Marvel Database

Due to recent developments, please be aware that the use of large language model or generative AIs in writing article content is strictly forbidden. This caveat has now been added to the Manual of Style and Blocking Policy.

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Marvel Database:Notability Policy

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This policy outlines which pages may or may not be created on the Marvel Database. For a page to be properly indexed, it must make use of one of our existing templates, so the types of templates naturally outline the types of article this wiki is devoted to covering:

In-Universe

This wiki covers over eight decades of Marvel Comics and their adaptations in every possible media. To avoid flooding the wiki with short pages on minor subjects, certain rules have been established regarding the types of pages that are allowed to have articles. While receiving a unique name within an official Marvel source almost always requires a new page to cover the subject, other cases may also receive their own articles under certain considerations.

Characters

As the most common and popular type of articles on this wiki, character pages have specific rules regarding their notability:

Characters with a Known Name

  • Do: create articles for characters from a known reality of origin with a known full name, no matter how minor their role in the story. Note that many characters from alien planets, different dimensions or even regular Earth humans of other cultures may only have one given name, and the modern distinction between the first and the last names would not apply to them.
    • Characters from a known reality with a prominent role in at least one storyline who are known either by their alias, partial name and alias or partial name and title (Doctor Smythe, Baron Schmidt, Officer Smith) can also be given articles, consult this section of the Naming Conventions for details on how to format the name properly. Characters who receive alternate universe counterparts, including adaptations in other media, are always considered prominent enough for a separate article.
    • Characters from a known reality without an alias or title and only with a common partial name known automatically go onto the Character Index for their respective reality. The same applies for the characters with a partial name and title but only minor role within the story. Characters without a full name whose appearance is linked to their membership of an organization (NYPD, S.H.I.E.L.D., etc.) can be added to a respective Member List instead.
    • When the character's reality of origin is unknown and a Temporary Reality Number is unwarranted, they should go onto the Character Index/Earth-Unknown if they are Variants of an another character with known full name or alias. Unique characters with no known Variants may receive pages under the general (Multiverse) parenthesis. Characters from an unknown reality who are commonly known for being transplanted from it to an alternate reality (Howard the Duck, Bishop, Rachel Summers, Miles Morales etc.) may receive character pages under the number of their new home reality.
  • Do not: create articles for characters with no unique identification at all. It is best to wait until their role in the story increases to a point where they receive one. Special exceptions can be made for characters who affect the narrative but did not receive any names for a prolonged period of time, such as Deathbird's Child.
    • Video game costumes that alter the playable character's appearance into that of an alternate character without affecting the storyline are not counted as proper apperance of the alternate character or their costume. These additional skins should be desribed in the Trivia section of the main character's page instead of a separate character page.

Characters from other IPs

  • Do: create articles for characters who were at the time of publication licensed by Marvel in an official capacity and have been treated as part of the Prime Marvel Universe. This includes characters from Rom, Conan, Micronauts, Godzilla and others who have been deeply integrated into the history the Marvel Universe.
  • Do not: create articles for characters from crossovers made with involvement from two companies in which both titles have equal weight (DC/Marvel, Marvel vs. Capcom, Star Trek: The Next Generation/X-Men). Any references to those characters in the context of Marvel should lead to their respective external wikis.
    • Characters from licensed works published by Marvel should not be given pages on this wiki. This applies not only to Star Trek, Planet of the Apes, 2001, A Space Odyssey and the like, but also to Doctor Who, Transformers and Alf, notable for receiving official designations within the Marvel Multiverse. While covering the histories of these realities on their separate pages is allowed, doing the same for their characters is not and any links to them should lead to their respective wikis instead.

Real World People

  • Do: create articles for real world people appearing in the Marvel Comics (or adaptations thereof) only if they play a significant role within the storyline, beyond the real life events.
    • Because the Prime Marvel Universe operates on the Sliding Timescale, any references to concurrent entertainers, political leaders and other public figures are considered Topical. However, examples of such figures in the past are treated as historical: The Beatles and John F. Kennedy are considered topical within the comics published during the 1960s, but historical in the decades going forward. Note that the concept of Topical References is generally not applicable within live-action adaptations or short-lived Alternate Realities that do not develop a Sliding Timescale.
  • Do not: create articles for famous people based on casual mentions, one-panel cameos and brief appearances in which they don't interact with Marvel characters in a notable capacity.
    • In an old tradition dating back to Stan Lee himself, cameos of Marvel staff are treated as in-universe appearances and are explicitly allowed to have reality-numbered articles.

Teams and Organizations

  • Do: create articles for groups known by a proper name, including corporations, law enforcement agencies and superhero teams.
    • For criminal organizations with no "official" name per se, use of "gang", "mob" or "crime family" where applicable is also appropriate.
  • Do not: create articles for groups with no proper identification. This applies to any group of superheroes or supervillains currently working together who do not use a common name for themselves or civilian organizations and companies whose proper name has not yet been revealed.

Races and Species

  • Do: create articles for any alien, magical or other fantastical races that have received a proper name, whether they are sentient or non-sentient in nature.
  • Do not: create race articles for aliens or creatures that have not been properly named: "{{Famous Character}}'s race" articles are not welcome.

Locations

  • Do: create articles for properly named locations, whether they originate in the Marvel Universe or in the real world. Use common sense when it comes to the level of detail: for example while Riga is a prominent city and definitely deserves an article, giving each of its landmarks a separate page may be excessive, especially if no unique action involving Marvel characters took place there.
    • Due to how many Marvel characters live and operate in the New York City, having articles for individual locations within it is almost always appropriate, down to individual streets and buildings.
    • For locations without a proper name, create an article only if they have sufficient history. For example, articles of "Character's Residence" type are only appropriate when the character(s) had not only lived in them for a sufficiently lengthy period of time, but had unique events happen to them there, beyond simply waking up and going about their daily business.
  • Do not: create articles for unnamed locations with only a handful of appearances and no significant role in the storyline. This includes various unnamed bases, lairs, hideouts, and warehouses that have no distinctive features and do not reappear beyond their introductory storyline.

Items

  • Do: create articles for any unique or unusual items, especially of alien, magical or technological origin, no matter how few appearances they might have. For example, the Cobalt Device appeared only in a single story but featured clearly unique fantastical properties that deserve to be documented. Items of non-fantastical origin may acquire notability through unusual modifications (for example, Elektra's Twin Sai are not interchangeable with any others due to special additions that Elektra had made to them) or by receiving a unique name with detailed history, such as Shurayuki.
    • When it comes to the character outfits, any suits that possess unique capabilities (magical or technological) are automatically deserving an article. Suits from a special material (such as Unstable Molecules) that have similar properties should be grouped together: see X-Uniforms and Fantastic Four Uniforms.
  • Do not: create articles for items of common make with no special properties. That means that when a character frequently uses gun(s) or sword(s), they do not become notable until a significant change makes them sufficiently different in function from the "factory settings". The same applies to other common items, no matter how strongly associated with a character (glasses, hats, eyepatches and so on). As a good rule of thumb, remove any logos from an item and see whether it is still uniquely associated with Marvel Universe: sorry, but Wolverine's cigars are no different from any others.
    • Suits made out of regular fabric with no unique properties generally should not be given individual articles. However, an exception is made for characters who had multiple distinct outfits, either within the Prime Marvel Universe or alternate realities, including adaptation in other media. In these cases, all versions of the suit should be condensed into a single page: Spider-Man's Suit instead of Advanced Suit, Electro-Proof Suit, Homemade Suit etc.

Vehicles

  • Do: create articles for any individually named vehicles, from regular motor vehicles to starfighters and space stations. If the same name is used for different vehicles, separate them by type or by model. Vehicles without a proper name are only given articles if they have been significantly modified beyond their original capabilities, such as the Punisher's Battle Van.
  • Do not: create articles for regular vehicles with no unique properties. This applies to character's cars, motorcycles, helicopters, private jets, yachts, submarines and so on. If it looks and functions like a regular model, it does not get a separate article.

Realities

  • Do not: create articles for fan-made reality numbers not found in official sources. When no official number exists for a new reality, this wiki uses the Temporary Reality Numbers system. Regular users are prohibited from assigning new TRNs. If you believe that a new TRN should be assigned and are commited to creating an article for it as well as related pages, please leave a message here.

Glossary Entries

  • Do not: create glossary entries for terms and phenomena that have no special meaning in the Marvel Universe. For example, Mutation is a real word with a specific additional meaning within the Marvel Universe, while Chimichanga is not, no matter how much Deadpool loves to talk about it.

Out-of-Universe

Comics

  • Do: create articles for comics published by Marvel Comics or formerly by Timely Comics. This includes individual issues, reprints such as TPBs, comics from publishers which were later acquired by Marvel (such as Ultraverse line published by Malibu Comics), comics from imprints such as Marvel UK and licensed comics with no connections to the Marvel Universe such as Alien or Star Wars. Foreign language reprints and collections of Marvel Comics are also allowed, but generally are given a lower priority.

Movies

  • Do: create articles for upcoming live-action and animated films only after an official press release announces the release date, the title, or both. In the event of a film getting delayed without a new release date, the page for it can remain until it receives a new one.
  • Do not: create articles for film projects that are only reported in leaks or are mentioned by talent in interviews. Films with release dates announced for them, that gets canceled before or during production will not receive pages, and are instead listed under the Canceled Films list.

Novels

  • Do: create articles for novels starring Marvel characters such as Hulk, X-Men or Spider-Man. This includes novelizations of movies and other non-comic media.
  • Do not: create articles for novels in which Marvel characters are mentioned extensively but do not play a major role such as Ready Player One or other similar works.

Series and episodes

  • Do: create articles for Marvel Television Series, web series and podcasts that either have been released or have been announced through official sources. This includes non-fiction documentary series such as Marvel's 616, web series released through official Youtube channels such as Marvel Funko Shorts and podcasts that have been made in official collaboration with Marvel, be they fictional or non-fictional. Episodes for individual series may be created only after the title has been announced.
  • Do not: create articles for series which have been rumored/speculated but not yet announced. Do not create articles for Youtube series or podcasts discussing Marvel, no matter how popular they are, if they had not been made with direct involvement from Marvel Entertainment. Do not create articles for episodes of other television series in which Marvel characters appear in any form, animated or live action (that means no Simpsons, no South Park and no Family Guy).

Staff

  • Do: create articles for Marvel Comics writers, artists, and editors. For adaptations in various media including Films, TV and Video Games, only create articles for credited writers, directors and producers.
  • Do not: create articles for actors, no matter how prolific or popular when it comes to Marvel. This wiki has a massive enough scope as it is, and you can easily find such information elsewhere. This means that people like Robert Downey Jr. and Samuel L. Jackson do not get individual articles, but Ryan Reynolds does, since he is credited as a writer on Deadpool 2.

Story arcs, storylines and events

  • Do: create articles for story arcs, storylines and events that span more than one individual issue. Please familiarize yourself with those definition first and use official titles featured either within the issue itself (on the cover or on the recap page) or in the official promotional material.
  • Do not: create articles for fan-made names not featured within the comics themselves.

Video games

  • Do: create articles for released or announced Marvel video games of any platform, including mobile and VR titles.
  • Do not: create articles for video games, in which Marvel characters appear only as customizable skins or otherwise play no role in a Marvel-exclusive storyline. This specifically means no titles such as Fortnite or Kingdom Hearts III.
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