Multiverse (Marvel Comics)
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Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
, most tales take place within the fictional
Marvel Universe The Marvel Universe is a fictional shared universe where the stories in most American comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Comics take place. Super-teams such as the Avengers, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, the Guardians of ...
, which in turn is part of a larger multiverse. Starting with issues of ''
Captain Britain Captain Britain is a title used by various superheroes in comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with Excalibur. The moniker was first used in publication by Brian Braddock in ''Captain Britain Weekly'' #1 by writer Ch ...
'', the main continuity in which most Marvel storylines take place was designated Earth-616, and the Multiverse was established as being protected by Merlyn. Each universe has a Captain Britain designated to protect its version of the British Isles. These protectors are collectively known as the
Captain Britain Corps Captain Britain is a title used by various superheroes in comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with Excalibur. The moniker was first used in publication by Brian Braddock in ''Captain Britain Weekly'' #1 by writer C ...
. This numerical notation was continued in the series ''
Excalibur Excalibur () is the legendary sword of King Arthur, sometimes also attributed with magical powers or associated with the rightful sovereignty of Britain. It was associated with the Arthurian legend very early on. Excalibur and the Sword in th ...
'' and other titles. Each universe of the Multiverse in Marvel also appears to be defended by a
Sorcerer Supreme Doctor Stephen Strange is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in '' Strange Tales'' #110 (cover-dated July 1963). Doctor Strange serves as Sorc ...
at 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 the
Eye of Agamotto The Eye of Agamotto () is a fictional, mystical item appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics and other media, particularly in their Marvel Cinematic Universe films, with its first appearance in ''Doctor Strange''. The item ap ...
. Later on, many writers would use and reshape the Multiverse in titles such as '' Exiles'', ''
X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, first appearing in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in ...
'', and ''
Ultimate Fantastic Four ''Ultimate Fantastic Four'' is a superhero comic book series published by Marvel Comics. The series is a modernized re-imagining of Marvel's long-running ''Fantastic Four'' comic book franchise as part of the Ultimate Marvel imprint. The Ultimate ...
''. New universes would also spin out of storylines involving time-traveling characters such as
Rachel Summers Rachel Anne Summers (also known as Rachel Grey) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Chris Claremont and artist/co-plotter John Byrne (comics), John Byrne. In h ...
,
Cable Cable may refer to: Mechanical * Nautical cable, an assembly of three or more ropes woven against the weave of the ropes, rendering it virtually waterproof * Wire rope, a type of rope that consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a hel ...
, and
Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
, as their actions rendered their home times alternate timelines. The Multiverse also plays a role in the
Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published by ...
(MCU), which is also known as Earth-199999 in the comics. Its concept was first introduced in '' Doctor Strange'' (2016) before being explored more deeply in Phase Four of the MCU, starting with ''
Loki Loki is a god in Norse mythology. According to some sources, Loki is the son of Fárbauti (a jötunn) and Laufey (mentioned as a goddess), and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. Loki is married to Sigyn and they have two sons, Narfi or Na ...
'' (2021). Additionally,
Sony's Spider-Man Universe Sony's Spider-Man Universe (SSU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Columbia Pictures in association with Marvel Entertainment. Distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing, the f ...
(SSU) ties into the MCU multiverse. '' Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse'' (2018) also ties into its own multiverse along with two more upcoming films in the series.


Concept

The 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 the
Living Tribunal The Living Tribunal is a fictional cosmic entity appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in '' Strange Tales'' #157 (June 1967) and was created by Stan Lee, Marie Severin, and Herb Trimpe. The ...
, 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 the
One-Above-All Randy O'Brien Blackjack O'Hare Blackjack O'Hare is a fictional anthropomorphic hare in Marvel Comics. The character, created by Bill Mantlo and Sal Buscema, first appeared in ''The Incredible Hulk'' (vol. 2) #271 (May 1982). Blackjack O'Har ...
, 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 of
Celestials The Celestials are fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Depicted as cosmic beings, the characters debuted in the Bronze Age of Comic Books and have reappeared on numerous occasions. The Celestials ...
existing there, it diverged. 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. According to him the ultimate fate of the Multiverse is to perish in all-encompassing heat death.


Nature of the Multiverse

According to
Forge A forge is a type of hearth used for heating metals, or the workplace (smithy) where such a hearth is located. The forge is used by the smith to heat a piece of metal to a temperature at which it becomes easier to shape by forging, or to th ...
, mutants living on these alternate Earths have lost their powers due to M-Day, as stated in "
Endangered Species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...
"; however, this mass depowering has not been seen in any of Marvel's current alternate reality publications such as ''Exiles'', the ''Ultimate Marvel'' titles, ''Amazing Spider-Girl'', the ''Marvel Adventures'' titles or ''GeNext'', 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. This, in addition to A.R.M.O.R.'s observation that
Lyra Lyra (; Latin for lyre, from Greek ''λύρα'') is a small constellation. It is one of the 48 listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy, and is one of the modern 88 constellations recognized by the International Astronomical Union. Lyra wa ...
arrived from an alternate reality 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

Not 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

*
Counter-Earth The Counter-Earth is a hypothetical body of the Solar System that orbits on the other side of the solar system from Earth. A Counter-Earth or ''Antichthon'' ( el, Ἀντίχθων) was hypothesized by the pre-Socratic Greek philosopher Philol ...
('' Heroes Reborn''): A pocket dimension where Franklin Richards stored many of Earth's superheroes after the events surrounding the appearance of
Onslaught Onslaught may refer to: Characters * Onslaught (Marvel Comics), a Marvel Comics supervillain * Onslaught (DC Comics), a DC Comics team of Quraci terrorists * Onslaught (Transformers), the leader of the Combaticons in the ''Transformers'' series ...
. Doctor Doom saved Counter-Earth from the unstable pocket dimension and placed it in an alternate orbit of Earth-616 on the other side of the Sun. * The Hill: A dangerous pocket dimension used by
Mikhail Rasputin Mikhail Nikolaievitch Rasputin is a fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is the older brother of Colossus of the X-Men and Magik of the New Mutants. He first appeared in ''The Uncanny ...
after flooding the
Morlock Morlocks are a fictional species created by H. G. Wells for his 1895 novel,'' The Time Machine'', and are the main antagonists. Since their creation by H. G. Wells, the Morlocks have appeared in many other works such as sequels, films, televi ...
tunnels. 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. Marrow and the other
Gene Nation Morlocks are a group of mutant characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The characters are usually depicted as being associated with the X-Men in the Marvel Universe. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist ...
members grew up in this dimension. * The
Microverse The comic book stories published by Marvel Comics since the 1940s have featured several noteworthy concepts besides its fictional characters, such as unique places and artifacts. There follows a list of those features. Places Certain places fe ...
: Originally, many microverses existed within the Marvel Multiverse. The most commonly visited microverse is the one containing the regions known as Sub-Atomica and the
Micronauts Micronauts is a North American science fiction toyline manufactured and marketed by Mego from 1976 to 1980. The ''Micronauts'' toyline was based on and licensed from the ''Microman'' toyline created by Japanese-based toy company Takara in 1974. ...
' Homeworld. * The Mojoverse: A dimension where all beings are addicted to gladiator-like television programs. Ruled by
Mojo Mojo may refer to: * Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in voodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * MOJO HD, an American television network * ''Mojo'' (play), by Jez Butterworth, made into a 1997 film * ' ...
and home to Spiral, Longshot and the
X-Babies The X-Babies are a group of fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They are depicted as being Mojo-manufactured child clones of the X-Men. They first appeared in ''Uncanny X-Men Annual'' #12 and were cre ...
. * The
Negative Zone The Negative Zone is a fictional setting, an antimatter universe appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The location is depicted in various publications from Marvel, most frequently in ''Fantastic Four'' and '' Captain Mar ...
: 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 Alpha is located here. Also the home of both Blastaar the Living Bomb-Burst and
Annihilus Annihilus () is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, primarily as an adversary to the Fantastic Four. The character debuted in ''Fantastic Four (comic book), Fantastic Four Annual'' #6, which was published i ...
. *
Otherplace The comic book stories published by Marvel Comics since the 1940s have featured several noteworthy concepts besides its fictional characters, such as unique places and artifacts. There follows a list of those features. Places Certain places fe ...
: Also known as "Limbo" or "demonic Limbo". A magical dimension of demons which was historically ruled by Belasco and primarily featured in the ''
X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, first appearing in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in ...
'' comic books. * The Void: A pocket dimension that exists inside
Shaman Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritu ...
's medicine bag. * Soulworld: A pocket dimension that exists inside the Soul Gem.


External realities

*
Avalon Avalon (; la, Insula Avallonis; cy, Ynys Afallon, Ynys Afallach; kw, Enys Avalow; literally meaning "the isle of fruit r appletrees"; also written ''Avallon'' or ''Avilion'' among various other spellings) is a mythical island featured in the ...
: Also known as Otherworld, this realm is an access point to the entire Marvel Multiverse utilized by the
Captain Britain Corps Captain Britain is a title used by various superheroes in comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with Excalibur. The moniker was first used in publication by Brian Braddock in ''Captain Britain Weekly'' #1 by writer C ...
. Also home to the Celtic gods and
King Arthur King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a legendary king of Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In the earliest traditions, Arthur appears as a ...
. * The
Darkforce The Darkforce is a fictional concept appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Description Darkforce is a powerful, extra-dimensional energy that can be manipulated in slightly different ways by a handful of beings that are ...
Dimension: This dimension also includes, but is not limited to, Spotworld as used by the supervillain the
Spot Spot or SPOT may refer to: Places * Spot, North Carolina, a community in the United States * The Spot, New South Wales, a locality in Sydney, Australia * South Pole Traverse, sometimes called the South Pole Overland Traverse People * Spot (prod ...
and the Brimstone Dimension as used by the X-Man Nightcrawler. *
Limbo In Catholic theology, Limbo (Latin '' limbus'', edge or boundary, referring to the edge of Hell) is the afterlife condition of those who die in original sin without being assigned to the Hell of the Damned. Medieval theologians of Western Euro ...
: Also known as "true Limbo" or "temporal Limbo"; outside of time, historically ruled by
Immortus Immortus (; Nathaniel Richards) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is the future self of Pharaoh Rama-Tut, Scarlet Centurion, Kang the Conqueror, and Iron Lad / Kid Immortus, and a descend ...
and the location to which
Rom the Spaceknight Rom the Space Knight is a superhero, originally a toy and then a magazine lead. Rom was created by Scott Dankman, Richard C. Levy, and Bryan L. McCoy for Parker Brothers and is now a Hasbro asset. After the toy was licensed to Marvel Comics, Rom ...
banished the
Dire Wraiths The Dire Wraiths are a fictional extraterrestrial species appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics and IDW Publishing. The Dire Wraiths are the main opponents of Rom the Spaceknight. Publication history The Dire Wraiths first ...
. * The Panoptichron: Home base of the reality-hopping Exiles, structurally dissimilar, but functionally similar, to Avalon.


Definitions

The classification system for alternate realities was devised, in part, by
Mark Gruenwald Mark Eugene Gruenwald (; June 18, 1953 – August 12, 1996) was an American comic book writer, editor, and occasional penciler known for his long association with Marvel Comics. Biography Early career Gruenwald got his start in comics fa ...
.


Universe

A universe is a single dimension, such as Earth-616, the mainstream Marvel Universe.


Reality

A 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 like
Dormammu Dormammu () is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in ''Strange Tales'' #126 (Nov. 1964), and was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. Debuting in the Silver Age of Comi ...
and 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 The Marvel Universe is a fictional shared universe where the stories in most American comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Comics take place. Super-teams such as the Avengers, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, the Guardians of ...
" refers to the Marvel ''Multiverse'' (in general) or to the Reality-616 (in particular) can only be determined by the context of its use.


Multiverse

A 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 the ''What If''? universes, as well as the vast number of the alternate Marvel Universe Earths.


Megaverse

A 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

According to the ''Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Alternate Universes'', and building on
Mark Gruenwald Mark Eugene Gruenwald (; June 18, 1953 – August 12, 1996) was an American comic book writer, editor, and occasional penciler known for his long association with Marvel Comics. Biography Early career Gruenwald got his start in comics fa ...
's original definition of the term, 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

As 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 the '' Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Alternate Universes''. The numerical designations for these are rarely revealed outside of reference works such as the ''Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Alternate Universes 2005''. A.R.M.O.R. and Project Pegasus however seem to possess vast knowledge of other Marvel realities, utilizing the same designations; whether this is simply narrative convenience on behalf of Marvel's authors or an unusual decision by these agencies to utilize an effectively alien catalog method is as yet unstated. The numeric designations of these alternate universes have been confirmed by
Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
throughout the years and compiled in 2005's '' Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Alternate Universes'', and in Marvel publications since the release of the ''Handbook''. Many official numbers are random or use other numbers as a base, the best example of this is Ultimate 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 the Transformers U.S. Universe, Earth-91274) or the spelling of a name with a touch-tone phone (Animated Silver Surfer Earth-936652, spells out Zenn-La). In 2014, during the publication of the "
Spider-Verse "Spider-Verse" is a 2014– 15 comic book storyline published by Marvel Comics. It features multiple alternative versions of Spider-Man that had appeared in various media, all under attack by Morlun and his family, the Inheritors. The event ...
" storyline, writer Dan Slott posted 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 in ''Spider-Verse'' brought up, such as the Spider-Friends being from Earth-1983 and not the believed designation of Earth-8107. 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 2015 ''
Secret Wars ''Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars'', commonly known as ''Secret Wars'' for short, is a twelve-issue American comic book crossover limited series published from May 1984 to April 1985 by Marvel Comics. The series was written by Jim Shooter, with ...
'' series, a confrontation with the Beyonders over the fate of the various alternate versions of the Molecule Man results in the destruction of the Multiverse, triggering various 'incursions' as Earths crash together and destroy each other, the Beyonders' assault culminating in Doctor Doom stealing 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 by Doctor 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 to
Mister Fantastic Mister Fantastic (Reed Richards) is a superhero character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is a founding member, and the leader, of the Fantastic Four. Richards has a mastery of mechanical, aerospace a ...
when 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 alternate Earths and universes

Below is a short, non-comprehensive list of the universes in the Marvel Multiverse:


Marvel Cinematic Universe


See also

*
Marvel Universe The Marvel Universe is a fictional shared universe where the stories in most American comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Comics take place. Super-teams such as the Avengers, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, the Guardians of ...
*
Multiverse (DC Comics) In DC Comics, the Multiverse is a "cosmic construct" composed of the many fictional universes the stories of DC take place in. The worlds in this multiverse share a space and fate in common, and its structure has changed several times in the h ...


References


Bibliography

*''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)


External links


Appendix to The Marvel Universe Alternate Universes PageAlternity
*
A Guide to the Many Marvel Multiverses
at Marvel Universe {{Marvel Comics Marvel Comics dimensions Fictional universes Continuity (fiction) Comics about multiple time paths Comics about parallel universes