As the Cosmic Cube continued to infiltrate Marvel lore -- finding its way into the hands of villainous staples like Thanos, Doctor Doom and even Mole Man (though briefly and comically so) -- its own story became far more complex and convoluted than perhaps Marvel forgers Stan Lee and Jack Kirby had originally envisioned. The Cube became more than just some object that can bend matter and energy in the hands of a given character. It was in those further tales that the Cube gained its own penchant for sentience, "evolving" into beings like the lanky Kubik, a latter form of the very Cube discussed in the first installment of this series, and the Shaper of Worlds, a Cube that eventually became the upper half of a Skrull body with absurd, tank-like treads.
It is also in those latter arcs that we find the existence of multiple cubes -- and other geometric shapes that take on similar containment properties. Descriptions of the Cube have ranged from 'device created by science' to 'mystical artifact' to 'a source of ultimate power created by multiple intergalactic beings throughout history.' But how far will the Marvel Cinematic Universe take it?
Much could be discussed with the Cube ties to Project Pegasus, the Infinity Gauntlet, War and Crusade series and the once-Cube-based Super-Adaptoid. Decades of side-stories and events involve or allude to the Cube and its many forms. But without churning out Wikipedia-styled entries in the discussion of what the Cube may be, we can specifically look at how the Cube is interacting with Captain America and the Avengers to understand what the filmmakers may have in store in each respective title's film adaption. Historically, the Cosmic Cube has served the Red Skull as a prize to be attained -- a vessel to make any wish come true -- and its roots have been in its initial A.I.M. discovery. Recent rumors concerning upcoming Marvel films have implied that the Cube will be an object that the Skull obtains from a Norse source, rather than what Tales of Suspense originally depicted. Which is understandable, as most movie-goers will not argue over how the Cube first appears in the Marvel Cinematic Universe but rather the meaning, implications and overall-interesting qualities of its existence: Simply, it's a cube that makes the person who holds it invincible. This fact makes the Red Skull -- and perhaps, eventually, Loki -- quite dangerous for our heroes.
It is outside of this comic medium that concepts like the Cosmic Cube are translated into their most direct -- and at times most comprehensible -- form. Other times, concepts are abandoned for something far different. In this case of the current Marvel movies, we are unsure about how far the films will take the object. Before hitting the theaters to check out
Captain America: The First Avenger this week, we know simply that the film portrays it as an item that serves as a means to world domination by the Skull. We know that it is at least initially referred to as the "Tesseract" -- stripped of the silliness and alliteration of its original name.
Will there ever be discussion about the Beyonders and their creation of the Cube's concept eons ago? Will we witness the cube's formation -- formed by rift to another dimension, with an energy that conforms to that recognizable, nearly transparent shape? It's hard to tell. In answering the question of what is a Cosmic Cube, we can provide the short or long answers by simply looking back on how it's been depicted on the page. In trying to understand it in the context of Marvel films, we know that the filmmakers have much material to take into account. Whether they'll spiral into the complex versions of the object remains to be seen.
A Cosmic Cube can be many things. It's a containment device. It's a mystical artifact passed through generations of varying beings and cultures. It's a genie with unlimited wishes. It's a great force from Beyond that takes its own self-awareness by those who control it. It's what Samuel L. Jackson referred to as "Power" in the after-credits "Thor" scene. It's the MacGuffin -- that driving, mysterious force that shows the true intentions of the characters it touches.
Surely, our definition will again change when we see it on the silver screen.