The '90s Marvel Cartoon Multiverse Was Confusing

Multiverses might be all the rage in super hero movies right now, but this isn't the first time Marvel ventured across realities. Kyle Anderson takes you back to the 90s to break down the confusing multiverse of Marvel cartoons.


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Image: Marvel

[greatnessinc]

X-men and Spider-Man took place in the same universe. Spider-Man went to the X-men for help when he was mutating into an actual spider.

[GodzillaMendoza]

Theres just so many factual errors in this video. Its pretty disappointing to see such lackluster research. Like, this is really sloppy and perpetuating a lot of misinformation from fan wiki pages that are also incorrect but no one does the research necessary to challenge them.

[leonardpriestley]

I don't know if character designs and voice actors changing necessarily means we're seeing different versions of the characters, as far as 90's cartoons go. Unless there's specific story points contradicting things between shows, I'd say it's all the same universe.

[ranwolf]

The thing about the Multiverse, if you think about it, is that one reality can be vastly different from another(Germany won WW2), while in another the difference is so small you can never find it(somebody ate an apple for lunch instead of a pear). Iron Man can be the pear/apple eater of the Marvel cartoons, they're so similar it appears they're the same individual when they're actually not.

[joshuamartin]

Ghost Rider was on FF and Hulk. I think those were the same.

[primefamous]

I'm not seeing any confusion or issues. All of these shows (other than Spider-Man Unlimited) take place in the same universe, some VA recast doesn't change the fact that they're all in the MAU.

[uncle_pepe]

I feel like most of this is just getting too hung up on voice cast/designs and using that to indicate something being a different universe rather than plot incongruence.

I personally treat X-Men, Spider-Man, F4, Iron Man, and Hulk as one universe and any voice/design discrepancies come down to artstyle and recasting (i.e. Gambit’s cursed white sclera in Spider-Man and redesigned Strange in Incredible Hulk)

[Jordacar]

Another wordless cameo: War Machine popped up on X-Men in the 'Time Fugitives' two-parter hanging with Nick Fury and GW Bridge. (He also appears in the future war with Cable, but I figured that was an animation goof.)

The Cap/Wolverine team-up episode also had a dude implied to be a young Nick Fury (pre-eyepatch) alongside his Howling Commandoes. At least I always figured it was him.

[jet]

Now that we have xmen 97, can we please get a continuation of Spider-Man the animated series? What happens when Peter finds the real Mary Jane? How does she handle the fact that she and Peter are married? Do they go into the events of civil war, one more day, and brand new day from there?

[fusionspace]

Love all this, but just to avoid confusing the kids: X Men '97 is NOT five years after the cartoon ended. The cartoon began in 1992 and ran for five seasons, each of which was another year, so S1-92, S2-93, S3-94, S4-95, S5-96, so the new show is set one year later from the ending, in 1997. I know you know that, but the way you phrased it might mislead people.

[Thisthat]

I was “savvy” enough to understand a multiverse as a kid watching solely Saturday cartoons lmao

[milesbradshaw]

Yes, there are different 90's Marvel animated universes, five specifically.
.Earth-92131: X-Men: The Animated Series and Spider-Man The Animated Series
.Earth-534834: Iron Man, Fantastic Four, and The Incredible Hulk
.Earth-634962: Silver Surfer: The Animated Series
.Earth-751263:-Spider-Man: Unlimited
.Earth-730784: Avengers: United They Stand

Side Note: Iron Man isn't jumping to different universes, the Tony Stark from Spider-Man is different from the one in the other shows.

[jacobweinstock]

Spiderman was my favorite before X Men, I didn't know the Hulk show was unknown to fans, I think I liked it cause while other heros tricked or bamboozled their enemies, Hulk mostly fought big She Hulk

[nicholassmith]

*pushes glasses up* actually punisher does appear in X-men in non speaking roles but one of them was a mojo verse robot assuming his appearance. Nick fury also has a non-speaking cameo in x-men. Been doing a rewatch of x-men so it’s been a ride

[brandont]

And don't even get me started on Hydro-Man's inconsistencies from 'Spider-Man' to that episode of 'Fantastic Four'!

[WhiteRaven]

According to the Marvel Database, it’s five universes; X-Men/Spider-Man (1), Iron Man/Fantastic Four/Hulk (2), Silver Surfer (3), Unlimited (4) and United They Stand (5). 🤷🏽‍♂️

[Germeezy]

Recently watched the Secret Wars episodes of the Spider-Man 90's show and loved how they mixed the x-men, fantastic 4 and Captain America. Although in hindsight, Cap was a bad choice. In the episode they literally had giant sandworms and all Cap could do was hit them and say "This thing has it's own armour, it doesn't even feel my fist!" and had to be saved at every turn. I could not stop laughingggg, forgot how much I hated Cap before Chris Evans in Winter Soldier

[hypersleepdialogues]

You're just taking something straight forward and making it complicated. I was 10 when i statted watching these shows, and even then, i understood and accepted that they were all meant to take place in the same universe. Its not that complicated.

[dsdcool]

a fellow Denver 90s kid. The Justice League guest stared on 'Static Shock' while they were both on air concurrently

[nicocappabianca]

Symbiote hated Shocker because of his gauntlets