Under unknown circumstances, a group of sorcerers from various time periods gathered in another dimension, determined to recreate the universe with them in power. Calling themselves the Creators, the sorcerers encountered the immensely powerful In-Betweener, creation of the cosmic entities Lord Chaos and Master Order. The In-Betweener sought to balance life and death, and chaos and order, in the universe, and saw the Creators as one means of doing so. He helped them to create the enormous Cosmic Wheel of Change, a turning helm of planets and cosmic bodies, which would allow the Creators, supreme control over the energies of the universe. The stars, vast astral bodies with cosmic sentience, were one-at-a-time placed into human form as each Creator usurped their place in the heavens, taking the form of a star, giving off blue light.
The Creators somehow realized that Doctor Stephen Strange, the Sorcerer Supreme of Earth, would be instrumental either to their rise of power or to their defeat, and they arranged a complex plot to manipulate him to where they wanted him. They trained another sorcerer, Xander, to be Strange's superior in combat and magical dueling. Seeking to cause Strange to question his very sense of self and core beliefs, one of the Creators, Stygyro, traveled back in time to fight Strange. In the year 1618, Strange and his lover and disciple, Clea, a sorceress of the Dark Dimension, traveled back in time to seek out the famous scholar Sir Francis Bacon, who belonged to a cabal of mystics himself. While Strange read over Bacon's famous manuscript, the New Atlantis, Stygyro led some evil mystics in attacking Strange. They ripped half of the manuscript free and then fled. Traveling forward in time to 1775, Strange and Clea boarded a ship bound for America alongside the famous politician and inventor Benjamin Franklin. Stygyro manipulated a sea serpent to attack the ship, then created a whirlpool leading down to the ocean's floor, where the sunken city of Atlantis lay. Stygyro fought against Strange before the hero bested him. Later in Philadelphia, Stygyro took the form of Franklin and manipulated Strange into thinking that Franklin and Clea had become lovers. Stygyro taunted Strange with visions of reality collapsing and history not mattering, causing Strange to question himself further.
The Creators subsequently sent Xander against Strange and, after a short battle, the hero defeated Xander with a simple punch, though Xander did manage to mentally manipulate Clea for a time, which caused Strange to be distracted while he cured Clea. Seeking an entrance into the Creators' realm, Strange passed through the Quadriverse and made it through after bizarre interactions and battles with its strange inhabitants. Aided by the incredibly powerful Apalla, one of the human forms of the stars, Strange defeated the Creators' ally, the multi-eyed demon Visimajoris, and entered the Creators' realm. Apalla and Strange battled the Creators briefly but Strange acted rashly and destroyed the Cosmic Wheel of Change with a spell, and left the fate of the Creators up to random chance. Chance landed in the Creators' favor and they were granted rule of the universe as they were all transformed into stars, sending the remaining stars into unconscious human forms. The Creators immediately remade Earth as they saw fit, instilling chaos and changing men to animal hybrids. Strange remained human, however, and returned to Earth shocked by the state it was in. He battled his alternate self, the warthog-human hybrid Dr. Stranger Yet, whom the Creators had installed as the new Sorcerer Supreme. Strange learned from his alternate of the In-Betweener's involvement and, through his mentor the Ancient One, contacted the entity, who was very pleased with Earth's current state. In-Betweener revealed to Strange that an aspect of the Cosmic Wheel of Change still existed in another dimension, and allowed Strange to travel there. Stygyro, now with the power of a star, stood guard and attacked Strange, taunting him and planning to kill him slowly. Strange, however, proved Stygyro's better by casting a time spell that took Stygyro's star form to the end of its existence and turning him into a black hole, then placing the hole on the Wheel. In-Betweener fought to stop Strange from using the wheel to restore things to the way they were, but Strange called upon Lord Chaos and Master Order and was able to defeat In-Betweener as well. Strange used the Wheel to restore the Earth, and the Creators' fate remains unrevealed.
