Sir, you must allow me to pay you now so that I may own your carcass. At the moment of your death, of course. 
- —Collector[src]
History
Taneleer Tivan, also known as the Collector, was the head of the Tivan Group, an enterprise that established a mine in the severed head of a Celestial hundreds of years into the past to exploit its rare resources. This place became known as Knowhere, a lawless territory that also housed a museum where Tivan kept an archive of different items as well as living specimens of different species across the galaxy.[3]
After the events of the Convergence, the Asgardians entrusted the Collector with the Aether, as they believed it would be too dangerous for there to be two Infinity Stones (the other being the Tesseract) in Asgard. Tivan assured Sif and Volstagg that the Aether would be safe with him. As the two Asgardians departed, Tivan remarked that they have five more stones to gather.[4]
Immediately after, his assistant Carina informed him that Gamora, a future member of the Guardians of the Galaxy, had arrived in conjunction. Moments later, Tivan met Gamora on the planet via holo-projection for their meeting. The Collector told Gamora that he needed someone to retrieve the Orb for him. Gamora showed resistance at first, but she ended up saying she'd retrieve the Orb for him, as long as he'd keep it safe. Tivan then informed her that the Orb was in the Temple Vault of Morag, and the deal was sealed. Tivan told Gamora to contact him next when she had the Orb, and ended the transmission. Carina noticed that her master was unsettled, so she asked what was wrong. Tivan told her that Gamora was an unsettling woman but he still had faith in her to perform the task. When Carina left, the Collector contemplated on how high the stakes now were, and wondered if there were others who were in search for the object as well.[5]
Gamora, accompanied by Peter Quill, Rocket, and Groot later returned with the Orb. As Tivan began to open it, he revealed the history of the Infinity Stones, six singularities that existed before the dawn of creation. The stone contained within the Orb can only be held by beings of immense power, such as the Celestials. As he turned to give the group their pay, Carina attempted to handle the stone's power to kill her master and free herself from her servitude. To Carina's surprise the power of the stone was too much for her, causing an explosion that destroyed Tivan's collection. Gamora then reclaimed the Orb, deciding that it was too dangerous to be left in Tivan's hands. The Collector later drowned his sorrows by having a drink in his destroyed home. When Cosmo attempted to cheer him up by licking his face, Tivan was mocked by Howard the Duck.[3]
Four years later, when nearing the end of his journey to gather the Infinity Stones, Thanos traveled to Knowhere and destroyed Tivan's museum in the process of seizing control of the Aether, which was subsequently materialized into the Reality Stone. Expecting the Guardians of the Galaxy, namely Gamora, to come to stop him, Thanos used the Stone's power to create an illusion in which he was confronting the Collector. After Gamora slayed his fake, Thanos lifted the illusion, disappearing the illusionary Tivan as well.[1] Years later, after Thanos' Snap was undone, the Guardians have purchased Knowhere from Tivan.[6]Attributes
Powers
Notes
- Benicio del Toro portrays the Collector in Thor: The Dark World and Guardians of the Galaxy, and as an illusion in Avengers: Infinity War.
See Also
- 5 appearance(s) of Taneleer Tivan (Earth-199999)
- 2 minor appearance(s) of Taneleer Tivan (Earth-199999)
- 2 mention(s) of Taneleer Tivan (Earth-199999)
- 6 image(s) of Taneleer Tivan (Earth-199999)
- 1 quotation(s) by or about Taneleer Tivan (Earth-199999)
- 2 item(s) used/owned by Taneleer Tivan (Earth-199999)