Editing Marvel Universe (section)

==History==

Some of the characters in [[Timely Comics]] (the 1930s and '40s predecessor to Marvel Comics) coexisted in the same world, as first established in ''[[Marvel Mystery Comics]]'' #7 (1940) where [[Namor]] was mentioned in [[Human Torch (android)|Human Torch]]'s story, and vice versa. Later several superheroes (who starred in separate stories in the series up to that point) met each other in a group dubbed the [[All-Winners Squad]].
 
Though the concept of a [[shared universe]] was not new or unique to [[comic book]]s in 1961, writer/editor [[Stan Lee]], together with several artists including [[Jack Kirby]] and [[Steve Ditko]], created a series of titles where events in one book would have repercussions in another title and serialized stories would show characters' growth and change.<ref>{{Cite magazine|date=2021-02-03|title=Who Really Created the Marvel Universe?|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/02/15/who-really-created-the-marvel-universe|access-date=2021-08-11|magazine=The New Yorker|language=en-US}}</ref> Headline characters in one title would make cameos or guest appearances in other books. ''[[Fantastic Four (comic book)|Fantastic Four]] #12'' is the first crossover comic book in modern Marvel continuity (first meeting of Fantastic Four and the Hulk). Eventually, many of the leading heroes (Ant-Man, Wasp, Iron Man, Thor and the Hulk) assembled into a team known as the [[Avengers (comics)|Avengers]], which debuted in September 1963.  This was not the first time that Marvel's characters had interacted with one another&mdash;[[Namor]] and the [[Human Torch (android)|original Human Torch]] had been rivals when Marvel was [[Timely Comics]] (Marvel Vault), under editor [[Martin Goodman (publisher)|Martin Goodman]]<ref>{{Cite book|last=Howe|first=Sean|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/856186608|title=Marvel Comics : the untold story|date=2013|publisher=Harper Perennial|isbn=978-0-06-199211-7|edition=|location=New York|chapter=Part 1: Creations and Myths, Chapter 1|oclc=856186608}}</ref> &mdash; but it was the first time that the comic book publisher's characters seemed to share a world.<ref>''[[Marvel Mystery Comics]]''. ''Marvel Comics'' #1</ref>  The Marvel Universe was also notable for setting its central titles in [[New York City]]; by contrast, many [[DC Universe|DC heroes]] live in fictional cities. Care was taken to portray the city and the world as realistically as possible, with the presence of superhumans affecting the common citizens in various ways.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Capps|first=Kriston|date=November 13, 2018|title=Stan Lee's New York City|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-11-13/stan-lee-s-greatest-creation-is-marvel-s-new-york-city|access-date=2021-08-12|website=www.bloomberg.com}}</ref>

Over time, a few Marvel Comics writers lobbied Marvel editors to incorporate the idea of a [[Parallel universes in fiction|Multiverse]] resembling [[Multiverse (DC Comics)|DC's parallel worlds]]; this plot device allows one to create several fictional universes which normally do not overlap. What happens on Earth in the main Marvel Universe would normally not affect what happens on a parallel Earth in another Marvel-created universe. However, writers would have the creative ability to write stories in which people from one such universe would visit this alternative universe.<ref>{{Cite web|last=McMillan|first=Graeme|date=2014-11-15|title=Worlds Collide: A History of Marvel and DC's Multiverses|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/worlds-collide-a-history-marvel-748649/|access-date=2021-08-11|website=The Hollywood Reporter|language=en-US}}</ref>

In 1982, Marvel published the miniseries ''[[Marvel Super Hero Contest of Champions|Contest of Champions]]'', in which all of the major heroes in existence at the time were gathered together to deal with one threat.  This was Marvel's first miniseries.  Each issue contained biographical information on many major costumed characters; these biographies were a precursor to Marvel's series of reference material, ''[[The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe]]'', which followed shortly on the heels of ''Contest of Champions''.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Howe|first=Sean|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/856186608|title=Marvel Comics : the untold story|date=2013|publisher=Harper Perennial|isbn=978-0-06-199211-7|location=New York|chapter=Part III: Trouble Shooter, Chapter 12|oclc=856186608}}</ref>