Marvel’s pantheon of heroes and villains has grown significantly over the course of a century. The same can be said for the characters that fit somewhere in the between. Marvel Comics’ remarkable roster knows no limits when it comes to diversity. These include everything from fresh X-Men recruits to alternative versions of Spider-Man.
This has resulted in a diverse range of power levels in the Marvel Universe. These powers range from ordinary humans motivated by a desire to do what is right to god-like beings with abilities beyond comprehension for both good and evil. It has ultimately resulted in some truly unique stories and nail-biting conflicts.
There are a number of names that overshadow the likes of Thor and Thanos. Nonetheless, they are both regarded to be among the most powerful creatures to exist under the Marvel umbrella. Galactus, Kang the Conqueror, and the Phoenix also stand out as near-unstoppable forces. These Marvel figures are certainly bound to give most metahumans a run for their money.
However, there is an even more elite class of metahumans who outperforms them by an astonishing margin. The celestial creatures aka the Celestials, and the One Above All, spring to mind as examples of cosmic entities. The Living Tribunal, on the other hand, is the latter’s somewhat lesser counterpart. The following are the most important aspects of who the Living Tribunal is, what it does in the Marvel Universe, and what it is capable of doing.
The all-powerful keeper of the multiverse
It was in July of 1967 that Stan Lee and Marie Severin developed the Living Tribunal. This Marvel figure served as the protector of the Marvel universe for the “Strange Tales” series. The Living Tribunal had gold skin and a levitating head. He also had three different faces — one for justice, another for necessity, and the third for vengeance. Most importantly, he was charged with maintaining the peace of all universes. Among the list of responsibilities, he was required to ensure that no universe chronology overtook any other. This was a particularly difficult task considering the fact that there is only one Living Tribunal in the whole universe, with no real variations.
When it comes to the Living Tribunal’s power level, it is classed as an omnipotent entity since it is the absolute epitome of the Marvel universe. Incredibly powerful and resilient, it even managed to make the Infinity Stones completely ineffective. That’s not to say that, if all three faces agree, it has the potential to wipe out whole planets, disrupt stars, and wipe out entire civilizations. The Living Tribunal, by adopting such extreme steps to preserve multiversal balance, is neither a hero nor a villain, but rather a constant to which all others must conform.
The end of The Living Tribunal
Notwithstanding all of this, the Living Tribunal is not impenetrable to challenge. It met its end at the hands of a deadly extraterrestrial species known as the Beyonders in the eighth issue of “New Avengers” Volume 3, featuring Tony Stark and Uatu the Watcher finding its body on the Moon. This ultimately resulted in Adam Warlock taking up the mantle and officially replacing the Living Tribunal as the superior of the multiverse.
Despite the Living Tribunal’s apparently unlimited strength, only a few creatures can stand up to it. Even while he isn’t the most well-known of the Marvel characters, he is unquestionably one of the most essential.
