10 Terrible Moments Featured In DC Comics' The New 52
4. Defining The Undefinable Phantom Stranger
The Phantom Stranger was one of the few characters that readers knew virtually nothing about for decades. His enigmatic nature, his incredible powers, and his ability to exist both in the world of superheroes and the magical world, made him unique among the DC heroes.
The New 52’s Trinity of Sin storyline tied the Stranger to a specific origin. It was heavily implied that the Stranger is Judas Iscariot, the man who betrayed Jesus Christ to the Romans for 30 pieces of silver. Judas killed himself but found that he and two others, The Question and Pandora, were brought before the Council of Wizards and were judged as the world’s worst sinners. The Stranger is judged with avarice and returned to the world to wander for all time. The Presence, DC’s God, charges him to don Jesus’ robe and become “nothing but a stranger” to everyone he meets.
The Phantom Stranger spent his centuries helping others indirectly when possible and only took a direct hand when absolutely necessary. His actions resulted in the creation of the Spectre and the defeat of Trigon. However, in the first issue of his own title, The Stranger is shown with a wife and two children. They do not know of his other life and they are kidnapped and he has to go to Hell to save them.