Demogoblin
Demogoblin is a male comic supervillain who features in Marvel Comics.
Contents |
Biography
Demogoblin was a demonic being whose origins were traced to the events of the Inferno. At this time, the criminal Hobgoblin Jason Macendale had suffered a humiliating defeat the hands of Spider-Man and the Green Goblin. Macendale lamented at his fate and wanted further power in order to defeat his enemies. He was then assailed on by demons that had begun invading the world and after destroying some of them he followed them to their master who was N'astirh. Jason sought an audience with the demon lord who simply wanted to be entertained by a mortal with Macendale offering his soul for further power. This made N'astirh laugh at the quality of his soul but the offer did amuse him leading to the demon lord transforming Macendale into a demonic being. (Spectacular Spider-Man v1 #147) This gave him greater power such as improved strength and the able to wield magic. However, he struggled to control his body as Macendale vied with the demon inside of himself over their body. This eventually culminated in them separating into two separate beings where the demonic essence became the Demogoblin whose first act was to try and kill the sinner Macendale. Meanwhile, in prison, Macendale was suffering wracking pain from the transformations into the demonic Hobgoblin, which were happening with greater frequency. He was soon broken out of jail by a group of mercenaries, hired by Richard Fisk, who wanted him to kill Spider-Man and Peter Parker. The transformations were continuing unpredictably after he found the web head, and the demon tore free of Macendale. The newborn demon intended to kill his former host but was stopped by Spider-Man, who dubbed him Demogoblin. He stopped laughing after realizing that punching Demogoblin caused him to burn his hand. The demon was weak from the separation and fled, claiming that the Lord must have wanted him to spare Spider-Man and Macendale. (Web of Spider-Man v1 #86) After the separation, Jason was having nightmares about the demon, causing him to decide to go and kill it. Meanwhile, the Demogoblin was waiting for him and their battle eventually drew the attention of Spider-Man. As Hobgoblin and Demogoblin battled it out until Doppelganger arrived who attempted to kill Spider-Man. Hobgoblin and Spider-Man were forced to work together to beat their counterparts. This was until Hobgoblin tried to shoot Spider-Man whilst he was preoccupied with Doppelganger. The gunshot missed Spider-Man and hit Doppelganger seemingly killing the creature. With the gun out of ammo, Hobgoblin fled the scene whilst Spider-Man departed as well. In the aftermath though, the Demogoblin resurrected Doppelganger, thinking the creature might be useful to him in the future. (Spider-Man v1 #24)
Later, on Halloween night, Demogoblin besieged the unholy Library of Rhan. In the midst of purging the cultists and exterminating their defenses, he was interrupted by a loud, high-pitched, ear-piercing scream. He disappeared in a flash of cosmic energy. (Venom: Enemy Within v1 #1) Demogoblin soon found himself sitting on a throne underneath a subway station in San Francisco, surrounded by little green goblins. They had summoned him here to be their chosen leader. Thus, Demogoblin led them on to Alcatraz Prison, where he crossed paths with Venom and Morbius. (Venom: Enemy Within v1 #2) As his two adversaries attacked him, he had been forced to retaliate with energy blasts and Pumpkin Bombs. One of the Bombs blew a section of the wall, exposing deadly sunlight to Morbius and the goblins; while it didn't kill Morbius, some of the goblins weren't so lucky. As Venom threw him several yards out of the prison, Demogoblin managed to summon his glider and escape. Morbius and Venom nearly ruined his real plan: He viewed these goblins as no more than heretics, and so used them in order to locate the necklace used for the summoning. He found it in the possession of newly-elected Mayor Charles Palentine, the man who had planned this goblin invasion from the start. Snatching away the necklace from Palentine, Demogoblin ordered the goblins to send the sinner on his way to Hell; besides, a mere mortal had no real power over this talisman. He used the necklace's near godlike power to grow fifty feet tall, then led the goblins to the Golden Gate Bridge, where he ordered them all to dive into the bay and drown themselves. Satisfied, he tossed the necklace over the bridge, allowing it to dissolve; he was then returned to normal size. Just as Venom and Morbius came to thank Demogoblin for saving San Francisco, the maniac just laughed it off and travelled back to New York. (Venom: Enemy Within v1 #3)
Demogoblin eventually forgave Macendale, which annoyed the Hobgoblin so much that he decided to rid the world of his other half once and for all. The final battle took place in a church. When a pillar in the church started to give way and threaten a nearby child, Demogoblin held the pillar up long enough for the child to escape, but was crushed to death when his strength gave out. (Spider-Man v1 #48)
Whilst looking to free Knull, Cletus Kasady sacrificed Shriek so that she could be reborn with the demonic essence of Demogoblin where the two merged into single being called Demagoblin. (Absolute Carnage: Lethal Protectors v1 #1) She and the symbiote-infected Man-Wolf were sent to hunt Misty Knight down and recaptured her, but not before she was able to radio for help. (Absolute Carnage: Lethal Protectors v1 #2) Both she and Man-Wolf had a brief confrontation with the other heroes. When she was about to kill Misty Knight, Man-Wolf regained his senses, giving time form him and the other heroes to escape. (Absolute Carnage: Lethal Protectors v1 #3)
Overview
Personality and attributes
After separating from Macendale, Spider-Man came to refer to the demon as a Demogoblin which became his name. (Web of Spider-Man v1 #86)
The demon believed he was doing the work of the Lord and asked to be spared from transforming back into the mercenary Macendale. Compared to his host, Demogoblin considered himself to be pure and righteous. After freeing himself from Jason, he believed he was rewarded by the Lord by being freed from the sinner and now being unimpeded to continue His work. (Web of Spider-Man v1 #86)
Demogoblin was a religious fanatic who had no interest in personal wealth or position. He was determined to destroy all sinners and thus gain redemption for himself. Since his definition of sinner was rather strict and exempted only children, he found himself in continual conflict with Spider-Man, Ghost Rider, Venom and even his former host, Macendale. (Spider-Man v1 #24)
Powers and abilities
Demogoblin was a demon from Hell born as a result of a deal made between Jason Macendale and the demon N'astirh. Initially, the creature was bonded to Macendale transforming the human mercenary into a true demonic being. However, the human and demon sides came to fight for dominance of the body leading to painful transformation for Macendale. Eventually, the warring natures resulted in the demonic portion splintering off into its own being. The separation though made him feel weak at first and the Demogoblin had to go away to regain his full strength. (Web of Spider-Man v1 #86)
The Demogoblin shared many of the traits of its former host namely appearance and abilities with these all being born from his demonic nature. Physical contact such as a punch made against Demogoblin caused one to feel like their hands were on fire. He flew on a fiery glider and was able to generate demonic pumpkin bombs that he threw at his targets. (Web of Spider-Man v1 #86)
Notes
- Demogoblin was created by Gerry Conway and Sal Buscema where he first appeared as Hobgoblin in Spectacular Spider-Man v1 #147 (February, 1989) and later as Demogoblin in Web of Spider-Man v1 #86 (March, 1992).
Alternate Versions
In other media
Video games
- In Spider-Man and Venom: Maximum Carnage, Demogoblin appeared as a boss antagonist in the video-game adaptation of the comic storyline.
- In Spider-Man Unlimited, Demogoblin appeared as a boss antagonist in the iOS video game where he intended to purge the world of sinners as the Multiverse was collapsing.
Toys
Appearances
- Spectacular Spider-Man v1: #147 (1989)
- Web of Spider-Man v1: #86 (1992)
- Absolute Carnage: Lethal Protectors v1:
External Links
This article is a stub. You can help Multiversal Omnipedia by expanding it.
