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This article contains MAJOR SPOILERS for the most recent DC Extended Universe content. You have been warned. |
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- "My father called it the change engine. It was found by the British during World War I. They studied it...but they couldn't even date it. It's so old. It was shelved, until the night Superman died. My father recognized it as a perpetual energy matrix."
"Oh, that's cool. I thought it was like a nuclear bomb."
"A Mother Box destroys as it creates. It's a cycle of life, but a million times faster." - ―Cyborg and Flash[src]
A Mother Box, also called a Change Engine, is a perpetual energy matrix of Apokoliptian origin.[1] The three Mother Boxes present on Earth arrived alongside Steppenwolf during his attempted invasion thousands of years ago, but were subsequently left in the hands of the Atlanteans, Amazons and humans.[2]
During Steppenwolf's return to Earth, the Mother Boxes were used to revive Superman by the Justice League to fight off the Apokoliptian warlord and were successfully separated, preventing the Unity's energy from terraforming the Earth.
History
First Invasion of Earth
- "They don't contain power. They are power. Carried from planet to planet...The Mother Boxes combined to form the Unity. An apocalyptic power that not only destroys worlds...but transforms them into the primordial hellscape......of Steppenwolf's birth world."
- ―Diana to Bruce Wayne on the Mother Boxes[src]
The Mother Boxes being used to terraform the Earth
Thousands of years ago, Steppenwolf led an attack on Earth during his crusade as Darkseid's herald. Steppenwolf brought three Mother Boxes with him to use to terraform the Earth into a planet similar to Apokolips. However, Steppenwolf was defeated by the alliance of Mankind, the Amazons, and the Atlanteans, with assistance from the Olympians and an unidentified Green Lantern. The Mother Boxes were successfully separated by Zeus, left for the forces of Earth to guard. While the Amazons and the Atlanteans kept them guarded in vaults, mankind buried their Mother Box so that nobody could ever find it again.
Rediscovery
However, during World War I, the British rediscovered mankind's lost Mother Box. They conducted numerous studies but were unable to date it due to its age. The Box was then shelved in an archive, up until the night Superman died, where it was then sent to Doctor Silas Stone, who recognized it as a perpetual energy matrix. Silas' studies of the Box led him to theorize it as the key to unlimited energy, paving the way for advancements in scientific research such as cellular regeneration, but he ultimately concluded that it was too volatile a technology to use.[2]
Creation of Cyborg
Dr. Silas Stone activates a Mother Box to save his son.
In 2015, 33 years later, Silas Stone attempted to help his critically injured son, Victor Stone. However, nothing Silas attempted worked to stabilize his son's condition. As he created a video log describing his failed attempts, including attempts to use the Mother Box in the government's possession, the Box activated suddenly, pulsating with energy as it began to move towards Victor as though it were alive.
Upon reaching Victor, the box began repairing his body, fusing him with nearby technology as Victor screamed in agony. The video log abruptly ended with Silas hastily shutting it off.[3] Footage of his revival would later be obtained from S.T.A.R. Labs' database by Lex Luthor.
The Death of Superman
Steppenwolf's hologram appears to Lex Luthor
Following the death of Superman, a projection of Steppenwolf was seen surrounded by three Mother Boxes, standing before Lex Luthor as he was about to be arrested. Around the same time, one Mother Box activated, described by Victor Stone as being 'lit up like Christmas'.
Kryptonian Resurrection
The League use a Mother Box to resurrect Clark Kent.
- "Muscles. Coordination. Basic cellular integrity. A human being can only absorb so much.The Mother Box was designed to reshape a planet. But what if you were stronger than a planet? If your cells were lying dormant, but incapable of decay? A boost from the Mother Box-"
"Could bring him back to life." - ―Batman and the Flash[src]
During Steppenwolf's return to Earth, Batman concocted a plan to use a Mother Box's energy to resurrect the deceased Superman, based off of its ability to do so with Cyborg, as the newly formed Justice League needed him to help fight off Steppenwolf and his army.[2]
However, Wonder Woman and Aquaman were skeptical of this, but Bruce relented (privately forming a contingency plan should anything go wrong). They took the Mother Box to the Genesis Chamber in Scout Ship 0344, where they placed Clark’s body in the Chamber's pool. Unfortunately, the Chamber's circuitry was fried by Lex Luthor during his creation of Doomsday. Cyborg explained that they'd need a massive surge of energy to activate the Box and revive Superman successfully, and Flash decided to utilize his speed to create an electric charge to jumpstart the Box to work in tandem with the Chamber's pool. Barry then ran to a separate area of the ship, and Cyborg started a countdown, telling Barry he'd need to time his shock at the exact moment the Box touched the water.
The process was successful and Clark was resurrected, although the revival left him disoriented and resulted in him attacking the League.
Capabilities
- Biological Manipulation: Mother Boxes are able to manipulate life on a cellular level, including augmentations of biological functions, by utilizing a unique energy field. One such Box was able to resurrect the deceased Superman when combined with a Kryptonian Genesis Chamber in Scout Ship 0344 and a massive electrical charge from the Flash. A Mother Box was also able to stabilize the critical condition of Victor Stone, reviving him from near-death.[2]
- Biomechatronic Enhancement: While reviving Victor Stone, a Mother Box was able to generate mechatronic body parts in place of the ones he had lost, as seen on the metahuman archive files collected by Lex Luthor. This process is seen to be extremely painful, as it grafts organic and inorganic parts together, effectively creating a cyborg.[3]
- Cellular Regeneration: The Box's energy can heal and restore lifeforms. After Superman's resurrection, the large hole in his chest caused by Doomsday had completely healed.[2]
- Boom Tube Generation: Mother Boxes are able to open extra-dimensional point-to-point cylindrical portals for transportation used by the New Gods of Apokolips. This was used by Steppenwolf to arrive on Themyscira.
- Terraformation: The Mother Boxes' original purpose was to use their immense power to reshape a planet into another version of Apokolips. When three Mother Boxes are united, the combined energy would've terraformed Earth, had it not been for Zeus's intervention.
Gallery
Behind the scenes
- The U.S. government's Mother Box has a code name: "US GOV Object 6-19-82". The numbers can be interpreted as "June 1982", the month of publication of Cyborg's origin story in Tales of the New Teen Titans #1.