Marvel’s journey into the multiverse began just a year after its official launch, planting the seeds for a vast network of alternate realities, timelines, and cosmic hierarchies that would evolve into one of the most complex storytelling frameworks in comics. From Johnny Storm’s early trip to the Fifth Dimension in Strange Tales #103 to the introduction of cosmic overseers like the Living Tribunal and The One Above All, Marvel gradually built a rich multiverse filled with branching timelines, alternate Earths, and infinite possibilities. With the rise of the Time Variance Authority and shows like What If…?, the multiverse has become more central than ever—connecting not only characters and dimensions, but entire narratives across decades. This article explores how Marvel’s multiverse came to be, who maintains its balance, and how it fits into the larger concepts of the Megaverse and Omniverse.
The Beginning: Marvel’s First Steps Into the Multiverse
Marvel Comics officially launched in 1961, and just a year later, readers got their first taste of what would eventually become known as the multiverse. In Strange Tales #103 (1962), Johnny Storm—the Human Torch—found himself transported to the Fifth Dimension, later labeled Earth-1612. This early tale hinted that other worlds beyond the main Marvel reality existed.
The following year, Marvel deepened the idea. In Fantastic Four #10 (1963), Doctor Doom was sent to the microscopic realm of Subatomica. Later that same year, in Fantastic Four #19, the team traveled back in time to face Rama-Tut, who would later be revealed as a version of Kang the Conqueror. These stories proved that Marvel characters could venture not only through space but across time and dimensions.
More examples continued to pop up throughout the 1960s, including Strange Tales #126 (1964) and Fantastic Four Annual #6 (1968), building the framework of what we now understand as the Marvel multiverse.
Naming the Main Earth: How Earth-616 Was Born
The term “Earth-616” is now synonymous with the main Marvel continuity. It was first used in The Daredevils #7 in 1983, a UK-published Marvel anthology. Although Alan Moore is often credited with coining the term, artist Alan Davis claims it was actually David Thorpe who came up with the idea. Marvel has acknowledged Thorpe’s contribution, though Moore has taken public credit. Regardless of who named it, Earth-616 became the central reality in Marvel’s vast collection of alternate worlds.
Understanding the Marvel Multiverse
At its core, the Marvel multiverse is a collection of alternate universes that each follow their own continuity. Many of these universes are created by one key event playing out differently from Earth-616. The What If…? animated series on Disney+ is a perfect way to visualize this—every episode explores how the world would change if a single decision or moment was altered.
For example, what if Peggy Carter became Captain America instead of Steve Rogers? What if T’Challa was abducted by the Ravagers and became Star-Lord? These stories exist in alternate universes within the multiverse, each with its own rules, heroes, and outcomes.
But how many universes are there? According to the Book of Vishanti—Marvel’s cosmic guidebook—there’s a transfinite number of universes. In simpler terms, there are more than infinite universes in the multiverse. It’s constantly expanding, shifting, and evolving.
The Cosmic Hierarchy: Who’s Really in Charge?
Now let’s talk power. The Marvel multiverse operates on a cosmic food chain. At the very top sits The One Above All—an omnipotent being that represents the writers and creators of the Marvel universe. Without this force, none of the stories or characters would exist.
Next in line is the Living Tribunal, the cosmic judge of the multiverse. His role is to maintain balance and enforce justice across all universes. He’s far more powerful than even Galactus or the Celestials.
Below the Tribunal, we find abstract entities such as:
- Master Order and Lord Chaos
- Mistress Love and Sire Hate
Then come the heavyweights like:
- Galactus
- The Celestials
- The Stranger
- Kronos
While there are many other powerful beings like the Beyonders or Watchers, this breakdown offers a general sense of the cosmic structure that governs Marvel’s multiverse.
The Multiverse’s First Protectors: Merlin and the Captain Britain Corps
Surprisingly, one of the earliest protectors of the multiverse in Marvel Comics is Merlin, the legendary sorcerer from King Arthur’s court. He created the Captain Britain Corps, a group of superpowered defenders—each assigned to a different reality’s version of the British Isles. Their base of power lies in the Omniversal Dimensional Nexus, a mystical energy source located in a tower on the UK shoreline.
Every Captain Britain draws strength from this nexus, combining Merlin’s science and sorcery to defend their respective universes from collapse or invasion.
Enter the TVA: Guardians of the Timeline
With the Loki series bringing the Time Variance Authority (TVA) into the spotlight, we now understand their essential role. The TVA’s job is to monitor timelines and prevent chaos. In the Marvel Universe, time travel often causes alternate realities, leading to divergence from the sacred timeline.
Characters like Kang the Conqueror (and all his variants) are often the cause of this disruption. The TVA works to prune or fix these timelines before the multiverse becomes unmanageable. However, as seen in Loki, things don’t always go as planned.
Continuity vs. Dimension: Understanding Marvel’s Internal Logic
Marvel has always been a massive storytelling machine, and to make sense of it all, it helps to separate continuity from dimension:
- Continuity refers to the narrative timeline within a specific universe (e.g., Earth-616 or Earth-2149).
- Dimension, on the other hand, refers to separate realms like Asgard or Mephisto’s hellish domain—which can still exist within the Earth-616 continuity.
Things get tricky when you consider Marvel’s various imprints. For instance:
- The Ultimate Marvel Universe has its own separate continuity.
- Other imprints like Marvel MAX and Marvel UK still fall under the Earth-616 timeline, depending on the story and writer.
The key is to pay attention to the setting and the creative team behind each series.
Multiverse vs. Megaverse vs. Omniverse: What’s the Difference?
Now that we’ve laid the groundwork, it’s time to look at the three big “-verses” in Marvel:
The Multiverse
This is the collection of all alternate universes within Marvel—every What If, every alternate Spider-Man, every zombie apocalypse, and so on.
The Megaverse
The megaverse is a step above. It refers to collections of multiple multiverses. Think of each multiverse as having its own cosmic rules and hierarchy, separate from others in the megaverse. It’s a term first mentioned in the 21st-century edition of The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe.
The Omniverse
The big one. The omniverse includes everything—every universe, multiverse, and fictional reality ever created. That means not only Marvel, but also DC Comics, Star Wars, Dragon Ball Z, Godzilla, and literally any other fictional universe. All of these coexist within one massive omniverse.
By definition, there’s only one omniverse, because it includes all fiction, all timelines, all realities—past, present, and future.
Also Read: Origin and Powers of Electro: Spider-Man’s Electrifying Enemy