If you have seen the term 'TVA' anywhere on TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram or any number of other social media platforms then you might have started wondering what the term could mean. The word 'TVA' is a popular acronym that comes straight from the Marvel Universe. This post unpacks the meaning and origin of this term.
Meaning
The term 'TVA' is a type of acronym that stands for “Time Variance Authority”, a fictional group of characters who are tasked with the policing of time in much of the Marvel Universe.
The term 'TVA' appears as a popular social media hashtag and keyword on websites like TikTok where it has received several hundred million views since its early appearances in 2022.
'TVA' could be referenced almost anywhere people are discussing the Marvel Universe, comic books or memes that might be related to the series or the characters.
The fictional group known as 'TVA' make several appearances in the Marvel Universe, including recent appearances in the series Loki. The appearance of the acronym 'TVA' in the series Loki led to the term's rise in popularity during 2021 and 2022.
The 'TVA' is similar to the Langoliers or the Library Police, both considered beings who are given the task of policing time. In the context of its appearance in the Marvel Universe, the TVA are issued with rules and regulations they have to enforce.
Sometimes, references to the TVA can be ironic or humorous, when it gets used to imply that something has slipped in the time-continuum. This is comparable to the Mandela Effect, whereby different groups of people “swear by” different versions of a story that each are sure is known fact.
Example Usage
“I swear that you just left the house with blue socks this morning and came back wearing ones with stripes on them. Do you think that the TVA might have something to do with it, or could this have been the MIB instead?”
“I know that Windowlene has a W in the name just as sure as I know what my own name is. If that's not true, then it must be the TVA that are getting up to their old tricks again.”
“You should pay more attention to the little details in life. If the black cat walks by twice like in The Matrix, then you could never really know if you have been affected by the TVA at some point in your day.”
“If you don't know where you were all night, maybe it was an old trick of the TVA.”
Origin
The term 'TVA' was first used in Marvel Comics, where the time-continuum policing group the Time Variance Authority was first mentioned in Thor #371.
The first appearance of the Time Variance Authority was in the year 1986, though the more popular use of the term 'TVA' as a TikTok hashtag and term would only happen in later decades.
The Marvel series Loki aired in 2021, and would introduce the TVA as a crucial part of the plot. Further Marvel shows including She-Hulk: Attorney At Law would also come to reference the TVA, and lead to increased references to the term 'TVA' on social media.
TikTok would experience a height in #TVA mentions during July 2021, where the tag is reported to have gone past 100 million mentions.
The tag 'TVA' has become popular whenever people talk about the show, its characters or the TVA themselves.
Outside of this usage, the term 'TVA' has also become popular to describe often humorous references to things that are not as they appear (or might be remembered), much like the Mandela Effect.
Phrases Similar to TVA
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Phrases Opposite to TVA
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What is the Correct Saying?
- TVA
Ways People May Say TVA Incorrectly
There are few ways to say the term 'TVA' incorrectly, unless the user completely misunderstands the meaning or the context of this expression.
The term 'TVA' stands for the Time Variance Authority, which is a pop culture reference associated with the Marvel Universe.
It does not commonly stand for anything else when used on social media websites like TikTok, YouTube or Twitter.
Acceptable Ways to Phrase TVA
The correct way to use the term 'TVA' is as a reference to the Marvel Universe characters the Time Variance Authority.
The term 'TVA' is most often used to describe situations, characters or plot points that relate to Marvel.
Sometimes, the term 'TVA' is used in the same way as the Mandela Effect, to describe things that were experienced (or remembered) in different ways by two people.