Crispus Allen

Spectre
Crispus Allen
Spectre; Crispus Allen
	Crispus Allen as the Spectre; Art by Matt Wagner and Dave Stewart
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Crispus Allen; Detective Comics #742 (March 2000); The Spectre:; Infinite Crisis #4 (March, 2006)
Created by	Greg Rucka (writer); Shawn Martinbrough (artist)
In-story information
Alter ego	Crispus "Cris" Allen
Species	Ghost/Cosmic being (As Spectre)
Place of origin	Metropolis
Team affiliations	Gotham City Police Department; Black Lantern Corps
Partnerships	Aztar; Renee Montoya
Notable aliases	Spectre; The Spirit of Wrath; The Spirit of Vengeance
Abilities	Possess near-omnipotent magical and physical powers, allowing him to perform virtually any feat.; Trained detective and law enforcement officer; firearms and combat training.;

Crispus "Cris" Allen is a fictional anti-hero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, created by Greg Rucka and Shawn Martinbrough while first debuting in Detective Comics #742 (March, 2000). While associated with Batman, Allen's character is the third mainstream incarnation of the Spectre, a supernatural cosmic being that embodies the divine wrath of God and punishes the guilty harshly.^[1]

Allen is depicted as an African-American detective and family man from Metropolis who transfer to Gotham City. Partnered with Renee Montoya, the pair are examples of dedicated and honest officers of law enforcement in Gotham, bringing justice to both criminals and corrupt officers alike. Detective Allen is eventually murdered by fellow officer but is resurrected as the human host of the Spectre.^[2]

The character appeared in the 2012 film The Dark Knight Rises and was played by Rob Brown, Andrew Stewart-Jones in the first season of the television series Gotham and by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith in Justice League, part of DC Extended Universe.

Publication history

Greg Rucka and Shawn Martinbrough created the character in Detective Comics #742 (March 2000). Allen later went on to be one of the main characters in Gotham Central. After he was killed by a corrupt police technician named Jim Corrigan (unrelated to the Jim Corrigan who was a host of the Spectre), Allen became the third host for the Spectre.

Fictional character biography

Crispus Allen as he appeared in *The Other History of the DC Universe* #4 (May 2021), art by Giuseppe Camuncoli.

Originally from Metropolis, Detective Crispus Allen is a police veteran who transfers to Gotham City, where he is partnered with detective Renee Montoya. Allen has a loving wife and two teenaged sons, who he puts above his job and the safety of others. Allen sees Batman as a necessary evil, not wanting to deal with him but tolerating his presence. Their occasional interactions illustrate his views on Batman, notably during Brian Azzarello's "Broken City" storyline. Allen is an agnostic who doubts the existence of God in spite of his family's strong faith.

The Spirit of Vengeance

Allen is killed by corrupt officer Jim Corrigan (unrelated to the original incarnation of Spectre). As a lost wandering soul unable to interact with the living, Allen is selected to be his the Spectre's new host. While he initially refused, Allen reconsidered once frustrated with countless crimes going unpunished. Undergoing a trial of sorts to make his bond with Aztar permanent, Allen is conflicted in simply punishing the guilty only after a they committed a sin and in his final test Allen is forced to punish his young son when he kills Corrigan in revenge but learns the Spectre's role merely sends being to the afterlife to be judged but is granted a moment with his son by Aztar and fully accepts the responsibilities.^[3]

In Final Crisis, Cain uses the Spear of Destiny to separate Allen and the Spectre.^[4] However, Renee Montoya recovers the Spear, enabling Allen and the Spectre to reunite.^[5] In Blackest Night, Allen's original body is temporarily resurrected as a Black Lantern.^[6]

Dawn of DC

In DC Power 2024, Allen's version of Spectre teams up with the Question (Renee Montoya), who acts voice of reason. Reminded of the importance of deductive ability, Allen punishes a therapist who uses therapeutic hypnosis to control a patient's power to manifest a monstrous creature and targets those whom she believed personally wronged her.^[2]

Powers and abilities

As the Spectre, Allen possess the same typically associated with the character,^[2] which includes near omnipotent magical and physical abilities, making him capable of virtually any feat and to control space, time, reality, and matter.^[7] However, Allen's powers has limits; some stories depict him as being disallowed from directly interact with those unrelated to his divine mission in the world of living.^[2]^[3]

Other versions

Crispus Allen makes a cameo appearance in Batman: Year 100 #3 via a photograph.^[8]

In other media

Crispus Allen appears in Gotham, portrayed by Andrew Stewart-Jones.^[9]^[10]

Crispus Allen appears in Batman: Gotham Knight, voiced by Gary Dourdan.^[11] This version is the partner of Detective Anna Ramirez who originally despised Batman's vigilantism before changing his views after the Dark Knight saves him and Ramirez from a gang war.
Crispus Allen appears in Justice League, portrayed by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith.^[12]

References

^ "Spectre". 2021-12-03. Archived from the original on 2021-12-03. Retrieved 2024-02-07.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Jemisin, N. K.; Thomas, Brandon; Eaton, Cheryl Lynn; Giles, Lamar (2024-01-30). DC Power 2024 (2024) #1. DC Comics.
^ ^a ^b Pfeifer, Will; Lapham, David; Chiang, Cliff; Rollins, Prentis (2007). Crisis Aftermath - The Spectre. DC Comics. ISBN 978-1-4012-1380-0.
^ Final Crisis: Revelations #1 - 4 (October 2008 - January 2009)
^
- Final Crisis: Revelations #5 (February 2009)
- Final Crisis #7 (March 2009)
- The Brave and the Bold (vol. 3) #26 (October 2009)
^
- Blackest Night #2 (October 2009)
- Green Lantern (vol. 4) #50 - 51 (January - February 2010)
^ "Spectre". 2021-12-03. Archived from the original on 2021-12-03. Retrieved 2024-02-07.
^ Batman: Year 100 #3 (June 2006)
^ Goldberg, Lesley (May 12, 2014). "Fox's Gotham Promotes Three to Series Regular". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 12, 2014.
^ Ausiello, Michael (August 2, 2015). "Ask Ausiello: Spoilers on Big Bang, Arrow, Bates, Sleepy, Castle, Twin Peaks, UnREAL, Gotham, Dome and More". TVLine. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
^ "Detective Crispus Allen Voice - Batman: Gotham Knight (Movie)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved December 11, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
^ Tyr-El, Shaun (January 22, 2020). "Zack Snyder included an easter egg for 'The Spectre' in Justice League". The Cultured Nerd. Retrieved December 11, 2024.

External links

DC Comics.com listing of Gotham Central vol. 2 Archived 2006-06-30 at the Wayback Machine

[:0-1] "Spectre". 2021-12-03. Archived from the original on 2021-12-03. Retrieved 2024-02-07.

[:1-2] Jemisin, N. K.; Thomas, Brandon; Eaton, Cheryl Lynn; Giles, Lamar (2024-01-30). DC Power 2024 (2024) #1. DC Comics.

[:2-3] Pfeifer, Will; Lapham, David; Chiang, Cliff; Rollins, Prentis (2007). Crisis Aftermath - The Spectre. DC Comics. ISBN 978-1-4012-1380-0.

[4] Final Crisis: Revelations #1 - 4 (October 2008 - January 2009)

[5] 
Final Crisis: Revelations #5 (February 2009)
Final Crisis #7 (March 2009)
The Brave and the Bold (vol. 3) #26 (October 2009)

[6] Final Crisis: Revelations #5 (February 2009)

[7] Final Crisis #7 (March 2009)

[8] The Brave and the Bold (vol. 3) #26 (October 2009)

[6] 
Blackest Night #2 (October 2009)
Green Lantern (vol. 4) #50 - 51 (January - February 2010)

[10] Blackest Night #2 (October 2009)

[11] Green Lantern (vol. 4) #50 - 51 (January - February 2010)

[:02-7] "Spectre". 2021-12-03. Archived from the original on 2021-12-03. Retrieved 2024-02-07.

[8] Batman: Year 100 #3 (June 2006)

[9] Goldberg, Lesley (May 12, 2014). "Fox's Gotham Promotes Three to Series Regular". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 12, 2014.

[10] Ausiello, Michael (August 2, 2015). "Ask Ausiello: Spoilers on Big Bang, Arrow, Bates, Sleepy, Castle, Twin Peaks, UnREAL, Gotham, Dome and More". TVLine. Retrieved November 10, 2015.

[btva-11] "Detective Crispus Allen Voice - Batman: Gotham Knight (Movie)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved December 11, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.

[12] Tyr-El, Shaun (January 22, 2020). "Zack Snyder included an easter egg for 'The Spectre' in Justice League". The Cultured Nerd. Retrieved December 11, 2024.

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v t e The Spectre
Jerry Siegel Bernard Baily
Hosts	Jim Corrigan Hal Jordan Crispus Allen
Supporting characters	Doctor Thirteen Madame Xanadu Phantom Stranger Secret
Antagonists	Anti-Monitor Clayface Darkseid Eclipso First of the Fallen Joker Killer Croc Manhunters Neron Poison Ivy Scarecrow Sinestro Two-Face Wotan
Publications	More Fun Comics Adventure Comics Ghosts Tales of the Unexpected
Other media	DC Showcase: The Spectre "Crisis on Infinite Earths"