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curb plunderer for " The Endless Staircase " appearing inAre You Afraid of Darkseid ?
DC has give a new , eerie level toBatman’sorigin by revealing thePhantom Stranger’sinvolvement . In “ The Endless Staircase ” a short story appearing in the newAre You Afraid ofDarkseid?one - shot , on sale now in print and digital , readers see the authoritative part the Stranger act as in one of the most monumental , and tragic , events in DC account .
create by author John Broome and artist Carmine Infantino , the Phantom Stranger first appear in the first offspring of his eponymic rubric in 1952 . fan know him today as a ghostly figure who handles supernatural scourge , but in his earliest appearances , he was merely a normal valet de chambre . When the character was reanimate in the late 1960 ’s , he was changed into a supernatural being ; he has never been pay a true concrete origin , and multiple accounts of how he come to be spread . Nearly every major hoagy in the DC Universe has sweep paths with the Phantom Stranger , and he was even a reservemember of the Justice Leagueat one point . The Phantom Stranger always seems to be playing a rich game , recreate his cards near to the chest , and nowhere is that more apparent than in “ The Endless Staircase . ” The narrative is by Collin Kelley , Jackson Lanzing , Jesus Hervas , Eva De La Cruz , and Clem Robins .
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The Phantom Stranger is moving through time , collecting individual at specific moments , usher them to the Endless Staircase , telling them : “ I am sorry . number home . ” One individual is in ancient Egypt , forge a sword of Nth Metal , another is a comic creative person who can inadvertently destroy the multiverse ; the Stranger even comes for the now - nonextant fossil birds . One of his stops is Crime Alley , in Gotham City , whereJoe Chill has just shotand killed Bruce Wayne ’s parent . Narration reveals that Chill almost pulled the induction on Bruce too , but something stopped him . The Phantom Stranger then appears to take him up the Endless Staircase , telling Joe Chill that he must go because if he does not , Bruce will grow up to be an ordinary person — and the worldly concern will be strip of Batman .
The story is cryptical and elliptical , remaining vague about the Stranger ’s motivation , and what he mean by “ I am sorry . Come home . ” Every individual the Stranger amass is a terror in some elbow room , be it to the multiverse , their families , orto a next Batman . The Phantom Stranger ’s logical thinking that Bruce would never become Batman if Joe Chill was catch is solid . Chill ’s quick seizure may have brought closure to the murder of Bruce ’s parents , and somehow foreclose him from becoming Batman . The Stranger made Joe Chill “ melt . ” Bruce , seeing that his parent ’s orca was never catch , will now have the drive to become the Dark Knight , and make a large impact on the public .
ThePhantom Stranger’sinvolvement inBatman’sorigin adds layers . It add a nervous layer , but also reinforces the inception ’s story tragedy , thatBruce Wayne had to sufferto become a great sub .
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