The Marvel Multiverse is almost as old as the Marvel Universe. Exploring the possibilities of alternate universes, may not have been invented by Marvel Comics, but they nearly perfected it. Just look at some popular titles that explore those possibilities; What If? Exiles. Spider-Verse. Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness. All of these titles look at alternate versions of Earth, but which are the best, or most interesting universes? Today we are counting down the Top 10 Earths within Marvel’s Multiverse.
First let’s go over a few near misses, these Universes were solid, but didn’t make the top 10.
Honorable Mentions
Earth 712 – Squadron Supreme
With a super guy, a powerful princess, and a vigilante of the night, this Universe reminds us a little too much of the Distinguished Competition.
Earth 311 – 1602
1602 was a self contained Marvel story that included past versions of Marvel Characters. Aside from Legacy heroes like the Black Panther and Iron Fist, having a 1600s version of a character does more to detract from the modern counterpart’s origin. That’s why you’ll see more future timelines on this list starting with…
Top 10 Earths of the Marvel Multiverse
10. Earth 928 – 2099
What could be cooler, grittier, and foilier (more foily?)than the 1990s? How about the 2090s! Featuring futurized versions of your favorite Marvel Characters(and Ravage) 2099 gave us more foil covers and beard stubble than one century could handle!
9. Earth 2301 – The Mangaverse
Earth 2301 portrays the Marvel Universe in the traditional Japanese Manga style. This universe debuted in a series of bookended one shots in the early 2000s. It gave our heroes bigger eyes and smaller mouths, and even a few gender swaps before it was cool!
8. Earth 811 – Days of a Future Past
Chris Claremont and John Byrne were firing on all cylinders when this 2 issue story introduced us to a future with the X-Men either in concentration camps or being hunted by Sentinels. 811 gave us Rachael Summers aka Phoenix II, and has been revisited many times since the original story.
7. 9997 – Earth X
Alex Ross and Jim Kreuger provide an expansive look at one possible future for the Marvel Universe in a trilogy of limited series. These series feature beautiful covers and designs by Ross.
6. 2149 – Marvel Zombies
A clever play on the Marvelous nickname for Marvel fans, Marvel Zombies answers the question what would happen if a Zombie virus infected the Marvel Universe. This universe debuted in the pages of Ultimate FF and went on to spawn multiple limited series.
5. 92131 – Cartooniverse
Children of the 90s were lucky enough to have 2 great Marvel cartoons broadcast in to their living rooms every Saturday morning. X-Men The Animated Series and Spider-Man. These series even crossed over with one another creating the shared universe that comes in at number 5.
4. Earth 295 – Age of Apocalypse
When Legion goes back in time and kills Professor X everything changes. Apocalypse rules the land and the X-Men don’t exist. For a time all monthly X-titles were replaced by the alternate Earth 295 versions. This has become a fan favorite story and comes in at number 4.
3. Earth 1610 – Ultimate
At the dawn of the new millennium Marvel thought it was time to update our favorite characters. Earth 1610 or the Ultimate Universe gave us modern retellings of the classic stories we knew and loved. Ultimate titles had a lot of hits and misses, and spanned hundreds of issues. It ended with 2015’s Secret Wars, but will be making a comeback later this year.
2. Earth 199999 – MCU
Boasting the biggest Blockbusters and most popular Disney+ shows, Earth 199999 is commonly known as the MCU. It may be #2 on our list, but the MCU is responsible for the most popular versions of most of our favorite Marvel Heroes, making it cool to love superheroes. Over the past 15 years fanboys have been spoiled by amazing big budget versions of their favorite stories, all existing in the same universe.
1. Earth-616!
This is the one that started it all! Marvel’s 616 Universe birthed the original versions of the characters and stories we love, and will always be #1 in our hearts. Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, and countless others created more than just great superheroes. They created a Universe of interconnected, individual stories that changed the future of modern storytelling.
