Marvel Comics Cosmology (World Hierarchy)

==Introduction==
The following is a page dedicated to outlining the cosmology of Marvel Comics, focused primarily on presenting each of its layers in an hierarchical fashion, as well as exploring other important details of the setting. For the purposes of these explanations, at least a cursory knowledge of Marvel is expected of the reader, and given information is not spread linearly across all sections, it is likewise recommended that this page be read multiple times.
==Time==
The basic multiverse works effectively as in the popular conception of the Many-Worlds Interpretation: There is an infinite amount of universes, each representing a possible outcome of any given event in the prime reality (Earth-616), with the model of this structure being thus a series of branches growing outwards from a central trunk. The rate of growth of these branches is infinite; with every quantum moment, infinite branches are born, and each moment of each of those branches gives birth to infinite others, ad-infinitum.
This infinite explosive growth is practically demonstrated in more recent storylines as well, where the multiverse's healing processes eventually returned it to infinityUltimates² #100, August 2017 even after it had been reduced to two realitiesSecret Wars #1, May 2015 (Earth-616 and Earth-1610) and then to a single realitySecret Wars #3, June 2015 (Battleworld)
MarvelTimelines.jpg|There are countless alternate futures, born every time a decision is made. For each decision there is a different future, ad-infinitumFantastic Four Vol. 1 #151, October 1974
MarvelTimelines3.jpg|The branching realities form an infinite continuum of alternate worldsWhat If? Vol. 1 #32, January 1982
MarvelTimelines5.jpg|Time is not a perfectly straight line, but a series of branches extending outwards from a central trunk. Each branch itself spawns an endless growth of new branches, with infinite variationThor Vol. 1 #440, December 1991
MarvelTimelines2.jpg|Every quantum moment spawns an infinity of alternate realities, each of which in turn repeats the same process, spawning additional infinities ad-infinitumWhat If? Vol. 2 #35, March 1992
MarvelTimelines8.jpg|There are infinite universes created by moment-to-moment decisionsIron Man Vol. 3 #59, September 2002
MarvelTimelines9.jpg|Universes proliferate in an infinite loop that grows geometricallyExiles Vol. 2 #6, September 2009
MarvelTimelines4.jpg|Viewed internally, there is no such thing as a single future. The future is a fractal fern, a monstrous quantum coral sprouting a billion tendrils with every option taken, every decision made, every millisecond passedX-Men: Legacy Vol. 2 #10, May 2013
MarvelTimelines7.jpg|There is an infinity of EarthsExiles Vol. 3 #1, April 2018
PrimeEarth1.jpg|Earth-616 is the prime reallty, the true dimension of which all the other timelines are simply echoesAvengers Vol. 1 #373, February 1994
PrimeEarth2.jpg|It is the center of all, the last of the old and first of the newUltimates² #9, July 2017
In this system, timelines constantly die and are replaced,Exiles Vol. 3 #2, April 2018 with these "broken" realities being sent to "Neverspace" when this occurs.Fantastic Four Vol. 6 #25, September 2021 It, in turn, is encompassed and surveyed by the confusingly named Timestream, which, contrary to what its name suggests, is actually a realm above time and reality entirely.
(Do note, however, that the very generic name of this realm means that it isn't always what is being referred to in all usages of the term "timestream" in Marvel)
MarvelTimestream2.jpg|The junction point of all time and dimensionDeathlok Vol. 2 #33, March 1994
MarvelTimestream.jpg|The Timestream is a realm beyond reality, which flows through, around and above all of time's many branching pathsAvengers: Forever #4, January 1999
Time, furthermore, is tenseless, which is to say:
TimeTense1.jpg|Time is not a straight line, but a rolling, infinite ocean, and viewed from this perspective, there is no privileged spot in the timeflow and past and future are simply arbitrary coordinatesAvengers: The Terminatrix Objective, July 1993
TimeTense2.jpg|Time has no chronological order, and any sense of past, present and future as separate things is something imposed upon it by the mindSilver Surfer Vol. 3 #138, April 1998
TimeTense9.jpg|Time is infinite. There are no true beginnings or endingsDoctor Strange and the Sorcerers Supreme #12, September 2017
TimeTense3.jpg|Time has no true "order," and implicitly there is thus no such thing as "Now" and "Then"Loki Vol. 3 #3, September 2019
TimeTense4.png|From outside of the timeline, everything is seen happening simultaneously. There is so such thing as something that "Happened" or "Will Happen," only things that are happening in different parts of timeTimeless Vol. 1 #1, December 2021
In particular, Silver Surfer peeling back the "quantum layers" to peer into the past points to the idea that, at the quantum scale, past, present and future converge and begin to exist as energetic patterns imprinted on an "implicate order" from which the perceivable world (The explicate order) unfolds. This applies not only to different points in time of a universe, but also to other universes themselves: At the quantum level, particles exist not in a single state, but in every possible state,Ant-Man and the Wasp #3, July 2018 experiencing all potential futures simultaneously and being connected with all other particles as part of the quantum foam that holds up realityAnt-Man and the Wasp #4, August 2018
That is to say, at the foundation of reality, there lies the space of all possible quantum states, with events and realities in the multiverse coming into existence by cohering out of that infinite possibility.Ultimates #5, March 2016 In many storylines, this is emphasized using the Schrodinger's Cat thought-experiment, analogizing how the unobserved cat in the box is allegedly "Simultaneously dead and alive" to how realities exist in potentia before being collapsed into existence.
MarvelSchrodingersCat.jpg|As long as the interior of the box remains unobserved, all possibilities exist within it. The cat is alive and dead at the same time
MarvelSchrodingersCat2.jpg|Potential realities exist as quantum possibilities before the wave function collapse brings them into actualityAmazing Spider-Man Vol. 2 #58, September 2003
MarvelSchrodingersCat3.jpg|Timelines emerge on the principle of Schrodinger's Paradox, and can be freely made, unmade, and fragmented infinitely through control over itThe Age of the Sentry #6, March 2009
MarvelSchrodingersCat4.jpg|The thought-experiment of the cat in the box involves only the simplest possible system, one of two statesIncredible Hercules #135, September 2009
==The Universe==
Zooming in, we come to examine the nature and scope of individual realities in the aforementioned multiverses. Something that must be laid down, first and foremost, is that numbered universes such as Earth-616 and its variations are in fact multiverses, each containing a variety of different realms. To establish the exact contents of each reality, it is necessary to go by parts:
===Higher Dimensions===
To firstly lay down the nature of higher dimensions:
MarvelHigherDimensions.jpg|While imprisoned inside a 4-dimensional construct, Thor notes that, as a resident of the material realm, he can only interact with a shadow of such a structureAstonishing Thor #3, March 2011
MarvelHigherDimensions2.jpg|Wayep, a God descending from the "multidimensional heavens," describes Spider-Man as being just "a painting on a cave" from his perspective, and states time cannot contain himAmazing Spider-Man Vol. 1 #557, May 2008
MarvelHigherDimensions3.jpg|Dimensions, in this case, explicitly being spatial ones, as Wayeb was being communed with through schematics stated to be consist of over 10 dimensions,Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 1 #556, April 2008 which are also described as "the key to multidimensional calculus"
MarvelHigherDimensions4.jpg|A higher-dimensional space is stated to be infinitely bigger and more dangerous than a lower-dimensional oneGhost Rider: Kushala #1, October 2021
MarvelHigherDimensions5.jpg|Dormammu, himself a higher-dimensional being,Doctor Strange – Sorcerer Supreme #22, August 1990 refers to space-time as "dirty" and "little" and states he is too big to be contained in the universeLast Annihilation: Wiccan & Hulkling, September 2021
An important topic to comment on when talking about higher dimensions in Marvel is Subspace, or Hyperspace, a separate continuum usually utilized for Faster-Than-Light travel,Silver Surfer Vol. 3 Annual, April 1989 but which is in truth the region existing between different realities,Fantastic Four Vol. 1 #289, January 1986 acting as a "non-realm" connecting the Earth's universe to a potentially infinite number of spacetime continuums.Fantastic Four Vol. 1 #231, March 1981 It is usually used to access the Negative Zone, an alternateFantastic Four Vol. 1 #290, February 1986 spacetimeSpider-Man/Deadpool #43, December 2018 existing as the antimatter mirror of the regular universe,Fantastic Four Vol. 3 #43, May 2001 and in fact the Negative Zone has been referred to as contained within HyperspaceFantastic Five Vol. 1 #3, December 1999 before, naturally implying the Earth's universe is, too.
With regards to its dimensionality:
SubspaceDimensions.jpg|Contains 4-dimensional regions
SubspaceDimensions2.jpg|Sue Storm's powers are described as emanations from a higher dimension, much like light and gravity are theorized to be emanations of a fifth dimension.Fantastic Four Vol. 1 #400, May 1995 All three are later confirmed to indeed come from HyperspaceFantastic Four Vol. 1 #408, January 1996
SubspaceDimensions3.jpg|After first experiencing the 4-dimensional level of Subspace, Reed Richards moves past it and finally arrives at a world of infinite dimensions, the Crossroads of InfinityFantastic Four Vol. 1 #51, March 1966
SubspaceDimensions4.jpg|Passing through that realm again, Reed once again notes it as indeed a junction of many dimensionalities, where an explorer can be 2-D one in moment, then 6-D the nextFantastic Four Unlimited #3, September 1993
So Subspace, as is, is a High 1-B domain. And it is through that realm that are taken the first glances at the actual scope of a reality:
SubspaceUniverse.jpg|Subspace is simply the interior of the universe. If the universe is a ball, then Subspace is the inside of that ball.Fantastic Four Vol. 1 #37, January 1965
SubspaceUniverse2.jpg|The "Tachyon Tunnel," another name for Hyperspace, is a higher dimension of a single cosmosQuasar #58, May 1994
This is supported by how the Negative Zone, which, as seen above, is contained within Subspace and separated from the positive matter universe by it, is twiceFantastic Four Vol. 2 #7, May 1997 describedAvengers Vol. 5 #21, October 2013 as being located inside the universe. Furthermore, the multiversal cosmology leaves no place for Subspace in it, as the different Earths of the multiverse are separated by an informational space known as the Superflow, which is later specifically described as the only possible path between different Earths.Avengers: Forever Vol. 2 #1, December 2021
Yet, Subspace and its associated regions remain an acknowledged part of the cosmologyFantastic Four: Full Circle, September 2022 even in modern times, so the schematic at play is clear here: A single timeline, an Earth, in fact contains multiple fully-fledged universes within itself. The region between the universes within a single Earth, then, is Subspace, while the region between different Earths altogether is the Superflow.
Moving on to broader statements regarding spatial dimensions in Marvel:
MarvelDimensions.jpg|Beyonder conjures up 6-dimensional constructs against HyperionHeroes Reborn Vol. 2 #2, May 2021
MarvelDimensions2.png|Wolverine's regeneration is analyzed in 7 spatial dimensionsWolverine Vol. 2 #100, April 1996
MarvelDimensions3.jpg|The death of a Watcher disrupts space-time on a 12-dimensional level
MarvelDimensions4.jpg|Mention of 12-dimensional cosmic superstrings2099: Manifest Destiny, March 1998
MarvelDimensions5.png|The Beyonder, in his original form, had an infinite number of dimensions, and so assuming 3-dimensional form was something unusual to himSecret Wars II #1, July 1985
MarvelDimensions6.jpg|The Ghostworks intended to exist in infinite-dimensional space after transcending Cyberspace and leaving their existences as digital lifeforms behindGhost Rider 2099 Vol. 1 #25, May 1996
MarvelDimensions7.jpg|A mention of a place called the Cascade, where infinite dimensions convergeChildren of the Voyager #3, November 1993
MarvelDimensions8.jpg|Later, it is mentioned once again as the "cascade of dimensions" above the universe, which one can ascend throughChildren of the Voyager #4, December 1993
MarvelDimensions9.jpg|After recovering his power and beginning to ascend through the Cascade, the Voyager passes through "ever-increasing spheres and sedimentary layers of heavens encrusting the tiny shell of this universe." These layers are then described as "oceans of higher dimensions," showing the infinite dimensions of the Cascade are indeed spatial ones.
The Beyonder's description as an infinite-dimensional being, in particular, lends to the matter of the dimensionality of Subspace. Kubik and Kosmos, Cosmic Cubes of an even more evolved nature than the Beyonder, are capable of being affected by Invisible Woman's powers,Fantastic Four Vol. 1 #351, April 1991 which, as mentioned prior, consists of manipulating vibrations emanating from Subspace. As such, it follows that the region beyond 3-dimensional space in which they navigate is Subspace, therefore meaning that it contains infinite-dimensional space for them to exist in.
Moreover, after the retcon to his original characterization, the Beyonder himself (And by extension his universe) was also shown as being a part of Earth-616 and its branches:
BeyonderTime.jpg|Beyonder has counterparts in other Earths, including one that never had premature contact with the world outside his personal reality, and as such never initiated the Secret WarsGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 #38, May 1993
BeyonderTime2.jpg|For all his power, Beyonder is still bound by time and history, and a temporal paradox resulting from his meddling in the timeline would threaten even himFantastic Four Vol. 1 #288, December 1985
BeyonderTime3.jpg|Stated once againFantastic Four Vol. 1 #319, October 1998
In short: Although the positive matter universe is Low 2-C, the full extent of Earth-616 encompasses High 1-B realms. It must, however, be noted that not all feats of universal destruction in Marvel scale this high, because as seen with the Negative Zone and the Earth's Dimension itself, the constituent realms of a single timeline are also often referred to as being universes on their own right. As such, whenever a character destroys, or threatens to destroy, a universe, whether the feat scales to Low 2-C or High 1-B depends on the context behind it.
===Science and Magic===
An important caveat to note down next is the division of reality into two spheres of existence: The Scientific Universe, whose nature is self-explanatory, and the Mystic Universe, which is a plane entirely governed by magic. The latter sphere is where exist the mystic realms which Doctor Strange mingles with, separate from the science-based domains.
This division does not extend solely to the Earth's Dimension, and instead spans all of Subspace as well, since Galactus, who routinely manipulates Hyperspace and uses it as a means of fast travel alongside his Heralds,Super-Villain Classics, May 1983 notes that he is incapable of breaching mystic barriers,Doctor Strange – Sorcerer Supreme #43, May 1992 as travel through nonphysical, mystical space is not his element.
MysticUniverse.jpg|Doctor Strange once thought that the mystic domain simply consisted of a few dispersed pocket dimensions, only to quickly find himself mistaken. It is, in fact, a universe on its own right, the dark reflection of the scientific cosmosDoctor Strange Vol. 5 #13, April 2019
Since the Mystic Universe is where the different magical realms exist, and yet still lies as a reflection of the Scientific Universe, it lends further credence to the aforementioned notion that the latter actually contains many different realms within itself, and not just the Earth's Dimension.
===The Abstracts===
These are, in short, the fundamental concepts defining a given reality and everything in it, which manifest themselves as anthropomorphic entities (Known as "Manifestation Bodies") in order to interact with lesser, corporeal beings. Collectively, they comprise a pantheon that reigns over all of Earth-616, and each variation of the prime timeline has its own instance of them, as they are forces necessary for the functioning of existence. Particularly notable among them is Eternity, who personifies Earth-616 itself alongside his "sister-self," Infinity, with whom he is one.Infinity War #6, September 1992 Each branch of the multiverse is personified by a different version of Eternity,Ultimates² #7, May 2017 which itself exists as a reflection of a higher, multiversal Eternity, who in turn personifies all of existence.
In the universal scale, Eternity and Infinity have opposite numbers: Death and Oblivion, respectively. While Eternity and Infinity represent "All that is" in a single reality, Death and Oblivion personifyAvengers: Celestial Quest #6, February 2002 all that is not,Quasar #21, February 1991 and together they are the four points of the "cosmological compass."Quasar #25, June 1991
AbstractBodies1.jpg|They are, as the name suggests, abstractions. Concepts manifesting themselves as entitiesFantastic Four Vol. 6 #3, November 2019
AbstractBodies.jpg|The Abstracts don't exist as real, substantial entities. What we see of them are representational forms that can be related toSecret Wars II #6, September 1985
AbstractBodies2.jpg|Abstracts manifest using constructs known as "Manifestation Bodies," which allow them to act in personal matters as anthropomorphic formsQuasar #37, August 1992
AbstractBodies10.jpg|These manifestations can be infinite in number
AbstractBodies3.jpg|Eternity has no physical attributes, and the anthropomorphic entity that interacts with lesser beings is a construct created by their limited perception and imagination. Thus, to fight it is to fight one's own thoughtsGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 #47, April 1994
AbstractBodies4.jpg|Eternity states that the Infinity Gauntlet can only interact with, and affect, a "visualization" of his totalityAdam Warlock and the Infinity Watch #1
AbstractBodies5.jpg|Eternity states that the entity lying before Doctor Strange is an infinitesimal part of himselfDoctor Strange – Sorcerer Supeme #54, April 1993
AbstractBodies6.jpg|Abstracts and their realms are avatars. They are symbolic structures created when the universe simplifies itself, giving itself meaning and structureGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 #11, March 2009
AbstractBodies7.jpg|Death has no name or form beyond those which we impose on itAnnihilation: The Nova Corps Files, October 2006
AbstractBodies8.jpg|Just as mortals struggle to understand the Abstracts, so, too, do the Abstracts wish to understand mortals, and take forms resembling them in an attempt to do soValkyrie: Jane Foster #6, December 2019
AbstractBodies9.jpg|The Realm of Death is not a real place. It's a symbolic space, giving itself shape using the thoughts of onlookers as a guideValkyrie: Jane Foster #7, January 2020
In general, they are stated to be entities from higher planes of existence:
AbstractPlane.jpg|Described as "life on the higher planes of existence"Quasar #19, January 1991
AbstractPlane2.jpg|Oblivion and Infinity's manifestations doing battle on "the highest plane of reality conceivable"
And Eternity, specifically, is the subject of many showings that further concretize the already-established fact that Earths in Marvel Comics are quite large. To name a few:
Eternity1.jpg|Eternity contains multiple universes in his hand
Eternity2.jpg|Eternity's realm is beyond time, space and "anything to hold on to," and operates on a "timeless time"What If? Vol. 1 #18, December 1979
Eternity3.jpeg|The aforementioned realm is described as a "timeless sub-cosmos" contained in himStrange Tales Vol. 1 #171, September 1973
Eternity10.jpg|Distance and time as we know them have no meaning in itStrange Tales Vol. 1 #138, August 1965
Eternity4.jpg|Eternity is the sum total of the Abstracts, and contains them all
Eternity5.jpeg|Eternity encompasses Subspace, and his "cusp" lies beyond the edge of itHeroes Reborn: The Return #3, October 1997
Eternity6.jpeg|Everything in the universe is a figment of Eternity's eternal imagination
Eternity7.jpg|Eternity's thoughts and dreams are everything else's realityDoctor Strange Vol. 2 #13, January 1976
Eternity8.jpg|Eternity encompasses both the scientific universe and the mystic universe, with the two being returned to the singularity at the origin of his being when destroyed by Galactus and then brought back into existence when the raw potential in it is unwound by Doctor StrangeDoctor Strange Vol. 5 #17, August 2019
Eternity9.jpg|Eternity contains "the furthest meta-realms"G.L.A #4, July 2005
Some of these show that, contrary to initial expectations, the Abstracts don't just permeate normal reality, but are altogether above it: Eternity is completely beyond Subspace, for example, and perceives it (Along with the rest of reality) as being a figment of his dreams and imagination. This superiority that they hold over the realms of spacetime was also demonstrated when a misuse of the Reality Gem created an "Unreality Rift" that threatened to unravel the nature of reality itselfWarlock Chronicles #1, May #1994 and disrupt a variety of its inner workings. Specifically, if it reached out to engulf the rest of the universe, it would:
RealityBedlam.jpg|Lead the very concept of "reality" to become a forgotten relic as everything devolves into utter chaos without perspective or groundingWarlock Chronicles #2, June #1994
RealityBedlam2.jpg|Erase the division between actuality (What Is) and potentiality (What Might Be), between life and death, between energy and matter, between spirit and flesh, and between directions such as up/down and right/left, turning the universe baseless and directionless
RealityBedlam3.jpg|Erase all individuality, turning the universe into undifferentiated chaos as all beings become all and all, in turn, becomes nothing
RealityBedlam4.jpg|Turn the universe into a realm of meaningless concepts
Yet, despite all this, Eternity and Infinity were completely unconcerned with the potential catastrophe,Warlock Chronicles #4, August 1993 not considering it worth their intervention in spite of the fact it would fundamentally disrupt all aspects of reality, including directions (Spatial dimensionality) and the division between reality and possibility. Thus demonstrating that, although they personify time and space, Eternity and Infinity actually exist independently of the spacetime of lower planes, and destroying or fundamentally altering it is of no concern to them.
Paired with the previous statements defining them as actually existing in a "timeless time" of their own, beyond space and time altogether, as well as their very nature as Abstracts, it also serves to demonstrate that Eternity and Infinity are not to be thought of as personifying physical spacetime consisting of spatial and temporal dimensions, but rather the concept of spacetime, which has no such dimensionality and is purely metaphysical, though it does provide the definition for its physical analogue across all dimensions.Quasar #19, December 1990
Their aforementioned scope, as well as that they are aspatial and atemporal with respect to physical existence, is further solidified by the fact of the Astral Plane being a substrate of Earth-616,Legion of X #3, July 2022 as the Astral Plane has statements such as:
AstralPlane.jpg|A different order of reality, beyond space and timeUncanny X-Men Vol. 1 #278, July 1991
AstralPlane2.jpg|A higher frequency of reality unbound by time, space or formDark Angel #12, July 1993
AstralPlane3.jpg|The Astral Plane has a "bedrock layer," and then seemingly infinite levels of reality extending upwards from itMarvel Team-Up Vol. 1 #77, October 1978
AstralPlane5.jpeg|Xavier having a mental battle with the Phoenix in all the infinite levels of realityUncanny X-Men Vol. 1 #136, May 1980
AstralPlane4.jpg|It contains multiverses in potentia, as well as whole timelines and futuresLegion of X #6, October 2022
Indeed, Doctor Strange also states that doing direct surgery on Eternity is to "operate on the astral plane"Strange Vol. 2 #4, February 2010 in the same way one would say they will "operate on a patient," and the realm itself is also described as "The edge of reality. The shores of oblivion. Between being and non-being."X-Factor Vol. 1 Annual #9, May 1994 Both of which indicate that the Astral Plane stands in the outermost layer of Earth-616, likely in what would be Eternity's "skin" or body, going by Doctor Strange's comment.
In virtue of all the above, Eternity and other Abstracts of a similar degree are Low 1-A in their anthropormophic manifestations, and their real selves, of which these manifestations are infinitesimal aspects, are in turn 1-A
And with regards to that topic, it bears mentioning that the Manifestation Bodies of the Abstracts do, in fact, truly encompass the universe, and this is not a characteristic relegated to their formless true selves. This being demonstrated by how the Infinity Gauntlet allows one to usurp Eternity and become the personification of reality,The Infinity Gauntlet #5, September 1991 despite a later story by the same author, as seen above, establishing that it can only affect his Manifestation Bodies, not the totality of himself. Aleta and Stakar were also able to outright leave the universe by passing through a wound in Eternity's substance,Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 #48, March 1994 despite the same storyline stating that this, too, was a M-Body.
==The Omniverse==
Zooming out, we then go beyond the multiverse of alternate realities, and into what lies beyond. Indeed, something that Marvel Comics has always made clear, and which still comes up every then and again, is that there is not just a single multiverse, but several. All of these alternate multiverses are part of a singular continuum known as the "omniverse."
MarvelOmniverse.jpg|Beyond the multiverse lies the omniverse, and just as the multiverse is a continuum of universes, the omniverse is a continuum of multiversesQuasar #31, February 1992
MarvelOmniverse2.jpg|There is more to reality than a single multiverseCable Vol. 1 #94, August 2001
MarvelOmniverse3.jpg|Asteroth planned to overtake "all universes, multiverses and megaverses"Stormbreaker: The Saga of Beta Ray Bill #4, April 2005
MarvelOmniverse6.jpg|The omniverse has not only an infinite number of universes, but also an infinite number of multiversesNew Exiles #1, January 2000
MarvelOmniverse5.jpg|The omniverse encompasses dimensions laid side-by-side, spanning the breadth of conceptual infinityNew Exiles #8, July 2008
MarvelOmniverse4.jpg|While scanning the multiverse for Hercules, Amadeus Cho found a nearly infinite number of previously unknown multiversesHeroic Age: Prince of Power #1, May 2010
The last scan, in particular, indicates that the number of alternate multiverses is quite vast. Notably, even with a machine capable of surveying the entire multiverse with a speed approaching that of his own mind, Amadeus Cho could only access a finite set of new multiverses, meaning thus that there are more universes in the omniverse than in the multiverse.
And they are, themselves, far from being all that the omniverse consists of. An idea that has been brought up several times throughout the years is that there are worlds within worlds, planes of existence infinitely extending both downwards and upwards, with Earth-616 and its branches being only a single layer in this hierarchy.
WorldsWithinWorlds15.png|There are worlds upon worlds, and worlds within worlds, without end. Each man's mind is a universeGiant-Size Man-Thing #4, February 1975
WorldsWithinWorlds.png|Entire sub-realities may exist within a person's psycheAvengers Vol. 1 #63, November 1977
WorldsWithinWorlds2.jpg|There are not only worlds within worlds, but worlds beside worlds, separated by the thinnest web of cosmic gossamerWhat If? Vol. 1 #1, February 1977
WorldsWithinWorlds3.jpg|Mjolnir is able to transport Thor to worlds within worldsThor Vol. 1 #292, February 1980
WorldsWithinWorlds4.jpg|Worlds within worlds within worlds without numberUltraForce/Avengers Prelude, July 1995
WorldsWithinWorlds5.jpg|There are invisible worlds within, beside and above the universeDoctor Strange – Sorcerer Supreme #88, April 1996
WorldsWithinWorlds6.jpg|There are as many universes as there are thoughts: An infinite number of holograms folded within each otherSilver Surfer Vol. 3 #140, April 1998
WorldsWithinWorlds7.jpg|All the universes are dreams folded inside dreams, each universe a thought contained within a larger thought, and itself containing many smaller thoughts within itself, ad-infinitumSilver Surfer Vol. 3 #141, May 1998
WorldsWithinWorlds8.jpg|Reality has more skins than a snake; each skin a new truth, each truth a new illusion, all of which is a part of God's grand magic trickMarvel Graphic Novel #23, September 1986
WorldsWithinWorlds9.jpg|Creation is "dream into dream," and those dreams are infiniteStrange Tales Vol. 4 #2, August 1998
WorldsWithinWorlds10.jpg|Reality is an endless ocean of dreams, unreal and unsubstantialPeter Parker: Spider-Man Annual 1999, June 1999
WorldsWithinWorlds11.jpg|The world exists beneath the ocean of dreams
WorldsWithinWorlds12.jpg|All the alternate Earths form a single structure. A double helix. The genetic code of reality. As Above, So BelowX-Man #68, August 2000
WorldsWithinWorlds13.jpg|A double helix, the shape of life. Dots of information comprising a code that none can decipher. And all of this may perhaps be part of a single unimaginable beingX-Man #69, September 2000
WorldsWithinWorlds14.jpg|Beyond the spiral of Earths, there is a spectrum beyond, above even the pinnacle of everything humans understand as reality, and unknown even to Nate Grey, who had been shown the entirety of the spiral beforehandX-Man #74, April 2001
At the highest level of reality, there is the Superflow, which has already been mentioned before as the space between universes. Here, existence breaks down and is reduced to concept and information. Actions are therefore metaphor in this realm, and its inhabitants are the living concepts which personify the fundamentals of the omniverse at large, as, just like Eternity, the other Abstracts, too, have their omniversal forms. For example, here reside Chaos and Order, the two concepts that allow all universes to emerge, by providing them with dynamism and form, respectively.
The nature of the Superflow also informs us that different Earths are not separated by spatiotemporal factors (e.g. Distance), but rather conceptually, or informationally, which is by extension to say that there is not an actual concrete medium that physically stands "between" realities. Given that each universe has been described as a simulation before, each with its own source code,All-New Guardians of the Galaxy #10, October 2017 it is likely that what keeps them separate are differences in those very source codes.
Superflow.jpg|The highest level of reality, where metaphor and reality meet, and concepts make war
Superflow2.jpg|The informational space between universes
Superflow3.jpg|The realm whence ideas comeNewuniversal #2, March 2007
Superflow4.jpg|The void between one Earth and anotherSquadron Supreme Vol. 4 #9, July 2016
Superflow5.jpg|The space between multiversesNew Avengers Vol. 3 #27, November 2014
Superflow6.jpg|Combat here is purely metaphor. A clash of ideas
Superflow7.jpg|Stated again
And all of this, of course, culminates in the Omniversal Eternity itself. Much like his universal counterpart, this Eternity is a conceptual being. More specifically, he is the concept of reality and existence, and if something can exist in any form, then it is a part of him. Therefore, the same thing that was said of the Universal Eternity also applies here: Though he is often described as personifying spacetime, this doesn't refer to physical spacetime, but the concept of spacetime itself, on an even higher order than what the Universal Eternity embodies.
OmniversalEternity.jpg|The omniverse is said to manifest as an anthropomorphic being known as Eternity
OmniversalEternity2.jpg|The personification of every universe, only truly visible from outside them allUltimates #6, April 2016
OmniversalEternity3.jpg|The personification of All That IsUltimates² #1, November 2016
OmniversalEternity4.jpg|The personification of all that exists is the true Eternity, of which every universe's Eternity is but one small facetUltimates² #2, December 2016
OmniversalEternity5.jpg|Existence is a fractal. "As Above, So Below." Therefore, just as a single DNA strand of a person contains a map of the whole person, so too do individual universes reflect a larger whole
OmniversalEternity6.jpg|Even Eternity, the universe itself, is but a single cell of a higher, multiversal eternityDefenders Vol. 6 #5, January 2022
OmniversalEternity7.jpg|Eternity encompasses all there is, and to step outside him is to transcend all levels of reality and dreamDefenders Vol. 3 #3, September 2005
OmniversalEternity11.jpg|Worlds within worlds. Dimensions collapsing in on themselves. Universes being reborn and then falling into ruin. All of this makes up only the smallest fraction of Eternity
OmniversalEternity12.jpg|The denizens of the multiverse are simply flickering thoughts in Eternity's measureless consciousnessDefenders Vol. 3 #2, August 2005
OmniversalEternity8.jpg|Eternity is the concept of reality itselfUltimates By Al Ewing: The Complete Collection, July 2021
OmniversalEternity9.jpg|If Eternity dies, the concept of the multiverse itself is done forUltimates² #6, April 2017
OmniversalEternity10.jpg|Foreverbush Man, the Warpworld version of Eternity, explains his nature: If something can exist, it is a part of himInfinity Wars: Infinity Warps #2, December 2018
At the very edge of Eternity, and by extension the outermost layer of existence itself, there is the Neutral Zone. This is a space further beyond the Superflow connecting the universes,Ultimates #3, January 2016 and beyond this point, there is only "the absolute Outside."
NeutralZone.jpg|At the edge of known science, there is the Neutral Zone. Blue Marvel was initially convinced that it was simply an alternate dimension, but eventually discovered that the regions he interacted with were in fact part of a larger "exo-space," a buffer of sorts connecting reality to what lies outsideCaptain America and the Mighty Avengers #5, February 2015
NeutralZone2.jpg|It stands in the "outer omniverse," at the edge of the OutsideUltimates #1, November 2015
NeutralZone3.jpg|It is the furthest edge of things. The white space bordering all
NeutralZone4.jpg|Conner Sims falls past the Superflow and then into the Neutral Zone before delving into the OutsideUltimates #12, October 2016
NeutralZone5.jpg|The Neutral Zone exists at the very edge of reality, leading to what lies beyond
This particular realm is a curious one, because it, at different times, is referred to as being both a part of reality and as being above it. Namely, it is above the Superflow, which is described as reality's highest level, and at one point is described as belonging to the outside of the omniverse.Captain America and the Mighty Avengers #7, April 2015 Later, it is referred to by Eternity himself as a "liminal space,"Defenders: Beyond #1, July 2022 acting as a door to what lies above and outside his being. For analogy's sake, this realm would be like the outer walls of a house: A part of the house, still, but one that directly touches its outside and thus can't be fully described as either inside or outside.
Furthermore, its description as an alien realm where "eldritch forms and predatory concepts" make their home brings to mind Doctor Strange's prior statements that there are imperceptible states beyond the concepts of life and death, light and dark, chaos and order,New Avengers Vol. 3 #13, January 2014 only accessed by denying that these forces truly define the edges of everything that exists, and thereby forever abandoning the old way of seeing existence. At that point, there are "goods greater than good, darks darker than dark."
The Neutral Zone's relationship with the Superflow is also one that, interestingly enough, ties into some commentary made by Ultimates' writer, Al Ewing, in an interview conducted with him:
https://www.comicosity.com/interview-around-the-marvel-universe-with-al-ewing/
The bolded parts, for the matter, being a reference to the holographic principle. Given the heavy emphasis that Ultimates places on the importance of information to reality as a whole, it would seem that they are indeed describing the higher workings of the omniverse: The Superflow, the space of all information, engraved onto the outer walls of spacetime itself, the Neutral Zone. And all of reality is in turn a hologram projected downwards from it.
===Chronology of the Cosmos===
The concept of the universe going through a cycle of death and renewal is not exactly something new in Marvel. Since the 70's, for example, Galactus was already attested as being a survivor from a prior reality, though one whose nature remained ill-defined for several decades. Eventually, with the release of Ultimates², we received clarification on the matter: The whole omniverse does, in fact, go through a cycle, continuously dying and being reborn as a new iteration of itself, which accordingly has a new multiversal personification. Marvel, until the 2015 Secret Wars, took place in the Seventh Omniverse, and following the company-wide reboot, it now takes place in the Eighth.
An important thing to note, as a preamble to the explanations below, is that the death of the cosmos is also the total cessation of all spacetime, physical and otherwise. After the reboot of the Seventh Cosmos, for instance, Loki noted that there was no longer any "time" to travel through,Loki: Agent of Asgard #17, August 2015 and the Eventuality also refers to the void between the Sixth and Seventh Cosmoses, where Knull fought the Celestials, as a "Time before time. A space before space."Venom Vol. 5 #18, April 2023 Both statements indicate that omniverses are spaced apart by a timeless and spaceless epoch, which is reiterated often, as previous cosmoses are referred to as "the time before time"Defenders Vol. 6 #2, September 2021 and future cosmoses as "the time beyond time"
Now, with this cycle, comes evolution, as the cosmos becomes more complex and well-defined with each successive rebirth. In the beginning, then, there was only the First Firmament, the earliest cosmos there ever was, which existed as a perfect, unchanging ocean of infinite nothingness. And interestingly enough, unlike its successors, the First Cosmos was not a multiverse, but a single universe.
FirstFirmament.jpg|Aeons ago, there was only the First Cosmos, a single unbroken unit without other realitiesUltimates² #5, March 2017
FirstFirmament2.jpg|It was the dark sea of infinite nothingness that came before all existence, now held back by the God QuarryAvengers Assemble: Alpha, November 2023
FirstFirmament3.jpg|An ocean of pure entropyAvengers Assemble: Omega, April 2023
Eventually, the First Firmament created the first lifeforms, the Celestials, in order to appease his loneliness. War broke out among the Celestials, and the rebel faction then detonated unimaginable weapons that ultimately shattered fhe First Firmament into pieces. The majority of its remnants clumped together to become the soil and bedrockAvengers: Forever Vol 2 #12, December 2022 from which all the subsequent iterations of the omniverse grew, while the other part coalesced to originate the Second Cosmos, the first multiverse.
The Second Cosmos was a multiverse of pure possibility, where each "What If?" could become its own "What Is." However, this limitlessness also gave way to instability, and so it was a soup of formless chaos without any order or structure, where the only constant was the new. Seeing this, the Celestials created a servant race: The Beyonders, creatures without limits, far more powerful than even their creators, and who were as such well-suited to the task of maintaining the Second Cosmos' infinity. 
SecondCosmos.jpg|Its pure substance broken apart, the First Firmament gave way to the first multiverse, the Second Cosmos
SecondCosmos2.jpg|It was a soup of formless chaos. A multiverse of unchecked, infinite possibility.
Even with the Beyonders' maintainance, however, the Second Cosmos was ultimately short-lived. The fate of its remnants is to be explored elsewhere, but the death of the Second Cosmos resulted in yet another transition: The birth of the Third Cosmos.
Unlike its predecessor, the Third Cosmos was not pure chaos, but nevertheless an extremely basic and simplified reality. Space and time were still nascent concepts within it, and though it had learned the lessons of Being and Non-Being, it hadn't yet adopted either as the concept it would abide by, and therefore the defining event within it was a primordial conflict between two entities known as Lifebringer One and Anti-All, respectively the personifications of the urge to exist and the primal absence Needless to say, Lifebringer One won, and the cosmos thus chose to exist, rather than to not exist.
ThirdCosmos.jpg|With the death of the Second Cosmos, came the the Third, one that had learned the lessons of being and non-being
ThirdCosmos2.jpg|The conflict defining this cosmos is not Good vs Evil, but "Is" vs "Is Not"
ThirdCosmos3.jpg|Carlos Zota experienced his whole life simultaneously in a few moments here
Eventually, the Third Cosmos, too, experienced all-death, and in its place arose the Fourth Cosmos. This one is still an abstract, primal reality, like its predecessors were, and its defining feature is that it is inhabited by living ideas who serve as the archetypes for all the beings in the future multiverses. Indeed, the world itself is made of primordial patterns here, the patterns on which the Marvel Universe runs, and so the actions of its denizens are cyclical
Furthermore, as Carlos Zota states, these archetypes are "preliminaries" who only barely exist, and thus this cosmos can be said to be the first one to which the concept of "existence" actually came to apply. This is supported by how Thanos states that, if Eternity were to be consumed by the First Firmament, the concept of existence as a whole would disappear, indicating that the First Cosmos doesn't qualify as "existence" to begin with. And this is only logical, since, after all, "being" and "non-being" were only conceived in the Third Cosmos, and even then neither had become the dominant paradigm of the omniverse yet.
FourthCosmos.jpg|Beings in the Fourth Cosmos are primal avatars. They are still ideas in the cosmic mind
FourthCosmos2.jpg|A reality made of patterns, inhabited by archetypical beings
FourthCosmos3.jpg|Time both does, and does not, pass in this reality, and events occur at once suddenly and eventually
FourthCosmos4.jpg|A cosmos of abstractions and concepts
The following multiverses, the Fifth and the Sixth, are not so noteworthy with regards to demonstrating the nature of the multiverse's evolution. Writ large, they are realities of pure magicDefenders Vol. 6 #3, October 2022 and pure scienceDefenders Vol. 6 #2, September 2022 respectively. And the Seventh Cosmos, then, is the more rounded-out reality which Marvel took place in until the reboot in 2015 Secret Wars.
==The Outside==
And finally we arrive at what lies above and beyond the omniverse, outside of Eternity's being, as well as of his influence. In short: This sphere is the complete emptiness outside of existence itself. It is the complete absence of time, space or being, and lacks any concepts as they are understood in the omniverse.
Outside.jpg|The Outside is far beyond Eternity's reach
Outside2.jpg|Outside all universes, beyond the very meaning of the little concepts of "time" and "space"Dark Guard #1, October 1993
Outside3.jpg|A pure absence beyond life and death
Outside4.jpg|A no-space where terms such as "here" or "there" have no meaning
Outside5.jpg|A void so deep that not even the concept of existence is present within itUltimates #11, September 2016
Outside6.jpg|Outside of everything, at the edge of the mystery. Here, there is no time, space or self. Everything that you are is not.Avengers Vol. 1 #679, February 2018
Outside7.jpg|The Beyonders are creatures from outside of everything imaginable, inhabiting the wild spaces beyond realityCaptain America and the Mighty Avengers #6, March 2015
The first six scans above refer to the realm known as the "Far Shore," the place where the incarnations of the omniverse that came prior to Eternity came to reside after their deaths. Beyond the Far Shore, however, is something else, the place "where everything begins." This, we callAvengers Vol. 1 #690, April 2018 the Mystery,Valkyrie: Jane Foster #3, September 2019 the higher planes where creation itself is done. As Al Ewing puts it:
https://www.comicsxf.com/2021/10/14/cosmic-is-a-state-of-being-an-interview-with-al-ewing/
While the notion was already alluded to in his prior work, come the Defenders: Beyond mini-series, and Al Ewing started to definitively map out the plurality of realms that lie above existence. Specifically, he drew from the Kabbalah, a system of Jewish Mysticism which posits a single, all-encompassing, unknowable Godhead existing before the beginning of everything, which brings creation into existence out of itself, by means of a series of stages (Emanations, 10 in all) in which its divinity becomes increasingly concretized until it is finally made manifest as our world. These emanations are collectively known as "Sefirot," and together they are part of a structure called the Tree of Life.
The Tree of Life is divided into three pillars: . Al Ewing's categorization of Marvel Comics' higher planes largely revolved around the central column, and his mapping goes as follows:
1. Kether, the Crown. Linked to the House of Ideas
2. Da'at, the Abyss. Linked to the Land-of-Couldn't-Be-Shouldn't-Be
3. Tiferet, the Glory. Linked to the White-Hot Room
4. Yesod, the Foundation. Linked to the Beyond
And these continue into a fifth and final one, different in nature from the others, and below the Mystery proper:
5. Malkuth, the Kingdom. Linked to the Neutral Zone
As mentioned before, these five spheres form a "'creation zone," being stages where creation is still underway, and has not been brought into manifestation as of yet. As one climbs upwards into them, they attain increasingly more basic, archetypal and rarified states, prior to existence as a whole. In his final notes at the end of Defenders: Beyond, Al Ewing describes the Mystery as the Marvel Heaven, and in the synopsis for Valkyrie: Jane Foster #3, it is described as the multiversal afterlife, both of which being statements that should make its overall function clear enough on a surface level. 
However, to understand the relationship which they hold with the omniverse, it is necessary to establish a few things regarding the nature of Marvel Comics' setting, first.
MarvelNarrative.jpg|Reality, at the most basic level, is narrative
MarvelNarrative2.jpg|Everything is made of narrativeMarvel Comics #1001, October 2019
MarvelNarrative3.jpg|Story and narrative are shadow-play, cast on a cave wall. And then there is, of course, what casts the shadowImmortal Thor #1, August 2023
In short, all of existence is made of story and narrative.
This is part of a long trend of the Marvel Universe being described as a construct of some kind. Dimitrios once theorized,Avengers A.I. Vol. 1 #11, April 2014 correctly,Avengers A.I. Vol. 1 12, April 2014 that all the universes are simply part of a computer simulation, with their denizens being thus effectively artificial intelligence created by a "programmer," God. J.M DeMatteis, of course, wrote that creation is the dream or the magic trick of a Creator (An idea that carried over even to modern timesDefenders Vol. 6 #4, December 2022), and then the One Above AllFantastic Four Vol. 1 #511, March 2004 has been recurrently depicted as the author of the comic.Secret Agent Deadpool #6, December 2018
And, more recently, in Immortal Thor, the nature of reality as a construct of narrative was, as seen above, likened to Plato's Allegory of the Cave: Story is nothing but a play of shadows, cast on a cave wall, and there are in turn entities from beyond this illusion, who live in the true world beyond the dream that we take for reality.
The realms of the Mystery, then, are metanarrative planes residing outside the constraints of the story, above Marvel Comics as a whole. This is exemplified by the Beyonders themselves, who are not only stated to live "removed from the continuity,"Defenders: Beyond #2, August 2022 but also to see story and narrative as finite, limiting things, which their "infinite" selves are far too large for.
BeyondersTrapped.jpg|Loki uses their power as God of Stories to cage a Beyonder in a narrative arc, represented as the Beyonder in question being pressed between panels
BeyondersTrapped2.jpg|Taaia states that, to "non-finite" beings such as the Beyonders, narrative constitutes a boundary
BeyondersTrapped3.jpg|When infinity is forced into a finite measure, it lashes out
And this is also, of course, represented by the One Above All themself. For instance, in the final issue of Defenders: Beyond, they, in a faked bout of anger, sic a horde of monsters at the Defenders, and these monsters are identified as being "creatures of pre-creation."
An observant reader, however, might notice that the creatures in question are all characters from Tales to Astonish, the anthology of horror stories that Marvel started publishing before the release of Fantastic Four #1 in 1961, which is universally considered the very start of the Marvel Universe. This shows that, as the authors of the comic, the One Above All views creation from a metafictional viewpoint, and as such, to them, the beginning of everything is not any in-universe event, but just the moment Jack Kirby and Stan Lee created the Fantastic Four in the 60's.
In light of that, the upper Sefirot may be seen as the stages of creation where the story itself is still being written and hammered out, which, drawing from the viewpoint of Creation-as-Dream, would be the active inner workings of the dreamer's mind. Meanwhile, the omniverse, the lowest plane of all, is the projection into time and space,Ghost Rider: Kushala #6, November 2021 where reality is created. However, Malkuth in particular is interesting, because as mentioned prior, it is a "liminal space" that stands between reality and the Outside, and as such it is portrayed as, to a degree, sharing of the same metafictional viewpoint that the planes of the Mystery have.
EternityStory.jpg|Eulogy, a part of the cosmic pantheon Eternity belongs to, explains he and his cohorts administer what happens "beyond the borders" of the comic panelsCaptain Marvel Vol. 5 #25
EternityStory2.jpg|They control the script of the comic itself
EternityStory3.jpg|Then and Now, the children of Eternity, residing in a "glimpse" of the House of IdeasDefenders: Beyond #5, November 2022 from which they manage the stories of all characters
EternityStory4.jpg|They often strike deals with heroes, who go through trials to receive more stories from them. More "nows" and more "thens"
EternityStory5.jpg|Now implies they administer "Storytime," which is narrative-based and does not function like regular time
EternityStory6.jpg|The sentience of the Fourth Cosmos is shown seeing existence as comic strips
This, to an extent, is also shown in the finale of Ultimates², where, out of all the multiversal personifications, the Fifth Cosmos in particular receives a fairly curious epithet: Weaver of the illusions of change.
"Illusion of change" is a fairly cryptic term at a glance, but one that isn't found only in this scene, as right afterwards, Galactus describes the cosmos as being "the dance between change and illusion." To make things clear right off the bat: This is a reference to a quote by Stan Lee explaining the nature of Marvel Comics' continuity, more specifically the status quo, which, despite seeming to change on occasion, always remains fundamentally the same. That the Fifth Cosmos is identified as being the "weaver" of this state of affairs says quite a bit, given other bits of information we receive.
As we've seen before: With the passage of the omniversal cycle, the omniverse evolves, becomes more well-defined, more rounded-out. The first cosmoses in the sequence, then, were very primal realities with hardly any of the components of existence seen in the recent ones. The Second Cosmos was pure chaos, and the Third Cosmos was then one in which the first sparks of narrative could arise. Indeed, Doctor Strange says that even narrative is only "a twinkle in the eye of a future narrator" there. The Fourth Cosmos, in turn, was the home realm of the primal patterns and story-archetypes defining all the characters and events in the realities to come
Following this, the Fifth Cosmos was then the first reality that was not of an archetypical nature. Actual narrative began to exist there, as opposed to just the early drafts for a narrative. It's fairly appropriate, then, that the Fifth Cosmos was also the creator of magic, because magic is itselfLoki: Agent of Asgard #1, February 2014 storyLoki: Agent of Asgard #6, September 2014 and narrative as well
Now that we have some context that frames the basic nature of these realms, we then go on to tackle them directly:
==="Beyond!!"===
This is the realm of the Beyonders. The pure white blankness from which they monitor and maintain the omniverse as a whole. As said prior, this plane is above even the Far Shore (And by extension the Neutral Zone), something which is demonstrated when the Defenders exit Eternity and then enter a timeless, spaceless void outside reality, which they travel through before the nothingness itself "flips on an invisible axis" and they cross a threshold, finally arriving in the Beyond.
Yesod.jpg|The Beyond is an "incompehensibly featureless" level that dwarfs Eternity, and even beings that transcend to it on a temporary basis see him as shrinking into insignificance. This being in the same story where Eternity was portrayed as encompassing the Living Tribunal and all multiversesFantastic Four Annual #23, May 1990
Yesod2.jpg|It is the engine room of creation, and the Beyonders are, thus, the engineers of the multiverse
Yesod3.jpg|The Beyonders control everything from outside of everything, operating the Concordance Engine through which the cosmos is maintainedVenom Vol. 5 #18, April 2023
The function of this plane in the framework of the Mystery is best ascertained by looking at the most notable thing located in it: The Concordance Engine. As said above, it is the machine through which the Beyonders control reality in the worlds below, making use of the "clean, precise energies of concordance" to do maintainance on all of Eternity.
It exists not only in the Beyond, though. In every reality, the Beyonders have implanted several Concordance Engines, each described as being the heart and soul of the universe, as well as "Time, space, universes. The shape of all things. The shape of God."Defenders Vol. 4 #2, January 2012 And if even a single Engine is destroyed, its host universe collapses.Defenders Vol. 4 #3, February 2012 As mentioned before: As Above, So Below.Immortal Hulk #3, September 2018 The universe has the same image as the omniverse, and therefore, as the lesser Concordance Engines are to individual realities, the primary Engine is to all of Eternity.
This is further emphasized by Defenders: Beyond's description of the realm as being "the engine room of creation," and of the Beyonders as being the engineers of reality itself. An engineer, of course, is by definition someone who designs and builds machines and public works. Therefore, given the previously established facts about the planes of the Mystery, as well as the information gathered above, it would seem that the Concordance Engine is in fact the map and blueprint of the omniverse. The "skeleton" of reality, as it were, without which it cannot exist.
And with this in mind, it is pertinent to look into the source material which Al Ewing drew these connections from: The Kabbalah. As said above, in the recent mapping of Marvel's meta-cosmology, the Beyond was equated to the sphere of Yesod, and its role as "the engine room of creation" was itself taken straight from that as well. The very name of the sphere, of course, also bears relevance, as "Yesod" is the Hebrew word for "Foundation," which is to say that it is the basis over which God built world. More specifically:
https://hermetic.com/caduceus/qabalah/042_kab
in Marvel's Cosmology, specifically, Yesod holds the further distinction of having in fact originated from Malkuth. Indeed, the plane is in actuality the remnants of the second iteration of the omniverse, which, upon its death, transcended into a new state, as part not of existence but of the Outside, forming a realm around and above the cosmos.
And that is not, of course, to say that there ever was time where the omniverse stood without its foundation, because as we are told: Time holds no meaning above reality,X-Men: Before the Fall – Sons of X, May 2023 and as such the events that occur in those levels do so in a fashion that is, from the perspective of reality, eternal. Conner Sims points this out by noting that, when Eternity was captured by the First Firmament, the cage placed around him always existed from the viewpoint of the flow of time, even if, from the outside, one could trace out a linear sequence in which there was a point when Eternity was not shackled. And so this is to say: When the Second Cosmos became transmuted into Yesod, Yesod thus always was, as far as the lower planes are concerned.
The inherent atemporality of the Outside may seem hard to reconcile with how Doctor Doom states that the Beyonders are in fact linear beings,New Avengers Vol. 3 #33, April 2015 seemingly incapable of defending themselves from, or perceiving, acts of time travel. However, it should be noted that the very same storyline acknowledges that the "time travel" in question was of an unusual nature that initially confused even Doom.
Furthermore, Molecule Man explicitly states that neither he nor Doom could base their operations in the multiverse, but instead in the Library of Worlds, a space located in a version of the same realm which the Beyonders themselves inhabit, where he would be truly invisible to them. And this Library, for its part, is stated to lie in a different axis from all the worlds of the multiverse,New Avengers Vol. 3 #15, March 2014 and thus the same would hold for the Beyond itself.
This "axis," as it were, itself seems to not be anything temporal, or even narrative-based, but instead the structure of the Concordance Engine itself: In the second issue of Defenders: Beyond, events in Yesod are not framed by regular comicbook panels, but by the tubes of the Engine, and regular panels become consistently used after Loki entraps the Beyonders in a narrative arc. As such, the operations of the Beyonders are to be seen as flowing not through any kind of temporal direction, but through a personal isolated sequence instead.
===White-Hot Room of Secret Fire (And the Darkness Outside)===
The White-Hot Room is the realm of the Phoenix Force. To be exact: Throughout its appearances, it's been variously referred to as the heart100th Anniversary Special – X-Men, July 2014 of the Phoenix,Mighty Thor Vol. 3 #19, May 2019 its mindscapeJean Grey #11, January 2018 and its insides.Avengers Vol. 8 #41, January 2021 More recently, it has been referred to as being not the Phoenix, but "the room where the Phoenix is made," but do keep it in mind that, in-context, "Phoenix" was used as a term for the people serving as the host bodies for the overarching force (Seen by the firebird's statement directly contrasting Taaia's declaration of "I AM PHOENIX!"), which was in turn identified with the White-Hot Room itself.
Tiphareth.jpg|Beyond the Far Shore, into the Mystery
Tiphareth2.jpg|The place where lie the innermost fires of creation. The elemental cosmic heartS.W.O.R.D. Vol. 2 #1, December 2020
Tiphareth3.jpg|The center of the cosmos and the outside of the cosmos have always been the same place: The Above-Place. The White-Hot Room. The MysteryS.W.O.R.D. Vol. 2 #7, July 2021
Tiphareth4.jpg|It is part of the higher realms from which the Beyonders draw power for the Concordance Engine
Tiphareth5.jpg|It is a "higher dimension" than the Beyond
Tiphareth6.jpg|It resides "beyond the Beyond"
Tiphareth7.jpg|The White-Hot Room is an archetypal landscape lying in even higher space than the BeyondDefenders: Beyond #3, September 2022
Tiphareth8.jpg|A fully-grown Beyonder admits that, in the White-Hot Room, he stands no chance against even a host of the Phoenix Force
The characterization of the White-Hot Room as being the core, or the center, or the heart, of creation, is not something isolated, and is a trait that has recurrently been ascribed to it since its early appearances in the comics.Uncanny X-Men Vol. 1 #462, September 2005 And more recently, it's been described as the "white-hot heart" that turns the cosmos, its power being the "fire of becoming," which is to say that it's the root of all change, progression and dynamism in the lower planes, as the Phoenix is the highest personification of life, chaotic and full of activity as it isClassic X-Men #43, January 1990
Being the source of the basic principle that "the old dies, and the new is born," the White-Hot Room is also the source of the omniversal cycle, with the death and rebirth of the cosmos revolving around it: It is the primordial singularity that stands both at the beginning and the end of creation, being both the emanator of all reality and the point to which it returns. In virtue of that, it is thus obviously associated with the phenomenon of the Big Bang. This in-and-of-itself ties into its equation with the Sefirah of Tiphareth, which in the Kabbalah is deemed identical to God's first declaration: "Tiferet Let there be light."
AlphaAndOmega.jpg|Through the Phoenix the circle of creation remains unbroken. From her comes the end that is itself a new beginningClassic X-Men #24, August 1988
AlphaAndOmega2.jpg|The White-Hot Room is both the Alpha and the Omega. The beginning and end of all
AlphaAndOmega3.jpg|The Big Bang that created the current multiverse and the Phoenix Force are one and the sameFantastic Four Vol. 1 #522, March 2005
OmniversalEternity11.jpg|The core of the cosmos is an oceanic void of nothingness where all matter, all energy, sleeps in an unmanifest state, and it is by detonating this cosmic heart that Dormammu is able to remake all of Eternity in his image
As Dormammu tells us, the White-Hot Room precedes the birth of form, and this, along with the fact that it's the wellspring of the energies powering the Concordance Engine, informs us about its relationship with the Beyond: As we pass out of Yesod and into Tiphareth, we go beyond the mold of the cosmos and into its forge. While the Beyond is the map and blueprint of reality, where all its details are sketched out and ready to be projected downwards, the White-Hot Room is the pool of raw material it's made from, being an ocean of disorganized substance where everything in existence lies unformed.
That this is the case is also alluded to in other appearances of the realm, such as when The Six go past the Far Shore and into the White-Hot Room, and the narration states "The power touches the eye. And the eye gazes into all. All." And it's also been described as "All times, and no time,"Breaking Into Comics The Marvel Way! #1, May 2010 both of which indicate that all of creation rests within it, in the same way a pool of molten iron contains in itself all the potential forms that could be cast out of it.
Further than that, Defenders: Beyond also gave us a good deal of additional insight into the Phoenix's nature. Namely:
TigerForce.jpg|Beyond the Phoenix Force, there is only darkness without end
TigerForce2.jpg|There is a balancing force to the Phoenix, a player on the other side
TigerForce3.jpg|The Phoenix is fire, but in the dark, outside the fire and beyond the First Flame's reach, there is what the fire was lit to keep away: A tiger
So the Phoenix Force has an opposing power: The Tiger God, humanity's first fear, which Tigra states is something the Phoenix Force itself was created to keep away. The symbolism which the story presents to us, then, is that the Phoenix and the White-Hot Room are a small campfire, lit inside a cave, a place of warmth and safety. Outside the cave, then, there is infinite darkness, where the Tiger God lives.
In Avengers: No Road Home, this is alluded to when Nyx recounts her story with the Olympians.
NyxNight.jpg|First, there was only darkness. A silent dream of pure emptiness and stillness. And then came the Light, harsh and unyieldingAvengers: No Road Home #4, March 2019
NyxNight2.jpg|From the Light came Zeus and the Olympians, and from the darkness they carved out all of existence
NyxNight3.jpg|Lines were drawn. Good and evil defined. Dark and night were banished to the outer side, with all the unknowns that humanity feared, and through their stories, mortals were able to tame their mysteries
As seen in the third panel, the Tiger God is included among the "unknowns" that humanity feared, and which they were able to keep away through the power of their stories and myth-narratives. The Phoenix is present in that scene, too: It is the campfire, the fire around which stories are told.
As such, it can be said that the Phoenix is itself the very creative power through which stories are spun into existence, and the symbolism of the White-Hot Room as a fire lit inside a cave ties into the Platonic themes that Al Ewing has begun to explore in Immortal Thor: All story is shadow-play, cast on a cave wall. And if that is so, what casts the shadow?
What could block the light?
===The Land of Couldn't-Be-Shouldn't-Be===
This realm, also referred to as "The Abyss," is one that is relatively scarce in information compared to the others, most likely owing to its relatively few appearances compared to them. In the Tree of Life, it is positioned as Da'at, which is in a curious state among the Sefirot, namely because it is not fully considered as being a Sefirah at all, but rather a sphere where all of the Sefirot stand united as one.
Yet, it nevertheless ranks above Tiphareth, and constitutes a region known as "the Abyss," a term that has its origins in the more Hermetic variations of the Kabbalah, in which it is characterized as a separation, a gulf, between the seven lower Sefirot and the three highest ones, which are then direct expressions of God's divinity. 
Da'at.jpg|It is nowhere. A plane of non-existenceSilver Surfer Vol. 7 #13, July 2015
Da'at2.jpg|The realm, by its nature of unbeing, is all that's left following the death of the cosmos
Da'at3.jpg|The White-Hot Room is where existence meets "the real deal," and to go past it is to risk the Abyss
Da'at4.jpg|By falling out of the White-Hot Room, the Defenders plunge into the deeper darkness of the Abyss, pushed by a gravity that even the Beyonder can't cancel out
Da'at5.jpg|The farthest place from reality that there is. Nothing happens hereDefenders: Beyond #4, October 2022
A quick glance at the name of this place should already inform one of its function: It is the realm of impossibility, the Kingdom of Never. But it has another side, and that is the Land of Can-Be-Shall-Be.
Da'atElyon.jpg|The other side of nowhere is everywhere. The Abyss is also the mountaintop from which all is visible. A place of raw, unchecked knowledge and possibility
Da'atElyon2.jpg|It is beyond the grasp of the Beyonders, who cannot see unchecked possibility as anything other than pure chaos. Possibility, however, is pure freedom
Elsewhere, it is also described as "The stone that causes the ripple. It is the point where all iterations originate. It is the dark of the universe where everything is a possibility. Through the Arbiter exists the realms of possibility. The Arbiter is the very stuff that we are made of... The concepts that become reality."Ghost Rider: Kushala #4, October 2021 And as seen above, it encompasses the Land of Couldn't-Be-Shouldn't-Be, and perceives it as part of a comic page, making it a further level within the same sphere. The lesson taught to the Defenders, here, being that what "Can Be" constitutes a much larger realm than "What Can't Be."
And the presence of Da'at, for the matter, also gives us further insight into the relationships between the Sefirot, and on how a more rarified state can pass into a lower, more materialized one, as the flame of becoming of the White-Hot Room is the very thing that allows possibility to become actuality, bridging the transition between "What If?" and "What Is." Thus, while the White-Hot Room is an unmanifest ocean of pure substance, Da'at is less concrete than even that, and paves the way for even more abstract levels lying above.
===The House of Ideas===
The House of Ideas is the domain of The One Above All, the Supreme Being of Marvel, and the apex of the cosmology as we observe it. Within the Kabbalah, it is equated to Kether, the highest point of the Tree of Life, and the root and emanator of all the lower Sefirot, identified as the "crown" of creation. 
As mentioned prior, metafiction factors heavily into the concept of this realm, and that's something that can already be inferred from its name alone: "House of Ideas" is the popular nickname given to Marvel Comics itself. And its sole resident, the One Above All, is the gestalt consciousness that embodies all the writers, editors, artists and readers of the comics.
https://www.comicsxf.com/2021/10/14/cosmic-is-a-state-of-being-an-interview-with-al-ewing/
As such, this place is where all stories are born, to descend down into the lower planes and be hammered into shape, until they reach their final manifestation within Malkuth, which, being in the opposite end from Kether in the Tree of Life, holds a special relationship with it: Whereas Kether is the Crown, symbolizing God's reign and sovereignty, Malkuth is the Kingdom over which he exerts this lordship. They are two sides of the same coin.
Kether.jpg|It is the birthplace of all that is, all that was, and all that may yet beAvengers: No Road Home #9, April 2019
Kether2.jpg|The dwelling space of the fundamental creative force, the One Above AllAvengers: No Road Home #10, April 2019
Kether3.jpg|It is the wellspring of infinite stories, the source of all ideas
Kether4.jpg|The realm of the One Above All is simultaneously everything and nothing. The domain of the author
Kether5.jpg|The world is a dream that bubbled up from a consciousness beyond imaginingMighty Thor Annual, June 2012
Kether6.jpg|Even the void is simply the dreamless slumber of the Creator
At this level, all of the structures that define the aforementioned realms break down entirely. Here is the beginning of emanation and therefore there is only the pure unity of the divine,Immortal Hulk #10, January 2019 with no mechanisms present to differentiate that unity into disparate things. In fact, all the powers of the lower Sefirot are contained here in an united fashion, and due to that they are seen as limbs of a single body acting in concert: The Sefirot of Geburah and Chesed, for instance, are the Left and Right Hands of the One Above All,Immortal Hulk #12, March 2019 and Tiphareth in turn isX-Men Vol. 1 #135 his heart
All of this is something that was brought up extensively with regards to Marvel's Supreme God in older comics. J.M DeMatteis, in particular, wrote often about the oneness between God and the individual. He has, furthermore, also associated this oneness with the Implicate Order, or the Quantum Field, which has been briefly discussed in the first section of this page. As Silver Surfer says, the Implicate Order has multiple layers which one may peel back to look into the world with varying degrees of awareness, and the deepest level of it, then, is visualized by peeling away all the layers and stripping the universe bare, thereby looking into the level at which everything is fully one.
TOAAOne.jpg|The thread that binds the universe. A power that transcends and empowers both the void of Oblivion and the world of dreams that is realityIceman Vol. 1 #4, February 1986
TOAAOne2.jpg|Void. Form. Time. Ego. Illusion. And beyond, behind and within it all, a presence
TOAAOne3.jpg|All things are reflections of the Creator of all gods and men. Pieces that contain the wholeChaos War: Thor #2, December 2010
TOAAOne4.jpg|The Quantum Field, or the Implicate Order, or Brahma, is the creation point from which all beings and things are emanated, glimpsed by fully stripping away the universe as man perceives itSilver Surfer Vol. 3 #127, April 1997
TOAAOne5.jpg|Here, there is only the piece of the infinite, the oneness underlying duality
TOAAOne6.jpg|In the Quantum Field, the individual unites with God and is reduced to spinning particles and wave patterns, simultaneously smaller than a thought and vaster than eternity
TOAAOne7.jpg|Ascending the ten Sefirot is to attain union with GodMoon Knight Vol. 1 #38, February 1984
TOAAOne8.jpg|To reach Heaven is to be at one with God, in a state of eternal bliss
The idea that each emanation of God also reflects the entirety of God ties into some of the facts discussed in the above sections, namely the "As Above, So Below" nature of creation. This is, essentially, because the universe exists as a reflection of the image of God,Moon Knight Vol. 1 #37, January 1984 creating little microcosms of itself at every turn. Hence why the shape of the universe is also the shape of the multiverse, which in turn is the shape of God. Everything takes from the same basic blueprint, and as such existence is a fractal where each part reflects every other part at every level.
===Unknowable===
As we finally arrive at the last section of this page, it is necessary for us to reach back and ask ourselves a question: What are the Sefirot? Well, they of course, are emanations of the divine; structures manifesting its hidden attributes in outward form. Indeed, Immortal HulkImmortal Hulk #11, February 2019 directly cites this notion, and what's the most interesting about these panels, specifically, is that they define all ten Sefirot as being emanations of the divine. Thus, it follows that the House of Ideas, too, is an emanation.
A while later, Defenders: Beyond was announced, and this was obliquely touched upon by Al Ewing in a commentary be made about the mini-series' contents, in which he described it as a work that "maps the Marvel Godhead," calling to mind the notion that the Sefirot are the attributes of God made manifest, and thus a "map" through which we may know him, implying thus that even the One Above All is one element of this map.
https://www.cbr.com/al-ewing-defenders-beyond-interview/
Then came the final issue, and we were presented with a rather curious scene: Adam Brashear, the Blue Marvel, enters the House of Ideas, and, upon seeing the One Above All introducing themself by that moniker, answers: "I'm sorry. I don't think that's true." What initially seems like a straightforward questioning of their supremacy is then turned on its head a little, as Adam says that he never claimed the One Above All was lying when referring to themself as such. Afterwards, we are then presented with this panel:
As it turns out, the House of Ideas is indeed just the beginning of something even higher. More specifically, it is "the place where the World of Action ends, and the World of Creation begins." Blue Marvel then raises a further inquiry, though: What creates creation? Asking if above everything, even the creators of the House of Ideas, there is a final hand which guides all things. The One Above All answers that this remains a mystery even to them. But nevertheless, the point remains: The One Above All is not the supreme entity, but just the hard limit to understanding (Both cosmic and otherwise), and beyond that limit, there are things even higher
To elaborate further on the ramifications of all this, we need to set-up some context. As seen above, the One Above All presents Blue Marvel with a sort of extended Tree of Life, consisting not of only 10 spheres but of 29, and seemingly formed by multiple trees being overlapped. This structured is then divided into four sectors, in order of ascendance: Green, Blue, Yelow and Red. These sections are, in fact, the kabbalistic four worlds, the stages of development and concretization of the divine essence that exist in addition to the Sefirot.
To expand on that: The Kabbalah posits the existence of four spiritual levels; or worlds – Asiyah (World of Action), Yetzirah (World of Formation), Briah (World of Creation) and Atziluth (World of Emanation), each progressively closer to the Godhead and, in rising order, representing increasingly less "dense" and more rarified states. These layers lie in a state of overlap and interpenetration, and in each of them, 10 Sefirot exist, thus forming a diagram of "stacked trees of life" that is often termed "Jacob's Ladder."
What this means is that Sefirot can exist in higher and lower versions across the Four Worlds, such that, for example, the Kether of a given layer can be the Malkuth of a higher layer. And this is actually what we are seeing here: Following the pattern of the Tree of Life, we see that Kether, the House of Ideas, lands exactly below the yellow sector (The World of Creation, Briah) of the extended diagram, being the end of the Tree of Life we know and yet the start of yet another set of 10 Sefirot. In other words, the Kether of the World of Action, but the Malkuth of the World of Creation.
Now: How far do these higher realms beyond the House of Ideas extend? Infinitely, evidently:
AlwaysBigger.jpg|Loki says that, no matter how big you are, there is always something bigger
AlwaysBigger2.jpg|The Queen of Nevers says that, though she journeys into the Mystery, she will never see it all, because the Mystery is infinite
Da'atElyon2.jpg|The journey through the higher planes never ends, not even after one passes though the door to the House of Ideas
The third scan in particular stating that "the journey never ends" also mirrors Blue Marvel stating that the House of Ideas and the One Above All are "just the beginning of the journey." That specific verbiage is used, of course, as a referenceThor Vol. 6 #24, April 2022 to Journey into Mystery, the comicbook series that stood among the first Marvel ever published. In an interview shortly before the release of Immortal Thor, Al Ewing discussed some of these themes explicitly:
https://gizmodo.com/marvel-comics-immortal-thor-al-ewing-interview-1850511564
So the point is effectively that, since God is infinitely unknowable, the journey to understand it, and to understand ourselves (As the Sefirot also schematize humanity's spiritual path), is not one that can have an end. Therefore the Mystery's infinitude represents exactly that: The mystery of God, which can never be penetrated. Although we can peer into increasingly more primal "masks" of the Godhead, we can never see the face behind them all.
==References==
Category:Marvel Comics
Category:Explanation Pages