Within a pocket realm in the Negative Zone, the omnipotent, enigmatic Beyonders created discrete packets of reality-altering energy that could be accessed by others and contained within force fields as Cosmic Cubes (and Containment Units of other shapes). One created by Skrulls eventually evolved into the sentient Shaper of Worlds; one created by A.I.M. was manipulated by a number of forces on Earth before it evolved into Kubik. When Owen Reece accessed one of these energy packets via an electromagnetic accident, part of the energy mutated him into the powerful Molecule Man. The remaining energy gradually gained intelligence and became the Beyonder, who studied life by transporting a number of superhumans to his creation Battleworld and later by traveling to Earth and interacting directly with its residents. The Beyonder remained unfulfilled and eventually faked his death, creating a new realm over which he acted as a god. Eventually, however, the Shaper and Kubik revealed the truth to the Beyonder about his incompleteness, and he willingly merged with Reece to become a new, complete Cosmic Cube.

The Cube removed its components from Reece, expelled him back to Earth, and evolved into Kosmos, taking a female form in hopes of avoiding the violent tendencies of its past incarnation. Kubik tutored Kosmos in the nature of humanity and the universe, exploring the Celestials and other cosmic entities, as well as performing experiments on the Fantastic Four. After Reece, who had managed to restore his powers, lost his lover, he went mad and assaulted Kosmos, drawing out the essence of the Beyonder and attacking it. Reece nearly destroyed the Beyonder, but Kubik, who was actually falling in love with Kosmos, convinced Reece to restore the Beyonder’s essence to Kosmos to save her life.

Kubik and Kosmos parted ways under unrevealed circumstances, and the Beyonder’s personality sought dominance over Kosmos. She somehow became mortal but her diminished capacities and heightened sensations drove her mad. After slaughtering 64,000 Shi’ar colonists, she was incapacitated by the Imperial Guard telepath Oracle and placed in stasis in the Kyln space prison. Now known as the Maker, she regained consciousness but has only fragments of memory. She caused great chaos in the Kyln until subdued by Thanos and his new ally Skreet. Realizing that slaying Kosmos would unleash the Beyonder on the universe, Thanos shut down her mind but arranged to have her body kept alive forever via neurology-exempt nanocellular regeneration, serving as a living prison to the mad omnipotent within her.