No./10 Confusing superhero multiverses — explained

Empire’s Chris Hewitt attempts to answer the big questions behind Marvel and DC’S upcoming blockbusters

So, I saw the trailer for Spider-man: No Way Home…

Good, isn’t it?

Yes, I liked the bits with Doctor Strange. He’s very funny.

At the end of the trailer, Alfred Molina’s Doctor Octopus shows up, right?

Yes.

But how? Isn’t he from Sam Raimi’s

Spider-man 2? Where Tobey Maguire played Spider-man?

Yes. All the way back in 2004. Oh, and he’s also dead.

So, how has he shown up here, in the MCU, saying, “Hello, Peter,” to Tom Holland’s Spider-man?

Welcome to the Multiverse, my friend.

The Multi-what?

The Multiverse. It’s very simple, really. It’s the idea that there are infinite universes, running parallel alongside ours, and they contain infinite variations on our world. So in the universe of the MCU, Tom Holland is Spider-man. But in the next universe over, it’s Tobey Maguire. The universe after that, Andrew Garfield. Ten universes over, it’s a pig voiced by John Mulaney.

Huh. Sounds a bit mad.

But it’s rooted in actual science! It’s a theory that’s been around for thousands of years. The Greek philosopher Chrysippus was one of the first to forward the idea, although it wasn’t until many years later, when one of the great philosophical minds of our time, Gwyneth Paltrow, popularised the concept with her 1997 treatise, Sliding Doors.

So, how does this all work in terms of the MCU, then? How is a character from one Spider-man movie showing up in another? Well, the prevailing theory is that Spider-man: No Way Home will feature a veritable smorgasbord of supervillains, plucked from previous incarnations of the webslinger. In that trailer you’ll also see a pumpkin bomb, and hear a cackle, that belongs to Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin. Jamie Foxx’s Electro, Thomas Haden Church’s Sandman, and Rhys Ifans’ Lizard are also rumoured to be in the mix.

How is this happening?

Okay, I’m a little hazy on the how right now. But the Multiverse seems to be the next

Wait until Gwyneth gets a load of this. big concept that will drive the MCU into Phase Four and maybe beyond. It was teased in Spider-man: Far From Home, with J.K. Simmons showing up at the end as J. Jonah Jameson, a character he played in the Raimi movies. And the creation of the Multiverse propelled Loki, and allowed Captain Carter to exist in What If…?. Now, it seems, all the infinite cats are out of the endless bags, and the spiders are coming home to roost.

This could get complicated fast.

Yep. In fact, this is a concept that has long been exploded in Marvel and DC comics. DC’S mythology became so unwieldy that it led to a famous crossover event, Crisis On Infinite Earths, which was designed to streamline the timeline.

Did it work?

Not really, no. But speaking of DC, the upcoming Flash movie will also delve into their version of a Multiverse, with Ezra Miller’s Flash travelling back in time and, it seems, unwittingly creating parallel universes. That will also lean into the wider history of DC movies, with not one but two Batmen, in the shape of Ben Affleck and, more pertinently, Michael Keaton, returning to the role for the first time in almost 30 years. And those are just the ones we know about.

Going back to Spider-man, exactly how does Tom Hardy’s Venom fit into all this?

Well, that’s more of a rights issue with Sony and Marvel Studios than anything else. As far as we can see, he’s still very much a separate entity and Sony’s Spider-man Universe, as it’s now known, will not feature your actual Spider-man.

So, how come Michael Keaton’s Vulture is in the trailer for Morbius?

Erm… Michael Keaton really loves multiverses?

You don’t know, do you?

To see how this all fits together, you’ll have to wait and see. It’s all to do with the magic of the movies!

Don’t give me that. You’re clueless, aren’t you?

Yes.

All the Chris Hewitts in all the universes, I have to get the buffoon.

Sorry about that.