The Spirit King is a character in the fictional

DC Universe The DC Universe (DCU) is the fictional shared universe where most stories in American comic book titles published by DC Comics take place. Superheroes such as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Robin, Martian Manhunter, The Flash, Green Lant ...

; he was initially an adversary of the original Mister Terrific, but later expanded to be a threat to the entire

Justice Society Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

, particularly the

Spectre Spectre, specter or the spectre may refer to: Religion and spirituality * Vision (spirituality) * Apparitional experience * Ghost Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Spectre'' (1977 film), a made-for-television film produced and writ ...

and the

Flash Flash, flashes, or FLASH may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional aliases * Flash (DC Comics character), several DC Comics superheroes with super speed: ** Flash (Barry Allen) ** Flash (Jay Garrick) ** Wally West, the first Kid ...

. The character was created for a murder mystery story in the 1970s and retroactively introduced into the fictional history of the character Mister Terrific.

Fictional character biography

Back in the original

Golden Age The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the ''Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages of Man, Ages, Gold being the first and the one during ...

of heroes, Roger Romaine began to kill women in the city of Portsmouth, Washington, believing that he would thus absorb their spirits and gain command of the dead to use against the living world. Although he was hunted by Mister Terrific, he was eventually banished to Hell by the

, despite Terrific's insistence that the families of Romaine's victims deserved to see him stand trial. Now trapped in Hell, Romaine made a deal with the demon Shaitan, gaining the power to possess and use the bodies of others in exchange for giving Shaitan the chance to confront the Spectre. Returning to Earth shortly before the annual meeting with the Justice Society and the

Justice League The Justice League (also known as The Justice League of America) are a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). The team was conceived ...

on the League's satellite headquarters, the Spirit King subsequently possessed the body of

Jay Garrick Jason Peter "Jay" Garrick is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is the first superhero known as Flash (DC Comics character), the Flash. The character was created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert. ...

, the first

, and was able to travel to the satellite. Although Mister Terrific deduced his true identity, the villain killed Terrific, using Flash's super speed so nobody could see who the killer was. Eventually discovering the truth, the JSA chased the Spirit King to Earth, but in the ensuing battle, the Spirit King assumed control of

Doctor Fate Doctor Fate (also known as Fate) is the name of multiple superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original version of the character was created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Howard Sherman, debuting in ''More F ...

, and, together with Shaitan, almost succeeded in defeating the Spectre. However, the spirit of Mister Terrific returned and disrupted the connection between Romaine and Shaitan, banishing the Spirit King to Hell once again, although Jay was left feeling guilty about his inability to stop the King using him to kill his friend. Years later, after the Justice Society had disbanded and reformed, they found themselves investigating a spree of violence on the streets of Portsmouth, one of the victims being a friend of

Doctor Mid-Nite Doctor Mid-Nite or Doctor Midnight is the name of multiple fictional superheroes in DC Comics. The figure has been represented in the comics by three different individuals, Charles McNider, Beth Chapel, and Pieter Anton Cross. Dr. Mid-Nite was o ...

. While Mid-Nite and the new Mister Terrific debated religion in a church, they were visited by

Hal Jordan Harold "Hal" Jordan, one of the characters known as Green Lantern, is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created in 1959 by writer John Broome and artist Gil Kane, and first appeared in '' ...

, former

Green Lantern Green Lantern is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. They fight evil with the aid of rings that grant them a variety of extraordinary powers, all of which come from imagination, fearlessness, ...

and the current Spectre, who revealed that his attempts to turn the Spectre's mission to one of redemption as opposed to one of vengeance had weakened the Spectre's hold on the spirits he had once damned. As a result, all those souls that had been condemned to Hell by the Spectre had escaped, with Romaine leading them against the world, and the JSA his first targets. As the JSA tried to hold their own against the undead army, Romaine once again possessed the Flash, using him to attack

Sentinel Sentinel may refer to: Places Mountains * Mount Sentinel, a mountain next to the University of Montana in Missoula, Montana * Sentinel Buttress, a volcanic crag on James Ross Island, Antarctica * Sentinel Dome, a naturally occurring grani ...

and seriously injure Mister Terrific. Seeing the near-murder of his friends, Jordan rejected his mission of redemption, concluding that it was only helping himself, and returned to his role of vengeance, banishing Romaine and his army back to Hell.

Fictional character biography

References

See also