in the Modern Age prior to. As the Sliding Timescale pushes the "Modern Age" forward, so does the immediate past of these characters.

For example: anything that happened from the moment Peter Parker was born up until what he was doing in is also subject to the Sliding Timescale, and as such all references must be measured as either factual or topical.

This applies to everyone that is connected to his life.

This of course doesn't necessary apply to characters who are time displaced, come from alternate realities, or came from one era and is now active in the Modern Age (Captain America being the best example)

Why This IS Important

Because without uniformity, uninformed readers will just get confused or not understand how the Sliding Timescale or Topical References in the Marvel Universe works. If they decide to edit something on the Wiki incorrectly it just adds a problem that needs to be fixed.

What's the Policy?

Our editorial policy is such that we try to match a similar writing style as the Marvel Handbooks whenever possible. If you crack open any handbook and read a profile that references a real life person -- for example the President of the United States -- you will note that they are never mentioned by name. That's because whoever is depicted as the President in that comic, they are a topical reference.

This rule applies to all celebrities, politicians, current events ("current" meaning it was current at the time of publication), or anything that can be considered dated after a reasonable passage of time are considered topical references.

Exceptions

The only exception when it comes to Marvel creators (like Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Chris Claremont etc.) who appear in comics. In the Earth-616 universe these creators exist in the modern age in their relative prime and (like in the case of Jack Kirby) not dead.

Please read the glossary entry on topical references and the sliding timescale so you can get a better idea of what all that means.

Editing Tips

When writing a summary for anything other than a comic book summary you should never reference characters who are topical references by their actual name, but instead by their title. Instead of "Barack Obama" you use "The President of the United States". Instead of "Benedict XVI" you use "The Pope". Instead of "Michael J. Fox" you use "a famous actor". Instead of the Beatles you use "a popular British rock group".

Character Summaries

Mentioning a Topical Reference

Lets say you are writing adding to the Reed Richards profile. You come across a story that states that Reed Richards fought in World War II. You know this is a topical reference, so how do you identify it?

Well in the body of the summary you generalize the statement. You state that Reed Richards enlisted in the military and fought in a military conflict. In the reference tag, you explain what is specifically stated in the comic book you are referencing and identify it as a topical reference.

Here's an example.

Later on, you discover a time when Reed Richards is talking to the President of the United States. In that story the president is depicted as Richard Nixon. You know this is a topical reference so what do you do? In a similar fashion, in the body of the summary you do not specify which President of the United States that Reed is speaking with. In the reference tag you identify who the president was depicted as and that it is a topical reference.

Here's another example.

Comic Book Summary

If you are writing a comic book summary you can identify a topical appearance by tagging it with that person, however you should use a to identify them as a topical reference like so:. You should also explain the appearance in the Notes section

depicts Richard Nixon as the President of the United States. His appearance in this comic is listed in Other Characters, next to it his name is tagged with. If you look in the Notes section, there is a blurb about how Richard Nixon's appearance here is a topical reference.

Topical and Factual Reference Cross-Over</H3>

Because Modern Age publications started in 1961 there are actually characters that appeared in early comics whose appearances would be considered topical references, whereas later stories featuring that character would be considered factual.

The best example, again, are various Presidents of the United States.

Take Richard Nixon for example.

He has appeared in stories that are now considered factual residents when he was president. These were all stories that were published during his presidency between 1969 and 1974. Since these stories happened in the Modern Age, the depictions of Nixon as president are factual.

One of the biggest moments in Nixon's presidential history was the Watergate Scandal. This event has both topical and factual references.

, published in 1974 was a commentary on the Watergate Scandal which revealed the President as the leader of the Secret Empire. Writer Steve Englehardt intended this president to be Richard Nixon. Any reference of the kind should be considered topical.

Whereas, in the year 2000 depicts the Watergate Scandal in a story that takes place in the 1960s. This is a factual reference and should be referenced as such.

However, recently in Deadpool Vol 3, Nixon appears as an undead zombie. These appearances are considered factual because they were published after his death.

Other Universes</H2>

There are many other universes in the Marvel Multiverse that also operate on a Sliding Timescale and therefor are also subject to the same rules regarding Topical References.

Two of the most notable ones are: Earth-1610 - The Ultimate Universe Earth-928 - The MC2 Universe

In most cases, many What If? universes and possible futures should also be considered to operate on Sliding Timescales.

Research Twice, Edit Once

That said, there are many instances where an contributor edits a page and lists a topical reference incorrectly. From comic book summaries to character profiles. For the sake of clarity and uniformity, please be mindful of the Topical Reference rules.

If you ever find yourself questioning if a reference is factual or topical, as your fellow contributors.

I invite anyone who has any further questions or needs help to contact me on my Message Wall

Happy Editing!<ac_metadata title="Did You Know? Topical References" notify_everyone="1478026087"> </ac_metadata>