As much as character and plot play an important role in any storytelling, one of the biggest assets to any story is the setting. Some stories are set in their own universe that may be different from ours. Some of these universes may be called Earth but they are definitely not set on our Earth in our reality.

How many times have you read a book or saw a movie that took you to a far-off land that you wanted to actually visit or live in? I admit that as a kid reading comics, I wanted to know what it was like living in the gritty streets of Gotham where a big bat signal can shine in the sky.

Not a lot of genres count on creating universes as much as science fiction. Lands where there are witches and warlocks, superheroes, space adventures, and monsters. From anime to live-action there are thousands of universes created through literature and movies.

For our purposes, we have listed 7 different universes that would be cool to visit if they were real.

Land of Oz Universe

Originally introduced in the children’s novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in 1900, the Oz universe was shown to everyone in the 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz. In L. Frank Baum’s story of good witches, bad witches, talking scarecrows, and flying houses, what kid did not want to follow the yellow brick road? There are more stories about the land of Oz other than the popular movie and from the little we saw from the movie exploring this land would be awesome.

The Matrix Universe

Ok, so in this alternate future that the Wachowskis created in 2003 may not have looked that great if you were not in the matrix, but if you were in then imagine being able to make tremendous superhuman feats. This fascinating concept tells a story of machines having our minds locked within a computer program where we are being controlled and used as human batteries. Flying through the air and dodging bullets may have been just in your consciousness but how else would you fight machines that wanted to dominate you?

Harry Potter Universe

The Harry Potter Universe is split into two different sections. You either live in the Wizardly World or the Muggle World. In J.K. Rowling’s series of books, the magical life in the Wizardly World away from the non-magical in the Muggle World. Of course, if you live in this universe you would want to be in the Wizardly World, and I, of course, imagine myself being a cool loner mysterious eccentric wizard that knows more than most.

Middle-earth Universe

J.R.R. Tolkien’s story of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings takes place in Middle-earth. This is a place where elves, dwarfs, wizards, hobbits, and warriors roam. Mystical prophesies are the things that inspire quests across the land. Org beast and dark things can destroy your body, mind, and soul. For those of you wondering how Dungeons and Dragons did not make that list, it’s because we picked this universe that we prefer. Who would not want to be on a quest fighting Orgs and dragons? My only problem with Middle-earth is running water and bathrooms.

Marvel Universe

Marvel Comics has been around before I was born, and I grew up reading the legendary stories of the heroes of that universe. When my comic book heroes became a cohesive live-action universe I was overjoyed. In a world with heroes and villains, my only desire is to be a hero fighting crime. The Marvel Universe expands itself so that everyday people are an important part of the equation whether you have powers or not. Marvel has always been at the top of the game with associating real life within the comic book world by giving its characters real-life problems and not just making them superheroes but people who would be heroes without powers.

Star Trek Universe

Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek universe was before its time from the start. This universe shows a future where space travel is real not only for us on planet Earth but for other species on other planets also. The United Federation of Planets shows a future where Earth’s people came together to join a union with other planets. Who doesn’t want to live in that world? Who wouldn’t want to live in a world where not only are we unified but we work side by side with other planets to explore and monitor space?

Star Wars Universe

Whereas Star Trek shows a version of Earth’s future with different world species working together, Star Wars is a mystical universe that takes place in “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away”. This is a universe of Jedi vs Sith where you are either with the Republic or the rebels. Space pirates smuggling goods or simple farmers have a place in this universe. I always wanted to be a Jedi. Since I first saw Star Wars, I have been holding out my arms and pushing my mind really hard to make things come to me. I just tried it yesterday and sad to say I am still not a Jedi.

Kenny Walker Jr

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