Etrigan
Etrigan is a demonic comic character who features in DC Comics.
Contents[hide] |
Biography
Origin
Etrigan was a male Demon that was an inhabitant of Hell where he was the son of the demon Belial. (The Demon v3 #2)
Millennia ago, out of boredom, the Arch-Duke Belial aimed to expand his territory. He attempted to conquer the lands west of the River Acheron which belonged to the Serpent Queen, Ran Va Daath. The war was one of the bloodiest in the history of Hell, with bodies amassing until only Belial and Ran Va Daath remained. Staring each other down, preparing to attack, Cupid intervened, striking them with passion. The two unholy beasts copulated on a bed of corpses. After consummating their love, Ran Va Daath tried to consume her mate. Belial managed to overpower the 'black widow' and dragged her back to his castle, where he took care of her until she came to term. On the 13th day of the 13th month after their meeting, Ran Va Daath gave birth to Belial's first son, Etrigan. (The Demon v3 #19) Thus, Etrigan was born. The first born of Belial was branded with a sigil, and the infant immediately expressed the pleasure of pain. (The Demon v3 #3)
The young prince was more than a handful. With council, Belial removed the 'bad influence' of the child's mother by casting her into Masak Mavdil. (The Demon v3 #19)
A century later, Etrigan finally found an opportunity to humiliate his father. He met a minor Middle Eastern goddess who was a goat spirit, and cast a spell to make her appear as a ravishing woman. Belial quickly seduced her after meeting her, but was shocked and disgust when his son, a small humanoid goat, was born. Etrigan removed his spell, showing Belial he'd made love to a goat and gloated. Belial vowed that his little Scapegoat would henceforth rule over his older brother and make his life miserable. As Scapegoat grew he found a deep love and respect for Etrigan, although the feelings were not reciprocated. He defied Beliel, saying he didn't have it in him to harm his beloved brother or rule over him, earning Belial's scorn and disappointment. (The Demon v3 #19)
A demon from Hell whom is both a hero and a villain. He is a rhymer, his father is Belial, his brother is Merlin and his other brother is Lord Scapegoat. He is a powerful demon who uses magic, cunning, and brute strength to get what he wants. He is more than a match for Superman- Etrigan hit Superman to the Moon with one punch. Literally. He is bound to Jason Blood, and both of them are immortal.
By 1199, Jason was wealthy beyond desire, and Etrigan climbed higher in the ranks of Hell by committing blasphemous atrocities, but he craved more. Jason led a cardinal and a retinue of knights to negotiate with the Turks in Jerusalem, turning into Etrigan and torturing and murdering them. Etrigan became a favorite in Lucifer's court, and Jason used the cardinal's gold to buy an earldom in Scotland and Catherine of Saxony's hand in marriage. Etrigan got progressively worse, but when Jason rebelled, threatening to never let him out again Etrigan mentally dominated him, and together they killed the pope. (Demon v3 #0)
During the Fifth Crusade, Jason Blood was kidnapped by bishop and general Reynald de la Montaigne. Reynald's men were in Jerusalem, attempting to storm the Saracen fortress Al Salah, which supposedly contained the True cross, but had so far failed and suffered massive casualties. Reynald had discovered Merlin's Book of Eternity, so he knew all about Jason, and wanted Etrigan to destroy the Saracens. Etrigan attacked Reynald, but with the Book of Eternity in his possession the Demon could not hurt him, although Reynald's magic learned from the book could hurt Demon. Etrigan agreed to Reynald's demands, but said demons made bargains, and were not ordered around like servants, and demanded the Book of Eternity once the fortress was sieged. He reached down Reynald's throat and pulled out his soul, a squirming black worm of a thing, as collateral. Etrigan instructed him to commit his entire remaining force of Crusaders against Al Salah, and said he'd reappear to help them when the time was right. Reynald did as ordered, but his men were again massacred. With few Crusaders remaining Etrigan reappeared and raised the fallen Crusaders as abominable zombies, and they overtook Al Salah. Reynald was stabbed by a princess that he was keeping as a prisoner, mortally wounding him, and she urged him to try to get his soul back from the Demon before he died and ended up in Hell. Etrigan was in Al Salah's treasure room, filled with gold and Christian relics. Reynald refused to hand over the book, and used the book's spell to turn Etrigan mortal so he could forcibly seize back his soul. The soul squirmed through the treasure, and as Reynald tried to capture it Jason stabbed him, ending his life and damning him. (Demon v3 #41)
Afterwards, Etrigan travelled across the lands bringing death and destruction across the globe where he headed a great horde of demons. To atone for this mistake, Merlin travelled across the ages where he took on a number of guises where he served as an advisor, cardinal and even grand vizier. He would then approach various human kingdoms in order to enlist their aid in battling his half-brother Etrigan. Despite his efforts, he failed and over centuries Etrigan came to destroy each of these nations. He later led his horde against the Ottoman Empire in 1566 after its ruler was being served by Merlin in the guise of the vizier Merloch who had served the ruler Suleiman. Etrigan had sought to topple the kingdom and confront Merlin in order to acquire the Eternity Book from him whereupon he intended to use its spells to conquer the world. (JLA Annual v1 #4)
He is a long-time foe of Klarion the Witch Boy.
Later on, he was in Hell where he snuck into one of the prison cells of Neron and found the captive Asmodel. The fallen angel of the Pax Dei was forsaken by Heaven for daring to topple the Presence and thus was relegated to eternal torture at the hands of demons. Etrigan approached the angel offering to aid him where he freed him from his restraints and even orchestrated a plot for him to gain further power. This involved the Spectre Force which now lacked a host after Jim Corrigan had completed his mission and was regarded a place in the afterlife. The Spectre could only bond to one with ties to Heaven thus making even a fallen angel a naturel host to its power. Asmodel came to agree to this alliance and Etrigan summoned the Spectre who was enraged at the audacity of a demon bringing him to Hell. Sighting Asmodel, the spirit of vengeance sought to punish him for his actions against the Presence and severed one of his wings. This, however, led to the Spectre falling into Etrigan's trap as he knew a spell from Merlin that allowed the binding of a spirit by using the burnt feathers of an angel. With this, he cast a spell that forced the Spectre to be bonded to Asmodel who became the new host of the Spectre Force. With this power, he escaped Hell and went on a rampage in the mortal world with Earth's heroes unable to match his power. (Day of Judgment v1 #1)
In the Day of Judgment, Etrigan masterminded a plot to lower Neron's rank to that of a Rhymer and Succeded. Etrigan shares a brotherly bond with Lobo. Etrigan has taken control of hell many times. He has run into almost every hero and villain and other abstract being in the universe.
Post-Flashpoint
Following the Flashpoint, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events. Etrigan
Overview
Personality and attributes
His father was regarded as the Prince of Lies and a member of the Satanic Triumvirate. It was said that his power and affinity for evil was something that his father came to regret. (The Demon v3 #2)
Powers and abilities
As a demon, he was virtually immortal and lived for thousands of years. Due to being bound to Jason Blood, his human host similarly shared this immortality. (Etrigan v3 #2)
He was shown to hold an acute sense of smell. (The Demon v3 #42)
At one point, Jason destroyed Etrigan by freezing himself with cold generated from the Philosopher's Stone. (The Demon v1 #8)
The Christian crucifix causes severe pain on contact. (The Demon v3 #42)
Notes
- Etrigan the Demon was created by Jack Kirby where he made his first appearance in The Demon v1 #1 (August, 1972).
Alternate Versions
- In The Multiversity Guidebook v1 (2015), an alternate version of the character named Superdemon was shown to reside in the Earth-13 reality in a world in the Multiverse. This Etrigan was a inhabitant of the doomed world of Kamelot who was rocketed to Earth due to an eternal twilight on his planet and fought evil in Merlin's name as he joined the ranks of heroes known as the League of Shadows.
In other media
Television
- In the DC Animated Universe, Etrigan made a number of appearances in the shared setting:
- In The New Batman Adventures, Etrigan made a guest appearance in the animated series in the episode "The Demon Within" where he was voiced by actor Billy Zane.
- In Justice League, Etrigan made a number of appearances where he was primarily voiced by actor Michael T. Weiss.
- In Justice League Action, Etrigan appeared in the setting of the animated television series where he was voiced by actor Patrick Seitz.
Films
- In Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox, Etrigan appeared in the setting of the animated film where he was voiced by actor Dee Bradley Baker. He was shown to exist in the divergent reality known as the Flashpoint where he operated as a member of the Resistance that fought in Europe. They were shown to be an independent band of fighters that opposed the hostile Amazon and Atlanteans that were waging war against one another. He arrived with the team as they came upon embedded reporter Lois Lane after she was saved from a squad of Amazons. He later participated in the final battle when Aquaman and Wonder Woman's armies fought one another.
- In Justice League Dark, Etrigan appeared in the setting of the animated film where he was voiced by actor Ray Chase.
- In Justice League Dark: Apokolips War, Etrigan appeared in the setting of the animated film where he was voiced again by actor Ray Chase
Video games
- In DC Universe Online, Etrigan was present in the MMORPG where he voiced by actor Christopher S. Field and was shown to reside at the Hall of Doom.
- In Injustice 2, Etrigan made a cameo appearance in the fighting video game where he was shown in Raiden's ending as a member of the Justice League Dark.
- In DC Legends, Etrigan the Demon appeared as a playable character in the mobile video game.
Appearances
- The Demon v1: (1972)
- Blood of the Demon v1:
- The Demon v3:
- Day of Judgment v1:
- Demon Knights v1:
- Justice League Dark v1:
- Justice League United v1:
- Justice League Dark v2:
External Link
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