 | |
| Earth-616 | |
| Category: | Reality |
| Galaxy: | Marvel Universe |
| 1st appearance: | Motion Picture Funnies Weekly #1 (Retroactive) The Daredevils #7 (Canon) |
Earth-616 is a numeric designation attributed to the internal reality featured in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The name applies to the mainstream continuity found in most titles published by Marvel and is otherwise referred to by the umbrella title, the Marvel Universe, which is the general name for the entirety of the Marvel Comics multiverse. The appellation first came about by British writer Alan Moore and artist Alan Davis who used it to describe the mainstream reality in the "Rough Justice" story from issue #7 of the Marvel UK magazine The Daredevils. Since then, it has become the canonical reality designation of the primary Marvel Universe as well as retroactively including most Golden and Silver Age comics published by Marvel's predecessors, Timely Comics and Atlas Comics.
Earth-616 deals primarily with comic titles of the superhero fantasy genre, though some horror, sci-fi and even comedy creep up into it as well. By and large, the older science fiction, psycho-thriller and horror stories that populated many of the anthology titles over the years are considered stand-alone stories set within an insular reality and are not part of the larger Earth-616 continuity.
Many Golden Age era superhero comics have been retroactively inserted into the continuity of the modern Marvel Universe such as Captain America Comics, Human Torch, Sub-Mariner Comics and All-Winners Comics. In more recent years, some of the more obscure superhero figures from the Golden Age have been shown to be part of the Earth-616 reality as well.
History
1920[]
| Event | Source | Date |
|---|---|---|
| The icebreaker Oracle drops depth charges in the Southern Ocean, unwittingly destroying sections of Atlantis. Emperor Tha-Korr sends Princess Fen to the Oracle as a spy. She falls in love with the ship's captain, Leonard McKenzie and gives birth to his son, Namor. | Motion Picture Funnies Weekly 1 Marvel Comics 1 |
4.39 10.39 |
1939[]
| Event | Source | Date |
|---|---|---|
| The Atlantean army has grown strong enough that it can now mass an assault on the surface world. | Motion Picture Funnies Weekly 1 | 4.39 |
| The Sub-Mariner attacks and kills two deep-sea divers named Rod Nelson and Carley, believing them to be robots. He brings them back to Emperor Tha-Korr as a prize. | Motion Picture Funnies Weekly 1 | 4.39 |
1940[]
| Event | Source | Date |
|---|---|---|
| November 14th: Inspired by newsreel footage of Nazi Germany, Steve Rogers tries to enlist in the U.S. Army. He is rejected as 4F, but is recruited by General Chester Phillips for a special program known as Project: Rebirth. | Adventures of Captain America 1 | 9.91 |
| Nov-Dec: Steve Rogers meets Project: Rebirth applicant Tyler Paxton. | Steve Rogers: Super-Soldier 1 | 9.10 |
| December 24th: The Project: Rebirth applicants spend Christmas Eve at Lt. Cynthia Glass’ residence. Harmon Furmintz announces that he has been rejected from the program due to being a hemophiliac. A fight breaks out and applicant Gilmore Hodge permanently cripples Jack Windmere, pushing him out of the program as well. | Adventures of Captain America 1 | 9.91 |
| December 27th: At the behest of Colonel James Fletcher, Gilmore Hodge is booted out of the Project: Rebirth program. Steve Rogers becomes the only applicant remaining. | Adventures of Captain America 1 | 9.91 |
1941[]
| Event | Source | Date |
|---|---|---|
| January 13th: Steve Rogers is put through extensive physical exercises to prepare him for the Project: Rebirth experiment. | Adventures of Captain America 1 | 9.91 |
| January 27th: Fearing for the secrecy of Project: Rebirth, Professor Abraham Erskine splits the formula for the Super Soldier Serum into separate pieces and hands them out to his assistants. Colonel James Fletcher is the only one other than Erskine who has a copy of the complete formula. | Adventures of Captain America 1 | 9.91 |
| March 3rd: General Phillips, Colonel Fletcher and Doctor Erskine continue to put Steve Rogers through a battery of tests. They begin introducing biochemical compounds into his system. | Adventures of Captain America 1 | 9.91 |
| March 10th: Using a combination of Vita-Rays and the top secret Super Soldier Serum, Doctor Abraham Erskine turns scrawny Steve Rogers into a muscular power house. A Nazi agent named Heinz Kruger infiltrates the facility and assassinates Erskine. Rogers tries to fight back and accidentally causes an Omniverter to fall on Kruger, killing him. | Adventures of Captain America 1 | 9.91 |
| March 12th: The Red Skull sends Agent X to assassinate all of Abraham Erskine's lab assistants in an effort to acquire the Super Soldier Serum. Doctors Anderson and Keller are both killed. | Adventures of Captain America 1 | 9.91 |
| March 13th: General Chester Phillips assigns Private Steve Rogers to Camp Lehigh. He is to lay low until such time that they are ready to unveil him. | Adventures of Captain America 1 | 9.91 |
| March 14th: Agent X sends Zahnmörder to assassinate Project: Rebirth assistant Doctor Weissmann. General Phillips and Colonel Fletcher find him dead in his home. | Adventures of Captain America 1 | 9.91 |
| March 14th: Steve Rogers uncovers a ring of smugglers at Camp Lehigh. Donning a heavy coat and goggles, he tracks them down and brings them to justice. | Adventures of Captain America 1-2 | 9.91-11.91 |
| December: Brain Drain uses the Ring of the Nebulas to brainwash four Axi-Tun aliens into believing they are Teutonic gods. He sets them against the Invaders and they fight across the Siegfried Line in Germany. Upon recovering their real minds, the Axi-Tun decide to take their own lives. Brain Drain is defeated. | Invaders 1-2 | 8.75 |
The Future[]
As the future is not yet set, the canonicity of future timelines is a matter of interpretation and they may or may not represent the definitive future timeline of the Earth-616 reality. One such future timeline is that of the 31st century, which is home to the Guardians of the Galaxy. This is an alternate future timeline designated Earth-691 and is not part of Earth-616 continuity.
Notes & Trivia[]
- The term Earth-616 refers to the entire reality of the multiverse, not just the planet Earth.