THE BEYONDER (The One From Beyond)
Created By: Jim Shooter & Mike Zeck
First Appearance: Secret Wars #1 (May 1984)
Role: Cosmic Gamesman
PL 26 (1,102)
STRENGTH 20 STAMINA -- AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 5
INTELLIGENCE 20 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 5
Skills:
Deception 8 (+13)
Expertise (Science) 10 (+30)
Expertise (Space Travellier) 10 (+30)
Intimidation 12 (+17)
Investigation 2 (+4)
Perception 14 (+16)
Persuasion 2 (+7)
Technology 10 (+30)
Advantages:
Diehard, Eidetic Memory, Fascinate (Intimidation), Fearless, Improved Critical (Cosmic Blasts) 4, Improved Smash, Jack-of-All-Trades, Last Stand, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 9, Ritualist, Startle, Trance, Ultimate Science Skill, Withstand Damage
Powers:
"Immortal Entity"
Regeneration 14 (Feats: Regrow Limbs) [15]
Immunity 30 (Fortitude Effects) [30]
Protection 34 (Extras: Impervious 35) [69]
Features 1: May Spend 2 Hero Points and get to Double Area Effects (ie. 4,000ft. Bursts) [1]
"Cosmic Force"
Flight 20 (2,000,000 mph) (40) -- [41]
AE: Speed 20 (2,000,000 mph) (20)
Quickness 20 [20]
Movement 3 (Space Travel 3) (Extras: Instantaneous) [9]
Movement 1 (Environmental Adaptation- Space) [2]
Senses 7 (Detect Energy- Ranged 4, Acute, Analytical) [7]
"Knows All Languages" Comprehend 4 (Languages 4) [8]
"Cosmic Sight" Senses 11 (Extended Vision 8- 1 billion miles, Microvision, Analytical Vision) [11]
"All-Seeing" Remote Sensing 31 (Visual, Hearing) (8,192,000,000 miles) (Feats: Dynamic, Dimensional, Subtle) (Extras: Simultaneous) [127]
"Variable Size"
Elongation 10 [10]
Features 5: Increased Mass 5 [5]
"Wields the Power Cosmic"
"Titanic Damage I" Damage 18 (Extras: Area- 8,388,608,000 trillion miles Burst +51, Penetrating 10) (496) -- [532]
- AE: "Titanic Damage II" Damage 18 (Extras: Area- 8,388,608,000 trillion miles Line +51, Penetrating 10) (496)
- AE: "Titanic Damage III" Damage 18 (Extras: Area- 16,777,216,000 trillion miles Cone +51, Penetrating 10) (496)
- Dynamic AE: "Cosmic Stream" Damage 26 (Feats: Dynamic, Variable 2- Any Energy) (Extras: Area- 2,000ft. Line +7, Selective) (237)
- Dynamic AE: "Cosmic Burst" Damage 26 (Feats: Dynamic, Variable 2- Any Energy) (Extras: Area- 2,000ft. Burst +7, Selective) (237)
- Dynamic AE: "Cosmic Wave" Damage 26 (Feats: Dynamic, Variable 2- Any Energy) (Extras: Area- 4,000ft. Cone +7, Selective) (237)
- Dynamic AE: "Cosmic Blast" Blast 34 (Feats: Dynamic, Variable 2- Any Energy, Extended Range 6, Indirect 4, Penetrating 14) (83)
- Dynamic AE: "All-Reaching Blast" Blast 26 (Feats: Dynamic, Variable 2- Any Energy, Indirect, Penetrating 14) (Extras: Perception Range) (81)
- Dynamic AE: Force Field +0 (Feats: Dynamic) (Extras: Affects Others 20, Impervious 23) (43)
- Dynamic AE: Healing 20 (Feats: Dynamic) (Extras: Ranged, Restorative, Resurrection, Area- 60ft. Burst +2) (Flaws: Limited to Others) (121)
- Dynamic AE: Mind-Reading 24 (Feats: Dynamic, Subtle) (Extras: Sensory Link, Effortless) (98)
- Dynamic AE: Communication (Mental) 5 (Feats: Dynamic, Subtle, Dimensional) (Extras: Area, Selective) (33)
- Dynamic AE: Concealment 10 (All Senses) (Feats: Dynamic) (Extras: Affects Others, Ranged) (41)
- Dynamic AE: "Remove Powers" Affliction 17 (Fort; Impaired/Disabled/Transformed to Powerless) (Feats: Dynamic) (Extras: Perception Range +2) (52)
- AE: "Extreme Mind Control" Mind Control 16 (Extras: Area- 16,000 miles +23) (Flaws: Touch Range -2) (352)
- AE: "Brainwashing" Affliction 18 (Will; Dazed/Compelled/Transformed Thoughts & Memories) (Extras: Perception Range +2, Progressive +2) (90)
- AE: "Create Worlds" Create 25 (Feats: Innate, Precise, Increased Mass 20) (Extras: Movable, Continuous) (121)
- AE: "Capable of Nearly Any Effect" Variable (Cosmic) 30 (210)
- AE: "Restructure Reality" Transform 25 (Anything to Anything) (Feats: Increased Mass 30- Planets) (Extras: Continuous) (180)
- AE: Teleport 20 (Feats: Increased Mass 10) (Extras: Extended, Accurate) (90)
- AE: Movement 9 (Dimensional Travel 3, Time Travel 3, Space Travel 3) (Feats: Increased Mass 5) (Extras: Attack 20, Area- 500ft. Burst +5 on 20 Ranks) (23)
- AE: "Move The Stars Themselves" Move Object 40 (262,144,000,000 tons) (Extras: Perception Range) (120)
- AE: "Teleport Others" Teleport 20 (Feats: Increased Mass 5) (Extras: Attack, Ranged) (85)
- AE: "Drain Energy" Affliction 20 (Will; Impaired/Disabled/Transformed to Powerless) (Extras: Perception Ranged +2) (Flaws: Limited to Energy Powers) (40)
- AE: "Sense Energy" Senses 22 (Detect Energy- Ranged 17- 1,600 trillion miles, Acute & Analytical, Tracking) (22)
- AE: "Sense Life" Senses 22 (Detect Life- Ranged 17- 1,600 trillion miles, Tracking) (22)
Unarmed +6 (+20 Damage, DC 35)
Cosmic Blast +14 (+34 Ranged Damage, DC 49)
Cosmic Waves +24 Area (+24 Damage, DC 39)
Remove Powers +17 Area (+17 Affliction, DC 27)
Mind-Reading -- (+20 Mind-Reading, DC 30)
Mind Control +16 Area (+16 Affliction, DC 26)
Portals +20 (+20 Movement Attack, DC 30)
Drain Energy -- (+20 Perception Ranged Affliction, DC 30)
Initiative +3
Defenses:
Dodge +10 (DC 20), Parry +8 (DC 18), Toughness +30 (+18 Impervious), Fortitude --, Will +22
Complications:
Responsibility (Discovering The Nature of Life)- The Beyonder is still a relative infant on the Cosmic Scene, and desires to know more about heroism, villainy and more. He constructed a Battleworld and forced heroes and villains to fight each other, then travelled to Earth to discover what it meant to be human.
Responsibility (Capricious and Unknowing)- The Beyonder's ignorance of human nature means that he is unable to do simple things, or comprehend the actions of others. He mistook Magneto's unselfish motivations for actual heroism and included him among the "Super-Heroes" during the Secret Wars, had to be shown how to use the bathroom by Spider-Man, and killed & resurrected the New Mutant kids on a whim, failing to realize what this would do to their psyches.
Total: Abilities: 112 / Skills: 68--34 / Advantages: 40 / Powers: 887 / Defenses: 29 (1,102)
-Secret Wars kind of gets a bad rap these days, but honestly it's the kind of "Simple Dumb Fun Fights" stuff that I kind of miss from comics. Sure, some of the dialogue is a bit weird (Johnny Storm: "Babe, I'll tumble 4 ya any day!", She Hulk: "To the max!"), the concept is pretty simplistic, and the X-Men looked like crap. And sure Jim Shooter put only the artists who were having trouble getting work on it, so the art is kind of hit or miss at times. But Hell, almost every single heroic character (except most of the X-Men) had at least ONE major "Bad-Ass Moment" to their name- Colossus schooled the Wrecking Crew, Spider-Man kicked the living crap out of Titania (AND the entire X-Men all at once!), The Wasp schooled the X-Men, Wolverine took off Absorbing Man's arm, Molecule Man threw a MOUNTAIN RANGE at somebody, The Hulk saved the team from billions of tons of rock, Human Torch took out Ultron, Doom took out GALACTUS AND THE BEYONDER, etc. It's basically a young comic book fan's wet dream. Jim Shooter had some funny dialogue, but he still to this day defends the book, and lets everyone who mocks it know his take. He admits to a lot of past mistakes and indiscretions, but he'll back this one up, that's for sure. The sales sure did back him up.
-The Beyonder debuts as the Cosmic Gamesman behind Secret Wars, teleporting several heroes and villains to "Battleworld" (comprised of pieces of multiple planets), demanding that they fight for him. He gives no hints about his wants or needs, but establishes his power immediately- he literally WIPES A GALAXY FROM THE SKY on a whim, then handily one-shots Galactus when the Devourer of Worlds demands that the "One From Beyond" cure his hunger. His origins mysterious, this Beyonder has his power stolen by a cosmically-powered Doom, who uses it to fight the heroes, but ultimately he gets his powers back. We would eventually learn that his power came from the totality of a universe "Beyond".
-For all the good will Secret Wars may have gained... Secret Wars II lost it. Coming out on the heels of the first (owing to its MASSIVE sales), this is the book that killed Shooter's mystique as a writer for good, as it was meandernig, pointless, and incredibly boring. His Beyonder got a ridiculous redesign, wearing "modern" (ie. horrendously dated to our eyes) clothing and decided to pull a "learn to be human" schtick, which is always death. He gazed at his navel, emoted about his place in the universe, and contemplated simply restarting everything on a whim. The actual series was infamously terrible, though many of the issues that crossed over with it were very well done- there's a great one where Spider-Man unknowingly fights for all humanity against a demon, and in another, Chris Claremont has the Beyonder KILL THE NEW MUTANTS AND THEN RESURRECT THEM FOR THE HELL OF IT, casually vanishing while leaving them with the memories of just what they'd suffered (one of the most screwed-up things EVER done to protagonists of a comic). He also macked on Dazzler, killed some Cosmic Beings (including Death), but is killed by the Molecule Man during a battle with most of Earth's super-heroes while messing around with his power levels using a super-machine (he was attempting to... "re-birth" himself). Very weird stuff, and it bombed HORRIBLY- fans HATED it, Shooter's rep took a beating, and he was soon gone from Marvel Comics, drummed out after an unpopular (but VERY economically-successful) run as Editor-In-Chief.
-Post-Shooter, The Beyonder really had no luck. Shooter was so hated by much of his staff that his successor, Tom DeFalco, told Steve Englehart to write the character out- sympathetic to the character, Englehart re-wrote The Beyonder's origin and nature- revealing that this energy "From Beyond" was actually an incomplete Cosmic Cube, and not really powerful enought to do most of the stuff he did anyways. Which makes the whole "Wiped a galaxy clean" and "easily defeated Galactus" stuff out of the realm of possibility, but whatever. The Beyonder is actually supposedly now LESS powerful than Celestials & Galactus (both of whom he'd effortlessly defeated before), so I don't know why they willingly jobbed to him before. This Beyonder merged with The Molecule Man, expelled him from his combined form (now a lady called Kosmos), entered into a relationship with Kubik (another sentient Cube), then went crazy and turned into The Maker, where he is defeated by the Shi'ar Imperial Guard and appears in the Kyln- an interstellar prison- and being convinced by Thanos to shut down his own mind after rampaging through the jail. Then, hilariously, The Beyonder was killed OFF-PANEL, simply appearing as a corpse in the destruction caused by the Annihilation Wave. This once vastly-important character dropped like a speed bump.
-Bizarrely, the Illuminati book Retcons the Beyonder AGAIN, showing that the Illuminati discovered that The Beyonder was actually an INHUMAN who was also a MUTANT, and this was the source of his Phenomenal Cosmic Powers. Howver, the story's end (the Beyonder is convinced to leave our solar system) hints that it may have simply been what the Beyonder WANTED the Illuminati to believe. Finally, Jonathan Hickman in his mega-Avengers arc reveals that the Beyonders, the cause of the incursions destroying the multiverse, consider the Beyonder to be a "child unit" of their own kind.
-This build represents The Beyonder as he appeared in most of the 1980s- all-powerful and extremely dangerous. He's tougher than Eternity OR Death, and could handily wipe the floor with Galactus (his first big Power Showing is naturally KOing Galactus and tossing him down to Battleworld, embarassed and humbled). Despite this, he loses a few tricks compared to a few Cosmic Beings, such as Insubstantiality, Immortality, Illusions and some Movement power (he could still naturall create some Alternate Effects or just use Variable for it anyways). He once Mind Controlled the entire Earth though, which is a hell of an Area Effect on a Control power.