Judas Traveller was a psychologist supervillain and former enemy of Spider-Man, appearing as a supporting antagonist in the infamous Clone Saga comic book storyline from the nineties. He was created by Terry Kavanagh and Steve Butler.
Biography[]
Traveller was initially introduced as a mysterious and ancient sorcerer with ill-defined powers obsessed with exploring the nature of evil who became interested in Peter Parker and his clone Ben Reilly.
Aided by his four students (Medea, Mister Nacht, Boone and Chakra), Traveller forced Peter and Ben into several deadly trials to see if he could understand that the two Spider-Men are the cause of evil, represented by their villains, or a beacon of hope fighting against evil and what drives them to keep fighting for justice.
While Parker is imprisoned for crimes he allegedly committed between Utah and New York, Traveller sends Chakra to inform him that Mary Jane is being stalked by Kaine. He watches to see what Parker will choose to do, and eventually aids him by allowing Parker safe escape from prison and casting an illusion of Parker remaining in his cell. While Traveller admits to Scrier that both Parker and Reilly fascinate him, he assures him that not even Scrier is able to understand why.
After Parker and Reilly switch places in prison and Parker dons the Scarlet Spider costume, Traveller follows him around the city and eventually confronts him, places Mary Jane unconscious, and gives Parker a choice to make his life better. He shows Peter the image of Aunt May in a crystal ball and suggests that he could bring her back to life and give Parker a world where he no longer has to worry about the clones or the charges now against Reilly. Parker refuses and fights back Traveller, claiming that everything is taking place in his mind, Traveller is not God and doesn't have the power to restore lives. Traveller responds by showing Parker a world twenty-four hours in the future, a destroyed city supposedly the result of Parker's actions. He claims that Parker can still stop this world from coming to pass if he can stop his students from going through with their plans. As part of this test, Traveller agrees to use his powers to protect the building where Mary Jane is so no matter what happens she and the unborn child would be safe.
While Parker (back in his original Spider-Man garb) fights Kaine in an attempt to clear his name, Traveller interrupts their fight to place them in a different trial. He teleports them to a sub-basement beneath Ravencroft and forces both of them into a "trial" where Spider-Man is charged for his entire life as a superhero, questioning that if Spider-Man no longer existed would his superpowered enemies have a reason to exist. He chooses Carnage to be the prosecuting attorney (which allows him to have knowledge of Spider-Man's true identity), Kaine the defense attorney, and a number of Ravencroft inmates to be the jury. Kaine attacks Traveller and attempts to leave his "mark" on his face, but Traveller is unaffected and displays his power by holding Kaine in the palm of his hand. He lets the brief trial unfold the only way that it could, with all supervillains wanting Spider-Man dead. Traveller binds Spider-Man and allows the supervillains, led by Carnage, to carry out Spider-Man's death sentence. Kaine, however, jumps into the fray, determined to protect Spider-Man's life at any cost. Before Kaine could be killed by the mob, Traveller disperses the entire group and returns them to their cells as he had gotten the answer he wanted. The entire ordeal had only been to see how Spider-Man's actions (or lack thereof in this case) could motivate the actions of someone as corrupt as Kaine. As a result, he returns Spider-Man and Kaine to their previous place of battle, saying that his current investigation had been concluded for the time being. As his last act of ending the trial, he removed Spider-Man's secret identity from the minds of Carnage and all those who were previously aware.
Towards the end of the Clone Saga, it was revealed that everything Traveller claimed to be was a lie. He was actually a below omega level mutant with the power to create illusions who had a mental breakdown and started to believe himself to be more powerful and paranormal than he really was, partially due to the his additional ability to manipulate the senses of others, allowing his illusions to truly feel real. He was also revealed to be one of the many pawns of Norman Osborn, who betrayed Traveller and tried to having him killed by Scrier after he outlived his purpose but was eventually rescued by Ben Reilly. His current status is unknown.
Trivia[]
- Judas Traveller was described by Spider-Man writer Glenn Greenberg as a deus ex machina character with ill-defined powers: "no one – not the writers, not the editors – seemed to know who or what the heck Judas Traveller was. He was seemingly this immensely powerful, quasi-mystical being with amazing abilities, but what was the real deal with him? ... But to be honest, a character like Traveller didn't really fit into Spider-Man's world." As such, Traveller's role would remain a mystery to readers for a while, as writers dropped him in and out of this saga.