XANDER

Real Name: Xander

Identity/Class: Humanoid "alien" (nature unknown) magic user

Occupation: Warrior, Herald of the Creators

Group Membership: None

Affiliations: Agent of the Creators

Enemies: Aleister the snake, Ancient One (Yao), Anton the snake, Bats the ghost dog, Black Cat (Felicia Hardy), Clea, Bruno Grainger, Dr. Boris Korpse, Doctor Strange (Stephen Strange)

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: Xander the Great, Xander the Merciless

Base of Operations: Quadriverse

First Appearance: Doctor Strange: Master of the Mystic Arts#19 (October, 1976)

Powers/Abilities: Xander is a highly adept sorcerer, claiming to be master of every method of combat, as well as a master of the "sixteen sorceries of the Creators themselves."  He possesses sufficient magical power to overwhelm the defenses of Doctor Strange (who was not fighting at full strength, however).  He does appear to have an over-inflated opinion of his physical prowess.

   After being reconnected with the Star Stone, Xander the Merciless went seemingly mad with power and changed himself, shaving his beard and appearing in his old costume. At this time, he cast a number of spells, including Sarnios' Sword of Storms, Wind of Watoomb, the Crimson Bands of Cytorrak, Lightnings of Letharr, Harvin's Hoary Hammers, the Flames of the Faltine, and Bromagdon's Ruby Rain. Xander briefly boosted his own power by consuming the discarded dreams of Doctor Strange.

History: The origins of Xander are unknown. He was recruited by the Creators, who are human sorcerers from a variety of temporal periods on Earth.  However, they have access to a number of different dimensions, and it appears that Xander does not originate from Earth.  He is referred to on one occasion as an "alien."  The Creators trained Xander to be their herald, teaching him mastery of various forms of magic, as well as a number of forms of combat.

(Doctor Strange II#19, 20, [21]) - The Creators summoned Xander to send him against Doctor Strange, whom they saw as a threat to their goals of Universal domination.  Xander (and the Creators) manipulated the Ancient One, causing him to strip the title and power of Sorcerer Supreme from Doctor Strange.
Xander attacked Doctor Strange and Clea.  He instantly rendered Clea unconscious, while simultaneously placing a spell on her to manipulate her future actions.  Xander battered Strange with a relentless onslaught of magical attacks, which Strange just barely managed to survive.  Xander realized that he would need to call on his full power and prepared to summon power directly from the stars themselves.  As he was focusing his powers, Strange ran up and punched him out.  The Creators recalled their defeated warrior.

Clea lost her memory as a result of Xander's assault and ended up going on a rampage through Manhattan. Strange was called away on another mission, but returned home and dispersed Xander's spell, restoring her to normal.












(Black Cat I#2 (fb) - BTS) - Separated from his Star Stone, Xander spent years on the steets of New York City, drunk and muttering about how he'd get revenge on Strange one day.

(Black Cat I#3) - The Black Cat hired Xander the Merciless to help her break into the Sanctum Sanctorum. Seemingly drunk and mumbling frequently, Xander got Black Cat and her aides, Bruno Grainger and Dr. Boris Korpse, successfully inside, where they passed the magic snakes, Aleister and Anton, who Xander warned the others not to talk to. Xander guided them through the halls of the Sanctum, overcoming many traps, including man-eating snakes. Xander sensed the monstrous magic discarded dreams of Doctor Strange, and Xander called them Strangelings. In the chamber of artifacts, Black Cat completed her robbery, but Xander saw his Starstone and seized it. Reconnected with his power source, Xander transformed into his cleaner and younger self. Calling himself the Master of the Sixteen Sorceries of the Creators, and the Lord of the Star-Stone, Xander went mad with power.

(Black Cat I#3) - Xander lashed out at Black Cat and her allies (as well as Bats the ghost dog) with "Sarnios' Sword of Storms", fought back against the mystic snakes when they attacked, and defended himself from grenades and gunfire launched by Bruno and Boris. While promising to make Strange suffer, Xander fed on the Strangeling dreams he'd seen before, increasing his power again. He lashed out with a series of spells, but Black Cat discovered they didn't affect her due to her bad luck powers. Black Cat defeated Xander with a punch to the nose, then removed his Star Stone. Aleister and Anton the snakes bound him, promising to deliver him to Doctor Strange for punishment, but they considered consuming him instead. When Strange came home, the snakes and Bats remained silent about Xander.

(Death of Doctor Strange#1) - Doctor Strange encountered Xander in another mystic battle.

Comments: Created by Marv Wolfman and Alfredo P. Alcala.

Xander certainly has the power to be a recurrent foe for Doctor Strange.  26 years is long enough to wait!

It took him 43 years to finally return in Black Cat.
--Markus Raymond

Could he [Xander] have been abducted, by the so-called Creators, from a parallel-Earth version of...Sunnydale, California?      Yours truly:  Carycomix@aol.com

Profile updated/edited by Kyle Sims. Update by Chadman (Black Cat).

CLARIFICATIONS: Xander, warrior mage of the Creators, has no known connection to:


images:
Doctor Strange II#20, Cover (main)
Doctor Strange II#19, p1 (Strange in globe)
Doctor Strange II#20, p16, pan4 (defeated)
Black Cat I#2, p18, pan4 (with beard)
Black Cat I#3, p11, pan3 (new)

Appearances:
Doctor Strange II#19 (October, 1976) - Marv Wolfman (writer/editor), Alfredo Alcala (penciler/inker)
Doctor Strange II#20 (December, 1976) - Marv Wolfman (writer/editor), Rudy Nebres (penciler/inker)
Doctor Strange II#21 (February, 1977) - Roy Thomas (writer), Dan Adkins (artist), Stan Lee (editor)
Black Cat I#2 (September, 2019) - Jed MacKay (writer), Travel Foreman (artist), Nick Lowe (editor)
Black Cat I#3 (October, 2019) - Jed MacKay (writer), Travel Foreman, Michael Dowling (artists), Nick Lowe (editor) Death of Doctor Strange#1 (November, 2021) - Jed MacKay (writer), Lee Garbett (artist), Darren Shan (editor)

First Posted: 03/24/2002
Last updated: 10/09/2024

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

All characters mentioned or pictured are ™  and © 1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. If you like this stuff, you should check out the real thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com

Special Thanks to www.g-mart.com for hosting the Appendix, Master List, etc.!

Back to Characters