10 Comic Book Characters Who Are Better Off Dead
1. Spectre
The Spectre is the Spirit of Vengeance for the Presence, the personification of the Christian-Judaeo God in the DC Universe. He was originally the angel Aztar who took part in Lucifer’s rebellion against Heaven before repenting. He was always bonded to a human host to temper his near-infinite power and to give him the guidance and compassion that come with humanity.
Jim Corrigan was a tough Gotham City police detective who was murdered by gangsters. In Limbo, he encountered the Spectre Force and bonded with it. Back on Earth, he took vengeance on his murderers and created a masked identity inspired by the new mystery men. Doctor Fate vouched for the Spectre and he joined the new Justice Society of America. Only Hitler’s possession of the Spear of Destiny kept the Spectre from ending World War II by himself. Corrigan remained the Spectre for decades.
Eventually, Jim passed on, and disgraced Green Lantern Hal Jordan took up the essence of the Spectre. However, Hal tried to turn the Spirit of Vengeance into a Spirit of Redemption, which ultimately failed. Because Jordan was still tainted with Parallax, he had to give it up and a wild Spectre was corrupted by Eclipso and nearly destroyed magic. Grim Gotham detective Crispus Allen is the most recent host and he is the one who exacted vengeance on villain Arthur Light, turning him into a candle.