INFINITY HORN
(Reality-8116)

Classification: Technological/Magical item

Creator: Orsirosian race

User/Possessors: Aknaton, Juliet, Joenis Soule, Whis'par, Za

First Appearance: Epic Illustrated#1 (Spring, 1980)

Powers/Abilities/Functions: The Horn accessed and unleashed the energies from the 15th dimension of mystical existence, the realm of a being of omnipotent force and many names. The energies thusly unleashed were sufficient to annihilate an entire galaxy.

    In combination with spells from Aknaton, these energies converted those who blew the Horn into beings or pure thought and energy.

History:

(Epic Illustrated#1/7 (fb) - BTS) -  Realizing the marauding, genocidal Zygoteans were otherwise unstoppable, the ancient Orsirosians concluded that a quick ending of the entire galaxy -- when compared to a prolonged, tortuous, and inevitable demise -- was worth it to end the Zygoteans' threat.

(Epic Illustrated#1/7 (fb)) - The Orsirosians combined every iota of their mystical and technological power; they embraced new concepts, old beliefs were twisted, and new and forgotten gods were called upon, forging massive forces into matter as the Infinity Horn. Though nothing could save Orsiros, the Orsirosians knew the Horn would prove the undoing of the Zygoteans and the final hope for the universe.

(Epic Illustrated#1/7 (fb)) - Once used, the Horn would prove uncontrollable in its wrath, so fail-safing was instituted. Aknaton was appointed the Horn's guardian, and the elders transfered their might into him.

(Epic Illustrated#1/7 (fb)) - With this power, Aknaton looked into the future. He saw the Zygoteans' triumph, the destruction of Orsiros, the release of the Horn's vengeance, and his own death.

(Epic Illustrated#1/7 (fb)) - Armed with this knowledge, Aknaton escaped the Zygotean blockade and concealed the Infinity Horn on a barren world the Zygoteans would probably never bother.

(Epic Illustrated#4/2 (fb) - BTS / Epic Illustrated#6/6 (fb) - BTS / Epic Illustrated#8 (fb) - BTS) <100,000 years ago> - Aknaton constructed an artificial immortal being, Joenis Soule, to hide the Infinity Horn on a far-off, barren world the Zygoteans would probably not bother, and not reveal its location until a certain verse was recited to him by an Orsirosian.
                    "The hand of darkness call but I am ready.
                    For the dim and hazy future I can see.
                    What is and what is to be is my burden.
                    Let all become as dark as the soul within me."
    Soule was instructed to await that Orsirosian on the planet Delloran.

(Epic Illustrated#8/6 (fb) - BTS) <100,000 years ago> - Within the virtually indestructible Kalloombrian Temple on Dreamsend (see comments), Aknaton created or cast a spell to allow him to open a hole in the floor, allowing access to a set of steps, actually a multidimensional corridor that led to his Hall of Death and Mercy, at the mystic heart of the galaxy.

    Within the Hall of Death and Mercy, which was on a plane of existence that allowed the appropriate meshing of the contradicting laws of science and magic, he hid the Infinity Horn. This corridor would transmit the Horn's effects back to their reality.

(Epic Illustrated#4/2) - Aknaton obtained Joenis Soule's amulet, which contained the location of the Infinity Horn.

(Epic Illustrated#6/6) - Following a mystic spell and communion with his god, Ra, Aknaton gained the knowledge that the Infinity Horn awaited him in a subterranean temple on the world Dreamsend.

(Epic Illustrated#7/7) - Via Vanth's Lightcutter ship, Aknaton transported his agents Vanth, Juliet, Whis'par, and Za to Dreamsend.

(Epic Illustrated#8/6) - Via the temple, Aknaton accessed the mystic corridor and brought his group the Hall of Death and Mercy, at the mystic heart of the galaxy, and then opened its doorway and revealed the Infinity Horn to his agents.

    When his agents were underwhelmed by the Horn's appearance, Aknaton told them it did the job it was designed for, and didn't need to look impressive.

    Aknaton then explained that Juliet, Za, and Whis'par would be the foundation blocks of tomorrow, their qualities creating a new race of beings who would, hopefully, succeed where "humanity" had failed.

    Aknaton then bade the trio farewell and departed with Vanth to hold off the Zygoteans who had followed them -- as Aknaton had not foreseen anyone following them and had not created the means to close the portals he had opened -- long enough for them to trumpet in the future.

(Epic Illustrated#8/6 - BTS) - Outside the Hall, Aknaton rejoined Vanth, telling him they wouldn't have to hold their enemies off for long.

    When Aknaton noted his surprise that Vanth had not come in to see the Horn, Vanth explained that he had been needed outside, and that neither he nor Aknaton belonged in  there, as the trio was tomorrow's hope, while they were yesterday's mistake. 

(Epic Illustrated#9) - Although Aknaton lost an arm in the process, he and Vanth held off the Zygoteans until the exact moment that certain forces in the cosmos were in alignment.

    And, just then, Juliet, Whis'par, and Za blew the Infinity Horn. 

    As the energies surrounded them, Aknaton pulled Vanth to his side.

(Epic Illustrated#9 (fb) - BTS) - Aknaton indirectly tapped into the power of the Infinite and created a mystical sphere -- mostly from condensed light particles -- to protect himself and Vanth from the forces being unleashed, as well as placing them into a deep state of suspended animation. 

(Epic Illustrated#9 - BTS) - The Horn accessed and unleashed the energies from the 15th dimension of mystical existence, the realm of a being of omnipotent force and many names:

    And the Milky Way was destroyed.

    The energies released, plus Aknaton's spells, enabled Juliet, Whis'par, and Za to survive as "something wondrous...a new species of being that the stars had never before seen...escaping the weakness of the flesh and becoming beings of pure thought and energy"; they departed for parts unrevealed.

(Epic Illustrated#9/2 (fb) - BTS) - The region that had been the Milky Way galaxy came to be known as the Dark Sector).

(Epic Illustrated#9/2 (fb) - BTS) - Over a million years, Aknaton's sphere carried him and Vanth to the planet Caldor in the star system Chalfalon in the Empirical galaxy, 500,000 light years from the Dark Sector.

    After they revived, Aknaton advised Vanth that they had come from the halls of death with a message of life.

    He informed Vanth that he had to make others hear that message or they would suffer the same damnation he now suffered: "You must either be their savior or their destroyer."

    Aknaton further advised Vanth that the Infinity Horn yet existed, and that Vanth knew where to find it "...it rests among the stars gone black...it awaits your failure...do not fail! Such a fate is a terrible thing to face and an impossible burden to carry afterwards." 

    Ultimately, Aknaton goaded Vanth into killing him.

Comments: Created by Jim Starlin.

    I'm not quite sure how Aknaton's story works out...he describes creating the means to open the portal in Dreamsend's floor, but he also notes that Soule hid the Infinity Horn on a secret location and that he only recently learned its location via Soule's key.
    I would think Aknaton created or otherwise accessed his Hall of Death and Mercy (and/or the realm it contained) and the portal to that realm, and hid the Infinity Horn in the Hall, but then had Soule create/place the access point to the stairs/dimensional corridor to his Hall within a secret location. Or, perhaps, something else...?

Profile by Snood.

CLARIFICATIONS:
The Infinity Horn should be distinguished from:

• The Infinicide, temporal cartographers from the end of time who can telepathically upload the memories of beings who have witnessed significant historical events and who resemble M.O.D.O.K. in appearance--Super-Villain Team-Up/MODOK's 11#3
• The Infinicide beacon, the ship which the Infinicide used to travel through time and summon witnesses--Super-Villain Team-Up/MODOK's 11#2
• The Infinihedron, a reality-altering device brought back in time to Reality-616 to be used as a weapon by terrorist Becky Barnes from the future of an alternate timeline pf Earth-40727 in which Isaiah Bradley had become Captain America--Captain America IV#27
• The Heart of the Infinite, a vitually unlimited power source that was discovered and used by the aliens known as the Celestial Order until Thanos usurped the power and used it to retroactively alter history by destroying the Celestial Order before they ever found the Heart--Marvel Universe: The End#2
• The Infinite Embassy, a meeting place created by the Living Tribunal that sits at the top of Earth's cluster of dimensions and which can be visited by anyone who is unearthly-yet-of-Earth--Journey Into Mystery I#627
• Infinite Kickers, Inc of Earth-Amalgam (Reality-9602), a combination of Kickers Inc from the New Universe (Earth-9602) and Infinity Inc from Earth-Two of a Different Cosmos--mentioned in Challengers of the Fantastic#1
• Gormuu (aka the Infinite Monster), an extrraterrestrial would-be conqueror of Earth who was defeated by Reed Richards --Fantastic Four I#271
• Sl'gur't, a Skrull War-God whose name is a word that means "infinite names" in a Skrull language and who was Empress of the Skrull pantheon of gods--Incredible Hercules#120
• The Infinites, immense and extremely powerful beings from a macroverse who used Servitors and gigantic Walkers (that were like nano-machines to them) to rearrange whole galaxies in Universe-616 in order to improve the flow of energy through the multiverse until Eternity and some Avengers made them aware of the multitude of relatively tiny lives that would be lost if their plans were not stopped--(mentioned) Avengers Forever#10, (seen) Avengers Infinity#3
• Infinitus, the Reincarnated Man (Michael Rodgers), a man who posed as a reincarnation of an ancient Egyptian King in order to kill the brother whom he hated--Marvel Team-Up I#29
• Crazy Eight (Leslie Anne Shappe), a superpowered vigilante who called herself "Infinity" and killed criminals who had proven able to escape justice--Incredible Hulk II#380
• Infinity, the Beta-Ray Man of Earth-Amalgam (Reality-9602), a combination of Beta Ray Bill from Marvel Earth-616 and the Infinity Man from a Different Cosmos--mentioned in the letters page of Thorion#1
• The Infinity Formula, a serum developed by scientist Dr. Berthold Sternberg to help patients survive dangerous surgeries which aids in cellular regeneration and retards the aging process but patients need to receive annual injections or they will age rapidly until they die--Marvel Spotlight I#31
• The Infinity Gauntlet, a gauntlet with six of the Infinity Gems (Mind, Power, Reality, Soul, Space, Time) attached to it, thereby making it possible for its wearer to use any or all of the powers of those gems at will--Thanos Quest#2
• Infinity Gauntlet replicas, powerless copies held by G.R.A.M.P.A.--Amazing Fantasy II#15
• The Infinity Gems, seven (supposedly) indestructible gems (Ego, Mind, Power, Reality, Soul, Space and Time) which were left behind after a primeval creator-deity committed suicide (with the universe allegedly forming from its ashes) and which enabled their wielders to have total control over whatever aspect of reality they controlled-- (Soul Gem) Marvel Premiere#1, (all six) Avengers Annual I#7
• The Infinity Links of Earth-Amalgam (Reality-9602), that reality's counterparts of the Infinity Gems--mentioned in Bullets & Bracelets#1
• Infinity Productions, a movie studio run by brothers Cyril and Willie Lucas who worked with Chinese Communist agents in a plot against Captain America--Captain America I#106
• Infinity T.A.P., a trigger-happy super-villain whose weapons are Temporal Access Pistols that fire multitudes of bullets across the timestream--Cable & Deadpool#37
• The Infinity Thrall, a large energy being of great destructive power created and controlled by the Man-Beast via a computer which tapped four of the Infinity Gems (Mind, Power, Space, Time)--Warlock & the Infinity Watch#5
• The Infinity Union, a combination of three powerful cosmic devices that were stolen from the Stranger's laboratory world by Nebula who combined them and used its power against the Stranger and the Avengers until the bio-receiver which enabled her to tap its power was removed--Avengers I#317
• The Infinity Watch (Adam Warlock, Drax, Gamora, Pip, Moondragon, Thanos, Maxam), six beings chosen by Warlock to guard the Infinity Gems after they were removed from the Infinity Gauntlet--Warlock & the Infinity Watch#1
• The Infinity Well, a sentient, magical well located in Mistress Death's dimension which can provide any information that any individual could want to know--Silver Surfer III#38
• or any other person, group, place or thing which has "Infinity" in its/their name(s)

images: (without ads)
Epic Illustrated#1, Chapter I: Aknaton, pg. 5, panel 5 (Aknaton creates the Infinity Horn);
    #8, Chapter XII: Dreamsend, pg. 5, panel 1 (Infinity Horn by itself);
    #9, Chapter XIII: Doomsday, pg. 3, panel 5 (Juliet, Whis'par, & Za from rear behind horn);
             panel 6 (upper bodies, positioning themselves at the horn);
          pg. 4, panel 1-3 (full bodies behind horn; faces with mouths on horn; horn being sounded);
          pg. 6, panel 3 (Dreamsend obliterated and destroying its sun);
          pg. 7, panel 1 (multiple stars destroyed);
             panel 2 (Milky Way destroyed);
          pg. 8, panel 1-3 (Juliet, Whis'par, & Za escaping as new life forms);

Appearances:
Epic Illustrated#1: Metamorphosis Odyssey chapters I: Aknaton, II: Za!, and III: Juliet (Spring, 1980) - Jim Starlin (writer, artist), Stan Lee (editor)
Epic Illustrated#2: Metamorphosis Odyssey chapter IV: Whis'par (Summer, 1980) - Jim Starlin (writer, artist), Stan Lee (editor/publisher), Archie Goodwin (editorial director), James Shooter (consulting editor)
Epic Illustrated#3: Metamorphosis Odyssey chapter V: Vanth & VI: The Meeting (Fall, 1980) - Jim Starlin (writer, artist), Stan Lee (editor/publisher), Archie Goodwin (editorial director), James Shooter (consulting editor)
Epic Illustrated#4: Metamorphosis Odyssey chapter VII: Delloran Revisited (Winter, 1980) - Jim Starlin (writer, artist), Stan Lee (editor/publisher), Archie Goodwin (editorial director), James Shooter (consulting editor)
Epic Illustrated#5: Metamorphosis Odyssey chapter VIII: Sunrise on Lartoprez (sic) (April, 1981) - Jim Starlin (writer, artist), Stan Lee (editor/publisher), Archie Goodwin (editorial director), James Shooter (consulting editor)
Epic Illustrated#6: Metamorphosis Odyssey chapter IX: Absolution (June, 1981) - Jim Starlin (writer, artist), Stan Lee (editor/publisher), Archie Goodwin (editorial director), James Shooter (consulting editor)
Epic Illustrated#7: Metamorphosis Odyssey chapters X: Requiem & XI: Nightfire (August, 1981) - Jim Starlin (writer, artist), Stan Lee (editor/publisher), Archie Goodwin (editorial director), James Shooter (consulting editor)
Epic Illustrated#8: Metamorphosis Odyssey chapters XII: Dreamsend (October, 1981) - Jim Starlin (writer, artist), Stan Lee (editor/publisher), Archie Goodwin (editorial director), James Shooter (consulting editor)
Epic Illustrated#9: Metamorphosis Odyssey, Chapter XIII: Doomsday & XIV: Aftermath (December, 1981) - Jim Starlin (writer, artist), Stan Lee (editor/publisher), Archie Goodwin (editorial director), James Shooter (consulting editor)

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

First Posted: 11/18/2018
Last Updated: 11/18/2018

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