M'Kraan Crystal
Encyclopedia
In the fictional Marvel Comics
Universe
, the M'Kraan Crystal ' onMouseout='HidePop("99213")' href="/topics/Marvel:_Ultimate_Alliance">Marvel: Ultimate Alliance
the video game) is a gigantic crystalline artifact that lies at the nexus of all realities. The Crystal contains a negative galaxy, a source of near limitless power, which pulls and traps all matter inside. The Crystal plays a prominent role in several major storylines, including the Dark Phoenix Saga
and the Age of Apocalypse
. The Saga states that the Phoenix Force is the legendary guardian of the crystal.
, destroying all universes in existence. The city inside can only be reached once every million years: when specific galaxies are aligned, the M'Kraan Crystal will allow entry for a short period of time. It also houses the White Hot Room, the place in which the Phoenix Force places all beings to heal them or return them to life.
As it is a singleton across all universes, the reality-hopping Exiles
have recently figured out how to use the Crystal to visit selected realities; on the Age of Apocalypse, Dark Beast
discovered a means to travel through the Crystal to alternate Earths. The Exiles used it as a means to reach the Panoptichron, a place that exists outside of time and space.
It apparently can also repower depowered mutants, as Professor Xavier regained his powers after being trapped in and escaping the M'Kraan Crystal.
#107. 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 and 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 and 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.
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.
had knowledge of the events on Earth-616
. This is in the limited series "Gambit and the X-Ternals". He is seen specifically knocking Wolverine around.
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.
(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."
and Weapon X. One Tallus was shown to possess a shard of the M'Kraan Crystal, and it is believed that every Tallus that exist has a shard of the M'Kraan Crystal which enables the teams to travel from one dimension to the next.
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
Universe
Marvel Universe
The Marvel Universe is the shared fictional universe where most comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Entertainment take place, including those featuring Marvel's most familiar characters, such as Spider-Man, the Hulk, the X-Men, and the Avengers.The Marvel Universe is further...
, the M'Kraan Crystal ' onMouseout='HidePop("99213")' href="/topics/Marvel:_Ultimate_Alliance">Marvel: Ultimate Alliance
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance is an action role-playing game developed for PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox and Xbox 360 by Raven Software and published by Activision. The game was simultaneously ported to the PlayStation Portable and Wii by Vicarious Visions, and to Microsoft Windows by Beenox...
the video game) is a gigantic crystalline artifact that lies at the nexus of all realities. The Crystal contains a negative galaxy, a source of near limitless power, which pulls and traps all matter inside. The Crystal plays a prominent role in several major storylines, including the Dark Phoenix Saga
Dark Phoenix Saga
"The Dark Phoenix Saga" is an extended X-Men storyline in the fictional , focusing on Jean Grey and the Phoenix Force, and ending in Grey's apparent death...
and the Age of Apocalypse
Age of Apocalypse
"Age of Apocalypse" is a 1995 - 1996 comic book crossover storyline published in the X-Men franchise of books by Marvel Comics. The Age of Apocalypse briefly replaced the universe of Earth-616, although it was later retconned as having occurred in the alternate universe of Earth-295, it had...
. The Saga states that the Phoenix Force is the legendary guardian of the crystal.
Abilities
As the Nexus of all Realities, the Crystal can allow travel between universes, but opening the Crystal could cause the mass of the neutron galaxy inside to suck in the entire universe and cause a chain-reaction across the OmniverseOmniverse
The Omniverse is the conceptual ensemble of all possible universes, with all possible laws of physics.In this physical cosmology context, the limitation of the definition of "universe" that it has only one set of "physical laws and constants that govern them," is expanded to include multiple sets...
, destroying all universes in existence. The city inside can only be reached once every million years: when specific galaxies are aligned, the M'Kraan Crystal will allow entry for a short period of time. It also houses the White Hot Room, the place in which the Phoenix Force places all beings to heal them or return them to life.
As it is a singleton across all universes, the reality-hopping Exiles
Exiles (comics)
Exiles, in comics, may refer to:*Exiles , one of two series published in 1993 and 1995 by Malibu Comics*Exiles , a series published by Marvel Comics starting in 2001*Exiles , Marvel Comics villains...
have recently figured out how to use the Crystal to visit selected realities; on the Age of Apocalypse, Dark Beast
Dark Beast
Dark Beast , sometimes known as the Black Beast, is a Marvel Comics supervillain, an alternate reality evil version of the X-Men’s Beast...
discovered a means to travel through the Crystal to alternate Earths. The Exiles used it as a means to reach the Panoptichron, a place that exists outside of time and space.
It apparently can also repower depowered mutants, as Professor Xavier regained his powers after being trapped in and escaping the M'Kraan Crystal.
History
The M'Kraan Crystal first appeared in Uncanny X-MenUncanny X-Men
Uncanny X-Men, first published as The X-Men, is the flagship Marvel Comics comic book series for the X-Men franchise. It is the mainstream continuity featuring the adventures of the eponymous group of mutant superheroes...
#107. Placed on an abandoned planet, known only as The World, the Crystal was considered sacred by the alien
Extraterrestrial life in popular culture
In popular cultures, "extraterrestrials" are life forms — especially intelligent life forms— that are of extraterrestrial origin .-Historical ideas:-Pre-modern:...
race known as the Shi'ar
Shi'ar
The Shi'ar are a fictional species of aliens in the Marvel Comics universe. The Shi'ar Empire also called the Aerie, is a vast collection of alien species, cultures and worlds situated close to the Skrull and Kree Empires, and alongside them, is one of the three main alien empires...
, a symbol of their faith. The mad Shi'ar emperor D'Ken
D'Ken
D'Ken Neramani is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics universe. He is best known for being the evil brother to both Lilandra and Cal'syee , two important characters in the X-Men franchise.-Publication history:...
wanted to use its legendary power for his own ends, and so D'Ken's sister Lilandra Neramani
Lilandra Neramani
Lilandra Neramani is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics Universe. She is the Empress of the Shi'ar Empire and shares a lifelong bond with the leader of the X-Men, Charles Xavier. She and Xavier were married but their marriage was annulled after the Cassandra Nova incident. She first...
allied herself with the X-Men
X-Men
The X-Men are a superhero team in the . They were created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and first appeared in The X-Men #1...
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
Jean Grey
Jean Grey-Summers is a fictional comic book superheroine appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. She has been known under the aliases Marvel Girl, Phoenix, and Dark Phoenix and is best known as one of five original members of the X-Men, for her relationship with Cyclops, and for her...
, flew to the crystal to try and 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
D'Ken
D'Ken Neramani is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics universe. He is best known for being the evil brother to both Lilandra and Cal'syee , two important characters in the X-Men franchise.-Publication history:...
, 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
Latticework
Latticework is a framework consisting of a criss-crossed pattern of strips of building material, typically wood or metal. The design is created by crossing the strips to form a network...
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 and 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
Legion (Marvel Comics)
Legion is a Marvel Comics character, created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Bill Sienkiewicz.David is the mutant son of Charles Xavier and Israeli Holocaust survivor Gabrielle Haller...
traveled back in time to kill Magneto
Magneto (comics)
Magneto is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is the central villain of the X-Men comic, as well as the TV show and the films. The character first appears in X-Men #1 , and was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby...
, 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
Age of Apocalypse
"Age of Apocalypse" is a 1995 - 1996 comic book crossover storyline published in the X-Men franchise of books by Marvel Comics. The Age of Apocalypse briefly replaced the universe of Earth-616, although it was later retconned as having occurred in the alternate universe of Earth-295, it had...
. 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
Apocalypse (comics)
Apocalypse is a fictional character who is an ancient mutant that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in X-Factor #5 , created by writer Louise Simonson and designed by artist Walter Simonson...
was planning on using the Crystal to conquer other universes, but Bishop
Bishop (comics)
Bishop is a fictional comic book superhero, appearing in books published by Marvel Comics, in particular the X-Men family of books...
used the Crystal to travel back in time and restore reality. A small shard of the Crystal was responsible for moving X-Man
X-man
X-Man is a fictional character and superhero in the Marvel Universe.X-Man may also refer to:*X-Man , a South Korean game show*Xavier Carter, nicknamed X-Man, American track and field athlete...
and Holocaust
Holocaust (comics)
Holocaust is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in X-Men Alpha , and was created by Scott Lobdell and Roger Cruz.-Fictional character biography:...
from the Age of Apocalypse Earth to Earth-616
Earth-616
In the fictional Marvel Comics multiverse, Earth-616 or Earth 616 is the name used to identify the primary continuity in which most Marvel Comics titles take place.-Origin of Earth-616:...
, while Sugar Man
Sugar Man
Sugar Man is a fictional character, a mutant villain appearing in the Marvel Comics universe. Created by writer Scott Lobdell and artist Chris Bachalo, he first appeared in Generation Next #2 ....
and Dark Beast
Dark Beast
Dark Beast , sometimes known as the Black Beast, is a Marvel Comics supervillain, an alternate reality evil version of the X-Men’s 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.
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
Starjammers
The Starjammers are a fictional team of space pirates from the pages of the X-Men comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Starjammers first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #107 and were created by Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum...
. 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.
Guardians
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. Jahf in the Age of ApocalypseAge of Apocalypse
"Age of Apocalypse" is a 1995 - 1996 comic book crossover storyline published in the X-Men franchise of books by Marvel Comics. The Age of Apocalypse briefly replaced the universe of Earth-616, although it was later retconned as having occurred in the alternate universe of Earth-295, it had...
had knowledge of the events on Earth-616
Earth-616
In the fictional Marvel Comics multiverse, Earth-616 or Earth 616 is the name used to identify the primary continuity in which most Marvel Comics titles take place.-Origin of Earth-616:...
. This is in the limited series "Gambit and the X-Ternals". He is seen specifically knocking Wolverine around.
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.
White Hot Room
The M'Kraan Crystal is the doorway to the Nexus of all RealitiesMan-Thing
The Man-Thing is a fictional character, a monster in publications from Marvel Comics. Created by writers Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, and Gerry Conway and artist Gray Morrow, the character first appeared in Savage Tales #1 , and went on to be featured in various titles and in his own series, including...
(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 Tallus
The Tallus is a communications device, used by the Timebreakers to communicate with their groups of dimension-hoppers ExilesExiles (Marvel Comics)
The Exiles are a group of fictional characters that feature in three Marvel Comics series, Exiles, New Exiles, and Exiles vol. 2. The Exiles consists of characters from different dimensions, or realities, which have been removed from time and space in order to correct problems in various alternate...
and Weapon X. One Tallus was shown to possess a shard of the M'Kraan Crystal, and it is believed that every Tallus that exist has a shard of the M'Kraan Crystal which enables the teams to travel from one dimension to the next.
Television
- The M'Kraan crystal appears in the 1992 X-Men animated seriesX-Men (TV series)X-Men, also known as X-Men: The Animated Series, is an American animated television series which debuted on October 31, 1992, in the United States on the Fox Network as part of its Fox Kids Saturday morning lineup...
.
Video games
- The M'Kraan crystal appears in the video game Marvel: Ultimate AllianceMarvel: Ultimate AllianceMarvel: Ultimate Alliance is an action role-playing game developed for PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox and Xbox 360 by Raven Software and published by Activision. The game was simultaneously ported to the PlayStation Portable and Wii by Vicarious Visions, and to Microsoft Windows by Beenox...
. It is used to generate a shield around Deathbird and a shard of it is used in conjunction with the Muonic Inducer- a device stolen from GalactusGalactusGalactus is a fictional character appearing in comic books and other publications published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist and co-plotter Jack Kirby, the character debuted in Fantastic Four #48 , the first of a three-issue story later known as "The Galactus...
- to absorb some of the power stolen from Odin by Doctor DoomDoctor DoomVictor von Doom is a fictional character who appears in Marvel Comics publications . Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in Fantastic Four #5 wearing his trademark metal mask and green cloak...
so that the heroes can fight him on more equal terms. - The M'Kraan crystal also appears as a collectible item in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2, broken into shards. Collecting five shards will result in unlocking Jean GreyJean GreyJean Grey-Summers is a fictional comic book superheroine appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. She has been known under the aliases Marvel Girl, Phoenix, and Dark Phoenix and is best known as one of five original members of the X-Men, for her relationship with Cyclops, and for her...
as a playable character.