the ARCHITECT
Real Name: Unrevealed
Identity/Class: Extraterrestrial (unidentified species) alien technology user (Distant Past to present-day)
Occupation: Architect and builder
Group Membership: Elders of the Universe
Known Affiliations: Runner (Gilpetperdon)
Known Enemies: None
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Unrevealed, possibly mobile in sapce.
originally from an unspecified homeworld (which is almost certainly now long-dead) whose
name and location have not been revealed
First Mention: Quasar I#17 (December, 1990)
Powers/Abilities: As an Elder of the Universe, the being known as the Architect is presumed to possess the virtual immortality that is the basic attribute common to all known Elders. As such, the Architect is probably unaging, with his or her life force being bolstered by his or her single-minded obsession with designing and building structures. He or she may be immune to disease and may be able to regenerate any portion of his or her body that becomes damaged.
Like the other Elders, the Architect can presumably survive indefinitely in any environment, including those (like space) that are inhospitable to life, but this has not been confirmed.
Like the other Elders, the Architect presumably has the potential to manipulate cosmic energy for a variety of effects but he or she may not have chosen to develop this ability.
Like some of the other Elders, the Architect may possess some portion of the Power Primordial, residual energy left over from the Big Bang that created the current universe. Or not.
Like some of the other Elders, the Architect may have undergone years of intensive training in order to be able to purposely channel his or her energy so as to grant his or herself certain unspecified superhuman physical and/or mental abilities. Due to his or her obsession with architecture, he or she may have chosen to manifest abilities that would be helpful in his or her chosen field of expertisee. Or not.
Like some of the Elders, the Architect may be able to travel through space on his or her own power, without the need for any vehicles, possibly by teleportation. Or not.
Due to the subject with which he or she is obsessed, the Architect presumably possesses an extensive knowledge of all forms of architecture and all known building techniques.
Limitations: Like the other Elders of the Universe, the Architect may be able to die if he or she loses the will to live.
Equipment/Technology: In order to build the structures that they design, the Architect has presumably managed to acquire a vast array of equipment that could be used in construction. Alternatively, the Architect may just have access to various individuals and/or groups that can provide him or her with whatever technology he or she need for any particular project.
Type: Unrevealed
Limbs: Unrevealed
Fingers: Unrevealed
Toes: Unrevealed
Eyes: Unrevealed
Skin color: Unrevealed
Hair color: Unrevealed
Height: Unrevealed
Weight: Unrevealed
History: As an Elder of the Universe, the Architect's true origin might have been lost to history and even he or she may not remember where they originated.
(Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe II#5: Elders of the Universe entry) - Like the other Elders, the Architect is believed to have been born billions of years ago as a member of one of the first intelligent species to evolve in Reality-616. The Architect is almost certainly the last survivor of his or her race but how he or she became immortal has not been revealed.
(Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe II#5: Elders of the Universe entry) - Long ago, the Architect, like the other Elders, discovered that if he or she did not chose an all-consuming pastime to pursue, he or she would over the eons lose the will to live and would surrender immortality.
(Quasar#17 (fb) - BTS) - At some point, the Architect met the Elder known as the Runner with whom he or she developed a non-hostile relationship. From time to time, the Architect would build various structures for the Runner, following the specifications provided by the Runner. What compensation, if any, he or she received for this work has not been revealed.
(Quasar#17 (fb) - BTS) - In recent years, the Runner needed a raceway for an upcoming "Marathon to the Moon" that he was planning to hold in order to determine who was the fastest speedster on Earth. The Runner provided the Architect with the specifications for a Raceway that stretched from the surface of the planet Earth to the surface of its Moon, including the environmental conditions on Earth at sea level. The Architect created an energy-construct in the form of a tube that stretched the 384,392 kilometers to the Moon and included several detours/junctures into warp space to account for the motions of heavenly bodies.
(Quasar#17 (fb) - BTS) - The Architect gave the Raceway (in its deactivated state) to the Runner who then brought it to the designated starting point of the marathon. Alternatively, the Architect traveled to Earth in order to place the Raceway (in its deactivated state) at the prearranged location of the marathon's starting point at latitude 37 degrees north, longitude 116 degrees (see comments)
(Quasar#17) - After all of the speedsters had gathered at the designated place at the appointed
time, the Runner stepped on a specific spot on the ground in order to activate the Raceway, causing the
energy-construct to appear, seemingly out of nothing. The Marathon to the Moon began soon afterwards.
Over eight hours later, after the winner of the Marathon to the Moon had been determined,
the Runner asked Quasar to make sure that the losing contestants made it back to Earth and warned him that
the Raceway would disintegrate in two Earth rotations.
Comments: Created by Mark Gruenwald
Almost no facts about the Architect have been revealed, including
the Architect's gender. The Architect could be masculine or feminine...or neither...or both.
Using "he or she,"
"him or her," "his or her," etc., is certainly clunky/awkward, but I
struggle with using "they," "them" "their," etc. for singular beings.
Multiple/composite beings exist, but are certainly less common, and so
I went with the singular as the default. This has nothing to do with
sexual orientation, but rather to do with grammar...please don't be
offended, but if you are offended, be offended with me, Snood, and not
Donald, because I overruled his choice to use the plural pronoun for
convenience's sake.
--Snood
It's perhaps fitting that the story (in Quasar#17) that provided so little personal data about the Elder called the Architect also revealed one VERY significant fact about the Elders as a group. When asked about the Elder named the Runner, Eon replied that he was "one of the more harmless of the thousand or so Elders" of whom Eon was aware. This revelation is important because the Archtitect was only the 14th being to be identified as an Elder and even now, almost 34 years later, there are only 21 confirmed Elders (plus a few possible Elders). With so many other Elders out there in the Marvel Universe, I am really hoping that some future writers will create Elders who aren't as humanoid as those who have been seen so far. Who knows, maybe the as-yet-unseen Architect him/her/itself is non-humanoid? That would make a nice change from the overabundance of humanoid aliens in the MU.
The location given for the starting line of the Marathon to the Moon (latitude 37° N, longitude 116°) is rather imprecise since most latitudes and longitudes are divided into (and written out in) degrees, minutes and seconds. Also, just as the latitude should be designated either North or South, so should the longitude be designated either East or West. Accordingly, the coordinates provided by the Runner could match to two locations, one in (or near) Yucca Flat in Nevada (at 37.06°N 116.08°W) and the other in (or near) Gaotang County in eastern China (at 36.866°N 116.231°E). Given that the starting line is later established as being in the American Southwest, the Nevada location seems to be where the Marathon to the Moon began.
Could this Architect have any connection to the as-yet-unidentified architect
who created the Kyln?
In Annihilation: Silver Surfer#3 (August, 2006), Galactus stated that even
he did not know of the Kyln architect. While
working on this profile, I briefly considered the possiblity that it might have been this Architect who had
constructed the Kyln but quickly discarded that idea because the timing doesn't fit. As an Elder, this Architect
would probably be no more than 5.5 billion years old whereas Galactus used the Kyln to imprison two of the
Proemial Gods, cosmic beings whose age had
ended before the Elders were born. So, unless this Elder traveled back in time to (allegedly) the universe's
Creation Event, the Elder of the Universe Architect couldn't be the so-called "Kyln architect."
On the other hand, maybe this Elder's interest in architecture was inspired by the very
existence of the Kyln, a structure that pre-dated him or her?
Profile by Donald Campbell.
CLARIFICATIONS:
The Elder of the Universe known as the Architect has no known connections to:
images: None
Mentions:
Quasar I#17 (December, 1990) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), Janice Chiang (letterer), Howard Mackie (editor)
First Posted: 12/31/2023
Last updated: 12/31/2023
Any Additions/Corrections? Please let me know.
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