Earth-982

On Earth-982, the Age of Heroes (the boom of superhero activity generally marked by the first appearance of the Fantastic Four) happened about 15 years earlier than on Earth-616. Pragmatically speaking, this means that most of the events, history, and character history associated with the heroes of Earth-616 happened 15 years before they would have on Earth-616, but the overall political, technological, and sociological progress of the world is exactly concurrent with Earth-616. As such, a lot of the superheroes of the past have either grown up, grown old, or retired, and now new groups and new superheroes are proving themselves in protecting the world.^[1]

By this time Spider-Man has retired, having lost his right leg in the final battle with Norman Osborn following the Gathering of Five. The Avengers had disbanded for several years, and the Fantastic Four has now become the Fantastic Five.^[2][3] Younger heroes like Nova have become seasoned veterans, while others such as Cassie Lang and Kristoff Vernard have risen to prominence.^[4]

While the main point of divergence from Earth-616 is early arrival of the Age of Heroes, this leads to many other smaller deviations from the main Marvel continuity. One example lies in the more catastrophic outcome of the Gathering of Five. Also, on Earth-616 Peter and Mary Jane Parker had a daughter, who they believed to be stillborn; on Earth-982, the child survived, but was kidnapped by Norman Osborn. Kaine, a clone of Peter Parker rescued her and returned her to her parents. She later grew up to become Spider-Girl.^[5]

Cain Marko (Juggernaut) and Sachi Yama also had a child, Zane Yama. Zane grew up without his father (who was trapped in a parallel universe), but knew of his role as the Juggernaut. When he inherited a portion of his father's power, he decided to become the costumed crime-fighter, J2.^[6] Similarly, Wolverine and Elektra had a daughter, Rina who became Wild Thing, and Flash Thompson and Felicia Hardy (Black Cat) have a daughter, Felicity.^[7][8]

Features the adventures of Spider-Girl, Darkdevil, Fantastic Five, a new group of Avengers, the Buzz and others.

Residents[]

Main article: Character Index/Earth-982

Avengers

Fantastic Five

American Dream (Shannon Carter)

Buzz (Jack Jameson)

Darkdevil (Reilly Tyne)

J2 (Zane Yama)

Spider-Girl (Mayday Parker)

Wild Thing (Rina Logan)

• In Amazing Spider-Girl #19, Peter shows May a Daily Bugle headline. The paper clearly shows that the date is Tuesday, March 28, 1996 (a Thursday in our universe), meaning that the modern MC2 stories take place in the mid-nineties, ironic considering the MC2 universe was started, with Spider-Girl, in 1998. However, it's also possible the paper's date could be a placeholder, since Davida Kirby's profile^[9] makes references to films Shakespeare in Love and Titanic (both films that were released after 1996) and of Jessica Simpson, J.K. Rowling, and Jennifer Lopez, all of whom gained popularity in the U.S. after 1996. Either Earth-982 actually takes place in the late 90s and the 1996 date was a throwaway placeholder, or the aforementioned films and celebrities had a much earlier history.
• In J2 #12 Doc Magus says he has a ticket to see "the new Star Wars movie," likely referring to Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, which was released in 1999.
• In Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 3) #9, May Parker reminds Earth-616's Peter Parker of when they met when she went back in time in Spider-Girl #10.

• The famous alias of this universe, MC2, is believe to be the initialism of "Marvel Comics 2".
• Stan Lee appeared on the cover of Amazing Spider-Girl #15, but never appeared elsewhere.