Who Is The Living Tribunal In The Marvel Universe?
For the better part of a century, the pantheon of Marvel heroes, villains, and those that fall in-between has seen some remarkable expansion. From new X-Men recruits to alternate takes on Spider-Man, Marvel Comics knows no bounds when it comes to its impressive roster. As a result, the Marvel Universe contains a wide spectrum of power levels — ranging from average humans with an urge to do right to god-like beings that wield abilities beyond comprehension for both good and evil — that make for some one-of-a-kind stories and nail-biting conflicts.
Although the likes of Thor and Thanos are considered some of the most powerful beings that reside under the Marvel banner, there are a handful of names that dwarf them by a wide margin. Galactus, Kang the Conqueror, and the Phoenix stand out as nigh-unstoppable forces who would give most metahumans a run for their money, yet there's an even more elite class that astoundingly surpasses them. The cosmic beings known as the Celestials come to mind, as well as the supreme leader of the multiverse known as the One Above All. However, today we're going to take a deep dive into the latter's slight inferior, the Living Tribunal.
Here are the essential elements of who the Living Tribunal is, its purpose in the Marvel Universe, and what it's capable of.
The omnipotent guardian of the multiverse
The Living Tribunal was created by Stan Lee and Marie Severin for the "Strange Tales" series in July of 1967 as the guardian of the Marvel multiverse. Donning gold skin and a levitating head, with three distinct faces — one for equity, another for necessity, and the third for revenge — the Living Tribunal was tasked with keeping every universe in harmony and ensuring a single timeline didn't overtake any others. This was an especially tall order given that there's only one Living Tribunal throughout the cosmos with no actual variants.
When it comes to the Living Tribunal's power level, as the living embodiment of the Marvel multiverse, it is classified as an omnipotent being. It's immeasurably strong, durable, and even managed to render the Infinity Stones useless. Not to mention, should all three faces agree to do so, it has the ability to obliterate entire planets, destabilize stars, and wipe out populations. By taking such drastic measures to maintain multiversal equilibrium, the Living Tribunal is neither a hero nor a villain but simply a constant that all others must adhere to.
Despite all of that, the Living Tribunal is not invincible. It met its demise at the hands of a dangerous alien race known as the Beyonders in the eighth issue of "New Avengers" Volume 3, with Tony Stark and Uatu the Watcher discovering its corpse on the Moon. This eventually led to Adam Warlock taking on the mantle, becoming the Living Tribunal's official replacement as the new overseer of the multiverse.
Few beings can contend with the seemingly limitless power of the Living Tribunal. He may not be the most well-known Marvel character, but he's clearly one of the most important.