M'Kraan Crystal
M'Kraan Crystal is an artifact that features in Marvel Comics.
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History
The M'Kraan Crystal was said to had formed at the beginning of creation thus developing into the first planet in the universe. (History of the Marvel Universe v2 #1) At some point, a species was noted to had come to inhabit the world thousands of years ago. Around 130,000 years ago, a nomadic race that came to be known as the M'Kraan followed their ancient scriptures that brought them to this world where they removed the inhabitants from its surface and claimed it as their prophecised homeworld. (X-Men: Emperor Vulcan v1 #5)
Placed on an abandoned planet, known only as The World, the Crystal was considered sacred by the alien race known as the Shi'ar, a symbol of their faith. The mad Shi'ar emperor D'Ken wanted to use its legendary power for his own ends, and so D'Ken's sister Lilandra Neramani allied herself with the X-Men to stop her brother's mad quest, knowing that the Crystal was nicknamed "The End of All That Is". The Phoenix Force, still weakened and inexperienced in using the new host body of Jean Grey, flew to the crystal to try to stop D'Ken, but was sucked in with everyone else. Inside they found a large endless city, at the center of which was the heart of the Crystal - a sphere which contained a Neutron Galaxy. The X-Men, along with D'Ken, were rendered immobile by a ray coming out of the orb which caused everyone to live out their greatest nightmares. Only Phoenix/Jean Grey was unaffected. Using the empathic link she had with the crystal, Phoenix/Jean Grey discovered an energy field in the form of a latticework which acted as a living shield for the Neutron Galaxy. The latticework was deteriorating. If it failed, the intense gravity from the Neutron Galaxy would cause all of creation to be sucked into it and the resulting Big Bang effect would give rise to a new virgin universe. Phoenix/Jean Grey used her powers to try to repair the latticework but found she wasn’t strong enough, so she reached out telepathically to her fellow X-Men for aid, and with their combined power Phoenix/Jean Grey was able to repair the Crystal and thus save the universe from ultimate destruction.
The M'Kraan Crystal is also sensitive to disruptions of history and reality. When Charles Xavier's son, Legion traveled back in time to kill Magneto, he instead killed Charles. This resulted in a disruption within the Crystal which exploded with a massive wave of energy which washed over the universe, crystallizing everything that existed, before destroying it all. This resulted in a time being 'restarted' as the Age of Apocalypse. During the AoA the M'Kraan Crystal was a major factor as it was discovered that a small shard of the M'Kraan Crystal contained the power of the full Crystal. Apocalypse was planning on using the Crystal to conquer other universes, but Bishop used the Crystal to travel back in time and restore reality. A small shard of the Crystal was responsible for moving X-Man and Holocaust from the Age of Apocalypse Earth to Earth-616, while Sugar Man and Dark Beast entered a larger version to make the same trip. Holocaust would have this shard embedded in him for a while, draining power from the Crystal until X-Man removed it.
After the re-emergence of D'Ken, he decided to officiate the ceremony of the marriage of his sister Deathbird to Vulcan that was to be conducted by the M'Kraan Crystal. Gladiator managed to reach a temporary accord with its guardian Jafh who allowed for the marriage to be made by the crystal. In reality, the marriage was meant also as a trap for Lilandra and her forces as the ceremony involved the execution of her former consort Charles Xavier by killing him through contact with the crystal. (Uncanny X-Men v1 #485) Xavier was thrown into the crystal with Darwin diving into it to rescue him. and managed to get him out of it. The act of being within the crystal had resulted in Xavier's telepathic Mutant powers being restored to him. (Uncanny X-Men v1 #486)
During the X-Men: Emperor Vulcan limited series it was revealed that the World was once inhabited by the race known as the M'Kraan, until the Shi'ar attacked them, killed a great number of their people, making the rest flee for their lives. Eventually, the Shi'ar settled on their planet, took the M'Kraan Crystal as their own, and passed down the legend of the M'Kraan Crystal as a sacred gift from their deities, Sharra & K'ythri. The M'Kraan, now calling themselves the Scy'ar Tal (translates as "Death to the Shi'ar") returned and tried to reclaim the Crystal as well as to destroy the Shi'ar empire, only to be defeated by Vulcan and the Starjammers. However, at the end of the miniseries it was revealed that the Scy'ar Tal also conquered the World before they settled on it, so who lived there before and built the M'Kraan Crystal remains a mystery.
At the time of Avengers versus X-Men, it was revealed that a group of Kree mystics obtained a shard of the crystal and used it to steal a fragment of the Phoenix Force to resurrect Mar-Vell. (Secret Avengers v1 #26) The Phoenix, however, soon afterwards reclaimed the stolen fragment from Mar-Vell. (Secret Avengers v1 #28)
Overview
It was an omniversal artifact of vast power that was considered gift to the Shi'ar from their deities. (Realm of Kings: Imperial Guard v1 #4)
Time held no meaning within the crystal which was too large to be truly defined. It was said to be fear, anger, power, and knowledge with it consisting of all these concepts. Such was its power that it was said to be capable of destroying the universe or a single man. It could be used to break minds or alter them and open doors to splinters of reality or close them. (Uncanny X-Men v1 #486)
The M'Kraan Crystal is the doorway to the Nexus of all Realities (past, present and future) which in fact is the White Hot Room, also known as the center of creation and the heart of the Phoenix, although Jean has stated that the White Hot Room exists on another plane of existence beyond everything. Nevertheless, the White Hot Room can be accessed through the M'Kraan Crystal. The White Hot Room is a realm made of pure energy (the Phoenix in its native state) and borders all realms from the material to the imaginary. It is from this realm that the various hosts and the avatar of the Phoenix do their Phoenix work, while they wait to resurrect. Entire universes can be absorbed into this plane and healed or destroyed without even a hint of paradox. The White Hot Room also serves as a waystation that all beings pass through at one point in time before their birth or after their death until they reach their destination either in life or the realm of Death; in essence "You are always there waiting for yourself to arrive".
The M'Kraan Crystal is guarded by Jahf, a small android with tremendous strength and durability. Should Jahf be defeated, the gigantic robot Modt takes its place. Modt is said to be a thousand times stronger and more powerful than Jahf. Modt claimed that should he be defeated an even more powerful guardian would appear, and that an endless number of increasingly powerful guardians were waiting beyond him. So far no non-cosmic being has been able to defeat Modt. These Guardians seem to exist in all different realities simultaneously. Should the Guardians be avoided, a second layer of defense exists: any person entering the M'Kraan crystal will live through his greatest fears. The Phoenix Force generally protects the M'Kraan Crystal against abuse as well; it has also shown the ability to overwhelm other guardians of the crystal with ease.
A Guardian was assigned to the Crystal who watched over this gateway into eternity with this being called Jahf. He was an artificial being who was dictated by his programming that prevented others from accessing the M'Kraan Crystal. His charge was a simple one in that so long as the gateway was opened then none could approach the Crystal and live. Though diminutive in space, he was incredibly strong and fast with energy blasts unable to hurt him. If defeated, the second Guardian named Modt was dispatched who was a larger and stored the tactics used against Jahf in his memory banks. He claimed that his power was a thousand times greater than Jahf. It was said that if he was defeated than an even more powerful guardian would be dispatched to defeat any intruders. (X-Men v1 #108)
Notes
- The M'Kraan Crystal was created by Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum where it made its first appearance in X-Men v1 #107 (October, 1977).
Alternate Versions
In other media
Television
- In X-Men, the M'Kraan Crystal appeared in the 1992 animated television series during the Phoenix Saga episodes. It was sought after by D'ken who wanted to harness the power of the crystal to become, in essence, a god. Absorbing the power of the crystal did indeed transform D'ken but also sucked himself, as well as the X-Men, the Starjammers, the Shiar Imperial Guard, and slowly but surely the rest of the universe as well into the crystal. Within the crystal, D'ken seemed capable of almost any feat, from altering his physical form and firing energy blasts, to controlling the matter all around. Eventually, the Phoenix, having apparently mastered the full range of her powers, appeared and rescued the trapped X-Men and Shiar guard while leaving D'ken trapped inside the crystal. The Phoenix then took the Crystal into the heart of the sun, knowing that while it could not be destroyed, it would still be safely hidden within.
Video games
- In Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, the player heroes travelled to a Shi'ar warship in order to acquire a shard of the M'Kraan Crystal during the events of the third person team-based fighting video game. They required it as part of a number of components to defeat Doctor Doom after he had stolen the power of the Odinforce.
- In Marvel Heroes, the M'Kraan Crystal appeared as a legendary item present in the MMORPG video game. The description of it mentioned that Shi'ar legend spoke of the M'kraan Crystal's homeworld being the first planet to form and was as old as time. It was said that whatever race that lived there was long gone and that the only structure that withstood the ravages of time was the Crystal itself. M'Kraan Shards appeared as a form of currency available in the game.
Appearances
- X-Men v1:
- Uncanny X-Men v1:
- X-Man v1:
- X-Men: Emperor Vulcan v1:
- Realm of Kings: Imperial Guard v1:
- History of the Marvel Universe v2:
External Link
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