D'Spayre
What's His Problem? D'Spayre is the ultimate representation of...well, Despair. He is made up of all sorts of nasty emotions, mostly hate, fear and depression. Think of him as a big angst-sponge. D'Spayre rules his own dimension and has hopes of ruling others. To get power for this, he causes negative emotions in people and then leeches off them. He seems to enjoy tormenting noble and heroic souls most of all. Too bad those are the people who are best equipped to resist him!
First Appearance: Marvel Team-Up 68
Favorite Quote: "The presumptuousness of you human worms never ceases to amaze me!" (Excalibur 35)
Powers: As a demon, D'Spayre has all sorts of cool magic powers that seem to change with whoever is writing him. He can instill great hatred or fear into people just by touching them, and can project very real hallucinations into people's minds in order for them to suffer. If he has a good source to feed off of, he also can become very strong and tough. His main weaknesses are hope and love, two emotions that are poison to him.
Heroes He Keeps Running Into: D'Spayre first encountered Spider-Man and the Man-Thing when he kidnapped Man-Thing's friends Dakmith the Enchanter and Jennifer Kale. Since then, he has encountered Cyclops, Phoenix II, and Cable (that Summers' angst is deee-licious). He also has tried to put the sadness-kibosh on Cloak & Dagger, Betty Banner and the Black Cat. D'Spayre once encountered the nomadic Ben Reilly, but that Tale remains Untold. (And considering Ben is currently in an ash-like state, that Tale is likely never to be Told! -- editor Jeanne)
People Who Don't Think He's So Bad: Being the living embodiment of pure misery, D'Spayre isn't on anyone's Christmas List. Still, he get along well with his "cousin" Nightmare, the powerful Dweller in the Darkness, and he has a group of Bat-mite-like servants called D'Sprites.
Most Despicable Act: D'Spayre always seems to try to top himself in terms of making people depressed so he can grow stronger. One of the most awful things he did was "arrange" the high-profile kidnapping and near-death of a young British girl, so that once she died, all of London would mourn and he would feast. He battled Phoenix over the fate of the girl, but ironically, it was the girl's faith that she would be rescued that allowed Phoenix to defeat him.
by Bobby Coakley
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