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Gentleman Ghost

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Gentleman Ghost
Gentleman Ghost facing Alan Scott from JSA #84. Art by Luke Ross.
Publication information
PublisherDC Comics
First appearanceFlash Comics #88 (October 1947)
Created byRobert Kanigher (writer)
Joe Kubert (artist)
In-story information
Alter egoJames "Jim" Craddock
SpeciesGhost
Team affiliationsInjustice Society
Secret Society of Super Villains
Suicide Squad
Notable aliasesThe Ghost
"Gentleman Jim"
Abilities

Gentleman Ghost (James "Jim" Craddock), introduced as Ghost, and also known as Gentleman Jim, is a supervillain appearing in works published by DC Entertainment.[1] Created by writer Robert Kanigher and artist Joe Kubert, the character first appeared in Flash Comics #88 (October 1947).[2]

Fictional character biography

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Earth-Two

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On Earth-Two, a criminal called "Ghost" fights Hawkman and Hawkgirl, claiming to be an actual ghost. Hawkman refuses to believe it and the couple's investigation seems to support that. In their next encounter, it is confirmed that Ghost is a mundane criminal named James "Jim" Craddock who used tricks and gadgets to appear to be a ghost.[3][4]

Post-Crisis

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In Post-Crisis continuity, James "Jim" Craddock is the son of an English gentleman who abandoned both him and his mother, forcing them into poverty. Craddock grows up to become a notorious highwayman and robber who terrorizes England in the 19th century under the name "Gentleman Jim", after a prophecy from a Romani said he would be a highwayman. He encounters the ghosts of other highwaymen, and Dick Turpin leaves him a horse. He journeys to the United States and encounters the gunslingers Nighthawk and Cinnamon. The hot-headed Nighthawk lynches Craddock after wrongly assuming that he sexually assaulted Cinnamon. However, Craddock eludes death to rise again as a ghost.[5]

The Gentleman Ghost learns that he must wander the earth until the spirit of his killer moves on to the next plane of existence.[6] Nighthawk and Cinnamon turn out to be the reincarnations of Ancient Egyptian royalty Prince Khufu and Chay-Ara: their souls (due to their exposure to the Thanagarian Nth metal) can never truly pass on. Both are eventually resurrected as Hawkman and Hawkgirl, and the Gentleman Ghost becomes their recurring nemesis during the 1940s.[7] Craddock over the decades menaces other heroes, including Batman, Atom, Flash, The New Teen Titans, Max Mercury and Stargirl, but the vengeful ghost always returns to his main foes, the Hawks, sometimes as a foe and sometimes as a friend.

Gentleman Ghost later appears as a member of the Injustice Society.[8]

During the Infinite Crisis storyline, he joins Alexander Luthor Jr.'s Secret Society of Super Villains. He fights Alan Scott and places him in a coma.[9]

His origin is explored and altered in the pages of JSA #82-87 (2006). The natural son of an abusive father and a poor mother, young Jim Craddock slips into a life of crime, making contacts with the supernatural. After a gypsy prophesies that he will be able to transcend death and return to life fighting and killing his enemies on English soil, his villainous career is put to an end when he is captured and sentenced to death by hanging after being tricked by a woman he is trying to seduce who summons Redcoats. Returning as a ghost, he battles those on JSA, hoping for the prophecy to come true. When the rightful time arrives, the Ghost gains the additional power of summoning vengeful ghosts from the JSA's past, like someone Scott killed with an electrical accident, although this is a fake, and other highwaymen. His plan is foiled by Stargirl, who, as a virgin girl, is impervious to ghostly attacks, an army of ghostly nobles who attack his army, and Wildcat, a descendant of the Royal House of England, who decapitates him. Vanquished, he disappears.[10]

Gentleman Ghost is one of the villains sent to retrieve the Get Out of Hell Free card from the Secret Six.

The New 52

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In 2011, The New 52 rebooted the DC universe. Gentleman Ghost is still a thief and is not a ghost like his Earth-Two counterpart.[11]

In his first appearance, he steals the Mortis Orb, which can resurrect the dead.[12] Hawkman deduces that Gentleman Ghost is Jim Craddock (whom he knew in a previous incarnation). Gentleman Ghost talks to Hawkman because the Nth metal drew him to the Mortis Orb. He plans to take Hawkman to the orb, but the latter refuses. Gentleman Ghost sends more apparitions after Hawkman, who flees. Gentleman Ghost later appears to Hawkman again, saying that the warlock's spell rendered the orb inert years before, but the Nth Metal broke the spell causing the orb to regain its power. Gentleman Ghost takes the orb, saying that he will use it to transcend death and resurrect himself through the life-force of every man, woman, and child nearby. Then, he disappears and the zombies attacking Hawkman fall apart.[13] Gentleman Ghost begins fully harnessing the orb’s power, creating a portal from which Julius Gates comes out. Gates (demanding the orb) grabs Craddock, while Hawkman takes the orb from him. The portal vanishes with Craddock and Gates inside causing them both to disappear along with the apparitions and zombies. Hawkman drops the Mortis Orb somewhere in Antarctica to keep it from falling into the wrong hands again.[14]

Craddock later takes up residence in Duskhaven, a New Hampshire town out of which he operates while robbing wealthy socialites of Gotham. When the Midnight Shift apprehends him, he reveals his new origins. Craddock was a philanderer and drew the ire of a witch, who cursed him, granting his abilities but forcing him to commit criminal acts. He believed the curse would be lifted once the witch died. It was not and he found himself to be immortal and having been turned into a ghost.[11]

DC Rebirth

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In 2016, DC Comics implemented DC Rebirth another relaunch of its books which restored its continuity to a form much as it was prior to "The New 52". Gentleman Ghost joins Amanda Waller's Suicide Squad Black to fight Sebastian Faust after he steals several artifacts in A.R.G.U.S. storage.[15]

In the pages of "The New Golden Age", Gentleman Ghost obtains a special sphere to summon an army of zombies. He fights the Justice Society until Icicle unknowingly uses his ice attack on the sphere, which ends up summoning Surtur to Earth. Legionnaire (revealed to be a younger Mordru wanting to avoid the path of evil) borrows some of Hawkman's lifeforce and uses it to revive Gentleman Ghost causing Surtur to explode and the zombies to disappear.[16]

Powers, abilities, and equipment

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The Gentleman Ghost of Earth-Two relies on various devices to simulate ghost-like capabilities for his criminal capers.

Jim Craddock is a ghost who can become invisible and intangible, teleport, and freeze people with his touch. However, he is vulnerable to Nth metal, which has anti-magic properties.[17]

Other versions

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  • An alternate reality version of the Gentleman Ghost makes a minor appearance in Kingdom Come #2.[18]
  • A heroic Gentleman Ghost from Earth-3 called the Pinkerton Ghost appears in Hawkman (vol. 6) #18 as a member of the Justice Society All-Stars, the Injustice Society's heroic counterpart.[19]
  • In a possible future seen in "The New Golden Age", Gentleman Ghost appears as a member of Huntress' makeshift Justice Society of America until he is revived and killed by Per Degaton.[20]

In other media

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Television

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Film

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Video games

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Rovin, Jeff (1987). The Encyclopedia of Supervillains. New York: Facts on File. p. 141. ISBN 0-8160-1356-X.
  2. ^ Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Manning, Matthew K.; McAvennie, Michael; Wallace, Daniel (2019). DC Comics Year By Year: A Visual Chronicle. DK Publishing. p. 53. ISBN 978-1-4654-8578-6.
  3. ^ Flash Comics #88. DC Comics.
  4. ^ Flash Comics #104. DC Comics.
  5. ^ Greenberger, Robert (2008). The Essential Batman Encyclopedia. Del Rey. p. 145. ISBN 9780345501066.
  6. ^ Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Korte, Steve; Manning, Matt; Wiacek, Win; Wilson, Sven (2016). The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe. DK Publishing. p. 119. ISBN 978-1-4654-5357-0.
  7. ^ Wallace, Dan (2008), "Gentleman Ghost", in Dougall, Alastair (ed.), The DC Comics Encyclopedia, New York: Dorling Kindersley, p. 137, ISBN 978-0-7566-4119-1, OCLC 213309017
  8. ^ JSA Classified #5-7. DC Comics.
  9. ^ Villains United #1. DC Comics.
  10. ^ JSA #82-87. DC Comics.
  11. ^ a b Gotham By Midnight Annual #1. DC Comics.
  12. ^ Savage Hawkman #5. DC Comics.
  13. ^ The Savage Hawkman #6. DC Comics.
  14. ^ The Savage Hawkman #7. DC Comics.
  15. ^ Suicide Squad Black Files #1-6. DC Comics.
  16. ^ Justice Society of America Vol. 4 #10. DC Comics.
  17. ^ Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe Vol 1 #9 (November 1985)
  18. ^ Kingdom Come #2. DC Comics.
  19. ^ Hawkman (vol. 6) #18. DC Comics.
  20. ^ Justice Society of America Vol. 4 #6. DC Comics.
  21. ^ "The World's Finest - Backstage - Unused Villains Database - Gentleman Ghost". www.worldsfinestonline.com. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
  22. ^ a b c d "Gentleman Ghost Voices (DC Universe)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved April 8, 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.
  23. ^ Flook, Ray (July 22, 2024). "Batman: Caped Crusader Spotlights Firebug, Gentleman Ghost, Nocturna". Bleeding Cool. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
  24. ^ "LEGO Batman Movie TV Spot with Gentleman Ghost, Calendar Man, and Condiment King". DC. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
  25. ^ Zachary, Brandon (July 25, 2019). "REVIEW: Teen Titans Go Vs. Teen Titans Is A Goofy Love Letter To The Team". CBR. Retrieved April 8, 2024.
  26. ^ Eisen, Andrew (October 4, 2013). "DC Characters and Objects - Scribblenauts Unmasked Guide". IGN. Retrieved April 8, 2024.
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