Time Variance Authority
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The Time Variance Authority (or TVA) is an extra-dimensional organization that monitors and controls time travel in the fictional Marvel Universe. The TVA has the appearance of late 20th Century Earth officeworkers. Their origin and an explanation of why they do so is as yet unrevealed.
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[edit] 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 resemble the late 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; these include Justice Peace. 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. Interestingly, In the movie Back to the Future 3 Professor Emmett Brown, along with his family, greets Marty McFly in the movie's finalé while aboard a time traveling locomotive. It is unclear if this was the inspireation for the locomotives in the comic, or vice versa.
Professor Gamble, a pastiche of Doctor Who who appeared in Power Man and Iron Fist #79 and Avengers Annual #22, was a renegade from the TVA.
[edit] Influence
The TVA claims responsibility for monitoring the multiverse 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.
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.
[edit] See also
- Chronology Protection Agency
- Temporal Integrity Commission - an organization in the Star Trek universe that performs a similar function
- Linear Men - an organization in the DC Comics universe that performs a similar function.
