Marvel’s Multiverse Is Everywhere, but ‘The Simpsons’ Did It Nearly 30 Years Ago

As we mentioned in a previous article, the Multiverse is a concept where multiple alternate realities exist within a larger fictional universe, often referred to as “Earth,” with one primary, canon narrative setting. The idea of the Multiverse opened the door for more diverse storytelling, allowing fictional narratives to continuously expand.

Today, many franchises have created their own versions of the Multiverse, but the most popular and well-known one in movies and TV right now is Marvel’s Multiverse, part of the MCU.

While many believe Marvel was the first to bring a meaningful Multiverse to the screen, the truth is, The Simpsons beat them to it nearly 30 years ago. Although their approach was more rudimentary, it’s still a noteworthy example that inspired this article!

On October 29, 1995, The Simpsons aired “Treehouse of Horror VI,” the sixth installment of the show’s iconic Halloween-themed mini-series. Widely regarded as one of the best episodes in the series, it featured three memorable segments:

1. “Attack of the 50-Foot Eyesores”
2. “Nightmare on Evergreen Terrace”
3. “Homer³“

The “Homer3” segment is the key one for our discussion, as it actually foreshadowed a concept that’s now commonplace in major franchises – the Multiverse. While The Simpsons’ version of the Multiverse is quite different from what we see today, and may not fully align with modern definitions, this episode featured Homer entering a new dimension, which fits the basic criteria for a Multiverse.

Though it was a more rudimentary take, The Simpsons managed to predict the concept of the Multiverse 29 years ago, long before it became a widespread idea in fictional storytelling. You can find the video of the segment on YouTube:

As you can see, Homer steps out of his own dimension and into a 3D version of Earth, becoming a 3D version of himself in the process. This was groundbreaking for its time. While the segment was ultimately inspired by the 1962 The Twilight Zone episode “Little Girl Lost,” it was initially planned to feature multiple universes, each showing a different version of Homer. Bill Oakley, the showrunner for Season 7, shared:

The initial idea was that Homer was going to go through more dimensions. They’d have different styles, like a cutout paper dimension and a claymation dimension. But then we were like, ‘Let’s just parody the Twilight Zone episode beat-for-beat.

Source: SlashFilm

Looks like The Simpsons predicted the future once again, huh?

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