I’m not sure if anyone I know is actually aware of the numbering systems for the Earths or ‘realities’ in the Marvel ‘universe’. Basically, there are random numbers assigned to each of the universes, a.k.a. realities or storylines. Different series of comics each have their own. The movies often do, too, such as the ones for Spiderman. Things in one do not affect anything in the other.
While this sounds like a good way to keep track of things, and to keep the different timelines and lifespans the writers dream up sorted, the numbers might as well be encrypted; by themselves, they don’t make it easy to determine what one is about to read or watch, unless that person is already familiar with the connection between them and their respective plots. The numbers are not even sequential. From what I have read, they are entirely arbitrary.
Don’t get me wrong; I like the clever plot-twists other writers and directors come up with sometimes, and I understand the fact that some of those twists are only possible when new timelines (a.k.a. universes or realities) are created. However, that being said, plenty of clever twists are still possible when continuing existing storylines. It seems a bit lazy to me to keep rewriting everything, calling it a new reality; that’s too convenient.
Imagine if they remade Harry Potter, or Star Wars, or Lord of the Rings, as many times as they have remade Batman, Spiderman, Superman, and the X-Men. It would be chaos. Every generation would have a different idea of what was or is going on. And what’s the point? Why reboot all the characters’ looks, ages, and quirks every few years? There is already so much endless potential content just waiting to be filmed and produced from the original comics, books, and other sources; there is no reason at all to keep retelling the same few introductory bits!
So many different realities have been made… that it’s impossible to make sense of the mess without heavy research. That’s a luxury most people simply don’t have, and may never. So I’m fixing it; I put all the original stories together, tossing out the idea that every major story happened in some ‘alternate reality’. I ironed out the issues that came from this unification process, and it actually worked very well, almost seamlessly.
Now, some of the original material from those various plots was rather elementary, even juvenile, and warranted a retelling, or even a complete overhaul; rewriting from square one. My own works are certainly included in that assessment. Still, I believe that it makes more sense, and will be much better received by audiences, to focus on telling each part of the very lengthy stories; we should move comic to comic, and book to book, making movies and shows that are in order like those original creations, not which are isolated like unrelated islands floating around for no apparent reason. What needs refinement and polishing up, we can handle, and doing so is far easier than ‘reinventing the wheel’, as it were.
Before we find ourselves with a pointlessly infinite set of random numbers for unnecessary, superfluous, and predictable ‘realities’, I’m taking a step back, taking the time to assemble (or re-assemble) what is essentially a shattered glass vase, I suppose you could call it, and demonstrating how much more captivating, clever, and fluid it can be this way. To those who like making up new realities, or retelling the same parts of stories over and over, continue doing what works for you. For me, what works is this living nexus and reunion I have built for them all.
Further information about the hundreds of alternate realities in Marvel (not to mention other continuities, such as DC comics) here, here, here, and here.
