There are many characters within the comic book medium that we can classify as "superhero" but not all of them accrue the following or get the same levels of attention that some of their more famous counterparts get. Characters like Superman or Batman are known the world over, but general audiences may not know every character to ever appear in DC Comics. For example, a character like The Spectre has often flown under the radar, remaining one of DC's most underrated heroes.
The Spectre has become one of my personal favorite characters in DC Comics, and the comic that started that love for the character came in his own self-titled adventure from the 1990s. Today, let's take a journey through realms unimaginable and pain unbearable in this underrated gem of a comic.
Reflecting on The Spectre's origins
The Spectre is a character from the Golden Age of Comics, and he was created by one half of the duo behind Superman, writer Jerry Siegel, as well as artist Bernard Bailey. The ghoulish figure made his first appearance in More Fun Comics issue 52 in early 1940.
His origins have remained mostly untouched since his debut, but later runs (such as the 1990s one) add a few details to his beginning that have enriched the character and his world. The Spectre was once a police detective in the city of New York by the name of Jim Corrigan. He was very good at his job, but he was too good because he drew the ire of one of the criminal bosses he tried to nail for years, Boss Gats Benson. One night, Corrigan was ambushed by Benson's thugs, and placed in a barrel full of cement as he was dropped in the ocean to die a horrible death.
But this wasn't the end for Corrigan, as his spirit was so full of anger, questioning why there was so much injustice in the world, which caught the attention of a faceless voice, the voice of God, who gave Corrigan a choice; either take his place in Heaven, or return to Earth in order to stop all evil. Corrigan chose the latter, and from that day forth became the Spirit of Vengeance, the wrathful Spectre.
The Spectre starred in several adventures in the pages of More Fun Comics, but he was also a founding member of the first super hero team in comics: The Justice Society of America (seen in the pages of All Star Comics, starting with issue 3). Over the decade, the Spectre fought alongside the JSA and headlined his own stories, but the character would disappear for some time after that.
His absence was soon rectified by writer Gardner Fox and artist Murphy Anderson in the pages of DC Showcase No. 60 in 1966. In this issue, it's revealed that the spirit of the Spectre laid dormant within Jim Corrigan, until Corrigan attended a séance that released the entity to enact his brand of justice on Earth once more. The real world reason why the Spectre remained absent for so long, however, was simply due to the fact that DC creatives didn't know what to do with him, so they left him on the cutting room floor. In the Showcase issue, not only did he return, but his powers became so vast that he reached omnipotent levels of power and ability. Eventually, the Spectre got his own self-titled series which ran for 10 issues, while appearing in other titles such as The Brave and the Bold.
The Spectre would again disappear from comics, but he wasn't gone for as long a time as his previous absence, and he would return during the 1970s in the pages of Adventure Comics from issues 431 through to 440, all written by Michael Fleisher and artist Jim Aparo. While the Spectre went about his usual business of punishing evildoers, what made this run so infamous was the brutal way he went about enacting his justice. In one issue, the Spectre turned a criminal into glass, and still alive within the glass, the criminal was crushed into a million pieces by the Spectre. Another example has the Spectre turn a criminal into string, upon which the Spectre morphed his hands into scissors and cut the criminal into many pieces. These comics were so brutal at the time because it went against the Comics Code Authority, which stated that no extreme violence was allowed in published American comics.
After that run, the Spectre would make various cameo appearances in other titles, such as playing a crucial part during the crossover event Crisis on Infinite Earths in the 1980s. He would then receive his own title once again by writer Doug Moench and a slew of artists. The series takes place after the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths, where the Spectre was depleted of his once vast powers, and focused on solving supernatural and/or occult mysteries. I think this series is the weakest solo Spectre series, because every character, including Corrigan, was too jokey and didn't take everything seriously enough and the various artists that worked on the series ranged from okay to bad. After the series' end, the Spectre would make his return (again) in his own title.
Revisting The Spectre's 1990s resurgence
The main creative team for this series was writer John Ostrander, and artist Tom Mandrake. There were other artists who filled in certain issues and/or storylines for whatever reason, such as John Ridgeway and the legendary Jim Aparo. The series ran from 1992 through 1998.
Both Ostrander and Mandrake had very successful runs with The Suicide Squad and Batman respectively before working on The Spectre, with the former creating most aspects of what modern audiences know of the Suicide Squad, such as Amanda Waller heading the team, the team itself having an ever shifting roster of characters, the explosive devices planted in the team, and so on. Also, they worked together on other projects such as Ostrander's creator owned Grimjack title, so the duo were comfortable with working with each other and their respective styles.
In this series, the Spectre has begun to question whether his time on Earth as the Spirit of Vengeance has had a lasting change on the human race. With each criminal or gang he dispatches, two more seemingly rise up to take their place. He's become depressed and angry at his lack of success with his mission, when one night he visits a hospital where the man who set him up to be murdered lies on his deathbed. Corrigan confesses to the man of his inner conflict, which leads to the The Spectre infiltrating the man's soul and mind in order to gain more information on the night he was killed. After battling the man in his mind, the Spectre learns that he did rat him out to the criminals that would eventually kill him, which leads to the man dying in the present.
During his time at the hospital, Corrigan befriends a woman named Amy Beitermann, who witnessed some of the Spectre's actions when he went to stop a gang who murdered innocents in cold blood while investigating the man in the hospital. While all of this is happening, a serial killer named the Reaver becomes known to the reader, which will become the main focal point of the first arc of the series.
Corrigan at first wanted nothing to do with Amy, because she was curious as to who he really was, until it's revealed to Corrigan from the clairvoyant Madame Xanadu that she is destined to die at the Reaver's hands, which Corrigan and Amy are horrified over. Corrigan vows to protect Amy from her fate, which soon develops into a romance between the two.
Throughout the series, Corrigan tangles with murderers, rapists, demons, old and new enemies, and his own inner struggles about his mission, while befriending new characters like NYPD Lieutenant Nate Kane, and Father Richard Craemer, both of whom give Corrigan and his alter ego The Spectre some new perspective on his mission and hope for humanity.
Finally, after decades of fighting against the forces of evil, Corrigan's spirit is laid to rest, and the mantle of the Spectre will go on to another person who, hopefully, will prove worthy of the task.
This Spectre run added more depth to the character
What made this series so spectacular is that it borrowed from all incarnations of the Spectre over the decades, and shone a different light on them. Ostrander himself used his studies of theology to give the Spectre a more self reflective and biblical edge that the entity was lacking in previous versions of his story. Combine that with the epic and sweeping artwork of Mandrake, and it's a winning combo for a great series.
While there are aspects of the comic that might seem dated or out of touch in today's social climate, it doesn't detract from one enjoying this book. That said, this comic isn't for the faint of heart, because there's some gnarly imagery in there (from beginning to end). For everyone else, however, I urge you to dive in! And with an omnibus coming out later this year - which collects the first half of the run - there's no better time to read The Spectre.
What do you think? Have you read The Spectre before? What do you think of the series and character overall?