SAPPHIRE LOTUS

Classification: Energy artifact

Creator: Phaedra

User/Possessors: Ghenghis, Phaedra, Tuck, Wrathchilde;
    manipulated by Lord Chaos and Master Order

First Appearance: Warheads I#6 (Marvel UK) (November, 1992)

Powers/Abilities/Functions: The Sapphire Lotus grants vast power to its holder, transforming both his/her/its appearance and personality the longer the Lotus is in his/her/its possession. Its power acts as a magnet to others, especially other beings of power, whom it wishes to possess it.

    The Lotus granted its wielder supreme control over the pocket realm created by Phaedra.  Even in other realms, the wielder of the Sapphire Lotus had extensive abilities to manipulate matter and energy.

History:
(Death's Head III#4 (fb) - BTS) - Phaedra completed the final step in the creation of her realm, the Sapphire Lotus. It was to be the key which would grant her unchallenged control over her realm. However, the Lotus was stolen from her at the whim of Lord Chaos and Master Order...cosmic powers that even she could not predict would do such a thing. To them, the Lotus was a prize for lesser beings to fight for, and they sent it to be the power source of the extra-dimensional/extra-temporal city formerly ruled by the wizard majestrix Ghenghis.

(Warheads#6) - The Warheads Kether Troop was sent to the realm of Ghenghis in search of artifacts of power. Although most of them were slain by Ghenghis, they managed to slay him in turn and locate the power source of the city, the Sapphire Lotus, as named by the intelligent gun, Clementine. Death's Head and Tuck then arrived, on a mission to collect Clementine or payment for same, and delayed the Warheads long enough for the inhabitants of the city to amass an army to retrieve the Lotus.

(Warheads#7) - As the armies of the city swarmed over them, Misha learned from her inner Voice (which turned out to be Blackheart) that they could channel the power of the Lotus, which they did, blasting aside the army, as well as Death's Head and Tuck. Reinforcements continued to pour in and, in addition, the cosmically powerful Audit showed up to "balance" them all.  Again accessing the power of the Lotus, the Warheads blasted both Audit and the army aside. However, while the Warheads were distracted by the sudden appearance of the even more cosmic Lord Chaos and Master Order, Death's Head snagged the Sapphire Lotus and he and Tuck absconded with it.

BTS - Death's Head and Tuck returned to Earth, making camp in Paxton, Oregon to regroup.

(Death's Head III#1-4) - The energies of the Sapphire Lotus continued to draw others to Death's Head and Tuck, including a large number of superhumans, including Barb, Kite, Sunny, Wrathchilde, and the X-Men. While Death's Head fought the X-Men in ye olde case of mistaken identity, both Tuck and Wrathchilde began to be changed by the Sapphire Lotus, and they teleported away together.
    Wrathchilde and Tuck arrived at his home in Chicago, where they were followed by Death's Head and the X-Men, who had finally reached an understanding and teamed up to recover the Lotus. Mad with power and continuing to be mutated and affected by the Lotus' energies, Tuck fought alongside Wrathchilde against their pursuers.  This fight was interrupted by the arrival of the Raptors--creatures sent to retrieve the Lotus by Phaedra.
      The Raptors attacked everyone else present, injuring both Tuck and Wrathchilde. However, Wrathchilde recovered and took the Sapphire Lotus back to its realm of origin, leaving Tuck behind, suffering from a severe case of withdrawal.
    Death's Head, the wounded Tuck, and the X-Men were transported by Phaedra to her realm. The power of the Sapphire Lotus had enabled Wrathchilde to wrest control from its creator, and he sent Phaedra's own Raptors after her. Jubilee watched over Tuck as the X-Men and Death's Head fought the Raptors, their combined power defeating them easily. Phaedra disguised herself as Tuck in order to distract Wrathchilde so that Jubilee could boost her powers with the Sapphire Lotus. Jubilee and Death's Head overloaded Wrathchilde with power and he exploded when Death's Head smashed the Lotus into his face.
    Phaedra gave Tuck a shard of the Lotus and sent her to her homeworld of Lionheart to recover. Death's Head asked to be sent after her, but was pulled into several other conflicts. The energies of the Lotus shard saved Tuck from withdrawal and enhanced her baseline powers by a factor of five.

(Death's Head Gold) - Phaedra channeled the energies of the Lotus shard as part of a collection of her own energies, those of the Castle Rigg stones, and the mental power of Professor X to help Tuck located Death's Head.

Comments: Created by Nick Vance and Simon Coleby.

The Lotus could be considered Behind-the-scenes in every appearance of Tuck after Death's Head III#4.

Clarifications:
No known connection to:

 

 

image:

Other appearances:
Warheads#7 (December, 1992)
Death's Head III#1-4 (December, 1992 - March, 1993)
Death's Head Gold (January, 1994)

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

First Posted: 07/14/2003
Last Updated: 07/22/2003

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