Reflections on "The Phantom Stranger"

[Fantasyartist]

Next to Black Orchid( more about her some other time), The Phantom Stranger must surely be DC's most enigmatic character_ and that's what makes him so intriguing.
Rumors as to his true origin abound, but I'm inclined to subscribe to a school of thought that suggest the Phantom Stranger is an angel who refused to side with either the hosts of Heaven(traditionally led by St. Michael) or those of Lucifer during the war between either side.
As neither side took kindly to this attitude, he was disowned by Good and Evil, although he was never "fallen" as the losing side was, and part of his punishment was that of eternal wanderer.
There are problems with this argument I agree- his role as warning humans against the path of evil- but they need not be insuperable.

Anybody think as I do?

Terry

 

[Harlekin]

I love the Phantom Stranger and I've personally always ascribed to the 'neutral angel' origin as well, but I prefer to think of the Stranger as having no origin at all.

 

[WompuM]

The old Wandering Jew eh?

 

[Doc Destruction]

He's "terribly mysterious"!

 

[Kitsune]

He's "terribly mysterious"!

Have you been playing MechQuest?

 

[Doc Destruction]

Bah! That was a Mystery Men reference.

 

[cerealkiller182]

Next to Black Orchid( more about her some other time), The Phantom Stranger must surely be DC's most enigmatic character_ and that's what makes him so intriguing.
Rumors as to his true origin abound, but I'm inclined to subscribe to a school of thought that suggest the Phantom Stranger is an angel who refused to side with either the hosts of Heaven(traditionally led by St. Michael) or those of Lucifer during the war between either side.
As neither side took kindly to this attitude, he was disowned by Good and Evil, although he was never "fallen" as the losing side was, and part of his punishment was that of eternal wanderer.
There are problems with this argument I agree- his role as warning humans against the path of evil- but they need not be insuperable.

Anybody think as I do?

Terry

I like this concept. Ithink I can explain his role as warning humans against path of evil stuff though

It kind of reminds me of The Prophecy (the Christopher Walken movie) basically the angels hate humans because humans are seen better in God's eyes than angels.This was further explained to me by a friend who is a priest which isnt exactly clear in the movie. Bascially angels were always superior creations in God's eyes until jesus became a human thus making humans better than angels. My priest friend uses this to explain the difference in temper between the old testament God and new testament God (which seems logical as far as Catholic dogma goes). This is a reason for a Second Angel war (in the movie) where some angels rebelled against God because of this passion shift. As not a neutral angel but a pro-human angel he places himself in this warning role, but existing on Earth and practicing directly (when most demon/angels/otherworldly beings seem to work indirectly) is why he is no longer an angel, similar to Zauriel who was exiled from heaven i believe. Obiously the second angel war from the movie might not be a common occurrence in DC comics but only an analogy/anecdote to explain why Stranger might take his current role.

Hope that makes sense.

 

[RogueDK]

Does he still dress like a pimp?
As a kid that's what he always looked like to me...

 

[Johnny DC]

I totally subscribed to the Phantom Stranger being the son of Superman/Wonder Woman, raised by Batman, in The Kingdom (shudders), but I guess the son wasn't the Stranger after all, just a look-a-like. Lame :