In the fourth episode of “Ms. Marvel,” Kamala Khan gets a lesson on the mechanics of dimensions from the Red Daggers. They explain to her that the ClanDestines come from the Noor Dimension, which coexists with our world but cannot be seen by the naked eye. Bollywood star Farhan Aktar’s character Waleed goes on to explain that there are many dimensions around us that we cannot see. Using his handy map, he shows Kamala that these dimensions are the opposite sides of the same coin, which is really the best explanation of the various dimensions that are tethered to the MCU. Among them are the Quantum Realm in the “Ant-Man” movies, the Dark Dimension in “Doctor Strange,” and the Mirror Dimension in “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” just to name a few. These places can be accessed by “flipping” our world over to reveal one of its many sides.

But what about realms? Within the MCU, “realm” is synonymous with “dimension,” and the two can be used interchangeably. A good example of this is when Thor explains the World Tree to Dr. Jane Foster in “Thor.” He draws the branches of the tree in her notes, including Asgard, Earth (or Midgard), and the rest of the Nine Realms recognized by his people’s mythology. 

In “Thor: Love and Thunder,” Thor and Jane go on to visit even more realms, such as Omnipotence City, the Shadow Realm, and Valhalla. These are all places that they can travel to within their universe, just as the ClanDestines were able to travel through the Veil of Noor and into the land of Kamala’s ancestors. It’s almost like each dimension is a different planet, but to get there, you don’t travel through space in the conventional sense.