Phantom Stranger

History

The origin of the being known only as the Phantom Stranger remains a mystery, though many varying and contradictory theories exist as to his true nature and beginnings. He seems to appear most often to persons who are deeply troubled or confronted by some spiritual or moral dilemma. In these cases he has been known to offer advice or counsel, but always letting the individual decide for themselves. He steers, but cannot lead. That has always been his fate.

Only when some supernatural or physical threat is involved has the Stranger been known to use his powers. However, the limits of his powers - like the Phantom Stranger himself - remain a mystery. They frequently seem to involve the manipulation of supernatural energies, and at other times he has been heard conversing with supernatural beings.

Powers & Abilities

• Teleportation over huge distances
• Energy manipulation on a huge scale
• Vast Knowledge and possible Omniscience
• Time Manipulation and travel (though is known to only travel to past and present)
• Spectral sight (where he can perceive entities invisible to others)
• Unarmed combat (known to throw a few punches)
• Mastery over magic
• Space adaptation
• Illusion revealing and casting
• Flight

In a special issue of Secret Origins, DC gave the Phantom Stranger four possible origins that he could have started from:

1. Says that the Phantom Stranger was a citized during Biblical times who was spared Gods wrath. He then commits suicide. As punishment for this, an Angel forbids his spirit from ever entering the afterlife. The angel reanimates his body and  sentences him to walk among humanity forever and yet forever be separate from them.
2. In a variation of the Wandering Jew story, he was an adult family man named Isaac with a wife (Rebecca) and boy at the time when Jesus was a small child. When King Herod sent his army to kill all small male children, to possibly kill Jesus,  the army slew his son and wife. This made him angry at Jesus.  As Jesus was being tortured, Isaac bribed a guard to assume his role in whipping Jesus. Jesus then sentenced him to walk away from his home and country; to be alone until Doomsday. he spent the rest of his time helping society, even declining God's offer to release him from his sentence.
3. They say that the Phantom Stranger existed in the previous Universe. He aproached a group of scientists that were studying the end of the Universe, he told them to not interefere with the conclusion of their Universe. He then passes a portion of himself to one of the scientists and at the the begining of the new universe, that scientist became the new Phantom Stranger.
4. The final says that the Stranger was a Fallen Angel that sided with neither Heaven or Hell during Lucifers Rebellion against the Presence and then is condemned to Earth alone forever .