The Beyonder is a fictional character in comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in Secret Wars vol. 1 #1 (May 1984), and was created by Jim Shooter and Mike Zeck.

He reappears in Secret Wars II #1 (July 1985), which was created by Jim Shooter and Al Milgrom. The Beyonder was a controversial character among creators. Creators felt that Jim Shooter had abused his role as editor-in-chief, and forced the use of the omnipotent character upon other writers and editors.

Some critics felt the crossovers didn't always mesh well with the main book. One of the most vocal critics was John Byrne. Apparently, Steve Englehart wanted to tie in the Beyonder to older characters known as the Beyonders (first mentioned in the team-up comic Marvel Two-in-One #63, beings powerful enough to collect planets) for his "Secret Wars III' story in Fantastic Four #318-319.

According to Englehart, an editor hated the character and ordered the Beyonder "removed" from the Marvel Universe. Englehart did as asked but has stated that he tried to exile the character with dignity. The character was subjected to a retcon making him less potent than originally determined, and explanations of his omnipotence have been written off as the more powerful beings "playing along" to ease the Beyonder's transition into self-awareness.

It was explained in Secret Wars III that the Beyonder was in fact a Cosmic Cube. During the first Secret War, the Beyonder claimed to be the embodiment of an entire universe. As he became self-aware, he recognized himself as the only person in his universe.

Secret Wars III revealed that the Beyonder is in fact a wayward Cosmic Cube, at one time inhabiting his own "dimension" because there was no matrix to hold his energy. The Beyonder took his name from the powerful Beyonders who were manipulating his destiny.

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