No mere character in a
Rob Zombie song, the Phantom Stranger has been around as a
comic book character since the
1950s.
He made his
debut in a comic book called, surprisingly enough, "
The Phantom Stranger," published by
DC Comics back in 1952. It was written by
John Broome, with art by
Carmine Infantino and
Sy Barry. The comic didn't last long -- it was cancelled in 1953 after just six issues -- but the Stranger has stuck around for an occasional
miniseries and
guest appearances in a number of different comics.
The Phantom Stranger is a
mysterious figure. He looks like some guy wearing a dark
suit,
trenchcoat,
fedora, and a
medallion. You can never clearly see his
eyes. He doesn't really qualify as a
superhero, and he doesn't really qualify as a
cosmic force, though he's been known to associate with both. His
powers have never been clearly defined: he's thoroughly
immortal, since he's been around since
ancient Egypt; he sometimes displays
mystical abilities; he always appears where he's most needed, usually to offer precisely the right
information,
advice, or
warning, then vanishes.
The Stranger bridges the
gap between the regular
DC books and the
Vertigo books: he has appeared in Vertigo comics with
the Sandman,
John Constantine, and the
Swamp Thing, but he's also well-known amongst the
spandex crowd in DC's other books. In fact, he was even a
sporadic member of the
Justice League of America during the
1980s and is currently depicted as a member of a group called the
Quintessence -- five insanely-
powerful characters who have
mentored other DC heroes and keep a watch over
important events.
No one knows the Phantom Stranger's real
name. It has been speculated that he is an
angel who refused to fight for either side during
Lucifer's revolt, or that he is
the Wandering Jew, forced to walk the earth
eternally for
jeering during the
Crucifixion, or that he is a
refugee from another
planet or even another
dimension. More than likely, no one will ever know for sure...