Adventure Time Revealed Finn and Jake's Reincarnated Forms 7 Years Before Their Canon Deaths (2024)

Finn and Jake's legacy doesn't end with their last canonical appearances in Adventure Time. Audiences will recall that the episode "Together Again" of Adventure Time: Distant Lands reveals that Finn and Jake have both died in the distant future and that they reunite in the afterlife. Before passing on, Finn asks Death to be reincarnated — and fans can see Finn's reincarnated form in a comic published seven years earlier.

Finn's wish comes to fruition in the Adventure Time comics through a new character named Penelope, a future version of Finn, who makes her on-panel debut in Adventure Time #25 by Ryan North, Dustin Nguyen, Jess Fink, Jeffrey Brown, Jim Rugg, Shelli Paroline, and Braden Lamb.

Twenty-five issues later, it's revealed that Penelope is actually a future, reincarnated version of Finn — which has major implications for not only the show itself and its canon, but the relevance of the comics that were released congruently alongside Adventure Time.

Finn and Jake's Post-Adventure Time Reincarnations Have Been Revealed

Adventure Time #25 by Ryan North, Dustin Nguyen, Jess Fink, Jeffrey Brown, Jim Rugg, Shelli Paroline, and Braden Lamb, Chris O'Neill, and Steve Wands

In the aforementioned episode of Adventure Time: Distant Lands, when Finn and Jake meet again in the afterlife, they decide to be reincarnated together in hopes of returning to life in new forms for more adventures. However, canonically speaking, this episode is where fans last leave the duo, as there is no follow-up after. The episode came out in 2021, and while an older Finn would appear in 2023's Fionna and Cake, Distant Lands canonically takes places several years deep into the future, deeper than either Adventure Time or Fionna and Cake.

Meanwhile, Penelope's appearances in the Adventure Time comics take place even further into the future, long after the events of Distant Lands. The comics themselves were released in 2014, whereas the episode where Finn and Jake are dead first aired in 2021. Despite the fact that the comics are not technically true Adventure Time canon, this is too strong of a connection to ignore. Intentional or not, this is a major thread that connects the comics and the show to each other, highlighting what may have happened to Finn and Jake post-reincarnation.

The Adventure Time Comics Are Officially Must-Read

Available Now from BOOM! Studios

The validity of the Adventure Time comic books has long been debated by fans, critics, and even creators. Each fan may have a different, conflicting opinion, as some say that they are not canon at all, while others say the comics are worth at least considering including in the canon. The status of Penelope and how perfectly she fits into the narrative following the ending of Adventure Time: Distant Lands adds validity to that latter statement, but more than anything, it offers another reason why the comics are a must-read for fans of Adventure Time, whether it deepens the lore or not.

Adventure Time #25 is available now from BOOM! Studios.

Adventure Time

Animation

Adventure

Action

Adventure Time is a science fiction/fantasy animation from Cartoon Network. Adventure Time follows Finn (Jeremy Shada) and his dog Jake (John DiMaggio) as they go on adventures in the near future. The series was created by Pendleton Ward and ran for a total of 10 seasons on the network. Adventure Time was critically acclaimed while it was on the air and managed to pull in younger audiences, as well as adults.

Cast

Tom Kenny , Hynden Walch , Jeremy Shada , John DiMaggio , Niki Yang

Release Date

May 10, 2010

Seasons

10

Network

Cartoon Network

Streaming Service(s)

Hulu , HBO Max

Franchise(s)

Adventure Time

Writers

Pendleton Ward

Directors

Pendleton Ward

Showrunner

Pendleton Ward