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Summary
Within its straggle story landscape , Marvel Comics ' Multiverse is timeless , and limitless – the story of how it come to be so central to Marvel ’s storytelling does n’t go back quite as far , definitively beginning roughly fifty years ago , as the company sought to stay on assure tonic , exciting stories by search dissimilar versions of its iconic characters .
How the Marvel Multiverse became what it is today contains insights into where Marvel might be headed in the future , as well as how the Multiverse will be – or could be – utilize on - screen in coming Phases of the MCU . Already , with photographic film like Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness , and Disney+ shows such asLokiand the animatedWhat If … ?series , the Marvel Cinematic Universe is expanding to meet the possibility of its Multiverse , to adapt Graeco-Roman Multiverse stories , and to integrate properties like theX - Menfranchise into its partake in continuity . For fan of Marvel in any mass medium , it ’s deserving revisiting somecritical minute in the Multiverse ’s development .
The Pre-History Of The Multiverse
Human Torch’s Interdimensional Adventure
Strange Tales#103 was an early Marvel storyfeaturing a parallel dimension . clear-cut from an alternate macrocosm , it was a separate plane of beingness , connected to Earth by a strong-arm portal , populated by beings as exotic and unusual to the human Johnny Storm as any he might have encountered in outer space . In the solo Human Torch tarradiddle , " Prisoner Of The 5th Dimension , " Storm helped release the denizens of this previously - uncontacted proportion , before returning to his native realm , tunneling through the ground of Long Island where the portal vein was located . The Fantastic Fourwould later on come back to this proportion in Marvel ’s first story to explore an alternative timeline .
foreign Tales#103 – pen by Stan Lee and Larry Lieber , with art by Steve Ditko and Jack Kirby – was release in September , 1962 .
Pre-History Lesson, Part 2
The Fantastic Four’s First Encounter With An Alternate Timeline
InFantastic Four#161 , the Human Torch return to the " fifth attribute " he had antecedently visited inStrange Tales#103 – only to find it under onset from Reed Richards . As it turned out , this was a Reed Richards from an alternative timeline , one with obvious divergences from Torch ’s familiar timeline . This storey cater the earliest example of Marvel superheroes derive into conflict with alternate versions of themselves that are explicitly tell to amount from an alternate timeline . While it does n’t situate the alternate timeline encountered by the Fantastic Four in the larger fabric of a Multiverse , it distinctly has the differentiation of being the most direct , straightaway case law to Marvel ’s Multiverse .
wonderful Four#161 – written by Roy Thomas , with artistry by Rich Buckler – was expel in May , 1975 .
Marvel should quicken its long - running Two - In - One anthology serial publication with a new Multiversal turn , and make it a playground for new creative endowment .
The Formal Introduction Of The Multiverse Concept
Marvel Asks “What If…?”
A little over a class afterFantastic Four ’s three - result discharge bring in the approximation of alternate timeline , Marvel debuted a groundbreaking series , one that would irrevocably shift the society ’s trajectory in the long - term : What If … ?An anthology series , What If … ?featured alternate continuity stories , highlight story departure from the troupe ’s accept canon . start with " What If Spider - Man conjoin The Fantastic Four ? , " the initial intensity of the title run for over a decade , andestablished the marrow principals of a Marvel Multiverse story . More importantly , the opening narration ofWhat If … #1 – byFantastic Fourcharacter Uatu the Watcher – definitively established the creation of many divergent world , with the series run low on to popularize the terminal figure " Multiverse . "
What If … ?#1 – write by Roy Thomas , with art by Jim Craig – came out in November , 1976 .
A Coherent Multiversal Order Takes Shape
Marvel’s Main Continuity Is Formally Designated “Earth-616”
Of all places , an substantive part of contemporary Marvel Universe lore come from legendary writer Alan Moore , in the Captain Britain fib " Rough Justice " from the Marvel UK anthology titleThe Daredevils , in the seventh of the serial ' eleven issue . In a fib dealing with interlingual rendition of Captain Britain from multiple reality , Moore dubbed the master Marvel Universe"Earth-616 " – the number stuck , for the most part because it inaugurate a key concept into the still - fledgling Multiversal lore : the realities of the Multiverse could be catalog , indexed , and kept path of . This was , of course , useful for Marvel and its Divine , but moreso , it proved vital for fans , who now had linguistic process to more easily discuss the Multiverse .
" Rough Justice " – publish by Alan Moore , with Art by Alan Davis – was published inThe Daredevils#7 , in July , 1983 .
A New Universe Takes Center Stage…For A Time
Marvel’s Ultimate Imprint Proved Alternate Continuities Can Coexist
Ultimate Spider - Man#1 , debuting in 2000 , was more than just a newSpider - Mantitle – it was the genesis of a new timeline , an alternate Marvel persistence that would coexist alongside the main Earth-616 title . The achiever ofUltimate Marvelproved that the instinct behind a reboot was correct , but that the same end answer could be achieved without alienate fans of the exist canyon . Ultimate Marvel – designate " Earth-1610 " – operated as a co - main Marvel Universe with the company ’s 616 - titles for fifteen years , before the original entreaty of the raw continuity ran its trend , and theUltimateUniverse was destroyed , with select element integrated into the primary continuity .
Ultimate Spider - Man#1 – written by Brian Michael Bendis , with art by Mark Bagley – was put out in September , 2000 .
Marvel has revealed a new Ultimate Universe and gives reader a look at the sword - new Ultimate versions of Spider - Man and the Green Goblin .
A New Kind Of “What If…?” For A New Era
The Exiles Tour The Multiverse LIke Never Before
In 2001 , as theUltimateUniverse was still in its former stage , Marvel releasedExiles#1 – anX - deed that took aWhat If … ?concept and rick it into a sustainable , and democratic , ongoing serial . Exileswas as vital to formulate the modern conception of the Marvel Multiverse as anything . With a squad comprised of mutants from disparate realness thrown together on a Universe - hopping mission , Exilesoffered readers a feeling at the breadth and unbounded potential of the Multiverse like few report that had issue forth before . As the team go on aQuantum Leap - esque journeying to fix " broken " realities , the series leave a break - out opportunity for several of its major character , most notably Blink .
Exiles#1 – write by Judd Winick , with art by Mike McKone – was publish in June 2001 .
Marvel Tries To Contain Its Multiverse
Secret Wars Re-Shaped The Marvel Cosmos…For A Time
2015’sSecret Warswas an endeavor by the mogul at Marvel to reign in its sprawl Multiverse – as with the " House of M " diminution of the mutant population from a 10 prior , this produced mixed results , and over prison term has been undo to a turgid extent . orphic Warsconsolidated the Multiverse , and then reformulated it into a more controlled version by the determination of the floor . The crossing over event was most notable for bringing the originalUltimateline of comics to an remainder , while bestow major characters such as Miles Morales into the master continuity – and leaving an evil Reed Richards chance variable dangling , so theUltimateUniverse could one day be rebooted .
Secret Wars ( 2015)#1 – by Jonathan Hickan , with art by Esad Ribic – was released in May , 2015 . [ Not to be confused with the 1984 - 85 Marvel crossover also titledSecret Wars . ]
A New Medium For The Multiverse
The MCU’s Future Phases Involve Many Worlds
Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madnesswas release in May , 2022 .
The Future(s) Of The Multiverse
On The Page And Screen, Marvel Will Keep Telling Alternate Continuity Stories
WithAvengers : Secret Warsscheduled for 2027 , it appear the MCU ’s Multiverse may have a teleology , a plan behind it , leading to a decisive end point . In Marvel Comics , the Multiverse continue to sport on a regular basis . In all mediums , from the page , to the big and pocket-size screenland , to telecasting and roleplaying games , it can be gestate to thrive , and be utilized in lease fresh mode . As much as popping culture fans love canon , they love to reflect on deviations from that canyon , and in that case , Marvel Comicswill stay on to populate its Multiverse with an inexhaustible parade of alternate versions of its character .
avenger : Secret Warswill conclude Phase Six of the MCU .
