Highlights
- The recent official book from Marvel Studios confirms that the MCU takes place on Earth-616, ending a long-standing debate among fans.
- Previous references to Earth-616 in MCU films were thought to be just Easter Eggs or villainous lies, but now they hold more significance with the official confirmation.
- The relationship between the MCU multiverse and the Marvel Comics universe is questioned, suggesting that the comic book universe may not be canon to the MCU.
One particular debate among MCU fans can finally be put to rest now that Marvel Studios has given an official answer to it in their latest official book.
Recently, Marvel released a book for the official MCU timeline, which has cleared up a lot of confusion among fans. It even fixed Spider-Man: Homecoming‘s timeline mistake. Still, one problem has plagued MCU fans since the franchise’s first film and has become more prevalent in the multiverse saga. Fans have wondered if the MCU takes place on Earth-616 or Earth-199999.
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Marvel Studios The Marvel Cinematic Universe An Official Timeline made it official that the MCU takes place on Earth-616. It was initially believed that the MCU took place on Earth-199999 and the only mainline comics universe would be Earth-616, as it was stated in the Official Marvel Handbook in 2008 and was once again stated by Miguel O’Hara in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. Even Ms. Marvel actress Iman Vellani has argued with Kevin Feige about this issue, saying that the MCU is on Earth-199999 while Feige said it was Earth-616.
MCU films have teased that they were set on Earth-616 before, but most fans figured these were only references to the comic book universe. In Thor: The Dark World, “616 Universe” can be seen underlined on Erik Selvig’s blackboard along with multiple diagrams and equations, but that seemed to be nothing more than an Easter Egg. Additionally, in Spider-Man: Far From Home, Mysterio said that they were on Earth-616, but later it was revealed that he was lying, so it once again seemed like nothing more than a reference to the comics.
Now that the MCU officially takes place on Earth-616, it raises some questions. How did Jake Gyllenhaal’s villainous Mysterio know they were on Earth-616 if he was lying? It may have just been a lucky guess. More importantly, if the Marvel Comics universe is also Earth-616, does that mean that the comic book universe is not canon to the MCU multiverse? The likely answer is yes, which is precisely why they wanted to make the MCU Earth-616.
Realistically, whether it is called Earth-616 or Earth-199999 does not change much about the films, but it is nice to have some confirmation from Marvel about it. Some fans, including Villani, will continue to believe that the MCU takes place on Earth-199999.
Source: Marvel Studios The Marvel Cinematic Universe An Official Timeline
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