 | This article has multiple issues. Please helpimprove it or discuss these issues on thetalk page.(Learn how and when to remove these messages) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
|
| In-Betweener | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Warlock #9 (Oct. 1975) |
| Created by | Jim Starlin (writer / artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Partnerships | Lord Chaos Master Order |
| Abilities | Immortality Reality alteration and manipulation |
TheIn-Betweener is a fictional character appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics. Created byJim Starlin, the character first appeared inWarlock #9 (1975).
![[icon]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWiki_letter_w_cropped.svg) | This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding to it.(June 2015) |
The character first appeared inWarlock (1972) #9, where he viewed Thanos as a figure disrupting the natural order. This was followed byDoctor Strange (1974) #28.[1] He then appeared inWarlock #10 (December 1975) and was created byJim Starlin.[2]
The In-Betweener is a cosmic entity who representsduality and serves fellow conceptual beings Master Order andLord Chaos, although his loyalty is usually to himself rather than to them.[3][4][5] Throughout his appearances, he battles Adam Warlock and Doctor Strange before being imprisoned as punishment for rebelling against his masters.[6][7][8][9][5]
He is later freed by Thanos, who secretly desires theSoul Gem in his possession. Thanos then steals the gem and abandons the In-Betweener to face the wrath of Master Order and Lord Chaos, who discover he has escaped his prison.[4]
The In-Betweener later appeared as a pawn of the villainScorpio, a member of the criminal organizationZodiac. Scorpio, however, was stopped by the superhero team theAvengers and the In-Betweener was subsequently freed.[10]
The In-Betweener also appeared in an alternate dimension ofEarth-957.[11]
InTime Runs Out, theBeyonders are revealed to have killed Order, Chaos, the In-Betweener, and other abstract entities across the multiverse.[12] However, the In-Betweener was later revealed to be the mastermind behindLibra's attempt at destroying Earth, and more specifically,Starbrand.[13]
After the universe is restored, Order and Chaos kill theLiving Tribunal and force the In-Betweener to fuse them into a new cosmic being named Logos who can replace him. However, they are later separated byBlack Panther's astral form.[14]
As the physical embodiment of the cosmic balance between Order and Chaos, the In-Betweener can manipulate cosmic energy to alter reality to achieve nearly any effect or ability within his influence as the synthesis of duality. He is, however, under the absolute control of Master Order and Lord Chaos as his creators. The In-Betweener's other major (and unique) ability is to analyze a target and then direct energy towards it in a "polar opposite" form, which is instantly fatal.[5]
Alternatively, if he cannot personally synthesize the "opposite energy" necessary to eliminate an opponent, he can directly summon that enemy's opposite being, and eliminate them that way; using the power granted to him in his station as a cosmic force, he once even summoned and forced Death itself to destroy theElders of the Universe, even though it had, at an earlier point, refused to ever let them die again as a punishment. The In-Betweener finds that he is unable to use either of his special abilities on Galactus, however, and he believes that this is because he is Galactus's metaphysical counterpart and opposite.[9]
