Superman uses a Mother Box to get to Apokolips inSuperman/Doomsday Hunter/Prey #1.
Created byApokoliptian scientistHimon using the mysterious Element X, Mother Boxes are generally thought to be sentient, miniaturized, portablesupercomputers, although their true nature and origins are unknown.[1] They possess a variety of abilities not understood even by their users, the gods ofNew Genesis. These range from teleportation to energy manipulation, and Mother Boxes have even been seen healing the injured, includingDarkseid himself, after he was beaten byDoomsday. The Boxes provide their owner with unconditional love and self-destruct when their owner dies.
Mother Boxes are most often in the shape of a small box, but they can also be much larger (as is the one carried by theForever People), and do not always need to be in the shape of a box at all (Mister Miracle had Mother Box circuitry woven into the hood of his costume). They usually communicate with a repetitive "ping!" which can be understood by their users.
Mother Boxes can only be manufactured by a being born either on New Genesis or Apokolips, and not all of them can do it (at least one on Apokolips failed). This is accomplished through much training. It is implied in the books that the maker's character influences the successful construction of a Mother Box.
The Father Box is an Apokoliptian version of a Mother Box, which first appeared in theOrion series byWalt Simonson in 2000. Darkseid's former aideMortalla presents Orion with an Apokoliptian Father Box. InGrant Morrison'sSeven Soldiers: Mister Miracle storyline, a Father Box is mentioned as one of the "Seven Treasures" the New Gods left toAurakles. Eventually, it was stolen byKlarion the Witch Boy, who took it to the future.Doctor Impossible andTeen Titans member Power Boy have also been shown to use Father Boxes.
In a 2008 article,John Hodgman observed: "Mister Miracle, a warrior of Apokolips who flees to Earth to become a 'super escape artist', keeps a 'Mother Box' up his sleeve — a small, living computer that can enable its user to do almost anything, so long as it is sufficiently loved. In Kirby's world, all machines are totems: weapons and strange vehicles fuse technology and magic, and the Mother Box in particular uncannily anticipates the gadget fetishism that infects our lives today. TheBluetooth headset may well be a Kirby creation".[2] Similarly, Mike Cecchini ofDen of Geek described the Mother Box as "an alien smartphone that can do anything from heal the injured to teleport you across time and space",[3] and Christian Holub inEntertainment Weekly called it "basically a smartphone, as designed by gods".[4] Mother Boxes have also been interpreted as a symbol of the "ideal mother" and an example of the role of motherhood in Kirby's Fourth World stories.[5]
Mother Boxes and Father Boxes appear inYoung Justice.[6][7][8]Halo is depicted as the spirit of a dismantled Mother Box inhabiting the body of Gabrielle Daou, a refugee who was killed bymetahuman traffickers. Additionally,Victor Stone is depicted as having been transformed into a cyborg via a Father Box to save his life. However, the Father Box's influence threatens to overwhelm Victor until he is taken to Metron's Mobius Chair to purge him.
InBatman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, a Mother Box appears briefly in footage thatBatman obtained fromLex Luthor. The Box is the final component that transforms Victor Stone intoCyborg, saving his life. Additionally,Steppenwolf and his Mother Boxes appear in a post-credits scene in the Ultimate Edition of the film.[10][11]
InJustice League (2017), Steppenwolf is in search of three Mother Boxes hidden away on Earth. Two are located inThemyscira andAtlantis, while the third is the one that had been seen inBatman v Superman.[12] Previously, Steppenwolf had used the Boxes in his original invasion of Earth, intending to use them to terraform the planet before being driven off. After the war, the boxes were left on Earth, and theAmazons,Atlanteans, and humans each took custody of one of them. When all three boxes awaken after years of dormancy, Steppenwolf returns seeking to use them to finish what he had started. Eventually, after the Justice League defeat Steppenwolf, the first two boxes are each returned to their respective custodies, whileSilas Stone begins researching the third box with his son.[13][14][15]
Zack Snyder's Justice League depicts the Mother Boxes generally the same as in the theatrical version. After a failed invasion of Earth by Darkseid thousands of years ago, the Mother Boxes are separated and hidden away as in the theatrical release. The Amazonian Mother Box "awakens" upon Superman's death at the end ofBatman v Superman, and alerts Steppenwolf to its location. He escapes with it after a short battle with the Amazonians and proceeds to search for the other two by capturing and interrogating Atlanteans and S.T.A.R. Labs scientists. Steppenwolf seizes the Atlantean Mother Box after a fight withAquaman andMera. The protagonists resurrect Superman with the third Mother Box, and Steppenwolf is able to claim it after an amnesiac Superman attacks the other superheroes. The superheroes locate Steppenwolf's fortress in Russia thanks to Silas Stone's self-sacrifice which allows them to detect the third Mother Box's location. They launch an attack on the fortress so Cyborg can interface with the Boxes and prevent the Unity. After they fail and Earth is destroyed, theFlash travels back in time to enable Cyborg to successfully deactivate the Boxes, preventing the Unity and defeating Steppenwolf, who is subsequently killed through the combined efforts of Aquaman, Superman, and Wonder Woman. In the aftermath,DeSaad informs Darkseid that the Mother Boxes are now destroyed, forcing Darkseid to conquer Earth through military conquest.
In theBlu-ray release ofWonder Woman, the epilogueEtta's Mission is included as an additional detailing of the events that transpired after the events of the film's story.Etta Candy's titular mission involves her,Diana Prince, andSteve Trevor retrieving one of the three Mother Boxes.
A Mother Box appears inJustice League Heroes. It is coveted byBrainiac and used as a way to transform Earth into a "New Apokolips" by Darkseid.
InInjustice 2, Mother Boxes serve as the game'sloot box rewards system, offering differing rewards depending on the rarity. Additionally, Cyborg utilizes Mother Boxes in gameplay to create drones that can target the opponent from multiple directions.[16]
^O'Brien, Annamarie. "'How Can I Refuse You, Mother Box?!' Abjection and Objectification of Motherhood in Jack Kirby's Fourth World".ImageText 7, no. 4. (2014)
^Dar, Taimur (July 24, 2019)."SDCC '19: Greg Weisman & Brandon Vietti wage social media war in Young Justice: Outsiders".ComicsBeat. RetrievedMarch 1, 2025.The whole idea of a spirit of a Mother Box sort of revivifying a dead body is an incredible science fiction idea. We really started to break down as we were writing what is a Mother Box, what is a Father Box and how does this work when a spirit from a Mother Box comes out goes into a dead body, comes alive and is now informed by biology and hormones that the technology of the Mother Box never supplied it before. It's gotta create a lot of confusion and identity.
^Weekes, Princess (August 29, 2019)."Young Justice EPs Say DC Universe Allowed for Bi Aquaman".The Mary Sue. RetrievedMarch 1, 2025.On the show, we have the gender-fluid character of Halo, a gifted individual created as a result of the fusion of a Quraci girl and the spirit of a Motherbox. Halo then chooses the name Violet Harper for themselves.
^Matadeen, Renaldo (July 31, 2019)."Young Justice: Outsiders Just Gave a Key Member A New God Upgrade".Comic Book Resources. RetrievedMarch 1, 2025.Previous episodes depicted Vic losing control due to Father Box's corruption, only for Halo to help heal him, as she's the soul of a Mother Box. But it's only a stopgap measure, leaving Vic even more frustrated than before...The heroes place Vic in the seat, then instruct it, using Dreamer's Mother Box translator, to cure Cyborg.
^Lax, Marc (August 27, 2017)."Justice League Action Episode Review – S01E33 "Best Day Ever"".Superman Homepage. Archived fromthe original on August 9, 2020. RetrievedMarch 1, 2025.While Flash is doing his nightly check at the maximum security prison, Joker pops in with a Mother Box and kidnaps Lex to have the best day ever!
