Let us be rid of this... "glamor." My name is Madame Xanadu... and I am your mother. 
Spectre (Volume 3) #44 is an issue of the series Spectre (Volume 3) with a cover date of August, 1996.
Synopsis for "Righteous Anger"
Hellion has set her co-workers on fire, and the Spectre tries to stop her. She lashes her chains at him and makes a mark across his chest. She then binds the Spectre in the chains. Madame Xanadu enters the room and explains that Hellion was her daughter in a previous life. In each incarnation, Madame Xanadu has tried to complete her magical education—but in each life, Hellion has resisted.
Nate Kane is in the men's room at the Boston train station, preparing to depart for Salem as Jim had asked him to do. But the Spectre needs him there now, so he reaches through the mirror and pulls Kane in, transporting him to Salem. He instructs Kane to find Helen Belcanto's house. Then the Spectre leaves, explaining that it is very difficult for him to be in two places at once. As Kane walks out onto the street, the scene appears to be three hundred years in the past.
Madame Xanadu tries to convince Hellion that her complaints are accurate but her methods are misguided. Meanwhile, the Spectre breaks free from the chains.
In Salem, Kane is in the past, dressed in attire from the 1600s. A mob is about to hang a woman for witchcraft, and Kane tries to break it up. The mob accuses Kane of being in consort with the "witch," but he beats up the mob's leaders and points his gun at a man's head. Suddenly, he is back in the present, and his gun is still pointed at a man's head. Time seems to be moving in waves. He suspects that the waves' source will lead him to Helen.
The Spectre shows Hellion what is happening in Salem: time is moving in waves, and women are being subjected to past indignities. This is occurring because Hellion does not have control over her anger. Madame Xanadu explains: "Hellion is not Helen—except as a projection of that which she hates!" Meanwhile, Nate Kane makes his way to Helen's apartment. Hellion leaves, sensing Kane's presence. The Spectre starts to chase her, but Madame Xanadu tries to stop him, in an effort to protect her daughter.
Just as Kane is about to reach Helen, Hellion enters. But the Spectre appears right behind her, and Madame Xanadu appears after the Spectre. The Spectre tells Hellion that she must decide whether she is willing to be consumed by her anger and endanger reality in the process. Hellion refuses to become that which she fights, and she returns to Helen's body. Helen wakes up and gives the Talisman to Nate Kane, telling him that whatever the Talisman represents, it's not part of any woman. Kane then gives the Talisman to the Spectre, who wonders if Helen is correct; if the Talisman doesn't pertain to women, is the Talisman itself flawed?
Appearing in "Righteous Anger"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Hellion
- Lt. Nate Kane
- Madame Xanadu
- Three demons summoned by Madame Xanadu:
- Atopeh
- Bathopet
- Maw
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
- Sarah Parkinson
Locations:
Items:
- American Talisman
Vehicles:
Notes
- This is part eight of the story arc, "The Haunting of America." It concludes with issue #50.
- This issue is dedicated to Kim Yale.
See Also