| The Beyonder | |
|---|---|
 The Beyonder taken from the variant cover ofDefenders: Beyond #1 (July 2022). Art byRon Lim | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Cameo appearance: Secret Wars #1 (May 1984)[1] Full appearance: Secret Wars II #2 (May 1985) |
| Created by | Jim Shooter Mike Zeck |
| In-story information | |
| Species | Beyonders |
| Place of origin | Beyond-Realm |
| Team affiliations | Beyonders Omega Council |
| Notable aliases | Frank Kosmos The Maker The One from Beyond |
| Abilities |
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TheBeyonder (/biˈɒndər/) is a fictional cosmic entity appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics. Created by writerJim Shooter[2] and artistMike Zeck, the Beyonder first appeared inSecret Wars #1 (May 1984) as an unseen, nigh-omnipotent being from outside the multiverse who kidnapped the heroes and villains of theMarvel Universe to have them do battle onBattleworld, a fictional planet created by the Beyonder. The character plays a more antagonistic role in the 1985 sequel,Secret Wars II, in which he takes human form to learn about desire but threatens to destroy the multiverse out of increasing frustration.
FollowingSecret Wars andSecret Wars II, the Beyonder experienced many notableretcons. At first, he was changed to aCosmic Cube that was incomplete because of theMolecule Man. TheIlluminati suggested he was amutant-Inhuman hybrid. Finally, he is revealed to be a "child" of theBeyonder race.
Created by writerJim Shooter[2] and artistMike Zeck, the Beyonder first appeared inSecret Wars #1,[3] as an unseen, apparently nearly omnipotent being. He reappears inSecret Wars II #1 (July 1985), which was written by Shooter and drawn byAl Milgrom.
The Beyonder is the manifestation of the "Beyond-Realm", which exists separately from themultiverse.[4] This dimension was accidentally accessed by lab technician Owen Reece; some of the energy from the dimension escapes and imbues Reece with infinite powers, which he wields as the villainousMolecule Man, and the remaining energy gains sentience and becomes the Beyonder.[5][6] The Beyonder creates a planet calledBattleworld out of pieces of various planets, then abducts a number ofsuperheroes andsupervillains from Earth and forces them to fight each other so that he can observe the never-ending battle between good and evil.[7]
Intrigued by what he has witnessed during the first Secret Wars, the Beyonder comes to Earth during theSecret Wars II story line to observe humanity firsthand.[8]
After learning of the importance of money fromLuke Cage, the Beyonder turns a building into pure gold,[9] causingSpider-Man to rescue those trapped in the building, while the U.S. government works to get rid of the gold to avoid a financial crisis.[10] The Beyonder later meets the blind superheroDaredevil and restores his sight, asking for legal representation in return. After realizing that the desire to protect his eyesight might compromise his integrity and dedication, Daredevil demands that the Beyonder take his sight away again, which he does.[11] After becoming involved with a woman named Sharon Ing, when it is revealed that he is open to loving women and men and can also change his own gender, Beyonder attempts to getDazzler to fall in love with him, but fails, leading to feelings of despair.[12]
After being encouraged to find enlightenment byDoctor Strange, and failing, a frustrated Beyonder decides to destroy the entire multiverse, leading to several more battles with various Marvel superheroes, all of which end up with the Beyonder victorious. The Beyonder is finally defeated by a huge group of superheroes and killed by Molecule Man. The Beyonder's energy returns to the Beyond-Realm, where it evolves into a new universe.[13]
It is later revealed that that, in the distant past, the enigmaticBeyonders createdpocket universes holding vast amounts of sentient energy. Some are tapped into by various beings, includingSkrulls and humans, to create reality-warpingCosmic Cubes. The Beyonder is told that he is a Cube and that Molecule Man absorbed part of his energy. The two merge and shape themselves into a Cube.[6]
The Cube later expels the Molecule Man from its form, returning him to Earth, and evolves into the cosmic being Kosmos. Kosmos takes on a female form and is tutored by the Cosmic CubeKubik, traveling the universe with him.[14] When the Molecule Man's loverVolcana leaves him, he becomes angry, extracts the Beyonder from Kosmos, and attacks him until Kubik intervenes.[15]
At some unknown point, Kosmos becomes insane and assumes a mortal form, calling itself the Maker. After theamnesiac Maker destroys aShi'ar colony, theImperial Guard imprison it in theKyln. The Maker's madness takes control of several inmates but is finally subdued byThanos and several of his allies among the prisoners. Thanos confronts the Maker and manipulates it into shutting down its own mind.[16]
In aretcon of past events,Charles Xavier and theIlluminati are revealed to have faced the Beyonder during the original Secret War. Xavier attempted to scan the Beyonder's mind and learned that he was anInhuman-mutant hybrid, with his combined heritage giving him unprecedented power.[17]
Hank Pym is sent by theIlluminati to investigate the Incursions and the collapsing multiverse. Upon discovering the truth of the Ivory Kings, Pym returns to the Illuminati to warn them about their enemy: theBeyonders. He refers to the Beyonder from the original Secret Wars as a "child unit" of the Beyonders.[18] The Molecule Man later reiterates the same thing while also revealing that the accident that gave him his power and the "child Beyonder" his awareness was engineered by the Beyonders.[19]
The Beyonder appears to theDefenders after they left the multiverse.[20] He explains the history of the Beyonders before reluctantly joining the Defenders on their quest.[21] Upon reaching the House of Ideas, he decides to break free from and leave the story of theOne Above All, promising to return on his own terms.[22]
The Beyonder is aninfinite-dimensional,[9] orbeyond-dimensional,[12] entity and was originally portrayed as the most powerful being in the Marvel Comics multiverse, and as the be-all and end-all of the "Beyond Realm",[5][23] that took human form to better understand the nature of human beings.[8] It was stated that he possessed power millions of times greater than the entire multiverse combined,[13] and that a regular universe was a drop of water in the ocean compared to the Beyond Realm.[12]
The Beyonder proved capable of destroying, and recreating, the abstract entity known asDeath across the multiverse, although it extremely exerted and weakened him to do so. However, even in this state, he was capable of easily sending a horde of demons back to hell with a wave of his hand.[24]
After his creator,Jim Shooter, left Marvel, writer-editorTom DeFalco re-tooled the Beyonder, diminishing his power greatly: He was no longer nearly omnipotent, and several of the cosmic beings who were previously established to be below him in power were vastly upgraded in conjunction.[15][25][6][26]
The Beyonder once destroyed a galaxy on a whim to meet his needs during the first Secret Wars,[7] and later created a universe out of his own being.[6] When the Molecule Man extracted the Beyonder from Kosmos, their battle took place in more than three spatial dimensions, and threatened to cause vast destruction across the multiverse.[15] In Kosmos' 'Maker' incarnation, she was stated as capable of reversingThe Crunch itself, essentially collapsing the universe.[16] However, his power was stated to be significantly below theLiving Tribunal andEternity,[6] theCelestials,[14] and the Molecule Man.[15]
After The Beyonder was retconned again to be a child of the race ofBeyonders,[18] and he was later seen fully grown and interacting with an assembly of them,[21] his power was presumably upgraded to a similar scale to them, and other Beyonders have together managed to kill theLiving Tribunal and all of theCelestials in the Marvel multiverse.[18] However, it was stated that he is considerably less powerful than the multiversalPhoenix Force.[27]
A possible future version of the Beyonder appears inGuardians of the Galaxy.[28][29]
In an alternate reality depicted in theHeroes Reborn storyline, a character namedMister Beyonder appears as an inmate of theNegative Zone.[30]
InMutant X, the Beyonder allies withDracula to wage war on Earth's forces and confront theGoblyn Queen.[31]
TheBee-Yonder, afunny animal version of the Beyonder from Earth-8311, appears inPeter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham.[32]
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