How Dark Matter's Multiverse Compares To The MCU & DCEU
Both major comic book movie franchises have now brought their multiverse arcs from their respective source materials to the big and small screen. Travel between multiple realities can be done in one of two main ways. The first is against the will of the characters, or at least begrudgingly. The other is for the figures in the story to knowingly explore, intentionally delving into all the different worlds at their fingertips. The MCU and the DCEU both largely fit into the former category, as does Dark Matter.
Dark Matter obviously isn't a direct comparison to comic book movies, as it diverges from certain Multiverse trends established in superhero films. For instance, the audience watches Dark Matter with a sense of dread and tension, with Jason Dessen facing the ever-growing possibility that he may never find his way back to his own reality. Some of the universes he visits are also only very slightly different from his own, which would be too boring for the glitz and glamor of a comic book movie.
What Dark Matter's Multiverse Borrows From Other TV Shows & Movies
It may be an animated show with a vastly different tone to Dark Matter, but it's tricky not to spot similarities with Rick & Morty. Primarily, it's the fact that Rich Sanchez isn't living in his original universe but acts like he's always been there. Jason2's attempts to blend in with the Dessens in Dark Matter are rather reflective of this particular facet of Rick & Morty, plus the fact that both protagonists are brilliant scientists.
Star Trek's Mirror Universe also comes to mind when looking for other Dark Matter comparisons. The concept of seeing how a character might have turned out if even one event unfolded differently is always a fascinating exercise, and it's one that Dark Matter borrows from Star Trek. Just as the Mirror Universe was created in Star Trek by humanity's first contact with the Vulcans taking a more violent path, Jason2's universe in Dark Matter began when he chose to leave Daniela when she became pregnant with Charlie. The stakes may be higher in Star Trek, but it's the same basic concept.
What Dark Matter Does Differently To Other Movie & TV Multiverses
Dark Matter isn't an especially optimistic story, which multiverse sagas tend to be. Instead, it's a gritty struggle that promises failure at every turn. Not only that, it also largely focuses on the exploits and fallout of the actions of various versions of the same character. Movies like 2021's Spider-Man: No Way Home certainly bring together multiversal copies, but it does it in such a thrilling and meta way that it becomes the heart of the story.
Dark Matter makes the meeting of any two or more Jason Dessens so dire and so doomed to disaster that it becomes something the audience dreads, rather than something deeply desired like it is in No Way Home. However, the Apple Tv+ show does carry with it a strong, focused message about treasuring what you have rather than dwelling on what might have been. It uses the multiverse as a vehicle for the story rather than the focus. Many of Dark Matter's competitors use alternate realities to excite and entertain, not to impart a deeply philosophical way of thinking.
