In-Betweener
The In-Betweener battles Galactus in Silver Surfer vol. 3 #18 (Dec. 1988). Art by Ron Lim.
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	Warlock #9 (Oct. 1975)
Created by	Jim Starlin (writer / artist)
In-story information
Partnerships	Lord Chaos Master Order
Abilities	Immortality Reality alteration and manipulation

The In-Betweener is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Jim Starlin, the character first appeared in Warlock #9 (1975).

The character first appeared in Warlock (1972) #9, where he viewed Thanos as a figure disrupting the natural order. This was followed by Doctor Strange (1974) #28.^[1] He then appeared in Warlock #10 (December 1975) and was created by Jim Starlin.^[2]

The In-Betweener is a cosmic entity who represents duality and serves fellow conceptual beings Master Order and Lord Chaos, although his loyalty is usually to himself rather than to them.^[3][4][5] Throughout his appearances, he battles Adam Warlock and Doctor Strange before being imprisoned as punishment for rebelling against his masters.^{[6][7][8][9][5]}

He is later freed by Thanos, who secretly desires the Soul Gem in his possession. Thanos then steals the gem and abandons the In-Betweener to face the wrath of Master Order and Lord Chaos, who discover he has escaped his prison.^[4]

The In-Betweener later appeared as a pawn of the villain Scorpio, a member of the criminal organization Zodiac. Scorpio, however, was stopped by the superhero team the Avengers and the In-Betweener was subsequently freed.^[10]

The In-Betweener also appeared in an alternate dimension of Earth-957.^[11]

In Time Runs Out, the Beyonders are revealed to have killed Order, Chaos, the In-Betweener, and other abstract entities across the multiverse.^[12] However, the In-Betweener was later revealed to be the mastermind behind Libra's attempt at destroying Earth, and more specifically, Starbrand.^[13]

After the universe is restored, Order and Chaos kill the Living Tribunal and force the In-Betweener to fuse them into a new cosmic being named Logos who can replace him. However, they are later separated by Black Panther's astral form.^[14]

As the physical embodiment of the cosmic balance between Order and Chaos, the In-Betweener can manipulate cosmic energy to alter reality to achieve nearly any effect or ability within his influence as the synthesis of duality. He is, however, under the absolute control of Master Order and Lord Chaos as his creators. The In-Betweener's other major (and unique) ability is to analyze a target and then direct energy towards it in a "polar opposite" form, which is instantly fatal.^[5]

Alternatively, if he cannot personally synthesize the "opposite energy" necessary to eliminate an opponent, he can directly summon that enemy's opposite being, and eliminate them that way; using the power granted to him in his station as a cosmic force, he once even summoned and forced Death itself to destroy the Elders of the Universe, even though it had, at an earlier point, refused to ever let them die again as a punishment. The In-Betweener finds that he is unable to use either of his special abilities on Galactus, however, and he believes that this is because he is Galactus's metaphysical counterpart and opposite.^[9]

• In-Betweener at Marvel.com
• In-Betweener on Marvel Database, a Marvel Comics wiki