WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Heroes Reborn #2 by Jason Aaron, Ed McGuinness, Mark Morales, Matthew Wilson, and VC's Cory Petit, on sale now.
In the world of Heroes Reborn, the Squadron Supreme of America are the chief protectors of the world, replacing the Avengers and effectively retconning most of the more traditional Marvel heroes out of existence. This means many of the universe's threats have become direct enemies of the Squadron -- including one of Marvel's single most powerful forces, the Beyonder. In this new DC-like version of the Marvel Universe, the reality-shaping Beyonder takes on a new mantle as Marvel's own version of Mister Mxyzptlk.
The Beyonder, introduced in Secret Wars #1 by Jim Shooter and Mike Zeck, is one of Marvel's most powerful beings. Part of a race of ageless and all-powerful reality-warpers, the Beyonders were reintroduced in a major way during the build-up to 2015's Secret Wars, with an army of the nigh-unstoppable aliens eventually bringing down Thor and the heroic incarnation of Hyperion, who served with the Avengers. However, in the Heroes Reborn Universe, there's only one Beyonder -- and he's a specific enemy of the Squadron Supreme's version of Hyperion. In this world, Mister Beyonder, as he is called, is a far more comical character, using his reality-altering abilities to be a nuisance to the hero and sew the seeds of dischord.
Mister Beyonder takes credit for the massive breakout of the villains from their prison in the Negative Zone, claiming to have done so as a joke on the hero. The Beyonder -- with the alien appearance he bore in Jonathan Hickman's Avengers but wearing a variant of his classic white garb -- laughs as his curses and insults "manifest as six-dimensional cartoons" that tell Hyperion the current reality is all a lie. Ultimately, Hyperion manages to defeat and re-imprison Mister Beyonder alongside all the other enemies that have been released. It's notable that the Beyonder takes on elements of Mister Mxyzptlk opposite Hyperion's Superman.
Many other major Marvel figures have been reimagined as DC pastiches to combat Hyperion -- Doctor Doom feels like a fusion of Lex Luthor and Doomsday, Hulk is similar to Bizarro, and General Annihulus apparently resides in a Bottled Hive of Annihilation, harkening both to General Zod and the Bottled City of Kandor. The Beyonder is one of the few beings in Marvel powerful enough to be a fitting analog to Mister Mxyzptlk, one of Superman's most powerful foes. Created by Jerry Siegel and Ira Yarborough in Superman #30 and a reality-warping trickster from the fifth dimension, Mxyzptlk is often a light-hearted enemy to the Man of Steel whose powers and temperament can allow him to turn in an instant to a nearly undefeatable force.
He's one of the few beings in existence that Superman has no hope of defeating in combat, thanks to his reality-altering abilities. Instead, Superman often has to outthink the mischievous little imp to send him back to his home dimension. The Beyonder of Heroes Reborn is similar to his DC counterpart, coupled with a bit of the silly tone of someone like the Impossible Man -- another Marvel reality-warper who's a bit more of a dependable jokester than a malicious threat. It's still an interesting parallel and suggests that the Beyonders might really be the Marvel equivalent of the fifth-dimensional imps in terms of raw power.
Mister Beyonder's use of cartoons and jokes recalls many of the childish antics of Mister Mxyzptlk, and Hyperion's apparent exhaustion with the villain and his goofy but dangerous tactics makes him a clear stand-in for the DC character. Heroes Reborn has reinvented so many corners of the Marvel Universe, and this one may be one of the most interesting. It paints an entirely different picture of the Beyonder, and could be an interesting element to see in the character if he reappears again down the line in the core Marvel Universe.
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