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{{Short description|Marvel Comics fictional character}}
{{Infobox comics character <!--Wikipedia:WikiProject Comics-->
|image=TLT2.png
|caption=The Living Tribunal<br>Art by [[Jim Starlin]]
|character_name=Living Tribunal
|real_name=
|species=Cosmic Entity
|publisher=[[Marvel Comics]]
|debut= ''[[Strange Tales]]'' #157 (June 1967)
|creators=[[Stan Lee]] <br> [[Marie Severin]] <br> [[Herb Trimpe]]
|alliances=
|aliases= 
|powers= Reality warping <br> Near [[omniscience]]
}}
The '''Living Tribunal''' is a cosmic entity appearing in [[American comic book]]s published by [[Marvel Comics]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=DeFalco |first1=Tom |last2=Sanderson |first2=Peter |last3=Brevoort |first3=Tom |last4=Teitelbaum |first4=Michael |last5=Wallace |first5=Daniel |last6=Darling |first6=Andrew |last7=Forbeck |first7=Matt |last8=Cowsill |first8=Alan |last9=Bray |first9=Adam |title=The Marvel Encyclopedia |date=2019 |publisher=DK Publishing |isbn=978-1-4654-7890-0 |page=215}}</ref> The character first appeared in ''[[Strange Tales]]'' #157 (June 1967) and was created by [[Stan Lee]], [[Marie Severin]], and [[Herb Trimpe]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Wells |first1=John |title=American Comic Book Chronicles: 1965–1969 |date=2014 |publisher=TwoMorrows Publishing |isbn=978-1605490557 |page=188}}</ref>

==Publication history==
The Living Tribunal debuted in a storyline called "The Sands of Death" in ''[[Strange Tales]]'' #157–163 (June–December 1967), giving [[mysticism|mystic]] hero [[Doctor Strange]] a limited time to prove Earth is worth saving.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Brevoort |first1=Tom |last2=DeFalco |first2=Tom |last3=Manning |first3=Matthew K. |last4=Sanderson |first4=Peter |last5=Wiacek |first5=Win |title=Marvel Year By Year: A Visual History |date=2017 |publisher=DK Publishing |isbn=978-1465455505 |page=122}}</ref> Established as apparently the supreme power in the Marvel Universe, the character made several sporadic appearances over the years, including ''[[What If (comics)|What If]]'' #32 (April 1982); ''[[Rom the Space Knight|Rom]]'' #41 (April 1983) and ''[[Secret Wars II]]'' #6 (December 1985). The Living Tribunal revealed clues as to its true purpose and nature in ''[[Silver Surfer (comic book)|Silver Surfer]]'' (vol. 3) #31 (December 1989).

After brief appearances in the role of observer in ''[[Guardians of the Galaxy (1969 team)|Guardians of the Galaxy]]'' #16 (September 1991) and ''[[Quasar (Wendell Vaughn)|Quasar]]'' #26 (Sept. 1991), the character had a significant role in the [[Limited series (comics)|limited series]] ''[[The Infinity Gauntlet]]'' #1–6 (July–December 1991), ''[[Warlock and the Infinity Watch]]'' #1 (February 1992), and ''[[DC vs. Marvel]]'' #1–4 (April–May 1996). The Living Tribunal's role was eventually expanded on in ''[[She-Hulk]]'' (vol. 2) #12 (November 2006).<ref name="CBR moments">{{cite web|url=https://www.cbr.com/living-tribunal-op-moments/|title=The Living Tribunal's 10 Most OP Moments In Marvel Comics|last=Bailey|first=Caleb|website=[[Comic Book Resources]]|date=July 30, 2019|access-date=October 14, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190731125643/https://www.cbr.com/living-tribunal-op-moments/|archive-date=July 31, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Living Tribunal was featured in the 2003's [[Marvel: The End]] storyline. The character also made an appearance during the ''[[New Avengers]]'' storyline "Time Runs Out", and battled the [[Beyonders]].<ref name="CBR moments" />

==Fictional character biography==
The Living Tribunal is an entity that oversees and maintains balance in the realities that constitute the Marvel Comics [[Multiverse (Marvel Comics)|Multiverse]], including the [[Earth-616|mainstream universe]] and all [[Parallel universe (fiction)|alternate universes]]. He serves as a judge of these realities.

The character is first encountered by Doctor Strange, announcing its intent to destroy Earth due to its potential for evil. After a series of trials, Doctor Strange is able to convince the Living Tribunal that good also exists, and Earth is spared.<ref>''Strange Tales'' #157–163 (June–December 1967)</ref> The Tribunal reappears to the Galadorian spaceknight [[Rom the Space Knight|Rom]];<ref>''Rom'' #41 (April 1983)</ref> appears briefly with the rest of the cosmic hierarchy when in discussion with the entity the [[Beyonder]];<ref>''Secret Wars II'' #6 (December 1985)</ref> and reveals to the former Herald of [[Galactus]] (the [[Silver Surfer]]) that its three faces represent "Equity" (hooded face), "Vengeance" (partially shrouded face), and "Necessity" (fully shrouded face).<ref name="Surfer31">''Silver Surfer'' (vol. 3) #31 (December 1989)</ref> The fourth side of the Living Tribunal's head is a void, with the entity claiming that the cosmic entity the [[Stranger (Marvel Comics)|Stranger]] once existed as this part of its being.<ref name="Surfer31"/>{{clarify|reason=What does this mean?|date=August 2015}} The character also witnesses the triumph of the hero [[Quasar (Wendell Vaughn)|Quasar]]—acting as the [[Incarnation|avatar]] of cosmic entity [[Infinity (Marvel Comics character)|Infinity]]—over the villain [[Maelstrom (comics)|Maelstrom]], who acts for the entity Oblivion.<ref>''Quasar'' #26 (September 1991)</ref>

During ''DC vs. Marvel'', the Tribunal teamed up with the [[Spectre (DC Comics character)|Spectre]] to save their worlds from the two cosmic brothers' attempts to destroy one of the two multiverses. Their pact, with the help of Access, created the Amalgam multiverse by merging the two multiverses, to "buy some time".<ref>''Marvel vs. DC'' #3</ref> As the new Amalgam multiverse was unstable, the former multiverses are restored.  The struggle of "The Brothers" continues until the efforts of [[Batman]] and [[Captain America]] against them make them realize they both "Did Well", and the multiverses are spared.<ref>''DC vs. Marvel'' #4</ref>

The Living Tribunal's power is virtually limitless, as the entity prevents the [[Infinity Gems]] from being used in unison,<ref>''Warlock and the Infinity Watch'' #1 (February 1992)</ref> although it remains subservient to a single, even higher entity referred to as "[[One Above All]]" (not to be confused with the celestial also called the [[Celestial (comics)#Known Celestials|One Above All]]).<ref>''The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z'' Hardcover vol. 6</ref> The entity has representatives called ''The Magistrati'' who dispense judgments by request on alien worlds, and chose to reveal the previously unseen face of "Necessity" to [[She-Hulk]] as a reflection of her own face, stating that the face is a "Cosmic Mirror which reminds us to always judge others as we would have ourselves judged".<ref>''She-Hulk'' (vol. 2) #12 (November 2006)</ref>

[[Iron Man]] and [[Uatu]] later find what appears to be the Living Tribunal's withered corpse on the moon, with no sign of who killed it.<ref>''New Avengers'' (vol. 3) #8 (July 2013)</ref>

When [[Hank Pym|Yellowjacket]] ventured into the Multiverse during the ''Time Runs Out'' storyline, the cause of his death was discovered: the Living Tribunal had died fighting the [[Beyonders]] while attempting to halt the annihilation of the Marvel Multiverse.<ref name="NA30">''New Avengers'' (vol. 3) #30 (April 2015)</ref>

An alternative version of [[Adam Warlock]] took up the Living Tribunal's vacant position on orders from the One-Above-All (here called "Above-All-Others").<ref>''Thanos: The Infinity Finale'' (April 2016)</ref>

After the devourer of worlds Galactus evolves into a lifebringer, [[Lord Chaos (Marvel Comics)|Lord Chaos]] and Master Order consider this to throw the cosmic hierarchy out of balance, and ask the new Living Tribunal to render judgment. However, when the Tribunal decides in favor of a "new balance for a new cosmos", Order and Chaos join forces to seemingly kill the entity.<ref>''The Ultimates 2'' #2</ref> The Living Tribunal is later resurrected and seen taking Lord Chaos and Master Order to judgment after the defeat of the First Firmament.<ref>''The Ultimates 2'' #100</ref>

==Powers and abilities==
[[Thanos]] wielding the [[Infinity Gems|Infinity Gauntlet]] ranked the Tribunal's power as the highest in Marvel's regular multiversal hierarchy.<ref>''Thanos'' Annual #1 (2014)</ref> However, the Tribunal has also referred to a higher entity that vastly eclipses its own power,<ref>''Thanos: The Infinity Revelation'' #1 (August 2014)</ref> and was killed by the Beyonders.<ref name="NA30"/>

The Living Tribunal was the embodiment of the Marvel Multiverse,<ref>''New Avengers'' (vol. 3) #30</ref> and the sum totality of all the abstract entities within it.<ref name="Surfer31"/> Nonetheless, the Tribunal is not as powerful as the multiversal incarnation of [[Eternity (Marvel Comics)|Eternity]] and was referred to as an internal function of the entity.<ref>''The Ultimates'' (vol. 2) #100 (February 2017)</ref>

==In other media==
* [[Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely]], the screenwriters of the [[Marvel Cinematic Universe]] (MCU) films ''[[Avengers: Infinity War]]'' and ''[[Avengers: Endgame]]'', revealed that the Living Tribunal was originally planned to have an appearance in the latter, in which they would have judged [[Thanos (Marvel Cinematic Universe)|Thanos]] for his crimes against the universe, including "[[The Blip]]".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Itzkoff |first=Dave |date=April 29, 2019 |title='Avengers: Endgame': The Screenwriters Answer Every Question You Might Have |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/29/movies/avengers-endgame-questions-and-answers.html |url-access=limited |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190514173025/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/29/movies/avengers-endgame-questions-and-answers.html |archive-date=May 14, 2019 |access-date=May 15, 2019 |website=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://screenrant.com/avengers-endgame-thanos-living-tribunal-deleted-scene/|title=Thanos Originally Confronted by The Living Tribunal in Avengers: Endgame|last=Dumaraog|first=Ana|website=[[Screen Rant]]|date=July 20, 2019|access-date=October 14, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190721143107/https://screenrant.com/avengers-endgame-thanos-living-tribunal-deleted-scene/|archive-date=July 21, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>
* The Living Tribunal makes a cameo appearance in the MCU film ''[[Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bonomolo |first=Cameron |date=April 25, 2022 |title=Doctor Strange 2 Teaser Reveals Major Marvel Character Cut From Avengers: Infinity War |url=https://comicbook.com/movies/news/marvel-doctor-strange-2-multiverse-of-madness-teaser-the-living-tribunal-avengers-infinity-war/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220425223238/https://comicbook.com/movies/news/marvel-doctor-strange-2-multiverse-of-madness-teaser-the-living-tribunal-avengers-infinity-war/ |archive-date=April 25, 2022 |access-date=April 26, 2022 |website=[[ComicBook.com]]}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
* [http://www.marvel.com/universe/Living_Tribunal Living Tribunal] at Marvel.com
* {{Marveldatabase}}

{{Marvel Mystic}}
{{Stan Lee}}

[[Category:Characters created by Herb Trimpe]]
[[Category:Characters created by Stan Lee]]
[[Category:Comics characters introduced in 1967]]
[[Category:Fictional characters with dissociative identity disorder]]
[[Category:Fictional judges]]