Abstracts are embodiments of concepts. Some of them were "born" when the universe was created, such as Eternity, Infinity, Death, Master Order, and Lord Chaos.^[11] Some are older, such as Oblivion and the Living Tribunal.^[12][13] Abstracts can be still born after the Big Bang, such as Eternity's children,^[14] Epoch,^[15] and the In-Betweener.^[16]

The abstracts were decimated when the Multiverse was destroyed by the Beyonders and the incursions.^[17][18] A coalition of the principal abstracts, including the Living Tribunal, attempted to challenge the Beyonders but were completely overpowered and were wiped out.^[17]

When Reed Richards restored the Multiverse,^[19] the transition from the Seventh Cosmos to the Eighth Cosmos affected the cosmic beings in unexpected ways. The previous cosmic order became obsolete,^[20] and due to Reed Richards' influence in the Eighth Cosmos' birth, the new order became pairs of twos.^[21]

As of the Eighth Cosmos, the principal abstracts are divided into four pairs.^[22][21] Also, they have lesser intermediaries, except for The-Powers-That-Be and The-Natural-Order-of-Things.^[23]

• The Living Tribunal and Oblivion (Intermediary: the Preordained)
• Eternity and Infinity (Intermediary: Name unknown)
• Master Order and Lord Chaos (Intermediary: the In-Betweener)
• The-Powers-That-Be and The-Natural-Order-of-Things
  • Instead of intermediaries, The-Powers-That-Be and The-Natural-Order-of-Things use the Avatar and the Centum, respectively.^[23] They have the same rank as the intermediaries.^[24]

There are other groupings among the abstracts, such as Life and Death,^[25] Mistress Love and Sire Hate,^[26] Eternity's many children,^[27][28][29] the Queen of Nevers and the Griever at the End of All Things (who also use agents for their roles and conflict),^[30] etc.

In addition, even though former iterations of the Multiverse are defunct, their embodiments still live on in the Far Shore or the Mystery because "nothing truly dies." They form the "Ultimate Ultimates."^[31] Generally, they have nothing to do with the current Multiverse, but the Never Queen was originally one of those embodiments and she interacts with the current Multiverse from outside of it.^[32][33]

The Living Tribunal, Oblivion, Eternity, Infinity, Master Order, Lord Chaos, The-Powers-That-Be, The-Natural-Order-of-Things, the In-Betweener, Death, Life, Mistress Love, Sire Hate, the Phoenix Force, Queen of Nevers, Griever at the End of All Things, and many others.

• In the Seventh Cosmos, the quartet of Eternity, Infinity, Death, and Oblivion was called "the four points of the cosmological compass"^[34] or "the four pillars of reality."^[35]
  • This is no longer applicable in the Eighth Cosmos.^[21] Instead, there are eight "Ur divisors":^[22] the Living Tribunal, Oblivion, Eternity, Infinity, Master Order, Lord Chaos, The-Powers-That-Be, and The-Natural-Order-of-Things.^[24][36] The former six also received redesigns for G.O.D.S., which can be viewed here.
• The term "abstract entity" is sometimes used interchangeably with "cosmic entity." Galactus, Celestials, Aspirants, and even the Proemial Gods have all been called abstracts.^{[5][37][38][10]}
  • As clarified in Quasar #37, Galactus, Celestials, the Stranger, Watchers, etc. are not actually abstract entities, but they can manifest M-Bodies in the same fashion as abstracts.
  • Regardless, these beings share similar stature to abstracts and are frequently grouped together.

• M-Bodies often vary depending on the person looking.^[2] Eternity remarked that some sentient life forms have imagined him as sound waves or weather patterns.^[39]