Knowhere
Knowhere | |
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![]() Knowhere as depicted in the 2014 film Guardians of the Galaxy | |
First appearance | Nova #8 (January 2008) |
Created by | Dan Abnett Andy Lanning |
Information | |
Type | Space Station |
Characters | Cosmo Guardians of the Galaxy Nova Knull Black Order |
Publisher | Marvel Comics |
Knowhere (pronounced "no where") is a fictional location appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, and related media. It is depicted as the enormous severed head of an ancient celestial being, which serves as an interdimensional crossroads and scientific observatory.
Knowhere appears in the live-action Marvel Cinematic Universe films Thor: The Dark World (2013), Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), and Avengers: Infinity War (2018) as well as the Disney+ animated series What If...?
Development[]
When asked about how they came up with the idea, authors Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning said:
Honestly, they just came to us. The severed Celestial head was, I think, something that popped out of Andy's mind one day. Similarly, one morning, I said "what about a talking Russian dog?" We run with these things and develop them together. It's hard to pin down where exactly they originate.[1]
Overview[]
Located within what appears to be a severed head of a Celestial floating along The Rip (the extreme outer edge of all spacetime with no specific physical location), Knowhere acts as a makeshift port of call and observatory of the End of the Universe for intergalactic travelers of all species and from all times. First appearing in Nova #8 (see 2007 in comics and Annihilation: Conquest), the station is administered by its chief of security, Cosmo, a telepathic and telekinetic Soviet space dog originally lost in Earth orbit in the 1960s.[2]
Knowhere maintains minor facilities for close observation of the end of the Universe, a main hall, a marketplace and other amenities including the bar, Starlin's. Cosmo assigns special "passport" bracelets allowing instantaneous transportation to and from anywhere in the Universe via the deceased Celestial's "Continuum Cortex", located within the brain-stem, from where sensors can also detect subtle disruptions in space-time occurring outside The Rip in the greater Universe.[2] Facilitated by Cosmo and Richard Rider, Knowhere comes to be used as the base of operations for the new Guardians of the Galaxy.[3]
The origins of Knowhere are uncertain. It is unknown as to how the severed head of a Celestial would have appeared at the end of the Universe, and what kind of forces could conceivably decapitate the God-like alien. Abnett and Lanning have said that the origin is "A mystery that will have to wait for now, but it's a biggie!"[4]
While recounting his origin to Eddie Brock, the Symbiote God Knull revealed that he was the one who killed the Celestial whose head became Knowhere with the use of All-Black The Necrosword and used his head to create more symbiotes.[5][6]
Other versions[]
During the Secret Wars storyline, Knowhere is shown to be the Moon that orbits Battleworld. Its origin is that this Knowhere is the head of a Celestial that came to collect Battleworld but was slain in battle by God Emperor Doom and its head is still in orbit around Battleworld as a reminder of Doom's power.[7]
In other media[]
Television[]
Knowhere appears in the Guardians of the Galaxy animated series. Like the comics, Cosmo the Spacedog serves as the chief of security. It first appears in the episode "Road to Knowhere", in which the Guardians of the Galaxy travel to a Knowhere market in order to sell an item stolen from Korath the Pursuer. Amidst a fight between the Guardians, Korath's group, and space pirates called the Ravagers, Knowhere starts to come to life and ensnares everyone.
Marvel Cinematic Universe[]
Knowhere appears in media set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This version serves as the Collector's headquarters,[8] in which his Tivan Corporation mine cellular material to sell on the black market.
- Knowhere first appears in the live-action film Thor: The Dark World, in which the Asgardians Sif and Volstagg give the Collector the Reality Stone for safekeeping.
- In the live-action film Guardians of the Galaxy,[9][10] Gamora, Peter Quill, Drax, Rocket, and Groot visit Knowhere to sell an orb to the Collector and learn that it contains the Power Stone.
- In the live-action film Avengers: Infinity War, Gamora, Quill, Drax, and Mantis travel to Knowhere to confront Thanos before he can take the Reality Stone, but fail to stop him.
- Knowhere appears in the Disney+ animated series What If...? (2021) episode "What If... T'Challa Became a Star-Lord?"
Video games[]
- Knowhere appears as a location in the Disney Infinity: Marvel Super Heroes Guardians of the Galaxy play set.
- Knowhere appears as a stage in Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite, merged with the Third Moon from the Strider series to become Knowmoon.[11]
- Knowhere appears in Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2.
- Knowhere appears in Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series.
Reception[]
Russ Burlingame considered the rendering of Knowhere "one of the most striking and potentially bizarre images" from the Guardians of the Galaxy movie trailer.[2]
Silverman and Brode described Knowhere as a "criminal lair" at "the fringes of space". They considered the setting a modern incarnation of the frontier of classic Western films, "a place where outlaws and renegades skirt the trappings of society far from the dictates of civilization".[12]
References[]
- ^ An Interview With Nova's Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning! Archived 2008-07-24 at the Wayback Machine, Nova Prime
- ^ Jump up to: a b c Russ Burlingame (27 May 2018), Guardians of the Galaxy: What's that Huge Head and Who are the Celestials?, Comicbook
- ^ Inside Look: Guardians of the Galaxy #1 Archived 2008-09-02 at the Wayback Machine by DnA, Broken Frontier, May 21, 2008
- ^ Lost In Space: Nova #9, Marvel.com, November 21, 2007
- ^ Donny Cates (w), Ryan Stegman (p), JP Mayer (i), Frank Martin (col), VC's Clayton Cowles (let), Devin Lewis (ed). Venom v4, #4 (25 July 2018), United States: Marvel Comics
- ^ Cates, Donny (26 July 2018). "Yep! The severed celestial head in VENOM #4 would someday erode and decay and become Knowhere! Good catch!". twitter.com. Twitter. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
- ^ Guardians of Knowhere #1
- ^ "'Guardians of the Galaxy' Official Character Descriptions (minor spoilers)". Stitch Kingdom. May 15, 2014. Archived from the original on May 16, 2014. Retrieved May 15, 2014.
- ^ Various (2019), Marvel's Guardians Of The Galaxy: The Art Of The Movie, p. 236, ISBN 9781302500719
- ^ Truitt, Brian (February 17, 2014). "'Guardians of the Galaxy' crew comes down to Earth". USA Today. Archived from the original on February 17, 2014. Retrieved February 17, 2014.
- ^ http://comicbook.com/gaming/2017/07/21/sdcc17-marvel-vs-capcom-infinite-live-blog/
- ^ Silverman, David S.; Brode, Douglas (2020). "The Western Didn't Die, It Just Went Off-World". In Brode, Douglas; Brode, Shea T. (eds.). The Twenty-First-Century Western: New Riders of the Cinematic Stage. Lexington Books. p. 261. ISBN 9781793615114.
Bibliography[]
- Nova #8 and #9 (published November and December 2007)
- Guardians of the Galaxy #1 (published May 2008)
- Guardians of the Galaxy #8 (published December 2008)
- Deadpool #30 (published May 2017)
External links[]
- Knowhere at Marvel.com
- Knowhere on Marvel Database, a Marvel Comics wiki
- 2008 comics debuts
- Guardians of the Galaxy
- End of the universe in fiction
- Marvel Comics locations
- Fictional space stations