Time Variance Authority
Encyclopedia
The Time Variance Authority (or TVA) is a fictional organization, a group of timeline monitors in the Marvel Universe
. They first appeared in Thor vol. 1 #372 (October 1986).
and can prune timelines if they're 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
.
Despite their claims, 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. 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 creates the Time Keepers
, the last three beings who exist in the remaining timeline in the universe; however this 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 utilizing the law-firm She-Hulk works for on several instances. Jurors for cases are plucked from time soon before they actually die, this is so the effects on the time-stream are minimal. 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 looks among differing males who undergo the process.
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 resemble Mark Gruenwald
as well as Tom DeFalco
, both longtime Marvel Comics
writers. The most frequent recurring manager is Mobius M. Mobius, a Gruenwald clone.
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 (it is not known why; presumably the TVA would have access to far better technology.) Another example of their seemingly anachronistic
technology is a time machine
shaped like an old locomotive
. Professor Justin Alphonse Gamble, a pastiche
of Doctor Who
, is a renegade from the TVA.
Marvel Universe
The Marvel Universe is the shared fictional universe where most comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Entertainment take place, including those featuring Marvel's most familiar characters, such as Spider-Man, the Hulk, the X-Men, and the Avengers.The Marvel Universe is further...
. They first appeared in Thor vol. 1 #372 (October 1986).
Fictional background
The TVA claims responsibility for monitoring the multiverseMultiverse (Marvel Comics)
Within Marvel Comics, most tales take place within the fictional Marvel Universe, which in turn is part of a larger multiverse. Starting with issues of Captain Britain, the main continuity in which most Marvel storylines take place was designated Earth-616, and the multiverse was established as...
and can prune timelines if they're 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
Thor (Marvel Comics)
Thor is a fictional superhero who appears in publications published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Journey into Mystery #83 and was created by editor-plotter Stan Lee, scripter Larry Lieber, and penciller Jack Kirby....
.
Despite their claims, 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
Kang the Conqueror
Kang the Conqueror is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appears in Avengers #8 , and was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby...
, the Delubric Consortium, and Revelation at different eras throughout the timescape. There have also been numerous incidents of time travel or reality tampering where the TVA has failed to interfere.
At the End of Time
Ultimate fate of the universe
The ultimate fate of the universe is a topic in physical cosmology. Many possible fates are predicted by rival scientific theories, including futures of both finite and infinite duration....
, the last Director of the TVA creates the Time Keepers
Avengers Forever
Avengers Forever is a twelve-issue comic book limited series published from December 1998 to November 1999 by Marvel Comics. The series was written by Kurt Busiek and Roger Stern and drawn by Carlos Pacheco and Jesus Merino.-Publication history:...
, the last three beings who exist in the remaining timeline in the universe; however this 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
Avengers (comics)
The Avengers is a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in magazines published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 The Avengers is a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in magazines published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 The Avengers...
.
The TVA are next seen utilizing the law-firm She-Hulk works for on several instances. Jurors for cases are plucked from time soon before they actually die, this is so the effects on the time-stream are minimal. 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 looks among differing males who undergo the process.
Employees
Lower-ranked TVA employees, called chronomonitors, are literally faceless. They are created artificially, using "quantumQuantum
In physics, a quantum is the minimum amount of any physical entity involved in an interaction. Behind this, one finds the fundamental notion that a physical property may be "quantized," referred to as "the hypothesis of quantization". This means that the magnitude can take on only certain discrete...
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 resemble Mark Gruenwald
Mark Gruenwald
Mark E. Gruenwald was an American comic book writer, editor, and occasional penciler. Gruenwald got his start in comics fandom, publishing his own fanzine, Omniverse, which explored the concept of continuity...
as well as Tom DeFalco
Tom DeFalco
Tom DeFalco is an American comics writer and editor, well known for his association with Marvel Comics and in particular for his work with Spider-Man.-Career:...
, both longtime Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
writers. The most frequent recurring manager is Mobius M. Mobius, a Gruenwald clone.
On occasion, the TVA hires mercenaries for use in the more dangerous missions, such as Justice Peace and Death's Head
Death's Head
Death's Head is a fictional comic book character, a robotic bounty hunter appearing in the books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Simon Furman and artist Geoff Senior for the company's Marvel UK imprint...
. These mercenaries often lose limbs, which the TVA replaces with clunky robotic parts (it is not known why; presumably the TVA would have access to far better technology.) Another example of their seemingly anachronistic
Anachronism
An anachronism—from the Greek ανά and χρόνος — is an inconsistency in some chronological arrangement, especially a chronological misplacing of persons, events, objects, or customs in regard to each other...
technology is a time machine
Time travel
Time travel is the concept of moving between different points in time in a manner analogous to moving between different points in space. Time travel could hypothetically involve moving backward in time to a moment earlier than the starting point, or forward to the future of that point without the...
shaped like an old locomotive
Locomotive
A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...
. Professor Justin Alphonse Gamble, a pastiche
Pastiche
A pastiche is a literary or other artistic genre or technique that is a "hodge-podge" or imitation. The word is also a linguistic term used to describe an early stage in the development of a pidgin language.-Hodge-podge:...
of Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
, is a renegade from the TVA.
Known staff members
- Mr. Alternity - upper management
- First Secretary
- Professor Justin Alphonse GambleDoctor WhoDoctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
- former employee, resigned and stole one of the time capsules - He Who Remains - last survivor of the Time Variance Authority, present at the end of time.
- Mobius M. Mobius - bureaucrat and middle management, attempted to discipline Fantastic Four for violations of the TVA’s laws
- Mr. Orobouros - future clone of Mr. Paradox, ceased to exist when Clockwise used the Retro-Active Cannon on Paradox
- Mr. Paradox - ceased to exist when Clockwise blasted him with the Retro-Active Cannon
- Mr. Tesseract (Junior Management) - subordinate to Mobius, he was assigned to reconstruct the lost data from Earth-616Marvel UniverseThe Marvel Universe is the shared fictional universe where most comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Entertainment take place, including those featuring Marvel's most familiar characters, such as Spider-Man, the Hulk, the X-Men, and the Avengers.The Marvel Universe is further...
- Time Zone Manager
- Time Variance Authority Police Department - accompanied Justice Peace in effort to capture Godwulf
- Justice Peace - 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
See also
- Chronology Protection AgencyChronology protection conjectureThe chronology protection conjecture is a conjecture by the physicist Professor Stephen Hawking that the laws of physics are such as to prevent time travel on all but sub-microscopic scales. Mathematically, the permissibility of time travel is represented by the existence of closed timelike curves...
- ExilesExiles (Marvel Comics)The Exiles are a group of fictional characters that feature in three Marvel Comics series, Exiles, New Exiles, and Exiles vol. 2. The Exiles consists of characters from different dimensions, or realities, which have been removed from time and space in order to correct problems in various alternate...
- Temporal Integrity Commission - an organization in the Star TrekStar TrekStar Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
universe that performs a similar function of policing time,within the fictional Star Trek Universe - Linear Men - an organization in the DC ComicsDC ComicsDC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
universe that performs a similar function,with confines of the fictional DC UniverseDC UniverseThe DC Universe is the shared universe where most of the comic stories published by DC Comics take place. The fictional characters Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are well-known superheroes from this universe. Note that in context, "DC Universe" is usually used to refer to the main DC continuity...
.