Appearing in "The Wrath of...the Spectre"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Fritz (Only appearance; dies)
- Hank (Only appearance; dies)
- Charlie (Only appearance; dies)
Other Characters:
- Pete (Only appearance; dies)
Locations:
- New York City
- Highway 21
- Highway 21
Synopsis for "The Wrath of...the Spectre"
This story is reprinted from Adventure Comics #431.
An armored car robbery results in four guards dead and three crooks escaping. Lt. Corrigan from homicide is put on the case. He follows a lead to an antiques dealer who happens to be part of the heist gang. When Corrigan confronts him, the thug panics and pulls a gun. He then flees his shop, taking the money. As he drives off, Spectre follows him. The thief pulls over and calls his buddy from a pay phone, confessing he's scared because a "spook" is after him. After the call, he jumps in his car again. Moments later, the Spectre appears, larger than life, causing the driver to go off the road and plunge over a cliff. One down, two to go.
The Spectre visits the next thug in his hideout. This time a machine gun his pulled on him, but Spectre only melts it away, along with the man's arms... and slowly the rest of him, until he is only a bubbling flesh form on the floor.
The third convict believes he is safe on a plane to South America, however, Spectre boards, and flips out the lights. When the lights finally come on again, the passengers gasp at the sight of a skeleton crumbling in the aisle.
The three murdering thugs have all perished by the wrath of the Spectre.
Appearing in "The Anguish of...the Spectre"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Gwendolyn Sterling (First appearance)
Antagonists:
- Maxwell Flood (Only appearance; dies)
- Peter (Only appearance; dies)
- Vera (Only appearance; dies)
- Eric (Only appearance; dies)
Other Characters:
- Adrian Sterling (Only appearance; dies)
Locations:
Synopsis for "The Anguish of...the Spectre"
This story is reprinted from Adventure Comics #432.
One night, three criminals sneak into the house of industrialist Adrian Sterling and place a bomb in the man's pool, which explodes the next day and kills Adrian Sterling. The murder case is brought to the attention of Detective Jim Corrigan, who meets with Adrian's daughter, Gwendolyn Sterling and they realize they have a mutual attraction, although Jim knows they can't be together.
Following his investigation, Jim learns that the late Adrian had a partner called Maxwell Flood, who is now in total control of the company's assets after Adrian's death. Corrigan suspects foul play and he impersonates the spirit of Adrian in order to force the truth out of Flood. The scare tactic works and The Spectre learns that Flood had hired the killers that placed the bomb on Adrian's house.
When Flood meets with the three killers, Spectre follows him and murders the three of them. One of them is split in two with giant scissors, while the second criminal is turned to dust. The second murder is witnessed by Gwen, who learns the truth of Jim Corrigan, yet she still cares for the man, who is now but a shell containing the Spirit of Vengeance. Finally, the third criminal is forced to age at an increased speed until she turns into an old corpse.
Appearing in "The Swami and...the Spectre"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Gwendolyn Sterling
Antagonists:
- Seelal (Only appearance; dies)
- Smiley (Single appearance)
Other Characters:
- Mrs. Vandergilt (Single appearance)
- Mr. Vandergilt (Only appearance; dies)
- Ernie (Single appearance)
Locations:
Synopsis for "The Swami and...the Spectre"
This story is reprinted from Adventure Comics #433.
Swami Seelal is a con-artist who has convinced several wealthy ladies that he can protect them from spirits of the astral world. When he is informed that one of the ladies' husband has decided to withdraw his economic support to his crusade, Seelal stages an "accident", where the man is killed and he manages to convince the widow that her husband was killed by the wrath of the spirit.
When the case is brough to the attention of Detective Jim Corrigan, he deduces that the Swami is a fake and warns the man to tread carefully on any other "accidents" that might connect to him. Coincidentally, the Swami is soon visited by Gwendolyn Sterling, who is seeking for help in turning Jim Corrigan into a living human once again. The Swami decides to use this chance to steal from Gwen and kill Jim at the same time, eliminating all his problems.
The Swami summons Gwen to a cemetery in the middle of the night and Gwen has called Jim to meet them there and perform a ritual that will help them. The Swami leaves before Jim could arrive and he leaves his enforcer at the entrance of the graveyard, where he uses a molotov bomb to kill Corrigan when he enters the place. The killer then walks towards Gwen with the intention of killing her, but The Spectre saves her and the crook is then dragged into a recently dug tomb by spirits. Gwen regrets having gone to the Swami, but Corrigan understands, knowing the pain of not being able to be together.
Finally, The Spectre goes to the Swami's place during his spiritual session and transforms the man into a glass statue, before tumbling it to the ground, turning it into dust.
Appearing in "Adventurers' Club..."
Featured Characters:
- The Adventurers Club (First appearance)
- Nelson Strong (First appearance)
Supporting Characters:
- Mr. Cross (Single appearance)
Antagonists:
- "Scortch" Jordan (Only appearance; dies)
Other Characters:
- Harvey Finch (Single appearance)
Locations:
Items:
- None
Vehicles:
- None
Synopsis for "Adventurers' Club..."
This story is reprinted from Adventure Comics #426.
Notes
- No special notes.
Trivia
- No trivia.
See Also
- Write your own review of this comic!
- Discuss Wrath of the Spectre Vol 1 1 on the forums
- Cover gallery for the Wrath of the Spectre series
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)
