Fictional Character Biography
The Space Phantoms are the servants of Immortus, the Master of Time. For many years it was assumed that there was only one Space Phantom, but in the course of the Destiny War the Avengers discovered that there was more than one. During a journey back in time to 1873, a trio of Space Phantoms was caught impersonating the Gunhawks and the Black Rider. The Space Phantoms were previously said to have originated on the planet Phantus, in the Phalbo system in the Milky Way Galaxy.
Immortus traps individuals who become lost in Limbo, and due to the nature of that plane, they begin to forget their former lives and change into misshapen beings. Immortus conditions these into servants who can perpetuate his schemes and manipulations of historical events. The Phantoms can assimilate anyone, even to the point of torture and escaping notice of even mind-readers.
The first Space Phantom first appeared in Avengers vol. 1, #2, copying Giant-Man, Iron Man, and Hulk. During his battle with the Avengers, he first copied the Hulk, and battled Iron Man. He took the shape of a flying insect to escape, but Iron Man continued to battle the Hulk. The Space Phantom attacked the Wasp in his insect form, and then became Giant-Man. After fighting Iron Man he took Iron Man's form. He finally attempted to copy Thor and was banished back to Limbo because his powers couldn't affect Asgardians. The Space Phantom was the cause of misunderstandings between the other Avengers and Hulk which led Hulk to quit the team (over comments and actions taken against him by the others).
Since all Space Phantoms appear identical and can appear as any other creature, it can be difficult to determine which Space Phantom did what; the following activities have previously been attributed to the Space Phantom who first encountered the Avengers, but these may not have been the same Space Phantom. A Space Phantom allied with the Grim Reaper and impersonated Madame Hydra, and commanded a division of HYDRA in that identity. The Space Phantom battled the Avengers, but was shunted back into Limbo when he attempted to mimic Rick Jones who was then linked to Captain Mar-Vell. A Space Phantom was compelled by Immortus to impersonate Mantis to deceive Kang. A Space Phantom attempted to trick Thor into freeing the planet Phantus from Limbo, and allied with Thor to save Phantus, which led to Thor losing much of Mjolnir's power over time. A Space Phantom once encountered Rom in Limbo. A Space Phantom later encountered the Avengers in Limbo. A Space Phantom was used as a pawn by the Young God Calculus in a scheme pitting Spider-Man against the Avengers.
The original Space Phantom is revealed to be disguised as Spider-Man in the Beyond! series.
Kurt Busiek used Space Phantoms and Immortus in Avengers Forever to explain a number of inconsistencies, such as the Avengers crossover titled The Crossing.
Read more about this topic: Space Phantom
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