@bravojohnson
Doing this now. Moorcock’s multiverse is the first one that isn’t built like a strip mall of IP franchises. The real difference is this: in almost every modern multiverse, from Marvel to whatever franchise bolts on quantum hand-waving next, the rules stay the same. The physics is the same. The morality is the same. The narrative grammar is the same. The characters may wear different hats or have goatees, but the operating system never changes. It’s one universe duplicated endlessly, like photocopies made on cheaper paper.
Moorcock is the opposite. In his multiverse, the rules don’t stay the same. That’s the entire point. Each world feels like it’s running on a different metaphysical engine. One universe is governed by tyrannical Law; another by anarchic Chaos; another by a precarious Balance that barely remembers you exist. Time flows differently. Meaning flows differently. Identity isn’t stable—sometimes it’s barely a suggestion.