the STONES OF HALKOR

Classification: Extraterrestrial inscribed stones (Distant Past to modern day)

Creator: Unrevealed (possibly an alien named Halkor?)

User/Possessors: Nebula

Aliases: None

First Appearance: Avengers West Coast I#48 (September, 1989)
   (identified) Avengers I#316 (April, 1990)

Powers/Abilities/Functions: The Stones of Halkor are six flat stones upon which was inscribed secret knowledge of a formula that could be used to generate unlimited power.

   The stones were later cut into tablet form by Nebula's minion the Rigellian named Gunthar.

History:
(Avengers West Coast I#48 (fb) - BTS / Avengers I#311 (fb) - BTS) - A long time ago, a "race that was old when this galaxy was aborning" carved a certain formula onto certain stone slabs on the planet now known as Omicron Seti. This formula contained a secret that could be used to gain mastery over all that lived.

(Avengers West Coast I#48 (fb) - BTS / Avengers I#316 (fb) - BTS) - These inscribed stones came to be known as the Stones of Halkor, and they were widely believed to be nothing more than a myth.

(Avengers West Coast I#48 (fb) - BTS / Avengers I#311 (fb) - BTS) - Knowledge of the formula that was inscribed on the stones and the secret that they held became the basis of ancient legends.

(Avengers West Coast I#48 (fb) - BTS) - In recent years, a Rigellian named Gunthar who served the space pirate Nebula somehow learned something that caused him to believe that the Stones of Halkor could be found on the planet Omicron Seti.

(Avengers West Coast I#48 (fb) - BTS) - A certain mercenary spotted Nebula's pirate ship in the vicinity of Omicron Seti and later, while on planet Sirius IV, he told Eros of Titan what he had seen.

(Avengers West Coast I#48) - Eros decided to check out the sighting for himself and flew through space to Omicron Seti. After descending to the planet's surface, Eros began flying through a deserted ancient city but didn't notice a certain statue as he flew past it. Once he heard voices, Eros began to approach them more cautiously. As he hovered nearby, Eros heard Nebula say, "Yes, Gunthar, you have served your mistress well!"

   Now close enough to observe what was going on, Eros watched as Nebula proclaimed, "The formula is here! The ancient legends were true! Cut the stones into tablets and transport them to the ship." Once Gunthar had acknowledged her order, Nebula continued her monologue, saying, "We will need now only a source of sufficient energy and I shall be more powerful than my grandfather EVER was!!!" Eros was puzzled by this dark pronouncement.

(Avengers I#311 (fb) - BTS) - Once the tablets were aboard Nebula's mother-ship, Gunthar examined them to confirm that they were what they appeared to be.

(Avengers I#311 - BTS) - Nebula, Gunthar and the rest of the crew were unaware that Eros had tracked down her mother-ship, secretly sneaked aboard, rendered one of the crewmen unconscious and used his environment suit to disguise himself.

(Avengers I#311) - Unaware that the disguised Eros was lurking just outside the bridge, Nebula demanded Gunthar's report. Gunthar replied, "All goes well, Mistress Nebula. These tablets we discovered on Omicron Seti do, indeed, hold the secret to what you seek."

   Pleased by Gunthar's report, Nebula said, "Amazing, is it not, Rigellian? Those stones were carved by a race that was old when this galaxy was aborning. Yet they hold in their time-worn faces the future of the universe." From where he was spying on them, Eros thought to himself that her words made no more sense now than they did when he spied on her on Omicron, and wondered where in all of space did she expect to find power greater than that of Thanos.

   No sooner had Eros thought this than Nebula conveniently began to speak again. While gazing at the image of an elderly male human from Earth on a video screen, Nebula said, "My heart pounds. My very blood sings, Gunthar! And is it not an exquisite irony that the mastery over all that lives will be delivered to me by a shriveled old Earthling who does not even begin to guess his place in the scheme of things!"

(Avengers I#312) - Later, on Earth, Nebula had a discrete meeting with that aged Earthling, Doctor Harker, in his apartment in New York City, and expressed her interest in his "compressor unit."

(Avengers I#315 (fb) - BTS) - Nebula subsequently provided Harker with certain alien knowledge (presumably from the tablets) that enabled him to make his Atomic Compressor fully functional.

(Avengers I#314) - Soon after the first test of the compressor caused the entire universe to briefly flash out of existence, Eros overheard Gunthar report this to Nebula on Earth. Eros later subdued Gunthar and tried to contact Avengers Mansion but was himself subdued by one of Nebula's crew.

(Avengers I#316) - While trying to interrogate the bound Eros about how much the Avengers knew about Nebula's plans, Gunthar bragged about how he and Nebula had spent months tracking across the vast expanses of the universe gathering together scraps of knowledge, which, brought together, formed the key to unlock all the secrets of the cosmos! Eros was not impressed.

   Later, after Nebula had returned from Earth, Eros mocked her for having his brother's gift for speaking in riddles. His words prompted Nebula to announce, "Before I am done here, I will make all my great grandfather's dreams seem like paltry things indeed. For I have found the Stones of Halkor!" Eros was also unimpressed by this claim, stating that she had found some stones and revealing that he had been there when she did. Then, in order to deliberately provoke her into attacking him, Eros declared, "But the Stones of Halkor are nothing but myth -- and I would have thought you'd know that. Or did your nanny so fill your brain with fairy tales there is no room for common sense and reason?" After that, Eros only had to mock her a bit more before she struck him across the face. In her enraged state, Nebula didn't notice that she had inadvertently dislodged some of the electrodes on the neural-neutralizer helmet that had been preventing Eros from using his psionic ability to stimulate the pleasure centers of the brains of others. Fortunately for Eros, he was then able to use enough of his power to make her be "reasonable" and not kill him immediately.

The Stones of Halkor have never been seen or even mentioned since.

Comments: Created by John Byrne & Mike Machlan.

   Although the Stones of Halkor were first seen on the planet where Nebula had found them in Avengers West Coast I#48, that planet's name was not revealed until Avengers I#311 and the name of the stones was not revealed until Avengers I#316.

   Although I have presumed that the Stones of Halkor were the source of the "certain alien knowledge" that Nebula provided to Dr. Harker that enabled him to make his compressor fully functional, this was never explicitly stated to be so.

   The name "Omicron Seti" sounds similar to Omicron Ceti, the designation for a binary star system, also known as Mira, that consists of a pulsating variable red giant star and its white dwarf companion that are located between 200 and 400 light-years away from Earth in the constellation Cetus. I had thought that Omicron Seti might have been a reference to a planet in another fictional continuity (like Star Trek) but that seems to not be the case. Although "omicron" is the name of the 15th letter in the Greek alphabet and is thus used by human astronomers from Earth to designate the fifteenth star in a constellation group, "Seti" is not the current or past name of any constellation known to human astronomers. Therefore, Omicron Seti must be an alien name for that particular extrasolar planet and, since it has no connection to the real world, there's no way to tell where it was located within the Marvel Universe.
   By the way, the Star Trek episode "This Side of Paradise" featured the planet Omicron Ceti III that was apparently not orbiting a red giant star. Additionally, in the Star Trek Universe, the name "Mira" is instead used as an alternative shorter name for the red giant star Mira Antlia whose system was visited by the Enterprise-D in the STNG episode "Conspiracy."

   Overall, I didn't find this whole "Nebula and the Infinity Union"storyline to be that good because two story elements severely strained my suspension of disbelief. The idea that a human scientist could create a device capable of destroying the entire universe seemed very silly and the idea that transmitting vast amounts of energy to a bio-receiver implanted in a person's brain would somehow make it possible for them warp reality at will was even sillier. However, there were also some lesser concepts that weren't handled well and a number of questions were left unanswered.

   Three things that bothered me involved minor plot points that could have easily been explained but weren't. Specifically, how was Eros able to fly through space without a starship? How was Eros able to find Nebula on the surface of Omicron Ceti within minutes? How was Eros able to board Nebula's mother-ship and sneak around it for so long without be caught?

   As stated, there could be explanations for these issues. Although I don't think that Eternals are supposed to be able to travel interstellar distances (unless they're in the form of a Uni-Mind), apparently there are stories that show Starfox doing just that. So, maybe Eros possessed some small and concealable mechanism that enabled him to travel through space like the pre-Crisis Superman? Or maybe he has always had to use starships and they just weren't shown in this story or the others?

   As for the other two plot points, the obvious answer to them is technology. If Eros was carrying some sort of sensor or tracking device on his person, perhaps in his wristbands, then that could account for how he was able to find Nebula so quickly even though she could have been anywhere on the planet. And although Nebula undoubtedly would have had great security systems on her starship, Eros could have had access to some TERRIFIC Titanian cloaking technology that kept him from being detected.

   Another thing that irritated me about the storyline was that the information that was provided was so vague and limited. Here's a list of questions that I would have liked to have seen answered:

   Finally, one last thing that really bothered me about the Stones of Halkor is that Nebula described them as having been carved by "a race that was old when this galaxy was aborning." What information about the stones does this actually provide? In a word, NOTHING. Sure, being told that the carvers were members of a race that was so old would mean that the carvers existed even before the Elders, but it doesn't tell us anything about when they actually CARVED the stones. For all we know, they could have carved the stones 10 billion years ago or 1 million years ago or 10 years ago. It sounds impressive but tells us nothing.

   Also, describing the carvers as being that old seemingly contradicts the idea that the Elders of the Universe, most of whom are about 5.5 billion years old, are the oldest (non-conceptual) beings currently alive in the universe. After all, when the Elders learned about Galactus and that he was actually older than them, they reacted by forming a conspiracy to kill him. So, if the carvers were so much older than them, why didn't the Elders target them as well?
   As I see it, there are two possible easy answers. The first is that maybe the Elders did target the carvers and managed to wipe them all out so long ago that nobody else remembers them. The second is that just because the carvers were alive long before the Elders doesn't mean that they continued to live, either as a species or as individuals, for that long a time. Maybe their species was born 13 billion years ago but died out over 6 billion years ago, meaning that they were extinct by the time the oldest of the Elders (except for Gaara of the Viscardi) was even born.

    This profile was completed 8/27/2021, but its publication was delayed as it was used for the Appendix 20^th anniversary 's celebratory event.   

Profile by Donald Campbell.

CLARIFICATIONS:
The Stones of Halkor have no known connections to

• The Alpha and Omega Stones, two extraterrestrial power gems, originally the single Stone of Power that was found on the planet Kree-Lar and split by Kree scientists, which were first used as part of the Lifestone Tree and later ended up on Earth where they mutated criminal Basil Elks into the super-powered Basilisk--Marvel Team-Up I#16
• The Blood Stone, a gem created centuries ago by the Sorcerer King Kaman-Ru who drew on it a map to his buried treasure which would only become visible if the gem were soaked in the blood of a supernatural being --Werewolf By Night I#7
• The Gehenna Stone, a magical gem created by the demon Ba'al which contained his soul after he was killed by the warrior known as the Hand of God who subsequently shattered the gems and caused generations of the Followers of Ba'al to quest to reassemble the stone--Wolverine II#11
• The Godstone, a gem that contained the essence and power of the Stargod of Other Realm, a benevolent ruler who travelled to Reality-616 when he was dying and left the Godstone on Earth's Moon where it was eventually found by astronaut John Jameson--Amazing Spider-Man I#124
• The Infinity Stones (Ego, Mind, Power, Reality, Soul, Space, Time), seven (supposedly) indestructible gems which enabled their wielders to have total control over whatever aspect of reality they controlled--(Soul Gem) Marvel Premiere#1, (six) Avengers Annual I#7
• The Ka Stone, the cosmic gemstone which millennia ago empowered the exiled Egyptian wizard Anathna-Mut and transformed him into the Sphinx--Nova I#6
• The Lifestone, a meteorite that crashed in the Aleutian Islands and which Dr. Douglas Birely (later known as Doctor Demonicus) discovered emitted an undefined form of radiation that could cause genetic mutation and the development of paranormal abilities in organic beings--Godzilla#4
• The Lifestone Tree, a powerful artifact created by joining together various gems that were geologic survivors of the Big Bang and which could be used to advance the evolutionary traits of chosen individuals --Thunderbolts I#45
• The "Man Stone," a human skeleton transformed through alchemy by the mutant Alchemist into "the highest form of man attainable" that was created to divine the identity of a mutant serial killer--Pryde and Wisdom#1
• The Moebius Stone, a mystical artifact created by Agamotto which enabled its wielder to control the passage of time and absorb life-force from others--Secret Defenders#15
• The moonstone, a blue moon rock (from the Watcher's Blue Area headquarters) which, when absorbed into human bodies, gave those people (both of whom called themselves Moonstone) superhuman strength, the ability to project laser beams and the power to phase through solid matter--Captain America I#170
• Nuada's stones, three stones forged by the followers of Nuada of the Silver Hand which absorbed hatred from nearby humans and turned it into magical power which could be used by Nuada and his followers --Spectacular Spider-Man Annual#8/2
• The Purple Stone of Power, the source of power of the Supreme Council on the planet Norsec which enabled them to transport "evil" beings from other worlds to Norsec and punish them by placing them in a paralyzed but conscious state-- Marvel Spotlight II#8
• The red stones from the Hyborian era, seven magic items of unknown origin that could heal wounds, stop the aging process and mutate their users into bigger, stronger versions of themselves but which would eventually be drained of their power unless human blood was fed to them--Savage Sword of Conan#174
• The Resurrection Stone, a power item created through both sorcery and technology millennia ago by the extraterrestrial techno-wizard Tus'au that could return the dead to life but which secretly possessed a malevolent sentience that corrupted those who wielded it and manipulated them to follow their most destructive urges--Avengers I#209
• The Solar Stone, a large gem that can absorb energy from the sun that the Mayan god Kukulcan can use to empower himself--X-Men I#26
• The Spirit Stone, a small skull-shaped piece of a meteorite (the same one that brought to Earth the glowing dust used to make the costume for He Who Rides the Night Winds) which amplified its bearer's strength--Ghost Rider I#6
• The Starstone, a meteorite composed of an unidentified metal from which Sir Percy of Scandia (at the direction of Merlin) forged the Ebony Blade--Black Knight I#1
• The Starstone, a mystical power object sent to Earth by the demon Kathulos, which the demon Dagon used to entrance and control the entire population of the town of Penmallow--Marvel Premiere#7
• The Stone which contained the Spirits of the Stone, vengeful spirits who killed anyone they could by draining them of their lives and feeding on them to grow stronger--Incredible Hulk II#268
• The Stone Clones, a group of smaller duplicates of itself that Spragg the Living Hill created by reshaping and animating some rocky material from one of Jupiter's rings--Sensational She-Hulk#39
• The stone figure on Fandor Island on Earth-7888 which confronted, enslaved and empowered magic-user Kathisul Evin who was not freed from it until she became the herald of Galactus known as Dark Angel--Cyberspace 3000#3
• The Stone Men, a group of alien travelers who centuries ago crashed on Earth on Easter Island where most of them slept in a mystical state of suspended animation until their captain managed to repair their starship and awaken them so they could leave Earth and return home--Tales of Suspense I#28/2
• The "Stone Men from Saturn," a name by which some members of the Kronan race were known on Earth (due to their having an outpost on Saturn) when their attempted invasion was thwarted by the Asgardian thunder god Thor--Journey Into Mystery I#83
• The Stone of Power, an alien meteorite which fell to Earth in a desert where it was found by a tribe of Bedouins who later gave it to Prester John whom it both empowered and maddened--Marvel Two-in-One I#12
• The Stone-Spirit, a name by which some prehistoric humans (like Vira) called the Monolith--2001: A Space Odyssey#2
• The Stone Starship, a starship belonging to the humanoid aliens known as the Shadow People that the Hulk claimed and used to transport the Warbound from the planet Sakaar to Earth--Incredible Hulk III#101
• The Stone that Talks, the name by which Egel from the distant past called the Monolith--2001: A Space Odyssey#3
• The Stones of Merlin, six enchanted jewels created by Merlin that could allegedly be used to make their owner invincible--Fantastic Four I#5
• The Stonian race, a silicon-based semi-humanoid alien species who resemble Earthly gargoyle statues and whose warlike faction's attempt to invade and conquer Earth was thwarted by Stonian rebels, Fin Fang Foom, and It, the Living Colossus--Strange Tales I#74
• The "Strange Stone," a glowing meteorite that emitted radiation which slowly caused inorganic matter exposed to its rays to disappear--Journey Into Mystery I#43/4
• or any other items or alien beings which have the words "Stone" in their names)

The Stones of Halkor also have no known connections to

• Halcon D'Oro (Spanish for "Hawk of Gold"), a Mexican wrestler who was scheduled to battle el Toro Rojo following his defeat of el Vampiro --Thor I#290
• Colonel Hal-Konn, a Pink Kree who was part of an attempt by several officers to kill Nenora that was thwarted when all three of the would-be assassins were killed by Ronan the Accuser--Silver Surfer III#13
• any living beings or groups with the words "Halko-" as part of their names or aliases.

Omicron Seti

   The planet where the Stones of Halkor were eventually found by Gunther and Nebula. Aside from that fact and its name, no detailed information about the planet, its history or its former inhabitants has ever been revealed. Its overall appearance is similar to that of the Saturnian moon Mimas.

   From space, the planet appeared to be entirely brown, without any blue or green to indicate water or plant life, suggesting that it was an almost-dead world. The presence of what looked like an enormous impact crater that was about one-fifth as wide as the planet itself suggests that it was either a massive impact or the planet was relatively small. Whatever the case, such a relatively-large impact could have devastated the environment and caused a planet-wide mass extinction. However, the fact that Gunthar, Nebula and Eros were apparently able to breathe in its atmosphere suggested that some sort of ecosystem was still active on the planet and producing oxygen. Or maybe the three alien visitors were just equipped with invisible spacesuits.

   There was (at least) one city on the planet, but it was long-abandoned and showed some signs of decay. The fact that the ruins hadn't been completely eroded away by the forces of nature or overgrown by plant life suggests that they were either constructed of very durable materials or had not been empty and abandoned for as long as Eros thought they had or both. Or maybe all the plant life and all the moisture in the atmosphere had been destroyed by the impact, resulting in a greatly reduced rate of erosion.

   As Eros flew through the city, he thought that the place was as old as anything in Eternal memory, suggesting that it was at least one million Earth-years old. Eros then speculated that it could, perhaps, be as old as the universe itself, which would have made it over thirteen billion years old. However, absolutely no proof of it being so old was presented, so Eros may have just been letting his imagination run a bit wild as he flew through this alien ghost town.

   During their time on the planet, none of the three alien visitors encountered any forms of life. No plants were visible, and no animals were seen scurrying through the ruins. Although the city itself was proof that intelligent life had once lived on the planet, the only clue as to what that lifeform might have looked like was a statue that Eros flew past without even noticing. These city-builders could have been native to the planet or they could have been aliens who had come to colonize it, but there's no evidence to support either of these possible origins.

   The most valuable items that could be found on "this rock" were the Stones of Halkor, six stone slabs that were about 1 foot wide and arranged in two rows of three columns on an inclined stone platform in a chamber that may have been slightly below ground. Although the faces of these stones were time-worn, the formula that had been carved into them was still fully legible. There didn't seem to be anything visible that would serve to direct anyone to look for the Stones in that location.

   Nothing about the rest of the planetary system of which Omicron Seti was a part was depicted, including the star that it orbited. If the planet was anywhere near as old as Eros suspected it was, then it could have been a rogue that had been ejected from the planetary system in which it had formed and was either wandering through space or had been captured into orbit around a different star. Alternately, the planet could have been orbiting a red dwarf, a small main sequence star with a lifespan of trillions of years.

--Avengers West Coast I#48

statue

   As Eros flew through the ruins of the abandoned city on Omicron Seti, he failed to notice a tall statue that was behind him on his left. Considering that it was in the background, this statue must have been quite tall. It may (or may not) have been life-sized.

Notes: I have included this image in its own subprofile because it is the only possible clue to what the inhabitants of this world may have looked like. My first impression of the face was that it looked somewhat like that of a chimpanzee, one that was either wearing a hood or had long hair falling down both sides of its head. Or the statue may have been of a creature from the mythology of the sculptor. Who knows?

   Also, I've had this comic since it was published over 30 years ago and it was only when I enlarged the image of that panel while doing this profile that I first noticed that statue.

--Avengers West Coast I#48

images: (without ads)
Avengers West Coast I#48, page 7, panel 4 (main image - Stones of Halkor)
Avengers I#311, page 12, panel 1 (tablet form)
Avengers West Coast I#48, page 7, panel 1 (planet Omicron Seti)
      page 7, panel 2 (dead city)
      page 7, panel 2 (close-up of statue)

Appearances:
Avengers West Coast I#48 (September, 1989) - John Byrne & Mike Machlan (writer - artists - inker), Howard Mackie (editor)
Avengers I#311 (December, 1989) - Paul Ryan & Tom Palmer (artists), John Byrne (writer), Howard Mackie (editor)
Avengers I#316 (April, 1990) - Paul Ryan & Tom Palmer (Artists Extraordinaire), John Byrne (Dramatist of Talent Rare), Howard Mackie (Editor Both True and Fair)

First Posted: 09/30/2021
Last updated: 09/27/2021

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

Non-Marvel Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™ and © 1941-2099 Marvel 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

Special Thanks to http://www.g-mart.com/ for hosting the Appendix, Master List, etc.!

Back to Items