Time Travel, Alternate Timelines and Universes - The Fun Begins

Greetings crime fighters,

If you’re a fan of Marvel, you’ve undoubtedly been exposed to the vast array of alternate universes and timelines that have served as plot device for several decades. Whether in the pages of a “What If?” issue like the one linked below or as part of a bigger story foundation like the timelines where Days of Future Past and Cable began, alternate universes and timelines have become a powerful way to alter the mythos of long-established characters without damaging the integrity of our favorite backstories.

In the coming months, we’ll revisit some previous posts, both canon and non-canon, and introduce link lists for many more. Suggestions are welcomed, so be sure to send your favorite What If stories and multi-issue events.

Thanks to Marve’s Wikia, many of the alternate worlds presented have official Earth- designations, such as Earth-199999, the Marvel Cinematic Universe shared by the Iron Man, Hulk, Captain America, Thor and Avengers movies.

This Wikipedia article on the Marvel Multiverse gives an overview of the concepts and lists a few of the best-known universes. Unfortunately, the Official Marvel Handbook: Alternate Universes is not available digitally. That just adds more fun to us as we find and document the best stories of this type from the past 50 years!

To get started, go back and enjoy the Age of Apocalypse link list.

Until next time,

Excelsior!!!