Both the Marvel and DC worlds have an endless number of parallel universes or multiverses in which different versions of the major characters can be found. We have seen various other versions of Spiderman and Doctor Strange in recent MCU films.
The multiverse theory’s appeal is that it allows for an infinite number of options and parallel stories to the main universe storyline. Marvel’s What If series, which plainly shows or instead narrates a few different options to the original MCU storyline, is the finest description of it.
The story touched on both dark and light realms, although it omitted the darkest of all Marvel universes: The Cancerverse, also known as Earth-10011. The ‘Cancerverse,’ created by Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning, and Leonard Manco, was first featured in “Realm of Kings” issue 1, which was released on August 4th, 2010.
Marvel’s Cancerverse, which combines hideous images and deformed creatures with Lovecraftian terror, is likely to make your stomach turn. So proceed at your own risk as we delve into Marvel’s most sinister another realm, the Cancerverse.
HOW THE CANCERVERSE CAME TOGETHER!
Since the beginning of time in the Marvel Universe, Death and Eternity have existed as the fundamental elements to balance reality. Both life and death are inevitable and an essential part of existence. When we look at it from the heroes’ perspective, Death seems like an adversary or an end to their existence, but without Death, reality changes and brings forth unwanted and bizarre outcomes. Death and Eternity oppose each other’s causes, but both are significant, with Galactus helping to seek a balance between the two.
The story of Cancerverse is about Earth -10011, where all events are similar to Earth 616 until it gets interfered with by ‘The Many-Angled ones.’ The Many-angled ones, also known as the ‘Great Old Ones’, are ancient Eldritch beings predating the Earth and the Universe. On Earth-10011, their influence had already begun rapidly compared to Earth 616. Captain Mar-Vell was dying of cancer, and no scientific methods or magic could save him. His conditions created tremendous distress amongst his followers and near ones, which was sensed by ‘The Many-Angled Ones.’
They seduced dying Captain Mar-Vell into making a pact with them to cure his cancer and get back his life in return for serving eternal life. Despite several warnings, Mar-Vell gathered his closest allies: the Revengers, Defenders of the Realm, the X-Men, and the Fantastic Four which were their new versions of Avengers. The X-Men and the Fantastic Four perform a ritual known as the ‘Necropsy.
The team of corrupted super-heroes along with Captain Mar-Vell kills Thanos which summons Death, the Avatar of Death, and then they sacrifice her on the spacecraft Sanctuary along with the very concept of death from the Universe. With life being an Eldritch abomination, the Earth’s heroes became worshippers and slaves of the ‘Many-Angled Ones’ and Outer Gods, who turned them demonic upon infusing their ancient powers. The unnatural eternal life made the entire Universe an undying corpse that kept growing like a tumor.
The Many Angled Ones’ then made Galactus their target, and after decapitating Galactus, they weaponized his head into the ‘Galactus Engine’, whose size was even more than the Celestials. This finally made the reality a malignant cancerous one, fueled by the Many-Angled Ones. Captain Mar-Vell, then known as Lord Mar-Vell, becomes the Avatar of Life in their Universe and seeks to spread the plague throughout the Multiverse, starting with Earth-616.
WHAT MAKES IT ONE OF MARVEL’S MOST POWERFUL VERSIONS?
The Cancerverse is an organic mass of enormous size bearing a resemblance to a malignant tumor with suction-cup-covered tentacles and a circular mouth with razor-sharp teeth. In between this undying corpse is the dark alternate Universe that lives with corrupted forms of life. The Cancerverse appears unimaginably grotesque but is also a powerful one as it is fueled by the Outer Gods and The Many-Angled Ones.
The remaining characters of the Cancerverse have eldritch powers running in them and can be considered a severe threat to the other alternate Universes. Lord Mar-Vell, Cancerverse’s Avatar of life, along with the Many-Angled Ones, even attempts to enter into the Earth-616 reality and destroy their Death just as they did theirs. On Earth-616, during the battle between the Universe’s Black Bolt and Vulcan, the Terrigen Bomb was detonated, which created a tunnel between their reality and the Cancerverse, known as The Fault.
When the forces of Cancerverse realized the breach, they attempted to unleash themselves onto Earth 616. They attacked and tried to invade Earth 616 with the Galactus engine and kept searching for their reality’s Death to perform Necropsy. The Cancerverse had their version of superheroes mutated by the unchecked growth of life. However, the machine resistance led by Vision opposed them, but they were not strong enough to triumph over them. The Many-Angled Ones are powerful entities, and their powers fueling the Cancerverse make it a powerful realm.
If that’s not enough, then Lord Mar-Vell, who can be compared to DC’s Superman, is the Avatar of life in this Universe. When the forces of the Cancerverse attacked Earth-616 through ‘The Fault,’ they struck down the combined might of the Shi’ar, the Kree, the Nova Corps, and the powerful Cosmic, including Galactus, Aegis, and Tenebrous. Thanos, who had been a plight for several planets and Earth, had tried invading Cancerverse before but Lord Mar-Vell confronted Thanos and brought him down to his knees, begging for Death. Cancerverse is undoubtedly Marvel’s most powerful Universe and is nearly unstoppable.
CONCLUSION
Lovecraftian ideas blended with the Marvel universe to create the most disgusting and powerful reality in the Marvel Universe. This version also portrays how Captain Mar-Vell’s most significant victory brought demise to the entire existence of Earth-10011. Captain Mar-Vell dies in Earth-616 fighting cancer and it would have been the same for Earth -100011 if he had not accepted the bargain with ‘The Many-Angled Ones’.
He triumphed over his death but also sacrificed all of reality. The present superheroes were mutated by the unrestricted growing life and served the Many-Angled ones. Since the MCU is going on a ride through the multiverse, a glimpse of the Cancerverse in live-action would be too good to watch. The entire idea of watching the mutated superheroes from Earth 10011 fight the ones from Earth 616 makes us fans skip a heartbeat.