Multiverse (Marvel Comics)

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages) This article may be too technical for most readers to understand. Please help improve it to make it understandable to non-experts, without removing the technical details. (September 2010) (Learn how and when to remove this message) This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. The specific problem is: Few sources, no real-world context. Please help improve this article if you can. (April 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Within Marvel Comics, most stories take place within the fictional 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 Earth-616, and the Multiverse was established as being protected by Merlyn. Each universe has a Captain Britain designated to protect its version of the British Isles. These protectors are collectively known as the Captain Britain Corps. This numerical notation was continued in the series Excalibur and other titles. Each universe of the Multiverse in Marvel also appears to be defended by a Sorcerer Supreme at nearly all times, appointed by the mystic trinity of Vishanti to defend the world against threats primarily magical in nature from within and beyond and bearing the Eye of Agamotto.

Later on, many writers would use and reshape the Multiverse in titles such as Exiles, X-Men, and Ultimate Fantastic Four. New universes would also spin out of storylines involving time-traveling characters such as Rachel Summers, Cable, and Bishop, as their actions rendered their home times alternate timelines.

The multiverse also plays a role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), with the central and main universe having been known as Earth-199999 in external media and 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 an emphasis on the latter regarding multiple versions of Spider-Man.