Knowhere

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
Knowhere as depicted in the 2014 film Guardians of the Galaxy.
First appearanceNova #8 (January 2008)
Created byDan Abnett
Andy Lanning
Information
TypeSpace Station
Notable charactersCosmo
Guardians of the Galaxy
Nova
Knull
Black Order
PublisherMarvel Comics

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 TV series. Like the comics, Cosmo the Spacedog serves as the chief of security when first encountered by Rocket Raccoon and Groot. It first appears in the episode "Road to Knowhere" in order to sell an item stolen from Korath the Pursuer in its market. It is here that Star-Lord learns that he is part-Spartax. During the fight between the Guardians of the Galaxy, Korath the Pursuer's group, and the Ravagers, Knowhere starts to come to life and ensnare everyone.

Film
  • The Collector's base is visited in the post-credit scene of Thor: The Dark World. The building is subsequently revealed to be located on Knowhere in Guardians of the Galaxy. A set of a street in Knowhwere was constructed at Longcross Studios for the movie.[8]
  • Knowhere is featured as a location in the 2014 film Guardians of the Galaxy.[9] In the film, Knowhere serves as the headquarters of the Collector, Taneleer Tivan.[10] Tivan Corporation is mining the head of the deceased Celestial for tissue and other cellular material to sell on the black market.
  • Knowhere is featured in Avengers: Infinity War, where the Guardians of the Galaxy confront Thanos after he takes the Reality Stone from The Collector.
  • Screen Rant has suggested that Knowhere will feature again in Marvel's 2021 film, Eternals.[11]

Video games

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".[13]

References
  1. An Interview With Nova's Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning! Archived 2008-07-24 at the Wayback Machine, Nova Prime
  2. Russ Burlingame (27 May 2018), Guardians of the Galaxy: What's that Huge Head and Who are the Celestials?, Comicbook
  3. Inside Look: Guardians of the Galaxy #1 Archived 2008-09-02 at the Wayback Machine by DnA, Broken Frontier, May 21, 2008
  4. Lost In Space: Nova #9, Marvel.com, November 21, 2007
  5. 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
  6. 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.
  7. Guardians of Knowhere #1
  8. Various (2019), Marvel's Guardians Of The Galaxy: The Art Of The Movie, p. 236, ISBN 9781302500719
  9. 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.
  10. "'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.
  11. Robbins, Jason (October 19, 2019). "Eternals Could Reveal the Origin Story of Knowhere". Screen Rant.
  12. http://comicbook.com/gaming/2017/07/21/sdcc17-marvel-vs-capcom-infinite-live-blog/
  13. 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)
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