My tears! Who steals my tears?! 
- — Naiad
Spectre (Volume 3) #21 is an issue of the series Spectre (Volume 3) with a cover date of August, 1994.
Synopsis for "Spear of Destiny, Part Three: Troubled Waters"
In the Dreaming, Professor Nicodemus Hazzard learns about the history of the Spear of Destiny. It was used on Golgotha to pierce Jesus as he hung on the cross; eventually, it ended up in the hands of Adolf Hitler. Hitler tried to use the Spear to cause Ragnarok, the Twilight of the Gods. However, he lacked the sorcerous power. Nevertheless, his hate tainted the Spear. The Spear was found by Russian solders after Berlin fell, and it ended up in the private collection of a Soviet official. Forty years later, members of the cult of Kobra stole it and tried to use the Spear to take over the world. The Spectre tried to stop Kobra, but Kobra threw the Spear at him. The Spear tapped into the mystical energy that makes up the Spectre and triggered Hitler's long-dormant spell for Ragnarok. The Spectre eventually freed himself from the Spear. An American intelligence agent named Nightshade then took the Spear as the Spectre went into a meltdown. The wounded Spectre stumbled to his old friends in the JSA, and they went off to fight Ragnarok in a timeless limbo. Meanwhile, Nightshade gave the Spear to Sarge Steel, at which point the U.S. government stockpiled it. Nicodemus Hazzard doubts the Americans even know the have the Spear. Hazzard leaves the dreaming; Lucien says that if he'd stayed longer, he would have learned that the Spear corrupts anyone who tries to use it. Hazzard calls the White House to tell the President that he knows where the Spear is.
Father Craemer dreams that he is attacked by Ku Klux Klan members as he is giving a sermon. The Klansmen force Craemer to become pope, so that he is bound to the Vatican and unable to speak his mind. Jim Corrigan enters Craemer's dream and tells him to wake up. Jim mentions that he just heard about the destruction of Coast City. He is concerned that he didn't even notice when a million people were killed. Craemer suggests that perhaps Jim isn't required to avenge every murder.
In Tokyo, Naiad destroys the headquarters of Shogun Oil, killing the president of the company along with hundreds of other employees. She gets revenge on the company that killed her. She vows to cleanse humanity from the earth, beginning with Tokyo. The Spectre appears and prevents Naiad from killing thousands of people with shards of ice.
They continue to battle, with neither gaining the upper hand. Finally, the Spectre enters Naiad's soul to teach her about wrath. However, the soul of Mai Miyazaki (Naiad's host) has moved on to the afterlife, meaning the Spectre is within the soul of Earth itself -— and she is not happy.
Meanwhile, Professor Hazzard, on orders from the White House, takes a crate out of a federal warehouse in Washington, D.C. Later, at the White House, the President is informed that the Spectre may be the one behind the destruction in Tokyo. The President asks Superman to use the Spear of Destiny to stop the Spectre.
To be continued...
Appearing in "Spear of Destiny, Part Three: Troubled Waters"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Naiad
- Adolf Hitler (Flashback only)
- Kobra (Flashback only)
- Ragnarok (Flashback only)
- Ku Klux Klan (In dream sequence only)
Other Characters:
- Lucien
- Template:Apn
- Justice Society of America (Flashback only)
- Nightshade (Flashback only)
- Sarge Steel (Flashback only)
- Gaea
- Bill Clinton
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
See Also