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Contains spoilers forAre You Afraid of Darkseid ? # 1
ThePhantom Strangeris one of the most mysterious characters in the DC Universe , a spiritual anatomy weaving his manner in and out of the life-time ofSupermanand other hero . Now , a new Halloween story has unveil the Phantom Stranger is the ground why Superman and the rest of the Justice League will always be able to preserve the world . The Phantom Stranger ’s secretis let out in the shortsighted story “ The Endless Staircase , ” appearing inAre You Afraid of Darkseid ? # 1,on sale now in print and digital .
Are You Afraid of Darkseid?is a special one - dig celebrate the Halloween season , have the heroes and villains of the DC Universe in a diversity of revulsion - theme tale told by the Teen Titans . In “ The Endless Staircase , ” writers Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing , along with creative person Jesus Hervas , colorist Eva de la Cruz and letterer Clem Robins , radiate a igniter on one of DC ’s most puzzling figures : the Phantom Stranger . For nearly 70 years , the Phantom Strangerhas assisted Superman , the Justice League and the eternal sleep with supernatural threat . Very little is acknowledge about the Phantom Stranger ; his origin is shrouded in secret , with contradictory account statement circulating . “ The Endless Staircase ” greatly expands the Phantom Stranger ’s role in the DC Universe , making him its slap-up counterweight .
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Throughout the story , the Phantom Stranger appears to seemingly random people and groups throughout space and time . He see them up the Endless Staircase , taking them to some unspecified fate - presumptively a form of hereafter , establish he invites many to"Come home . “As the story develops , it becomes clear that every person the Stranger is taking up the Staircase was on the way of life to becoming a severe threat , whether they realize it or not . For instance , the Stranger do for a risible book artist with the king ( entirely unbeknown to him ) todestroy the multiverse . In another example , a small-scale townsfolk develop abilities ( through no break of their own ) that would have greatly upset the balance of magic in the DC Universe , so the Stranger escorts them all into oblivion . It ’s made clear he operates throughout reality , even lead an insectoid alien queen up the staircase .
The suggestion is that the Phantom Stranger deal with those who would perplex an unassailable threat to DC ’s superheroes - the existence who wouldactually succeedin destruct reality - and has an accurate idea of likely succeeding result . But the fact that the Phantom Stranger did n’t deal with Joker , Lex Luthor , orDarkseid before they became major threatsimplies that while they ’re improbably lethal to private masses , even planets , they ’ll never actually succeed in utterly destroying reality - not because they ’re not up to of doing so , but plainly because they ’ll be break off before they can .
The story hints that for the threats the Phantom Stranger is dealing with , there is no Bob Hope thatSuperman and his alliescan stop them , thus need his intervention . Many of the hoi polloi the Stranger takes to the Staircase are not even cognisant of how dangerous they are , and some are taken as child . Such a mysteriousmodus operandifits with a eccentric such as the Phantom Stranger , who in many of his appearances pile with dire menace to being , one beyond the capableness of other DC heroes . But if the Stranger really does take on the burden of prevent these unconquerable menace , that implies that Superman and DC ’s other heroes are provide to mete out with the challenges and villains they can actually handle ( something that actually operate with their comic history - Crises and retcons aside , reality stay intact . )
It ’s a tantalizing mesmerism , positioning DC ’s magical sub as the true protectors of world , though the story is n’t so denotative that other conclusions ca n’t be draw . Crucially , the short account is deliver as a fireside narration , though the rules of DC ’s magic mean that it ’s still eminently potential it ’s truthful ( cognition of the Phantom Stranger tends to be shared in unearthly ways , given he can never truly be known or understood.)Supermanis undoubtedly a hero , but " The Staircase " suggests that thePhantom Strangeris his greatest unseen ally , quietly dispatching those threats that the Man of Steel would n’t be able to handle .
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