The first Corrigan initially appeared in More Fun Comics #52 (February 1940), a deceased cop acting as host to the cosmic entity the Spectre, and was created by Jerry Siegel and Bernard Baily.

The character, created by Greg Rucka, Ed Brubaker, and Michael Lark although similar to the first Corrigan in being a police detective, again is not related to him and served as a red herring of who would become the new Spectre.

In response, the archangel Michael bonds Corrigan to the Spectre, the embodiment of God's wrath, and returns him to Earth to battle crime and wrongdoing.

[1] As the Spectre, Jim Corrigan returns to the mortal plane as a partial human, where he proceeded to rain his vengeance on Benson and his accomplices.

Introduced in #74, December 1941 (aside from a head-shot in a one-panel preview at the end of #73's Spectre story), he was a would-be civilian sleuth who, in his words, latched onto Corrigan "of all the detectives on the force because it appeared to me that you are the most intelligent of the lot!

In that first story, another spirit, named Azmodus, possessed a small-time criminal, and while the two astral beings engaged in cosmic combat, the two mortal men slugged it out.

[6] In Showcase #64, September–October 1966, when the Spectre took possession of the body of a dying man, Ace Chance, to preserve its spark of life after his soul had departed, that spirit found the living but soulless Corrigan and entered him.

[7] In fact, a year later the Spectre was awarded his own comic, and in #2 (January–February 1968), Jim asks his astral alter ego for a little privacy, as he has a date with Mona.

This series established that prolonged separation from his corporeal body diminished the Spectre's energies, and more than once, Jim's will power could keep his spirit form from entering him.

[9][10] The latter instance found Corrigan pinned down by criminals he was after, and his demands for the Spectre's help resulted in the tired spirit acting harshly and hurting an innocent man in the vicinity.

Here, writer Michael Fleisher, ably abetted by atmospheric art from Jim Aparo (Frank Thorne and Ernie Chan spelled him on the pencils once and twice, respectively, when his schedule became too tight), took the Spectre back to his earliest days.

Now a lieutenant in New York City, Jim was investigating the murder of wealthy businessman Adrian Sterling and met the victim's daughter Gwen.

[13] Not long later, a reporter named Earl Crawford noticed the number of gruesome finishes that many local criminals had been meeting recently and suspected a connection.

By lying to his editor as to just what he had in mind, he arranged an assignment to ride around with a police criminal investigator and, of all people, Lt. Jim Corrigan was the lucky cop.

[16] A direct follow-up to this run appeared a few years later as a three-issue story arc in the Dr. Thirteen the Ghost-Breaker series that Paul Kupperberg was writing in Ghosts #97–99 (February–April 1981).

Here, the Spectre was still slaughtering particularly brutal criminals and Earl Crawford was still looking for a way to stop the supernatural entity that he knew was responsible, but now Dr. Thirteen was trying to prove he was something normal.

[17] Here, Earl Crawford is charged with murdering a criminal that was actually eliminated by the Spectre, but found not guilty by reason of insanity, and committed to an asylum.

[19] Jim Corrigan also appeared in each of the Spectre's three The Brave and the Bold team-ups with Batman during this era, one of which included fighting against the evil sorcerer Wa'arzen (issues #116 (December 1974-January 1975), 180 (November 1981) and 199 (June 1983)).

One other instance is worth noting: in the revived All Star Comics, Jim Corrigan, this time an Inspector with the Gotham City P.D., was seen in issue #70 (January–February 1978).

Among the many changes made to DC Comics' characters during the later half of the 1980s (following the 12-issue miniseries Crisis on Infinite Earths), the Spectre (and thereby Jim Corrigan) was largely depowered.

First, in the conclusion to Alan Moore's Swamp Thing storyline "American Gothic", the Spectre was defeated by evil incarnate as it advances to destroy Heaven.

The attractive young woman Kim Liang became not only Jim's secretary, but also a caretaker, herself a separated piece of Xanadu's soul (although this was unknown to her at the time).

Jim Corrigan's status quo was changed when John Ostrander landed the job as writer to a new Spectre ongoing series.

[20] When Corrigan exchanges memories with Amy, she learns of his true purpose: "To confront and to comprehend evil",[21] an element newly introduced by Ostrander.

His friends, most notably again Father Craemer and the reluctant Nate Kane, are able to free him and beat Azmodus, separating Caraka, the first host to the Spectre, from the demon he was bonded with.

Jim's father tried to imprint his black and white view of good and evil on the young boy (usually through both physical and verbal abuse), even though he himself often gave into sin.

In Day of Judgment, the Spectre is controlled by the fallen angel Asmodel, who freezes Hell and unleashes hordes of demons upon the world.

[23] It is revealed that The Voice chose him, like he did the Stranger, to be "the mirror of his desire for justice" (though Corrigan believes in vengeance) and imbued him with divine powers.

The rage-filled Jim was performing his duties as the Spectre by practicing vengeance rather than justice, until the Phantom Stranger attacked his police precinct, convinced he was the one who kidnapped his family out of revenge.

After exchanging blows physically and verbally, "The Voice" (God) himself intervened in the form of a Scottish Terrier (his sense of humor) and informed the Stranger of his mistake and set him on the right path.