- "Wishes with a trick. The Monkey's Paw. Beware what you wish for. It grants your wish, but takes your most valued possession."
- ―Steve Trevor[src]
The Dreamstone is an otherwise worthless citrine stone that was created by the Olympian God of Treachery and Mischief, Dechalafrea Ero, with the power to grant any wish that is made in its presence, but only once per person. The wishes come at a cost, however, and the stone is linked to the collapse of several societies.[1]
History[]
Fall of Civilizations[]
Created by Dechalafrea Ero, the Dreamstone appeared in multiple societies throughout recorded history, notably before calamities. Its earliest known record placed it in the Indus Valley at about 1900 B.C. The area slowly dried up, causing its residents to vacate the valley. Romulus had the stone in his possession when he mysteriously disappeared from the world in a whirlwind in 716 B.C.[1] The stone then appeared in Carthage in 146 B.C. during the Third Punic War, just before the Roman Republic destroyed the city.
In the 4th year A.D. the stone popped up in Kush, and then in 476 A.D., Romulus Augustus was assassinated, the stone reportedly in his possession. The Mayan Empire came into possession of the Dreamstone and used it to make their wishes come to life. However, the Mayans refused to renounce their wishes. As a result, this led to the downfall and destruction of their civilization. The Dreamstone was thus left in the ruins of one of their cities near Dzibilchaltun. The Dreamstone was left buried within the Mayan ground for a time.[2]
The Cold War[]
- "On This Object Held, Cast but One Great Wish"
- ―Dreamstone ring inscription (outside)[src]
In July of 1984, during the Cold War, the Dreamstone made its way into the hands of Max Lord, who wished its powers into himself, destroying the stone as a result. He used this power to grant wishes, taking what he wanted from the wishers. This resulted in chaos and political instability which nearly caused a nuclear holocaust. However, Wonder Woman used the Lasso of Truth to talk through Lord to the world's citizens to convince them to renounce their wishes after giving an inspirational speech, which reversed the chaos caused by the Dreamstone and prevented a nuclear war.
After seeing what he had become and what it was doing to his son, Lord renounced his wish, presumably restoring the Dreamstone to its former glory, as would be the result based on the effects of other wishes being renounced.[2]
Capabilities[]
Imbued with the power of the God of Lies, the stone is able to grant any wish made in its presence - as long as the wisher hasn't already had a wish granted. The limits of the wish are unknown, but such wishes have been fulfilled as moving a person from one place to another instantaneously, reviving someone from the dead, granting the powers of the gods to a mortal, and erecting an enormous wall around ancestral lands. As a drawback however, all the wishes the stone grants come at a tremendous cost; either loss of strength, humanity and even someone else's life.[1] It is unknown if the cost is corresponding to the magnitude of the wish. In an early example, one individual wished for a cup of coffee, which was instantly granted. Given that it was a minute request to grant, this insignificant wish may have been done without imposing great burden on the wisher.
Any user could also wish to become the embodiment of the Dreamstone itself, but the immense power channeled within them would be too much for the user to handle and as a result would drain their lifeforce with every wish they granted. Those who wished to embody the stone would, as a result, gain its power to grant wishes and in exchange could take anything they desired from the wisher. The user's health would deteriorate with every granted wish, but could be counteracted by consuming the wisher's lifeforce.
Trivia[]
- In the comics, the Materioptikon, also known as the Dreamstone, was a powerful stone used by Dream of the Endless to focus the power of the Dreaming into reality, allowing the user to alter reality of a tremendous scale.
- Steve Trevor once compared the Dreamstone to the story of the Monkey's Paw; a short story that told of an object that granted wishes but at a tremendous cost.
- Wonder Woman 1984: The Junior Novel describes Romulus as having disappeared mysteriously with the stone, which is the legend of the first king of Rome (named Romulus), while in Wonder Woman 1984, Barbara Minerva refers to Romulus as the last king of Rome, who was Romulus Augustulus. It's possible this was a mistake, but since both men described were named Romulus, as it stands both the first and last kings of Rome were in possession of the stone at the times of their deaths.
- The FBI case number for the stolen artifacts is #:67761554RG, and the Dreamstone is object #:24 among the artifacts.
- There's a second inscription on the inside of the Dreamstone's ring, visible only when the stone disappears into Maxwell Lord. It's written in the language of the gods, which only Diana can read.
