Daemonites

Latest revision as of 08:48, 14 August 2024

Daemonites in New 52 in Stormwatch v3 #6.

The Daemonites are an alien species that feature in Wildstorm Comics and DC Comics.

History

Wildstorm

Wildstorm Daemonites in London in The Establishment v1 #2.

The Daemonites origins were tied to that of the Kherubim race when one of their Planet Shaper Engines landed on the planet Daemon. Once there, it attempted to turn the local genetic material into a fitting servitor race for the Kherans. However, the newly formed Daemonites were deemed deviant and unstable which was why the seeded Kherubim as well as their constructs attempted to eliminate them. This triggered the eternal enimity between the two species with the Daemonites hatred for the Kherubim stemming from their time as being created as slaves. (Magestic v2 #11) The war between Khera and Daemon was noted to had turned entire galaxies into warzones with worlds turned into battlefields. (Nemesis v1 #1)

By 2995 B.C, the Daemonites had created a base on Earth situated at Mount Vesuvius where a number of their kind were led by Skarak. This group was sent to retrieve the Creation Engine when they were infiltrated by Charis of the Adrastea who claimed that she was defecting from her people. However, she broke her cover when Skarak intended to eliminate the captured Lady Zanah with the conflict leading to the defeat of the Daemonites. (Nemesis v1 #2)

Eons ago, Daemonite marauders engaged with Kherubim explorers above the planet Earth with both respective vessels crashing onto the world. It was claimed that the surviving members of the species saw Earth as a source for host bodies and a rich colony for their empire. However, they were opposed in their campaigns by the Kheran survivors leading to a series of Blood Wars between the two species who each sought to establish a base of power. (WildC.A.T.s. v1 #2) Not all members of the species engaged in warfare as some distanced themselves from their warrior tribe and instead adopted a more peaceful stance where they operated alone. (WildC.A.T.s. v2 #28) Unknown to anyone, around three hundred years ago, the Daemonites were struggling to keep up with the advanced Kherubim technology to the point that they were driven to bankruptcy. This saw food shortages erupted and the Daemonites began to tear apart their own civilization. As a result, they were forced to surrender to the Kherans who imposed a crippling war debt on Daemon whilst executing all the Daemonite nobility during expensive warcrime trials. This saw a civil war erupt in the Daemonite empire with scattered refugees fleeing to Khera who were segregated in ghettos and only given scrabs from the Kherubim. (WildC.A.T.s. v1 #24) As a result, the Daemonite Wars had ended centuries ago when they lost the conflict and their empire had collapsed. (WildC.A.T.s. v1 #23)

Around two centuries before the birth of Christ, the Daemonites attempted to reproduce only to learn that they were unable to do so in their new environment. As a result, a program was started in splicing one of their own with a captured Kheran with the process utilizing both magic as well as miracle with twenty thousand humans sacrificed for the process. Unfortunately, the resultant offspring retained its Kherubim thinking and went against the Daemonites. (WildC.A.T.s. v1 #18) Around thirty years ago, the Kherubim suffered a terrible defeat and the Daemonites were ready to bring the deciding blow against their ancient enemy. (WildC.A.T.s. v1 #2)

By the modern age, Lord Helspont was noted to had united the various Dukes under the Cabal with the intention of conquering the planet and also began searching for the Kheran Gifted One hybrids. (WildC.A.T.s. v1 #0) Their ultimate goal was, however, achieving reunification with the rest of their kind in the universe who would conquer Earth. (WildC.A.T.s. v1 #1) This plot involved the use of a mole who was secreted within NASA and disguising his peoples technology in order to create a dimensional gateway linking Daemon to Earth. (WildC.A.T.s. v1 #2) A stargate was opened through the power of the Orb that linked to Daemon where it was expected warships would arrive to conquer the planet but the plan was thwarted by the interference of the WildC.A.T.s along with various other heroes. (WildC.A.T.s. v1 #4) An alliance later formed between the Daemonites and Kaizen Gamorra where they collaborated in creating androids similar to Spartan. This saw a Daemonite take possession of a Cyberdata scientist called Dr Heinrich Richtoffen who headed Artificial Life Sciences but the facility was destroyed by the WildC.A.Ts.(WildC.A.T.s. v1 #5)

Post-Flashpoint

Hybrid vs. a Daemonite in Voodoo v2 #5.

Following the Flashpoint, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events. . In the distant past, the Daemonites were harvested to serve the Kherubim until they rebelled and the resultant war between the two species became the source of legends that sparked tales of gods, demons, monsters and angels. (Savage Hawkman v1 #12) The Daemonite homeworld was the Crown Seat of the Daeo Empire and was ruled by the Royal House of Daem with its monarch being a queen ruling it around three thousand six hundred years ago. In that time, they were physically vastly different than later years and had been mingling their DNA with a myriad of other species. This led to a degradation in their genome that culminated in the death of their kind. Among the victims of this genetic defect was the wife of Prince Artus who died during childbirth despite his warnings of the genetic fault in their species. The queen who was his mother decided to banish Artus for speaking out against their leadership leading to him adopting a life of piracy and conquest where he assembled an armada to forcibly take over his homeworld. As the new leader of his people, Artus discovered the Blue Flame that gifted him with incredible powers and he became known as Helspont where he empowered his most faithful subjects. Around three thousand years ago, his pilgrims discovered the planet Earth and their leading genetic Skugardt learnt that its native inhabitants were the host of the Metagene that could perhaps be the genetic salvation of their people. As a result, he commanded agents to infiltrate the world and monitor the development of the Metagene until Helspont's return. (Superman Annual v3 #1) Under Helspont's rule, entire star systems were conquered for the greater glory of the Daemonite empire. (Superman v3 #8) At some point, they were noted for also being enemies of the Thanagarians. Their repeated invasions had failed in the past and thus they made use of diplomacy in order to provide a gift as a peace offering to their foes. However, this served only as a means of unleashing a bioweapon called the plague that afflicted the winged Thangarians causing many to die and leading to their wings withering into nothing. Thus, the entire species became wingless and the plague was responsible for killing their emperor. (Savage Hawkman v1 #0) Despite Helspont's absolute power, the Daemonite began to fear him and ultimately betrayed him where they imprisoned him instead of killing their ruler. (Superman v3 #8) Furthermore, their agents placed on Earth began to divide into factions and abandoned the mission given by Helspont allowing the Metagene to grow beyond the controlled development that they intended for humanity. (Superman Annual v3 #1)

Overview

Wildstorm

In terms of lifespan, Daemonites were noted for being an immortal species and the passage of time was a relative circumstance. (WildC.A.T.s. v2 #28)

One of their noted abilities was the power to take possession of a host body and completely control it. (WildC.A.T.s. v1 #2) Once taken over, this process was known as hosting and the subjects themselves were known as hosted bodies. (Majestic v2 #5) It was noted that they weaved psychic barriers in order to imprison the mind of their host body. (WildC.A.T.s. v1 #3) Inside a host, they were capable of their natural shapeshifting talents allowing them to distort the body to achieve feats such as stretchings limbs to greater levels and also retained their greater strength. (WildC.A.T.s. v1 #2) However, at any point, they were capable of transforming into their true more monstrous form. (WildC.A.T.s. v1 #3) Only those with the Sight were capable of seeing a Daemonite within their host and had the power of exorcising them from the body. (WildC.A.T.s. v1 #2) The physical and psychic trauma faced by the creature left a Daemonite greatly weakened and without the energy of a host body they simply collapsed as they lacked the power to support themselves. (WildC.A.T.s. v1 #3)

Similar to cockroaches, the species actually communicated chemically which involved special sensory organs not present in humans. (Stormwatch: P.H.D. v1 #3) Inherent within their cells was the power of strict chronal abeyance and thus allowed them to actually stop time in certain conditions. This served as a useful tool as it allowed their genetic healing ability to operate even faster thus allowing entire limbs to be restored in a short span of time. (WildC.A.T.s. v2 #28)

Not all aspects of their culture were actually developed by themselves. One example of this was a breathing exercrise designed to centre the part of the brain that controlled shapeshifting. This technique was actually appropriated from another species that was conquered by the Daemonites long ago. The movements adopted as part of the exercise thus worked to utilize their shapeshifting abilities to maximise their regenerative talents. (WildC.A.T.s. v2 #28)

The Daemonites practiced the use of communion, ritual gestures and possession amongst one another. (WildC.A.T.s. v2 #28) Sacred communions were seen as more immediate than any religion which involved them using their natural talents to possess each other. By becoming one, they shared one mind that all made the same ritualistic gestures with the events being moving for those observing. (WildC.A.T.s. v1 #25) Some forms of ritual combat was present within their society as some of their kind preferred to personally kill their foes under the old ways with their own hands. (WildC.A.T.s. v1 #3)

They were noted to hold a nobility amongst their ranks. (WildC.A.T.s. v1 #24) Leaders amongst within their society were referred to as Dukes. (WildC.A.T.s. v1 #0) These individuals were considered of important social standing as they were called Dukes of Helle. (WildC.A.T.s. v1 #2) Their starships sometimes held a triumvirate of rulers with each Lord holding a particular station such as military, political or ship captain. To signify their status, they were provided with keys that served as a badge of office in addition to the artifacts purpose in powering their vessel. (WildC.A.T.s. v1 #20) Low ranking footsoldiers remained in their station until they acquired something of value which allowed them to rise to the position of a Lord. (WildC.A.T.s. v1 #20) Sorcery was a lost art among their kind though some were able to become magic users though they lacked the 'flash' seen among humans. (Stormwatch: P.H.D. v1 #7)

DC

Technology

Some forms of battlesuits used by the Daemonites included Flash Suits that had only a limited span of energy that allowed them to operate in fifteen minutes. Despite this lifespan, they provided enough firepower to their wearers to equal an entire battalion and were able to be activated at any moment. (WildC.A.T.s. v1 #1)

The Psiclotron was a device of pure psioplasmic matter that was considered a weapon of mass destruction. It leeched the energy of intellectual minds till the point a subject was reduced to being a mindless vegetable and their gifted genius was used as a fuel to power the device. However, its effects were so terrifying that even the Daemonites feared assembling it and the introduction of any carbon lifeform destroyed the organism along with the Psiclotron itself as they annihilated one another. (Wild C.A.T.S. v2 #3)

Another example of genetic engineering was the madness virus that the Daemonites had engineered with the purpose of targeting Kherubim or their hybrids. It was created by splicing the genetic material of both Kherans and Daemonites where a toxin was created from this DNA. This led to a bacteria being formed with this virus targeting the brain of Kherubim. One of the affects of the virus was that it Kherans to go insane and attack their friends. (Wild C.A.T.S. v1 Annual #1)

The power of their command ships was capable of annihilating an entire planet. (WildC.A.T.s. v1 #20)

Members

Daemonite swarm in Majestic v2 #5.

• Lord Helspont :
• Lord Defile : a Daemonite political Lord who was among the three rulers of the command ship that crashed on Earth. (WildC.A.T.s. v1 #19-20)
• Lady Decadence :
• Synge :
• Skinny :
• Carver :
• Tsavo :
• Ruewin :
• Voodoo :
• Hightower : a footsoldier with greater shapeshifting and brains who had ambition to rise above his station. To that end, he intended to acquire one of the keys to the Daemonite starship that crashed on Earth which he believed would earn him the position of a Daemonite Lord. (WildC.A.T.s. v1 #19-20)
• Olympia :
• M'koi : a Daemonite in a human host who was charged with Project Reunification. (WildC.A.T.s. v1 #1) He held a low opinion of Helspont and only desired to go to his homeworld as he was disgusted with his repugnant human shell. (WildC.A.T.s. v1 #3)
• B'lial : a member of the Cabal who took possession of Vice President Quayle. Pike believed was a meglomaniac but B'lial was tasked with retrieving one of the Orbs from the NASA vaults . (WildC.A.T.s. v1 #2)

Notes

• They were created by Jim Lee and first appeared in WildC.A.T.s. #1 (August 1992).
• One of the pitches for WorldStorm by Grant Morrison included, "We learn he [Helspont] is a kind of compound intelligence—when Daemonite population levels rise to a sufficient level, they trigger the emergence of a powerful central mind, a controlling intelligence which takes a synthetic body of flame and metals. Helspont is the mass mind of the Daemonite race, containing all its intelligence and knowledge."
• As a result of the Flashpoint, the Wildstorm universe has been incorporated into the mainstream DC universe which has led to the Daemonites being added into the setting but with a vastly different appearance

Alternate Versions

• In WildC.A.T.s/X-Men: The Silver Age v1 #1 (1997), an alternate version of the Daemonites appeared in the crossover setting between Wildstorm Publications and Marvel Comics. The Brood invaded Earth to find the Daemonites had also infiltrated the planet. The two groups made an alliance and with the help of a human called Mister Sinister who created Brood-Dameonite Hybrids. Their alliance seemed to come to an end when S.H.I.E.L.D. and the X-Men destroyed Sinister's lab, ending the production of hybrids.
• In Fantastic Four v2 #13 (1997), an alternate version of the Daemonites appeared in the crossover merger setting between Wildstorm Publications and Marvel Comics with this being in the World War III reality that was designated as Earth-13031 in the Multiverse. The Daemonites in this reality came to encounter a kindred race among the shapeshifting Skrulls where the two formed an alliance. Together, the two hostile alien races invaded Earth where they came to find another ally in the form of Doctor Doom who aided them. He improved on their technology allowing for both races to better infiltrate human society that became embroiled in a global war against the invading species. Doctor Doom had discovered that his world was a composite of the two worlds but had set up a gate at the Nexus of Realities in Negative Zone and his castle in Latveria to ensure they remained merged. Reality was eventually restored as the two universes separated when Deathblow hurled Helspont and himself into the Negative Zone, and Rick Jones used a grenade to destroy the portion of the lock in Latveria that kept the Wildstorm Universe and the Marvel Universe together.
• In The Wild Storm v1 #5 (2017), an alternate version of the Daemonites appeared in the reimagined Wildstorm reality within the Multiverse.

In other media

Television

• In WildC.A.T.s, the Daemonites were mentioned as being an evil race that once controlled the galaxy until they were defeated by the Kherubim. The last Daemonites were chased by a Kheran vessel above Earth where both crashed to the surface. Thus, Lord Helspont and his followers operated in the shadows and continued their war with the Kherubim and their descendants leading to them being the primary antagonists of the WildC.A.T.S.

Appearances

• WildC.A.T.s. v1 #0-19
• WildC.A.T.S. v1 Annual #1
• WIldC.A.T.S. v2 #28
• Magestic v2 #11
• Savage Hawkman v1 #0
• The Wild Storm v1:

External Links

• DC Database Entry
• Comicvine Entry
• Wildstorm Wiki Entry
• Wikipedia Entry

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