The Disney+ series’ Loki and What If? recently introduced the multiverse to the MCU, revealing dozens of variant versions of classic Marvel characters including Spider-Man, Captain America, and more. Long-term fans of the comics, however, are very familiar with the concept of the multiverse.

In the pages of Marvel Comics, hundreds of variant universes exist, and many have been revisited multiple times, with some becoming almost as iconic as the “Prime” universe of Earth-616. Each of these alternate worlds is inhabited by its own sets of characters, showcasing some pretty unexpected takes on many classic Marvel heroes.

Updated August 24th, 2022, by Darby Harn: The upcoming Avengers: Secret Wars likely adapts the multiverse-shattering 2015 comic book event for the MCU and in doing so, will bring countless Marvel variants into live-action. The comic book storyline smashed together variants from across the multiverse into Battleworld, playing infinite versions of Thor off each other in the Thor Corps. The Maker, a Reed Richards variant from Earth-1610, likely appears as well given his prominence in the story. With MCU Phases 4-6 comprising The Multiverse Saga, the comics’ best alternate takes on major heroes likely make their way into the franchise, including some characters as popular or more so than their original incarnations.

Captain Carter (Earth-TRN944)

Peggy Carter played a relatively small role in Marvel Comics given her importance in the MCU, but a powerful new variant instantly captures what makes her so compelling. The Captain Carter introduced in Marvel Comics recently takes many cues from the one appearing in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness but differs as well.

Captain Carter from Earth-TRN944 follows the same basic narrative as her MCU counterpart though her modern adventures take on a different dimension. She works for S.T.R.I.K.E., fighting superhuman threats in the United Kingdom alongside Lizzie Braddock, a variant of Captain Britain.

Blink died very soon after her first appearance in X-Men comics, during The Phalanx Covenant crossover. But readers soon received an even more powerful and arguably more compelling version. Blink reappeared in the Age of Apocalypse comic book storyline from 1994 as a dynamic powerhouse with a complex history.

Her close relationship with Victor Creed added dimension to both characters, and her unique teleportation powers created a unique visual that led to the storyline’s most dynamic battles.

King Thor

Many powerful Thor variants exist in Marvel Comics, with King Thor perhaps the strongest. An older Thor from the far future where Gorr the God Butcher slayed all the gods, King Thor brought a grizzled and determined pathos to his quest to stop the villain from completing his mad quest through time and space.

King Thor wields a cybernetic arm taken from the Destroyer armor, making him even more powerful than his younger self. This version also appears in Secret Wars and likely does in live-action if the movie adapts the Thor Corps.

Bloodstorm (Earth-1298)

In the mainstream Marvel Universe, X-Men leader Storm nearly transformed into a vampire in Uncanny X-Men vol. 1 #159 by Chris Claremont and Bill Sienkiewicz. With the help of her teammates, however, she resisted the transformation. On Earth-1298, better known as “The Mutant X Universe” these events played out differently.

Although Storm defied Dracula and rejoined the X-Men, she was fully transformed into a vampire along the way. Contrary to Storm’s typical stalwart and regal presentation, Bloodstorm was self-serving, vengeful, and impulsive, establishing a darker mirror image of the classic hero.

Kate Pryde (Earth-811)

In Days Of Future Past, among the best X-Men comic book storylines ever, the world’s mutant population was mostly exterminated, with survivors rounded up into concentration camps and guarded over by the deadly robotic Sentinels. Kate Pryde numbered among the survivors, with wisdom and determination earned through bitter experience.

Utilizing the powers of teammate Rachel Summers, future Kate went back in time, inhabiting her younger self to divert the events that lead to her future. While Kitty Pryde was the youngest and most inexperienced of the X-Men at the time this story was published, future Kate was a war-weary leader, foreshadowing her younger counterpart’s future role in the mutant community.

Mar-Vell (Earth-10011)

The death of the original Captain Marvel counts among Marvel’s greatest stories. In another universe, however, Mar-Vell made a deathbed pact with the ancient “Many Angled Ones”, allowing him to corrupt the heroes around him and defeat the living embodiment of Death itself.

Effectively eliminating mortality from his universe, this world came to be known as “The Cancerverse”, populated by twisted undying versions of Marvel’s most well-known heroes. Where the original Captain Marvel accepted his mortality and faced death with grace and valor, his twisted Cancerverse counterpart became corrupted by his desire to live, eventually leading a perverted deathless version of the Avengers into the multiverse in a quest to eliminate Death from all worlds.

Iron Maniac (Earth-5012)

In a world ravaged by a war against the Super-Skrull Titannus, a powerful Iron Man variant watched as one by one his allies perished. This version of Tony then became much darker than his 616 counterpart, embittered by the loss of so many loved ones and determined to avenge them by any means necessary.

As a result, he went on to pillage the unguarded technologies of his world’s deceased heroes, upgrading his armor along the way. Dubbed “Iron Maniac” due to his aggressive tactics, he eventually came into conflict with the Reed Richards of this world who, unable to kill Tony, instead transported him across dimensions, landing him in the mainstream Marvel Universe. The following “Iron Maniac Saga” stands out among writer Robert Kirkman’s highly underrated run on the comic Marvel Team-Up vol. 3, a book that itself spawned numerous new branches of Marvel’s multiversal tree.

Dreadpool (Earth-12101)

An alternate version of Deadpool driven mad by his belief that he and everybody he had ever met were entirely fictional beings, Dreadpool set about a campaign to eliminate all reality. Traversing multiple variant universes, he killed many alternate versions of Marvel’s heroes and villains, as well as a number of classic literary characters.

Amassing an army of multiversal Deadpools along the way, he eventually landed in Earth-616 where he and his army of evil Deadpools went toe to toe with the Prime Wade Wilson’s Deadpool Corps. Every bit as deranged as the original, but driven by a singular goal, Dreadpool ranks among the Prime Wade’s greatest enemies.

Spider-Man (Earth-58163)

Rather than being hated and feared as they are on Earth-616, mutants rule the world in House Of M. In order to capitalize upon their societal advantage, the Peter Parker of this universe passed himself off as a mutant, with no one questioning his status due to his amazing abilities. This presents an intriguing Spider-Man closer to the version he nearly was before Uncle Ben died.

In this world, Peter became a celebrity professional wrestler before parlaying his public adoration into a career as a movie star. House Of M Spider-Man lived a life that the mainstream Parker could only have dreamed of, with all the power and none of the responsibility. Consequently, he slowly came to acknowledge that he was living a lie and was torn between his celebrity status as a “mutant” icon and his desire to help the burgeoning human uprising.

Maestro (Earth-9200)

In a desolate future ravaged by nuclear war, The Maestro seized control, regulating resources and ruling with an iron fist. In the post-apocalyptic world to which readers were introduced, most of humanity had been either annihilated or horrifically mutated, and the last survivors were ruled over by The Maestro.

The Maestro, easily among the strongest Hulk versions in Marvel Comics, possessed Banner’s intelligence and Hulk’s strength, but a completely twisted sense of morality. One of the first stories to depict the ramifications of a Hulk unchained, the story of The Maestro remains one of Marvel’s most notable alternate futures.

Old Man Logan (Earth-807128)

In an epic storyline taking place between Wolverine Vol. 3 #’s 66-72, readers discovered an alternate future in which Wolverine was the last surviving member of the X-Men. Adding to his tragedy, Mysterio tricked this version of Logan into unleashing his infamous berserker rage upon his friends and family.

The quest of Old Man Logan unfolds as a modern-day Marvel Comics western, with Logan mostly alone in a post-apocalyptic landscape fighting against a Hulk even more terrifying than The Maestro. The character spawned a series of spin-offs and being incorporated into the mainstream Marvel Universe as a member of the present-day X-Men.

Magneto (Earth-295)

Magneto typically numbers among the most powerful X-Men villains, but the Age Of Apocalypse introduced readers to a heroic variant. In a world in which Professor Xavier died before ever forming the X-Men, the ancient mutant Apocalypse conquered America unchallenged, ushering in a dystopian future held to his unwavering Darwinistic views.

Magneto sought to honor the death of his oldest friend and took up his legacy. Age Of Apocalypse Magneto set a new precedent for the heroic potential of one of Marvel’s oldest villains, with elements of his character still noticeable in his mainstream interpretation to this day, especially on Krakoa.

Magik (Sorcerer Supreme)

Magik already numbers among the most powerful magical beings in the Marvel Universe, but in an alternate reality, she trains to become the Sorcerer Supreme. Her worthiness for the role and facility for it make this powerful variant among the best in Marvel Comics, and one the MCU potentially adapts in some capacity.

Magik possesses incredible power via the Soul Sword but this variant gains the tools of Doctor Strange, including the Eye of Agamotto and the Cloak of Levitation, making this young mutant even more powerful than before.

Spider-Gwen

Gwen Stacy certainly counts among the best-supporting characters in Spider-Man comics, but when one of her variants became Spider-Gwen, the character transformed into one of Marvel’s best heroes. Gwen went instantly from an important but fading historical footnote in Marvel lore to a modern superhero for a new generation.

Spider-Gwen crossed over from her reality in Earth-65 into the 616 on a few occasions, including Secret Wars. Only one question remains about her inevitable arrival in live-action: will she appear in the MCU or will she join the Sony Marvel Universe?

The Maker (Earth-1610)

Many powerful Mr. Fantastic variants exist in the Marvel multiverse, but perhaps none more compelling than The Maker. Following a world-altering global event, The Maker used his abilities to stretch his own cranium, expanding his mental capacity and reinventing himself as the logical-to-a-fault villain.

When Marvel’s 2015 Secret Wars event threatened to crash the Ultimate universe into Earth-616, threatening its existence, The Maker contrived a way to destroy 616. His plan failed but he survived, becoming an enemy to the Mighty Avengers while attempting to remake the world in his own image.