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Arcanna is the name of two different fictional comic-book characters in the Marvel Comics multiverse.

The first debuted as a member of the team of superheroes called the Squadron Supreme in The Defenders #112 (Oct 1982) . The other first appeared in Supreme Power #18 (Apr 2005), later joining a team of super heroes also called the Squadron Supreme. Both characters are not from the main reality where stories are set in the Marvel Universe, but are from two separate alternate universes.^{(See Sidebar)}

The origin of Arcanna's magical abilities is still unknown. Arcanna originally worked as a medium before becoming a professional crime fighter who captured criminals for profit. Phillip Jones was her husband who stayed home to raise their children Drusilla, Katrina and Andrew. She later accepted an offer of membership into the Squadron Supreme, making her the fifth recruit.

Midway through the Squadron Supreme maxi-series, Arcanna discovered she was pregnant. Fearing that the other members of the Squadron would curtail her duties as they had during her previous pregnancies, she kept her condition a secret. She and her family moved into Squadron City, the Squadron's new headquarters. She went into labor during the climactic battle with Nighthawk's Redeemers. At the end of the series she gave birth to her son, Benjamin Thomas Jones.

In Squadron Supreme: Death of a Universe, Arcanna switched places with Moonglow in order to go on a mission against the Nth Man in which she had been forbidden to participate. Her infant son Benjamin's latent powers emerge and he saves the surviving members by switching places with the Nth Man. The team is banished to the mainstream Marvel Universe following these events, and it was as Moonglow that she encountered Quasar and the Avengers.

In Squadron Supreme: New World Order, Arcanna returns home to her family and informs them of Benjamin's sacrifice. The Nth Man, now known as Mysterium, informed her that the Squadron Supreme was going down a road without her. She retired from adventuring to be with her family.

Arcanna (Earth-31916) featured on the cover of Squadron Supreme vol. 2, #1. Art by Gary Frank.

Arcanna Jones is introduced as a scientist and author of Quantum Physics: The New Reality. She has the ability to perceive and influence parallel quantum dimensions. She is what physicists described as "the ultimate observer", and can see all the quantum possibilities and choose which will become reality. To explain this, Arcanna evokes the Schrödinger's cat paradox, which asserts if a cat in a box has a 50% chance of being killed, it is neither alive nor dead (or both alive and dead) until the box is opened and the cat is observed. She had come to General Richard Alexander in hopes of finding the source of her power in order to eliminate it. Arcanna, Dr. Emil Burbank, Raleigh Lund and Al Gaines are ordered to apprehend or destroy Hyperion. During the ensuing fight, Hyperion's eye-beams, Nuke's radiation blast, and Arcanna's own quantum alterations create a brief and unexplainable skip in reality. All five initially thought they were in an alternate reality, but it was revealed to be their own reality four years in the future.^[1]

She was originally meant to be on a covert operations team, but that changed after Hyperion informed reporter Jason Scott of the project and gave him a list of the super-humans working for the government. She now works for Squadron Supreme. Arcanna now wears a costume that is an update of the old Squadron Supreme version. ^[2]

Arcanna shares abilities with Marvel's own Scarlet Witch and DC's Zatanna.

1. ^ Supreme Power:Hyperion #1 - 5 (2005 - 2006)
2. ^ Squadron Supreme Vol. 2 #1-6: Pre-war Years

• http://www.bright.net/~jackbohn/sq_suprm/arcanna.htm
• Marvel Directory entry