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January 15, 2006
Jim Corrigan is a scumbug, but can he still be The Spectre, please?
We saw the Spectre being sent off for a new incarnation in the Day of Vengence Special. I mentioned that Jim Corrigan was back in Gotham Central and might become the Spectre again. Now I am not so sure. I went out and read the last few Gotham Centrals to get caught up on the storyline. Jim Corrigan is a crooked cop in the Gotham City police department, a very Ellroy-esque type of cop. Corrigan is a crime scene technician (not a detective) who is usually the first on the scene of any crime he's involved in. He's run afoul of Detectives Montoya and Allen. The former beat the shit out of him, while the latter tails Corrigan and uses an informant to sting him. Too bad for Cripus Allen; Corrigan stumbles onto the sting and murders Allen in cold blood. Does this stop Corrigan from becoming the Spectre?
Searching the comic book forums, I see all kinds of speculation. Some people think Corrigan will be the Spectre because the upcoming mini-series is called Dead Again. Other people think it's going to be Crispus Allen, because he's been an atheist over the entire run of Gotham Central. Witness this blurb from Wizard: A new Spectre rises in this three-issue mini-series by Will Pfeifer and artist Al Barrionuevo (Gotham Knights), but he's not the most willing Spirt of Vengeance. "He barely believes in the afterlife and wants no part of the Spectre's concept of Divine Justice," says Pfeifer. "Too bad he has no choice in the matter." (The Allen-theorists also believe that Corrigan will become the new Eclipso.) A few believe that DC won't left the Spectre be such a low-profile supporting character. They say that Bruce Wayne might die and become the Spectre. That might be a cool Elseworlds idea, but DC won't kill off Bruce Wayne.
Personally, I think the Spectre needs to be seriously de-powered and very closely tied to a human personality in order to sustain a series. He's currently too all-powerful to sustain much interest. The Spectre has never been better than the Michael Fleisher/Jim Aparo series in Adventure Comics. That had some interesting themes which could be re-explored now: Corrigan's relationship with other people (always having a certain distance because he's dead), his relationship with The Voice (God), and dispatching criminals with utter delight. The Spectre needs to be about vengence, not redemption. I'd love to see the Spectre pal around with the Justice Society again. Nuff said.
Comments
Hmmm? Is this Jim the same Jim Corrigan precrisis preSpectre? OMaybe it's a slow revamp from the original Crisis like with Byrnes Doom Patrol?
Possibly that Jim Corrigan Spectre is unstuck in time and that all that he had done before is Jim beig vengeful to history and his demise is just that something that happens in his personal future but in the actual past...
Or did he fight his way out of heaven and is mortalish again and he's just playing games with us biding his time until he can take back the powers of the Spectre?
or is he old Jim's kid Jim?
Posted by: NidityBuffer | January 15, 2006 3:19 PM
"The Spectre has never been better than the Michael Fleisher/Jim Aparo series in Adventure Comics."
The Fleisher/Aparo Spectre was pretty good, but personally I prefer the Ostrander/Mandrake Spectre--they managed to make stories about a cosmic-powered being seem very down-to-earth.
Posted by: Dave Carter | January 15, 2006 3:34 PM
Dave, in all honesty, I haven't read the Ostrander/Mandrake Spectre yet. I just got all the back issues on my reading pile, so when I get around to it, I may change my mind. But I am pretty attached to the Aparo Spectre. :-)
Posted by: kidflash | January 15, 2006 10:29 PM
As long as can all admit that Hal Jordan was ass as the Spectre.
:)
Posted by: Nuditybuffer | January 15, 2006 10:53 PM
