| NOTE: This page is exclusively about the Marvel Cinematic Universe incarnation of the character, so only information relevant to this adaptation should be included. |
| “ | I understand your moral objections to what the TVA does. And my methods are deceptive. But the mission, it never was. Without me, without the TVA... everything burns. | „ |
| ~ He Who Remains to Loki and Sylvie. |
| “ | Okay, let's try it this way. Every... every moment of peace you've ever experienced was yours because I was here. Alone, at the end of time... keeping watch. But you want to break the Loom. What do you think would happen to your friends? I made the tough choices, that's why I get the big chair. I keep us safe. Can't you see what I'm offering here is mercy? | „ |
| ~ He Who Remains attempting to persuade Loki to keep him in power. |
He Who Remains, formerly known as Victor Timely, is the overarching antagonist of the Infinity Saga and one of the main antagonists of the Multiverse Saga in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
He was once was a 31st-century scientist who discovered the Multiverse and met countless alternate versions of himself, called Variants. At first, they peacefully shared knowledge of each other's worlds. But over time, some—like Kang the Conqueror—became power-hungry, leading to a Multiversal War.
To stop the chaos, Timely found and weaponized a powerful creature called Alioth to destroy the other Variants and end the war. Afterward, he created the Sacred Timeline, a single reality meant to preserve peace, and formed the Time Variance Authority (TVA) to manage it.
He was portrayed by Johnathan Majors.
Biography[]
In the 31st century, a scientist named Victor Timely discovered the Multiverse and met alternate versions of himself. Initially, they cooperated and shared knowledge, creating peace. Timely created Miss Minutes, an AI assistant who grew increasingly intelligent. However, not all his Variants sought peace—some, like Kang the Conqueror, craved domination, sparking the Multiversal War. Timely discovered and weaponized a time rift monster named Alioth, using it to defeat his Variants and end the war. He later adopted the title "He Who Remains".
To maintain order, HWR isolated a controlled stream of timelines called the Sacred Timeline, enforcing a strict narrative. He built the Temporal Loom to eliminate unpruned branches and created the Time Variance Authority (TVA) to manage and prune rogue timelines. TVA agents were mind-wiped Variants conditioned to maintain the Sacred Timeline. HWR worked alongside Ravonna Renslayer, a trusted partner from the war, while Miss Minutes assisted by creating false propaganda and fabricating the TVA’s history, including the myth of the Time-Keepers.
At the Citadel at the End of Time, HWR watched over the Sacred Timeline. Tired of managing the multiverse, he orchestrated events to bring Loki and Sylvie Laufeydottir (two Loki Variants) to him, hoping one would take over his role. He explained the origins of the TVA, his Variants, the war, and warned that killing him would unleash chaos—his evil Variants would return. HWR offered Loki and Sylvie two choices: take his place or kill him and risk multiversal war.
Despite his warnings, Sylvie chose revenge and killed him—but not before HWR hinted at his inevitable return, saying, “See you soon.”
HWR’s death caused the Sacred Timeline to splinter, giving rise to branching realities and allowing the Council of Kangs to emerge. Earth’s heroes began threatening their dominance, prompting the Council to unite their Variants for war. Meanwhile, Loki time-slipped through TVA’s past and realized the full threat HWR posed. As he and Mobius searched for the Victor Timely Variant, Loki feared he might be just as dangerous as HWR.
As HWR’s corpse decayed, the TVA’s failure to prune branches caused the Temporal Loom to overload. Loki’s time slipping was revealed to be part of HWR’s contingency plan. Miss Minutes and Renslayer delivered the TVA Handbook to young Victor Timely, creating a Variant destined to study TVA science. However, Timely rejected Miss Minutes' affection, prompting her and Renslayer to turn against HWR’s plan, believing he didn’t deserve a successor. They sought power for themselves.
Unbeknownst to them, this was part of HWR’s true plan: Timely was never meant to succeed but to fail, pushing Loki to time slip and ultimately undo HWR’s death. When Timely failed to fix the Loom, Loki realized that preventing HWR’s death was the only way to save the multiverse. He time slipped back to the moment of HWR’s death to stop Sylvie, trying repeatedly to convince her not to kill him.
HWR, revived through Loki’s efforts, explained he allowed Sylvie to attack him because he foresaw Loki's actions and relied on them. Each failed attempt to stop Sylvie caused Loki to rewind time again, effectively resurrecting HWR over and over—just as HWR had planned.
Personality[]
He Who Remains is a complex and deeply manipulative character who genuinely believes that his actions are justified for the greater good. He views himself as the last line of defense against total chaos, convinced that his strict control over the Sacred Timeline is the only way to prevent another devastating Multiversal War. In his mind, the ends justify the means—no matter how cruel or unethical his methods may be. He creates and rules over the TVA from the shadows, shaping reality by kidnapping variants from different timelines and wiping their memories to force them into serving his purpose. This reveals the darker side of his character, where free will is sacrificed in exchange for what he sees as peace and order.
Over time, his long isolation at the Citadel at the End of Time has taken a toll on his mental state. Though he presents himself as calm, playful, and even humorous, there's an underlying madness in the way he speaks and behaves. His whimsical attitude hides a man who has carried the burden of control for far too long, leading him to become detached from the human consequences of his actions. He treats the fate of countless lives like a game, moving pieces around a board with little regard for the emotions or pain involved. His charisma masks the fact that he is, in many ways, a tyrant who believes only he knows what’s best for the multiverse. Ultimately, He Who Remains sees himself as both a savior and a ruler, caught between his desire for peace and his fear of losing control.
Powers & Abilities[]
- Genius-level intellect – He is extremely intelligent, capable of understanding and manipulating time, timelines, and multiversal events.
- Master manipulator – Skilled at psychological manipulation, planning far ahead to influence others' choices and outcomes.
- Control over the TVA – As the creator of the TVA, he controls its operations, agents, and the flow of the Sacred Timeline.
- Timeline awareness – He possesses knowledge of all past, present, and possible future events, allowing him to predict and plan for everything.
- Immortality (through time control) – He exists outside of time at the Citadel at the End of Time, essentially making him ageless.
- Advanced technology – Uses extremely advanced tech far beyond modern understanding, including devices that allow for time travel and reality manipulation.
- Teleportation – Can disappear and reappear at will, as shown in his interactions with Loki and Sylvie.
- Reality observation – Able to watch events throughout the multiverse and Sacred Timeline unfold in real-time.
- Failsafe mechanisms – Designed the Temporal Loom and other backup plans to ensure his control or the collapse of reality if he’s removed.
Trivia[]
- Despite his ruthless actions, He Who Remains (alongside Victor Timely) is one of the only Kang variants who could be considered heroic, as his intentions were genuinely aimed at protecting the multiverse.
- Additionally, this less villainous, more morally-grey characterization of him was intentional on the writers' part, as they wanted to showcase how less heinous He Who Remains is compared to his other variants.
- His comic book counterpart, however, is not depicted as heroically, largely due to limited appearances and minimal character development.
- He shares many similarities to Thanos—the main antagonist of the Infinity Saga—who also believed he was saving life at any cost. However, the key difference lies in their motivation: Thanos was driven by ego, convinced that only he had the strength to do what others wouldn’t. In contrast, He Who Remains was motivated by selflessness, seeking to prevent another multiversal war, even at the cost of his own life. His extreme methods were meant to preserve reality itself, not to glorify himself.
External Links[]
- He Who Remains on the Disney Wiki
- He Who Remains on the Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki
- He Who Remains on the Villains Wiki
- He Who Remains on the Inconsistently Heinous Wiki
- He Who Remains on the Inconsistently Admirable Wiki
