History Main / MysteriousCubeOfRubik

%%The examples on this page have been sorted alphabetically. Please help keep this page tidy by adding examples in order. Thank you!

* There's a ''Franchise/{{Touhou}}'' [[http://danbooru.donmai.us/post/show/669215/-2girls-4koma-3-_-blush_stickers-closed_eyes-comic fan 4koma (NSFW warning, it's Danbooru)]] that has this as the first plot arc. While Reimu is completely enjoying solving the Rubik's Cube, Marisa has no clue about what it is [[spoiler: and accidentally breaks it. After getting Nitori to fix it, Marisa gives it to Reimu, who stares at the modified cube in awe.]]

* A 1632 Side story concerns a Masque Composed by Ben Johnson for and with those exiled from the English Court. The Masque opens with the author contemplating a Rubik's Cube.

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* One ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' tale involving Kharn the Betrayer has Angron, Primarch of Khorne, find a Rubik's Cube while conquering a planet. Like everything, [[MeaningfulName it infuriates him]]. This is what made Kharn decide to become an OmnicidalManiac.
[[/folder]]

* One ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' tale involving Kharn the Betrayer has Angron, Primarch of Khorne, find one while conquering a planet. Like everything, [[MeaningfulName it infuriates him]]. This is what made Kharn decide to become an OmnicidalManiac.

The Rubik's Cube is a fascinating toy. Since its invention, it's spawned clubs, competitions, and derivatives. However, it's not always intuitive, and in a lot of cases, those encountering it for the first time may be taken aback.

Occasionally, a character will discover the cube and fiddle around with it a bit, perplexed by the mysteries of its multicolored faces. This usually occurs in settings that take place on alien worlds or AfterTheEnd, where novelty is less important than survival or the person who finds it is [[BlueAndOrangeMorality of a different mindset]]. Sometimes this produces a childlike sense of wonder, while other times it results in frustration and obsession. Discovering the intended "use" doesn't always correct things -- it may cause the individual to become even more determined to solve it, and then finding out [[AWinnerIsYou nothing happens]] could be... [[UnstoppableRage upsetting]].

This is not simply a character finding or playing with a puzzle cube toy, but actually seeing one for the first time and not understanding it. If the Rubik's cube is used to show how smart the character solving it is, then it's RubiksCubeInternationalGeniusSymbol.

Compare MundaneObjectAmazement. Contrast UnusuallyUninterestingSight.

[[quoteright:350:[[WesternAnimation/SpiderManIntoTheSpiderverse https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/0ab5a9223d12422ea751356b9d14ed3b.jpg]]]]

->''"I’m taking this cube thing with me. I don’t understand it, but, I will."''
-->-- '''Spider-Man Noir''' before he returns to his home dimension, ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManIntoTheSpiderVerse''

* In ''WesternAnimation/WallE'', the titular robot finds a Rubik's Cube in the wastes of the city. When he shows it to EVE, she solves it rather quickly.

* ''Film/NightAtTheMuseumBattleOfTheSmithsonian'': A form of this occurs where Larry tricks Kahmunrah by telling him he's missing "the Cube of Rubik". Kahmunrah demands to be given this "artifact", allowing Larry to lure him to a box holding a giant octopus.

* A 1632 Side story concerns a Masque Composed by Ben Johnson for and with those exiled from the English Court. The Masque opens with the author contemplating a Rubiks Cube.

%%[[folder: Literature]]

%%[[folder: Live Action TV]]
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%%[[folder: Live Action TV]]

* ''Film/NightAtTheMuseum'': A form of this occurs in ''Battle of the Smithsonian'', where Larry tricks Kahmunrah by telling him he's missing "the Cube of Rubik". Kahmunrah demands to be given this "artifact", allowing Larry to lure him to a box holding a giant octopus.

-->-- '''Spider-Man Noir''', ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManIntoTheSpiderVerse''

* ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManIntoTheSpiderVerse'': Spider-Noir is fascinated by the colors on a Rubik's Cube, since he comes from a DeliberatelyMonochrome universe where such colors do not exist. In the end, he brings it back to his home dimension.

[[folder: Live Action TV]]
* In the second episode of ''Series/ThePretender'', Jarod discovered Rubik's Cube when he saw it on the desk of a co-worker at the law firm he was working at in this episode. It drifted into RubiksCubeInternationalGeniusSymbol when he solved it in about a minute.

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* One ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' tale involving Kharn the Betrayer has Angron, Primarch of Khorne, find one while conquering a planet. Like everything, [[MeaningfulName it infuriates him]]. This is what made Kharn decide to become an OmnicidalManiac.
[[/folder]]

* In the second episode of ''Series/ThePretender'', Jarod discovered Rubik's Cube when he saw it on the desk of a co-worker at the law firm he was working at in this episode. Even more impressive is that he solved it in about a minute.

!!Examples

[[AC:Anime and Manga]]

[[AC:Fanfiction]]

[[AC:Films -- Animated]]

[[AC:Films -- Live-Action]]

[[AC:Tabletop Games]]

[[AC:Videogames]]
* In the adventure game ''VideoGame/SpaceQuestIIVohaulsRevenge'', Roger Wilco comes face to face with a fierce Labion Terror Beast, and the only way to save him is have him throw a "Cubix Rube" at the monster, whose efforts to try and solve it distract the beast enough for Roger to get past.

[[AC:WebOriginal]]
* ''Wiki/SCPFoundation'': SCP-1437 is a hole that leads to a number of {{Parallel Universe}}s. One Universe had a Rubik's Cube pop out of their hole, which caused some confusion in the version of Earth it emerged in.

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]

Occasionally, a character will discover the cube and fiddle around with it a bit, perplexed by the mysteries of its multicolored faces. This usually occurs in settings that take place on alien worlds or AfterTheEnd, where novelty is less important than survival or the person who finds it is [[BlueAndOrangeMorality of a different mindset]]. Sometimes this produces a childlike sense of wonder, while other times it results in frustration and obsession. Discovering the intended "use" doesn't always correct things -- it may cause the individual to become even more determined to solve it, and then finding out [[AWinnerIsYou nothing happens]] could be ...[[UnstoppableRage upsetting]].

Occasionally, a character will discover the cube and fiddle around with it a bit, perplexed by the mysteries of its multicolored faces. This usually occurs in settings that take place on alien worlds or AfterTheEnd, where novelty is less important that survival or the person who finds it is [[BlueAndOrangeMorality of a different mindset]]. Sometimes this produces a childlike sense of wonder, while other times it results in frustration and obsession. Discovering the intended "use" doesn't always correct things - it may cause the individual to become even more determined to solve it, and then finding out [[AWinnerIsYou nothing happens]] could be ...[[UnstoppableRage upsetting]].

* A form of this occurs in ''Film/NightAtTheMuseum: Battle of the Smithsonian'', where Larry tricks Kahmunrah by telling him he's missing "the Cube of Rubik". Kahmunrah demands to be given this "artifact", allowing Larry to lure him to a box holding an octopus.

* One ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' tale involving Kharn the Betrayer has Angron, Primarch of Khorne, find one while conquering a planet. Like everything, [[MeaningfulName it infuriated him]]. This is what made Kharn decide to become an OmnicidalManiac.

* ''VideoGame/{{Stellaris}}'': One of the anomalies you can discover is a box, its description being obviously a Rubik's cube. You can task your scientist to solve it, which he may eventually do, granting you the treasure inside. . . [[CuttingTheKnot or he may get frustrated and saw it open with a laser cutter]], in which event you gain nothing.
* In ''VideoGame/ZenoClash'', the Golem has a rubik's cube that he fiddles with throughout the game, finally solving it at the end. In [[VideoGame/ZenoClash2 the sequel]], it's revealed that there are more Golems, each with their own favorite puzzle. [[spoiler: The presence of these real-world toys is an early indicator that the setting was EarthAllAlong.]]

* [[Wiki/SCPFoundation SCP-1437]] is a hole that leads to a number of {{Parallel Universe}}s. One Universe had a Rubik's Cube pop out of their hole, which caused some confusion in the version of Earth it emerged in.

Former titles:
* Mysterious Rubik's Cube
* Mysterious Colored Cube
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