Who's the Gentleman Ghost?

Who's This? A monocled spirit.

The facts: Created by writer Robert Kanigher and artist Joe Kubert, the character first appeared in October 1947's Flash Comics #88 (as, simply, "The Ghost") to antagonize the Golden Age Hawkman and Hawkgirl. Gentleman Jim Craddock appeared three more times in that series, but he was faking the ghost business with special gadgets (similar to the New52 version). Perhaps that's the difference between him and the Earth-1 version who's an actual ghost, brought back initially to fight the Silver Age Hawkman (as of The Atom and Hawkman #43, July 1969) before moving on to Batman in the 70s, the Hawks again in the 80s and early 2000s, before settling in as a modern JSA villain, which would earn him a spot in the post-Rebirth Suicide Squad. In recent years, he's been used more and more because, look, he's got such a cool design. Versions of him exist on other Earths (including the heroic Pinkerton Ghost of Earth-3), he's had cartoon appearances (as early as Super-Friends), and has even shown up in video games.
How you could have heard of him: Lately, Geoff Johns has tried to redeem him and make him a future JSA member. He's also used him for the Stargirl TV series. But up to the minute visibility? He's featured in the very new Batman: Caped Crusader series!
Example story: The Atom and Hawkman #44 (September 1969) "The Ghost Laughs Last!" by Robert Kanigher and Murphy Anderson

At the top of the story set in France, Hawkman is confronted with five Gentlemen Ghosts, but his Thanagarian tricorder reveals that four of them are gunmen DISGUISED as ghosts. They have to keep their heads down under the collar, which means you have to punch them in the chest!

While he's doing that, the REAL sardonic spectre (Kanigher's words, not mine) can easily escape by going through a window.

Hey wait a minute! That's not how ghosts do it! The year in 1969, so maybe Gent-G (my words, not Kanigher, you can tell he's the better writer) is still a Scooby-Doo villain at this point. But, I mean, fake or not, racing down telephone wires is still a very cool trick. Hawkman loses him after he hops into a typing pool.

Whatever he is, he's a very good planner. Later, after he frequents a "mod shop" to buy some gloves, the staff think he's the coolest because he has no face to distract from his fashions. And once outside, he bemoans the fact that girls don't like an invisible man. So is THAT what he actually is? A physical presence, but transparent? According to the blind woman who stumbles into him, that seems to be the case!

What a date! Seems he can "animate" some staff as similar "physical ghosts", including an Edith Piaf poltergeist. It goes well, and she takes the Ghost back to her place for a bit of fortune telling (is that what the kids were calling it in 1969?). She's shocked to see him on the scaffold in her crystal ball, and we catch sight of his original face:

Well, it's better she find out now than when they're married, right? But she's so smitten, she wants to help him. If only she knew how to return him to his proper time (because, and this is in the Who's Who entry, folks, he's a TIME-TRAVELLING ghost). But he IS a gentleman because what HE wants to do is cure her blindness. She "sees" a magic gemstone in the Louvre that can do it and he vows to steal it for her. (I smell a con job, we'll see if I'm right.) Back in the Hawks' hotel room, Katar is going on and on about ghosts not being real, but as G.G. sent out a press release about robbing the museum, the hottest couple of superherodom stake out the place. They make short work of the Ghost's crew, but he manages to grab the treasure, leaving a bunch of talking (but immobile) mummies to taunt Hawkman.

Alas, the gem doesn't work. He vows to find the right one, even though his beloved Zita wants him to reform and settle down (so NOT a grift?). He steals the "fire ruby" from a fashion show and once again stymies Hawkman, playing on the space cop's lack of belief in spirits.

Will the ruby work on Zita? It does! They can live happily ever after, but... no! One day, she'll reject him for not having a proper body, so until he gets one, he must leave! (Hey, I thought SHE was the fortune teller!) She promises to wait, forever if that's what it takes. That's kind of sad (and unnecessary), but pretty usual for Silver Age storytelling. What isn't is that the Gentleman Ghost isn't caught or left for (heh) dead. His sad ending is of his own making, and really not that bad, while Hawkman is the one who loses face (ha!) for being proven wrong (or at least, not bring proven right).

Well, I still think the Gentleman Ghost is a very cool design, even if his powers are largely just "super-ventriloquism". I think he deserves the attention he got in the last couple decades.

Who's Next? My least favorite Outsider.