Who is the Living Tribunal? 'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness' TV spot teases MCU debut

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness poster and the Living Tribunal (Image via Marvel Comics)
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness poster and the Living Tribunal (Image via Marvel Comics)

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is shaping up to be Marvel's biggest project yet. With many rumored cameos and huge Marvel entities speculated to be present in the movie, Marvel just went up and revealed one of the biggest cosmic characters fans will get to see. A recent TV spot for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness revealed that the Living Tribunal will be making its live-action debut in the upcoming film.

The Multiverse of Madness sees Benedict Cumberbatch's Strange travel across the Multiverse with America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez) as something is threatening it. Joining him are Wong (Benedict Wong), Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen), and several Marvel characters that will tug at your geek heart's strings.

With that being said, let's look at exactly who the Living Tribunal is in the comics before he makes his debut in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.


Exploring the Living Tribunal as he makes his live-action MCU debut in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

The Living Tribunal (Image via Marvel Comics)
The Living Tribunal (Image via Marvel Comics)

The Living Tribunal made his debut in Strange Adventures #157 and was created by Stan Lee, Marie Severin and Herb Trimpe in June of 1967. The character was introduced as a Doctor Strange character and since then has gone on to become one of the biggest cosmic entities in the Marvel universe.

The Living Tribunal basically maintains a balance between realities and the universe. He can roam around the Multiverse and do whatever he wishes to do, basically being a judge of all realities.


In the character's first encounter, the Living Tribunal comes to destroy Earth as he believes it has the potential for greater evil. Being stopped by Doctor Strange at the last minute, he gives Strange trials to prove that the planet isn't inherently bad, and he agrees to them. Strange was eventually able to prove that Earth also has good in it, and the Living Tribunal let go of Earth for the time being and doesn't intend to destroy it.

While the Living Tribunal isn't exactly the most powerful character in the Marvel universe, he is believed to be by many as one of the strongest. Thanos has himself admitted that he wouldn't face off against the Tribunal even with the Infinity Gauntlet.

The Tribunal's powers are limitless and know no bounds. Being the complete embodiment of the Multiverse, you can be sure that this is someone you wouldn't want to mess with.


With Adam Warlock set to appear in the MCU, we can expect to see more of the Tribunal, as Warlock has acted as him for a while in the comics.

The Living Tribunal was also mentioned in 2016's Doctor Strange by Mordo. He has a staff named after him, which is simply titled "The Staff of the Living Tribunal." He was also expected to show up in Avengers: Infinity Wars as someone who would have judged Thanos' crime against the universe, but it looks like he was saved for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

With Strange's meddling of time and Multiverse, fans can get an idea of why the Tribunal might be present here. With him appearing in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, we can surely expect a lot of crazy stuff to go down.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness releases in theatres on May 6, 2022.

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Edited by R. Elahi
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