Gentleman Ghost

Gentleman Ghost is a fictional character, a supervillain published by DC Comics publications. He first appeared in Flash Comics #88 (October 1947), and was created by Robert Kanigher and Joe Kubert.

Fictional character biography

"Gentleman Ghost" Jim Craddock is the son of an English gentleman who abandoned both Jim and his mother, forcing them into poverty. Craddock grew up to become a notorious highwayman and robber who terrorized England in the 1800s after a prophecy from a gypsy said he would be a highwayman. He encountered the ghosts of other highwaymen and Dick Turpin left him a horse. He journeys to the United States and encounters the gunslingers Nighthawk and Cinnamon. The hot-headed Nighthawk lynches Craddock after wrongly assuming that he sexually assaulted Cinnamon, but Craddock somehow eludes death to rise again as a phantom.

The Gentleman Ghost learns he must wander the earth until the spirit of his killer moves on to the next plane of existence. Unfortunately, Nighthawk and Cinnamon turn out to be the reincarnations of Ancient Egyptian royalty Prince Khufu and Chay-Ara: their souls (due to their exposure to the Thanagarian Nth metal) can never truly pass on. Both are eventually resurrected as Hawkman and Hawkgirl, and the Gentleman Ghost becomes their recurring nemesis during the 1940s. Craddock has over the decades menaced other heroes, including Batman, The Atom, The Flash, The New Teen Titans, Max Mercury and Stargirl, but the vengeful ghost always returns to his main foes, the Hawks, sometimes as a foe and sometimes as a friend.