KING SOLOMON'S FROGS

Classification: Fusion of mysticism and technology

Creator: Unrevealed

User/Possessors: Azzari, Black Panther, Henry Peter Gyrich, Abner Little, Alfred Queely, King Solomon, Xcon, Princess Zanda

Powers/Abilities/Functions: The Brass Frog of King Solomon is a space/time travel device, shaped like twin frogs, which, fastened together, and operated by a knowledgeable user, can send any person into the past or future, or from the past or future into the present. Separated, one frog has the power to send people from the present to the past or future, and the other has the power to bring people from the past or future to the present. People brought to the present by the second frog include: Aladdin's Genie, Black Panther, Hatch-22, Iron Man, Kiber the Cruel and his guards, the Loch Ness Monster, the President of the United States, the Prime Minister of Canada, and a warlord. When the two frogs are stacked upon each other, they can allow the wielders to travel light years through space to another location .

First Appearance: Black Panther I#1 (January, 1977)

History: The origins of the Brass Frog once possessed by King Solomon is unknown. It was given to King Solomon (970-928 BC) during his reign as a gift, and buried with him in his tomb.

(Black Panther I#1 (fb))- Many years later, one of the frogs was discovered by Aladdin, a member of a party raiding Solomon's tomb. Aladdin accidentally summoned up a ferocious monster which went on a rampage. This incident inspired the tale of Aladdin and his lamp.

Over the centuries, the frog fell into the possession of many others, including sorcerers in medival times. At one time, it brought a Plesiosaur into the Loch Ness, resulting in tales of the Loch Ness Monster.

(Black Panther I#1 (BTS))- Eventually, it was discovered by Azzari the Wise of Wakanda, who was smart enough to avoid summoning forth any creatures. He buried the frog, but eventually, it was dug up and continued to pass through many hands, finally falling into the possession of Alfred Queely, one of the Collectors. Abner Little, another Collector, summoned T'Challa-- the Black Panther, grandson of Azzari, to deal with Queely, and explore the frog's legend.

(Black Panther I#1)- However, upon their arrival at Queely's home, they found him dead, with the frog clutched in his hand. Queely had mistakenly summoned up an ancient warlord, which killed him instantly. The Black Panther fought the Warlord off, and he and Mr. Little took possession of the frog, and set off to locate King Solomon's Tomb, so that they could return the frog there.

But along the way, Little and the Panther were assaulted by the mercenary armies of Princess Zanda, another Collector. The Panther tried to keep the frog from Zanda, and threatened to destroy it, but one of the mercenaries shot the frog from his hand. Falling to the ground, the frog's power was accidentally activated, and brought to the present Hatch-22, the Six Million Year Man.

(Black Panther I#2)- The Black Panther managed to defeat Hatch-22 in combat, but rather than kill him, determined that he, Zanda and Little should locate the second frog in King Solomon's Tomb, and use it to return him to his own time.

(Black Panther I#3)- After an exhaustive search through the artifacts of the tomb, with Hatch-22 directly on their trail, Princess Zanda found the second frog, and the Black Panther joined the two frogs together to send Hatch-22 to his own time.

(Black Panther I#4)- With the danger past, the two Collectors argued over which of them would take possession of the frogs. Wanting nothing to do with their quarrel, the Black Panther threw the frogs away, seemingly destroying them. The resulting explosion eventually destroyed the tomb, leaving the adventurers without any artifacts to show for their journey.

(Black Panther III#48 (fb))- However, the frogs had not been destroyed, instead having summoned from the future the Black Panther himself of 10 years to come.

(Black Panther III#49 (fb))- Although the present-day Black Panther found his counterpart's behavior difficult to comprehend, he was convinced they were the same man, and his future self presented him with a replica of King Solomon's frog. Having discovered he possessed a brain aneurysm, the present-day Black Panther placed his future self into suspended animation beneath the Crystal Forest.

(Black Panther III#23, 41)- The replica of King Solomon's frog was subsequently placed in the Black Panther's trophy room.

(Black Panther III#44 (fb))- One half of the frog fell into possession of the organization Xcon, which used the frog as part of their plan to effect a coup d'etat on the United States. Having altered the frogs so that they could choose whom to summon from another time, they tested the frog out by bringing the Canadian Prime Minister from 11 seconds into the future, placed him under their control, and replaced him with his present-day self. They also used this technique to bring Iron Man from 6 seconds in the future. However, by the time they had replaced the American President, they were slaughtered by White Wolf, who took command of the operation.

(Black Panther III#42 - BTS) - Xcon's half of the frog was hidden inside of a vault aboard a floating casino in Sault Saint Marie, Ontario. With the assistance of Wolverine, the Black Panther removed the frog from their vault.

(Black Panther III#43)- Simultaneously, the future Black Panther brought Everett K. Ross, Princess Zanda, Mr. Little, and Nightshade to Kiber Island, where the second frog had relocated itself to because he had last possessed it, and his life energies had been absorbed on Kiber Island. Fighting their way past an army of figures pulled from the Black Panther's past, including Hatch-22, the warlord, Kiber the Cruel and his mercenaries, they obtained the second frog.

(Black Panther III#44)- Now with both frogs in their possession, the two Black Panthers set off for Washington to undo what Xcon had begun, but were pursued by Xcon's Iron Man.

(Black Panther III#45)- The future Black Panther donned his counterpart's uniform, and fought Xcon's Iron Man, ultimately defeating him. Mr. Little then used the two frogs to send Xcon's Iron Man, Prime Minister and President to their own times. However, they were then interrupted by Henry Peter Gyrich, who mistook the Black Panther's actions, and claimed possession of the frogs, accidentally activating them just before they would have disappeared on their own. The frogs then transported Gyrich, Ross, the two Panthers, Monica Lynne and Queen Divine Justice to 1875.

(Black Panther III#46-47 - BTS)- Not wanting to use the frogs to return to their own time, due to their unpredictable nature, the heroes were eventually sent home with the assitance of that era's Thor.

(Fantastic Four III#546) - The Black Panther again wielded the frogs, this time stacking them atop each other so that he and Michael Collins could be teleported across space to the site of a battle between the Fantastic Four and Galactus. He also used the frogs in order to bring himself and their allies back to Earth.

Comments: Created by Jack Kirby and Mike Royer.

Images graciously provided by Bob Almond.

Doctor Who (the TV version) gives two different explanations for the Loch Ness Monster. One is that it was a cyborg servant of aliens hidden beneath the waters of the Loch (Larry Lieber gains no points for originality) and the other involves a mutated being falling back through a sort of time tunnel and ending up in the Loch. Doctor Who fans have tried to figure out how this works, there being two monsters and all. Now we know - the second one went sideways in time too, and ended up being the creature seen in the last panel of the Captain Britain story!
--Loki.
It's interesting to see that BOTH of these ideas made it into the MU--Snood.

The Loch Ness Monster slain by Hunter Joe was pregnant with "another generation of 'Little Nessies.'" It seems reasonably likely that that Monster was also one of a litter, and though one was slain, others continued to exist.

The Loch Ness Monster may also have been seen in Moon Knight V#2 and #4, or that may have been illusion.

Thanks to Per Degaton for finding the Doc Savage appearance by the Loch Ness Monster (though Will U. keenly points out that its actions aren't in keeping with the more passive m.o. of "Nessie". Maybe this lends to the multiple Monster theory, and this one was rabid or something, or maybe Iron Mask had earlier run over it with his boat motor. - Madison Carter)

Aladdin's Genie and Aladdin first appeared in Young Allies#13 (Summer 1944) in a Tommy Tyme story and Aladdin's name in Arabic is 'Ala' al Din (means "Nobility Of Faith"). Plus Aladdin had 2 Genies, one in the lamp and a less powerful one in a ring (no reality altering powers).
--Gammatotem

Profile by Prime Eternal

updated by Snood.

CLARIFICATIONS:
King Solomon's Frog should not be confused with:

• Frog-Man, Eugene Patilio, son of the Leap-Frog, @ Marvel Team-Up I#121
• Golden Frogs (see comments above) @ Adventures Into Terror#23
• Or any other frog-thises or that-frogses.