This article contains spoilers for The Marvels
While Kamala Khan might be an odd stand-in for Nick Fury, the character has been a breakout star in the MCU, with her role essayed by the brilliant Iman Vellani. A Marvel fan herself, the actress has extensively read up about the heroes and villains of Marvel Comics and is intimately familiar with concepts such as Alternate Universes.
Given the sort of fan that Vellani is, she, like most fanboys and fangirls, is very particular about continuity. Ever since the Marvel Cinematic Universe kicked off, the universe has been given its official designation in the Marvel Multiverse as Earth-199999. However, due to a particular scene in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, specifically Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, this has been thrown into question, and Vellani was having none of it.
Also Read: Real Reason Illuminati Universe Wanda is Weaker Than Earth-616 Wanda
So, what is the official designation of the Marvel Cinematic Universe?
The Marvel Multiverse organized itself by providing specific numbers as designations for the various continuities and reimaginings that feature their characters. For example, Earth-311 is the universe where the heroes and villains of Marvel’s Silver Age appeared 400 years earlier than they did, in England. Earth-10005 is the official designation for the X-Men film franchise, which originated with X-Men (2000).
Following this nomenclature, multiple continuities in all of Marvel media, be it Comics, Video Games, TV Series, Films, and other media, are organized as one single multiverse under the Marvel brand. Similarly, as of 2008’s Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, the designation for the Marvel Cinematic Universe was Earth-19999. However, in the scene from Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, where Strange from this Universe is trapped in another timeline, one where the Illuminati (including Reed Richards from the Fantastic Four and Professor Charles Xavier from X-Men) is the premier team of the universe, rather than The Avengers, that universe’s (designated Earth 838) Christine Palmer tells Strange that he belongs from Earth-616.
As established, Earth-616 is the designation of the main Marvel timeline, the one that is the continuity for all events that occur in the mainline comics. However, given that Christine Palmer told Strange that he came from Earth-616, it broke the one rule that the universe had established.
Here is where Iman Vellani and Kevin Feige
On the red carpet for the premiere of Ms. Marvel, Deadline spoke to Iman Vellani, asking for her opinion on the Marvel Multiverse nomenclature. The actress said:
“I don’t think the MCU is 616, as much as Kevin Feige can make us think it’s 616. It is 1999999”
This is not the only time the actress has said this. She has vehemently defended the fact that the official destination of the MCU is not 616. This is corroborated by Miguel O’Hara, who refers to the Earth with ‘Doctor Strange and the little nerd’ as Earth-199999, cementing the designation as of 2008, when the MCU was kicking off with Iron Man.
However, this was not evidence enough for the head of Marvel Studios to admit his fault. The producer allegedly looked Villani dead in the eye and signed “616”. This is something that has stayed with the Marvel actress even today.
Also Read: All Differences Between Earth-616 Wanda and Earth-838 Wanda
