Soon you will receive the final justice to which I've delivered you... It's leniency or severity is not mine to define or assert. Avenging the spirits of those you murdered-- eliminating you from Earth-- was my only concern. But know this: your deed were hideous... and in "going easy" on you I have defied my charge to mete punishment equal to the crimes. 
- — Spectre
Spectre (Volume 2) #3 is an issue of the series Spectre (Volume 2) with a cover date of June, 1987.
Synopsis for "Justice Beyond The Flesh"
Jim Corrigan finds himself at the Long Island house of Winston Scullis, brother of the woman who was murdered by a monster eagle in Corrigan's office and unknown to Jim, leader of the Cult of the Blood Red Moon. During their conversation, Spectre leaves Corrigan's body and goes investigating around the place in his invisible state. Spectre's presence sparks energy at the place and Scullis notices the disturbance, but doesn't react accordingly. Spectre finds the rest of the Cult in the basement of the place and Corrigan learns that the house would've belonged to the murdered woman, but after her death, it has passed on to Scullis.
Corrigan leaves the building, mildly disturbed and when he gets in his car, Spectre is already waiting for him. Corrigan shares his suspicions about Scullis being the murderer of the woman, but Spectre shares with him the information about the Cult and also tells him that the responsible for the murder is not part of the cult... yet. Meanwhile back at the place, the Cult gathers and prepares their next ceremony in which they will attack Spectre's living host and also gain a new member.
Moments later, Corrigan goes to the 11th Precinct to interrogate Detective Peter Quarral, who is investigating the murder case as well. While Corrigan tries to get some information from Quarral, Spectre searches the files kept on the Cult and learns the addresses of some of the former members. Once the information has been gathered, Corrigan leaves, giving Quarral a cryptic message about the Cult. Like this, Corrigan and Spectre go to the places, but the only thing they find is dead bodies. After a failed attempt at stopping the Cult, Corrigan and Spectre gather back at Corrigan's office, where Spectre informs Corrigan about the blood moon that will happen at midnight, which will provide the Cult with the perfect conditions to perform a ritual that will allow them to joint the Demon responsible for the killings with his human host, Louis Petrocci, a former police detective and friend of Jim Corrigan. When Jim learns about the situation, he pleads to the Spectre to forgive Lou, but following his avenging quest, Spectre cannot forgive the souls of murderers.
At midnight, the ritual starts and the Cult is joined by Louis Petrocci and the Demon who possessed him. Spectre leaves and Corrigan is left behind, in an anxious state. Spectre arrives at the Cult's ceremony, just as the Demon is attaching his being to Lou. However, the Demon's spawns that were released on Corrigan's office are unleashed on Jim at the same time as Spectre attacks the Cult. The Spectre is only able to giving Lou death when he is told about the imminent threat to his human host and is forced to leave, allowing the Cult to escape. Corrigan makes a good effort, fighting the demon spawns back with help from his assistant, Kim Liang, but their efforts are futile and they are about to be killed when Spectre arrives and eliminates the demons. Infuriated, Spectre scolds Corrigan for not warning him about the demon spawns, which he had seen earlier. Corrigan is more concerned about Lou's soul and Spectre punches him for his reckless actions, considering he needs his human body to finish his punishment. Spectre then goes back to the Cult's place, but finds nothing and Kim takes care of the injured Jim as they share their first kiss amidst the confusion.
Afterwards, Spectre takes the soul of Louis Petrocci to the other side, where he explains the reason for his ultimate fate before delivering the man's soul to the Phantom Stranger, who will take him to eternal rest. Later, Spectre returns to Madame Xanadu's place, where she informs him that ever since his return, her powers have increased and Spectre believes that this could mean that there is a connection between them, just like his connection with Corrigan. Meanwhile, Corrigan has a visitor as Peter Quarral has made a link between the murdered woman and her brother, the leader of the Cult. Since Corrigan has already learned this information, he mocks Quarral and forces him to leave his office after which he arranges a dinner date with Kim at ear's reach from Quarral.
Appearing in "Justice Beyond The Flesh"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Kim Liang
- Madame Xanadu
- Peter Quarral
Antagonists:
- Cult of the Blood Red Moon
- Winston Scullis
- Demons
Other Characters:
- Phantom Stranger
- Louis Petrocci (Final appearance; dies)
Locations:
Notes
- This issue works as a conclusion to the first three-part storyline of the series.
Trivia
- During the last dialogue between Jim Corrigan and Peter Quarral, there's a reference to the movie Ghostbusters and the main actor, Bill Murray.
See Also
Recommended Reading
- The Spectre Recommended Reading
- Adventure Comics (Volume 1): Adventure Comics #431– #440
- Countdown to Mystery
- Crisis Aftermath: The Spectre (Volume 1)
- Day of Judgment
- Day of Vengeance
- Final Crisis: Revelations
- More Fun Comics (Volume 1)
- Spectre (Volume 1)
- Spectre (Volume 2)
- Spectre (Volume 3)
- Spectre (Volume 4)
- Tales of the Unexpected (Volume 2)
- Wrath of the Spectre (Volume 1)