BIOGRAPHY - Page 5
In time, the evolved Cosmic Cube known as the Shaper of Worlds sought to use his gift of creation for the benefit of the cosmos. He approached Eternity, Infinity, the Watchers and the Living Tribunal with an idea to create a replica of Earth. Through this replica, the higher powers could observe and evaluate humanity to determine why this one race proved so important and involved in cosmic matters. His plan was approved, and the Shaper called upon the “Four Muses” to guide his creation event and forge the most intricate conjuration of his career. The Shaper’s student Glorian provided light and life to the mixture, his own imagination and reality-shaping abilities in tandem with the Shaper’s. An Earth boy named Timothy was chosen as a muse for his encyclopedic knowledge of the world’s heroes, while Prester John recalled his own era of Camelot to give new context for these Marvels. Finally, the Stranger contributed an element of mystery to the process, allowing this “Eurth” to evolve beyond the specifications of its creators. [Avataars: Covenant of the Shield #1-3]
Through Eurth or his own data on the original Earth, the Stranger came to the conclusion that humanity and their mutant sub-species were a systemic threat to the entire universe. Extrapolating for the geometric progression of mutations on Earth, he believed they had the potential to one day even subsume and replace the abstract entities that made up the fundamental forces of the cosmos. In particular, the Stranger noted how an Omega-class mutant like Jean Grey had already become an avatar for the cosmic entity known as the Phoenix Force. Fearing for his own future, the Stranger also saw the possible opportunity to seize control of mutant evolution for his own advancement. If mankind’s evolution was made under his direction, the Stranger could guide the power of ascendant Omega-class mutants to destroy Eternity and the existing universe. Done on his timetable, this would allow him and him alone to pass into the next universe, possibly assuming the role of Eternity himself in the place of his pawns.
To bring about this process, the Stranger corrupted the circuitry of a sentient Celestial ship called Prosh. A former friend of the X-Men and their family, Prosh was programmed to assemble a group of Cataclysm Keys to act as the Stranger’s evolutionary vanguard, working with Toad, Mystique, Juggernaut and the Omega-class mutants Phoenix and Iceman. Prosh bestowed the five with special harnesses that carried their consciousness backwards and forward in time to learn from 
their own collective histories about the path mutantkind was on. The journey was intended to provoke the Omegas in particular towards reaching their full potential so they could be properly exploited. Prosh was inhibited from openly sharing the Stranger’s influence or intentions with the Keys. However, he worked within his programming to ensure the travelers not only learned what the Stranger wanted them to learn, but also what they needed to countermand him when he revealed himself.
It was Toad who recognized the Stranger’s hand in their adventures first, due to his history with 
the alien. Iceman unlocked his Omega potential to stop Prosh when the construct turned against them at the end of their journey. The Stranger attempted to show Jean Grey his vision and reconnect her with the fundamental forces of the universe she brushed against as the Phoenix. Unfortunately for him, he succeeded. Eternity spoke directly to Jean, assuring her that the abstract entities were not concerned about humanity supplanting them. This cycle of universal death and rebirth was natural and accepted by the higher powers, and it was the Stranger’s conceit at usurping it that truly threatened existence. Once she understood the stakes, Phoenix stood her ground against the Stranger and his games. Toad used his knowledge of the Stranger’s technology incorporated into Prosh to cause the entire ship to collapse in on itself. The Cataclysm Keys escaped as the Stranger was trapped and condensed down to a sub-atomic universe. Mutantkind rejected his efforts to control them, and his attempt to ascend the celestial ladder was foiled. [X-Men Forever (1st series) #1-6]
While his plans for mutantkind fell through, the Stranger remained concerned about the impact of humanity as a whole on the cosmos. Previously, he beheld the Beyonder’s “secret war” on Battleworld, where super-beings of Earth were pitted against each other to study the nature of desire, and good vs. evil. The Stranger thought the basic experiment had merit and he recreated his own version of Battleworld. Over a number of years, he secretly brought Earth-based superhumans to Battleworld and posed as the Beyonder as they fought for his favor and analysis. Some died, while others “won” and were transported back to Earth with their memories erased once the Stranger was satisfied the experiment had run its course. One particular conflict brought together Deathlok, Sleepwalker, Monica Rambeau, Darkhawk, Coldblood, Wonder Man, Count Dracula and Terror, Inc. They only survived when Deathlok made a deal with their disguised host to send the others home to Earth.
In the last known conflict of Battleworld, the “Beyonder” gathered together Spider-Man, Wasp, Doctor Pym, Gravity, Queen Medusa, the Hood, Al Kraven, Firebird and Venom. They learned about the Beyonder’s games from Deathlok on Battleworld, but the scenario began to unravel. Venom killed Spider-Man, only for the hero to be revealed as the shape-changing Space 
Phantom. The Phantom was placed among the competitors to deliberately provoke conflict. Deathlok and Pym began to suspect further deceit was involved, and they staged a fight where Pym “disintegrated” all his companions while actually hiding them away with Pym Particles. When the Beyonder appeared to grant Hank Pym his desires, Pym called their host’s bluff, and the Stranger revealed his true nature.
The Stranger began to suspect he was being played, forcing Pym to re-enlarge the other super-beings. The Stranger openly admitted how much he feared human beings for their growing prominence on the galactic stage. He could only hope that his current experiments provided enough insight into the species to arm him when humanity inevitably became a true threat to his interests. The Stranger lashed out at his pawns but fell victim to an old ruse when Uatu the Watcher arrived to bear witness to the proceedings. Deathlok and the competitors played on the Stranger’s doubts, making him fear Uatu was about to break his oath of non-interference yet again in defense of humanity. When the Watcher made no move to refute his suspicions, the Stranger erred on the side of caution and agreed to end his experiments. Still, he spitefully caused Battleworld to begin breaking up as he left, leaving the Earthlings to race for their transport home as the planet collapsed. [Beyond! #1-6]
The Stranger finally saw the opportunity for his long-awaited experiment regarding Ego and Alter-
Ego. He created a psychic link between the two long-lost brother-planets just as the Collector’s museum was due to pass through Earth’s solar system. The Stranger was interested to see how Ego and Alter-Ego responded to one another, if autonomy or captivity bred a stronger will. And, if their probable conflict did damage to the Earth and its pesky people in the process, so much the better. In fact, the very presence of Ego entering the solar system upset Earth’s weather, prompting Thor to investigate the origins. The Stranger tried to deter the Thunder God’s interference, but with only minor success. Ego ended up heavily damaging Alter-Ego but did not kill him. Instead, Thor’s companion Zephyr helped Ego nurture what remained of Alter-Ego to create a nascent moon for his orbit. In the end, the Stranger mused that this unexpected result may have been better than what he expected. [Astonishing Thor #1-5]
The next time Thanos of Titan approached absolute power, it was through the acquisition of an Earth-made Cosmic Cube. He summoned the Stranger and the Elders of the Universe as a test for his newfound might. Thanos seemingly wiped them from existence. However, the Cube was not a genuine article, but “merely” an advanced dark matter generator cast in the familiar shape of a Cosmic Cube by its creators. What appeared to be the death of the Elders was actually their displacement into another reality. The Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy were in pursuit of Thanos and made an alliance with the Stranger and the Elders. In exchange for the exotic technology necessary to counteract the “Cube,” they agreed to turn Thanos over to the Elders for judgment afterwards. The effort was successful and the Mad Titan soon suffered at the hands of those whom he had wronged. [Avengers Assemble #7-8]
The Stranger was among the many contenders seeking Howard the Duck when he became a 
Living Nexus of All Realities. Perpetual access to the multiverse had always intrigued the Stranger, but most Nexii were stationary and otherwise uncontrollable. A Nexus with a living host provided new possibilities, such as programming a destination or even creating entirely new universes. The Stranger was eager to serve as God and creator of his own universes, but Howard refused to be treated as property. He escaped the Stranger and all other seekers of his power before successfully getting rid of it. [Howard the Duck (6th series) #3-4]
The Stranger’s status as the Gigantian Uni-Mind began to weigh on him. His billion upon billion of minds started to fracture and act against each other, making him violently unstable. As his unpredictable nature grew worse, Al Harper led an uprising among the Stranger’s test subjects in 
an effort to find freedom. Harper was killed by the Stranger’s defenses, but afterwards he converted from matter back into energy and his lifeforce returned to Earth so it could reunite with his original body. The Silver Surfer had left an eternal flame of the Power Cosmic at Harper’s grave site, which bonded together with him and the nano-cloud which preserved his lifeforce to create a powerful restored entity named Ghost Light. An infuriated Stranger dispatched his id-leeches to Earth to punish Ghost Light and the Silver Surfer for defying him.
After driving off the leeches, the Surfer and Ghost Light were surprised when the Stranger’s so-called “inner faction” emerged from within Harper. While the majority of the Stranger was now insane, this assembly of a few hundred minds retained the original personality of the scientist and the goal of repopulating Gigantus. It was the Inner Faction who arranged for Harper’s lifeforce to 
transmit back to Earth (while hiding inside of him) after learning that Harper’s old research could be used to stabilize the larger aggregate of the Stranger’s minds. A device powered by Harper’s improvised “molecular harmonics” could cure the Stranger. While the Inner Faction convinced the Silver Surfer and Ghost Light to help him, the A.I.M. scientist Sombra Solomon followed the id-leeches through a portal back to Laboratory World. She was discovered by the Stranger and transformed through experimentation into his new enforcer.
The Stranger chose to distract the Surfer and Ghost Light for his second strike on them. He created panic by closing the “Gap,” traumatizing the people of Sweetwater by restoring their lost memories of the chaos and death that fateful day. As Ghost Light finished his improvinator device, 
the Silver Surfer and the Inner Faction held off the Stranger and Sombra. The weaker Inner Faction was absorbed back into the aggregate, but Ghost Light’s device healed the cosmic distortions in the Stranger’s psyche, bringing his gestalt uni-mind back in synch with the Inner Faction as the dominant, sane surface personality. Sombra Solomon chose to remain with the Stranger, and they journeyed out into space to find the proper location for a New Gigantus. [Silver Surfer: Ghost Light #1-5]
And perhaps this is the end. Perhaps the true origin of the Stranger has been established. Perhaps the Uni-Mind of Gigantus will disseminate into new hosts, causing the aggregate to become no more. Or perhaps not. Perhaps there are still some mysteries to be uncovered in the nature of… the Stranger.