World Trade Center in popular culture

The World Trade Center has been featured in numerous films, as well as made appearances in many television shows, cartoons, comic books, and computer/video games.

Movies

Most notable appearances

The 1988 film, "Working Girl", was filmed at 7 World Trade Center. The 1993 World Trade Center bombing forced director Brian De Palma to film scenes of "Carlito's Way" at Grand Central Station, instead of filming at the World Trade Center PATH station as originally planned. [cite web |url=http://www.briandepalma.net/collab/Pankow.htm |title=Interview with Bill Pankow |publisher=Brian de Palma |accessdate=2007-04-12]

Other 1971–2001 appearances

The World Trade Center appeared in nearly any film or television shot of downtown Manhattan, since the buildings were an integral part of the skyline.

Computer and video games

*The 2007 computer game World in Conflict, set in 1989, revolves around the story that USSR did not collapse and the Cold War continued longer than in reality. The towers are visible in the background of the 10th mission, in which the player attempts to repel Russian Spetsnaz commandos from Liberty, Ellis and Governor's islands in an attempt to Invade the United States through New York City. The Towers are also prominently visible in one of the Trailers showcasing the invasion to show the location and time.

* "" (2001), by Activision, depicted the tops of the Twin Towers as part of the final stage, with the large radio antenna as a crucial piece to defeat the final boss, Hyper-Electro. After the 9/11 attack, the game was pulled and re-released, changing two stage titles and modifying the final stage to add a large bridge to it.cite news |title=Game makers blot out signs of WTC tragedy |publisher=The Hollywood Reporter |date=September 19, 2001]

* In response to the events of September 11th, Microsoft announced that future versions of "Microsoft Flight Simulator" would not include the Twin Towers in the game's New York City skyline. A patch was also made available to remove the WTC buildings from the existing versions of the simulator.

* ' (2001) and ' (2002) feature a major plot on a ship going down the Hudson River, depicting the World Trade Center. The building was apparently cut from the game, delaying both games' releases.

*"Max Payne", features the World Trade Center in several billboards, and in some of the graphic novel cut scenes. They are visible in the PC version of the game, however, they are not visible in the Playstation 2 version of the game, which was released after the terrorist attacks.

* Shortly after the attacks, the now defunct Westwood Studios pulled all remaining copies of the 2000 real-time strategy game "", whose box contained artwork of New York City under attack by invading Soviet forces; notable buildings depicted under attack included the World Trade Center and the Statue of Liberty. The single player campaign of the game also contains a pair of missions in which the player was instructed to destroy The Pentagon and capture the World Trade Center as well as being able to destroy it. Westwood retooled the box art before re-releasing the game.

*The 1991 Arcade game "King of Monsters" features monsters fighting in different Destructible cities. Among them is New York City, where the Twin Towers can be Destroyed, even thrown at your enemy.

* "Streets of Rage", a game released in 1991 on the Sega Genesis features the Twin Towers in the background of the final boss battle, which apparently, occurs in World Trade Center 3 (otherwise known as the Vista Marriott). The towers can also be seen in Streets of Rage 2, in the second level, glowing in the background.

* The 1994 action game "Urban Strike", the third in the "Strike" series, features the scene of a giant laser deflecting from a satellite and hitting the World Trade Center's Twin Towers, thus marking the start of Mission 7, in which the player must accomplish three objectives before moving on to objective #4: rescuing 16 out of 20 NAFTA business leaders of the WTC (after hitting the radar building east of the WTC); and objective #5: disarming the time bomb in the South Tower (being careful not to cut either the green wire, as one of the members says, or the red wire). It is ironic that, although the game takes place in a fictional 2001 timeline when it was released in 1994, it would be seven years (marking the same number of the game's mission in New York City) before the actual year 2001 (i.e. September 11) would mark the damage of the Twin Towers not by a laser or time bomb, but by the planes crashing into the buildings, with its destruction rather than its survival (as in the game).

* The first map of the 2000 game "Deus Ex", set in 2052, encompasses Liberty Island and a bombed Statue of Liberty. The section of the New York City skyline containing the Twin Towers is absent, to reduce memory requirements for the map. The reason that the developers gave, if anyone asked, was that they had been destroyed by terrorists. "We just said that the towers had been destroyed too. And this was way before 9-11. Years. That's kind of freaky." [ [http://pc.ign.com/articles/386/386515p3.html IGN: DX: Visible Interview ] ]

* "Gundam Battle Assault 2" featured a view of a city in the opening monologue of the story mode. The Twin Towers can been seen scrolling by, though one tower had a large addition to its side.

* The 2004 video game "Spider-Man 2", the game adaptation of the movie, had a virtual New York City that Spider-Man could swing around in. At one spot, there is a large bit of sidewalk with two sets of eight lights arranged in a square. At night, the lights would come on, representing the Tribute in Light memorial.

* The 2007 video game "Spider Man 3", the final battle takes place at a construction site that bears a strong resemeblance to the North Tower, possibly the Twin Towers 2.

* The 2005 video game "", features a fenced in "ground zero" where all there is the concrete foundation and a blue fence surrounding it but it is inaccessible.

* "" (2006) Features the World Trade Center complex in the game's depiction of New York City in 1978. The game features a replica of the World Trade Center complex in 1978 New York City. The complex is depicted lacking the Marriott World Trade Center hotel, as it was only completed in 1981; the complex also features The Sphere, a 1967 Fritz Koenig sculpture, near the middle of the complex. However, a road cuts through what is supposed to be the center of the complex plaza. In the latter half of the game, set in New York in the year 2006, the towers are gone.

* In "", the World Trade Center is paid tribute to in the form of two very tall trees standing side by side, representing the Towers. Further into the park, there is a Pentagon-shaped base, with an American Flag at half mast. An inscription on the side reads "We Will Never Forget".

*In the 1998 game, "", the entire World Trade Center complex is featured on the 'New York: Downtown' track. Buildings 1 - 6, and the western pedestrian bridge are all accessible to drive around. The stairways on both sides of the complex doubles as a jump for the racers.

*In Aero Fighters 2 (1994) for the Neo-Geo, the first half of the U.S. level takes place in New York City, featuring the World Trade Center in the background. In tradition of most top-down shooters, the buildings can be destroyed by shooting them multiple times.

Films

1970-1979

1976
* In the remake of the 1933 classic Kong, King Kong (1976), Kong climbes the WTC instead of the Empire State Building.

1978
* In the film "Superman", the Twin Towers makes a crucial scene as he performs one of his first rescues for the public, announcing his presence. The Twin Towers are seen in the background of the night sky as Superman turns around, while flying, making a dramatic and powerful scene. Highlighting the strength of Superman and the strength of the nation he looks after. Although it may be interpreted in different ways, it does show to amplify the power of the moment when he first uses his powers for the public to see. Later on, the Twin Towers are shown briefly as Superman takes Lois Lane on a flying tour of the city by night.

1979
* The film "Meteor" shows the Twin Towers hit by a meteor fragment.

1980-1989

1983
* The "1983" film Trading Places shows the twin towers near the end of the movie

1984
* The "1984" film Ghostbusters, it had shown the world trade in a few scenes from a far out view of the city.
* In the film Splash, the WTC is featured in a couple scenes.

1987
* The 1987 film "Wall Street", with Charlie Sheen and Michael Douglas, features the WTC in numerous scenes, especially the opening credits which has a number of sepia shots lingering on the towers and also features the WTC's PATH escalator bank.

* Coming to America, 1987, features a good night-time sequence of the towers when Akeem gives away a large sum of money to tramps Randolph and Mortimer (now bankrupt since the end of 'Trading Places').

* The poster for the 1987 Michael Keaton workplace comedy "The Squeeze" features Keaton sandwiched between the Twin Towers, as a hand squeezes them together.

* In The Real Ghostbusters episode "The Bogeyman is Back" Egon Spengler almost falls from the World Trade Center during a rooftop battle with a demonic entity.

1988

* The 1988 film "She-Devil", with Roseanne Barr and Meryl Streep, briefly features the WTC in the background while Barr's character is searching for an office to open her own business venture.

1989
* The 1989 film "The Dream Team" features Michael Keaton, playing a pathological liar, pointing out the Trade Center, saying, "You see those two towers? World Trade Center. I was an architect working on them. First they just wanted to build one but I said, 'Hey, fellas, we're here - What the hell, let's throw another one up'. Turned out pretty well, didn't it?"

* The 1989 film "Back to the Future II" features a view across New York harbour of the WTC towers in 2015 on the cable TV station "The Scenery Channel".

* The 1989 film "Ghostbusters II" Around the time in the film they had the mechanical Statue of Liberty walking across the city you can see the towers, along with a shot of the city with the towers at the end of the film.

1990-1999

* The 1990 film "The Bonfire of the Vanities" features an opening sequence following Bruce Willis through the basement of the World Trade Center Complex for nearly five minutes.

* In the 1992 movie "Freejack" starring Emilio Estevez and Mick Jagger, the Twin Towers are shown standing in the year 2009. In the last scene of the movie, just before the credits start rolling, the towers are seen in the background, just to the left of the 200 story tall "McCandless Building", which is located in the future fortress of Battery Park City.

* Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin) visits the outdoor observation deck of the WTC and snaps a photograph of the view during a montage in the 1992 film "".

* In the 1993 film "Super Mario Bros.", the Twin Towers become the "Koopa Towers" in the film's parallel dimension, which is a dinosaur-laden Manhattan run by antagonist King Koopa (Dennis Hopper). The North Tower features a sharpened top while the South Tower is unfinished with a jagged top. Both are adorned with Koopa's signature "K" symbol . Both have rather demonic looks to them. The towers briefly replace the World Trade Center towers in Manhattan when the two worlds are merged for a short time.

* In the 1995 film "", the towers can be seen behind behind McClane and Zeus as they are jogging away from Wall Street.

* The sequel for the 1995 video game film Mortal Kombat, showed a brief shot of New York City including the towers after Liu Kang defeated Shao Kahn.

* In the 1998 movie "Antz", the opening shot shows what appears to be the New York skyline including the World Trade Center, but turns out to actually be grass. At the ending shot of the movie, the camera pans out of the anthill, which is located in Central Park. The real New York City skyline appears in the background including the Twin Towers, appearing closer than they actually are (In real life you couldn't see the Twin Towers from Central Park unless you are high above it). The Twin Towers (a real picture of them) appear on the movie poster, along with the Empire State Building.

* In the 1997 science fiction film "Men in Black", the Twin Towers are in the background of the scene on the turnpike where the agents intercept the fleeing extraterrestrial family (one of whom gives birth). The finale of its 2002 sequel, "Men in Black II", was set to take place atop one of the WTC buildings. Due to the fate of the towers, however, this was modified prior to release. The original ending can be seen on the DVD release as the "alternate ending"

* In the 1997 made-for-television film Path to Paradise: The Untold Story of the World Trade Center Bombing chronicled the events leading up to and shortly after the 1993 attack.

* In a TV spot for the 1998 film The Rugrats Movie, a pink bow is put on top one of the Twin Towers (as a reference to the characters Phil and Lil DeVille). A passerby cheerfully remarks, "Hey, now we can tell them apart".

* In the 1998 TV movie "", a TV Reporter from a news chopper is reporting the damage, the Two Towers had a few small fires on them, and the TV Reporter said "They look good. They're both still standing." They also appear in the ending behind the Statue of Liberty which was under reconstruction.

* The 1998 disaster film "Deep Impact" A comet hits the earth, causing a megatsunami that hits the east coast. As the tsunami strikes New York the Twin Towers are shown as the wave engulfs them. At the end of the tsunami scene the water recedes, and the Twin Towers can be seen poking out of the water as the only buildings left standing.

* The 1998 stoner film "Half Baked" The character of Thurgood (played by Dave Chappelle stands on the Brooklyn Bridge awaiting "Mary Jane" (Rachel True) towards the end of the film. During this scene, the Twin Towers are clearly visible in the background.

* The 1998 action/disaster film "Armageddon" depicts the Twin Towers (along with many other famous landmarks) severely damaged after New York City was struck by a meteor shower.

* In the 1998 remake of "Godzilla", a news report said that the event of "Godzilla" destroying the city was worse than the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. The two towers can be seen before Godzilla arrives at the city.

* According to his Oscar speech, Alan Ball was sitting at the World Trade Center plaza when he saw a paper bag floating in the wind and was inspired by it to write the film "American Beauty" (1999).

* In the 1999 indie film, "Trick", which revolves around two gay men trying to find a place to have sex and eventually fall in love that same night. Near the end of the movie, an establishing morning shot is shown centered on Twin Towers in the early morning, and on the final scene a pan out zooms from the main character and pulls out to where we see the Twin's and a portion of 7 World Trade Center from Greenwich Village.

* The 1999 film "The Matrix", Morpheus describes where Neo has gone by entering him into the Matrix system. He shows a scene from NY in a Matrix TV including the WTC before the 200 years prior to Neo's coming, to what the towers looked like 200 years later. The towers lost a heavy amount of concrete like most NYC buildings, but they were still both standing.

* The 1999 film "Bicentennial Man", the future New York showed the WTC three times its height.

2000-present

* The World Trade Center is seen in the opening of the TV-mini series the 10th Kingdom, (2000). The opening shows New York City crumbling into mountains, waterfalls and castles. The Empire State Building crumbles and turns into a mountain, the Plaza Hotel teraforms into a majestic Castle, and the Twin Towers are drawn into the ground as 7 World Trade Center disintegrates.

* The 2001 movie "", released two months before the attacks, features several scenes of "Old New York" without the Twin Towers.

* In the 2001 Steven Spielberg film , the towers were shown standing in the year 2142 where global warming has flooded many cities including New York City. Then, they are seen again, in the year 4142, many years after humanity has ceased to exist, this time covered in glacial ice but where one of the few buildings standing above the ice. Less than three months after the release, the towers were destroyed in the September 11 terrorist attacks. Although risking controversy and criticism, Steven Spielberg left the towers in the DVD release.

Post-9/11

* In the 2001 comedy "Zoolander", the Twin Towers were digitally removed from one shot and obscured in another shot. Zoolander was released on September 28, 2001, a mere 17 days after the September 11th terrorist attacks.

* On November 2, 2001, premiered in New York City. During the following months after September 11th nearly all movies made in New York had the towers removed either by editing the footage out or digitally removing them from the frame. Lloyd Kaufman relates, in his book All I Need to Know about Filmmaking I Learned from the Toxic Avenger, that he felt audiences would be able to see the Twin Towers in film without being distressed. The opening narration features the Twin Towers prominently and it is reportedWho|date=November 2007 that the audience cheered.

* In "Spider-Man" (2002), the towers receive a few discreet cameos throughout the movie. The film's original trailer showed a web spun by Spider-Man between the two towers and was withdrawn after the attacks, although the towers did appear briefly in Spider-man's eyes, and towards the end of the movie when he climbed up the American International Building.

* The 2002 Spike Lee film "25th Hour" directly incorporates the ruins of the Twin Towers. The opening credits are shown over views of the Tribute in Light, and one scene takes place at the apartment of Frank Slaughtery, which overlooks the site.

* The end segments of the movie "Vanilla Sky" feature the Twin Towers still standing in the panoramic city background. This is plausible as the ending scene to this movie, it is revealed, is created from the lead character's memory. If he remembers the Twin Towers to still be standing, then they would still appear in the skyline.

* The first 9/11 dramatization, 2002's "", showed a number of different shots of the towers. The footage was shot in 1999 and was originally going to be used in a movie about the 1993 bombing. The movie, entitled "Hellevator", was shelved after the September 11 attacks.

* Martin Scorsese's 2002 film "Gangs of New York", about life in New York's Five Points neighborhood in the 1860s, featured an ending sequence showing the city's skyline slowly progressing to its modern form. The final shot featured the World Trade Center restored to the skyline using computer-generated imagery. This scene also included a voiceover by one of the characters who said, (to paraphrase) "those who lived in those times would never forget what it was like."

* The 2004 film "Miracle", set in 1979 and 1980, features a digitally re-inserted shot of the towers just prior to the USA hockey team's exhibition game against the USSR at Madison Square Garden. Oddly, the buildings of the World Financial Center, which would not be built for several years, are also included in the shot.

* In the 2004 film "Spider-Man 2", the North Tower and 7 World Trade Center are briefly seen in a piece of stock footage showing the West Side Highway after Doc-Oct breaks out of the hospital. The footage is flipped horizontally, making it seem as if the skyline was viewed from the East River, the two buildings are only visible in the Wide Screen Edition. Like its predecessor, "Spider-Man", both movies show the World Trade Center despite the events of 9/11.

* The towers are the focus of the last shot of Steven Spielberg's 2005 film "Munich." A period film ending in 1973, the towers' presence served as a reminder that the troubles in the Middle East depicted in the film had not ended by 2001, when the World Trade Center was destroyed, or by 2005, when the movie was released.

* In the poster for the 2006 film "United 93", the Twin Towers can be seen just under the Statue of Liberty's crown. As they were on 9/11, the North Tower was on fire and a plane, United Airlines Flight 175, is heading towards the South Tower. In the film itself, the towers are the last glimpse of Manhattan caught by the passengers (most notably the lead hijacker, played by Lewis Alsamari), through a plane window as the flight departs Newark International Airport. While the intact complex was digitally re-inserted into the skyline, its destruction was shown through actual news footage.

* The 2006 remake of the horror classic "The Omen" had a few screenshots of 9/11 as well as the 2004 Tsunami and the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster.

* The 2006 movie "Click", starring Adam Sandler, features a futuristic wedding scene with a futuristic version of the Twin Towers in the background, which was actually two Freedom Towers, the final design for the main tower of the new World Trade Center.

* Oliver Stone directed "World Trade Center" (released on August 9, 2006), the first feature-length film about the attacks on the Twin Towers themselves. It stars Nicolas Cage as Port Authority police officer John McLoughlin, one of the first men called to the scene of the 9/11 attacks. This movie has received much controversy, just like "United 93". Although it's the second film about the September 11th attacks to be released to theaters (following "United 93"), it is the first dramatic non-documentary film based on 9/11.

* Pakistani director Shoaib Mansoor directed the movie "Khuda Ke Liye" (In the name of God) released on July 20, 2007. The movie revolves around a Pakistani young man who goes to the US for higher education. During his study years, the event of 9/11 takes place where the World Trade Center is turned into dust. In a long array of investigations and arrests, the young man gets arrested by the American authorities.

* The 2007 movie "The Kingdom", the opening sequnce revolves around the history of U.S. involvement in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, including Terrorist Attacks during the 90's. A map is shown during the sequence showing America as the #1 Oil consumer in 2000, America rises like a bar graph and soon turns into the South Tower of the World Trade Center, with United Airlines Flight 175 heading torwards it. The screen blanks and quickly shows the Island of Manhattan with the World Trade Center site on fire.

* The 2007 movie "We Own the Night", features a scene in which Mark Wahlberg and Joaquin Phoenix have a discussion in a NYPD station in Brooklyn and the World Trade Center Towers can been seen behind them through a window. The film takes place in 1988, 13 years before the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

* The 2008 movie "Definitely, Maybe" takes place in 1992 New York City, an aerial view of Manhattan is shown with the Twin Towers edited in place, although the reconstructed 7 World Trade Center can be seen despite it being completed in 2006.

Notable Movie Posters

* Manhattan, (1979), seen as both towers make up the two legs of the "H" of the title "MANHATTAN".
* Superman II, (1980), seen in both versions of the poster. Both including the World Trade Center with the New York City skyline on fire, or in this case Metropolis.
* Splash, (1984), seen in the background of the original poster. In the 2004 anniversary edition, it is changed to a view of the Empire State Building.
* The Squeeze, (1987). The main character is actually being "Squeezed" in between the two towers with a large hand.
* New York Stories, (1989). The poster shows a small apartment building with various people in each window, behind is the title and only the Twin Towers. They were removed in the 2003 DVD release.
* Sidewalks of New York, (2001), showed the World Trade Center in the background, but the poster had to be changed, delaying the movie's release.
* Spider-Man, (2002), seen in Spider-Man's eyes in the pre/9-11 teaser poster.
* Godzilla vs. Megalon, (1973), in the American theatrical poster it shows Godzilla and Megalon fighting on top of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. *Note: No scenes of the movie had any scenes in New York City*

Television

*Late 1980s airings of Late Night with David Letterman featured an opening helicopter shot with the camera view flying into the facade of one of the towers, inside and through the offices of one floor, then back out. The Twin Towers were also prominantly featured in the intro of the Late Show with David Letterman up until September 11. Afterwards, shots of the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building were used.

* The opening credits of the sitcom "Barney Miller" begin with a shot of the New York City skyline, with the World Trade Center prominently featured.

* In an episode of the sitcom "Full House", (1987 – 1995) Stephanie is at home waiting for her date for a school dance to pick her up. She suddenly starts playing with some building blocks and eventually makes the Manhattan skyline. When Danny (Bob Saget) enters and sees what she's made, he comments' "The New York skyline. Wow, the World Trade Center looks as tall as ever."

*in a December 1991 episode of Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? (game show), the Double Trouble twins actually steal the World Trade Center.

*The Twin Towers made one very brief appearance in the Family Matters (1989 – 1998) episode "Fa La La La Laagghh!" After Carl turned on the Christmas light decoration on the Winslow's house, a malfunction (thanks to Steve?) results in a power outage. First, the Winslow's home goes out, then a row of family homes, then Lower Manhattan, and finally, the entire world. Steve then says "Look what you did."

*The ABC series "SportsNight" (1998 – 2000) often used an establishing shot of the New York skyline in which the Twin Towers were the focal point, implying that the studios were in the Towers.

*The pilot of the TV series "The Lone Gunmen," first aired March 4, 2001, had the gunmen thwarting a plot to fly a jet into the World Trade Center. In the episode, a faction of the U.S. government is behind the plot; they hope to blame the attack on another country's dictator and use it as an excuse to start a war with him. [http://www.insidethex.co.uk/transcrp/tlg179.htm Transcript of pilot episode]

* In the "Northern Exposure episode" "The Quest", Dr Joel Fleischman returns to New York. He's standing at the rail of the Staten Island Ferry which is covered in fog. As the fog clears, the Twin Towers become visible in the distance. Cable channel A&E aired this episode (the second-to-last NX episode A&E aired) on Thursday, September 13, 2001.

*The opening credits of the first three seasons of the HBO mob drama "The Sopranos" (1999 – 2007) featured a shot of the World Trade Center as seen from the rear view mirror of Tony Soprano's SUV, as he enters the New Jersey Turnpike. In later seasons, after 9/11, the sequence was replaced with a new view of the Manhattan skyline in which the World Trade Center is absent. Among the things Tony later discloses to his psychiatrist Jennifer Melfi as contributing to his depression is "this whole 9/11 thing."

* The TV series "Third Watch", (1999 – 2005) set in New York, featured many shots of the Towers during the show's first 2 seasons. One final shot appeared in the episode "September 10th", set the day before the attacks.

*"Sex and the City", another HBO original series, also showed a quick shot of the World Trade Center in its opening credits (with the name of its lead actress, Sarah Jessica Parker). For seasons 5 and 6, shown after 9/11, the visual was changed to a stylized shot of the Empire State Building.

*Several shots of the Twin Towers appear in the introduction and several establishing shots of New York City, some episodes, all including the Twin Towers, for "Friends" (1994–2004) over the first seven seasons (1994–2001). Pictures of the Manhattan Skyline featuring the WTC also feature on many DVD cases, and DVD Box Set cases. As every season the Opening sequence slightly changes with a new shot of the skyline with the title card, some seasons showed the Twin Towers, others the Empire State Building and Chrysler Building. Later seasons after 9/11 still briefly showed the Towers, the original and main title card used for later seasons has a portion of both towers visible, yet they are not very obvious. The last episode (2004) even included one of the most common seen pieces of stock footage, a shot of Lower Manhattan in the late afternoon under the Brooklyn Bridge, this time, cut only panning as far as the South Tower. As of 2007 the Twin Towers are still shown in establishing shots throughout earlier seasons and have not been edited out.

* In the early 2000s The Twins appeared in an animated skyline including various United States skyscrapers in a commercial for Kraft Macaroni & Cheese. The Towers where however represented as cylinders instead of their true rectangular shapes.

* An Anheuser-Busch advertisement for Budweiser beer features the company's signature Clydesdale horses appearing to pay their respects to the tower-less New York skyline. It was aired just once, during the broadcast of the 2002 Super Bowl [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4798706279384185174] .

* In Eurosport`s Olympic Magazine commercial, few seconds of beginning of north tower collapse are shown.

*In "", (2001 – 2005) an image of the Twin Towers burning was visible in a panorama of historical images present in the timestream, when Daniels informed Jonathan Archer that time had been altered and set back on course. (ENT: "Storm Front, Part II")

* The 2003 HBO miniseries "Angels in America" (which takes place in the late 1980s) is noteworthy as being the first major post-9/11 production to digitally insert the towers in the New York City skyline.

*The 2004 World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) PPV, WrestleMania XX had a model version of the future of New York City in the early going of the PPV, in which included the currently under construction Freedom Tower for what it may look like when it's complete, sending out a message to the Spirit of New York.

* In Rescue Me's (2004 – present) first season, the main character of Tommy Gavin has several flashbacks to 9/11, both before and after the towers fall. In addition, 9/11 is mentioned through the entire season as four firefighters were lost on that day. One of them appears in almost every episode as a vision to Tommy. Also, Rescue Me takes credit as the first and (as of July 2006), the only TV show to show a dramatized depiction of the events of 9/11.

* In a 2005 episode of "Lost" the Twin Towers are seen out of the window of a New York solicitor's office. They were digitally inserted to show the time frame of then and the present day.

* In a first season episode of "Journeyman" the Twin Towers are seen in picture on the front page of a San Francisco newspaper when the main character goes back in time before the terrorist attacks.

* The 2005-2006 Portuguese soap opera Tempo de Viver devoted its entire first episode to a diamond heist in a South Tower corporate office, and subsequent confrontation when the would-be thief is caught, being violently interrupted by Flight 11 crashing into the North Tower. The characters involved then scramble to leave the burning building after it is also struck, but one of them does not survive and a great deal of plot is later devoted to his widow seeking revenge and/or compensation, as well as to the ultimate fate of the diamonds. Fictional footage of the attack as seen from the interior of the office was digitally created, but stock footage was also used for the scene itself and latter flashbacks.

Cartoons and anime

* In the Disney animated film, Oliver and Company, the World Trade Center is seen in the opening sequence.

* In the 1985 cartoon M.A.S.K., an episode entitled "Attack on Liberty" leads Matt Trakker to Miles Mayhem's current hideout - 3/4 of the way up the side of the North Tower. Hovering the Thunderhawk outside the window, Matt leaps through the window and confronts Miles, who later escapes and is pursued by Matt around the Statue of Liberty. Mayhem's plot circulated around destroying the Statue and creating a 9/11--style incident

* In the 1987 "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" cartoon the WTC often is seen. One of the most infamous incidents in the series is the episode "", which begins with the TMNT flying in their blimp over New York City, searching for Shredder. April O'Neil said that Shredder was seen on the roof on one of the two WTC buildings, and the TMNT find Shredder and Baxter Stockman there. However, Shredder and Baxter Stockman manage to escape.

*In the same series, during the finale of season three, The Big Blow Out, as The Technodrome rampages through New York, Krang uses the Trade Center Towers as the basis of a conduit that will transmit enough energy to propel the Earth itself into Dimension X, with Krangs spacefleet waiting to destroy New York City.

*In the 1994 animated series Gargoyles the Twin Towers are seen in a few episodes as well as the 3rd Season Opening of The Goliath Chronicles.

* In the 1997 episode of "The Simpsons" (season 9) entitled "The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson", Homer is forced to deal with a mountain of parking tickets issued while his car sat illegally for months in the plaza of the WTC. Particular comic relief is provided when Homer, desperately needing to use the restroom, pushes people out of his way to get a ticket to the elevator into the towers and after pushing other people out of the elevator line to get to the elevator to ride to top of the South Tower only to discover the only working bathroom is in the North Tower, which he took the elevator for. You can see this because when Homer is going up the towers you can clearly hear the elevator rising and dinging at the top of both towers. Also in the episode, two men in opposite towers begin arguing with each other, which was tipped off after one proclaimed, "Sorry, they put all the jerks in Tower One", a line which the show's creators expressed deep regret at during the post 9/11 episode commentary on the season 9 boxset. A man apparently residing a few floors above the brawling men (as evidenced by a clothesline strung across the towers) finally yells at them to shut up. This episode has been banned from showing in many countries, but is included in the season 9 boxset. However, some FOX affiliates continued to show the episode in syndication, including New York City's own WNYW Fox 5 airing the unaltered episode less than two weeks after the towers' collapses.

* The 1998 fantasy anime OVA "" (commonly known as "Getter Robo Armageddon") had two episodes take place on Manhattan Island. The island (the WTC included) were destroyed when the Shin Getter Robo and the Black Getter Robo were forced to destroy the battleship they were using to stop a hoard of Invaders.

* In the first episode of the 2001 fantasy anime OVA "Read or Die", an aerial battle in Lower Manhattan which climaxes around the "Statue of Liberty" begins with a helicopter crash on the roof of one of the WTC towers.

* In the 2001 anime Haré+Guu, the towers appear in Guu's "stomach".

* In the (1999–2003) animated series "Futurama" the setting takes place in the year 3000 in New New York City. In first episode, Fry, Leela and Bender adventured to the forgotten and decaying ruins of Old New York (which was under now located under the sewers of New New York) The destroyed towers appeared in the background several times. In New New York City, A future version of the Twin Towers appear in the futuristic skyline, similar to the originals but with skybridges. After 9/11 the Towers remained.

* In the special episode "The Tower Country" of "Kino's Journey" (2005), the plot revolves around a tower which collapses in a similar way as the first of the Twin Towers.

* The Animated Sitcom Family Guy episode entitled A Picture Is Worth a 1,000 Bucks, Peter does a musical number with Meg across NYC, which had the Twin Towers. During the musical, Peter jumps off one of the towers and goes into match cut.

* In the 2002 Family Guy episode Brian Wallows and Peter's Swallows Brian performs a musical number to Pearl on how America has changed since the 1950s. Many cut scenes show places around the U.S., including a shot of the Twin Towers. When the episode Aired in 2002 on FOX the two towers were digitally erased, or technically, shortened. Other airings of this episode elsewhere show the Twin Towers intact.

Music

*The song Stand by R.E.M. (band) shows the World Trade Center in the background of the music video as part of their Album Green in 1989.

*In Madonna's music video 'Papa don't Preach', the twin towers are shown several times.

* In Al B Sure's music video 'Nite and Day', the towers are shown.

* The towers appeared prominently in Neal McCoy's 1994 video "The City Put The Country Back In Me."

* Alan Jackson's 1994 "Gone Country" video had them featured in a flyover scene.

* Vince Gill's 1995 "When Love Finds You" video had several scences of the towers.

* Martina McBride's "Wild Angels", released in 1995, showed the tower in a wide shot of the video.

* Lil' Kim's music video for her 1996 debut single "No Time" features her and P. Diddy riding up and down the World Trade Center escaltors while rapping. Kim makes a reference to the video in her 2005 single "Whoa" were she says "...told you I'm the same bitch from the escalator...".

* The song by The Notorious B.I.G., "Juicy" released in 1994 features the lyrics "blow up like the World Trade" in a reference to the bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993. When the verse was sampled for the Jay-Z song, "A Dream" in 2002, the words "World Trade" were omitted.

* One of the barhops from Hogs and Heifers in downtown Manhattan walks near the globe where the twin towers stood in The Kentucky Headhunters' 2001 "Louisiana Coco" video.

* New York based Progressive metal band Dream Theater's song Sacrificed Sons from their 2005 album Octavarium is a tribute to the rescue workers who died during and after the attacks. Their 2001 live album Live Scenes From New York was also recalled, as it showed the NYC skyline, including the WTC, in flames. Ironically, the album was released on September 11, 2001.

* The group Limp Bizkit feature the World Trade Center in their music video for the song "Rollin'" (2000). The band is shown on the South Tower, staging portions of the music video on its rooftop observation deck. The end of the video features a gradually distancing helicopter shot of the towers.

* The video for the Spice Girls song "2 Become 1", released in 1997, features numerous night-time shots of the World Trade Center, from differing angles, throughout the duration of the clip.

* The back cover for the album "How I Spent My Summer Vacation" by the Bouncing Souls shows the Twin Towers, among other buildings, burning and being destroyed. [http://punkcovers.free.fr/images/Bouncing_Souls_-_How_I_Spent_My_Summer_Vacation-back.jpg] This album was released in May of 2001.

* Rap group The Coup released an album in late 2001 called [http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00005N6RO Party Music] , whose original depicts explosions in the towers set off by a detonator. The cover was changed after the 9/11 attacks.

* The cover of the Beastie Boys' sixth studio album, To the 5 Boroughs, is a drawing featuring the Twin Towers in a compressed New York skyline. This album was released in 2004.

* Dave Matthews Band was set to film a music video for their song "When the World Ends" from the album "Everyday". The music video was supposed to feature lead singer Dave Matthews climbing a ladder to the top of a giant tower. The video idea and single were shelved after the 9/11 attacks and replaced by the more uplifting song "Everyday".

* A promotional video for Depeche Mode's video "Enjoy the Silence," features the band performing the song on the observation deck of the South Tower. This video is not, however, the official music video for the song.

*"New York, New York" is a song composed and performed by American alt-country musician Ryan Adams. It appeared on his 2001 album Gold. The song's music video, showing Adams performing in front of the city's skyline, was filmed just four days before the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center. Because of this, profits of the video went to a 9/11 charity.

*The song "United Stand" on the Impelliterri album system X is about the two towers.

*Rapper Jay-Z pays tribute to the dead of 9/11 attack in album "Blueprint 2". He was also one of the first entertainers to also help out after the disaster, using his tour money as part of the donation.Fact|date=April 2007

* Rapper Jay-Z features the World Trade Center in his music video "Dead Presidents"

*Will Smith wrote a song titled "Why", which in the first verse of the song mentions him and his son watching the attacks on TV. He presumably based it on what he and his son referenced on that day, with his son asking him "Why" and how could he explain it to him.

* Filmed in the NYC area, the video titled "Scenario" by A Tribe Called Quest featuring Leaders of the New School (with Busta Rhymes) briefly shows the Twin Towers in the background. The towers are also seen in their video "Electric Relaxation."

* Rapper Pete Miser wrote a song titled "Might Be" which mentions the events of September 11, 2001. The song is featured on Pete Miser's album "Radio Free Brooklyn" which was released in 2002.

* The song Open letter To NYC also includes Mike D referencing to The Twin Towers and pays homage to New York City.

* In Linkin Park's 2007 single, What I've Done the video features many clips of Global Issues, a brief shot of the Lower Manhattan Skyline is shown with the Twin Towers, also scenes of 9/11 are shown later in the video.

* In Bruce Springsteen's Song "Darlington County" (Born in the U.S.A. - Released 1984) a lyrical reference to the trade centers is made: "...Our pa's each own one of the World Trade Centers For a kiss and a smile I'll give mine all to you..."

* The music video for "Worst Comes To Worst" by Dilated Peoples contains a shot with the Twin Towers in the background. The video was filmed before the attacks, but was released afterwards with a disclaimer stating that the artists meant no disrespect by including the image of the World Trade Center.

*I Am The World Trade Center, a music group active since 1999. After the September 11 attacks, the group briefly went by the name "I Am The World".

* The My Chemical Romance song "Skylines and Turnstiles" was written as a tribute to the 9/11 attacks. Gerard Way witnessed the attacks first hand from a ferry. Fact|date=May 2008

* Eminem highlights the World Trade Center attacks in his song "My Dad's Gone Crazy" from the Eminem Show album. The lyrics are: "More pain inside of my brain, than in the eyes of a little girl inside of a plane, aimed at the World Trade..."

* AC/DC used the World Trade Centers in the video for "Shake Your Foundations".

Comic books

* "Adventures of Superman" #596 was released one day after the September 11, 2001 attacks. It depicted Metropolis after an alien attack, including Lex Luthor's twin LexTowers heavily damaged. The artist, Mike Wieringo remarked, "The book was completed months ago. The ironic thing is that the damage done by the terrorists is far greater than I could ever portray visually." [cite news |title=Superman Comic Showed Attack |publisher=Scottish Daily Record |date=September 14, 2001 |author=Watson, Donna] The book's writer, Joe Casey, could not have intentionally referenced the attacks on the World Trade Center, but DC acknowledged that it mirrored the devastation so vividly that they made the books returnable without penalty to retailers. Many retailers took DC up on this offer, causing the issue to become sought after on the secondary market due to its rarity and general curiosity towards the real-life synchronicity with the 9-11 attacks.

*In 1982 "Fantastic Four" #242-243, the Fantastic Four fight Terrax in a battle atop the World Trade Center.

*In 1985 "The Uncanny X-Men" #189 continued the alternate vision of the future first seen in the "Days of Future Past" storyline. Rachel Summers (who came from the future), while describing the dire future of the early 21st century, says "The twin towers of World Trade Center lie in ruins. Thousands are dead, many more injured". The accompanying image is of a somewhat futurized Twin Towers smouldering, after having been hit by an unknown attack.

* In the 1989 "Damage Control", the Twin Towers were damaged when a giant robot fell on them. Damage Control, a construction company that specialized in repairing superhero-related damage, had the towers repaired (although visibly crooked) by the end of the issue.

* In the Mortadelo y Filemon comic "El 35 Aniversario" (The 35th Anniversary) appears an image of a plane that cracks in the WTC.

* The 2004 comic "Ex Machina" detailed the life of Mitchell Hundred, formerly the world's first and only superhero, who was elected mayor of New York City in the wake of his saving hundreds of lives during the collapse of the North Tower, and in preventing the collapse of the South Tower.

* Most of the Marvel Comics heroes reside in New York City, so views of the towers was not uncommon. "Amazing Spider-Man" (vol. 2) issue 36 showed the aftermath of the Tower's collapse through the eyes of the heroes, more specifically, Spider-Man's. "Captain America" (vol. 4) issue 1 had Steve Rogers arguing with Nick Fury when the former decided to stay and find survivors before heading to Afghanistan.

*Issue #1 of Valiant Comics's "Game Boy" comic series had two teenagers going through Manhattan Island, aiding Mario in rescuing Princess Daisy from the villainous Tatanga, the story concluding at the Windows of the World restaurant.

*In the "Aliens: Outbreak" graphic novel, Hicks and Newt escape from a mental hospital using "Jet Rescue technology". It was "developed after the World Trade Center Smoked in '24".

References

Further reading

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External links

* [http://wtcinmovies.tripod.com/ WTC in Movies] The Web's most definitive list
* [http://www.amuseyourself.com/world-trade-center-movies/index.html 10048: The World Trade Center Movie Project]
* [http://www.onlyonfilm.com/locations/worldtradecenter.shtml World Trade Center] , Only on Film
* [http://jerz.setonhill.edu/design/WTC/index.html World Trade Center - Literary and Cultural Reflections] , Dennis G. Jerz, Seton Hill University
* [http://www.celluloidskyline.com/main/home.html Celluloid Skyline] , James Sanders