Victor Timely Explained

Character Name:Victor Timely
Publisher:Marvel Comics
Debut:The Avengers Annual #21 (July 1992)
Alliances:Timely, Wisconsin
Council of Kangs
Powers:
  • Superhuman intelligence
  • Time manipulation
  • Immortality
  • Doppelgänger robot-building

Mayor Victor Timely is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is a divergent version of the time traveller Nathaniel Richards, a descendant of the scientist of the same name, whose alternate selves include Pharaoh Rama-Tut, Scarlet Centurion, Kang the Conqueror, Iron Lad / Kid Immortus, Doctor Doom, Mister Gryphon and Victorex Prime. Establishing a small, quiet town called Timely, Wisconsin in 1901 to serve as a 20th-century base for his future self, becoming an industrial opponent of Henry Ford and Thomas Edison, Timely fakes his death and poses as his own son Victor Timely Jr. (and later his grandson Victor Timely III), educating Phineas Horton to eventually create the original Human Torch, eventually becoming the new Kang Prime by the time of Kang Dynasty.

The character made his feature film debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film (2023), portrayed by Jonathan Majors, and subsequently returned in the 2023 second season of the MCU television series Loki, portrayed by Nasri Thompson as a child.

Publication history

Victor Timely first appeared in The Avengers Annual #21 and was created by Peter Sanderson and Rich Yanizeski.[1] Due to the events of The Celestial Madonna Saga, every action taken by Kang the Conqueror, Pharaoh Rama-Tut, and Immortus due to the actions of "Prime Kang" leads to each of their travels into the past creating divergent versions of themselves, all of whom seek to rule their own divergent empires and continue their own schemes, with Victor Timely diverging from the events of Avengers Forever.[2]

Fictional character biography

At some point in his personal timeline, a humiliated divergent version of Kang decides to abandon the 21st Century and set his sights on conquering the 20th, travelling back in time to January 1, 1901 and founding the town of Timely, Wisconsin, growing a moustache and taking the new name of "Victor Timely", as the town's mayor. Building a corporate empire, Timely Industries, he builds a series of factories for common machinery ahead of Henry Ford and Thomas Edison, while instilling in his company's workers unflinching loyalty and knowledge of robotics. Subsequently, Timely uses his town to establish the time-crossroads of Chronopolis, which he intends to serve as city-state headquarters for all future versions of himself. Originally confined to the town itself, the fortress gradually grows out of sync with time and space into the outskirts of Limbo, becoming a crossroads between past, present, and future, where one can walk between all time periods without requiring the use of a time machine, accessible via a portal. When away in Chronopolis, Timely is replaced by robotic stand-ins remotely run by A.I. copies of himself, which would age and die over time, allowing him to fake his death and assume the mantle of his own "son", Victor Timely, Junior.[3]

In 1929, Timely employs Phineas Horton to develop the technology to allow him to eventually create the original Human Torch by 1939, allowing Timely a secret backdoor to take control of the android. By the 1980s (modern-day; floating timeline), now presenting as his own grandson Victor Timely III, Timely Industries' technology stretches out to include the security measures behind the Baxter Building and Avengers Tower, and the robotic limbs of every cyborg in the Marvel Universe, in particular Misty Knight and Deathlok, allowing him to control their actions and eventually supplant Kang Prime with his former name, becoming the Anachronauts, his soldiers in Chronopolis. This grants Timely (now Kang Prime) control over the Sentinels in "Kang Dynasty".[4]

Powers and abilities

Victor Timely has eternal youth and possess a genius-level intellect. He amassed an extensive knowledge of 20th Century history, allowing him to dominate the mechanical industry of the time, and build a series of robotic duplicates of himself to allow him to publicly present as ageing, hiding his immortality from the public by posing as his own sons, and allow his future selves an advantage over their adversaries.[5]

Reception

In 2023, Comic Book Resources included Victor Timely as their fourteenth-best characterised incarnation of Kang the Conqueror.[6]

In other media

Marvel Cinematic Universe

Video games

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: DeFalco . Tom . Sanderson . Peter . Brevoort . Tom . Teitelbaum . Michael . Wallace . Daniel . Darling . Andrew . Forbeck . Matt . Cowsill . Alan . Bray . Adam . The Marvel Encyclopedia . 2019 . DK Publishing . 978-1-4654-7890-0 . 181.
  2. Book: DeFalco . Tom . Sanderson . Peter . Brevoort . Tom . Teitelbaum . Michael . Wallace . Daniel . Darling . Andrew . Forbeck . Matt . Cowsill . Alan . Bray . Adam . The Marvel Encyclopedia . 2019 . DK Publishing . 978-1-4654-7890-0 . 203.
  3. Web site: Marston. George. February 17, 2023. Victor Timely — The Comic History of the Kang Variant. February 17, 2023. GamesRadar. en-US.
  4. Web site: Marnell. Blair. July 23, 2021. The Many Faces of Kang. July 23, 2021. Marvel.com. en-US.
  5. Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z Vol 1 #7 (March 2009)
  6. Web site: Harn. Darby. February 10, 2023. Every Version Of Marvel's Kang The Conqueror, Ranked. February 10, 2023. Comic Book Resources. en-US.
  7. Web site: Francisco. Eric. February 16, 2023. Ant-Man: Quantumania Post-Credits Scene Explained: What [SPOILERS] Means for Loki Season 2]. February 16, 2023. Inverse. en-US.
  8. Web site: Delicana. Ysmael. February 16, 2023. Who Is Victor Timely? Kang Variant Explained. February 16, 2023. ComicBasics. en-US.
  9. Web site: Dockterman. Eliana. February 17, 2023. Breaking Down the Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania End-Credits Scenes. February 17, 2023. Time.com. en-US.
  10. Web site: Oddo. Marco Vito. February 18, 2023. Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania: Who Was [SPOILER] in the End Credits Scene?]. February 18, 2023. Collider. en-US.
  11. Web site: Osborne. James. February 18, 2023. Ant-Man 3 – who is Victor Timely?. February 18, 2023. The Digital Fix. en-US.
  12. Web site: Fogarty. Paul. February 21, 2023. Who is Victor Timely in Ant-Man? Quantumanias Loki Scene Explained. February 21, 2023. HITC. en-US.
  13. Web site: Glassman. Julia. February 16, 2023. Who is Victor Timely? Victor Timely in the MCU, Explained. February 16, 2023. The Mary Sue. en-US.
  14. Web site: Hood. Cooper. February 17, 2023. Loki Season 2 Story Revealed. February 17, 2023. Screen Rant. en-US.
  15. Web site: Das. Arka. February 18, 2023. Who is Victor Timely – The Kang Variant Who Will Play a Major Role in Loki Season 2. February 18, 2023. Fandom Wire. en-US.
  16. Web site: Nebens. Richard. February 18, 2023. Why Loki Season 2's Victor Timely Is So Horrifying. February 18, 2023. The Direct. en-US.
  17. Web site: Young. Kai. February 19, 2023. Why Victor Timely Is An Important Kang Variant. February 19, 2023. Screen Rant. en-US.
  18. Web site: Polo . Susana . October 19, 2023 . Loki's Victor Timely may seem like a surprise, but he was in the pitch from day one . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20231020033303/https://www.polygon.com/23922328/loki-season-2-victor-timely-kang-jonathan-majors . October 20, 2023 . October 19, 2023 . Polygon.
  19. Web site: Sarkar. Samit. Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2 coming to PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One. May 15, 2017. Polygon. May 16, 2017.
  20. Web site: @arthur_parsons. Replying to @GameUnboxing Correct!. September 7, 2017.

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