This Spider-Man Story Finally Answers the Mystery of the MCU's Earth-616

Marvel Comics finally reveals the strange origins of "616" and why it means so much to the Multiverse.

Earth-616 has been the mainstream Marvel's designation for a while, though it has only recently shared that same designation with the mainstream Marvel Cinematic Universe as well. Formerly known as Earth-199999, the MCU has since been designated as the Earth-616 universe and part of the larger comic and live-action multiverse. After being called to action by the living embodiment of the universe known as Eternity in "616 Day" (by Al Ewing, Mark Buckingham, Rachelle Rosenberg, and VC's Joe Caramagna), Peter Parker finds himself hounded by sights of the number in question.

Eventually, his strange quest brings him to the home of none other than the Avatar of The-Powers-That-Be and star of the recent G.O.D.S. series, Wyn. As Wyn explains, the mystery surrounding why their reality has been designated as Earth-616 has nothing to do with the number being intrinsically mystical. Instead, it is because the denizens of this reality imbued the number "616" with profound meaning by making their otherwise ordinary reality into something truly marvelous, and it all started with the birth of the first Human Torch.

Giant-Size Amazing Spider-Man #1

• Written by AL EWING, CHIP ZDARSKY, KEVIN SMITH, and MITSUYASU SAKAI
• Art by CAFU, GERARDO SANDOVAL, and MARK BUCKINGHAM
• Colors by DAVID CURIEL, RACHELLE ROSENBERG, and ISRAEL SILVA
• Letters by VC's JOE CARAMAGNA
• Design by GABRIEL MATA
• Main cover art by GREG CAPULLO & ALEX SINCLAIR
• Variant covers by LEE BERMEJO, MARK BAGLEY & EDGAR DELGADO, and SCOTT HEPBURN

Introduced in Jonathan Hickman and Valerio Schiti's story "G.O.D.S." from the pages of 2023's Free Comic Book Day 2023: Avengers/X-Men #1, Reddwyn, or more simply Wyn, was born over a thousand years ago. Unfortunately, Wyn lost his parents to the elements at a young age and would have lost his own life as well if not for the intervention of The-Powers-That-Be. This abstract entity that stands as the living embodiment of all things magical and weird chose Wyn as its Avatar, imbuing him with impossible power, not to mention unfathomable responsibilities.

As the Avatar of The-Powers-That-Be, Wyn stands as the counterpart to the Centum, a collective of 100 similar Avatars (or Centivars) of The-Natural-Order-of-Things, the abstract entity that is the living embodiment of all things technical and scientific. Standing as both the figurative and literal opposite of The-Powers-That-Be, The-Natural-Order-of-Things once waged what seemed like endless war against its counterpart, up until the two reached an agreement that allowed them to stop attacking one another directly. Under this agreement, each abstract entity agreed to only act through their chosen servants, each of which must have a Proxy representative of the other side of the conflict that is openly taken into their membership.

Introduced back in the opening story from 1939's Marvel Comics #1, "The Human Torch" by Carl Burgos, the original Human Torch was a sentient, superpowered android crafted by the infamous Professor Phineas Horton. This Human Torch, also known as Jim Hammond, is widely recognized as the very first Marvel superhero, and as such holds a very specific and special place in the annals of Marvel Comics history. The Human Torch has been at the heart of numerous major storylines ranging from the earliest days of Marvel Comics to the present, and even a myriad of multiversal misadventures. As per Wyn's explanation in "616 Day," this makes Jim Hammond's creation the inciting moment that transformed the reality of Earth-616 from just another corner of the Multiverse to its effective center.

Giant-Size Amazing Spider-Man #1 is available now from Marvel Comics.

Source: Marvel Comics