How 19th-century French novelist Balzac mastered the multiverse long before Marvel

By Harsh Trivedi, Associate Teacher, School of Languages and Cultures, University of Sheffield

The multiverse has become an essential part of pop culture. The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) brought this shared universe style of storytelling to global prominence with Iron Man (2008), where a post-credit scene hinted at a larger interconnected universe.

Over time, this expanded into a cinematic multiverse, particularly with the 2016 film Doctor Strange. Films like Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) and Doctor…

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