Ah! It is so good to write about DC Comics characters after a very long time. I couldn’t complete last year and I didn’t want to leave this hanging. Also, I have planned something very interesting (atleast I think it is interesting) for the next whole year. I’m not sure if that will keep rolling for just one year or many years. It all depends on the readers of my blog. Hope, I get some interesting conversations surfacing after this post. Let’s jump right into the Character. Shall we?

P for Phantom Stranger

First, let me clear the air. The Phantom with purple skin tight dress which many would remember reading is a different Phantom from the one I am going to write about. The Phantom Stranger is a pure blood DC Character.

The Phantom stranger is said to be one of the most enigmatic beings of the universe. He appears only when the events which need someone with more power required. Although his origin story was unclear but mostly vague, but there are sources which confirm one of the stories to be true. As far as I know there seems to be four different origin stories but I don’t want to bore you with all of them but just one which is said as close to a canon (This comic book term means what actually happened or what the actual character is rather than what the events suggests).

Phantom Stranger was a fallen angel who didn’t side with either heaven or hell during Lucifer’s rebellion against The Presence (The Presence, is considered to be the god who created DC universe which many non DC fans wouldn’t know. There is also a Presence in the Marvel universe). Since, he didn’t align with either of them he was condemned to earth to be alone forever. He is also said to be one of the Trinity of sin team, these are the three mortals who were declared as ultimate sinners by the Council of eternities and doomed to roam the earth forever.

He first appeared in the Vertigo comics as someone who helps people in need. Later, when Vertigo was attached with DC, he appeared more in the DC universe helping the likes of Dead Man and Batman in many instances. He has been used in one or two ways, as an overseer of the humanity or as a mystical secondary character. His close confidante is Madame Xanadu (who is another mystical character and I will write about in one of the future posts).

Powers and abilities

Since, he has been in the comics for a very longer time and many writes have changed throughout, his powers kept increasing. Some of the primary ones are:

• Teleportation over huge distances.
• Manipulation of cosmic power
• Time manipulation and Time travel
• Perceiving entities which others cannot see
• Unarmed combat
• Mastery over magic
• Space adaptation
• Illusion revealing & casting and much more.

Some Recommendations

• He has appeared in one of the episodes on Batman: The Brave and the bold animated series.
• Trinity of Sin: The Phantom Stranger – I think this is a good place to start since, they have retconed (Another comic book term which means re-wrote the whole story) him with a new story and setting.

Unlike, last time I really want to finish writing about the heroes before the end of 2019 and I really hope I can do this. Wish me luck people. Have you heard of him? What do you think about this character? Please do share your thoughts in comments and let’s chat there.

Ciao 🙂

To Read the previous posts on A to Z Blogging Challenge 2018, please click here.