EARTH-9939
aka. Earth-Charnel

Type: Divergent Earth; future world whose modern era is circa 2020-2021 AD (see comments)

Environment: Earth-like

Usual means of access: Vibrational attunement; magic

Dominant Life Form: Humans (and the Spawn of Charnel)

Significant Inhabitants: Archangel, Asgardians, Avengers, Black Widow, Cable, Captain America, Charnel, Daredevil, Dr. Doom, Dr. Octopus, Dr. Strange, Ghost Rider, Hulk, Iron Man, Edwin Jarvis, Kingpin, Alicia Masters-Grimm, Mr. Fantastic, Punisher, Rhino, Scarlet Witch, She-Hulk, Spawn of Charnel, Spider-Man, Spider-Woman (presumably Julia Carpenter), Storm, Thing, Thor, Wolverine, X-Saviours;
    presumably, all natives of Earth-616 present prior to Death's Head II#4 should have existed on this world, but only those seen or mentioned are detailed.

First Appearance: Death's Head II#4 (June, 1992);
    or Death³#1 (September, 1993)

History:
(Death's Head II#4 (fb) - BTS) - After his creation in the world of Earth 2020, Charnel traveled back in time to the age of heroes (aka the modern era) where he began to establish his power base. He eventually conquered Earth, slaughtering the majority of the heroes of the world and driving all planetary life to the brink of extinction. He also created an army of drones, the Spawn of Charnel, to serve him.

(Ant-Man & Wasp#1 (fb) - BTS) - On Earth-616, Reed Richards apparently discovered that a time quake was threatening to overwrite Reality-616 with that of Reality-9939.

(Ant-Man & Wasp#1 - BTS) - On Earth-616, Reed Richards informed Hank Pym that, though he had not ascertained the cause of the anomaly, there were only 47 minnutes and 27 seconds before Reality-9939 overwrote Reality-616. They agreed that stopping the timequake was critical and noted the rule of the necromantic Charnel as an added incentive. Ant-Man (Eric O'Grady) then arrived to warn Hank Pym of the plotted theft of a valuable piece of his technology (though O'Grady's presence would unwittingly facilitate the theft by the hybrid human/Sleepwalker known as Anesthesia). To prevent everyone on Earth from becoming slaves to the "House of Charnel," Pym dismissed O'Grady before he could explain the threat.
    Anesthesia stole the Pym's "Heaven"-virtual reality device.

(Ant-Man & Wasp#3) <Reality-9939's 2020 AD) - Assaulted by AIM scientist Monica Rappaccini, Pym was forced to transport Rappaccini and her ship, which also contained Anesthesia and her father, to Earth-9939. After their ship crashed, Rappaccini identified it as a world that as "an alternate future, one in which AIM created a perfect assassin. An enemy used the perfect assassin and turned himself into the devil incarnate. This is a world where fear, barbarism, and superstition rule. It is a place where science is dead, and progress has ground to a standstill. It is a world in which AIM has utterly failed. And it is a world that AIM was responsible for. It is our home for the foreseeable future. Pray we are alone."
    Their arrival was witnessed by that reality's Avengers (Daredevil, Punisher, Rhino, Spider-Woman).

(Death's Head II#4) - In "2020" of Earth-9939, in Manhattan, a group of Avengers conceived of a plot to prevent their reality from coming about, by destroying Charnel in the past, at his weakest point. Daredevil, Dr. Strange, the Punisher, and Spider-Man assaulted Charnel, all meeting death, but succeeding in their mission to steal Charnel's time disc. The disc was left for a second group of Avengers--Captain America, Rhino, Scarlet Witch, She-Hulk, and Wolverine--who used it to travel back to the modern era.
    Arriving in New York, they met up with Death's Head-Minion, Dr. Evelyn Necker, and Tuck, and explained their mission to them. Charnel then arrived from Earth 2020, in his initial form, and proceeded to slaughter the Avengers. The Scarlet Witch attempted to use her hex power on Charnel, who drained the power from her and used it to assume the monstrous and much more powerful form he would possess in the future. Using that power he slew all of the remaining Avengers from Earth-9939, except the Scarlet Witch herself. Death's Head conceived of a plan and he took the time disc brought back in time by the Avengers and stuck it on Charnel, who had his own time disc. The Scarlet Witch then activated both time discs simultaneously, set them on opposite coordinates, and tore Charnel in half, sending a portion of him into the distant future and the other portion of him into the past.
    With her timeline destroyed, the Scarlet Witch, present at ground zero, faded from existence as if she'd never been.

(Death³#1) - The temporal wave that would destroy their reality had not yet caught up the future of Earth-9939. Death Wreck was sent to Earth-9939, from where it brought an arm from one of the Spawn of Charnel over to Earth 2020. Dr. Necker used the arm to create Death Metal, who stole a time disc and both he and Death Wreck traveled to Earth-9939, @ 2020. They were split up somehow, with Death Metal arriving in Los Angeles. Death Metal was incapacitated by the trip and found by Dr. Octopus and his servants.

(Death³#2) - Death Wreck arrived in Manhattan, where he was found by Alicia Masters-Grimm, who brought him to Avengers Mansion, a sanctuary from Charnel. Once inside the Mansion, Death Wreck ended up getting into a fight with Iron Man, until he and the other "Avengers," the Black Widow and the Thing, realized that Death Wreck might be an ally against Charnel. Iron Man analyzed Death Wreck's energies and tried to summon others like him to join them, and ended up bringing Death's Head-Minion to their side.
    Death Metal, meanwhile, was brought before Dr. Doom, the ruler of the wastelands, but ended up killing Doom and his lieutenants, Octopus and the Kingpin, as well as several others. Wandering the wastelands, the scent of Charnel was recognized on Death Metal by the Ghost Rider, who attacked him.

(Death³#3) - Death Metal shattered the Spirit of Vengeance and then sought out his "father," Charnel. The Avengers convinced Death's Head to join them, but he told them how he had destroyed Charnel in the past, and that their whole world was an echo of what might have been, and that they would be wiped out once the ripple in the time continuum caught up to them. However, Death Wreck then revealed that Death Metal was seeking Charnel, and that he could tell him of his past defeat, so that he could prevent it from happening. The Avengers joined with the X-Saviors and approached Charnel's stronghold, where they faced an onslaught of Charnel's drones.
    The heroes made good progress against the Spawn of Charnel until Death Metal arrived, dropped the Hulk with a punch, and then attacked Death's Head, revealing that he had already passed the information on to his "father." Charnel himself then appeared and announced his intentions of going back to the past and stopping his previous defeat after he had slain all present who resisted him.

(Death³#4) - As Death Metal, Death's Head, and Death Wreck fell into a chasm while fighting, the Avengers and X-Saviours fell back to regroup after Charnel's onslaught. The Ghost Rider, having reformed after his recent defeat, then arrived and headed down the chasm for a rematch with Death Metal. Confronting his target, Ghost Rider used his penance stare to make Death Metal realize the pain he had caused. Freed from his murder-frenzy, Death Metal joined his two brothers and climbed out of the chasm. Death Metal appeared before Charnel, pretending to have defeated his brothers for him, but then they ambushed and attacked him in unison. The three managed to destroy Charnel, and he exploded in a burst of nuclear and necromantic fire.
    It was at that time that the time wave caught up to them, and the three Death brothers were sent to different times as Earth-9939 seemingly faded from existence.

Comments: Created by Dan Abnett and Liam Sharp.

Time Travel craziness makes your brain hurt.

•     The Charnel in the modern era story in Death's Head II#4 is the mainstream Charnel, as seen in his entry. The version in the 2020 story in Death's Head II#4 and in Death³#1-4 represents that divergent future version of Charnel. They are technically dimensional counterparts and not the same being.
•     Technically, the two version seen (Death's Head II#4, Death³#1) might not be the exact same world, but I'm going with it.
•     In the timeline of Earth-9939, it may well have been 1992 (28 years before the future world we saw) to which Charnel traveled from his initial creation in Earth 2020. On Earth-616, Charnel arrived in the modern era, which slides forward to have started 10-15 years before whatever the current year is. Earth-9939's world could thus either have the adventures we saw locked in 2020, or it could move them forward so that they take place 28 years AFTER the modern era (or more specifically, the modern era story in Death's Head).
      Making any sense here? Not really? Oh, well. Dorcas Farcas.
•     Lastly, even though the events of Death³#4 would make it appear as if Earth-9939 were wiped out, that's not USUALLY how time travel works. The general rule of thumb is that by trying to change your past, you create a divergent timeline. To specify, the Avengers of Earth-9939 traveled to a point in the past before their world diverged from Earth-616. By defeating Charnel in that world, their reality branched/diverged from the timeline of Earth-616. So Earth-9939's future should not have been affected by that.
      If the timeline of Earth-9939 never existed, then the Avengers of that world couldn't have come back in time to participate in Charnel's defeat. If that didn't happen, then Charnel would not have lost as he had, and he then would have gone on to conquer Earth, creating the future of Earth-9939.
      Also, if it never existed, then Death Metal could not have been created, as the Spawn of Charnel would not have existed to "donate" the Promethium arm from which he was constructed.
      Then again, there is magic involved, and artistic license can do whatever it wants regarding the effects of time travel.
      Plus, you can't apply logic to time travel, as it represents an unknown quantity.
• Take the advice from Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me: Don't try to think about it too much, just sit back, and enjoy.

The time quake Reed-616 detected trying to overwrite 616 with 9939 might well be the results of Charnel's journey into the 1990s (at time of publication) to take over the Earth, and (stretching a little here) the arrival of the AIM group in Ant-Man and Wasp could be what inspired the Avengers-9939 to conceive of their own time-travel plan to defeat Charnel when he was younger (or else, Spider-Man-9939 remembered watching The Terminator).
--Loki

Clarifications:
Not to be confused with Earth-616 (mainstream Earth) or any other alternate/divergent timelines, esp.

• EARTH-8410 circa 2020 AD - the alternate future timeline from which the original Charnel was spawned, which is also the same reality in which Death's Head-Minion (and Death Wreck and Death Metal) were created, as well as the timeline of Machine Man and Iron Man 2020, and presumably of Nikki Doyle, Wild Thing.
      --Machine Man II#1

None of the natives of Earth-9939 should be confused with their other dimensional counterparts

Avengers

    Dwelling in the still-standing Avengers mansion, an earlier contingent sent the group of Daredevil, Dr. Strange, the Punisher (Frank Castle), and Spider-Man, who sacrificed themselves to steal Charnel's time disc. The remainder of that group--Captain America, Rhino, Scarlet Witch, She-Hulk, and Wolverine--took the time disc back to the modern era on Earth-616, where all but the Scarlet Witch were wiped out by Charnel. Their plot was ultimately successful and Charnel was destroyed, which caused their reality to "eventually" cease to exist. Mr. Fantastic was also present in Avengers mansion with that group, but was unable to join them in their time journal.
    A second contingent--Black Widow (Natasha Romanoff) , Iron Man (Anthony Stark), and the Thing--maintained residence in the Mansion, joined by Alicia Masters-Grimm (wife of the Thing) and their butler, Edwin Jarvis. They joined forces with Death Wreck, Death's Head, and the X-Saviours in a direct assault on Charnel's stronghold. None of their power was of any avail against Charnel himself, and those who survived the initial attack were relegated to the sidelines as the Minions Three took down Charnel.
    Charnel had paralyzed the Thing in the past, forcing him to don an exo-skeleton to maintain mobility.

--Death's Head II#4 (Death³#2-4

Charnel

The necromantic cybernetic monster who ruled this Earth and created his demon-drones. After learning of his defeat back on Earth-616, he planned to go back in time and prevent it, but the Minions Three managed to find his weakness: He wasn't immune to three indestructible cyborgs tearing the living crud out of him.

--Death's Head II#4 ([Death³#1, 2], 4

Dr. Doom

Ruler of the wastelands, served by lieutenants Dr. Octopus and the Kingpin. Death Metal was brought before him, but he split Doom in half as soon as he revived. Death Metal then slew Octopus and the Kingpin, and he destroyed Doom's base which was a mockery of the Statue of Liberty, with Doom in a similar position.

--Death³#2

Ghost Rider

A counterpart of the version that possessed Dan Ketch on Earth-616. His human host, if any, was unidentified. He patrolled the wastelands, opposing the forces of Charnel. He recognized the energies of Charnel within Death Metal and attacked him, but was shattered by him. Reforming hours later, he went after Death Metal once again, this time exhausting himself via his penance stare. However, it did have the desired effect: making Death Metal see the evil in Charnel (and himself) and make him fight that evil.

--Death³#2 (3, 4

Alicia Masters-Grimm

Wife of the Thing, she dwelled with him in Avengers Mansion, though she did occasionally go out to forage (sounds like a good idea? Sound the blind chick out for supplies in the world of killer robots, but make sure the super-heroes all stay home and keep their chairs warm). She encountered Death Wreck and brought him back to the mansion.

--Death³#2 (3

Mr. Fantastic

(Reed Richards) - Charnel's sorcery turned his body to putty, forcing him to remain within a plastic container to maintain any sort of organized form.

--Death's Head II#4

Spawn of Charnel

aka Drones and Demon Drones. They are magical creations of Charnel and are composed of a "liquid Terminator" metal known as Promethium. A portion of one of these drones served as the basis from with Dr. Necker developed Death Metal.

They are fierce fighters with blades for in place of the right hands. If they do anything besides attack, we didn't see it.

--Death's Head II#4 (Death³#1, 2, 4

"Thor's people" (presumably meaning all of Asgard)  were destroyed by Charnel about a month before the events of Death's Head II#4

--Death's Head II#4-BTS

X-Saviours

Archangel, Cable, Hulk, Storm. Obviously deriving their name from Xavier, this group contained both mutant and mutate. They were a group of guerilla soldiers who had vowed to keep a region of the wasteland safe against Charnel's drone army. They joined forces with the Minion trio and the Avengers in one last all out assault on Charnel's stronghold. Archangel was not seen after the initial conflict.

--Death³#3 (4

images:
previous images not recorded...
Ant-Man & Wasp#3, 3rd from last page, panel 5

Other appearances:
Death³#2-4 (October-December, 1993)
Ant-Man & Wasp#1 (January, 2011) - Tim Seeley (writer & penciler), Victor Olazaba (inker), Jordan D. White (editor), Mark Paniccia (supervising editor)
Ant-Man & Wasp#3 (March, 2011) - Tim Seeley (writer & penciler), Victor Olazaba (inker), Jordan D. White (editor), Mark Paniccia (supervising editor)

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

Last Updated: 03/19/14

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