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 Demons are generally malevolent entities that inhabit the dimension of Hell. They consist of fallen angels and Hellions, by birth, or by creation, such as a mortal soul so evil it is accepted as a fiend after its requisite torment. Other dark entities that are not from the Inferno may also be called demons, such as djinns, malicious deities, or supernatural creatures like Trigon.

History

Earth-S

In Earth-S, Satan is the supreme demon lord and a behind-the-scenes enemy to Captain Marvel during the first years of the hero's career. Under the name Prince Lucifer, he granted powers to Ibac and Sabbac, who also draws his powers from the other fifth most powerful demons in Hell: Aym, Belial, Beelzebub, Asmodeus, and Crateis. One of Satan's champions is Abaddon (a.k.a. Apollyon), a demon of the pit who challenged Captain Marvel for his uncle's soul.[4][5]

Seven Deadly Enemies of Man 001

The Seven Deadly Sins.

Also have seven powerful demons that represent the Seven Deadly Sins of Judeo-Christian religions. Each of these demons represents a different sin, and is named accordingly: LustSlothPride, WrathGluttonyGreed, and Envy. The Sins were captured by the wizard Shazam many years ago and encased in seven mocking stone statues which were placed in Shazam's underground lair in the subway (and in the Rock of Eternity in the modern comics).

One of the most formidable foes the Wizard faced during the time that he was known as the Champion of six ancient gods, was a demon called "Evil, the Terror, Sin and Wickedness". Evil was eventually defeated by the Marvel Family and was imprisoned in the Rock of Eternity.[6]

New Earth

When Lucifer Morningstar rebelled against God and the Kingdom of Heaven, he lost and was cast into a shapeless void known as the Chaoplasm, wich was transformed into a desolate and barren expanse known by many as Hell, the final destination for demons and damned souls, and Morningstar ruled them.

According to the Phantom Stranger (New Earth) before life came out of Earth's ocean, in one frame of reference the planet was the home of what were called the 'Old Breed' or the Pre-Dead, whom he described as being demons.

After Lilith was cast out of the Garden of Eden, she seduced many Angels, and birthed hundreds of children, the Lilim, a race of demons who didn’t belong to any place in Creation, and who were loyal to themselves and to their mother only. Lilith then became known as Mother of Demons.[7][8]

Satanic Triumvirate 0001

The Satanic Triumvirate.

When the Brujería awokened the Great Darkness, its coming sparked upheaval in Hell, fracturing its inhabitants into two armies; those who welcomed oblivion and those opposed. So Lucifer created the Satanic Triumvirate with two Lords of Hell, Beelzebub and Azazel, to restore order.[9][10][11]

At some point, the Archduke Belial fathered Lord Scapegoat, Etrigan the Demon and Merlin the Wizard with Ran Va Daath, the Serpent Queen. Eventually, Belial replaced Azazel in the Satanic Triumvirate and Hell remained stable, until the Archduke Asteroth schemed to gain enough power to claim the throne all to himself. His five-way blood sacrifice ritual was thwarted by Merlin and Etrigan, also unleashing Belial's volatile son to roam the Inferno once more with his own insidious ambitions.[12][13][14]

Jack the Ripper was said to be possessed by the demon Calibraxis when committing his crimes, or was influenced by Gaius Marcus, another demon also known as Buzz.[15][16]

A lieutenant in Beelzebub's army, Choronzon, made a deal with a occultist named Ruthven Sykes. In exchange for protection, Sykes offered Choronzon the helm of Morpheus, Lord of Dreams. In 1988, Morpheus went to Hell to retrieve his helm and entered into a "reality game" with Choronzon. Morpheus outwitted the demon and regained possession of his helm.[17]

As Lucifer had ruled as lord of Hell for ten billion years, he abandoned his lordship over Hell and went to Earth with his consort Mazikeen. Lucifer expelled all demons and damned souls from Hell before locking Hell's gates and handing over the key to Hell to Morpheus, the Dream of the Endless.[18]

Demons 002

Constantine and the Demons

Many demons entered in conflict with the occultist detective John Constantine, like Nergal.

A powerful demon spawned from the dark emotions of Azarath was Trigon, the Terrible. He was the father of Raven, whom he hopes to use as a portal to the Earthly plane. Trigon also had other children, who were all human hybrids. They represented the Seven Deadly Sins: Raven (Pride), Jared (Wrath)Jesse (Envy)Jacob (Lust)Jack (Sloth)James (Greed) and Gluttony. After their mothers all died under mysterious circumstances, they manifested emotion warping powers and gathered together in a plan to claim their demonic inheritance.[19]

During the Reign in HellBlaze and Satanus attempt to take control of Hell during Neron's absence. Neron's forces loses the war, and Lady Blaze proclaims herself Satan, Ruler of Hell.

At some point, Mazikeen of the Lilim became the new Queen of Hell.[20]

Prime Earth

Trinity of Sin Phantom Stranger Vol 4 17 Textless

The new Sons of Trigon

In the Prime Earth continuity, Lilith is now known as the Mother of Monsters. She is the bride of Cain and the second vampire, but is still the mother of the demon Mazikeen of Lilim.[21][22]

In China, there are two general demons, the brothers Golden Horn King and Silver Horn King. At some point, they were imprisoned in a gourd.[23][24]

A demonic serial killer from Azarath called Bertok-Raaf had been responsible for many murders over the centuries. He possessed several killers, like Marquis of Madness, Jack the Ripper, Lizzie Borden, The Bone Collector, and the Phantom Killer.[25]

An unnamed demon "Dark Lord" had a son with a human woman; Dane, the Antichrist. Dane was supposed to destroy the world and serve his father for all eternity, but his mother refused to keep her word and hid herself in St. Michael's mission in Arizona hoping that Dane's father would not find them. 130 years later, Dane joined the Titans Academy and became a magician under the tutelage of Raven, the daughter of Trigon.[26][27]

In this reality, Belial is one of the Sons of Trigon and the father of Etrigan and Merlin. After innumerable attempts, Belial was finally able to overthrow Lucifer as King of Hell and attempted to create a dimensional tear between Hell and Earth, but was eventually killed by Etrigan.[28]

Roy Harper Cry for Justice
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Arrowverse

In the Arrowverse, some demons are damned human souls transformed in Hell. There are also several sub-species of demons, such as the Shadow Demons, the Demon-elves, the Succubus, and Hellhounds like Marchosias, who was responsible for the murders of the Son of Sam in the 1970s.[29][30] [31][32][33]

Triumvirate of Hell Arrowverse 0001

The Triumvirate of Hell

After Lucifer Morningstar left the Hell to retire on Earth-666 along with his consort Mazikeen, another fallen angel, the First of the Fallen, created the Triumvirate of Hell along with two higher demons, Beelzebub and Belial.[34][35][36]

In the biblical times, God created several possible candidates to marry Adam, including Lilith, Lamashtu, Durgia, Naamah, and Eve. But only Eve agreed to become his wife, while other sisters preferred to join the First of the Fallen as the demonic goddesses of Hell.[37]

In ancient times, a primordial time demon of the highest order, Mallus, was imprisoned in the Spirit World by five of the six tribes of Zambesi in Africa, using the Totems of Zambesi.[38][39]

When Natalie Logue was killed by a drunk driver, her old friend John Constantine attempted to resurrect her with the Newcastle Crew. Although she was resurrected, the ritual was botched, and a demon possessed her daughter Astra. Constantine then summoned another demon, Nergal, to drag the another demon back to Hell and save the girl. Although, Nergal instead dragged Astra to Hell for eternity in front of everyone.[29][40]

During the Rising Darkness, Constantine and his team faced various demons, such as Furcifer, a Succubus, Mnemoth, Karabasan, and Nahash the original Serpent from Garden of Eden.[29][32][41][42][43]

At the behest of Brujería, the demon goddess Lamashtu disguised herself as a nun in Mexico City to devour newborns and suck their energy, but she was stopped by Constantine using the Icon of Pazuzu, unleashing the power of the latter in the catacombs. This draws the demon Invunche to them, so the nun Anne Marie grabbed a gun and shot Constantine to gain time and run away with the last child. Constantine then allowed to be possessed by the demon Pazuzu, regenerating his wound and thus chasing away the Invunche. Pazuzu then started a killing spree, which eventually led to Constantine being arrested. Then sister Anne Marie, Chas Chandler and Zed Martin went to the prison and exorcised the demon.[37][43]

Mallus Arrow 0001

The time demon Mallus

At some point, Henry Stein began to lead a secret society in London known as the Order of the Shrouded Compass, which worshiped the time demon Mallus. The time-displaced Nora Darhk was forced to join the secret society as a child by her father and was possessed by the demon Mallus. As an adult, she managed to resurrect her father, Damien Darhk, who had been killed by Oliver Queen. Together, they led the organization through time in search of the Totems of Zambesi to free Mallus from the Spirit World. They eventually obtained the totems along with the Legends, and freed Mallus, killing Nora. Damien then went back in time along with the Legends and allowed himself to be possessed by the demon to save his daughter, sacrificing himself in the end. The Legends then used the Totems to transform into a giant Beebo and managed to defeat Mallus, killing him.[44][38][45][46]

Later, the higher demon Neron orchestrated an evil plan in order to replace the Triumvirate as the ruler of Hell, but he was defeated by the Legends, and Astra became the new Queen of Hell, until she left it to join the Legends.[47][48]

In the Earth-38, Krypton had its own Hell and demonic entities that were destroyed along with the planet. Kryptonian demons are legendary spirits of dark magic, connected to the Kryptonian witches. Some Kryptonian demons survived in the Valley of Juru and Fort Rozz. Thomas Coville mentioned Lilith as a mythological creature compared to Yuda Kal, the "Beast" and original goddess of Krypton, worshiped by the Kryptonian Witches.[49][50][51]

Species

Fallen Angels

Servants of the Presence who rebelled against Him and were cast into the Inferno:

Hellions

True demons born in Hell:

Nobility

Rhyming Caste: High ranking demons by promotion. They have earned the privilege to speak in rhyme as a status symbol.

Demon Lords: There are thousands of demon lords holding land across Hell. Much like angels and saints have specific roles, certain demon lords preside over various areas. There is even a demon for every town and city around the world who grow more powerful with the populations sin, such as the Gothodaemon.

Lower Class: Slaves, soldiers, civilians and creatures.

Other Demons

Half Demons: Children of a Hellion and a mortal:

Reborn Demons: Humans and other mortals that have become demons.

Others: Some malevolent beings have the attributes of demons without coming from Hell, but are, or could be still considered demons.

Demon Races

  • Bile Demons: Low strength demons that project a nasty caustic stomach acid from their mouths.[65]
  • Creepers/Oni:
    Creepers 001

    The Creepers

    Entities same as the one who possessed Jack Ryder. In the Prime Earth continuity, Creepers are Oni, Japanese demons. Their purpose is clear, they must cause chaos and destruction to any and all they meets.[72][73]
  • Lilim: a species of demons who are the children of Lilith.[8]
  • Succubi: They are sexual demons. Their wyrm queen is Triskele.
  • Hellhounds: Demon dogs residing in Hell, like Marchosias.[33]
  • Reptawks: Flying creatures whose stings cause paralysis then death.[74]
  • Shamblers: Small demons of which little is known. Etrigan encountered one in a dream only, so they may not exist.[75]
  • Stone Giants: When wandering Hell, Jason Blood encountered a trio of towering stone demons with wings. Though little is known about them, two of the giants smelled Blood's connection to Etrigan and left him alone out of fear.[67]
  • Stranglers: Strong demons with backward hands yet simple minded, desperately compelled to strangle their prey.[64][65]

Powers and Abilities

Powers

  • Demon Physiology
    • Immortality: Demons are not mortal beings and do not age or die naturally. They can be destroyed, sending them to oblivion where they cease to exist. Lower class demons are easier to destroy than the powerful demon ruling class.
    • Enhanced Senses: Demons have a sixth sense of sorts, allowing them to sense intangible concepts on a tangible level. Etrigan could sense evil and the supernatural, for example.[76][77] Asteroth proclaimed that demons can taste fear which resembles, "peaches covered with fresh bone marrow".[65]
    • Possession: Many demons are able to possess mortal forms and control the hosts to various degrees.[68]
    • Magic: Medium to upper demon castes can use magic. They use souls as fuel for spells.

Abilities

Weaknesses

Almost all demons share the same vulnerabilities with few exceptions. Of course the higher (lower) a demon's class, the more powerful they are, generally speaking.

  • Vulnerability to Theology: Theological weapons that represent the divine can ward off and harm demons, such as:
    • Exorcism[68]
    • Idols, seals, talismans and crucifixes.
    • Holy Water
  • Magic/Occultism: Those with the requisite occult knowledge can summon, control, imprison, destroy, or banish demons.
    • Summoning: Demons can be conjured by those with occult knowledge, and controlled if the summoner is powerful enough.
    • Vulnerability to Cold: Eldritch cold can harm demons. Etrigan's life-force was once snuffed out by the frost created by the Philosopher's Stone.[76] He also commented on how the natural cold made his blood run "sluggishly", though this may just be poetic licence.[64]
  • Lesser demons aren't even immune to Hellfire, but elite demons like Belial are hard to destroy; even with his heart ripped out he lived, but it dramatically reduced his power.[79][80] The demon lord Morax was killed by decapitation. Whether or not it was the just beheading, or the fact it was a divine weapon that cleaved his neck is unknown.[81]
  • Vulnerability to Iron: Iron has long held mystical properties and harms demons on contact.[82]
  • Power Loss: Knowing the names a demon uses helps to weaken them.[83]


Miscellaneous

Type of Government:

Level of Technology:

  • The majority of depictions shows demons retaining a medieval technological level, however Reign in Hell depicted a technologically advanced Hell, with demons using futuristic armour, weaponry, and computers.

Representatives:


Notes

  • This character or object is an adaptation of Demon, a character or object in traditional stories. These include, but may not be limited to religious texts, myth, and/or folk lore. More information on the original can be found at Wikipedia.org.

Trivia

See Also


Links and References

  1. Doom Patrol (Volume 6) #12
  2. Death: At Death's Door #1
  3. 3.0 3.1 Lucifer #45
  4. Captain Marvel Adventures #8
  5. World's Finest #254
  6. Marvel Family #7
  7. Sandman (Volume 2) #40
  8. 8.0 8.1 Lucifer #50
  9. Swamp Thing (Volume 2) #49
  10. Swamp Thing (Volume 2) #50
  11. Sandman (Volume 2) #4
  12. The Demon (Volume 3) #19
  13. The Demon (Volume 3) #2
  14. The Demon (Volume 3) #3
  15. Hellblazer #53
  16. Supergirl (Volume 4) #58
  17. Sandman (Volume 2) #4
  18. Sandman (Volume 2) #23
  19. Titans (Volume 2) #4
  20. Lucifer (Volume 2) #1
  21. Lucifer (Volume 3) #7
  22. I, Vampire #16
  23. Monkey Prince #1
  24. Monkey Prince #6
  25. DC: The Doomed and the Damned #1
  26. Teen Titans Academy #10
  27. Shazam! (Volume 4) #1
  28. The Demon: Hell Is Earth #3
  29. 29.0 29.1 29.2 Constantine: "Non Est Asylum"
  30. Supergirl: "Crisis on Infinite Earths: Part One"
  31. The Chronicles of Cisco
  32. 32.0 32.1 Constantine: "The Darkness Beneath"
  33. 33.0 33.1 DC's Legends of Tomorrow: "Ship Broken"
  34. The Flash: "Crisis on Infinite Earths: Part Three"
  35. Lucifer: "Pilot"
  36. Constantine: "The Devil's Vinyl"
  37. 37.0 37.1 Constantine: "The Saint of Last Resorts"
  38. 38.0 38.1 DC's Legends of Tomorrow: "Daddy Darhkest"
  39. DC's Legends of Tomorrow: "No Country for Old Dads"
  40. DC's Legends of Tomorrow: "A Head of Her Time"
  41. Constantine: "A Feast of Friends"
  42. Constantine: "Quid Pro Quo"
  43. 43.0 43.1 Constantine: "The Saint of Last Resorts: Part II"
  44. DC's Legends of Tomorrow: "Return of the Mack"
  45. DC's Legends of Tomorrow: "Guest Starring John Noble"
  46. DC's Legends of Tomorrow: "The Good, the Bad and the Cuddly"
  47. DC's Legends of Tomorrow: "Hey, World!"
  48. DC's Legends of Tomorrow: "The Great British Fake Off"
  49. Supergirl: "Fort Rozz"
  50. Supergirl: "Trinity"
  51. Supergirl: "Reign"
  52. Constantine (2005)
  53. 53.0 53.1 53.2 Arkham Asylum: Living Hell #6
  54. 54.0 54.1 Swamp Thing (Volume 2) #50
  55. The Demon #10
  56. Wonder Woman #280
  57. Superman/Shazam!: First Thunder #2
  58. 58.0 58.1 The Demon (Volume 3) #2
  59. The Demon (Volume 3) #45
  60. The Demon #16
  61. Hitman #52
  62. 62.0 62.1 Lobo (Volume 2) #63
  63. Arkham Asylum: Living Hell #5
  64. 64.0 64.1 64.2 The Demon (Volume 2) #1
  65. 65.0 65.1 65.2 65.3 65.4 65.5 The Demon (Volume 2) #2
  66. The Demon (Volume 3) #25
  67. 67.0 67.1 67.2 The Demon (Volume 3) #1
  68. 68.0 68.1 68.2 Action Comics #636
  69. Wonder Woman #282
  70. 70.0 70.1 The Demon (Volume 3) #56
  71. 71.0 71.1 Superman #666
  72. Reign in Hell #3
  73. Justice League Dark #23.1: The Creeper
  74. Wonder Woman #281
  75. The Demon #14
  76. 76.0 76.1 The Demon #9
  77. The Demon #15
  78. The Demon #11
  79. The Demon (Volume 3) #7
  80. The Demon (Volume 3) #35
  81. The Demon (Volume 3) #58
  82. Trials of the Demon!
  83. Hellblazer #275
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