The Phantom Stranger is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Debuting in Phantom Stranger #1 (August/September 1952), he was created by John Broome and Carmine Infantino. The characters is of supernatural origin, battling mysterious occult forces, sometimes under their Vertigo imprint.
Originally having a mysterious origin, the character often appeared as spiritual advisor and guide for dilemmas of both spiritual and supernatural origin. Frequently battling demonic forces, the Phantom Stranger was once characterized as an agent for the Lords of Order that sought to prevent chaotic forces from prevailing and was only known to work to atone for a great sin. Speculated to be a fallen angel or the Wandering Jew, the Phantom Stranger was later revealed to be Judas Iscariot, having been punished by the Circle of Eternity (at the behest of God) for his betrayal of Jesus Christ by being cursed to see the world but never can be part of it while atoning for his sins. An eternal servant of God, the Phantom Stranger is also an important member of the Quintessence, a council of supremely powerful beings that witnesses events of the multiverse but do not directly intervene.
The Phantom Stranger made his first live-action appearance in the 2019 DC Universe television series Swamp Thing, portrayed by Macon Blair. Additionally, Kevin Conroy, D. B. Woodside, and Peter Serafinowicz have voiced the character in animation.
Contents
Publication history
Volume 1
The Phantom Stranger first appeared in an eponymous six-issue comics anthology published in 1952 and was created by John Broome and Carmine Infantino.
Volume 2
After an appearance in Showcase #80 (February 1969), he received another series beginning May–June 1969 that lasted until February–March 1976. The Showcase appearance and the first three issues of Phantom Stranger consisted of reprints from both the 1950s title and the "Dr. 13: Ghost-Breaker" feature from the last nine issues of Star Spangled Comics at the same time, with new, brief framing sequences. These had Dr. Thirteen, certain that the Phantom Stranger was an impostor, determined to expose him.
Beginning with issue #4 (November-December 1969), the series began featuring all-new material, with stories produced by Robert Kanigher, Len Wein, Jim Aparo, Neal Adams, Tony DeZuniga 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 demonic sorceress named Tala would become his archenemy; an alchemist/sorcerer named Tannarak was first an enemy and would later assist him against the Dark Circle; and a blind psychic named Cassandra Craft would assist him. 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. 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).
The second volume originally ended with the forty-first issue in November 1975, cover dated March 1976. In January 2010, a forty-second issue was added to the second series during the Blackest Night event, effectively a one-shot.
Saga of the Swamp Thing
A backup series in Saga of the Swamp Thing #1-13 featured the Phantom Stranger. Most of those short stories were written by Mike W. Barr; one was written by Paul Levitz. These were mostly morality tales in the style of The Phantom Stranger vol. 2, without connections to the character's Bronze Age continuity with Batman or the Justice League. One two-part story explicitly connected with the continuity of vol. 2, continuing the story of Tannarak.
After the backup series ended with #13, the Stranger appeared in the main story of Saga of the Swamp Thing #14. After Saga of the Swamp Thing became Swamp Thing volume 2 written by Alan Moore, the Stranger became an occasional recurring character, as Swamp Thing became more involved with the afterlife and the mystical world.
Volume 3
The Stranger also starred in a miniseries in 1987. This series portrayed him as an agent of the Lords of Order. They temporarily stripped the Stranger of his powers, due to his desire to continue a battle against the Lords of Chaos. This went against the wishes of the Lords of Order, who had believed a victory by darkness over light was necessary and preordained. This series featured Eclipso as an agent of Chaos.
Action Comics Weekly
During the period 1988-89 when Action Comics became the anthology Action Comics Weekly, one rotating strip featured The Phantom Stranger. It explicitly continued the continuity of The Phantom Stranger Volume 2.
The story of Volume 2 and the Action Comics Weekly strip was resolved in Neil Gaiman's proposed story concluding the whole of Action Comics Weekly. This was published years later as the non-canonical in Green Lantern/Superman: Legend of the Green Flame. In this story, the Stranger claims that he belongs to no group, including the servants of the Lords of Order. The Lords of Order threaten to strip him of his powers, and he leaves, claiming that he shall continue to wander.
Volume 4
The Phantom Stranger received a new ongoing series in September 2012 written by Dan DiDio and drawn by Brent Anderson. This series was retitled as Trinity of Sin: The Phantom Stranger as of issue #9 (Aug. 2013) and cancelled as of #22 (Oct. 2014).
Justice League membership status
The Phantom Stranger is better known for his role as a supernatural assistant to other heroes, such as the Justice League. His status as either a full, reserve, or honorary member of the League is debatable. After a vote of the majority of the team in Justice League of America #103, they offered him membership, with Superman declaring the Stranger "a member" without qualification, though he left before accepting. This issue was part of an unofficial metafictional crossover with Marvel Comics, spanning titles from both of the major comics companies. Beginning in Marvel's Amazing Adventures #16 (by Steve Englehart with art by Bob Brown and Frank McLaughlin), the story continued in DC's Justice League of America #103 (by Len Wein, Dick Dillin and Dick Giordano), and is concluded in Thor #207 (by Gerry Conway and penciler John Buscema). Each comic featured writers Englehart, Conway, and Wein, as well as Wein's first wife Glynis, interacting with Marvel or DC characters at the Rutland Halloween Parade in Rutland, Vermont. The Phantom Stranger has at least twice asserted his membership status when other Leaguers challenged his input, during the vote on the League's re-admission of Wonder Woman and during the crossover with The Avengers. In contrast, many in-story accounts of League membership fail to include the Stranger; when Zatanna was admitted as a member, Superman and Hawkman clarified that the 12-member limit in the League's charter had been rewritten previously to admit Hawkgirl as the 13th. Wein commented on the Phantom Stranger's relationship with the JLA in a 2012 interview stating that the character "only sort of joined. He was offered membership but vanished, as per usual, without actually accepting the offer. Over the years, other writers have just assumed [he] was a member, but in my world, he never really said yes".
Fictional character biography
Origin
Unusually for a comic book character of such longevity, nothing in the way of personal data about the Phantom Stranger—his real name, his true nature, or his origins—has ever been revealed. In 1987, DC produced a special issue of Secret Origins (vol. 2, #10) that postulated four possible origins:
In a variation of the Wandering Jew story, he was a man named Isaac with a wife (Rebecca) and a young son in Bethlehem during the time of Jesus' childhood. When King Herod heard that there was born a child who would be king of the Jews, he orders the Massacre of the Innocents to kill Jesus. Among the people killed were Isaac's wife and son. Blind with anger, he spends the next 30 years raging against Jesus. During the Passion of Jesus, Isaac bribes a guard to let him take his place and participate in the flagellation of Christ. Jesus condemns Isaac to "tarry in this world - until I come again". Centuries after the crucifixion, Isaac repents. He has spent his life helping mankind ever since, evidently finding the task so agreeably fulfilling that in the present day, he politely declines an offer from God to release him from his penance.
The Stranger was a man in Biblical times who was spared God's wrath by an angel. Questioning God's actions, he commits suicide. The angel forbids his spirit from entering the afterlife, reanimates his body, and erases all memories of his past life. He then discovers his divine charge: to turn humanity away from evil, one soul at a time.
The Phantom Stranger is a being caught in a time loop. Near the end of the universe, he approaches several scientists who are trying to transfer energy from the Big Bang to extend the universe's lifespan and stops one of the scientists, who is an avatar of Anti-Life and attempting to destroy the universe. The story concludes with the Phantom Stranger passing a portion of himself to a scientist, who becomes his successor.
The Phantom Stranger was a fallen angel who sided with neither Heaven nor Hell during Lucifer's rebellion and thus was condemned to walk the Earth. In the comic book miniseries The Trenchcoat Brigade, John Constantine sees that the fourth origin story is essentially correct. Vertigo Visions: Phantom Stranger #1 by Alisa Kwitney and Guy Davis builds upon Alan Moore's fallen angel story from Secret Origins and adds the story of a woman called Naamah, who was condemned to Hell for loving an angel. This angel is implied to have become the Phantom Stranger.
Depictions by different writers
In his earliest appearances, the Phantom Stranger would prove supernatural events to be hoaxes perpetrated by criminals. He would directly confront the villains, and displayed no supernatural abilities apart perhaps from his uncanny ability to appear where and when he is needed and to disappear just as mysteriously, with nobody seeing him coming or going. In later stories, the supernatural events were real and the Phantom Stranger was given unspecified supernatural powers of his own to defeat them. For example, he was able to control a smoke-based sedative with a gesture, claiming that smoke itself is his ally.
In his second comic book series, the Phantom Stranger became a truly supernatural hero.
The Phantom Stranger played a major part in Neil Gaiman's The Books of Magic, taking protagonist Tim Hunter through time to show him the history and nature of magic. 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 Smith's relaunch of Green Arrow, he prevented Hal Jordan from uniting the resurrected body of Oliver Queen with his soul in Heaven. This earned him Jordan's wrath; indeed, the Spectre 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 Jordan during his tenure as the Spectre on numerous occasions as well, most notably in a short stint babysitting his niece Helen.
In 2005's Day of Vengeance, the Phantom Stranger had been turned into a mouse by the Spectre. Upon the Spectre's confrontation and battle with the Stranger, the Stranger states: "You can't kill me. I doubt that the universe would allow it". He was still able to advise Detective Chimp, however, who sheltered him in his hat while he regained his powers. He changed back using recovered energies in Day of Vengeance #6 and aided the Shadowpact, allowing them to see the battle between the Spectre and Shazam. 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 to be nearly as powerful as the Spectre.
Blackest Night
In Blackest Night #2, Black Hand refers to the Phantom Stranger as neither dead nor alive, meaning he cannot be killed, resurrected, or turned into a Black Lantern. The Stranger watches as a black power ring attaches itself to Crispus Allen's body, turning him into a Black Lantern, and sealing the Spectre within him. In the tie-in one-shot revival of Phantom Stranger #42, the Stranger, with the help of Blue Devil, attempts to fight the Black Lantern Spectre, but fails. The two then travel to Nanda Parbat, where the Stranger helps Deadman remove the black ring from his body. The Stranger has the body brought into Nanda Parbat and placed under guard, stating that it is of "singular importance".
The New 52
In DC Comics - The New 52 FCBD Special Edition #1 as part of The New 52 (a reboot of the DC Comics universe), the Phantom Stranger is implied to be Judas Iscariot and part of the Trinity of Sin with Pandora and the Question. While not named explicitly, the necklace he wears is presumed to be made from the 30 pieces of silver that he received for his betrayal of Jesus Christ. His hair and eyes become totally white from the experience.
Phantom Stranger (vol. 4) #0 confirmed that Phantom Stranger was once Judas Iscariot, the man who betrayed Jesus. In this origin tale he is about to hang himself when his suicide attempt is stopped by a mysterious group of individuals. He is subsequently judged along with Pandora and another man who was turned into the Question. Thousands of years later, he is guided to help desperate former detective Jim Corrigan find his kidnapped girlfriend. He leads him to the abandoned warehouse where she has been kept, but this turns out to be a trap. Corrigan is killed by the kidnappers, then transforms into the Spectre and accuses the Stranger of betraying him. As the Spectre is about to attack the Stranger, a mysterious Voice sends him off to inflict his wrath on the more deserving. As payment for what occurred with Corrigan, one coin drops off the necklace he was cursed with (made of the 30 pieces of silver he betrayed Jesus for) and the Stranger realizes he has more encounters ahead of him before he is forgiven.
Pandora meets the Phantom Stranger and tells him she needs his help to find the person who can open her box. He refuses, reminding her of the last time the box was opened, when the sins of the world were unleashed. To this, she responds that she only wants to save everyone from what she unleashed. John Constantine tries to con the Phantom Stranger to join the Justice League Dark by promising to return one of the coins bound to him through his punishment. The Phantom Stranger rejects the offer, but Constantine feels he will eventually come around and be on the Justice League Dark's side. The Question manipulates Doctor Thirteen to impale the Phantom Stranger with the Spear of Destiny. The Phantom Stranger is left on the door to the House of Mystery, and the Justice League Dark attempt to revive him, summoning the Nightmare Nurse. Once they do revive him, the Phantom Stranger states that they are all in his debt and asks the Justice League Dark (specifically Zatanna) to help him enter Hell to save his family. Zauriel warns the Phantom Stranger that he is never allowed to enter Heaven again, having gone to Hell to try to save his family. Zauriel also states to the Phantom Stranger that if he tries, he will be erased from time and history forever.
Powers and abilities
An archmage due to being a higher being or is considered enchanted himself, the Phantom Stranger's powers are considered undefined and mysterious, stated to have mystical properties that defies classification; possessing magical powers and limited command over natural forces, his powers first originated from empowerment as Lords of Order before later drawing strength from the collective strength of humanity. An immortal being, his magical powers allows for example flight, teleportation, energy-projection, invisibility, transformation, time manipulation, and size alteration. He also possesses considerable knowledge of the DC Multiverse, including its pasts, present, and futures.
While powerful, the Phantom Stranger possess no innate superhuman attributes, allowing him to be taken down by physical attacks (especially if taken by surprise), once demonstrated during an altercation with Wonder Woman. The character can also be overcome by those with greater supernatural power, which has included characters such the Spectre and magic originating from Garn Daanuth. The character is also not all knowing, not being completely aware of details regarding Alec Holland's transformation into Swamp Thing.
Other versions
An alternate universe version of the Phantom Stranger appears in DC: The New Frontier #6.
The Phantom Stranger appears in Scooby-Doo! Team Up #13.
In Absolute Superman #18, the Phantom Stranger has been reimagined as a woman who first appears in Ancient Egypt and gives the prophecy of a savior(later deduced to be Superman by Carter Hall) who would come to overthrow the oppressors and bring about an age of heroes.
Collected editions
In other media
Television
The Phantom Stranger appears in the Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode "Chill of the Night!", voiced by Kevin Conroy.
The Phantom Stranger appears in Swamp Thing, portrayed by Macon Blair.
The Phantom Stranger appears in Young Justice, voiced by D. B. Woodside.
Film
The Phantom Stranger appears in DC Showcase: The Phantom Stranger, voiced by Peter Serafinowicz.
Video games
The Phantom Stranger appears as a non-playable character in DC Universe Online.
The Phantom Stranger appears as a character summon in Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure.
The Phantom Stranger appears as a non-playable character in DC Legends.
Music
The song "Return of the Phantom Stranger" appears on Rob Zombie's Hellbilly Deluxe (1998) album.
Miscellaneous
Bruce Timm had intended to utilize the Phantom Stranger in the DC Animated Universe, but was not allowed to do so. However, Timm's design for the character appears in several tie-in comics.
The Phantom Stranger appears in the novel DC Universe: Trail of Time, by Jeff Mariotte.
The Phantom Stranger appears in the Scribblenauts Unmasked tie-in comic Scribblenauts Unmasked: A Crisis of Imagination.
The Phantom Stranger appears in the novel The Flash Crossover Crisis: Legends Of Forever, by Barry Lyga.