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Within the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise and its related media, the multiverse is a construct and setting that is used to connect various universes in-franchise and various Marvel-related film franchises under the scope of Marvel Studios. First introduced in Doctor Strange (2016), it was expanded upon considerably in "The Multiverse Saga" of the MCU, beginning with the Disney+ series Loki (2021–2023) in Phase Four of the MCU, and planned to conclude with the Phase Six film Avengers: Secret Wars (2027). The universes set within the MCU multiverse have been shown to be variable in nature, and are usually designated either in-film itself, by Marvel Studios themselves, or have been confirmed by a producer or director of the respective media.
After the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney in 2019, Marvel Studios had the rights to characters associated with franchises produced by other studios that were either put on hold as a result of the merger, or had been rebooted in favor of a new iteration, such as Spider-Man, the X-Men or the Fantastic Four. This allowed the chance to link them to the MCU via the multiverse and provide closure to character arcs that otherwise were abruptly stopped.
Background
editConcept and creation
editThe multiverse was first introduced to the Marvel Comics during the 1960s and 1970s. In Strange Tales #103 (1962), the character Johnny Storm of the Fantastic Four is teleported to an alternate reality for the first time in Marvel history, with the character sent to the Fifth Dimension.[1] The concept of the multiverse was then fully explored in What If...? #1 (1977) and Marvel Two-in-One #50 (1979),[2] with the term "multiverse" first used in the What If...? series.[1] The main reality featured in the comics, Earth-616, was first named in The Daredevils #7 (1983) by Captain Britain creator David Thorpe to differentiate the character from his alternate versions.[3][4]
In 2008, the film Iron Man was released, kickstarting the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) media franchise.[5] The setting of the franchise was subsequently designated Earth-199999 by Marvel Comics in the hardcover version of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z, Vol. 5 (2008).[6][7] The characters Loki, Gwenpool, and Doctor Strange from the comics have been shown to be aware of the MCU's existence.[8][9][10] The multiverse is introduced to the MCU in the film Doctor Strange (2016), with director Scott Derrickson noting that the character in the comics had previously "broke[n] open the Marvel comic book universe into the Marvel multiverse".[11] At the time, producer and Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige stated that there were no plans to explore parallel universes similar to the ones featured in the comics, with the film instead exploring various "alien dimensions".[12]
The MCU multiverse is revisited in the film Avengers: Endgame (2019), in which the Avengers journey to four alternate timelines as part of a "Time Heist".[13] The escape of an alternate version of Loki from an alternate 2012 New York sets up the first season of the Disney+ series Loki (2021).[14][15] The multiverse plays a central role in Phase Four of the MCU, most notably in the first season of Loki,[16] the first and second seasons of the Disney+ series What If...? (2021 and 2023),[17][18] the film Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021),[19] and the film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022).[20] Phase Four, Phase Five, and Phase Six of the MCU will comprise "The Multiverse Saga".[21]
The showrunners of Loki collaborated with the crews behind the Disney+ series WandaVision (2021), What If...?, and the film Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023), as all three projects are connected to the multiverse in some way. Together with WandaVision co-executive producer Mary Livanos and What If...? executive producer Brad Winderbaum, Loki executive producers Kevin Wright and Stephen Broussard developed a "rule book" regarding the MCU's multiverse and alternate timelines.[22][23] Feige also held a meeting with Marvel Studios executives to discuss the rules of the multiverse and how they would present it to audiences.[24]
With the release of The Marvel Cinematic Universe: An Official Timeline in October 2023, Feige wrote in its foreword that Marvel Studios only considered, at that time, projects developed by them in their first four phases as part of their "Sacred Timeline", but acknowledged the history of other Marvel films and television series that would exist in the larger multiverse given they were "canonical to Marvel". Additionally, he noted as Marvel Studios progressed in the Multiverse Saga, other outside timelines had the potential to "crash or converge" with the Sacred Timeline.[25]
Designations
editCompared to Marvel Comics, the way universes are designated in the MCU multiverse is different, as it is intended to be separate from the way the comics do so – Doctor Strange (2016) director Scott Derrickson described that film as starting the "Marvel Cinematic multiverse".[26] In 2008, the designation for the MCU, shortly after the release of Iron Man (2008), was revealed as "Earth-199999" by Marvel Comics within the Marvel multiverse as part of their continuity.[27] Easter eggs referring to the MCU as Earth-616 or alluding to it were referenced in Thor: The Dark World (2013), Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) and Loki (2021–present), although they were either non-canonical, revealed as ruses (in the case of Far From Home) or left intentionally vague.
Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) connected the MCU to previous Spider-Man films (starring Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield, respectively) as well as Sony's Spider-Man Universe (SSU), the first two franchises having previously being officially designated by Marvel Comics as "Earth-96283" and "Earth-120703", although not referred to as such in the MCU.[28][29] The SSU later received its designation in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023) as "Earth-688", despite the designation being already used in the comics.[30]
In Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022), one of the major universes visited by Strange is designated "Earth-838", where that universe’s Christine Palmer refers to the main MCU universe as Earth-616.[27] This was intentional – Marvel Studios producer Nate Moore and eventually president Kevin Feige referred to the main MCU timeline as Earth-616 as far back as late 2021.[31][32][33] On the commentary audio track for Multiverse of Madness, director Sam Raimi revealed that the universe that an alternate version of Stephen Strange seen in the opening scene originated from was designated "Earth-617".[34]
List of alternate Earths
editMain universes
editAs of 2024, at least a dozen or so alternate realities have been depicted on-screen or referenced to in six projects so far: Avengers: Endgame (2019), Loki (2021–2023), Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022), The Marvels (2023) and Deadpool & Wolverine (2024). Some of these realities take inspiration from various projects of Marvel or diverge from the main MCU timeline. Additionally, it has linked previous film franchises of Marvel characters to the main MCU, as is the case with Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy (2002–07) and Marc Webb's The Amazing Spider-Man duology (2012–14), both of which were produced by Sony Pictures Entertainment, the X-Men and Fantastic Four films produced by 20th Century Fox, as well as other non-MCU films from the 2000s, including the Blade trilogy produced by New Line Cinema from 1998–2004.
Official reality designation | Brief description | First appearance | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Introduced in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films | ||||
Earth-616 Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) ("Sacred Timeline") |
|
Iron Man (2008) | ||
Earth-617[34] |
|
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) | ||
Earth-838 |
| |||
Earth-███ |
| |||
Earth-███ |
|
The Marvels (2023) | ||
Earth-TBD |
|
The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025) | ||
Introduced in Sony Pictures Entertainment's films | ||||
Earth-███ ("Raimi-verse") |
|
Spider-Man (2002) | ||
Earth-███ (“Webb-verse") |
|
The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) | ||
Earth-688 Sony's Spider-Man Universe (SSU) |
|
Venom (2018) | ||
Introduced in 20th Century Fox's films | ||||
Earth-10005 |
|
X-Men (2000) | ||
Earth-███ |
|
Fantastic Four (2005) | ||
Earth-███ |
|
Daredevil (2003) | ||
Introduced in New Line Cinema's films | ||||
Earth-███ |
|
Blade (1998) |
What If…? universes
editIn the animated anthology series What If...?, many different alternate universes are explored. All of them branch from established events from the main MCU continuity of Earth-616, with various changes to a character's origin or where events of one of the films played out in a different way. These can have dire consequences on the universe, or in extreme cases, the multiverse, as what happened with an alternate Ultron. Season 2 of What If...? continues to explore alternate universes from various points in the MCU, or continue previous storylines in alternate universes depicted in season 1.
Official reality designation | Brief description | First appearance |
---|---|---|
Earth-███ |
|
What If... Captain Carter Were the First Avenger? – 1.01 (2021) |
Earth-███ |
|
What If... T'Challa Became a Star-Lord? – 1.02 (2021) |
Earth-███ |
|
What If... the World Lost Its Mightiest Heroes? – 1.03 (2021) |
Earth-███ (destroyed) |
|
What If... Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands? – 1.04 (2021) |
Earth-███ |
|
What If... Zombies?! – 1.05 (2021) |
Earth-███ |
|
What If... Killmonger Rescued Tony Stark? – 1.06 (2021) |
Earth-███ |
|
What If... Thor Were an Only Child? – 1.07 (2021) |
Earth-███ |
|
What If... Ultron Won? – 1.08 (2021) |
Other known universes
editBesides What If...?, some timelines have diverged from Earth-616 at unspecified points in the past or were shown briefly or had a lesser impact on the plot before eventually being pruned or reversed. Examples of these were shown in the ABC television series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013–2020), especially in later seasons, as well as the results of the Time Heists in Avengers: Endgame (2019).
Official reality designation | Brief description | First appearance | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Depicted in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films | ||||
Earth-███ (pruned) |
|
Avengers: Endgame (2019) | ||
Earth-███ |
| |||
Earth-███ (pruned) |
The Nexus Event (Loki 1.04) | |||
Depicted in other Marvel media | ||||
Earth-███ |
|
N/A | ||
Earth-███ |
|
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (season 5) | ||
Earth-███ |
|
"Mother's Little Helpers" (Helstrom) |
See also
editReferences
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- ^ McMillan, Graeme (November 15, 2014). "Worlds Collide: A History of Marvel and DC's Multiverses". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on August 11, 2021. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
- ^ Dyce, Andre (September 13, 2019). "Why Marvel's Universe is Called '616' in The Comics". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on September 22, 2019. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
- ^ Frevele, Jamie (November 19, 2020). "The Origin Story of Earth-616 As Told by Its Creator, Writer David Thorpe". Marvel.com. Archived from the original on November 21, 2020. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
- ^ Douglas, Edward (April 25, 2010). "Exclusive: Marvel Studios Production Head Kevin Feige". Superhero Hype. Archived from the original on May 26, 2010. Retrieved March 31, 2013.
- ^ Francisco, Eric (May 8, 2019). "'Spider-Man: Far From Home': "Earth-616" Reveal Raises Some Huge Questions". Inverse. Archived from the original on July 24, 2019. Retrieved November 4, 2021.
- ^ Kleinman, Jake (May 5, 2022). "The Marvel Multiverse Explained: Earth-616 vs. Earth-838 vs. Earth-199999". Inverse. Archived from the original on May 11, 2022. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
- ^ Whitbrook, James (May 8, 2019). "A New Spider-Man: Far From Home Clip Has Some Very Intriguing Teases About the Multiverse". io9. Gizmodo. Archived from the original on May 8, 2019. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
- ^ McGuire, Liam (July 31, 2020). "Marvel Comics Makes Natalie Portman's MCU Thor Meta-Canon". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on December 30, 2020. Retrieved November 4, 2021.
- ^ Phelan, Kevin (July 21, 2020). "Marvel's Doctor Strange Approves of His MCU Casting". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved November 4, 2021.
- ^ Davis, Brandon (July 24, 2016). "Scott Derrickson Says Doctor Strange Starts The Marvel Cinematic Multiverse". ComicBook.com. Archived from the original on July 25, 2016. Retrieved July 24, 2016.
- ^ Sciretta, Peter (September 27, 2016). "Kevin Feige on How 'Doctor Strange' Will Change The Marvel Universe [On Set Interview]". /Film. Archived from the original on September 30, 2016. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
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- ^ Outlaw, Kofi (August 12, 2021). "How Marvel's What If...? Coordinated With Loki, WandaVision, Spider-Man, and More". ComicBook.com. Archived from the original on August 12, 2021. Retrieved August 12, 2021.
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