| D'Spayre | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Marvel Team-Up #68 (April 1978) |
| Created by | Chris Claremont John Byrne |
| In-story information | |
| Species | Demon |
| Team affiliations | Fear Lords |
| Notable aliases | D'Spayre often masquerades as persons trusted by his victims |
| Abilities |
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D'Spayre (sometimesD'spayre) is a fictional character appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics. He is a demon, and was one of theFear Lords.[1] He has been opposed bySpider-Man,Scarlet Spider,Man-Thing,Cyclops,Hulk,Juggernaut,Doctor Strange,Cloak and Dagger, and theNew Avengers.
The character was portrayed byBrooklyn McLinn in the second season of theMarvel Cinematic Universe television seriesCloak & Dagger.[2]
D'Spayre first appeared inMarvel Team-Up #68 (April 1978). He was created by writerChris Claremont and pencillerJohn Byrne.[3]
D'Spayre is a creation of theDweller-in-Darkness, a powerful demon who created him to act as an agent on Earth while the Dweller-in-Darkness is banished from Earth. D'Spayre's first action is to kill the sorceress Zhered-Na who was the one to banish his creator. To do this, D'Spayre manipulates a barbarian into killing Zhered-Na. Over the next millennia, D'Spayre repeatedly fightsDakimh the Enchanter (Zhered-Na's student).[4]
Eventually, D'Spayre captured Dakimh and pupilJennifer Kale, but was defeated bySpider-Man andMan-Thing.[5][6]
D'Spayre tends to prey on victims who are in despair, using their fear and despair to strengthen himself. He terrorizesScott Summers andLee Forrester after Lee's father committed suicide, but is defeated by Summers, who resists D'Spayre's illusions and finds resolve in the memory ofJean Grey. This resolve fuels theMan-Thing, who attacks D'Spayre, and D'Spayre flees.[7] He then attacksDoctor Strange when Strange is feeling distraught over separation from his girlfriendClea, but Strange defeats D'Spayre as well, the first of many battles between the two of them. The Dweller-in-Darkness also menaces D'Spayre at this time.[8][9] He later impersonated Dakimh in a vain attempt to drive Doctor Strange into despondency.[10]
Together withNightmare, he later attempted to victimizeBetty Ross, but was thwarted by theHulk.[11] He was next defeated and temporarily weakened byRachel Summers.[12]
Over the years, D'Spayre has tried to bring many heroes to despair, resulting in numerous failures. In one instance, he manipulates the Fear Lords, powerful demons and gods who feed upon humanity's fears into creating the Great Fear.[13] With their powers combined, the Fear Lords believe that they can plunge humanity into a permanent state of terror. Most Fear Lords are defeated by Doctor Strange, but Nightmare and the Dweller-in-Darkness manage to create the Great Fear. They then discover that D'Spayre has been manipulating them, as the Great Fear causes so much terror in humans that they stop fearing and succumb to despair, thereby feeding D'Spayre who becomes more powerful than the two of them. Doctor Strange manages to stop D'Spayre, while the Fear Lords flee.[14]
D'Spayre was also revealed to have infusedCloak and Dagger with portions of his soul, called the Dark Form and Light Form, respectively. He was also revealed to be the creator of the drug "D-Lite", which granted Cloak and Dagger their powers.[15]
D'Spayre attempts to enhance his power by using aCosmic Cube to draw on the grief of the general public in the aftermath ofCaptain America's assassination following the "Civil War",[16] only for his use of the Cosmic Cube to have an apparently unintended side-effect when it granted the 'wish' of those who wanted Captain America back by drawing theInvaders into the present. He was defeated in a confrontation with theNew Avengers whenEcho proved immune to his powers due to her deafness, allowing her to take the cube from him.[17]
During the 2011 "Fear Itself" storyline, D'Spayre is among the demons who meet at the Devil's Advocacy to discuss the threat of theSerpent.[18]
It was later revealed that D'Spayre had a hand in the creation of Hulk's Titan personality.[19]
D'Spayre's demonic nature provides him with superhuman strength and durability and the ability to levitate himself and to travel between dimensions. D'Spayre also has the mystical ability to instill fear in human beings and to draw psychic sustenance from the fear, anguish, and despondency suffered by human beings, and other mystical abilities. He has telepathic abilities enabling D'Spayre to perceive a victim's psychological vulnerabilities and to project illusions into the victim's mind. He has a vulnerability to physical harm when weakened by lack of psychic sustenance, and his powers rely on people hearing his words, allowing the deaf Echo to defeat him.
D'Spayre created Darklight (also known as "D-Lite"), an addictive drug inducing pain in its victims.
An adapted depiction of D'Spayre appears in thesecond season ofCloak & Dagger, portrayed byBrooklyn McLinn.[2] This version isAndre Deschaine, a former jazz musician who gave up his career due to developingsevere headaches after a performance in which he attempted to hit a special "blue note". The headaches led him to attempt suicide by jumping off of a bridge just as a nearbyRoxxon oil platform exploded. After being exposed to the energies that were released, Deschaine gained the ability to drain people's hopes, which allow him to feed off of their despair to relieve his headaches. To provide himself with victims, he established a kidnapping and sex trafficking ring with a "community center" serving as a front, and hired Lia Dewan, a nurse he met and coerced into joining him while in the hospital following the explosion, as his assistant. Additionally, he keeps his victims' emotions in the form of "records" in a metaphysical record store. After kidnappingTandy Bowen with Dewan's help, Deschaine lies toTyrone Johnson about Bowen's whereabouts and endeavors to put him under a spell. Later on, Deschaine visits Voodoo priestess Chantelle Fusilier to try and find information about hisveve. Fusilier visits his record store and tells Deschaine he can become aLoa if he unlocks the veve. However,Mayhem smashes his records, releasing his victims from their despair and allowing Johnson to help Bowen escape. Despite this setback, Deschaine enthrallsNew Orleans's citizens and disappears with them. He eventually unlocks his veve, enters the Loa Dimension, and becomes D'Spayre, but is followed by Johnson and Bowen, with earthly assistance from Mayhem and Voodoo priestess Evita. With additional help from their alliesMelissa Bowen, Mikayla Bell, and Mina Hess, Johnson and Bowen defeat and kill Deschaine with a sword of light. Together, they confronted him in his own mind and hearing the source of his own pain, Bowen used her dagger to put Deschaine's record on a loop, turning his power against him and ending his threat once and for all.
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