Mother Box. Mother Boxes are fictional devices in Jack Kirby's Fourth World setting in the DC Universe.

The Mother Boxes appeared in the feature films Justice League and Zack Snyder's Justice League of the DC Extended Universe.

History 

Created by Apokoliptian scientist Himon using the mysterious Element X, they are generally thought to be sentient, miniaturized, portable supercomputers, although their true nature and origins are unknown. They possess various powers, including teleportation, energy manipulation, and healing. Despite their name, Mother Boxes are not always box-shaped.

Additionally, the New Gods of Apokolips use equivalents of Mother Boxes called Father Boxes.

Interpretation
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. The Bluetooth headset may well be a Kirby creation". Similarly, Mike Cecchini of Den 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", and Christian Holub in Entertainment Weekly called it "basically a smartphone, as designed by gods". Mother Boxes have also been interpreted as a symbol of the "ideal mother" and an example of the role of motherhood in Jack Kirby's Fourth World stories.

In other media

Television
 Mother Boxes appear in series set in the DC Animated Universe (DCAU).
 Mother Boxes and Father Boxes appear in Young Justice.
 Mother Boxes appear in Justice League Action.
 A Mother Box appears in DC Super Hero Girls: Super Hero High.
 A Mother Box appears in the Harley Quinn episode "Inner (Para) Demons".

Film

DC Extended Universe

 In Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, a Mother Box appears briefly in footage that Batman obtained from Lex Luthor. The Box is the final component that transforms Victor Stone into Cyborg, thus saving his life in the process. Additionally, Steppenwolf and his Mother Boxes appear in a post-credits scene in the Ultimate Edition of the film.
 In Justice League, Steppenwolf is in search of three Mother Boxes hidden away on Earth. Two are located in Themyscira and Atlantis, while the third is the one that had been seen in Batman v Superman and was used to activate Cyborg. Previously, Steppenwolf had used the Boxes in his original invasion of Earth, intending to use them to terraform the planet before being driven off by the combined force of the Olympian Gods, Atlanteans, Amazons, humans, and Yalan Gur of the Green Lantern Corps. After the war, the boxes were left on Earth, and the Amazons, 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, while Silas Stone begins researching the third box with his son to explore the extent of its powers.
 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 of Batman 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 with Aquaman and Mera. 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, the Flash 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 using "the old ways", through military conquest.
 In the Blu-Ray release of Wonder Woman, the epilogue Etta'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, and Steve Trevor retrieving one of the three Mother Boxes.

Animation
 Two Mother Boxes appear in Superman/Batman: Apocalypse.
 Numerous Mother Boxes appear in Justice League: War, being used to transport Parademons to Earth. When the Mother Boxes were activated, one of them was in Victor Stone's possession and badly wounded him, leading to his transformation into Cyborg. His newfound cybernetics gave him an intimate link to machinery that allowed him to communicate with Mother Boxes. Ultimately, he uses several Boom Tubes to repel the Apokoliptian invasion forces.
 In Reign of the Supermen, Lex Luthor uses the Mother Box to free the Justice League, who were imprisoned in another dimension, and help Steel and Superboy defeat the drones.

Video games
 A Mother Box is central in the plot of Justice League Heroes as it is coveted by Brainiac and used as a way to transform Earth into a "New Apokolips" by Darkseid.
 In Injustice 2, Mother Boxes serve as the game's loot box rewards system, offering differing rewards depending on the rarity. Additionally, Cyborg utilizes them in gameplay to create drones that can target the opponent from multiple directions.
 In Lego DC Super-Villains, a Mother Box is stolen from Wayne Tech and owned by Harley Quinn, who names it "Boxy". It is also revealed that the Mother Box contains a fragment of the Anti-Life Equation, which is then absorbed by the Rookie.

References

Fictional computers
Fictional elements introduced in 1971
Fourth World (comics)