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Timeless #1 introduces a new kind of Watcher to the Marvel Universe who is a real life figure from history working alongside Kang the Conqueror.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Timeless #1, on sale now from Marvel Comics.
The history of the Marvel Universe is a complex mixture of real-world events and those of a more fantastical nature. As a result, certain moments are skewed to better fit the narrative and make room for heroes like Captain America in World War II. But one character who can interact with and even influence time itself is the villainous Kang the Conqueror. His desire to spread his influence across the timestream has made him a God to some and Devil to others. The new one-shot Timeless (by Jed MacKay, Kev Walker, Greg Land Jay Leisten, Mark Bagley, Andrew Hennessy, Marte Gracia, and VC’s Ariana Maher) shows the villain’s most vulnerable sides through the eyes of a man named Anatoly Petrov, who happens to be a real figure from history.
In the comic, Petrov is an authority on supervillains who writes a manuscript about Doctor Doom being the most influential of them all. Outraged by the idea, Kang takes Petrov on a week-long journey through time in an effort to change his mind. As a witness to Kang’s actions, Anatoly sees how the conqueror is a threat and compensates for his vulnerabilities with confidence, portraying the Avengers villain as more human than he has traditionally appeared.
Timeless effectively shows how grand the Marvel Universe is through the eyes of an average citizen. Unfortunately, Anatoly Petrov doesn’t seem to have any confirmed living counterparts in the real world. That being said, there are speculations that he could be tied to other characters in the Marvel multiverse. One example is Soviet General Armand Petrov, who faced down Frank Castle. He could also be related to Anton Petrov, who shows up in the Agents of SHIELD television series. For now, his ties to these fictional characters aren’t confirmed, but he could also be a meta callback to a real-life figure of the same name.
Anatoly Petrov was born in 1937 and is best known for his work in animation. While he has no direct link to Timeless‘ Petrov aside from his name, certain connections make for a fun comparison between them. For example, the real-life Petrov is known for creating the photographic style as an extension of the hyperrealism style. While this doesn’t tie to the fictional Petrov’s academic interest in supervillains, it’s ironic that his story is told through a form of creative art based in an otherwise real-world setting.
Anatoly isn’t the first character to serve as a voice for humanity in a world of Gods and monsters. Both Marvels (by Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross) and Kingdom Come (by Mark Waid and Alex Ross) tell the story of the rise and fall of comics’ most famous heroes. But rather than tell the story from the perspective of heroes, the narrator is often a civilian. For Marvels, the role was delegated to reporter Phil Sheldon while Pastor Norman McCay narrates Kingdom Come. The more grounded role serves Timeless as well, with Petrov describing his journey beyond time and into a rogue timeline alongside one of history’s greatest supervillains. With Kang, the concepts he presents are otherwise mind-bending, but Anatoly helps keep things in line. But as he records the events in a way similar to Stan Lee in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, basic concepts of humanity are explored as is the flaws of some of Marvel’s most powerful characters.
Although Anatoly’s name is tied to someone from the real world, the comic version is its own separate entity. For now, his role in the Marvel Universe may already be completed…or it could just be beginning. Regardless, it’s clear that his main role in the grand scheme of things is to bear witness to the universe’s greatest conqueror.
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