The Quantum Realm & Bridging Alternate Realities

There’s a lot of buzz surrounding the quantum realm, especially here on this blog. I, like many others, am of the persuasion that the quantum realm will be the key to the alternate reality aspect of the MCU. With that in mind, I figured I’d detail a few of the different ways in which that might be true, by going over some real life explanations for the multiverse theory. And ’cause I’m dumb and don’t know a lot about this stuff, I watched The Imaginary Axis to get my information. You should definitely check that channel out if you’re into comic books and their wacky science, it was a big inspiration for me in starting up this blog too.

As I’ve mentioned before, the Marvel Multiverse operates on what’s called the Many-Worlds Interpretation of Multiverse Theory, but has a sprinkling of String Theory for good measure. What this means is that when a situation arises to which there are two (or more) outcomes, both of those outcomes play out, but in separate “Quantum Universes” or timelines. These situations are thus called “divergences”, as they create divergent timelines. This has been the established multiverse model of the Marvel Universe for decades, so it should apply to the MCU as well. Let’s take an MCU example: Bruce Banner exposed himself to gamma radiation and ended up becoming the Hulk as a result. We know for a fact that too much gamma radiation is fatal. This means that when Bruce exposed himself to the gamma radiation, there was a possibility he’d die. In the MCU, he didn’t die, he became the Hulk. But there exists a timeline where Bruce Banner died during that experiment because it was always a possibility. Similarly, in our universe, there’s a timeline where Edward Norton continued to play Bruce Banner after The Incredible Hulk.

To put the whole thing into perspective, all the alternate timelines are divergent timelines from the moment of the big bang. This is why our universe is nothing like the Marvel Universe, because the laws of physics fundamentally differ between the two; i.e. people can fly in the Marvel Universe, but not in ours. As a result though, all timelines are linked together somewhere, which makes time travel a daunting procedure. If you travel into the past, that creates a divergent timeline all of its own. Regardless of what you do in the past, you’ve already created a divergent timeline, and anything you do in the past also creates divergent timelines. So, time travel is highly impractical as a means of problem solving because the laws of physics simply cannot cope with it. This means that in order to affect a timeline / universe with minimal repercussion, you have to exit reality altogether so as not to be bound by physical law. There are entities within the MCU, who by virtue of their comic book counterparts, fit the bill for entities that exist outside of reality and are not restricted by physical law.

The cosmic entities that were teased in Guardians of the Galaxy exist on a different spatial dimension to the MCU. I say spatial dimension, because it’s the term Tyler used in his video, but also because alternate dimensions like the Mirror Dimension and the Astral Plane exist, and those are different to spatial dimensions. Although, in the MCU the term “Multiverse” is in its infancy. As such, words like “dimension” have no clear meaning yet. For example, despite digging into the topic, I can’t suss out whether or not the Dark Dimension is an alternate timeline, or just an alternate dimension of reality where time works differently to how it does on the Earthly Plane. Hopefully, when the multiverse is expanded upon in Ant-Man & The Wasp, and in subsequent movies, we’ll get some more concrete insight on that topic. When I talk about spatial dimensions though, I mean things like length, width, and height. Those are the dimensions that our reality exists on. However, time is another spatial dimension, and there could be as many as eleven spatial dimensions if current quantum theory is to be believed. However, the cosmic entities need only exist above four spatial dimensions. If an entity exists above time, then it can manipulate time just like we manipulate physical matter while remaining unaffected by it. Take Eternity for example. Eternity has a different avatar in every universe, but these are merely representations of the true Eternity, who exists outside of all reality. And even then, the form that is seen of Eternity is just an abstraction, because Eternity is the embodiment of everything. The MCU’s Eternity is one of an infinite number of Eternities, all of which are just a small portion of an even greater entity. The Living Tribunal is another such entity, but as I detail in my Infinity Imbalance Theory, I reckon he’s dead. What’s important to note here is that there have to be extra spatial dimensions, because it’s the only way that the existence of the cosmic entities can make any degree of sense. Yes, I just wrote that sentence. Cosmic entities have to make sense. I’ll keep saying it, it’ll never sound any less mental.

This is where we come to the cool stuff. It always puzzled me as to what it is we’re looking at when Scott Lang enters the Quantum Realm at the end of Ant-Man. The sequence is designed to be trippy, and I remember being stunned at the fact I was seeing it in an Ant-Man movie of all things. I’m thoroughly convinced that Scott is on a spatial dimension “above” physical reality where he can see alternate universes. He shrinks through atoms, and then keeps going. He sees these fractals, merges with one, and when we see him next, he’s floating in a dark void. I believe the fractal he merged with was the fundamental fabric of the MCU, and he literally exited reality, and emerged into a space outside of all reality. Basically, Scott Lang went to a spatial dimension typically inhabited by cosmic entities. When he regrows, he goes back through the fractal and re-enters the MCU. The Quantum Realm is the gateway to the multiverse, and just before Scott left physical reality altogether, he got to a point where he could see all the divergent moments within the MCU’s timeline, each signifying a whole different universe. Scott Lang was looking at the multiverse itself. Going back to what I said earlier about the Dark Dimension, if this theory is true and Scott was indeed looking at fractals that represent alternate timelines / universes, then the Dark Dimension is definitely an alternate universe, and not just your average dimension like Hell or K’un L’un. We see Steven enter a fractal and emerge in the Dark Dimension in the “Open Your Eye” sequence in Doctor Strange. And in the background are even more fractals, just like in Ant-Man.

There’s a lot from that sequence that we know nothing about. I expect to see it all explored in great detail in the coming years as the movies start to explain this vast tapestry of a multiverse beyond a few alternate dimensions within the MCU’s reality. I have to continue to wonder, how will Captain Marvel factor into the Quantum Realm? Will she be from an alternate timeline, or will she travel into the future? And in regards Ant-Man & The Wasp, how much will Janet Van Dyne know about the Quantum Realm and the multiverse? If those fractals are the basic representations of alternate universes, and if Scott Lang can gain access to them through shrinking, and if we take what Tyler said in his video about travelling to an alternate reality making it impossible for you to damage time, then I reckon that is what we’re seeing in those Avengers 4 set photos. I think Ant-Man doesn’t travel to the past within the MCU’s established timeline, but instead travels to alternate timelines brought about by divergent events. If I had to guess at least one of those divergent events based on what we’ve seen from the recent Avengers 4 set photos, then it’s a no-brainer.

What if Tony didn’t make it back?