The Beyonder is a fictional character in comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in Secret Wars vol. 1 #1 (May 1984), and was created by Jim Shooter and Mike Zeck. He reappears in Secret Wars II #1 (July 1985), which was created by Jim Shooter and Al Milgrom. Marvel Comics is an American comic book line published by Marvel Publishing, Inc. ... In comic books, first appearance refers to first comic book to feature a character. ... Secret Wars (full title Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars) is the name of a twelve-issue Marvel Comics comic book limited series produced between 1984 and 1985, and a Mattel toy line that reflected the series. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Mike Zeck in an American comic book illustrator. ... The Inhumans are a fictional race of superhumans in the Marvel Comics universe, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. ... Alice, a fictional character based on a real character from the work of Lewis Carroll. ... A comic book is a magazine or book containing the art form of comics. ... Marvel Comics is an American comic book line published by Marvel Publishing, Inc. ... Secret Wars (full title Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars) is the name of a twelve-issue Marvel Comics comic book limited series produced between 1984 and 1985, and a Mattel toy line that reflected the series. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Mike Zeck in an American comic book illustrator. ... Secret Wars II was a nine-issue comic book limited series and crossover published by Marvel Comics from 1985 to 1986. ... Cover to West Coast Avengers #1, Art by Milgrom Allen Al Milgrom is an American comic book writer, penciller, inker and editor. ...

Publication history

The Beyonder was a controversial character among creators. Creators felt that Jim Shooter had abused his role as editor-in-chief, and forced the use of the omnipotent character upon other writers and editors. Some critics felt the crossovers didn't always mesh well with the main book. One of the most vocal critics was John Byrne. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... John Lindley Byrne (born July 6, 1950) is a British-born naturalised American author and artist of comic books. ...

Apparently, Steve Englehart wanted to tie in the Beyonder to older characters known as the Beyonders (first mentioned in the team-up comic Marvel Two-in-One #63, beings powerful enough to collect planets) for his "Secret Wars III' story in Fantastic Four #318-319. According to Englehart, an editor hated the character and ordered the Beyonder "removed" from the Marvel Universe. Englehart did as asked but has stated that he tried to exile the character with dignity. The character was subjected to a retcon making him less potent than originally determined, and explanations of his omnipotence have been written off as the more powerful beings "playing along" to ease the Beyonder's transition into self-awareness. It was explained in Secret Wars III that the Beyonder was in fact a Cosmic Cube. During the first Secret War, the Beyonder claimed to be the embodiment of an entire universe. As he became self-aware, he recognized himself as the only person in his universe. Secret Wars III revealed that the Beyonder is in fact a wayward Cosmic Cube, at one time inhabiting his own "dimension" because there was no matrix to hold his energy. The Beyonder took his name from the powerful Beyonders who were manipulating his destiny. Steve Englehart (born April 22, 1947, Indianapolis, Indiana) is an American comic book writer best known for his work for Marvel Comics and DC Comics, particularly in the 1970s. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... This article contains a trivia section. ...

This article describes fictional events in the past tense. The present tense should be used in order to clearly differentiate between fictional events and actual history. To meet Wikipedia's quality standards, this comics-related article or section may require cleanup. See this article's talk page before making any large and/or controversial edits. This article has been tagged since March 2007.

Image File history File links Speech_balloon. ... The past tense is a verb tense expressing action, activity, state or being in the past. ... The present tense is the tense (form of a verb) that is often used to express: Action at the present time A state of being A habitual action An occurrence in the near future An action that occurred in the past and continues up to the present There are two...

Fictional character biography

Secret Wars

The Beyonder is the sum total of a pocket dimension called the Beyond-Realm or simply "Beyond", hence the name "Beyonder". This dimension is accidentally accessed by nebbish lab technician Owen Reece. Part of the energy from the dimension escaped and imbued Reece with near-infinite powers, which he wielded as the villainous Molecule Man - potentially one of the most powerful villains in the Marvel Universe. The remaining energy of the pocket dimension apparently gains sentience and curiosity. Using its vast powers, the Beyonder creates a planet called "Battleworld" out of pieces of various planets (one such piece being a suburb of Denver) and abducts a number of superheroes and supervillains from Earth so that he can observe the never-ending battle between good and evil that rages within humanity at large. Molecule Man is a fictional character, an elemental supervillain of immense power in the Marvel Comics universe, and an enemy of Klaw. ... This does not cite any references or sources. ... Nickname: Location of Denver in Colorado Location of Colorado in the United States Coordinates: , Country United States State Colorado City-County Denver (coextensive) Founded [1] November 22, 1858 Incorporated November 7, 1861 Government  - Type Strong Mayor/Weak Council  - Mayor John Hickenlooper (D) Area [1]  - City & County  154. ... For the Aqua Teen Hunger Force episode, see Super Hero (Aqua Teen Hunger Force episode). ... Doctor Doom, one of the most archetypal supervillains and his arch-enemies The Fantastic Four (in background). ... This article is about Earth as a planet. ...

In initially explaining the nature of the experiment to the involuntary participants, the entity identifies itself only as "I am from beyond." The name "Beyonder" is quickly applied by Galactus and adopted by all others present. Galactus, sensing that the Beyonder could alleviate his perpetual hunger, immediately and aggressively charges into the Beyond-Realm through a dimensional rift, followed by Doctor Doom, who seeks power for his own purposes. Both are repelled, but the information gathered by Doom later enables him to use the body of the sound-based villain Klaw as a medium to steal the energies of Galactus' Worldship and then the power of the Beyonder itself. With the Beyonder's power, Doom constructs a 200-mile high tower of golden stone as temporary quarters, and then stated that he has given up his ambitions for conquest, instead simply being content with freeing his mother's soul from Mephisto. The Beyonder's consciousness then possesses Klaw's damaged mind and manipulates Doom into unconsciously squandering his power against the superheroes, distracting him enough for the Beyonder to steal his power back. It has been suggested that Power Cosmic be merged into this article or section. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Klaw, the self-styled Master of Sound, is a fictional character, a supervillain in the Marvel Comics universe. ... Mephisto is a fictional character, a supervillain in the Marvel Universe. ...

This formed the basis of the first Secret Wars twelve-issue limited series. The series sold incredibly well with circulation reaching up to 750,000 copies per issue, numbers reminiscent of the height of comic book sales during the Golden Age of the 1940s. Superman, catalyst of the Golden Age: Superman #14 (Feb. ...

Secret Wars II

Due to the high sales of the first series, a second Secret Wars series, the nine-issue Secret Wars II miniseries, was published. This series crossed over into almost every comic that Marvel was publishing at the time. Secret Wars II was a nine-issue comic book limited series and crossover published by Marvel Comics from 1985 to 1986. ... It has been suggested that Gaming crossovers be merged into this article or section. ...

Intrigued by what he has witnessed during the first Secret Wars, the Beyonder comes to Earth to walk among humans and study them and learn of human desire firsthand. He creates a human body for himself; originally this body resembles an amalgam of parts of various superbeings. He then changes it to one based on that of Captain America, but he later patterns his hairstyle and wardrobe after Michael Jackson's look as Captain EO. ^{[citation needed]} Captain America is a fictional comic book superhero published by Marvel Comics. ... Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958), commonly known as MJ as well as the King of Pop, is an American musician, entertainer, and pop icon whose successful career and controversial personal life have been a part of pop culture for the last three decades. ... Captain EO (alternately, Captain Eo) is a 3-D film which was formerly shown in Disney theme parks. ...

His complete lack of understanding of human biology and society leads to numerous difficult situations, some serious and some humorous. For instance, he needs to learn by example the difference between edible objects and non-edible ones, and needs to be toilet-trained by Spider-Man. When he learns about the monetary system from a homeless woman and Luke Cage, the Hero for Hire, he transformed a Manhattan office building into gold as thanks for their assistance. He later becomes the head of a criminal cartel and then used mind control to assume control over the entire Earth, only to reliquish control when he grew restless and frustrated with the lack of free will that the world now displayed. He has a brief love affair with the musician Dazzler, and, when pondering his place and needs in the universe, accidentally inspires a cult of meditators. His body is destroyed, or nearly destroyed, several times over, although each time he would repair it with his powers. Spider-Man swinging around his hometown, New York City. ... Luke Cage, born Carl Lucas and once called Power Man, is a fictional superhero appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. ... Mind control (or thought control) has the premise that an outside source can control an individuals thinking, behavior or consciousness (either directly or more subtly). ... Dazzler (Alison Blaire) is a Marvel Comics superheroine, associated with the X-Men. ...

On a train to New York, Beyonder meets the mutant Tabitha Smith, also known as Boom Boom. Thinking he is a mutant, Boom Boom accompanies him. The Beyonder abandons her but returns and takes her to Xavier's school. At the school, Tabitha is terrified when the teams of the X-Men and the New Mutants fight the Beyonder. The Beyonder takes her to a planet where the Celestials are located. There, threatening to destroy the universe, the Beyonder fights and seemingly defeats a number of Celestials. (However, that planet was not truly the Celestials' headquarters, and the Celestials allowed the Beyonder to "defeat" them, presumably in order to observe him in action. This, however, is part of the retcon.) Fearful of the battle taking place between the Beyonder and the Celestials, Tabitha demands to be returned to Earth. Back on Earth, Boom Boom alerts the Avengers about the Beyonder. Summoning the Beyonder, Boom Boom thereby leads him into an ambush by the Avengers and other costumed champions. The Beyonder, who had regarded Boom Boom as his only friend, allows the Avengers to defeat him, but then leaves. Boom Boom leaves during the battle. Tabitha Smith is a fictional character, a comic book superhero in the Marvel Comics universe. ...

Throughout the course of the series, the demon Mephisto seeks to steal his powers or to destroy him to win the favor of Death. The Beyonder ultimately dies when he tried to create for himself a mortal human body that could retain his omnipotence; although he was on the verge of succeeding, he is killed in the process by the Molecule Man. The Beyonder's near-limitless power is returned to the now-empty "Beyond-Realm", where it forms a Big Bang and created a new universe (this was initially presented as being the New Universe in which the line of comics of the same name were set, but this idea seems to have later been set aside along with the New Universe itself). Mephisto is a fictional character, a supervillain in the Marvel Universe. ... Death is a fictional character, a personification of death in the Marvel Comics Universe. ... Molecule Man is a fictional character, an elemental supervillain of immense power in the Marvel Comics universe, and an enemy of Klaw. ... According to the Big Bang model, the universe developed from an extremely dense and hot state. ... Promotional Advertisement for The New Universe, Marvel Comics Group, circa 1986. ...

Kosmos & Maker

The tale of the Beyonder continued several years later in an issue of the Fantastic Four, in a story called "Secret Wars 3". The characters learned that the energy which comprised the Beyonder and the energy that gave the Molecule Man his powers needed to be combined in order to create the basis for a mentally stable, mature high-omnipotent being to be born. This being, called Kosmos, expelled the Molecule Man from its form, and returned him to Earth. Kosmos took on a female form and tutored under Kubik. When the Molecule Man's lover, Volcana, left him, Owen Reece got angry, extracted the Beyonder from Kosmos, and proceeded to attack him until Kubik intervened. The Fantastic Four is a fictional American team of comic-book superheroes in the Marvel Comics universe. ... Molecule Man is a fictional character, an elemental supervillain of immense power in the Marvel Comics universe, and an enemy of Klaw. ... Kubik is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics Universe. ...

At some unknown point, Kosmos went mad and assumed a mortal form, now calling itself the Maker. After the Maker destroyed a Shi'ar colony, the Imperial Guard managed to imprison it in the interstellar prison called the Kyln. The Maker's madness took control of several inmates, but was finally subdued by the nihilist Thanos and several of his allies among the prisoners. Thanos confronted the Maker and psychically shut down its mind, instructing the Shi'ar that the body should be kept alive, braindead, or the Beyonder essence would go free again. The Shiar, pronounced // (Shee-ARR), are a fictional species of aliens in the Marvel Comics universe. ... Gladiator The Imperial Guard is a team of fictional super-powered alien warriors in the Marvel Comics universe. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Thanos is a fictional character that appears in the Marvel Universe. ...

Apparently, Thanos had encountered the Beyonder in the past, but this was never explained, as Thanos was dead at the time of Secret Wars II (of course, one of the Beyonder's many powers included time travel as well, so a past meeting with a younger Thanos of Titan would have been entirely possible). Thanos' flashback showed Thanos as a youngster. This may have been a plot writer Keith Giffen would have elaborated on in the future. Time travel is a concept that has long fascinated humanity—whether it is Merlin experiencing time backwards, or religious traditions like Mohammeds trip to Jerusalem and ascent to heaven, returning before a glass knocked over had spilt its contents. ... This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ...

Beyond! and Annihilation

The Beyonder apparently returned in the series named after him, Beyond![1]. This being was called The Beyonder in the second issue. This "Beyonder" was once again in command of the patchwork Battleworld, where it would be revealed that he had been collecting various superhumans and pitting them in combat with one another. Eventually, the pool of heroes and villains featured in the mini-series discover that this Beyonder is actually The Stranger, who has been conducting studies of super-humanity through re-creations of the original Secret War. Beyond! was a six-issue limited series published by Marvel Comics. ... The Stranger is a fictional cosmic entity that appears in the Marvel Universe. ...

In the "Annihilation" crossover, the former Herald of Galactus, the Fallen One, now under the control of Thanos, is sent to investigate the aftermath of the Kyln's destruction by the Annihilation Wave and ascertain the Beyonder's fate; the Fallen One soon finds her lifeless form in the rubble. However, given the strange nature of her existence as a Cosmic Cube, as well as the fact that she was killed once before in Secret Wars II without apparent ill effect (the Cosmic Cube energy that was the original Beyonder simply filling up an empty pocket dimension where it was shunted to and starting life anew), it is uncertain at this time if she truly died, or if instead she has been set free as Thanos predicted. Annihilation is a Marvel Comics 2006 crossover event highlighting several relatively under-used outer space-related characters in the Marvel Universe. ... Fallen One is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics Universe. ... Secret Wars II was a nine-issue comic book limited series and crossover published by Marvel Comics from 1985 to 1986. ...

New Avengers: The Illuminati

The Beyonder in his human form.
Art by Jimmy Cheung.

In New Avengers: The Illuminati #3, featuring a re-telling of past events, Charles Xavier reveals that in the original Secret War, he had initially planned to use his powers to make everyone fall asleep and thus buy him and Reed Richards time to formulate an escape plan, but feared the Beyonder's wrath. However, he immediately sensed a strange mental presence and attempted to mind-scan the Beyonder, revealing him as one of the Inhumans previously ruled over by fellow Illuminati member Black Bolt. The apparent secret behind the Beyonder's seemingly godlike abilities was also deduced by Xavier, who recognised that the Beyonder had been a mutant Inhuman, like Xavier and his own team of X-Men, and the exposure of his mutant genes to Terrigen Mists had created an unprecented reaction, bestowing upon him more amazing power and knowledge than all other Inhumans of his time.^[1] Image File history File links This work is copyrighted. ... Image File history File links This work is copyrighted. ... Cover art from Young Avengers #2. ... Charles Francis Xavier, also known as Professor X, is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero, known as the leader and founder of the X-Men. ... The Inhumans are a fictional race of superhumans in the Marvel Comics Universe, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. ... Black Bolt (Blackagar Boltagon) is a fictional character that appears in the Marvel Universe and king of the offshoot of humanity known as the Inhumans. ... In Marvel comic books, particularly those of the X-Men mythos, a human being who is born with genetic alterations that allow them to naturally develop abilities not possessed by regular humans is commonly called a mutant. ... The Terrigen Mist is a fictional substance from the Marvel Comics Universe, a natural mutagen able to alter Inhuman biology. ...

This revelation leads to a confrontation with the Beyonder during the events of the second Secret War, wherein Black Bolt expresses his extreme displeasure toward the Beyonder's activities. When encountered, the Beyonder is dwelling in a simulacrum of Manhattan Island on Ceres, a dwarf planet in the asteroid belt. The scene playing out is one from the Secret Wars II series (the destruction of Power Man and Iron Fist's headquarters). At the 2007 Philadelphia Comic-Con, writer Brian Michael Bendis admitted the asteroid scene was deliberately vague, allowing readers to draw their own connections to Secret Wars II. He also claimed he did not receive enough credit for maintaining the character's 1987 jeri-curl. Spectral type: G[8] Absolute magnitude: 3. ... Artists impression of Pluto (background) and Charon (foreground). ... For details on the physical properties of bodies in the asteroid belt see Asteroid and Main-belt comet. ... Brian Michael Bendis (born August 18, 1967) is an American comic book writer and erstwhile artist. ...

Solicitations for the Illuminati miniseries suggest that the Beyonder will return by the series' end in a current day storyline.

The story itself is deliberately ambiguous; Black Bolt, for example, does not remember the mutant Inhuman who vanished, making it possible the Beyonder arranged all this as a mind game. Story's connection to modern continuity is unclear: the scene depicted on the asteroid is one which remains in continuity, as does the revelation of the Beyonder as a Cosmic Cube in Secret Wars III.

Powers and abilities

Although not native to this dimension, the Beyonder was one of the most powerful beings ever to exist in the Marvel Universe. In the original Secret Wars storyline he was the be-all and end-all of his universe that took corporeal form to better understand the nature of human beings. After his creator Jim Shooter left Marvel writer-editor Tom Deflaco, displeased with Shooter's tenure at Marvel, re-tooled the Beyonder and retconned his origin. He was no longer omnipotent as many initially believed, being an incomplete Cosmic Cube, with less raw power and the same limitations of a complete cube. Nonetheless, he possessed vast psionic abilities allowing him to manipulate matter and energy at a cosmic level beyond all but only the most powerful of cosmic entities. He once destroyed a galaxy on a whim to meet his needs during the first Secret Wars, though this may have been an illusion (Molecule Man did claim he re-created the stars while transporting the city of Denver and the Super-Villains back to Earth). He could endow himself with a corporeal form of limitless strength and endurance. He had the potential to reach near omniscience as well, but he died before his mind could reach maturity. In the first Secret Wars, he could easily knock back Galactus who was trying to attack him (notwithstanding, one should note that Galactus's powers are variable themselves, depending on his feeding state; later on, Doctor Doom, empowered with Galactus's spacecraft energy, was able to defeat Beyonder and usurp his powers as well, meaning that Beyonder is not stronger than Galactus in a absolute manner - actually, in Annihilation The Devourer has been described as "the most powerful creature in the universe"). This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Omnipotence (literally, all power) is power with no limits or inexhaustible, in other words, unlimited power. ... This article contains a trivia section. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Molecule Man is a fictional character, an elemental supervillain of immense power in the Marvel Comics universe, and an enemy of Klaw. ... Omniscience is the capacity to know everything infinitely, or at least everything that can be known about a character including thoughts, feelings, life and the universe, etc. ... Secret Wars (full title Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars) is the name of a twelve-issue Marvel Comics comic book limited series produced between 1984 and 1985, and a Mattel toy line that reflected the series. ... It has been suggested that Power Cosmic be merged into this article or section. ... Annihilation is defined as total destruction or complete obliteration of an object;[1] having its root in the Latin nihil (nothing). ...

Other versions

In the Earth-691 timeline, the Beyonder provides Vance Astro of the Guardians of the Galaxy with a costume resembling a Symbiote. In the fictional Marvel Comics multiverse, Earth 691 or Earth-691 is the name used to identify a secondary continuity inhabited by Killraven and the Guardians of the Galaxy. ... This article is about Vance Astro aka Major Victory, the member of the Guardians of the Galaxy; for his alternate timeline counterpart, formerly known as Marvel Boy and currently as Justice, see Vance Astrovik; for other characters named Major Victory, see Major Victory (disambiguation). ... The Guardians of the Galaxy are a fictional superhero team active in the 31st century in an alternate timeline that is a version of the Marvel Universe. ... A symbiote, in Marvel Comics fictional universe, is a living alien organism that bonds with another living organism (usually a human, although it may bond with non-human animals) in order to survive. ...

In other media

The Beyonder in Spider-Man: The Animated Series.

The Beyonder makes an appearance in the Spider-Man cartoon during the early 90's. However, his appearance in the cartoon greatly differs from the comics, as he sports a goatee and a futuristic suit as opposed to having a clean-shaven face with a disco outfit. He is also actually more of a good guy than a villain. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Spider-Man (also known as Spider-Man: The Animated Series) is an American animated television series featuring the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man, which ran for five seasons (65 episodes) starting November 19, 1994 and finishing January 31, 1998. ... Spider-Man (also known as Spider-Man: The Animated Series) is an American animated television series featuring the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man, which ran for five seasons (65 episodes) starting November 19, 1994 and finishing January 31, 1998. ...

The Beyonder first appeared in the episode "Arrival" of Season 5, the first chapter of that Secret Wars in the series. The Beyonder worked with Madame Web to prepare Spider-Man for the Secret Wars. When Doctor Doom was defeated in "Doom" (the third and last chapter to the Secret Wars), the Beyonder had all the heroes Spider-Man had summoned to assist him forget their actions, and sent them home. Spider-Man, however, was needed for something bigger, so he was the only one whose memory was untouched. It was revealed that the evil Spider-Carnage had destroyed the entire multiverse with a giant bomb. However, when the destruction reached the Beyonder's own reality, he used all of his powers to roll back time. Though it tested him to the extreme, he sent his servant, Madame Web, into the past to train Spider-Men from many different realities to find out which one would be worthy enough to lead the others against Spider-Carnage. Madame Web is a fictional supporting character in the Spider-Man comic book series. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Parodies

In the Spider-Ham universe, "The Bee-Yonder" briefly appears to give Spider-Ham a version of the black uniform, stating that the familiar red-and-blue uniform was out of style. Spider-Ham (Peter Porker) is a fictional character, an anthropomorphic funny animal parody of Marvel Comics popular Spider-Man character, created by Tom DeFalco and Mark Armstrong. ...

Mister Mxyzptlk parodied the Beyonder in his first appearance in current continuity by assuming a form and identity that was similar in clothing and appearance to the Beyonder. He called himself "Ben Deroy", an anagram of "Beyonder." When asked by Lois Lane where he came from, he answers by saying, "Oh...here and there. Yonder, let's say. Yes. Yonder." Mister Mxyzptlk (roughly pronounced Miks-yez-pit-lik, or Mix-yez-pittle-ik, also nicknamed Mxy) is a fictional supervillain who appears in DC Comics Superman comic books. ...

References

1. ^ New Avengers: Illuminati #3 Preview

See also

• Secret Wars
• Secret Wars II
• Kosmos
• Kubik
• Shaper of Worlds
• Cosmic entities (Marvel Comics)
• Marvel Universe
• Multiverse