Military AU

Tropes and genres
Synonym(s)	Modern Military AU, Army AU
Related tropes/genres	Modern AU, Military Kink
See also	Alternate Universe, Canon Divergence, Alternate History, Military-Entertainment Complex
Related articles on Fanlore.

A Military AUs is a type of Alternate Universe that places characters from a different fandoms into a military setting. It usually involves real world countries and/or conflicts, or they explore a fork in the road after a particular event in history, such as Civil War, World Wars I and II and perhaps even the 9/11 attacks.

The amount of divergence from real life events varies from fandom to fandom. In the case of canons with supernatural elements, or superheroes, a military AU often places characters in a world where they don't have access to their magic or powers. An example is Loaded March, a Merthur long fic by footloose.

Popularity

This type of AU seems to be prevalent in fandoms such as Sherlock Holmes and the MCU where one or more of the main characters has served in the Military once, as well as war-centric franchises such as Assassin's Creed. However, this does not limit the use of the trope to fandoms with a related canon past.

As of April 2022, there are 2362 works in the AO3 tag for Alternate Universe: Military. However a lot of authors may choose to only tag the military setting without differentiating between a modern military setting or a historical setting such as World War II.

Authors may choose to focus in military academy or training instead of active war zones.^{[citation needed]}

Criticism

Military-Entertainment Complex and the MCU

A 2019 journal article focusing in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Studies in Popular Culture argued that one method Hollywood used to grow superhero content into mainstream popular culture was to "tie superheroes into the wave of popular support for militarization in post-9/11 America" and that the MCU "embraces a model of 'heroism' that mirrors how the military frames itself for the public, a liberal ideal of the military as an inclusive, supportive pseudo-family that brings out the best in each individual and uses precise, unerring violence only because it is necessary."

Example Fanworks

Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples.

Fanfiction

• Loaded March by footloose. (Merlin). A 1,261,720 words epic spanning 16 parts that follows Captain Arthur Pendragon and the best team of specialists that the SAS has ever seen, but when his superiors assign Lieutenant Merlin Emrys as his communications officer, Arthur does everything to make him feel unwelcome. As the plot unravels, what seemed as a sexually charged army work evolves to span Intelligence Agencies and the end of the world. (05 August 2011 — 05 September 2015)

Archives & Resources

• Alternate Universe - Military tag on the Ao3