Great Capt. America article. You never suck!!!

The thing that struck me the most was the cosmic cube because it was just recently that I first read about it in the JLA/Avengers big-time crossover (part of the gimmicky 12 items that the teams have to acquire – what is this, Pokemon? Gotta catch ‘em all!!!)

A bit serendipitous, don’t you think? This leads me to ask if you could provide a quick one-phrase blurb on what the other items are. This would help your novice readers (me included) appreciate the story even more. Thanks.

An excellent idea, not only in and of itself, but also because it allows me to thumb my nose at a currently circulating complaint from certain critic-types, that books like the just-beginning JLA/AVENGERS miniseries somehow do a disservice to new readers by referring to older bits of continuity from the characters’ publishing histories. This is, to be blunt, elitist hogwash. How does the story suffer if items are utilized that have a backstory? As long as the use of the items makes sense, and any necessary information is given in an entertaining fashion, I certainly don’t see the harm. Quite the opposite: properly handled, this type of device actually encourages readers to seek out back issues and find out more, as Jens’ letter clearly illustrates. I remember when I first began reading Marvel and DC comics, I found the editorial captions that noted when characters or incidents first appeared to be helpful and intriguing, spurring me to go find the back issues and reinforcing the idea of comics as a mythology with a rich history. I suspect the critics remember that feeling as well, but are more concerned nowadays with looking “serious” and properly disdainful in the eyes of their little circle of peers.

For my money, if the story is solid and the book satisfies, which is the most important thing, the use of these kinds of bits of continuity are just icing on the cake. A little bonus for longtime readers, and some interesting “local color” for the new readers. Everybody wins. Now let’s get to it.

As our correspondent noted, in the first issue of the long-awaited JLA/AVENGERS miniseries by Kurt Busiek and George Perez, the Justice League and the Avengers are manipulated by cosmic forces into what amounts to a scavenger hunt for 12 massively powerful artifacts, six from each team’s respective universe/dimension/whatever.

Naturally, this being written by Kurt Busiek, the poster child for arcane comic-book knowledge, all of these items have deep roots in DC and Marvel history. We’ll go through them one by one:

The Bell, the Jar, and the Wheel: To be more precise, we’re talking about the Green Bell of Ulthool, the Red Jar of Calythos and the Silver Wheel of Wyorlath, as first seen way back in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #10. These talismans were created by a trio of demons, Abenegzar, Rath and Ghast, who held dominion over the Earth a billion years ago. When the demons were sentenced to eternal imprisonment beneath the Earth by a race known only as the Timeless Ones, the Bell, the Jar and the Wheel were their ace in the hole. Anticipating this kind of trouble, the demons had earlier created the mystical items that would, when combined, free them from their subterranean prison. When sorcerer Felix Faust unearthed and combined the items, their plan succeeded, until their subsequent defeat and re-imprisonment by the Justice League.

The Medusa Mask: Originally discovered by archaelogist Kent Nelson (a.k.a. Justice Society member Dr. Fate) the Medusa Masks were then stolen by career criminal Roger Hayden, who used them to become the supervillain known as the Psycho-Pirate. The Medusa Masks have the power to allow the wearer to manipulate the emotions of those around him, but not without a cost. Prolonged exposure to the Mask caused Hayden much mental pain, and eventually drove him insane.

First seen in SHOWCASE #56, the Psycho-Pirate was a significant player in Wolfman and Perez’s CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS, and also had an excellent appearance in Grant Morrison’s ANIMAL MAN run.

The Spear of Destiny:According to legend, the Spear of Destiny is the spear with which a Roman centurion stabbed Jesus Christ is the side while He was hanging on the cross. In the DC Universe, as a result, the Spear held massive mystical powers. During World War II, Adolf Hitler’s possession of the Spear prevented magic-based or magically vulnerable characters like Superman, Wonder Woman, Dr. Fate, the Spectre and Green Lantern from flying in and mopping up the Third Reich in an afternoon. In a storyline that appeared in the 1980s DC series ALL-STAR SQUADRON, when the aforementioned superheroes attack Germany in a rage after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, as soon as they pass into German territory, they are immediately mind-controlled and under the sway of Adolf Hitler.

A lengthy battle with the remaining American superheroes pulled them back to Allied ground, and impressed upon them not to try that sort of stunt again.

The Eternity Book: To be honest, this one I’m not entirely sure about. I’m assuming this is the book in which Destiny, the personification of the fates from Neil Gaiman’s SANDMAN series, writes all that has ever happened and all that ever will happen. The character recurred in DC mystery and horror comics for years before Neil Gaiman adopted him for inclusion in the Endless, his family of conceptual beings in SANDMAN.

I also seem to recall a similar type of book artifact having something to do with Merlin, but for the life of me I can’t remember where. My money’s on it being Destiny’s, anyway.

The Orb of Ra: This mystical whatsit was carved from a meteor and found in the Egyptian pyramid of Ahk-ton by soldier of fortune Rex Mason. The emanations from the Orb of Ra transformed Mason physically, giving him his multi-toned skin color and texture and the ability to transmute his physical form into any combination of the chemical elements, at will.

Mason became known as Metamorpho, and embarked upon a somewhat spotty super-hero career (having been killed and returned from the dead several times) that included memberships in the Outsiders and Justice League Europe. Metamorpho is currently with the newly formed second version of the Outsiders. Metamorpho, and the Orb of Ra, first appeared in THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD #57.

The Power Battery:Currently in the possession of Green Lantern Kyle Rayner, the Power Battery is what powers a Green Lantern’s weapon, his Green Lantern ring. Created by the immortal Guardians of the Universe (as discussed earlier here), the ring originally had to be touched to the battery once every 24 hours to remain charged. Currently, it merely requires a periodic recharging of an indeterminate amount of time, presumably depending on the amount of power expended by the ring’s wearer. The ring and battery also originally had a weakness to anything yellow, a weakness also eliminated in the models given to Rayner by the last remaining Guardian of the Universe, following the murder of the Guardians and Green Lantern Corps.

The Soul Gems: There are six of these gems: Time (orange), Space (purple), Power (red), Mind (blue), Reality (yellow), and the Soul (green). These gems, traditionally wore on the forehead, granted their users massive power. The gems were worn by such Marvel cosmic-types as the Gardener, the Stranger, the Collector, the Grandmaster, Adam Warlock and others.

The Gems, also known as the Infinity Gems, were the subject of a pretty good miniseries by Jim Starlin, George Perez and Ron Lim called THE INFINITY GAUNTLET, in which Marvel villain Thanos had the bright idea to gather all six gems and wear them on a glove, which, it turned out, granted him absolute power over all existence. Good work if you can get it.

The Casket of Ancient Winters:The Casket is an Asgardian relic, which, when opened, can reproduce the infinite icy cold of Niffleheim, one of the Asgardian Nine Worlds. When the Casket of Ancient Winters was shattered, it plunged the Earth into devastating worldwide blizzards that did not subside until Thor’s human ally Roger Willis managed to repair the Casket.

When last seen, The Casket of Ancient Winters had been taken by Thor to Avengers Mansion for safekeeping. The Casket first appeared in Walt Simonson’s critically acclaimed run on THE MIGHTY THOR.

The Evil Eye: The Evil Eye was the subject of another famous superhero team crossover, between the Avengers and the loosely affiliated group of superheroes known as the Defenders in the mid-1970s, in which the Asgardian god Loki and the otherworldly sorcerer Dormammu set the two teams against each other in order to reassemble the relic.

Created by beings from the mystic realm of Avalon, the Evil Eye first came to Earth during the Crusades. The Evil Eye can project force blasts and disintegration rays, nullify other energy sources and create force fields.

The Wand of Watoomb: The Wand of Watoomb is a mystical artifact that greatly augments the sorcerous power of its wielder. It also allows the wielder to open any door or gateway to other worlds or time periods, and lets them see anyplace or anyone just by thinking of them. Oh, and it can also fire off some gnarly energy blasts. The Wand was first seen in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL #2 from 1965, which featured Steve Ditko creations Spidey and Dr. Strange teaming up to prevent the Wand from falling into the wrong hands.

The Ultimate Nullifier:You all remember this from the Silver Surfer column a few weeks back, right? The Nullifier is the device stolen by the Human Torch (with some help from the supposedly unbiased Watcher) from Galactus’ ship, and used by Reed Richards to frighten Galactus into agreeing not to devour the planet.

Reportedly having enough power to “erase the entire solar system in one microsecond,” the Nullifier comes with a catch: the Nullifier nullifies both the target and the wielder, so presumably once the trigger is pulled, it just falls to the ground, waiting for the next sap to come along and pick it up.

The Cosmic Cube: The granddaddy of them all, as far as all-powerful weapons go. Created by those wacky evil-scientists-for-hire at Advanced Idea Mechanics, the Cosmic Cube can grant its holder anything it desires, making their thoughts reality in an instant. At first stolen and used by the Red Skull, the Cube floated around the Marvel Universe for awhile, eventually becoming (in one of Marvel’s dopier storylines) a sentient being known as Kubik. The Cube was later re-created, and one of my favorite Cosmic Cube moments came in Mark Waid’s first CAPTAIN AMERICA storyline, in which Cap, having been reunited with his ex-girlfriend Sharon Carter, long thought dead and now much angrier and embittered, momentarily holds the Cube and looks at Sharon, thanks to the power of the Cube, through yesterday’s eyes:

So there you have it. Personally, I think the Serpent Crown was tragically overlooked, but that’s just me.

Scott Tipton still longs for the day when someone sets the Serpent Crown on top of the Cosmic Cube, just to see what happens. Well, JLA/AVENGERS isn’t over yet…If you have any questions about cosmically powered paperweights from the comics, send them here and we’ll get you some answers.

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