WAND of WATOOMB
Classification: Magic Item
Creator: Watoomb
User/Possessors: Watoomb,
Agamotto,
Imus
Champion, Doctor Strange (Stephen Strange), Grandmaster (En Dwi
Gast), Krona,
Silvermane, the Metropolitan Museum, Melinda
Morrison, S.H.I.E.L.D., Sir
Warren
Traveler, Xandu,
unidentified
priestess
of Yog;
presumably Mr. Jip (see comments)
First Appearance: Amazing Spider-Man Annual I#2 (1965)
Powers/Abilities/Functions: The wand gives his
possessor near omnipotent power. It primarily serves as a means for
enhancing, multiplying, gathering, focusing and/or producing magic
energies. Controlled by mere thoughts of its wielder, the wand can be an
awesome instrument of destruction, striking everything the conjurer
wants with mystic charges or ordinary bolts. The wand can control the
elements, with particular ease the Winds
of Watoomb, and can open dimensional portals already present but
closed and invisible. The wand could be even used by people without
magic powers, to create portals to other dimensions and destroy things,
provided the user underwent a training of months to understand it. The
wand could be easily used by someone with only little knowledge in
magic, absorbing and reflecting magic attacks with amplified force. Used
by trained sorcerers it could enable its possessor to see far places and
people just by thinking of them and also perform actions in these remote
places.
The wand is also a means of gaining knowledge, letting the
expert user learn and discover some deep information about the nature of
the planes of existence.
Combined with other objects of power, the wand can reshape
the reality of the universe.
The wand can be divided in two halves. When divided, the
parts are powerless.
History:
(Realms of Magic Book#2: Manual of Mysticism) - Very
little is known about the Wand's origins, it was created by Watoomb
himself.
(Invincible Iron Man II#2 (fb) - BTS) - In the multiverse, there existed
other Wands of Watoomb.
(Savage Sword of Conan#188/2) - In the Hyborian Era, when
Yog,
the demon-god was still worshiped, one of his priestesses came in
possession of the wand.
In the middle of an enchantment, threatened by a Cimmerian
warrior named Conan, the priestess used a fraction of the Wand's power
to summon a thunderbolt and bury the barbarian under the resulting
crumble. Still wielding the Wand, she became Yog's Avatar, ready to
spread destruction over Mitra's worshipers. The Wand was used to conjure
a storm of immense proportions whose fury wrecked havoc over the land.
Conan, as Mitra's Avatar, delayed the emissary of evil, and when she
lost contact with the constellation of Yog, panic filled her heart. She
dropped the Wand, promptly grabbed by Conan, who used it for a brutal
physical strike. The Wand's protruding horns opened the priestess'
chest, resulting in a fatal blow.
When Conan awoke under the rain, the Wand was gone. The
constellation of Yog burst and then fell, leaving the sky empty.
(Marvel's Voices -
Identity#1/3) - In 1959 A.D., in a secret warehouse of a
government agency, in San Francisco, Jimmy Woo retrieved a power reactor, to give back to his rightful owner, a Venusian.
In the same box where the alien reactor was, there were also the Wand of
Watoomb and the Darkhold.
(Star-Lord#2) - When Peter Quill met the Ravagers for the first time in his life, he hid in the vault of the Ravagers' spaceship. Among many treasures there also was the Wand of Watoomb.
(Doctor Strange II#34 (fb)) - In the modern era, the Wand was in possession of the mystical entity known as Watoomb. Apparently, he wanted to retire from the mystical affairs and decided to pass his Wand to the fittest of his two apprentices. Cyrus Black and Doctor Strange grabbed a half of the Wand and battled. The winner was Stephen Strange, and he took the two halves of the Wand from Watoomb's dimension to Earth.
(Doctor Strange II#34 (fb) - BTS) - The Wand, however, didn't remain whole in Strange's hands. Shortly after the contest, the sorcerer Xandu managed to steal the half held by Black.
(Amazing Spider-Man Annual I#2) - Needing the whole Wand
for his purposes, Xandu returned and had two lackeys steal the second
half of the Wand. The Wand, whole again, remained on Earth for a very
short time. Spider-Man interfered with Xandu's plans and, just before he
was banished into an unidentified dimension by Xandu, managed to web the
Wand and took it with him.
The Wand was returned to Xandu by his strong guys, and he
could use its power against Doctor Strange who was almost overwhelmed.
Only the combined efforts of Spider-Man and Strange let the Doctor
reacquire the Wand and defeat Xandu. Strange, claiming that the Wand was
too powerful, drained every bit of power out of it. Xandu's memory was
apparently cleansed of all his ambitions.
(Marvel Team-Up I#21) - Xandu had tricked Strange and had managed to restore his mind. Using the Crystal of Kadavus he recharged the Wand that he needed to revive his wife Melinda. Interrupted by Doctor Strange, Xandu used the Wand, and easily transported the Doctor and Spider-Man to his own extra-dimensional world. Though almost omnipotent, the heroes succeeded in making him drop the Wand and beat him. Strange decided to leave the Wand in the dimension beyond the reach of any man, so he threw it away to drift in Xandu's surreal dimension.
(Marvel Fanfare I#6 (fb)) - After long researches the Wand
was found again by Xandu, and it was used to restore the body of Melissa
Morrison at full health. But the Wand could not awake her mind and soul,
because Melinda was actually dead.
(Marvel Fanfare I#6 (fb) - BTS) - Xandu created a planet (probably using the power of the Wand) in another dimension and placed his Castle there, scheming for the resurrection of Melinda.
(Marvel Fanfare I#6 (fb)) - Wielding the Wand, Xandu captured Wanda Maximoff and transferred her soul into the empty body of Melissa.
(Marvel Fanfare I#6) - When the spirit of Melinda, coming from the realm of Death, appeared before Xandu, he was terrorized and shot some magic blasts from the Wand against it, to no avail. Spider-Man defeated Xandu and brought back the Wand to Earth.
(Spider-Man/Doctor Strange: The Way To Dusty Death GN (fb) - BTS) - Spider-Man gave the Wand back to Doctor Strange, who placed it near the Crystal of Kadavus, safe under a protection spell.
(Doctor Strange II#81 - BTS/Doctor Strange III#9/2 (fb) - BTS) - During the magic battle between Dr. Strange and Urthona, Strange decided to destroy all the magic artifacts that could have helped the cruel Urthona in his dreadful purposes. Agamotto, teleported all the items to his dimension before they were incinerated, letting Strange and Urthona believe that they had actually been destroyed.
(Strange Tales II#8/1) - In Mr. Jip's "Shoppe of Wonders", the Wand of Watoomb (or a replica; see comments) hung from a pole, waiting for a buyer.
(Doctor Strange III#7 - BTS) - Months later, Strange entered Agamotto's dimension again and received from Agamotto the Wand of Watoomb and also the other precious talismans.
(Doctor Strange III#8) - Strange went back to his Sanctum Sanctorum with the Wand and the other talismans.
(Doctor Strange III#9 - BTS / 10 - BTS) - The Talismans were still lying around in Strange's bedroom.
(Doctor Strange III#36) - Dr. Strange shrunk his talismans and hid them behind the Eye of Agamotto. He restored them to their full size when he was forced to confront the Infinity Gauntlet empowered Adam Warlock. The scrolls were really useful to cancel the effects of the Gem of Space; the Winds of Watoomb scrolls enabled Strange, Pip and Gamora to cover a distance of light-years in a few seconds. A short time later Strange had to use the Wand and all the other talismans to increase his own powers to match, even if only for a few moments, the power of Adam Warlock. After the fight, Strange went back home and put the scrolls and the other talismans in their right place in his room.
(Spider-Man/Doctor Strange: The Way To Dusty Death GN) - Xandu, from the realm of Death, possessed Spider-Man's body and stole the Wand. With its power he opened a dimensional portal under the New York Central Station and gave the Wand to Melinda who went back "home". A short time later Xandu took back the Wand to use it against Strange. It released a tremendous amount of eldritch energy when it exploded after Spider-Man webbed it up and shattered it on the ground.
(Secret Defenders#6) - The Wand, however returned. Strange sensed it and in fact, Xandu, who had established a link with the Wand, succeeded in recalling it even from his unstable mental state.
(Secret Defenders#7 (fb) - BTS) - Through the Wand, Xandu learned that once near the end of the millennium the planes of Earth and Death could be merged.
(Secret Defenders#6) - Captain America was the first to try and stop him but was unable to contrast the pure power of the Wand, the storm and the winds it created. Spider-Man, Doctor Strange and Scarlet Witch intervened but Xandu escaped to the Death dimension. They reached him there only to learn that he was employing the full power of the Wand to merge his plane and Earth to a gigantic dimension of Death.
(Secret Defenders#7) - Using the Wand, Xandu turned three of the dead into parodies of the heroes he had captured, then he turned them to death and dust again. The merging of the worlds continued. In Manhattan, the dead started rising from their graves.
(Secret Defenders#8) - The Wand gave Xandu so much power
that Strange and Scarlet Witch couldn't break through his defenses.
Melinda defeated Xandu, Spider-Man gave the Wand to Strange and Melinda
sent back the heroes to Manhattan.
(Avengers/Squadron Supreme '98) - Through unknown means, Imus Champion retrieved the Wand of Watoomb. He used the Wand to protect himself from Moonglow's mystic bolts. The wand stored and reflected the energies to fell her. Eventually Champion was captured.
(Avengers/JLA#1 - BTS) - In his game against Krona for the safety and the conquest of the Universe, the Grandmaster randomly displaced 12 items of immense power in two different universes. Among them was the Wand of Watoomb.
(JLA/Avengers#2) - Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch defeated Black Canary, Hawkman and Blue Beetle and found the Wand of Watoomb. The Wand was immediately teleported to the base of the Grandmaster (En Dwi Gast).
(JLA/Avengers#2/Avengers/JLA#3 (fb)) - When all the 12 items were gathered, the Grandmaster used them to change the reality of the two universes, merging them and trapping Krona in the point of junction.
(Avengers/JLA#3 - BTS - JLA/Avengers#4) - The 12 items of
power were used by Krona; he tried to completely merge the two worlds
and produce a new Big Bang. He captured the avatars of the two universes
in hope to have them reveal the secret of their creation.
After a furious battle involving hundreds of superbeings,
Hawkeye freed the objects of power. The resulting, chaotic swirl of
released energy swallowed Krona. The universes separated and the
resulting stolen energy became a Cosmic Egg containing Krona's essence.
(She-Hulk III#2 (fb) - BTS) - Mr. Wilkes stole the Wand of Watoomb from Dr. Strange's house. Strange stopped the burglar and took back the Wand.
(Ms.
Marvel II#4) - Sir Warren Traveler, bearer of the Eye
of
Watoomb of Reality-58163, was captured in Doctor Strange's house.
Feeling a link with a Wand he saw on the fire-place, he unwittingly
acquired keener concentration and succeeded in untying the magic bonds
that imprisoned him. He grabbed the Wand of Watoomb, taking Dr. Strange
by surprise, and knocked him down with a right swing.
(Ms. Marvel II#5) - Traveler used the Wand to increase his
powers to such a level that Dr. Strange had to ask Ms. Marvel for help
through her dreams. But it was a Ms. Marvel from a not too distant
future that helped Strange. Traveler escaped with the Wand and carried
with him the Ms. Marvel of the present time to the alternate
reality-6095.
In their fight, Ms. Marvel managed to take the Wand for some
seconds but the two had to flee from that reality. Traveler brought them
back to Earth-616, arriving some minutes in the past, grasped the Wand
and teleported away. Ms. Marvel used the few seconds at her disposal to
help Strange defeat Traveler's past self like before. The past Traveler
landed with the Wand in reality-20069. (see comments)
(New Avengers#51 - BTS) - The Wand of Watoomb was still possessed by Doctor Strange, who was looking for a new Sorcerer Supreme. When he did found him he would give the Wand to him.
(Avengers Academy#35) - Coat of Arms, when worked for
Jeremy Briggs, came in possession of several magic objects, and studied
them in her mystic laboratory at the Briggs Building. Among them she
also had the Wand of Watoomb.
(Doctor Voodoo Avenger of the Supernatural#1) - Doctor Doom challenged Doctor Voodoo for the possession of the Eye of Agamotto. Doom also looked for the Wand of Watoomb.
(Invincible Iron Man II#2) - As a crossroad of several
alternate dimension, items of power belonging to other places fell on
Earth. Among those items there was a Wand of Watoomb, which came in
possession of Doctor Doom. With his deep knowledge of sorcery and
science, Doom claimed that, across the various dimensions, there existed
other Wands of Watoomb. Doom also reckoned that five other Wands
existed. Doom created a duplicate Wand, to deceive his enemies.
Madame Masque, too, knew about the items of power,
and started a quest for seizing Doom's Wand. She stole the decoy.
Shortly after, Victor von Doom gave his Wand to Iron
Man (Tony Stark).
(Invincible Iron Man II#3) - Iron Man gave the
other-dimensional Wand to Doctor Strange.
(Black Widow: Widow's Sting#1) - Doctor Strange lent the Wand of Watoomb
to the Metropolis Museum. Silvio Manfredi, an important boss of Maggia,
had the Wand stolen and had it substituted by a fake one.
In the following months, Manfredi studied the Wand
and trained himself to access its powers. When he felt ready, he
organized a meeting with the other Maggia leaders, to force them to
submit to him as undisputed ruler.
At his proposal, many bosses refused, so he used the
Wand against them. He opened some portals that sucked some Maggias into
other dimensions. Others criminals were luckier, because the Wand only
pulverized their guns. They surrendered to the overpowering display of
the Wand so Manfredi assured them that with such a powerful tool at his
disposal, he could hold back all the other organizations like
S.H.I.E.L.D. and A.I.M. Manfredi gave the Wand to Man-Mountain Marko to
hide, sure that his bodyguard would not be able at all to use it.
However, S.H.I.E.L.D. was already on the move, having sent the Black
Widow to recover the Wand. She found the secret room where the Wand was
secured, and managed to get her hands on it. She also tried to use the
Wand against Silvermane, but, without the training needed, the magic
item was a mere useless trinket for her. The Black Widow defeated
Silvermane.
Astra, the S.H.I.E.L.D.
agent who was Silvermane's prisoner, gave the Wand to Natasha.
Comments: Created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko.
In the MU the Wand's creation was never told. It is rather logical to think that the creator was Watoomb himself. The link between the Wand and its creator is mentioned in "Realms of Magic Book#2: Manual of Mysticism" by TSR.
After the Crystal of Kadavus was used to restore the Wand's power, a link existed between them. Another link seems to exist between the Wand, Xandu, Sandy Plunkett and the inter-dimensional jumps.
Doctor Strange defined the Wand of Watoomb as "wicked" (Doctor Voodoo
Avenger of the Supernatural#1) in a spontaneous exclamation.
Someone could notice that the movements of the Wand (and
also Traveler's and Ms. Marvel's) in Ms. Marvel II#5 weren't told in the
same order I placed them. This is because time travel often creates
confusion about what happened before and what happens after. Moreover,
sometime time travel leads to paradoxes.
Interpreting Ms. Marvel II#5 using "Gruenwald's rules about
Time Travel", when Traveler brought back Carol from Earth-6095 to
Earth-616 BEFORE she had arrived at Strange's house, he could create an
alternate diverging timeline. In that diverging timeline Ms. Marvel battled Traveler
alongside Strange AND was also flying to reach the battle. However, the
writer put some sibylline words in Strange's mouth. While contrasting
Traveler's final sorcery, Strange claimed that he was remedying to the
mess created by Traveler. So, we can suppose that Strange had guessed
that a paradox could be generated in those seconds, and his defensive
spell also intended to "help" Traveler leave Earth-616 with the Wand and
one of the two Ms. Marvels. How did he know? He was speaking to Carol in
her dreams and another Carol suddenly appeared to help him against
Traveler! Or he sensed the contemporary presence of two Wands of
Watoomb, while defending himself against Traveler. Moreover, Traveler,
an expert multi-realities jumper, too "suggested", when he brought back
Ms. Marvel to Earth-616, that she had "important things" to do
and that they arrived home "a bit too early". He knew that a
Ms. Marvel had to surprisingly assault his other self in Dr. Strange's
house, and the one near enough was the one behind him (he had already
lived through that event).
So, for some seconds the same two Wands of Watoomb existed
in Earth-616 reality, present only a few meters away from each other,
and also two Ms. Marvels and two Warren Travelers did.
Of course, since the Wand seen in Ms. Marvel II#4-5 had been
drawn very differently from the previous issues, all the episodes
could've happened in an entire different reality ;-).
Ms. Marvel and other characters can visit their own
pasts, and the two temporal versions existing at the same point in
time does not necessarily cause a paradox or anything like that.
Happens all the time. That's a Gruenwald rule that hasn't been very
consistent with the rest of the MU time travel appearances.
--Snood
The Crystal of Kadavus was as big as a fist in Marvel Team-Up I#21. In Secret Defenders it was twice as big. The power it contained probably made it shrink.
The Wand's appearance in Strange Tales II#8 is one of
those throw-away appearances that just don't fit. I personally think
that the Wand seen in this issue was merely a replica or an illusion
created by Mr. Jip.
--Markus Raymond
Profile by Spidermay.
CLARIFICATIONS:
The Wand of Watoomb is different from the Scrolls
of Watoomb and the Winds
of Watoomb, but is strongly connected to
them;
it should not be confused with its several counterparts in other dimensions such as:
The Wand has no known connections to any other Wand.
The Crystal of Kadavus is a big crystal, resembling a
skull.
Nothing is known about its powers, with the exception that
it can be used to restore the power of the Wand of Watoomb, or contain
its power.
(Secret Defenders#6 (fb) - BTS) - The Crystal of Kadavus was forged in a wizard's tomb.
The Crystal was kept by the Sorcerer Supreme, Doctor Strange, who had transferred all the Wand of Watoomb's powers into it. After that, the Crystal retained a mystic connection with the Wand.
(Marvel Team-Up I#21) - Spider-Man, under Xandu's hypnosis, stole the Crystal. Xandu used it with the proper incantation under the light of the full moon to recharge the power of the Wand of Watoomb.
(Spider-Man/Doctor Strange: The Way To Dusty Death GN - BTS) - Spider-Man saw the Crystal among Doctor Strange's other magic items, near the Wand of Watoomb.
(Secret Defenders#6) - Strange used the Crystal of Kadavus to reach the Wand of Watoomb. The Crystal floated in the sky, where Strange could open a portal to the Death Dimension.
(Secret Defenders#7 - BTS) - The Crystal fell to the ground. Dead rose from their graves.
(Secret Defenders#8) - The Crystal was again contacted by
one of Strange's spells from the Death Dimension and it was picked up by
Captain America. The resulting spell emitted a pulse which hurled back
the dead.
--Marvel Team-Up I#21 (Spider-Man/Doctor Strange: The Way To Dusty Death GN - BTS, Secret Defenders#6, Secret Defenders#8
images: (without ads)
Amazing Spider-Man Annual I#2, p9, pan6 (the Wand stolen by Xandu)
Savage Sword of Conan I#188/2, p9, pan2 (the Priestess of Yog wielding
the Wand of Watoomb)
Marvel's Voices -
Identity#1/3, p3, pan4 (Jimmy Woo found the Wand of Watoomb)
Marvel Fanfare I#6/1, p9, pan4 (the extra-dimensional
world of Xandu, and the lost Wand)
Avengers/Squadron Supreme '98, p19,
p4 (Imus Champion used the Wand against Moonglow)
Ms. Marvel II#5, p8, pan3 (the "long" Wand used by Warren Traveler)
Black Widow: Widow's Sting#1, p7, pan2 (guns turned to ash by Silvermane
using the Wand)
Secret Defenders#6, p14, pan2-3 (the
Crystal of Kadavus)
Appearances:
Amazing Spider-Man Annual I#2 (1965) - Stan Lee (writer/editor), Steve
Ditko (artist)
Marvel Team-Up I#21 (May, 1974) - Len Wein (writer), Sal Buscema
(pencils), Frank Giacoia & Dave Hunt (inks), Roy Thomas(editor)
Dr. Strange II#34 (April, 1979) - Ralph Macchio (writer), Tom Sutton
(pencils), P. Craig Russell (inks), Al Milgrom (editor)
Marvel Fanfare I#6 (January, 1983) - Mike W. Barr (writer), Sandy
Plunkett (writer/pencils), P. Craig Russel (inker), Al Milgrom (editor)
Doctor Strange II#81 (February, 1987) - Peter Gillis (writer), Chris
Warner (pencils), Randy Emberlin (inks), Carl Potts (editor)
Strange Tales II#8/1 (November, 1987) - Terry Austin (writer), Brett
Blevins (pencils), Bob Wiacek (inks), Carl Potts (editor)
Doctor Strange III#8 (October, 1989) - Roy & Dann Thomas (writers),
Jackson Guice (pencils), José Marzan (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Doctor Strange III#36 (December, 1991) - Roy & Dann Thomas
(writers), Dan Lawlis (pencils), Andrew Pepoy (inks), Mike Rockwitz
(editor)
Savage Sword of Conan I#188/2 (August, 1991) - Sandy Plunkett
(writer/layouts), Dave Cockrum (artist), Mike Rockwitz (editor)
Spider-Man/Doctor Strange: The Way To Dusty Death Graphic Novel (1992) -
Roy Thomas (writer), Michael Bair (pencils), Mark Texeira, Michael Bair
& Mark Beachum (inks), Toka/Fingeroth/DeFalco (editors)
Secret Defenders#6 (August, 1993) - Roy Thomas (writer), Andre Coates
(pencils), Don Hudson (inks), Mike Rockwitz (editor)
Secret Defenders#7 (September, 1993) - Roy Thomas (writer), Andre Coates
(pencils), Fred Fredericks (inks), Mike Rockwitz (editor)
Secret Defenders#8 (October, 1993) - Roy Thomas (writer), Andre Coates
(pencils), Don Hudson (inks), Mike Rockwitz (editor)
Avengers/Squadron Supreme '98 (1998) - Kurt Busiek & Len Kaminski
(writers), Carlos Pacheco (pencils), Matt Banning, Vince Russell, Bob
Wiacek, Al Vey & Paul Neary (inks), Tom Breevort (editor)
JLA/Avengers#1 (September, 2003) - Kurt Busiek (writer), George Pérez
(pencils), Tom Smith (inks), Tom Brevoort, Dan Raspler & Mike Carlin
Avengers/JLA#2 (November, 2003) - Kurt Busiek (writer), George Pérez
(pencils), Tom Smith (inks), Tom Brevoort, Dan Raspler & Mike Carlin
JLA/Avengers#3 (December, 2003) - Kurt Busiek (writer), George Pérez
(pencils), Tom Smith (inks), Tom Brevoort, Dan Raspler & Mike Carlin
Avengers/JLA#4 (January, 2004) - Kurt Busiek (writer), George Pérez
(pencils), Tom Smith (inks), Tom Brevoort, Dan Raspler & Mike Carlin
Ms. Marvel II#4 (August, 2006) - Brian Reed (writer), Roberto de la
Torre (pencils), Jimmy Palmiotti (inks), Levin & Lazer &
Sitterson & Schmidt (editors)
Ms. Marvel II#5 (September, 2006) - Brian Reed (writer), Roberto de la
Torre (pencils), Jimmy Palmiotti (inks), Johansen & Lazer &
Sitterson & Schmidt (editors)
Avengers Academy#35 (October, 2012) - Christos Gage (writer), Andrea Di
Vito (art), Chris Sotomayor (colors), Jon Moisan & Bill Rosemann
(editors)
Star-Lord#2 (February, 2016) - Sam Humphries (writer), Javier Garron
(art), Antonio Fabela (colors), Jake Thomas (editor)
Black Widow: Widow's Sting#1 (October, 2020) - Ralph Macchio (writer),
Simone Buonfantino (artist), Rachelle Rosenberg (colors), Mark Basso
(editor)
Marvel's Voices -
Identity#1/3 (October, 2021) - Greg Pak (writer),
Creees Lee (pencils and inks), Brian Reber (colors), Darren Shan
(editor)
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
First Posted: 12/03/2008
Last Updated: 05/07/2023
Non-Marvel
Copyright info
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Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. If you like this stuff, you should
check out the real thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com
