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WithinMarvel Comics,most stories take place within the fictionalMarvel Universe,which in turn is part of a largermultiverse.Starting with theCaptain Britainstory inThe Daredevils#7, the maincontinuityin which most Marvel storylines take place was designatedEarth-616,and theMultiversewas established as being protected byMerlyn.Each universe has a Captain Britain designated to protect its version of the British Isles. These protectors are collectively known as theCaptain Britain Corps.This numerical notation was continued in the seriesExcaliburand other titles. Each universe of the Multiverse in Marvel also appears to be defended by aSorcerer Supremeat nearly all times, appointed by the mystic trinity of Vishanti to defend the world against threats primarily magical in nature from within and beyond and bearing theEye of Agamotto.
Multiverse | |
---|---|
Publication information | |
Publisher | Marvel Comics |
First appearance | The Avengers#85 (February1971) |
In story information | |
Type | Fictional universe continuity |
Element of stories featuring | Marvel Universe(features) |
Later on, many writers would use and reshape the Multiverse in titles such asExiles,X-Men,andUltimate Fantastic Four.New universes would also spin out of storylines involving time-traveling characters such asRachel Summers,Cable,andBishop,as their actions rendered their home timesalternate timelines.
Themultiversealso plays a role in theMarvel Cinematic Universe(MCU), with the central and main universe having originally been known asEarth-199999in external media andEarth-616in internal media. The concept was first introduced inDoctor Strange(2016) before becoming the focal point of the franchise in "The Multiverse Saga"(2021–present). Additionally, the Multiverse has also been explored in theX-Menfilm series,Sony's Spider-Man Universe(SSU), and theSpider-Versefranchise,with an emphasis on the latter regarding multiple versions of Spider-Man across different universes.
Concept
editThe Multiverse is the collection of alternate universes that share a universal hierarchy. A large variety of these universes were originated from another due to a major decision on the part of a character. Some can seem to be taking place in the past or future due to differences in how time passes in each universe. Often, new universes are born due to time traveling; another name for these new universes is an "alternate timeline". Earth-616 is the established main universe where the majority of Marvel books take place.
The Marvel multiverse is protected from imbalance by theLiving Tribunal,a vastly powerful humanoid cosmic entity, who is one for the entire multiverse. It may act to prevent one universe from amassing more power than any of the others or from upsetting the cosmic balance in some way. It is only overseen by theOne-Above-All,an omnipotent entity said to have created the entire Marvel Multiverse.
According to the origin mythology, at the beginning there was only one universe, The First Firmament, but due to actions ofCelestialsexisting there, it diverged.[1]Then, the Multiverse went through several incarnations and eventually the Big Bang caused the existence of the Seventh Cosmos, where most well-known heroes originated. The seventh iteration of the Multiverse was destroyed as a consequence of the phenomena known as incursions and was eventually reborn as the eighth thanks to Reed Richards.[2]According to him the ultimate fate of the Multiverse is to perish in all-encompassing heat death.[3]
Nature of the Multiverse
editAccording toForge,mutants living on these alternate Earths have lost their powers due toM-Day,as stated in "Endangered Species";however, this mass depowering has not been seen in any of Marvel's current alternate reality publications such asExiles,theUltimate Marveltitles,Amazing Spider-Girl,theMarvel Adventurestitles orGeNext,though it is possible that the issue of time may be related to their exclusion. This was apparently retconned during the "X-Men: Messiah Complex"storyline, where Forge stated that all mutants in possible future timelines were depowered, not in parallel universes.[4]This, in addition to A.R.M.O.R.'s observation thatLyraarrived from an alternate reality[5]indicates that the topology of the Marvel Multiverse is based on new realities branching off from key nodes of a timeline instead of strictly parallel dimensions.
Other dimensions
editNot every alternate dimension is an entire independent universe, but instead maintain a parasitic relationship to a parent reality. Others can exist outside the multiversal structure altogether.
Pocket universes
edit- Counter-Earth(Heroes Reborn):A pocket dimension whereFranklin Richardsstored many of Earth's superheroes after the events surrounding the appearance ofOnslaught.Doctor Doomsaved Counter-Earth from the unstable pocket dimension and placed it in an alternate orbit ofEarth-616on the other side of the Sun.
- The Hill:A dangerous pocket dimension used byMikhail Rasputinafter flooding theMorlocktunnels. Rasputin brought all Morlocks to the Hill to raise them in a survival-of-the-fittest mentality. In this dimension, time runs several times faster. While in Earth-616 only one or two years passed, more than 10 years passed in the Hill.Marrowand the otherGene Nationmembers grew up in this dimension.
- TheMicroverse:Originally, many microverses existed within the Marvel Multiverse until they were made into one Microverse following an unseen conflict betweenBaron KarzaandThanos.The most commonly visited microverse is the one containing the regions known asSub-Atomicaand theMicronauts' Homeworld.
- TheMojoverse:A dimension where all beings are addicted to gladiator-like television programs. Ruled byMojoand home toSpiral,Longshotand theX-Babies.
- TheNegative Zone:Mostly uninhabited, it is a universe parallel to Earth's with many similarities. One major difference is all matter in the Negative Zone is negatively charged.Negative Zone Prison Alphais located here. Also the home of bothBlastaar the Living Bomb-BurstandAnnihilus.
- Otherplace:Also known as "Limbo" or "demonic Limbo". A magical dimension of demons which was historically ruled byBelascoand primarily featured in theX-Mencomic books.
- The Void:A pocket dimension that exists insideShaman's medicine bag.
- Soulworld:A pocket dimension that exists inside the Soul Gem.
External realities
edit- Avalon:Also known asOtherworld,this realm is an access point to the entire Marvel Multiverse used by theCaptain Britain Corps.Also home to the Celtic gods andKing Arthur.
- TheDarkforceDimension:This dimension is connected with the charactersCloak,who uses the dimension for teleportation, andMr. Negative.This dimension also includes, but is not limited to, Spotworld as used by the supervillain theSpotand the Brimstone Dimension as used by the X-ManNightcrawler.[citation needed]
- Limbo:Also known as "true Limbo" or "temporal Limbo"; outside of time, historically ruled byImmortusand the location to whichRom the Spaceknightbanished theDire Wraiths.
- The Panoptichron:Home base of the reality-hoppingExiles,structurally dissimilar, but functionally similar, to Avalon.
Definitions
editThe classification system for alternate realities was devised, in part, byMark Gruenwald.[6]
Universe
editA universe is a single dimension, such asEarth-616,the mainstream Marvel Universe.
Reality
editA reality is the collection of a universe, where a version of the planet Earth exists, and the various other dimensions associated with it, like Asgard, the Dark Dimension, or the Negative Zone. Universes, where a planet Earth exists, are infinite, and there is (generally) one version of Asgard, one version of the Dark Dimension, one version of the Negative Zone, and so on, associated with each. For example, beings likeDormammuand gods like Odin hail from separate dimensions, but they all nevertheless belong to Reality-616, and other realities like the MCU, have different variants of these characters. Note that whether any given specific use of the term "Marvel Universe"refers to the MarvelMultiverse(in general) or to the Reality-616 (in particular) can only be determined by the context of its use.[7]
Multiverse
editA multiverse is the collection of alternate universes, with a similar nature and a universal hierarchy. The Marvel Multiverse contains the universe that holds Reality-616, most of theWhat If?universes, as well as the vast number of the alternate Marvel Universe Earths.
Megaverse
editA Megaverse is a collection of alternate multiverses, which do not necessarily need to have similar natures and universal hierarchies. The term was posited in the 21st century edition of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe.
Omniverse
editAccording to theOfficial Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Alternate Universes,and building onMark Gruenwald's original definition of the term,[8]the Omniverse consists of all of fiction and reality combined, including all the works that are outside of Marvel's copyright restrictions, and therefore also outside the Marvel Multiverse. As such, there can logically only be one Omniverse, as anything and everything that currently exists, existed in the past, can potentially exist at any time or may exist in the future is a part of it.
Known alternate universes
editAs stated above, nearly every imprint, timeline and appearances in other media have its own separate universe. Most of these have been cataloged by Marvel Comics in many publications, being most notable theOfficial Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Alternate Universes.The numerical designations for these are rarely revealed outside of reference works such as theOfficial Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Alternate Universes 2005.A.R.M.O.R.andProject Pegasushowever seem to possess vast knowledge of other Marvel realities, using the same designations; whether this is simply narrative convenience on behalf of Marvel's authors or an unusual decision by these agencies to use an effectively alien catalog method is as yet unstated.
The numeric designations of these alternate universes have been confirmed byMarvel Comicsthroughout the years and compiled in 2005'sOfficial Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Alternate Universes,and in Marvel publications since the release of theHandbook.
Many official numbers are random or use other numbers as a base, the best example of this isUltimate Marvel.1610 is the swapped numbers of 616 with a 0 to differentiate it from the already existing 161. In addition, many universes have also been designated with numbers by fans with various methods for the numbering, such as the birth date of an important Marvel staff member (artist Nelson Ribeiro for theTransformers U.S.Universe,Earth-91274) or the spelling of a name with a touch-tone phone (Animated Silver SurferEarth-936652, spells out Zenn-La).
In 2014, during the publication of the "Spider-Verse"storyline, writerDan Slottposted on Twitter that the numbers that appear in wiki entries and handbooks do not count, only those that are published within "actual" stories do. This was in response to the questions that the different numbers for some Earths appearing inSpider-Versebrought up, such as theSpider-Friendsbeing fromEarth-1983and not the believed designation ofEarth-8107.[9]This has created some debate among readers, as some believe that the "Spiders" with numbers that do not match the "original" ones are alternate versions, or if the former numbers should be completely dismissed, despite being official.
In the 2015Secret Warsseries, a confrontation with theBeyondersover the fate of the various alternate versions of theMolecule Manresults in the destruction of the Multiverse, triggering various 'incursions' as Earths crash together and destroy each other, the Beyonders' assault culminating inDoctor Doomstealing the power of the remaining Beyonders and bringing the last of the parallel universes together into a single 'Battleworld'. Doom rules this reality for eight years until key heroes and villains from the pre-existing Multiverse are discovered and released byDoctor Strange,who had been acting as Doom's 'sheriff' until the discovery of the survivors gave him an alternative. In the heroes' final assault on Doom's fortress, the Molecule Man, who had been the source of Doom's power, transfers Doom's power toMister Fantasticwhen Doom acknowledges that Reed would have done a better job as 'God' than he did. Having restored Earth-616 as it was before the Beyonders' incursions began, Mister Fantastic departs to recreate the multiverse with the company of his restored family.
List of primary alternate Earths and universes
editBelow is a short, non-comprehensive list of some of the most noteworthy and significant universes in the Marvel Multiverse. Most of these were designated in theOfficial Handbook of the Marvel Universeon both physical print and the digital Appendix.[10]
Name | First appearance | Notes |
---|---|---|
Earth-616 | Motion Picture Funnies Weekly#1 (1939) |
|
Earth-1610 | Ultimate Spider-Man#1 (2000) |
|
Earth-6160 | Ultimate Invasion#1 (2023) |
|
Earth-10005 | X-Men(July 12, 2000) |
|
Earth-92131 | "Night of the Sentinels"(Part 1) (October 31, 1992) |
|
Earth-534834 | "And the Sea Shall Give Up Its Dead"(September 24, 1994) |
|
Earth-26496 | "Survival of the Fittest"(March 8, 2008) |
|
Earth-904913 | "Iron, Forged in Fire"(April 24, 2009) |
|
Earth-12041 | "Great Power and Great Responsibility"(April 1, 2012) |
|
Earth-17628 | "Origins"(August 1, 2015) |
|
Earth-8096 | "Hindsight (Part 1)" (January 23, 2009) |
|
Earth-10022 | Planet Hulk(February 2, 2010) |
|
Earth-8107 | "Bubble, Bubble, Oil and Trouble"(September 12, 1981) |
|
Earth-634962 | "The Origin of the Silver Surfer" (February 7, 1998) |
|
Earth-688 | What If...?#88 (June 1996) |
|
Earth-600001 | Captain America(February 5, 1944) |
|
Earth-555326 | Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow(September 2, 2008) |
|
Earth-688B | Venom(October 5, 2018) |
|
Earth-65 | Edge of Spider-Verse#2 (Nov. 2014) |
|
Earth-6799 | "The Power of Dr. Octopus" (September 9, 1967) |
|
Earth-730784 | The Avengers: United They Stand(October 1999 – February 2000) |
|
(undesignated) | "Destroy the Avengers" (July 22, 2017) |
|
Earth-700974 | Fred and Barney Meet the Thing(September 8 – December 1, 1979) |
|
Earth-9907 | Avengers Next#10(July 1999) |
|
Earth-8311 | Marvel Tails#1 (1983) |
|
Earth-921 | Avengers#343 (November 1991) |
|
Earth-928 | Spider-Man 2099#1 (1992) |
|
Earth-982 | What If?(vol. 2) #105 (1998) |
|
Earth-2149 | Ultimate Fantastic Four#21 (2005) |
|
Earth-712 | Avengers#85–86 (Feb.–March 1971) |
|
Earth-58163 | House of M(June—Nov. 2005) |
|
Earth-19529 | Spider-Man: Life Story#1 (March 20, 2019) |
|
Earth-1287 | Strikeforce: Morituri#01 (1986) |
|
Earth-14123 | Big Hero 6(November 7, 2014) |
|
Earth-88194 | Dr. Zero#1 (1988) |
|
Earth-811 | Uncanny X-Men#141 (1981) |
|
Earth-45828 | Razorline: The First Cut#1 (Sept. 1993) |
|
Earth-148611 | Star Brand#1 (Oct. 1986) |
|
Earth-807128 | Wolverine(vol. 3) #66 (Aug. 2008) |
|
Earth-21923 | Old Man Logan#1 (May 2015) |
|
Earth-90214 | Spider-Man Noir#1 (Feb. 2009) |
|
Earth-31117 | Captain America(vol. 4) #17–20 (Nov. 2003 – Jan. 2004) |
|
Earth-1218 | Marvel Team-Up#137 (Jan. 1984) |
|
Earth-98140 | Alien Legion#1 (April 1984) |
|
Earth-9997 | Earth X#0 (Jan. 1999) |
|
Earth-94024 | Amazing Spider-Man Family |
|
Earth-7642 | Superman vs. The Amazing Spider-Man#1 (Jan. 1976) |
|
Earth-93060 | Hardcase#1 (June 1993) |
|
Earth-8116 | Epic Illustrated#1 (March 1980) |
|
Earth-13122 | Lego Marvel Super Heroes(October 22, 2013) |
|
Earth-1048 | Spider-Man(2018 video game)(September 7, 2018) |
|
Earth-2301 | Marvel Mangaverse: New Dawn(March 2002) |
|
Earth-30847 | The Punisher(1993) |
|
Earth-295 | X-Men: Alpha(January 1995) |
|
Earth-311 | Marvel 1602#1 (August 13, 2003) |
|
Earth-61011 | Spider-Man and Friends |
|
Earth-398 | Avengers(Vol. 3) #2 (January 1998) |
|
Earth-818 | Avengers(Vol. 8) #50 (December 2021) |
|
Earth-1226 | M.O.D.O.K.(May 2021) |
|
Earth-9602 | Amalgam Comics(April 1996 – June 1997) |
|
Earth-400083 | Hulk(June 20, 2003) | |
Earth-121347 | Ghost Rider(February 16, 2007) |
|
Earth-121698 | Fantastic Four(July 8, 2005) |
|
Earth-15866 | Fantastic Four(August 4, 2015) |
|
Earth-11911 | Marvel Super Hero Squadcomics |
|
Earth-91119 | The Super Hero Squad Show(September 14, 2009) |
|
Earth-7085 | Marvel Zombies vs Army of Darkness(2007) |
|
Earth-10005 Revised | X-Men: Days of Future Past(May 10, 2014) |
|
Earth-17040 | "Chapter 1"(February 8, 2017) |
|
Earth-17372 | "eXposed" (October 2, 2017) |
|
Earth-17315 | Logan(February 17, 2017) |
|
Earth-41633 | Deadpool 2(May 10, 2018) |
|
Earth-704509 | "The Shock of the New" (October 6, 2001) |
|
Earth-11714 | Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark(June 14, 2011 – January 4, 2014) |
|
Earth-85481 | Heathcliff#1: (April 1985) |
|
Earth-1610B | Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse(December 1, 2018) |
|
Earth-42 | Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse(June 2, 2023) |
|
Earth-701306 | Daredevil(February 14, 2003) | |
Earth-38264 | Marvel's Avengers(September 4, 2020) |
|
Earth-6109 | Marvel: Ultimate Alliance(October 24, 2006) |
|
Earth-400005 | The Incredible Hulk(1978 TV series)(November 1977 – May 1982) |
|
(undesignated) | Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order(July 19, 2019) |
|
(undesignated) | Spider-Man: Web of Shadows(October 21, 2008) |
|
(undesignated) | Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy(October 25, 2021) |
|
Earth-20824 | Spider-Man(2000 video game)(September 1, 2000) |
|
Earth-760207 | "Heroes and Villains"(August 22, 2003) |
|
Earth-58732 | The Punisher(2004 film)(April 16, 2004) |
|
(undesignated) | Ultimate Spider-Man(video game)(September 19, 2005) |
|
Earth-50116 | The Punisher(2004 video game)(January 16, 2005) |
|
Earth-11052 | X-Men: Evolution(November 2000 – October 2003) |
|
Earth-12131 | Marvel Avengers Alliance(March 1, 2012) |
|
Earth-5901 | The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction(August 23, 2005) |
|
Earth-71002 | Spider-Man: Friend or Foe(October 2, 2007) |
|
Earth-50701 | Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects(September 20, 2005) |
|
Earth-5724 | Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.(film)(May 26, 1998) |
|
(undesignated) | "Mother's Little Helpers"(October 16, 2020) |
|
Earth-51778 | Spider-Man(Japanese TV series)(May 1978 – March 1979) |
|
(undesignated) | Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions(September 7, 2010) |
|
Earth-58470 | Howard the Duck(film)(August 1, 1986) |
|
Earth-26320 | Blade(film)(August 21, 1998) |
|
Earth-13625 | Deadpool(video game)(June 25, 2013) |
|
Earth-79203 | Super Sentai(1975–present),Kamen Rider(1971–present),Metal Hero Series(1982–present) |
|
(undesignated) | The Amazing Spider-Man(2012 video game)(June 26, 2012) |
|
(undesignated) | Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series(April 18 – November 7, 2017) |
|
Earth-120703 | The Amazing Spider-Man(film series) (July 3, 2012) |
|
Earth-96283 | Spider-Man(film series) (May 3, 2002) |
|
Earth-14042 | "The Mightiest of Heroes!"(April 2, 2014) |
|
Earth-50810 | Marvel MegaMorphs: Captain America#1 (August 2005) |
|
Earth-135263 | "Trial By Fire"(September 2, 2006) |
|
Earth-7964 | X-Men Legends(September 24, 2004) |
|
Earth-21394 | Swords of the Swashbucklers#1 (March 1985) |
|
Earth-58627 | The Punisher(1989 film)(October 5, 1989) |
|
Marvel Cinematic Universe
editSee also
editReferences
edit- ^Ultimates 2(vol. 2) #6
- ^Secret Wars(vol. 1) #9
- ^New Avengers(vol. 3) #1
- ^David, Peter.X-Factor(vol. 2) #25
- ^All New Savage She-Hulk#1
- ^"Alternate Earths".Marvunapp.Archivedfrom the original on August 31, 2019.RetrievedJune 21,2015.
- ^"Newsarama | GamesRadar+".gamesradar.Archived fromthe originalon October 16, 2007.
- ^"Roberson's Interminable Ramble: Mark Gruenwald, the father of modern superhero comics".Archivedfrom the original on August 22, 2019.RetrievedJune 30,2016.
- ^Slott, Dan [@DanSlott](November 10, 2014)."@AyrMen Sorry. Was swamped w/work. Unless mentioned in actual stories, designations in Wiki entries & handbooks don't count. That answer it?"(Tweet).Archivedfrom the original on December 6, 2022.RetrievedDecember 9,2020– viaTwitter.
- ^Marvel Universe Appendix web site
- ^Farell, Blair (August 13, 2020)."THERE ISN'T A MARVEL GAMING UNIVERSE…OR IS THERE?".Comic Book Video Games.Archivedfrom the original on December 10, 2022.RetrievedApril 18,2022.
- ^Bacon, Thomas (December 13, 2022)."Every Spider-Man In Across The Spider-Verse Explained".ScreenRant.Archivedfrom the original on December 10, 2023.RetrievedJanuary 23,2024.
- ^Zahed, Ramin (July 3, 2023).Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse: The Art of the Movie.Abrams Books. p. 200.ISBN978-1419763991.
Bibliography
edit- Marvel Encyclopedia Volume 6: Fantastic Four(November 2004)
- Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Alternate Universes 2005
- Marvel Legacy: The 1960s Handbook(2006)
- Marvel Legacy: The 1970s Handbook(2006)
- Marvel Legacy: The 1980s Handbook(2006)
- Marvel Legacy: The 1990s Handbook(2007)