Crispus Allen
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Crispus Allen is a fictional police detective in DC Comics' Gotham City Police Department assigned to the Major Crimes Unit (MCU). Greg Rucka and Shawn Martinbrough created the character in Detective Comics #742, but Allen later went on to be one of the main characters in Gotham Central. Allen is now the current host for the Spectre.
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[edit] Character history
[edit] GCPD MCU
Originally from Metropolis, detective Crispus Allen was transferred to Gotham City where he was partnered with detective Renee Montoya on the GCPD MCU (Major Crimes Unit). Allen had a loving wife and children he always saw as the most important things in his life, even putting them above his job and the safety of others when Gotham was in Crisis. Allen saw Batman as a necessary evil, not wanting to deal with him but tolerating his presence better than some GCPD officers. His views on Batman were often seen in their occasional interactions, notably during Brian Azzarello's Broken City storyline. Allen was an agnostic who doubted the existence of God in spite of his family's strong faith.
[edit] Jim Corrigan
One night Allen and his partner, Renee Montoya, spotted gang members apparently preparing for some sort of violent action. Allen requested backup, but the two opted not to wait for the backup to arrive, hoping they could save lives. Following the gang into a deserted building, the detectives found several murdered men as well as two large gang members. Allen choose to tail the suspects while Montoya scouted the rest of the building. Black Spider suddenly appeared at the crime scene, firing upon Montoya. The first few shots hit Renee, but she was protected by her bulletproof vest. Black Spider then aimed at her head, but Allen shot and killed Black Spider before he could pull the trigger.
The Internal Affairs department later took the story from Allen, as well as his gun, and put him on temporary leave until his story could be corroborated. The course of the investigation should have been straightforward. Complications arose, however, when a new crime scene technician by the name of Jim Corrigan stole important evidence from the scene: the bullet that killed Black Spider.
The Internal Affairs investigator in charge of Allen's case told Montoya about the missing bullet and suggested Corrigan's connection to its disappearance. Montoya found Corrigan and forced him to reveal the location of the bullet. After it was recovered, Allen was allowed to return to active duty. However, Montoya's actions destroyed an ongoing Internal Affairs investigation into Corrigan's misconduct. This left Allen angry and disappointed in her because he had secretly started his own investigation of Corrigan which was also compromised by Montoya's actions. Allen continued his investigation (which took place during the events of Infinite Crisis), but Corrigan was tipped off. Corrigan found Allen's informant and beat him to death. Corrigan let Allen find the informant's body before shooting Allen in the back and killing him (in Gotham Central #38). By tampering with the evidence at the crime scene, Corrigan managed to "get off clean". Allen's unavenged death pushed Montoya to a breakdown, and she subsequently left the force.
[edit] The Spectre
- See also: Spectre (comics)
During Infinite Crisis #4, while Allen's body was in the morgue, the Spectre was forced to accept Allen as his new host. Later, the magic users of Earth assembled at Stonehenge to call forth the Spectre and usher in the new age of magic. Allen appeared in a ghostly version of his own form before making his first official transformation into the Spectre. The Spectre then killed Star Sapphire for her past crimes before vanishing, leaving the assembled magic users confused and fearful.
In the first issue of current series Infinite Crisis Aftermath: Spectre, Dead Again, Crispus Allen is confronted by the Spirit of Vengeance. The latter has come to realize that he needs to be humanized by a host in order to know what his mission really means. Allen refuses his request, wanting no further involvement in the Spectre's vigilante work.
The Spirit then leaves Allen for a year (presumably about the same as the year depicted in 52). During that time, Allen sees that he cannot help or communicate with his family, still shattered because Jim Corrigan will not be called to account for Allen's murder. Also, while the former detective can solve crimes — and even learns Batman's secret identity — he cannot bring the culprits to justice. This includes Corrigan, his own killer.
After a year of being unseen and powerless, Allen receives another visit from the Spirit of Vengeance. This time he takes the offer, and becomes the Spectre's human host. Their first mission together is to bring ghoulishly appropriate justice to a pedophile. While troubled, Allen is satisfied by the knowledge that, "He (Vengeance) needs me more than I need him."
Using Crispus' own son Mal, who he must kill for his homicide of Corrigan, as an example, the Spectre proceeded to explain the point set during Hal Jordan's tenure as the Spectre, asking him to be an agent of both vengeance and redemption and who has the task to better prepare the sinners to face the superior judgment of God. This final notion leads Crispus to fully embrace the role of moral anchor of the Spectre.
