5 Alternate Marvel Worlds So Bad Even the Heroes Couldn’t Fix Them

Marvel Comics didn’t originate the multiverse concept in superhero stories – that was DC Comics – but thanks to the MCU, most non-comic readers think they did. The Marvel Multiverse as we now know it first appeared in 1977, when What If… started taking readers to worlds where certain events didn’t happen in the same way, usually ending with things at their worst. These one and done alternate Earths were interesting, but it wouldn’t be until writer Alan Moore, while working for Marvel UK on Captain Britain, brought over the idea of a traditional numbered multiverse. Since then, readers have been introduced to all kinds of amazing worlds, ones that are very different looks at what a Marvel Universe can be.

Often times, the biggest difference is the state of the world. In some alternate Earths, the heroes have failed completely, their worlds ravaged by the power of their foes or by themselves at times, broken by the events of their alternate lives. These worlds are usually the last places anyone would want to live, the heroes having failed to keep the social order safe, leading to completely broken societies. These five alternate Marvel Earths are the worst out there, worlds that no one was able to save.

5) Moira MacTaggert’s 9th Life

Moira MacTaggert was long thought to be the X-Men’s “good human”, but in truth she was a mutant. Her power allowed her to be reborn at the moment of conception, letting her change history. She had some pretty bad lives, but her worst was the 9th. During this life, she decided instead of working with Xavier or Magneto – whom she had failed with in other lives – she’d team up with Apocalypse. This led humanity to create a Nimrod Sentinel unit, which led to the destruction of the mutant race and the superpowered community. A hundred years in, the world had been transformed into a place where humanity was moving towards using machines to completely change the species, all under the control of Nimrod, Omega Sentinel, and other machines. It’s a world where man has given his entire future to AI, trying to become more machine than flesh. It’s a dystopia, but not an apocalyptic one; it’s one where we’ve given up everything that made us human to beat the mutants.

4) “Days of Future Past” Earth

“Days of Future Past” was the OG Marvel dystopian future, starting a trend at Marvel Comics that goes on to this day. It was the first major alternate Earth and it was a nightmare. It all started with the death of Senator Robert Kelly at the hands of Mystique and the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. This led to the Mutant Registration Act and the creation of the Sentinel army. Eventually, the robotic killing machines take control, killing the superheroes, mutants, and supervillains. They put the remains of humanity into the camps, all to control mutant births, testing every baby for the presence of mutant genes. It’s one of those alternate universes where it’s hard to even picture a scene with the sun out; it is the definition of a dark dystopian future. Even being a human doesn’t save you from being a prisoner of the Sentinels, it just means that they aren’t going to kill you immediately. It’s one of the worst worlds imaginable.

3) The Age of Ultron Earth

Ultron is the Avengers’ most deadly villain, an artificial intelligence obsessed with destroying all biological life. He’s made numerous attempts, but his most successful came in Age of Ultron. Ultron had returned to the Earth after his time with the Phalanx and went into hiding before the Avengers could destroy him. He would reappear with an army of Ultron drones and make his ultimate attack on the planet. He was able to destroy the governments of the world and their armies in a handful of days, then began culling the civilians, killing billions of humans. His drones patrol the skies, killing any humans they find. Most of the superhero community is dead, so there’s no one to really protect anyone from the forces of the mad android. It’s one of alternate Earths were the odds of survival are almost zero for basically anyone. It doesn’t matter how strong or smart or skilled you are; if you show up here you’re dead. The heroes completely failed the world and Ultron created the twisted paradise he always wanted.

2) “Age of Apocalypse” Earth

“Age of Apocalypse” is an X-Men masterpiece, and one of the most popular alternate universes in Marvel history. This world’s history was changed when Legion came back in time to kill Magneto, in an effort to give his father Charles Xavier the chance to fulfill his dream. However, the conflict between Legion and the time-traveling X-Men was noticed by Apocalypse, who decided that it was time to strike the world. En Sabah Nur and his mutant army swept across the globe, finally taking over the Americas and creating a mutant empire. Humanity ended up based in Eurasia (although Japan was completely destroyed), at war with Apocalypse’s empire. If you’re a human in the Americas in “Age of Apocalypse”, you’re basically dead. The only defenders left are the X-Men, but their numbers means that there’s no hope of saving everyone. Even after Apocalypse’s defeat, this world didn’t really get much better, as the decades of war have completely ravaged the planet.

1) Marvel Zombies Earth

The original Marvel Zombies was both hilarious and harrowing. On this world, a Sentry from another Earth showed up with a zombie virus. Reed Richards decided that the virus could be beneficial to humanity and ended up releasing it. Superheroes and supervillains were infected and suddenly, the world was just a giant buffet for a bunch of superpowered ghouls that could never die. Their hunger saw them travel the world, killing everyone they came across, but once they were satiated, they went back to normal to an extent. They hated what they had become, but couldn’t help it, continuing their rampage when the hunger takes them again. By the time we arrive on this Earth, the battle is already all but lost. The vast majority of humans are dead and gone, with only a few isolated pockets able to stay hidden. There are very few uninfected superhumans able to fight back against the zombies, so there’s barely any hope of rescue. Death is a certainty on every world, but this one takes that to horrifying extremes.

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