Ultimate Nullifier



The Ultimate Nullifier is a cosmic artifact from the Marvel universe that has the power to destroy anything: its only limit is the imagination of the person that weilds it - due to its cataclysmic nature this device has been sought out by many villains and its use is often considered suicidal, meaning only the most fanatical and/or evil of beings would willing seek it out, though on occassions heroes have also utilized its awesome power to undo great disaster.

The Ultimate Nullifier is most often seen aboard Galactus' world-ship, known as Taa-II - even the godlike Galactus is fearful of this weapon: which he notes is one of the universe's most potent weapons ever designed.

History
In its first appearance, Reed Richards threatens the use of the Ultimate Nullifier as a last-ditch effort to stop Galactus from destroying Earth as Human Torch recovered it from the base of Galactus with the help of Uatu the Watcher. Faced with the prospect of dying by Richards' activation of the Nullifier, Galactus withdraws.

The Nullifier later appears in the Infinity War. Quasar tries to use it in an attempt to destroy the Magus, who had acquired the collective power of five Cosmic Cubes and a gauntlet containing 5 of the 6 Infinity Gems. The Reality Gem was replaced in this instance with a duplicate created by Thanos. Although Quasar tried to use the weapon on Magus, Quasar's attack gets redirected by the incomplete Infinity Gauntlet, temporarily nullifying Quasar in the process.

The Ultimate Nullifier is generally kept within Galactus' Worldship, Taa II, though at times Galactus has been known to carry it aboard his spherical starship. In the rare instances that the Nullifier gets stolen or kept in other locales, such as the Fantastic Four's headquarters, the Nullifier inevitably returns to Galactus' possession. In the Abraxas saga Galactus demonstrates his ability to recall the Nullifier to himself at will. In conjunction, he stated it to be "as much a part of me as my heart itself.".. In the 2006 edition of Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, Marvel Comics included a profile of the 'Ultimate Nullifier' which, using technobabble, described the device to be of "unknown origins" within the context of the fictional Marvel Universe.

Powers and Abilities
The Ultimate Nullifier has been described as "the universe's most devastating weapon". As such, the Ultimate Nullifier has the ability to completely eliminate any target the wielder chooses, along with the user if his or her mind is not focused enough. In the hands of a being with an extremely powerful mind the Ultimate Nullifier can destroy (or in conjunction recreate) entire time-lines from beginning to end.

Ultimate Marvel
During the Ultimate Extinction storyline in the Ultimate Marvel universe, Reed Richards created a massively up-sized, towering version of the very same portal device that he had previously designed on two other occasions to connect to the N-Zone. This weapon unleashed the tremendous energies of an alternate universe's Big Bang at Gah-Lak-Tus, destroying 20% of its mass and driving it off. This weapon is referred to as the Nevada Gun, and is activated by triggering a Big Bang in an infant universe, and channeling that energy into a giant beam of destruction.

JLA/Avengers
During the JLA/Avengers crossover (published between Sep 2003 - Mar 2004), the JLA and the Avengers go after twelve items of power, six from each universe. The Grandmaster approaches the League and tells them the Ultimate Nullifier is one of the great six items of power of the Marvel Universe, along with the Infinity Gems, the Casket of Ancient Winters, the Wand of Watoomb, the Evil Eye of Avalon and the Cosmic Cube. The first item the League collects is the Ultimate Nullifier. The Martian Manhunter examines it, but it threatens to overwhelm his mind, and he starts to lose control of his shape due to the immense power felt probing the Nullifier, stating the item alone could destroy an entire universe.

Earth X
In the Earth X trilogy, Universe X in particular, the Ultimate Nullifier is one of the cosmic objects Captain Marvel, resurrected as a child, gathers to create Paradise. Later, it is used against Death after Marvel's spiritual counterpart, Mar-Vell, reveals to Thanos how Death has manipulated him in the past and gives the Ultimate Nullifier to him. Thanos annihilates Death and removes her from power, paving the way for the new paradise. However, as an unforeseen consequence, it leaves those still living unable to die, forcing the remaining heroes on Earth to resurrect Jude the Entropic Man as a means for dying.

Marvel Adventures
In Marvel Adventures: The Avengers #26, Spider-Man theorizes that the Nullifier doesn't actually destroy things, or it would be called an "Ultimate Annihilator." He believes that it instead alters the laws of probability, changing the universe so that "everything has an equal likelihood of effecting everything else." The theory turns out to be right when Spider-Man activates the Nullifier in an attempt to stop Galactus.

TV appearance

 * In the 1994 Fantastic Four TV series episode "Silver Surfer and the Coming of Galactus", Uatu the Watcher takes the Human Torch to Galactus' world to obtain the Ultimate Nullifier in order to stop Galactus. This version of the Nullifier differs greatly in shape from the original, looking more like a two-handed gun.
 * It makes a cameo in The Ultimate Spider-Man (TV series) episode "Awesome".

Videogame appearance

 * In Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, Crystal mentions to the heroes that Medusa left for Earth to search for the Ultimate Nullifier to be used against the newly empowered Doctor Doom. It is mentioned that the Ultimate Nullifier was in the possession of the Fantastic Four, then S.H.I.E.L.D., then with Dr. Moira MacTaggert on Muir Island. Medusa ends up running into Doctor Doom and becomes corrupted, knowing someone would use the Ultimate Nullifier against him. One of the side missions involves finding the damaged Ultimate Nullifier in a laboratory at the supernaturally warping Castle Doom (it can also help in defeating Doctor Doom by using it alongside the M'Kraan Crystal and the Muonic Inducer). If the player successfully finds the damaged Ultimate Nullifier, Mr. Fantastic will repair it and use it one day to prevent Mephisto from invading Earth before all is lost. If the damaged Ultimate Nullifier isn't found, the team of heroes will be forced to band together once again to fight Mephisto with the resulting battle causing a tremendous amount of destruction.
 * In Marvel vs. Capcom 3, when confronting Galactus at the end of the game, he will sometimes boast that only the Ultimate Nullifier could give him pause.

Trivia

 * A Marvel superhero and leader of the Teen Brigade is named after the powerful device of the same name.