The
Phantom Stranger is a
fictional characterA character is the representation of a person in a narrative or dramatic work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr through its Latin transcription character, the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its...
of unspecified
paranormalParanormal is a general term that describes unusual experiences that lack a scientific explanation, or phenomena alleged to be outside of science's current ability to explain or measure...
origins who battles mysterious and
occultThe word occult comes from the Latin word occultus , referring to "knowledge of the hidden". In the medical sense it is used to refer to a structure or process that is hidden, e.g...
forces in various titles published by
DC ComicsDC Comics is one of the largest and most popular American comic book and related media companies, along with Marvel Comics. It is the publishing division of DC Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary company of Warner Bros. Entertainment...
, sometimes under their Vertigo imprint.
Publication history
The Phantom Stranger first appeared in his own series, publication date August/September
1952See also:1951 in comics,other events of 1952,1953 in comics,1950s in comics and thelist of years in comics1952 saw, among other things, the launch of Mad Magazine.-May:*Sensation Comics issue 109 final issue — DC Comics...
, by
John BroomeJohn Broome , who additionally used the pseudonyms John Osgood and Edgar Ray Meritt, was an American comic book writer for DC Comics.-Biography:...
and
Carmine InfantinoCarmine Infantino is an American comic book artist and editor who was a major force in the Silver Age of Comic Books. He was inducted into the Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2000.-Early life and career:...
. It lasted six issues. After an appearance in
ShowcaseShowcase has been the title of several anthology series published by DC Comics. The general theme of these series has been to feature new and minor characters as a way to gauge reader interest in them, without the difficulty and risk of featuring "untested" characters in their own ongoing titles...
#80 (February,
1969This is a list of comics-related events in 1969.Related year entries: List of years in comics | 1968 in comics | 1969 in comics | 1970 in comics-February:...
), he received another series on May-June 1969 that lasted until February-March
1976This is a list of comics-related events in 1876.Related year entries: List of years in comics | 1975 in comics | 1976 in comics | 1977 in comics-December:...
. The first four issues (including the
Showcase) consisted of reprints from both the Stranger's 50s title and the
Dr. 13: Ghost-BreakerDr. Terrence Thirteen, known simply as Doctor Thirteen or Dr. 13, is a fictional character in comic books set in the DC Universe. The character's first published appearance is in Star Spangled Comics #122, ....
feature from the last nine issues of
Star Spangled Comics at the same time, with new, brief framing sequences. These had Thirteen, certain that the Stranger was a fake, determined to expose him. Beginning with issue #4, November-December 1969, the comic went all-new, with stories produced by
Robert KanigherRobert Kanigher was a prolific comic book writer and editor whose career spanned five decades. He was involved with the Wonder Woman franchise for over twenty years, taking over the scripting from creator William Moulton Marston. In addition, Kanigher spent many years in charge of DC Comics' war...
,
Len WeinLen Wein is an American comic book writer and editor best known for co-creating DC Comics' Swamp Thing and Marvel Comics' Wolverine, and for helping revive the Marvel superhero team the X-Men...
,
Jim AparoJames N. "Jim" Aparo was an American comic book artist best known for his 1960's and 1970's work on various DC Comics including Batman, Aquaman and The Spectre ....
,
Neal AdamsNeal Adams is an American comic book and commercial artist best known for helping to create some of the definitive modern imagery of the DC Comics characters Superman, Batman, and Green Arrow; as the co-founder of the graphic design studio Continuity Associates; and as a creators-rights advocate...
,
Tony DeZunigaTony DeZuniga is a Filipino comic-book artist best known for his work for DC Comics, where he co-created the characters Jonah Hex and Black Orchid.-Early life and career:...
, and others. In these stories, while the Stranger's past remained a mystery, the writers added a semi-regular cast of characters for him. A blind
psychicA psychic is a person who claims to have the ability to perceive information hidden from the normal senses through extrasensory perception, or is said to have such abilities by others...
named
Cassandra CraftCassandra Craft is a character in DC Comics. She is a blind psychic who runs an occult bookstore in San Francisco, California. She is friends with Zatanna and Phantom Stranger. She first appeared in The Phantom Stranger vol. 2 #17 and plays an important role in Grant Morrison's Seven Soldiers of...
(first appeared in #17, January-February
1972-March:* Marvel Comics launches its second ongoing Spider-Man title, Marvel Team-Up*March 4: Charles Biro dies at age 60.-June:* Marvel Comics launches Luke Cage, Hero for Hire, which is the debut of the title character.-November:...
) would assist him, an alchemist/sorcerer named Tannarak (first appeared in #10, November-December
1970This is a list of comics-related events in 1970.Related year entries: List of years in comics | 1969 in comics | 1970 in comics | 1971 in comics...
) was first an enemy and would later assist him against the
Dark CircleThe Dark Circle is a fictional criminal organization in publications from DC Comics.- Fictional history :The Dark Circle first appeared in Adventure Comics #367 as an insurgent group planning to conquer the United Planets in the 30th century. It was composed of only five people and armies of clones...
(first appeared in #20, July-August 1972) and a demonic sorceress named
TalaTala is a fictional supervillainess in the DC Comics universe. She first appeared as an adversary of the Phantom Stranger, but she is also known for her appearances on Justice League Unlimited....
(first appeared in #4) would become his major personal enemy. The stories hinted at a romantic attraction between the Stranger and Craft, but he eventually left her, deciding she could not be part of his life, convincing her he had been killed in their final battle against the Dark Circle (#24, March-April
1973-September:*Strange Adventures #244, final issue cover dated September-October -October:*Vampire Tales #2: The first appearance of Satana, drawn by John Romita...
). She eventually learned differently and turned up occasionally. Doctor Thirteen, dropped along with the reprints, was given a back-up series here as of #12, March-April 1971, which morphed into
The Spawn of Frankenstein in #23, January-February 1973.
However, the Stranger is better known for his role as a supernatural assistant to other heroes, such as the
Justice LeagueThe Justice League, also called the Justice League of America or JLA, is a fictional superhero team that appears in comic books published by DC Comics....
. The League offered him membership, though he initially left before accepting. This leaves the actual date of his admission unclear. He was not, as some accounts have reported, a mere honorary member. After a vote of the majority of the League at the time, Superman declared the Phantom Stranger "a member" without qualification. (
Justice League of America #103). The Stranger twice asserted his membership status when other Leaguers challenged his input, particularly during the vote on the League's re-admission of
Wonder WomanWonder Woman is a DC Comics superhero created by William Moulton Marston. First appearing in All Star Comics #8 , she is one of three characters to have been continuously published by DC Comics since the company's 1944 inception .Wonder Woman is a member of an all-female tribe of Amazons...
. She would later confirm his membership status in a subsequent League adventure. He also affirmed his membership in the
JLA/AvengersJLA/Avengers is a comic book limited series and crossover published in prestige format by DC Comics and Marvel Comics from September 2003 to May 2004. The series was written by Kurt Busiek, with art by George Perez...
mini-series when the League doubted he was there to help.
The Stranger also starred in a mini-series in 1987. This series portrayed him as an agent of the
Lords of OrderThe Lords of Chaos and Lords of Order are complementary groups of supernatural entities with godlike powers that appear in DC Comics. They have also been retconned into the histories of Amethyst, Doctor Fate, Kid Eternity, the Phantom Stranger, Shazam and Hawk and Dove...
. For refusing to help them in their war against the
Lords of ChaosThe Lords of Chaos and Lords of Order are complementary groups of supernatural entities with godlike powers that appear in DC Comics. They have also been retconned into the histories of Amethyst, Doctor Fate, Kid Eternity, the Phantom Stranger, Shazam and Hawk and Dove...
, they temporarily stripped him of his powers. This series also featured
EclipsoEclipso is a fictional character and a supervillain in the DC Comics Universe. His character is the incarnation of the Wrath of God and the Angel of Vengeance who turned evil and was replaced by the Spectre...
as an agent of Chaos. In
Green Lantern/Superman: Legend of the Green Flame"Green Lantern/Superman: Legend of the Green Flame" was a one-shot prestige format comic book published in 2000 by DC Comics.-Publication history:The script for this book was written after Gaiman's Black Orchid was completed but prior to its publication...
, this role is continued. However the Stranger claims he belongs to no group. The Lords of Order threaten to strip him of his powers, and he leaves, claiming he shall continue to wander. However, no stories have referenced these events since, and they might no longer be in
continuityIn fiction, continuity is consistency of the characteristics of persons, plot, objects, places and events seen by the reader or viewer. It is of relevance to several media....
due to the reality-alterations during
Zero HourZero Hour: Crisis in Time is a five-issue comic book limited series and crossover storyline published by DC Comics in 1994. In it, the one-time hero Hal Jordan, who had until then been a member of the intergalactic police force known as the Green Lantern Corps, mad with grief after the destruction...
and
Infinite CrisisInfinite Crisis is a seven-issue limited series of comic books written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Phil Jimenez, George Pérez, Ivan Reis, and Jerry Ordway. The series was published by DC Comics, beginning in October of 2005...
.
Origin
The most striking aspect of the Phantom Stranger is that his name, his true nature, and his origins have never been revealed. DC produced a special issue of
Secret OriginsSecret Origins was an American comic book series published by DC Comics. Although the title had existed in several prototype forms in the 1960s and 1970s published under the title Secret Origins of Super Heroes , its most well-known incarnation was a 50-issue series Secret Origins was an American...
that postulated no less than four equally possible origins:
- One proposes the Stranger was originally a private citizen during biblical times and was spared God's wrath. An angel was sent to deliver him from divine wrath. After questioning God's actions, he commits suicide. The angel forbids his spirit from entering the afterlife, reanimates his body and condemns him to walk the world forever to be a part of humanity but also forever separated from it. He then discovered his divine charge, to turn humanity away from evil, one soul at a time. Some versions of this story imply that the angel to do this was not just a random angel but the incarnation of The Spectre of that time period.
- In a variation of the Wandering Jew
The Wandering Jew is a figure from medieval Christian folklore whose legend began to spread in Europe in the thirteenth century. The original legend concerns a Jew who taunted Jesus on the way to the Crucifixion and was then cursed to walk the earth until the Second Coming...
story, he was a man named Isaac with a wife (Rebecca) and a son during the time of Jesus' childhoodThe Child Jesus represents Jesus from his birth to the age of twelve. At thirteen he was considered to have become adult, in accordance with both the Jewish custom of his own time, and that of most Christian cultures until recent centuries...
. When King HerodHerod , also known as Herod I or Herod the Great Herod , also known as Herod I or Herod the Great Herod , also known as Herod I or Herod the Great (born 74 BC, died 4 BC in Jericho, was a Roman client king of Israel. He is often confused...
heard that there was born a child who would be king of the Jews, he ordered the deaths of all baby boysThe Massacre of the Innocents is an episode of mass infanticide by the King of Judea, Herod the Great, that appears in the Gospel of Matthew . The author, traditionally believed to be Matthew the Evangelist, reports that King Herod ordered the execution of all young male children in the village of...
in order to kill the Christ child. Among the people killed were Isaac's wife and son. Blind with anger, he spent the next 30 years in a rage against Jesus. Later, after being being tried in part by Herod's sonHerod Antipas was a first century AD ruler of Galilee and Perea, who bore the title of tetrarch...
, Jesus was subjected to tortureThe Passion is the Christian theological term used for the events and suffering – physical, spiritual, and mental – of Jesus in the hours before and including his trial and execution by crucifixion...
. On learning this, Isaac bribed a guard to assume his role in the flagellation of ChristThe Flagellation of Christ, sometimes known as Christ at the Column, is a scene from the Passion of Christ very frequently shown in Christian art, in cycles of the Passion or the larger subject of the Life of Christ. It is the fourth station of the modern alternate Stations of the Cross, but is...
. Upon this Jesus sentenced him into exile from his home and to wander until Doomsday. After the crucifixtion, Isaac recognized his mistake and let go of his anger. He has since spent the rest of his life helping society, even declining an offer from God, father of Jesus himself, to release him from his sentence.
- Another was a proposal that the stranger is a remnant of the previous universe. At the end of the universe the Phantom Stranger approaches a group of scientists studying the event, warning them not to interfere in the natural conclusion of the universe. The story concludes with the Phantom Stranger passing a portion of himself to a scientist, the universe is reborn, and the scientist from the previous universe is the Phantom Stranger in the new universe. In relation to this origin, it has also been suggested that the character Pariah
Pariah is a fictional scientist published by DC Comics. He first appeared in Crisis on Infinite Earths #1 , and was created by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez.-Fictional character biography:...
from DC's Crisis on Infinite Earths series was to become the Phantom Stranger.
- The final tale postulated that the Stranger was a fallen angel
In most Christian denominations, a fallen angel is an angel who has been exiled or banished from Heaven.Often such banishment is a punishment for disobeying or rebelling against God . The best-known fallen angel is Lucifer. Lucifer is a name frequently given to Satan in Christian belief...
who sided with neither HeavenHeaven may refer to the physical heavens, the sky or the seemingly endless expanse of the universe beyond. This is the traditional literal meaning of the term in English...
nor HellIn many religious traditions, Hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife, often in the underworld. Religions with a linear divine history often depict Hell as endless...
during Satan'sLucifer is a DC Comics character that starred in an eponymous comic book published under the Vertigo imprint. The series, a spin-off of Neil Gaiman's The Sandman, concerns the adventures of the fallen angel Lucifer Morningstar on Earth, in Heaven and through other realms of creation after...
rebellionThe Book of Revelation, which opens with the words, "The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants what must soon take place", includes in those events a War in Heaven:-Association with the motif of the Fall of Satan:...
and thus condemned to walk the Earth alone for all time. Alan MooreAlan Oswald Moore is an English writer known for work in comics, including the acclaimed comic book series Watchmen, V for Vendetta and From Hell...
wrote and Joe OrlandoJoseph Orlando was an illustrator, writer, editor and cartoonist. He was the vice president of DC Comics for many years and also the associate publisher of Mad.-Early life:...
illustrated this story. This is also backed by The WordThe Word is a fictional cosmic entity in DC Comics. It first appeared in Swamp Thing #147 , and was created by Mark Millar and Phil Hester....
who said that the Phantom Stranger was a fallen one.
Three out of four of these origins rely specifically on
Judeo-ChristianJudeo–Christian is a term used in the United States, broadly to describe a body of concepts and values thought to be held in common by Judaism and Christianity...
concepts, which rarely figure into the origins of most comic book characters. In the comic book miniseries
The Trenchcoat BrigadeThe Trenchcoat Brigade is a four issue comic books limited series that was published in 1999 as a part of DC Comics' Vertigo imprint.The title references an offhand joke used by John Constantine in the earlier Books of Magic to label a loose affiliation of mystics including himself, Phantom...
,
John ConstantineJohn Constantine is a fictional character, a comic book occult detective published by Vertigo. The character first appeared in Swamp Thing #37 , and was created by Alan Moore, Steve Bissette and John Totleben...
sees that the fourth origin story is essentially correct. Note however that the continuity between DC's mainstream books and Vertigo has never been very clear, and that the 1987 miniseries points to a different origin for the Stranger.
The
Vertigo Visions: The Phantom Stranger one-shot by
Alisa KwitneyAlisa Kwitney is an American author.Kwitney was born in New York City. She graduated from Wesleyan University with a Bachelor of Arts in English and from Columbia University's Master of Fine Arts Fiction Writing Program. Kwitney was also an editor for Vertigo, the mature/dark fantasy branch of DC...
and Guy Davis builds upon Moore's fallen angel story and adds the story of the woman Naamah, who was condemned to Hell for loving an angel. This angel is strongly hinted to have become the Phantom Stranger.
Another possible origin was hinted at in
The Kingdom"The Kingdom" is a story arc that ran through a two-issue, self titled comic book limited series and multiple one shot comics published by DC Comics in 1999, written by Mark Waid and drawn by Ariel Olivetti/Mike Zeck. This is both a sequel and, in some ways, prequel to Kingdom Come, also by Mark...
(the sequel to
Kingdom ComeKingdom Come is a four-issue comic book mini-series published in 1996 by DC Comics. It was written by Mark Waid and painted in gouache by Alex Ross, who also developed the concept from an original idea...
) in which it was implied that Jonathan Kent, the future son of
SupermanSuperman is a fictional character, a comic book superhero widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective Comics, Inc...
and Wonder Woman, might grow up to be the Phantom Stranger. This also tied some of his abilities into the
HypertimeHypertime is a fictional concept presented in the 1999 DC comic book series The Kingdom, both a catch-all explanation for any continuity discrepancies in DC Universe stories and a variation or superset of the Multiverse that existed before Crisis on Infinite Earths.- The Kingdom :The basic premise...
concept, saying that he had the innate ability to enter other alternate timelines and to exist in the spaces between them. However, the story ultimately revealed this a
red herringA red herring is an idiom referring to a device which intends to divert the audience from the truth or an item of significance. For example, in mystery fiction, an innocent party may be purposefully cast as highly suspect through emphasis or descriptive techniques; attention is drawn away from the...
. The character in question had been deliberately drawn in shadows to suggest that he was the Stranger; but when Wonder Woman finally saw his face, she said that she now realized he was
not the Stranger.
Yet another story, in the mini-series
Conjurors (outside regular DC continuity), has him as the Father of Magic, the first human ever to wield arcane forces through his medallion, which he had stolen from extradimensionnal
LovecraftHoward Phillips Lovecraft was an American author of horror, fantasy, and science fiction, known then simply as weird fiction....
-type deities, arcane forces he then shares with humanity.
A stranger...
In his earliest appearances, the Phantom Stranger would prove
supernaturalThe term supernatural or supranatural pertains to an order of existence beyond the scientifically visible universe. Religious miracles are typically supernatural claims, as are spells and curses, divination, the belief that there is an afterlife for the dead, and innumerable others...
events to be
hoaxA hoax is a deliberate attempt to deceive or trick an audience into believing, or accepting, that something is real, when the hoaxer knows it is not; or that something is true, when it is false...
es. In later stories, the supernatural events were real and the Phantom Stranger was given unspecified
superhumanA superhuman is an entity with intelligence or abilities exceeding normal human standards.Superhuman can mean an improved human, for example, by genetic modification, cybernetic implants, or as what humans might evolve into, in the distant future...
powers to defeat them. He later appeared in various other
DC UniverseThe DC Universe is the shared universe where most of the comic stories published by DC Comics take place. The fictional characters Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman are well-known superheroes from this universe. Note that in context, "DC Universe" is usually used to refer to the main DC continuity...
titles, sometimes as a major participant; in others, the Phantom Stranger just appears and gives advice or warning to the featured heroes. Occasionally he serves simply as narrator. In some stories, he seems to be answerable to a mysterious Voice, implied to be God, or the Lords of Order.
The Phantom Stranger played a major part in
Neil GaimanNeil Richard Gaiman is an English author of science fiction and fantasy short stories and novels, graphic novels, comics, audio theatre, and films. His notable works include The Sandman comic series, Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book...
's
The Books of MagicThe Books of Magic is the title of a four-issue English-language comic book mini-series written by Neil Gaiman, and later an ongoing series, published by the DC Comics imprint Vertigo. Since its original publication, the mini-series has also been published in a single-volume collection with an...
, taking
protagonistA protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, video game, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to share the most empathy...
Tim HunterTimothy Hunter, is a fictional character, a comic book sorcerer published by DC Comics. He first appeared in The Books of Magic vol. 1 #1 , and was created by Neil Gaiman and John Bolton.-Publication history:...
through
timeTime travel is the concept of moving between different moments in time in a manner analogous to moving between different points in space, either sending objects backwards in time to a moment before the present, or sending objects forward from the present to the future without the need to...
to show him the history and nature of
magicMagic, sometimes known as sorcery, is the practice of consciousness manipulation and/or autosuggestion to achieve a desired result, usually by techniques described in various conceptual systems...
. He has assisted the Justice League on numerous occasions, even being formally elected to the group in
Justice League of America #103 (although he did not acknowledge his membership until
Justice League of America #143). The Stranger also had his own limited series, where lacking much of his power, he tries to foil Eclipso's plan to cause a nuclear war.
During
Kevin SmithKevin Patrick Smith is an American screenwriter and director, as well as a comic book writer, author, and actor. He is also the co-founder, with Scott Mosier, of View Askew Productions and owner of Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash comic and novelty store in Red Bank, New Jersey. He also hosts a...
's relaunch of
Green ArrowGreen Arrow is a fictional character, published by DC Comics. Created by Mort Weisinger and George Papp, he first appeared in More Fun Comics #73 in 1941...
, he prevented
Hal JordanHarold "Hal" Jordan is a fictional character, a DC Comics superhero. He is DC Comics' second Green Lantern and the first earthman ever inducted into the Green Lantern Corps and founding member of the Justice League of America...
from uniting the resurrected body of Oliver Queen with his soul in Heaven. This earned him Jordan's wrath; indeed, the
SpectreThe Spectre is a fictional cosmic entity and superhero who has appeared in numerous comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in a next issue ad in More Fun Comics #51 and received his first story the next month, #52...
threatened to judge the Stranger to see whether God had "punished" him properly by refusing him access to Heaven itself. Nonetheless, the Phantom Stranger assisted Hal Jordan during his tenure as the Spectre on numerous occasions as well, most notably in a short stint babysitting Hal's niece, Helen.
In
2005-April:*April 13:**DC Comics announces the discontinuation of its Humanoids and 2000 A.D. titles.**Powerade and DC Comics show the first of four new online comics starring LeBron James as superhero "King James"...
's
Day of VengeanceDay of Vengeance is a six-issue comic book limited series written by Bill Willingham, with art by Justiniano and Walden Wong, published in 2005 by DC Comics.-Publication history:...
, the Stranger had been turned into a small rodent by the Spectre. Upon the Spectre's confrontation and battle with the Stranger, the Stranger states that "You can't kill me. I doubt that the universe would allow it", implying some sort of holy protection. He was still able to advise the
Detective ChimpIn the fictional DC Universe, Detective Chimp is a deerstalker-wearing chimpanzee with human-level intelligence who solves crimes, often with the help of the Bureau of Amplified Animals, a group of intelligent animals that also includes Rex the Wonder Dog...
, who sheltered him in his hat while he recovered his powers. He changed back using recovered energies in
Day of Vengeance #6 and aided the
ShadowpactThe Shadowpact is a group of magic-based heroes who fought against the Spectre in the 2005 limited series Day of Vengeance, published by DC Comics. They are a sort of Justice League for the supernatural elements of the DC Universe...
, allowing them to see the battle between the Spectre and
ShazamShazam is a comic book character created by Bill Parker and C. C. Beck for Fawcett Comics. He is an ancient wizard who gives young Billy Batson the power to transform into the superhero Captain Marvel...
. The series makes a point that the supernatural community generally regards the Phantom Stranger as invincible. The first reaction of some characters to the Spectre's assault on magic is simply to presume that the Stranger will take care of it. Other stories have shown the Stranger nearly as powerful as the Spectre. This however, is a recent interpretation. While others have never considered the Stranger as an easy foe to combat, given his unknown abilities, they also never considered him as invincible, though it's conceivable that fellow magic-wielders would have a better sense of his powers than "outsiders."
In the
Day of Vengeance: Infinite Crisis Special, The Phantom Stranger works with Nabu,
Doctor OccultDoctor Occult is a fictional character, a magic user in the DC Comics universe. Created by Superman's creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, Doctor Occult is the earliest character created by DC Comics still currently in use in its shared universe fiction....
,
ZatannaZatanna Zatara is a fictional character in the DC Comics universe. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Murphy Anderson, Zatanna first appeared in Hawkman vol. 1 #4 . She appeared in vol...
, the Shadowpact and other mystics to re-form the Rock of Eternity and help defeat the maddened Spectre.
The Phantom Stranger's relationships with the other mystic heroes are usually a bit tense. The Stranger has no qualms gathering various forces in order to combat a certain evil (the Sentinels of Magic, but also other loose outfits), often invading those people's personal lives. However, he does not usually extend them that same courtesy. The Phantom Stranger has resisted such people as
Doctor FateDoctor Fate is the name of a succession of fictional sorcerers who appear within DC Comics' universe. The original version was created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Howard Sherman, and first appeared in More Fun Comics #55...
(notably
Hector HallHector Hall was a superhero who appeared in DC Comics's Infinity, Inc., Sandman and JSA. He has gone by the names Silver Scarab, Sandman and, before his death, Dr. Fate.- Childhood :...
) in this, although Fate is in almost any incarnation an ally of the Stranger. Despite this, he does get along well with Zatanna; in
Justice League of America #6 he appeared by her side to help remove the influence of Faust on Red Tornado, and in the
Justice series he seems to have a fatherly affection for her, calling her "my dear."
Since he is ultimately an unpredictable force, others often meet the Phantom Stranger's appearance with distrust. Nonetheless, most heroes will follow him, seeing not only his immense power, but also knowing that the Stranger is in the end, a force for good. Notable though is
Madame XanaduMadame Xanadu is a fictional character, a comic book mystic published by DC Comics. She debuted in Doorway to Nightmare #1,...
, who has refused to join the Stranger on a few occasions, although she is a member of his Sentinels of Magic. Eventually it was revealed that Madame Xanadu's hatred for the Phantom Stranger stems for his involvement in the events costing young Nimue her powers and heritage, and turning the young fey into the immortal yet powerless clairevoyant.
The Stranger also holds a unique relationship with the Spectre, as the two forces often come into conflict. He was responsible for gathering a group of mystic heroes in order to combat the Spectre, when its human host
Jim CorriganJim Corrigan is the name of three fictional characters that have appeared in numerous comic books published by DC Comics. The first Corrigan initially appeared in More Fun Comics #52 , a deceased cop acting as host to the cosmic entity the Spectre, and was created by Jerry Siegel and Bernard...
seemingly lost control of the Spectre. (It was during this time that they destroyed the country of Vlatava.) The Phantom Stranger participated in Jim Corrigan's funeral, when Corrigan's soul finally earned its rest and left the Spectre. The Stranger subsequently became one of the forces that stood against the Spectre when it went on a rampage without its human host, until the soul of Hal Jordan bonded with it. The Stranger occasionally took on an advisory role for this new Spectre. In
Infinite Crisis #6, aware that the Spectre now has yet another new host, the Phantom Stranger gathered a large group of magic wielders in an unsuccessful attempt to solicit the Spectre's assistance in the Crisis.
In the new
Madame XanaduMadame Xanadu is a fictional character, a comic book mystic published by DC Comics. She debuted in Doorway to Nightmare #1,...
miniseries, the first encounter between the then young and innocent Nimue, as Xanadu was known in the Arthurian Age, and the Phantom Stranger himself is told. There, Nimue acknowledges his unearthly nature, describing him as "Ageless and yet so...uneasy", and claiming that "You're not human! Nor are you of the Ancient Folk! Nor fey creature. Nor...nor demon...". However, before Nimue is able to grasp his nature, the Stranger goes away, claiming to be "compelled to counsel and yet forbidden to interfere in the course of history" This makes the Phantom Stranger the almost equivalent of the
Marvel ComicsMarvel Publishing, Inc., a company doing business as Marvel Comics, produces American comic books and related media. It forms a subsidiary of Marvel Entertainment, Inc....
character
UatuUatu, often simply known as The Watcher, is a fictional character, created by writer Stan Lee and designed by artist Jack Kirby, who first appeared in Fantastic Four Volume 1 #13 . He is a member of the Watchers, an extraterrestrial species who in the distant past stationed themselves across space...
, since both of them are described as immensely powerful, both of them agents of cosmical relevance, but strictly bound by an oath of non-interference that can only be loosened, never broken, by employing other people as their "agents".
In the pages of
ShadowpactThe Shadowpact is a group of magic-based heroes who fought against the Spectre in the 2005 limited series Day of Vengeance, published by DC Comics. They are a sort of Justice League for the supernatural elements of the DC Universe...
the Phantom Stranger has adopted the role of
narratorA narrator is, within any story , the entity that conveys the story to the audience. When the narrator is also a character within the story, he or she is sometimes known as the viewpoint character. The narrator is one of three entities responsible for story-telling of any kind...
. He is shown to be aware of the mystical happenings not only on Earth but across several dimensions; once again he is shown unable to interfere no matter how dire the danger he's aware of.
Powers and abilities
The natures of these are as mysterious as the Stranger himself, who seems to be effectively eternal, never aging. The Phantom Stranger has demonstrated enormous powers and capabilities, the exact origin of which is undetermined. He can travel enormous distances in a very short period of time, such as to the JLA Watchtower and
ApokolipsIn the DC Comics fictional shared Universe, Apokolips is the planet ruled by Darkseid, established in Jack Kirby's Fourth World series. It is also integral to many DC Comics stories. The planet is considered the opposite of New Genesis....
, as well as to mystical dimensions, such as Heaven, Hell and the realm occupied by the Quintessence. He can fire energy bolts of great force, travel through time, dispel magic, reveal illusions, and survive in space without earthly life-support systems. His power seems to have unspecified parameters limiting them. In many cases, despite his obvious capabilities, he claims he is not allowed to end a crisis directly, only to guide others to take the necessary actions. (This restriction allows the Stranger to guest-star in virtually any title without becoming a
deus ex machinaA deus ex machina is a plot device in which a person or thing appears "out of the blue" to help a character to overcome a seemingly insolvable difficulty...
whose actions would immediately end the story.)
The Phantom Stranger's greatest power, of which he is most well known, is his mysterious
omniscienceOmniscience is the capacity to know everything infinitely, or at least everything that can be known about a character including thoughts, feelings, life and the universe, etc. In monotheism, this ability is typically attributed to God...
: he seems to know nearly everything about any character and situation he encounters in the DC Universe. This allows him to provide helpful advice and assistance to others, as if he is a guiding angel sent on a mission of mercy. (See also the various origin stories above.) He claims that "nothing remains hidden to him." His omniscience has even allowed him to come to the aid of DC Universe characters trapped out of their own times. In
Animal ManAnimal Man is a fictional DC Comics superhero. As a result of being in proximity to an exploding extraterrestrial spaceship, Buddy Baker acquires the ability to temporarily “borrow” the abilities of animals...
#19, Animal Man had found himself trapped in the 1960s, in a ghost-like state "in between" reality and non-reality. He wandered listlessly, until the Stranger met him and offered a helping hand. The Stranger was already aware of Animal Man's current state of despair, and even knew that he was from the future (i.e. the late 1980s). However, in
Swamp ThingSwamp Thing is a fictional character, a plant elemental in the . He first appeared in House of Secrets #92 , and was created by Len Wein and Berni Wrightson...
Annual #2, the Stranger was not completely aware of all the details of Alec Holland's transformation into the Swamp Thing; he knew enough to be aware of the swamp creature's existence and life, but was still surprised when he encountered the creature's astral body on a trip through the afterlife.
In
Day of Vengeance #2, the Spectre transforms the Stranger into a rodent, rather than killing him outright, because even the Spectre's power would be insufficient to kill the Stranger.
In Blackest Night #2, the villain
Black HandBlack Hand is a DC Comics supervillain and a recurring foe to Green Lantern. He first appeared in Green Lantern #29 and was created by John Broome and Gil Kane...
refers to the Stranger as "neither dead or alive".
Contrary to some trick-of-the-light impressions, the Phantom Stranger does not wear a mask; instead, the shadow of his hat almost constantly cloaks his eyes. However, when shown unmasked in the Madame Xanadu miniseries, set in Arthurian age, where the Stranger's disguise was a simple cloak, his eyes appear as white and devoid of irises and pupils even in broad light, and his eyes sunken in a gaunt, sad visage, thus perpetuating the shadowy look around them.
Other versions
The Phantom Stranger appears in his animated form, as originated by Bruce Timm, in the following comics:
- DC: The New Frontier
DC: The New Frontier is an Eisner, Harvey, and Shuster Award-winning six-issue comic book limited series written and drawn by Darwyn Cooke, published by DC Comics 2003-2004, then collected from two trade paperback volumes from 2004-2005 and then an Absolute Edition in 2006...
#6 (He calls several magic-based heroes to a banquet on the Moon, where he counsels them not to interfere in the new heroes' battle with the Center.)
- Batman Gotham Adventures #33 (Wherein he shows Bruce how Gotham City would be without Batman.)
- Justice League Adventures #31 (He shows three possible fates about a boy who is mourning his family.)
- Justice League Unlimited
Justice League Unlimited is an American animated television series that was produced by Warner Bros. Animation and aired on Cartoon Network. Featuring a wide array of superheroes from the DC Comics universe, and specifically based on the Justice League superhero team, it is a direct sequel to the...
#14 (Helps DeadmanDeadman is a fictional character, a comic book superhero in the DC Comics universe. He first appeared in Strange Adventures #205 , and was created by Arnold Drake and Carmine Infantino.-Publication history:...
and some other leaguers against a magical threat.)
- Justice League Unlimited #28 (Shows the Flash several Christmas days Batman experienced in the past, in order to give the Flash a deeper understanding of Batman's psyche)
Television
- Phantom Stranger will appear in the Batman: The Brave and the Bold
Batman: The Brave and the Bold is an American animated television series based in part on the DC Comics "team-up" series The Brave and the Bold...
episode "Chill of the Night" voiced by Kevin ConroyKevin Conroy is an American actor of stage, screen and voice, best known for his voice role as Batman in numerous animated television series and feature films that comprised the DC Animated Universe.-Early life:...
(who voiced BatmanThe Batman, originally referred to as the Bat-Man, is a fictional character, a comic book superhero co-created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger , appearing in publications by DC Comics...
in the DCAU).
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