FIRST APPEARANCE: Tales of Suspense #79 (1966)
HISTORY: Cosmic Cubes are incredibly powerful
artifacts of artificial origin, capable of altering the makeup
of the universe in response to the desires of the beings who
wield them. According to the Shaper of Worlds, the godlike
Beyonders dwell
in a lightless dimension adjacent to the Negative Zone, observing
and interfering in our universe. These Beyonders created the
energy beings that become Cosmic Cubes, which contained the
potential for self-evolving intelligence, and placed them
in a dimension adjacent to Earth's, making it possible for
people to tap into them and bring that energy over into their
own universes, enclosed within a newly created Cosmic Containment
Unit, the exact nature of which depended upon the universe
into which it was brought. In Earth-616's dimension, these
would usually manifest as Cosmic Cubes. Though undoubtedly
not the first Cube, the oldest Cube known to Earth's inhabitants
was created by the Skrull Empire tens of thousands of years
ago. Skrull scientists
created a cube through which its wielder could alter reality,
and the Skrull Emperor used it to rule as a god for years.
However, the cube gradually became sentient, evolving its
personality from the minds of those closest to it - in this
case, the unstable Skrull Emperor. Lashing out in pain, anger,
and confusion, the Cosmic Cube effectively destroyed two thirds
of the races of the Skrulls' Andromeda Galaxy, knocking the
empire back into barbarism. Over time, the Skrull Cube developed
a more stable personality and became known as the Shaper of
Worlds. It traveled the universe seeking to fulfill the dreams
of others, either unwilling or unable to enact its own dreams.
The Skrulls' pre-eminent rival race, the Kree, eventually attempted to develop
their own Cosmic Cube, building the massive Supreme Intelligence as a computing
device to guide the project. Fearing a reoccurrence of the disaster the Skrulls'
Cube had caused, the Supreme Intelligence refused to allow the Kree to build
such a device, and covertly contacted the Shaper of Worlds. To protect the universe,
the two allied to watch for other races who could develop Cubes, and to intervene
wherever possible.
Led by physicist Dr. George Clinton and his graduate assistant Bernard Worrell,
Earth's Advanced Ideas
Mechanics (A.I.M.) constructed a computational device
to help them explore interdimensional space. This device,
known as M.O.D.O.C. (Mental Organism Designed Only for Computation),
allowed A.I.M. to manipulate force-screens and capture the
"x-element" energy released by their probe. After
several failed attempts, which resulted in small but locally
powerful crystalline shards of cosmic force (which would later
be used to empower A.I.M.'s Adaptoids and the Super-Adaptoid),
they succeeded in confining the energies into a small glowing
cube, Earth's first Cosmic Cube, though the experience drove
M.O.D.O.C. insane. Clinton's team began careful study of their
Cube, but the Red Skull, who was briefly allied with A.I.M.
on an unrelated project, learned of the Cube and arranged
to have the Cube's Keeper steal it for him. Unaware of this
newborn Cube's full potential, the Skull employed it only
for relatively minor effects, such as transporting the Keeper
into another dimension, creating artificial beings, and creating
armor for himself. A.I.M. informed Captain America of the
Skull's theft of this enormously powerful weapon and the Captain
pursued him to a Mediterranean island. Engaging the Skull
in hand-to¬hand combat, Captain America eventually knocked
the Cube from the Skull's hand just as the Skull ordered the
Cube to destroy the island. The Cube was lost in the explosion,
but the Sub-Mariner soon found it and wielded It briefly against
the Avengers, creating an Amalga-Beast to fight them. When
the Wasp knocked the Cube from where Namor wore it around
his neck, it fell undetected into a deep chasm. The Mole Man
later found and discarded it, not realizing its worth.
The young Cube reached out for contact, and emerged from an exploding volcano
shortly thereafter. Found by a fisherman, the Cube fulfilled his wishes and
gradually turned his humble fishing village into a prosperous town. However,
the Red Skull and his team of subordinate Exiles had been carefully watching
the news for signs of the Cube's re-emergence. The Skull had the fisherman attacked,
and reclaimed the Cube. After some experimentation, the Skull began using the
Cube in a much more grandiose manner, attempting to drive his arch-foe Captain
America mad by summoning demonic beings, transporting the Captain into other
dimensions, and shrinking the hero. The Skull briefly switched his and the Captain's
bodies, leaving the Captain (appearing to be the Skull) to be hunted by the
Exiles the Skull had betrayed, while the Skull, as Captain America, attempted
to besmirch his enemy's good name. While the Skull alienated Captain America's
young partner, Rick Jones (Bucky), Captain America teamed up with ex-racketeer
Sam "Snap" Wilson, whose personality the Skull had altered using the
Cube, to lead the natives of Isles Dernieres against the Exiles. The Skull's
need for a hands-on triumph led him to teleport both Captain America and Wilson
to Berchtesgaden castle; however, A.I.M. and M.O.D.O.C. (now M.O.D.O.K.- Mental
Organism Designed Only for Killing) developed a Catholite Block device which
interfered from afar with the Cube's access to its powers, and it appeared to
melt away to nothingness. M.O.D.O.K. soon retrieved it and tried to re-stabilize
the young Cube in a Louisiana laboratory, but Dr. Doom and an amnesiac Sub-Mariner
intervened, and the Cube was again lost when it appeared to explode in reply
to Namor's desire that neither Doom nor M.O.D.O.K. possess it.
Alerted by the creation of this new Cube, the Shaper began
observing Earthlings for their potential effects on the Cube,
studying the dreams of Nazi Otto Kronsteig, the incredible
Hulk (twice), Slugger
Johnson, and Thomas Gideon (whom the Shaper eventually took
as his "herald" under the name Glorian). The Supreme
Intelligence began monitoring those Earthlings who had been
in proximity to the Cube, including Rick
Jones. Wishing to keep closer tabs on the Cube, the Supreme
Intelligence placed its location in Rick Jones' mind during
the Kree¬Skrull War, but Thanos had long been seeking
his own Cosmic Cube and this monitoring brought Earth's Cube
to his attention. Thanos kidnapped Jones and drew the location
from his mind. After fighting Drax to possess it, Thanos claimed
the Cube, using it to monitor and after his subordinates,
to capture his foes Eros and Mentor, and ultimately to transport
the Avengers
and Captain
Mar-Vell to face him in person. Thanos absorbed the Cube's
full powers, becoming an omnipotent "god" but the
Avengers' Mantis deduced that the powers still resided in
the Cube, and Mar-Vell seized it, restoring the status quo.
Believing the Cube was powerless, the Avengers left it with
the U.S. government, who eventually transferred it to alternate
energy facility Project: PEGASUS for further study. When an
act of sabotage pumped energy through the Cube and into the
childlike Wundarr, rendering him comatose, the Cube's intelligence
took pity on him, communing with Wundarr and gradually bringing
him to a fully adult intelligence as the pacifistic Aquarian.
The Cube was stolen during this period and used by Victorius
to create Jude the Entropic Man, but after the interference
of the Man-Thing
and the energies of the Nexus of Realities interacted with
the Cube to leave Jude and Victorius transformed into a growth-enhancing
crystal, Captain America and the Thing retrieved it and returned
it to Project: PEGASUS. The Cube was briefly used in a Serpent
Crown led attempt to resurrect the Elder God Set, but the
efforts of the Thing,
Spider-Man, the
Scarlet Witch,
and Dr. Strange
led to the Cube's being employed to destroy the Serpent
Crowns. Soon after that, Cube co-creator Bernard Worrell
led an A.I.M. assault to recapture the Cube. Captain America
intervened, and the awakening Cube summoned Aquarian as well.
Worrell's attempts to use the Cube resulted inreality-altering
chaos, as the Cube was attempting to "hatch" into
a new form. The Shaper of Worlds arrived to midwife the birth
and, comforted by Captain America's quiet resolve, Worrell's
misguided but hopeful dreams of an ideal world, and the Aquarian's
pacifistic beliefs, the Cube calmed itself. The Shaper departed
with the Cube in his care, and it soon hatched into an adult
form: Kubik. As Kubik,
the Cube took on an asteroidal form to briefly interact with
the nebulaic Cloud, sending her to Earth for aid against the
mysterious Star-Thief. When Cloud returned with the Defenders,
Kubik aided them in setting right what the Star-Thief had
stolen, adopting the form of the Earth hero he most admired,
Captain America,
in doing so. Developing his own identity and unique form,
Kubik subsequently returned to Earth himself when summoned
by the Super-Adaptoid, whom A.I.M. had created using a shard
from a failed Cube and who now sought to duplicate Kubik's
energies. After the Super-Adaptoid did successfully acquire
Kubik's powers and banish him to another dimension, Kubik
returned and, fearing that a direct battle between cosmic
beings could destroy the Earth, brought Captain America in
to outthink the Super-Adaptoid. Removing the cosmic shard
from the defeated Adaptoid, Kubik again left Earth.
While the Cube had been in the possession of Project: PEGASUS,
the Red Skull decided it was easier to recreate A.I.M.'s original
work than reclaim the Cube. He kidnapped A.I.M.'s Dr. Clinton,
forcibly extracting his knowledge of the original work. Using
human brains linked in synch as a computational device, the
Skull cooperated with the Hate Monger (Adolph Hitler) and
Arnim Zola to duplicate the original process. However, the
Hate Monger tried to claim the Cube before the process was
done, resulting in his mind being trapped inside an apparently
powerless Cube. Over several years, the Cube began erratically
developing power, and the Hate Monger's mind led the creation
of a group known as the Kübekult, who stole the Cube
from the Skull and used A.I.M. technology to repeatedly spike
the Cube with energy, hoping to jump-start it into full power.
The Skull allied with Captain America and Sharon Carter to
stop this, but then betrayed Captain America, trapping him
in the Cube with Hitler. While Carter and the Skull battled
an army of transformed Nazis outside, Captain America eventually
came to terms with the unreal world he was trapped in, escaping
the Cube by sheer force of will. While the Captain battled
the Skull, Hitler's mind was sublimated and the Skull himself
was reduced to a living shadow. The Cube vanished, apparently
destroyed, but soon resurfaced when the time-traveler Korvac
sought it; disguised as Kang, he led the shadowy Skull to
the Cube, showed him how to physically recreate himself with
the Cube's powers inside his new body, and then convinced
the Red Skull to call Galactus' ship to Earth, telling the
Skull he could gain knowledge from the ship which would make
him omniscient and enable him to unlock the Cube's full potential.
Disguising himself as the Watcher, Korvac then led Captain
America and Sharon Carter to the Skull, trusting the Captain
to kill the Skull during a moment of distraction, enabling
Korvac to gain both the Cube and the knowledge from Galactus'
ship. Despite his reservations, the Captain saw no other options
and did kill the Skull. Korvac revealed himself and returned
to rule his future world, but Captain America followed him
there and battled him, repeatedly forcing Korvac to reset
time to rid himself of his foe. Still, Captain America would
inevitably return and lead yet another rebellion against Korvac.
After many such lives, Captain America convinced Korvac that
to achieve his goal of true order he had to go back in time
and eliminate his own chaotic human natures before he'd gained
control of the Cube. Returning beside Korvac, Captain America
reversed his decision to kill the Skull, thus preventing Korvac
from gaining the Cube, and eventually tricked the Red
Skull into apparently disintegrating both himself and
the Cube. However, the Skull saved his own life by using the
Cube to teleport away, apparently resurrecting Hitler as the
Hate-Monger at the same time. The Grandmaster later recovered
this Cube and placed it in the Savage
Land, where it was the final piece of a giant scavenger
hunt between the Avengers and an extradimensional team of
heroes. The Grandmaster
employed the Cube and several other items of power to stave
off an other-worldly threat; and the Cube was presumably returned
to Earth thereafter.
Years ago, another Cube had been created when Owen Reece
attempted suicide at a nuclear power plant, inadvertently
tapping the dimension that powered the Cubes. Reece acquired
a small portion of a Cube's powers, but much of the energy
flowed elsewhere, creating a new dimension occupied solely
by that power. Connected to Reece (who now called himself
the Molecule Man), this energy observed Earth for many years,
and eventually chose to interact with Earth's heroes, calling
itself the Beyonder. Summoning many of Earth's heroes and
villains to a distant planet it created, the Beyonder forced
them to compete in its "Secret Wars" though eventually
Dr. Doom stole the
Beyonder's powers.
Recovering his power, the Beyonder allowed those present to
return to Earth, and retired back to its own dimension, but
its curiosity soon got the better of it and it briefly traveled
the Earth, taking human form to observe and interact with
Earthlings. The Beyonder finally decided to birth itself into
a completely human form, but the Molecule Man intervened,
and the Beyonder's energies were returned to its own dimension,
where they created a fully populated universe. The Beyonder
lived as a god there until Dr. Doom and the Fantastic Four
entered his dimension. Doom again sought the Beyonder's power,
but the Shaper of Worlds and Kubik followed with the Molecule
Man, and revealed to all present that the Beyonder and Molecule
Man were both two incomplete halves of a Cosmic Cube. Though
initially unwilling, both merged to form a new Cube which
soon hatched into its adult form: Kosmos. As the Shaper had
tutored Kubik, now Kubik tutored Kosmos, taking her on a tour
of the multiverse and investigating the riddle of the Celestials.
The Molecule Man's human nature was returned to Earth as Owen
Reece, but he still commanded a small portion of the Cube's
powers and once, during a moment of angry heartbreak, used
them to rip the Beyonder from Kosmos before Kubik, having
developed romantic feelings towards Kosmos, convinced Owen
to restore her. At some point Kosmos attempted to explore
mortality and transformed herself into a mortal, but that
mortal incarnation proved unable to control her powers. After
accidentally killing 64,000 Shi'ar
colonists, she passively allowed the Imperial Guard's Oracle
to shut off her mind, rendering her catatonic. Unaware of
what she was, the Shi'ar placed her in the Kyln prison faciliiy,
but she eventually began to awaken, still unstable. The Shi'ar
learned of her true identity (naming her as both Cosmos and
the Maker) and attempted to kill her, but Thanos intervened
and rendered the Maker comatose, her sleeping mind trapping
her godlike powers within her mortal form.
An A.I.M. branch controlled by the Super-Adaptoid tried to
recreate a Cosmic Cube in the Yukon, but failed and created
only ruptured shards. Trying again on the Caribbean island
of Boca Caliente, they again only succeeded in breaching the
dimensional walls and failed to contain the energy. The Avengers
and Red Skull independently came to stop A.I.M. The released
energy transformed A.I.M.'s Adaptoids into duplicates of those
near and dear to the Avengers, and one Adaptoid, becoming
Bucky, sacrificed his artificial life in an attempt to close
the breach; the energies were diverted elsewhere, leaving
only further small shards of Cube material. Employed by Dr.
Doom, Dr. Nils Browder and Steven Roman were attempting to
breach the Negative Zone when these diverted energies exploded
into their experiment, unleashing incredible power. Doom immediately
reprioritized the research, and the team soon created its
own Cosmic Cube. When Browder advised caution, Doom killed
him, and began employing the Cube. Wishing to become a true
Emperor of worlds, Doom demanded the Cube change the universe
to match his dreams, but this nascent Cube could not enact
such massive change, and instead found a universe similar
to Doom's desires, Earth-892, and overlaid that onto Doom's
universe (Earth-616). The overlapping universes created great
instability, and had the side-effect of chronically draining
both Doom and the Cube, aging them at an accelerated rate.
Omniversal guardian Roma observed the destabilization, and
sent Earth-616's X-Men (who had been briefly outside their
own universe) to investigate. They failed to stop Doom, and
instead the mutant Magneto gained control of the Cube, and
laid yet another universe on top of the pair in answer to
Magneto's dreams. Matters worsened when Earth-616's Red Skull,
who had re-formed and had been observing the chaos from a
Catholite protected base on the moon, stole the Cube and laid
yet a fourth reality on top of the others. However, the X-Men
pursued the Skull, and ultimately Leonard Jackson, one of
the Skull's followers, claimed the Cube and sacrificed his
own life to set right all four universes. The Skull was briefly
lost interdimensionally Doom had all knowledge of the event
and the capacity to create Cosmic Cubes removed, and the Cube
itself returned to Earth-616, washing up on a Caribbean beach.
The Magus (Adam
Warlock's "evil" half) used this Cube and four
other extradimensional Cosmic Containment Units (cosmic polyhedrons,
though not Cubes) in his universe-conquering "Infinity
War" plot, employing them as engines for his cross-dimensional
base. Prior to the Magus' defeat, these Units were stolen
by the Goddess (Adam Warlock's "good" half), who
collected another 25 Cosmic Containment Units from other universes,
used their energies to create a world she called Paradise
Omega, and then forged them into a immensely powerful Cosmic
Egg. By merging her will with those of billions of others,
she overrode the semi-sentient Egg's limitations on affecting
things on a universal scale. She nearly destroyed several
universes, but her ability to wrest that degree of change
from the Cosmic Egg was negated when Adam Warlock exposed
her true intentions of multiversal destruction to her followers.
With the Goddess defeated, the Egg's structure was broken
down to a sub-energy level, its extradimensional energies
returned to their universes of origin. Thanos recovered the
now non-functional Cosmic Cube from the Egg's ruins, and gave
this to Mephisto as payment for his aid against the Goddess,
but Mephisto left the powerless Cube with Thanos, who then
discarded it.
A restored Red Skull later wielded an imperfect Cosmic Cube fashioned from
fragments of previous Cubes and failed Cubes, but Russian general Aleksander
Lukin sent the Winter Soldier to assassinate the Skull and steal the Cube. Before
he died, the Skull used the Cube to transfer his consciousness into the mind
of his assassin's controller. Only partly functional due to its incomplete nature,
this Cube drained life from its user with each usage. Lukin, following a plan
devised by the Skull from the Kübekuft's earlier attempts to repower a
Cube, sought to empower it through exposure to energies released from the use
of enormous explosives. After a detonation in Philadelphia partially powered
the Cube, Lukin employed it to seize control of portions of the Roxxon Energy
Corporation and several other multinational corporations, merging them into
his Kronas International corporation. When the Cube continued to drain Lukin's
life force, and the consciousness of the Skull began to taunt Lukin from within
his own mind (even occasionally controlling his actions), Lukin decided to place
the Cube in storage. The Winter Soldier transported the Cube to an abandoned
Nextgen facility in West Virginia, but Captain America and the Falcon intervened.
After Captain America claimed the Cube and ordered ft to fix the Winter Soldier's
faulty memory, the Soldier angrily crushed the Cube, which apparently exploded,
the Winter Soldier teleporting himself away in the process.
An elderly Chinese gentleman named Chen Hsu - presumably the Kakarantharnian
dragon sorcerer who had involved the Mandarin in his plot to destroy humanity,
now returned to human form - has claimed that the Mandarin had a Cosmic Cube
shard mystically woven into a Cosmic Torus (a ring) which possessed a fraction
of a Cube's powers. Hsu briefly allowed the Ringmaster to possess the ring,
but when the Ringmaster was defeated after battling Spider-Man, Moon Knight,
Daredevil, and the Punisher, Chen Hsu reclaimed it and continues to seek the
ring's "true possessor."
The organization G.R.A.M.P.A. apparently has a number of Cosmic Cubes; these
are not actual Cosmic Cubes, but merely nonfunctional cubes manufactured to
bluff their opponents.
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