The Spirit King (Roger Romaine) is a character in the fictional

DC Universe The DC Universe (DCU) is the shared universe in which most stories in American comic book titles published by DC Comics take place. In context, the term "DC Universe" usually refers to the main DC Continuity (fiction), continuity. It contains v ...

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

Justice Society In its broadest sense, justice is the idea that individuals should be treated fairly. According to the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the most plausible candidate for a core definition comes from the ''Institutes'' of Justinian, a ...

, 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 writt ...

and the

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

. 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

During the

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 wh ...

of heroes, Roger Romaine began to kill women in the city of Portsmouth, Washington, believing that he would absorb their spirits and gain command of the dead to use against the living world. Romaine is banished to

Hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location or state in the afterlife in which souls are subjected to punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history sometimes depict hells as eternal destinations, such as Christianity and I ...

by the

, despite Mister Terrific (Terry Sloane) insisting that the families of Romaine's victims deserve to see him stand trial. Now trapped in Hell, Romaine makes a deal with the demon Shaitan, gaining the power to possess the bodies of others in exchange for giving Shaitan the chance to confront the Spectre. Returning to Earth shortly before a meeting between the

Justice Society of America The Justice Society of America (JSA) is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. It was conceived by editor Sheldon Mayer and writer Gardner Fox during the Golden Age of Comic Books. It first appeared in '' ...

(JSA) and the

Justice League The Justice League, or Justice League of America (JLA), is a group of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). Writer Gardner Fox conceived the ...

, the Spirit King possesses

the Flash The Flash is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert, the original Flash first appeared in ''Flash Comics'' #1 (cover date, cover-dated Jan ...

(

Jay Garrick Jason Peter "Jay" Garrick is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is the first character known as the Flash. The character first appeared in ''Flash Comics'' #1 (January 1940), created by writer Gardner Fox and ...

) and uses him to kill Mister Terrific. However, the spirit of Mister Terrific returns and disrupts the connection between the Spirit King and Shaitan, banishing the Spirit King to Hell once again. Years later, the Justice Society investigate a spree of violence in Portsmouth, one of the victims being a friend of

Doctor Mid-Nite Doctor Mid-Nite (or Doctor Midnight) is the name of multiple superheroes published in American comic books by DC Comics. The original version of the character was first created by writer Charles Reizenstein and artist Stanley Josephs Aschmeier in ...

. While Mid-Nite and the new Mister Terrific (Michael Holt) debate religion in a church, they are 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 (writer), John Broome and artist Gil Kane, and f ...

, the current Spectre, who reveals 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, the condemned souls escape, with the Spirit King leading them against the JSA. As the JSA try to hold their own against the undead army, the Spirit King once again possesses 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 granit ...

and seriously injure Mister Terrific. However, Jordan banishes the Spirit King and his army back to Hell.'' JSA'' #62 (August 2004)

Fictional character biography

References

See also