Title:
Secret Origins
Synopsis:
Synopsis for ”The Spectre!”
Jim Corrigan, hard-boiled detective, gets inside information on a job to be pulled by Gat Benson, and, while trying to stop the theft, is captured and murdered; However, a voice from heaven tells Corrigan that his battle against crime is not over, so he is restored to life with amazing powers, which he plans to use against Benson and save the life of Clarice; reprinted from More Fun Comics #52.
https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Aztar_(New_Earth)
Later developments
In the Beginning
In the beginning, there was the Presence, the One Above All. Such was the Presence’s nature that His aspects had names and identities of their own. At His direction, certain of these aspects were charged with certain functions and duties. Among them were His Wrath, called Eclipso, His Mercy, called the Radiant, and His Vengeance, called the Spectre.
Three seconds after creation, there was a rebellion in Paradise. A rebel band of angels led by Lucifer Morningstar attempted to wrest control of Heaven from the Presence. As punishment, they were cast down into Hell, where they became the beings that mortal men knew as demons. In time, one of the demons, a creature called Aztar, came to repent his rebellion, seeking forgiveness from the Presence; legend in Hell has it that he was a prince among the damned. Aztar came before the gates of Heaven, where he was met by the archangel Michael. He prostrated himself before Michael, acknowledging his wrong-doing and his responsibility for what he had done, offering himself up to whatever punishment the Presence chose to impose. The Presence’s judgment on Aztar was that he would become a vessel for an aspect of the Divine - the Divine Wrath. Aztar’s memory and consciousness would be wiped from existence. Aztar accepted with regret, hoping that some fragment of what he once was would be allowed to remain. The Wrath of God entered into Aztar, burning away everything he had been, transfiguring the remnants of his form into the Spectre Force.
Perhaps Aztar’s wish was heard; millennia later, Jim Corrigan, the Spectre’s then-host, saw a vision of Aztar’s transformation, buried deep in the Spectre’s core. This Primal-Spectre was the one who punished Cain for the murder of his brother Abel, laying a mark upon Cain lest any should kill him. For that, Cain sought revenge on the Spectre, and through him, on the Presence. When Eclipso fell to evil, it was the Primal-Spectre’s duty to deliver punishment. The Primal-Spectre stripped Eclipso of his rank and privileges and tore him asunder, with Eclipso’s power imprisoned in the black diamond known as the Heart of Darkness.
It was the Primal-Spectre, the Spectre Force, that destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, that humbled the Pharaoh and killed the first-born of Egypt. The Divine Wrath was the blast that brought down the walls of Jericho and stopped the sun in its tracks. For centuries the Wrath of God punished and humbled mankind, until the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. At that instant, the Divine Wrath was cast into Limbo, for God’s vengeance and forgiveness could not walk the same plane together.[1]
When Jesus died on the cross, the Divine Wrath was released from his exile and sought vengeance on mankind for the death of Christ. He was interrupted by the archangel Michael, who informed the Divine Wrath that due to the example of Christ, all aspects of God were now to be bound to human souls, as decreed by God himself. The Wrath resisted, his immense power was even able to greatly challenge the Archangel, but Michael would not be denied, and was able to force the Wrath to yield. He then sought out the soul of a person who thirsted for swift, vengeful justice.
In India, a man called Chakara and his family were slain by the witch Lady Beltane. In the limbo between planes of reality, Chakara cried for justice. The archangel, Michael, appeared to him in the form of the goddess Kali. Michael asked Chakara if he would be willing to bargain his soul’s rest for the chance to avenge his family’s death. Chakara agreed, and his soul mixed with the essence of the Divine Wrath. Thus, Chakara became the first true Spectre, a killing ghost that sought justice and enlightenment. Chakara was unaware of the Spectre Force’s true origin as a divine entity; he believed he was a human soul who had been granted divine power. Eventually Chakara would turn from his mission, seduced by a demon. As punishment, he was stripped of the Spectre Force and bound to the demon who had seduced him, becoming Azmodus, who swore revenge on all later Spectres.
Jim Corrigan, hard-boiled detective, gets inside information on a job to be pulled by Gat Benson, and, while trying to stop the theft, is captured and murdered; However, a voice from heaven tells Corrigan that his battle against crime is not over, so he is restored to life with amazing powers, which he plans to use against Benson and save the life of Clarice; reprinted from More Fun Comics #52.
https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Aztar_(New_Earth)
Later developments
In the Beginning
In the beginning, there was the Presence, the One Above All. Such was the Presence’s nature that His aspects had names and identities of their own. At His direction, certain of these aspects were charged with certain functions and duties. Among them were His Wrath, called Eclipso, His Mercy, called the Radiant, and His Vengeance, called the Spectre.
Three seconds after creation, there was a rebellion in Paradise. A rebel band of angels led by Lucifer Morningstar attempted to wrest control of Heaven from the Presence. As punishment, they were cast down into Hell, where they became the beings that mortal men knew as demons. In time, one of the demons, a creature called Aztar, came to repent his rebellion, seeking forgiveness from the Presence; legend in Hell has it that he was a prince among the damned. Aztar came before the gates of Heaven, where he was met by the archangel Michael. He prostrated himself before Michael, acknowledging his wrong-doing and his responsibility for what he had done, offering himself up to whatever punishment the Presence chose to impose. The Presence’s judgment on Aztar was that he would become a vessel for an aspect of the Divine - the Divine Wrath. Aztar’s memory and consciousness would be wiped from existence. Aztar accepted with regret, hoping that some fragment of what he once was would be allowed to remain. The Wrath of God entered into Aztar, burning away everything he had been, transfiguring the remnants of his form into the Spectre Force.
Perhaps Aztar’s wish was heard; millennia later, Jim Corrigan, the Spectre’s then-host, saw a vision of Aztar’s transformation, buried deep in the Spectre’s core. This Primal-Spectre was the one who punished Cain for the murder of his brother Abel, laying a mark upon Cain lest any should kill him. For that, Cain sought revenge on the Spectre, and through him, on the Presence. When Eclipso fell to evil, it was the Primal-Spectre’s duty to deliver punishment. The Primal-Spectre stripped Eclipso of his rank and privileges and tore him asunder, with Eclipso’s power imprisoned in the black diamond known as the Heart of Darkness.
It was the Primal-Spectre, the Spectre Force, that destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, that humbled the Pharaoh and killed the first-born of Egypt. The Divine Wrath was the blast that brought down the walls of Jericho and stopped the sun in its tracks. For centuries the Wrath of God punished and humbled mankind, until the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. At that instant, the Divine Wrath was cast into Limbo, for God’s vengeance and forgiveness could not walk the same plane together.[1]
When Jesus died on the cross, the Divine Wrath was released from his exile and sought vengeance on mankind for the death of Christ. He was interrupted by the archangel Michael, who informed the Divine Wrath that due to the example of Christ, all aspects of God were now to be bound to human souls, as decreed by God himself. The Wrath resisted, his immense power was even able to greatly challenge the Archangel, but Michael would not be denied, and was able to force the Wrath to yield. He then sought out the soul of a person who thirsted for swift, vengeful justice.
In India, a man called Chakara and his family were slain by the witch Lady Beltane. In the limbo between planes of reality, Chakara cried for justice. The archangel, Michael, appeared to him in the form of the goddess Kali. Michael asked Chakara if he would be willing to bargain his soul’s rest for the chance to avenge his family’s death. Chakara agreed, and his soul mixed with the essence of the Divine Wrath. Thus, Chakara became the first true Spectre, a killing ghost that sought justice and enlightenment. Chakara was unaware of the Spectre Force’s true origin as a divine entity; he believed he was a human soul who had been granted divine power. Eventually Chakara would turn from his mission, seduced by a demon. As punishment, he was stripped of the Spectre Force and bound to the demon who had seduced him, becoming Azmodus, who swore revenge on all later Spectres.
Cover Date:
Dec 1973
Publisher:
DC Comics
Issue Number:
5
Month:
December
Year:
1973
Variant Number:
1
Printing:
1
Country:
United States
Cover Price:
$0.20
Era:
Bronze Age
Genre:
Superhero
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Language:
English
Type of Comic:
Magazine
Characters:
Spectre
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Date Added:
2018-07-02 23:36:36
Series:
JSA
Story Arc:
The Spectre
Automatic Estimated Value:
~$2.75
Automatic Estimated Date:
2026-03-14
Date Added:
2018-07-02 23:36:36
Writer:
Jerry Siegel
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Penciller:
Bernard Baily
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Inker:
Bernard Baily
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Cover Artist:
Nick Cardy
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Letterer:
Bernard Baily
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Editor:
E. Nelson Bridwell
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