The the Infinity Gauntlet in of sheer power. A small piece of metal with Aramaic text written on the front, Neron’s Get Out of Hell Free card is a DC artifact that’s somewhat fittingly been in editorial limbo for more than a decade. Essentially a wish-fulfilling tool, this card caused all sorts of chaos for some of DC’s most corrupt souls, and with Infinite Frontier making everything canon once again, this little card is overdue for a reappearance.
First appearing in the “Unhinged” story arc of Secret Six by Gail Simone and Nicola Scott, this card was a McGuffin like no other in the DC Universe. This hellish artifact saves the from eternal damnation in the event of their death, bying whatever misdeeds they committed in life and sending them straight to Heaven – literally getting them out of Hell. Unfortunately, the card can only be used once, and after its charge is spent, it’s useless. Obviously, such an artifact would be the object of desire for any master villain, and when its theft led to a nationwide race against the clock to retrieve it, fans got to see just what lengths their favorite villains would go to for a chance at Heaven.
After the vigilante known as the Tarantula steals the card from of the Birds of Prey. During the conflict, the Tarantula throws herself in front of Junior and claims that she has the card, sacrificing herself so that the combined supervillains to blast her and Junior both to death. With the card seemingly used up and nobody left to pay the bounty, all the villains retreat to lick their wounds.
In the end, it’s revealed that the Secret Six’s Scandal Savage kept the card for herself, but that’s the last fans ever see of it. While the card appeared in the DC Animated movie Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay, a loose adaptation of this storyline, it shockingly only appeared in the comics for this one story arc. This is incredibly surprising as this card has strong storytelling potential that’s hardly been explored.
Unlike other sorts of all-powerful devices – such as the Infinity Stones and their numerous stories – this card comes with a very clear-cut set of rules that sets it apart from DC and Marvel’s other “wishing” devices that fans have gotten used to. Every villain wants to get their hands on it for one reason or another. Either they believe in the power of the card and want insurance that they won’t have to suffer for their sins, or they don’t believe in it at all, and want to sell it to those who do.
In any case, it’s a supervillain Holy Grail, and one that desperately needs to become a staple of the DC Universe. If fans can wrap their heads around Cosmic Cubes, Power Rings, and even Infinity Gauntlets, they’re more than capable of accepting a Get Out of Hell Free card. With so much untapped storytelling potential, it’s just a matter of time before this card makes a hell of a comeback.
