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Quote1 I am everything, for I am nothing! I am a concept...of concepts! Life and death...good and evil...reality and illusion...all these things do I know and affect...but never do they touch me! Quote2
In-Betweener[src]

The In-Betweener is a cosmic being that exists between dichotomies, created by Master Order and Lord Chaos to maintain a universal balance and to serve as their agent.[4][5][6] He is the synthesis of dualistic concepts: life and death, reality and illusion, good and evil, logic and emotion, existence and nothingness, god and man, etc.[7] The In-Betweener is sometimes considered the opposite of Galactus, the being who exists between the principalities of Eternity and Death. While the In-Betweener is the union of opposites, Galactus is their absence.[8][9]

History

Ultimates 2 Vol 2 3 Textless

With Master Order and Lord Chaos

Adam Warlock[]

Created by Master Order and Lord Chaos, the In-Betweener first came to human attention when it abducted the artificial humanoid Adam Warlock to its quasi-realm, and attempted to transform him into a champion of life to help restore the balance upset by Thanos of Titan. The experience drove Warlock insane, creating the entity known as the Magus.[10]

Doctor Strange[]

The In-Betweener was later encountered by Earth's Sorcerer Supreme, Doctor Strange, when it empowered the spells of a renegade band of wizards calling themselves the Creators. Strange opposed the In-Betweener and its plan to restore balance by creating universal insanity, and calling upon its masters, Master Order and Lord Chaos, Strange managed to halt the In-Betweener's machinations.[11]

Imprisonment[]

Galan (Earth-616) and In-Betweener (Earth-616) from Silver Surfer Vol 3 18 001

Battling Galactus

On one occasion, the In-Betweener exceeded his mandate by attempting to destroy Galactus, another third force entity. While dealing with the Elders of the Universe to help them save their brethren inside Galactus, he gained control of the Soul Gem and infected Reed and Sue Richards with order and chaos, respectively. However, the In-Betweener was unable to summon an opposite for Galactus and called upon Death to claim the angry Elders. In an ensuing fight with the world-eater, he realized that he himself is Galactus' opposite. The Silver Surfer alerted Lord Chaos and Master Order of the In-Betweener's actions, and they rejuvenated Galactus before taking their servant away for punishment.[12]

The In-Betweener was imprisoned at the apex of order and chaos in order to neutralize his powers, although his patrons allowed him the use of his abilities inside his crystal cage as a gesture. In-Betweener retained the Soul Gem from his previous adventure, making him a target for Thanos. The Mad Titan manipulated the In-Betweener into breaking out of his prison, drawing the ire of Order and Chaos while Thanos made off with his Soul Gem.[13]

Split Apart[]

The In-Betweener was summoned and split by Scorpio with his Zodiac Key to harness the In-Betweener's chaos half. Chaos contacted and briefly possessed the Scarlet Witch to help him, and the Avengers attempted to reunite the two halves, but the order half refused. Frustrated with both halves and angry when the Vision was attacked by the chaos half, who questioned why a witch of chaos would care for an android of order, Wanda fused both halves together, proclaiming that chaos and order belong together.[14]

Teen Brigade[]

The In-Betweener had absorbed the Braak'nhüd to contain them, but they eventually burst free. He was reduced to an amnesiac teenage mortal state and was held captive in Area 51 until he was rescued by America Chavez of the Teen Brigade. Meanwhile, the Braak'nhüd desired revenge on the In-Betweener and his death. When he started regaining his memories, he imbued Chavez with some of his energy to temporarily distract the Braak'nhüd. Later, he, along with Daimon Hellstrom and She-Hulk, rescued Chavez from the Sixth Dimension, but when he returned to Earth, he was met with an army of the Braak'nhüd. As the Teen Brigade and the Defenders were being overwhelmed, Ultimate Nullifier shot each side of the In-Betweener. The In-Betweener suddenly returned to his original cosmic self, reabsorbed all of the Braak'nhüd, and disappeared.[15]

Longshot[]

Sensing imbalance caused by an unusually high amount of good fortune, the In-Betweener put on his Hunting Mask and went to Earth, killing anyone who was lucky. He eventually found Longshot, but the latter used a Cosmic Cube to unwittingly rewrite reality and split the In-Betweener into his order and chaos halves. The order half took over S.H.I.E.L.D. and later also Doctor Strange, Deadpool, Ghost Rider, and the Scarlet Witch; to suppress his chaos half, the order half ran S.H.I.E.L.D. as an anti-magic totalitarian organization that eliminated all agents of bedlam. The chaos half got free and began causing mayhem. The universe and the In-Betweener were restored their original state by Longshot through the same Cosmic Cube and the In-Betweener realized that the true culprit of the imbalance was the Cosmic Cube.[16]

Time Runs Out[]

The In-Betweener and all of his multiversal counterparts were killed by the Beyonders on their quest to destroy the Multiverse.[17] When the Multiverse was restored,[18] so was the In-Betweener.[19]

Logos[]

Logos (Cosmic Being) (Earth-616) from Ultimates 2 Vol 2 3 001

The In-Betweener, Lord Chaos, and Master Order as Logos

Not long after the Multiverse was restored as the Eighth Cosmos, Lord Chaos and Master Order were corrupted by the Aspirants sent by the First Firmament.[20][21] They took advantage of the fact that the cosmic hierarchy was not yet set due to the recent renewal to kill the Living Tribunal; then, they approached the In-Betweener and forced him to become the binding force that combined Lord Chaos and Master Order into a new cosmic being named Logos, the new personification of multiversal law.[6] During the Eternity War, Logos was split apart into the individual beings that composed it by the ascended astral form of the Black Panther.[22]

G.O.D.S.[]

In-Betweener (Earth-616) and Robert Forson (Earth-616) from G.O.D.S

Appearing to Robert Forson

Two men marked by the In-Betweener, Cubisk Core and Robert Forson, each tried to start an apocalypse but were both thwarted by Wyn and Doctor Strange. The duo investigated the incidents and discovered that the "homes" of both culprits were the In-Betweener's Skinner Boxes, which the In-Betweener had used to reprogram them.[23]

Attributes

Power Grid[28]
:Category:Power Grid/Fighting Skills/Normal:Category:Power Grid/Energy Projection/Virtually Unlimited:Category:Power Grid/Durability/Virtually Indestructible:Category:Power Grid/Speed/Warp:Category:Power Grid/Strength/Incalculable:Category:Power Grid/Intelligence/Super-Genius

Powers

The In-Betweener possesses cosmic powers comparable to Galactus but lesser than his creators, Master Order and Lord Chaos.[8][1] He normally uses his powers to correct imbalance.[4][24][6]

Abilities

Super-Genius Intelligence:

Weaknesses

Paraphernalia

Equipment

In-Betweener (Earth-616) from Longshot Saves the Marvel Universe Vol 1 1 001

Hunting Mask

  • Hunting Mask: The In-Betweener wears a mask while manifesting in the physical plane to personally hunt targets causing imbalance. It renders him invisible to all but, in the interest of fairness and balance, his prey.[24]
  • Soul Gem: It can observe, attack or even steal a being's soul or spirit. It also can be used to revert individuals to their natural state.
  • Skinner Box: Skinner boxes for higher order magicians and scientists.[25][26]

Notes

In-Betweener (Earth-616) by Valerio Schiti 001

The In-Betweener's redesign, with his classic look in the background

  • For G.O.D.S., the In-Betweener received a redesign.
    • For other redesigns, click here.
  • The black half represents chaos and the white represents order. While the In-Betweener is normally a single being, he can be split into two by certain means such as the reality-warping Cosmic Cube.[16]
  • The In-Betweener is sometimes counted among the Elders of the Universe,[27][3] but as an abstract being, this is an honorary membership at best.

See Also

Links and References

References

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