The Marvel Multiverse

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is going all in on the concept of the multiverse. This was introduced in films like Doctor Strange, Spider-Man: No Way Home, and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness the following year. The Loki series introduced us to a version of Kang the Conquerer, the villain of the interconnected stories that Marvel is calling the Multiverse Saga. The multiverse is also an important part of the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse series, and Marvel Comics in general. But let's pause for a second here. If you're reading this, you probably have questions. What is the multiverse? Why should we care? Let's answer those questions and explore some of the more important universes in Marvel Comics, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and beyond!

What is the Multiverse?

The multiverse is the name for the many related, fictional universes in Marvel Comics—though the concept applies to DC Comics and other media franchises as well. The storyline or "continuity" of their major comic books typically takes place in one universe. Other universes are used for branching or spin-off stories, variant characters or events, humor, or other reasons. This allows these alternate storylines to exist without interfering with the continuity of the main universe. Marvel Comics and the Marvel Cinematic Universe take place in separate universes, for example, so that a character's actions—or even death—in one doesn't affect the other.

In another example, the Days of Future Past was a storyline that explored a future where many popular X-Men characters were dead. Killing off so many characters in the main universe would have meant ending dozens of popular comic book lines—and financial disaster for Marvel Comics—so the alternative universe allowed them to play with a fun "what if?" scenario.

The Multiverse Saga and More

The lastest films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe are part of their "Multiverse Saga", which is why we're discussing Marvel's multiverse now. Just as their earlier films were part of the Infinity Saga, which built up to the war with Thanos, the MCU's current storyline is leading up to a war with Kang the Conquerer. Thanos was a powerful villain, but what makes Kang so dangerous is that he wants to conquer every multiverse. A variant of Kang made his MCU debut in the Loki television series, and the multiverse has only become more prevalent in subsequent series and films.

Outsider the MCU, the Marvel Multiverse includes the "spider-verses" of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and its sequels, the X-Men films, and more.

With those explanations out of the way, let's look at some of the more important universes in the Marvel Multiverse!

Earth-616

Earth-616 is the main continuity for Marvel Comics storylines, and is often called the "Prime Earth" or "Prime Universe". All of the primary comic book superheroes, from the Avengers to the X-Men to the Guardians of the Galaxy, live in Earth-616. The "616" number has been mentioned in many series, often as an Easter egg, although some former editors and executives (including Joe Quesada and Tom Brevoort) have expressed their dislike for the concept.

Earth-199999

Earth-199999 is the main continuity for Marvel Cinematic Universe films and television series, including The Avengers films, The Guardians of the Galaxy films, the Spider-Man films, The Eternals, The Defenders and Inhumans series, and so on. Or we should say that it was the main continuity. "199999" was used in official Marvel publications starting in 2008, though by 2021, the MCU universe had changed to Earth-616. "616" was officially mentioned onscreen in 2022's Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

Earth-10005, Earth-TRN414, Earth-811, and Earth-17315

Earth-10005 is the primary universe of the X-Men film franchise, from X-Men (2000) through X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)—and potentially into future films, at least canonically.

During the events of X-Men: Days of Future Past, Logan is sent back in time to 1973, which creates a new continuity or universe that has never been named by Marvel. The Marvel Database, a fan-run Marvel wiki, has given it the "temporary reality number" of Earth-TRN414. Note that this is entirely a fandom universe name, though its use is increasing in popularity online.

Earth-811 is the universe for the comic book version of Days of Future Past. If Marvel ever names the TRN414 universe, we wouldn't be surprised if they chose 811.

The 2017 film Logan is set in Earth-17315, an alternate X-Men universe where mutants are no longer being born. This is the perfect example of why Marvel uses the multiverse, because it allows them to tell interesting stories without affecting the continuity of their ongoing series.

Earth-1610 and Earth-TRN700

Earth-1610 is the universe of the Ultimate Marvel line of comics, a 2000 reboot that incorporated the Avengers, X-Men, the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, and other characters. These related comics were more modern, easier to get into (unlike earlier series with hundreds of issues), and the characters felt more realistic. As an example, the comic book version of Miles Morales debuted in 2011, a late addition to the line—which ended in 2015. An interesting fact is that, while the MCU superheroes were from Earth-616/199999, many of their costumes were based on the Earth-1610 versions.

Earth-TRN700 is another temporary reality number for the universe of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse—or at least the universe of its main protagonist, Miles Morales. Again, this is a fan-created name for use on the Marvel Database—and like Earth-TRN414, it gets used elsewhere as well. Interestingly enough, the universe is named "E-1610" in Into the Spider-Verse itself, which leads us to believe that Marvel intended the film version of Miles Morales to be set in the same universe as his comic book version.

Earth-838

Earth-838 is a universe that we visit in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. This universe includes Peggy Carter as Captain Carter, Maria Rambeau as Captain Marvel, Baron Mordo as the Sorcerer Supreme—all fun "what if"-type variants.

Earth-TRN732 and Earth-TRN870

Earth-TRN732 and Earth-TRN870 are two more temporary reality numbers named by the Marvel Database. Earth-TRN732 is the universe created when Loki steals the Tesseract during the "Time Heist" in Avengers: Endgame. Earth-TRN870 is the setting of the Time Variance Authority (TVA) in the Loki series, as well as He Who Remains/Nathaniel Richards, a variant of Kang the Conquerer.

Because we're currently in the Multiverse Saga of the MCU with Kang the Conquerer as the main villain, we wouldn't be surprised if Marvel names these universes at some point.

Other Important Marvel Universes

There are nearly three thousand universes named by Marvel and nearly five hundred named by the Marvel Database, so we can't include them all. These are some of the more important universes that you might recognize:

• Earth-65 is the universe of Gwen Stacy (Spider-Woman), a main character of Into the Spider-Verse.
• Earth-2149 is the universe of the Marvel Zombies comic book series, which is being adapted into an animated television series.
• Earth-9602 is the universe of the DC vs. Marvel comic book crossover series.
• Earth-10022 is the universe of Planet Hulk, parts of which were adapted for Thor: Ragnarok.
• Earth-13122 is the Marvel Legoverse, where all of the Lego Marvel games are set.
• Earth-14123 is the universe of the Big Hero 6 franchise.
• Earth-26320 is the universe of the Blade franchise.
• Earth-92131 is the universe of X-Men: The Animated Series and Spider-Man: The Animated Series.
• Earth-96283 is the universe of the Sam Raimi Spider-Man film series.
• Earth-120703 is the universe of the Marc Webb The Amazing Spider-Man film series.
• Earth-534834 is the universe of Iron Man: The Animated Series, Fantastic Four: The Animated Series, and The Incredible Hulk (later The Incredible Hulk and She-Hulk).
• Earth-807128 is the universe of Old Man Logan, which was partially adapted into the film Logan.

You can read more about the Marvel Multiverse at Wikipedia or at the Marvel Database.

Do you have a favorite Marvel Universe/series? Did we miss it? Let us know in the comments. Also be sure to check out all of our Marvel gifts!