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cap_ironman2011-10-27 09:34 pm
tsukinofaerii) wrote in cap_ironman2011-10-27 09:34 pm
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An Info Post!
Crosspost requested by the valtyr. Updated on 16 July, 2012, with an expanded section on the nature of the Multiverse.
I'mtsukinofaerii. You may remember me some such posts as... um. Not much actually. I've been quiet lately.
Anyway, I was volunteered byvaltyr to make an Info Post, since we're getting an influx of new people and sometimes we rely on jargon the way Tony used transistors back in the 60s. I'm going to put together a brief blurb of the major Marvel Universes and how they relate to Steve/Tony, so if you've been twiddling your thumbs and wondering why Tony suddenly has a brain tumor and a twin brother (that one had me confused for the longest time, urgh), hopefully this will help.
Please forgive me if I'm repeating what you already know, I'm just trying to cover all the bases ever.
WARNING: SPOILERS FOR EVERYTHING EVER HOMG
Marvel is an acknowledged and active multiverse canon, which (as far as I know) is fairly rare outside of comic books. What that means is that it has Canon AUs, where things happen differently but are still "canon" on their own terms. Some of these AUs are large and could be relied on as their own source, and others are barely an image and a blurb, usually called a "What If". Essentially what this means is that when Marvel wants to play with an idea that wouldn't fit in the story, they have a third option.
There's a few ways it can work. First there are single canon fandoms, where canon is canon forever and aye, and details can be quibbled but it’s all the same story in the end. Harry Potter is a good example of how that works. Then there's expanded canon fandoms, where there's been spin-offs and adaptations different enough to differentiate, but they don't interact and aren't aware of each other. Sherlock Holmes is becoming one of these, with the official movies, television and book adaptations all slightly veering off from each other to form their own story. (For example, Sherlock BBC could be considered a modern AU of Sherlock Holmes as written by Doyle.) These individual adaptations exist in their own universe, separate from all other canons, and act as their own fandoms, but still primarily tell the same story.
And finally, there's the Marvel Multiverse. A multiverse in canon terms works very similarly to how it hypothetically works in reality. Whenever Marvel starts a new canon based off of old canon (an adaptation of its own work, so to speak), it's assumed to be inextricably linked to other adaptations and the original (Earth-616, also called "main continuity"), making a web of canons that cross and occasionally interact. This gives us a movie-based Tony who is a different character from 616-Tony, even though he's based off of him. His backstory, personality and existence is entirely separate from his counterpart.
There are two major differences between a multiverse and an expanded canon. The first is that expanded canons tend to be only mildly AU, either by way of a slightly changed story line or a change in existence. In a multiverse, the differences between an AU and its originating canon can be vast, everything from a change in gender to an entirely different story and plot with similarly named characters. Changes can also be a direct spin-off from the originating canon, creating a For Want of a Nail AU by changing a single detail. Characterization between universes can range from almost entirely similar to entirely different, with every range in between.
The second difference is that these universes can interact. Recently in Marvel the Spider-Man from Earth-1610 Miles Morales met with the Spider-Man from Earth-616 Peter Parker. There's also been occasions where Reed Richards has openly browsed through other universes to see how things were different.
Because of the tight interweaving, usually similar mediums and cross-section of interests, the Marvel multiverse fandom generally acts as a single fandom, rather than individual ones. Using as an example, many members may be fannish over several versions of Steve and Tony simultaneously without necessarily feeling that these are different fandoms. This also leads to occasions when a fan is not interested in certain versions of Steve and Tony, or they ship them with other people in different universes.
The ultimate effect of this is the need for origin universe labeling. Since characterizations vary so widely, stating which characterization you're coming from makes things much, much easier for everyone, allowing readers to bypass canons they don't care for or don't know, and allowing authors not to worry about explaining which backstory they're engaging. Even in the case of alternate universes, the difference between movie-based Natasha and Natasha in Earth-1610 is the difference between spot-on characterization and vast OOC. (Or the difference between hero and villainous undercover superspy, depending on how you look at it.)
Now that that's out of the way, on to the meat of things.
I wanted to start with the big one. Everything (and I mean everything started here, and most fics in the fandom take place in it, so it's a good place to bounce off of for a start. Most teams go through roster changes, so for simplicity I'm only listing the starting teams other than the New Avengers, which was designed as a secondary "start point" for new readers (until Marvel forgot that good things are good and decided Events make more money).
Name: Main Continuity
Universe ID: Earth-616
Starting Team (Classic Avengers): Iron Man (Tony Stark), the Wasp (Janet Van Dyne), Giant Man/Ant Man (Hank Pym), Thor (Don Blake/Thor), the Hulk (Bruce Banner). Joined in Issue #4 by Captain America (Steve Rogers).
Secondary Team (New Avengers): Iron Man (Tony Stark), Captain America (Steve Rogers), Spider-Man (Peter Parker), Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew), Wolverine (Logan Howlett), Power Man (Luke Cage). Later joined by the Sentry (Bob Reynolds).
History: There's a lot of history here, and most of it's summarized in the ship manifesto, thank goodness. The Avengers started in 1964, and have gone through a lot of changes, so a very brief summary! Tony was injured in Vietnam (repeatedly retconned) and had to wear a chestplate for a while. Back then, transistors were the thing. This combined with Did Not Do The Research resulted in everything Tony did being powered by transistors, from his rocket powered roller skates (yes, this happened) to miniaturized missiles. (For the electronically savvy, this does not mean his power source used transistors; they were very specifically named as the power source itself. Now go take an aspirin for the headache that gave you.) This included his heart. The chestplate had to be charged regularly, resulting in much angst because Tony has a history of forgetting little things like eating, sleeping, and plugging himself into a wall socket. He also helped form the Avengers and had a pencil mustache and a secret identity as his own bodyguard (not even Steve knew for a long time). The 60s, man.
The Avengers found Steve in an ice floe in the Arctic, resulting in much angst because Bucky died omg. Steve, being something of a creeper, latched onto Rick Jones, who was actually part of the Hulk's story, but who happened to look just like Bucky and had a hankering to be a sidekick. He also did the same thing to Sharon Carter, then-sister (later niece, recently great-niece) of his old girlfriend Peggy Carter, because she looked just like her sister/aunt/great-aunt. Steve latched on so thorough that he actually asked her to marry him, name unknown, and pretty much stalked her. The creep-factor was high for a very, very long time.
During this timeline, the team has broken up and reformed repeatedly. Tony went through two drinking arcs (one of which landed him penniless on the streets), joined the West Coast Avengers, rebuilt his company from the bottom up so many times it's nearly cliché (no matter what Matt Fraction thinks), and generally saved the day a lot. Steve abandoned the shield a few times when he disagreed with the US government on a fundamental level, kept getting dumped (seriously, I don't think Steve has ever been the one to initiate a breakup) and generally held the Avengers together one way or another up until House of M, Disassembled, New Avengers, and Civil War (see the manifesto for details).
After that, Events started coming thick on the ground. Immediately following Civil War was Secret Invasion, or That Time Skrulls Invaded and Things Sucked. Dark Reign followed after, and it was the period when Steve was dead and Norman Osborn—A.K.A. the Green Goblin—ran what used to be SHIELD. Yeah, I don't know either. This also sucked. During Dark Reign, Pepper Potts was the recipient of both some armor (which she named Rescue) and an arc reactor. This was the first appearance of the arc reactor in Earth-616, and also an attempt to retcon it over the chestplate (we'll see how it sticks). After Dark Reign (at the tag end, actually), Tony decided that deleting his brain was a stellar move that would incidentally keep Osborn from getting the list of register superheroes and their real identities that he had stored in his head. This resulted in him getting the arc reactor and losing the past two years of his memory, which hasn't affected him at all. Simultaneously, Steve had Captain America: Reborn (which could be called wtf do you mean time bullets?!) and came back from the dead. Sort of. It's complicated. Reborn was followed by Siege, wherein Asgard fell down and went boom and Noman Osborn was finally removed from power. Immediately after Siege came Avengers Prime, which is pretty much Thor, Tony and Steve going on a couple's retreat/adventure to patch up their hanging relationship issues from the previous part of this paragraph. Steve went on to become Nick Fury, and Tony went on to be the living embodiment of manpain.
Right now, the Avengers are currently battling the X-men, for Reasons having to do with... IDK, stuff.Explosions and stuff. Yeah. :| And Tony is about to not be Iron Man any longer, because Matt Fraction is on his way out and seems to be taking a "salt the earth behind me" policy.
What to Know about Steve/Tony: In this universe, Steve and Tony are besties. I mean, besties. It's the matching shirts, slumber parties and swearing to be neighbors and have your kids be best friends sort of besties, with added homoerotic undertones, more than a few instances of pining and Identity Porn by way of Tony's "bodyguard". When they're not being besties, they're angsting over it (and tearing the world apart in the process).
Notes: Due to the telescopic timeline, the Avengers have only been a team for 10-11 years in-story, but have been published for over 50 years real time. This makes things somewhat confusing, especially since some points are "fixed" (notably Steve's service in WWII).
Tony has, at times, had a chest plate, an artificial heart, a replacement heart and now the reactor. During the New Avengers timeframe he gained Extremis, a techno organic virus which seems to operate as a form of technopathy. It's essentially a computer-brain that lets him store part of the armor in his bones and operate machines with his brain. Extremis rebuilt him from the ground up and resolved his previous physical problems, including his heart. Extremis was compromised during the Secret Invasion, and for some reason that was never really explained, he needed an arc reactor to recover from having his brain deleted.
About the only thing that changes more than Tony's physical ailments is his facial hair.
Trivia: Natasha Romanov was originally a Soviet Spy called the Black Widow who had been sent to seduce and destroy Genius Millionaire Etc Tony Stark. Somehow, she ended up dating a circus performer named Clint Barton (Hawkeye) and temporarily turning him into a villain with the power of boobies. Eventually, they both did a Heel Face Turn and became Avengers.
Name: Marvel Adventures: Avengers (aka: MA)
Universe ID: Earth-20051
Starting Team: Iron Man (Tony Stark), Captain America (Steve Rogers), Ororo Munroe (Storm), Janet Van Dyne (Giant Girl/the Wasp), Wolverine (Logan Howlett), Spider-Man (Peter Parker), the Hulk (Bruce Banner).
History: MA is/was* the All Ages line of comics, so the history is fairly simple and there's no significant arcs to follow. This is the universe where everything is happy and nothing hurts. And also, Steve and Tony have basketball dates and go for burgers. The individual histories are essentially the same as in the main continuity, with less complexity and fewer dark themes.
*It was canceled and brought back with a different team and story which most people ignore, so I'm focusing on the original title.
What to Know about Steve/Tony: They're even more of besties in MA than they are in 616, mainly due to the fact that Civil War and the various drinking arcs aren't present in MA. They hang out together, go to the park, shoot hoops, and are generally attached at the hip.
Notes: There are several individual "Marvel Adventure" titles that don't officially tie in to the Avengers line (for example, Marvel Adventures: Iron Man), but that's never stopped us before.
Trivia: At one point, the Avengers battle an amorous sentient planet named Ego, who is causing massive destruction by his attempts to pick up Earth. For the record, Ego understands that Earth has a shorty (the moon) and is cool with it.
The Ultimates are controversial in fandom. Some people love them, some people hate them. Please no wank?
Name: The Ultimates
Universe ID:Earth-1610
Starting Team (the Ultimates): Iron Man (Tony Stark), Captain America (Steve Rogers), the Wasp (Janet Pym nee Van Dyne), Giant Man (Hank Pym), the Hulk (Bruce Banner), Nick Fury (as himself). Unofficial member: Thor Odinson (as himself). Quickly joined by Hawkeye (Clint Barton) and the Black Widow (Natasha Romanov).
History: The Ultimates line is considered a more modern reboot, with simplified backgrounds for most of the characters. Unlike many of the other continuities, it stands out very much on its own. Each arc can essentially be read as a stand-alone. Ultimates is also the origin of the black Nick Fury as played by Samuel L. Jackson (Nick is white in 616). Another notable change of race is Jan, who becomes Asian in 1610. Several of the storylines are triggery, especially recent ones.
In Volume 1, the Ultimates (not the Avengers) started off as a US government funded superhero team put together by SHIELD to fight superpowered terrorists that were beyond the scope of the US Armed Forces. Steve joined the team in Issue #1, when he was discovered by SHIELD in the Arctic and defrosted. Originally, they were mostly confined to publicity, since superpowered terrorists don't grow on trees (usually—thisis comics). In order to give the team something to fight (and possibly due to certain undiagnosed psychological issues) Bruce injected himself with a Hulk formula that had been mixed with the Super Soldier formula found in Steve's blood, creating the Grey Hulk and immediately going on a rampage through New York. I don't have my Vol 1 on me, but I think roughly 200 people are killed &/or eaten (&/or worse). The Ultimates brought the Hulk down by dropping a tank on him, kicking him in the balls, and then having Jan shrink down to crawl in his ear and to deliver a bio-energy blast directly to his brain (subsequently dropping him out of a plane). Due to complications of the serum Bruce injected himself with, he was no longer able to keep from "Hulking out", and was confined in the base of the Triskellion (an ocean-platform that SHIELD uses as headquarters).
After that, shape changing alien Nazis that also eat people called the Chitauri (remember that name). IDK what it is about Ultimates and eating people.
What to Know about Steve/Tony: They're friends, possibly not as close as in other continuities, but on good terms. Tony gifts Steve with his helmet from WWII, which he'd collected at some time in the past. Alas, the heterosexuality is more overt in this universe.
Notes: In 1610, Tony's (Antonio Stark) heart condition has been replaced by an inoperable brain tumor. Finding out he was dying was one of Tony's major motivations in becoming a hero—he wanted to give back. He's a carousing, loud, loveable drunk, but also has cases of manic depression. At one point, he was engaged to be married to Natasha Romanov. That didn't go so well. She turned out to be a traitor who killed Jarvis, Clint's girlfriend & children and tried to kill Tony. Yeah. Tony also has a twin brother named Gregory.
Steve was engaged to be married to Gail Richards before becoming trapped in the ice in WWII. At the time of Steve's "death", Gail was pregnant with their son, which she was forced to turn over to the US government. This son (Steven Rogers Jr.) was raised in a secure facility to be the next Super Soldier. He eventually went berserk (as you do), killed everyone in the facility, and became the terrorist known as the Red Skull, who Steve was forced to take down. Trigger warnings abound in that particular arc, for the record, though it does feature Steve stabbing the Red Skull with a jet. After giving up her son, Gail went on to marry Steve's best friend, Bucky. Both are alive and elderly in current canon and, so far as can be told, Steve is still very much in love with Gail. For a time, Steve dated Jan after her breakup with Hank. This didn't go well either, but it did much better than Tony's relationship with Natasha.
Thor is the actual God of Thunder, and also a hippy and (understandably) the focus of a cult. This may just be the best thing ever. Initially he refused to join the Ultimates as a stance against US foreign policy, though he does lend aid when lives are at stake. In the Hulk incident of the first volume, he joined the fight in return for the USA doubling its foreign aid.
Trivia: When Samuel L. Jackson agreed to allow his likeness to be used for Ultimate Nick Fury, it's rumored that it was part of a Xanatos Gambit to play the character in the event of an Avengers movie. Gambit successful, sir, gambit successful. (tips hat)
Bonus Trivia: In-universe, the Triskellion was originally going to be able to fly, in addition to being essentially a mobile island, but budget problems kept this from happening. Yes, Ultimate Nick Fury was going to top himself by having a flying island instead of just a flying aircraft carrier.
Name:Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes (animated)
Universe ID: Earth-80920
Starting Team: Iron Man (Tony Stark), the Wasp (Janet Van Dyne), Giant Man (Hank Pym), Thor (as himself), the Hulk (Bruce Banner). Later joined by Captain America (Steve Rogers) in Episode 4 (Living Legend).I see what you did there, Marvel.
History: EMH is an animated series which came out last year. It has only 21 episodes in the first season and a currently on-going second season. Sadly, there are rumors that it may be canceled rather than continued into the third season, because Disney is secretly run by Dr. Doom. It's essentially a sort of modern Avengers reboot.
In the first two episodes, the Avengers come together in order to assist SHIELD with a massive breakout in the maximum security facility called the Raft. They later battle Hydra, AIM and MODOK, the Enchantress and various other villains. The team grows from the core six to include Hawkeye and the Black Panther, with more characters joining in season 2. (Hint: CAROL! I suck at hints.) The entire first season is a series of Villain of the Day style stories, which turn out to be a long-term plot by Loki, crafted and manipulated to keep Thor busy and out of Asgard while he took over their father's throne during the Odinsleep. The Avengers are all sucked into Asgard, and proceed to kick ass. The ending is a massive cliffhanger.
What to Know about Steve/Tony: They have some friction, but appear to grow closer as the season goes on. Steve is very much an old fashioned man, and Tony self-identifies as a futurist. Of course, this eventually bites them both in the ass.
Notes: Like Ultimates, EMH stands alone fairly well. It has a lot of callbacks and in-jokes, but tends to lean more to the Classic Avengers (of early main continuity) than to more current canon.
Trivia: Loki breaks Steve's shield in the final battle of Episode 21 (A Day Unlike Any Other), but Steve is later shown holding the intact shield.
Bonus Movie Trivia: Tony's eyes are brown in this continuity. The only other continuity where they're consistently brown is the Cinematic Universe (ala RDJ). In other comics and animations, they're usually blue. Similarly, Jarvis is the AI for the Avengers Mansion, another trait only shared with the movies. Usually, he's a very human butler.
Spoiler spoilerspoiler space, I have all the spoiler space. Doo dee doo doodoo dah dee DEEEEEEEE~
Because the Avengers just came out and is not yet legally available for download or on disc, this is going to be slightly more thorough than some of the other universes. Please bear with me. Spoilers are thorough.If you don't want to be spoiled, click here to jump to the next section.
MORE SPOILER SPACE
Name: The Marvel Cinematic Universe
Universe ID: Earth-199999
Starting Team: (anticipated) Iron Man (Tony Stark), Captain America (Steve Rogers), Thor Odinson (as himself), the Black Widow (Natasha Romanov), Hawkeye (Clint Barton), the Hulk (Bruce Banner). Also featuring Nick Fury (as Nick MotherF*cking Fury), Phil Coulson (as himself), and introducing Maria Hill (as herself).
History: Having come out in late April/early May (depending on your personal geography), the Avengers has been a box office smash in every sense of the word, grossing more than a billion dollars worldwide and breaking record across the board. Alas, it contained no significant nudity. :(
Starting with Iron Man (2008), Tony was injured in Afghanistan, and currently uses an arc reactor to power the electromagnet that keeps shrapnel from shredding his heart. He became Iron Man due to the dying words of Yinsen, a fellow captive, and has only screwed up a lot. Steve Rogers was an asthmatic who volunteered for a dangerous program that turned him into Chris Evans, and then proceeded to punch Hitler. A lot. He also saved the world. Thor Odinson started off as a pretty dick, was manipulated into becoming humble, and is currently trapped on the other side of a broken rainbow bridge that is not at all a metaphor for anything sexual. He has maintained the pretty, I'm happy to report. The Hulk started out as Ed Norton playing a weedy scientist named Bruce Banner who was exposed with lethal levels of gamma radiation and now has a big green anger management problem. Sometime between the last movie and the Avengers he turned into Mark Ruffalo, gained a sense of humor and became a woobie. Natasha Romanov (originally of Iron Man 2) is a SHIELD agent codenamed Black Widow, "formerly" Russian with hints at a villainous past. She will kill you with her thighs. Clint Barton, codenamed Hawkeye, is an archer who may be responsible for Black Widow's coming over from the dark side. That is the only past he gets.
In the Avengers (2012), SHIELD is attempting to harness the power of the Tesseract in ways similar to what Hydra did in WWII. (For reference, see Captain America. No really, go watch it. Right now. I'll wait.) For anyone who knows comics, you already know this is a bad, bad idea and ends up attracting the attention of nebulous alien bad guys (see post credits scene #1 for specifics, I'm not spoiling this one for you) who are somehow connected to the race known as the Chitauri. Sadly, these Chitauri are not people-eating shape-shifting Nazis. What they are is commanded by Loki, who is out to take over the Earth and force mortals to bow before him, as one does. He shows up, kicks some ass, takes the Tesseract and then brainwashes/runs away with Hawkeye for reasons that probably don't have anything to do with shared fashion sense. (Seriously, Clint, you're a superhero; dress like it. Are the movies still trying to make up for that time you wore a skirt?) This prompts Nick Fury to Assemble Our Team (yay!). We get some lovely scenes of said assembly, save Thor (who is still on Asgard).
During this process, Steve and Tony catch Loki being a Bad Boy in Germany. Cue bickering, and the arrival of Thor to Have a Word with His Brother. The requisite fight between the Big Three is had, leveling a small chunk of what looks to be National Park, and Loki gets hauled back to the Helicarrier. While on the Helicarrier, there's more bickering, discussed suspicions of what SHIELD is really up to with the Tesseract (Fury claims it's for renewable energy, because LOL, we're going to buy that), Bonding between Bruce and Tony, and in general UST is sprayed around with a firehose. Black Widow goes to Loki's cell and pwns his ass, finding out in the process that Loki's Secret Plan is to provoke Bruce into Hulking out. She races back to the Lab of Stark/Banner Bro-ness for yet more bickering.
Meanwhile, Brainwashed Hawkeye is outside on a jet, taking aim with his arrows ofloveshinysexual metaphor boom. He causes an explosion that breaks one of the Helicarrier turbines and causes, yes, a Hulk out.
Then they all fight some more. I swear, it's not as repetitive as it sounds.
When the moment's done, Phil Coulson is dead, Thor and Hulk have been dropped out of the Helicarrier (they survive), Loki is ~freeeee~ and Hawkeye has been Cognitively Readjusted back to being not brainwashed. Steve and Tony have a case of the sad, which is ruthlessly ground in by Nick Fury, who plays every card he has and uses Phil's death to make them Bond. The team figures out where Loki is going to pull off his Final Act, puts on their spangles, and heads out to Save the World.
I'll save describing the Final Battle in detail, because I really couldn't do it justice. Just know that Tony does something heroically self-sacrificial, Bruce comes back and Hulks out deliberately, Natasha manages to close the portal that the bad guys are using, Thor smashes things, Steve starts to come back into the public eye as a national icon and Hawkeye shoots all the things. No one gets eaten, but there are lots of pretty explosions. There is also a dramatic, breath-taking fight scene between Hulk and Loki that you really, really have to see to believe.
The movie ends with New York decimated (again) and shots of newscasts about the attack and the Avengers. This includes a grateful public, signs that the team and individuals are all quickly becoming loved, and of course a Senator trying to pin the blame for New York's decimation on the Avengers. (What? You would have preferred they just let the aliens come?) This is interspersed with Thor taking Loki back to Asgard in chains and what I swear looks like an Asgardian ball-gag. The rest of the Avengers go their separate ways, with Steve riding off on his motorcycle and Bruce hopping into Tony's car, presumably so they can go back to Stark Tower and Do Science.
After that, there are two post-credit scenes. I highly recommend staying for both of them. The second is my favorite.
What to Know about Steve/Tony: Steve and Tony start off as highly antagonistic. Steve is bristly and easily prodded. Tony is, of course, a prodder by nature. Through the power of bickering, the self—induced fridging of Coulson, teamwork and Tony's attempted sacrifice, they seem to come to terms by the end of the movie. At the very least, they shake hands and look friends. Tony is currently very cozy with Pepper (which is adorable, I feel the need to say) and Steve has only been defrosted for a couple of months, so there's still plenty to work with.
Notes: Due to several main continuity writers acting as consultants, there's been some blurring between recent 616 and 199999, as can be exampled by current Iron Man comics (wherein Tony occasionally has brown eyes for no apparent reason, has redeveloped a romantic storyline with Pepper that had originally been abandoned in the 70s (I think) and has an arc reactor). As such, there's a lot of speculation about whether current 616 canon will be reflected in the movie universe. All I can say is that if it does, I damned well better get some adorable kid Loki out of it.
Trivia: Agent Phil Coulson may be dead in Earth-199999, but he now exists in Earth-616 (codename Cheese) and as a principal for Spider-Man in Earth-1610.
Pretend this space is full of amazing music and stuff, instead of just a giant blank space to defend against spoilers. Maybe hum a theme song.
The universes listed below are smaller, less developed or lesser known universes that still tend to be fairly popular in fic in spite of their limited run. Marvel has a very long list of "What-If" worlds, where something is changed and the affects are examined. And we loves them, precious, yes we do.
Earth-3490: A.K.A., that one where Tony is a girl. At one point Reed Richards was trawling through the multiverse (as one does) looking at "peaceful alternatives" where Civil War was prevented. One of them was Earth-3490, where Civil War was prevented by the marriage of Captain America (Steve Rogers) and Iron Woman (Natasha Stark). According the one one-image panel to the right, they muted one another's aggressive tendencies, which allowed the 50 State Initiative to complete. I can only speculate on the extremely hot sex.
Earth-2149 & Earth-91126: A.K.A., those ones with zombies. Zombie apocalypse starts in 2149 and is transported to 91126. There was a brief crossover with 616 in the Deadpool series, wherein Deadpool's zombie head (called Headpool) was a plot point.
Earth-90214: A.K.A., Noir-verse. There are no superpowers and everything happens in a noir-style story. Particularly of note is Iron Man noir, where Tony is an Indiana Jone-style adventurer.
Earth-2301: A.K.A., the Mangaverse. First rule of the Mangaverse is that we don't talk about the Mangaverse. It's not a small print, but Steve is president, Tony is a head in a jar, and there are giant robot transformers.
Earth-2108: A.K.A., Civil War Ends Worse #1. Tony died as a result of the Extremis virus, and Steve leads the world's heroes in a rebellion against the Super Human Registration Act. It doesn't go well. Without Tony, the government's response is outright villainous. Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies (If They're Lucky). Does feature Steve donning the Sentinel of Liberty Armor.
Earth-10208: A.K.A., Civil War Ends Happily Without Tony Being A Girl. Instead of keeping his cards close to his chest, Tony asked Steve for help. Steve oversees Registration, ensuring that it runs smoothly, because who wouldn't trust him?
Earth-9230: A.K.A., Civil War Ends Worse #2. Steve was not assassinated, and instead was tried as planned. Tony is killed by Bill Foster's nephew (who blamed Tony for his uncle's death), and this is used as even more anti-hero propaganda that results in worse fighting. Earth is even less prepared for the Skrull invasion.
Hopefully, that was more informative than confusing. Um. Discuss? I'll just crawl back in my hidey-hole.
For the full (1000+) list of canon named and unnamed universes please click here.
valtyr. Updated on 16 July, 2012, with an expanded section on the nature of the Multiverse. I'm
tsukinofaerii. You may remember me some such posts as... um. Not much actually. I've been quiet lately. Anyway, I was volunteered by
valtyr to make an Info Post, since we're getting an influx of new people and sometimes we rely on jargon the way Tony used transistors back in the 60s. I'm going to put together a brief blurb of the major Marvel Universes and how they relate to Steve/Tony, so if you've been twiddling your thumbs and wondering why Tony suddenly has a brain tumor and a twin brother (that one had me confused for the longest time, urgh), hopefully this will help. Please forgive me if I'm repeating what you already know, I'm just trying to cover all the bases ever.
WARNING: SPOILERS FOR EVERYTHING EVER HOMG
Marvel is an acknowledged and active multiverse canon, which (as far as I know) is fairly rare outside of comic books. What that means is that it has Canon AUs, where things happen differently but are still "canon" on their own terms. Some of these AUs are large and could be relied on as their own source, and others are barely an image and a blurb, usually called a "What If". Essentially what this means is that when Marvel wants to play with an idea that wouldn't fit in the story, they have a third option.
There's a few ways it can work. First there are single canon fandoms, where canon is canon forever and aye, and details can be quibbled but it’s all the same story in the end. Harry Potter is a good example of how that works. Then there's expanded canon fandoms, where there's been spin-offs and adaptations different enough to differentiate, but they don't interact and aren't aware of each other. Sherlock Holmes is becoming one of these, with the official movies, television and book adaptations all slightly veering off from each other to form their own story. (For example, Sherlock BBC could be considered a modern AU of Sherlock Holmes as written by Doyle.) These individual adaptations exist in their own universe, separate from all other canons, and act as their own fandoms, but still primarily tell the same story.
And finally, there's the Marvel Multiverse. A multiverse in canon terms works very similarly to how it hypothetically works in reality. Whenever Marvel starts a new canon based off of old canon (an adaptation of its own work, so to speak), it's assumed to be inextricably linked to other adaptations and the original (Earth-616, also called "main continuity"), making a web of canons that cross and occasionally interact. This gives us a movie-based Tony who is a different character from 616-Tony, even though he's based off of him. His backstory, personality and existence is entirely separate from his counterpart.
There are two major differences between a multiverse and an expanded canon. The first is that expanded canons tend to be only mildly AU, either by way of a slightly changed story line or a change in existence. In a multiverse, the differences between an AU and its originating canon can be vast, everything from a change in gender to an entirely different story and plot with similarly named characters. Changes can also be a direct spin-off from the originating canon, creating a For Want of a Nail AU by changing a single detail. Characterization between universes can range from almost entirely similar to entirely different, with every range in between.
The second difference is that these universes can interact. Recently in Marvel the Spider-Man from Earth-1610 Miles Morales met with the Spider-Man from Earth-616 Peter Parker. There's also been occasions where Reed Richards has openly browsed through other universes to see how things were different.
Because of the tight interweaving, usually similar mediums and cross-section of interests, the Marvel multiverse fandom generally acts as a single fandom, rather than individual ones. Using
The ultimate effect of this is the need for origin universe labeling. Since characterizations vary so widely, stating which characterization you're coming from makes things much, much easier for everyone, allowing readers to bypass canons they don't care for or don't know, and allowing authors not to worry about explaining which backstory they're engaging. Even in the case of alternate universes, the difference between movie-based Natasha and Natasha in Earth-1610 is the difference between spot-on characterization and vast OOC. (Or the difference between hero and villainous undercover superspy, depending on how you look at it.)
Now that that's out of the way, on to the meat of things.
I wanted to start with the big one. Everything (and I mean everything started here, and most fics in the fandom take place in it, so it's a good place to bounce off of for a start. Most teams go through roster changes, so for simplicity I'm only listing the starting teams other than the New Avengers, which was designed as a secondary "start point" for new readers (until Marvel forgot that good things are good and decided Events make more money).
Name: Main Continuity
Universe ID: Earth-616
Starting Team (Classic Avengers): Iron Man (Tony Stark), the Wasp (Janet Van Dyne), Giant Man/Ant Man (Hank Pym), Thor (Don Blake/Thor), the Hulk (Bruce Banner). Joined in Issue #4 by Captain America (Steve Rogers).
Secondary Team (New Avengers): Iron Man (Tony Stark), Captain America (Steve Rogers), Spider-Man (Peter Parker), Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew), Wolverine (Logan Howlett), Power Man (Luke Cage). Later joined by the Sentry (Bob Reynolds).
History: There's a lot of history here, and most of it's summarized in the ship manifesto, thank goodness. The Avengers started in 1964, and have gone through a lot of changes, so a very brief summary! Tony was injured in Vietnam (repeatedly retconned) and had to wear a chestplate for a while. Back then, transistors were the thing. This combined with Did Not Do The Research resulted in everything Tony did being powered by transistors, from his rocket powered roller skates (yes, this happened) to miniaturized missiles. (For the electronically savvy, this does not mean his power source used transistors; they were very specifically named as the power source itself. Now go take an aspirin for the headache that gave you.) This included his heart. The chestplate had to be charged regularly, resulting in much angst because Tony has a history of forgetting little things like eating, sleeping, and plugging himself into a wall socket. He also helped form the Avengers and had a pencil mustache and a secret identity as his own bodyguard (not even Steve knew for a long time). The 60s, man.
The Avengers found Steve in an ice floe in the Arctic, resulting in much angst because Bucky died omg. Steve, being something of a creeper, latched onto Rick Jones, who was actually part of the Hulk's story, but who happened to look just like Bucky and had a hankering to be a sidekick. He also did the same thing to Sharon Carter, then-sister (later niece, recently great-niece) of his old girlfriend Peggy Carter, because she looked just like her sister/aunt/great-aunt. Steve latched on so thorough that he actually asked her to marry him, name unknown, and pretty much stalked her. The creep-factor was high for a very, very long time.
During this timeline, the team has broken up and reformed repeatedly. Tony went through two drinking arcs (one of which landed him penniless on the streets), joined the West Coast Avengers, rebuilt his company from the bottom up so many times it's nearly cliché (no matter what Matt Fraction thinks), and generally saved the day a lot. Steve abandoned the shield a few times when he disagreed with the US government on a fundamental level, kept getting dumped (seriously, I don't think Steve has ever been the one to initiate a breakup) and generally held the Avengers together one way or another up until House of M, Disassembled, New Avengers, and Civil War (see the manifesto for details).
After that, Events started coming thick on the ground. Immediately following Civil War was Secret Invasion, or That Time Skrulls Invaded and Things Sucked. Dark Reign followed after, and it was the period when Steve was dead and Norman Osborn—A.K.A. the Green Goblin—ran what used to be SHIELD. Yeah, I don't know either. This also sucked. During Dark Reign, Pepper Potts was the recipient of both some armor (which she named Rescue) and an arc reactor. This was the first appearance of the arc reactor in Earth-616, and also an attempt to retcon it over the chestplate (we'll see how it sticks). After Dark Reign (at the tag end, actually), Tony decided that deleting his brain was a stellar move that would incidentally keep Osborn from getting the list of register superheroes and their real identities that he had stored in his head. This resulted in him getting the arc reactor and losing the past two years of his memory, which hasn't affected him at all. Simultaneously, Steve had Captain America: Reborn (which could be called wtf do you mean time bullets?!) and came back from the dead. Sort of. It's complicated. Reborn was followed by Siege, wherein Asgard fell down and went boom and Noman Osborn was finally removed from power. Immediately after Siege came Avengers Prime, which is pretty much Thor, Tony and Steve going on a couple's retreat/adventure to patch up their hanging relationship issues from the previous part of this paragraph. Steve went on to become Nick Fury, and Tony went on to be the living embodiment of manpain.
Right now, the Avengers are currently battling the X-men, for Reasons having to do with... IDK, stuff.Explosions and stuff. Yeah. :| And Tony is about to not be Iron Man any longer, because Matt Fraction is on his way out and seems to be taking a "salt the earth behind me" policy.
What to Know about Steve/Tony: In this universe, Steve and Tony are besties. I mean, besties. It's the matching shirts, slumber parties and swearing to be neighbors and have your kids be best friends sort of besties, with added homoerotic undertones, more than a few instances of pining and Identity Porn by way of Tony's "bodyguard". When they're not being besties, they're angsting over it (and tearing the world apart in the process).
Notes: Due to the telescopic timeline, the Avengers have only been a team for 10-11 years in-story, but have been published for over 50 years real time. This makes things somewhat confusing, especially since some points are "fixed" (notably Steve's service in WWII).
Tony has, at times, had a chest plate, an artificial heart, a replacement heart and now the reactor. During the New Avengers timeframe he gained Extremis, a techno organic virus which seems to operate as a form of technopathy. It's essentially a computer-brain that lets him store part of the armor in his bones and operate machines with his brain. Extremis rebuilt him from the ground up and resolved his previous physical problems, including his heart. Extremis was compromised during the Secret Invasion, and for some reason that was never really explained, he needed an arc reactor to recover from having his brain deleted.
About the only thing that changes more than Tony's physical ailments is his facial hair.
Trivia: Natasha Romanov was originally a Soviet Spy called the Black Widow who had been sent to seduce and destroy Genius Millionaire Etc Tony Stark. Somehow, she ended up dating a circus performer named Clint Barton (Hawkeye) and temporarily turning him into a villain with the power of boobies. Eventually, they both did a Heel Face Turn and became Avengers.
Name: Marvel Adventures: Avengers (aka: MA)
Universe ID: Earth-20051
Starting Team: Iron Man (Tony Stark), Captain America (Steve Rogers), Ororo Munroe (Storm), Janet Van Dyne (Giant Girl/the Wasp), Wolverine (Logan Howlett), Spider-Man (Peter Parker), the Hulk (Bruce Banner).
History: MA is/was* the All Ages line of comics, so the history is fairly simple and there's no significant arcs to follow. This is the universe where everything is happy and nothing hurts. And also, Steve and Tony have basketball dates and go for burgers. The individual histories are essentially the same as in the main continuity, with less complexity and fewer dark themes.
*It was canceled and brought back with a different team and story which most people ignore, so I'm focusing on the original title.
What to Know about Steve/Tony: They're even more of besties in MA than they are in 616, mainly due to the fact that Civil War and the various drinking arcs aren't present in MA. They hang out together, go to the park, shoot hoops, and are generally attached at the hip.
Notes: There are several individual "Marvel Adventure" titles that don't officially tie in to the Avengers line (for example, Marvel Adventures: Iron Man), but that's never stopped us before.
Trivia: At one point, the Avengers battle an amorous sentient planet named Ego, who is causing massive destruction by his attempts to pick up Earth. For the record, Ego understands that Earth has a shorty (the moon) and is cool with it.
The Ultimates are controversial in fandom. Some people love them, some people hate them. Please no wank?
Name: The Ultimates
Universe ID:Earth-1610
Starting Team (the Ultimates): Iron Man (Tony Stark), Captain America (Steve Rogers), the Wasp (Janet Pym nee Van Dyne), Giant Man (Hank Pym), the Hulk (Bruce Banner), Nick Fury (as himself). Unofficial member: Thor Odinson (as himself). Quickly joined by Hawkeye (Clint Barton) and the Black Widow (Natasha Romanov).
History: The Ultimates line is considered a more modern reboot, with simplified backgrounds for most of the characters. Unlike many of the other continuities, it stands out very much on its own. Each arc can essentially be read as a stand-alone. Ultimates is also the origin of the black Nick Fury as played by Samuel L. Jackson (Nick is white in 616). Another notable change of race is Jan, who becomes Asian in 1610. Several of the storylines are triggery, especially recent ones.
In Volume 1, the Ultimates (not the Avengers) started off as a US government funded superhero team put together by SHIELD to fight superpowered terrorists that were beyond the scope of the US Armed Forces. Steve joined the team in Issue #1, when he was discovered by SHIELD in the Arctic and defrosted. Originally, they were mostly confined to publicity, since superpowered terrorists don't grow on trees (usually—thisis comics). In order to give the team something to fight (and possibly due to certain undiagnosed psychological issues) Bruce injected himself with a Hulk formula that had been mixed with the Super Soldier formula found in Steve's blood, creating the Grey Hulk and immediately going on a rampage through New York. I don't have my Vol 1 on me, but I think roughly 200 people are killed &/or eaten (&/or worse). The Ultimates brought the Hulk down by dropping a tank on him, kicking him in the balls, and then having Jan shrink down to crawl in his ear and to deliver a bio-energy blast directly to his brain (subsequently dropping him out of a plane). Due to complications of the serum Bruce injected himself with, he was no longer able to keep from "Hulking out", and was confined in the base of the Triskellion (an ocean-platform that SHIELD uses as headquarters).
After that, shape changing alien Nazis that also eat people called the Chitauri (remember that name). IDK what it is about Ultimates and eating people.
What to Know about Steve/Tony: They're friends, possibly not as close as in other continuities, but on good terms. Tony gifts Steve with his helmet from WWII, which he'd collected at some time in the past. Alas, the heterosexuality is more overt in this universe.
Notes: In 1610, Tony's (Antonio Stark) heart condition has been replaced by an inoperable brain tumor. Finding out he was dying was one of Tony's major motivations in becoming a hero—he wanted to give back. He's a carousing, loud, loveable drunk, but also has cases of manic depression. At one point, he was engaged to be married to Natasha Romanov. That didn't go so well. She turned out to be a traitor who killed Jarvis, Clint's girlfriend & children and tried to kill Tony. Yeah. Tony also has a twin brother named Gregory.
Steve was engaged to be married to Gail Richards before becoming trapped in the ice in WWII. At the time of Steve's "death", Gail was pregnant with their son, which she was forced to turn over to the US government. This son (Steven Rogers Jr.) was raised in a secure facility to be the next Super Soldier. He eventually went berserk (as you do), killed everyone in the facility, and became the terrorist known as the Red Skull, who Steve was forced to take down. Trigger warnings abound in that particular arc, for the record, though it does feature Steve stabbing the Red Skull with a jet. After giving up her son, Gail went on to marry Steve's best friend, Bucky. Both are alive and elderly in current canon and, so far as can be told, Steve is still very much in love with Gail. For a time, Steve dated Jan after her breakup with Hank. This didn't go well either, but it did much better than Tony's relationship with Natasha.
Thor is the actual God of Thunder, and also a hippy and (understandably) the focus of a cult. This may just be the best thing ever. Initially he refused to join the Ultimates as a stance against US foreign policy, though he does lend aid when lives are at stake. In the Hulk incident of the first volume, he joined the fight in return for the USA doubling its foreign aid.
Trivia: When Samuel L. Jackson agreed to allow his likeness to be used for Ultimate Nick Fury, it's rumored that it was part of a Xanatos Gambit to play the character in the event of an Avengers movie. Gambit successful, sir, gambit successful. (tips hat)
Bonus Trivia: In-universe, the Triskellion was originally going to be able to fly, in addition to being essentially a mobile island, but budget problems kept this from happening. Yes, Ultimate Nick Fury was going to top himself by having a flying island instead of just a flying aircraft carrier.
Name:Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes (animated)
Universe ID: Earth-80920
Starting Team: Iron Man (Tony Stark), the Wasp (Janet Van Dyne), Giant Man (Hank Pym), Thor (as himself), the Hulk (Bruce Banner). Later joined by Captain America (Steve Rogers) in Episode 4 (Living Legend).I see what you did there, Marvel.
History: EMH is an animated series which came out last year. It has only 21 episodes in the first season and a currently on-going second season. Sadly, there are rumors that it may be canceled rather than continued into the third season, because Disney is secretly run by Dr. Doom. It's essentially a sort of modern Avengers reboot.
In the first two episodes, the Avengers come together in order to assist SHIELD with a massive breakout in the maximum security facility called the Raft. They later battle Hydra, AIM and MODOK, the Enchantress and various other villains. The team grows from the core six to include Hawkeye and the Black Panther, with more characters joining in season 2. (Hint: CAROL! I suck at hints.) The entire first season is a series of Villain of the Day style stories, which turn out to be a long-term plot by Loki, crafted and manipulated to keep Thor busy and out of Asgard while he took over their father's throne during the Odinsleep. The Avengers are all sucked into Asgard, and proceed to kick ass. The ending is a massive cliffhanger.
What to Know about Steve/Tony: They have some friction, but appear to grow closer as the season goes on. Steve is very much an old fashioned man, and Tony self-identifies as a futurist. Of course, this eventually bites them both in the ass.
Notes: Like Ultimates, EMH stands alone fairly well. It has a lot of callbacks and in-jokes, but tends to lean more to the Classic Avengers (of early main continuity) than to more current canon.
Trivia: Loki breaks Steve's shield in the final battle of Episode 21 (A Day Unlike Any Other), but Steve is later shown holding the intact shield.
Bonus Movie Trivia: Tony's eyes are brown in this continuity. The only other continuity where they're consistently brown is the Cinematic Universe (ala RDJ). In other comics and animations, they're usually blue. Similarly, Jarvis is the AI for the Avengers Mansion, another trait only shared with the movies. Usually, he's a very human butler.
Spoiler spoilerspoiler space, I have all the spoiler space. Doo dee doo doodoo dah dee DEEEEEEEE~
Because the Avengers just came out and is not yet legally available for download or on disc, this is going to be slightly more thorough than some of the other universes. Please bear with me. Spoilers are thorough.If you don't want to be spoiled, click here to jump to the next section.
MORE SPOILER SPACE
Name: The Marvel Cinematic Universe
Universe ID: Earth-199999
Starting Team: (anticipated) Iron Man (Tony Stark), Captain America (Steve Rogers), Thor Odinson (as himself), the Black Widow (Natasha Romanov), Hawkeye (Clint Barton), the Hulk (Bruce Banner). Also featuring Nick Fury (as Nick MotherF*cking Fury), Phil Coulson (as himself), and introducing Maria Hill (as herself).
History: Having come out in late April/early May (depending on your personal geography), the Avengers has been a box office smash in every sense of the word, grossing more than a billion dollars worldwide and breaking record across the board. Alas, it contained no significant nudity. :(
Starting with Iron Man (2008), Tony was injured in Afghanistan, and currently uses an arc reactor to power the electromagnet that keeps shrapnel from shredding his heart. He became Iron Man due to the dying words of Yinsen, a fellow captive, and has only screwed up a lot. Steve Rogers was an asthmatic who volunteered for a dangerous program that turned him into Chris Evans, and then proceeded to punch Hitler. A lot. He also saved the world. Thor Odinson started off as a pretty dick, was manipulated into becoming humble, and is currently trapped on the other side of a broken rainbow bridge that is not at all a metaphor for anything sexual. He has maintained the pretty, I'm happy to report. The Hulk started out as Ed Norton playing a weedy scientist named Bruce Banner who was exposed with lethal levels of gamma radiation and now has a big green anger management problem. Sometime between the last movie and the Avengers he turned into Mark Ruffalo, gained a sense of humor and became a woobie. Natasha Romanov (originally of Iron Man 2) is a SHIELD agent codenamed Black Widow, "formerly" Russian with hints at a villainous past. She will kill you with her thighs. Clint Barton, codenamed Hawkeye, is an archer who may be responsible for Black Widow's coming over from the dark side. That is the only past he gets.
In the Avengers (2012), SHIELD is attempting to harness the power of the Tesseract in ways similar to what Hydra did in WWII. (For reference, see Captain America. No really, go watch it. Right now. I'll wait.) For anyone who knows comics, you already know this is a bad, bad idea and ends up attracting the attention of nebulous alien bad guys (see post credits scene #1 for specifics, I'm not spoiling this one for you) who are somehow connected to the race known as the Chitauri. Sadly, these Chitauri are not people-eating shape-shifting Nazis. What they are is commanded by Loki, who is out to take over the Earth and force mortals to bow before him, as one does. He shows up, kicks some ass, takes the Tesseract and then brainwashes/runs away with Hawkeye for reasons that probably don't have anything to do with shared fashion sense. (Seriously, Clint, you're a superhero; dress like it. Are the movies still trying to make up for that time you wore a skirt?) This prompts Nick Fury to Assemble Our Team (yay!). We get some lovely scenes of said assembly, save Thor (who is still on Asgard).
During this process, Steve and Tony catch Loki being a Bad Boy in Germany. Cue bickering, and the arrival of Thor to Have a Word with His Brother. The requisite fight between the Big Three is had, leveling a small chunk of what looks to be National Park, and Loki gets hauled back to the Helicarrier. While on the Helicarrier, there's more bickering, discussed suspicions of what SHIELD is really up to with the Tesseract (Fury claims it's for renewable energy, because LOL, we're going to buy that), Bonding between Bruce and Tony, and in general UST is sprayed around with a firehose. Black Widow goes to Loki's cell and pwns his ass, finding out in the process that Loki's Secret Plan is to provoke Bruce into Hulking out. She races back to the Lab of Stark/Banner Bro-ness for yet more bickering.
Meanwhile, Brainwashed Hawkeye is outside on a jet, taking aim with his arrows of
Then they all fight some more. I swear, it's not as repetitive as it sounds.
When the moment's done, Phil Coulson is dead, Thor and Hulk have been dropped out of the Helicarrier (they survive), Loki is ~freeeee~ and Hawkeye has been Cognitively Readjusted back to being not brainwashed. Steve and Tony have a case of the sad, which is ruthlessly ground in by Nick Fury, who plays every card he has and uses Phil's death to make them Bond. The team figures out where Loki is going to pull off his Final Act, puts on their spangles, and heads out to Save the World.
I'll save describing the Final Battle in detail, because I really couldn't do it justice. Just know that Tony does something heroically self-sacrificial, Bruce comes back and Hulks out deliberately, Natasha manages to close the portal that the bad guys are using, Thor smashes things, Steve starts to come back into the public eye as a national icon and Hawkeye shoots all the things. No one gets eaten, but there are lots of pretty explosions. There is also a dramatic, breath-taking fight scene between Hulk and Loki that you really, really have to see to believe.
The movie ends with New York decimated (again) and shots of newscasts about the attack and the Avengers. This includes a grateful public, signs that the team and individuals are all quickly becoming loved, and of course a Senator trying to pin the blame for New York's decimation on the Avengers. (What? You would have preferred they just let the aliens come?) This is interspersed with Thor taking Loki back to Asgard in chains and what I swear looks like an Asgardian ball-gag. The rest of the Avengers go their separate ways, with Steve riding off on his motorcycle and Bruce hopping into Tony's car, presumably so they can go back to Stark Tower and Do Science.
After that, there are two post-credit scenes. I highly recommend staying for both of them. The second is my favorite.
What to Know about Steve/Tony: Steve and Tony start off as highly antagonistic. Steve is bristly and easily prodded. Tony is, of course, a prodder by nature. Through the power of bickering, the self—induced fridging of Coulson, teamwork and Tony's attempted sacrifice, they seem to come to terms by the end of the movie. At the very least, they shake hands and look friends. Tony is currently very cozy with Pepper (which is adorable, I feel the need to say) and Steve has only been defrosted for a couple of months, so there's still plenty to work with.
Notes: Due to several main continuity writers acting as consultants, there's been some blurring between recent 616 and 199999, as can be exampled by current Iron Man comics (wherein Tony occasionally has brown eyes for no apparent reason, has redeveloped a romantic storyline with Pepper that had originally been abandoned in the 70s (I think) and has an arc reactor). As such, there's a lot of speculation about whether current 616 canon will be reflected in the movie universe. All I can say is that if it does, I damned well better get some adorable kid Loki out of it.
Trivia: Agent Phil Coulson may be dead in Earth-199999, but he now exists in Earth-616 (codename Cheese) and as a principal for Spider-Man in Earth-1610.
Pretend this space is full of amazing music and stuff, instead of just a giant blank space to defend against spoilers. Maybe hum a theme song.
The universes listed below are smaller, less developed or lesser known universes that still tend to be fairly popular in fic in spite of their limited run. Marvel has a very long list of "What-If" worlds, where something is changed and the affects are examined. And we loves them, precious, yes we do.Earth-3490: A.K.A., that one where Tony is a girl. At one point Reed Richards was trawling through the multiverse (as one does) looking at "peaceful alternatives" where Civil War was prevented. One of them was Earth-3490, where Civil War was prevented by the marriage of Captain America (Steve Rogers) and Iron Woman (Natasha Stark). According the one one-image panel to the right, they muted one another's aggressive tendencies, which allowed the 50 State Initiative to complete. I can only speculate on the extremely hot sex.
Earth-2149 & Earth-91126: A.K.A., those ones with zombies. Zombie apocalypse starts in 2149 and is transported to 91126. There was a brief crossover with 616 in the Deadpool series, wherein Deadpool's zombie head (called Headpool) was a plot point.
Earth-90214: A.K.A., Noir-verse. There are no superpowers and everything happens in a noir-style story. Particularly of note is Iron Man noir, where Tony is an Indiana Jone-style adventurer.
Earth-2301: A.K.A., the Mangaverse. First rule of the Mangaverse is that we don't talk about the Mangaverse. It's not a small print, but Steve is president, Tony is a head in a jar, and there are giant robot transformers.
Earth-2108: A.K.A., Civil War Ends Worse #1. Tony died as a result of the Extremis virus, and Steve leads the world's heroes in a rebellion against the Super Human Registration Act. It doesn't go well. Without Tony, the government's response is outright villainous. Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies (If They're Lucky). Does feature Steve donning the Sentinel of Liberty Armor.
Earth-10208: A.K.A., Civil War Ends Happily Without Tony Being A Girl. Instead of keeping his cards close to his chest, Tony asked Steve for help. Steve oversees Registration, ensuring that it runs smoothly, because who wouldn't trust him?
Earth-9230: A.K.A., Civil War Ends Worse #2. Steve was not assassinated, and instead was tried as planned. Tony is killed by Bill Foster's nephew (who blamed Tony for his uncle's death), and this is used as even more anti-hero propaganda that results in worse fighting. Earth is even less prepared for the Skrull invasion.
Hopefully, that was more informative than confusing. Um. Discuss? I'll just crawl back in my hidey-hole.
For the full (1000+) list of canon named and unnamed universes please click here.
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