Living Tribunal
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The Living Tribunal is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics Universe. The Tribunal is an omnipotent entity that is empowered by an unknown force to pass judgment on beings capable of changing the universe and to maintain the 'cosmic balance of power'.
The Living Tribunal oversees all the realities that constitute the Marvel Multiverse, from the mainstream "616" universe to all the alternate realities and pocket universes shown in "What If" comics and stories in alternate and parallel realities, such as Earth X and Squadron Supreme. He is sometimes compared to The Spectre of DC Comics though the Archangel Michael is a more analogous DC Comics counterpart. The Living Tribunal was shown to conspire with a "hooded, spectral ally" (believed by many to be The Spectre) to initiate the Big Bang which birthed the current Marvel and DC Universes.
The Living Tribunal is a trio of entities often presented in the form of a giant, golden man with a disembodied, three-faced head that floats above his body. The Tribunal passes judgment on crises that endanger the multiverse, usually through the bodies of M-Bodies, which have been empowered with a portion of the Living Tribunal's vast cosmic powers. It has been said that there is one who ranks above them, the One-Above-All (not to be confused with the leader of the Celestials, who also bears the same name), whose will he seeks to carry out. This being has never been fully described or displayed - it is generally accepted to be the supreme God of the Marvel Universe, and if so, although most likely thought of as being Stan Lee, a 2004 Fantastic Four storyline revealed this supreme being to possibly be Jack Kirby (or at least an entity resembling him). During the Marvel vs DC crossover, the Blue Brother which represented the Marvel Multiverse was intended to be the One Above All by writers until the idea was nixed by higher-ups.
The Living Tribunal has three faces. One is uncovered, one is partially covered, and one is completely covered. These three faces have multiple meanings:
- Equity, Necessity, and Vengeance. These three faces (or personalities) are the representation of trinity throughout the infinite dualisms of the Marvel Multiverse: Galactus being Equity, Eternity being Necessity, and Death being Vengeance within the Marvel 616 universe; or, In-Betweener being Equity, Master Order being Necessity, and Lord Chaos being Vengeance within the realm of magic.
When Thanos assembled the Infinity Gems into the Infinity Gauntlet, Eternity and other cosmic beings appealed to the Tribunal to oppose his actions, but the Tribunal decided that Thanos had a right to do so, on the basis that survival of the fittest is a natural law. However, when Adam Warlock took possession of the Gauntlet, the Tribunal opposed him, because of the instability that Warlock had demonstrated during the Cosmic Tribunal, when Adam Warlock lashed out at his fellow peers. Proving himself a match for the Gauntlet, the Tribunal forced Warlock to disassemble it, but did allow him to safeguard the Gems, which led to the formation of the Infinity Watch.
To date, the only known being who was capable of surpassing the Living Tribunal's might (even on an M-body scale) was Thanos of Titan, when he literally became one with the entire Marvel Universe through the use of the Artifact called the Heart of the Universe.
The Living Tribunal appears in the upper left corner of the album cover to Pink Floyd's A Saucerful of Secrets.
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