In "Phantom Stranger" (vol. 4) #0, it is confirmed that Phantom Stranger was once known as Judas Iscariot, the man who betrayed Jesus. In this origin tale he is about to hang himself when his suicide attempt is stopped by a mysterious group of individuals. He is subsequently judged along with Pandora of Pandora's Box fame and another man who was turned into the Question. Thousands of years later, he is guided to help desperate former detective Jim Corrigan find his kidnapped girlfriend. He leads him to the abandoned warehouse where she has been kept, but this turns out to be a trap. Corrigan is killed by the kidnappers, then transforms into the Spectre and accuses the Stranger of betraying him. As the Spectre is about to attack the Stranger, a mysterious Voice sends him off to inflict his wrath on the more deserving. As payment for what occurred with Corrigan, one coin drops off the necklace he was cursed with (made of the 30 pieces of silver he betrayed Jesus for) and the Stranger realizes he has more encounters ahead of him before he is forgiven.