| Monsieur Stigmonus | |
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Monsieur Stigmonus Art by Ryan Sook. |
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | The Spectre Vol. 4, #6 (Aug. 2001) |
| Created by | J.M. DeMatteis Ryan Sook |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Monsieur Stigmonus |
| Abilities | Supernatural being with unclear, yet seemingly limitless abilities, a reflection of the despair and doubt in mortals |
Monsieur Stigmonus is a DC Comics supervillain. Created by J.M. DeMatteis and Ryan Sook, he first appeared in The Spectre Vol. 4, #6 (August 2001).
Contents |
Monsieur Stigmonus first appeared in the pages of the The Spectre, during a three-part story entitled "The Redeemer", which featured Hal Jordan in the role of the Spirit of Vengeance, a role he was coming to terms with. Under the influence of writer J.M. DeMatteis, Jordan was questioning the need for vengeance from an all-loving God and eventually became more a Spirit of Redemption. However, he needed a foil to counter this developing belief structure and Stigmonus became said archnemesis. Ryan Sook provided the look of Stigmonus, a pale white humanoid with a black goatee, yin/yang encased on his forehead, and dressed in the high fashion of the 18th century.
Monsieur Stigmonus appeared out of nowhere and started tormenting the Spectre Hal Jordan, who was trying to figure out his place in the universe. Jordan was trying to resist the Logoz’s need for wrath and vengeance, learning to develop an understanding that humanity may be in more need of a Spirit of Redemption than a Spirit of Vengeance. During this critical point of Jordan’s new role, Stigmonus emerged to cast doubt on this new point of view. Stigmonus showed Jordan examples of humanity’s cruelty and selfishness as if to make the point that it isn’t worth saving. He mocked Jordan’s belief that he could make a difference and pointed out that even Jesus was crucified. Jordan, still doubting a great deal in himself, the Presence, and his duty, reverted to his old ways as a human Green Lantern and fought with Stigmonus. After seemingly defeating him, Jordan sought the advice and wisdom of the Risen.
Meanwhile, Stigmonus, quite fine, initiated the next step in pushing Hal Jordan to see his perspective. He visited Helen Jordan, Hal’s niece, and took her on a cosmic trip, explaining to her the unfairness of life, the universe, and everything. Jack Jordan and Jan Jordan, Helen’s parents and Hal’s brother and sister-in-law, discovered their daughter’s disappearance and frantically went in search of her. Hal discovered Stigmonus’ abduction of Helen and confronted him. Stigmonus showed Hal two possible futures for Helen: one in which she would grow to be “The Redeemer”, a being who would “lead this planet out of misery and into the Golden Age”, and another in which, one way or another, “she’ll come to a tragic end,” often depicted as being by her own hand. Stigmonus offered Jordan a wager in which they’d both try to push young Helen toward the path they preferred and they’d find out which one she eventually succumbed to. Hal refused to play games with his niece’s life, but Stigmonus claimed he’d already started playing. Jack and Helen were driving in a car, arguing and desperately trying to find their daughter. Suddenly, Stigmonus appeared in the middle of the road. Jack twisted the steering wheel and the car spun out of control. “I love you, Jan” he cried. “I love y-“ Jan replied as they crashed into a freight truck. The two of them were admitted into a hospital, but died shortly thereafter.
Hal Jordan discovered this as they lay in their hospital beds and vowed vengeance upon Monsieur Stigmonus. Becoming a hideous monstrosity, Jordan attempted to make Stigmonus suffer, but realized that it only made his power grow. It was then that Jordan truly understood that Stigmonus was merely a reflection of pain, misery, doubt, despair, and hopelessness and that the only way to truly fight such things was to counter them with hope, light, goodness, love, and forgiveness. Jordan said, “I could almost thank you, Stigmonus – for pushing me so far. I see now… that I had to become you in order to transcend you.” He attempted to show Stigmonus yet another future, one of bliss and infinite potential. “The future doesn’t have to be the abyss you think it will be. Give humankind a chance… give yourself a chance. This is what we can make of the world when we choose to co-create with God. To dream our highest dreams,” he tried to explain. But Stigmonus was unable to view the paradise Jordan showed him. Due to his very existence, Stigmonus could only see the dystopia and hopelessness of reality. And so, Jordan left him there in that alternate realm to “laugh” at him for all eternity.
As Hal Jordan grew to become a true Spirit of Redemption, Monsieur Stigmonus proved to not be the gullible fool the Spectre would believe him to be. He pretended to stay put in his world of despair, but secretly escaped beyond Jordan’s notice and began to plot his next move. Deep within the Spectre’s temple, Hal Jordan discovered a door that he did not recognize. This was not unusual, as his temple was a part of his very psyche and constantly changing, but this particular door seemed strange and tempting. As Hal approached it, he became engulfed by it and was sucked away from his ordinary plane of existence, landing in another world, another universe, where he never became Green Lantern, but instead married Carol Ferris and became a businessman for Ferris Aircraft following his retirement as a test pilot. His family, unaffected by his adventures as Green Lantern, was complete and alive and happy. It even appeared that Coast City was not destroyed in this alternate reality. Upon appearing in this illusion, Hal seemed to forget his other life entirely.
Meanwhile, Stigmonus resurrected the being known as Sinestro, Hal Jordan’s greatest enemy during his time as a Green Lantern. He had rehabilitated Sinestro to health, mind, and, most importantly, will. Together, they attacked a female form of the Spectre who was watching over Jordan’s temple and young Helen (at this time, Hal had taken over as Helen’s guardian and had recognized his ability to spawn off multiple versions of himself as aspects of his psyche in order to better handle simultaneous situations demanding the Spectre’s influence.) However, with the “prime” Spectre lost in a world of make-believe and unaware of his duties in the “real” world, this female Spectre quickly lost her power and eventually collapsed and disintegrated.
In his pseudo-world, Hal was confronted by J’onn J’onzz (the Martian Manhunter) and Green Arrow. Apparently, they’d been frequently having dreams in which he and not Guy Gardner (as it was in this reality) was Green Lantern; dreams so real that they felt it necessary to confront Mr. Jordan about the situation. Upon reading Hal’s mind, J’onzz discovered that he knew nothing of the situation and they left him alone. However, Green Arrow appeared again at Ferris Aircraft and decided to confront Jordan again, not satisfied with J’onn’s psychic reading. It a moment of stress and panic, Hal referred to Green Arrow as “Oliver” – his real name. Now convinced that Jordan was a part of something sinister, he tried to break it out of him, but was cut short when Sinestro broke his neck and killed him. Sinestro demolished Ferris Aircraft and crushed Hal underneath it. However, out of the ruins emerged an emerald warrior – Hal Jordan, Green Lantern.
All of this, the fake “perfect life”, the rising of Sinestro, and messing with Hal Jordan’s psyche, was the doing of Monsieur Stigmonus. A battle erupted in Hal’s alternate reality. The Justice League showed up, as did the Spectre. But none of them were able to stop Sinestro. Then, Hal realized what had been happening, regained control of his mind and world, and once again became the Spectre. He escaped his illusion and confronted Sinestro, offering him not punishment, but redemption. Sinestro refused and chose Hell over Jordan’s offer. Finally, Stigmonus presented himself. He claimed responsibility for bringing Sinestro back, but claimed he merely “open[ed] a door that was already there” as far as Jordan’s dream-world was concerned. The two of them parted ways, with Hal not sure what to make of Stigmonus. After all, he really hadn’t done any real damage and claimed to be simply showing Hal something he needed to see. His intention, he said, would only be discovered in time.
Monsieur Stigmonus’ final quote: “When we sleep, when we dream, there’s no question of real or unreal. We accept the totality of our experience. We believe it – to the core of our being. All we think, all we feel has weight and depth and meaning. The people we share our dreams with are intimately woven into our hearts. If I stepped into your dream and told you that your life had no more substance than a random thought – would you believe me? Or would you laugh and call me mad?”