Multiverse (Marvel Comics)

Within Marvel Comics, most stories take place within the Marvel Universe, which in turn is part of a larger multiverse. Starting with the Captain Britain story in The Daredevils #7, the main continuity in which most Marvel storylines take place was designated as Earth-616. Other writers would use and define the Multiverse in titles such as Exiles, Ultimate Fantastic Four, and Spider-Verse. New universes would also spin out of storylines involving time-traveling characters such as Rachel Summers, Cable, and Bishop, as their actions would render the worlds they visit as alternate timelines. Various organizations attempt to safeguard and protect the universe, among them the Captain Britain Corps, the Council of Watchers, the Exiles, the Council of Reeds, and the Time Variance Authority (TVA). The multiverse also plays a role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), with its main universe designated as Earth-199999 in external media and as Earth-616 in internal media. The concept was first introduced in Doctor Strange (2016) before becoming the focal point of the franchise in "the Multiverse Saga" (2021–present). Additionally, the multiverse has also been explored in the X-Men film series, Sony's Spider-Man Universe (SSU), and the Spider-Verse franchise, with the latter featuring multiple versions of Spider-Man across different universes, and the former two being tangentially connected to the MCU.