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In the fictional Marvel Universe, Earth-616 or Earth 616 is the name used to identify the primary continuity in which most Marvel Comics titles take place.
Origin of Earth-616
The term originated from writer Alan Moore's run on the Captain Britain strip produced by Marvel UK in the 1980s, in which the main timeline was designated as "616" by Merlyn, the protector of the multiverse.
Though some argued that stories produced by Marvel UK were not canonical within the greater Marvel Universe published in America, the designation was later confirmed by the main American branch of Marvel Comics in the Excalibur title, which frequently referenced Captain Britain's early UK-published adventures.
Why 616?
The reason Alan Moore chose to name the Marvel Earth "616" is uncertain.
Some have suggested that the name is a reference to "Sector 2814", the jurisdictional division of the Green Lantern Corps which included Earth. However, beyond using numerical designations, there is no apparent connection between 616 and 2814, so that seems unlikely.
Another, more widespread, theory is that Moore simply chose a random number to show the "mainstream" Earth was inherently no more important than any other (unlike DC Comics, whose Earth was known at the time as Earth-1).
It is possible that Moore's choice was inspired by the release date of Fantastic Four #1, which is considered by most to be the date the modern Marvel Universe was launched. Although the cover date of the comic book is given as November 1961, there are claims that the comic book was released as early as June 1961, hence, "61/6" [1] (http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix/appalte.htm).
It is also possible that "616" is a reference to the Number of the Beast in the final chapter of the Christian Bible, the Book of Revelation (or the Apocalypse of John). While most early manuscripts give the Number of the Beast as "666", the earliest existing fragment of the Greek text of this book gives it as "616". Irenaeus argued against the "616" number in his neverending battle against early heresies. Moore, a student of mystic esoterica from a very early age, could well have known about this alternate rendering. Quite why the Marvel Universe should even be named after the Number of the Beast may be an indirect reference to set it apart from the DC Universe. For many years, the headquarters of DC Comics was located at 666 Fifth Avenue in New York City. Thus, the name could be a subtle joke that the DC Universe was Earth-666 while the Marvel Universe was Earth-616; both numbers, of course, are renderings of the Number of the Beast.
References to Earth-616
Most references to Earth-616 appear in Marvel UK titles or in Excalibur. However, there are a number of other references to Earth-616:
- In Alias #18 (March 2003), there is a night club named "616".
- In 1602 #6 (March 2004), Uatu the Watcher speaks of Earth-616.
The term has also appeared in Exiles.
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