PANDORA
Real Name: Pandora
Identity/Class: Magic being
Occupation: Would-be world conqueror
Affiliations: The Thing in The Box
Enemies: Dan Harper; George Ashton
Known Relatives: Zeus ("father")
Aliases: "All-Gifted"
Base of Operations: An unnamed tropical island; later Shadow Mountain
First Appearance: Journey Into Mystery I#74/1 (November, 1961)
Powers/Abilities: Pandora has an incredibly long lifespan, although she is not entirely immortal. She does age, but at a rate much slower than a normal human. She also has the power to take on a form familiar to those near her through a form of hypnotization, and always takes on a form much younger than she really is. Pandora also has mind-control over the creature(s) that reside in her box.
History:
According to myth, Pandora was an artificially-created woman (the "first"
woman, in fact), when Zeus became enraged that Prometheus gave humans the power
of fire. He had all of the gods imbue Pandora with their traits (beauty, weaving
skills, etc.), and then gave her a box which he instructed her to never open.
Curiosity got the best of her, and when she opened it, a multitude of plagues
emerged to attack mankind. She closed the box too late, and only one thing
remained in the box, Hope.
(Journey Into Mystery I#74 (fb))- Zeus
gave Pandora a sealed box and instructed her to never open it. She disobeyed and
released a legion of monsters upon the world.
(Uncanny Tales I#54 - BTS) - Pandora's box was obtained by a "Mr. Dora" who collected all of the negative characteristics and thoughts of the town Midville and placed them in the box, turning the town into a virtual utopia. When crook Mort Lowman opened the box, the evils were released again, and Mr. Dora set out to find a new town.
(Journey Into Mystery I#74 (BTS))- Pandora was imprisoned on a small tropical island
(Journey Into Mystery I#74)- When the cruise ship he was vacationing on sank, Dan Harper narrowly escaped and wound up on an uncharted tropical island, where he encountered a young woman who pleaded with him to open a large box of hers, promising jewels and clothes inside. When Harper did so, a creature climbed out, and the girl revealed herself to be the legendary Pandora. The Thing in the Box then grew to massive size, and Pandora sent it out to attack the world, which it conquered quite easily. Dan pleaded with Pandora to let him go back to humanity, so he could live with his kind. Once there, Harper alerted the authorities of a potential weakness of Pandora’s. While she was resting, Australian authorities helped Harper return to the island, where he set up a set of mirrors around the sleeping woman. She awakened to see her true reflection in the mirrors, that of a very old woman. Pandora, fearful of the mirrors that showed her the true age of her body, agreed to command the Thing back into its box. Thereafter, the box was buried and Pandora was left on her island where she could think of herself as young.
BTS- Pandora somehow managed to relocate to Shadow Mountain, in the United States.
(Chamber of Darkness#3/3)- While backpacking on Shadow Mountain, George Ashton encountered a young woman who resembled a woman he once knew (but who had died under unexplained reasons). The woman asked him to open her box, and when he obliged, a rotting corpse-like Thing crawled out of it, and began to turn everything it touched into rotting material. The woman revealed herself to be Pandora, and the quick-thinking Ashton pulled out the shiny frying pans he’d brought with him, revealing Pandora’s true self to her. She agreed to put the Thing back in the box if he would put the pans away. Having halted her plot, Ashton left Shadow Mountain, content that Pandora would never be found by others. However, he soon discovered a construction crew headed in that direction, ready to start building a new suburban community on Shadow Mountain.
Comments: Adapted by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.
George Ashton wondered how Pandora managed to get to the States, and it’s never revealed. One can only assume she used her powers to transport herself to an area where she was more likely to be found again. Also, given her change in appearance between the two stories, and Ashton’s remarking of her resemblance to his lost love, one can guess then that she can take on a form that her potential "helper" will find attractive.
Obviously, these stories are not connected directly to Earth-616 continuity, but nothing outright precludes them from such, either. Pandora’s Box later turned up in the hands of
The Sorcerer, but how he got it is unknown. I’m hazarding a theory that it was taken from her when she was found on Shadow Mountain.by Madison Carter
CLARIFICATIONS: THE THING IN THE BOX Another appeared to George Ashton as a rotting corpse, and rotted all that it touched. It could only be returned to the box at Pandora's command. --Journey Into Mystery I#74, Chamber of Darkness#3 DAN HARPER GEORGE ASHTON was a backpacker and camper who discovered Pandora on Shadow Mountain and was tricked into releasing one of her creatures. He was able to defeat her by forcing her to gaze upon her true appearance in the shiny surface of one of his pots. --Chamber of Darkness#3/3- images: (without ads) Other appearances: Last updated:
04/02/07
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel Copyright info
Pandora should not be confused with:
Chamber of Darkness#3 (February, 1970)
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