MARCMAN
The History
The entire account began in a place referred to as the "Beyond-Realm;" an extradimensional reality existing as a sub-dimension within the Negative Zone. Within exist a race of beings known as The Beyonders, beings of staggering power, and far beyond mortal comprehension, able to experience time in a manner other than the linear progression normal to all mortal (and many immortal) beings within Universe-616.
These beings were able to see into Universe-616, although unable to shape it, save for indirectly; their effects can be seen in several places, such as the creation of the Savage Land, which they commissioned a race called the Nuwali to create, as a kind of "big game preserve" collecting the notable beasts and plants from every era of Earth's evolution.
Yet using an agent race, called the Fortisquians, of their own design and creation as observers, the Beyonders set to learning about the mortal beings of Universe-616; their discoveries surprised them - they learned of "want," the concept of desiring that which one does not possess.
Moreover, the Beyonders wanted to aid the mortal races of this Universe; they did this by making possible the creation of Cosmic Cubes, the containment units capable of storing phenomenal amounts of extradimensional energy (discrete "packets" of energy parcelled up by the Beyonders explicitly to become Cubes), and in turn responding to the desires of the possessor, acting in a "wish fulfillment" manner. As a Cube becomes impressed with the mindset of its owner, it slowly gains sentience, with its initial personality dependant on that of the owner. The first, created by the Skrull Empire, belonged to the Emperor, evolved into a creature called the Shaper of Worlds.
Eventually, the idea of a Cosmic Cube appeared on Earth, with the rogue scientist faction known as Advanced Idea Mechanics (A.I.M) finally creating plans for a Cube of their own. This would eventually become the being known as Kubik. Later, at the Acme Atomics Corporation, a timid lab technician called Owen Reece activated a particle accelerator; the radiations released emulated those needed to tear through to the Beyond Realm - enough energy to create a Cosmic Cube was released, with a portion entering Reece; the rest gained premature sentience, naming itself The Beyonder.
Cosmic Cubes
As stated, possession of a Cube grants phenomenal power; the extradimensional energies contained within are somehow psychotropic, responding to the desires of the possessor, and capable of incredible feats. Rather than simply altering matter, the Cubes seem to be endowed with reality-shaping abilities, somehow able to reshape the base nature of the universe to the whims of the owner. It has been stated that a Cube possesses enough power for the owner to "conquer the universe," although this may be at least in part a hyperbolic statement.
However, it is perhaps better to refer to the Cubes as Cosmic Containment Units, since it has been revealed that extradimensional Cosmic Cubes, such as those employed by the two halves of Adam Warlock's soul, the Magus and Goddess, do not have to be cube-shaped, instead possessing exotic-shape forms.
Despite the relative paucity of Cosmic Containment Units within Universe-616, it seems that there are a great many within other dimensions - of the 5 held by the Magus, only two were Cubes. Of the 30 held by the Goddess, perhaps the same two were cube-shaped, suggesting that she had harvested 28 from alternate dimensions.
The Shaper of Worlds
Created by the Skrull Empire and wielded by the Skrull Emperor, the Cosmic Containment Unit that was to become the Shaper gave the Emperor the power of a god. Growing slowly mature, the Cube learned a lust for power, and a certain greed. Acting of its own volition, it ended up destroying two-thirds of the Andromeda Galaxy, and almost wiping out the Skrull Empire, which descended into barbarism.
Yet the Shaper grew beyond its origins and matured, becoming its own being, save for one item - perhaps due to a lack of vision in the Emperor, the Shaper was possessed of no imagination, and could only alter existing planets, unless able to access the imagination of another being to draw upon for inspiration. Later, the Shaper would act as mentor to Kubik, and be instrumental in the realisation that itself, Kubik, the Beyonder and Molecule Man shared a common origin.
The Shaper as a being could alter reality on a planet-wide scale (although with enormous reach), with a maximum lifespan of its alterations being approximately 4 Earth years, unless it came back to ensure another 4 years.
Kubik
The Cube that was to become Kubik was created by A.I.M, a villainous scientist organization, and used originally by MODOK and the Red Skull, although its potential was not reached, used instead as a mind-control device. It would later be used by Set, the Serpent God, in a failed attempt to enter Universe-616 and gain dominance, before falling into the hand of Bernard Worrell, the leader of an A.I.M splinter group.
Under Worrell, the Cube began to distort, until the appearance of the Shaper of Worlds, who had been advised to the location by the Supreme Intelligence of the Kree, in order to avert a disaster similar to the one seen when the Shaper first expressed its powers. The Cube was held briefly by Captain America, which left an imprint of his courage, before the Shaper removed it in order to nurture and raise the fledgling sentient.
During the events recorded in Secret Wars III, Kubik and the Shaper travelled to the Beyonder's pocket-realm, in order to confront it and Owen Reece, and show them that they were both halves on an incomplete whole.
Kubik has shown phenomenal power, able to create a replica of the Sun, the Earth and its inhabitants, using extradimensional matter; however, it seems he is less powerful than Exitar, the largest (and almost certainly most powerful) Celestial.
Owen Reece (The Molecule Man)
Reborn in a lab accident, Reece unknowingly inherited half of the power of a Cosmic Cube, granting near-limitless power (at least from a human pespective); however, for all his anger, he was often limited by his timid and hesitant nature.
Recognised by Uatu, The Watcher, as dangerous to the entire plane of reality, Reece was turned over to Uatu for a time, before later agreeing to see a psychiatrist after battling the Avengers and Fantastic Four.
During the Secret Wars event, Reece was shown by Doom the full extent of his power, and was able to access incredible amounts of energy for phenomenal feats: lifting a 150billion ton mountain range, sealing a section of Denver within its own protective bubble and navigating it through space, mastering spacewarps, and even reconstructing and reigniting the stars the Beyonder had destroyed (although it now seems that given the Beyonder was unknowingly aided in this action, Reece was almost certainly aided in his undoing of it).
In Secret Wars II, Reece interrupted the Beyonder's rebirthing, attacking the machine and killing the foetal child within, sending the Beyonder's energies back to the "Beyond Realm" (actually a pocket dimension it inhabited) creating a new Big Bang.
During the Secret Wars III event, it was revealed by Kubik and the Shaper of Worlds that Owen Reece and the Beyonder were actually both halves of an incomplete Cosmic Cube; once this was revealed, they willingly merged.
This was not to last; the newly formed entity removed the now de-powered Reece from itself, sending him back to Earth. Reece later regained his powers and found the new being, Kosmos, pulling the Beyonder's essence from within her and attacking it. He nearly succeeded in destroying it, until the intervention of Kubik, who persuaded him to restore Beyonder to within Kosmos, in order to save her life.
continued...
The entire account began in a place referred to as the "Beyond-Realm;" an extradimensional reality existing as a sub-dimension within the Negative Zone. Within exist a race of beings known as The Beyonders, beings of staggering power, and far beyond mortal comprehension, able to experience time in a manner other than the linear progression normal to all mortal (and many immortal) beings within Universe-616.
These beings were able to see into Universe-616, although unable to shape it, save for indirectly; their effects can be seen in several places, such as the creation of the Savage Land, which they commissioned a race called the Nuwali to create, as a kind of "big game preserve" collecting the notable beasts and plants from every era of Earth's evolution.
Yet using an agent race, called the Fortisquians, of their own design and creation as observers, the Beyonders set to learning about the mortal beings of Universe-616; their discoveries surprised them - they learned of "want," the concept of desiring that which one does not possess.
Moreover, the Beyonders wanted to aid the mortal races of this Universe; they did this by making possible the creation of Cosmic Cubes, the containment units capable of storing phenomenal amounts of extradimensional energy (discrete "packets" of energy parcelled up by the Beyonders explicitly to become Cubes), and in turn responding to the desires of the possessor, acting in a "wish fulfillment" manner. As a Cube becomes impressed with the mindset of its owner, it slowly gains sentience, with its initial personality dependant on that of the owner. The first, created by the Skrull Empire, belonged to the Emperor, evolved into a creature called the Shaper of Worlds.
Eventually, the idea of a Cosmic Cube appeared on Earth, with the rogue scientist faction known as Advanced Idea Mechanics (A.I.M) finally creating plans for a Cube of their own. This would eventually become the being known as Kubik. Later, at the Acme Atomics Corporation, a timid lab technician called Owen Reece activated a particle accelerator; the radiations released emulated those needed to tear through to the Beyond Realm - enough energy to create a Cosmic Cube was released, with a portion entering Reece; the rest gained premature sentience, naming itself The Beyonder.
Cosmic Cubes
As stated, possession of a Cube grants phenomenal power; the extradimensional energies contained within are somehow psychotropic, responding to the desires of the possessor, and capable of incredible feats. Rather than simply altering matter, the Cubes seem to be endowed with reality-shaping abilities, somehow able to reshape the base nature of the universe to the whims of the owner. It has been stated that a Cube possesses enough power for the owner to "conquer the universe," although this may be at least in part a hyperbolic statement.
However, it is perhaps better to refer to the Cubes as Cosmic Containment Units, since it has been revealed that extradimensional Cosmic Cubes, such as those employed by the two halves of Adam Warlock's soul, the Magus and Goddess, do not have to be cube-shaped, instead possessing exotic-shape forms.
Despite the relative paucity of Cosmic Containment Units within Universe-616, it seems that there are a great many within other dimensions - of the 5 held by the Magus, only two were Cubes. Of the 30 held by the Goddess, perhaps the same two were cube-shaped, suggesting that she had harvested 28 from alternate dimensions.
The Shaper of Worlds
Created by the Skrull Empire and wielded by the Skrull Emperor, the Cosmic Containment Unit that was to become the Shaper gave the Emperor the power of a god. Growing slowly mature, the Cube learned a lust for power, and a certain greed. Acting of its own volition, it ended up destroying two-thirds of the Andromeda Galaxy, and almost wiping out the Skrull Empire, which descended into barbarism.
Yet the Shaper grew beyond its origins and matured, becoming its own being, save for one item - perhaps due to a lack of vision in the Emperor, the Shaper was possessed of no imagination, and could only alter existing planets, unless able to access the imagination of another being to draw upon for inspiration. Later, the Shaper would act as mentor to Kubik, and be instrumental in the realisation that itself, Kubik, the Beyonder and Molecule Man shared a common origin.
The Shaper as a being could alter reality on a planet-wide scale (although with enormous reach), with a maximum lifespan of its alterations being approximately 4 Earth years, unless it came back to ensure another 4 years.
Kubik
The Cube that was to become Kubik was created by A.I.M, a villainous scientist organization, and used originally by MODOK and the Red Skull, although its potential was not reached, used instead as a mind-control device. It would later be used by Set, the Serpent God, in a failed attempt to enter Universe-616 and gain dominance, before falling into the hand of Bernard Worrell, the leader of an A.I.M splinter group.
Under Worrell, the Cube began to distort, until the appearance of the Shaper of Worlds, who had been advised to the location by the Supreme Intelligence of the Kree, in order to avert a disaster similar to the one seen when the Shaper first expressed its powers. The Cube was held briefly by Captain America, which left an imprint of his courage, before the Shaper removed it in order to nurture and raise the fledgling sentient.
During the events recorded in Secret Wars III, Kubik and the Shaper travelled to the Beyonder's pocket-realm, in order to confront it and Owen Reece, and show them that they were both halves on an incomplete whole.
Kubik has shown phenomenal power, able to create a replica of the Sun, the Earth and its inhabitants, using extradimensional matter; however, it seems he is less powerful than Exitar, the largest (and almost certainly most powerful) Celestial.
Owen Reece (The Molecule Man)
Reborn in a lab accident, Reece unknowingly inherited half of the power of a Cosmic Cube, granting near-limitless power (at least from a human pespective); however, for all his anger, he was often limited by his timid and hesitant nature.
Recognised by Uatu, The Watcher, as dangerous to the entire plane of reality, Reece was turned over to Uatu for a time, before later agreeing to see a psychiatrist after battling the Avengers and Fantastic Four.
During the Secret Wars event, Reece was shown by Doom the full extent of his power, and was able to access incredible amounts of energy for phenomenal feats: lifting a 150billion ton mountain range, sealing a section of Denver within its own protective bubble and navigating it through space, mastering spacewarps, and even reconstructing and reigniting the stars the Beyonder had destroyed (although it now seems that given the Beyonder was unknowingly aided in this action, Reece was almost certainly aided in his undoing of it).
In Secret Wars II, Reece interrupted the Beyonder's rebirthing, attacking the machine and killing the foetal child within, sending the Beyonder's energies back to the "Beyond Realm" (actually a pocket dimension it inhabited) creating a new Big Bang.
During the Secret Wars III event, it was revealed by Kubik and the Shaper of Worlds that Owen Reece and the Beyonder were actually both halves of an incomplete Cosmic Cube; once this was revealed, they willingly merged.
This was not to last; the newly formed entity removed the now de-powered Reece from itself, sending him back to Earth. Reece later regained his powers and found the new being, Kosmos, pulling the Beyonder's essence from within her and attacking it. He nearly succeeded in destroying it, until the intervention of Kubik, who persuaded him to restore Beyonder to within Kosmos, in order to save her life.
continued...
