Who Is the True Mastermind Behind the TVA?

If the Time-Keepers were mindless androids, who the hell created the TVA?

We all had our suspicions about the Time-Keepers, but when (for once) we were proven right, nobody seemed to know what to do or think anymore. Especially since this twist shatters every explanation that we have about the TVA’s existence.

Who could even pull off such an elaborate facade? Ravonna? Another Loki?

Nah, Marvel wouldn’t end the show without setting up a major villain for Phase 4—especially since Loki directly sets up Dr. Strange: Multiverse of Madness.

Here’s who could be behind the TVA:

1. Who Created the TVA?

The mastermind behind the TVA could be Kang the Conqueror—Marvel’s most popular time-traveler and Ravonna’s partner. Kang’s goals have always been to conquer the timeline, and what better way to do that than the TVA? Notably, Kang has been confirmed as the villain of Antman: Quantumania.

Of course, this is still speculation. But out of all the theories we have, this one is by far the most reliable.

“The historians, the students, the gray-beards— they come in the wake of the strong and write down what the brave have done! But it is the conquerors who change the world!”

Kang the Conqueror

Kang, if you don’t know him, was perhaps the prime example of a Variant in the comics—except that he was far superior in both strength and intellect. Kang would eventually build multiple empires throughout history and rule them from his city Chronopolis (a place out of sync with time and acts like a massive crossroad between the past, present, and future).

Now, I know that the TVA is supposed to be situated at the Null-Time Zone. But it hasn’t been specified yet, and all we’ve been told is that ‘time works differently at the TVA.’

And if you remember the end credits of the second Ant-man movie, you’d remember the tiny city-like structure we saw in the quantum realm. Another place where, according to Janet van Dyne, time works very differently. This is, of course, direct foreshadowing. Chronopolis is most likely situated in the quantum realm in the MCU.

Keeping this in mind, it’s not entirely far-fetched to believe that the TVA is situated in Chronopolis. It would explain the easy access to time-traveling that the TVA has and lay the foundation for Kang (played by Jonathan Majors) as the big baddie in the third Ant-Man film and Phase 4.

In an interview, Gugu Mbatha-Raw (who plays Ravonna) skillfully dodged a question about Kang and Ravonna’s partnership.

“Who knows, maybe we get together in the future or the past or whatever. What is time, anyway, in the TVA?”

Gugu Mbatha-Raw in an interview with Polygon

According to her, Loki is set in a time before the comics, hinting that Ravonna is yet to meet Kang.

“Loki is more of an origin story for Renslayer. So this predates what people know and love about her from the comics. That gives us a bit of room to do something unexpected.”

Gugu Mbatha-Raw in an interview with Polygon

If that’s the case, it’s likely that while the Time-Keepers created the TVA, Kang overpowered them and is now secretly pulling strings from the backdrop. Ravonna might be aware of him secretly dictating her actions, or she might be entirely oblivious to the situation. But one way or the other, Kang’s involvement feels highly possible.

Bonus hint that I found because I’m truly obsessed with this show: If you’ve noticed, there was a lot of indirect emphases put on Ravonna’s trophy room—almost as if the writers wanted to make sure we didn’t miss it. In the comics, Kang has a signature ’trophy room’ to store items he’s taken away from heroes and villains alike. (Cap’s shield and Nick Fury’s head are both popular among visitors there.)

Could this be a coincidence? I doubt that.

2. Did Ravonna Create the TVA?

The idea that Ravonna created the TVA is compelling, but it doesn’t have any solid groundwork to base a theory on.

We saw that Ravonna was a hunter when the TVA first brought in Sylvie, implying that she worked her way through the ranks. This also means that the TVA already existed before Ravonna and confirms that Ravonna is not the one who created the TVA.

Whether Ravonna is in on the big plan is still unclear. He loyalties are hard to determine, especially after what she did to Mobius. But given how loved the character was in the comics, I’d rather wait and see how this turns out.

3. About Loki

Loki is an American TV series created by Michael Waldron for Disney+ and Marvel. It is based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name and is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe with events of the series taking place after Avengers: Endgame.

Tom Hiddleston reprises his role as Loki along side new faces like Owen Wilson, Gugu Mbatha Raw, Wunmi Mosaku, Sophia Di Martino, Richard E. Grant, Sasha Lane, Eugene Cordero and Erika Coleman.

After stealing the Tesseract in Avengers: Endgame, Loki is apprehended by the mysterious Time Variance Authority (TVA) and their Time-Keepers. Loki is given a choice between fixing all the timelines he broke with the Tesseract and death at the hands of the TVA.