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The Realm of the Dead is a repository for the souls of dead mortal beings, collected by the Elders of the Universe for the purpose of recreating their universe.[1]

Origins[]

The Realm of the Dead was created by the Elders of the Universe, the last survivors of a previous universe. The Elders' universe had been destroyed as a result of its overpopulation by the Celestials, who reproduced by implanting their embryos within planets. The Elders banded together in an attempt to recreate their universe. The Celestials had also survived the destruction of their original universe, and continued to reproduce as they had before.[1]

Knowing they could not challenge the Celestials directly, the Elders created the Realm of the Dead as a collecting pool, which would gather the matter and souls of the deceased denizens of the universe, believing that they could use this material to reconstitute their original universe. The Elder known as Death was placed in charge of this realm.[1]

The Realm of the Dead has many layers, encompassing all eras of history throughout the universe. The center of the realm takes the form of a hellish netherworld, where Death's castle stands, guarded by her skeletal armies. The denizens of the realm are unaware that they are dead, and live out lives much like those they left behind, believing that those who survived them are dead.[2] While some appear as they did the moments of their deaths, others take on the appearance they had in their prime or childhood.[3]

The Realm of the Dead was eventually discovered by the human mutate Mephisto. Believing himself to be the devil, Mephisto sought to escape the judgement of God, unaware that no such judgement was coming. Mephisto gained the ability to travel to the Realm of the Dead at will, and began treating Death as his daughter. Why Death humored Mephisto's delusions is unknown.[4]

Age of Heroes[]

As more and more superhumans of Earth emerged and lost their lives, they began to populate a segment of the Realm of the Dead, which appeared as the ruins of a city. Here, the heroes and villains of Earth carried on their vendettas in death, fighting a never-ending battle, unaware that they had already died.[3]

When Kree hero Mar-Vell died, he too awoke in this battlefield among the compatriots and enemies he had on Earth. However, Mar-Vell found himself the only one of his people in the realm. With nothing to fear and nothing to fight for, Mar-Vell left the battleground and explored the Realm of the Dead. He eventually made his way to the innermost layer, where he found Death attended by Mephisto and her servant Thanos. Realizing that he was dead, he began plotting to destroy Death and free all the souls trapped with him.[2]

The Elders had foreseen that Death would eventually be destroyed and charged another Elder; the Phoenix Force with making its way to the Realm of the Dead in order to aid in the collection of mortal souls. As the Phoenix was a being of pure creation, it could not simply kill itself, and instead needed to find a mortal host to bond with so that they could die together. The Phoenix chose Jean Grey, an Earth mutant, whose telepathic screams for help attracted the Phoenix. The Phoenix bonded with Jean, and created a psychic rapport with her boyfriend Cyclops. The Phoenix eventually succeeded in its objective, and died, passing into the Realm of the Dead.[5]

However, the Elders had not foreseen how the human emotions it experienced through Jean Grey, chief of all her love for Cyclops, would change the Phoenix. Once in the Realm of the Dead, it turned its back on the Elders' schemes.[1]

Realizing that some possessed the power to enter and leave the Realm of the Dead at will, as well as draw others into it, Mar-Vell saw hope of escape, but without his cosmic consciousness, he was unable to devise a plan. When his old ally the Silver Surfer was trapped in the realm by Thanos, Mar-Vell helped him escape. He allowed the Surfer to see him in the hopes that the cosmic power he was a part of would know where to find Mar-Vell and would seek him out.[2]

This finally happened, upon the death of Arcuturs Rann. With Rann's death, he passed the Enigma Force to Mar-Vell. The Enigma Force transformed Mar-Vell, and at last gave him the power to challenge Death.[2]

Earth X[]

Following the mutation of humanity, and the chaos that resulted, many more superhumans lost their lives and found themselves in the Realm of the Dead. One of few that knew he was dead was Dr. Strange. Strange's astral form had been killed, trapping him within the realm, but his body yet lived, meaning he was fully aware of his predicament. He became an ally to Mar-Vell, who was attempting to warn the people of Earth of the impending arrival of the Celestials, who were coming to scour Earth.[3]

In addition to this, he also reached out to Adam Warlock and his wife Eve. Driven by Mar-Vell's visions, they sought the help of Alicia Grimm, who used her powers to help Eve become pregnant. This child would be Mar-Vell reborn, allowing him to exist in both the Realm of the Dead and the living at once.[6]

Universe X[]

With the Earth saved from the threat of the Celestials, and with his rebirth on Earth, Mar-Vell began pursuing his war against Death in earnest. Aided by those who also knew they were dead, such as Dr. Strange, the Phoenix Force and Arcturus Rann, Mar-Vell and his followers began recruiting other deceased superheroes, convincing them that they were dead and forging them into an army.[7]

Meanwhile, in the land of the living, Mar-Vell's reborn self went about completing his cosmic consciousness, which would give him the answers of how to defeat Death, and also began collecting artifacts of great power.[8]

After killing the Supreme Intelligence, which had secretly been consuming the minds and souls of every deceased Kree, Mar-Vell was finally reunited with his people in the Realm of the Dead, causing his army to swell further. With his cosmic consciousness still incomplete, Mar-Vell was nevertheless forced to engage Death's armies. Death moved among his ranks, sowing doubt and convincing those under his command that they were still alive, causing them to abandon him.[9]

After recovering the penultimate part of his cosmic consciousness, Mar-Vell was rendered catatonic, and was captured by Death. Just before he could be killed, the dead Captain America rallied Mar-Vell's troops, and came to his rescue, buying the living Mar-Vell the time to send the Silver Surfer to the Realm of the Dead, where his piece of the cosmic consciousness was given to Mar-Vell.[10]

Now complete, Mar-Vell was able to turn Thanos to his side by revealing that Death had lied to and manipulated him. After Thanos killed Death, Mar-Vell was free to create Paradise, a new afterlife for the dead.[10]

Paradise X[]

With Paradise created, and primarily inhabited by the members of Mar-Vell's army, Mar-Vell empowered his most loyal servants as the Avenging Host, charging them with bringing souls from the Realm of the Dead to Paradise. Some rejected Mar-Vell's Paradise, preferring to re-live a fascimile of their lives in the Realm of the Dead instead of accepting Mar-Vell's brand of salvation.[11]

One of these figures was Wilson Fisk, who preferred to lord over the dead rather than be an equal in Paradise.[12]

With the destruction of Death, no one in the world of the living could die, leaving those with mortal injuries to suffer eternaly. Desperate to give relief to the suffering, the brightest minds of Earth began searching for a replacement for Death. They eventually settled on Jude the Entropic Man.[2]

Despite his growing doubts about Mar-Vell, Captain America contemplated using the Skull to force the denizens of the Realm of the Dead to realize they were dead. He was opposed in this by Thanos, who had mistrusted Mar-Vell from the start and returned to the Realm of the Dead. After receiving advice from the 4-D Man, the pair instead decided to recruit the Skull to free all those trapped in their own afterlives in Paradise.[13]

Seeing Kingpin's abuse of the dead, Daredevil chose to intervene. He stopped Kingpin's schemes, and decided to remain in the Realm of the Dead to protect the souls still dwelling there. After revealing his true intentions for Paradise; that it was a shield protecting reality from manipulation by the Celestials and Elders of the Universe, Mar-Vell ceded his omniscience to Reed Richards.[14]

The Realm of the Dead became a way station for those who had recently died to come to terms with their new state before ultimately being admitted to Paradise.[14]

Points of Interest

Death's castle, portal to Paradise

Residents

See Also

Links and References

References

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