The Elders of the Universe are a group of supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics . The Collector was the first Elder to appear, and featured in The Avengers #28 (May 1966), but the idea that he was a member of a group known as the Elders was not introduced until The Avengers #174 (Aug. 1978).
31-599: The Elders of the Universe are the last survivors of otherwise extinct races. Each discovered that they had potentially infinite lifespans, dependent on maintaining the will to continue living. They are thus known for their personal obsessions (such as collecting, contests of strategy or strength, and various fields of study), each of which is pursued fanatically. While the characters are not truly cosmic entities, all have achieved some cosmic level of power and knowledge related to their particular pursuit. The first encounter with
62-616: A disembodied human head. It has the ability to control and manipulate time, reality, and space. Thanos wielding the Infinity Gauntlet ranked Lord Chaos' scale of power as above that of Galactus, but below Eternity . Lord Chaos and Master Order were able to easily kill the Living Tribunal by blasting him with energy, and also defeat Galactus after transforming into Logos. Lord Chaos and Master Order battle Thanos once more in an alternate universe when he possesses
93-530: A force of destruction to a force of creation. They kill the Living Tribunal and force the In-Betweener to fuse them into Logos , a new being who can take his place. However, they are eventually separated by Black Panther 's astral form. Lord Chaos is an abstract being who embodies the metaphysical concept of Chaos. It has no physical form, although on occasion it has manifested as an image of
124-693: A group of abstract beings questioning the Beyonder from the Dimension of Manifestations. In Infinity Crusade it is learned that they must obey the dictates of Eternity and Infinity. In Time Runs Out , the Beyonders kill Chaos, Order, the In-Betweener, and other abstract entities in each reality across the multiverse. Following the restoration of the universe in Secret Wars , Chaos and Order become disgruntled by Galactus ' evolution from
155-494: A lifespan measured in billions of years. In their particular fields of endeavor (i.e. Grandmaster in strategy, Caregiver in medicine), they have essentially unrivaled superhuman levels of talent and expertise. Several Elders of the Universe appear in media set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe . Endling An endling is the last known individual of a species or subspecies . Once the endling dies,
186-587: A similar definition, omitting reference to plants: "An endling is the name given to an animal that is the last of its species." In The Flight of the Emu: A Hundred Years of Australian Ornithology 1901-2001 , author Libby Robin stated that "the very last individual of a species" is "what scientists refer to as an 'endling'". In 2011, the word was used in the Earth Island Journal , in an essay by Eric Freedman entitled "Extinction Is Forever: A Quest for
217-744: Is also revealed that the Contemplator killed by Reptyl was in fact a Skrull , and not the true Contemplator. The Grandmaster reappears and creates a new version of the Squadron Sinister. Courtesy of a phenomenon known as the Wellspring of Power—an interdimensional source of superhuman abilities—the Grandmaster increases the Squadron Sinister's powers and they battle the superhero team the New Thunderbolts. The Grandmaster
248-537: Is defeated by Baron Helmut Zemo , and the Squadron Sinister scatter and escape. Champion has an encounter with the heroine She-Hulk and aids her foe Titania by giving her the Power Gem, currently in his possession. The Astronomer, Champion, Grandmaster, Judicator, and Runner traveled to the planet Godthab Omega, and witnessed the arrival of the Annihilation Wave . After Battleworld is destroyed at
279-524: Is even more ghastly to look upon the place where it happened and know that nobody knew or cared at the time what had transpired and why." This is not a comprehensive list of contemporary extinction , but a list of high-profile, widely publicised examples of when the last individual of a species was known. Lord Chaos (Marvel Comics) Lord Chaos is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics . Created by Jim Starlin ,
310-591: The Beyonder . They were then summoned by the Silver Surfer to regain control over their servant the In-Betweener . Lord Chaos and Master Order imprisoned the In-Betweener for his transgressions. They also attend the funeral of Eon and speak with cosmic hero Quasar . Lord Chaos and Master Order participated in the congress of metaphysical and abstract beings to determine Thanos' fitness to wield
341-606: The Infinity Gauntlet . They chose to join Adam Warlock and the other cosmic deities in a bid to stop Thanos. With the other abstract beings, they battled Thanos, and then battled Nebula when she obtained the Gauntlet from Thanos. The congress of abstract beings then witnessed Adam Warlock's cosmic trial to determine his worthiness to wield the Infinity Gauntlet. Lord Chaos and Master Order were next seen among
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#1732772501621372-916: The Infinity Gems . Thanos humiliates each in turn (the Gardener is murdered) and captures the Gems. The Elder the Runner has an encounter with the hero Quasar during which the time being Eon describes the Runner as one of "the thousand or so Elders I'm aware of." Quasar also later confronts the Obliterator, the Possessor, and previously unknown Elders the Explorer, the Judicator and the Caregiver. It
403-633: The "No Surrender" arc, it was revealed that one Elder of the Universe originally went by the name of Grandmaster before being defeated by En Dwi Gast and banished from the Earth-616 reality. Because of the Multiverse being rebuilt, this Elder of the Universe returned where he took the name of Challenger and assembled his version of the Black Order to go up against Grandmaster and his Lethal Legion . The " Empyre " storyline introduced an Elder of
434-620: The Avengers, the second ending with his murder by the entity Korvac . The Grandmaster also tricks the entity Death into playing a contest—again involving many of Earth's heroes—that he deliberately loses to resurrect the Collector. The Grandmaster usurps control of Death's realm, and after a battle between the Avengers and the Grandmaster's champions—the Legion of the Unliving —is tricked by
465-645: The Avengers. An angered Death then prevents the Elders from ever entering her realm, which effectively makes them immortal and is the Grandmaster's true goal. The Elder known as the Champion of the Universe has a brief encounter with many of Earth's strongest heroes and challenged them to a boxing match. While he did have them use his personal gym to prepare, the Champion of the Universe had to disqualify Namor when he refused to stoop to training and Doc Samson , whom
496-507: The Champion concedes the match and offers Grimm his respect. A group of eleven Elders later join forces and meet on Ego the Living Planet (who is also regarded as an Elder) in an effort to kill the cosmic entity Galactus , which would cause the concepts Eternity and Death to become unbalanced and end the universe. The Elders believe since they are now immortal they would be the only beings to survive and would be supreme beings in
527-564: The Champion declared to not be a worthy opponent. The day of the boxing match came around as the Champion of the Universe faces off against his opponents. After disqualifying Thor , Hulk , and Wonder Man for different reasons and defeating by knockout Colossus and Sasquatch in hand-to-hand combat, he faces Benjamin Grimm of the Fantastic Four . Eventually realizing that the outmatched Grimm would never submit under any circumstances,
558-489: The Last Known Survivors". Freedman defined endling as "the last known specimen of her species." In "The Sense of an Endling", author Helen Lewis describes the notion of an endling as poignant, and the word as "wonderfully Tolkien-esque". Author Eric Freedman describes endling as "a word with finality", stating, "It is deep-to-the-bone chilling to know the exact date a species disappeared from Earth. It
589-565: The Obliterator. Both meet with each other being seemingly the last known surviving Elders and plot their revenge against the universe. Despite this setback, the eight Elders continue their plot against Galactus. While the five Elders within Galactus inflict a fatal case of "cosmic indigestion" upon him, the three Elders in the mystical realm conspire with the cosmic entity the In-Betweener to restore him in exchange for him returning them to their home reality and his promise to kill Galactus. Using
620-663: The Silver Surfer, Mister Fantastic , and the Invisible Woman (whom Galactus had sent in search of the Infinity Gems), the In-Betweener is restored, and he brings the Elders back to their own reality. Once there, the In-Betweener attempts to kill Galactus, but discovers that he cannot do so. When he announces his intention to hurl Galactus into the black hole instead, the three Elders, who wanted to rescue their brother Elders from within Galactus, threaten him with
651-531: The Silver Surfer, but is betrayed and apparently killed. The Contemplator is revealed to have survived—as a disembodied head—and goes on to attempt to rule the Kree Empire, but is seemingly destroyed by the peace-loving alien Cotati . The five Elders that were previously consumed by Galactus (Champion, Collector, Gardener, Grandmaster, and Runner) are targeted by the Titan Thanos because they possess
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#1732772501621682-1121: The Universe called the Profiteer. Each Elder of the Universe possesses a fraction of what is referred to as the Power Primordial , remnants of the primordial energies of the Big Bang that still permeate the universe. The Power Primordial can be used to produce a wide range of effects, including augmentation of physical attributes (strength, durability, speed), molecular restructuring, creation of force fields, teleportation and numerous other abilities. Some Elders have incorporated this power into their singular obsessions and developed its potential in themselves (i.e. Champion, Runner) while others have to varying degrees mixed that power with tools or resources their obsessions afforded them (i.e. Contemplator, Grandmaster, Obliterator) or even largely ignored it as irrelevant or detrimental to their pursuits (i.e. Gardener, Collector). Each Elder has developed skills related to their particular field of interest over
713-492: The character first appeared in Marvel Two-In-One Annual #2 ( 1977). Lord Chaos is an abstract entity . It is the cosmic counterpart of Master Order and serves as the embodiment of chaos. The character debuted in Marvel Two-In-One Annual #2 (1977), created by Jim Starlin . It appeared in the 2016 Ultimates 2 series. Lord Chaos is an abstract entity who embodies disarray and confusion, and
744-470: The conclusion of " Secret Wars ," the Elders examine the planet's remains, and find them to be teeming with Power Primordial in the form of an "Iso-Sphere". Their inability to come to a mutually beneficial agreement regarding ownership of the Iso-Sphere prompts the Elders into holding a winner-takes-all Contest of Champions which all but the Grandmaster and Collector are eventually eliminated from. During
775-486: The five Elders within Galactus to exit his body, restoring the world-devourer. During the subsequent battle between Galactus and the In-Betweener, the quintet are eventually persuaded to help Galactus defeat his foe. Moments later, the five Elders use their Infinity Gems to instantaneously travel very far away from Galactus and his vengeance. Another Elder, the Contemplator, allies with the space pirate Captain Reptyl against
806-769: The heroes of Earth occurs when the Collector came to Earth seeking to expand his collection. Later, the Grandmaster created the supervillain team the Squadron Sinister as pawns to battle the champions of the time-traveling Kang the Conqueror , the superhero team the Avengers . Although thwarted, the Grandmaster and his fellow Elders take an interest in Earth, and the Collector has two separate encounters with
837-419: The new universe. The plan, however, is thwarted by Galactus' Heralds the Silver Surfer and Nova . Galactus captures and consumes five of the Elders (Champion, Collector, Gardener, Grandmaster and Runner), but three other Elders ( Astronomer , Possessor and Trader) are sucked into a black hole and pass through it into a mystical universe. Two Elders avoid the wrath of Galactus and his hunger, The Contemplater and
868-652: The opposing force to "brother" entity Master Order . The pair are rarely seen, but appear to manipulate events to prompt Spider-Man to solicit the Thing to join the Avengers and Warlock in the first war against the Titan Thanos and defeat him. Lord Chaos and Master Order were then seen observing King of the Norse Gods Odin and master villain Dormammu play a cosmic game of chess . They next conspired with other metaphysical and "omnipotent" beings against
899-591: The other five Infinity Gems to stop him. The In-Betweener responds by summoning Death and forcing her to negate them despite her vow. As a result, the Astronomer, the Trader and the Possessor and his Runestaff are apparently disintegrated. The ship carrying Galactus is then thrown into the black hole and passes through to the mystical realm where the In-Betweeners's creators, Master Order and Lord Chaos , force
930-439: The species becomes extinct . The word was coined in correspondence in the scientific journal Nature . The 4 April 1996 issue of Nature published a correspondence in which commentators suggested that a new word, endling , be adopted to denote the last individual of a species. The 23 May issue of Nature published several counter-suggestions, including ender , terminarch , and relict . The word endling appeared on
961-657: The walls of the National Museum of Australia in Tangled Destinies , a 2001 exhibition by Matt Kirchman and Scott Guerin, about the relationship between Australian peoples and their land. In the exhibition, the definition, as it appeared in Nature, was printed in large letters on the wall above two specimens of the extinct Tasmanian tiger : "Endling (n.) The last surviving individual of a species of animal or plant". A printed description of this exhibition offered