Spirit King

SPIRIT KING

Real Name: Roger Romaine

Class: Human spirit magic-user

Occupation: Serial killer, sorcerer

Group Affiliation: None

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Hell, formerly Portsmouth City, Washington

First Appearance: Justice League of America I #171 (October, 1979)

Powers: Spirit King was a black magician who could control the spirits of the damned. He could enter and possess the bodies of others. As a spirit he was intangible and unable to be damaged using conventional methods.

History: (JSA #60 (fb, BTS)) - Roger Romaine became a practitioner of black magic, and murdered women, sacrificing them to Shaitan so he could control their souls in death. As the Spirit King he became the arch-enemy of Mr. Terrific.

(JSA #60) <Octoer 30, 1953> The Spectre and Mr. Terrific were on the verge of capturing the Spirit King, but Mr. Terrific insisted Spectre leave him to Terrific, so the King could face trial. The Spirit King ran into a church and begged God forgiveness for his crimes, but he was met by the Spectre, who raised the zombies of the Spirit King’s victims to kill him, then damned the King's soul to Hell.

(Spectre III #54 (fb), JSA #61 (fb)) - <seven years ago> The Spirit King returned to Earth to revenge himself on Mr. Terrific. The King’d learned that Flash was the one who put Spectre on his trail, so he possessed the Flash and had him strangled Mr. Terrific to death during one of the JSA / JLA get together. The JSA pursued Spirit King in Flash's body to Stonehenge, where he emerged, and jumped from one hero to the next to defeat them, ultimately taking Dr. Fate as his host, and allowing Flash to flee, and putting the idea in his head to seek Spectre's aid. Spirit King brought the heroes to Fate's Tower to punish them with hellish tormwents, and he animated Mr. Terrific's rotting corpse for his own amusement. Flash arrived with Spectre, and Spirit King revealed that his whole plan was to draw in the Spectre, his prize. His master was Shaitan, and he opened up a portal to Hell to consume the Spectre. Mr. Terrific's spirit arrived, and helped Spectre send Spirit King to Hell, closing the gate. Terriffic said he always felt outclassed by his teammates, but he knew he was the hero that day, and the JSA said he made upo for his lack of powers with heart and guts.

(JSA #60-62) - After having lost redemption and abandoned vengeance the new Spectre lost his authority in Hell. With this, the Spirit King rose from Hell, returned to Earth and attacked Spectre. The Spirit King now commanded every soul the Spectre’d ever damned to Hell, and had Louis Snipe kill Dr.Mid-Nite's assistants K-Mark and Ice Sickle. The rest of the damned souls joined the King in fighting Spectre. While the Spectre and JSA were busy fighting Spirit King’s army, the King kidnapped Flash Jay Garrick and possessed him. He told Flash it was once again time to force him to kill one of his teammates. Under the Spirit King’s control Flash nearly killed Mr. Terrific II before the Spectre reclaimed his role as spirit of vengeance, banished the King’s undead army to Hell, and forced the King from Flash’s body. Spectre clothed the King’s soul in flesh and devoured him.

Comments: Created by Gerry Conway & Dick Dillin

In the pre-Crisis DC Universe Spirit King lived on Earth-2.