SIBYL'S AMULET

Classification: Extradimensional (Olympian) magic item

Creator: Unrevealed

User/Possessors: Hercules (Heracles), Sibyl, Thaleia

First Appearance: Doctor Strange II#46 (April, 1981)

Powers/Abilities/Functions: Sibyl's Amulet could protect its wearer and those in its immediate vicinity from dying.

History: (Doctor Strange II#46 (fb)) - During her mortal life, the oracle Sibyl (then calling herself Sibylla) wore a golden amulet in her duties as vassal to the Temple of Apollo and Diana in Mt. Gaurus. When her mortal life ended, Sibyl was wearing the amulet when she faced death and the Greek god Apollo offered her a place in Olympus but Sibyl declined, wishing to keep her legacy as an oracle alive. Apollo instead granted Sibyl the ability to survive on as a spirit while her physical body crumbled and died, still wearing the amulet. As a spirit, Sibyl wore a ghostly version of her old amulet while the succeeding generations of new sibyls wore Sibyl's original amulet and Sibyl trained the new generations for centuries before the final sibyl, Thaleia, went mad and took her own life using poisoned wine. Sensing the future arrival of the Black Order, Apollo opted to seal Thaleia's spirit within her own corpse and for some time, the deceased Thaleia set on her old throne, still wearing Sibyl's original amulet while the ghostly Sibyl waited by her side until the time came of the Black Order. Needing a third sibyl to halt the Black Order, Sibyl began reaching out with her godly power to find one who would serve as third sibyl.

(Doctor Strange II#46) - Finding Doctor Strange's ally Clea a suitable sibyl, Sibyl, still wearing her ghostly amulet, used her powers to plant the suggestion of a Roman vacation in Clea's mind and explained the story of the sibyls to Clea in a dream as she traveled to Rome. Transported from the airport terminal to Mt. Gaurus, Clea and Dr. Strange were met by the ghostly Sibyl as Theleia, still wearing Sibyl's original amulet, sat on her old throne. Clea accepted her proposed role as the third sibyl to prevent the Black Order from altering reality and together with Sibyl and Theleia, halted the Black Order's plans. Following the event, Sibyl offered Clea a permanent place as the new sibyl, tutored by Sibyl herself, but Clea politely declined. Her role as a sibyl fulfilled, Theleia was considered redeemed and her spirit finally allowed to pass on, leaving the amulet behind, as Sibyl herself, her own job on Earth completed, passed on to Olympus herself, leaving only dust and her clothes in her wake as the Mt. Gaurus temple crumbled and fell.

(Avengers VI#2 (fb) - BTS) - Appearing on Earth once more, Sibyl, using the mortal name of Sybil Aquila, became the head of the Federal Reserve and brought her amulet with her.

(Avengers VI#2) - When most of the Avengers disappeared from time, Hercules, seeking Sibyl's help, he claimed he had searched for a publicly revered authority figure known for speaking in riddles and his search brought him to the Federal Reserve, where he found Sibyl. When she didn't believe Hercules capable of such detective work he revealed Minerva had told him where to find Sibyl. After learning that Kang had killed the Avengers before they could become heroes, thereby creating a paradox that threatened reality itself, Sibyl provided Hercules with her amulet, remarking that she once wore it when she stood at the door to the afterlife. Thinking the amulet would provide protection against death, Sibyl revealed that her amulet would act as a tether to the mortal plane for Hercules and those around him, preventing Hercules and the surviving Avengers (who barely existed outside of time) from being directly affected by Kang's paradoxes. Wearing Sibyl's amulet, Hercules confronted Kang and soon located the infant who would become Kang. Striving to protect the infant, Hercules recalled Sibyl's words about the amulet's protection abilities and he grabbed the infant and kept him close as the still-surviving Avengers and a future counterpart of Kang arrived. The future Kang ordered the Avengers to stay close to Hercules, as Sibyl's amulet would keep them all from dying from the paradox as long as they stayed within the amulet's radius. During the battle, Vision sent the Wasp into the timestream to protect the infant Kang while Hercules, still wearing the amulet, and the Avengers battled Kang and his counterparts.

Comments: Created by Bill Kunkel, David Michelinie, Kerry Gammill and Al Milgrom.

Presumably, the Amulet was what protected Thaleia's corpse from decaying over the centuries before her spirit helped banish the Black Order...

Also presumably, since Sibyl was not seen with her amulet on Olympus during her appearances in Dr. Strange: Sorcerer Supreme #54 & #56, one could assume that the Amulet laid buried in the rubble of Sibyl's temple following the temple's destruction in Dr. Strange II#46 until Sibyl retrieved it in recent years when she returned to Earth as Sybil Aquila.

Profile by Proto-Man.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Sybil's Amulet should be distinguished from:

images: (without ads)
Avengers VI#2, p7, pan3 (Sibyl holding her amulet, main image)
Doctor Strange II#46, p4, pan3 (Sibyl wearing the amulet in ancient Rome)

Appearances:
Doctor Strange II#46 (April, 1981) - Bill Kunkel (plot), David Michelinie (script), Kerry Gammill (pencils), Al Milgrom (inks, editor), Jo Duffy (editor)
Avengers VI#2 (February, 2017) - Mark Waid (writer), Mike del Mundo (artist), Tom Brevoort (editor)

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

First Posted: 03/16/2018
Last Updated: 03/27/18

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