Far Shore

Origins[]

Asgardians' Ginnungagap[]

The Ginnungagap, or Yawning Void, was the place where the two primordial forces of fire, which was born in Muspelheim, and ice, which first emerged in Niffleheim, first came together to create life as it is.^[19]

The Røkkva was a primordial antilife entity spawned near the beginning of the universe from a piece of the Anti-All.^[20] It roamed the cosmos and mindlessly destroyed or corrupted everything it came across, but was imprisoned in a tomb deep in the Barren Mountains of Jotunheim with the All-Fathers of Asgard guarding it.^[21]

Variations[]

Knull's Abyss[]

The dark elder god Knull dwelled in and ruled over the primordial void known as the Abyss, which existed between the destruction of the sixth iteration of the universe and the creation of the seventh.^[22] When the Celestials intruded and began creating the universe; Knull was enraged and created the Symbiotes and other antilife entities by granting life to the abyss in order to destroy everything and return the universe to the void.^[11] Knull proclaimed himself to be the Void incarnate,^[23][22] though Marvel Girl determined that while Knull was the God of the Abyss, the Darkness from which he originated and drew his powers long-predated him.^[24]

Nyx's primordial darkness[]

The night goddess Nyx existed before the rise of the Olympians and the creation of the universe, and vowed to bring an eternal night on the universe.^[4]

Taoist's primordial nothingness[]

To the Xian, Yuanshi Tianzun, the Primeval Lord of Heaven, emerged from "Wuji," the primordial nothingness, as a result of the merging of the pure breaths of the Earth Mother Gaea ("Yin") and the Demiurge ("Yang").^[15]

Nun of the Egyptian Gods[]

The Ennead were born from the chaos-sea Nun (Demiurge). Nun as both a god and as the Primordial Chaos continues to exist alongside the cosmos, which must be continually maintained to prevent it collapsing back into chaos.^{[25][26][verification needed]}

Mikaboshi's primordial void[]

According to Shinto cosmology, the dark entity known as Amatsu-Mikaboshi resided within the formless dark world later known as Earth, before Izanagi and Gaea transformed the endless void into the islands of Japan and began populating it. As punishment for attempting to destroy their creations, Mikaboshi was forced to descend to Yomi.^[27] In truth, "Amatsu-Mikaboshi" was an offshoot of Oblivion embodying the void that existed before the creation of the universe, but was weakened by the emergence of Eternity and co-opted into the Shinto pantheon, further constraining it for untold eons until it was able to regain its true form and power.^[28]

Manidoog's endless void[]

Manitou, the Sky Father of the Manidoog, emerged from Giizhigong into an endless void of nothingness. He created the elements of rock, fire, wind and water. However when he created light his shadow became sentient becoming the being KhLΘG. He wished to destroy all that Manitou had created. Manitou took away his physical form and banished him into the nothingness.^[27]

Beast's Darkness[]

The demon known as the Beast resided in the endless cold darkness, until the rise of humanity to which he saw them as a corruption.^[29]

The Mad Titan[]

When the Seventh Cosmos was destroyed as a consequence of the incursions,^[30] Doctor Doom used the power he stole from the Beyonders to create a new reality from its remnants. Thanos of Titan was one of the survivors of the old Multiverse who managed to make their way to said reality.^[31] He defied Doom and was killed for it.^[32] His soul, however, didn't go to any afterlife. It was instead sent to the Far Shore, where Thanos remained exiled even after the Multiverse was brought back as the Eighth Cosmos. Eventually, Thanos witnessed as Galactus arrived in the Far Shore to save the Ultimates, who had exited the Multiverse in order to fix time, which they thought was broken. With his mission complete, Galactus returned to the Eighth Cosmos, unaware that Thanos had followed him through the portal he opened.^[8]

The First Firmament[]

After being shattered into pieces in the final conflagration of the Celestial War, the First Firmament, personification of the First Cosmos, escaped to the Far Shore in order to survive. From there, he watched as new, collective entities born from his substance replaced him and one another as embodiments of everything that is. Growing resentful for being substituted with beings he considered inferior to him, the First Firmament waited millennia for the right moment to try to reclaim his position. That moment came when Eternity, one of the two entities who represented the Seventh Cosmos, was left weak in the wake of his rebirth as the Eighth Cosmos.^[6]

Unbeknownst to all, the manifestations of previous Multiverses were still alive, waiting for Eternity's call for help against the First Firmament in the Far Shore. Upon learning that, Eternity called on them and they were able to defeat the First Firmament before he could exact his plan. The Multiverses subsequently took the First Firmament to the Next Place in the hopes of healing him of his hatred towards his own kin.^[33][34][35]

The Challenger[]

At some point in the distant path of the Seventh Cosmos, the Elder of the Universe known as the Grandmaster was challenged by his fellow Elder En Dwi Gast to a game in which the loser would be banished from reality until the day it came to an end. En Dwi won and claimed the Grandmaster title for himself; meanwhile, his opponent was sent to the Far Shore. As soon as the Seventh Cosmos ended and returned as the Eighth, the Elder previously known as the Grandmaster made his way back to his home reality and challenged the current Grandmaster for a rematch, thus earning him the title of "Challenger."^[5]

During the rematch game, which was held on Earth, the Challenger discovered the Grandmaster was using his own daughter, the Voyager, to cheat in the game, so he disintegrated his opponent and tried to destroy their playing ground next. However, the Avengers, the mightiest heroes of the planet, fought and, ultimately, defeated him.^[36] Later, Voyager took the Challenger back to the Far Shore in order to reform him by making him watch the Avengers' adventures, hoping that they could inspire him like they inspired her.^[7] He ended up escaping from imprisonment there at a later point.^[37]

The All-Seeing[]

Following Heimdall's death at the hands of Bullseye,^[38] Valkyrie escorted his soul to the Far Shore so he could cross over to the Mystery as he wanted.^[39]

S.W.O.R.D.[]

The Six acquired mysterium by going to the Far Shore and then going further still into the Mystery, specifically the White Hot Room.^[40]

God of Thunder[]

With the Odin-Force, now "Thor-Force," Thor was able to use Mjolnir to open a portal to the Far Shore large enough to banish Toranos, who identified it as the "Yawning Void" before being pulled in. However, this task required an immense amount of energy and Thor was forced into All-Sleep.^[41]

Alternate Realities[]

Earth-2099[]

The Nova Corps theorized that the abyssal god Knull originated from Ginnungagap.^[42]

Earth-17628[]

Preceding the universe, it was the place where Knull created the first symbiotes--All-Black, Scream, Scorn, and Mania--to destroy most of the Celestials, before discarding them.^[43]

Earth-199999[]

The Dark Elves originated from the primordial chaos, before the Nine Realms were formed, and they wanted to destroy the universe and bring it to the state it was before.^[44]

• Archko

Earth-199999[]

• Moon of Shame

• Challenger (formerly)
• First Firmament (formerly)
• Kaa (purportedly)
• Knull (formerly)
• Røkkva (formerly)
• Shadow Man (purportedly)
• Soul Masters (purportedly)
• Thanos (formerly)
• Ultimate Ultimates (formerly)
  • Fifth Cosmos
  • Infinity
  • Second Cosmos
  • Sixth Cosmos
  • Third Cosmos
• Voyager

• It is unknown if the mysterious beings only known as the Ginnunga-Ghosts have any relation to Ginnungagap.
• Beyond the Far Shore, there is only the Mystery,^{[7][39][40][45]} which includes the Beyond, the White Hot Room, the Land of Couldn't-Be-Shouldn't-Be, and the House of Ideas.^[46]
• The Far Shore and Ginnungagap were retconned to be the same place in Immortal Thor #2. However, before this, Jane Foster went to Ginnungagap in Mighty Thor (Vol. 3) #22–23 and later visited the Far Shore in Valkyrie: Jane Foster #3, claiming to have never seen it before.

• Al Ewing based the term "Mystery" on what the One Above All (as Jack Kirby) says in Fantastic Four #511, written by Mark Waid.^[47][48] Ewing had the One Above All repeat this line in Ultimates 2 #100 and Defenders: Beyond #5.
• The King in Black Handbook #1 speculates that the "Shadowverse/Shadow Realm" mentioned by Mister E is the cosmic void that Knull originated in and created the symbiotes from, though Uatu and Mister E's statements in Symbiote Spider-Man: King in Black #1 indicate it is a future timeline where Knull emerged victorious.