stranger-enigmatic-htd63STRANGER

stranger-enigmatic-av2-1-humanfaceReal Name: Unrevealed

Identity/Class: Extraterrestrial cosmic entity (true nature unrevealed)

Occupation: Scientist, surveyor of Worlds, data accumulator

Group Membership: He is often associated and/or grouped with beings of cosmic power, including Celestials (especially the One Above All and Ziran the Tester), Death, Epoch (and presumably formerly Eon), Galactus (Galan), In-Betweener, Infinity, Kronos the Eternal, Living Tribunal, Lord Chaos, Mephisto, Master Hate, Mistress Love, Master Order, and Uatu and/or other Watchers

Affiliations: Black Bolt (Blackagar Boltagon), Binary (Carol Danvers; now Captain Marvel), Black Goliath (William Foster), Blockade, Captain Marvel (Monica Rambeau), Celestials (especially the One Above All and Ziran the Tester), Champions of Los Angeles (Angel/Warren Worthington, Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff, Darkstar/Laynia Petrovna, Ghost Rider/John Blaze/Zarathos, Hercules/Heracles/Alcaeus, Iceman/Bobby Drake), Collector (Taneleer Tivan), Death, Epoch, Eurth residents, Galactus (Galan), Glorian (Thomas Gideon), Hyperion of Earth-712, Ikaris, In-Betweener, Infinity, Kronos the Eternal, Living Tribunal, Lockjaw, Lord Chaos, Makkari, Mephisto, Master Hate, Mistress Love, Master Order, Moondancer (Myla), Perun, Prester John, Shaper of Worlds, Solar Wind, Space Phantom, Tim, Ualu the Watcher, Voyager (Divad), Watchers;
    formerly Skeletron and the Starblasters (
Codabac, Fabrikant, Insidio, Nygorn, Skar, Threkker, Zardok);
    in a warped reality: Champion (Tryco Slatterus), Contemplator (En Dwi Gast);
    formerly enslaved Prosh;
    Al B. Harper's sacrifice convinced the Stranger that Earth was worth saving;
    he allegedly emulated and carried on the role of the gestating composite
Gigantian after inadvertently slaying it;
    he has been both ally and enemy to many
, depending on his motivations at the time, including Alter Ego, the Avengers (Captain America/Steve Rogers, Hawkeye/Clint Barton, Quasar/Wendell Vaughn, Quicksilver/Pietro Maximoff, Scarlet Witch/Django Maximoff, Sersi, Spider-Man/Peter Parker, Starfox/Eros, Thor Odinson, Vision/"Victor Shade"), Kayla Ballantine, Eternity, Fantastic Four (Human Torch/Johnny Storm, Invisible Woman/Sue Storm, Mr. Fantastic/Reed Richards, Thing/Ben Grimm), Hulk (Bruce Banner), Jean Grey, Iceman (Bobby Drake), Juggernaut (Cain Marko), Mystique (Raven Darkholme), Quasar (Wendell Vaughn), Silver Surfer (Norrin Radd), Spider-Man (Peter Parker), Thor Odinson, Toad (Mortimer Toynbee), Adam Warlock, Uatu the Watcher;

Enemies: Brotherhood of Evil Mutants (Magneto/Max Eisenhardt, aka Erik Lehnsherr, Mastermind/Jason Wyngarde, Quicksilver/Pietro Maximoff, Scarlet Witch/Wanda Maximoff, Toad/Mortimer Toynbee), Captain Marvel (Mar-Vell), Cressida (later Avenger X), Shabby Dayes, Gardener (Ord Zyonz), Gunthar the Rigellian, Howard the Duck, Rick Jones, Linda the Duck, Nebula, Otmu the Watcher, Over-Mind (Grom), Prosh, Pluto (Hades), Betty Ross, She-Hulk (Jen Walters), General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross, S'Byll, Scout (Rebecca), Shocket, Skeletron, Super-Skrull (Kl'rt), Tara Tam, Thanos, unidentified rogue Watcher;
    numerous prisoners/laboratory experiment subjects on his prison/laboratory world, including, but not limited to: Abomination (Emil Blonsky), Alpha the Ultimate Mutant, Bi-Beast, Creature from Kosmos (Pilai), Dalabuur, and the rest of the former crew of Reptyl's Serpent's Tooth ship, Diamondhead (Archibald Dyker), Dragonfly (Veronica Dultry), Ego-Prime, Elect/Power Platoon, Ethicals, Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse/Axi-Tun, Fusion (Hubert & Pinky Fusser), Futurist, Gorr the Golden Gorilla, Jack of Hearts (Jonathan Hart), Jakar, Krakoa, Magneto (Max Eisenhardt), Megaman (Nathan Cooper), Mercurio the 4-D Man, Meru the Mind-Bender (and most likely Dalia the Shape-Changer, since they were last seen merged), Monitors/Marvanites, Moondancer (Myla), Nygorn (aka the Last Monitor), Over-Mind (Grom), Presence (Sergei Krylov), Rocket Raccoon, Sky-Walker, Solar Wind, Sphinxor, Star-Dancer (Shanga), Stardust, Starlight (Tania Belinsky), Starman, Ten-For, Threkker (aka the Captive/aka the Thing from the Black Hole Star), Toad (Mortimer Toynbee), the Trikon, Voyager (Divad), Weird Sisters (Beauty, Charm, Truth), Woodgod;
    numerous test subjects on his Battleworld replica, including but not limited to: Bi-Beast, Coldblood (Eric Savin), Darkhawk (Chris Powell), Deathlok (Michael Collins), Vlad Dracula, Dragon Man, Firebird (Bonita Juarez), Gravity (Greg Willis), Hood (Parker Robbins), Kraven the Hunter (Alyosha Kravinoff), Medusa (Medusalith Boltagon), Photon (Monica Rambeau), Dr. Henry "Hank" Pym, Sleepwalker, Terror (Shreck), Venom (Mac Gargan), Wasp (Janet Van Dyne), Wonder Man (Simon Williams), unidentified Kree soldier, unidentified Skrull, allegedly dozens of others;
    Al B. Harper died deactivating the Stranger's Null-Life Bomb, but never directly interacted with the Stranger; stranger-enigmatic-astthor3-face
    he allegedly inadvertently slew the gestating composite Gigantian;
    Over-Mind manipulated several members of Earth-712's Squadron Supreme (Dr. Spectrum/Joe Ledger, Moonglow/Arcanna Jones, Power Princess/Zard, Skylark/Linda Lewis, Whizzer/Stanley Stewart);
    the heroes of Earth-148611 present on the Dark Seed/Skeleton ship (All-American/Jack Magniconte, Captain Manhattan, Chrome/Jenny Swenson, Metallurge/Chris Barret, Nightmask/Keith Remsen, Overshadow/Philip Voigt, Pit Bull/Gaylord Picaro, Psi-Hawk) ended up being the subjects of the Stranger's allies' assault, rather than the Starblasters as he presumably intended;
    he has been both ally and enemy to many, depending on his motivations at the time, including Alter Ego, the Avengers (Captain America/Steve Rogers, Hawkeye/Clint Barton, Quasar/Wendell Vaughn, Quicksilver/Pietro Maximoff, Scarlet Witch/Django Maximoff, Sersi, Spider-Man/Peter Parker, Starfox/Eros, Thor Odinson, Vision/"Victor Shade"), Kayla Ballantine, Eternity, Fantastic Four (Human Torch/Johnny Storm, Invisible Woman/Sue Storm, Mr. Fantastic/Reed Richards, Thing/Ben Grimm), Hulk (Bruce Banner), Jean Grey, Iceman (Bobby Drake), Juggernaut (Cain Marko), Mystique (Raven Darkholme), Quasar (Wendell Vaughn), Silver Surfer (Norrin Radd), Spider-Man (Peter Parker), Thor Odinson, Toad (Mortimer Toynbee), Adam Warlock, Uatu the Watcher;

Known Relatives: None;
    he created Ego and
Alter Ego;
    by one account, he is an aspect (the "fourth face") of the Living Tribunal

Aliases: "The Boss" and "Big Boss" (to people of OK Space Station on asteroid world near Deneb IV)
    "Big Man" (nickname from Hulk); "Whitey" (nickname from the Thing);
    posed as the Beyonder and the Judeo-Christian-Islamic God (Yahweh)

Base of Operations: Unidentified Laboratory World (by some accounts his home planet), an immense artificial planet located in the far reaches of the universe (or "halfway across the Milky Way galaxy" (relative to Earth); see comments);
    various starships;
    mobile throughout the universe;
    formerly Battleworld;
    formerly
O.K. Space Station on asteroid world near Deneb IV

Education: Extensively self-taught

First Appearance: X-Men I#11 (May, 1965)

stranger-enigmatic-av2-1-alienPowers/Abilities: The Stranger possesses cosmic and psionic power beyond human measurement. His abilities are superior to extremely powerful beings such as the Silver Surfer. They are comparable, perhaps slightly less than, one of the Watchers (he required Quasar's aid to challenge Otmu). He has commented that Galactus would be reluctant to war against him (presumably his technology might make him a match for Galactus, who would otherwise seem is superior. He is certainly surpassed in power by the Celestials, Eternity, Infinity, the Living Tribunal, and Above-All-Others. He is vastly overpowered by beings using the energies of the Infinity Union, the Infinity Gauntlet, the Heart of the Infinite, or other such devices granting near omnipotence.

    Whether the Stranger taps outside sources of cosmic energy or internally generates such energy is unrevealed; he does sometimes use technology to amplify or recharge his powers (as well as to rapidly heal himself from injuries). Regardless, he can employ his cosmic energies for a vast number of effects.

    He can project cosmic energy ranging from incredibly powerful concussive and/or disintegrative bolts to relatively harmless paralysis beams.

    He can manipulate gravitons (subatomic particles that carry the force of gravitational attraction) to increase or decrease the force of gravity, levitating himself or others, or pinning others to the ground.

    Able to reorder matter in his immediate vicinity, the Stranger can alter his own size, mass, and density to unrevealed limits (he has appeared to be anywhere from human-sized to over 50' tall; he has appeared comparable in size to a Celestial (who are generally 2000' tall, although this may have been a Manifestation Body from the Dimension of Manifestations)), even rendering himself immaterial or transforming himself into pure energy.

    The Stranger possesses superhuman strength, speed, endurance, and durability, all of which he can further augment with his own energies; he can demonstrate Class 100 strength, sufficient to physically battle Thor or the Silver Surfer), speed, and endurance.

    He can restructure matter into different shapes, sizes, masses, forms, and properties; for example, he can form large sums of money, make the ground like quicksand, levitate large sections of rock and "demolecularize" it, causing it to explode. He can even  affect materials of great power, such as melting the Silver Surfer's surfboard.

    He can use his energies on other beings, healing wounds, curing ailments, altering powers and abilities, and shrink others to sub-microscopic size, transporting them to "microverse" realms accessed by shrinking. He can cover others in a thin film on anti-magnetic membranes (effectively restraining Magneto, for example), which he can convert into cocoons.

    He can create highly durable, invisible force fields around himself and others.

    He can create a "neo-physical vacuum" (he generates a whirlwind that creates a vacuum at its center) around another being and then change this effect into a "field of living force" to contain and facilitate transport of others.

    He encase others in a sphere of undefined black energy that can drain starlight as well as the power cosmic.

    His powers were briefly vastly augmented by the Star Brand.

    The Stranger has extensive, undefined psionic powers and extrasensory perception.

    He can mentally probe the minds and scan the bodies of others, analyzing energies, etc.

    He can project himself into the psychic plane and communicate with other beings as if they were in a dream.

    He can physically immobilize and/or mentally control others.

    He can create illusions, including forming multiple images (convincing three-dimensional constructs) of himself.stranger-enigmatic-thor178-illusion

stranger-enigmatic-silvsurf1-5-energy_face

The Stranger can convert himself and others into energy to fly a great speeds throughout space. This process leaves a psion trail able to be tracked by beings such as the Silver Surfer.

    He can travel through space-warps and across dimensional barriers, allowing him to be virtually anywhere in the universe instantaneously.

    As he has, at least claimed to have, lived for at least a billion years, he is extremely long-lived and is quite likely immortal (his white-haired modern appearance in contrast to his black-haired appearance when he allegedly encountered and unwittingly slew the Gigantian composite MAY indicate that he ages, but at an extremely slow rate).

    He can survive in the cold and vacuum of space unaided and can communicate with others in space as if he were simply speaking (despite sound not existing in the vacuum).

    The Stranger possessed vast genius, and he is respected and sought for counsel even from beings such as the Watchers.

    Although a physical being, the Stranger's power and history affords him the respect of and the status to be considered one of the cosmic beings who judge the fate of the universe. Many of these beings are abstract beings representing certain concepts, such as Death, Eternity, Infinity, etc. While these beings take physical form via utilizing M-Bodies from the Dimension of Manifestations, the Stranger may also adopt an M-Body when interacting with the cosmic beings.

    The Stranger remains an enigmatic being, studying the the phenomena of the universe for unguessed reasons and acting towards other living beings with unfathomable motives, although curiosity seems to be a primary factor.

    He values his privacy and refuses to explain himself (even to the point of conflict) unless it serves his ends, in which case he may provide dubious or contradictory explanations.

    He has worked to oppose universal threats (which threaten him, as well) but often treats individuals (even beings of power, such as the Silver Surfer or Quasar) dispassionately and as subjects for experimentation (including vivisection (dissecting their bodies while they are still living); numerous beings, apparently including the other Monitors, have allegedly perished as a result of his examinations).stranger-enigmatic-mtioan5-electrodes

    He is willing to attack/battle others if they stand in the way of his goals or refuse his instructions that he be left alone. He is willing to use hostages and harm innocents to force cooperation.

Limitations: The Stranger has sometimes vulnerable to blinding light and other conventional attacks; however, he may also be feigning weakness/defeat/vulnerability for his own purposes.

    He is consistently vulnerable to Infinity Gauntlet (the combined power of the six primary Infinity Gems) assaults; Infinity Union-powered assaults; Heart of the Infinite-powered assaults; and  other such supremely powerful energy sources. He has been physically trapped by the power of Null-Life Bomb. Opposed by the combined energies of the Infinity Soul and Time Gems (although by beings untrained in their full powers), the Stranger was pained and sufficiently delayed that he chose to depart rather than continue the struggle.

    The Stranger has not demonstrated the ability to travel through time unaided, resurrect the dead (?), attain solar system scale stature, or move planet-sized objects unaided (although he has designed and/or altered technology that allowed Ego the Living Planet to travel through space). He apparently reassembled Battleworld, but he may have utilized technology to do so.

    His continued search for knowledge indicates that he is neither omniscient nor precognitive.

Technology: The Stranger studies and employs a wide variety of artifacts; the extent to which these items augment or diversify his powers remains unrevealed. stranger-enigmatic-astthor3-egocego

    These objects have included the mechanical servant Blockade, the Infinity Power Gem (at which point he sought to possess all of the Infinity Gems), the Infinity Union, the Null-Life Bomb, the Runestaff of Kamo Tharn, the Star Brand, spaceships of varying dimension, and the extensive equipment of his own Laboratory World (as well as that of Battleworld), and his stasis arcs (used to restrain Adam Warlock). His medical facilities' restorative systems enable his recovery from severe injuries in minutes

    Aided by unspecified technology, he has allegedly created two intelligent planets, Ego and Alter Ego (see comments).

    The Stranger has occasionally used a machine to augment and/or replenish his natural powers

Height: Variable (ranging from 6' to at least 50')
Weight: Variable (ranging from immaterial, to perhaps 225 lbs. at 6' tall, to perhaps 65 tons at 50' tall; perhaps even more if amplifying his own density or magnifying gravity)
Eyes: Black (variable; sometimes brown, sometimes solid white with no visible irides or pupils)
Hair: White (apparently formerly black; occasionally blond; variable)

History: The Stranger is an enigma, perhaps even to himself. He and/or others have related multiple, sometimes contradictory, origins and histories for him, and the truth, if it still exists, remains unrevealed.

Among the explanations of his origins/histories are (see comments):

He generally represents himself as part of an ancient race which studied mutation in other civilizations, but has also claimed this was a lie designed to mislead simpler minds.

He has identified himself as the composite of all the quintillion minds of the destroyed planet Gigantus, but has since stated that this was another ruse.

The Living Tribunal once identified the Stranger as what should have been the Tribunal’s fourth face (in opposition to the face he identified as “Equity”), representing the parts of the universe which must stand apart and outside the rest of the cosmos.

The Tribunal himself has since apparently contradicted this, showing its fourth face to be Necessity, a cosmic mirror to all beings, apparently including the Stranger; the Stranger took great umbrage at this description, perhaps unwilling to be considered a part of anything, even the Tribunal.

He has also claimed to have been manipulating Earth’s genetic evolution for decades, saying that humanity was fated to evolve and be the sole survivor from this universe into the one that follows, and that by pushing humanity’s evolution faster than it was prepared for, the Stranger could usurp their role and be the universe’s sole survivor; however, he has also said he first visited Earth only a few years ago, so all his various claims are in doubt.


gigantansff-composite-gestating(Quasar#16 (fb) - "Many galactic revolutions ago" (see comments), when the Stranger had first begun collecting specimens for experiments regarding the nature of life in the universe, he encountered an organic sac floating in space and containing the gestating of the last Gigantian.

    Sensing the being to be far more advanced than anything he had heretofore discovered, perhaps a member of the long-lost race that had sired him, the Stranger investigated the gestating being. In his youthful exuberance, the Stranger unintentionally fatally injured the being in the process of extricating him.

    Before it expired, the being communicated to the Stranger its history, nature, and purpose; it was intended to
develop into a form that could seek out and thwart the last Eyungian survivor (the Over-Mind), who was a composite of the minds of all the Eyungians and who planned to enslave the galaxy, if not the universe.

    Unable to determine if the being was indeed one of his ancestors, the Stranger nonetheless vowed to carry on its mission and to remain vigilant for the great menace it had described.

(Quasar#15 (fb) - BTS) - The Stranger encountered at least one renegade Watcher, whom he considered dangerous and unpredictable.

(Silver Surfer I#5 (fb) - BTS) - The Stranger's existence was known to the people of Zenn-La, although his name was only spoken in whispers (presumably due to fear of his power?).

(Astonishing Thor#3 (fb)) - Seeking to create a living planet, the Stranger applied to the Elder of the Universe known as the Collector to loan to him certain instruments and formulae existing only in the Collector's possession. The Collector agreed, with the stipulation that they should create two such planets and to provide the second for the Collector's museum. Seeking to eventually challenge the two as a test of whether captivity or freedom bred the stronger will.

    In creating the free planet, the Stranger gave it his own character and force of will and named it Ego. The captive planet was named Alter Ego.

(Avengers I#317 (fb) - BTS) - The Stranger obtained the Infinity Union, a combination of three devices of enormous power that, when combined, has the ability to channel all forms of ambient energy into the user.
    The Stranger stored the device deep within his "homeworld."

stranger-enigmatic-alien-xmi11-cover(Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe I#10: Stranger entry) - The Stranger traveled to Earth, apparently attracted by the sudden proliferation of superhumanly powerful beings.

(X-Men I#11 - BTS) - Xavier's radar-image beam -- apparently associated with Cerebro -- sensed an extremely powerful apparent mutant, but the being's power somehow disrupted the beam before it could form an image of what it had detected. The X-Men then split up to seek out this being.

(X-Men I#11) - Not far from the X-Men's West Chester base, the Stranger rented a room from a woman, creating a massive handful of cash to satisfy her requests for payment in advance.

    Outside, he walked on air to avoid traffic and then -- attracted to one particular building via Magneto and the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants who wished to recruit him -- passed through the wall of a building to escape the attention he was drawing; several women fainted from the shock of seeing these activities. Magneto introduced himself, and when the Stranger asked why he would join them, Magneto and Mastermind demonstrated their powers against him; wishing to show them that he was not to be toyed with thusly, the Stranger released energy that disrupted their powers and broke him free as well as transforming Mastermind into a statue of solid matter.

    The X-Men then arrived and battled the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, and when Magneto created a shield to protect them, the Stranger formed a cone of energy that transported him to a quiet wooded area, and he allowed Magneto and Toad to accompany him. When Magneto demanded to know his mutant power, the Stranger told him he was no mutant and then grew to his full height. He further covered Magneto and Toad in a thin film of anti-magnetic membrane, which then transformed into cocoons. stranger-enigmatic-alien-xmi11-giant

    Noting that these would protect them for their journey, the Stranger adopted more alien proportions and confirmed that he was an extraterrestrial and explained that his people were greatly interested in mutations and that he traveled from planet to planet, taking specimens of mutants back to his world for study. As Magneto's actions convinced the Stranger to take him, along with the Toad, whose loyalty was touching, the Stranger transported the three of them into space, announcing that they would never return.

(X-Men Forever I#3) - The Stranger studied numerous specimens in his "zoo," including Magneto and the Toad.

    Via future manipulation of Prosh, the sentient form of the ship that had served X-Factor and Cable, the mind of Toad's future self briefly occupied Toad's form, causing to reexamine how he would squander the opportunities that would be presented to him.

    After Toad's mind went further into the past, his present self had no memory of the occupation or insight gained.

(X-Men I#18 (fb) - BTS) - Months after bringing Magneto and the Toad to his prison/lab world, the Stranger departed to survey other worlds.

(Avengers#2.1 - BTS) - As the Stranger approached Earth to investigate the young woman known as Cressida, the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver sensed his approach.
   
    Professor X guided the Avengers to northern Thailand.

(Avengers#2.1) - As the Stranger confronted Cressida, noting that she had sensed the re-emergence of mutant power on Earth as he had, the Avengers arrived, and Hawkeye struck him in the back with a blast arrow. Annoyed, the Stranger asked who dared attack him thusly.

    When the Avengers challenged him, the Stranger blasted them away and then easily defended himself from their assaults.

    However, Cressida then amplified the Avengers' powers, after which the Avengers each battered the Stranger.

    Angered, the Stranger reverted to his alien energy form, blasted the Avengers back, stopping the conflict and congratulating them on having played well.

    He then informed them that if they had not interfered, he would have taken Cressida to his world for study, but that their interference had given him time to realize that this would have been pointless as she was not a mutant.

    The Stranger then converted to energy and departed.

(X-Men I#18 (fb) - BTS) - During the Stranger's absence, Magneto repaired an inactive spaceship and flew back to Earth, leaving the Toad behind.

(X-Men I#18 (fb) - BTS) - Xavier mentally contacted the Stranger and informed him of Magneto's escape and his presence on Earth.stranger-enigmatic-tta89-2-2-blue

(X-Men I#18) - As the Stranger returned to Earth, Magneto fled, with the Stranger in pursuit.

(Avengers I#47 (fb) - BTS) - The Stranger returned Magneto to his laboratory world.

(Avengers I#47 - BTS) - From the Stranger's laboratory world, Magneto locked onto magnetic beams sent from Earth (by Dane Whitman and his assistant Norris in hopes of contacting extraterrestrials life) and transported himself and the Toad back to Earth.

(Avengers I#47 - BTS / Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z hardcover#11: Stranger entry) - The Stranger allowed Magneto's departure/escape.

(Tales to Astonish I#89/2 (fb) - BTS) - From a vantage point in deepest space, the Stranger studied Earth, and he was displeased to see mankind consumed by greed, as well as with hatred for fellow mortals; with mankind obsessed with war and possessing atomic power, he considered humanity a danger to the universe.

(
Tales to Astonish I#89/2) - The Stranger appeared in the desert, awakening a sleeping Bruce Banner while forcing him to remain mute and immobile. Reviewing his assessment of humanity, he revealed his plan to use the Hulk to weaken humanity (destroying its bridges, dams, military installations, government buildings, etc.) after which he would virtually wipe it out and then rebuild it under his command. Aware that millions would perish in the process, he noted that he would sacrifice the whole solar system to bring peace to the universe without shedding a tear. Sensing Banner's hatred of him, the Stranger countered that he was mankind's benefactor as he would bring about a better world.

    The Stranger then transported to Earth a machine to replenish his natural powers, after which Banner became so upset that he transformed into the Hulk; augmenting his powers via the machine, the Stranger used his energies to incapacitate the Hulk. Noting that he would prefer to remain and study the Hulk's power, but that there matters in distant galaxies that concerned him, the Stranger then used his machine to cause the Hulk to hate all of mankind and to seek only to destroy it. Thus affected, the Hulk departed to do just that; as he prepared to leave Earth, the Stranger noted that he did pity Earth for what was coming.

stranger-enigmatic-tta89-cover-blue(Tales to Astonish I#90/2 - BTS) - The Hulk rampaged until, when trying to figure out what would be best to destroy next, the effort to think logically caused him to revert back to Bruce Banner.

    Free of the Stranger's influence, Banner returned to Desert Base (or wherever his gamma equipment was at the time) and prepared his gamma machine to deliver a dose of radiation powerful enough to permanently destroy the Hulk (even if it killed him). However, Banner was discovered and apprehended before he could activate the device. Instead, Yugoslavian spy Emil Blonsky, fearing detecting and punishment, used the device on himself, transforming him into the Abomination, even stronger than the Hulk at his baseline level. Seeing the Abomination outraged Banner, and the Hulk soon confronted but was knocked out by the Abomination.

(Tales to Astonish I#91/2 - BTS) - After being exposed to the gamma device's full power, the Hulk recovered. Rick Jones got through to the Hulk, who reverted back to Banner, who arranged to lead the Abomination back to the base where Banner drained his power. Ultimately, the Hulk defeated the weakened Abomination.

(Tales to Astonish I#91/2) - "A thousand galaxies away," the Stranger observed this conflict, considering that if the savage Hulk could be so valorous, perhaps there was hope for humanity. Considering that the evil Abomination might better serve as his agent, the Stranger transported him to his laboratory world.

(Silver Surfer I#5 (fb) - BTS) - Concluding again that Earth was a threat to the cosmos, the Stranger
resolved to destroy Earth through other means. He brought his Null-Life Bomb into a ship he piloted to Earth.stranger-enigmatic-silvsurf1-5-foot

(Silver Surfer I#5) - As the Stranger approached Earth, he observed the energy unleashed by the Silver Surfer as he attempted to penetrate the Galactus-created barrier that kept him on Earth. As he flew down to Earth with plans to deposit his bomb and await its detonation, the Stranger investigated the energy beams, discovered the Surfer, and announced his plans to destroy all life on Earth. The Surfer argued that humanity just needed time to mature, but the Stranger insisted that their time had run out. When the Surfer tried to stop the Stranger with an energy blast, the Stranger rendered himself immaterial to allow the blast to pass through him harmlessly, after which he vanished, apparently teleporting to Earth's surface as he warned the Surfer that if he remained on Earth he would die.

(Silver Surfer I#5 - BTS) - The Surfer told Al B. Harper, who was assisting his efforts to escape Galactus' barrier, and Harper warned the local police, and then the army and the FBI,  in hopes of spreading the word and getting everyone to search for the bomb, but they all dismissed him as crazy.

    The Surfer transported Harper, with his portable Geiger-scope, in search of the bomb, and they soon located the area in which the Stranger held it. While Harper tracked the bomb, the Surfer sought out the Stranger.

(Silver Surfer I#5) - As the Surfer approached, the Stranger advised him that they were more akin to each other than humanity and that the Surfer should depart and leave them to their fate. When the Surfer refused, the Stranger created a "neo-physical vacuum" that changed into a field of living force to contain the Surfer; the Stranger then brought the Surfer into a city where he pinned the Surfer under his foot. The Surfer blasted the Stranger in the eyes, blinding him and causing him to fall backward into a building. Recovering, the Stranger fought the Surfer

(Silver Surfer I#5 - BTS) - Al Harper deactivated the Null-Life Bomb despite appreciating that its defense mechanisms would be fatal for him.

(Silver Surfer I#5) - As a signal from his tunic sensor indicated that the Null-Life Bob had been neutralized, the Stranger appreciated that someone had sacrificed his or her life to save the world; considering that he had misjudged the human race, the Stranger departed for the ever-changing wonder of endless space, noting that he could not restore a lost life.stranger-enigmatic-thor178-scanner

(Silver Surfer I#12 (fb) - BTS) - The Stranger left his laboratory world for months, exploring other galaxies.

(Silver Surfer I#12 (fb) - BTS) - A coven of witches and warlocks led by Warlock Prime summoned the Abomination from the Stranger's laboratory/prison world to Earth.

 (Thor I#178 (fb) - BTS) -
After the Abomination's defeat, the witches coven sent him back to the Stranger's laboratory/prison world.

(Thor I#178 - BTS) - However, the Abomination returned outside of his previous confinement chambers.

(Thor I#178) - As the Abomination invaded the Stranger's chambers, he found the Stranger studying his space scanner. While the Abomination prepared to ambush him, the Stranger identified a specimen on another world. Briefly considering teleporting the being to him, the Stranger instead elected to visit the being's planet, study it firsthand, and face his victim to test his powers and better savor the prize he had won. He therefore teleported himself away under his own power.

(Thor I#178 - BTS) - The Abomination investigated the scanner, which shifted to viewing Asgard, after which he unwittingly activated a piece of equipment that summoned Thor to his side. Showing Thor the other beings imprisoned on the Stranger's world, the Abomination convinced him that the Stranger was the one to bring him there and that all present were innocent victims. When Thor shattered a wall imprisoning a number of such captives, the Stranger detected and returned to investigate.

(Thor I#178) - The Stranger reappeared, demanding to know who had tampered with his private compound and set his captives free. As other captives fled, Thor confronted the Stranger, who made the ground below Thor's feet like quicksand. Thor hurled his hammer, Mjolnir, at the Stranger, who made himself immaterial to allow the hammer to pass through him. After Thor freed himself via the returning Mjolnir, the Stranger formed multiple duplicates of himself. Shattering the ground below them, Thor identified the correct Stranger, before departing to learn more about his enemy's nature.

(Thor I#178 - BTS) - Seeking to hide out from the Stranger, Thor returned to Don Blake's form, after which he relocated the Abomination and heard him discussing his and his associates' criminal nature and plots to escape captivity and menace the the cosmos anew.

    Ultimately, Thor attacked the Abomination and his allies until the Stranger found and challenged him anew. Realizing the Stranger's ire might lead him to attack Asgard, Thor "reversed time" (see comments) to the moment at which the Abomination summoned him to
Stranger's Laboratory World (actually diverging Reality-616 from Reality-70766).

    Wise to the Abomination's deceptions, Thor punched him out and reimprisoned him before returning to Asgard without having encountered/enraged the Stranger.stranger-enigmatic-ffi116-altcolor

(Fantastic Four I#116) - The Stranger arrived on Earth in response to the assault of the Over-Mind, claiming to be the sum of the power of the Gigantians, having been waiting to deal with his threat. Enduring the Over-Mind's assaults, the Stranger shrunk him to sub-microscopic size, leaving him trapped on a lifeless "sub-atomic" world (
actually a "microverse" realm accessed by shrinking). He then departed "this dismal planet for the glory of the stars and the cosmic pursuits" he found there.

(Captain America I#150
(fb) - BTS) - Observing the Stranger's meeting with the Fantastic Four via a dimensional rift, Jakar conceived of a plan: Posing as the Stranger, he would capture human children whose souls could then be used to restore the comatose people of his world.

(Captain America I#149-150) - Posing as the Stranger, Jakar acted on his plan until convinced that his lover, Kari-Le, would be disappointed in his actions.

(Avengers I#138 (fb) - BTS) - Using technology learned from Magneto, Toad constructed a starship that allowed him to return to the Stranger's prisonworld. Knowing the Stranger spent most of his time away from that world, Toad breached the planet's defenses and plundered the Stranger's technology. Taking all that he could understand and installing it in his ship, Toad returned to Earth, intending to use his new power to impress the Scarlet Witch and get her to marry him. Upon, learning that the Witch had married the Vision, Toad instead plotted to make the Avengers suffer.

(Avengers I#137-138 - BTS) - Posing as the Stranger, Toad assaulted the Avengers until ultimately being tricked into dropping the illusion by the Beast, after which Toad was defeated and the ship was taken by the Avengers.

(Captain Marvel I#42 (fb) - BTS) - Coming upon the O.K. Space Station, a domed city on an asteroid world near Deneb IV, the Stranger was amused by "this hamlet of madmen," and he established himself as the "Big Boss."

(Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z hardcover#11: Stranger entry) - The Stranger studied the half-poisoned inhabitants and their backwards society.

(Captain Marvel I#42 (fb) - BTS / Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z hardcover#11: Stranger entry) - The Stranger recreated the miners’ social structure to mimic Earth’s old west, with himself as boss.
stranger-enigmatic-mtu55-confront
(Captain Marvel I#42 - BTS) - Captain Marvel and Rick Jones were transported to the asteroid world by the Supreme Intelligence, after which the local Shabby Dayes brought them into the domed city. After the two visitors defeated Jaqe Murania and his gang when they assaulted Shabby for returning to the space station, Jaqe and his gang warned them that they "would be pushin' up locoweed once Big Boss" heard about the day's events.

(Captain Marvel I#42) - As Mar-Vell asked Shabby about the Big Boss, Shabby noted he had never seen him, as " 'round these parts, he's still a--"

    And then, the Stranger smashed into the Red Dog Saloon and finished Shabby's clause with, "Stranger, Ho Ho Ho!"

    Mar-Vell recognized the Stranger, who explained his interest in the cosmically bizarre (or bizarrely cosmic?) before insisting on a "gunfight" with Mar-Vell and threatening to destroy the entire installation if Mar-Vell objected.

    After the Stranger fired repeatedly on Mar-Vell, the hero reluctantly blasted him back, but the Stranger absorbed the energy and then expelled it, with the energy burst striking and cracking the dome. While Jones worked to repair the crack, the Stranger continued firing blasts at Mar-Vell. When Shabby Dayes collapsed due to exposure to the poisonous atmosphere seeping in, Mar-Vell turned to check on him and was struck down by one of the Stranger's blasts. Upset to have inadvertently shot his enemy in the back, the Stranger considered his experience ruined and departed.

(Captain Marvel I#42 - BTS) - Mar-Vell suspected that the Supreme Intelligence's mental powers had influenced the American Old West culture/structure of the O.K. Space Station.

(Marvel Team-Up I#55 (fb) - BTS) - The Stranger obtained the Power Gem, after which he sought to obtain the other Infinity Gems (see comments).

(Champions I#12 (fb) - BTS) - After the Null-Life Bomb was unwittingly reactivated, the Stranger, who was in deep space, sensed this and departed for Earth.

(
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z hardcover#11: Stranger entry) - The Stranger then tracked the Time Gem to Earth’s moon (where the Elder of the Universe known as the Gardener held
it).

(Marvel Team-Up I#55 (fb) - BTS) - The Stranger arrived in the Kree-created Blue Area of Earth's moon, unknowingly observed by the Gardener.

(Marvel Team-Up I#55) - The Stranger confronted Adam Warlock (there alongside Spider-Man) in the Blue Area, seeking to collect his Soul Gem. As removal of the Soul Gem would allegedly prove fatal for him, Warlock fired an energy blast at the Stranger, stinging his hand, but then the Stranger fired a return blast from his own gem, seemingly destroying Warlock.

    Spider-Man began trying to web up the Stranger, who became irritated, grew in stature, and cast Spider-Man into a densely wooded area. Expressing a desire to deal with an urgent matter on Earth, the Stranger levitated a section of the moon, lifting himself and Warlock into space before "demolecularizing" the moon-chunk and causing it to explode. Unfazed due to having turned into energy, the Strange recovered the fallen Warlock from the moon's surface.stranger-enigmatic-mtu55-blast_warlock

(Marvel Team-Up I#55 (fb) - BTS) - The Stranger bound Warlock in his stasis arcs and prepared to remove his Soul Gem.

(Marvel Team-Up I#55) - Spider-Man returned and covered the Stranger in webbing to stop him, but when the Stranger easily tore free and began firing blasts to destroy Spider-Man, the Gardener reluctantly joined the fight.

    As Spider-Man tried to destroy the stasis arcs with a rock, the Stranger fired an energy blast to stop him and unwittingly destroyed the arcs himself, releasing Warlock. Warlock and the Gardener combined blasts from their gems, causing the Stranger pain and making him realize he didn't have time to fight them; he departed for Earth, vowing they each would pay.stranger-enigmatic-mtu55-stasisarcs

(Marvel Team-Up I#55 - BTS) - Considering his gem tainted by the battle, the Gardener left it behind and departed.

(Champions I#12 - BTS) - The Null-Life Bomb was brought to the Champions' headquarters by Regina Clayborne; it was contained within a box, and she was unaware of its nature; see the Null-Life Bomb profile for further information).

(Champions I#12) - Burning through the Champions' headquarters' wall, the Stranger announced that they must act with haste and surrender to him his device, which was capable of destroying their entire star system. Not willing to surrender so dangerous to the Stranger, the Champions refused, and when he reached for Regina Clayborne they attacked him.

    The Stranger overpowered the Champions, but the time involved allowed the Null-Life Bomb to begin its expansion. However, Angel was able to strike the Stranger and knock him off balance, which caused his leg to enter and become trapped within the Null-Life Bomb. Chastising the Champions for causing the delay, the Stranger explained how the device would expand to encompass the solar system and then solidify and contract, destroying everything within it.

    Entering the Null-Life Bomb to slow its expansion, the Stranger dispatched the Champions to the world of Kamo Tharn the Possessor, in hopes that his Runestaff could help stop the weapon.

(Champions I#13) - Engulfed by the Null-Life Bomb, Black Goliath encountered the Stranger, who exerted all of his power to slow the weapon's expansion. After Darkstar accessed the realm within the Null-Life Bomb, she convinced the Stranger to withdraw his power, allowing the bomb to expand again\. Darkstar then informed him that the Runestaff was not where they had been sent, and the Stranger -- his senses no longer preoccupied by the bomb -- realized the Runestaff was on Earth, and he sent Darkstar to retrieve it.

    Adding what remained of his power to hers, the Stranger instructed Darkstar activate the Runestaff; he then explained that the Runestaff's energies were accelerating the Null-Life Bomb's growth, beyond what it was designed to handle: As the bomb's danger was in its contraction, it instead continued to expand throughout the universe.
stranger-enigmatic-mtioan5-electrodes-full

(Champions I#13 (fb) - BTS) - The Stranger returned the others to Earth.

(Champions I#13) - The Stranger departed, bidding Darkstar farewell and telling her she had taught him much about courage.

(Avengers Annual#7 (fb)) - Thanos stealthily stole the Power Gem from the Stranger.

(Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z hardcover#11: Stranger entry) - The Stranger, for reasons unrevealed, apparently abandoned his quest for the Infinity Gems.


(Marvel Two-In-One Annual#5 (fb) - BTS) - The Stranger discovered Pluto's plot to threaten the entire universe with a rapidly growing black hole. Seeking allies with high levels of raw power, savagery, and innate courage, the Stranger chose the Hulk and the Thing.stranger-enigmatic-mtioan5-beam

(Marvel Two-In-One Annual#5
- BTS) - The Stranger caused a gamma ray blast to strike the Fantastic Four in the Fantasticar, leading the Thing to seek out Bruce Banner for aid in treating the incapacitated Human Torch, Invisible Woman, and Mr. Fantastic. At roughly the same time, he caused a cosmic ray blast to strike Betty and General Thaddeus Ross, leading Bruce Banner to seek out Reed Richards.

(Marvel Two-In-One Annual#5 (fb) - BTS) - Banner called the Baxter Building and reached the Thing, who put his allies in stasis tubes and flew toward one of Banner's Desert Bases.

(Marvel Two-In-One Annual#5) - From his artificial planetoid creation's main observatory, the Stranger's equipment reported that the cycle was accelerating. Transforming himself into a bolt of energy, the Stranger pulsed Earthward.

    Though his energy beam struck the arriving Thing's ship, the Stranger elected not to help him, as if he could save himself, he was not worthy of the task ahead of him. Ultimately, this led to a conflict with both the Hulk and the Thing, which the Stranger ended after some struggle by mentally immobilizing the pair. Telling them he had their friends in suspended animation to ensure their cooperation against a cosmic threat, the Stranger then released them, and they agreed to help so he would cure their friends.

    The Stranger then opened an interdimensional warp that brought them to Hades and named Pluto as their foe. After they fought of Pluto's minions, Pluto revealed his immense factor that was feeding energy into and expanding a nether-hole that would grow to engulf the entire universe. When the Stranger stopped the Thing and Hulk from attacking Pluto, who could extinguish their lives with a thought, the confused Hulk started a fight with the Thing, and the Stranger assaulted Pluto, who drew energy from his realm to endlessly restore his reserves; nonetheless, Pluto found himself sorely tested by the Stranger's power.

    Ultimately, realizing their conflict would last until the nether-hole had grown beyond the point they could stop it, the Stranger drained a portion of Pluto's power and then feigned defeat, knowing this would be the catalyst to stop the heroes from fighting each other and come to his aid. The Thing and Hulk then tore up the platform on which Pluto stood, causing Pluto to fall into his own furnace. Subtly using his powers, the Stranger caused himself to be cast to safety. When Pluto's
energy form was pulled into the vortex.; an energy backlash destroyed Pluto's energy breeder, and the Stranger transported himself, the Hulk, and the Thing back to Earth and revealed his duplicity.

    Praising the two's success and their reinforcing of his feeling of the nobility within humanity, the Stranger departed (apparently curing his irradiated victims in the process).
stranger-enigmatic-surf3-27
(Quasar#55 (fb) - BTS) - Shi'ar Imperial Guardsmen Moondancer, Solar Wind and Voyager were captured by the Stranger, imprisoned on his laboratory-world and experimented on for "countless rotations" ("almost three cycles"). Under circumstances that have never been revealed, the three Guardsmen were eventually freed and an imperial treaty was established whereby no Shi'ar citizen would ever be a subject of his experimentation as long as the Shi'ar left the Stranger's "worlds" alone.

(Beyond#6 (fb) - BTS) - The Stranger watched as the Beyonder abducted heroes and villains from Earth to Battleworld for his Secret Wars.

(
Vision and Scarlet Witch II#11 - BTS) - As the Terrible Toad-King, the Toad again used the Stranger's technology in a failed bid to win the hand of the Scarlet Witch. Toad lost interest upon seeing her nearly full-term pregnancy form.

(Silver Surfer III#27
- BTS) - A craft, four times the size of a class-1 comet, suddenly appeared on the monitor screens of the Serpent's Tooth, the pirate ship of Captain Reptyl. Navigator Dalabuur noted it to be heading toward "Andromeda-6," and ordered his crew to follow it (I don't think this was ever clarified, but it was presumably either one of the Stranger's crafts or a cloaked Badoon fleet).

(Silver Surfer III#27
) - The Stranger transported himself to the planet Satriani, where he noted that his people were greatly interested in mutations and that he had come for Empress S'Byll, whose metamorphic ability had been restored by the combined efforts of the Super-Skrull (Kl'rt) and the Silver Surfer, and who could now restore other Skrull's lost metamorphic powers. Though S'Byll refused to go with him, the Stranger encased her in a force field and prepared to transport her away. stranger-enigmatic-surf3-31

    The Surfer attacked the Stranger to prevent his departure, but the Stranger encased him in a sphere of black energy that pulled the starlight and power cosmic from his form. The Super-Skrull attacked next, but the Stranger mimicked his stretching ability and punched him down, causing him to trip over an invisible Badoon member. This revealed an invading Badoon army allied with the Kree, leading to a battle between the Skrulls and Badoon. Allowing the darkness around the Surfer to dissipate, the Stranger departed with S'Byll. When the Surfer pursued him, the Stranger created insubstantial duplicates of himself to distract the Surfer, but the Surfer quickly identified the true Stranger; the Surfer avoided a second sphere of black energy. When the Stranger melted the Surfer's board, the Surfer formed a new board from his own energies.


    The Serpent's Tooth then arrived, and Reptyl offered his entire crew, including the mutant navigator Dalabuur, in exchange for S'Byll. Accepting this offer, the Stranger transported S'Byll aboard the Serpent's Tooth, pulled its crew out with him, and vanished with his new captives.

(Silver Surfer III#30 (fb) - BTS) - The Stranger monitored the Kree-Skrull War with great interest in its conclusion.

(Silver Surfer III#29) - The Stranger floated in space, but when the Surfer happened upon and hailed him, the Stranger departed, fleeing faster than the Surfer could follow.

(Silver Surfer III#30) - When the Surfer and S'Byll confronted Kree Empress Nenora, the Stranger blasted away the Surfer and Nenora's ally Clumsy Foulup, stating that he did not wish to see "lesser" beings contend. The Stranger then instructed S'Byll to proceed, and she swiftly restored Nenora's metamorphic powers, exposing her a skrull. As S'Byll declared victory for the Skrulls, the Surfer wondered what to make of the Stranger's involvement.

(Silver Surfer III#31 (fb) - BTS) - The Stranger departed Hala.

(Silver Surfer III#31 - BTS) - The Surfer tracked the Stranger's psion trail toward the galactic center via hyperspace.

(Silver Surfer III#31) - As the Surfer arrived, the Stranger demanded to know why he had followed him. The Surfer asked why he observed and interacted with them during the Kree-Skrull War, but the Stranger refused to explain himself to the Surfer or anyone; he further refused the Surfer's offer of companionship.

    Seeing that the Surfer would not depart without an explanation, the Stranger recounted his alleged origins (being from a race of beings who collect specimens for mutation; and being a composite of the Eternals of Gigantus), and in succession, the Surfer discounted each of these, believing that the Stranger would never reveal anything about himself to anyone. When the Surfer insisted to know the truth, the Stranger prepared to incapacitate him to be rid of him, but then the Living Tribunal appeared and forbade the Stranger from doing this.

    Having theorized that the Stranger could not exist as a truly singular being and that extreme pressure would force a revelation of his other, the Surfer concluded that the Stranger was associated with the Tribunal. After the Tribunal noted that on the fourth side of its skull, there could have been another face, that of the Stranger; irate at this apparent revelation, the Stranger cursed the Tribunal and insisted that he related to none other. The Stranger turned his back in apparent disgust when the Tribunal allowed the Surfer to briefly feel what it was like to be one with the cosmos.

(Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z hardcover#11: Stranger entry) - Distracted by a brief gift of cosmic awareness, the Surfer accepted this answer and the Stranger departed.

stranger-enigmatic-av316(Avengers I#317 (fb) - BTS) - For a millennium, hundreds of beings had failed to pierce the security defenses on the Stranger's "homeworld."

(Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z hardcover#11: Stranger entry) - While the Stranger traveled the universe gathering specimens...

(Avengers I#317 (fb) - BTS) - Alongside her agent Gunthar, Nebula somehow pierced the security on the Stranger's "homeworld," after which Gunthar's Rigellian Tracking Device -- which was accurate with .0009% certainty -- determined that the Stranger was on the far side of the galaxy; based on this, Gunthar surmised that even if the Stranger detected them, that they would have completed their mission before he could return. Ultimately, the pair located and claimed the Infinity Union.

(Avengers I#318 (fb)) - Both Gunthar and Nebula intently studied the Infinity Union. Serendipitously, they discovered the frequency upon which the Union transmitted its energies.

    Via a complex operation, Gunthar inserted a bio-receiver into Nebula's brain/mind.


(Avengers I#314-315 - BTS) - Via the Universal Compressor, Nebula briefly destroyed but then restored the universe.

(Avengers I#318 (fb) - BTS) - The experiments of the Universal Compressor were done so that the Union would have massive amounts of energy to absorb and store.

(Avengers I#317 (fb) - BTS) - The Stranger sensed these universe-wide spasms.

    The vast power unleashed by the Universal Compressor was absorbed by the Infinity Union.

(Avengers I#316 - BTS) - Despite Gunthar's recommendations, Nebula activated the Infinity Union.

(Avengers I#318 (fb) - BTS) - Gunthar rigged a failsafe into the Infinity Union that if anyone but Nebula tampered with the Infinity Union, it would transfer its stored energies into Nebula.

(Avengers I#316) - Detecting the Infinity Union's activation, the Stranger arrived on Nebula's ship, tearing into the room in which the Avengers held Nebula, Gunthar, and a pair of Nebula's agents.

(Avengers I#317) - Stranger demanded Nebula; seeing Nebula bound, the Stranger tore open her bonds and grabbed her in his hand and demanded to know where she had taken his possession. However, still under the influence of Starfox's pleasure power, Nebula joked playfully, but failed to answer his question. When Spider-Man tried to re-introduce himself and explain what had happened to Nebula, the Stranger noted his recollection of their meeting before bursting out of the hole in Nebula's ship and returned to his own.

    As the Avengers arrived in the Stranger's ship, his robot agent Blockade confronted them, and the Stranger astrally projected to them, advising them to heed Blockade's warnings. When the Avengers refused to depart without knowing what they had planned for Nebula, the Stranger revealed how she had stolen from him.

    Frustrated as Nebula remained too affected by Starfox's powers, the Stranger considered that she had likely used the Universal Compressor so the power it released would be absorbed by the Infinity Union. Still unable to sense the device's location on her ship, the Stranger increased the level of his psychic probing, greatly paining the the Avengers.

(Avengers I#317) - Captain America resolved that they should destroy the device to make sure neither Nebula or the Stranger obtained the device. Spider-Man subsequently located the device and snagged it with a web.

(Avengers I#317 / Avengers I#318 (fb) - BTS) - Spider-Man's tampering set off Gunthar's failsafe, releasing the stored energy in explosive fashion

(Avengers I#318) - Existing in spectral form and showing up on her ship's monitors, Nebula tormented the Stranger and the Avengers with how Gunthar had arranged it so that she would gain the Infinity Union's power. When the Stranger threatened Gunthar to reveal how he had done this, Nebula disintegrated the Stranger, only to restore him a few seconds later (to some degree in order to impress the Avengers). To this end, she then disintegrated and restored him again, causing the Stranger to collapse from the strain.

    The Stranger revived while Nebula was toying with the Avengers, and he confronted Gunthar and demanded to know how he had accomplished this feat. Fearing Nebula more than the Stranger, Gunthar gave the desired explanation, after which the Stranger transported Gunthar back to Nebula's ship.

    With Gunthar's presumptive aid, the Stranger located the Infinity Union; he resolved that he could easily change the frequency of the Union's transmissions, and he mentally contacted the Avengers, advising them of his plans and noting that they must use the opportunity to remove the brain from Nebula's mind. When Captain America expressed concerns that this might be fatal for Nebula, the Stranger clearly noted that this point was not significant.

    Unable to stop the energy from being released from the Union, the Stranger -- knowing that this could be dangerous even for him -- re-routed them into himself, screaming and collapsing as a result.

(
Avengers I#318 - BTS) - As planned, Sersi took advantage of Nebula's weakness to remove the implant without otherwise harming Nebula.

    Gunthar then notified the Avengers of the Stranger's injuries.

(Avengers I#318 - BTS) - Bringing the Stranger back to his ship, the Avengers took him to its advanced medical facilities, the restorative systems of which revived the Stranger in minutes.

(Avengers I#318) - Reviving, the Stranger thanked the Avengers for their quick ministrations, as he was barely able to survive the Infinity Union's energies. As he acknowledged the Avengers' advice that the Union should be destroyed and agreed to personally see the task done, Gunthar suddenly transported himself and Nebula back to her ship; as they escaped at warp velocity, the Stranger noted that the damages she had done to his own arc had left it unable to pursue her. Presumably his recent injuries prevented him from converting to energy and pursuing her himself.
    At Captain America's request, the Stranger transported the Avengers back to Avengers Headquarters, noting in the process that they had earned his respect.

(Quasar#15 (fb) - BTS) - While engaged in his usual specimen-gathering, the Stranger happened upon a dead Watcher. Unable to determine the cause of his death, the Stranger took the Watcher's corpse to the next sector's Watcher to ask him for assistance. The Stranger found that Watcher dead as well. The next two he encountered were dead as well.

(Quasar#15 (fb) - BTS) - The Stranger brought the deceased Watcher's bodies aboard his ship for further study.

(Quasar#14 (fb) - BTS) - Finding a total of nine dead Watchers, the Stranger continued his investigation.

(Quasar#13 (fb) - BTS) - Seeking vengeance against the Stranger, the Over-Mind took mental control of several members of the Earth-712's Ex-Squadron Supreme -- including Dr. Spectrum, Haywire, Moonglow, Power Princess, Shape, Skylark, and Whizzer -- who were on Earth-616 at that time (and whom the Over-Mind had previously controlled; he was unable to take control of Hyperion as he apparently could not control the minds of other Eternals.

stranger-enigmatic-quas15-energy(Quasar#13 - BTS) - As the Over-Mind departed with the Squadron members under control, his ship was discovered and approached by Quasar. To distract Quasar, the Over-Mind sent Haywire and Shape to battle him. Quasar eventually defeated the pair, but the Over-Mind escaped Earth with the others.

    Hyperion asked Quasar to help him rescue his missing friends/teammates.


(
Quasar#14 - BTS) - The Over-Mind's ship -- carrying himself and Dr. Spectrum, Moonglow, Power Princess, Skylark, and Whizzer -- arrived at the Stranger's Laboratory World. They determined that the Stranger was not present on that world.

    Meanwhile, Quasar -- joined by Hyperion and his associate, Earth-616 Eternal Makkari -- traced the Over-Mind's ship to the Stranger's Laboratory World. Quasar encountered and was assaulted by a number of inhabitants.

    Discovering Quasar and his allies' presence (and that all three were immune to his mind-control), Over-Mind took mental control of numerous prisoners on that world.

(Quasar#14) - Investigating the Watchers' deaths, the Stranger traveled to the largest moon of the 4th planet in the Sirius system and investigated that Watcher's home. Easily navigating its labyrinthine and incomprehensible-to-most's architecture, the Stranger found that Watcher dead as well. Receiving a message from his starship that someone was tampering with his Laboratory World. More concerned with the matter of the Watchers, the Stranger swept the message from his consciousness.stranger-enigmatic-quas16-over-mind assault

(Quasar#15 - BTS) - Over-Mind deactivated every environmental barrier containing the Laboratory World's subjects, and he summoned a battalion of the more powerful subjects to come to him to him to serve as his elite strikeforce.

    The Over-Mind subsequently coerced Quasar to find the Stranger and bring him back there, or he would cause the enslaved Squadron to suffer instantaneous brain death.

    Guided by his mentor, Eon, Quasar soon arrived on the Stranger's ship (apparently still in the Sirus system), inadvertently damaging a portion of it when he quantum-jumped in.

(Quasar#15 (fb) - BTS) - The Over-Mind set a trap that would mentally assault the Stranger as soon as he returned to his Laboratory World.

(Quasar#15) - As the Stranger searched the ship, the Stranger arrived in energy form, converting back to matter and carrying a deceased Watcher with him. After the Stranger brought that Watcher into the chamber holding the other Watcher's bodies, Quasar greeted him. Acknowledging Quasar as "Eon's lackey," the Stranger related his experience with the Watchers, and Quasar told him of the Over-Mind's activities on his Laboratory World. Unconcerned with the Over-Mind in comparison to his intention to pursue the Watchers' fates to its resolution, he dismissed Quasar. Hoping to help the Stranger to resolve the mystery so he would return to his Laboratory World (and prevent the Over-Mind from killing the Squadron), Quasar questioned Eon about the Watchers and traveled to a site where two Watchers were communicating.

    When Otmu the Watcher tried to forcibly dismiss Quasar, the hero fought back until the Stranger arrived. Considering Otmu a dangerous renegade, the Stranger encouraged Quasar to help him swiftly neutralize him; faced with this power and fearing the Stranger would break his mind and rob him of his resolve, Otmu chose to end his own existence. Ualu the Watcher then explained Otmu's philosophical resolution, the Doctrine of Ultimate Non-Interference, which stated that the act of observing influenced those they observed, and that the only way to not interfere with others' existence was to not exist; he further noted that 10 billion Watchers (Quasar#16 had another Watcher note this number to be "over a billion") so far had willed themselves unalive.

(Quasar#15) - With the mystery resolved, the Stranger agreed to return with Quasar back to the Laboratory World.

(Quasar#16 (fb) - BTS) - The Stranger had Otmu's body transported to his lightship, which would travel back to his Laboratory World at a slower rate than he could transport himself.

(Quasar#15) - Arriving there, the Stranger was instantly assaulted by the Over-Mind's trap.

(Quasar#16 (fb) - BTS) - The Over-Mind traveled to the Stranger, who was exhausted from his travels and had let down his mental guard, and continued his mental assault directly.

(Quasar#16) - Literally shrinking from massive to merely large under the Over-Mind's assault, the Stranger collapsed; hoping to give the Stranger time to recover, Quasar questioned Over-Mind's motives. During this time, the Stranger indeed gathered his strength, telling the Over-Mind that he was indeed fatigued, but not destroyed. The Over-Mind welcomed the challenge as the two fought directly. Though considering the Stranger the lesser of the two evils, Quasar had been disgusted by the nature of the Stranger's experiments upon his captives, and so he let the two of them fight it out until he was assaulted by the former captives now under the Over-Mind's control. At the Over-Mind's bidding, some of the former captives -- including Bi-Beast, Fusion, Gorr, Mercurio, Nygorn, Stardust, Threkker -- attacked the Stranger as well, forcing him to use energy to drive them off.

    Seeking to free the others from the Over-Mind's control, Quasar convinced the Over-Mind that if he dropped his mental domination over the Squadron, he'd have even more mental power to use against the Stranger. The Over-Mind did so, and the Stranger dropped to a knee against his psychic assault. Meanwhile, the Squadron helped fight off the rebelling former captives.

    Over-Mind taunted the weakened Stranger, telling him he was killing him one brain cell at a time, leading the Stranger to tell him that he was not actually the sum of the Gigantians, but rather had adopted that role after inadvertently slaying that being. Uncertain whether to believe this, the Over-Mind vowed to kill him regardlessly for the humiliation of their first encounter.

    At that moment, a number of Watchers (approximately two dozen) arrived, seeking the Stranger's advice on their current philosophical struggle. Seeing these Watchers, the Over-Mind accused the Stranger of summoning them. The Stranger's losing struggle caused some Watchers to consider interfering so they could gain his input, but ultimately the Watchers resolved to let events take their course. Nonetheless, their collective presence made the Over-Mind fear they were the Stranger's allies. Ultimately, the Over-Mind's paranoia and psychoses caused him to collapse in a catatonic state; freed from his assault, the Stranger confirmed that the Over-Mind had defeated himself.

    The Watchers then asked the Stranger for his input, noting that despite Otmu's apparent demise, the philosophy had spread telepathically amongst their entire race. The Stranger concluded that allowing themselves to be seen indeed affected others, as demonstrated by the Over-Mind's self-defeat; this point led four more of the Watchers present to think themselves to death. The Stranger apologized for causing that, but when they asked for his recommendation, he was flattered but knew they wouldn't like his advice: To abandon their oaths and become active experimenters like himself. After the Watchers explained that they cataloged the universe's history for the benefit of those who existed in the next universe that would follow, the Stranger told them he had no information to help resolve their debate. When Quasar offered his help, the Stranger dismissed him, noting that his brief existence precluded him from having any wisdom that ancient beings such as himself lacked.

    Generating a massive energy release to get the Watcher's attention, Quasar explained how their dying also affected things, and their collective deaths would massively affect the universe's balance of power. When Quasar concluded that the importance of their database would outweigh their limited interference, the deceased Watchers revived, and they collectively agreed to continue their mission. After their departure, the Stranger explained that life and death were not absolute concepts to "our kind."

    The Stranger then instructed Quasar to gather his friends and depart so he could deal with the Over-Mind, repair the damage to his world, and recapture what specimens he could. When Quasar questioned his inhumane methods, the Stranger told him he was not human (and nor were most of his captive), and human standards did not apply. Noting his unique nature, the Stranger refused to explain himself and ordered Quasar's departure. Telling him to "go wax his mustache," Quasar complied and departed with the Squadron members.

(
Fantastic Four I Annual#23/3) - Kubik gave Kosmos a tour of the universe and its beings of power. As he covered the cosmic entities, Kubik noted that the Stranger was an enigma, perhaps even to himself.

stranger-enigmatic-ig5(Infinity Gauntlet#3) - The Stranger was one of the cosmic beings -- including Epoch, Kronos the Eternal, Lord Chaos, Master Order, Galactus, Master Hate, Mistress Love, Uatu the Watcher, and the Celestials Ziran the Tester and the One Above All (as well as Quasar, the Silver Surfer, and Adam Warlock) -- gathered as Eternity presented his case to the Living Tribunal regarding Thanos' possession of the Infinity Gauntlet, the collective Infinity Gems (minus the sentient Ego Gem), usurping Eternity's position as the actuality of the universe. After the Tribunal refused to intervene, considering Thanos' efforts to usurp Eternity's role as natural selection, both the Tribunal and Eternity departed.

    When Galactus argued against Adam Warlock guiding the cosmic beings' plan of attack, the Stranger was one of the many cosmic beings who allied with Warlock, leading Galactus to reluctantly join them.

(Infinity Gauntlet#4 - BTS) - After Earth's champions had failed against Galactus, Warlock advised Eternity's forces that it was now their turn, although he feared the universe may not survive this conflict.

(Infinity Gauntlet#4) - The Stranger and the other cosmic beings then confronted Thanos at his fortress/monument to Death.

(Infinity Gauntlet#5) - After Thanos refused to surrender the Infinity Gems, and the cosmic beings attacked, and the universe was shuddered. Nearby solar systems were destroyed, and interdimensional distortion cascades threatened to wipe out anything in their paths. During the battle, the Stranger joined with Galactus and Epoch (see comments) in a powerful assault on Thanos; however, Thanos swiftly rallied and overcame the trio. After defeating all attackers, Thanos imprisoned the cosmic beings, including Eternity, in a field above his fortress/monument.

(Infinity Gauntlet#5 - BTS) - After defeating Eternity, however, Thanos stretched out his consciousness to become an abstract representation of the universe. With Thanos' mortal form abandoned, however, his alleged granddaughter Nebula stole the Infinity Gauntlet and usurped his power.

    Nebula retained the cosmic beings in her stasis field.

(Infinity Gauntlet#6 - BTS) - Nebula used the Infinity Gauntlet to revert everything to as it was 24 hours before, reversing Thanos actions, but also freeing the cosmic beings. stranger-enigmatic-ig6-petrified

(Infinity Gauntlet#6) - The Stranger and the other cosmic beings confronted and attacked Nebula en masse, but she ultimately gained the upper hand and defeated them, petrifying them and making them part of what was previously Thanos' monument to Death.

(Infinity Gauntlet#6 - BTS) - Via his connection to the Soul Gem, Adam Warlock caused the Infinity Gauntlet to reject Nebula, and he claimed it in her stead.

(Warlock and the Infinity Watch#1) - The Stranger -- alongside Epoch, Galactus, Master Hate, Master Order, Mistress Love, the Stranger, a Watcher (it was not identified as Uatu), and Ziran the Celestial -- stood silently in witness in what appeared to be a portion of the Dimension of Manifestations as the Living Tribunal presided at the hearing of Eternity against Adam Warlock, regarding his worthiness to wield the Infinity Gauntlet. Ultimately, the Tribunal ruled that Warlock was not worthy to wield the gauntlet, but instructed him to disperse the Infinity Gems to people of his choosing. At the Tribunal's suggestion, the Stranger and the others departed to return to their own works.

(Incredible Hulk II#412 (fb) - BTS) - From his Homeworld, the Stranger conducted an experiment in which he allowed the Bi-Beast to approach the talisman of power known as the Family Jewels, which he had left unguarded. Stealing these, the Bi-Beast traveled to Earth and sought vengeance on the Hulk.

(Incredible Hulk II#412) - As the Bi-Beast confronted the Hulk and She-Hulk, the Stranger remarked how pointlessly single-minded so many Earth creatures were. Tiring of the experiment, he decided to see if the Bi-Beast and/or Hulk would notice if he set the Family Jewels to detonate with enough force to destroy everything within 1000 miles.

(Incredible Hulk II#412 - BTS) - Shortly thereafter, the Hulk's Pantheon ally Hector reported to him the energy build-up and its potential for destruction. Ultimately, the Hulk and She-Hulk used their bodies to shield the Jewels as they prepared to detonate. However, the Stranger instead deactivated and reclaimed the Jewels before they exploded. The Hulk correctly suspected that this had been an experiment.

(Starblast#2) - On his homeworld, the Stranger sent landing coordinates to Skeleton and his crew of the Dark Seed when they hailed him, noted his "unrivaled analytical and scientific ability" and requested his aid in appraising a "curiosity of exceeding perplexity." Once they had landed, the Stranger was intrigued with the Star Brand (an energy source from Reality-148611 (The "New Universe"))-empowered human Kayla Ballantine.


(Quasar#55) - After Skeletron noted his belief that the Star Brand was from a distant universe with different physical properties and that it had been brought to their universe by Quasar, the Stranger accepted Skeletron's deal that if he could remove the power source from its host, determine where it was from and how Skeletron might get there, the Stranger could keep the Star Brand.

    As Skeletron's allies kept a group of investigating human agents from interfering, the Stranger informed Skeletron that he had nearly completed his analysis, but that he would have to remove the Star Brand before he could determine its location of origin.stranger-enigmatic-starb3-god

(Starblast#3) - As the Stranger explained to Skeletron that he had determined that there was an 85% chance that he could forcibly but safely remove the Star Brand from Kayla, he detected the approach of Quasar (Kayla's boyfriend) and instructed Skeletron to deal with him as his work was at a critical juncture and could not be disturbed. When Quasar demanded Kayla's release, the Stranger flatly refused just before Skeletron ambushed him. Momentarily freeing himself from Skeletron's clutches, Quasar covered the Stranger's eyes with quantum energy and instructed him to stop what he was doing; annoyed, the Stranger told Quasar he had gone too far, and he fired a burst of energy that transported Quasar a "few thousand MI-CICs" away, where Skeletron locked on to his energy signal and confronted and attacked him anew, ultimately capturing him.

    When Uatu the Watcher appeared to observe, confirming the Stranger's suspicions that what he was doing was potentially extremely significant, the Stranger allowed him to remain as long as Uatu maintained his oath of non-interference. Finding he needed Kayla's cooperation to remove the Star Brand, the Stranger projected himself into the dreamscape, appearing in a form consistent with her perception of God and told her he had come to free her of the curse of unwanted power.

(Starblast#3 (fb) - BTS) - After Kayla agreed to the transfer, the Stranger transferred the Star Brand onto himself.

(Starblast#3 - BTS) - A powerful energy release occurred due to the conjunction of the Stranger's energies and the Star Brand's, pulling Earth-148611 halfway into Universe-616's dimension in proximity to the Stranger's world and disrupting Skeletron's systems, forcing him to disgorge Quasar as he returned to the Stranger.stranger-enigmatic-quas56-starbrand

(Quasar#56) - Kayla Ballantine was transported to the surface of Earth-148611, and the Stranger's world was pulled halfway into Universe-148611 (elsewhere in the Milky Way galaxy).

    As the Stranger, Watcher, Skeletron, and Quasar recovered, the former two determined they were no longer in their universe of origin, and the Stranger theorized that the conjunction of his and the Star Brand's energies had caused this. He confirmed that he had recovered the Star Brand, but he erroneously concluded that Kayla had been disintegrated. He further resolved to gain a full understanding of his newfound capabilities to avoid further unintentional actions. He thus analyzed the Star Brand, identifying the psychic resonance of its previous possessors.

    Meanwhile, Skeletron transported the Dark Seed (an extension of his own form) into Universe-148611, intending to extract all of the Star Brand energy from Earth-148611.

(Starblast#4) - When the Stranger's former prisoners Moondancer, Solar Wind, and Voyager confronted him, seeking vengeance, the Stranger instead mentally commanded them to worship and obey him. With his new servants, the Stranger confronted Earth's heroes, instructing them to accompany him in his mission to engage Skeletron; wishing his allies to be at their best, he healed Ikaris the Eternal from wounds inflicted via vivisection by the Starblasters' Insidio, granted Black Bolt temporary control of his voice, restored Binary's fragmented psyche, restored Captain Marvel's transformative powers, and returned Perun's enchanted mallet to him.

    The Stranger arrived with his associates outside the Dark Seed and instructed them to subdue everybody inside, while Skeletron, having taken the form of his entire ship confronted him and challenged him for reneging on their agreement. stranger-enigmatic-starb4-skeletron assault
   
(Starblast#4 - BTS) - The Stranger's instruction unfortunately led to his allies attacking the Earth-148611 heroes already present on the Dark Seed, effectively preventing them from opposing Skeletron.

(Starblast#4) - The Stranger stated his lack of interest in Skeletron's value judgments, but Skeletron, who had attuned itself to Star Brand energy began to drain his power. However, the Stranger surprised Skeletron by causing Earth-148611 to disappear (transporting it completely to Universe-616).

    Exhausted by this effort, the Stranger seemed powerless to resist Skeletron's drainage of his own Star Brand energies. However, after Skeletron had significantly drained his Star Brand energies, the Stranger teleported back to his own world.

    Having tracked him across hyperspace, Skeletron renewed its energy draining process, and the Stranger willingly relinquished his connection to the Star Brand.

    As the Star Brand-powered Skeletron taunted the Stranger with his imminent demise, the Star Brand-exhausted Stranger allowed both Earth-148611 and his own homeworld to transport completely to reality-616.

    The Stranger informed Quasar that Skeletron had the greatest power in a universe devoid of life save himself while he had a world teeming with paranormal beings, and he asked Quasar whom he would say got the better bargain.

(Quasar#57) - When Quasar insisted the Stranger tell him if he had brought Earth-148611 into their universe just so he could study it, the Stranger refused to explain himself, instead advising Quasar to take his friends and depart before he made specimens of them all. As Earth-148611's heroes rushed to confront the Stranger over their and their world's fates, the Living Tribunal suddenly appeared and instructed the Stranger to hold. Wishing to speak only with the Stranger, the Tribunal transported away the Earth-148611 natives and other beings involved in the war against Skeletron and the Starblasters, apparently sending them to their native worlds.

    Noting that Earth-148611 was contaminated with an energy beyond this Multiverse, the Tribunal informed the Stranger that its presence upset the universal balance, and that he had no right to bring it there. The Tribunal demanded that this Earth be sealed so that none of its anomalous power could leak out into the rest of the universe.

(Quasar#57 (fb) - BTS) - The Living Tribunal surrounded Earth-148611 with an impenetrable barrier, containing that world and its natives, as well as Kayla Ballantine, Quasar's girlfriend, who had been permanently contaminated by the Star Brand.

(Quasar#57) - After encountering the barrier, Quasar again confronted the Stranger, who informed him of the Tribunal's actions and told him that Kayla had been permanently contaminated by the Star Brand energy and was now trapped on that world forever.

stranger-enigmatic-avcots3(Avataars: Covenant of the Shield#1) - After the Living Tribunal, Eternity, and Infinity approved the Shaper of Worlds' petition to create a world of swords and sorcery loosely based on Earth, the Shaper thus created Eurth, drawing inspiration from Glorian, Prester John, the Stranger, and teenager named Tim with extensive knowledge of heroes via comic books.stranger-enigmatic-avcots3-face

(Avataars: Covenant of the Shield#3 (fb) - BTS) - The Stranger traveled to Eurth at times, observing its people as a mysterious cloaked figure.

(Avataars: Covenant of the Shield#3) - After observing the adventures of the Champions of the Realm, the Stranger exited the inner sanctum of the Order of Avalon via a door, emerging in an interdimensional realm (possibly the Dimension of Manifestations) where Eternity, Infinity, Tribunal, and the Shaper observed Eurth.

    The Stranger congratulated the Shaper on his creation, noting that it had been "aeons" since he had experienced so much surprise and wonder. The Shaper considered this a compliment without equal.

    Eternity, Infinity, and the Tribunal agreed to permit Eurth's continued existence, noting that they would watch it closely as it may provide the answer to humanity's fate.

    The Stranger concurred, noting that he had no doubt that its future would be even more fascinating.

(X-Men Forever I#1 (fb) - BTS / X-Men Forever I#6 (fb) - BTS) - The cosmic/abstract beings of the universe (including Death, Epoch, Eternity, In-Betweener, Infinity, Lord Chaos, Master Order; with Uatu or another Watcher presumably observing) considered that humanity (perhaps the fruition of the Celestials' seeding the universe) would eventual replace them and remake the very structure of reality.

(X-Men Forever I#6 (fb) - BTS) - Feeling erroneously that the cosmic beings would be unwilling to allow this, and that they would eventually act, the Stranger allegedly resolved to usurp the controls of the fundamental forces of the universe, nurturing what they would seek to restrict. He plotted to prematurely spark humanity's evolution and turn it into a raging inferno that would engulf and consume the universe, leaving him as the sole survivor of a new universe (much like Galactus had been to the current universe).

(X-Men Forever I#1 (fb) - BTS / X-Men Forever I#6 (fb) - BTS) <14 weeks before the main story> - The Stranger infiltrated the systems of Prosh.stranger-enigmatic-xmf5

(X-Men Forever I#1 (fb) - BTS / X-Men Forever I#6 (fb) - BTS) <10 weeks before the main story> - The Stranger corrupted Prosh's systems.

(X-Men Forever I#1 (fb) - BTS / X-Men Forever I#6 (fb) - BTS / Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z hardcover#11: Stranger) <9 weeks before the main story> - The Stranger captured Prosh within a construct in the form of the husk of a catatonic Celestial..

(X-Men Forever I#1 - BTS / X-Men Forever I#6 (fb) - BTS) - Prosh was allowed to escape the "Celestial," and he fled back to Earth to warn humanity of the seeming plans of the cosmic beings to destroy humanity.

(X-Men Forever I#1 - BTS) - Prosh gathered five people from Earth-- Jean Grey (who had served as a touchstone to the cosmic forces), Iceman (Bobby Drake, who represented mutantkind's untapped potential), Juggernaut (Cain Marko, who represented the jealousy and insecurity the human race felts toward mutants), Mystique (Raven Darkholme, who represented the mystery and fear humans had of mutants), and Toad (Mortimer Toynbee, who manifested mutation as an aberration and the manipulations of humans to control that process) -- telling them they each represented important aspects of human evolution and of his plan to sow the seeds that would one day protect humanity from the cosmic beings.

    Prosh gathered the Toad by initially appearing in the form of the Stranger.

(X-Men Forever I#1 - 5 - BTS) - Prosh sent the minds of his agents back through time to occupy their younger selves forms so they could evolve to their needed roles.

(X-Men Forever I#5 - BTS) - Prosh explained to the gathered group that he had been programmed to gather them in preparation for some advancement, but that he was able to sidestep his programming to try show them the way to save themselves.

(X-Men Forever I#5 - BTS) - Exploring Prosh's immense Celestial ship, Toad recognized the technology as similar to what he had used when he had stolen the Stranger's ship. The Stranger (off panel, with his voice heard and energy blast seen) then discovered and blasted at Toad, calling him an insignificant mote and noting that he was least deserving of discovering the truth.

(X-Men Forever I#5) - After the gathered group accessed their potential and defeated Prosh (with Iceman, who had gained the ability to transform fully into ice, freezing him solid), Toad rushed to inform them of the Stranger's involvement, but the Stranger blasted him front behind before he could do so and instead revealed his own presence. He told them this had all been preparation for a great cosmic game he intended to win.

stranger-enigmatic-otmu

(X-Men Forever I#6) - After the Stranger blasted the Juggernaut and noted his frustration that humanity had achieved such significance on the universal scale, the group attacked him, but he converted into energy to escape their assaults. He then explained how, in combination, the five of them encompassed the full spectrum of human and mutant affairs on Earth; they would have served as the vanguard for the acclimation of Earth's genetic enhancement, had Prosh's manipulation of them not occurred several million years too early for them to fulfill those assignations.

    The Stranger then allowed Jean Grey to seemingly access the Phoenix Force and to then experience millions of years of exponentially increasing evolutionary growth until humanity became eternity.

(X-Men Forever I#6 - BTS) - Meanwhile, Iceman unfroze a section of the medical bay to treat Toad, reviving a portion of Prosh free from the Stranger's control, and Prosh guided Iceman to enable him to correct genetic tampering done to Toad, allowing him to fully express his true genetic mutation.

(X-Men Forever I#6 - BTS) - Speaking in the moments between time, Eternity contacted Jean Grey, confirming humanity's ultimate role, but informing her that the cosmic entities accepted this eventual change, provided it occurred at its natural pace; Jean correctly interpreted this as approval to stop the Stranger's plot.

    Both Toad and Mystique's abilities were significantly enhanced.

    Prosh and the gathered group plotted to thwart the Stranger, with the revived and enhanced Toad using his knowledge of the Stranger's technology to bypass the Stranger's virus in Prosh's system.

(X-Men Forever I#6) - Reincorporating, the Stranger sensed that Jean had communed with cosmic forces and angrily fired an eyeblast at her. Blocking it, she reminded him that she was one of the mutants he needed for his plan; conceding this point, the Stranger, grabbed her with his hand and prepared to put her in a specimen cage. Juggernaut then smashed into the Stranger's head, causing him to drop Jean, and when the Stranger prepared to eyeblast Marko, Iceman covered his eyes with ice and then physically immobilizing him.

    This delayed the Stranger sufficiently for the Toad to free Prosh from the Stranger's influence, allowing Prosh to trap the Stranger while the others escaped outside. Prosh then banished itself extradimensionally.

(Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z hardcover#11: Stranger) - As soon as Prosh was out of the mutants’ vicinity, the Stranger freed himself and turned to newer experiments.

(Marvel Universe: The End#4) - After Thanos gained the vast power of the Heart of the Infinite, the Living Tribunal ruled that this situation was unacceptable, and they summoned a council of cosmic beings and other beings of power, including Epoch (appearing as and perhaps confused for Eon), Eternity, Galactus, the In-Betweener, Infinity, Lord Chaos, Master Hate, Master Order, Mephisto, Mistress Love, the Stranger, Uatu the Watcher, the entire race of Celestials, and Thor, Zeus, and other godheads. 

(Marvel Universe: The End#5) - After Thanos dispersed or otherwise banished Eternity, the Living Tribunal transported Earth's heroes and the cosmic entities to assault Thanos.

(Marvel Universe: The End#6) - After a relatively short battle, Thanos apparently absorbed all present, ultimately even Eternity, Infinity, and the Tribunal into his being, leaving nothing left of the universe. 

(Marvel Universe: The End#6 (fb) - BTS) - When Thanos sacrificed his power to restore the universe, and diverged the previous conflict to Reality-4321, the Stranger was apparently restored as well.stranger-enigmatic-bey6

(Beyond#6 (fb) - BTS) - Allegedly wishing to study humanity -- because he feared and wished to understand its capacity to survive and wanted to be prepared for some future day when humanity would tilt the balance of power in the universe -- the Stranger restored the Beyonder's Battleworld and began using a teleportation device to bring groups of costumed heroes and villains into ships that were then transported to Battleworld. Posing as the Beyonder, the Stranger provided the instruction to "slay your enemies and all you desire would be yours"

(Beyond#3 (fb) - BTS) -
The Stranger brought Coldblood, Darkhawk, Deathlok, Dracula, Photon, Sleepwalker, Terror, and Wonder Man to Battleworld. Deathlok made a deal that allowed the others to return to Earth, while he remained on Battleworld.

(Beyond#3 (fb) - BTS) - Deathlok reportedly watched dozens of groups (hundreds of superhumans) come and go on Battleworld.

    There was an abandoned city with shelter and food, and sometimes it was the way out.

(Beyond#4 (fb) - BTS) - At some point, the Stranger enlisted the Space Phantom as his agent to further manipulate those he brought to Battleworld.

(Beyond#3 (fb) - BTS) - Per Deathlok, dozens had died on Battleworld.

(Beyond#1) -
Appearing only a disembodied voice, the Stranger used Beyonder's motif to summon Dr. Pym, Firebird, Gravity, Hood, Alyosha Kravinoff, Medusa, Venom (Gargan), and Wasp onto the ship that began transporting them to Battleworld. He also brought the Space Phantom, who was impersonating Spider-Man. After the "Beyonder" promises them their heart's desires if they slay their enemies, Venom impaled and seemingly slew "Spider-Man."

(Beyond#2 - BTS) - The ship crashed on Battleworld and Venom fled, after which the others met up with Collins, who turned into Deathlok when Dragon Man attacked.

(Beyond#3 - BTS) - Deathlok told the others of his experiences on Battleworld, and the Hood exposed "Spider-Man" as the Space Phantom.

(Beyond#4 - BTS) - The heroes decided to trade the Space Phantom to the "Beyonder," but the Phantom then escaped.

    Dr. Pym created a portal to Limbo and the heroes traveled there, planning to ambush the Phantom, but Venom found and destroyed the portal on Battleworld and then shouted to the Beyonder that he had won.

(Beyond#5 - BTS) - Heroes captured Space Phantom and forced him to return them to Battleworld.

    Uatu the Watcher arrived on Battleworld.

(Beyond#5 - BTS / Beyond#6 (fb) - BTS) - Via shrinking the other heroes, Dr. Pym seemingly slew the others to claim the reward.

(Beyond#6) - The "Beyonder" contacted Pym and asked what he wished as his reward. He was distracted by Uatu's presence, but he decided that as long as the watcher honored his vow of non-interference, he could remain and observe. Pym asked for three wishes, starting with his first two: (1) To go home; and (2) to know who the "Beyonder" really was (as he behaved differently than the Beyonder, and the Beyonder was reportedly dead). Though noting he could argue that the Beyonder's power could not be circumscribed by human concepts of life and death, the Stranger admitted his true identity and appeared before Pym. Pym then made his final request, that the Stranger stop this experiment and never do it again. Though appreciating the wish, the Stranger noted he could not comply and offered instead to restore Pym's teammates' lives; when Pym insisted on his request, the Stranger correctly suspected that the others were not dead, and he then sensed their continued existences.

     Revealing the reasons for his experiments, the Stranger noted that Pym's deception did not bind him to any agreement and that his work was too important to be discontinued. The heroes then attacked the Stranger, and while they lacked the power to truly challenge him, Deathlok played on the Stranger's paranoia, telling him that Uatu was there to observe the Stranger's defeat. The Stranger questioned Uatu, who remained silent, but the Stranger feared Uatu might get involved, which could lead to a conflict with the collective Watchers, and he agreed to honor the agreement with Pym. He restored the crashed ship that brought them there, but told them to hurry as Battleworld would soon break apart again without him actively maintaining it; he then teleported away.

(Beyond#6 - BTS) - Gravity sacrificed his life helping the others get to the ship and escape before Battleworld broke apart.

    Uatu revealed that he had been on Battleworld to observe Gravity's death, naming Gravity to have lasting significance.

    Michael Collins found himself unable to turn back into Deathlok on Earth.

stranger-enigmatic-astthor1(Astonishing Thor#3 (fb)) - The Stranger sought out Ego, informed him of his captive twin, and gifted him with the means to move unaided across the void and to access the byways of hyperspace. He watched as Ego departed to find his "brother."

(Astonishing Thor#1) - As Ego approached Earth, threatening Earth via his very mass and velocity, Thor traveled to Ego and attempted to drive it off. The Stranger, however, confronted Thor, telling him he could not permit him to do this. Announcing himself to be Ego's creator and wishing for Ego to achieve his destiny, the Stranger banished Thor from Ego, casting him far away.

(Astonishing Thor#2 - BTS) - Charting Ego's trajectory, Thor arrived at one of the Collector's museum, learned of the existence of Alter Ego, and was forced into confrontation with Alter Ego.

(Astonishing Thor#3) - As Thor fled Alter Ego, the Stranger helped him escape the tesseract that contained Alter Ego.

(Astonishing Thor#3 (fb) - BTS) - The Stranger also released Alter Ego from the tesseract and sent him on the path to meet Ego; he further supplied both planets with a psychic link so they could sense each other.

(Astonishing Thor#3) - Noting he could command Thor's obedience if he wished, the Stranger thanked Thor for revealing which of the Collector's dodecahedra contained Alter Ego. When Thor requested the Stranger explain himself in return, the Stranger explained how and why -- despite the many origin stories to the contrary, some of which I fostered -- he had created Ego with the Collector's aid.

    Upon learning that the Stranger intended to measure the planets' superiority by which of them survived, Thor advised the Stranger that he would refuse to allow such a battle; amused with Thor's implied threat, the Stranger considered he was persistent, like a fly batting itself against a window pane.

    Noting that he had set the two planets on a course to meet each other, the Stranger bade Thor farewell.stranger-enigmatic-astthor3-full-small

(Astonishing Thor#5) - After Ego shattered Alter Ego, who was reborn in the form of Ego's new moon, the Stranger confronted Thor, noting his repeated interference in his experiments. Exhausted by the conflicts, Thor nonetheless warned the Stranger that if he gave him further provocation, he would put an end to the Stranger's recklessness. As Thor departed, the Stranger noted that Thor just might do that, and that this was an awkward and distasteful coda. Pondering why he seemed unable to summon sufficient ire, the Stranger considered that he might be pleased by the unexpected result of the experiment, as rather than ending in destruction, it had led to a family.

(Thanos: The Infinity Ending (fb) - BTS) - As an alternate future Eros (formerly aka Starfox) and Pip the Troll traveled through time in an effort to affect younger versions of Thanos in an effort to thwart a virtually omnipotent alternate future Thanos, they apparently created a number of temporal paradoxes that at least temporarily distorted reality.

(Avengers Assemble#7) - Having acquired a Cosmic Cube-like device constructed by the US military (actually an advanced dark matter generator using stolen formulae from an AIM terrorist), Thanos summoned a group of "Elders" (see comments), which included immense forms of the Champion, the Collector, the Contemplator, the Stranger, and the In-Betweener. The Stranger asked Thanos how many times the universe must punish him for his ways. Saying all he wanted was for them to know that he was the one who ended their existence, he unleashed energy from the Cube that seemingly did just that.

(Thanos: The Infinity Ending) - Observing Thanos' confrontation with the "Elders" (or Cosmic Aspects, as Eros called them), Eros noted them to be the wrong people, notably the In-Betweener with some of the Elders of the Universe. When Pip further noted that those beings were supposed to be human-size, Eros reasoned that they may have caused this with all of their wild jumping around time.

(Avengers Assemble#8 (fb) - BTS) - Unable to destroy these cosmic beings, the Cube's energies instead banished them to the Cancerverse (Reality-10011).

(Avengers Assemble#8) - After Thanos transported the Avengers to the Cancerverse, they encountered the Stranger, In-Betweener, and the three Elders, who helped Iron Man (Tony Stark) complete his program to neutralize this false Cosmic Cube.

(Avengers Assemble#8 (fb) - BTS) - In exchange for the cosmic beings' aid, the Avengers agreed that the cosmic beings could take custody of Thanos after his defeat.

    Iron Man returned the Avengers and cosmic beings to Earth.

(Avengers Assemble#8) - After the false Cosmic Cube's destruction and Thanos' defeat, the Stranger and his associates appeared and then vanished, taking Thanos with them.

(Howard the Duck VI#3) - Wishing to use Howard the Duck's status as a living nexus of all realities to form a portal to a new universe in which he could operate without interference from the likes of Thanos or the Avengers, the Stranger transported Howard onto his ship.

(Howard the Duck VI#3 (fb) - BTS) - As Howard the teleportation process took some time, Howard realized he would need some help. He used his nexus-power to transport his allies -- Linda the Duck, Shocket, and Tara Tam -- from their ship, the Thundertrek, to somewhere they could get help (they arrived on the ship of the Guardians of the Galaxy).

(Howard the Duck VI#3) - Introducing himself and explaining his plans, the Stranger explained that Howard would have to remain his prisoner to prevent surprises caused by his wandering the universe. Howard reluctantly agreed on the condition that the Stranger spared his friends. Wishing to prevent rescue attempts, the Stranger instead used his ship's weapons to destroy the Thundertrek.

(Howard the Duck VI#4) - As Howard futilely tried to convince the Stranger not to keep him, the Stranger sensed the approach of other ships and was then confronted by Scout (a woman named Rebecca who gained power from a portion of the Silver Surfer's coating she had stolen from Alicia Masters and who imagined herself the herald of Galactus; she wished to give Howard to Galactus to prove her worth). The Stranger initially blasted Scout back and, noting that Galactus would not wage war with him over Howard, asked Scout who she was. However, Scout feigned blasting him and instead freed and swiftly escaped with Howard.

(Thanos: The Infinity Ending - BTS) - Ultimately the efforts of Adam Warlock, via alternate future Eros, defeated the alternate future Thanos (and presumably reversed the temporal paradoxes Eros and Pip had caused).

stranger-enigmatic-alien-xmi11-giant-normalComments: Created by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Werner Roth, Alexander Toth, Vince Colletta, and Charles Eber "Chic" Stone.

    I am not going to try to chronologically insert the time periods at which the Stranger captured each of his Prisonworld and Battleworld captives, as that would be too speculative. Many of them have their own profiles, and you can check there for likely time periods.
    Similarly, discussions of whether certain captives/subjects are or are not who they claimed and/or were stated to be is covered under each of their profiles.

    What is the deal with the symbol on the Stranger's chest/tunic/shirt. Some sort of horned or winged creature?

    During the Infinity Gauntlet, Eon was pictured multiple times as being present, but as Thanos had slain Eon before the conflict began, this was revealed to be Eon's daughter, Epoch. I would have to imagine they drew Eon and learned of Eon's death so changed the text to Epoch. Epoch had a little baby form at that time, but the in-story explanation is that Epoch adopted Eon's form to be more impressive/familiar.
    As further detailed by Donald Campbell:


During the Infinity Gauntlet mini-series, Quasar's boss is identified by Quasar as "Epoch" in issue #2, identifies itself (yes, I know Epoch is female but that hadn't been established yet) as "Epoch" in issue #3, does not appear in issue #4, is identified as "Eon" only by the Omniscient Narrative in issue #5 and appears without being named in issue #6.

Galactic revolution

    Per Wikipedia: The galactic year, also known as a cosmic year, is the duration of time required for the Sun to orbit once around the center of the Milky Way Galaxy. Estimates of the length of one orbit range from 225 to 250 million terrestrial years.The Solar System is traveling at an average speed of 230 km/s (828,000 km/h) or 143 mi/s (514,000 mph) within its trajectory around the galactic center, a speed at which an object could circumnavigate the Earth's equator in 2 minutes and 54 seconds; that speed corresponds to approximately 1/1300 of the speed of light.

What do you call the Eternals of Gigantus?

Infinity Gems or Soul Gems

    In the original stories, all of the Infinity Gems were called "Soul Gems." It wasn't until Starlin started his Infinity Gauntlet storyline that they were called Infinity Gems and spelled out to have different powers.

How tall?

The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe I#10: Stranger entry states he can reach up to 50'

The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe II (Deluxe Edition) #12: Stranger entry states he can reach up to 36'

The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z hardcover#11: Stranger says "over two dozen feet"

I'm not sure why this height has diminished over time in his profiles, but he's a clearly at least 50' tall when he confronted Spider-Man and Adam Warlock in Marvel Team-Up I#55. Check out the image above.

Uni-Mind

    Quasar I#16 revealed that the Gigantians were the Eternals of Gigantus, and it was clarified/confirmed that the Eternals/Eternians/Eyungians were the Eternals of Eyung.

    The composite nature of the Over-Mind and the Gigantian composite is more interesting in that light, as the Eternals are known to merge their minds into a collective known as the Uni-Mind.

Ego and Alter Ego

Ego has had numerous, contradictory origins over the decades since its first appearance, and the Stranger's story is but one of those.

The Stranger's history of deception and providing false origins for himself doesn't strengthen his credibility in this instance.

    The claim that the Strange had created Ego was supported by what the ghost of Egros told Galan of Taa in Ultimates2#8. However, the Silver Surfer: Black mini-series contradicted that origin by having a new-born Ego being present "at the dawn of time" well before the Collector (who is no more than 5.5 billion years old) could have be present to help create him.
--Donald Campbell

Strange claims

When did the Stranger become one of the Elders of the Universe (as shown in Avengers Assemble#7-8)?

Other Appearances?

    Some sources list the Stranger as appearing in Warlock Chronicles#1 (1993) and X-Men First Class#3 (2007). My comics are in disarray as I am trying to reorganize them, and I can't locate either issue, but I suspect the former is just a flashback with no new information, while the latter isn't "official" continuity at the moment. I've also seen him listed as appearing in Marvel Fanfare II#5 (1997); that's a story about Longshot and the Mojoverse rebellion, and I don't see him in it. I also can't find Silver Surfer: Inner Demons#1 (1998) or Avengers: I am an Avenger#1 (2020)

   It's hard to wrap my head around it all, but I think the Stranger seen Infinity Entity#2-3 and Thanos: The Infinity Finale is part of an alternate reality in which Galactus was slain. Regardless, he just stands around with a bunch of cosmic entities and doesn't do anything except get destroyed a couple times (and then reformed as well).

Via the infinite nature of the Multiverse, the Stranger's plan to use the Hulk to rebuild human society bore fruit in this reality:

Earth-67389 Under the enigmatic Stranger’s influence, the Hulk assaulted humanity, leaving it vulnerable to the Stranger's assault, which virtually wiped out human society; thereafter, the surviving humans built a better world under the Stranger’s command. Tales to Astonish #89 (1967)
Thor's "reversing time" was interesting, as he didn't travel back in time, or there would have been two of him present. Somehow he seemed to turn back time (like Cher wishes she could) but retained memories of the events that had occurred. Regardless, this diverged another reality (although I suspect the Stranger-616 somehow was aware of both versions):

Earth-70766 Thor duped by Abomination into freeing some of the Stranger’s criminal prisoners, earning the Stranger’s ire; diverged from Reality-616, in which Thor, fearing the Stranger attacking Asgard, "reversed time" to the point of his arrival on the Stranger's world and instead defeated and reimprisoned the Abomination before returning to Asgard without encountering the Stranger. Thor #178 (1970)

I'll start working on a profile on the Stranger's laboratory/prison world, but for now, I'll compile comments here.Rip Taylor

Stranger's laboratory world "across the infinite, fathomless void of space...a grim, gray world without a name" (Av47).

    Quasar#15 called the Stranger's Laboratory World his homeworld.

Starblast#2 describes the Stranger's Homeworld as a Neptune-sized planet.

    It is called a "zoo" in X-Men Forever I#3

Per Donald Campbell:

Quasar#14 - According the the Omniscient Narrative, the Stranger's "home planet" (a.k.a. his laboratory-world) is "about a million light-years closer to the center of the Milky Way" than Earth is. This is impossible since the Milky Way is only between 150,000 and 200,000 light-years in diameter.
This laboratory-world was "approximately the size of Uranus" which means that, as a solid, rocky planet instead of an ice giant, its gravity should have been much more than that of Earth but instead is was only "1.4 times that of Earth." Super-science at work?

Quasar#15 - According to the Omniscient Narrative, the Stranger's laboratory-world was located "halfway across the Milky Way galaxy." Presumably this was meant to be relative to Earth's position.



    Obviously a long profile with lots of appearances. I've reviewed and re-reviewed the issues to try to be complete, but I'm sure I've missed some things and screwed up others, so let me know if you've got anything to add/correct, and we'll work on getting it added/corrected.
    Big thanks to Donald Campbell for providing multiple corrections/additions. He further added:

Although I appreciate the fact that Jim Starlin at least attempted to fix some of the mistakes made by Brian Michael Bendis, I strongly doubt that Starlin's last six Infinity OGNs have actually been set within the Prime Marvel Universe. Aside from the discrepancies allegedly caused by Eros and Pip while time-traveling, Al Ewing's Ultimates 2 stories treated the Thanos who was living happily with Mistress Death as being in an alternate timeline and not the Prime Marvel Universe. Also, Starlin also didn't treat the Living Tribunal as being unique in the multiverse but as someone who had counterparts in each universe. Plus, Eros is dead in the Prime Marvel Universe, long before he could become the alternate future Eros from the last three Infinity OGNs. It makes things easier all around if we just assume that those OGNs take place in the "Starlinverse" section of the Marvel Multiverse.
    I'm inclined to agree it takes place in an alternate universe. I think we just have to take it as being in error about the Living Tribunal., regardless. I'll have to sort it all out someday when I have more free time (which may only be an alternate universe!)
--Snood

    Regarding the O.K. Space Station:

I noticed that you stated that Mar-Vell had suspected that the Stranger had influenced the American Old West culture/structure of the O.K. Space Station 

In fact, the Stranger had come across the O.K. Space Station after its inhabitants had become "crazed from breathing too many cycles of poisons" and had begun living "lives of charades." The Stranger found their situation to be so fascinating that he had involved himself (as the "Big Boss") so that he could enjoy their madness.

Mar-Vell quickly suspected that the reason why the setting was an Earthly one was so that it would be significant to Rick Jones and he concluded that the Supremor (Supreme Intelligence) had used his mental powers to influence the form of the fantasy being lived by the miners. Mar-Vell also assumed that the Stranger was acting as an agent of the Supremor but the Stranger's ignorance of why Mar-Vell had injected himself into the experience made Mar-Vell realize that his assumption was wrong. 

Don Campbell


Rip Taylor has the perfect look for the Stranger, but he's way too happy and silly, while the Stranger is pretty somber.
    Sadly, but as an interesting coincidence, Rip passed away while I was working on this profile. I'd already pasted this picture and included the above sentence in the comments prior to that.

Profile by Snood.

CLARIFICATIONS:
The Stranger
should be distinguished from:



images: (without ads)
X-Men I#11 cover (white coat, floating in air);
    pg. (giant, but still human form);
       panel (giant, alien form)
Tales to Astonish I#89/2 cover,
    pg. 2 (blue costume)
Silver Surfer I#5, pg. 32, panel 1 (Stranger standing with foot on Silver Surfer);
       pg. 38, panel 5 (Stranger traveling through space in energy form)stranger-enigmatic-otmume
Thor I#178, pg. 4, panel 5 (using scanner);
        pg. 10, panel 5 (multiple illusory selves)
Fantastic Four I#116 (alternate colors; vs. Over-Mind);
Marvel Team-Up I#55, pg. 7, panel 1 (with Power? Gem; confronting Spider-Man and Adam Warlock);
          panel 3 (blasting Adam Warlock with Power? Gem);
        pg. 12, panel 4 (holding Warlock in stasis arcs);
Champions I#13, pg. 15, panel 5 (backing Darkstar and Runestaff);
Marvel Two-In-One Annual#5, pg. 11, panel 2-3 (charging/programming electrodes);
          panel 4 (beaming away);
Silver Surfer III#27, pg. 10 (dramatic appearance on Skrull world);
    #31, pg. 15, panel 3 (seething with energy, confronting Surfer);
Avengers I#316, last page (confronting Avengers on starship);
Quasar I#15, pg. 9, panel 2 (energy form/face);
    #16, pg. 28, panel 3 (Gigantians last survivor; gestational forms)
Infinity Gauntlet#5, pg. 14, panel 3 (w/ Galactus and Epoch, energy form assaulting Thanos);
    #6, pg. 21-22 (petrified with other cosmic powers by Nebula);
Starblast#3, pg. 19, panel 6 (posing as God);
Quasar I#56, pg. 7, panel 3 (examining Star Brand on finger);
Star Brand#4, pg. 19, panel 3 (Star Brand energy drained by Skeletron);
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Master Edition#1: Stranger images;
Avataars: Covenant of the Shield#3, pg. 21, panel 1 (small, rear oblique);
          panel 3 (face);

X-Men Forever I#5, last page (confronting assembled team);
Beyond#6, pg. 5, panel 3 (confronting Pym);
Astonishing Thor#1, pg. 20 (Stranger, knees up);
    #3, pg. 10, panel 3 (full; distant);
        pg. 11 (creating Ego and Counter Ego);
       pg. 13, panel 2 (face);
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z#11: Stranger profile main image (refurbished from OHotMU I#10)
Avengers#2.1, pg. 14, panel 1 (face);
       pg. 19, panel 1 (alien form);
Howard the Duck VI#3, pg. 15, panel 1 (long pants outfit)
       


Appearances:
X-Men I#11 (May, 1965) - Stan Lee (co-writer/co-penciler/editor), Jack Kirby (co-writer/penciler), Werner Roth & Alexander Toth (co-pencilers), Vince Colletta, and Charles Eber "Chic" Stone (inkers)
X-Men I#18 (March, 1966) - Stan Lee (writer), Werner Roth (penciler), Dick Ayers (inkers)
Avengers I#47 (December, 1969) - Roy Thomas (writer), John Buscema (penciler), George Tuska (inker), Stan Lee (editor)
Tales to Astonish I#89/2-91/2 (March-May, 1967) - Stan Lee (writer/editor)), Gil "Sugar" Kane (penciler/inker)
Silver Surfer I#5 (April, 1969) - Stan Lee (writer/editor), John Buscema (penciler), Sal Buscema (inker)
Thor I#178 (July, 1970) - Stan Lee (writer/editor), John Buscema (penciler), Vince Colletta (inker)
Fantastic Four I#116 (November, 1971) - Archie Goodwin (writer), John Buscema (penciler), Joe Sinnott (inker), Stan Lee (editor)
Captain America I#150 (June, 1972) - Gerry Conway (writer), Sal Buscema (penciler), John Verpoorten (inker), Stan Lee (editor)
Avengers I#138 (August, 1975) - Steve Englehart (writer), George Tuska (penciler), Vince Colletta (inker), Len Wein (editor)
Captain Marvel I#42 (January, 1976) - Steve Englehart (writer), Al Milgrom (penciler), Mike Esposito (inker), Marv Wolfman (editor)
Marvel Team-Up I#55 (March, 1977) - Bill Mantlo (writer), John Byrne (penciler), Dave Hunt (inker), Archie Goodwin (editor)
Champions I#12 (March, 1977) - Bill Mantlo (writer), John Byrne (penciler), Bob Layton (inker), Archie Goodwin (editor)
Champions I#13 (May, 1977) - Bill Mantlo (writer), John Byrne (penciler), Bob Layton (inker), Archie Goodwin (editor)
Avengers Annual#7 (November, 1977) - Jim Starlin (writer/penciler), Joe Rubinstein (inker), Archie Goodwin (editor)
Marvel Two-In-One Annual#5 (1980) - Alan Kupperburg (writer/penciler), Pablo Marcos (inker), Jim Salicrup (editor)
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe I#10: Stranger entry (October, 1983) - Tom DeFalco, Mark Gruenwald, Mark Lerer, Peter Sanderson (writers), Fred Baumann, Myra David, Peter David, Joanne Harris (research team), Mike Zeck (artist), Michael Carlin (associate editor), Mark Gruenwald (editor)
Vision and Scarlet Witch II#11 (August, 1986) - Steve Englehart (writer), Richard Howell (penciler), Frank Springer (inker), Adam Philips (assistant editor), James Salicrup (editor)
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe II (Deluxe Edition) #12: Stranger entry (November, 1986) - Mark Gruenwald, Steve Saffel, Peter Sanderson (writers), Mike Zeck (penciler), Josef Rubinstein (inker)

Silver Surfer III#27 (September, 1989) - "Stainless" Steve Englehart, Ron Lim (penciler), Tom Christopher (inker), Craig Anderson (editor)
Silver Surfer III#29-30 (November-mid-November, 1989) - "Stainless" Steve Englehart (writer), Ron Lim (penciler), Tom Christopher (inker), Craig Anderson (editor)
Silver Surfer III#31 (December, 1989) - "Stainless" Steve Englehart (writer), Ron Lim (penciler), Tom Christopher & Keith Williams (inker), Craig Anderson (editor)
Avengers I#316 (April, 1990) - John Byrne (writer), Paul Ryan (penciler), Tom Palmer (inker), Howard Mackie (editor)
Avengers I#317 (May, 1990) - John Byrne (plot), Fabian Nicieza (script), Paul Ryan (penciler), Tom Palmer (inker), Howard Mackie (editor)
Avengers I#318 June, 1990) - Fabian Nicieza (writer), Paul Ryan (penciler), Tom Palmer (inker), Howard Mackie (editor); special thanks to Tom Morgan for the 11th hour art assist!
Quasar#13 (August, 1990) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), Mike Manley (pencils), Dan Panosian (inker), Howard Mackie (editor)
Quasar#14-15 (September-October, 1990) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), Mike Manley (pencils), Dan Panosian (inker), Len Kaminski (editor)
Quasar#16 (November, 1990) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), Mike Manley (pencils), Dan Panosian & Keith Williams (inks), Len Kaminski (editor)
Fantastic Four I Annual#23/3 (1990) - Len Kaminski (writer), Greg Capullo (penciler), Larry Mahlstedt (inker), Michael Hesler (assistant editor), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Master Edition#1 (December?, 1990) - Mark Gruenwald, Glenn Herdling, Len Kaminski, Jamie Tost (writers), Keith Pollard (penciler), Josef Rubinstein (inker), Phil Sheehy (editorial assistant), Peter Sanderson (consultant), Mark Gruenwald (editor)
Infinity Gauntlet#3 (September, 1991) - Jim Starlin (writer), George Perez (penciler), Joe Rubinstein (inker), Craig Anderson (editor)
Infinity Gauntlet#4 (October, 1991) - Jim Starlin (writer), George Perez & Ron Lim (penciler), Joe Rubinstein with Bruce N. Sotoloff (inkers), Craig Anderson (editor)
Infinity Gauntlet#5-6 (November-December, 1991) - Jim Starlin (writer), Ron Lim (penciler), Joe Rubinstein (inker), Craig Anderson (editor)
Warlock and the Infinity Watch#1 (February, 1992) - Jim Starlin (writer), Angel Medina (penciler), Terry Austin (inker), Craig Anderson (editor)
Incredible Hulk II#412 (December, 1993) - Peter David (writer), Paul Pelletier (penciler), Cam Smith (inker), Bobbie Chase (editor)
Starblast#2 (February, 1994) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), Herb Trimpe (pencils), Ralph Cabrera (inks), Mike Rockwitz (editor)
Quasar I#55-56 (February-March, 1994) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), John Heebink (pencils), Aaron McClellan (inks), Mike Rockwitz (editor)
Starblast#3 (March, 1994) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), Grant Miehm (pencils), Mike Higgins (inks), Mike Rockwitz (editor)
Starblast#4 (April, 1994) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), Kong, Palant & Buckler (pencils), Don Hudson & Ernie Chan (inks), Mike Rockwitz (editor)

Quasar#57 (April, 1994) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), Peter Sanderson (co-plotter), John Heebink (penciler), Aaron McClellan (inker), Mike Rockwitz (editor)
Avataars: Covenant of the Shield#1 (September, 2000) - Len Kaminski (writer), Oscar Jiminez (penciler), Eduardo Alpuente (inker), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Avataars: Covenant of the Shield#3 (November, 2000) - Len Kaminski (writer), Javier Saltares (penciler), Walden Wong & Chris Ivy (inkers), Tom Brevoort (editor)
X-Men Forever I#1 (January, 2001) - Fabian Nicieza (writer), Kevin Maguire (penciler), Andrew Pepoy (inker), Peter Franco & Lara Castle (assistant editors), Mark Powers & Ralph Macchio (editors)
X-Men Forever I#2-6 (February-June, 2001) - Fabian Nicieza (writer), Kevin Maguire (penciler), Andrew Pepoy (inker), Peter Franco & Brian Smith (assistant editors), Mark Powers & Ralph Macchio (editors)
Marvel Universe: The End#4-6 (June-August, 2003) - Jim Starlin (writer/penciler), Al Milgrom (inker), Marc Sumerak & Andy Schmidt (assistant editors), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Beyond#1 (September, 2006) - Dwayne McDuffie (writer), Scott Kolins (artist), Molly Lazer, Andy Schmidt, & Aubrey Sitterson (assistant editors), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Beyond#2-4 (October-December, 2006) - Dwayne McDuffie (writer), Scott Kolins (artist), Molly Lazer & Aubrey Sitterson (assistant editors), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Beyond#5-6 (January-February, 2006) - Dwayne McDuffie (writer), Scott Kolins (artist), Molly Lazer & Aubrey Sitterson (assistant editors), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z hardcover#11: Stranger (January, 2010) - Ronald Byrd (writer), Jeff Christiansen, Stuart Vandal, & Sean McQuaid (head writers/coordinators), Mike Fichera, Madison Carter, Markus Raymond, & Mike O'Sullivan (coordination assistants), Mike Zeck (artist), Jeff Youngquist & Jennifer Grunwald
Astonishing Thor#1 (January, 2011) - Robert Rodi (writer), Mike Choi (art), Charlie Beckerman (assistant editor), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Astonishing Thor#3 (April, 2011) - Robert Rodi (writer), Mike Choi (art), Charlie Beckerman (assistant editor), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Astonishing Thor#5 (September, 2011) - Robert Rodi (writer), Mike Choi (art), Charlie Beckerman (assistant editor), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Avengers Assemble#7-8 (November-December, 2012) - Brian Michael Bendis (writer), Mark Bagley (penciler), Danny Miki (inker), Jake Thomas (assistant editor), Lauren Sankovitch (associate editor), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Howard the Duck VI#3 (March, 2016) - Chip Zdarsky (writer), Joe Quinones (penciler), Joe Rivera (inker), Chris Robinson (assistant editor), Wil Moss (editor)
Howard the Duck VI#4 (April, 2016) - Chip Zdarsky (writer), Joe Quinones (penciler), Joe Rivera (inker), Chris Robinson (assistant editor), Wil Moss (editor)
Avengers#2.1 (February, 2017) - Mark Waid (writer), Barry Kitson (penciler), Mark Farmer (inker), Alanna Smith (assistant editor), Tom Brevoort (editor)

Thanos: The Infinity Ending (2019) - Jim Starlin (writer), Alan Davis (penciler), Mark Farmer (inker), Sarah Brunstad (editor)


First posted: 02/28/2020
Last updated: 12/14/2020

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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