The Marvel Multiverse: Earth-1218

Earth-1218 is the reality designated to our universe, it was first designated in the letters page of New Exiles #3 and is numbered after the editor of the book, Jordan D. White. While it is possible for characters to reference Earth-1218 such as Deadpool, Gwenpool and She-Hulk our reality generally plays by the same rules as our actual reality.

In this reality, all characters from other realities are considered as fictional creations currently owned by Marvel Comics. It's stated in-universe that superpowered individuals would automatically lose their abilities upon entering this reality due to the rules of this reality being too strict to allow for superheroes and god-like beings.

While characters have occasionally showed up in an Earth similar to ours, these are viewed as variations due to the aforementioned loss of powers heroes would experience failing to occur. The most notable moment of a character crossing into an Earth similar to ours would be in the finale of Spider-man: The Animated Series which featured a version of Stan Lee who is notable for his contributions to the Marvel lineage.

The Marvel Multiverse: Earth-199999

In order to acknowledge and address differences between the realities where comics occur it was decided to assign them a number. The Marvel Cinematic Universe events all transpire in a reality designated 'Earth-199999'

This is intended to allow for potential multiverse development in future while acknowledging that the Marvel Cinematic Universe, while adapting from comics, is not a direct adaptation of the comics they are sourcing. This allows for the franchise to take creative liberties with its characters without relying entirely on the pre-existing lore of the comics.

Earth-199999 while on a fundamental level applies similar mechanics as our reality, expands upon them most notably in the mythology of Thor and the nature of science eventually reaching the stage where it is indistinguishable from magic. This forms a method enabling magical actions in the MCU to be accepted as an evolution of technology without breaking the suspension of disbelief and in the process maintaining narrative consistency with its world when introducing more mystical or normally non-believable aspects such as the magical abilities of the Sorcerer Supreme, Doctor Strange.

While it's worth acknowledging that the events of the Marvel Cinematic Universe are set in a particular reality, the nature of the MCU multiverse currently has not been explored, though this is set to change, meaning confusion is not as much of issue when dealing with the differing realities.

What is the 'MCU'

 

The MCU is the collective term to describe content associated or relating to a series of American Superhero films released by Marvel Studios based on the characters that appear in Marvel Comics. The term itself is short for Marvel Cinematic Universe generally referring to the nature of the movies, in which they primarily are interconnected to set-up team-up movies or develop an over arcing narrative.

Due to its nature and longevity along with primarily positive reactions to its releases, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is the highest grossing franchise in the world, surpassing the second highest franchise (Star Wars) by roughly $12 billion at the time or writing.

Although the birth of the Marvel Cinematic Universe can be traced back to the appearance of Nick Fury at the end of Iron Man along with the references to the 'Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division' known better perhaps as S.H.I.E.L.D - the nature of the MCU is ever expanding and covers a wide range of different media methods including comics, books, movies, music and more.