i gotta ask, what the hell is the deal with that phantom stranger those heroes mentioned sometimes. I never seen him but he seem important
The "deal" with the Phantom Stranger is a question that has probably been asked by a few thousand people over the course of human history if not more. They have almost certainly gotten the same answer as those of us asking it NOW.
It's not for any of us to know.
(Pretty much the clearest picture you will ever find of the Phantom Stranger)
The Phantom Stranger is a wandering spirit, always to the same description. Wearing a cloak of deepest blue and medallion of gold, his hair and eyes a pale white though most often his eyes are covered by the shadow of his hat. He appears from nowhere at the time of greatest need, when the forces of darkness have arrayed themselves in hunting or harvesting a lost soul with nowhere else to turn. It's at that moment he will appear and offer that soul aid. Should that aid be accepted he will do all in his considerable magic power to rescue that soul from evil and leave them only with the knowledge of how they might do better to avoid or deflect evil in the future. He's a guardian angel, in the metaphorical sense. Most often appearing to those who have no other option.
As the age of heroes has gone on, he's become an ally of the Justice League and the other defenders of our world. He will make himself known most often as the harbinger of some terrible magical ill heading our way. Giving our heroes the warning they need to be prepared for the coming storm, and sometimes cryptic direction to an artifact or revelation that can save us all. When asked why he doesn't more directly intervene in public the only response he's ever given is "I steer, I cannot lead. That has always been my fate." without further elaboration.
Which is JUST cryptic and magic-y enough that I feel the need to tag out. Gwen?
Gwen: The Phantom Stranger is...the last light on the road to hell. If you have gotten yourself caught up in something you shouldn't have. Made a deal you didn't understand. Promised something you can't afford to lose. That is when he will appear and give you one last chance. Turn from the dark, recognize your error, and ask for help. Then he will do everything in his power to deliver you. And that power is CONSIDERABLE. The kind of head magic honcho that can throw around explosive power with a flick of his wrist. More than one arch-warlock or necromancer has laughed him off at the height of their power only to be smacked down by an engine of light magic unlike anything they'd imagined.
Which only raises the question as to who he actually IS and where he CAME FROM. Which, magically speaking, is a question I can't answer any better than Sid can.
If you hang around in magic circles for ANY length of time, you will hear two or three dozen stories before the end of the night. He's an angel who refused to take sides in the war for heaven, he was a man spared from God's flood by the mercy of an angel who them committed a terrible sin, some (much less intelligent) folks swear he's either the Wandering Jew or the Traitor Disciple which doesn't even make sense because he's several thousand years older than the Christian Savior at minimum. (Yes, I still have to do that thing where I shouldn't say the names of magically potent figures out loud for fear of drawing their attention, where do you think the name "Phantom Stranger" came from? I can already feel HIS eyes on the back of my head, I am not pushing my luck). And those are just the stories I've heard living in culturally Christian societies most of my life, travel the world and you will see his footprints everywhere and explanations nowhere.
If you're asking me? I suppose I've always seen him as...mercy, a living errand of mercy given form. A reminder to those who might otherwise be truly lost that there is ALWAYS a chance to change. That there is never a point where it is too late to cast off the dark and return to the light, no matter how far you have gone. The only crime that can never be forgiven is refusing to change.
I know that's the choice he gave ME...
