The Spectre: Difference between revisions

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The Spectre also found himself becoming more and more powerful: in his fight against Shatan (a poorly disguised Satan stand-in) they hit each other with ''planets''. Spectre was eventually acknowledged as one of the mightiest beings in the [[DC Universe]], even more so than the [[Silver Age]] Superman. About the only beings stronger were [[The Phantom Stranger]] and God himself. This limited him to making appearances only when the universe was threatened by supernatural menaces, and usually [[Deus Ex Machina|only long enough to fix some problem and then leave]].

[[Post Crisis]], The Spectre was reinvented as the actual embodiment of God's Wrath. He had his own series again, [[Fridge Logic|which explored the reasons for his existence]]. Ultimately it was revealed that the Spectre was actually {{spoiler|a fallen angel pardoned by God by being turned into his personal avenger}} and not just part of Corrigan's soul. Corrigan in fact was tired of living and willingly separated from The Spectre and went on to Heaven.

[[Post-Crisis]], The Spectre was reinvented as the actual embodiment of God's Wrath. He had his own series again, [[Fridge Logic|which explored the reasons for his existence]]. Ultimately it was revealed that the Spectre was actually {{spoiler|a fallen angel pardoned by God by being turned into his personal avenger}} and not just part of Corrigan's soul. Corrigan in fact was tired of living and willingly separated from The Spectre and went on to Heaven.

This left the Spectre without a host, which made it reckless; eventually he bonded with the then-dead [[Green Lantern|Hal Jordan]], who tried to twist the Spectre's mission from vengeance to redemption. This was later undone by Jordan's resurrection. Again left without a host, the Spectre was tricked by Eclipso (who ironically was once God's Avenger as well) into killing most of the magic-users in the [[DC Universe]] since she convinced him that "magic goes against God's will". (This turned out to be part of a larger [[Xanatos Roulette]] to recreate the DC Multiverse, as seen in [[Infinite Crisis]].) He was stopped only by being bonded (by God) to Crispus Allen, another recently-murdered cop. (DC teased the audience by having his killer also be named Jim Corrigan.) He's still the current Spectre, who is trying to understand his role.

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* [[Affirmative Action Legacy]]: The current host of the Spectre is an African American. Not quite "Black" since the Spectre is always whiter then the moon.

* [[All Crimes Are Equal]]: Has a tendency to believe this when not bound to a human host. Once when he was between hosts he went from murdering a serial killer (eaten by crows), then a cheating wife and her lover (strangled by their bedsheets), then a little boy who stole six dollars from his mother's purse (drowned in a sea of pennies), then a girl who spoke rudely to her father (beheaded), then a man who cheated on his taxes (impaled on a giant pen).

* [[Anti Hero]]

* [[Anti-Hero]]

* [[The Atoner]]: The Angel Aztar, who was one of the rebellious angels, but apparently the only one that repented. As penance, he must fuse with the soul of a dead man and purge the world of evil. [[Failure Is the Only Option|One sinner at a time.]]

* [[Baleful Polymorph]]: An usual punishment meted out by Spectre.

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* [[Our Angels Are Different]]: The non-human half of the Spectre Entity.

* [[Our Ghosts Are Different]]

* [[Power Creep Power Seep]]: Makes Superman's climb look almost puny.

* [[Power Creep, Power Seep]]: Makes Superman's climb look almost puny.

** Lampshaded by [[Hellblazer (Comic Book)|John Constantine]] in ''[[Books of Magic]]'':

{{quote| '''Constantine''': Sometimes it's one of the most powerful beings in the universe. Sometimes it's little more than a bloke in green tights.}}

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* [[Voice of the Legion]]: He speaks in fiery or dripping green speech balloons.

* [[Voluntary Shapeshifting]]

* [[What the Hell Hero]]: Happens very often, including burning an entire country to the ground.

* [[What the Hell, Hero?]]: Happens very often, including burning an entire country to the ground.

* [[The Worf Effect]]: Has a tendency to get defeated by whatever villain writers are favoring that week.