We're one issue removed from the Spectre killing almost everyone in Count Vertigo's civil war torn country of Vlatava. All because, as a man of the '30s and '40s, Jim Corrigan only knows how to deal with feelings of loss (the death of friend/love interest Amy Beitermann) by looking for someone to blame. Unfortunately, he's ready to blame all of humanity.
But since this is a fill-in artist issue, there's no advancing of the plot. Instead the Phantom Stranger visits Father Richard Craemer, who unwittingly gave the Spectre the idea of visiting Vlatava during confession. The Stranger wants to know what the two discussed, but Craemer insists the confessional isn't sacred and can't be violated, even if the world is at stake.
Phantom Stranger, apparently thinking he's dealing with some kids arrested for stealing lotto tickets from a convenience store, tries to scare Craemer straight with a Bible story. Pretty sure he would know all those already, buddy.
Eclipso was God's first attempt at a Spirit of Wrath, and he's responsible for the Flood. But he wouldn't forgive, got shoved inside a diamond and poof! here's the Spectre, destroying Sodom and Gomorrah, turning people to salt. You know, generally behaving like a dick. Fast forward to Egypt. Pharaoh's going to drown all the Hebrew children. Nabu, aka the Order entity inside Dr. Fate's helmet, advises against this, but is ignored. Spectre (devoid of a human host and looking like a skeleton) kills pharaoh, with Nabu barely slowing him down.
Next guy on the throne, Nabu abandons appealing to empathy, and tries pragmatism. Kill all your slaves' kids, who's going to do all the hard work nobody wants to do? This works, if you call encouraging slavery an improvement over sitting back and letting someone commit genocide. You know, I have never seen a version of Nabu that wasn't an asshole.
Anyway, Moses show up, cue party tricks with turning staffs into snakes, frog rain, locusts, the whole bit. Pharaoh won't budge, and so the Phantom Stranger shows up to warn Nabu shit's about to go down and he best stay out the way. Nabu doesn't listen, Nabu gets his ass beat again, and possibly his powers taken away? The Stranger says the force Spectre represents made the Lords of Order and could unmake them. His kid dead, Pharaoh gives in. . . for about five minutes. Then the whole thing with the Red Sea, look you probably saw the movie with old Guns n' Moses, heston, you don't need me to tell you how this ends for Pharaoh.
Anyway, storytime over, Phantom Stranger says he's worried how the Spectre will judge the Earth. So worried, he tries to form a team to stop him, but not so worried he would wait for Constantine to sober up to make sure he was there. Mixed messages.
{10th longbox, 14th comic. The Spectre (vol. 3) #14, by John Ostrander (writer), Joe Phillips (artist), Carla Feeny (colorist), Todd Klein (letterer)]
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