Tesseract

The Tesseract, also called the Cosmic Cube, was a crystilline containment device created by the Skrull to house the Space Stone. 

It was eventually destroyed by Thanos, in order to retrieve the Stone.

History

Emperor Hagar

The first recorded holder of the Space Stone was the Skrull Emperor Hagar I, during the first century of the Kree-Skrull War. He had the Tesseract constructed to contain and channel its power. Having access to the near-limitless power of the Stone corrupted Hagar and he grew increasingly corrupt and meglomaniacal, eventually leading to the destruction of the First Skrull Empire.

After Hagar's defeat by rebel factions within the Empire, the Tesseract was thrown into a wormhole, to prevent it corrupting Hagar's successors.

The Grandmaster

The stone was found by the Grandmaster, who is believe to have used it to create Sakaar.

The Tesseract was won from the Grandmaster (called the Gambler, or the Player of Games, by the Asgardians) by the Dwarf Brokk, grandfather of King Eitri in a game of dice. Brokk sought out the Grandmaster as the Dwarves were beginning construction of the Ringworld of Nidavellir, and needed a way to transport materials from the surface of Old Nidavellir to the Ringworld. Using flattery and insinuation, he tricked the Grandmaster into wagering the Tesseract, and won the bet using loaded dice.

Asgardian Ownership

The Tesseract was kept by the Dwarves until they were brought into the Asgardian Empire. The Tesseract was offered as tribute to Odin All-Father by the young King of the Dwarves Eitri in celebration of the end of the Conquest of the Nine Realms, and was thereafter kept in the Royal Vault of Valaskjalf.

During the war against the Frost Giants, Odin took the Tesseract to Midguard, but it was lost in the battle. It was found by the Norsemen, who believed it to be a gift from the gods. It was eventually enshrined beneath a church in Tønsberg during the Christianisation of Norway.

World War II

During World War II, the Tesseract was found by Johann Schmidt during the invasion of Norway in 1942. Schmidt took the Tesseract back with him to HYDRA Headquarters in the Austrian Alps, where it was studied by Arnim Zola. Although unfamiliar with the concept of Infinity Stones and unaware of the Stone's full potential, Zola was able to harness the power of the cube to create advanced energy weapons with the potential to turn the tide of the war in favour of the Nazis.

Prisoners of war, including Bucky Barnes and the Howling Commandos, were used as slave labour to create these energy weapons, including the Valkyrie, a bomb of equivilent or possibly greater power than the nuclear weapons used at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. When the Headquarters were attacked by Steve Rogers, Schmidt risked his life to retrieve the Tesseract, which he believed would give him sufficient power to replace Hitler and win the war for the Nazis.

In February 1945, work on the Valkyrie was finally complete, and Schmidt repared to launch an attack on the United States. Captain Rogers managed to board the plane before it took off and damaged the plane's Tesseract-powered engines. Schmidt picked up the Tesseract, possibly intendng to use it as a weapon, however it activated, opening a portal which sucked Schmidt to Vormir, where he was forced to act as the guardian of the Soul Stone.

With Rogers focussed on preventing the plane reaching the USA, the Tesseract burned through the floor of the plane, falling into the Ocean below. It was eventually discovered and retrieved by Howard Stark, during one of his attempts to locate Captain Rogers.

Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S.

The Tesseract was given into the care of the recently formed S.H.I.E.L.D, where it formed the basis of Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S, a joint research opperation by S.H.I.E.L.D, NASA, and The US Airforce to find ways to harness the power of the Tesseract for humanity.

The Kree Super-Soldier Mar-Vell, in the guise of phycistic Dr Wendy Lawson, was eventually appointed to head up P.E.G.A.S.U.S. Aware of the Tesseract's true nature, she focussed on its uses in transportation, eventually using it to power the Lightspeed Engine.

After Mar-Vell's death, the Tesseract remained undiscovered in Lawson's starship for several years.

Discovery by Carol Danvers

When Carol Danvers returned to Earth, she discovered the Tesseract on Lawson's starship. For safekeeping, she gave it to Goose, a Flerken kept as a pet by Mar-Vell, who ate it.

When Danvers left Earth again, she left Goose in the care of then junior S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Nick Fury. Goose eventually vomitted up the Tesseract, and Fury returned it to S.H.I.E.L.D. safekeeping.

After he became Director of S.H.I.E.L.D, Fury restarted Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S. (now referred to as the Joint Dark Energy Mission), and recruited Erik Selvig to head up the project.

Loki's Invasion

Thanos, learning that the Tesseract was on Earth, sent Loki to Earth to retrieve it. Loki used the Mind Stone to subvert Selvig, who was able to construct a portal powered by the Tesseract whch allowed Thanos's Chitauri trooped to invade Earth.

After the invasion was stopped by the Avengers, the Tesseract was returned to Asgard, where Odin gave it into the care of Heimdall.

Infinity War

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Alternative Names
The Cube | Cosmic Cube

Item type

Power Storage / Generator

Destruction Date

2018

Manufacturer
Skrull Empire