Hell (DC Comics)


Hell is a fictional location, an infernal Underworld utilized in various American comic book stories published by DC Comics. It is the locational antithesis of the Silver City in Heaven. The DC Comics location known as Hell is based heavily on its depiction in Abrahamic mythology. Although several versions of Hell had briefly appeared before in various other DC Comics publications in the past, the official DC Comics concept of Hell was first properly established when it was mentioned in The Saga of the Swamp Thing #25-27 and was first seen in Swamp Thing Annual #2, all of which were written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Stephen Bissette and John Totleben.
The hierarchy of Hell, specifically the triumvirate of Lucifer, Azazel and Beelzebub, was first referred to in John Constantine, Hellblazer #12 and first appeared in The Sandman #4 ; in the story, Lucifer had been forced to accept the position of the ruler of Hell due to the disruption caused by the Great Evil Beast's attack on Creation during the Crisis on Infinite Earths in the 16-part storyline "American Gothic" in Swamp Thing #35-50. John Constantine, Hellblazer would also later add in the First of the Fallen, who preceded Lucifer and his failed rebellion in Heaven. In Who's Who in the DC Universe #11, the entry on "Hell's Hierarchy" included all the elements of Gaiman's version, plus John Constantine the Hellblazer's demonic enemy Nergal, Agony and Ecstasy the Slave-Twins of the Inquisition, Asteroth, Abaddon the Destroyer, Morax and Superman's demonic enemy Blaze, who, along with her brother Satanus, came to rule Hell in the eight-issue miniseries Reign in Hell.

Publication history

Because of the multiplicity of imprints and acquisitions under the DC Comics umbrella, there have been many different versions of "Satan" and "Hell".
At Quality Comics in 1942, the superhero known as Midnight encountered the Devil and his domineering Wife after his untimely death. At Fawcett Comics in 1942, Ibis the Invincible I confronted a demonic entity who inexplicably named itself "Satan". From DC Comics, the pages of Showcase #60 featured the first appearance of Azmodus and Justice League of America #49 introduced the demon Abaddon, who possessed a farmer named Hiram Spiezel. DC Comics' interpretation of Lucifer debuted in a dream sequence in Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #65. Lucifer was introduced for real in DC Special Series #8, a.k.a. The Brave and the Bold Special, which teamed up the Batman I, Sgt. Franklin John "Frank" Rock and Deadman and depicted Lucifer being summoned by the ghosts of Guy Fawkes, Benedict Arnold, Adolf Hitler, Jack the Ripper, Nero and Bluebeard and controlling a human operative named Edward Dirkes. Jason Blood had a nightmare about Hell in Jack Kirby's The Demon #14, but otherwise, the concept was in absentia other than through retcon. Etrigan the Demon debuted in the first issue of the 16-issue Jack Kirby series The Demon, but Hell was never actually mentioned, seen or shown in a concrete manner in any of the original Demon stories until The Saga of the Swamp Thing #25-27, in which Alan Moore made the first canonical claim for Etrigan the Demon being a denizen of Hell, referring to his promotion to a Rhyming Demon and having him speak consistently in rhyme, which he did not do at all during the Kirby series. Many stories in DC's various mystery and horror anthology titles featured "Satan" and at least one, in Weird Mystery Tales #4, featured Lucifer, but these stories may or may not be in mainstream DC Universe continuity at all. Satan did appear, along with an angelic pre-Fall Etrigan the Demon, in one of the four possible origins of the Phantom Stranger in Secret Origins #10.
Aside from the above-mentioned stories, Hell made its actual first appearance in Swamp Thing Annual #2. Subsequently, it would appear again in Swamp Thing #49-50, in which there is a civil war going on in Hell and Etrigan the Demon is there. The Spectre's failure in his intervention in this conflict leads to a reduction of his powers, as described in The Spectre #1. While Hell appeared in the 31 issues of that series, readers never saw any major developments outside of characters being condemned to go there and the occasional demon or demons tormenting them, such as in The Spectre #21. Hell also appeared in the 31 issues of Blue Devil. In The Sandman #4, we are introduced to the rulers of Hell, a triumvirate consisting of Lucifer, a fallen angel deliberately drawn to resemble David Bowie, Azazel, a shadowy, many-eyed former djinn and then was officially published in The Unexpected #190 ) and Beelzebub, a high-ranking demon resembling a large fly. This triumvirate returned in Secret Origins #48, presenting the never-before-told origin of Stanley and his Monster, in which Lucifer banishes a minor demon from Hell to Earth for being "too nice" for Hell, where he is discovered by Stanley Dover Junior, who names him Spot. This version of Hell is also depicted in the 58 issues and one #0 issue ) of The Demon , the four-issue miniseries The Books of Magic and the three-issue miniseries Kid Eternity by Grant Morrison and Duncan Fegredo.
In Swamp Thing Annual #2, Hell was said to be a place that mortal beings went to only because they believed that they belonged there. During the fourth Sandman story arc, ', in The Sandman #21-28, Lucifer decides to abdicate the throne of Hell and forces all of these beings to leave. He closes the gates of Hell behind him, locks them and gives the key to Dream of the Endless, who does not want it, and many divine beings, such as Odin, Bast and Shivering Jemmy of the Shallow Brigade, a Lord of Chaos, attempt to persuade him to give the key to them. Odin attempts to bribe Dream with the Twilight Dimension of Ragnarok from Last Days of the Justice Society of America Special #1, specifically because it contains his successor's grandfather, Hawkman I and his protégé, the Sandman I, but this attempt fails, as do all of the others. Eventually, Dream gives the key to the angels Remiel and Duma, who, having been denied re-entry into the Silver City, reinstate Hell as a place of spiritual rehabilitation rather than eternal punishment. This version of Hell is also depicted in the four-issue miniseries Stanley and His Monster , Vertigo Visions: Phantom Stranger #1, a one-shot issue under the Vertigo imprint by Alisa Kwitney and Guy Davis, the 16-issue series Kid Eternity by Ann Nocenti and Sean Phillips, also under the Vertigo imprint and Batman #544-546, which guest-starred Etrigan the Demon.
John Constantine, Hellblazer under Garth Ennis would have its own Satan and, to avoid clashes with The Sandman, this version was turned in John Constantine, Hellblazer #59 into the First of the Fallen: the first being in Hell, preceding Lucifer and his failed rebellion in Heaven. The First and two other demons ruled Hell once Lucifer had abdicated the throne, with the two demons said to be only barely in charge, and in a fourth wall moment the First complained about "those endless, bloody triumvirates" . John Constantine the Hellblazer, to save himself from death from terminal lung cancer, set up the First to be killed by the succubus Chantinelle, who then briefly took control of Hell, but the First returned from the dead and reclaimed the throne of Hell shortly afterward. The First also killed the other two demons after he found out that they were not truly two of the Fallen after all and transformed their dead bodies into a two-bladed knife that was called the Knife of the Fallen, which was then used by Chantinelle to kill him.
The Master Baytor was nominally the ruler of Hell for a brief period, but spent the whole time babbling incoherently during his reign.
In The Sandman Presents: Lucifer #1-3 and the 75-issue series Lucifer, a human was eventually placed in charge of Hell while Lucifer roamed Earth and owned a piano bar named Lux as depicted in the ninth Sandman story arc, ', in Vertigo Jam #1 and The Sandman #57-69.
The six-issue miniseries Human Defense Corps detailed the U.S. military designation for demons as "Hostile Species NHH-014" . The Human Defense Corps were able to defeat a minor Lord of the Damned named Scarmaglione, then Sergeant Montgomery Kelly of the Corps killed him, assumed his powers and claimed his clan for the United States of America. His status as a minor ruler of Hell was confirmed by no less an authority than Neron himself, who was still the ruler of Hell at that time.
Superman briefly became the Lord of Hell in Superman #666.
The eight-issue miniseries Reign in Hell, also including DC Universe Special: Reign in Hell #1 and created by Keith Giffen and Tom Derenick,introduced a new status quo for the mainstream DC Comics version of Hell; it also gave readers specific geographical references of the region and defined a codex of rules that governed the damned. Two years after Reign in Hell, DC Comics decided to remove all DC Universe characters from their Vertigo imprint, though Vertigo would have its own version of John Constantine the Hellblazer for a time.

DC Comics

Description

In the DC Universe, Hell is an alternate plane of reality, traditionally accessible only by those of demonic heritage, beings of a higher order and those whose souls have been barred from entering the Silver City because of any and all evil that they had committed in their lives. DC Comics' Hell is a debased reflection of Earth, meaning that as Earth became more technologically or socially advanced so did Hell, due to an effect not unlike time dilation: " day in Hell is equal to a minute's passage on Earth" . All denizens of the mainstream DC Comics version of Hell are capable of using some form of maleficium; the most powerful infernal magic users are the ruling gentry of Hell and their enforcers the Necro-Mages, Forges, Exegesis Guild, Renderers, Howlers, Incendiaries, Rhyming Demons and Wishweavers. Every building, weapon, piece of furniture, piece of armor, article of clothing, serving of food, etc. in Hell is made from the bodies of the damned. The damned are put through a process called rendering by the Exegesis Guild and their servants the Renderers in order to manufacture the raw materials of Hell.

Fictional history

''Underworld Unleashed''

During the Underworld Unleashed crossover event, Neron appeared in the DC Universe for the first time and established himself as the ruler of Hell, a position that he held for many years.
He then devised an elaborate scheme to conquer Earth and to gain a "pure soul" that he could corrupt, which ultimately involved many of the DC Universe's supervillains and a number of the DC Universe's superheroes. Neron offered both groups numerous deals in order to give them their greatest desires in exchange for their souls or for completing a task for him. The scheme was ultimately defeated by the combined efforts of both Justice League America and the Trickster I.

''The Final Night''

During The Final Night crossover storyline, the Rhyming Demon known as Etrigan the Demon offered to bring all of the living people of Earth into Hell so that they could stay warm in exchange for their souls; the people rejected his offer, primarily because his plan was to shift Earth into Hell.

''Day of Judgment''

During the Day of Judgment crossover storyline, a renegade King-Angel of the Bull Host named Asmodel, with the help of Etrigan the Demon, briefly took control of the then-hostless Spectre-Force using the ashes of an angel's wing feather and sought to destroy both Heaven and Hell. He used the Spectre's powers to extinguish the hellfire font, causing Hell to freeze over. A team of superheroes, including Superman, Zatanna Zatara, Sebastian Faust, Firestorm the Nuclear Man II, the Atom II, the Enchantress and Deadman, were sent deep into Hell's depths in order to reignite the hellfire font. The reignition required an act of true evil, so Sebastian Faust took matters into his own hands and killed the Enchantress by slitting her throat, thereby damning himself to Hell and thus satisfying the infernal conditions.
The crossover storyline ended with a three-way battle between Neron, Asmodel and the then-deceased Harold "Hal" Jordan for control over the Spectre-Force.

''Reign in Hell''

During the events of the Reign in Hell miniseries, Hell is thrown into a massive conflict as Neron and his generals are confronted with a rebellion led by Blaze and Satanus, the rulers of Purgatory. Neron soon discovered that the rebel demons were offering the damned "hope to the hopeless" and redemption for the damned, which had never happened before, and that this was a powerful spur. Realizing what would happen if the damned ever rose up against him, Neron has his consort Lilith, the "mother of all Earthborn fiends" , summon all of the vampires, werewolves, ghouls and infernally powered humans to Hell to fight on his side.
This unrest in the infernal realms attracts the attention of Earth's magical superheroes, who are concerned about the outcome and the possible repercussions of the war. Many of them descend into Hell and take sides in the conflict, including Giovanni "John" Zatara,his daughter Zatanna Zatara, Jason Blood a.k.a. Etrigan the Demon, Randu Singh, Doctor Fate V, the Ragman III, the Creeper II, Detective Chimp, the vampire Andrew Bennett, Acheron, the angel Zauriel, the Enchantress, Deadman, the Phantom Stranger, Sargon the Sorcerer II, Ibis the Invincible II, the Nightmaster, Nightshade II, the Midnight Rider, the Warlock's Daughter, Black Alice, Blue Devil, Red Devil and the fallen angel Linda Danvers. In the miniseries' backup story, Doctor Richard Occult, aided by the Yellow Peri, also descends into Hell, but separately from the others and with his own ulterior motive-to free the soul of his beloved, Rose Psychic, from damnation.
Lobo, who, at this time, is confined to the Labyrinth, Hell's only prison and whose suffering alone is enough to power Neron's entire palace, is freed from his torment as a result of the titanic battle between Etrigan the Demon and Blue Devil, a battle which results in Etrigan the Demon's death at Blue Devil's hands. Lobo then tears apart the soul of Zatara, which forces Zatanna to destroy his soul and banish it to the Abyss at his request, rather than to consign him to an eternity of pain and torment.
Despite all of this and just when Neron seems to be victorious, Satanus finally reveals that he used the war as a cover in order to spread a modified viral version of DMN, the anagogic drug that changes humans into monsters and that he had used once before in order to destabilize Metropolis and confound Superman. This variation of DMN is airborne and, when combined with the speaking of the magic word "Shazam" , it transforms Neron and all of Hell's demons into soulless humans, all except Lilith, who was not a true demon. It also causes all of the demonic entities that Neron had consumed over the millennia to be cast out of him. Satanus then beheads Neron and takes the throne of Hell for himself. The damned then turn their rage upon the now-human and powerless demons, slaughtering them wholesale and thus damning themselves anew.
Blaze later takes advantage of her brother's momentary weakness during a moment when he allows Black Alice to touch him and sample his powers; this action shatters Black Alice's psyche and allows Blaze to drain Satanus' power and take the throne of Hell for herself, thus winning the war. Near the end of the miniseries, the Unspoken Principium of Hell is revealed by Doctor Occult to be "You can leave whenever you want" , reiterating what was said about Hell in the Neil Gaiman version. However, the miniseries is known to have many internal continuity errors that make its place in mainstream DC Universe canon questionable at best.

Geography

In the Reign in Hell miniseries, the Infernal Dominion is divided up into nine Provinces, each of which have their own rulers. All of the rulers of the Provinces bowed down to Neron, then to Satanus when he took the throne of Hell from Neron and then to Blaze when she did the same thing to Satanus. The Nine Provinces included Pandemonia, the Odium, the Gull, Praetori, Internecia, Ament, the Labyrinth, Err and Purgatory.
According to the Reign in Hell miniseries, Blaze, the sister of Satanus, is the current ruler of Hell; she succeeded her brother who, in turn, succeeded Neron. The mainstream DC Comics version of Hell always has a single ruler known as the "First Seated of the Entire Infernal Dominion" and holding the title of Dominus or Domina ; the first such Dominus was Neron, the current Domina is Blaze, sister of Satanus and daughter of the wizard Shazam and a demoness.
The First Seated rules by his "infernal will and chthonic way" ; he is addressed as the "Lord" "of the Hosts of Hell, First Seated of the Entire Infernal Dominion" .

The First Seated of the Entire Infernal Dominion

According to the six-issue miniseries Artemis: Requiem by William Messner-Loebs and Ed Benes and the second story in Wonder Woman Annual #6 by Joan Weis and Ed Benes, there are 13 princely thrones in Hell, each selected to oversee 13 different realms of it. It is then assumed that these demon princes ultimately answer to the crowned head of Hell. The demoness Belyllioth is Princess of 1/13th of Hell's realms in these stories. She supposedly replaced the previous ruler, Dalkriig-Hath, once he was destroyed by his bride Artemis of Bana-Mighdall. Artemis was, by right, next in line to rule her former husband's realm, but instead she had the other 12 Princes of Hell grant Belyllioth her station instead. Notable in this depiction were the Myrmidons, a race of savage ant-like demons that were faithful to Belyllioth.

Vertigo

Description

The Vertigo imprint of DC Comics also has its own version of Hell, with its own very specific infernal sovereignty formerly ruled by Lucifer Samael Morningstar.

Fictional history

Contrary to popular belief, the term Satan represents a title within the legions of Hell and is not an actual name. The most well-known Satan is Lucifer Samael Morningstar, whose rule supplanted both that of the First of the Fallen and the First Triumvirate and Etrigan the Demon and the Second Triumvirate. Lucifer was the fourth fallen angel and yet not the first ruler of Hell, though he later became the ruler of Hell for many centuries. When the Great Evil Beast threatened all of existence by making an attack on Creation during the Crisis on Infinite Earths, a civil war erupted in Hell as a result and the regency was split into the Second Triumvirate, which consisted of Etrigan the Demon, his mother Rann Va Dath of the Pit and Abaddon the Destroyer. This was only an interim triumvirate, however, and it was soon replaced by the Third Triumvirate. Eventually, Lucifer grew bored with his position, abdicated the throne of Hell and retired to Earth with his mistress, the lilim known as Mazikeen.

Geography

The realms of the Vertigo version of Hell are not as defined as the ones in the DC Comics version after the Reign in Hell miniseries, but specific areas have been mentioned in various stories.
The hierarchy of the Vertigo version of Hell has changed several times over the millennia, the ruler of which has always assumed the title of Satan. There are also ranks among the demons, including Kings, Queens, Princes, Lords, Arch-Dukes, Dukes and several others as well. Eventually, Lucifer grew bored with his position, abandoned Hell entirely, forced every being within it out of it, closed its gates behind him, locked them and gave its key to Dream of the Endless, who eventually gave it to two angels, Remiel and Duma, who then transformed Hell into a place of spiritual rehabilitation rather than eternal punishment. In the interim, Lucifer was shown as the ruler of Hell in the mainstream DC Comics series The Spectre #1-31 and The Demon #1-58 and one #0 issue ) and the mainstream DC Comics miniseries Stanley and His Monster #1-4.

The Triumvirs of Hell (both DC Comics (Second) and Vertigo (First and Third))

The First Triumvirate

Arch-Dukes of Hell

In his appearance in Constantine the Hellblazer #8-13, Neron is mentioned as now being an Arch-Duke of Hell by no less an authority than John Constantine the Hellblazer himself.

Dukes of Hell

Television

Hell exists in the CW's Arrowverse. It was first mentioned in season 4 of Arrow, where Oliver Queen stated that he could not call for John Constantine's help, because he was literally in Hell. Hell was then depicted in season 4 of Legends of Tomorrow, where Constantine and Nora Darhk traveled there to rescue the soul of Ray Palmer. The Arrowverse's version of the Triumvirate of Hell was made up of the demons Beelzebub, Belial and Satan, who were engaged in a power struggle against another demon, Neron.