Anybody find Marvel's parallel universes confusing and annoying?!


Question: I wish they would just stick with one universe in one continous time or do an event story that brings all the universes into one because I can't keep track of what's happening in which?

For a beginner Marvel comics reader where do you start?

Answers: I wish they would just stick with one universe in one continous time or do an event story that brings all the universes into one because I can't keep track of what's happening in which?

For a beginner Marvel comics reader where do you start?
Yes, Earth 616 is the main one, and where 90% of Marvel stories take place.

DC used to have many parallel worlds too, and had a story in the 1980s where they were all brought into one like you mentioned. There's been speculation about Marvel doing something similar, but #1 That would be ripping DC's story off too obviously, and #2, the different Marvel worlds are nowhere NEAR as confusing as DCs used to be.


As I said, the 616 is where 90% of Marvel stories take place. The other big separate universe is Ultimate, but those are easy to tell apart because every Ultimate comic is call "Ultimate Something". Any other separate universes Marvel publishes are little side projects and not that big of a deal, since they don't usually last for very long or it's pretty clear that it's not part of 616 when you see them. (Exiles, for example, is all ABOUT a group which jumps from dimension to dimension almost every issue, like that old TV show Sliders)


As for where to start with Marvel: well, what characters do you like? Would you like to read monthly comics, or trade paperbacks which collect consecutive monthly comics into one volume? I prefer trades since they're cheaper, and it's nice to get a bunch of comics in a row altogether in one volume I can carry around where ever I want, and keep on a book shelf. You also don't have to worry about damaging it, since they're studier, and even if you do it's not a big deal.

It's hard to recommend something without knowing what you like already so I can point you to something similar. But generic recommendations:

For monthly comics, The Incredible Hercules has been really, really good and is only a couple of issues in. The new Thor series is also only up to issue #7 and has been good.

For trade paperbacks, I'll give you some Amazon listings:

-Fantastic Four - Mark Waid and Mike Weiringo's run was great
http://www.amazon.com/Fantastic-Four-Vol...

-Daredevil - Kevin Smith's Guardian Devil arc was good. Follow it up with Brian Michael Bendis' run
http://www.amazon.com/Daredevil-Visionar...

-X-Men - Go with Joss Whedon's Astonishing
http://www.amazon.com/Astonishing-X-Men-...

-Hulk - Planet Hulk, definitely go with Planet Hulk
http://www.amazon.com/Incredible-Hulk-Pl...

-Spider-Man - the start of JMS' run
http://www.amazon.com/Amazing-Spider-Man...

I'm also a fan of a book called Runaways, about 6 teenagers who find out their parents are a group of supervillains.
http://www.amazon.com/Runaways-Vol-1-Bri...
Yeah, DC used to have Earth 1, Earth 2, Earth 3, Earth X, Earth-Prime, Earth A, etc. etc. They were all destroyed or jammed together in Crisis on Infinite Earths back in 86
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    • I usually ignore the parallel universes, they are annoying.
    yeah... they are confusing as hell... but after a while you can figure out how to keep track of it.
    Yes
    You have a good point there. I don't mind the alternate universes because there are stories and events that just can't happen in the 616 universe such as Marvel Zombies. Plus they do have a lot of time travel going on. The problem I have is when they change a story line that already existed. For example, they retro wrote Gwen Stacy having a pair of twins by Norman Osborn. Gwen died back in 73 and is one of the few characters not to come back. The Stacy twins storylines were written only a few years ago. The worst example is when they did their Brand New Day storyline on Spider Man. Prior to it, the world knew his identity and his Aunt May was dying from a bullet meant for Pete. So, he made a deal with the devil, his Aunt lives and his identity is secret again. And about twenty years of Spider Man history was erased just to restore a status quo. I feel it was a cowardly thing for the writers to do because there were some great moments that are now gone. Thanks for the question.
    No, I don't think they are really all that confusing. They really don't delve too much into alternate realities as you would think. There are certain books and certain events that do and have. Such as Exiles, where they bounce from reality to reality, for example. But for the most part, the books only deal with the main reality of the Marvel Universe. Which is the 616 universe. As for where you should start as a new reader? It all depends on what part of the universe intersests you. I know several new books are about to be launched. So you could always go to a comic book store and ask what new ones are coming out. See which ones of those might be fun for you to read! Other than that, if you want to pick up ones that are already going, you can always try back issues, trade paperbacks or the internet to get you caught up to speed on anything that you may be wondering. But really, unless you pick it up in the middle of a storyline, whichever book you pick, you should be fine with!
    Earth 616 is the main Earth, and that number essentially comes from a Captain Britain storyline. Other times, the main Earth is called Earth prime, or the prime reality. In general, stories that take place in the main titles are going to be 616 books. In fact, most of the Marvel books are 616. The big exception are the Ultimate titles, but they are pretty easy to spot. Alternate realities are good to have around, I think, because they allow artists to occasionally indulge themselves and write original stories without all the baggage that continuity can bring, or they can explore alternate endings to a classic story. They are good for bringing characters back from the dead, and introducing whole new characters, things like that.

    I don't think Marvel will ever get rid of the multiverse. Not after DC tried to do without one for 20 years and gave up.
    You ought to try being a older DC universe fan (look at crisis on infinite earths) the mainstream titles(not ultimate or supreme powers) Thor, Iron Man , Fantastic Four, Hulk, X-Men legacy, and Mighty Avengers are set in present day continuity.

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