Spectre

Origin

 
The Birth of Vengeance
When the angel Raphael/Aztar, who rebelled with Lucifer, repented of his sins, The Presence had the angel stripped of his memories prior and become the incarnation of His wrath, set to deliver Divine Justice and Vengeance for the murdered dead and those who sin against God. The Spectre was created to replace the being of Eclipso who was no longer suitable to be the Wrath. The Spectre is the one who is "responsible" for the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, as well as the ten plagues of Egypt, splitting the Red Sea, and tumbling the walls of Jericho.

When The Godhead took human form, it was determined that Compassion and Redemption (that which Jesus represented) could not walk the Earth at the same time as Wrath and Vengeance, and The Spectre entity was cast into limbo where remained until the crucifixion of Jesus. Following that, The Spectre burst forth in an event dubbed "Dies Irae" by the Phantom Stranger and ripped through the world, casting divine vengeance on many people until the Archangel Michael informed the entity of the new "rules", and The Spectre must be bound with a human soul to walk the earth again.

Following "Dies Irae", and the creation of the new "rules" as dictated by The Presence, The Archangel Michael took the form of a Hindu deity and acquired the soul of a man named Caraka to be the first soul bound to The Spectre (a Christian was not chosen because Michael felt it would be too soon).

Caraka found trouble in being The Spectre, as he had disrupted the natural cycle of things and caused his family (who had gone through various stages of reincarnation) grief. In the end, Caraka separated from The Spectre, and merged with Sekuba, to become Azmodus.

Jim Corrigan

In 1940, New York City cop, Jim Corrigan, was attacked by mobster Gats Benson following a sabotage on the part of his "stoolie" Louis Snipe. Jim was shoved into a barrel filled with cement

Corrigan, unable to come to terms with his death while the people who killed him remained free ("I have seen damn little of God's justice, mine I know exists.") God decided to have Corrigan merge with the Spectre entity and become the newest incarnation of the Spirit of Vengeance. Corrigan quickly used his abilities once he returned to Earth to exact punishment on Gats and the present mobsters, who has also kidnapped Jim's then-fiance, Clarice Winston. In the fight, Clarice was fatally wounded, but Jim tied part of his spirit to her, so that she would always be alive.

Of course, following this, Jim called of the engagement to Clarice.

The Spectre was encouraged to use his power for good by Percival Polanski (also known as "Percival Pop, The Super Cop"), a patrol man who witnessed both Corrigan's and Benson's demise. Percival was a friend to Corrigan in that he was much more human than the other police officers, something that Jim felt he needed. Jim, however, quickly became associates with other "minutemen" and joined with Dr. Fate and others on multiple occasions until finally joining The Justice Society of America during World War II.

After World War II, the Spectre fought the demon Azmodus, who trapped the him in Corrigan's undead frame for nearly two decades. During the Crisis on Infinite Earths, the Spectre traveled back in time and used his powers to preserve creation while the multiverses' heroes battled the Anti-Monitor. Unable to defeat the Anti-Monitor, The Spectre was left in a comatose state for the duration of the Crisis, only to be recreated afterward with his powers greatly diminished for several years.

During the years with his powers lessened by The Presence, The Spectre and, thus, Jim Corrigan, worked as a "Psychic Detective" with Madame Xanadu, who had taken a portion of The Spectre's power and manipulated it to give the illusion that Corrigan and The Spectre were separate entities. This power was also used to create several additional employees, who gave the impression of the organization being more than it was.

Following this, and various revelations relating to it, Corrigan left the agency and wandered the Earth only to return to New York where he met Amy Beiterman (who becomes his love interest). Along the way, his powers returned as Madame Xanadu released what powers she held, following a brief stint as The Spectre. During this period, Azmodus returns, and Amy is killed by a serial murderer going by the name "Reaver", which sends The Spectre into a fury.

Following Amy's death, Jim becomes emotionally distraught and lashes out at various people, even going so far as to destroy the country Vlatava, finding that its sins are too deep to simply wash away.

The Phantom Stranger, worried that The Spectre might end up destroying the earth, pools together the team of Madame Xanadu, Zatanna Zatarra, Etrigan, and Dr. Fate in an attempt to possibly curb the obviously hostile spirit. During this battle, Eclipso returns, and manages to take control over The Spectre.

After Jim retakes control of The Spectre, he forces Eclipso back into his crystal and sends him out into orbit. Jim then decides to take Reverend Richard Craemer as his spiritual adviser.

Jim also played a large part in Michael Holt becoming the second Mr. Terrific, telling the distraught man of the original Mr. Terrific and his untimely death.

During the events of Final Night, The Spectre bound himself to Gaea, the spirit of the Earth, to keep her replenished until such a time that the sun was restored.

The Spectre also played a major part in the event "The Haunting of America", wherein The Spectre sought pieces of an item called The American Talisman all the while attempting to remove them from the wrong hands. The combination of this event, as well as Final Night, prompted Jim/The Spectre to take periodic residence in the body of Nate Kane, a New York detective and former friend of Amy.

It was during this time that Jim noticed himself distancing from The Spectre, ultimately deciding it was in his best interest to remove himself from the power and find his peace with Amy.

Hal Jordan

Day of Judgement

 
After trying to take over heaven, Asmodel is put in hell and is tortured by Neron. Rhyming demon Etrigan makes an offer with Asmodel. The Spectre is waiting for another soul to bond with, and Etrigan says he can bond Asmodel with the Spectre. Etrigan summons the Spectre, who kills Asmodel. Etrigan uses Asmodel's ashes to merge Asmodel with the Spectre. Asmodel bonds with the Spectre then gets his vengeance on Neron, turning him into glass. He then summons all of hell and attempts to have his vengeance by destroy everything in God's image, until there is only his. On earth, some of the heroes try to stop him but their first attempt is futile and they are easily overpowered. Next, the Sentinels of Magic attempt to stop him. They are able to temporarily steal a portion of Asmodel's power and store it in a crystal ball. Weakened, Asmodel sends the demons of hell to try and break the crystal ball, so Asmodel can regain his powers. Although powerless, Asmodel is still able to silence the Phantom Stranger. When Etrigan tries to take the ball, Madame Xanadu claims to have seen the future and breaks the crystal ball willingly. With his powers restored, Asmodel continues on his rampage. Hal Jordan attempts to stop him but is seemingly powerless against Asmodel and is turned into stained glass. Hal Jordan is revived by Dr. Fate and along with the Sentinels of Magic, and summons the Green Lantern Corp. who hold Asmodel off for a while. Captain Marvel then uses the Spear of Destiny to weaken the Spectre. Hal Jordan and Neron attempt to merge with the Spectre. A fight between Asmodel, Neron, and Hal ensues. They are stopped by the Spirit of Vengeance who decides to judge them and pick the best host. It chooses Hal Jordan who becomes the new host for the Spectre.

Hal Jordan as the Spectre

Hal attempted to redeem other fallen souls during his time as The Spectre, such as Harvey Dent--only to learn that Harvey needed both sides of his life. He also attempted to overthrow Darkseid of Apokolips, but learned that he was part of the natural order. Similar missions also took place, with Hal being guided by the spirit of Abin Sur, who was damned by giving Hal Jordan the ring.

The Spectre entity, however, was becoming affected by Parallax, and the creature of fear was making twisted variations of the judgments made by The Spectre. Eventually, Hal was freed from Parallax, and The Spectre, his job done, left the ghost to be resurrected.

Day of Vengeance

The Spectre is seen first fighting Blackbriar Thorn. Before fighting Blackbriar Thorn Spectre killed over 700 sorcerers. And destroyed 6 Atlantean sorcery schools. After killing Blackbriar Thorn he set the Mist forest on fire which gave that entire dimension it's magic source. When killing the 700 sorcerers he says he will stop when all magic is destroyed and only then will evil wither on a vine. Spectre then goes throughout the world killing people who did anything bad. Such as killing a person who stole 6 dollars from his mothers purse, a woman who cheated on her husband, a girl who spoke rudely to her father and a man who cheated on his taxes. He is flying when he hears a voice in his head, he makes her appear and it is Eclipso. Spectre starts out by getting rid of the big guns in the magic community. He turns Phantom Stranger into a mouse, teleports Dr.Fate into his helmet and blinds Madame Xanadu. He then started destroying places where magical types gather. Spectre is then seen fighting Captain Marvel

The Spectre killing Nabu

In his final battle with no host, The Spectre does battle with Nabu and kills him.  In killing Nabu, The Spectre causes the creation of the 10th age of magic, and is also shoved into the corpse of Crispus Allen as an act of judgment by The Presence.

Crispus Allen

The Current Spectre Crispus Allen

Final Crisis: Revelations

Blackest Night

Kingdom Come

Powers

The Spectre is one of the most powerful magical entity in the DC creation, capable of battling with such universal foes like the Anti-Monitor and Parallax. While the Spectre's power unchecked in nearly unlimited and is capable of shattering universes, he is generally limited by the Presence to a lower level of power to prevent the power from corrupting him.

Spectre has usually engaged such powers:

Intangibility

Flight--fly at any speed

Invisibility

Teleportation

Fear Projection--can project fear into the heart and souls of adversaries

Inanimate Possession--inhabit and animate inanimate objects

Illusion Casting--ability to project realistic illusions

Magic Mastery--various mastery over virtually all forms of magic

Discern Motivation--can sense the intentions of people

Cosmic Awareness--knows many secrets of the universe

Precognition--sometimes gets glimpses into the future

Superhuman Strength

Superhuman Stamina

Superhuman Speed

Invulnerability

Weaknesses

The Spectre can be injured or slain by sufficient force of magic--such as the Spear of Destiny. When the human host dies, the current Spectre will be no more, and the human spirit and the Divine Wrath will separate.