Is The Beyonder a Hero, Villain, or an Anti-hero in Marvel Comics?

The Beyonder is one of the most complicated characters in Marvel Comics, and not only because of his confusing origins. He was introduced in the ‘Secret Wars’ storyline, and since then, his motivations have shocked both the heroes and villains of Marvel, not only because he was far too powerful to be so unstable but because he spent a good portion of his time chasing for something inherent to humans. Due to that, Beyonder did much damage, balanced only with an occasional act of benevolence. We decided to take this opportunity to analyze the character of Beyonder in a bit more detail and tell you everything about his personality. Let’s see whether Beyonder could be classified as a pure villain or lean toward the anti-hero.

Beyonder’s main motivation is his discovery of humanity and desire within himself 

Most of the villains in recent years are approached as two-dimensional characters, and rarely will you find someone who has an outright evil motivation. Beyonder was one such villain. He was initially depicted as an omnipotent being who struggled to come to terms with what it means to be alive and human. Beyonder wanted to understand the desire, the drive to live, love, lust, and all of those inherently human motivations so bad he was willing to blow up the Universe for it. 

Beyonder first simulated wars between various superheroes and supervillains to study them. After that, his curiosity was piqued ever harder, and he got himself a human form resembling Captain America.

After briefly experiencing human emotions such as love, he compelled an entire human race to worship him as a god, but he got bored of it easily, learning that admiration is only truly appreciated when earned. He felt empty and decided to wipe the minds of humanity, allowing only a few to keep the recollection of what transpired when he conquered the Earth. 

Even when trying his best to understand humans, Beyonder was highly unstable. He went around bestowing powers and overpowering villains. He threatened to destroy an entire Universe on a whim. He erased entire existences. And these are not qualities we usually attribute to superheroes. Still, Beyonder was capable of little acts of kindness. 

Beyonder stopped Johnn Storm from retiring 

Johnny Storm, the Human Torch, is horrified when a boy named Tommy tries to imitate him without any superpowers, resulting in the boy setting himself on fire with gasoline. As these things usually go, the boy eventually succumbed to drastic injuries. After Tommy’s Death, Johnny faces blame from the boy’s parents, leading him to contemplate giving up being a superhero.

However, the Beyonder intervenes, taking Johnny back in time to witness Tommy’s difficult life, revealing that Johnny was the only source of hope and inspiration for the troubled boy, contrary to the blame placed on him by the parents. Tommy was abused and ignored by his parents, and setting himself on fire was more akin to a call for help than attempting to appear as a superhero. 

Beyonder tried his luck being a superhero, and he destroyed Death to spare humans from dying

After he was unable to understand human motivations, emotions, and desire, he almost returned to the Beyond, but he met Doctor Strange, who inspired him to take on the mantle of superhero. However, Strange warned Beyonder that humans might become too reliant on him to forget how to solve their problems. Following this, Beyonder did something incredibly stupid and shortsighted. Beyonder decided to annihilate Death. Even though the cosmic pantheon opposed it, he was still successful in his mission. This is what caused Mephisto to retaliate against him, and another large-scale conflict was on the horizon. 

Molecule Man tried to talk Beyonder into restoring Death to existence, explaining to him that dying is a vital part of the human experience. This led to more frustration, and Beyonder got even more confused. On a South Seas island, he faced an attack by superhuman criminals assembled by Mephisto, but the Thing saved him. Inspired by the Thing’s heroism, the Beyonder sought to inspire others to find their true roles, albeit using mind control. After surviving an attempt on his life by the Puma, he grew convinced that his efforts to enlighten others were futile.

Is Beyonder fully evil or simply mentally unstable? 

Beyonder showcases all the traits of someone we would usually classify as a sociopath. He had little regard for others and consequences, and all of that was cleverly rationalized by his “search for human experience.” However, Beyonder did some horrible things. Although some would argue that he didn’t know any better, that doesn’t excuse him from spontaneously trying to destroy the Multiverse on several occasions. 

And this is why Beyonder is generally a villain. Even when he cooperates with Earth’s heroes, he does more harm than good, and when he turns against the Earth’s superheroes, he is unstoppable. Beyonder’s origin story was eventually retconned significantly, and as well as his powers, he is still a highly unstable and aloof character who, only by technicalities, can be classified as an anti-hero.  

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