The Multiverse Problem

The multiverse is a concept we know frighteningly little of, or so we think when it comes to good storytelling that is fewer than expected coming out of marvel and a company that knows nothing of stories anymore

[randomusernameCallin]

Multiverse works if and only if there a noticeable differences of the worlds else it becomes just go to a world where the bad thing did not happen.

[CinnamonGrrlErin]

I was going to say it's yet another trope I've gotten burned out on, but I really loved how it worked in the recent Fiona and Cake show (and in Adventure Time in general). Of course it helps that the writers don't use the concept as a giant "do-over button" and they probably have far less studio interference than Marvel or other movies do.

[aoihitori]

I do agree with South Park's "Multiverse is an excuse for lazy writing."

It is also a Factory of Plot Armor with a Plot Amor and Infinite Plot Holes. It also takes away the weight of the character's actions, no accountability and responsibility at stakes.

[snowyyzoe]

Unironically Phineas and Ferb had a really good take on the multiverse, but I think that had to do with the fact there was only one other universe and the whole thing served to answer a few of the biggest “what ifs” in the show. (I.e. what if Doofenshmirtz took over the tri-state area, what if Doofenshmirtz had a different backstory?). It also didn’t…y’know, take anything that seriously.

[vetarlittorf]

I like how the Multiverse is handled in Rick and Morty. With Rick being indifferent to pretty much everything because there are infinite versions of everything, meaning the loss of a loved one isn't that big of a deal.

And while I personally believe in the multiverse, which is supported by quantum mechanics, the multiverse is hard to handle in fiction for the simple reason that it decreases the stakes.

For example, when Nightcrawler died in Marvel Comics, his death was rendered meaningless (although comic book deaths are rarely permanent) after he was replaced by the Age of Apocalypse universe Nightcrawler.

So why should we cry for Iron Man when he died when the heroes have access to infinite versions of Iron Man?

[mississipiansupplier]

They can do what EEAAO does. it makes the existence of the Multiverse be the driving force for the villain’s motivations, that since there’s so many variations of ourselves, it grossly devalues our own reality. The villain sees no purpose because of this, yet the protagonist found happiness despite this newfound knowledge, thanks to her husband.

It also brought to existence the greatest Pixar movie of all time: Raccacoonie.

[Rembreiker_lychec]

I think marvel will have an even bigger problem in the phases after whenever this multiverse thing concludes. Nobody can die for good now. There's also so many potential plot holes that's going to come out of implementing the multiverse. Endgames time travel unfortunately ruined marvel for me.

[sophieamandaleitontoomey]

I'm just so tired of it being the rationale for every...SINGLE...DAMN...MOVIE NOW. I'm just so tired of it. It was fine for Everything Everywhere All At Once because it had nothing to do with Marvel and was doing its own unique thing with it. It was fine for Loki because it hadn't really started to be abused yet. It's amazing with Spiderverse because it's used in a way that's really unique with great storytelling, acting and animation.

But now it's EVERYWHERE. It's in every single show and movie and I'm sick of it. 

Who asked for a multiverse Flash story again? Because I know I didn't.

It's a cliche that has run its course and I'm so tired of it.

[Shimulahmed]

The multiverse should have been a slow paced process, creating a little branch in every new movie. And at an avenger film they all collide

[Sjono]

MCU can barely even make its prime universe feel coherent in modern films. I doubt they’d be able to do so with multiverse

[uhok]

I think The Flash could’ve been really good if it wasn’t a multiverse story. Make it standard time travel with Reverse Flash as the villain. There was some heart there within the nostalgia bait, as we saw with the grocery store scene near the end

[ZyliceLiddell]

The ‘Loki’ show was more about Kang and the multiverse than the actually character himself. Just like Doctor Strange 2 was about America Chavez, Wanda & the multiverse instead of Doctor Strange himself. The ‘main’ characters were ‘lost’ in their own property for the sake of the ‘multiverse’ agenda.

[casualfanatic]

I think Fionna and Cake was one of the few times the multiverse was done well. As 1) the multiverse is used to explore different sides of stories and characters we were familiar with 2) the multiverse ties into the message of the show which is stop fantasizing of what you could have and appreciate what you do have.

Example, we see with the Winter King a version of Simon who managed to control the crown by supposedly pushing or sacrificing everyone close to him. This shows Simon how his desire of control could’ve gone wrong. He kept his sanity in trade of his humanity.

In the Vampire world we see that without finding the crown Simon wouldn’t have survived the Mushroom War. Which would leave Marcy all alone in the apocalypse, which leads to the Vampire King corrupting her and finding the crown, which leads to the vampires killing everyone. This shows the importance of Simon finding the crown, that his life wasn’t as bad as he believed it as he ended up helping Marcy and many more down the road.

These other worlds gives us insight on how stories and characters could’ve changed due to different choices or events. It gives us more appreciation of the current stories we have.

[matityaloran]

Also a lot of these Multiverse movies seem to emphasize Absolute Points in Time/Canon Events/Inevitable Intersections which despite fulfilling an important purpose (limiting the power of the Multiverse) still damages investment because it means that certain things will happen regardless of what the characters do

[bluelocimon]

So far, as for superheroes, the Arrowverse has been the best when it comes with the concept of the multiverse

[ride-playerbb]

I think the multiverse works perfectly when done like Ultra Series, where the multiverse is simply a thing that can be used so the heroes can have crossovers while allowing other writers the creative freedom to make whatever story they want without having to worry about contradicting what came before, most notably, allowing the series to continue even when the Original Continuity reached a point where you can't really make anything from it anymore, at least not stories set on Earth

[XenoMassxx]

While the multiverse concept in it's self is a interesting idea, in whole I feel like it diludes the high states for both the villain's and heroes. If the heroes win it doesn't feel like it's an ultimate victory because you know theirs a different universe out there where the villains won instead so it's like ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[jaydenclarke]

My problem, with the multiverse, is that studios don't approach it right. It can be done right, and still make you root for and deeply care about characters like into the spiderverse. Technically there are an infinite amount of miles Morales but we still care about him deeply and don't want him to die or anything like that happening to him.

I think why this works is because it is well written and it focuses on character development and not just random fan service and jokes

[Magneticlaw]

"Multiverses are stupid, " Cartman from South Park.

[Michael_CDK]

There's a novel I read a few years ago called Dark Matter by Blake Crouch. It wasn't perfect by any stretch, but in my opinion it had a fascinating outlook on the concept of the multiverse in that trying to navigate the setting and return home was the main objective. It also had a pretty cool twist near the end. It was also written seven or eight years ago, before the concept just became a thing you roll your eyes at when it's introduced in yet another thing you're watching.