Doctor Strange 2 Confirms The MCU Occupies A Beloved Comics Universe
Warning: This article contains spoilers for "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness"
It's no surprise that we hopped around from universe to universe in "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness," thanks to the powers of America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez). After Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) wakes up from his dream, we're in the main MCU reality that we've spent most of our time in since 2008. When Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) attacks Kamar-Taj, America and Stephen escape through a star-shaped portal and start rolling through what seems like a dozen different universes before landing in a very colorful and thriving New York City. It's clear this is not the NYC we know in our universe, as it's absolutely flourishing with plant life and is a pastel paradise.
America and Stephen start walking through the streets to find this universe's Sanctum Sanctorum and are greeted by Baron Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor) upon their arrival. Mordo drugs the duo and has them locked in cells before Stephen is set to face judgment from the Illuminati. Here, our Stephen meets the Christine Palmer (Rachel McAdams) of this new universe. She reveals to the sorcerer that she has dedicated her life to studying the multiverse and tells Stephen something very important about his universe.
Most events of the MCU occur in Earth-616
Christine tells Stephen that they are currently on Earth-838 and that he hails from Earth-616. This is the first official confirmation we've had in the MCU that most of its events are taking place in the beloved comic book universe. Is this the first we're heard of Earth-616 in the MCU? No. Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) tells Peter Parker (Tom Holland) in "Spider-Man: Far From Home" that he is from Earth-833 and Peter is from Earth-616. However, and that's a big however, Mysterio turns out to be a good-for-nothing liar who completely made up the multiverse (not knowing it was actually real). Is this the biggest coincidence of all time? Yes. Could the writing here have been better? Bigger yes.
Now that we've gotten that out of the way, "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" is the first real declaration of the MCU's continuity occurring in Earth-616. In Marvel Comics, Earth-616 is the main continuity as well, so it seems we're aligning with the source material more than ever. Forget everything you ever knew about Earth-19999 (if you knew it to begin with) because the MCU no longer takes place there, either. In 2008, "Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z, Vol. 5." was published, which confirmed the original "Iron Man" film was in the Earth-199999 continuity — you can see that exact page here. Since then, it hasn't been mentioned, but "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" has retconned all this universe-labeling nonsense, and we are now confirmed in Earth-616.