I’ve always been fascinated by the fan theory known as the Tommy Westphall Universe. First proposed by Keith Gow and Ash Crowe in 1999, the theory posits that, through crossovers and cameos, 419 TV shows exist within a shared fictional universe (see a visualization of the universe in fig. 1). At the center of the theory is the show St. Elsewhere (1982–1988) and a character from the show, Tommy Westphall (Chad Allen), a child on the spectrum who, it is revealed, has dreamed the entirety of the events depicted in the series. St. Elsewhere featured numerous crossover plots and cameos, leaving Gow and Crowe to wonder, might US TV history simply be a figment of Tommy Westphall’s imagination?
Recently, William Careri of Nightingale: Journal of the Data Visualization Society created an updated representation, now with over 550 US shows (Fig. 2).
Well, I wonder whether the same sort of theory might be created for the history of media franchises. Perhaps the best candidate for a franchise story premise which can “contain” the worlds of numerous franchises is the now well-trodden notion of the multiverse–either Marvel’s or DC’s (DC first launched its multiverse decades ago).
A multiverse, as I’ve claimed elsewhere on this site, is just a form of universal storytelling done a little differently. Both multiverses and universes are comprised of crossover plotlines. How the crossovers are achieved differs in each case; but crossovers–where the plot of one ongoing series feeds into a different one, ideally affecting both–is what this narrative form ultimately comes down to.
As I continue to study the James Bond franchise across media, I’ve come to realize that Bond has made numerous cameos–mostly unauthorized ones–in film, literary, comic, and game media released by other franchises, sometimes in parodies. A fan theory might be developed on the basis of these cameos–how many other franchise worlds does the Bond world feed into?
The Marvel multiverse is certainly one of them. Recently I was reading through a useful source for the Bondophile, Alan J. Porter’s James Bond: The History of the Illustrated 007 (2009), and he mentions at one point that James Bond makes two appearances in Marvel’s Strange Tales anthology series (original published, on and off, between 1951 and 1987). So I decided to look them up!
The first appearance is in #162 of Strange Tales, released on 10 November 1967. (You can read a full plot summary of the issue here.) In a nutshell, S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Sidney Levine (aka, The Gaff) equips Nick Fury with a new car, a Ferrari 330/P4 Berlinetta, which is completely invisible (fig. 3).
The scene hooks into the Bond world in a few ways. First, it anticipates a moment in 2002’s Die Another Day (see clip below) when Q (John Cleese) supplies Bond (Pierce Brosnan) with an Aston Martin V12 Vanquish, which also has the power to disappear from view. (The Vanquish reappears, as it were, in the Brosnan era video games, including 2004’s James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing.)
But that’s just a loose connection between Marvel and Bond. More crucial is what happens next. In response to a compliment from Fury, Gaff appears to suggest that he knows James Bond. In fact, he looks forward to the moment when the British agent learns of his new invisible car technology (fig. 4).
This passing reference turns into a cameo appearance–delicately handled to avoid copyright infringement–in #164 of Strange Tales, released on 10 January 1968 (full plot summary here). Nick Fury is transported to the S.H.I.E.L.D. barbershop headquarters–a hidden base of operations in Midtown Manhattan. Just as Fury is transported, a spy with a smart appearance arrives at the barbershop door, only to be turned away (fig. 5).
Looking a lot like Sean Connery–sporting a bow tie, with a cigarette dangling from his right hand–the figure undoubtedly recalls the British super-spy. Though an ally to US intelligence agencies, even Bond can’t gain access to S.H.I.E.L.D.’s secret base on this occasion!
Later in the same issue, we come across a more oblique reference to the Bond storyworld. Fury opts to use his recently acquired transparent car for his current mission, but he needs an additional technological boost. So he slips on his special “spectre-suit” (fig. 6)–a name pulled directly from Bond fiction (SPECTRE is the crime syndicate Bond feuds with throughout the film and literary series).
Now that we know that Bond is a part of the Marvel multiverse, where else can we find him? In how many other franchise worlds does Bond appear–via cameos and crossovers?
Moving Patterns 