The Time Variance Authority (TVA) is a fictional organization appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It is depicted as a group of timeline monitors tasked with preventing the existence of certain timelines that are deemed too dangerous to the Multiverse.
The Time Variance Authority (TVA) first appeared in Thor #372 (October 1986).[1] Created by Walt Simonson and Sal Buscema, the TVA originally paid homage to long-time Marvel writer/editor and continuity expert Mark Gruenwald: the TVA staff were all visually designed as clones of Gruenwald (the classification system for alternate realities—the Marvel multiverse—was devised, in part, by Gruenwald).[2]
In July 2024, Marvel Comics announced the five-issue comic book series TVA, written by Loki season two writer Katharyn Blair with art by Pere Perez, to debut in December 2024. The series sees the comics' version of the TVA blended with the one established in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) along with the comics debut of some MCU characters.[3] Blair called TVA her "comics interpretation" of the organization following Loki's sacrifice at the end of season two, calling the comic a "funny, in-between awesome space".[4] The series features Mobius, O.B., Casey, B-15, and Miss Minutes from the series, along with comics characters who are stranded after their timelines that were destroyed such as Jimmy Hudson, Captain Peggy Carter, and Gambit, and stranded Earth-65 resident Gwen Stacy.[3][4]
Antecedents
Squadron Sinister/Squadron Supreme
Writer Roy Thomas and Sal's brother, artist John Buscema, had previously explored the concept of a Marvel multiverse with Marvel's evil Justice League correlates, called the Squadron Sinister, in Avengers #69 (1969).[5] Thomas later introduced a heroic version of the Squadron Sinister named the Squadron Supreme, which first appeared in Avengers #85–86 (February–March 1971), and which was co-created with John Buscema.[6]
Captain Britain and the Dimensional Development Court
The concept of a timeline monitoring organization had previously been explored in a Captain Britainstory arc originally published in the Marvel UK series The Daredevils #6–8 (1983). Written by Alan Moore and Alan Davis, Captain Britain is brought outside of time to the Supreme Omniversal Tribunal in Eden Place to testify before Lord Mandragon, Majestrix of the Dimensional Development Court, on behalf of the former majestrix, Opal Luna Saturnyne. Saturnyne is accused of failing to protect the multiverse from the creation of a deviant version of Earth-238.[8]
Before Captain Britain's testimony, Mandragon declares that the Earth-238 universe must be "removed" from the multiverse before it destroys the continuums of the other universes.[9] Saturnyn's legal counsel, a faceless being referred to as Lord Chancellor, objects, as the destruction of the Earth-238 universe will destroy material evidence of Saturnyne's innocence. Lord Mandragon overrules the defense's objection, citing Ominversal Writ clause 723-801-(d). He then proceeds to remove the dangerous deviant timestream using crystal technology.[10]
It is revealed during the trial that the prime Earth that exists in Marvel Comics is Earth-616. Because of this story, Alan Moore is usually credited with naming the mainstream Marvel Universe "Earth-616." However, Alan Davis has said that it was invented by Dave Thorpe, the previous writer of the UK-published Captain Britain stories.[11]
TVA as homage to Gruenwald and Captain Britain
While Captain Britain's 1983 story arc does not mention the Time Variance Authority, the Dimensional Development Court contains elements that were plainly retconned by Walt Simonson and Sal Buscema[citation needed] and in subsequent incarnations (such as the TVA employees—chronomonitors—functioning and appearing in new universes in the same manner as the Captain Britain Corps). According to Mark Gruenwald's widow Catherine, Gruenwald's 1985 Squadron Supreme limited series was the work about which he was the proudest.[12]
Fictional background
The TVA claims responsibility for monitoring the multiverse and can prune timelines if they are deemed too dangerous to exist. They also take action to prevent other beings from altering the past or future. They were first seen allowing Justice Peace, a lawman from the future, to travel to the 20th century in order to stop the killer Zaniac. Peace is able to succeed in his mission thanks to the assistance of Thor.[13]
Despite their claims,[vague] the TVA's influence over time is not absolute. The scope of their influence is bordered by Alioth in the distant past as well as Kang the Conqueror, the Delubric Consortium, and Revelation at different eras throughout the timescape.[14] There have also been numerous incidents of time travel or reality tampering where the TVA has failed to interfere.
At the End of Time, the last Director of the TVA, known as He Who Remains, creates the Time-Keepers, the last three beings who exist in the remaining timeline in the universe, who subsequently enslave Immortus. The process also ends up creating the Time Twisters, a trio of beings who imperiled all realities until stopped by Thor and other members of the Avengers.
The TVA are next seen using the law-firm that She-Hulk works for. Jurors for cases are plucked from time soon before they actually die, minimizing the effects on the time stream. This also establishes the tendencies for time-travelers to go through genetic scrambling, also to minimize the effect on the time-stream. Notably, the scrambling tends to cause similar appearances among various males who undergo the process. A defendant who is found guilty in one of these trials is executed with a weapon called the Retroactive Cannon, or Ret-Can (a reference to retroactive continuity, or "retcon", a practice used by storytellers to add previously unknown material to an event or remove previously established material from an event in a previous story), which erases the victim, deleting their existence from the universe by undoing their birth and entire history. She-Hulk herself was handed this harsh sentence, but it was overturned as a reward when she helped defeat the villain Clockwise.[15]
During the "Venom War" storyline, the Time Variance Authority arrives following a fight with the Zombiotes to bring in Jimmy Hudson because he is from another universe. When Deadpool mentions a multiversal threat, Mobius M. Mobius disappears with Jimmy and the TVA agents stating that it's not his department.[16]
Employees
Lower-ranked TVA employees, called Chronomonitors, are literally faceless. They are created artificially, using "quantum technology". The moment a new reality appears, a new faceless agent is created to monitor it, along with the necessary equipment (a personal computer-like device, plus a desk and a chair) to do so. Cloned managers of the Chronomonitors resemble Mark Gruenwald—and, later, Tom DeFalco—both longtime Marvel Comics writers. The most frequent recurring manager is Mobius M. Mobius, a Gruenwald clone.[17]
On occasion, the TVA hires mercenaries for use in the more dangerous missions, such as Justice Peace and Death's Head. These mercenaries often lose limbs which the TVA replaces with clunky robotic parts. Another example of their seemingly anachronistic technology is a time machine shaped like an old locomotive. Professor Justin Alphonse Gamble, a pastiche of the Doctor,[18][19] is a renegade from the TVA.
Mr. Ouroboros[24] – A future clone of Mr. Paradox, ceased to exist when Clockwise used the Retro-Active Cannon on Paradox. A redesigned version of him based on the MCU version later appeared in the comics.[25]
Mr. Paradox[24] – He ceased to exist when Clockwise blasted him with the Retro-Active Cannon
Mr. Tesseract (Junior Management)[20] – A subordinate to Mobius, he was assigned to reconstruct the lost data from Earth-616
Time Variance Authority Police Department[26] – A time police group that accompanied Justice Peace in effort to capture Godwulf
Justice Peace[27] – A former freelance agent. He was punished for infractions of time travel. Currently a member of the Federal Police and Special Services Units that are based in Brooklynopolis
Justice Might, Justice Truth, and Justice Liberty[28] – Three time police officers who aided Mobius in recapturing the Fantastic Four while they were running loose inside the Null-Time Zone.
Justice Love[29] – A TVA agent and Justice Peace's partner. She appears to have legal training.
Justice Goodwill[24] – A court officer. He ceased to exist when Clockwise blasted him with the Retro-Active Cannon.
Time-Keepers[30] – A group of beings created by He Who Remains to protect time.
Minutemen[31] – The armored agents of the TVA who are assigned to guard the TVA's facilities from the Null-Time Zone and extract the disruptive entities that come from the other time periods. Each of its members are either a clone, a cyborg, or a robot.
This version of the organization was created by He Who Remains, who sought to stop evil variants of himself from coming into being after a "multiversal war" waged between them led to him destroying the multiverse to stop them, by keeping the "Sacred Timeline", a collection of universes that did not have a variant of himself in it, such as Earth-616, isolated and in check. In building the TVA, he pulled variants of various people from across time, erased their memories, made them believe they and the TVA were created by the Time-Keepers, and built androids to serve as the Time-Keepers. He Who Remains, wanting a replacement, laid the foundation for a variant of 616-Loki to be brought into the TVA headquarters and to help the TVA find Sylvie, a female Loki variant. In the first-season finale "For All Time. Always.", He Who Remains meets Loki and Sylvie, but is murdered by Sylvie, which creates a new multiverse to form, causing the Sacred Timeline to be exposed to it. Unprepared for dealing with the multiverse, the TVA becomes in danger of destruction, until Loki, who believes the TVA is the best protection against the infinite variants of Kang, finds a way to save it.[42]
The TVA appear in Deadpool & Wolverine (2024),[43] with Paradox (who is loosely based on Mr. Paradox and portrayed by Matthew Macfadyen).[44] Paradox, a rogue TVA agent operating in a department that oversees Earth-10005, sends his rogue crew of Minutemen to capture Wade Wilson. Inside his department, he offers Wilson a spot in Earth-616 although at the cost of his own universe as it had lost its "anchor being" Logan / Wolverine and is dying. Wilson refuses and steals Paradox's TemPad to find a variant of Logan, one who failed to save his own timeline, and brings him to Paradox, who prunes them both to the Void. The new TVA leader Hunter B-15 learns of an unsanctioned "Time-Ripper" and investigates. At Paradox's TVA outpost in 10005, Wilson and Logan stop Cassandra Nova from using the Time-Ripper on every universe causing Nova to disintegrate. B-15 arrives and has Paradox arrested for making use of an unsanctioned "Time-Ripper" and tells Logan that he has become better than he was on his world.
The TVA is mentioned in the third season episode "What If... The Watcher Disappeared?" of What If...? (2024). TVA technology such as reset charges are additionally mentioned.
The Department of Temporal Investigations – an organization similar to the TVA featured in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Trials and Tribble-ations"
Time Lords – a race of time-traveling humanoids central to the Doctor Who universe, who unlike the TVA, refuse to interfere in events in time.
↑ Avengers vol. 1 #69 (October 1969). Marvel Comics.
↑ Brevoort, Tom; DeFalco, Tom; Manning, Matthew K.; Sanderson, Peter; Wiacek, Win (2017). Marvel Year By Year: A Visual History (Updated and expandeded.). DK. p.148. ISBN9781465455505.
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