Fixed Points in Time

[Jeff of Earth-J]

As I was watching Queen Elizabeth's funeral procession, my thoughts drifted to her "Silver Jubilee" celebration (February 6, 1977) as depicted in Captain Britain #39 (week ending July 6, 1977).

That got me thinking about contemporary events tied to specific dates as depicted in comic books. In long-running superhero "universes" time is often depicted on a sliding scale, but I'm thinking of events that cannot be changed without altering a significant point of the story. I'm not looking for flashbacks or "historical" stories written long-after the event; no "Pearl Harbor" in Invaders or "D-Day" in Sgt. Fury. Here are a few that occurred to me off the top of my head.

Nov. 9, 1965 - New York City Blackout - Strange Tales #160-161

July 20, 1969 - Moon Landing - Fantastic Four #98

July 4, 1976 - American Bicentennial - Captain America #200

Feb. 6, 1977 - Queen Elizabeth's Silver Jubilee - Captain Britain #39

July 28, 1984 - Opening Ceremonies, Olympic Games - Jon Sable, Freelance #18

Sep. 11, 2001 - World Trade Center - Amazing Spider-Man #36

Jan. 20, 2009 - President Obama's Inauguration - Amazing Spider-Man #583

Can you think of any others?

Most of the stories above were written after the fact. A notable exception is "Deadly Games" (Jon Sable #17-18) which was written to coincide with the opening ceremonies of the 1984 Olympic games. (#17 was released in June and #18 in July of that year.) It was tricky for Mike Grell to coordinate because the identity of the runner who lit the torch was concealed until the ceremony itself. (It was Rafer Johnson, BTW.) 

[The Baron]

Sometime between January 15, 1977 - May 26, 1979 - John Belushi and Bill Murray both regulars on Saturday Night Live - Marvel Team-Up #74

[Jeff of Earth-J]

There are a lot of instances in which Presidents of the United States appear, but I'm not counting those. there was a Peter David-written Hulk comic book in which the Champions appear in flashback. Someone mentioned President Clinton, and Hercules says, "I thought the President was named Carter...?" 

[ClarkKent_DC]

Marvel Team-Up #79. A caption on the splash page tells us it takes place on "Friday, 22 December, 1978. It's the winter solstice, the longest night of the year."

Coincidentally, that is the very day I bought this comic, and I was shocked when I cracked it open and read that.

[ClarkKent_DC]

This isn't what you asked for ("I'm not looking for flashbacks or "historical" stories written long-after the event; no "Pearl Harbor" in Invaders or "D-Day" in Sgt. Fury") but I can't pass up mentioning it:

The Battle of Dunkirk, May 26 to June 4, 1940. As noted elsewhere, in Our Army at War #197 (September 1968), Sgt. Rock and the Combat-Happy Joes of Easy Company take part in the proceedings, somehow, even though the United States didn't enter the war until December 1941.

[ClarkKent_DC]

The Baron said:

Sometime between January 15, 1977 - May 26, 1979 - John Belushi and Bill Murray both regulars on Saturday Night Live - Marvel Team-Up #74

In that vein, there's The Avengers #239 (October 1983), in which the team are the guests on Late Night with David Letterman.

[ClarkKent_DC]

January 20, 2009 -- President Obama's first inauguration, featured in the backup story in Amazing Spider-Man #583, "Spidey Meets the President" (March 2009) and frequently re-printed in various formats since.

[Jeff of Earth-J]

"A caption on the splash page tells us it takes place on 'Friday, 22 December, 1978.'"

Although that is a specific date, I would consider it semi-fixed. On the sliding scale of "Marvel Time," last could easily be retconned to "the last solstice" or "a solstice a couple of years ago." Similarly, Strange Tales #180 opens on New Year's Eve and, although the year is not specified, we can assume December 31, 1968 (according to Roy Thomas). Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty #1 is set on July 4, 1999 (a date nearly a year in the future at the time of publication). The reason I didn't count those but did include Captain America #200 is that the climax of the "Madbomb" story took place not only on July 4, but on America's Bicentennial. 

[Jeff of Earth-J]

"President Obama's first inauguration..."

That's a "fixed point in time."

[Richard Willis]

Most of the stories above were written after the fact. A notable exception is "Deadly Games" (Jon Sable #17-18) which was written to coincide with the opening ceremonies of the 1984 Olympic games. (#17 was released in June and #18 in July of that year.)

All of the other events in your original post would have required a crystal ball to do them ahead of time. It was unlikely (in pre-COVID times) that the Olympics would be cancelled or postponed.

Here’s an example of rolling the dice on an upcoming event. I follow the Funky Winkerbean comic strip. In 2021 it had some of its characters attend (in person) the San Diego Comic-Con. As many of you know, both the 2020 and 2021 San Diego Cons were virtual only.

[Peter Wrexham]

The Authority has a very precisely fixed point in time that I've quoted elsewhere:

Jenny Sparks, dying at midnight on 31st December 1999:  "I'm the spirit of the twentieth century.  A hundred-year-long defense mechanism.  Twentieth century's over."

Swift:  "No, it's not.  The twentieth century doesn't click over til 2001, anyone with half an education knows that --"

Jenny:  "Don't blame me.  Blame the planet that counts it.  Consensus reality.  Entire bloody century's been run by the fish-head majority."

[Jeff of Earth-J]

...and as I responded elsewhere...

Jeff of Earth-J said:

SIGH.

[Jeff of Earth-J]

"It was unlikely (in pre-COVID times) that the Olympics would be cancelled or postponed."

Yet there was always the threat of terrorism (which was the threat behind "Deadly Games") and the series itself has its origins in the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich.

"All of the other events in your original post would have required a crystal ball to do them ahead of time."

Don't think Mike Grell couldn't have used a crystal ball himself. Although only the hands and legs of the final runner were shown, they were drawn and as a white man's (although that error has been corrected in reprints).