- "My family heirloom is a magic staff-slash-wand."
- ―Nico Minoru[src]
The Staff of One is a tool of nanotechnology developed by Tina Minoru.
History
Creation
The Staff of One was created in the Wizard laboratory with a technology described as "very special" and "unparalleled".[1]
PRIDE's First Ritual
- "At least Tina gets a wand."
"Oh, she loves that thing. She's been sleeping with it." - ―Gene Hernandez and Robert Minoru[src]
Tina Minoru brought the Staff of One to PRIDE's first ritual and sacrifice, much to her husband, Robert, and fellow members' mockery.[1]
Nico's Discovery
- "I think it's magic."
"I mean, with all due respect to your Wiccan beliefs, there's gotta be a scientific explanation." - ―Nico Minoru and Alex Wilder[src]
The Staff of One was found by Nico Minoru while exploring her mother's office. She briefly reminisced about her older sister Amy, accidentally making it snow. She had Alex Wilder come over to the Minoru household to stop the snow, hiding the fact from Tina in the process.[2]
Rescue of Alex Wilder
- "Show us the way to Alex."
"So much for the magical Wiccan proclamations."
"What is that thing?" - ―Nico Minoru, Gert Yorkes, and Karolina Dean[src]
To be added
Nico's Training
- "An electrical current just traveled from your neural pathways into the staff and made that happen."
"You can explain it anyway you want, but it needed my blood and read my mind. It’s just like Wicca."
"It is science, Nico."
"If by science you mean high-tech magic, then sure." - ―Tina Minoru and Nico Minoru[src]
Later, Nico tried to return the Staff, but was caught by Tina. Instead of reprimanding Nico, Tina let Nico keep it and decided to train her in using it properly.[3][1]
Saving Robert
- "What, are you gonna blast me with that thing? Go ahead."
"I was thinking of smacking you with it." - ―Leslie Dean and Tina Minoru[src]
In order to revive Victor Stein, PRIDE decided to sacrifice one of their members. While Janet Stein was to be sacrificed, her lover Robert Minoru decided to sacrifice himself out of guilt for not being there to save Amy, much to Tina's concern. While Jonah deemed Robert as "dispensable," Tina used the Staff of One to disintegrate the capsule that was to sacrifice Robert. Leslie Dean was angered by Tina's actions, as one of the only people who knew how to make the capsule was "legally dead." At this, Tina threatened to use the Staff in melee combat against Leslie, but was halted by Jonah.[4]
Battle at the PRIDE Construction Site
- "Stuck around for more lessons, I would've shown you how to do that."
- ―Tina Minoru to Nico Minoru[src]
Nico brought the Staff of One with her to aid her friends in stopping PRIDE. She attempted to use it to fill up a hole dug up by PRIDE, but Tina cancelled the command by summoning the Staff back to her hand.[5] Tina later used the Staff to block attacks from Chase Stein's Fistigons and Karolina Dean's beams of light, but she was soon disarmed by Jonah.[6]
Nico Reclaims the Staff
Tina later used the Staff to rescue the Yorkes, by causing their attacker, Graciela Aguirre to choke. Nico went back to her home, with Karolina and Molly to try and retrieve the staff. She was faced by her parents with Tina in possession of the staff. Nico tried fighting her, and Karolina and Molly tried to help. But even with Karolina and Molly's abilities, Tina used the power of the staff to fight them off. She pushed Molly into the pool and covered it in ice, trapping Molly under it. While Karolina and Molly were unable to break it, Tina struck Karolina and Nico called out to her mother, telling her that Amy died because Tina cared more for power than anything else. Tina unfroze the water, allowing Molly to surface and Tina handed the staff to Nico, as a means for Nico to survive on the run.[7]
Capabilities
Because the Staff of One is designed to respond to Tina Minoru's DNA, Tina is one of the only ones who can use it, as can Nico by the virtue of being her daughter.[1] Anyone else who tried to wield it while it was active would be burned by it, forcing them to drop it and making it deactivate. When Tina willingly gave up the staff to her daughter, it ceased to operate in Tina's possession, with only Nico able to use it. [8] When it is active, it can read what the user desires and can bring it forth, though it seems to have some limitations, such as when it failed to disable a vehicle, despite Nico asking it to do so.[3]
- Weapon Summoning: Tina was able to call the Staff from Nico's grasp to her hands.[5] Nico also displays the ability to summon it as well.
Appearances
| Appearances for the Staff of One |
|---|
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In chronological order: |
Trivia
- In the comics, the Staff of One is a powerful staff powered by blood magic capable of summoning any spell and incantation that exists, but can only do each spell once. The Staff of One was used by the powerful dark wizard Tina Minoru, but was later stolen by her daughter Nico Minoru.
Behind the Scenes
- The Staff of One is powered by some advanced technology. Runaways showrunner Josh Schwartz commented: "It may not be from this world."[9]
- Unlike in the comics, where the Staff of One resides inside Nico Minoru's body and is summoned whenever she shed her own blood, the staff exists as a device that needs only a drop of blood to be used. These changes were made to avoid any controversy for inciting self-harming behavior.[10]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Runaways: 1.06: Metamorphosis
- ↑ Runaways: 1.03: Destiny
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Runaways: 1.05: Kingdom
- ↑ Runaways: 1.08: Tsunami
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Runaways: 1.09: Doomsday
- ↑ Runaways: 1.10: Hostile
- ↑ Radio On: 2.02: Radio On
- ↑ Runaways: 2.07: Last Rites
- ↑ The Creators Of ‘Runaways’ On The Series’ Path From Comics To TV — And Avoiding Magic
- ↑ Marvel’s Runaways Changes One Major Aspect of Nico From The Comics
