Warning: contains spoilers for Justice League #75!
DC’s most powerful hero, the Spectre, has been corrupted, and there are no Justice League heroes left to stop him. As the embodiment of justice, The Spectre has long fought on the side of angels, but in Justice League #75, he is corrupted by the Great Darkness, creating one of the most powerful evil forces in the DC Universe. The Spectre then uses his power to kill several heroes!
The Spectre is not only one of DC’s most powerful characters, he is one of the publisher’s oldest, tracing his roots back to comics’ Golden Age. Created by one of the creators who brought the world Superman – Jerry Siegel – along with Bernard Baily, the Spectre was corrupt cop Jim Corrigan. After he was killed, the afterlife was denied Corrigan; instead, he was changed into the Spectre and sent back to Earth to avenge evil and dole out God’s wrath. The Spectre has also been a member of the Justice Society, but has been missing from the DC Universe since the beginning of the Infinite Frontier era. Now, with Dark Crisis on the horizon, the Spectre has returned.
Pariah, a survivor of the first Crisis, and the voice of the Great Darkness, has unleashed his “Dark Army” on the combined forces of the Justice League and the Justice League Incarnate. The Dark Army – including Darkseid, Doomsday and Neron – have been possessed by the Great Darkness and are able to overwhelm the two teams. Green Lantern John Stewart, who recently harnessed the power of the Godstorm, arrives to help the League, but as he and his green light constructs fight the Dark Army, Stewart realizes the Quintessence is gone. He turns around, and finds himself face to face with the Spectre, who has renounced his title as the “Spirit of Vengeance” and is now “the Spirit of Darkness.” The Dark Spectre then seemingly kills Green Lantern John Stewart, and the rest of the League soon falls to the Dark Army. Justice League #75 is written by Joshua Williamson, drawn by Rafa Sandoval, inked by Jordi Taragona, colored by Matt Herms and lettered by Josh Reed.
Although his exact power levels have fluctuated over the years, the Spectre has consistently ranked as one of DC’s most powerful characters, since his first appearance in 1940’s More Fun Comics #52. As the embodiment of divine justice, the Spectre’s power is so great he can move planets and travel throughout the multiverse; he fought the Anti-Monitor to a standstill in Crisis on Infinite Earths and has faced down many other major league threats.
As his powers derive from the divine Source, it had seemed the Spectre was beyond corruption, but the Great Darkness has managed to do just that, taking an instrument of justice and twisting it to dark and evil ends. The Spectre wasted no time doing his new master’s will, seemingly killing John Stewart, who recently received a cosmic upgrade himself in the form of the Godstorm. The Spectre’s slaughter of Stewart was a show of power, one that demoralized the surviving League members, and set the tone for the upcoming Dark Crisis.
Very few big DC events go by without an appearance from the Spectre and Dark Crisis will be no different. However, the Spectre has been corrupted, turned into an evil spirit bent on murder and violence, and this time there’s no Justice League to stand against him.
Justice League #75 is available now from DC Comics.
