Miracle Machine

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Miracle Machine is a fictitious device in the DC Comics universe. The machine first appeared in Adventure Comics #367, April 1968.

It was created by the Controllers at some point no later than the 20th century, and given as a gift to the Legion of Super-Heroes in the 30th century for their work in defeating a renegade Controller. It has the power to convert thoughts into reality.

The Miracle Machine has only been seen in the timeline(s) prior to the events of Zero Hour, both before and after the Crisis on Infinite Earths. It did not appear in the post-Zero Hour reboot version, nor has it appeared to date in the current reboot version.

[edit] Known uses

In Adventure Comics #367 (April 1968), Brainiac 5 first discovers its function and uses it to repel an invasion of Earth by the Dark Circle and create a new headquarters for the Legion. He cautioned against further use, as a stray thought could cause catastrophe. The Legion lock it inside an Inertron block, vowing only to use it for the direst of emergencies.

In Superboy #213 (December 1975), a thief vows to steal the machine, brazenly informing the Legion that he would do so prior to the attempt. Such was his skill that the Legion prove unable to capture him. Facing the possibility of the Machine being stolen, they instead use it to capture the thief.

In Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes #250-251 (April-May 1979), it was used by an insane Brainiac 5 in a scheme to destroy the universe. As he can't imagine so grandiose a death, he uses the Machine to create a being which could, Omega. In order to stop his creation, he has Matter-Eater Lad consume the Machine, which drives M-E Lad insane for a number of years.

In DC Comics Presents #50 (October 1982), the first fictional chronological appearance of the Miracle Machine, Superman inadvertently used it to create a duplicate of himself as Clark Kent.

In Legion of Super-Heroes (v4) #49 (early November 1993), after Matter-Eater Lad was cured, it is speculated that he still contains residue from the Machine. This might explain why he is always coming out of situations without much trouble from that point on, including his later career as a Senator. This leads Prince Evillo to kidnap him to try and force him to use this power to create a monstrosity based on the most fearsome thing Matter-Eater Lad could imagine. This he does, after a fashion, though not quite what Evillo had hoped for - his "monstrosity" was based on a really bad date he once had.