DC's Most Powerful Hero Is About to Die — And There's No Chance of Revival

The DC Universe's most powerful being is about to meet a terrible and permanent fate. A new preview of next month's JSA reveals that Spectre's death is now inevitable.

JSA #21 goes on sale July 1, and a new look at the interior artwork reveals there's trouble ahead for the powerful Spectre. "The song of Aztar will be sung again and again across human history," the comic reveals. "A man falls, the Spectre is born, and God's wrath is dealt out to the darkest of human hearts. Again and again, the melody changes, but the theme is the same. From death and sin comes the Spectre to balance the scales."

DC Teases the Spectre's Next Host & Eventual Death in JSA #21

The preview pages also tease that, while Spectre may wield remarkable power, he's not invincible. The story picks up with his birth, but quickly turns its attention to his upcoming demise. "It is summer 1940, and Gotham Police Detective Jim Corrigan is the next to be chosen as Aztar's host...but we are not meant to be there...at least not yet."

While the story seems to be gearing up to take a slight detour, DC is willing to reveal that Specter's death is going to happen sooner or later. "You witnessed the Spectre's birth…now you must see his end," the preview pages conclude, with a frame of Darkseid's glowing red eyes teasing that he will be the one to bring Spectre down.

DC's solicit for JSA #21 also offers some clues about where the story will be headed when it drops at the top of July. "Where is Jim Corrigan? The New God Metron takes Doctor Fate, Stargirl, Jakeem, and Kid Eternity back to the events of the DC All In Special in search of Jim Corrigan after his defeat at the hands of Darkseid. Meanwhile, the rest of the JSA continues its battle against the Spectre as it searches for its new host!"

The DC All In Special #1 was released back in 2024 and followed the events of the publisher's Absolute Power publishing initiative, bringing back the return of Darkseid. In the one-shot, Superman gathers all of DC's heroes to hold the line against the Lord of Apokolips in an all-out war, with the aftermath impacting the Absolute Universe and beyond. With Darkseid's return on the horizon, it will undoubtedly be an epic showdown between two of DC's most powerful characters.

One of DC's Heroes Will Take on the Mantle of the Spectre

JSA #21 is certainly raising the stakes with its story, teasing both the Spectre's birth and death, but the battle won't be coming to an end just yet. DC's solicits for JSA #22, which goes on sale Aug. 5, promise that there will be another hero who takes on the mantle, but things are unlikely to go smoothly. "The wrath of the Spectre has ravaged the JSA. As the dust settles, one hero will step up and take on the mantle of the Spectre, but will they be able to control its fury?"

After that, the JSA series will take a slight detour with a 'Times Past Spy Thriller' arriving in September. "After the JSA disbanded in the 1950s, the heroes retired to maintain their secret identities," DC Comics teased in Issue #23, "but that doesn't mean there weren't still people in need. Witness a secret JSA mission set in the 1960s!"

JSA #21 goes on sale on July 1 from DC Comics.