Arcanna

Arcanna is the name of two different fictional comic book characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first character debuted as a member of the team of superheroes called the Squadron Supreme in The Defenders #112 (October 1982). The other first appeared in Supreme Power #18 (April 2005), later joining a team of super heroes also called the Squadron Supreme. Both characters are not from the main reality where stories are set in the Marvel Universe, but are from two separate alternate universes.^{(See Sidebar)}

Fictional character biographies

Squadron Supreme (Earth-712)

The origin of Arcanna's magical abilities is still unknown. Arcanna originally worked as a medium before becoming a professional crime fighter who captured criminals for profit. Phillip Jones was her husband who stayed home to raise their children Drusilla, Katrina and Andrew. She later accepted an offer of membership into the Squadron Supreme, making her the fifth recruit.

Midway through the Squadron Supreme^[1] maxi-series, Arcanna discovered she was pregnant. Fearing that the other members of the Squadron would curtail her duties as they had during her previous pregnancies, she kept her condition a secret. She and her family moved into Squadron City, the Squadron's new headquarters. She went into labor during the climactic battle with Nighthawk's Redeemers. At the end of the series she gave birth to her son, Benjamin Thomas Jones.

In Squadron Supreme: Death of a Universe^[2], Arcanna switched places with Moonglow in order to go on a mission against the Nth Man in which she had been forbidden to participate. Her infant son Benjamin's latent powers emerge and he saves the surviving members by switching places with the Nth Man. The team is banished to the mainstream Marvel Universe following these events, and it was as Moonglow that she encountered Quasar and the Avengers.

In Squadron Supreme: New World Order^[3], Arcanna returns home to her family and informs them of Benjamin's sacrifice. The Nth Man, now known as Mysterium, informed her that the powers of magick had changed during her absence, and she was but a beginner in the Eldritch Arts again. Using her magicks without retraining would do her colleagues more harm than good, and so the Squadron Supreme was going down a road without her. She retired from adventuring to be with her family.

Squadron Supreme (Earth-31916)

Arcanna Jones is introduced as a scientist and author of Quantum Physics: The New Reality. She has the ability to perceive and influence parallel quantum dimensions. She is what physicists described as "the ultimate observer", and can see all the quantum possibilities and choose which will become reality. To explain this, Arcanna evokes the Schrödinger's cat paradox, which asserts if a cat in a box has a 50% chance of being killed, it is neither alive nor dead (or both alive and dead) until the box is opened and the cat is observed. She had come to General Richard Alexander in hopes of finding the source of her power in order to eliminate it. Arcanna, Dr. Emil Burbank, Raleigh Lund and Al Gaines are ordered to apprehend or destroy Hyperion. During the ensuing fight, Hyperion's eye-beams, Nuke's radiation blast, and Arcanna's own quantum alterations create a brief and unexplainable skip in reality. All five initially thought they were in an alternate reality, but it was revealed to be their own reality two years in the future.^[4]

She was originally meant to be on a covert operations team, but that changed after Hyperion informed reporter Jason Scott of the project and gave him a list of the super-humans working for the government. She now works for Squadron Supreme. Arcanna now wears a costume that is an update of the old Squadron Supreme version.^[5]

Powers and abilities

The original Arcanna has powers similar to those of Zatanna. She can cast a variety of spells, particularly illusions and spells to manipulate natural substances.

Arcanna has the ability to manipulate magical forces in order to control natural substances and forces, particularly wind, wood, and water. She can cast illusions and project magical bolts of force. She is capable of flight through her own powers, by conjuring winds to support her own weight. She also possesses mystical senses. Her magic is only effective on natural substances, except for her mystic force bolts. She possesses expertise in magic. She is a fair hand-to-hand combatant, having received coaching from Nighthawk and Power Princess.

The second Arcanna has powers similar to those of the Scarlet Witch, and can manipulate reality by causing quantum-level changes which manifest various effects at a macroscopic scale. As demonstrated, she can literally alter the existing reality by merging it and/or shifting in another parallel reality. The full extent of this ability is unknown, although she has been shown to "create" a small mountain by shifting it from another reality into her native dimension.

References

1. ↑ 1985-1986
2. ↑ (1989)
3. ↑ (1998)
4. ↑ Supreme Power:Hyperion #1 - 5 (2005 - 2006)
5. ↑ Squadron Supreme Vol. 2 #1-6: Pre-war Years

External links

• http://www.bright.net/~jackbohn/sq_suprm/arcanna.htm
• Marvel Directory entry