Edward Becerra wrote:

       Traditionally, the Lance of Longinus, (named after the Roman 
legionnaire 

who, according to legend, used it first) was supposedly the spear used 

to 

hold up the 'sop' full of water and vinegar to the lips of Jesus while 

he 

was on the cross. Later, it was used to pierce his side.

	Legend holds forth that anyone holding the Lance of Longinus, also 

known as 

the Spear of Destiny, _CANNOT_ be defeated in battle. Period. The lance 

is 

supposedly touched with divinity, having been used to mutilate the body 

of a 

living god, and carries that divinity with it. 

	In addition to making the wielder personally invincible in battle, 

it's 

also believed that the Lance can make any _cause_ the wielder espouses 
unstoppable. That is to say, if you believe in something strong enough 

to 

fight for it, your belief will be unstoppable as well.

	It's said, though without strong proof, that Hitler sent teams of SS 
researchers after the Lance, believing that if he held it, Germany 

could not 

be defeated.

  A little more to that idea. One of the legends says that though the 
Lance of Longinus grants its holder invincibility in battle, there's a 
catch. All holders will eventually die a tragic death.
  According to others, the supposed form of death for the holders will 
be suicide. The holder will eventually go insane and use the lance to 
draw blood from him or herself.
  Last but not least, one of the earlier legends states that those 
pierced will share the fate of Christ. That is, Christ died for our 
sins. And so will the pierced, eventually. A soul is slowly sucked into 
the spear, giving it more more, and thus the invincibility. Reminds me 
of a manga I read not too long ago.
  A twist to the final legend is that the the soul sucked into the lance 
doesn't have to be the soul of the holder. It states that traditionally, 
the holder would pierce his own soul with it, then go into battle. 
That's not nessesary though. Later on, holders found that they didn't 
need to do that. They just needed to pierce the soul of an enemy, then 
use the power against them. 
  
  Take a look back at EVA. The Lance pierces the AT field and stops for 
a moment. The AT field essentially disintegrates, or depending on how 
you put it, gets sucked into the Lance. The lance then continues at a 
higher speed than before, actually accelerating into the Angel. 
  Then a few episodes later, Rei II, the thrower, commits suicide by 
self-destructing with an Angel in order to save Shinji. 
  Interesting...interesting. Makes you think.

Chad Yang

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