View source for D'Spayre

{{Short description|Marvel Comics character}}
{{Infobox comics character <!--Wikipedia:WikiProject Comics-->
|character_name=D'Spayre
|image=dspayreface.jpg
|caption=D'Spayre as depicted in ''The [[Uncanny X-Men]]'' #144 (April 1980).<br>Art by [[Brent Anderson (comics)|Brent Anderson]] 
|real_name=
|species=Demon
|publisher=[[Marvel Comics]]
|debut=''[[Marvel Team-Up]]'' #68 (April 1978)
|creators=[[Chris Claremont]]<br>[[John Byrne (comics)|John Byrne]]
|alliances=Fear Lords
|aliases=D'Spayre often masquerades as persons trusted by his victims
|powers={{Plain list|
* Superhuman strength and durability
* Levitation
* Dimensional travel
* Telepathy
* Illusion casting
* Ability to instill fear in human beings and to draw psychic sustenance from the fear, anguish and despondency suffered by human beings
}}
}}

'''D'Spayre''' (sometimes '''D'spayre''') is a fictional character appearing in [[American comic book]]s published by [[Marvel Comics]]. He is a demon, and was one of the [[Fear Lords (comics)|Fear Lords]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Rovin |first=Jeff |title=[[The Encyclopedia of Super-Villains]] |date=1987 |publisher=Facts on File |isbn=0-8160-1356-X |location=New York |page=114 |authorlink=Jeff Rovin}}[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofsu0000rovi_h5r9/page/114/mode/2up]</ref> He has been opposed by [[Spider-Man]], [[Scarlet Spider]], [[Man-Thing]], [[Cyclops (Marvel Comics)|Cyclops]], [[Hulk]], [[Juggernaut (character)|Juggernaut]], [[Doctor Strange]], [[Cloak and Dagger (characters)|Cloak and Dagger]], and the [[The New Avengers (comics)|New Avengers]].

The character was portrayed by [[Brooklyn McLinn]] in the second season of the [[Marvel Cinematic Universe]] television series ''[[Cloak & Dagger (TV series)|Cloak & Dagger]]''.<ref name=Decider>{{cite web |last=Zalben |first=Alex |url=https://decider.com/2019/05/30/cloak-and-dagger-joe-pokaski-level-up-preview-exclusive-clip/|title=The ''Cloak & Dagger'' Season 2 Finale Will Put Ty And Tandy 'Through Hell'|website=[[Decider (website)|Decider]]|date=May 30, 2019|access-date=June 22, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190530203345/https://decider.com/2019/05/30/cloak-and-dagger-joe-pokaski-level-up-preview-exclusive-clip/|archive-date=May 30, 2019}}</ref>

==Publication history==
D'Spayre first appeared in ''[[Marvel Team-Up]]'' #68 (April 1978). He was created by writer [[Chris Claremont]] and penciller [[John Byrne (comics)|John Byrne]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=DeFalco |first1=Tom |last2=Sanderson |first2=Peter |last3=Brevoort |first3=Tom |last4=Teitelbaum |first4=Michael |last5=Wallace |first5=Daniel |last6=Darling |first6=Andrew |last7=Forbeck |first7=Matt |last8=Cowsill |first8=Alan |last9=Bray |first9=Adam |title=The Marvel Encyclopedia |date=2019 |publisher=DK Publishing |isbn=978-1-4654-7890-0 |page=119}}</ref>

==Fictional character biography==
[[Image:dspayredemon.jpg|thumb|left|D'Spayre. Art by [[Brent Anderson (comics)|Brent Anderson]].]]
D'Spayre is a creation of the [[Dweller-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 fights [[Dakimh the Enchanter]] (Zhered-Na's student).<ref>''Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme'' #32 (August 1991)</ref>

Eventually, D'Spayre captured Dakimh and pupil [[Jennifer Kale]], but was defeated by [[Spider-Man]] and [[Man-Thing]].<ref>''[[Marvel Team-Up]]'' #68 (April 1978)</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Cowsill |first1=Alan |last2=Manning |first2=Matthew K. |title=Spider-Man Chronicle: Celebrating 50 Years of Web-Slinging |date=2012 |publisher=DK Publishing |isbn=978-0756692360 |page=101}}</ref>

D'Spayre tends to prey on victims who are in despair, using their fear and despair to strengthen himself. He terrorizes [[Cyclops (Marvel Comics)|Scott Summers]] and [[Lee Forrester]] after Lee's father committed suicide, but is defeated by Summers, who resists D'Spayre's illusions and finds resolve in the memory of [[Jean Grey]]. This resolve fuels the [[Man-Thing]], who attacks D'Spayre, and D'Spayre flees.<ref>''[[Uncanny X-Men]]'' #144 (April 1981)</ref> He then attacks [[Doctor Strange]] when Strange is feeling distraught over separation from his girlfriend [[Clea Strange|Clea]], 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.<ref>''[[Doctor Strange (comic book)|Doctor Strange]]'' (vol. 2) #32 (December 1978)</ref><ref>''Doctor Strange'' (vol. 2) #37 (October 1979)</ref> He later impersonated Dakimh in a vain attempt to drive Doctor Strange into despondency.<ref>''Doctor Strange'' (vol. 2) #55 (December 1974)</ref>

Together with [[Nightmare (Marvel Comics)|Nightmare]], he later attempted to victimize [[Betty Ross]], but was thwarted by the [[Hulk]].<ref>''[[The Incredible Hulk (comic book)|Incredible Hulk]]'' #360 (October 1989)</ref> He was next defeated and temporarily weakened by [[Rachel Summers]].<ref>''[[Excalibur (comic book)|Excalibur]]'' #35 (March 1991)</ref>

[[Image:dspayrething.jpg|thumb|right|D'Spayre turning to face the [[Man-Thing]]. Art by [[Brent Anderson (comics)|Brent Anderson]].]]
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.<ref>''Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme'' #31-33 (July - September 1991)</ref> 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.<ref>''Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme'' #38-40 (February - April 1992)</ref>

D'Spayre was also revealed to have infused [[Cloak and Dagger (characters)|Cloak 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.<ref>''Cloak and Dagger'' (vol. 3) #19 (August 1991)</ref>

D'Spayre attempts to enhance his power by using a [[Cosmic Cube]] to draw on the grief of the general public in the aftermath of [[Captain America]]'s assassination following the "[[Civil War (comics)|Civil War]]",<ref>''Avengers/Invaders'' #7 (February 2009)</ref> 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 the [[Invaders (comics)|Invaders]] into the present. He was defeated in a confrontation with the [[The New Avengers (comics)|New Avengers]] when [[Echo (Marvel Comics)|Echo]] proved immune to his powers due to her deafness, allowing her to take the cube from him.<ref>''Avengers/Invaders'' #8 (March 2009)</ref>

During the 2011 "[[Fear Itself (comics)|Fear Itself]]" storyline, D'Spayre is among the demons who meet at the Devil's Advocacy to discuss the threat of the [[Serpent (character)|Serpent]].<ref>''[[Journey into Mystery]]'' #627 (November 2011)</ref>

It was later revealed that D'Spayre had a hand in the creation of Hulk's Titan personality.<ref>''Hulk'' (vol. 6) #14 (June 2023)</ref>

==Powers and abilities==
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.

==In other media==
An adapted depiction of D'Spayre appears in the [[Cloak & Dagger season 2|second season]] of ''[[Cloak & Dagger (TV series)|Cloak & Dagger]]'', portrayed by [[Brooklyn McLinn]].<ref name=Decider/> This version is '''Andre Deschaine''', a former jazz musician who gave up his career due to developing [[Migraine|severe 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 nearby [[Roxxon Energy Corporation|Roxxon]] 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 centre|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 kidnapping [[Tyrone Johnson and Tandy Bowen (Marvel Cinematic Universe)|Tandy Bowen]] with Dewan's help, Deschaine lies to [[Tyrone Johnson and Tandy Bowen (Marvel Cinematic Universe)|Tyrone 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 his [[veve]]. Fusilier visits his record store and tells Deschaine he can become a [[Loa]] if he unlocks the veve. However, [[Mayhem (comics)|Mayhem]] smashes his records, releasing his victims from their despair and allowing Johnson to help Bowen escape. Despite this setback, Deschaine enthralls [[New 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 allies [[Melissa 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.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.marvel.com/universe/D'spayre D'Spayre] at Marvel.com
* [http://www.marveldirectory.com/individuals/d/dsprayre.htm D'Spayre at MarvelDirectory.com]
* [[marveldatabase:D'Spayre_(Earth-616)|D'Spayre]] at Marvel Wiki

{{Cloak and Dagger}}
{{Doctor Strange}}
{{Hulk}}
{{Man-Thing}}
{{Chris Claremont}}
{{Marvel Mystic}}

[[Category:Characters created by Chris Claremont]]
[[Category:Characters created by John Byrne (comics)]]
[[Category:Comics characters introduced in 1978]]
[[Category:Marvel Comics characters with superhuman durability or invulnerability]]
[[Category:Marvel Comics characters with superhuman strength]]
[[Category:Marvel Comics demons]]
[[Category:Marvel Comics male supervillains]]
[[Category:Marvel Comics telepaths]]