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History

Paired with his sister Now, Then was one of the two children of Eternity that dwelled in a false[1] "House of Ideas." While Then personified the past, Now personified the present. The two siblings routinely sought out heroes to strike deals with, heeding the desire of their hearts to have more time for more exploits, though the reason for that varied from person to person. Each hero's story manifested in the form of books, earning more tomes the more stories they had written about them. When a hero made a deal with Now and Then, their earned time would manifest as more pages for their books. Their visit to the "House" would also make it so they would retain no memory of Now and Then's intervention.[2]

After Loki discovered a stagnant life ahead of him when he read The Books of Loki in the Halls of All-Knowing at Omnipotence City, Now and Then lured him to the "House of Ideas" and offered him to expand his library of future adventures,[3] also gaining the ability to make "untold" stories reality by virtue of telling them. Loki accepted, and after winning a chess match against Then, signed a deal, being granted his wish. Loki's books would be rewritten with a hero's stories, in exchange for a promised eventual hero's death.[2]

Notes

Trivia

  • Among the people that have struck a deal with Now and Then is Thor, out of necessity, so his lifetime could contain all the heroic feats he was prophesied to perform; Spider-Man, out of his sense of responsibility, desiring more time to sacrifice himself to save everyone; and Wolverine, in order to have more time to be punished.[2]

See Also

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References

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