Neron (DC)
Neron is a male comic demonic supervillain who features in DC Comics.
Contents[hide] |
Biography
Origin
Neron was a demon, who may possibly be the Devil himself and an inhabitant of Hell. His name was the numerological source for '666.' In recent times, he offered various supervillains (and normal persons, as well) greatly enhanced or altered abilities, and/or weapons in exchange for their immortal souls. Many accepted, and he used these villains to drive the world into chaos. He also made similar offers to several heroes and normal people, tempting them with the chance of a repaired life. Surprisingly, some of these also accepted.
Neron was finally defeated when the Trickster cajoled him into taking Captain Marvel's soul, which was given purely and caused Neron's apparent destruction. He soon returned, however, and has since plagued the Flash and the Justice League of America, as well as seeking revenge on Trickster. Neron also murdered Wonder Woman, which led to her temporary status as a goddess of New Olympus.
Neron was demoted to the level of a rhyming demon during the Day of Judgement event, when he attempted to manipulate events so that he could take souls without making a deal. In an attempt to reclaim his power, Neron made a deal with the villain Darius Caldera, enemy of Deadman. In exchange for being given the body of Superman, Caldera would use his soul cages to travel in time and capture the souls of five superheroes at the times of their deaths. Using them, Neron would regain his former status. However, the plan was foiled by Deadman, who accidentally caused Caldera to die before Neron could make the deal. Neron swore revenge on Deadman, before leaving.
Through an agent, he had a demon stick given to Eddie Bloomberg after the young man was feeling lost after the death of his mentor Blue Devil. Taking it to his friend Zachary Zatara, Bloomberg lighted the candle thus taking the pair to Neron. The demon came to offer Bloomberg demonic power so long as his faith remained in Blue Devil by the time of his 20th birthday. Neron then used demonic fire that was used to transform Eddie into a true demon. He then revealed that Neron had told Blue Devil to attack the building where he inadvertently killed Bloomberg's Aunt Marla. With a laugh, he sent the two mortals back to Earth where he told Eddie that he would be seeing him in a few years. (Teen Titans v3 #42)
Post-Flashpoint
Following the Flashpoint, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events.
Neron was the demon that tormented Apollo after his soul was sent to Hell. (Midnighter and Apollo v1 #2)
Overview
Personality and attributes
Powers and abilities
However, despite manifesting great strength and immense magical power on occasion, he normally relies on a deal to obtain human souls and only claims them when the deal is up or when his victims fail to keep their side of the deal. He is able to give superheroes and supervillains magic-based powers, he can greatly enhance a superhero or supervillain's existing powers, and he has the ability to assume a human-like appearance. He possesses immense physical strength, killing Mongul with his bare hands. He is also adept at creating items of power, for example, the Ocean Master's trident.
Within his possession were demon sticks that were made from demons blood that when lighted took a person to its creator. (Teen Titans v3 #42)
Notes
- Neron was created by Mark Waid and Howard Porter where he made his first appearance in Underworld Unleashed v1 #1 (November, 1995).
Alternate Versions
- In JLA: Created Equal v1 #1 (2000), an alternate version of Neron appeared in the Elseworlds reality existing on a world within the Multiverse. After a mysterious plague known as The Fall killed every man on the planet, Zatanna appealed to a number of supernatural entities for answers to the problem. This included Neron, Circe, Deadman and the Spectre. They refused to intervene with their divine powers to help humanity find a solution.
- In Future State: Shazam! v1 #1 (2021), an alternate version of Neron appeared in the possible timeline of Future State in the Multiverse. He along with the demon hordes of Hell threatened to spiral out to Earth through the Rock of Eternity. To stop them, Shazam stood by the doorway to Earth but after fighting for so long he could not maintain it much longer. Thus, a bargain was struck with Neron whereby one pure of heart would remain in Hell to hold the door whilst the other returned to Earth. Billy Batson remained in Hell whilst his heroic persona went to defend the planet but this was all part of Neron's trick as he infected Shazam with his influence causing him to see demons everywhere. As a result, Shazam's clarity was clouded and he began to see demons amongst his enemies where he secretly killed several of them. He was also made to gather a shard of the Spear of Destiny which he used to kill the Spectre. Ultimately, he was forced to use the magic word thus bringing an elderly Billy Batson to Earth but this allowed the doorway in the Rock of Eternity to open thus freeing Neron's master the Unkindness.
In other media
Television
- In Legends of Tomorrow, Neron appeared in the live-action television series fourth season set in the Arrowverse where he was first referenced in the episode "Hell No, Dolly!". He was shown to had approached Constantine in the past about making a deal but when he refused then Neron decided to possess the body of his lover Desmond. During the next confrontation with Constantine, he was forced to send both Neron and Desmond to hell thus damming the man he had come to love. Within Desmond's body, Neron returned to Earth where he approached Hank Heywood where he offered to give him power in exchange for a supply of magical creatures. Heywood thus co-opted the resources of the Time Bureau and secretly began to kidnap the magical creatures the Legends had acquired. When Hank had a change of heart about their plan and tried to back out of it, Neron killed him and eventually took Legends member Ray Palmer as his new host. Palmer surrendered his body when Neron promised not to kill his teammate Nate Heywood. Forcing Constantine to help him, Neron opened a portal to Hell and brought his lover Tabitha the Fairy Godmother to Earth, with the two looking to open a larger portal that would unleash all of Hell on Earth. Constantine and Nate tricked Neron into breaking his word by killing Nate, which ejected him out of Ray's body. Neron in his shadow-form was finally killed by Constantine, though the team resurrected Nate shortly thereafter.
Video games
- In Infinite Crisis, Neron was referenced in the MOBA video game with an artefact named Neron's Contract that was purchasable for the players Champion. The description stated that it was stained with drippings from demon blood taper and contained the terms for trading the signer's desires for their immortal soul. It was mentioned as being a contract with the 'Lord of Lies' and that it rarely benefited the bargainer in the long term.
- In DC Universe Online, Neron appeared in the setting of the MMORPG video game. He appeared as a major antagonist in "The Sins of Black Adam" event.
Appearances
- Underworld Unleashed v1: (1995)
- JLA v1:
- Teen Titans v3:
- Midnighter and Apollo v1:
Links
Internal Links
External Links
This article is a stub. You can help Multiversal Omnipedia by expanding it.
