I've been wondering lately about the Iron Legacy timeline.
The main question is how the time cataclysm affected everyone involved, as it could have some potentially huge repercussisons in terms of character development. Theres a huge difference in seeing events unfold and living them, and the events of the IL encounter were grim and difficult on the heroes physically and mentally. Indeed, some of them lost their lives in the process. The members of the F6 are ragged, world-weary, and have gone through hell.
that being said, here's the question: Did it all really happen?
Did Tachyon, during the time cataclysm, actually experience the events that turned her into TL tachyon? Did she just see them, or hear about them from her older self? Did she live a lifetime (and a painful one at that) during the cataclysm, and then go back to normal after it was over? If she did live out the events leading up to Iron Legacy's rise and fall, did she (and all the other heroes) carry those memories afterwards?
This is especially interesting when considering Iron Legacy himself. Did he witness his possible future, or did he actually experience all of that loss and madness? Was there a small, self-aware part of himself that railed against the deeds he committed? If he actually lived those events, how did it change him afterwards? How did it change the team's perception of him?
I think the timelines all happen independently of one another, so the Tachyon we all know and love doesn't become Team Leader Tachyon, TLT is in an alternate timeline that could've happened to regular Tachyon but didn't, and the reverse is also true.
This is almost exactly the question I was going to ask Christopher when he was in the UK this weekend.
As far as I can work out both timelines happened, it is a multiverse after all. However something else is mucking around in the multiverse, making it possible for the Iron Legacy timeline to invade our own timeline (His justification is bringing justice everywhere), the big question is when, before or after Legacy dies in our timeline?
If it's after then at first it's a joyous reunion for some people that quickly goes sour, it it's before then does Legacy get to see what could happen in his own future, and if so now he knows it's coming does he try to prevent both his death and his daughter's at the hands of Blade or does he go into the situation knowing he will die but content in the knowledge that his death prevents Pauline's?
EDIT: Is this why he has grey hair in Tatics, he managed to prevent both futures and still lives?
I don't have any answers, so asking Christopher is still an awesome idea. Watch out for smoke bombs.
The problem that I have is the Visionary. she comes from a/the Iron Legacy timeline, which she perceives as the future- and considering that her younger self is present in the "current" timeline, this would imply that there is some degree of time travel as well as cross-dimensional travel involved.
Now, Legacy could certainly die in the Tactics storyline, but maybe he does dodge his fate and live.
Or a more sobering thought- maybe Pauline doesn't survive, but having lived through the emotions and turmoil of being Iron Legacy, he manages to keep going and will fight the good fight as the Last Legacy.
It all depends on the theory the makers ascribe to as far as how alternate possible realities work.
It appears to be like Nielzabub since they are crossing into alternate lines and Greatest Legacy gets to met Pauline (or at least has the chance to).
How it all effects them after the shattering is repaired is another bag of worms. For Finest Legacy to see his Dad again, as well as himself turned evil, it could be some very interesting changes.
I think we were just getting a glimps of one of the more interesting timelines of the multiverse. There is a massive event that is starting to blurr the lines between them, but I am not so sure to what extent they interacted with eachother. Its hard to say.
An interesting note is that the original Vanessa Long (who jumped into our timeline) seems to originally be from the IL timeline (or at least one of them that produce IL) since it says she fought with the Freedom 6 before she made the time jump.
We know Tactics is 5 years after the card game. If Legacy is still alive then (and BB), then this entire situation will happen after the Tactics storyline. However, Legacy's incap side doesn't have any gray hair. So either Legacy decided to dye his hair before a big battle, or that version happened before Tactics (or another theory I can't think of). We also know that the card game will be an entire story, so I think we will get an entire story before Tactics takes place, not waiting for Tactics to see what happens in the middle.
When I say fixed, I didn't mean that the timelines will be sperate again. I think something will "fix" the entire situation and create a single new timeline where both Legacy and Young Legacy are still alive.
Or that our main timeline has changed so much due to all the other stuff that none of them may die like they were supposed to. We have no idea how the canon timeline will actually play out. We just know of different outcomes that could happen and do happen in other timelines.
Visionary is from 17 years into the future, i'm not so sure the card game is telling a 17 year story. I agree we will be getting an entire story, however I don't think that story is the death of Legacy. However we get to see a glimpse of what will come 5-17 years into the future, thanks to the Time Cataclysm. Plus hasn't Christopher previously said that Legacy was always intended to die in the main timeline?
Thats my thoughts. Just because it is confirmed he dies in a timeline, maybe even a few, does not nessesarily that the cannon timeline will end up going in that direction. With all the time jumping shenanigans, the main timeline was no doubt altered. The presence of Dark Visionary in the main timeline (or just Visionary in general) already hints that the main timeline has already been thrown off. Not to mention the presence of Gpop Legacy. Who knows, maybe gpop will end up taking the final bullet instead of Paul or Paulina. That would be interesting. Why else bring Gpop into the story at this time?
However, the presence of Visionary is what possibly changes the main timeline from being the same as the Iron legacy Timline. Plus he isn't confirmed in just any time line, it is confirmed in this timeline.
"This timeline" could mean any number of things though. Its an unclear pronoun reference. It really could refer specifically to any of the timelines, but just explaining that in that one in particular IL becomes a thing.
This Timeline is a tricky idea in any game involving time travel, but esp. in a game where we have at least 2 timelines having characters and stories and interaction with each other. Even knowing that Pauline dies to the Baron could be enough to cause both Legacies to be cau;tious and change the future. Again without knowing just how they view timelines and their creation that statement could have been true, but after the Cataclysm no longer true.
And we also must take into account the "fixed point" in time. I have used BioShock Infinate as a parrallel to the fixed point idea. There is a point in time that is identical in all of the timelines, at least that is what is implied.