Since DC Comics first introduced the concept with 1961’s Flash of Two Worlds and then refined the idea with 1985’s seminal Crisis on Infinite Earths, the multiverse has become a genre-specific staple of superhero comics, allowing storytellers to present unique and varied takes on everlasting characters and worlds that audiences have grown familiar with. It didn’t take long for the idea to spread across the industry – Marvel introduced their own version of a multiverse shortly afterwards, and the success of the concept led to ideas such as DC’s Elseworlds imprint and the Marvel What If? stories, both beloved series, at each company are dedicated to exploring their respective universes in ways never before seen.
All these decades later, despite criticisms thrown at the trope, it seems like the multiverse will simply never perish in superhero storytelling. The Ultimate Universe, which began at the turn of the century in the year 2000, was Marvel’s attempt at modernizing and streamlining their decades of continuity for new audiences (it worked so well that it partially formed the basis for the MCU, which has now introduced its own multiverse), and recently, DC launched the Absolute Universe, a similar separate modernization with an emphasis on darker stories. Now it appears like Marvel is taking a page from their book, with a mysterious announcement that teases the impending arrival of a brand new universe.
