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** That being said, ''ComicBook/JLAAvengers'' had Hal's Spectre rival this feat by singlehandedly undoing Krona's merging of Marvel's Earth and DC's Earth by shoving them and their respective universes apart with his bare hands, saving both universes and their respective multiverses.



* GoodShepherd: Father Craemer from the Ostrander series. Despite his controversial views (by "controversial" we mean he doesnt slavishly follow Catholic doctrine) which eventually gets him defrocked, he's shown to be a wise, loving and faithful man, also serving as a conscience of sorts for the Spectre when he needs advice on his role. It's telling that even ''Amanda Waller'' sticks up for him (he was once the prison chaplain at Belle Reeve where the Suicide Squad recruited). At the end of the run, he's the one who officiates [[spoiler: Jim Corrigan's funeral]].

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* GoodShepherd: Father Craemer from the Ostrander series. Despite his controversial views (by "controversial" we mean he doesnt doesn't slavishly follow Catholic doctrine) which eventually gets him defrocked, he's shown to be a wise, loving and faithful man, also serving as a conscience of sorts for the Spectre when he needs advice on his role. It's telling that even ''Amanda Waller'' sticks up for him (he was once the prison chaplain at Belle Reeve where the Suicide Squad recruited). At the end of the run, he's the one who officiates [[spoiler: Jim Corrigan's funeral]].



* TheGodsMustBeLazy: The Presence only intervenes when it damn feels like it. He's been noticeably sparing about using his gifts against people like, say, actual supervillains. Apparently, there are rules. Somewhere.

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* TheGodsMustBeLazy: The Presence only intervenes when it damn well feels like it. He's been noticeably sparing about using his gifts against people like, say, actual supervillains. Apparently, there are rules. Somewhere.



* LighterAndSofter: His Golden Age stories after Corrigan got a comedic sidekick in Percival Popp, the Super-Cop.

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* LighterAndSofter: LighterAndSofter:
**
His Golden Age stories after Corrigan got a comedic sidekick in Percival Popp, the Super-Cop.Super-Cop.
** Hal Jordan's tenure served as this because his will was strong enough to chain the Spectre's more sadistic inclinations, with an admittedly paranoid Batman fearing in ''Green Lantern: Rebirth'' that Parallax was just the beginning and that Hal had "tamed the Spirit of Vengeance." On the one hand, this made Hal's Spectre a more reasonable presence that often acted as a SpiritAdvisor to his successor, Kyle Rayner. On the other hand, [[ComicBook/JLAAvengers with a few notable exceptions]], it also meant he was perceived as an incompetent FailureHero.
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The character first appeared in ''"More Fun Comics''" #52 (February, 1940), created by [[Creator/JerrySiegelAndJoeShuster Jerry]] [[Franchise/{{Superman}} Siegel]] and [[ComicBook/{{Hourman}} Bernard Baily]]. In his origin story, the Spectre was Jim Corrigan, a police detective who was murdered by criminals. In the afterlife, he decried the injustice of his murder, and an unseen voice (later interpreted as being {{God}}'s) granted his wish: he returned to life, but with supernatural powers that he soon used to kill his murderers.

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The character first appeared in ''"More Fun Comics''" #52 (February, 1940), created by [[Creator/JerrySiegelAndJoeShuster Jerry]] [[Franchise/{{Superman}} [[ComicBook/{{Superman}} Siegel]] and [[ComicBook/{{Hourman}} Bernard Baily]]. In his origin story, the Spectre was Jim Corrigan, a police detective who was murdered by criminals. In the afterlife, he decried the injustice of his murder, and an unseen voice (later interpreted as being {{God}}'s) granted his wish: he returned to life, but with supernatural powers that he soon used to kill his murderers.

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* TalkingDownTheSuicidal: An ''interesting'' variant happens when the Spectre confronts a couple of teenagers who plan to kill themselves like their idol, a rockstar, did. Rather than offering some encouraging and comforting words, The Spectre shows them the soul of their beloved idol in hell, sent there for the sin of taking his own life. Seeing their idol express regret for committing suicide and experiencing the fate they'll recieve should they continue with what their doing convinces the kids not to kill themselves.

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* TalkingDownTheSuicidal: TalkingDownTheSuicidal:
**
An ''interesting'' variant happens when the Spectre confronts a couple of teenagers who plan to kill themselves like their idol, a rockstar, did. Rather than offering some encouraging and comforting words, The Spectre shows them the soul of their beloved idol in hell, sent there for the sin of taking his own life. Seeing their idol express regret for committing suicide and experiencing the fate they'll recieve should they continue with what their doing convinces the kids not to kill themselves.themselves.
** A more positive example is his encounter with a despairing Michael Holt, who he inspired to take up the mantle of ComicBook/MisterTerrific by telling him the story of Terry Sloane.

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The Spectre is a Creator/DCComics character. He's a superhero ghost, though in practice [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation he has been everything]] from a supernatural serial killer (of criminals) to the Agent of {{God}}'s {{Wrath}} over the years.

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The Spectre is a Creator/DCComics character. He's a superhero ghost, though in practice [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation he has been everything]] from a supernatural serial killer (of criminals) to the Agent of {{God}}'s {{Wrath}} Wrath over the years.



The Spectre held his own series in ''"More Fun Comics''" until issue #101 (January, February, 1945). He was regularly featured with the Justice Society in ''"All-Star Comics''" #3-23 (Winter, 1940 - Winter, 1944). The character was then dropped for the following twenty years. He was revived in ''"Showcase''" #60-61 (January-April, 1966). He also appeared in #64 (September-October, 1966), before gaining his own magazine. ''"Spectre''" vol. 1 lasted for 10 issues, from December, 1967 to June, 1969. In the [[TheSeventies 1970s]], the Spectre was revamped, now being taken back to his original horror roots: he would track down murderers and then execute them in some pretty twisted ways (for example, turning a hood to wood and then cutting him with a buzzsaw).

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The Spectre held his own series in ''"More Fun Comics''" until issue #101 (January, February, 1945). He was regularly featured with the Justice Society in ''"All-Star Comics''" #3-23 (Winter, 1940 - -- Winter, 1944). The character was then dropped for the following twenty years. He was revived in ''"Showcase''" #60-61 (January-April, 1966). He also appeared in #64 (September-October, 1966), before gaining his own magazine. ''"Spectre''" vol. 1 lasted for 10 issues, from December, 1967 to June, 1969. In the [[TheSeventies 1970s]], the Spectre was revamped, now being taken back to his original horror roots: he would track down murderers and then execute them in some pretty twisted ways (for example, turning a hood to wood and then cutting him with a buzzsaw).



* BeenThereShapedHistory: The Spectre was the one who destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, killed the first-born of Egypt, brought down the walls of Jericho. Any religious horror event one can think of besides the Great Flood which was caused by Eclipso was most likely caused by The Spectre.

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* BeenThereShapedHistory: The Spectre was the one who destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, killed the first-born of Egypt, brought down the walls of Jericho. Any religious horror event one can think of besides the Great Flood which (which was instead caused by Eclipso Eclipso) was most likely caused by The Spectre.



* BumblingSidekick: Yes, even the Spectre had one in the Golden Age - "Percival Popp, the Super Cop".

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* BumblingSidekick: Yes, even the Spectre had one in the Golden Age - -- "Percival Popp, the Super Cop".



* CruelAndUnusualDeath: A specialty of the character.

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* CruelAndUnusualDeath: A Dishing out cruel and odd deaths is a specialty of the character.



%% * Getting Crap Past The Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.



* GodIsEvil: A nightmarish example is shown at the end of the 1992 series, where The Spectre comes looking for guidance after he begins to notice himself becoming more extreme in his behavior, only to discover Heaven completely empty. After searching Hell and various other spiritual realms to no avail, he is eventually led to search inside himself, where he comes upon a dying ArchangelMichael... who is being devoured by God (drawn just like the [[Creator/FranciscoDeGoya Goya]] painting ''Art/SaturnDevouringHisSons''). God reveals that He's eaten every last being in Heaven, the angels, the souls, all of them, and scoffs at the Spectre's rage at this enormous cruelty, claiming that Creation is his work, and is His to do what he wants with. [[spoiler: Ultimatley averted when it turns out this isn't God at all, it's the personification of Jim Corrigan's anger against his abusive father, which has colored his perception of God his entire life. Heaven was never really empty, it was part of a journey Corrigan had to undergo to move on to the afterlife and leave the Spectre and Earth behind.]]

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* GodIsEvil: A nightmarish example is shown at the end of the 1992 series, where The Spectre comes looking for guidance after he begins to notice himself becoming more extreme in his behavior, only to discover Heaven completely empty. After searching Hell and various other spiritual realms to no avail, he is eventually led to search inside himself, where he comes upon a dying ArchangelMichael... who is being devoured by God (drawn just like the [[Creator/FranciscoDeGoya Goya]] painting ''Art/SaturnDevouringHisSons''). God reveals that He's eaten every last being in Heaven, the angels, the souls, all of them, and scoffs at the Spectre's rage at this enormous cruelty, claiming that Creation is his work, and is His to do what he wants with. [[spoiler: Ultimatley Ultimately averted when it turns out this isn't God at all, it's the personification of Jim Corrigan's anger against his abusive father, which has colored his perception of God his entire life. Heaven was never really empty, it was part of a journey Corrigan had to undergo to move on to the afterlife and leave the Spectre and Earth behind.]]



** The trope is lampshaded, and explored, in ''Final Crisis: Revelations''. The Spectre and his fellow avatar, the Radiant, find themselves powerless against the forces of evil who have taken over the Earth - and not even ''they'' know why they can't do anything about it.

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** The trope is lampshaded, and explored, in ''Final Crisis: Revelations''. The Spectre and his fellow avatar, the Radiant, find themselves powerless against the forces of evil who have taken over the Earth - -- and not even ''they'' know why they can't do anything about it.



* HumanoidAbomination: If his [[PhysicalGod power]] [[OurAngelsAreDifferent and origins]] didn't tip you off, [[NightmareFuel his disposition will.]]

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* HumanoidAbomination: If his [[PhysicalGod power]] [[OurAngelsAreDifferent and origins]] didn't tip you off, [[NightmareFuel [[LackOfEmpathy his disposition will.]]



** Post ''ComicBook/{{Flashpoint}}, this has changed somewhat. The presence has claimed that the Spectre is not the embodiment of wrath but instead the embodiment of justice. He also stated that both the Spectre and Phantom Stranger need to open their eyes to what they are meant to be. How this affects the Spectre's divine status is not yet known.

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** Post ''ComicBook/{{Flashpoint}}, ''ComicBook/{{Flashpoint}}'', this has changed somewhat. The presence has claimed that the Spectre is not the embodiment of wrath but instead the embodiment of justice. He also stated that both the Spectre and Phantom Stranger need to open their eyes to what they are meant to be. How this affects the Spectre's divine status is not yet known.



* VengefulGhost: The OriginStory is about this: the cop Jim Corrigan was murdered by thugs and eventually came back to life as the form of The Spectre. With the time, Spectre becomes more as the Spirit of Vengeance by his own and later he got other human hosts, two of the most famous ones are [[Franchise/GreenLantern Hal Jordan]] and [[ComicBook/GothamCentral Crispus Allen]].

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* VengefulGhost: The OriginStory Spectre's SuperheroOrigin is about this: the cop Jim Corrigan was murdered by thugs and eventually came back to life as the form of The Spectre. With the time, Spectre becomes more as the Spirit of Vengeance by his own and later he got other human hosts, two of the most famous ones are [[Franchise/GreenLantern Hal Jordan]] and [[ComicBook/GothamCentral Crispus Allen]].
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** A furious Norman [[=McCay=]] stops the Spectre when he sees he's about to leave the utterly broken Superman after the horror of ''ComicBook/KingdomCome'''s terrifying climax, successfully guilting the Spectre into sending him to calm down the enraged Kryptonian and stop him from smashing the UN Building and everyone inside.

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** A furious Norman [[=McCay=]] [=McCay=] stops the Spectre when he sees he's about to leave the utterly broken Superman after the horror of ''ComicBook/KingdomCome'''s terrifying climax, successfully guilting the Spectre into sending him to calm down the enraged Kryptonian and stop him from smashing the UN Building and everyone inside.
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** A furious Norman [[=McCay=]] stops the Spectre when he sees he's about to leave the utterly broken Superman after the horror of ''ComicBook/KingdomCome'''s terrifying climax, successfully guilting the Spectre into sending him to calm down the enraged Kryptonian and stop him from smashing the UN Building and everyone inside.
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* GodIsEvil: A nightmarish example is shown at the end of the 1992 series, where The Spectre comes looking for guidance after he begins to notice himself becoming more extreme in his behavior, only to discover Heaven completely empty. After searching Hell and various other spiritual realms to no avail, he is eventually led to search inside himself, where he comes upon a dying ArchangelMichael... who is being devoured by God (drawn just like the [[Creator/FranciscoDeGoya Goya]] painting ''Art/SaturnDevouringHis Sons''). God reveals that He's eaten every last being in Heaven, the angels, the souls, all of them, and scoffs at the Spectre's rage at this enormous cruelty, claiming that Creation is his work, and is His to do what he wants with. [[spoiler: Ultimatley averted when it turns out this isn't God at all, it's the personification of Jim Corrigan's anger against his abusive father, which has colored his perception of God his entire life. Heaven was never really empty, it was part of a journey Corrigan had to undergo to move on to the afterlife and leave the Spectre and Earth behind.]]

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* GodIsEvil: A nightmarish example is shown at the end of the 1992 series, where The Spectre comes looking for guidance after he begins to notice himself becoming more extreme in his behavior, only to discover Heaven completely empty. After searching Hell and various other spiritual realms to no avail, he is eventually led to search inside himself, where he comes upon a dying ArchangelMichael... who is being devoured by God (drawn just like the [[Creator/FranciscoDeGoya Goya]] painting ''Art/SaturnDevouringHis Sons'').''Art/SaturnDevouringHisSons''). God reveals that He's eaten every last being in Heaven, the angels, the souls, all of them, and scoffs at the Spectre's rage at this enormous cruelty, claiming that Creation is his work, and is His to do what he wants with. [[spoiler: Ultimatley averted when it turns out this isn't God at all, it's the personification of Jim Corrigan's anger against his abusive father, which has colored his perception of God his entire life. Heaven was never really empty, it was part of a journey Corrigan had to undergo to move on to the afterlife and leave the Spectre and Earth behind.]]
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At this point, other than in his physical appearance, Spectre was your typical supernatural avenger character. However at the time, superheroes were getting in vogue, so he was soon added to the roster of the ComicBook/JusticeSocietyOfAmerica, and treated pretty much as any other superhero; he even acted and talked as casually as the others. He also found himself [[TheWorfEffect easily defeated despite his nonliving nature and his incredible powers]], just so the other members of the group could have a chance to save the day. As for Corrigan, he broke off his engagement to Clarice Winston since he was no longer a living human being, but otherwise he just went on with his life, as if nothing had happened (his murder never having been discovered.)

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At this point, other than in his physical appearance, Spectre was your typical supernatural avenger character. However at the time, superheroes were getting in vogue, so he was soon added to the roster of the ComicBook/JusticeSocietyOfAmerica, and treated pretty much as any other superhero; he even acted and talked as casually as the others. He also found himself [[TheWorfEffect easily defeated despite his nonliving nature and his incredible powers]], just so the other members of the group could have a chance to save the day. As for Corrigan, he broke off his engagement to Clarice Winston since he was no longer a living human being, but otherwise he just went on with his life, as if nothing had happened (his murder never having been discovered.)
discovered).



The Spectre held his own series in ''"More Fun Comics''" until issue #101 (January, February, 1945). He was regularly featured with the Justice Society in ''"All-Star Comics''" #3-23 (Winter, 1940 - Winter, 1944). The character was then dropped for the following twenty years. He was revived in ''"Showcase''" #60-61 (January-April, 1966). He also appeared in #64 (September-October, 1966), before gaining his own magazine. ''"Spectre''" vol. 1 lasted for 10 issues, from December, 1967 to June, 1969. In the [[TheSeventies 1970s]], the Spectre was revamped, now being taken back to his original horror roots: he would track down murderers and then execute them in some pretty twisted ways (for example, turning a hood to wood and then cutting him with a buzzsaw.)

to:

The Spectre held his own series in ''"More Fun Comics''" until issue #101 (January, February, 1945). He was regularly featured with the Justice Society in ''"All-Star Comics''" #3-23 (Winter, 1940 - Winter, 1944). The character was then dropped for the following twenty years. He was revived in ''"Showcase''" #60-61 (January-April, 1966). He also appeared in #64 (September-October, 1966), before gaining his own magazine. ''"Spectre''" vol. 1 lasted for 10 issues, from December, 1967 to June, 1969. In the [[TheSeventies 1970s]], the Spectre was revamped, now being taken back to his original horror roots: he would track down murderers and then execute them in some pretty twisted ways (for example, turning a hood to wood and then cutting him with a buzzsaw.)
buzzsaw).



This left the Spectre without a host, which made it reckless; eventually he bonded with the then-dead [[ComicBook/GreenLantern 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 Franchise/DCUniverse since she convinced him that "magic goes against God's will". (This turned out to be part of a larger GambitRoulette to recreate the DC Multiverse, as seen in ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis.) 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.)

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This left the Spectre without a host, which made it reckless; eventually he bonded with the then-dead [[ComicBook/GreenLantern 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 Franchise/DCUniverse since she convinced him that "magic goes against God's will". (This turned out to be part of a larger GambitRoulette to recreate the DC Multiverse, as seen in ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis.) ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis). 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.)
Corrigan).



* BumblingSidekick: Yes, even the Spectre had one in the Golden Age - "Percival Popp, the Super Cop."

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* BumblingSidekick: Yes, even the Spectre had one in the Golden Age - "Percival Popp, the Super Cop."Cop".



** The Ostrander/Mandrake ongoing Spectre series cleared up many facts about the Spectre-force: while it is the literal embodiment of God's wrath, it is not allowed to roam free, but must be bound to a mortal soul, who in turn decides how to use its power. But most of this seems to have been forgotten in recent years; for example during the ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis miniseries the Spectre, now without a host, sought to ironically kill anyone he could find [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking regardless of their crimes severity]] (i.e a kid stealing $6 from his mother is drowned in change). He then caused mass destruction (being an unwitting pawn of some villains) and God only stopped it after it caused the end of the 9th Age of Magic (by killing off the Lords of Order and Chaos.)

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** The Ostrander/Mandrake ongoing Spectre series cleared up many facts about the Spectre-force: while it is the literal embodiment of God's wrath, it is not allowed to roam free, but must be bound to a mortal soul, who in turn decides how to use its power. But most of this seems to have been forgotten in recent years; for example during the ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis miniseries the Spectre, now without a host, sought to ironically kill anyone he could find [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking regardless of their crimes severity]] (i.e a kid stealing $6 from his mother is drowned in change). He then caused mass destruction (being an unwitting pawn of some villains) and God only stopped it after it caused the end of the 9th Age of Magic (by killing off the Lords of Order and Chaos.)Chaos).
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* {{Pride}}: He'd staunchly refuse to suffer from this, but the plain fact is that more than once he has been fooled by canny enough villains because his perceived OmniscientMoralityLicense blinds him to the fact he's being treated as an attack dog. Going along with Neron's schene in ''ComicBook/UnderworldUnleashed'' left him unable to retaliate once he figured how Neron had conned him, and his seduction by Eclipso left him raging and begging not to be once again sealed in a mortal host, claiming NeverMyFault.

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* {{Pride}}: He'd staunchly refuse to suffer from this, but the plain fact is that more than once he has been fooled by canny enough villains because his perceived OmniscientMoralityLicense blinds him to the fact he's being treated as an attack dog. Going along with Neron's schene scheme in ''ComicBook/UnderworldUnleashed'' left him unable to retaliate once he figured how Neron had conned him, and his seduction by Eclipso left him raging and begging not to be once again sealed in a mortal host, claiming NeverMyFault.

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** He was unable to pass judgement on the Joker when he realized that Jokers insanity meant he wasnt fully responsible for his actions.

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** He was unable to pass judgement on the Joker when he realized that Jokers Joker's insanity meant he wasnt wasn't fully responsible for his actions.


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* {{Pride}}: He'd staunchly refuse to suffer from this, but the plain fact is that more than once he has been fooled by canny enough villains because his perceived OmniscientMoralityLicense blinds him to the fact he's being treated as an attack dog. Going along with Neron's schene in ''ComicBook/UnderworldUnleashed'' left him unable to retaliate once he figured how Neron had conned him, and his seduction by Eclipso left him raging and begging not to be once again sealed in a mortal host, claiming NeverMyFault.
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* HeinousnessRetcon: After spending the first three decades as a C-list villain and the [[JekyllAndHyde dark half of Dr. Bruce Gordon]], in the 1990's Eclipso was retconned as actually being the immensely powerful Spirt of God's Wrath (making him the EvilCounterpart to ''The Spectre'', the Sprit of God's Vengeance). Initially, it was claimed he was only pretending to be a minor threat to throw the heroes off guard, though later appearances this was forgotten and he was treated as always being a serious deal.
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* GodIsEvil: A nightmarish example is shown at the end of the 1992 series, where The Spectre comes looking for guidance after he begins to notice himself becoming more extreme in his behavior, only to discover Heaven completely empty. After searching Hell and various other spiritual realms to no avail, he is eventually led to search inside himself, where he comes upon a dying ArchangelMichael... who is being devoured by God (drawn just like the [[Creator/FranciscoDeGoya Goya]] painting ''Saturn Devouring His Sons''). God reveals that He's eaten every last being in Heaven, the angels, the souls, all of them, and scoffs at the Spectre's rage at this enormous cruelty, claiming that Creation is his work, and is His to do what he wants with. [[spoiler: Ultimatley averted when it turns out this isn't God at all, it's the personification of Jim Corrigan's anger against his abusive father, which has colored his perception of God his entire life. Heaven was never really empty, it was part of a journey Corrigan had to undergo to move on to the afterlife and leave the Spectre and Earth behind.]]

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* GodIsEvil: A nightmarish example is shown at the end of the 1992 series, where The Spectre comes looking for guidance after he begins to notice himself becoming more extreme in his behavior, only to discover Heaven completely empty. After searching Hell and various other spiritual realms to no avail, he is eventually led to search inside himself, where he comes upon a dying ArchangelMichael... who is being devoured by God (drawn just like the [[Creator/FranciscoDeGoya Goya]] painting ''Saturn Devouring His ''Art/SaturnDevouringHis Sons''). God reveals that He's eaten every last being in Heaven, the angels, the souls, all of them, and scoffs at the Spectre's rage at this enormous cruelty, claiming that Creation is his work, and is His to do what he wants with. [[spoiler: Ultimatley averted when it turns out this isn't God at all, it's the personification of Jim Corrigan's anger against his abusive father, which has colored his perception of God his entire life. Heaven was never really empty, it was part of a journey Corrigan had to undergo to move on to the afterlife and leave the Spectre and Earth behind.]]
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Baleful Polymorph was renamed per TRS. As is typical with dewicking projects, zero-context examples were deleted, as it is impossible to tell if they are misuse.


* BalefulPolymorph: A usual punishment meted out by Spectre.
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** A good example of this would be in ''ComicBook/ZeroHourCrisisInTime'': early in the story, Metron approaches the Spectre for his help, but the Spectre rebuffs him, telling him that he doesn't deal with things involving nature. However, in the penultimate issue, when Jay Garrick begs for Spectre's help, he decides to help out as, by that time, numerous people have been killed and people are dying from being erased from time/space in the present.
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* GodzillaThreshold: If things have gotten so bad that summoning him is your best hope for victory, then you’ve hit this trope. Both ''ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'' and ''ComicBook/ZeroHourCrisisInTime'' are good examples of this, but later events find a way to remove him from the board.
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The Spectre received [[WesternAnimation/DCShowcaseTheSpectre a twelve-minute animated short]] as a bonus on the ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueCrisisOnTwoEarths'' DVD. A pre-Spectre Jim Corrigan made an appearance on ''Series/{{Constantine}}'' with a quick vision indicating his grim future. Spectre also made two appearances in the cartoon series ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'', first in the episode "Chill of the Night!", where he attempts to tempt Batman was delivering final vengeance against Joe Chill while the Phantom Stranger tried to keep Batman on the path of justice, and then in the ColdOpening of the episode "Gorillas in our Midst!", which he delivers a KarmicDeath to Professor Milo.

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The Spectre received [[WesternAnimation/DCShowcaseTheSpectre a twelve-minute animated short]] as a bonus on the ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueCrisisOnTwoEarths'' DVD. A pre-Spectre Jim Corrigan made an appearance on ''Series/{{Constantine}}'' with a quick vision indicating his grim future. Spectre also made two appearances in the cartoon series ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'', first in the episode "Chill of the Night!", where he attempts to tempt Batman was with delivering final vengeance against Joe Chill while the Phantom Stranger tried to keep Batman on the path of justice, and then in the ColdOpening of the episode "Gorillas in our Midst!", which he delivers a KarmicDeath to Professor Milo.
Milo. He also features in ''WesternAnimation/DCShowcaseConstantineTheHouseOfMystery''
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* MerchandisingTheMonster: One story had an edgy nightclub in New York called The Killing Joke, with attendees dressed as the Joker, and the actual Joker invited along because they assumed he'd be flattered. After the Spectre stops the Joker from killing everyone in attendence, they say they've learned their lesson. Cut to two guys in green robes heading to a club called The Wrath of God.
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* CruelAndUnusualDeath: A specialty of the character

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* CruelAndUnusualDeath: A specialty of the charactercharacter.

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** [[Characters/GLRedLanternCorps Butcher]], whom the Spectre considers to be a perversion of his mission as the embodiment of God's Wrath.

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** [[Characters/GLRedLanternCorps The Butcher]], whom the Spectre considers to be a perversion of his mission as the embodiment of God's Wrath.



-->'''Ragman:''' Sure Spectre's plenty scary and all, but he's one of the good guys.
-->'''Enchantress:''' No one that powerful is one of the good guys. If nothing else, you should have learned that by now.

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-->'''Ragman:''' Sure Spectre's plenty scary and all, but he's one of the good guys.
-->'''Enchantress:'''
guys.\\
'''Enchantress:'''
No one that powerful is one of the good guys. If nothing else, you should have learned that by now.



%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.
* GodIsGood: The Spectre is a superhero in that he avenges those who were innocent and cry out for justice. But...
** See ThrowAwayCountry below for a more extreme example.

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%% * GettingCrapPastThe Getting Crap Past The Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.
* GodIsGood: The Spectre is a superhero in that he avenges those who were innocent and cry out for justice. But...
** See ThrowAwayCountry below for a more extreme example.
But…
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--->'''"The guilty must be ''punished'' for their crimes".'''

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--->'''"The ->'''"The guilty must be ''punished'' for their crimes".'''
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* TalkingDownTheSuicidal: An ''interesting'' variant happens when the Spectre confront a couple of teenagers who plan to kill themselves like their idol, a rockstar, did. Rather than talking them down, the Spectre shows them the soul of their beloved idol in hell, sent their for the sin of killing himself. Seeing their idol express regret for committing suicide and experiencing their fate should they continue with what their doing convinces the kids not to kill themselves.

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* TalkingDownTheSuicidal: An ''interesting'' variant happens when the Spectre confront confronts a couple of teenagers who plan to kill themselves like their idol, a rockstar, did. Rather than talking them down, the offering some encouraging and comforting words, The Spectre shows them the soul of their beloved idol in hell, sent their there for the sin of killing himself. taking his own life. Seeing their idol express regret for committing suicide and experiencing their the fate they'll recieve should they continue with what their doing convinces the kids not to kill themselves.
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* TalkingDownTheSuicidal: An ''interesting'' variant happens when the Spectre confront a couple of teenagers who plan to kill themselves like their idol, a rockstar, did. Rather than talking them down, the Spectre shows them the soul of their beloved idol in hell, sent their for the sin of killing himself. Seeing their idol express regret for committing suicide and experiencing their fate should they continue with what their doing convinces the kids not to kill themselves.
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* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: See FridgeHorror above. One point of the Comic Code Authority was that it said humans couldn't be set on fire. One comic got around this by removing the "Human" part of the equation and letting Spectre turn a criminal into a candle. There was no rule against burning a candle, even if it was screaming in pain as you did it.

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%% * GettingCrapPastTheRadar: See FridgeHorror above. One point of the Comic Code Authority was that it said humans couldn't be set on fire. One comic got around GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this by removing in the "Human" part of future, please check the equation and letting Spectre turn a criminal into a candle. There was no rule against burning a candle, even if it was screaming in pain as you did it.trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.
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The character first appeared in ''"More Fun Comics''" #52 (February, 1940), created by [[Franchise/{{Superman}} Jerry Siegel]] and [[ComicBook/{{Hourman}} Bernard Baily]]. In his origin story, the Spectre was Jim Corrigan, a police detective who was murdered by criminals. In the afterlife, he decried the injustice of his murder, and an unseen voice (later interpreted as being {{God}}'s) granted his wish: he returned to life, but with supernatural powers that he soon used to kill his murderers.

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The character first appeared in ''"More Fun Comics''" #52 (February, 1940), created by [[Creator/JerrySiegelAndJoeShuster Jerry]] [[Franchise/{{Superman}} Jerry Siegel]] and [[ComicBook/{{Hourman}} Bernard Baily]]. In his origin story, the Spectre was Jim Corrigan, a police detective who was murdered by criminals. In the afterlife, he decried the injustice of his murder, and an unseen voice (later interpreted as being {{God}}'s) granted his wish: he returned to life, but with supernatural powers that he soon used to kill his murderers.
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After the ComicBook/{{New 52}} reboot, [[LegacyImplosion the original Jim Corrigan]] is back as the Spectre once again, although under different circumstances this time, tying into the rebooted version of ComicBook/ThePhantomStranger as well.

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After the ComicBook/{{New 52}} reboot, [[LegacyImplosion the original Jim Corrigan]] Corrigan is back as the Spectre once again, although under different circumstances this time, tying into the rebooted version of ComicBook/ThePhantomStranger as well.

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* NighInvulnerability: As a nigh omnipotent entity, he's practically indestructible. One early story showed him taking the full force of ''Superman's'' power [[NoSell without anything even resembling a scratch]].



* StoryBreakerPower: [[JustifiedTrope Being a virtually omnipotent entity with all the powers of a god]], this is a given.

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* StoryBreakerPower: Not only is he a RealityWarper, he also wields a level of power that'd make the likes of Superman, Wonder Woman and Darkseid look like jokes. [[JustifiedTrope Being Of course, being a virtually omnipotent entity with all the powers of a god]], this is a given.

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