BIOGRAPHY - Page 3
The Stranger’s occasionally random actions were on full display when he located the O.K. Space Station. A habitat of humanoids in the Deneb System of the Kree Empire, it housed a small population on the brink of madness thanks to their poisoned atmosphere outside the station’s dome, and the influence of the Supreme Intelligence. As part of his ongoing manipulation of Captain Mar-Vell and Rick Jones, the Intelligence imposed this “Earth Western” scenario on the habitat. The Stranger discovered this farce and was amused enough to join in. He assumed the 
role of the Big Boss, an out-of-towner who rallied the local lawless to take over this here town. When Captain Marvel arrived at the O.K. Space Station, the Stranger challenged him to a shoot out on Main Street. After accidentally shooting a distracted Mar-Vell in the back, however, the Stranger soured on his experience and departed without any further incident. [Captain Marvel (1st series) #42]
The Stranger’s next fixation was his discovery of the Infinity Gems and a desire to gather them all. He acquired the Power Gem and began wearing it on his brow, before returning to Earth’s solar system where he detected another of the gems. On the Blue Area of the Moon, he encountered Adam Warlock and a lost Spider-Man and attempted to forcibly extract Adam’s Soul Gem. Adam’s own soul was partially contained in his gem, leaving him loathe to give it up. Unbeknownst to the Stranger, a third gem was also on the moon in possession of the Gardener from the Elders of the Universe. He used his Time Gem for peaceful purposes maintaining his garden, but felt compelled 
to help protect Warlock from the Stranger. Warlock and the Gardener’s two gems proved strong enough to drive off the Stranger. [Marvel Team-Up (1st series) #55] (As often happened, the Stranger soon forgot his quest for the gems. He placed his Power Gem in containment, where it was stolen by Thanos in his own quest. The Stranger apparently never noticed.) [Avengers Annual #7]
The Stranger had left the null-life bomb behind on Earth after his encounter with the Silver Surfer, believing it inert. It came into the possession of Stark International before being stolen by Jerry Washington and accidentally reactivated. [Black Goliath #2-5] When he sensed the bomb’s power cycling up, the Stranger returned to Earth in a sincere effort to prevent the bomb from unleashing its intended force. However, Regina Clayborne brought the null-life bomb to the Champions of Los Angeles after it seemingly killed her man, Jerry. The Stranger’s heavy-handed way of forcing himself into the Champions’ headquarters led the heroes to attack him rather than let him at the bomb. As the null-life bomb’s charge continued to cycle higher, it projected a field which began to irrevocably swallow up anything nearby. The Stranger stumbled into this field while battling with the Champions, and the shock of the moment finally opened a dialogue.
The null-life bomb was now beyond the Stranger’s ability to properly shut off, leaving only one recourse. As he was slowly absorbed into the bomb’s expanding field, the Stranger promised to do what he could to slow the bomb’s progression from the inside. In the meantime, he teleported the Champions to retrieve the only artifact he knew of which could stop the bomb. Unfortunately, they only learned once they arrived in distant space that the artifact they sought was the Runestaff of Kamo Tharn, an item Hercules knew was already on Earth. Darkstar of the Champions made her way back through the Stranger’s portal to inform him, and he guided her through retrieving the 
staff and using it as necessary. The null-life bomb was intended to expand to the limits of the solar system, then contract violently to compress everything within to an impossibly small point. Instead, the Stranger, Darkstar and the Staff pushed the bomb’s expansion beyond the limits of entire galaxies, leaving it unable to contract as intended. The world was saved, and the Stranger departed on good terms with the Champions after recalling them from Kamo Tharn’s world. [Champions (1st series) #12-13]
The Stranger would be forced into the role of unlikely hero again, for his experiments and efforts to plunder the mysteries of the universe required there to BE a universe. From his cosmic complex atop his Laboratory World, the Stranger detected a mad plan by Pluto, Olympian Lord of the Underworld. Pluto used an omnivorous energy smelter to stoke the power of a nether-hole, the magical equivalent of a black hole whose gravitational force would soon consume the entire universe in an inescapable trans-dimensional vortex. The Stranger chose to recruit the raw strength and power of the Hulk and the Thing, though he took steps to place their friends in 
suspended animation first in an effort to control his pawns and force them into aiding him. In the nether-realm of Hades, the Stranger battled Pluto while the Hulk and Thing contended with his minions. Pluto and his device were ultimately dealt with, and the unlikely trio teleported back to Earth. With a wave of his hand, the Stranger restored the innocents he irradiated earlier, and left Earth, impressed again with the valor of its people. [Marvel Two-In-One Annual #5]
With his interest in mutations, the Stranger intervened during the tensions of the Kree-Skrull War. Months before, the Skrull race had collectively lost their ability to shape-change due to a hyper-wave bomb. The empire had already collapsed into in-fighting among warlords after the destruction of their homeworld and subsequent death of the royal family thanks to Galactus. Now a warlord named S’Byll had regained her shape-changing ability and also had the power to restore other Skrulls through contact. The Stranger was intrigued and sought to capture S’Byll as a specimen for study and experimentation. Her allies Silver Surfer and Super-Skrull fought to defend the new empress. However, hostilities only ended thanks to S’Byll’s new privateer, Captain Reptyl, proposing an alternative offer. In exchange for the empress, Reptyl offered his crew as specimens, including his mutant navigator Dalabuur able to perform spatial calculations mentally. Seeing how much trouble S’Byll’s capture was, and intrigued by the possibilities in Dalabuur, the Stranger accepted Reptyl’s bargain and departed in peace. [Silver Surfer (3rd series) #27]
Curiously, the Stranger remained interested in the Kree-Skrull War after his business concluded. The Silver Surfer spotted him observing the war effort from a distance, and he later intervened directly on Hala in what would be the conclusion of the war. The Stranger kept the Silver Surfer and brigand Clumsy Foulup at bay so that S’Byll and the Kree Supreme Leader Nenora could end the war with single combat. S’Byll’s touch revealed the truth that Nenora was a deep cover agent from the Skrulls who seized power for herself. Once the Kree leader was exposed as their hated adversary, S’Byll had leverage to sue for peace. The Silver Surfer was curious about the 
Stranger’s behavior and sought him out after the war, but the Stranger would only lie and obfuscate his origins and intentions. Their encounter prompted an appearance by the Living Tribunal.
The ultimate judge of the multiverse spoke of universal dualities and trinities. He outlined the relationship between the living universe Eternity, his opposite number Death and Galactus, who stood apart from them both. He outlined Master Order and Lord Chaos, whose agent the In-Betweener served both forces at once. And the Living Tribunal explained his own trinity, the three faces at three cardinal points on his head that represented equity, necessity and vengeance. Yet to judge the multiverse, he must become a part of the multiverse, while another part must remain apart from the multiverse… a possible fourth face who must remain a stranger to all. True or not, the Stranger angrily rejected the implication of the Living Tribunal’s speech, for it was his desire to ever remain a stranger, unknown and unknowable to all. [Silver Surfer (3rd series) #29-31]
At some point, the Stranger’s world was infiltrated by the thief and space pirate called Nebula, who stole the Infinity Union. This device could absorb and channel all ambient energy into the user, providing them with immense power. Once he discovered its absence, the Stranger traced Nebula and the Infinity Union to orbit around Earth. Nebula had recklessly used a secondary device called a universal compressor to utterly annihilate the known universe for brief moments in time, holding the genesis pulse of a second universe in abeyance. The universe survived each compression (barely), but the raw power of several aborted baby universes was absorbed into the Infinity Union. The Avengers caught wind of Nebula’s scheme with the universal compressor and took her into custody before she could access the power stored in the Infinity Union. A furious 
Stranger arrived intent on interrogating Nebula for the Union’s location, but she was insensate and her ship resisted his probings. When the Stranger informed the Avengers of what he sought, they sought out the Infinity Union, only to find Nebula had booby-trapped it. The moment someone other than she messed with the device, its energies were automatically transmitted to an implant in her head, making her all-powerful.
Nebula merged her consciousness with the Stranger’s lightship, turning its technology against him and the Avengers. She beamed him in and out of existence repeatedly, leaving the scientist in a weakened state. As Nebula occupied herself in a game of cat-and-mouse with the Avengers, the 
Stranger recovered and enlisted her sycophant Gunthar. The Rigellian realized Nebula no longer needed him and became concerned about his future, so he disclosed the existence of Nebula’s implant. As he passed this information on to the Avengers telepathically, the Stranger sought out the Infinity Union which was still beaming energy to Nebula. He altered the Union’s signal frequency to deny Nebula any further power, and the Avenger known as Sersi of the Eternals used matter transmutation to extract her implant. Nebula and Gunthar escaped, but the Stranger agreed with Captain America that the Infinity Union was too dangerous to exist and should be destroyed. [Avengers (1st series) #316-318]