Welcome to Jay... my name is...
Welcome to That Sci-Fi Show, my name is Jay!
Today's video is part two in a... NO! No. No? No. No.
Today's video is 
part two in a two part series requested by
The Norways Family that covers alternate universes.
Today we talk Marvel Comics and last week
we covered DC.
So let's discuss 10 of my favorite Marvel
Comics alternate universes, right after the
bump.
Ever since Sebastian cracked me over the head
with that vase it feels like I can smell with
my eyes.
I don't think that's good. I think that's like a stroke or something.
Oh, hey guys!
I swear that bump gets shorter everytime.
Let's get to it.
10.
Marvel Noir 2009
Film noir has long been an inspiration for
comic books and popular fiction, so it was
only a matter of time before Marvel jumped
on the bandwagon.
Marvel Noir, a series of one-shot comics that
were published in 2009 and 2010, offered an
anthology of stories in which all the popular
Marvel heroes were reimagined as gritty Depression-era
vigilantes.
Wolverine becomes a Sam Spade-like private
eye, the X-Men are teenaged hoodlums out for
blood, and The Punisher is… well, just the
Punisher.
While the pulp fiction gloss of Marvel Noir
was a fun experiment, it didn’t catch on
enough to last very long.
9.
The DC Universe 1996
Yeah, THAT DC universe – since DC and Marvel
have technically done not one, but two crossovers,
the DC Universe technically counts as an alternative
universe.
Earth-9602 was created in the 90s as an Amalgam
Universe that made for a really fun, self-contained
crossover event known as DC vs. Marvel.
Unfortunately, that universe was eliminated
once heroes The Spectre and the Living Tribunal
managed to tear the two realities back into
their separate halves at the end of that miniseries.
However, the two comics lines crossed paths
one more time after that in JLA/Avengers,
a four-issue miniseries (starting in 2003)
that, to the best of our knowledge, still
holds up to Marvel continuity.
8.
Marvel 2099 1992
Most themed alternative comics universes take
you one of two places – the steampunk past
or the cyberpunk future.
The imprint line Marvel 2099, released in
1992, gave us the latter, a smoke-filled cyberpunk
future where corporations rule the US with
privatized police, and superheroes are forced
into hiding.
With the superheroes of old worshipped as
fables and legends, a new set of genetically
and cybernetically enhanced heroes take on
their identities to fight against the evil
corporations.
This universe gave us fun new twists like
Miguel O’Hara, the first Latino Spider-Man
(even before Miles Morales), a cyborg Doctor
Doom, and more.
7.
Old Man Logan 2008
Logan, apart from being an excellent swan
song to Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, was also
inspired by this deliciously dark comic series
by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven.
Wolverine: Old Man Logan shows us a world
where supervillains have conquered the United
States, and an aged, guilt-ridden Wolverine
mourns the deaths of the other X-Men (whom
he killed while under mind control!).
Tasked to deliver a package to the sanctuary
city of New Babylon, Old Man Logan must take
up arms (or claws) once again to prove his
worth.
It’s got a more downbeat tone than other
Marvel comics, but Millar makes great use
of Logan.
6.
Squadron Supreme 1971
What do you do when you want to write stories
for the Justice League, but you work at Marvel
Comics?
Why, you just make an alternate universe full
of knockoffs!
Instead of Superman, you’ve got Hyperion;
instead of Batman, Nighthawk; instead of Wonder
Woman, Power Princess, and so on.
While other members not cribbed from DC superheroes
were added later, the Squadron Supreme (in
both of its major incarnations) acted as a
stand-in for or parody of the Justice League.
There have been a few times where the Squadron
Supreme found themselves in the main universe
of Earth-616, but they mostly keep to their
own dimension.
5.
Marvel Zombies 2005
Not all of these high-concept Marvel Universes
are hits, but they do get brownie points for
latching onto trends.
One such example is Marvel Zombies, a five-issue
limited series written by – who else – Robert
Kirkman of The Walking Dead fame.
Here, all of our favorite superheroes are
infected with a zombie virus, and soon enough
the world is full of flesh-heating do-gooders
(including Zombie Iron Man, Zombie Hulk, Zombie
Wolverine) craving the brains of Earth’s
residents.
On top of that, the zombie heroes must contend
with Galactus, who chooses that moment to
invade Earth.
While the infection spread to a few sequels,
this corner of the Marvel Universe is best
left forgotten. I mean, where do you really go from there?
4.
Age of Apocalypse 1995
Alternate universes based on time travel shenanigans
are nothing new for Marvel, to which Age of
Apocalypse can attest.
This storyline from 1995 and 1996, penned
by several big-name comics writers (including
Warren Ellis, Mark Waid and Jeph Loeb), followed
the superhero Legion as he traveled back in
time to try to assassinate Magneto and stop
his war against humanity, only to accidentally
shoot Professor X!
This event creates an entirely new timeline
where Earth is ruled by the supervillain Apocalypse,
leading to a last-ditch effort by Earth’s
remaining superheroes to take back the planet.
3.
Marvel 1602 2003
Neil Gaiman’s stellar 2003 miniseries Marvel
1602 transplants the mutants and superheroes
of Marvel lore to the 17th century – the
time of the Enlightenment Era, the plays of
William Shakespeare, and the stigma of religious
dogma.
Here, Nick Fury runs England’s spy network,
Dr. Strange performs astrology for Queen Elizabeth,
and Magneto is the Grand Inquisitor leading
a crusade against mutants (now called “witchbreeds”)
for the Catholic Church.
Meanwhile, witchbreeds are protected and given
sanctuary by Magneto’s old friend, Carlos
Javier.
A beautiful melding of stunning artwork and
European history, Marvel 1602 is one of the
most successful attempts to use Marvel superheroes
in a dramatic new way.
2.
Days of Future Past 1981
The X-Men film series isn’t shy about cribbing
from popular comic storylines for its films;
between Logan and Days of Future Past, we
can’t blame them, as they tend to turn in
some of the best films in the series and as
nerds we expect them to stick to the source
material when they can (although what works
on the page doesn't always work on the stage,
as they say).
But I digress, this 1981 miniseries by Chris
Claremont, John Byrne and Terry Austin presented
a dystopian future where the iconic purple
robots, the Sentinels, have conquered the
Earth, and most of the X-Men are dead.
Left with little choice, Kitty Pryde must
travel back in time to the year 1980 to change
history, leading to one of the most well-regarded
storylines in Marvel history.
1.
Ultimate Universe 2000 (Did you doubt it for
a second?)
While all of these one-offs and what-ifs are
good fun, we can’t help but give the number
one spot to Marvel’s most comprehensive
attempt to reboot their comics line – Ultimate
Marvel.
Starting in 2000, Marvel reinvented its own
universe for the modern age, introducing now-popular
staples like alternate Spider-Man Miles Morales
and the Samuel L. Jackson version of Nick
Fury we all know and love.
While Marvel’s Secret Wars storyline ended
the Ultimate Universe for good, some elements
carried on over to the main universe, Earth-616.
Here’s hoping we get to see more of them
in the future, even carrying over to the Marvel
Cinematic Universe.
So that's it for today.
I'd like to thank Clint Worthington and welcome
him to the fancy team, something I hope I
never call it again.
He wrote the vast majority of this script
for me and going forward he'll be a huge help
in pushing this channel to at least 3 videos
a week... maybe more!
Last time, I asked you guys to share this
video on twitter.
I mistakenly said that my Twitter handle was
@jayparks when it's actually @parksjay.
Now, I checked and all you fancy nerds used
the correct handle, opting to actually look
up the information for yourself, so I'm super
proud of you all.
To choose a winner, I used random.org (a site
that uses atmospheric noise to generate truly
random numbers).
First I ordered the Twitter accounts randomly,
then I generated a random number and counted
down the list.
The winner was @drunkcomicsfans.
In order to make up for my previous mistake
(even though I don't think it did any harm)
we're going to do it again!
So share this video on Twitter and tag me
@parksjay.
I'll announce the winner in our next video
and please keep in mind, last time the odds
were just 1 in 6!
Unlike other very large channels, you have
a real chance at winning here!
A random winner will be selected in the same
manner and announced next time when we talk
about The Guardians of the Galaxy.
Sorry, @drunkcomicsfans, you can't win twice
in a row but let me make it up to you by linking
your podcast on the end card.
Until next time, I'm Jay Parks.
