| SPEAR OF DESTINY | BIOGRAPHY |
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MAGICAL ARTIFACT DATA
Name: Spear of Destiny
Also known as: The Holy Lance, the Spear of Longinus
Homebase: Mobile
First Appearance: Weird War Tales #50 (January-February 1977)
OVERVIEW
The Spear of Destiny is a mystical object which imbues its owner with great power. It is said to have been the spear that a Roman soldier used to wound Jesus Christ in his side during the Crucifixion. During World War II, it was in the possession of Adolf Hitler, who used the spear to generate a force field that made all American superhumans powerless, should they venture into German territory. In modern times, the spear was looked after by the Sentinels of Magic.
HISTORY
First mentioned in the New Testament, John 19:34, the Spear of Destiny was the weapon with which a Roman soldier (known as Gaius Cassius or Longinus) pierced Jesus' side as he hung on the cross. Gaining mystical power from being bathed in the blood of Christ, the Spear came in possession of Saladin, Constantine I, Charlemagne, St George, and others through the years.
By 1940, it wound up in the hands of Adolf Hitler. Together with the Japanese Dragon King - who was in possession of the Holy Grail at the time - Hitler used the objects to create the "Sphere of Influence" on Axis territory, which made supernatural and superhuman beings particularly vulnerable to Hitler's influence. That's why most of the World War had to be fought by ordinary soldiers. At the end of the War, Hitler desperately attempted to use the Spear to cause Ragnarok, the End of the World.
Hitler lacked the power to trigger the spell, but in recent years, the spell almost got activated when the Spectre attempted to take the Spear from the evil Kobra. That forced the JSA to go to a mythic limbo for years, to avert Ragnarok from happening. The Spear has since been in possession of the American Government, Superman, and the rogue agency known as the National Interest.
Infected by Hitler's spell, the Spear now inevitably corrupted anyone using it, and it was finally thrown into space by the Spectre. A group of heroes retrieved the Spear during the Day of Judgment, to defeat the rogue angel Asmodel with it. Subsequently, the Sentinels of Magic were assigned with the mission to guard the Spear. They disposed of it into the sun, casting a spell to ensure that only they would be able to retrieve it.
In the far future, the Spear of Destiny will apparently lose its evil power. Avatar (II) of the 100th century Legion of Super-Heroes used it to send the time-lost XS back to her own time.
CHRONOLOGY
For a definitive list of appearances of Spear of Destiny in chronological order click here
PROFILE REFERENCES
JLA-Z #3 (January 2004)