Kubik is a sentient
entity that is one of the most powerful living beings in the known universe and
that formerly existed in the form of a Cosmic Cube, a cube-shaped object possessed
of vast, seemingly limitless energies. A sentient being who wielded the Cosmic
Cube could use it to alter reality according to his wishes.
Kubik's ultimate creators were the mysterious otherdimensional entities known
as the Beyonders. The
Beyonders study the development of life in Earth's dimension.
As one of their experiments, they allow vast energies to enter
the Earth dimension through interdimensional portals created through
the use of a certain kind of force field. Such energies can be
entrapped within a matrix of force fields that form a perfect
cube. The result is the entity known on Earth as a Cosmic Cube.
A Cosmic Cube will alter reality according to the desires of its
wielders. However, a Cosmic Cube is also a living being in embryonic
form. Eventually it develops its own consciousness patterning
it after the consciousness of the sentient being with whom it
is in mental and physical contact. Finally, the Cosmic Cube will
become a mature sentient being capable of independent will and
action. Presumably, the point of the Beyonders experiment is to
learn how sentient beings of the Earth dimension use the Cosmic
Cube to advance their own particular goals and to learn how those
beings psyches influence that of the maturing Cube.
The first known Cosmic Cube was created ages ago by the alien Skrulls.
Skrull scientists spent millennia trying to find a means to transform
thought into reality until finally they, succeeded in entrapping
energy from the Beyonders dimension within a Cosmic Cube. The
Skrull Emperor took possession of the Cosmic Cube and proclaimed
himself to be a god. But after years of responding to the emperor’s
power mad personality, the Cube began developing a personality
of its own in the image of the emperor's. Acting independently
of the emperor, the Cube destroyed or radically altered solar
systems destroying civilizations throughout two thirds of the
Skrulls galaxy, sending the Skrulls themselves back to the level
of barbarism.
Eventually, the Skrull’s Cosmic Cube matured on its own, evolving into
the sentient entity that is now known as the Shaper of Worlds. It is due to
its origins that the Shaper resembles a Skrull.
In a later age the alien Kree who have long
been the rivals of the Skrulls, having learned about the Skrulls
Cosmic Cube, decided to create one of their own. To this end the
Kree created the Supreme Intelligence, the cyborg fusion of the
minds of the greatest of the Kree Supreme intelligence. When the
intelligence was asked to construct a Cosmic Cube, it refused,
realizing the tremendous danger that a Cube would pose. Instead,
over the succeeding ages, the Supreme Intelligence monitored the
known cosmos for signs that a Cosmic Cuba had been created, so
that it could take steps to divert any danger that Cube posed.
In relatively recent times on Earth, Owen Reece, a worker in an atomic research
laboratory fell victim to a strange accident that opened a “pinhole”
like portal into the dimension of the Beyonders. Much of the energy that might
otherwise, have formed a Cosmic Cube entered the “pinhole” into
Reece, granting him the extraordinary powers that he used as the Molecule Man.
But much of the energy also remained behind in the Beyonders' dimension, somehow
becoming a sentient entity that believed that it was the only entity in that
dimension. This entity watched the Earth dimension for years before finally
manifesting itself in the Earth dimension as the so-called Beyonder.
It was the subversive organization of scientists known as the
Advanced Idea Mechanics, or A.I.M.,
that succeeded in creating a Cosmic Cube shortly afterward. The
organization was originally an arm of the larger subversive organization
HYDRA. Dr. George Clinton and his
former student, Bernard Worrell, were two of the founding members
of A.I.M. who took principal roles in mutating an A.I.M. agent-technician,
George Tarleton, into the creature called Modoc, who had an enormous
head containing a computer-like brain. The acronym "Modoc"
stood for "Mental Organism Designed Only for Computation."
Using Modoc to perform the necessary complex mathematical calculations, Clinton
and Worrell succeeded in creating a metasingularity, or "gray hole,"
which was an opening into another dimension. Presumably that dimension was the
cosmos of the Beyonders. Through this metasingularity came something whose nature
Clinton and Worrell could not determine, but which they succeeded in trapping
within a perfect cube of force. Thus originated A.I.M's Cosmic Cube. The Cube
changed and developed day by day. A.I.M. scientists learned that the Cosmic
Cube possessed seemingly infinite power to transform thoughts into reality.
A.I.M. scientists succeeded in taking a "sliver" from the Cube and
implanting the "sliver" within the Adaptoid, an android that A.I.M.
had created that could duplicate the form and powers of any living being.
The Nazi war criminal known as the Red
Skull, who was then an ally of A.I.M. read A.I.M. reports
about the Cosmic Cube, and succeeded in stealing it. Using the
Cube's power the Skull attempted to destroy his archenemy, Captain
America, who nonetheless succeeded in defeating him. The Cube
was lost beneath the sea, where it was found by the Sub-Mariner,
who used it in battle against the Avengers.
The Cube fell through a crevice into a subterranean cavern, where
it was discovered by the Mole Man, who cast it aside, thinking
it valueless.
Strains suffered by Modoc during his involvement with the Cosmic Cube warped
his sanity, and he used his new psionic powers to assassinate the Supreme Scientist,
who was the head of A.I.M. and the rest of the organization's ruling committee.
Of the founding members, only Clinton and Worrell survived, and both hid themselves
under pseudonyms as minor members of the A.I.M. hierarchy. Modoc assumed the
new name Modok, an acronym for "Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing"
and assumed the leadership of A.I.M. which was now independent of HYDRA and
THEM.
Eventually the Cosmic Cube somehow made its way into an active volcano; it
may be assumed that the nascent consciousness within the Cube caused it to move
into the volcano so that it could be catapulted to the surface. The Cube was
found by a man who used its power to fulfill his simple wishes. But news of
the miracles worked by the Cube found its way to the Red Skull, who soon took
possession of the Cube once more. The Skull used the Cube to torment Captain
America by switching bodies with him. The Skull also used the Cube's power to
alter the psyche of a man named Sam Wilson, whom he intended to use as one of
his agents. Wilson, however, became an ally of Captain America and took on the
costumed identity of the Falcon. The Skull finally brought his "game"
with Captain America to an end by restoring each of them to his original body
and battling him in person. Meanwhile Modok located the Cube, and, while the
Skull was using it to battle his two adversaries, caused its casing to destabilize.
As a result, the Cube appeared to melt in the Skull's hand.
In actuality, however, the Cosmic Cube had not been destroyed, but was teleported
to an A.I.M. headquarters. Doctor Doom, the monarch of Latveria, learned of
the Cube's whereabouts and planned to steal it. He invaded Modok's headquarters
along with the Sub-Mariner, who was then suffering from amnesia and whom Doom
had taken as an ally. Convinced that the Cube was too dangerously powerful for
anyone to possess, the Sub-Mariner somehow caused the Cube to explode, destroying
Modok's headquarters. Doom, the Sub-Mariner, and Modok all succeeded in escaping.
But once again, the Cosmic Cube had not actually been destroyed.
During a war between the Kree and Skrull Empires, the Kree Supreme
Intelligence implanted the knowledge of the location of the Cosmic
Cube within the subconscious mind of the young Earthman Rick
Jones, who was psychically linked with the Kree Captain
Mar-Vell. Through Jones and Mar-Vell, the Supreme Intelligence
intended, to monitor the Earth Cosmic Cube's development. Somehow
Thanos, an Eternal of
the moon Titan, learned that Jones subconsciously knew the Cube's
location and forced the secret of its whereabouts from him. Thanos
was the first person to utilize the full power of this Cosmic
Cube, using it to transform himself into a godlike being of immense
power. But his enemy, the Kree Captain Mar-Vell, made mental contact
with the Cube, used it to undo everything Thanos had done with
it, and seemingly destroyed it. Deprived of the Cube's power,
Thanos returned to his original form.
Once again, though, the Cube had not truly been destroyed. After it reformed
itself, it was recovered by the original intelligence agency known
as S.H.I.E.L.D. and sent to the federal
energy research center known as Project: Pegasus.
Project: Pegasus scientists performed an experiment in which the alien humanoid
Wundarr was induced to make psychic contact with the Cosmic Cube. As a result
the Cube heightened and altered Wundarr's superhuman power to absorb energy,
so that he became a living power damper, reducing energy levels in his vicinity.
Unknown to the scientists, the Project had been infiltrated by the disguised
criminal Victorious, who had recently, become the leader of the
Entropists, a religious cult that idealized decay and death. Victorious
stole the Cosmic Cube and used its power to teleport himself into
the midst of the Entropists in the Florida Everglades. There Victorious
used the Cube to create the sentient being called Jude the Entropic
Man from the soil and the skeleton of the Entropists former leader
Yagzan. Jude was dedicated to the Entropists' philosophy and possessed
the superhuman power to turn objects and even living human beings
to dust with his touch. Captain America and the superhuman champion
called, the Thing arrived and battled Victorious. Meanwhile, drawn
by the strong emotions he sensed, the creature known as the Man-Thing
approached and took hold of the Cosmic Cube. Victorious tried
in vain to wrest the Cube from the Man-Thing's
grasp. Having heard Captain America and the Thing extol the value
of human life, Jude decided that the time for him to bring death
to humanity had not yet come. Instead, he decided to bestow the
"blessing" of death upon Victorious and touched him.
Victorious, still holding onto the Cube, gave way to intense fear,
an emotion that induces the Man-Thing, who also still grasped
the Cube, to cause the one feeling fear to burn. As a result of
the clash of all these forces, both Victorious and Jude were transformed
into crystal. Captain America took the Cosmic Cube, which had
seemingly lost its power, back to Project: Pegasus.
Later at Project: Pegasus, Wundarr was telepathically summoned by the nascent
intelligence within the Cosmic Cube, which began to glow once
more as he approached. The Cube's power altered Wundarr's mind
and body; whereas Wundarr had previously possessed the psyche
of a child, the Cube gave him an adult level of consciousness.
As a result of these changes, Wundarr took the new name of the
Aquarian.
Two Serpent Crowns, receptacles
for the mystical power of the serpent demon Set, were brought
to Project: Pegasus for study and safekeeping. Through the Crowns
Set took control of all of Project: Pegasus's personnel and compelled
them to use an interdimensional transport device to bring 775
other Serpent Crowns there from divergent Earths. The 775 Serpent
Crowns merged into one enormous Crown, which was to serve as the
means of bringing Set to Earth from his own dimension. However,
the superhuman champions known as the Scarlet
Witch, Spider-Man,
and the Thing, combining
their will power, used the Cosmic Cube to destroy the gigantic
Serpent Crown before Set could manifest himself physically on
Earth.
Due to Modok's many defeats as head of A.I.M. Clinton and Worrell were able
to create an independent splinter version of A.I.M. that adhered
to A.I.M.'s original goal of establishing a world technocracy.
However, Clinton was captured by the Red Skull, the original Hate-Monger,
and Arnim Zola, who
drained his mind of all information in their attempt to create
a new Cosmic Cube. When this attempt failed, they had Clinton
killed. Worrell became the new head of the splinter A.I.M.
When the Cosmic Cube became activated once more, its renewed activity was detected
by A.I.M. technology. A.I.M. traced its location to Project: Pegasus and stormed
the complex. The Aquarian took the Cube, and Captain America, having come in
response to Project: Pegasus's call for help, tried to stop him. The Cube was
stolen by A.I.M. using a tractor beam, and Captain America and the Aquarian
separately tracked it down to an A.I.M. base in a mesa in the western United
States. There Worrell used power feeds to bring the Cube back to full power,
intending to use the Cube to make his vision of a perfect world into reality.
Although the Cube was still dormant, Worrell could still use it to generate
bolts of energy that he used to attack Captain America and the Aquarian. The
intense fear and hatred that Worrell felt affected the Cube, causing it to deform.
Suddenly it began responding to Worrell's desires, although not to his conscious
thoughts. The entire Earth was transformed into the "technopolis"
of Worrell's fantasies, and Worrell himself became a godlike entity such as
the Cube had made Thanos. Resuming human form, Worrell teleported Captain America's
skeleton from his body, but then, when he ordered the Cube to kill the Captain,
it instead restored him to normalcy. Apparently the Cube's nascent consciousness
was now exerting its own will. Terrified, Worrell attempted to force the Cube
to respond to his mental control. But his growing panic and hatred towards the
Captain had an unexpected effect. The Cube grew larger, more round in shape,
sprouted tentacles, and began to wriggle. Shocked, Worrell realized that the
Cube was a living being. The Cube transformed Worrell into a reptilian creature
and distorted the forms of people and things across the world. Captain America
attempted to calm the Cube, but it knocked him down with a bolt of energy.
Then the Shaper of Worlds arrived, just before the Cube was to move into the
next phase of its development, picked the Cube up and succeeded in calming it,
causing what he termed "the imprints of evil" to burn themselves away.
The Cube returned to its usual cube form. Everything on Earth returned to normalcy,
and no living beings except Captain America, the Aquarian, Worrell (who was
now again human), and the Shaper and the Cube themselves remembered how the
entire planet had been transformed.
The Supreme Intelligence had contacted the Shaper to go to Earth to provide
the Cube with the nurturing that the Shaper itself had never received, and thus
avert the disaster like the one the Shaper had caused when it was a Cube wielded
by the Skrull Emperor. Two factors aided the Shaper in preventing the Cube from
perpetrating such a catastrophe. First, the nascent Cube had transformed Wundarr
into the Aquarian, a being who had achieved total inner peace without desire,
who had served as a psychic "nesting place" for the Cube. Second,
the last wielder of the Cube, Bernard Worrell, despite his character flaws,
was basically an idealist who was more misguided than evil, unlike such past
wielders of the Cube such as the Red Skull and Thanos.
The Shapers calming influence was casting the now sentient Cube into a long
"sleep." But before the Cube fell "asleep," the Shaper allowed
Captain America to hold the Cube in his hand. The Cube psychically told the
Captain, the Aquarian, and Worrell that it no longer feared them. The psychic
contact then established between the Cube and Captain America had considerable
impact on the Cube's nascent personality. The Cube was tremendously impressed
by Captain America’s courage, nobility, and idealism.
The Shaper left Earth, taking the Cube with him to supervise its nurturing.
Sometime later, the sentient Cube had taken the form of a planetoid that was
covered with craters and huge cone-like projections. The Cube now had a personality
similar to that of an intelligent Earth child. A nebula that had developed consciousness
realized that stars were disappearing from its galaxy. The Cube-planetoid psychically
detected the nebula's fear and went to the nebula to offer help. Unable to solve
the mystery of the stars' disappearance, the Cube-planetoid told the nebula
about the great and wise heroes who lived on Earth, especially Captain America,
and suggested that they might be able to help. The nebula responded that it
wished to seek out Captain America, and the Cube-planetoid offered to help.
Working together, the Cube-planetoid and the nebula condensed the nebula's size
to that of an Earth human being, and then the Cube-planetoid projected the nebula
to Earth through space and time. Arriving on Earth and taking on human form,
the nebula lost its memory, and became known as Cloud. Cloud never met Captain
America, but she became a member of the Defenders, a team of superhuman champions.
Finally, Cloud, the Defenders, and members
of an alien race called the Xiombargians encountered the Cube-planetoid
in outer spade. Cloud had now regained her full memory. The Cube-planetoid
transformed itself into a human-sized duplicate of Captain America
so as to accompany the others on their quest to find the threat
to the stars, who became known as the Star-Thief. The Star-Thief
turned out to be a child who was the princess of an alien race
and who lay in a coma, overwhelmed by fear. She had great psionic
powers that enabled her to drain power from the Cube and use it
to cast stars into a pocket dimension. The Cube, the Defenders,
their allies; and the child's mother joined their wills together
to reach out to the child mentally and calm her fears. The Cube,
its full powers having returned, was then able to restore the
"stolen" stars to their rightful places. The Cube also
was able to take measures from then on to prevent the child from
draining its powers. The Cube was thrilled to have participated
in an adventure alongside several of the "super heroes"
of Earth.
Later, the android Adaptoid, now known as the Super-Adaptoid, which contained
a sliver of the Cosmic Cube, drew the Cube itself back to Earth. The Cube now
bore a semi-humanoid form and called itself Kubik. The Super-Adaptoid used its
powers and the sliver of the Cube to duplicate in itself Kubik's form and powers.
The Super-Adaptoid then demanded that Kubik leave, warning that a conflict between
them would unleash power that would obliterate the Earth, and teleported Kubik
away.
Kubik sought out Captain America, who was then using the alternate costumed
identity known simply as "the Captain," and warned him about the Super-Adaptoid.
Captain America challenged the Super-Adaptoid to battle. Adopting the Captain's
own form, but still possessed of power equal to Kubik, the Super-Adaptoid accepted
the challenge. During the fight Captain America told the Super-Adaptoid that
human beings were still superior to the Super-Adaptoid, since they knew what
it was to live in the shadow of mortality, whereas the Super-Adaptoid did not.
Furious, the Super-Adaptoid was irrationally determined to prove that it was
the superior of Captain America, and did so by willing the cessation, of all
its artificial life functions. Thus the Supur-Adaptoid lost its Kubik-like powers.
The real Kubik had by now returned to outer space
The false Beyonder who had been created at the time that Owen Reese was transformed
into the Molecule Man had used his powers to create duplicates
of the Earth and sun in a pocket dimension. Doctor
Doom, members of the Fantastic Four, and the Molecule Man
traveled to this dimension and confronted the false Beyonder there.
The Shaper and Kubik, who by now had taken on a more closely humanoid
form, arrived as well, and Kubik was forced to do battle with
the enraged false Beyonder. Finally, Kubik and the Shaper informed
the false Beyonder that he, the false Beyonder, was not truly
the most powerful being in the universe as he had believed. In
actuality, the false Beyonder was an incomplete Cosmic Cube. The
false Beyonder and the Molecule Man then merged into a perfect
Cosmic Cube, and the false Beyonder's creations in the pocket
universe ceased to exist.
Kubik's current whereabouts and activities are unknown, but when
he was last seen he was over seeing the guidence of the newest
cube name Kosmos.
Kubik's power seems virtually infinite by the standards of the human beings
of Earth. The question remains, however, as to how Kubik's power level compares
to that of the other beings known to be among the most powerful entities in
the universe. Since they are all "Cosmic Cubes," Kubik's might is
presumably equal to that of the Shaper and to that of the entity that is the
combination of the false Beyonder and the Molecule Man. Responding to Bernard
Worrell's fantasies. Kubik's power was capable of creating at least a duplicate
of Earth (and its people) and the sun from the matter in a pocket dimension.
Hence, Kubik may be more powerful than beings such as Odin, Zeus and the Watcher,
who have not been shown to be capable of such feats. How his power compares
to that of Galactus is unknown. However, Kubik may be less powerful than most
known Celestials, and is definitely less powerful than the gigantic Celestial
Exitar. Presumably Kubik is also less powerful than the true Beyonders, who
created Kubik in the first place. Kubik is also definitely less powerful than
Eternity, who is the sum total of the life forces of the entire universe, and
is probably less powerful than the Living Tribunal, who serves as judge and
executor of justice to the multiverse.
First Appearance: (as Cosmic Cube) TALES OF SUSPENSE #79,
(as Kubik) AVENGERS #289
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