Spider-Man: The Mysterio Marvel Plot Hole That Doctor Strange 2 Only Deepens
In "Spider-Man: Far From Home," directed by Jon Watts, one of the more fascinating comments comes from Jake Gyllenhaal's Mysterio, who shares that the main Marvel Cinematic Universe is called Earth-616 in the multiverse. He informs Spider-Man that he's traveled across different worlds, tracking an Elemental who has made his way to this reality from Earth-833.
While Mysterio ends up twisting the truth about where he came from, as he really was a disgruntled former employee of Tony Stark, the mention of Earth-616 creates an interesting plot hole when the moniker for the MCU's main Earth is brought up again in "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness." In the Sam Raimi-directed film, it's confirmed by the inhabitants of Earth-838 that the world Doctor Strange comes from is officially labeled as Earth-616. In the process, it creates confusion about the earlier reveal. Did Quentin Beck get lucky with calling the classification? Or does Mysterio know more than he's letting on?
How Doctor Strange 2 makes Mysterio's comments more interesting
In "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness," the designation of Earth-616 for the universe Stephen Strange comes from is confirmed. The second mention of the term contradicts the first. When Quintin Beck mentions it, it seems like an Easter egg to the comics. The main Marvel Universe is called Earth-616 in the pages of Marvel Comics. Mysterio calling the MCU's world by the number was a fun way to reference the source material. However, matters became more confusing when actual characters from outside the MCU's main Earth also referred to it as Earth-616 in "Doctor Strange 2."
In an interview with RollingStone.com, "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness," writer Michael Waldron mentioned the Earth-616 reference when asked about the mention in the film: "I guess it begs the question, What did Quentin know? He was a smart guy. Um, is it just a coincidence? That's ... I don't know. But what's your out?"
While Mysterio is a brilliant villain and tricked Spider-Man into believing he came from another reality, he ultimately made up his entire backstory. So, the mention of Earth-616 was either a coincidence or Beck knows more than he's letting on. The comment from Mysterio and how he came up with that specific number probably won't be further explored, as the character's death in "Spider-Man: Far From Home" likely put an end to his story.
The designation even confuses an MCU actor
Actress Iman Vellani, who plays Kamala Khan's Ms. Marvel in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, shared in a profile with Elite Daily that she doesn't believe the MCU is Earth-616. She said the MCU's designation is Earth-199999, leading her to hilariously mention to the top Marvel brass that he's wrong about calling the live-action world Earth-616.
"Every time I talk to Kevin, we have this argument where I say, 'The MCU is not 616,'" Vellani said. "He's like, 'It is because I said so.' I'm like, 'No, it's 199999.' He hates it. So, we keep having this argument, and then they put 616 in the movie. I'm like, 'Kevin, you know it's not 616.' He just sends me a sad face. I was like, 'Great.'"
"Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" supports Vellani's Earth-199999 theory. In that film, Spider-Man 2099 mentions the problems he's faced in the multiverse so far, referencing Tom Holland's Spider-Man and actions in "Spider-Man: No Way Home," where he caused chaos after getting Doctor Strange to cast a spell to make the world forget about him. Miguel O'Hara lamented, "Don't even get me started on Doctor Strange and the little nerd back on Earth-199999." The MCU has also been dubbed Earth-199999 in numerous guides and handbooks.
The actual designation remains one of Marvel's bigger plot holes. Mysterio's fun comic book reference turned into a major question after Earth-616 was mentioned again in "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness." It remains to be seen whether the MCU's Earth will get an official in-universe designation, but if it's called Earth-616 again, there's some serious explaining to do.