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#zatanna gets lost in the infinite realms
finemealprompt · 29 days
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DP x DC Prompt #45
Zatanna didn't know how she ended up here. Not fully. She knew she was in a fight with an unusual foe, and now she was in a place she had only read about. The Infinite Realms.
How was she supposed to get back? It was notoriously difficult to escape this place if you didn't know your way around.
Then, a figure in some sort of hazmat suit approaches. She prepares what she can, not knowing whether this stranger is friend or foe.
"Hey, you look lost. Need some help?"
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nerdpoe · 7 months
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Danny's having a shit fucking day.
Skulker threw him into a building so ecto-infested that Danny actually got a concussion.
Then at school he'd gotten green paint spilled on his shirt.
The day continued on that fucking train of luck.
He'd gotten fucking waterboarded in a toilet by Dash.
He'd gone to turn in his homework, only to realize he'd only dreamed about doing it in the thirty minute nap he'd gotten before school.
The schoolbus splattered him with a muddy puddle.
He lost one single shoe to the gutter in front of the busload of classmates.
The Observants didn't give him any time to breathe and immediately dragged him into a meeting about tax law, subtly insinuating that he was stupid when he was too tired to keep up.
Then, the icing on top; he'd gotten summoned.
The Justice League, trying to summon the High King of the Infinite Realms to force the creature into a contract where it would never attack their dimension, is met with uh.
Not what they thought.
A worn, soaking wet, one-shoe-only teenager covered in paint and mud with dazed eyes staring at them from inside a summoning circle that's impossible to escape from.
Then he breaks down, sinks to his knees, and to the absolute horror of everyone there; starts sobbing uncontrollably.
Black Canary is desperately trying to calm the kid down, Zatanna is ripping apart the traps she herself helped set up, Constantine is trying to justify himself to the rest of the League (he was the one who made this seem like a good idea), and Flash has already gone to get some extra sweats for the kid.
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radiance1 · 5 months
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So, Ghost Prince Danny. Except that he also, ALSO, is Damian's younger twin brother who was sent to keep an eye on the Fentons because of their discovery of a substance that looked like Lazarus Water yet isn't Lazarus water.
In truth, it was really just Talia's way of getting Danny out of the way because he lost against Damian in the battle of heirs (No Danny did not hold back, Damian was just better than him) and she didn't want him dead so that was the next best thing.
Danny does pop up in the League at odd times, mostly to report about the research done by the Fentons. When he became half dead he's around a lot more, mostly to be monitored for his unique condition (somehow someway they don't know about Vlad) and because Danny can just come and go as he pleases cause ghost powers.
So, Danny gives Damian a flute that he handcrafted himself as a birthday present because really, what can he buy that Damian himself couldn't? Also, because he didn't actually want to spend money on his older brother.
They're brothers, but they don't have the most cordial relationship. They don't hate each other, but they don't like each other either.
So, Damian takes this flute and is like: "Fuck you gimmie this for I don't need this shit."
And then Danny is like: "Just take the gift you stupid ahh fruitloop."
So, Damian takes it while berating that Danny would give him something as stupid as this, but then does a full one 180 by keeping the thing on his person at all times.
Not that Danny knows that, really.
So, cut forth to Damian being known by Batman and taken in. Trying to kill Tim and being an overall little shit, I can see one of the Batfam coming across this flute just, randomly really, and then Damian is fucking pissed that they dared to touch it and then takes it back.
Leaving basically everyone stumped over the significance this random ahh wooden flute has but decides not to touch that landmine.
So then the Batfam don't know that Damian has a half sibling (Danny came from Jack and Talia, so he isn't blood related to Bruce but is to Damian) running around out there and Damian isn't gonna say anything and you already know Talia isn't since Danny AIN'T his kid.
Plus, he got a job to do that being with Bruce Wayne would make harder.
So then Damian becomes robin an allat, then the entire Batfam pull up to the Justice League for some big threat and then both Constantine and Zatanna are like: Yo why do you kid carry round an item drenched heavily in death energy to the extreme
Batman is obviously like: Excuse me?
Damian, meanwhile, just does not give a fuck about the flute given to him by his half-brother on his birthday is apparently drenched in death energy to the extreme because that is his and he isn't going to just give it up.
So then one way or another Damian ends up playing it, maybe he was told to play it by both Batman and Constantine just to make sure it isn't actually anything dangerous or whatever and also because Damian wouldn't let anyone else hold it, let alone play it.
Which Damian smirks at because he's played it before and literally nothing happened aside from very good music, but Damian hasn't played it since he came to the Wayne household and has missed it. So he reminisces over how he got it, thinking of his half-brother and their relationship.
He plays it, but this time, since he genuinely thought about Danny death energy just condenses in waves. Damian couldn't see it since he was too focused on playing and reminiscing, everyone isn't really that calm and tries to get him to stop but the death energy blocks them.
Then a summoning circle appears in front of Damian and Constantine recognizes it as being from the Infinite Realms category and it seemed to be a high-level summon circle too so he's like: Well fuck.
Then, contrary to their expectations of some eldritch abomination, it's just Danny. Who, fun fact, was in the middle of his coronation as prince and such, dripped out in royal wear.
Safe to say, Constatine goes: Well double fuck.
The tension is just broken, as all Danny does is cry. Like, genuinely, he just cries because Damian still kept his flute that he made, he genuinely thought the guy just threw it away since he hated it so much.
Danny: Ancients, my big brother actually liked what I made this is making me emotional.
Damian: Why the hell are you crying this thing is still trash btw.
Danny: Yea whatever you say big bro, you love it.
Batman: What do you mean big brother?
Danny: Who in the hell is that-
Damian: Right, I never told him about you.
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dcxdpdabbles · 4 months
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Red Yummy
Based on the post by @spacedace. Basically it's a joke that Red Robin (the restaurant with the little jingle: Reeed Robin: Yummm.) Isn't a thing in the DC world but is one in the Phantom world.
The rip in the multiverse was an issue the Justice League was not at all prepared for. Sure they had incidents where visitors from an alternate universe have crossed over to their side or they have gone to one. There are times when they meet doubles of themselves, both as allies and as enemies.
They have been to different Earths, with different histories, different countries, and that one particular time, even different beings that ruled the planet.
It's always been an adventure where at the end of it, the doorway to both worlds is sealed shut, with little or no chance of it opening again. The friends they made. The sights they saw. All gone. Fine. Over.
That was, until a villain from a different world, attempted to attack Clockwork's Tower. The Justice League was not aware of Clockwork- Master of Time, Weaver of Realms, The Concept of Between- but they noticed that he had been attacked when other worlds started spilling into theirs.
People were falling through glowing green portals, stumbling into buildings that weren't there before. People who were just going out for walks would be zapped away and replaced with their confused counterparts.
Parts of the sky glitch into others, replacing the soft blue with brown or black, little patches scattering around the world. Cities vanish for a few hours, sometimes replaced by others sometimes not, and animals never before seen running amok.
It was a mess.
The League did everything it could to help, but it was hard to stretch their reach to the help then world when all reality was being thrown into a mixer and set on chaos.
A lot like busted pipes, the Leaugers would run to cover a leaking pipe only to have the water build up in another and burst there and then scramble to cover that one before the rising water drowned them all.
Thankfully the Justice League Dark was able to use magic and find the source of the leak. The Infinite Realms known as the web that linked all universes, are usually only accessible by the dead, or in Constantine's case having friends in high places.
"Ghost Writer owes me a favor," Constantine said while the rest of the Leauge watched a flouting green book descend from the sky. It flipped open, expanding into a gateway. The smoke of the book curled into little missy hearts.
"Ghost Writer?" Zatanna gawked "How did you get such a powerful, and notoriously recluse, being to owe you anything?"
"Let's just say, we both appreciate the finer things in life and that ghost has a rather fine ass" Constantine leered. No one had asked for any more detail, although Zatanna had the expression of someone who had bitten something sour the whole time.
Ghost Writer had given Constantine a warning that his power would only be able to protect five living souls. Any more would be at the mercy of the Infinite Realms'.
Humans that wandered into the Realms were more often than not driven into madness, became hopelessly lost, or had their souls swindled by beings that dwelled there. Not that it wasn't surprising.
After all, the living did not belong there, so of course they were a danger to the Realms' structure. Hell, there were rumors that a living being could produce fresh uncorrupted ectoplasm when killed or even kept like livestock.
Constantine did not want to find out if the rumors had any truth to them.
To be able to travel safely they had to fall under a powerful ghost's protection and Ghost Writers let them know to pick their five best.
It was decided that Constantine would go as their expert, Batman as their strategist, Wonder Woman as their diplomat and protection, Superman as second protection, and Zatanna as another magic user that could combat the dead.
The rest of the league remained, doing their best to hold their universe together as the team of five rushed off to put everything to right. It was agonizing not knowing what was happening or how the mission was going but they did what they could and placed their trust in the five.
Many of the Justice League didn't say it, but it was the remaining Bats that sort of kept everything afloat in their father's absence. Each one leads a group of young heroes, easily countering and controlling their self-appointed sectors of the world.
Nightwing and Titians.
Red Robin and Young Justice.
Red Hood and the Outlaws.
Oracle and the Birds of Prey
Robin and the Blades.
All five groups agree to use the Watch Tower as a central base to coordinate their defenses against the world falling apart. Trading information with each other quickly and efficiently, and using this new information to prepare for more ripples of universes, showcasing that Batman had taught them well.
Following their example, the rest of the Justice League did what they could to minimize the damage. It was on the second day of constant relief efforts that everything was snapped back to normal.
A giant wave of sound- the noise sounding a lot like a grandfather clock strick repeating over and over again- as things that were not meant to be in their world vanished and their own people and things returned.
The shy's patches were removed and the right color returned.
Even property damages that were caused by the incident were reversed as if reality falling apart was nothing but a dream. No wreckages to clean up, no people had gone missing, and best of all, no casualties had been taken.
The Leauge gathered around Ghost Writer's book watching it open as the five returned, cheering and screaming, giving them the proper hero's welcome. Then right behind their teammates, a second group followed through.
Three glowing figures, all dressed in the same black and white outfits, and a ship carrying four humans. Batman introduced them as the allies who helped defend Clockwork's Tower and keep the multi-universe from collapsing.
He did admit that just because it was no longer falling apart, it did not mean that the rip had been closed. In fact, it was the only thing left to do but it was proving to be difficult due to Clockwork himself not understanding why their world wasn't healing.
Clockwork couldn't leave the Realms for too long- if no one was there to keep Time running the same thing would happen all over again- but he did give them equipment that could in theory patch things up on their side.
They just needed someone who understood the equipment.
Team Phantom, led by Danny Phantom, one of the flowing figures was happy to volunteer. They would be staying for three years, to strengthen and rebuild their Universe structure.
Team Phantom consisted of Dan Phantom, Danielle Phantom, Jasmin Fenton, Tucker Foley, Samantha Manson, and Westley Weston. All young, kind, strong- Batman vouched for the non-powered members claiming they could go toe to toe with his kids- and all much to the joy of many young heroes- attractive. They played an essential role on the team, doing whatever their people and kind did to help Clockwork, staying out of the League's way.
They all seemed happy to live as close to civilians as possible and despite their strength and combat training, Team Phantom was more like a research party instead of a hero.
Since they would be there for three years- more depending on the Speed Force's effect on the timeline grumbles Tucker- the seven had chosen to set down some roots within their dimension.
The three Phantoms needed Ectoplasim to live- a rare substance in the Justice League's universe- so they chose Gotham as their new home. Batman was more than willing to allow them into his city, as long as they knew not to interfere with his work.
Things settled, The Justice League moved on to other missions and other issues while Team Phantom ran tests, gathered information, and worked on the timeline.
The only real issue Bruce had with Team Phantom, was that a majority of his kids were romanticly interested in them.
Dick's love-struck sigh, whenever Dan wandered by, would often lead to useless backflips in an ill-fated attempt to impress him.
Jason would conventionally be lifting weights shirtless whenever Jazz came by with an update report. Then he would mention some novel or other that had the girl's attention far better than his abs.
Steph had taken a very large interest in gardening and at the same time, started wearing shorter shorts and tighter tops because Sam seemed to adore flowers.
Cass meanwhile found every excuse there was to be dressed in the prettiest dresses she owned whenever Wes was anywhere near her. She even wore light makeup- a real sign of how much she was interested in the conspiracy theorist.
Duke seemed over the moon whenever Tucker asked for his personal help on anything technical-related. It did his son wonders that someone thought of him first when it came to tech- Duke has always been a bit self-conscious of his place among geniuses- would be all but speaking in poems to the bemused teenager.
Damian's crush on Ellie did melt Bruce's heart a little. It was his baby's first after all, but he wasn't sure if Damian's approach was doing anything. Put him on the battlefield and Damian could lead to victory. Put him next to a pretty young girl and all his son was capable of doing was stare and babble.
The only one that didn't seem to have a crush on Team Phantom was Tim. Which should have given him reassurance except for the small little detail.
"Red Robin" Danny sings upon Tim's arrival at the cave. Officially tonight they are all going over the results of the latest tests on the universe's structure. Unofficially Team Phantom had been invited over for dinner by Alfred and they were looking over the Batcave as their butler finished preparing the main course.
At once every member of Team Phantom raises their head, turning away from his love-struck children to his flustered son and singing "Yum" with wide smiles.
Tim's face goes bright red.
Apparently, Tim was their universe version of Adonis and Team Phantom had no issue with expressing how yummy they found Tim. Now Bruce isn't saying that he would be against Tim having more than one romantic partner- he has made sure to look up proper healthy poly relationships and given Tim a PowerPoint version of it.
It's just that he isn't sure how he's going to handle supporting one of his children while breaking the heart of another. Tim seems unsure how to handle so much romantic attention- he's had plenty of relationships before- but said attention is picking him before any of his siblings is a first.
Bruce knows that deep down Tim still struggles with thinking he's not as good as the others. That he really is just a placeholder in the long run.
Then there is the fact he isn't sure how their culture works. Is the singing like a mating call? Was there a chance they would earn the irk of Clockwork himself if Tim accidentally accepted their advances? Why was it always Red Robin and not just Tim himself that made Team Phantom go yummmm?
"Hi guys" Tim greets at least and Danny grins wider.
"Reeeeed Robbbbbin" " The ghost boy says throwing an arm over Tim's shoulders. Sam and Tucker surround them, making their voices sound strange as all three start singing, rocking Tim back and forth in a strange little dance.
"Yummmmm!"
From the corner of his eyes, Bruce makes out Dick's protective Older Brother's face, as his eldest starts marching towards the group with the intent of breaking them apart. He's been very vocal about putting an end to Team Phantom's flirtations if he saw so much as a hint of Tim's unease.
Except that Tim looked utterly bliss being pressed up against Danny. Maybe he should rethink Tim's disinterest in Team Phantom. The rest of his children looked murderous as more members of Team Phantom gathered around Tim also singing.
Bruce had to deal with this for three whole years. He can physically feel his hair turning greyer.
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flamingpudding · 8 months
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Fictober23 Prompt: 8 - "Give me that, before anything happens."
Fandom: DPxDC
Rating: G
Warnings: -
"Don't touch that." Constantine said without even looking up from the book he was reading through for research. Phantom had joined the Justice League dark only recently and was still in that sort of mentor - glorified babysitting - state. It was just his luck that he lost in the stick draw and had now to 'mentor' the who-knows-how-old-he-truly-is Ghost King.
He should have stuck this job to Zatanna. The 'kid' was curious as a cat and apparently wanted to touch every good damn artifact in the House of Mysteries that Constantine had ever gotten his hands on.
"Don't touch that either." The Brite muttered without looking up, he was so close in figuring out the actual meaning of the curse placed on a good damn church bell that causes everyone who hears it to fall asleep at midnight sharp and wake up at 8 AM later like nothing happened. Behind his back Phantom stuck his tongue out at the man before reaching out to poke the artifact that caught his eye anyway. However the House of Mysteries had other ideas as it reconstructed itself at the right moment and put the artifact further away from Phantom.
The Ghost King pouted, crossing his arms and floated over to where Constantine was pouring over a curse seal. Phantom hummed as he looked over the Brites shoulder grinning. "Oh I didn't know you could use ghost speech for curses!"
"Say what now mate?!" John's head snapped to the side to stare at Phantom who was now floating over his shoulder. "It's in ghost speech? What even is that?"
The Ghost King had the nerve to give him an unimpressed stare that really made the Brite need a smoke, but he had given Zatanna his good damn word not to smoke around the 'kid', so that was a no.
"Ghost speech. The language of the Infinite Realms also known as the Ghost Zone, After Life, Hell, Home of the Damned, and so on and so on." Constantines eye twitched as the Ghost boy shrugged. He let out a suffering sigh and pushed his copie of the curse seal over to Phantom.
"What does it say?" The other blinked for a moment before turning his eyes to the photo. A scratching static white noise filled the Brite's ears and he yelped in pain, covering his ears. The noise instantly stopped and Contantine glared at the Ghost King who sheepishly scratched the back of his neck. "Sorry, I will say it again in English."
Constantine only grumbled something inaudible before motioning for the other to continue.
"You idiots don't sleep enough. Go and get at least eight hours of sleep. If you don't sleep by midnight I will be the one to make you sleep."
"The hell?"
"That's what's written there."
"Don't tell me we have another good damn Sandman problem on our hands." John gripped with one hand at his hair, he really hoped that wasn't it because dear good he did not want to get Batman or one of the other Not Dark heros involved.
"Nah, he goes by Nocturne, he never liked that name some philosophers came up with. But this does go against the agreement I had with him."
Was this how Batman felt when his Robins went against his orders? Or how the mentors of the Yonge Justice feel when the teens sass back? Because Constantine was sticking this ancient kid of a Ghost King onto Zatanna the next change he got.
"You know how to lift that curse then?" Instead of going further into a rabbit hole, Constantine decided it was easier to just find out if the Ghost King can lift a good damn curse he had been working on solving for days now instead of finding out who the hell Nocturne was now.
"Of course I know." Phantom answered easily, floating on his back around the room like he was going with the flow of water. Glowing green eyes going along the shelves where various books and artifacts were thrown on, in no particular order.
"Great. Let's go and fix this then." The man muttered, getting up from his chair and grabbing his coat. "I need a bottle of whiskey after this and a good damn smoke…"
Phantom just followed behind the man ready for his second official job with the Justice League Dark. He grinned happily of finally getting some outside action only to come to a sudden halt as the Brite man whirled around glaring at the Ghost King only inches from his the other.
"Phantom?"
"Yes?" The 'kid' answered nervously.
"Give me that, before anything happens. How often did I tell you NOT to touch anything of the artifacts? Do you even know what that thing does!"
Reluctantly like a reprimanded child the Ghost King handed over a golden plate with a glowing green crystal embedded into it, Constantine remembered it being the leftover part of a demon they had banished. The man narrowed his eyes. "The other one too."
"Fine…" Phantom handed over a crystal zepter, John had picked up from an ancient tomb. "Didn't think you noticed me picking them up, since you didn't say anything before I even touched them."
"Mate, you are forgetting who currently owns this house."
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thedcdunce · 5 years
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Phantom Stranger
“I steer, but I cannot lead. That has always been my fate.” - Phantom Stranger
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Aliases:
Grey Walker
Gender: Male
Height: 6′ 2″
Weight: 185 lbs (84 kg)
Eyes: Black
Hair: Black/ Grey
Powers:
Immortality
Magic
Abilities:
Hand-to-Hand Combat (Basic)
Storytelling
Occultism
Weaknesses:
Non-Direct Interaction
Talkative
Equipment:
Amulet
Universe:
Earth-One
New Earth
Marital Status: Single
First Appearance: Phantom Stranger #1 (August, 1952)
Last Appearance: Superboy Vol 5 #11 (October, 2011)
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Powers
Immortality: He has survived attacks that would kill mortals, including having his heart removed.
Magic: The Stranger almost never uses spoken spells or magical rituals more complex than a seance or a circle of entrapment. However, his magical prowess almost knows no bounds. When the Stranger is acting in his bailiwick, he is almost supremely powerful. If he is not taken by surprise and can plan and act, he can be baffled only by universal forces.
Dimensional Travel: He can travel at will among the magical dimensions, including the Realm of the Just Dead, the Antechamber of Souls, Heaven, Hell, Apokolips, and the realm occupied by the Quintessence.
Eldritch Blast: He can fire energy bolts of great force.
Spectral Sight: He can see spiritual entities and travelers invisible to normal sight; he can perceive magical events at a great distance.
Illusion Casting
Dispel: He can dispel magic and sorcery, especially magic of mental control or illusion and deception.
Transmutation: He can perform some feats of transmutation, such as turning fired bullets into flowers and sticks into snakes and back.
Oneiromancy: He can send dreams of omen, warning, or information, though possibly only with the permission of Dream of the Endless.
Reality Manipulation
Self-Sustenance: He can survive and even communicate in outer space, though he may not be able to travel of his own volition while there.
Mental Awareness: He has at least some telepathic abilities, and can ordinarily perceive truth and deception, good and evil.
Teleportation: He can mysteriously vanish and appear at will, suggesting magical teleportation.
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Abilities
Hand-to-Hand Combat (Basic): He is a moderately skilled hand-to-hand combatant, often surprising with a punch someone who smugly thought their protection against magic rendered them untouchable.
Storytelling: The Stranger always comes onto a new adventure as a story. He thrives in it and even acts in it, manipulating the events how he sees fit. When an event seemed to be supernatural in nature he depicted it to be normal and vise versa.
Occultism: He displays vast and keen insight into cosmic, magical, and mystical forces.
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Weaknesses
Non-Direct Interaction: The Stranger's most important weakness, if that is what it is, is the sharp limitation on his acting directly and overtly. Threats which he would presumably have the raw power to directly defeat he must instead warn others about, especially if those others have some particular responsibility at stake. Even his information he apparently cannot provide clearly and explicitly; in many cases his warnings or clues are cryptic. It might be, for example, that he is forbidden from removing the responsibility from humanity's shoulders; he definitely believes in free will, and the availability of a balance of choices to humans.
Talkative: A weakness of a different sort is his oft-noticed tendency to speak too much; but this may be related to his need to make those around him understand the consequences of their choices and the fact that they face choices. He must not act in their place, so he must make them understand what their actions mean.
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Equipment
Amulet
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Origin
The Phantom Stranger is a mysterious figure in the history of the world. His origins, nature, even his name, have never been revealed. Various stories about his origins exist, including:
One tale postulated that the Stranger was a fallen angel who sided with neither Heaven nor Hell during Satan's rebellion and thus condemned to walk the Earth alone for all time. This is also backed by The Word who said that the Phantom Stranger was a fallen one.
Another proposes the Stranger was originally a private citizen during biblical times and was spared God's wrath. An angel was sent to deliver him from divine wrath. After questioning God's actions, he commits suicide. The angel forbids his spirit from entering the afterlife, reanimates his body and condemns him to walk the world forever to be a part of humanity but also forever separated from it. He then discovered his divine charge, to turn humanity away from evil, one soul at a time.
In a variation of the Wandering Jew story, he was an adult family man named Isaac with a wife and boy at the time when Jesus Christ was a small child. When King Herod sent his army to kill all small male children the army slew his son and wife. Blind with anger, he spent the next 30 years in a rage against Jesus. As Jesus was being tortured, Isaac bribed a guard to assume his role in whipping Jesus. Jesus then sentenced him to walk away from his home and country; to be errant until Doomsday. Eventually, his misplaced rage expunged, he spent the rest of his time helping society, even declining God's offer to release him from his sentence.
The last was a proposal that the Stranger is a remnant of the previous universe. At the end of the universe the Phantom Stranger approaches a group of scientists studying the event, warning them not to interfere in the natural conclusion of the universe. The story concludes with the Phantom Stranger passing a portion of himself to a scientist, the universe is reborn, and the scientist from the previous universe is the Phantom Stranger in the new universe.
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A Stranger...
Early in his career, the Phantom Stranger would prove supernatural events to be hoaxes, saving many victims in the process. In later adventures, the supernatural events were real and the Phantom Stranger was given unspecified superhuman powers to defeat them. He later appeared in various other adventures, sometimes as a major participant; in others, the Phantom Stranger just appears and gives advice or warning to the featured heroes. Occasionally he serves simply as narrator. In some stories, he seems to be answerable to a mysterious Voice, implied to be God.
The Phantom Stranger played a major part in guiding Tim Hunter through time to show him the history and nature of magic. He has assisted the Justice League on numerous occasions, even being formally elected to the group. The Stranger also tried to foil Eclipso's plan to cause a nuclear war.
He also attempted to prevent Hal Jordan from uniting the resurrected body of Oliver Queen with his soul in Heaven. This earned him Jordan's wrath; indeed, the Spectre threatened to judge the Stranger to see whether God had "punished" him properly by refusing him access to Heaven itself. Nonetheless, the Phantom Stranger has assisted Hal Jordan during his tenure as the Spectre on numerous occasions as well, most notably in a short stint babysitting Hal's niece, Helen.
During the Day of Vengeance, the Stranger had been turned into a small rodent by the Spectre. He was still able to advise Detective Chimp, who sheltered him in his hat while he recovered his powers. He changed back using recovered energies and aided the Shadowpact, allowing them to see the battle between the Spectre and Shazam. That makes a point that the supernatural community generally regards the Phantom Stranger as invincible. The first reaction of some people to the Spectre's assault on magic is simply to presume that the Stranger will take care of it. Other adventures have shown the Stranger nearly as powerful as the Spectre. This however, is a recent interpretation. While others have never considered the Stranger as an easy foe to combat, given his unknown abilities, they also never considered him as invincible.
The Phantom Stranger's relationships with the other mystic heroes are usually a bit tense. The Stranger has no qualms gathering various forces in order to combat a certain evil, often invading those people's personal lives. However, he does not usually extend them that same courtesy. The Phantom Stranger has resisted such people as Doctor Fate in this, although Fate is in almost any incarnation an ally of the Stranger. Despite this, he does get along well with Zatanna; he appeared by her side to help remove the influence of Faust on Red Tornado.
Since he is ultimately an unpredictable force, others often meet the Phantom Stranger's appearance with distrust. Nonetheless, most heroes will follow him, seeing not only his immense power, but also knowing that the Stranger is in the end, a force for good. Notable though is Madame Xanadu, who has refused to join the Stranger on a few occasions, although she is a member of his Sentinels of Magic.
The Stranger also holds a unique relationship with the Spectre, as the two forces often come into conflict. He was responsible for gathering a group of mystic heroes in order to combat the Spectre, when its human host Jim Corrigan seemingly lost control of the Spectre. The Phantom Stranger participated in Jim Corrigan's funeral, when Corrigan's soul finally earned its rest and left the Spectre. The Stranger subsequently became one of the forces that stood against the Spectre when it went on a rampage without its human host, until the soul of Hal Jordan bonded with it. The Stranger occasionally took on an advisory role for this new Spectre. Aware that the Spectre now has yet another new host, the Phantom Stranger gathered a large group of magic wielders and mystics, including Nabu, Zatanna, and the Shadowpact, in an unsuccessful attempt to solicit the Spectre's assistance in the Infinite Crisis and later reforming the Rock of Eternity.
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Fun Facts
The Spectre transforms the Stranger into a rodent, rather than killing him outright, because even the Spectre's power would be insufficient to kill the Stranger.
When the Spectre was defeated by a Black Power Ring, Black Hand could not comprehend the Stranger's true nature. Given that Black Hand is connected to Nekron, and can sense whether or not something is alive or a reborn being or an immortal, the fact is that the only description Black Hand can give the Stranger is "stranger than that".
Another possible origin of the Stranger, in which it was implied that Jonathan Kent, the future son of Superman and Wonder Woman, might grow up to be the Phantom Stranger. This also tied some of his abilities into the Hypertime concept, saying that he had the innate ability to enter other alternate timelines and to exist in the spaces between them. However, the adventure ultimately revealed this to be a red herring. The person in question had been deliberately placed in shadows to suggest that he was the Stranger; but when Wonder Woman finally saw his face, she said that she now realized he was not the Stranger.
The Stranger has some unique abilities like the ability to break the fourth wall and address the reader directly.
The Phantom Stranger is also known as the Brotherless One.
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