Beyonder

The Beyonder is the sum total of an entire multiverse,[4] called the Beyond-Realm or simply "Beyond", hence the name Beyonder. This dimension was originally believed to be accidentally accessed by lab technician Owen Reece. Part of the energy from the dimension escapes and imbues Reece with infinite powers, which he wields as the villainous Molecule Man—potentially one of the most powerful villains in the Marvel Universe. The remaining energy of the pocket dimension gains sentience and curiosity, and becomes the Beyonder. The Beyonder creates a planet called Battleworld out of pieces of various planets (one such piece being a suburb of Denver, Colorado) and abducts a number of superheroes and supervillains from Earth and forces them to fight each other so that he can observe the never-ending battle between good and evil. During this time, his powers were once stolen by Doctor Doom.[5]

Intrigued by what he has witnessed during the first Secret Wars, the Beyonder comes to Earth during the Secret Wars II story line to walk among humans and study them and learn of human desire firsthand. He creates a human body for himself (this body originally resembles Molecule Man). He also transforms a television writer named Steward Cadwell into Thundersword.[6] Finally, the Beyonder creates a form for himself based on that of Captain America after witnessing him defeat Armadillo.[7]

After learning of the importance of money from Luke Cage, the Beyonder turns a building into pure gold,[8] causing Spider-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.[9] The Beyonder later meets the blind superhero Daredevil and restores his ability to see, 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.[10] Beyonder then attempts to get Dazzler to fall in love with him, but fails, leading to feelings of despair.[11] Following this, the Beyonder is recruited to be a professional wrestler and is nearly killed by Thing in a wrestling match.[12]

In order to combat Beyonder, Mephisto sent his demon agent Bitterhorn to form the Legion Accursed where he managed to get 99 villains together upon shaking their hand. While waiting for the Legion Accursed to arrive, Mephisto tricked Thing into signing a contract that would increase his strength. When the Legion Accursed had arrived, Thing had to defend Beyonder from them. By the time Mephisto planned to drop his contract with Thing, nearly all of the Legion Accursed were defeated. Due to Beyonder and Thing ruining his plan, Mephisto returned all the villains to where they were before he began his scheme.[13]

After being encouraged to find enlightenment by Doctor 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, including the Fantastic Four, X-Men, Avengers, and Spider-Man, after the Molecule Man intervenes and kills him, while he had temporarily transformed into an infant in the midst of a re-birthing process.[14]

Long after the Secret Wars II crossover had ended, a Deadpool special featured the "Secret Wars II continues in this issue" corner tag that was used during that original storyline. In this issue, a younger, less-experienced Deadpool is hired by the Kingpin to kill the Beyonder. The flashback sequence ends with Deadpool chasing him into a portal with a footnote saying "to be continued in Secret Wars III".[15]

The tale of the Beyonder continues several years later when it is revealed that the energy which comprises the Beyonder and the energy that gives the Molecule Man his powers needs to be combined in order to create the basis for a mentally stable, mature cosmic entity to be born. The Beyonder then merges with the Molecule Man.[16] This being, Kosmos, expels the Molecule Man from its form, and returns him to Earth. Kosmos takes on a female form and is tutored by Kubik, touring the universe with him.[17] When the Molecule Man's lover Volcana leaves him, he becomes angry, extracts the Beyonder from Kosmos, and proceeds to attack him until Kubik intervenes.[18]

At some unknown point, Kosmos becomes insane and assumes a mortal form, now calling itself the Maker. After the amnesiac Maker destroys a Shi'ar colony, the Imperial Guard manage to imprison it in the interstellar prison called the Kyln. The Maker's madness takes control of several inmates but is finally subdued by Thanos and several of his allies among the prisoners. Thanos confronts the Maker, and, by refusing to reveal its origins at a critical juncture, manipulates it to psychically shut down its own mind. Thanos instructs the Shi'ar that the body should be kept alive but brain-dead, or the Beyonder essence would go free again.[19]

In the "Annihilation" crossover story line, the Fallen One, a former Herald of Galactus under the control of Thanos,[20] is sent to investigate the aftermath of the Kyln's destruction by the Annihilation Wave and ascertain the Beyonder's fate. The Fallen One finds the lifeless form of Kosmos in the rubble.[21]

The Beyonder in his human form. Art by Jim Cheung.

In a retcon of past events, Charles Xavier reveals to his fellow Illuminati members that in the original Secret War, he had attempted to mind-scan the Beyonder, revealing him as one of the Inhumans previously ruled over by fellow Illuminati member Black Bolt. Xavier also deduced the apparent secret behind the Beyonder's seemingly godlike abilities, which was that the Beyonder was not only an Inhuman but also a mutant, and the exposure of his mutant genes to Terrigen Mists had created an unprecedented power.[22]

This revelation leads to a confrontation with the Beyonder during the events of the second Secret War, wherein Black Bolt expresses his extreme displeasure toward the Beyonder's activities. When encountered, the Beyonder is dwelling in a simulacrum of Manhattan Island on Ceres, a dwarf planet in the asteroid belt.[23] The Illuminati convince the Beyonder to leave the universe, causing the Beyonder's human form and his simulacrum city to crumble into dust. However, Black Bolt admits that he has no memory of an Inhuman becoming the Beyonder, and the final image of the story hints that the entire event may have been orchestrated by the Beyonder himself, leaving his true nature in doubt.

It was revealed in Secret Wars Official Guide to the Marvel Multiverse that in the distant past, the enigmatic Beyonders created pocket universes holding vast amounts of sentient energy, possibly as incubator units for their young. Some were later tapped into by various beings, including Skrulls and Humans, to create reality-warping Cosmic Cubes. The Beyonders also had engineered an accident that created a pinhole to the universe containing the "Child Unit" Beyonder which had also caused Molecule Man to obtain his power. Yellowjacket described the Beyonder as a "child unit" to the Beyonders.[24][25]

In Guardians of the Galaxy, the Beyonder provides Guardian Vance Astro with a black undergarment resembling a Symbiote.[44] Later, he attempts to hold captive the ruler of the Universal Church of Truth, Protégé. Protégé retaliates using his limitless ability to copy the abilities of other beings to become a match for the Beyonder. They battle until Eternity and The Living Tribunal intervene.[45]

In Mutant X, the Beyonder allies with Dracula to wage war on Earth's forces and to confront the entity known as the 'Goblyn Queen'.[46]

In the Spider-Ham universe, "The Bee-Yonder" gives Spider-Ham a version of the black uniform.[47]