Power Cosmic

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The Power Cosmic in Superior Spider-Man v2 #3.

The Power Cosmic is a concept that features in Marvel Comics.

Contents

History

The Power Cosmic was a type of cosmic energy that was tied to Galactus.

Around ten thousand years ago, the Shadow People created an artificial version of the Power Cosmic that they called the Old Power. It was made as a rival to the original power but proved to be unstable where it came to infuse numerous worlds across the universe. The Shadows sought to tame its use though their use of the Old Power nearly destroyed a quarter of the known universe leading to them becoming custodians of it to prevent it from running rampart. (Skaar: Son of Hulk v1 #15)

Long ago, the world of Zenn-La faced the threat of Galactus and faced being consumed by the World Devourer. Despite their efforts, they were unable to stop his arrival and in desperation Norrin Radd approached Galactus where he begged for his world to be spared from destruction. However, the World Devourer was in the grips of his hunger and though willing to spare the planet he had no alternative as he could expend the energy to find another world. It was then that Radd offered to become his Herald and thus was imbued with the Power Cosmic to become the Silver Surfer. (Silver Surfer v1 #1) After hearing a call from Quasimodo, the Silver Surfer came upon the living machine that begged his aid in giving him a body. Thus, the Surfer used the cosmic energy at his disposal to shape a form for him. However, this misshaped form drove Quasimodo into a rage who sought to destroy everything around him. (Fantastic Four Annual v1 #5)

Whilst trapped on Earth, the Silver Surfer came to be befriended and betrayed by Latverian tyrant Doctor Doom. He imprisoned Radd in order to steal the Power Cosmic for himself using a special machine to siphon off its energy from its host. (Fantastic Four v1 #57) Ultimately, Doom lost his new might when he collided with a barrier created by Galactus, and the Silver Surfer's powers came to be restored to him. (Fantastic Four v1 #60)

Afterwards, Galactus had sought out a new herald to guide him to fertile planets, which he needed for sustenance. Galactus surmised that the common fault in most of his former heralds was that their moral values prevented them from fulfilling their duties. For a new herald, Galactus looked for an individual who would have no compunction in finding worlds for him to render lifeless. He came to find such a person on the planet Birj in the form of a warlord named Tyros who ruled over a small city-state. Brought before Galactus, Tyros was exposed to Galactus' cosmic power, and was transformed into Terrax the Tamer. His minor control over stone was augmented to an incalculable degree. Now, he could affect all matter of rock and stone on nearly a planetary scale. His body was changed so that it would withstand the vacuum of space. Finally, Galactus gave Terrax a weapon called the Cosmic Axe capable of generating waves of cosmic force. (Fantastic Four v1 #211) As Galactus's new herald, Terrax found more worlds for his master than any of the previous heralds. Terrax likened the discovery of new planets to the feeling of conquest. On several occasions, Terrax annihilated large segments of the population himself using his cosmic powers. As Galactus had hoped, Terrax's lack of morality made him a successful herald. (Fantastic Four v1 #213)

Afterwards, a weakened and hungry Galactus crashed on Earth where he had no choice but to break his vow by consuming the planet. Though other worlds rich in energy existed, the Devourer of Worlds was unable to make the journey to find them by himself. It was then that Frankie Raye volunteered to become his Herald with Galactus accepting the proposal whereby he transformed her using the Power Cosmic. In her new form, she departed Earth to find an alternative world for her new master with Galactus sparing the Earth as a result. (Fantastic Four v1 #244)

When the original Defenders were driven insane, a number of their allies worked together to try and stop them. This led to Clea using a mystically empowered dagger that was used against the Silver Surfer that created a female counterpart born of his essence. Thus, Ardina was created who was mystically formed with the ability to use the Power Cosmic and aided her allies in stopping the mad Defenders. (The Order v1 #4)

During the Annihilation War, Annihilus developed an interest in the Power Cosmic and tasked Ravenous along with his Seekers in hunting down the Heralds of Galactus. This led to the devastation of the Xandar star cluster thus drawing out Gabriel the Air-Walker who was ambushed by the Seekers Curs. The Silver Surfer came to arrive on the scene where he assisted his fellow Herald. He managed to escape their pursuers though Gabriel seemed to had been critically wounded and his body was destroyed to prevent the Seekers from claiming it. (Annihilation: Silver Surfer v1 #1) Morg had and Terrax were two former Heralds that had been captured by the Wave in an attempt to harvest the Power Cosmic. However, the experiments conducted on Morg killed him and the energy dissipated from his body thus preventing it from being claimed. At this time, Thanos had become an advisor to Annihilus where he offered to find a means of harvesting the Power Cosmic for him. At the same time, Ravenous led his Seekers in secret pursuit of the Silver Surfer where they found Galactus and attempted to attack the Devourer of Worlds in order lay claim to his great power as it was the source of the Power Cosmic. He resisted and empowered the Silver Surfer again as his Herald with the two working together to defeat the Annihilation Wave forces sent against them. (Annihilation: Silver Surfer v1 #3) Despite their combined might, both Galactus and the Silver Surfer were captured by the Annihilation Wave through the aid of Tenebrous and Aegis of the Proemial Gods. With Galactus in their possession, Thanos began to study them in an effort to find the biological applications of the cosmic power on behalf of Annihilus. (Annihilation v1 #2) This saw the imprisonment of Galactus in a giant engine whereby he was used to harvest cosmic energy from worlds with only a small amount being used to feed him whilst the great majority was used to create Power Cosmic that Annihilus along with his horde could consume. (Annihilation v1 #4)

At San Francisco, the former Herald Terrax arrived in order to lay claim to Earth leading to a battle with the Superior Spider-Man. The masked 'hero' was unable to fight his foes superior strength that was granted by the Power Cosmic. Thus, he had his agents acquire a device he had constructed that allowed him to sap some of Terrax's cosmic powers. (Superior Spider-Man v2 #2) Despite this advantage, Terrax proved to be the better wielder of its power after having mastered it for many years. It was only with the assistance of Anna Maria Marconi was the Superior Spider-Man able to create a poisoned version of the Power Cosmic from the stolen fragment which he infected Terrax with thus defeating the Herald. Rather than keep the power, the Superior Spider-Man removed it into a energy container which Marconi took away in secret whilst Alpha Flight arrived to take Terrax into custody. (Superior Spider-Man v2 #3)

In Latveria, Doctor Doom empowered Zora Vukovic with the Power Cosmic so that she would become a lure to draw Galactus to the planet. Once there, he was captured and imprisoned at Mount Doom to be used as an endless power source for the nation. Through his cosmic pipeline, Doctor Doom intended to make his country the greatest in the world that would propel the rest of humanity into the stars as part of a new golden age. However, the great energies were too much to be contained and threatened to explode where it would destroy Latveria as well as knock the planet from its orbit. (Fantastic Four v6 #8)

Overview

It was a force that replaced the auras (or souls) of the characters imbued with its properties, causing each wielder's physical form to uniquely adapt in order to store and manipulate it according to how they desire. (Annihilation v1 #3) Galactus was able to strip the Power Cosmic away from the person to whom he has given it.

Wielding the Power Cosmic was said to bring the bearer in touch with every other living being at once and led to recognise that one was not alone in the universe. Instead, they were the cosmos coming to know itself and love itself with this being remarked as a beautiful experience. (Unbeatable Squirrel Girl v2 #30)

Once given to a host, the Power Cosmic could not be harvested unless they were dead. However, when killed, the energy that permeated their bodies dissipated thus preventing it from being taken by others. (Annihilation: Silver Surfer v1 #3)

The Power Cosmic could be used to achieve the following effects: size-alteration, the transmutation of matter, the teleportation of objects (including entire galaxies) across space, the creation of force fields, the creation of interdimensional portals, telepathy, telekinesis, cosmic awareness on a universal scale, creating sentient life, resurrecting the dead, manipulating mortal souls, manipulating the memories and emotions of others, recreating dead worlds (including their populations) in every detail, energy projection, the creation of black holes and other cosmic bodies, the ability to enter and control the Astral Plane, creating pocket dimensions, time travel, and healing wounds.

Within the Negative Zone, there was a counterpart of the Power Cosmic known as the Opposing Force and was called the 'essence' by the inhabitants of that dimension. (Annihilation: Silver Surfer v1 #1)

Wielders

  • Galacta :
  • Tyrant :
  • Norrin Radd :
  • Terrax :
  • Frankie Raye : a female superpowered human from Earth who had the power of flames where she offered herself as a Herald to find worlds for him in exchange for him sparing Earth. (Fantastic Four v1 #244)
  • Ardina : a female entity born from a mystical dagger made by Clea and used against the Silver Surfer which created a being drawn from the Power Cosmic to be used against him when he was driven mad. (The Order v1 #4)
  • Praeter :
  • Suzi Endo :
  • Victorious : a female Latverian citizen empowered by stolen Power Cosmic energy by Doctor Doom turning her into his enforcer Victorious the Herald of Doom who also served as a lure to draw Galactus to Earth. (Fantastic Four v6 #6)

Notes

  • The Power Cosmic was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby where it made its first appearance in Fantastic Four v1 #48 (March, 1966).

Alternate Versions

  • In Thanos v2 #16 (2018), the Power Cosmic was shown to exist in an alternate reality that was designated as Earth-TRN666. On this world, the Power Cosmic was given to the Spirit of Vengeance Frank Castle turning him into the Cosmic Ghost Rider and a Herald to Galactus.

In other media

Television

  • In Silver Surfer, the Power Cosmic featured in the setting of the 1990s animated television series.

Appearances

  • Fantastic Four v1: (1966)
  • The Order v1:
  • Annihilation: Silver Surfer v1:
  • Annihilation v1:
  • Annihilation: Heralds of Galactus v1:
  • Skaar: Son of Hulk v1:
  • Silver Surfer:
  • Superior Spider-Man v1:
  • Fantastic Four v6:

External Links

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