TRANSPORT EGG TRANSPORT EGG
Classification: Extraterrestrial (Rigellian) technology located in the Blue Area of Earth's moon
Creator: Presumably a Rigellian scientist
serving Arcturus (or perhaps it was built/designed back on Rigel-3 and
Arcturus just gained access to it)
Purpose: Monitoring and transport for Arcturus' fleet and forces
First Appearance: (Possibly) Marvel-Team-Up I#55 (March, 1977; see comments);
(confirmed) Iron Man I#109 (April, 1978)
Powers/Abilities/Functions: The Rigellian Transport Egg was a silvery, ellipsoid (see comments) structure, perhaps 30 to 100' high, 60-200' long, and 30-100' wide, composed of an unidentified Rigellian compound, presumably some form of metal.
It apparently monitored events on Earth and sent that informaton to Arcturus in his fleet, which was eventually located in orbit around Wundagore II.
It detected approaching
spacecrafts and fired sonic blasts that could cause such ships
(including an Avengers Quinjet) to lose all power/control and to crash.
It apparently did not react
to nearby beings on the moon's surface.
Under certain circumstances, it
emitted a sub-sonic vibration/energy.
When Iron Man and Jack of Hearts approached it by air, the "Egg" opened a portal large enough for them both to pass, and when they entered the portal, it transported them to the Transport Chamber aboard Arcturus' command ship (see comments).
The Transport Egg also received
objects or beings from Arcturus' ship's transport chamber.
Prior to the
arrival of a transportee, the "Egg" glowed, and beings seemed to warp
directly through its surface rather than via a physical portal that was
opened.
History:
(Iron Man I#110 (fb) - BTS / Iron
Man I#111 (fb) - BTS) - Following the Rigellians' exodus from Rigel-3 due the threat of the Black Stars (Rhunians), which indeed destroyed Rigel-3, a group of Rigellians were seemingly/allegedly separated from the main fleet by a
cosmic storm. They were apparently uncertain whether the main fleet had
survived.
(Iron
Man I#111 (fb) - BTS) - In actuality, the power-hungry Arcturus had
deliberately
separated his group from the main fleet, as he felt that he had stood
too long in the shadow of the Grand Commissioner and now sought to
colonize and conquer under his own name and to build a galactic empire
under his rule. 
(Iron Man I#111 (fb) - BTS) - Although Earth had been declared off-limits to the Colonizers of Rigel, Arcturus' fleet set an egg-shaped observation/transport base in the inhabitable Blue Area of Earth's moon.
(Avengers I#69 - BTS; Iron Man I#110 (fb) - BTS) - Finding an abandoned ship of the time-traveling Kang the Conqueror (Nathaniel Richards), Arcturus' group claimed the Growing Man to serve as their emissary in their sector, planning to send him on a scouting mission.
(Iron Man I#109 (fb) - BTS / Iron Man I#110 (fb) - BTS) - Under unrevealed circumstances and for unrevealed reasons, the Growing Man was briefly stationed at the Rigellian observation/transport base in the Blue Area of the Moon before being relocated to Stark International.
(Fantastic Four I#175 - BTS/ Iron Man I#110 (fb) - BTS) - Finding Galactus' abandoned ship (after his seeming death following the consumption of the planet Poppup) circling Earth's sun, Arcturus fleet confiscated Galactus' Punisher robot and then transported it with them when they traveled in search of a new homeworld.
(Iron
Man I#111 (fb) - BTS) - The
Rigellians serving Arcturus believed them
selves to have found a new
home when one of their space probes discovered a world (unknown to them it was Wundagore II).
The Rigellian ship's arrival and radiations triggered the devolved New
Men on Wundagore II to re-evolve and fight for their world.
(Iron Man I#108 - BTS / Iron Man I#110 (fb) - BTS) - Stark International agents unwittingly activated the Growing Man before its programming was completed, and it sought a power source to help it locate Kang. Iron Man ultimately subdued the Growing Man.
(Iron Man I#109 - BTS) - After Jack of Hearts and S.H.I.E.L.D. scientists determined that the Growing Man had been on Earth's moon before its arrival at Stark International, Jack and Iron Man traveled to the Blue Area of the Moon via an Avengers Quinjet.
(Iron Man I#110 (fb) - BTS) - After Russian forces detected energy transmissions on the moon, Crimson Dynamo, Darkstar, and Vanguard were sent to investigate via a Russian ship.
The "egg" blasted the Russians'
ship with a sonic attack, causing it to crash nearby, although its
occupants were unharmed.
(Iron
Man I#109) - A sonic
attack from the "egg" caused the Avengers quinjet to crash as well.
Iron Man and Jack of Hearts were stunned, but survived and exited the
ship and encountered the Russians. After a brief conflict, they heard
the piercing sound that matched the beam that had struck them down, and
they followed it to the "egg." As Iron Man and Jack of Hearts reached
the egg first, a portal opened in its exterior near them. Hearing the
sonic scream coming from within and wishing to investigate whatever had
sent the Growing Man, they flew through the portal and were transported
away.
The portal closed behind them, and the Russians believed the Americans to have been disintegrated.
(Iron Man I#109 - BTS / Iron Man I#110 (fb) - BTS) - Iron Man and Jack of Hearts were transported to Arcturus' command ship, where they were subdued by the Punisher.
(Iron
Man I#110 - BTS) - Arcturus then appeared and introduced himself to terran
heroes, explaining how he had acquired both the Punisher and the
Growing Man.
(Iron
Man I#110) - Waiting outside of the "egg," the Russian heroes reported
their superior, an unidentified Russian general, who noted that he had
been informed of the American's involvement by Tony Stark (actually a
Tony Stark Life Model Decoy), and that they had allied with S.H.I.E.L.D. to deal with the threat of the alien egg, which they believed may be a danger to them all. A S.H.I.E.L.D.
mission was being prepared to join them, but it would take some time,
and so the General urged them to remain vigilant and to report any new
developments.
(Iron
Man I#110 - BTS) - Rigellian analysis showed that the terrans had
merely traced them to
their observation base via the Growing Man, who had been prematurely
activated. The Knights of Wundagore subsequently assaulted Arcturus'
fleet, freeing Iron Man and Jack of Hearts from their restraints.
(Iron
Man I#111 - BTS) - The Rigellians warred against the Knights of Wundagore.
(Iron
Man I#112 - BTS) - Arcturus considered that
he might use Earth to settle at least some of his enormous fleet and
use it as a power base from which to challenge the Grand Commissioner.
(Iron
Man I#112 - BTS) - When
Iron Man and Jack of Hearts confronted Arcturus, the Rigellian
commander -- protected by his force field -- considered that the
heavily armed re-evolved Knights, joined by the terran super-humans,
actually posed a threat to his fleet, and that he needed to create a
diversion.
Arcturus sent the Punisher robot under his control to attack Earth
via the transport chamber back to the observation/transport base ("egg") on Earth's
moon. Iron Man
pursued the Punisher while telling Jack to stay and assist the New
Men. 
(Iron
Man I#112) -
Crimson Dynamo, Darkstar, and Vanguard, having been observing/waiting
for an extended period of time, were suddenly alerted as the "egg"
began to glow, and they watched as the Punisher emerged and flew past
them, heading for Earth.
Crimson Dynamo suggested that Darkstar could
catch it with her Darkforce, but -- considering that it could be a
decoy meant to lure her away and that Earth had other heroes to deal
with that threat -- she resolved that she would stay there as ordered.
Almost immediately thereafter, the "egg" glowed
again, and Iron Man emerged and pursued the Punisher. Iron Man
signalled them to remain by the "egg" while he pursued the Punisher.
(Iron
Man I#112 - BTS) - Iron Man followed the Punisher to Earth and eventually subdued him.
(Iron Man I#112) - Realizing the battle was going against him, Arcturus offered to allow the New Men to keep Wundagore II if they helped the Colonizers take over Earth.
Rigellian Recorder#211 then arrived, having tracked Arcturus
via the transport egg's signal beam. The Recorder related that the
Rigellians had since found a new homeworld, and it stated that
Arcturus' deliberately breaking contact with the fleet, his attempting
to colonize without authority, and his threatening the restricted Earth
had all broken Rigellian law. The Recorder then noted that it had been
authorized to strip Arcturus of his rank and title.
Denouncing Arcturus as a traitor, the Rigellians then arrested him.
Declaring the war against the New Men to have been illegal to now be over, the Recorder then used the transport egg to return the Knights of Wundagore to Wundagore II.
(Iron Man I#112 - BTS) - The rest of Arcturus' fleet was subsequently reunited with the rest of the Rigellians on this new Rigel-3, while the Recorder vowed to destroy the transport egg after Iron Man, Jack of Hearts, and the Russian heroes returned to Earth in the spacecraft the Recorder provided.
Comments: Created by Bill Mantlo, certainly, and either first pictured by John Byrne and Dave Hunt or by Carmine Infantino and Bob Wiacek (see below).
It was repeatedly referred to as the "egg" or "alien egg" by people from Earth. Arcturus
referred to it only as "a monitor." Recorder#211, who has no choice but
to be factual, called it "your Transport Egg" (with "Transport Egg" in
bold). I think that's as official as we can get.
The Iron Man: Official Index to the Marvel Universe called it an "alien egg."
Crimson Dynamo's OHotMU profile called it an alien "egg."
Darkstar's OHotMU profile called it "a strange, ovoid object."
The Winter Guard OHotMU profile called it the "Transport Egg."
I was going to call it the Lunar
Observation/Transport Base, which is accurate and descriptive, but it
was never referred to that. I believe the "Transport Egg" is the most definitive term we have for it.
The Russian heroes in this story
soon became known as the Soviet Super-Soldiers (the stories were before
the break-up of the Soviet Union) in Incredible Hulk II#258, but they
did not have that name in this story.
Other than plot device, I have no
idea why the Transport Egg opened and then transported Iron Man and
Jack of Hearts to Arcturus' ship. Presumably it could only tranport
objects or beings to and receive object or beings from the transport chamber in Arcturus' ship,
but if it was blasting spaceships out of the air, it was obviously
meant to keep others away. I would think it would fired sonic blasts at
Iron Man and Jack of Hearts as well rather than just opening up and
then transporting them to Arcturus' ship.
But then, it wouldn't have been much of a story if
Iron Man never got involved with Arcturus' Rigellian fleet and the New
Men and Knights of the planet Wundagore II.
Still, it would have made more sense to me if Iron
Man and/or Jack of Hearts were prepared for and protected themselves
from the sonic blasts, analyzed the Transport Egg and then used their
energies to activate it, which transported them to Arcturus' ship.
The Rigellians were surprised by Iron Man and Jack
of Hearts' arrival, so it seems unlikely that someone on Arcturus' ship
activated the Transport Egg and directed it to transport them.
Given the Recorder's factual
nature, it would seem most likely that it did indeed destroy the
Transport Egg after everyone else had departed.
Damnit, Jim, I'm a veterinary surgeon, not a geometer!
By my
limited understanding, because the "Transport Egg" appears to be
symmetrical about three perpendicular axes with a uniform radius in two
planes and just a longer width, it is ellipsoid, like a uniformly flattened sphere, rather than ovoid, which is more like an egg, which typically has a larger diameter toward one end.
For example, a football is ellipsoid, as is planet
Earth (which is a slightly compressed sphere) while an egg is ovoid
(with oval and ovoid both being derived from the Latin ovum, meaning
egg).
I've always believed that
that Iron Man storyline was connected to a story published in Marvel Team-Up
I#55 a year earlier, one that was also written by Bill Mantlo and set in the
Blue Area of the Moon. Specifically, the last panel on the last page of "Spider,
Spider on the Moon!" does show "a gleaming silver egg" that is
lying unnoticed on the lunar surface, "waiting for the moment it will open
and -- ?" Readers of MTU never saw it again because Mr. Mantlo left the
series after issue #56 and none of his successors picked up that plot thread.Profile by Snood.
CLARIFICATIONS:
The "Transport Egg"/Rigellian Lunar Observation Base should be distinguished from:
 .The Transport Egg on Earth's moon sent ("beamed") objects and beings to this transporter in the command ship in Arcturus' fleet, and this transporter could also be used to send objects and beings from the command ship to Earth's moon via the Transport Egg. It is unrevealed whether the Transport Chamber could send to or receive from sites other than the Transport Egg. It is also unrevealed whether the Transport Egg and Transport Chamber functioned similarly to the Matter Transmitter (Structural Dissembler and Strucural Restorer) used by the Grand Commisisoner. . (Iron Man I#110) - Having been sent there by the Transport Egg, Iron Man and Jack of Hearts materialized within the transporter in the command ship. As it did so (without any advance warning), one of the Rigellians noted an alert as "unidentified life-forms inadvertently beamed aboard from star sector five." |
|
Iron Man
pursued the Punisher while telling Jack to stay and assist the New
Men. (Iron
Man I#112 - BTS) -
The Punisher emerged from the Transport Egg and flew toward Earth. Almost immediately thereafter, the Transport Egg glowed
again, and Iron Man emerged and pursued the Punisher. Rigellian Recorder#211 subsequently stripped Arcturus of his rank and title, and then used the Transport Egg to send the Knights of Wundagore and Rigellians back to the command ship by Wundagore II. The Recorder vowed to destroy the transport egg after Iron Man, Jack of Hearts, and the Russian heroes returned to Earth in the spacecraft the Recorder provided. --Iron Man I#110 (112 |
images: (without ads):
(POSSIBLY) Marvel-Team-Up I#55, last page, last panel
Iron Man I#109, pg. 8, panel 5 (Quinjet blasted);
pg. 11, panel 1 (main; crashed Russian and US ships by egg in Blue Area of the Moon);
pg. 18, panel 2 (portal in egg);
#110, pg. 2, panel 1 (Iron Man emerging on transport chamber on Arcturus' command ship);
pg. 8, panel 5 (Russian ship blasted);
#112, pg. 4, panel 5 (Punisher entering transport chamber);
pg. 5, panel 1 (Iron Man entering transport chamber);
panel 3 (Punisher emerging from Transport Egg);
panel 5 (Iron Man emerging);
pg. 6, panel 3 (Jack of Hearts and Rigellians emerging)
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
First posted: 11/18/2023
Last updated: 11/26/2023
Non-Marvel Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™ and
© 1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. If you
like this stuff, you should check out the real thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com
Special Thanks to www.g-mart.com for hosting the Appendix, Master List, etc.!
(Iron
Man I#112) - Arcturus sent the Punisher robot to attack Earth
via the transport chamber back to the Transport Egg on Earth's
moon. 