Pharaohs may never have found the glorious afterlife they were expecting, but one thing about ancient Egypt is eternal - the popularity of King Tut.

The Boy King - and his bling - return to the United States 26 years after his treasures dazzled 8 million museum visitors and created a new category of cultural event: the museum blockbuster.

Even by today's over-the-top standards, the Tutankhamun collection is staggering. This time, curators of "Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharoahs" are packing displays with more than twice as many gold and jewel-encrusted artifacts from the world's most celebrated archaeological discovery. There are 50 objects from the pharaoh's tomb and 70 more from the graves of his noble relatives. All the artifacts are at least 3,300 years old.

The exhibit opened earlier this month at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, where the artifacts will be on view through Nov. 15. It then tours Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Chicago before heading to Philadelphia, where it will be on display at The Franklin Institute starting in February 2007.

Nothing from the sensational 1970s show is repeated. That means there is no gold mask bearing Tut's unblinking, iconic likeness. Instead, the display concentrates on smaller wonders: Tut's gold serpent crown; the bejeweled dagger found resting by his mummified hand; and several tiny shabti - tool-bearing statuettes buried with the King that were to work for him in the afterlife.

For a generation of Americans weaned on Game Boys and "CSI" TV dramas, the exhibition includes such high-tech flourishes as the recent 3-D reconstruction of Tut's face with its familiar overbite and weak chin. Curators also will project digital scans of Tut's mummy that demonstrate he was not killed by a crushing head blow, but perhaps from a broken left leg and subsequent gangrene infection.

It also includes new research adding depth and rich context about the Nile civilization, archived photographs of the 1922 tomb excavation and a precise replica of the burial chamber beneath the sun-baked Valley of the Kings.

It's the best show that Hollywood and science can offer, and given the public's appetite for celebrity and sequels, its success is inevitable. The tour started in Europe where crowds lined up for blocks.

With ticket prices as high as $30, Egypt expects to reap $40 million for its ambitious preservation and antiquities programs. The country has announced plans to build 13 new museums.

Advance ticket sales to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art have hit 250,000.

But for all its glitter, the new show raises a tart question among some experts.

Aren't we tired of Tut?

Egyptologists complain there are other magnificent Egyptian treasures that go virtually unnoticed by the public. Other pharaohs were far more important historically. And the silly legend of a curse striking down British archaeologist Howard Carter and his team that unearthed these riches was debunked long ago.

Yet Tut is the only pharaoh that most Americans can name. To some experts, celebrating Tut is like studying American history through the lens of Franklin Pierce's presidency, or appreciating cinema by watching Macaulay Culkin movies.

"There's a possibility of Tut tunnel vision," says Mark Rose, executive editor of Archaeology magazine. "It's sort of a shame that he is brought out again as the be-all and end-all of ancient Egypt."

Others say new research suggests Tut's record - long on gold and short on accomplishments - is due for some polishing. Tut ruled during an important, turbulent period in the middle of a civilization that lasted more than 3,000 years, they say. He was the last ruler in his lineage and his death triggered a succession crisis.

With new instruments, researchers have been re-examining inscriptions and the 4,000 objects found in his tomb for his journey into the afterlife, including furniture, a model boat, carriages and alabaster vases by the dozens.

"It was one of the most interesting periods of ancient Egypt," Johns Hopkins University Egyptologist Betsy Bryan says.

Tutankhamun came to the throne around 1343 B.C. when he was 9 or 10. He died suddenly in 1333 B.C. at 19. (With apologies to comedian Steve Martin, Tut was not born in Arizona and did not move to Babylonia as his hit song suggested. And there was no condo made of stone-a, either.)

He ruled during the 18th Dynasty of the New Kingdom, a period when the empire pushed deeper into Asia and trade expanded with the Mediterranean and Africa. Ancient Egypt already had been the world's first large, unified state for 1,400 years. The Sphinx and the pyramids at Giza were ancient wonders even to him.

Tut was either the son or grandson of Amenhotep III, who ruled for 40 years and defined the 18th Dynasty. That pharaoh was succeeded by a son who changed his name to Akhenaten, who introduced a radical new theology that replaced traditional gods with a single god, the glowing disc of the sun. Akhenaten established a new capital 200 miles north of Thebes, built new temples and erased old myths. He intensified the worship of the pharaoh as a divine being, an extension of the sun itself.This new religion didn't go over very well and it probably was a terrifying period. Excavations show that Egyptians kept amulets of the old gods and when Akhenaten died, they hacked his name from inscriptions."He took away the ability of the private people to have direct contact with their gods that had been around for 1,500 years," says David Silverman, an Egyptologist at the University of Pennsylvania and curator of the new Tut exhibit."This might have been the start of monotheistic religion in the West, but they didn't like it. They tried to erase the memory of it."When Tut ascended, he was guided by Aye, who acted like a prime minister, and Horemheb, general of the Army. In a counterreformation, the old gods were restored and new temples were razed. The army was posted in villages to keep civil order. It all happened in Tut's name and during his reign, but how much he commanded is unknown.According to custom, Tut married a sister in a union believed to reinforce royal legitimacy. However, he left no heirs - he was buried with the remains of two stillborn fetuses. His lineage sputtered and his death caught the royal court unprepared. With no tomb ready, Aye presided over funeral rites in which Tut was sealed in a small chamber probably intended for a commoner.Tut's widow tried to remain in power by recruiting a new husband from the rival Hittites in what is now Turkey. (The prince they sent to her was killed en route, probably by court assassins.) The elderly Aye succeeded Tut as king, but died within three years.The real winner was Horemheb, the general, who became king despite his lack of royal blood. Tut's name was erased from many inscriptions. Researchers compare it to an impeachment process."What they didn't like, they tried to eradicate," Silverman says. "What was written were the words of the gods, and you did not want negative things inscribed forever."Horemheb ruled for 27 years. He named as his successor his army comrade, Ramses, who launched a new dynasty.The show is being mounted by events promoters, including Arts and Exhibitions International and the Anschutz Entertainment Group, which operates the Staples Center in Los Angeles and other sports and entertainment programs. Tickets will range from $6 for school groups to $30 for adult weekend tickets.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, which helped organize the first Tut tour in November 1976, decided against hosting the show because separate admission fees violated museum policy. Organizers defended ticket prices for the Los Angeles show and said that most of the money will go toward preservation of artifacts in EgyptThe show's new approach to Tut hasn't compromised the scholarly content of the exhibit, Silverman says, and may encourage even more people to see the artifacts.The exhibition provides a wide-angle view of the time preceding the boy's ascension to the throne and the religious realities of the world Tut inherited."It's not just important to show the objects in cases, you must put them into context," said Silverman.Arranged chronologically into 11 galleries, visitors are first confronted with the simple humanity of King Tut, in the form of a wooden figure - head and torso - taken from his tomb. In the darkened room, all light rests on the Boy King depicted without the gold and jewels that have earned him his latest moniker - King of Bling.First marking the discovery of Tut's tomb in 1922, the exhibition presents 50 items buried with the Boy King, including several pieces of furniture, a game board and two golden statuettes.One gallery is dedicated solely to items found with Tut's mummified remains, including a ceremonial dagger on his left thigh and a gold crown found around his head.But perhaps the most prized object is the coffinette that contained Tut's mummified liver. The ornate figurine is propped open, and a peek inside shows rows of intricate hieroglyphs set in gold.The gallery ends with a video showing digital scans of Tut's remains, part of a five-year project partially funded by National Geographic. The scans show he was not killed by a crushing head blow, as had been theorized, but perhaps died from a broken left leg and subsequent gangrene infection.Researchers say the blockbuster event will benefit the Boy King himself. Without heirs, Tut was destined to be forgotten and his path to eternity uncertain."When people go to this exhibit, we know that his name will be repeated," says Silverman. "I know it sounds corny, but we are fulfilling a destiny that he hoped to have."