An awesome new piece of fan art shows how to resurrect with the nigh omnipotent Spectre. This unique hybrid is the perfect way to bring Jonah Hex into the modern era - and perhaps give him superpowers in the process.Schkade shared the sketch in a Tweet, prefacing it by saying "any DC character can come back from the dead as long as they do their nickel as the Spectre." The visual is amusing, as the hard-bitten cowboy gets the Spectre's green cowl and snow-white skin. However, the idea is solid. Prior characters like Hal Jordan have indeed been resurrected after acting as the human host to the Spectre - the embodiment of vengeance in the DC Universe, which requires a human moral com to issue its judgements. Fans have shared and liked the tweet, while Jimmy Palmitotti (who has written Jonah Hex for DC) voiced appreciation for the sketch.

Jonah Hex Is a Perfect Avatar of Vengeance

No two characters in the DC Universe could be more seemingly different than the Spectre and Jonah Hex. One of the publisher’s oldest characters, the Spectre is the literal embodiment of God’s wrath. Through the centuries, there have been many incarnations of the Spectre, with the most notable being Jim Corrigan and Hal Jordan. On the other side, Jonah Hex is a bounty hunter operating in the American West during the late 1800s. Roaming the landscape, the disfigured Jonah Hex lives a life of brutality and violence, dispensing frontier justice on the worst the Old West has to offer - and it is here the connection between the two becomes apparent. Both work outside the law to deliver excessive violence on the deserving. Hex is also the exact kind of avatar the Spectre prefers - someone driven by a burning sense of vengeance. Even Batman's butler Alfred Pennyworth has proved a suitable host in the past, so a cowboy killer more than fits the bill.

DC Keeps Trying and Failing to Bring Back Hex

Returning as an avatar of the Spectre would be a solid way to bring Jonah Hex out of the past and into the present - something DC keeps trying to do. Shortly after the Crisis on Infinite Earths, Jonah Hex was transported to a post-apocalyptic, Mad Max-style future. It was only a moderate success in America, running 18 issues, but found an extensive audience overseas. 2011's All-Star Western used time travel to strand Hex in the modern day, while Young Justice introduced Jinny Hex, arming his descendant with a box of sci-fi weaponry as a sort of modern-day reboot. However, none of these ideas have truly stuck, and while Hex's 1800s stories are beloved by fans, it's been a long time since DC seemed interested in publishing them. Bringing Hex to the modern day gives him a chance to be relevant to the ongoing DC Universe - the kind of hook that can keep him on comic shelve (perhaps even in a series split between the modern Spectre and Hex's cowboy past.)

Spectre Can Give Hex Fans What They Want

Schkade’s comment about dead heroes returning as the Spectre was meant as a joke - but there is truth to it. Hal Jordan redeemed himself during his time as the Spectre, which set the stage for his eventual return as a Green Lantern. A true antihero, it would be easy to argue that Hex's rage and violence make him a perfect avatar worth resurrecting for the Spectre to draw on. Hex the Spectre could also possess super-powers, something Hex has never had before - though this could be done to any degree, from godlike wrath to just upgrading his six shooter. Dan Schkade's art may be a fun joke, but for fans who have been crying out for more Jonah Hex for years, a rebirth as the new Spectre sounds like an awesome way of making that happen.

Source: Dan Schkade