Warning: The following contains SPOILERS for Legends of Tomorrow season 6, episode 5 “The Satanist’s Apprentice.”
Legends of Tomorrow season 6, episode 5 introduced a new magical artifact, the Fountain of Imperium, for the Legends to chase after in season 6. This is par for the course for Legends of Tomorrow, which has seen the team searching for the Spear of Destiny, the Loom of Fate and the Totems of Zambesi in previous seasons. The Fountain of Imperium is notable, however, for seemingly being an original item not directly based on any previous magical object from the comics.
The central plotline of the Legends of Tomorrow episode “The Satanist’s Apprentice” focused on Astra Logue and her learning the basics of magic from the spirit of Aleister Crowley; a legendary dark wizard, whom John Constantine had trapped in a painting. Astra proved an apt pupil, but Crowley was exploiting her anger at Constantine towards his own ends, first taking over Constantine’s body for himself then working to regain his lost magical power at Astra’s expense. Thankfully, Astra was able to turn the tables with a spell in her mother’s journal, which took away Crowley’s magic. Unfortunately, the same purgative spell also required Constantine lose most of his acquired magical power in the process.
Throughout “The Satanist’s Apprentice,” Crowley spoke of completing his search for the Fountain of Imperium with Astra at his side. Crowley described the Fountain as “a well of unexplored, untapped and unstoppable magic” and “an unlimited source of power.” Unfortunately, he had made little progress in finding the Fountain during his lifetime, knowing only that it lay somewhere in deep space. He also had no luck in convincing John Constantine to join forces with him to search for the Fountain after he was once again trapped in his painting. However, his mention of the Fountain did seem to spark something in Constantine, who looked apprehensive about the idea of starting over from square one in relearning the basics of magic with Astra as a study buddy, suggesting he might start searching for the Fountain of Imperium on his own.
Unlike the Spear of Destiny and the Loom of Fate, the Fountain of Imperium is not a previously existing artifact from the DC Comics universe. In fact, there is no location or alien race called the Imperium in any DC Comics book. There was, however, a race called the Imperium in the DC Animated Universe. They were the villains of “Secret Origins,” the three-part pilot episode of the Justice League animated series. A race of shape-shifting parasites who could not stand the touch of direct sunlight, the Imperium were responsible for destroying the Martian race, save for the Martian Manhunter J’onn J’onzz.
Unlike many DCAU creations, the Imperium were never introduced into the comics, presumably because they were meant to act as stand-ins for the equally corrupt White Martian race. This makes it unlikely they will appear on Legends of Tomorrow, as the Imperium name was likely chosen because it had a suitably weird vibe and fit the Lovecraftian cadence of the writings of the real-life Aleister Crowley. That being said, a magical alien fountain is no less impossible than many of the other things the Legends have encountered, though it is still an open question if it is any more real than the Fountain of Youth.
