Doctor Spectrum
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Dr. Spectrum is a comic book superhero in the Marvel Comics universe, and a member of the Squadron Supreme. There are actually several different Marvel incarnations of Dr. Spectrum, one of whom was a supervillain. Dr. Spectrum was created by Roy Thomas as part of an homage to the Justice League. All incarnations are essentially based on the DC Comics character Green Lantern. Editors at DC were so impressed with Squadron Supreme that Thomas actually got to write stories for the Justice League comic book later on[citation needed].
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[edit] Various incarnations of Doctor Spectrum
There are three versions of Dr. Spectrum from three different dimensions in the Marvel Universe, none of which come from the normal Marvel continuity. The version of Dr. Spectrum that had the most development was the version who was a member of the Squadron Supreme. The version of Dr. Spectrum in the "Supreme Power" comic is a rebooted version of this character. There is also an evil version of Dr. Spectrum who was a member of the Squadron Sinister, who had several incarnations. Although the Squadron Sinister Dr. Spectrum preceded the Squadron Supreme version in appearance, the latter is considered the original as the former was revealed to be just a copy. Below are more detailed descriptions of each version of the character.
[edit] Squadron Sinister (II)
Dr. Spectrum of Earth-616 first appeared in The Avengers #70 (November 1969) as a member of the Squadron Sinister, a group of supervillains assembled by the alien Grandmaster to fight the Avengers. The Squadron Sinister was created by Roy Thomas and was broadly based on DC Comics' Justice League. This Dr. Spectrum had a hunger to rule the earth (Defenders #13) and a power prism with its own personality, that it lost after it had been restored by Nebulon, the Celestial Man.
The first person to use the power prism in the Marvel Universe was Dr. Kenji Obatu, a ruthless African politician, who found the gem and merged with it. After the Squadron's defeat at the end of The Avengers #70, the prism sought another host, finding in it evangelist William Roberts. The Avengers took custody of the prism after defeating Roberts, and it took control of the Wasp and Thor before being destroyed.
A much later retcon revealed that the Doctor Spectrum of the Squadron Sinister had been created by the Grandmaster as a copy of the Squadron Supreme's Doctor Spectrum, and that the Squadron Sinister version's power prism was actually an alien Skrull, named Krimonn, in a mutated crystalline form.
[edit] Squadron Supreme (I)
In Avengers #85-86 (March-April 1971), Thomas created the Squadron Supreme, a group of heroes from Earth-712 who were a more direct homage of the Justice League than their Squadron Sinister predecessors. This group had its own version of Dr. Spectrum, with a human secret identity of Joe Ledger.
Dr. Spectrum used to be an astronaut, adventurer and something of a playboy. On one of his space missions he saved the life of a benevolent alien of the Skrull race later known as the Skrullurian Skymaster. In gratitude for rescuing him, the Skrull gave Joe Ledger the Power Prism, an energy synthesizer his people had created.
Dr. Spectrum has the similar relationships to the other Squadron members as the Green Lantern character has to other members of the Justice League of America. His best friends are Golden Archer (based on Green Arrow) and the Whizzer (based on the Flash).
The Squadron implemented a Utopia project in the wake of their world being devastated by the Overmind. During that period the distraught former Squadron member known as Nuke was killed in a fight with Dr. Spectrum and his best friend, Golden Archer, about the Utopia project. Both events turned Dr. Spectrum's character into a more serious one.
At last note, Dr. Spectrum and a reformed Squadron were fighting to free their world from a global dictatorship which had taken it over while the team was stranded in the main Marvel Universe.
[edit] Supreme Power (III)
In August 2003, the Supreme Power series began to chronicle a rebooted version of the Squadron Supreme.
In this version, Joseph (Joe) Daniel Ledger is a Colonel in the United States Army, the son of a prostitute named Mary Ledger, whose step-father Eddie physically abused him. He has an ex-wife named Mandy and a son named Jordan whom he doesn't know. He joined the Army at sixteen with a fake identity. Later in life Sergeant Joe Ledger was on a mission in South America, in which he shot and killed a boy and afterwards attacked a fellow soldier, being demoted to Corporal. After his mother was murdered, Joe discovered his mother didn't know who his real father is. He killed his step-father upon learning the truth. The government gave Joe Ledger an option, to perform covert operations missions or go to prison.
Ledger got the nickname Doctor because of the precision with which he performed his secret "operations" around the world, like a surgeon. He is considered the perfect soldier: an army man who follows any and all orders and is a natural killer. Joe Ledger was the only candidate who was focused and single minded enough to be able to control the power prism found in Hyperion's space ship. However, only a short time after he began testing it, it was absorbed into his skin and he lapsed into a coma.
A six-issue limited series entitled Doctor Spectrum: Full Spectrum was launched in 2004 while Supreme Power went on hiatus. The series was written by Samm Barnes, and dealt with Joe Ledger's background, presented in flashback when the power prism was attempting to the take control of Joe's mind while he was in coma. Ledger learned what the power prism's real mission directive is and how much power he and the prism really has.
After recovering from his coma, Doctor Spectrum was once again used for covert missions for the government, missions Hyperion had once been carrying out. However, after Hyperion's existence and powers were made public, the government could no longer use Hyperion in such a way without drawing the ire of all the other nations of the world. So they came up with a cover story: whenever Dr. Spectrum was carrying out one of his missions, an "accident" was arranged at the same time that Hyperion would rescue people from. This way the government still was able to use a super powered individual, while the world, ignorant of Spectrum's existence, could not protest.
Eventually this strange coincidence was pointed out to Hyperion himself, and disturbed by the thought of what was happening, (or maybe just wanting to meet other individuals with super powers), Hyperion set out to find Spectrum. Spectrum, perhaps underestimating the sheer power and toughness of Hyperion, strikes first in their encounter, setting off a long and devastating battle that ends when Hyperion touches the crystal in Spectrum's hand by accident, and is given memories of his journey to Earth. Confused by this insight and the new questions they provoked, (and saddened at the sight of the devastation he and Spectrum had wreaked), Hyperion stops long enough for Spectrum to escape and recover. Ledger then met Amphibian while healing after the fight. Doctor Spectrum found out doctors had used samples of Hyperion's DNA to create new superhumans like the super-human serial killer Redstone.
After taking the super-human serial killer Michael Redstone into custody, he was approached by the super-hero program's new official, General Richard Alexander, who ordered Spectrum to locate and capture Amphibian, showing him a picture of her killing two people. After capturing Amphibian and starting a romantic relationship with her, Doctor Spectrum meets Zarda, who attempted to remove the power prism and retrieve her memories. But before that happened, she was attacked by Amphibian in retaliation for harming Spectrum.
Before Hyperion informs Jason Scott of all the super-humans working for the government. Doctor Spectrum was going to be on the covert operations team, since General Richard Alexander feels there would be no good way to paint a good picture of his past. On the Squadron Supreme's first mission Joe Ledger is affected by M'Butu's power to mind control anyone who hears his voice. Zarda manages to free Doctor Spectrum by calling to the voice within the Power Prism, which, while Ledger is in an unconscious state, frees Hyperion and Amphibian. After the end of the mission, the Squadron are then ordered to take down insurgents in Ilam Province in Iran, codenamed "Long Walk". After the mission Joe Ledger is seen breiefing the Joint Chiefs and their staff on the details of "Long Walk".
[edit] Squadron Sinister (IV)
Alice Nugent, a female Dr. Spectrum with a new power prism appeared in New Thunderbolts, as part of a newly formed Squadron Sinister. Alice Nugent was once the lab assistant of Hank Pym. (Iron Man #191)
[edit] Powers and abilities
Dr. Spectrum's power prism enables him to fly and create objects of some unknown form of energy. He can create a force field around himself in order to withstand enormous concussive impacts and can use the prism to allow himself to withstand the vacuum of space. Spectrum (I) is also able to pass through solid objects.
The Power Prism is somewhat analogous to DC's Green Lantern Power Ring, though it does not share the power ring's vulnerability to yellow or wooden objects.
[edit] Additional notes
- Joe Ledger's initials, JL, are very reminiscent of Green Lantern's sometime nickname, GL.
- The bullies that appear in issue 2 of the limited series look remarkably similar to Jimbo, Dolph, Kearney and Nelson from The Simpsons.
- In early issues of Supreme Power, Joe Ledger is sometimes referred to as Corporal Ledger. The author J Michael Straczynski verified this as a typo in his internet postings. (ref: http://www.jmsnews.com/msg.aspx?id=1-17086). Samm Barnes retrofits this typo in the six issue Dr. Spectrum by having Joe Ledger busted back to Corporal early in his career.
- Alice Nugent, Hank Pym's former lab assistant was Kurt Busiek's original choice for the identity of the Crimson Cowl.
- Ledger's son is named Jordan; perhaps coincidentally, the last name of DC Comics most famous Green Lantern, Hal Jordan.
