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[[File:marvel-universe.jpg|link=Civil War (Comic Book)|
{{quote|''"None of this is really happening. There is [[Stan Lee|a man]]. With a typewriter. This is all part of his crazy imagination."''|'''[[Deadpool]]'''}}
The world as portrayed in [[Marvel Comics]], especially under [[Stan Lee]], [[Steve Ditko]] and [[Jack Kirby]]. As in [[The DCU]], Marvel heroes form teams and [[Crossover]] occurs frequently, with many [[Continuity Nod
Many TV series and movies set in the
The Marvel Universe's defining characteristics include a general trend toward [[Sliding Scale of Realistic Versus Fantastic|realism mixed with the fantastic]], a little more [[Civvie Spandex]] than [[The DCU]], and a strong undercurrent of [[Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism|cynicism]] among the local populace who are anything from skeptical to distrustful of superpowered beings aside from charismatic mega-celebrities like [[Iron Man]] and the [[Fantastic Four]]. Of course, it varies from writer to writer; in some eras Marvel have more explicitly tried to root their Universe in 'the real world', while at other times there have been entire mutant ghettos covering large areas of New York City. Which might have been considered "realistic"...
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** ''The Amazing [[Spider-Man]]'', a 1977 live-action series, cancelled due to [[Executive Meddling]] when [[CBS]] decided they were running too many [[Superhero]] series.
** ''Spider-Man'', a 1978 Japanese [[Toku]] series that featured Spider-Man piloting a [[Humongous Mecha]] and was one of the inspirations for ''[[Super Sentai]]''/''[[Power Rangers]]''.
** ''Spider-Man'', a 1981 cartoon version with an early animated example of [[Story Arc
** ''[[Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends]]'', a 1981 cartoon that teamed him up with Iceman of the [[X-Men (Comic Book)|X-Men]] and Firestar, an original character that eventually became a [[Canon Immigrant]]. Still considered as definitive as the 1960s series.
** ''[[Spider
** ''Spider-Man Unlimited'', a short-lived 1999 cartoon where Spidey is transported to [[Another Dimension]]. Originally intended to be based on ''Spider-Man 2099''... a comic book title many fans argue Bruce Timm ripped off when developing ''[[Batman Beyond]]''.
** ''Spider-Man: The New Animated Series'', a 2003 MTV computer-animated series based loosely on the movie continuity.
** ''[[Spider-Man (
** As well, he showed up in segments of ''[[The Electric Company]]'', where he taught reading to kids by having adventures while speaking only in word balloons.
** ''[[The Spectacular Spider
** ''[[Ultimate Spider-Man (
* ''[[X-Men (Comic Book)|X-Men]]''
** ''Pryde of the X-Men'', a failed 1989 [[Pilot Movie]].
** ''[[X-Men (
** ''Generation X'' was a failed [[Pilot Movie]] from 1996, featuring the characters of the ''X-Men'' comic-book [[Spin
** ''[[X-Men: Evolution
** ''[[X
** ''[[Wolverine and
** Two [[Anime]] shows, one based on [[Wolverine (
* ''The [[Fantastic Four (Comic Book)|Fantastic Four]]''
** ''Fantastic Four'', a 1967 cartoon produced by [[Hanna
** ''[[The Fantastic Four (
** ''[[Fantastic Four (
** ''The Fantastic Four'', an unreleased 1994 [[Roger Corman]] film, infamous around the fandom for its low quality.
** ''[[Fantastic Four (
** ''[[
** Additionally, the Thing got his own [[Three Shorts|mini-show]] as part of ''[[Fred and Barney Meet The Thing]]''.
* ''[[
** ''[[
** ''[[The Incredible Hulk]]'', a 1978 TV series with a [[Walking the Earth]]/[[Stern Chase]] plot, and three [[Made for TV Movie|Made For TV Movies]] based on it.
** A 1982 cartoon version.
** A 1996 cartoon version.
** ''Hulk'', a big-budget 2003 movie, which polarized critics and viewers alike.
** ''[[The Incredible Hulk (
** ''[[Hulk Vs]]'', a 2009 [[OVA]] wherein he causes numerous headache for Wolverine and Thor.
* ''[[Captain America (comics)]]''
** A 1944 theater serial.
** ''[[
** A pair of 1970s [[Made for TV Movie|Made For TV Movies]], featuring a [[Legacy Character]] version who rides a motorcycle.
** A 1990 [http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0103923/combined theatrical movie] so bad the production company never released it and denied it existed. It was finally released on home video in 1992.
** A 2011 big-budget film version called [[Captain America:
* ''[[Iron Man]]''
** ''[[
** A 1994 cartoon version, shown with the contemporary ''Fantastic Four'' cartoon as part of the "Marvel Action Hour." Season 1 saw Shellhead leading Force Works, but a massive [[Retool]] for Season 2 saw - among other changes - more solo hero action.
** A 2007 [[OAV]], ''[[The Invincible Iron Man]]''.
** ''[[Iron Man (
** ''[[
** An [[Iron Man (
* ''[[The Mighty Thor]]''
** ''[[
** A [[Live Action Adaptation]], directed by [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000110 Kenneth Branagh] and featuring Chris Hemsworth ([[Star Trek (
* ''[[Blade]]''
** ''[[The Tomb of Dracula]]'', a comic which involved the first appearance of the character.
** ''[[Blade (
*** ''Blade'', in 1998
*** ''Blade II'', in 2002
*** ''Blade Trinity'', in 2004.
** ''[[Blade the Series]]'', a short-lived 2006 TV adaption, was based on these films.
** ''[[Blade (
* ''[[The Avengers (Comic Book)|The Avengers]]''
** ''[[The Avengers: United They Stand]]'', a 90s cartoon that barely featured any of its three [[Captain America (comics)|most]] [[Iron Man|famous]] [[The Mighty Thor|members]].
** ''[[The Avengers:
** A big-budget [[The Avengers (
Other heroes:
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* ''[[Beta Ray Bill]]''
* ''[[Black Panther]]''
* ''[[Black Widow (
* ''[[Captain Universe]]''
* ''[[Cloak and Dagger (
* ''[[Daredevil]]''
** The 2003 ''[[Daredevil]]'' movie, and the 2005 ''Elektra'' movie spun off from it.
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* ''[[The Defenders]]''
* ''[[Doctor Strange]]''
* ''[[
* ''[[Captain Mar-Vell]]''
* ''[[Great Lakes Avengers]]''
** ''[[Squirrel Girl]]''
* ''[[Guardians of the Galaxy]]''
* ''[[Howard the Duck (
* ''[[Immortal Iron Fist]]''
* ''[[The Incredible Hercules]]''
* ''[[The Inhumans]]''
* ''[[Luke Cage, Hero for Hire|Luke Cage]]''
* ''[[Man-Thing]]''
* ''[[Moon Knight]]''
* ''[[Ms. Marvel]]''
* ''The [[New Warriors]]''
* ''[[
* ''[[Nick Fury]]''
** None other than David Hasselhoff played the title character in ''Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D'', a 1998 [[Made for TV Movie]], and did a surprisingly credible job at it (though the movie failed in other respects).
** A new version of Nick Fury (this time played by [[Samuel L. Jackson]]) plays a key role in the [[Marvel Cinematic Universe]], putting together the Avenger team.
* ''[[
* ''[[Quasar (comics)|Quasar]]''
* ''[[Red Hulk]]''
* ''[[Runaways]]''
** The film adaptation has been announced, though no date has been set. The series original creator, [[Brian K. Vaughan]] will write the screenplay.
* ''[[Secret Warriors]]''
* ''[[She Hulk]]''
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Notable Antagonists:
* ''[[Doctor Doom]]''
* [[Dracula]] existed in the
* ''[[Galactus]]''
* ''[[The Hood]]''
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* ''[[Secret Invasion]]''
* ''[[War of Kings]]''
* ''[[Dark Reign (
* ''[[Shadowland (
* ''[[Earth X]]''
* ''[[The Thanos Imperative]]''
* ''[[Fear Itself (Comic Book)|Fear Itself]]''
* ''[[Avengers vs
Other TV adaptations:
* ''[[
* The ''[[Silver Surfer]]'' had a short-lived 1998 animated series, most notable for being cancelled right after a [[Cliff Hanger]] where the universe ceased to exist.
* ''[[The
* Marvel has announced plans to create shows for ABC and ABC Family based on [[Alias (Comic Book)|Jessica Jones]], Mockingbird, and Cloak and Dagger, but no actors are attached as of yet to any of the shows.
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** Bootlegs of the pilot have caused some to assume it did get an actual broadcast in some markets, but as of yet there has been no proof.
* ''[[The Punisher]]'' appeared in two different movies, both with no continuity to each other, made 15 years apart (1989 and 2004). They did it again in 2008, with ''Punisher: War Zone''.
* The ''[[Ultimate Avengers]]'' [[OAV]], based on the comic ''[[Ultimate Marvel|The Ultimates]]'', was released on DVD, February
* A big-budget ''[[Ghost Rider]]'' film starring Nicholas Cage was released in early 2007.
* Let us not forget the [[Marvel Cinematic Universe]].
▲** An animated ''Black Panther'' TV show is under development for BET.
----
{{creatortropes|page=The Marvel Universe}}
* [[Adaptational Jerkass]]: Loki in the original [[Norse Mythology|Norse sagas]] was [[Happily Married]] to his wife Sigyn, excluding a Frost Giant mistress and a horse here and there. So happy that they had several children and she tended to him after he received punishment for killing Baldr. In the Marvel universe, Loki conducts a [[Bed Trick]] to win over Sigyn since she was engaged to another god, whom Loki proceeded to murder; while Sigyn accepted this fate when realizing Odin had married her to the wrong man, Loki himself alternated between being an [[Ungrateful Bastard]] about her devotion to him, and guilt that he brought someone he truly loved into his personal hell. Even he knew that such trickery went too far, and in the present Marvel universe has released her from the wedding vows, telling Sigyn she is free to live her life. Sigyn thus far hasn't listened.
* [[A God Am I]]: Thor, Hercules, Zeus and Odin make their godly heritage known to all who meet them. ▼
* [[All of the Other Reindeer]]: First comic-book world to have widespread prejudice against a particular type of superhumans, the "anti-mutant paranoia".
* [[All Powerful Bystander]]: The Living Tribunal is this until a multiversial threat arises. He tends to destroy the universe the threat is located in and then resume being a bystander.
* [[Alternate Universe]]: A number of Marvel stories deal with and take place in these. Most prominent (and [[Alternate Continuity]] examples) are listed below.
** [[Age of Apocalypse]]
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** [[Marvel vs. Capcom|Marvel Vs. Capcom 3]]
* [[Arms and Armor Theme Naming]]: The covert organizations S.H.I.E.L.D., A.R.M.O.R., S.W.O.R.D. and H.A.M.M.E.R.
* [[Badass Bookworm]]: High Evolutionary, Thanos, M.O.D.O.K., Leader, Valeria, Reed Richards, Alyssa Moy, Mad Thinker, Hank Pym, Doctor Doom, Maelstrom, Brainchild, Bruce Banner and Spider-Man.
* [[Bald Women]]: Moondragon and Nebula (after her escape from Titan and a cybernetic operation)
* [[The Berserker]]: Hulk, Juggernaut, Colossus, Thing, Thanos, Wolverine and Thor when he delves into the Warrior's Madness.
* [[Blessed
** Iron Man was the first superhero with a substance abuse problem.
* [[Bolt of Divine Retribution]]: Anyone with power over electricity and a vengeful nature. Thor and Zeus are notable examples.
* [[Brainwashing for
* [[Broke Your Arm Punching Out Cthulhu]]: Iron Man actually believed he could put Thor down by himself. [[Curb Stomp Battle|He was very wrong]].
* [[Chaos Entity]]:
** Entropy is the son of Eternity and represents the Marvel Universe's entropy with powers stronger than his father, Eternity. His goal is to kill Eternity and end all of creation.
** Lord Chaos is a being that personifies the concept of chaos through the universe and clashes with his opposite, Lord Order.
** The In-Betweener is the embodiment of dualistic concepts such as order and chaos. He was created by Master Order and Lord Chaos and used his powers to resolve balances. He is compared to Galactus as his opposite, as he is a union of Eternity and Death; Galactus is the absence of both.
* [[City of Adventure]]: Makes you wonder just how New York City hasn't gotten wiped out yet.
* [[Collectible Cloney Babies]]:
* [[Comic Book Time]]: When he revealed himself during ''[[Civil War (Comic Book)|Civil War]]'', Peter Parker stated that he had been acting as Spider-Man since he was 15. Same goes for the first X-Men team, who started in heroics in their teens (sans Beast), and now almost 50 years later (in real time), they still seem to be 30-somethings.▼
** The Collector is named thusly because he collects strange artifacts and life forms. He attempts to "collect" all of the Avengers in the Silver Age, starting with Wasp, because they are one-of-a-kind. The Avengers weren't having it, and defeated him at least three times.
** Kamala Khan's younger brother loves action figures. Another villain, an adult, takes interest in these kiddie toys and gets an idea. She had to track one down when it turned out to be part of an evil plot, and return it to him as a normal toy.
▲* [[Comic Book Time]]: When he revealed himself during ''[[Civil War (Comic Book)|Civil War]]'', Peter Parker stated that he had been acting as Spider-Man since he was 15. Same goes for the first X-Men team, who started in heroics in their teens (sans Beast), and now
* [[Conqueror From the Future]] "Kang the Conqueror" is quite likely the [[Ur Example]].
* [[Crapsack World]]: Few comic book universes make life harder on its heroes than the Marvel Universe. At different times, either the public hates them, the government actively tries to kill mutants, the media paints them as evil, or laws have been passed making most of them wanted fugitives.
** And that only covers ''Earth'', which probably contains only a fraction of all the combined power in the universe. The Marvel Universe is crawling with [[Cosmic Entity|cosmic beings]] such as [[Galactus]] and countless others who have all been either indifferent to or outright wanted to massacre the Earth.
* [[Crossover Cosmology]] (Thor, Hercules, and Amaterasu all coexist with every other god EVER)
* [[Cut Lex Luthor a Check]] (The Trapster, the Ringer and many, many more. Occasionally subverted by villains like the Wizard, who became a zillionaire through legitimate means before getting bored and turning to crime, or 8-Ball, who only became a supervillain after he was fired from his job and blacklisted for being suspected of selling company secrets to pay his gambling debts.)
* [[Deconstruction]]: Arguably a founding father of the concept for superhero comics as it definitely helped popularized the idea of [[Fantastic Racism]] for the genre. (People don't seem to notice as much due to how the earlier Marvel comics were not truly [[Darker and Edgier]].) But still Marvel is definitely one of the reasons why being a super powered being (especially if you were born with super powers) might not get you respected.
* [[The Dreaded]]: The Void. And the Sentry by default, as everyone just ''knows'' he's going to snap one day. Then he does.
* [[Easily
* [[Easy Road to Hell]]: In both the [[The DCU|DC]] and
* [[Eldritch Abomination]]: Swarming hordes of them, whether of mystical or 'cosmic' origins.
* [[Enormous Engine]]: SHIELD helicarriers are usually shown with four enormous turbines.
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** There's also most of the gods. Gaea is the Mother-Goddess in most pantheons in Marvel and has birthed a child in just about all of them. Thus, you get wacky family connections like [[The Mighty Thor]] being [[The Incredible Hercules]]'s great-uncle.
* [[Fantastic Racism]]: Marvel is very well known for this; documentaries have suggested that one reason for Marvel's popularity in the 60's was its use of resonant contemporary themes like bigotry and the marginalization of minorities.
* [[Fun
* [[Genius Bruiser]]: Many of the most intellectually gifted characters that exist are also extremely skilled when it comes to battling, whether through superpowers or their own training.
▲* [[A God Am I]]: Thor, Hercules, Zeus and Odin make their godly heritage known to all who meet them.
* [[Good Is Not Nice]]: Wolverine and Iron Man might be under the flag of good, but they can be outright pricks at times.
* [[Healing Factor]]: A very common ability once you get to the bigger tiers. Wolverine, Deadpool and Hulk are the three most popular examples.
* [[Humans Are
* [[Humans Are Their Own Precursors]]: The Eternals are proto-humans genetically experimented on by the Celestials a million years ago. They have been living among us ever since, wielding superhuman powers and superior technology, with some taking up the [[God Guise]].
* [[I Love Nuclear Power]]: Every Hulk powered by gamma radiation and Hulk's nemesis Abomination. Peter Parker was bitten by a radioactive spider, which gave him the abilities of Spider-Man.
* [[Immortality]]: Marvel has at least one character who embodies each type.
* [[Immortality Hurts]]: To his credit, Deadpool has fun when he gets mutilated, shot, stabbed, burned, decapitated, skinned and liquefied, mostly because of his habit of being a funny guy, but he still feels the pain.
* [[Indecisive Medium]]: The movies set in the universe start with the Marvel logo with the [[Storybook Opening|flipping comic book pages]].
* [[Joker Immunity]]: An endemic problem in any long-running comic book universe, but especially so here.
* [[Lamarck Was Right]]
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* [[Leotard of Power]]
* [[Loads and Loads of Characters]] (for pretty much every long-running series)
* [[Mad God]]: '''Thanos'''. Thor as well when driven to Warrior's Madness.
* [[Mega Manning]]: Rogue is a famous example. Protege to a much higher degree; not even Celestial beings were safe.
* [[Meta Origin]]
* [[Micro Monarchy]]: The statelet of Latveria.
* [[Number of the Beast]]: Fandom recurrently tends to call the primary Marvel Universe number ''616'', sometimes considered to be the original number of absolute evil. Writer Dave Thorpe allegedly deliberately came up with the designation, since he considered this what the superhero genre in essence had evolved into.
** Fandom considered designating the [[Marvel Zombies]] universe as 666. It eventually ended up as 2149.
* [[The Omnipotent]]: It really depends on one's definition of omnipotent. The Living Tribunal has been called omnipotent by several different characters, yet multiple beings have surpassed his power (Beyonder, Thanos, Protege and Molecule Man) and defeated him. The Infinity Gauntlet grants the wearer omnipotence but every being who has ever worn it has had it forcibly taken from them.
** The only indisputable example of an omnipotent character is The-One-Above-All. [[Exactly What It Says
* [[One Steve Limit]]: You better believe this trope is averted. There are easily half a dozen characters named James (Wolverine, War Machine, Bucky), a good few Henrys (the original Ant-Man/Giant-Man/Goliath/Yellowjacket [[I Have Many Names|and so on]], Beast), and plenty of Peters (Spider-Man, Trapster).
** There's a ''Henry Peter'', to boot (Gyrich).
* [[Personal Gain Hurts]]: (Just ask Spidey)
* [[Physical God]]: Dozens of them.
* [[Reed Richards Is Useless]]: (Trope Namer)
* [[Reptiles Are Abhorrent]]: with some aversions and subversions.
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* [[Superhero]]
* [[Super Registration Act]]: Has happened on more than one occasion, the most recent one being [[Civil War (Comic Book)|Civil War]].
* [["Take That!" Kiss]]: {{spoiler|1=Hawkeye did this to DeathBird after defeating her.}}
* [[Token Minority Couple]]
** Well also they both knew each other from past adventures, lost there virginity to each other, and two very powerful people.
* [[Too Dumb to Live]]: Many characters have had moments of this but it's hard to believe someone knows Bruce Banner can turn into the Hulk, yet they still try to piss him off.
* [[The Verse]]
* [[With Great Power Comes Great Insanity]]: The Sentry.
* [[World War II]]: The [[Golden Age]]. Marvel's history began during this time, so its original characters live in this setting. Some legacy heroes/villains are also based on characters published in this time (such as the Human Torch). Note that [[Adolf Hitler]] was seemingly killed in his bunker by the original Human Torch, but actually survived for a while as the Hate-Monger.
** WWII Golden Age characters in present day: [[Sub
** WWII [[Retcon]] characters in present day: [[Nick Fury]], Dum Dum Dugan,<ref>And until recently, Gabriel Jones</ref>
{{reflist}}
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[[Category:The Verse]]
[[Category:The Great Depression]]
[[Category:
[[Category:
|