Demons (Marvel)

Demons are creatures that feature in Marvel Comics.

History

Demons were a race of supernatural-based beings from a wide variety of backgrounds who inhabited the. According to one account, demons traced their origins to the beginning of the Multiverse when there once existed a single omnipotent being that existed all across infinity. The entity found its lonely existence too unbearable and futile and in order to alleviate its solitude it attempted to create life with this resulting in the creation of Demons who had no concept of good or evil. The demonic horde turned to evil with their eventual actions displeasing their creator who destroyed them. Eventually, the loneliness by the cosmic being led to them committing a form of cosmic suicide that birthed existence along with re-creating the demonic hordes. (Silver Surfer v3 #45)

Earth became a battleground between Heaven and Hell though a series of rules of engagement were established leading to the creation of the Covenant. (Spirits of Vengeance v2 #2)

In 1942, a section of Hell was briefly run like an Earth-style business called Hades Inc. that was run by a demon calling himself L.S.. They claimed to have been responsible for Hitler's rise to power. They also sent one of their agents to the town of Arbor City in the United States and as local celebrity 'Victor Risling', entered into politics in order to spread his message of hate and prejudice. Risling was defeated and exposed by the other-dimensional Vision. (Marvel Mystery Comics v1 #27) In 1949, the slain Red Skull imposter whilst in Hell managed to tamper with the forbidden book of the Master Judge of the Lower Depths. Entering onto the great ledger, he came to write the name of Captain America thus damning his foe to be claimed by the forces of Hell. Per Hell's own law, this could not be changed and upon being brought to the River Styx by Charon Captain America was forced to battle the Red Skull who armed himself with Death's own scythe whose single touch could destroy his foe. However, the Red Skull was defeated by Captain America whereupon the Master Judge removed the hero's name from the ledger and returned him to the world of the living. (Captain America's Weird Tales v1 #74)

The Chapel of Dresden looked to create half-demonic and half human children to serve as high priest and high priestess of their faith. Thus, they contacted a Satanist couple and purchased their daughter Victoria Wingate Hellstrom who was formed magically to birth these offspring. She was mated with the demon Marduk Kurios with her becoming pregnant with his children which were Daimon Hellstrom and Satana. (Hellstorm v1 #16)

After learning his father's true name, Daimon Hellstrom evoked the ancient blood rite and managed to slay Marduk Kurios. In the aftermath, he became the new ruler of Hell but did not claim the throne immediately and instead spoke to the Devil's courtiers. They kept Satan's death quiet where they took charge of his territory allowing for Daimon to return to Earth whilst they hid the fact that Marduk Kurios was no more. To outsiders, it simply appeared that Marduk's territory had grown lax whilst the demonic court bent the rules as they looked towards expanding their reach to claim pieces of Earth for themselves. In the resultant power vacuum, Heaven pushed for war and began sending Asura assassin angels to kill Satanists in order to weaken Hell's powerbase on Earth. (Hellstorm v1 #16)

For sometime, Satanists on Earth were involved in a breeding program to create the Antichrist that became known as Project Blackheart. Looking to make a son for their master, they spent years gathering 'ideal parents' from across the world. These included prostitutes, sexual deviants, serial killers, psychopaths, cannibals, CEOs and so on who were all forced to mate together. Angelic assassins came to descend onto Earth where they targeted the project and killed many of the children and those involved though one child managed to escape the massacre. (Ghost Riders: Heaven's on Fire v1 #1)

In the aftermath of the Secret Empire, Doctor Strange attempted to use magic to restore the devastated Las Vegas that was razed by Hydra. Upon casting the spell, he created a tear that allowed Mephisto to create the Hotel Inferno where he and a hoard of demons began to prey on the sins of mortals in the restored city. This allowed them to collect the souls of humans that were stored as currency in the hotel's casino vault. (Doctor Strange: Damnation v1 #1)

Overview

In appearance, Demons came in a wide variety of forms and backgrounds.

Demons were said to be capable of changing their gender at will. (Hellstorm: Prince of Lies v1 #14)

There were numerous groups of demons such as the:

• Troids : creations of the Elder God Chthon who made these immaterial parasitic beings that feed on fear and humiliation felt by human hosts, but having no other physical effect on the host. Growing to maturity inside their hosts, they are trapped there by healthy skin, only escaping when their host's skin is injured. Outside their hosts, Troids are physically solid 10-legged insectoid creatures with two pairs of wings that are capable of speech and generally undetectable by humans without mystical skills, but can be injured by normal physical means when detected; other physical characteristics such as flight speed, strengths levels and tail pincher capabilities are unrevealed. Troid queens, larger than other Troids and capable of laying millions of eggs, are comparatively rare. (Midnight Sons Unlimited v1 #2)
• Khats : cat-like humanoid trickster demons that served Erlik Khan and grew stronger by preying on a person's self-doubt. (Doctor Strange v2 #77)
• Nisanti : One spell that was attributed to them was the Sands of Nisanti where the summoner called an hourglass where during the time the sand drained meant that anyone within its vicinity were unable to use magic in any of its forms. (Doctor Strange: The Oath v1 #5)
• N'Garai :
• Yaoguai : a demon of Eastern belief systems. (Iron Fist - Marvel Digital Original v1 #1)
• Bailiffs : servants of Satan who all look the same as they were grown from the same source. (Hellstorm v1 #18)
• Hades Inc. : a demon known as Lucifer Satan came to run a section of Hell like a business that operated in the mortal world. (Marvel Mystery Comics v1 #27)
• Urmut :
• Glartrox :
• Undying Ones :
• Haazareth Three :
• Octessence :

A diplomatic summit with the Angels of Heaven were created with this being held every thousand years and was known as the Covenant. This involved meeting at a neutral site with the two sides discussing terms, grievances, trade of prisoners or any other such matter with none making any aggressive moves against another otherwise it risked mutually assured destruction between both factions. (Spirits of Vengeance v2 #2)

Among the most powerful demonic beings were the Hell-Lords who ruled over hell dimensions. (Thor Annual v1 #10) Those that had the potential to become a Hell Lord were given the Hell-Mark that was a demonic sigil in the shape of a pentagram surrounded by a circle. The ones bestowed this were either given it by birthright or by being chosen by an existing Hell Lord. (Venom v2 #41) The Hell-Mark granted its bearer control over lesser demons and the ability to conjure hellfire. (Venom v2 #42) It was known that there were many demons with most purporting to be the mythic Satan at one point or another. A demonic ruler of Hell was noted to hold a Black Halo that was a mark of regency that indicated their claim to the throne. (Hellstorm v1 #16)

Among their own kind was the Devil's Advocacy that was a gathering of the various devils of hell that sat before the empty throne. Though many of their kind claimed to be Satan, none did so in the presence of the room with these devils believing that their proximity to that throne raised their status among their kind. It was held that if any devil had claimed the seat then they would have been torn apart by the others that sought it which was why it was always empty. (Journey into Mystery v1 #627)

One particular event among demonkind was the Descent which was when one of the hell-lords was destined to fall further than the others and thus in the process become the true devil. Ruling hell-lords then placed a Hell Mark on those that they considered their heirs that were destined to be transformed into powerful demon lords. Among those with the Mark, one was destined to fall with them becoming in charge of a corner of hell as they transcended to become a demon. (Venom v2 #25)

A written language known to some of their kind was Demonic Script with this being known to those that dwelled in Limbo. (New Mutants v3 #17)

Artifacts and relics linked to the Demons of Hell included:

• Key of Abbadon :
• Breathing Gun :
• Book of Satan : an apocryphal tome that existed in legends with it mentioned in hieroglyphs, Sanskrit and Icelandic Bardic poetry. It was said to contain all sorts of magical incantations and formula to make the user all-powerful with it said to make Satan the servant of the bearer. (Journey into Unknown Worlds v1 #19)
• Darkhold :
• Pandemonium Cube :

Certain type of technology used by their kind were magic-type occultic weapons referred to as Demonica with the Soulcutter being hungry handguns that fired demon bullets with penetration and stopping power which ripped the spirits out from their targets. The weapons insatiable appetite was sated from innocent souls that it took with it fusing and corrupting its owner until there were no more sustenance to claim after which it took the soul of its wielder. (Heroes for Hire v3 #1)

Members

• Mephisto :
• Adversary :
• Zahgurim :
• Marduk Kurious : a powerful and ancient demon who claimed the name of Satan more than others with his name being known to the Sumerians. He was notable for being the dark father of Daimon Hellstrom and Satana. (Hellstorm v1 #16)
• Cyttorak :
• Dormammu :
• Beast of the Hand :
• Wild :
• Lilith :
• Blackheart :
• Thog :
• Belathauzer :
• Basilisk :
• Baphomet :
• Nameless Ones :
• Beezlebub : a demon mistaken for Satan who could be commanded through the Book of Satan whereby he stopped anyone trying to claim the tome and devoured them. (Journey into Unknown Worlds v1 #19)
• Hive : a soldier demon that took the form of flies who possessed hosts. (Nightcrawler v3 #11) His real name was Halphas and he was a cousin of Mephisto though one that was many times removed. (Nightcrawler v3 #12)
• Maledril :
• Beliar :
• Saturnine :
• Agathon :
• Allatou :
• S'ym :
• Hive :
• Demon of the Dark :
• Wild One :
• Master Judge of the Lower Depths :
• Erlik Khan : (Doctor Strange v2 #77)
• Aan Taanu :
• Stygmata : a humanoid pale skinned bald demon who came to control the second dimension where he crafted Vampiric Tattoos that leeched the life of people and fed him. His activities drew the attention of Doctor Strange and the demon was killed before he could harvest the Sorcerer Supreme. (Dr. Strange v1 #3)
• Scorpion Queen : a demoness that was the Mother of All Hell's Vermin with 40,000 offspring that wandered the caverns of hell and fed on stray demons along with the occasional human soul. (Legion of Monsters: Satana v1 #1)
• Mo Wang : King of Yaoguai who believed that mortals had pilfered the art of palm reading and he possessed the body of a deceased boy whereupon he attempted to find a vessel to inhabit with him deciding to claim the Chi of the Iron Fist for himself. (Iron Fist - Marvel Digital Original v1 #1) As a native of Diyu, he ruled one of the 12,000 Hells beneath the Earth with his being the chamber of iron cycads where the souls of mortals were hung by the trees of kingdom by their bowels as crows pecked on their intestines for centuries. (Iron Fist - Marvel Digital Original v1 #3)
• Toad God :
• Razazel :
• Wolf Demon : the progenitor of all werewolves whose curse afflicted humans. (Werewolf by Night v2 #4)
• One Below All : a demonic entity tied to the third unknown form of Gamma Radiation who was the counterpart to the One Above All and was locked away in the Below-Place where it could only access the mortal plane through the Green Door. (Immortal Hulk v1 #12)

Notes

• In Marvel Zombies Handbook v1 #1 (2007), demons received an entry within the entry book. They were noted for being different from gods as being parasitic quasi-mystical beings that were divided into three categories including Elder Gods, Hell-lords and their minions and extradimensionals.

In other media

Television

• In Helstrom, Demons appeared in the setting of the live-action television series. Demons have roamed Earth for centuries trapping humans in a vicious cycle. When Kthara's children were attacked, she declared a war between demons and humans. The Blood was formed in response to demons' existence, trapping demons in their host bodies in hotels so that they could not wreak havoc. This group included seven generations of Caretakers. At one point, a group of demons decided to betray their own kind and help the humans to fight demons. They developed the ability to contain demonic powers and became known as Keeper Demons, giving humans talismans made from their deceased's remains they could use as a temporary way to contain demons. During the war, a group of humans brutally attacked Basar, upsetting Kthara. Kthara went to report the murder to the village elders, who did not believe her. However, Basar resurrected several days later and slaughtered the entire village. Basar was eventually contained by a Keeper, who continued to contain it even after its death. The demon's corpse, along with Basar, ended up in a crypt in Colma. This war eventually ended with the humans, whom Kthara and her children referred to as "oppressors," declaring that they should not be shown mercy. However, demons remained and continued possessing people. A demon once possessed the brother of a man named Henry, resulting in his death. Distraught, Henry agreed to join the war against demons after years of refusing to do so. Demons eventually made their way into Christian teachings, as some Christians would come to believe that demons were responsible for bad things happening to them

Films

• In Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Demons were referenced in the setting of the live-action film. Chthon who was a being known as the first demon constructed a temple on top of the Mount Wundagore and carved the dark magic into its walls, which were then transcribed into the first Darkhold.

Video games

• In Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, Demons appeared in the setting of the video game when the players arrived in Hell. Once there, they fought numerous types of Demons that served Mephisto.
• In Marvel: Avengers Alliance, Demons appeared as antagonists in the Facebook video game and had their own Dossier Entry. The entry stated there were many misleading accounts of Demons with some making them appear according to their own distorted perceptions or the other extreme saying that they lacked a true form. In reality, Demons were stated to come in a variety of forms and shapes with no two exactly the same due to there being many strains or variants with them being as unique as humans. The only common element being them fundamentally and utterly driven by their baser impulses. Lower ranking Demons were said to be created by those of the higher orders. Demons were among the factions that were seeking out the mysterious Iso-8 for their own purposes. Among these demonic soldiers included the Auspex, Bellator, Cusptero, Harpe, Incascia, Inves, Meretrix, Nefaralae, Praefectus, Spiculum, Subcintus, Tetrabrach, and Verignis. In Special Operations - Eclipse Phase, The Hood began channelling a new demonic power from the Nisanti that were a race of Demons who were not creations of Mephisto.
• In Marvel: Future Fight, several characters with ties to demons appeared in the setting of the mobile video game. These included Daimon Hellstrom and Satana that were playable along with being bosses in the Doctor Strange: Epic Quest mission.

Appearances

• Journey into Unknown Worlds v1:
• Doctor Strange v2:
• Hellstorm v1:
• Heroes for Hire v1:
• Werewolf by Night v1:
• Immortal Iron Fist v1:
• Venom:
• Doctor Strange: Damnation v1:
• Iron Fist:
• Ghost Rider:
• Dr. Strange v1:

External Links

• Marvel Database Entry
• Wikipedia Entry

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