‘Loki’: Does the TVA Exist in the Marvel Comics?
Marvel’s Loki brought the Time Variance Authority, the organization that oversees the “sacred timeline” and prunes “variants” who veer off track, into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But does this organization exist in the comic books, and what is its history?
Is the TVA in the comics?
The TVA does, in fact, exist in the Marvel comics. As Marvel explains, “This agency acts as the judge, jury, and executioner behind any temporal anomalies in the Marvel Multiverse. While they may be bureaucratic to a fault, they effectively monitor and regulate all realities and timelines from their home base in the Null-Time Zone dimension.”
As GamesRadar explains, the TVA in the comics made its debut in 1986. It happened in Walt Simonson’s Thor #371. Thor teams up with a TVA agent named Justice Peace to stop a time-traveling threat. No real backstory for the organization is provided here, however.
Shortly thereafter, Simonson brought the TVA back in The Fantastic Four. Justice Peace takes the superhero team before a TVA tribunal, where they’re judged for meddling with time. Their offenses include Reed Richards using a device to battle Doctor Doom between seconds of time. More is revealed about the organization here, including the fact that they’re headquartered in the Null-Time Zone.
Simonson was also the one who introduced Agent Mobius, played by Owen Wilson in Loki. Mobius is based on the late Marvel editor and writer Mark Gruenwald.
Who leads the organization?
Loki reveals that Kang/He Who Sits Above (Jonathan Majors) oversees the TVA. In the comics, the organization is led by Mr. Alternity. His subordinates, including Mobius, are clones of him.
As Marvel explains, “administrators like Mobius work closely with Alternity, and get notified when time travel or reality warps occur to determine their next move.”
Additionally, when it comes to the TVA in the comics, Mr. Alternity oversees employees known as chronomonitors. They’re faceless people who closely monitor all events in their assigned timelines through a computer screen.
Does the TVA in the comics have an army?
In Loki, it’s the TVA bureaucrats who take on most of the active roles on behalf of their organization. But in the comics, the TVA has an actual army.
The soldiers, called Minutemen, are also created using cloning technology. They have cybernetic suits and they’re led by the Justices, patrol officers who are allowed to time travel to solve the organization’s problems.
Justice Peace, as well as Justice Love, is one of these officers whom the organization calls upon frequently to address timeline-related issues.
As in the Loki series, the TVA in the comics, including Justices, Minutemen, and other bureaucrats, has a great deal of authority. According to Marvel, “the TVA has the will and power to undo anything, erase timelines entirely, and even expel people from history.” Clearly, it’s an organization that no one with a sense of self-preservation would want to cross.
The complete first season of Loki is currently streaming on Disney+, and the second season is in development.
