Earth-717
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In the fictional Marvel Comics Multiverse, Earth-717 or Earth 717 is a designation used to identify a continuity in which most of 2005's What If one-shot titles take place.
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[edit] Origin of Earth-717
The designation of this fictional earth is from a Newsarama article focused on an alternate earth whose timeline diverged from our own during the era of Feudal Japan, with the emergence of a samurai known as "The Devil Who Dares." This is apparently a counterpart of Daredevil of Earth-616.
This alternate earth is seen only in six What If one-shot comics released in December 2005. It also features a Captain America in the Civil War, a Wolverine fighting Chicago mobsters in the 1920s, a Namor the Sub-Mariner who was raised by his human father on the surface rather than by his Atlantean mother, a Thor as the herald of Galactus and a Fantastic Four team re-imagined as Russian cosmonauts rather than American astronauts.
Each story begins when Hector Espejo, a computer hacker from Earth-616, discovers a way to hack into the internet of a parallel universe known as "Earth-717." He discovers the heroes of that Earth, and how they are similar to or different from their Earth-616 counterparts.
[edit] What If: Captain America
This one-shot, titled "What If...Captain America Fought in the Civil War," is written by Tony Bedard and penciled by Carmine Di Giandomenico (with cover by Tony Harris). It focuses on the era of the American Civil War, when Union Army Private Stephen Rogers becomes the man who would be Captain America after being transformed by another soldier named Wilson (a counterpart of Sam Wilson, also known as The Falcon) using mystical Native American means. He is involved in the terrible border conflict between Kansas and Missouri -- the same conflict that spawned the outlaw Josey Wales. He then fights enemies including "The White Skull" (Colonel Buck "Bucky" Barnes), an Earth-717 homage to the Red Skull, who is an antagonist of Captain America in normal continuity. This isn't the first time Captain America has been re-imagined in a different era: Jack Kirby, in his second run on Captain America, introduced the Earth-616 version's ancestor, Captain Steven Rogers, as an in-continuity Revolutionary War Captain America. This ancestor was later revisited in an early issue of the spin-off book Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty.
During the story, a computer hacker discovers research on the General, a modern-day descendant of Civil War-era Captain America who battles against a HYDRA-like group known as "The White Skulls". He also researches an alternate history of Captain America's family tree.
[edit] What If: Daredevil
This one-shot, written by Rick Veitch and penciled by Tommy Lee Edwards, focuses on a blinded civilian in feudal Japan who has special senses and is growing out of the shadow of his father's failure. This unnamed civilian grows up to become a samurai known as "The Devil Who Dares" and stands against an evil controlling Shogun who is an Earth-717 homage to Wilson Fisk, known to Marvel readers as Kingpin. The character is based on the famous Japanese samurai hero Zatoichi.
Other Marvel characters who show up are versions of Elektra and Bulls-Eye. This version of Bulls-Eye chronicles the events, and they are passed down through the ages until they are used by Matthew Murdock, a millionaire industrialist and bestselling author.
[edit] What If: Fantastic Four
This one-shot, written by Mike Carey and penciled by Marshall Roger, re-imagines the Fantastic Four as if they were Russian cosmonauts instead of American astronauts. In this alternate timeline, the Fantastic Four are known as "The Ultimate Federalist Freedom Fighters." They include Piotr Rasputin (presumably an Earth-717 version of Colossus, member of the X-Men), Illyana Rasputin (an Earth-717 version of Illyana Rasputin, sister of Colossus), Natasha Romanoff (an Earth-717 version of the Black Widow) and Mr. Fantastic, who lived in Russia after World War II. The team is involved in the Cold War and other historical events. A similar tone can be found in an Elseworlds mini-series called Superman: Red Son, which features Superman succeeding Josef Stalin as Premier of the Soviet Union.
The story actually dates back to when Nathaniel Richards (father of Reed Richards) ends up staying in Russia after the First World War and grows up as a scientist for the Soviet Union. Reed ends up in space with his best friend Piotr Rasputin, Piotr's sister Illyana, and ex-KGB agent Natasha Romanoff.
[edit] What If: Sub-Mariner
This one-shot, written by Greg Pak and penciled by David Lopez with a cover by Carlo Pagulayan, tells the alternate history of Namor, who is raised by his human father on the surface instead of going to Atlantis with his mother because she died instead of his father. Namor then battles Nazis in World War II alongside this universe's version of the Torch. Later he discovers the Nazis have found Atlantis, enslaving the people there, and he goes to save his forsaken people.
[edit] What If: Thor
This one-shot, written by Robert Kirkman with pencils and cover by Michael Avon Oeming, features Thor transformed as the herald of Galactus. When this universe's version of Galactus and the Silver Surfer attack Asgard, the Norse Gods and all the warriors of Valhalla put up a brave yet losing battle. However, when Thor defeats the Silver Surfer, Galactus is impressed and offers him a deal. If Thor serves as his herald, he shall spare Asgard. Seeing that there is no other choice to save his world Thor concedes. He becomes the herald of Galactus and leads him through the universe in search of planets to consume.
[edit] What If: Wolverine
This one-shot, also titled "Public Enemy Number One," was written by Daniel Way with pencils by Jon Proctor and cover by Tony Harris. It features a story involving Wolverine going to the mob-ruled city of Chicago on a matter of revenge against the Crimelord known as Scarface. As Wolverine discovers just how much power Scarface holds over the city and how many city officials and police are corrupt, he decides that it is up to him to make sure that they are all "Punished." Way and Proctor are best known for their work on Gun Theory, which is published under Marvel's Epic Comics imprint.
