The current incarnation of D'Spayre was created 20,000 years ago by the Dweller-in-Darkness via the fear caused by the sinking of both Atlantis and Lemuria, imbued with some of the Dweller's consciousness and given independence. D'Spayre directed the murder of the Dweller's enemy Zhered-Na, and battled her apprentice, Dakimh, many times over the ensuing millennia. In modern times, D'Spayre captured Dakimh and his disciple, Jennifer Kale, in the Florida Everglades by the Nexus of All Realities. D'Spayre intended to enslave his captives, but was defeated by Spider-Man and the nexus' guardian, the Man-Thing.

Later, drawn by the suicide of terminally-ill Jock Forrester, D'Spayre menaced Jock's daughter Lee Forrester and the X-Man Cyclops. Defeated again with the Man-Thing's aid, D'Spayre subsequently lured Rachel Summers, then Phoenix, to the aid of a lost young girl, hoping to feed on Rachel's cosmic level of despair, but the girl's rescue foiled him. Needing to replenish his power levels, D'Spayre joined with the enigmatic Avandalia and sought out Cloak & Dagger, whom D'Spayre had empowered years earlier. Absorbing Dagger's Lightform, he then attempted to digest Cloak's Darkform, but it overpowered D'Spayre and seemingly consumed him.

Participating in the Fear Lords' plan to cause a Great Fear on Earth that would reduce humanity to a state of unreasoning, unceasing terror, D'Spayre manipulated Nightmare and the Dweller into a contest of their powers, and humanity was driven too far into fear, giving in to despair. The senior demons realized their error too late and both fled from the newly powerful D'Spayre, who was defeated by Dr. Strange, the Straw Man, and Daredevil.

D'Spayre's subsequent targets included the living vampire Morbius, the sorceress Margali Szardos, the Asgardian Valkyrie, and secondary attempts on Lee Forrester, the Scarlet Spider and Spider-Man. D'Spayre himself was targeted by his sister, Spite, who sought to depose him with Juggernaut's aid, but D'Spayre drained Juggernaut's power. Almost destroyed, the Juggernaut survived by allowing himself to be consumed by pure rage. Spite was then able to leech D'Spayre's power and cast him into Hell.

D'Spayre recently joined the other Lords of the Splinter Realms against the magical Archenemy unwittingly created by an occult-gathering program of Magik (Amanda Sefton) that was threatening to destroy creation.