MU Handbook Entries:
First Appearance: WARLOCK #10
History: The In-Betweener is a cosmic entity who exists as the synthesis of the major concepts of the universe: life and death, reality and illusion, good and evil logic and emotion, existence and nothingness, god and man.
Fifteen feet In stature the In-Betweener Is an agent of Lord Chaos and Master Order two of the universal principal abstract beings, whose appointed task is to maintain the universal balance. Simultaneously existing end not-existing, present everywhere and present nowhere, the In-Betweener first came to human attention when it abducted the golden 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. It 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, Order and Chaos, Strange managed to halt the In-Betweener's machinations.
A bit later, the In-Betweener used the powers of the six soul-gems (later renamed as the Infinity Gems) to maifest itself once more, despite the attempts of its Masters, Chaos and Order, to destroy it. When all was revealed, it came to be known that 3 of the Elders of the Universe (the Astronomer, the Possessor), and the Trader) had entered into a bargain with the In-Betweener in a gambit to destroy the world-devourer Galactus. Leaving the realm of Chaos and Order, the In-Betweener entered our Universe in pursuit of its mission. Nova, then the Herald of Galactus, dispatched the strange, alien life-form known as The Punisher (NOT Frank Castle) in order to stop the In-Betweener. However, the Punisher failed, destoyed by the In-Betweener's ability to apply the polar opposite of a beings own life-force against it. Entering Galctus' ship, the In-Betweener attempted the same trick against Galactus, a move which failed due to the unique naure of the world-eater. Instead, the In-Betweener decided to toss Galactus into the realm of Chaos and Order, which angered the Elders who sought to rescue the rest of their bretheren, trapped within Galactus himself. So, the In-Betweener summond Death itself, and forced it to kill the 3 Elders, also forcing it to break its vow never to take the Elders (a move which did not endear the In-Betweener to Death in the least.). With the Elders gone, the In-Betweener succeeded in hurling the ship into the Realm of Chaos and Order. However, the In-Betweener failed to take into account the will of his Masters, who aided Galactus by removing the Elders from within him. Enraged by the In-Betweeners, the severly weakened Galactus took his ship back into out realm, and engaged the In-Betweener in combat. With the help of the Silver Surfer, Nova, Reed and Susan Richards, and the 5 remaining Elders, Galactus gained his victory, and Chaos and Order retrieved their rebellous creation.
For a time, the fate of the In-Betweener was unkown until many month later, when Mistress Death resurrected the mad-Titan, Thanos, in order to further her own goals, which included death of half of the sentient life within the Universe. In order to accomplish this feat, Thanos decided that he would need to acquire the 6 Infinity Gems. He asked for permission to do this, and to start he wished to retrieve the Gem currently held by the In-Betweener. Well-remembering the actions of the In-Betweener, Mistress Death was all to glad to permit Thanos to be about his plan. Thanos journeyed to the Nexus of Reality, where Chaos and Order had imprisoned the In-Betweener. There, Thanos convinced the In-Betweener that he wished to leave the service of Death, and the pair applied their combined might against the In-Betweener's prison sphere. Once the sphere was shattered, the In-Betweener displayed his gratitude by attempting to slay Thanos, a move the Titan had easily anticipated. Unfortunately for the In-Betweener, in the Nexus of Reality, the dichotomies he needed to fuel his powers did not exist, which is why Chaos and Order had imprisoned him there. His powers had functioned inside the sphere only, and now, outside of that environment, he was powerless. Thanos easily overcame the In-Betweener, and retrieved the Soul Gem. As he departed, Chaos and Order appeared, and doubtlessly incarcerated the In-Betweener in a prison that was far less comfortable.
Powers and Abilities: The In-Betweener possesses sufficient power to alter reality on a cosmic scale. However, the In-Betweener is not all-knowing or infallible. Indeed, within the parameters of the In-Betweener's existence are both power and weakness, knowledge and ignorance.
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