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List of Marvel Comics characters: V

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Jack Monroe is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics . The character was originally introduced as the third sidekick under the Bucky identity, initially treated as the original Bucky Barnes before being retconned as a separate character, and later the most well-known incarnation of Nomad .

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177-455: Vagabond ( Priscilla Lyons ) is the former partner and girlfriend of Nomad (Jack Monroe) . She prevented Black Racer's assassination attempt on Sidewinder . She thwarted and captured Dr. Karl Malus during his attempt to take over Power Broker, Inc. She was recruited and trained by the Scourge organization; during her training she had a change of heart and decided to help the U.S. Agent shut down

354-691: A supervillain in the Marvel Universe . The character, created by Chris Claremont and Salvador Larroca , first appeared in X-Treme X-Men #1 in 2001. Within the context of the stories, Vargas comes into conflict with the X-Men while searching for the diaries of Destiny and even managed to kill Psylocke . He's not a mutant , since he lacks the X-Gene in his DNA, but is not fully human either, much like Captain America

531-609: A vampire . Overcoming his control, she asks Wolverine to kill her, which he does. Frank Drake later avenges her death by aiding Doctor Strange in destroying all vampires on Earth. Rachel Van Helsing appears in Tomb of Dracula , voiced by Mami Koyama in the original Japanese and by Melanie McQueen in the English dub. Michael Ian Van Patrick is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics . The character

708-612: A Jack Monroe story in Thunderbolts From the Marvel Vault #1 (June 2011) written by Fabian Nicieza and illustrated by Derec Aucoin, which followed Jack Monroe after his time as Scourge. Jack Monroe was born in Naugatuck, Connecticut . He became an adventurer and the partner of William Burnside who had assumed the identity of Steve Rogers in the 1950s. After operating together for some time as Bucky and Captain America, respectively,

885-399: A Latverian with genuine love for the country. She eventually became the leader of a rebel force opposing Latveria's tyrant president for life. She infiltrated Castle Doom to confirm the rumors of Doctor Doom's return and to seek his help. Zora's words swayed Doom from exile, and inspired him to reclaim Latveria's throne. In return for her actions, Doom bestowed Zora with

1062-494: A Society member who has remained loyal to Sidewinder and helped The Captain fight Viper, and as a result was in jail, too. Sidewinder offers to free the other heroes imprisoned there, but Vagabond and Demolition Man turn him down, saying that they think it was wrong to flee the authorities. Nomad scoffs at this notion, and decides to leave the jail with Sidewinder and Diamondback. This incident ends his relationship with Vagabond. The Captain approaches Nomad for help, but finds Nomad in

1239-447: A Wonderful Life , George Bailey makes a wish that he had never existed, which an angel, Clarence, asks God to grant to teach George how important his life really is; he is about to be arrested for fraud in relation to money having gone missing from the bank he runs. He gets to see what his gentle sleepy town would be like if he never lived, including the death of his brother Harry at a young age, which in turn results in many troops dying in

1416-671: A backup story in Captain America Annual #9 (1990), in which Monroe discards his spandex outfit and becomes an urban vigilante . In 1990, Nomad starred in an eponymous four-issue miniseries, written by Nicieza and penciled by James Fry III (November 1990–February 1991). Captain America Annual #10 features a prologue to the upcoming Nomad ongoing series. Again written by Nicieza, the series lasted 25 issues (May 1992–May 1994) and featured artwork from several artists, most notably Pat Olliffe and S. Clarke Hawbaker . At one point in

1593-542: A bar, drunk. Upon finding out Rogers plans to give himself up to the Commission, Nomad refuses to help him and the two men part on bad terms. Going solo again, Nomad began a war against drug dealer Umberto Safilios. Monroe later discards his spandex outfit choosing to become an urban vigilante . Monroe kidnaps an infant girl from her drug addicted mother, naming her "Bucky". The Commission on Superhuman Activities begins to put Monroe under scrutiny. The Commission, allied with

1770-491: A central plot-point , or it may simply be mentioned and quickly dismissed, having served its purpose of establishing a realm unconstrained by realism. Discworld , for example, only very rarely mentions our world or any other worlds, as Pratchett set the books in a parallel universe instead of in "our" reality to allow for magic on the Disc . While technically incorrect, and looked down upon by hard science-fiction fans and authors,

1947-458: A character claims that the universe is dangerous because the poem went unfinished, but whether this was his misapprehension or not is not established. Some fictional approaches definitively establish the independence of the parallel world, sometimes by having the world differ from the book's account; other approaches have works of fiction create and affect the parallel world: L. Sprague de Camp 's Solomon's Stone , taking place on an astral plane,

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2124-525: A code name for the scientist Abraham Erskine , the developer of the Super-Soldier serum that changed the frail Steve Rogers into Timely Comics 's (Marvel Comics' 1940s predecessor's) Captain America . On his death, Dr. Erskine left papers, which covered years of research and findings that the government had not seen fit to classify to his grandson Brian Van Patrick. Brian studied his grandfather's work, particularly his work on growing, preparing and serving

2301-602: A confrontation with Bishop and finally getting her hands on the baby, she joins the others in the final fight between the X-Men and X-Factor and the Marauders and the Acolytes, only to be killed and eaten by Predator X , who was teleported in by the mutant Pixie . A Vertigo clone appears in X-Force #9. Vertigo is an artificially enhanced mutate possessing the ability to project waves of psionic energy into her environment which affect

2478-723: A cure, but it renders her powerless. She then returns to regular high school, using her training to defend herself from bullies. Velocidad ( Gabriel Cohuelo ) is a mutant in the Marvel Universe . The character, created by Matt Fraction and Kieron Gillen , first appeared in The Uncanny X-Men #527 in 2010. Gabriel is a 16-year-old mutant from Mexico City. He is unable to control his mutant powers until assisted by Hope Summers . Gabriel follows Hope on her mission to find other young mutants, and they ally with Oya and Primal . He and his friends relocate to Utopia , where they are trained by more experienced X-Men. Gabriel and Hope begin

2655-537: A dream or some other altered state of consciousness . Examples include the Dream Cycle stories by H. P. Lovecraft or the Thomas Covenant stories of Stephen R. Donaldson . Often, stories of this type have as a major theme the nature of reality itself, questioning whether the dream-world is as real as the waking world. Science fiction often employs this theme in the ideas of cyberspace and virtual reality . In

2832-512: A faction of the Serpent Society under the leadership of the terrorist Viper attempts to poison the Washington, DC water supply, The Captain and his team intervenes. During these events, Nomad, Vagabond, and Demolition Man are captured by The Commission and imprisoned. The former Serpent Society leader known as Sidewinder uses his teleportation ability to enter the jail and free Diamondback ,

3009-533: A fantastic island, as Jonathan Swift does in Gulliver's Travels or in the 1949 novel Silverlock by John Myers Myers , or be sucked up into a tornado and land in Oz . These " lost world " stories can be seen as geographic equivalents of a "parallel universe," as the worlds portrayed are separate from our own, and hidden to everyone except those who take the difficult journey there. The geographic "lost world" can blur into

3186-599: A few cases, the interaction between the worlds is an important element, so that the focus is not on simply the fantasy world, but on ours as well. Sometimes the intent is to let them mingle and see what would happen, such as introducing a computer programmer into a high fantasy world as seen in Rick Cook 's Wizardry series, while other times an attempt to keep them from mingling becomes a major plot point, such as in Aaron Allston 's Doc Sidhe . In that story, our "grim world"

3363-447: A form of cancer. As Nomad, he wore a pair of stun-discs on each shoulder near the collarbone. These 6-inch (150 mm) tool-steel alloy discs could be thrown as projectile weapons. Monroe has extensive experience in hand-to-hand combat, having received personal tutoring by Captain America. He is also an expert marksman. As Scourge, he had access to an array of equipment based on devices confiscated from costumed criminals, created for

3540-477: A group of his former partners, including Nomad, Demolition Man and the Falcon. The group also includes Nomad's then-girlfriend, a neophyte adventurer who goes by the codename Vagabond . During this storyline Nomad is depicted as a tetchy and insolent character who takes an instant disliking to Demolition Man, a dislike increased by an apparent attraction between Vagabond and Demolition Man. Nomad battled Vibro . When

3717-480: A kamikaze attack, whom Harry would have saved if George was around to save Harry. At times, alternative universes have been featured in small scale independent productions such as Kevin Brownlow and Andrew Mollo's It Happened Here (1964), featuring an alternative United Kingdom which had undergone Operation Sea Lion in 1940 and had been defeated and occupied by Nazi Germany . It focused on moral questions related to

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3894-488: A large number of the underground mutants. While the Marauders were accomplishing this, they also clashed with the X-Men, X-Factor , Thor , and Power Pack . With the Marauders, she also attempted to kill Madelyne Pryor . Sinister later sent Vertigo along with the other Marauders to fight the X-Men in New York City just before the extra-dimensional incursion known as the " Inferno ". She was apparently killed in battle with

4071-504: A later plot which was never realized. Monroe was subsequently taken into S.H.I.E.L.D. custody and seemingly cured of his psychotic symptoms. Monroe then sought out Steve Rogers, and dons a Bucky costume to help him defeat the female terrorist Viper . Monroe is then given Rogers' former Nomad identity, and Monroe dons the Nomad costume to battle the Viper alongside Captain America. Nomad next battled

4248-481: A more explicit "parallel universe" when the fantasy realm overlaps a section of the "real" world, but is much larger inside than out, as in Robert Holdstock 's novel Mythago Wood . However, increasing geographical knowledge meant that such locations had to be farther and farther off. Perhaps influenced by ideas from science fiction, many works chose a setting that takes place in another, separate reality. As it

4425-568: A new costume, and battled the Slug , dismantling his criminal empire with Captain America's assistance. Monroe returns again after Steve Rogers is stripped of the Captain America identity by the Commission on Superhuman Activities . Rogers continues being a superhero under the identity of "The Captain" and, wearing a black version of his regular costume, he begins traveling the country fighting evil with

4602-612: A new version of the Scourge character. Monroe is next shown by writer Ed Brubaker and artist Steve Epting in Captain America vol. 5 #3 (April 2005) being shot dead by a mysterious assailant, later revealed to be the original Bucky, now known as the Winter Soldier . Captain America vol. 5 #7 (July 2005) by Brubaker and artist John Paul Leon then reveals the events of the last few days of Monroe's life. Subsequently Marvel published

4779-643: A new version of the Scourge of the Underworld . Though Monroe was conscious and aware of his actions, he could neither resist Gyrich's orders nor reveal his true identity or details of his servitude to anyone. As Scourge, he battled the Thunderbolts who eventually freed him from Gyrich's control. After returning to his original Nomad costume and identity, Monroe began to relapse into some psychotic episodes and symptoms. At this time, Monroe had checked in on his former ward he called Bucky who had since been adopted. Jack

4956-582: A parallel universe but is actually a distinct idea. A counter-Earth is a planet that shares Earth's orbit but is on the opposite side of the Sun, and thus cannot be seen from Earth. There would be no necessity that such a planet would be like Earth in any way, although typically in fiction it is practically identical to Earth. Since Counter-Earth is within our universe and the Solar System , reaching it can be accomplished with ordinary space travel. Convergent evolution

5133-605: A part of Counter Force , would go on to appear in New Warriors vol. 4 #14–15; in the character's first appearance outside of an Avengers: The Initiative title. Three more clones, developed the same time as the first but with added genetic material from Baron Von Blitzschlage, were programmed via input from Taskmaster with MVP's skills and abilities along with those of Spider-Man . The three clones, Michael, Van and Patrick (sometimes referred to as "Pat"), were suited up in redesigned Iron Spider suits that Spider-Man had worn during

5310-559: A perfect human specimen, down to the cellular level. This perfection is displayed in his physical abilities. He reaches the highest possible standard for a human being without becoming an enhanced super-soldier. Yellowjacket (actually the Skrull agent Criti Noll ), one of the chief administrators at Camp Hammond, ironically referred to MVP as "Captain America, Jr." in the first issue of Avengers: The Initiative . However, unlike Captain America's enhanced condition, MVP's abilities were revealed in

5487-567: A person decides between jam or butter on his toast , two universes are created: one where that person chose jam, and another where that person chose butter. The concept of "sidewise" time travel, a term taken from Murray Leinster's " Sidewise in Time ", is used to allow characters to pass through many different alternative histories, all descendant from some common branch point. Often, worlds that are more similar to each other are considered closer to each other in terms of this sidewise travel. For example,

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5664-595: A portion of the Power Cosmic so that she could become Latveria's new champion, a symbol of inspiration named Victorious. Victorius ( Victor Conrad ) is a character appearing in American comic books related to Marvel Comics. The character, created by Mike Friedrich and Dan Atkins , first appeared in Astonishing Tales #18 (June 1973). He succeeded in duplicating the Super-Soldier Serum for himself and

5841-538: A pre-existing world. Occasionally, this approach becomes self-referential, treating the literary universe of the work itself as explicitly parallel to the universe where the work was created. Stephen King 's seven-volume Dark Tower series hinges upon the existence of multiple parallel worlds, many of which are King's own literary creations. Ultimately the characters become aware that they are only "real" in King's literary universe (this can be debated as an example of breaking

6018-584: A radiant crystal by the Man-Thing . Jack Monroe (character) A character with a complicated history, Jack Monroe's origin involves a complex series of retcons . Although the character's first real appearance is as "Bucky" in Captain America #153, the origin of the character, first revealed in Captain America #155 (again by Englehart and Buscema), identifies him as the "Bucky" that appeared in Captain America comics which were originally published in

6195-457: A redesign of Tony Stark 's Iron Spider armor (previously used by Spider-Man), are supported by systems similar to that of Stark's classic Iron Man design. In the Scarlet Spider's first appearance, Avengers: The Initiative #3, the suit features several devices, including four mechanical spider-arms or " waldoes " on each suit, one more than on the original, along with cloaking devices and

6372-420: A result, the two are arrested and put into suspended animation by government agents. This complicated origin is the reason that some sources list Young Men #24 (December 1953; the first appearance of the communist hunting Captain America and Bucky) as Monroe's first appearance, though the issue was originally intended to depict the original Bucky. A later story, What If #4, (August 1977), further complicates

6549-400: A romantic relationship, but it ends when Hope discovers him kissing Pixie . Because Velocidad's powers work by accelerating him through time, the use of his powers causes rapid aging. A four-hour mission can last several days from his perspective, and he is capable of burning through several days of his life in a matter of minutes. Gabriel briefly appears during Age of X . Octavia Vermis

6726-456: A short-range GPS microwave communication system. In Avengers: The Initiative #7, the suits display mechanical web-shooters while retaining the ability to change appearance to other versions of the Spider-Man costume or street clothes. In New Warriors vol. 4 #15 (Oct. 2008), it was revealed the suits have had their StarkTech removed, which prevented the suits being affected when all StarkTech

6903-405: A sincere effort in that direction, although the findings were incomplete and misleading. Ultimately, he kept what little he knew hidden from Arachne until soon before his death. Vertigo is the name of two fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Vertigo is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics . The character

7080-489: A space ship accidentally travels to another dimension (implied to be hell ), turning the crew insane and driving them to kill each other. Some films present parallel realities that are actually different contrasting versions of the narrative itself. Commonly this motif is presented as different points of view revolving around a central (but sometimes unknowable) "truth", the seminal example being Akira Kurosawa 's Rashomon . Conversely, often in film noir and crime dramas ,

7257-471: A space-like dimension in which humans could travel with the right equipment. Wells also used the concept of parallel universes as a consequence of time as the fourth dimension in stories like The Wonderful Visit and Men Like Gods , an idea proposed by the astronomer Simon Newcomb , who talked about both time and parallel universes; "Add a fourth dimension to space, and there is room for an indefinite number of universes, all alongside of each other, as there

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7434-421: A starting point for speculative fiction , asking the question "What if [event] turned out differently ?". Examples of the former include Terry Pratchett 's Discworld and C. S. Lewis 's The Chronicles of Narnia , while examples of the latter include Harry Turtledove 's Worldwar series . A parallel universe—or more specifically, continued interaction between a parallel universe and our own—may serve as

7611-424: A teenager (Monroe is simply referred to as "Bucky" throughout, the name "Jack Monroe" was introduced in later stories) and an unnamed man (later known as "The Grand Director") had assumed both the public and private identities of the original Captain America and Bucky as part of a government-sponsored program which planned to replace the lost heroes to combat the "red threat". Captain America #155, which reveals how

7788-604: A timeline is not explicitly stated to have been erased, it is still there. Parallel universes as a result of time travel can serve simply as the backdrop, or it may be a central plot point. The Guns of the South by Harry Turtledove , where the Confederate Army is given thousands of AK-47 rifles and ends up winning the American Civil War , is a good example of the former, while Fritz Leiber 's novel The Big Time where

7965-560: A universe where World War II ended differently would be "closer" to us than one where Imperial China colonized the New World in the 15th century. H. Beam Piper used this concept, naming it "paratime" and writing a series of stories involving the Paratime Police who regulated travel between these alternative realities as well as the technology to do so. Keith Laumer used the same concept of "sideways" time travel in his 1962 novel Worlds of

8142-623: A vampire again, Varnae fled, claiming that he finally had a reason to live again: a worthy foe. Varra is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics . The character, created by Al Ewing and Gerardo Sandoval , first appeared in New Avengers vol. 4 #4 (December 2015). She is a Skrull / Kree hybrid. Veil , also known as Madeline Berry , was created by Christos Gage and Mike McKone . She first appeared in Avengers Academy #1 (August 2010). She has

8319-435: A war between two alternative futures manipulating history to create a timeline that results in or realizes their own world is a good example of the latter. Subscribing to the many-worlds interpretation of Quantum Physics , alternative histories in fiction can arise as a natural phenomenon of the universe. In these works, the idea is that each choice every person makes, each leading to a different result, both occur, so when

8496-542: Is a vampire in the Marvel Universe . The character, created by Steve Perry and Steve Bissette , first appeared in Bizarre Adventures #33 (December 1982). Within the context of the stories, Varnae is the first vampire and is the one who created Dracula . At various times in his life, he is an enemy of King Kull , Frank Drake , and John Blaze . He eventually tired of his eternal life and committed suicide by walking into sunlight and disintegrating into dust, but he

8673-684: Is a biological concept whereby unrelated species acquire similar traits because they adapted to a similar environment and/or played similar roles in their ecosystems. In fiction, the concept is extended whereby similar planets will result in races with similar cultures and/or histories. Again, this is not a true parallel universe since such planets exist within the same universe as our own, but the stories are similar in some respects. Star Trek frequently explored such worlds, in episodes including " Bread and Circuses ", " The Omega Glory ", and " Miri ". The 2017 episode of British science fiction television programme Doctor Who , " The Doctor Falls ", explains

8850-526: Is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Octavia Vermis is the daughter of Otto Vermis . Count Otto Vermis is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. His only appearance (in main Marvel continuity) was in Marvel Spotlight #32 (February 1977), the book that featured the first appearance of Spider-Woman . Otto Vermis

9027-494: Is a multi-dimensional alien device that, once attached to a body, is able to shift into an infinite number of weapons and tools with a built-in safety designed to only enable the wearer to wield the specific weapons/tools needed to get the job at hand done. The IGN reviewer considered MVP to be one of the "instantly likable characters" in the first issue, while a Comics Bulletin reviewer expanded on this by saying MVP especially "could help carry this title". However, MVP's death at

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9204-410: Is a police officer in one universe and a serial killer in another, who travels to other universes to destroy versions of himself, so that he can take their energy; and FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions (2004), the main character runs away from a totalitarian nightmare, and he enters into a cyber-afterlife alternative reality. The current Star Trek films are set in an alternative universe created by

9381-603: Is a relatively perfect human physical specimen. He is genetically perfect and claims to be " homo superior superior ", humanity's "natural response" to the emergence of mutants, and possesses super-strength and speed in addition to highly advanced combat skills and an increased immune system that protected him from any disease or toxin and an elevated healing factor. After obtaining one volume of Destiny's journals he discovered that he would be killed by Rogue. Resolving to deny this destiny, Vargas faced her in Madripoor. Initially Vargas had

9558-510: Is based on the premise that the essence of a being described as Satan , trapped in a glass canister and found in an abandoned church in Los Angeles, is actually an alien being that is the 'son' of something even more evil and powerful, trapped in another universe. The protagonists accidentally free the creature, who then attempts to release his "father" by reaching in through a mirror . In Event Horizon (1997), directed by Paul W. S. Anderson ,

9735-634: Is depicted as a native of the Savage Land who obtained superhuman powers at a young age by genetic engineering . Her powers enable her to render a person severely dizzy and even unconscious . Vertigo first appeared in Marvel Fanfare #1 (March 1982 ), created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Michael Golden . In her first appearance, she was depicted as a member of the Savage Land Mutates , empowered by Magneto , with whom she first battled

9912-530: Is distinguished by his whited out eyes, is said to have had Armory's moves programmed into him in preparation to use the Omega-Level weapon that killed the original MVP. The Tactigon interfaces with this clone's mind activating latent memories of the real MVP's death. Hacking into the Initiative's computer, the clone learns of his "death" and gains a list of all those present at the time. The disturbed clone demolishes

10089-518: Is done by the 'Favor Broker', an adversary who plagues Nomad throughout much of his series. Nomad is eventually believed dead after a confrontation with his old hometown's Nazi militia (Monroe's father had been a Nazi sympathizer during World War II) but it was revealed that he was in fact placed in suspended animation. An innocent bystander's body was used to replace his. Some time later, Henry Gyrich revives Monroe and infuses his body with nanites that placed him under command, and turned Monroe into

10266-509: Is for an indefinite number of sheets of paper when we pile them upon each other." There are many examples where authors have explicitly created additional spatial dimensions for their characters to travel in, to reach parallel universes. In Doctor Who , the Doctor accidentally enters a parallel universe while attempting to repair the TARDIS console in " Inferno ". Douglas Adams , in the last book of

10443-429: Is given the Nomad identity by Steve Rogers in Captain America #282 (June 1983). Nomad then becomes Captain America's partner for the next two years of published comics. DeMatteis' successor as writer of the series, Mark Gruenwald , had Nomad end the partnership in Captain America #309 (September 1985). Gruenwald said he did this "because Nomad made Cap seem old. Cap had to take the mentor relationship with Nomad, and he

10620-589: Is later sent to the Vault , a prison for superpowered individuals. Alongside the Griffin , he attempts to escape, encountering the Falcon and Nomad . Victorious is the name of different characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Zora Vukovic was the daughter of two Symkarian spies who had infiltrated their neighboring country, Latveria. Not knowing her Symkarian origin, Zora grew up as

10797-408: Is not an example of a parallel universe. It is a more scientifically plausible use of hyperspace. (See wormhole .) While the use of hyperspace is common, it is mostly used as a plot device and thus of secondary importance. While a parallel universe may be invoked by the concept, the nature of the universe is not often explored. So, while stories involving hyperspace might be the most common use of

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10974-625: Is now not possible to reach these worlds via conventional travel, a common trope is a portal or artifact that connects our world and the fantasy world together, examples being the wardrobe in C. S. Lewis ' The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe or the sigil in James Branch Cabell 's The Cream of the Jest . In some cases, physical travel is not even possible, and the character in our reality travels in

11151-424: Is one of Rogers's partners as he continues being a superhero under the identity of "The Captain". During this storyline Nomad is depicted as a tetchy and insolent character who takes an instant disliking to Demolition Man , a dislike which only increases when it becomes evident that Vagabond is attracted to him. Though not explicitly stated in the stories themselves, the Captain America letters pages explained that

11328-439: Is paralleled by a "fair world" where the elves live and history echoes ours, where a major portion of the plot deals with preventing a change in interactions between the worlds. The idea of a multiverse is as fertile a subject for fantasy as it is for science fiction, allowing for epic settings and superhuman protagonists. One example of an epic and far-ranging fantasy "multiverse" is that of Michael Moorcock , who actually named

11505-508: Is populated by the daydreams of mundane people, and in Rebecca Lickiss's Eccentric Circles , an elf is grateful to Tolkien for transforming elves from dainty little creatures. These stories often place the author, or authors in general, in the same position as Zelazny's characters in Amber. Questioning, in a literal fashion, if writing is an act of creating a new world, or an act of discovery of

11682-409: Is revealed that the original Captain America has been in a state of suspended animation since a battle he fought near the close of World War II , a battle in which the original Bucky perished. The 1950s stories were thus considered outside of official canon until Englehart's 1972 Captain America storyline (#153–156; September–December 1972), which attempted to resolve the discrepancy by showing how

11859-399: Is revived and brainwashed into becoming the fascistic "Grand Director", who shoots and apparently kills his former partner Bucky and later apparently commits suicide. Writer J. M. DeMatteis resurrected the "Bucky" character in Captain America #281 (May 1983), which is the first comic that names him as "Jack Monroe". That story reveals that the gun was loaded with blanks, and the cured Monroe

12036-491: Is shot dead by a mysterious assailant as he leaves a bar. The cyborg assassin Winter Soldier is ultimately revealed to be Monroe's assassin. While Jack Monroe's strength, endurance, reflexes, and agility were not beyond the limits of the human body, they were superior to that of any Olympic athlete who ever competed. As a result of not going through the Vita-Ray process, his transformation eventually drove him insane and gave him

12213-483: Is that you are imagining these things in the context of fiction while the physicists and mathematicians are imagining them in terms of science. I suspect it is the romantic imagination working, as it often does, perfectly efficiently in both the arts and the sciences." Unlike many science-fiction interpretations, Moorcock's Eternal Champion stories go far beyond alternative history to include mythic and sword and sorcery settings as well as worlds more similar to, or

12390-399: Is the concept of hyperspace . Used in science fiction, the concept of "hyperspace" often refers to a parallel universe that can be used as a faster-than-light shortcut for interstellar travel . Rationales for this form of hyperspace vary from work to work, but the two common elements are: Sometimes "hyperspace" is used to refer to the concept of additional coordinate axes . In this model,

12567-621: Is the granddaughter of Abraham Van Helsing , and trained a vampire hunter since childhood by Quincy Harker after Dracula killed her parents. On one of her missions, Rachel was held hostage by two of Dracula's brides who phoned Quincy Harker, who was on the verge of killing Dracula, and told him to leave Dracula alone or Rachel would die. Harker agreed to the brides' demands, much to Rachel's frustration. The brides then let Rachel go. She later fought alongside hunters Quincy, Taj Nital, Frank Drake, and Blade, during which time she developed an uneasy romantic relationship with Drake. Dracula turns her into

12744-553: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series, Mostly Harmless , uses the idea of probability as an extra axis in addition to the classical four dimensions of space and time similar to the many-worlds interpretation of quantum physics , although according to the novel they were more a model to capture the continuity of space, time and probability. Robert A. Heinlein , in The Number of

12921-579: The Avengers: The Initiative Annual to have come as a result of the "revolutionary" diet and an "ultimate" isometric exercise regime he completed, rather than Dr. Erskine's super-soldier serum. The first clone has those same abilities, with the Scarlet Spiders additionally having the skills, reflexes/reactions and moves of Spider-Man programmed into them to the limit of regular human ability. Michael, Van and Patrick's Scarlet Spider suits,

13098-523: The New Avengers in the Savage Land. Vertigo used her powers to render them all unconscious and they were all taken captive briefly, until S.H.I.E.L.D. comes to the rescue. Vertigo is a member of Mister Sinister's Marauders as well as living in the Savage Land. As a Marauder, she has been killed and cloned various times. It is unclear whether the Vertigo that appears in the Savage Land is another clone or indeed

13275-548: The X-Men and Spider-Man . Later, although not a mutant, she joined the Marauders , a group of mutants working as assassins for the enigmatic geneticist known as Mister Sinister . Sinister wanted his assassins to destroy a large community of mutants, known as the Morlocks , who lived under New York City , as he had deemed them genetically useless. The Marauders did succeed in annihilating

13452-427: The autopsy on Michael's body. The autopsy revealed that MVP's extraordinary physical abilities were unconnected to the super-soldier serum and were instead achieved by natural means. Von Blitzschlag advocated cloning MMV to chief administrator Yellowjacket 's disapproval. In Avengers: The Initiative #22, the members of New Warriors take possession of Michael's body to return him home. Though Yellowjacket disapproved

13629-406: The geographic coordinate system , with travel along latitude corresponding to time travel moving through past, present and future, and travel along longitude corresponding to travel perpendicular to time and to other realities. In modern literature, parallel universes can serve two main purposes: to allow stories with elements that would ordinarily violate the laws of nature ; and to serve as

13806-458: The " multiverse ". Another common term for a parallel universe is "another dimension", stemming from the idea that if the 4th dimension is time, the 5th dimension—a direction at a right angle to the fourth —is a direction into any of the alternate spacetime realities. Fiction has long borrowed an idea of "another world" from myth , legend and religion . Heaven , Hell , Olympus , and Valhalla are all "alternative universes" different from

13983-593: The "Undergrounders", a network of people across America who willingly help each other out in need. This allows Nomad access to trusted babysitters when he needs to enter situations far, far too dangerous for Bucky (though many think Nomad's life is consistently far too dangerous). During this phase of his life, Nomad sheds much of his previous acerbic, self-destructive personality, and becomes a more laid-back, compassionate person. Later Nomad realizes that both he and/or Bucky could be infected with HIV, Bucky due to her parentage and Nomad due to his time receiving medical care from

14160-529: The 1950s. When they were first published between 1953 and 1954 those Captain America stories, which were written by Don Rico and illustrated by Mort Lawrence and John Romita, Sr. , starred Steve Rogers (the original Captain America) and Bucky and were clearly set in the 1950s, with the duo prominently battling communism and a communist Red Skull. However, when the character returned in Avengers #4 (March 1964), it

14337-410: The 2000 film The Family Man , the 2001 cult film Donnie Darko , which deals with what it terms a "tangent universe" that erupts from our own universe; Super Mario Bros. (1993) has the eponymous heroes cross over into a parallel universe ruled by humanoids who evolved from dinosaurs; The One (2001) starring Jet Li , in which there is a complex system of realities in which Jet Li's character

14514-463: The 2007 Avengers: The Initiative Annual. However, the Scarlet Spiders (Michael and Patrick) became the first clones to appear outside The Initiative when they appeared in New Warriors vol. 4 #14 (Sept. 2008). The first MVP clone appeared in the following issue of the New Warriors series. Michael Van Patrick's origins trace back to scientist "Dr. Josef Reinstein" later retroactively changed to

14691-415: The 8th Dimension , where the "8th dimension" is essentially a "phantom zone" used to imprison the villainous Red Lectroids. Uses in horror films include the 1986 film From Beyond (based on the H. P. Lovecraft story of the same name) where a scientific experiment induces the experimenters to perceive aliens from a parallel universe, with bad results. The 1987 John Carpenter film Prince of Darkness

14868-691: The Beast , Heinlein quantizes that the many parallel, fictional universes – in terms of works of fiction. He postulates that all fictional universes are accessible by the "time twister" in the air vehicle named the Gay Deceiver . Heinlein also " breaks the fourth wall " by having both Robert and his wife Virginia visit an inter-universal science-fiction-and-fantasy convention in the book's last chapter. Heinlein continues this literary conceit in The Cat Who Walks Through Walls and To Sail Beyond

15045-417: The Beast , postulated a six-dimensional universe. In addition to the three spatial dimensions, he invoked symmetry to add two new temporal dimensions, so there would be two sets of three. Like the fourth dimension of H. G. Wells' "Time Traveller," these extra dimensions can be traveled by persons using the right equipment. Perhaps the most common use of the concept of a parallel universe in science fiction

15222-540: The Beast . Fletcher Pratt and L. Sprague de Camp took the protagonist of the Harold Shea series through the worlds of Norse myth, Edmund Spenser 's The Faerie Queene , Ludovico Ariosto 's Orlando Furioso , and the Kalevala – without ever quite settling whether writers created these parallel worlds by writing these works, or received impressions from the worlds and wrote them down. In an interlude set in " Xanadu ",

15399-463: The Bucky history by introducing another "Bucky" (Fred Davis) that takes on the role in 1945, many years before Monroe assumes the title, which makes Monroe the third "Bucky" chronologically. Monroe was mostly portrayed as essentially having the same powers as the first Captain America, Steve Rogers. This has long been a matter of contention in the comics as Monroe received his powers from the same sample of

15576-473: The Elven world lies through a patch of mist in the woods. It was constructed when the Elven were thrown out of our world. Travel to and fro is possible by those in the know, but can have lethal consequences. Isekai is a subgenre of Japanese fantasy light novels, manga, anime, and video games revolving around a normal person being transported to or trapped in a parallel universe. Often, this universe already exists in

15753-642: The Fifty-State Initiative with further clones. In the Avengers: The Initiative first multi-part story; Killed in Action (starting issue #8), a new clone is fitted with the Tactigon, Armory's former alien weapon and sets forth on a murderous rampage through Camp Hammond in an attempt to seek revenge for MVP's death. In the second part First Casualties , set before the events of the first, the clone, who

15930-534: The Imperium . More recently, novels such as Frederik Pohl 's The Coming of the Quantum Cats and Neal Stephenson 's Anathem explore human-scale readings of the "many worlds" interpretation , postulating that historical events or human consciousness spawns or allows "travel" among alternative universes. Universe 'types' frequently explored in sidewise and alternative history works include worlds whose Nazis won

16107-627: The Marvel comics involving him, "This is essentially what would have happened if nothing particularly exciting happened to [Captain America]". Vanguard ( Nikolai Krylenko ) is a mutant in the Marvel Universe . Created by Bill Mantlo and Carmine Infantino , the character first appeared in Iron Man #109 in April 1978. Within the context of the stories, Vanguard is one of the Soviet Super-Soldiers and

16284-546: The Punisher and Daredevil against a coalition of criminal organizations. The title was also involved in the 1993 Infinity Crusade crossover, and in his own series, Nomad confronts an evil clone of Gambit . At the close of the Nomad ongoing series, the character was believed dead. In Thunderbolts #49 (April 2001) it was revealed that he was in fact placed in suspended animation and was revived and temporarily brainwashed into being

16461-507: The Scourge identity by the Commission on Superhuman Activities on Henry Gyrich's orders. Such items seen in use by Monroe include versions of the Goblin glider , the Unicorn 's energy-projecting headgear, and Stilt-Man 's telescoping legs, as well as other unspecified weaponry. Certain items were installed in the Scourge costume, while others were miniaturized with Pym particles and stored in one of

16638-598: The Scourge organization. Later she was being considered as a potential recruit for the Initiative program, according to Civil War: Battle Damage Report . Vagabond (real name Pat Murphy ) is a superhero, a police officer who dressed as a homeless man, who appeared in U.S.A. Comics #2–4. Vamp is a Corporation agent in the Marvel Universe . The character, created by Roy Thomas , Don Glut , and John Buscema , first appeared in Captain America #217 in January 1978. Within

16815-620: The Second World War , as in The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick , SS-GB by Len Deighton , Fatherland by Robert Harris , and Earthside by Dennis E. Taylor , and worlds whose Roman Empire never fell, as in Roma Eterna by Robert Silverberg , Romanitas by Sophia McDougall , and Warlords of Utopia by Lance Parkin . The concept of counter-Earth might seem similar to

16992-615: The Slayer. Nomad then became Captain America's partner, and battled the Sisters of Sin . As Bucky, he psychologically battled Baron Zemo . Nomad helped Captain America defeat the Red Skull , a conflict in which the Red Skull seemingly perished. Nomad completed a successful solo mission apprehending the deranged Madcap , and afterwards ends his partnership with Captain America. Nomad later obtained

17169-524: The Spiders into confronting the angry Peter Parker. Their appearance in a battle against and alongside Parker raised public doubts over whether Parker is the original or only Spider-Man, despite his having publicly revealing his dual identity in the early events of the Civil War. Now public, the Scarlet Spiders join with the other initiative trainees in the next issue. An incident involving Dragon Man leads one of

17346-439: The Spiders to save Cloud 9 in much the same fashion as the original MVP did at the time of his death. In Avengers: The Initiative #10, the Scarlet Spiders unmask themselves in an attempt to calm the enraged clone KIA only to have him behead one of their number. The surviving (and still unmasked) Scarlet Spiders, Michael and Patrick, are later seen by the majority of the trainees, including Cloud 9. In Avengers: The Initiative #11,

17523-482: The Sunset , using characters from throughout his science-fictional career, hauled forth from their own fictional universe. Heinlein also wrote a stand-alone novel, Job: A Comedy of Justice , whose two protagonists fall from alternative universe into alternative universe and after a number of such adventures die and enter a stereotypically Fundamentalist Christian Heaven (with many of its internal contradictions explored in

17700-651: The Super-Soldier Serum that gave the 1950s Captain America superhuman strength. He became super strong but after being exposed to stabilizing rays (similar to the Vita-rays Steve Rogers received) his strength normalized to peak human. In Captain America #153–156 "Bucky" and his partner are briefly reawakened decades after being put in suspended animation, but are subdued by Falcon and the original Captain America. In Captain America #232–236 (April–August 1979) — by writers Roger McKenzie , Jim Shooter and Michael Fleisher and artist Sal Buscema — "Captain America"

17877-611: The Undergrounders. He has himself and Bucky tested but it is never revealed if either of them are infected. Nomad later teams up with the Punisher and Daredevil against a coalition of criminal organizations. During the Infinity Crusade , Nomad is shown among dozens of superheroes who travel into outer space. Nomad doesn't have much involvement in the events, however, and he and Forge are literally seen hanging around during much of

18054-622: The Wasp: Quantumania . This series of universes overlaps or encompasses with universes depicted in Sony's Spider-Man Universe and the animated Spider-Verse franchise. The success of Marvel's Multiverse Saga, particularly Avengers: Endgame in 2019, led to a noticeable rise in the popularity of multiverses and shared universes in films of the early 2020s, predominantly for superhero films but also in Hollywood more broadly. Notable examples include

18231-461: The Winter Guard was reunited. Krylenko is the brother of Laynia Petrovna . He is a mutant, capable of generating a body-wide force field that repels electromagnetic and kinetic energy. He typically focuses this field through a medium, such as the vibranium shield supplied to him by Executive Security Committee or through a sickle and hammer that he usually carries. He also directs this force against

18408-505: The X-Men. Her alliance with Sinister was short-lived at that time, as she soon rejoined her Savage Land Mutate allies. Said allies join with the more peaceful of the Land's inhabitants to resist a territorial grab by humanoid saurians. Her powers are central in defeating the enemy army. Various X-Men broker a peace agreement leaving the Mutates to their own devices again. Vertigo and Sauron encountered

18585-404: The ability to change into a gaseous form, which enables her to sneak around without being detected and renders her immune to most forms of attack. Berry learns that her powers are causing her molecules to drift apart, so that she will eventually die or fade from existence, and decides to enjoy the limited time she has left, quitting the academy and joining Jeremy Briggs' corporation. She soon finds

18762-507: The action. Nomad does confront an evil clone of Gambit who had gotten lost on the way to the battles. Around this time, Nomad is one of the heroes recruited by Doctor Strange to battle the demonic threat of Lilin, a powerful ancient queen. During his time on the road, Nomad confronts the Hate-Monger, Man-Thing and even the mother of Bucky herself, who had been brainwashed into a trained assassin sent to kill him. The assassination training

18939-601: The aforementioned Spider-Verse franchise, 2022's Academy Award-winning Everything Everywhere All at Once , the DC Extended Universe film The Flash , and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always . Some filmmakers and critics, including Endgame co-director Joe Russo , have expressed concern that film studios may be embracing multiverse-centric plotlines to capitalize on characters and intellectual property with pre-existing popularity, ultimately to

19116-704: The alternative narrative is a fiction created by a central character, intentionally – as in The Usual Suspects – or unintentionally – as in Angel Heart . Less often, the alternative narratives are given equal weight in the story, making them truly alternative universes, such as in the German film Run Lola Run , the short-lived British West End musical Our House and the British film Sliding Doors . More recent films that have explicitly explored parallel universes are:

19293-533: The ambiguity. Some writers depict the land of the elves as a full-blown parallel universe, with portals the only entry – as in Josepha Sherman 's Prince of the Sidhe series or Esther Friesner 's Elf Defense – and others have depicted it as the next land over, possibly difficult to reach for magical reasons – Hope Mirrlees 's Lud-in-the-Mist , or Lord Dunsany 's The King of Elfland's Daughter . In some cases,

19470-603: The battle's aftermath, the last surviving Scarlet Spider Patrick publicly unmasks himself, revealing to the media that the Initiative had secretly cloned MVP. He continues to defy Osborn with the Avengers Resistance, and even participates in the attack on Camp HAMMER during the siege of Asgard . He is seen again with the New Warriors during the Fear Itself crossover. The results of the previous clonings impressed Initiative administrators enough to attempt to fill places within

19647-477: The boundary between Elfland and more ordinary lands is not fixed. Not only the inhabitants but Faerie itself can pour into more mundane regions. Terry Pratchett 's Discworld series proposes that the world of the Elves is a "parasite" universe, that drifts between and latches onto others such as Discworld and our own world (referred to as "Roundworld" in the novels). In the young teenage book Mist by Kathryn James ,

19824-414: The camp's obstacle course record for users without superspeed on his first attempt. During a combat simulator exercise, Initiative trainee Armory ended up panicking and fired blindly on the other recruits. MVP saved fellow recruit Cloud 9 . While saving Cloud 9, MVP is shot in the head, killing him instantly. Initiative scientist (and former Nazi and supervillain ) Dr. Baron Von Blitzschlag performed

20001-603: The clone has an imbedded tracking device and that the Van Patrick family had moved to Bulls Gap, Tennessee . In this storyline's conclusion, the clone then helps The Initiative stop KIA and begins to further MVP's romantic interest in Cloud 9. In Avengers: The Initiative #12, the MVP clone, along with the surviving Scarlet Spiders and MVP's father, join with Justice's New Warriors as a Counter Initiative of underground registered heroes. MVP, as

20178-430: The cloning lab, attacking Blitzschlag and Yellowjacket while repeating "Killed in Action" over and over again and carving the initials "KIA" into his chest. The clone continues its rampage through Camp Hammond, striking those whose names are on his list and attacking anyone else who gets in the way. At the end of the third part, the clone attempts to find the comatose Gauntlet , the drill instructor who had sent MVP to

20355-485: The concept in a 1963 science fiction novel The Sundered Worlds . Like many authors after him, Moorcock was inspired by the many worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics , saying, "It was an idea in the air, as most of these are, and I would have come across a reference to it in New Scientist (one of my best friends was then editor) ... [or] physicist friends would have been talking about it. ... Sometimes what happens

20532-479: The context of the stories, Vamp has an evil alter-ego called Animus and infiltrates S.H.I.E.L.D. She is killed by the Scourge of the Underworld . Years later, Arnim Zola created a Vamp/Animus proto-husk creature, which would encounter Deadpool on two separate occasions. Rachel Van Helsing is a vampire hunter , created by Archie Goodwin and Gene Colan , who first appeared in Tomb of Dracula #3 (July 1972). She

20709-402: The costume's gauntlets; all of this equipment was accessible through voice-coded commands. Monroe was also able to use his gauntlet's store of Pym particles to alter his own size or that of other people and objects; however, his supply of the particles was not infinite, and exhausting that supply could force him to abandon much of his stored weaponry. Comic Book Resources placed him as one of

20886-475: The creator of the super soldier serum, many people came to suspect his athletic abilities to be superpower-related. He lost his university scholarship when media revealed that his great-grandfather was Dr. Abraham Erskine . He joined the program under the codename MVP , along with old and new characters to make up the cast of the Avengers: The Initiative . During the first day of training at Camp Hammond, MVP demonstrated extraordinary speed and agility as he broke

21063-556: The device with KIA's memories from the battlefield for himself, which reads " ready to transmit brain patterns to new host body " leaving KIA's eventual fate open-ended. Many trainees and staff members were injured during KIA's rampage, but only Dragon Lord , Trauma , Van (one of the Scarlet Spiders) and 8 S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were killed. But in Avengers: The Initiative #12, Trauma came back to life. In Avengers: The Initiative #2, Von Blitzschlag refers to MVP as an " Übermensch ",

21240-417: The diaries could trap you into doing what it stated, or into committing great atrocities to avoid the "prophecies", had in fact left Vargas alive to discredit the diaries, but since he had possessed one of Destiny's diaries and therefore had knowledge of future events, he was targeted by the Marauders, under Mr. Sinister's orders, and eliminated after being stabbed by one of Harpoon's eponymous weapons. Varnae

21417-515: The different origins of the Cybermen as parallel evolution , due to the inevitability of humans and human-like species attempting to upgrade themselves through technology; this perspective resolves continuity differences in the Cybermen's history. Convergent evolution may also be due to contamination. In this case, a planet may start out differently from Earth, but due to the influence of Earth's culture,

21594-456: The door by the clone but are called off to deal with the events of World War Hulk before they can inquire further. In a later issue, Justice returns with Cloud 9 to the Van Patrick home, wishing to find out what information Gyrich and Yellowjacket were keeping from him. On arriving, they find the house boarded up and abandoned. During the Killed In Action storyline, it is revealed that

21771-406: The early stages of the superhero Civil War. During their first appearance, they identify themselves as the "Red Team" and take down supervillains Shocker , Boomerang and Hydro-Man . Though War Machine identifies them by their official name Scarlet Spiders when contacting them, they identify themselves as Red Team One (Michael), Red Team Two (Van), and Red Team Three ("Pat" Patrick) in

21948-399: The earth itself to obtain flight. Krylenko wears a more advanced suit than previous Red Guardians, which is lined with circuitry that works in conjunction with the compact computer on his shield, not only enabling the guided flight and return of what he's using to focus his mutant energy through their digital connection, but the amplification of the effects of his own energy field. Vargas is

22125-487: The end of the issue was met with concern "while shocking, [MVP's death] undermines the advancement of the rest of the issue". Despite concerns that writer Dan Slott had cavalierly killed MVP, IGN reviewer stated that "having seen the emotional fallout of that incident, I can see why it was so important to do that. Clearly the death in the first issue added immeasurable weight to the situation". MVP also received criticism from TheGamer reviewer, Charlie Green, stating that MVP hurt

22302-521: The familiar material realm. Plato reflected deeply on parallel realities, resulting in the worlds of Platonism , in which the upper reality is perfect while the lower (earthly) reality is an imperfect shadow of the heavenly equivalent. One of the first science-fiction examples of a parallel universe is Murray Leinster 's short story Sidewise in Time , published in 1934, which portions of alternative universes replace corresponding geographical regions in this universe. Sidewise in Time analogizes time to

22479-399: The fantasy world. Before the mid-20th century, this was most often done by hiding fantastic worlds within unknown, distant locations on Earth; peasants who seldom, if ever, traveled far from their villages could not conclusively say that it was impossible that an ogre or other fantastical beings could live an hour away. Characters in the author's world could board a ship and find themselves on

22656-516: The field. They are later revealed to be part of the Shadow Initiative black ops group under the command of Gyrich with Constrictor , Mutant Zero , Bengal , and Trauma . The Scarlet Spiders were forced to expose themselves to the public in Avengers: The Initiative #7 after an attack on Blitzschlage. The subsequent pursuit of three criminals wearing the Vulturions flying exosuits would lead

22833-464: The first film's villain traveling back in time, thus allowing the franchise to be rebooted without affecting the continuity of any other Star Trek film or show. The 2011 science-fiction thriller Source Code employs the concepts of quantum reality and parallel universes. The characters in The Cloverfield Paradox , the third installment of the franchise , accidentally create a ripple in

23010-510: The formula which gave Nomad his powers was again causing him to become aggressive and mentally unstable. The character next starred in the eight page story "Angel in the Snow" in Marvel Comics Presents #14 (March 1989), which was written by Fabian Nicieza , a writer who would go on to script most of the character's appearances in the following decade and a half. The story is followed up in

23187-517: The fourth wall ), and even travel to a world – twice – in which (again, within the novel) they meet Stephen King and alter events in the real Stephen King's world outside of the books. An early instance of this was in works by Gardner Fox for DC Comics in the 1960s, in which characters from the Golden Age (which was supposed to be a series of comic books within the DC Comics universe) would cross over into

23364-461: The help of a special suit with telemetry circuits, a video of MVP's training session, and the photographic reflexes of Taskmaster . The first clone is sent to his family's organic vegetable farm in Liberty, Kentucky , with a false story that he had failed the Initiative program because of his lack of powers. The clone, who is coming to realize that his memories are not his own and that he will never be

23541-475: The idea of another " dimension " has become synonymous with the term "parallel universe". The usage is particularly common in movies, television and comic books and much less so in modern prose science fiction. The idea of a parallel world was popularized in comic books with the publication of The Flash No. 123, Flash of Two Worlds in 1961. In written science fiction, "new dimension" more commonly—and more accurately—refer to additional coordinate axes , beyond

23718-546: The idea of cloning MVP, Secretary of the Superhuman Armed Forces Henry Peter Gyrich had ordered that MVP's death remain secret and sanctioned the cloning. As Van Patrick was a non-altered human, Yellowjacket considered the cloning to be comparatively easy. Avengers: The Initiative Annual #1 reveals the clone's creation and development. As the clone was grown to its original's age, all of his original's skills and abilities were programmed into him with

23895-523: The ill-fated combat training session. However, Gauntlet's weapon, which was taken from an alien who faced off against the alien who controlled the Tactigon in Gauntlet and Armory's origin stories , seemingly takes control of Gauntlet's body forcing him to acquire the sword element of the alien's armor that he recovered when he originally bonded with the alien glove device. The two later battle and KIA stabs Gauntlet to bring him out of his coma, in an effort to face

24072-653: The inventor of the super soldier serum within Marvel Comics ' shared universe the Marvel Universe . The first clone was sent back to Van Patrick's parent's home to prevent them from discovering his death. The next three clones, named Michael, Van and Patrick, originally worked as the Scarlet Spiders , as part of the Black Ops group within The Initiative . They were revealed to be clones in Avengers: The Initiative #7. He

24249-459: The land in which the confrontation takes place – at other times the otherworldly aspects are clear. Most frequently, time can flow differently for those trapped by the fairy dance than in the lands they come from; although, in an additional complication, it may only be an appearance, as many returning from Faerie, such as Oisín , have found that time "catches up" with them as soon as they have contact with ordinary lands. Fantasy writers have taken up

24426-549: The location, KIA is met by the collective Initiative force of the Mighty Avengers , the remaining Scarlet Spiders, a rogue New Warriors group and the trainees. In the battle's climax, the first clone uses the device to download KIA's memories leaving his body brain-dead. After the battle, it is revealed that the Avengers have stored both the body and the Tactigon away in an undisclosed location, before which Slapstick secretly took

24603-467: The main DC Comics universe. One comic book did provide an explanation for a fictional universe existing as a parallel universe. The parallel world does "exist" and it resonates into the "real world". Some people in the "real world" pick up on this resonance, gaining information about the parallel world which they then use to write stories. Robert Heinlein introduces an extension of his Future History series called The World as Myth . In The Number of

24780-553: The man rather than the gauntlet weapon. In the concluding part of the Worst Case Scenario storyline, KIA battles his way through the Initiative to follow trainees Cloud 9, Komodo and Hardball to MVP's first clone in Bulls Gap, where they are attempting to convince the clone to download its memories into a device (and most likely leave himself brain-dead ) which could then upload them into KIA to reset his mind. After arriving at

24957-550: The military, sends Steve Rogers (now restored to the Captain America role) to try and subdue Nomad. In a subsequent firefight Nomad defeats Safilios, and kills several drug dealers and government officials. Nomad begins to spend some time on the road, dealing with problems not usually the purview of superheroes, such as AIDS , homelessness , and hate crimes . At one point Monroe spends an extended period in Los Angeles, California . While in L.A. Nomad becomes loosely affiliated with

25134-516: The most wholesome and nutritional foods and a challenging experimental program of isometric exercises . Brian used the research during the early life and development of his son Michael, helping him achieve his potential. The events of the 2006–2007 Marvel Comics crossover Civil War required all United States superpowered individuals to register with the American government, with at least some of these individuals being sent to The Initiative's training camp Camp Hammond . Given Michael's descent from

25311-403: The nervous systems of other living beings, distorting their physical perceptions and sense of balance. This power induces effects ranging from mild disorientation and vertigo to unconsciousness. Vertigo can focus her power on one or more individuals, or project it outward from herself in all directions, affecting everyone within her range of influence. Vertigo is not immune to her own powers, as she

25488-581: The novel). Elfland , or Faerie, the otherworldly home not only of elves and fairies but goblins , trolls , and other folkloric creatures, has an ambiguous appearance in folklore. On one hand, the land often appears to be contiguous with 'ordinary' land. Thomas the Rhymer might, on being taken by the Queen of Faerie, be taken on a road like one leading to Heaven or Hell. This is not exclusive to English or French folklore. In Norse mythology , Elfland ( Alfheim )

25665-475: The original Vertigo, though it appears that the original Vertigo never left the Savage Land and does not have any ties with the Marauders. Vertigo later reappears as a member of the reformed Marauders. During Messiah Complex , she aids the Marauders in search of the new mutant baby. During the Marauders' and the Acolytes' first battle with the X-Men in Alaska, she and Scrambler are taken out by Storm. After coming into

25842-460: The original timeline with a new one. As a result, travel between alternative histories is not possible without reverting the timeline back to the original. There are exceptions to the above, and an alternate history doesn't necessarily overwrite the old one. There are no rules written in stone regarding this. Modern ideas of time travel pose the idea of branching timelines, such as the 2009 Star Trek reboot and Avengers: Endgame . Technically, if

26019-416: The other team of New Warriors. Reappearing within the pages of Avengers: The Initiative #21, with Norman Osborn taking control of the 50-State Initiative, Counter Force were made wanted criminals. The team shows up at Camp Hammond, having retaken the name New Warriors to battle the rampaging Ragnarok . In Avengers: The Initiative #22, Scarlet Spider Michael is killed by Ragnarok. During the next issue, in

26196-501: The parallel universe concept in fiction, it is not the most common source of fiction about parallel universes. Time travel can result in multiple universes if a time traveller can change the past. In one interpretation, alternative histories as a result of time travel are not parallel universes: while multiple parallel universes can co-exist simultaneously, only one history or alternative history can exist at any one moment, as alternative history usually involves, in essence, overriding

26373-424: The planet comes to resemble Earth in some way. Star Trek also frequently used this theory as well, for example, in " Patterns of Force " and " A Piece of the Action ". Simulated realities are digital constructs featured in science fiction such as The Matrix or The Thirteenth Floor which can parallel ours very closely. It is common in fantasy for authors to find ways to bring a protagonist from "our" world to

26550-404: The possibilities of even greater dimensions. Isaac Asimov , in his foreword to the Signet Classics 1984 edition, described Flatland as "The best introduction one can find into the manner of perceiving dimensions". In 1895, The Time Machine by H. G. Wells used time as an additional "dimension" in this sense, taking the four-dimensional model of classical physics and interpreting time as

26727-447: The professional ethics of Pauline, a nurse forced into Nazi collaboration. Another common use of the theme is as a prison for villains or demons . The idea is used in the first two Superman movies starring Christopher Reeve where Kryptonian villains were sentenced to the Phantom Zone from where they eventually escaped. An almost exactly parallel use of the idea is presented in the film The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across

26904-450: The protagonist's world as a fictional universe, but it may also be unbeknownst to them. The most famous treatment of the alternative universe concept in film could be considered The Wizard of Oz , which portrays a parallel world, famously separating the magical realm of the Land of Oz from the mundane world by filming it in Technicolor while filming the scenes set in Kansas in sepia . In Frank Capra's 1946 Christmas classic, It's

27081-417: The psychologist Doctor Faustus into becoming the fascistic Grand Director , leader of the National Force . Under Faustus' control Burnside shoots and apparently kills his former partner Bucky. Faustus and Burnside are defeated by the original Captain America and Daredevil after which Burnside commits suicide. It is later revealed that Faustus had loaded the gun with blanks as he intended to use Monroe in

27258-426: The real Michael Van Patrick, elects to stay with "his" family. He is warned however to never tell them that he is not their real son. However, the clone's first appearance was a couple of months prior in a few panels of Avengers: The Initiative #4, where Justice and Cloud 9, not knowing that clones had replaced Michael, flew to the Van Patrick farm to inform MVP's parents of his death. On arriving, they are greeted at

27435-421: The relationships between them can vary quite dramatically, but the essence of them remains the same." There are many examples of the meta-fictional idea of having the author's created universe (or any author's universe) rise to the same level of "reality" as the universe we're familiar with. The theme is present in works as diverse as H. G. Wells' Men Like Gods , Myers' Silverlock , and Heinlein's Number of

27612-483: The remaining Scarlet Spiders make their way to Bulls Gap, Tennessee to aid in the capture of KIA. In Avengers: The Initiative #12, after the defeat of KIA, the surviving Scarlet Spiders, along with the MVP clone and the real MVP's father, join with Justice's New Warriors as a Counter Initiative/Counter Force of underground registered heroes who go on to appear in New Warriors Secret Invasion tie-in story "Secrets and Skrulls " where Counter Force would team up with

27789-535: The same as, our own. The term 'polycosmos' was coined as an alternative to 'multiverse' by the author and editor Paul le Page Barnett (also known by the pseudonym John Grant), and is built from Greek rather than Latin morphemes . It is used by Barnett to describe a concept binding together a number of his works, its nature meaning that "all characters, real or fictional [...] have to co-exist in all possible real, created or dreamt worlds; [...] they're playing hugely different roles in their various manifestations, and

27966-425: The series Monroe spends an extended period in Los Angeles, California and in one issue (#9; January 1993) Nicieza addresses the subject of the 1992 Los Angeles riots which had recently occurred when the story was first published. In an interview around this time, Nicieza commented, "There are times when I start burning out, getting sick of comics. And then, I'll start plotting or scripting an issue of Nomad , and by

28143-404: The son of Sergei Krylov . He is trained as a soldier and comes into conflict with Iron Man , Jack of Hearts , and other Avengers. After dying and being resurrected by his father during the Dire Wraith invasion of Russia, Vanguard becomes the new Red Guardian and leads the Winter Guard. As the new Red Guardian, he battles Weapon X, King Hyperion, and the Intelligencia. He was later present when

28320-411: The superheroes Marvel "wants you to forget". Parallel universe (fiction) A parallel universe , also known as an alternate universe , parallel world , parallel dimension , alternate reality , or alternative dimension , is a hypothetical universe co-existing with one's own, typically distinct in some way. The sum of all potential parallel universes that constitute reality is often called

28497-558: The three spatial axes with which we are familiar. By proposing travel along these extra axes, which are not normally perceptible , the traveller can reach worlds that are otherwise unreachable and invisible. In 1884, Edwin A. Abbott wrote the seminal novel exploring this concept called Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions . It describes a world of two dimensions inhabited by living squares, triangles, and circles, called Flatland, as well as Pointland (0 dimensions), Lineland (1 dimension), and Spaceland (three dimensions) and finally posits

28674-493: The time I'm done, I feel great. ... [ Nomad is] about Jack Monroe trying to cope with a life that he doesn't have any control over, it's about America, and it's about life. Jack also uses so many detective cliches that it's a blast writing his dialogue — where else can I use, 'The french fries were wetter than a swimsuit calendar'?" " Dead Man's Hand ", a crossover with the Punisher War Journal and Daredevil series also being published at that time, sees Nomad teaming up with

28851-418: The time-space continuum and travel into an alternative universe, where the monster and the events in the first film transpired. This concept has been also been passively depicted in the view of a romantic couple in the Indian Tamil Film Irandam Ulagam . In the 2000 film The Beach , Leonardo DiCaprio's character Richard, while sitting on the beach with love interest Françoise ( Virginie Ledoyen ), describes

29028-560: The two gain super-powers by injecting themselves with a "Super-Soldier Formula" that they find in old Nazi files. The formula initially grants them abilities similar to those of the original Captain America (Steve Rogers). However, the formula made no mention of the essential Vita-ray exposure portion of the treatment and the absence causes its effects to eventually give them psychotic symptoms, leading to their fight against communism degenerating into random attacks on anyone they deem insufficiently patriotic, including civil rights protesters. As

29205-417: The two were placed in suspended animation. The two superheroes are reawakened decades after being put in suspended animation. In their delusional state, the man and teenager who were the 1950s Captain America and Bucky attempt to kill the original Captain America and the Falcon . However they are eventually captured and returned to a state of suspended animation. Burnside is later revived and brainwashed by

29382-410: The universe is thought to be "crumpled" in some higher spatial dimension, and that traveling in this higher spatial dimension, a ship can move vast distances in the common spatial dimensions. An analogy is to crumple a newspaper into a ball and stick a needle straight through: the needle will make widely spaced holes in the two-dimensional surface of the paper. While this idea invokes a "new dimension", it

29559-500: The upper hand, but Rogue gradually absorbed his abilities each time he struck her until she was his equal, his superior considering her other powers. Poised to slay Vargas, she is seen preparing to stab him with his own sword when the video camera that was the sole witness to the event lost power at the critical moment, so the people that viewed the footage of the live invasion were under the belief that Rogue did in fact, kill him. However some time later its revealed that Rogue realizing that

29736-434: The utopia they have found in Thailand as their own parallel universe. Following its introduction in the film Doctor Strange , the multiverse became central to the Multiverse Saga series of superhero films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe , being depicted in Avengers: Endgame , Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings , Spider-Man: No Way Home , Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness , and Ant-Man and

29913-449: Was a physically perfect human being. He first takes over as the A.I.M. 's Scientist Supreme , but he's defeated by Ka-Zar and Bobbi Morse . Victorius later makes himself the death-worshiping Cult of Entropy's leader who stole the Cosmic Cube to use to create Jude the Entropic Man as a means of spreading destruction. Victorius was defeated by Captain America and the Thing before he and his rebellious creation were transformed into

30090-435: Was also the name of what today is the Swedish province of Bohuslän . In the sagas, it said that the people of this petty kingdom were more beautiful than other people, as they were related to the elves , showing that not only the territory was associated with elves, but also the race of its people. While sometimes folklore seems to show fairy intrusion into human lands – " Tam Lin " does not show any otherworldly aspects about

30267-440: Was cloned once more, in the Killed in Action story arc when some of the vacant positions in the Initiative teams were filled with MVP clones. The original's only appearance outside the pages of Avengers: The Initiative was a brief cameo in an alternate reality What If comic. All that is known about the original character has been revealed in that series, with Van Patrick's (and the first sets of clones) origins being shown in

30444-471: Was coming off as everyone's favorite father figure rather than as the active vital superhero." However, Gruenwald continued to feature the character in Captain America intermittently. He features in Captain America #324–325 (December 1986–January 1987), and after Steve Rogers is stripped of his Captain America identity, Nomad appears in a storyline which continues for over a year of Captain America stories (#336–350; December 1987–February 1989) where Nomad

30621-409: Was created by Dan Slott and Stefano Caselli. Although the character died in his debut appearance, he was cloned after his death and his clones continued to play roles within the ongoing Avengers: The Initiative series. Described by Slott as an archetypal " all-American boy", the character is introduced in the pages of Avengers: The Initiative #1 as the great-grandson of Dr. Abraham Erskine ,

30798-422: Was made inoperable by Skrull invaders. However, this is seemingly retconned in a line spoken by one of the Spiders: "should be StarkTech like ours, but it's so alien", in Avengers: The Initiative #22, when the Spiders interface with other technology. Attached to the "KIA" Michael Van Patrick is Armory 's former weapon, known as the Tactigon , which was detached when she was expelled from the Initiative program. It

30975-431: Was resurrected years later by the voodoo priestess Marie Laveau. He was then confronted by Doctor Strange . The Sorcerer Supreme and the Lord of the Vampires battled, Varnae changing shape and revealing he had formerly sought to be the Sorcerer Supreme before he turned into a vampire. Doctor Strange cast an "incantation of oblivion" on Varnae, making the undead mage relive his oblivion of 500 years. Embracing his existence as

31152-423: Was the leader of HYDRA 's European branch and the father of Octavia Vermis . Vermis recruited Jessica Drew (whom by that time went by the name "Arachne") into HYDRA at a time when she was suffering from amnesia and had no clue about her own past. He then manipulated her into falling in love with fellow agent Jared and attempting to kill Nick Fury . Vermis promised to find out the truth about Arachne's past and did

31329-481: Was thrown off balance when Thor reflected her psychic waves back at her with Mjolnir . Vibro , also known as Alton Vibereaux, was created by Denny O'Neil and Luke McDonnell and first appeared in Iron Man #186 (September 1984). Working as a seismologist and engineer, he fell into the San Andreas Fault during the testing of an experimental nuclear-powered apparatus, giving him superpowers and leaving him mentally unstable. He battles James Rhodes as Iron Man. He

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