Origin[]

The origins of the mystical crystal called the Siege Perilous have become shrouded in the mists of time and the vast expanse of the multiverse. Eventually, it came into the possession of Merlyn, only to pass down to his daughter, Roma, within the realm of Otherworld. Safeguarded as a prized addition to their mystical repository, it joined a pantheon of artifacts gathered from diverse corners of the multiverse.^[2]

Merlin's Funeral[]

After the passing of Merlin, the Captain Britain Corps convened for his solemn farewell, overseen by his daughter, Roma. In a poignant ritual, Merlin's body was brought to the Siege Perilous, a gateway to traverse the Multiverse, where he would undergo a transformative journey of rebirth.^[1]

Gift to the X-Men[]

Originally given to the X-Men by Roma for defeating the Adversary, the intent was to allow the X-Men to start over with new lives if they became overwhelmed by being heroes.^[5] The X-Men had forced the Reavers through the portal after defeating them and taking their Australian Outback base for their own.^[6] Dazzler toyed with the Siege Perilous, and it showed her visions of alternate futures for her, all of which ended in premature death.^[7]

Birth of Bastion[]

The first X-Man to actually use the Siege Perilous did so unintentionally. After Master Mold emerged in New York City, the X-Men deployed the Siege Perilous when it became apparent there was no way to destroy the Master Mold brain chip, and it could reconstruct itself rapidly with the readily available metal in Manhattan. While trying to push Master Mold through the portal, Rogue got grappled by the sentinel, who only went through the portal after Nimrod (with whom Master Mold had merged) convinced it that it was now a mutant and needed to fulfill its prime directive - causing a blast which sent Rogue, Nimrod and Master Mold through the portal.^[8] Bastion emerged as fusion of Nimrod and Master Mold. Through the mystical energy of the Siege Perilous, he was reborn in a human looking body, a peculiar cybernetic-hybrid with no memory of his past.^[8][9]

Psylocke[]

Psylocke, Colossus, Dazzler, and Havok later all used the Siege Perilous after saving Polaris from Zaladane. Leaving one of the High Evolutionary's towers in the Antarctic, Psylocke tried to warn the X-Men that to return to the Outback was certain death, when Gateway teleported them back without warning. Psylocke telepathically 'persuaded' the other X-Men to step through the portal rather than face certain death (although none of the X-Men had any hint that the Reavers were back and waiting for them). Wolverine's fever dream where he 'saw' the X-Men forced through the portal by Psylocke. Subsequently, when Wolverine woke from his dream to be tortured by Donald Pierce and his Reavers, Pierce smashed the item to dust in his cybernetic hand.^[10]

Rogue's new life was in the Savage Land where she teamed up with Magneto against Zaladane.^[11] Psylocke emerged in Asia where the Hand found her and switched her body with Kwannon.^[12] Colossus became become an artist, and ultimately a pawn of the Shadow King before Professor X restored his memories. Dazzler became a movie star. Havok became a Genoshan Magistrate.^[13]

Skrull Invasion[]

During the Secret Invasion, the Skrulls launched a calculated assault on Britain's mystical sites, aiming to sever the island's connections to the Otherworld. Among their targets was Cheviot Hills, where Captain Britain originally acquired his powers. The hill harbored a crucial portal to the Siege Perilous, and its destruction would sever a vital link. Despite Captain Britain's valiant intervention to thwart the Skrull fleet, he arrived too late. As the Skrulls blasted the portal, Captain Britain was engulfed in flames, leading to his presumed demise.^[14]

Siege Courageous[]

During the Pax Utopia, the Phoenix Five used a device called the Siege Courageous to teleport around the world.^[15][16]

Hellfire Academy's Siege[]

It was found by a man who would become the Philistine with one of his university colleagues, but killed him to keep the Siege for himself.^[4] Transformed and defining himself as its agent, he became an associate of Kade Kilgore's Hellfire Academy, looking for the one worthy of its power.^[17] There, it was used to enhance students who're put in detention, in order to make them more menacing. Snot was submitted to the Siege after failing his class exam,^[17] as well as Quentin Quire but the latter was rejected by it. As the X-Men made an assault on the Academy to rescue some of their students. Kade in a desperate attempt to maintain control of the situation, ordered the Philistine to drag everyone into the Siege Perilous or to have them all slaughtered.^[4] Much to everyone's surprise however, initially believed that Kade Killgore was the one whom the Siege Perilous sought to be its handler. It was actually Wilhelmina Kensington instead, who took her leave of the Academy and ordered her new ward to detonate the island with it before exiting.^[18]

Knights of X[]

As Merlin and King Arthur took dominion over Otherworld, Excalibur's former leader Captain Britain resisted their rule. Seeking asylum and enforcers with Lady Roma Regina in her Floating Kingdom, Captain Britain was gifted with a quest. To accomplish it, she would need to recruit ten knights, being able to travel to Krakoa through the Voltus Glade to form her team. Assembling a team known as the Knights of X along with the recently resurrected Mordred. As the Knights of X, the ten champions learned that they should search for the Siege Perilous.^[19]

Powers[]

• Creating a portal which grants any person who walks through it a new chance at life, with a new career, home, and so forth. Sometimes people walking through it forget their old life, sometimes they remembered.
• The secondary effect of causing unpredictable transformations in those who traverse its corridors. Some combining into fusion entities, others becoming guardians to it or simply gaining an augmented self.
• List of characters went through the Siege Perilous.

It is revealed the Siege possesses a semi-sentient consciousness of its own, being able to reach out and touch the minds of those it deems worthy of its power and guidance towards the artifacts own ends. Somehow, Quentin Quire was rejected by the Siege's powers.^[4]