Since the Marvel Cinematic Universe started to explore the multiverse in Avengers: Endgame, several characters have left Earth-616, while others from alternate realities have taken their place. Recent Marvel Studios projects such as Loki, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and The Marvels, among others, have directly explored the concept of the multiverse. As well as introducing a number of vibrant and complex alternate worlds, this has also marked the debut of multiversal variants of some of the MCU's most popular heroes.
Custom Image by Kai Young
While travel between these alternate universes has been said to be incredibly dangerous, several heroes and villains have crossed over the boundaries between realities already. This has allowed multiversal variants to enter the MCU's Earth-616, the Sacred Timeline, whether temporarily or permanently, while well-known characters from Earth-616 have also found themselves on alternate worlds. Only a handful of characters have made this move permanently, but this is expected to increase as the MCU's Multiverse Saga continues to develop.
Joined Earth-616: Avengers: Endgame's Gamora
Avengers: Endgame (2019)
The first multiversal variant who permanently joined the MCU's main timeline of Earth-616 was a version of Zoe Saldaña's Gamora from 2014. The original Gamora was sacrificed by Thanos in exchange for the Soul Stone in Avengers: Infinity War, but Nebula's interception in 2014 during the Avengers' Time Heist in Endgame allowed a past version of Gamora to travel to Earth-616. This Gamora had never met Peter Quill and formed the Guardians of the Galaxy, meaning she is still hardened, rough-around-the-edges and deadly.
2023's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 revealed that this version of Gamora did indeed remain on Earth-616, surviving despite the rest of Thanos' army being killed by Tony Stark during the Battle of Earth. Instead of reuniting with the Guardians of the Galaxy, however, Gamora found a new family with the Ravagers, which eventually led to her teaming up with the Guardians to take on the High Evolutionary. This allowed both Gamora and the Guardians to receive some closure, though the consequences of this variant remaining in the MCU are yet to be seen.
Left Earth-616: Adrian Toomes' Vulture
Morbius (2022)
It's often confusing when other live-action Marvel franchises try to establish connections to the MCU. This was very evident in the final moments of 2022's Morbius, the third movie in Sony's Spider-Man Universe, as Michael Keaton's Adrian Toomes, a.k.a. the MCU's Vulture, found himself pulled into the SSU. This seemed to be due to Doctor Strange's memory wiping spell cast at the end of Spider-Man: No Way Home, which allowed the multiversal visitors on Earth-616 to return to their respective realities, but even Michael Keaton is confused about why the Vulture moved realities (via Happy, Sad, Confused).
No, no idea. None. Zero. I mean, they said 'Okay'... and even they couldn't quite explain it. They said, 'Look, let me just kind of tell you,' and I go, 'I really don't quite know what you're talking about or even who some of these people are,' and he said, 'Okay, let me explain,' but it was complicated because, obviously, they were looking down the road...
The Vulture's appearance in Morbius' post-credits scene seemed to be setting up a Sinister Six team-up for the SSU, but no other work has been done to set up this supervillain team. Adrian Toomes was a brilliant villain to include in Tom Holland's first solo movie as the MCU's Peter Parker, 2017's Spider-Man: Homecoming, so it was a shame for him to be completely removed from the MCU. Hopefully there will be some way to see him return in full force before the end of Marvel Studios' Multiverse Saga.
Joined Earth-616: America Chavez
Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness (2022)
While the appearance of some variants on the MCU's Earth-616 could have dangerous repercussions, including causing incursion events that threaten the entire multiverse, America Chavez remaining on Earth-616 is less of a problem. Xochitl Gomez's Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness hero has no variants; she is completely unique in the multiverse. Chavez is also incredibly powerful, harboring the ability to open portals into alternate realities, which allows her and Doctor Strange to travel through several new MCU universes and land on Earth-838.
America Chavez was born and raised in a reality known as the Utopian Parallel, but after she accidentally opened portals and threw her mothers and then herself into the multiverse, she has spent the rest of her life traveling. At some point, the Scarlet Witch began to hunt Chavez, hoping to claim her universe-hopping power for herself in hopes of reuniting with her children in another universe. America Chavez used her ability to show the Scarlet Witch the error of her ways, and then chose to remain on Earth-616, where she is currently learning the Mystic Arts in Kamar-Taj.
Left Earth-616: Monica Rambeau
The Marvels (2023)
After she appeared as a child, played by Akira Akbar, in 2019's Captain Marvel, Monica Rambeau returned as a decorated SWORD agent in 2021's WandaVision, now played by Teyonah Parris. Several journeys through the Scarlet Witch's Hex around Westview, New Jersey, altered Rambeau's DNA, giving her superpowers of her own, which led to her teaming up with her surrogate aunt, Carol Danvers, and the young Kamala Khan in 2023's The Marvels. The Phase 5 movie ended in tragedy for Rambeau, however, who found herself trapped in an alternate universe.
After she sealed a hole in the fabric of the universe, Monica Rambeau awoke in an alternate version of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, and was met by members of the X-Men. This included Kelsey Grammer's Beast and Lashana Lynch's Maria Rambeau, a variant of Monica's late mother who has transformed into the superhero Binary and doesn't have a daughter. The future is uncertain for Monica Rambeau, with no apparent means to return to Earth-616, but as one of the MCU's most exciting new heroes, there's no doubt she'll return.
Joined Earth-616: Kang The Conqueror
Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania (2023)
Several variants of Jonathan Majors' Kang the Conqueror have already been seen in the MCU, but only one of these has been on Earth-616, and this iteration, the Conqueror himself, didn't actually originate from the MCU's Sacred Timeline. After Sylvie killed He Who Remains in Loki season 1, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania revealed that a more brutal version of Kang had been exiled to Earth-616's Quantum Realm. There, he met a trapped Janet Van Dyne, rebuilt his ship, and established an empire, subjugating the residents of the Quantum Realm under his rule.
|
Main Kang Variant |
Debut Project |
Year |
|---|---|---|
|
He Who Remains |
Loki Season 1 |
2021 |
|
Kang the Conqueror |
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania |
2023 |
|
Immortus |
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania |
2023 |
|
Rama-Tut |
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania |
2023 |
|
Scarlet Centurion |
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania |
2023 |
|
Victor Timely |
Loki Season 2 |
2023 |
It was Kang the Conqueror's mission to escape from the Quantum Realm in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which would have brought him into the MCU's primary universe. Mobius described the Quantum Realm in Loki season 2 as Earth-616's adjacent realm, so they are part of the same reality. Kang the Conqueror didn't get the chance to escape the Quantum Realm, however, as Scott Lang and Hope Van Dyne pushed him into his exploding power core, seemingly killing him.
Left Earth-616: Aaron Davis' Prowler
Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse (2023)
2017's Spider-Man: Homecoming shockingly debuted Donald Glover as Aaron Davis, who many Marvel Comics fans will know as the uncle of Miles Morales, the second Spider-Man on Earth-1610. Aaron Davis' appearance in Homecoming began to tease Miles Morales' existence in the MCU, but the young Spider-Man still hasn't shown up. However, Davis has embarked on his own evolution into the supervillain, the Prowler. Donald Glover reprised the role in Sony's animated Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, where he met Shameik Moore's animated Miles Morales.
Concept art from Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse confirmed that this version of Donald Glover's Aaron Davis is the MCU's Prowler. Since he was waiting to be returned home in the Spider Society's base of operations, it's possible that future Spider-Man movies in the MCU could feature Glover's Prowler as an antagonist. This could open the door for Miles Morales to finally make an appearance, which would pay off the MCU's seven-year-old tease, and perhaps perfectly set the stage for 2027's Avengers: Secret Wars.
Joined Earth-616: Venom
Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021)
While Tom Hardy's Eddie Brock only made the move from Sony's Spider-Man Universe into the MCU proper temporarily in Venom: Let There Be Carnage's post-credits scene, the story is different for the Venom Symbiote itself. Brock was dragged into Earth-616 by Doctor Strange's original botched spell in Spider-Man: No Way Home, and returned home thanks to Strange's memory wipe spell. However, a piece of the Venom Symbiote was left in the Mexico bar where Brock remained throughout his stay in the MCU.
The fact that a piece of Venom stayed in the MCU while Eddie Brock returned to the SSU means that the stage could be perfectly set for Tom Holland's Spider-Man to get his black alien costume from Marvel Comics' Secret Wars event in 1984. It's possible Venom could become an actual Spider-Man villain in the MCU's future, though it has also been theorized that Sony's upcoming Venom: The Last Dance will remove this piece of Venom from the MCU. It's unclear what the future holds, but, for now, Venom is on Earth-616.
Left Earth-616: Steve Rogers' Captain America
Avengers: Endgame (2019)
One of the most surprising characters who left the MCU's main timeline is Chris Evans' Steve Rogers, a.k.a. the first Captain America. Rogers was a cornerstone of the MCU's Infinity Saga, but always struggled with being a man out of time and losing the chance to be with the love of his life, Hayley Atwell's Peggy Carter. After helping to defeat Thanos in Avengers: Endgame, Steve Rogers set out on his mission to return the Infinity Stones to their respective timelines, but instead of returning home, he decided to retire in the past of an alternate reality with Carter.
Steve Rogers did return to Earth-616 as an elderly man to pass the Captain America shield and mantle on to Anthony Mackie's Sam Wilson, but his whereabouts after this scene are unclear. It's possible he remained on Earth-616, but there's also a chance he returned to the timeline he likely considers more his home. It was beautiful and cathartic, if a little heartbreaking, to see Steve Rogers finally get his happy ending in Avengers: Endgame, though Chris Evans has since returned to the MCU as Johnny Storm, and is rumored to appear yet again in Phase 6.
Several Characters Have Temporarily Joined The MCU's Earth-616
More Characters Have Visited Earth-616 Than Have Left
While there have been some multiversal characters who have permanently made the move into the MCU's Earth-616, others have simply made flying visits before returning to their home universes. The first characters to do this were versions of Thanos, Nebula and their armies of villainous creatures in 2019's Avengers: Endgame, all of whom were killed when Iron Man used the Infinity Stones. As already mentioned, Spider-Man: No Way Home also brought a number of multiversal characters into the MCU, including two Spider-Men, five powerful villains, and Tom Hardy's Eddie Brock, all of whom returned home.
|
No Way Home Variant |
Actor |
Debut Movie |
|---|---|---|
|
Peter Parker's Spider-Man |
Tobey Maguire |
Spider-Man (2002) |
|
Norman Osborn's Green Goblin |
Willem Dafoe |
Spider-Man (2002) |
|
Otto Octavius' Doctor Octopus |
Alfred Molina |
Spider-Man 2 (2004) |
|
Flint Marko's Sandman |
Thomas Haden Church |
Spider-Man 3 (2007) |
|
Peter Parker's Spider-Man |
Andrew Garfield |
The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) |
|
Curt Connors' Lizard |
Rhys Ifans |
The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) |
|
Max Dillon's Electro |
Jamie Foxx |
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014) |
|
Eddie Brock's Venom |
Tom Hardy |
Venom (2018) |
Arguably, the fact that Earth-616 is the final resting place of Benedict Cumberbatch's Defender Strange also counts, especially since 616's Strange dreamwalked into his body and puppeted him around in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Loki also saw the likes of Hunter X-5, a.k.a. Brad Wolfe, Tom Hiddleston's Loki variant, Mobius and Ravonna Renslayer travel onto the Sacred Timeline. Ryan Reynolds' Wade Wilson from Fox's X-Men universe of Earth-10005 also made this journey in Deadpool & Wolverine, hoping to join the Avengers in 2018, but he was rejected by Happy Hogan.
Several Characters Have Temporarily Left The MCU's Earth-616
Many Of The MCU's Most Notable Heroes Have Visited Other Timelines
Many more multiversal heroes have journeyed into the MCU's Earth-616 than have left it, but there have been a number of characters who originated on the Sacred Timeline that have ventured into alternate realities before returning. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness saw both Benedict Cumberbatch's Doctor Strange and Elizabeth Olsen's Scarlet Witch do this. Strange traveled through many alternate universes with America Chavez before ending up in Earth-838 and Sinister Strange's reality, while the Scarlet Witch was given a glimpse of Earth-838 by Chavez, which ended her violent rampage across the multiverse.
Prior to Doctor Strange and the Scarlet Witch's travel in Phase 4, however, many of the Avengers traveled into alternate timelines in 2019's Avengers: Endgame. Technically, the Avengers' time traveling during the Time Heist created a number of new branching realities, as they changed many things on their quest for the Infinity Stones. This was the first exploration of the multiverse in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, kick-starting the Multiverse Saga itself, and setting the franchise up for some of its weirdest, most divisive and most wonderful adventures ever.
