Hell (DC Comics)

In the mainstream DC Universe, Hell is an alternate plane of reality, traditionally accessible only by those with demonic heritage, beings of a higher order, and those whose souls have been barred from entering the Silver City because of any 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: "[a] 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 turned into resources for the functioning of Hell through the process of rendering, which is carried out by the Exegesis Guild and their helpers, the Renderers.[16]

During the Underworld Unleashed crossover event, Neron appeared in the mainstream 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 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 (Giovanni Giuseppe a.k.a. James Montgomery Jesse).

During The Final Night crossover story line, 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.[17]

During the Day of Judgment crossover storyline, a renegade King-Angel of the Bull Host named Asmodel, with the help of Etrigan the Demon (who was trying to cause chaos on Earth and defeat his enemy, Neron), 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 (Ronald Roy "Ronnie" Raymond), the Atom II (Raymond "Ray" Palmer), the Enchantress and Deadman, were sent deep into Hell's depths 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 (the former Green Lantern II) for control over the Spectre-Force (which ultimately chose Hal Jordan, thus making him the Spectre for a time).[18]

During the events of the Reign in Hell miniseries, Hell was thrown into a massive conflict while 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 them, which had never happened before, and that this was a powerful spur. Realizing what would happen if the damned ever rose 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 with the outcome and possible repercussions of the war. Many of them descend into Hell and take sides in the conflict (all for reasons of their own), including Giovanni "John" Zatara,[19] his daughter Zatanna Zatara, Jason Blood a.k.a. Etrigan the Demon, Randu Singh, Doctor Fate V (Kent V. Nelson), the Ragman III (Rory Regan), the Creeper II (Jack Ryder), Detective Chimp, the vampire Lord Andrew Bennett, Acheron, the angel Zauriel, the Enchantress, Deadman, the Phantom Stranger, Sargon the Sorcerer II (David John Sargent), Ibis the Invincible II (Daniel Kasim "Danny" Khalifa), the Nightmaster, Nightshade II (Eve Eden), 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 ulterior motive - to free the soul of his beloved, Rose Psychic, from damnation.[20]

Lobo, who, at this time, is confined to the Labyrinth, Hell's only prison (due to the deal that he had earlier made with Neron in the Underworld Unleashed crossover event)[21] 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 that results in Etrigan the Demon's (temporary) death at Blue Devil's hands.[22] Lobo then tears apart the soul of Zatara, which forces Zatanna to destroy his soul and banish it to the Abyss (a place that even Hell cannot touch) at his request, rather than to consign him to an eternity of pain and torment[23](later, in the 16-issue miniseries Zatanna (vol. 2) (July 2010–October 2011), Zatara's soul is shown to have been saved from destruction by a demon who owes him a favor).

Despite all of this and just when Neron seems to be victorious, Satanus finally reveals that he used the war as a cover to spread a modified viral version of DMN, the anagogic drug that changes humans into monsters and that he had used once before to destabilize Metropolis and confound Superman.[24] 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 kills Neron and takes the throne of Hell for himself.[25] 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.[26] Towards the end of the miniseries, the Unspoken Principium of Hell is revealed by Doctor Occult to be "You can leave whenever you want",[25] 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.

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 (below, there are descriptions of the Nine Provinces of the Infernal Dominion as depicted in the miniseries).[14]

• Pandemonia - the First Province, home of Hell's high-caste demons and the location of the throne of Hell, the seat of the Dominus or Domina.
• The Odium - the Second Province, the industrial and manufacturing center. It is home of the rendering factories, the Exegesis Guild and the Renderers.
• The Gull - the Third Province, the mercantile, and commerce center.
• Praetori - the Fourth Province, the administrative and governmental ministries.
• Internecia - the Fifth Province, the military and enforcement ministries.
• Ament - the Sixth Province, the cultural propaganda ministry.
• The Labyrinth - the Seventh Province, the judicial detainment ministry, and Hell's only prison.
• Err - the Eighth Province, the theological suppression ministry.
• Purgatory - the Ninth Province, the place of secondary damnation. It was formerly ruled by Blaze and Satanus. Anyone can leave Purgatory and enter Hell, but they can never leave Hell once they have arrived there.
• The Selvage - the Selvage is the infernal aether, a dimensional waste which separates and surrounds the Provinces; all passage between the Provinces must pass through the Selvage. The very nature of the Selvage is such that it rejects magic.
• Masak Mavdil - the lowest place in Hell; the pit of rejected failures where demons exile their own kind, and which is guarded by the Archfiend Abaddon the Destroyer.

• Blaze - the former co-ruler of Purgatory; the current Domina, the First Seated of the Entire Infernal Dominion and the hybrid daughter of the wizard Shazam and a demoness (name unknown).[27]
• Satanus - the former co-ruler of Purgatory; the former Dominus, the First Seated of the Entire Infernal Dominion and the hybrid son of the wizard Shazam and a demoness (name unknown).[28]
• Neron - Neron is also known as the "King of Hate" and the "Lord of Lies". He was a high-ranking Wishweaver who mysteriously emerged from obscurity several years ago and soon established himself as the ruler of Hell, a position that he held for many years. He is the former Dominus, the First Seated of the Entire Infernal Dominion.[29]

• Abaddon the Destroyer - the guardian and oracle of Masak Mavdil, the lowest place in Hell.[30]
• Asmodel - a renegade King-Angel and the former leader of the Bull Host, an elite order of angels tasked with protecting the Silver City. Asmodel served as Neron's Dominion Overseer, in charge of the armies of the Infernal Dominion.[31]
• Asteroth - Asteroth once captured Merlin I and Etrigan the Demon in a failed attempt to disrupt the political structure of Hell.[32]
• Belial - the father of the demons Lord Scapegoat and Etrigan the Demon and of the half-human/half-demon hybrid wizard Merlin I (who all had different mothers; see below). Belial physically resembled his son Etrigan the Demon. He also served as Neron's Archfiend of Internal Security; his spies kept watch on demon and damned alike.[33]
• Lilith the Mother of Monsters - the mother of all Earthbound monsters and the first wife of the human progenitor Adam in Judeo-Christian mythology. She held dominion over any human empowered by infernal energies, as well as the lilim, incubi, succubi, vampires, werewolves and ghouls.[14]
• Myrddin Ambrosius - Myrddin Ambrosius is the modern-day version of DC Comics' original version of Merlin I as introduced in the 12-issue maxiseries The Trials of Shazam! (October 2006–May 2008). He is the youngest son of Belial, born of a blasphemous mating between his father and a human woman (name unknown), and the younger half-brother of the demons Lord Scapegoat and Etrigan the Demon.[34]
• Mordecai Smyt - a tactical genius from the Crusades who served as one of Satanus' generals.[35]
• Nebiros - the ruler of an unnamed Infernal Province and an enemy of both the Swamp Thing IV ("Alexander "Alec" Holland") and Blue Devil.[36]
• Prince Ra-Man the Mind-Master - a powerful magician who served as Satanus' Secretary of State.[16]
• Rann Va Dath of the Pit - the Serpent Queen and the Spirit of Deceit, also a former mate of Belial and the mother of Etrigan the Demon.[37]
• Shamma - a protoplasmic shapeshifter who served as Satanus' Chief of Intelligence.[35]
• The Thing-That-Cannot-Die - a resident of a prison called the "Region Beyond", which may be a section of the Labyrinth.[38]
• Trigon - the ruler of an unnamed Infernal Province and the father of Raven VI.[39]

• The Abortives - the Abortives are the lowest caste of demons, creatures born in Hell without a language or the ability to travel. They can only escape from Hell by inhabiting a "hollow" - the demonic term for a human with a body and a mind, but without a soul.[14]
• The Arkannone - the "Lords of Gunfire".[40]
• Azmodus - an enemy of the Spectre created by the union of Caraka (the Spectre's first human host) and the demon Sekuba.[41]
• Baphomet - a 6th century demon who battled Arak, Son of Thunder.[42]
• Bathopet, Maw and Atopeh - a trio of demons who were offered to Madame Xanadu - along with the power to command and control them - by Neron during the Underworld Unleashed crossover event in exchange for her soul when she died. Madame Xanadu accepted the offer only to trick Neron because she was immortal and, therefore, could not die. Neron, however, in a cruel twist, revealed to Madame Xanadu that he had only made a deal with her just to prove that he could tempt those with "gray souls" as well as those who were evil.[43]
• Black Nergal - a demon who fought Doctor Fate I (Kent Nelson) in More Fun Comics #67 (May 1941).[44] He may be the same being as Vertigo's Nergal.
• Bloodklott the Prince of Pox - a Rhyming Demon who is terrible at rhyming and a sometimes ally of Etrigan the Demon.[45]
• Etrigan the Demon - the middle son of Belial, born of a mating between his father and Rann Va Dath of the Pit, and a prominent Rhyming Demon who once made an attempt to claim the throne of Hell for himself and failed to do so.[46]
• The Exegesis Guild - one of the Infernal Hosts, the Exegesis Guild controls manufacturing in the Odium; their servants - also one of the Infernal Hosts - are the Renderers, infernal machines which are Hell's architects, capable of transmuting damned souls into building materials and using the rendered brick and mortar in their projects.[14]
• The Forges - one of the Infernal Hosts, the Forges are infernal robotic constructs built by the Exegesis Guild; they are tasked with scouring anomalies from Hell.[14]
• Grockk the Devil's Son - due to his unique facial appearance, Grockk the Devil's Son appears to be related to Etrigan the Demon. He is a Dial H for Hero supervillain.[47][48][49]
• The Howlers - one of the Infernal Hosts, the Howlers are described as lycanthropes, so they appear to be infernal werewolves.[14] They have also been mentioned in Merlin I's book of spells titled The Book of Eternity[50] and have been known to work for Morgaine le Fey.[51]
• The Incendiaries - one of the Infernal Hosts, the Incendiaries are living hellfire constructs used by Satanus' armies.[14]
• Lord Scapegoat - the oldest son of Belial, born of a blasphemous mating between his father and a nanny (female) goat, and a sometimes ally of his younger half-brother Etrigan the Demon.[38]
• Morax - the Bull-Beast of Stygia and a sometimes ally of Etrigan the Demon.[52]
• The Necro-Mages - one of the Infernal Hosts, the Necro-Mages, while under Neron's rule, were tasked with monitoring all magical activity in Hell.[14]
• Rhavenj - a purple, minotaur-like demon of vengeance from Action Comics #569 (July 1985).[53]
• The Rhyming Demons - one of the Infernal Hosts, the Rhyming Demons (like Etrigan the Demon) are compelled to rhyme all spoken word conversations.[54]
• The Scabbies - one of the Infernal Hosts; according to the Yellow Peri, the Scabbies are former angels who were captured and tortured by demons, becoming demons themselves in the process. They appear to have also become cannibals, feeding on demon and damned alike.[14]
• Shathan the Eternal - a giant demon who ruled Dis and fought the Spectre in Showcase #61 (March–April 1966).[55]
• The Wishweavers - one of the Infernal Hosts, the Wishweavers are demons who specialize in fulfilling mortals' greatest desires in exchange for their immortal souls or for completing a task for them, usually by making deals with said mortals (with such deals usually not ending well for the mortals). Neron is the most prominent, powerful and well-known Wishweaver and, possibly, might have been their ruler.[56]
• Xolotl - the demon guardian of the "Mictlan Gate" and the servant of Lord Mictlāntēcutli, the Aztec god of death.[57]

• Baal - a Semitic fertility and storm god who is confined to a temple that is hidden in an unnamed corner of Hell.[58][59]
• Buzz - Buzz was born Gaius Marcus, a Roman patrician from A.D. 41; he was a frequent enemy of the fallen angel Linda Danvers.[60]
• Chthon - one of Echidna's monstrous children and the guardian of the "Pillars of Unreason".[61]
• Daemon - an incubus who assaulted Supergirl.[62]
• The Demons Three (Abnegazar, Rath and Ghast) - three proto-demons who predate humanity and yet, at the same time, are among the many children of Lilith.[63]
• Echidna - the Mother of Monsters in Greek mythology, to whom Power Girl promises to return once a year for instruction.[64]
• Lobo - an intergalactic bounty hunter and a former prisoner in the Labyrinth, Lobo was briefly tormented by Neron when he was "Lord of the Hosts of Hell, First Seated of the Entire Infernal Dominion". His suffering in Hell alone was enough to power Neron's entire palace.[65]
• Mawzir - the 10-armed and gun-wielding Nazi hit man of Hell.[66]

• Barbariccia - a demonic astral guard.[10]
• Calcabrina - a demon from Scarmaglione's clan who was captured by the Human Defense Corps.[67]
• The Master Baytor - the former Lord of the Criminally Insane in Hell and a sometimes ally of Etrigan the Demon, who later escaped from Hell and became a bartender at Noonan's Bar in the Cauldron, a section of Gotham City.[68]
• Scarmaglione - a minor demon-lord from the Human Defense Corps six-issue miniseries.[10]
• Sergeant Montgomery Kelly - a member of the Human Defense Corps; he killed the minor demon-lord Scarmaglione, assumed his powers and succeeded him as ruler of his clan, claiming it for the United States of America. His status as a minor ruler of Hell was confirmed by no less an authority than Neron himself.[11][69]
• Spot (a.k.a. The Beast With No Name and Stanley's Monster) - a minor demon who was banished from Hell to Earth by Lucifer for being "too nice" for Hell and has befriended a human named Stanley Dover Junior.[70][71] Hell has tried to reclaim this demon many times without any success.[72]

• Black Alice - a young woman whose infernally-made powers allow her to steal magical energy.[73]
• Blue Devil - a former stuntman turned superhero.[74]
• The Creeper II (Jack Ryder) - a superhero who is a human that has somehow been bonded to a demon.[14]
• Felix Faust - a damned sorcerer.[63]
• Linda Danvers - a fallen angel summoned to Hell by Lilith the Mother of Monsters, but mysteriously released shortly afterward.[75]
• Lord Satanis - a warlock (real name unknown) from the distant future who sold his soul to a demon-lord (name unknown) in exchange for power while living in 14th century Great Britain.[76]
• Raven VI (Rachel Roth) - the hybrid daughter of the Archfiend Trigon (see above) and a human woman named Arella.[77]
• Sabbac - a cursed human able to take on demonic power by saying the magic word "Sabbac".[78]
• Sebastian Faust - the son of Felix Faust, who is also a sorcerer and damned like his father, but is a superhero (while his father is a supervillain).[79]
• The White Magician - a powerful human warlock who is able to summon a demonic aspect of himself after selling his soul to one of Hell's demons.[80]
• Witchfire - a homunculus sorceress.[81]

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.

Contrary to popular belief, the term Satan (a Hebrew word meaning "adversary") 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,[87] 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.[46] This was only an interim triumvirate, however, and was soon replaced by the Third Triumvirate.[88] Eventually, Lucifer grew bored with his position, abdicated the throne of Hell and retired to Earth with his mistress, the lilim known as Mazikeen.[89]

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:

• Dis - a Hellcity, home to the palace of Lucifer Samael Morningstar.[88]
• Effrul - the home Province of Lord Arux, an Arch-Duke of Hell.[90]
• Mashkan-Shapir - a Hellcity formerly ruled by Nergal, an Arch-Duke of Hell.[91]

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.[89] In the interim, Lucifer was shown as the ruler of Hell in the mainstream DC Comics series The Spectre (vol. 2) #1–31 (April 1987–November 1989, plus one Annual (1988)) and The Demon (vol. 3) #1–58 (July 1990–May 1995, plus two Annuals (1992 and 1993) and one #0 issue (October 1994)) and the mainstream DC Comics miniseries Stanley and His Monster (vol. 2) #1–4 (February–May 1993).

• The First of the Fallen - the first being created and the first to be banished to Hell.[92]
• The Second of the Fallen - the second being created and the second to be banished to Hell. Killed by the First of the Fallen after the First discovered that the Second was not truly one of the Fallen after all, but was merely a demon.[7]
• The Third of the Fallen - the third being created and the third to be banished to Hell. Killed by the First of the Fallen for the same reason that the Second was killed.[7]

• Lucifer Samael Morningstar - the fourth being created and the fourth to be banished to Hell.[93]
• Azazel the Abomination - a former djinn ("genie") who ascended to Lucifer's triumvirate.[88]
• Beelzebub the Lord of the Flies - a prominent Arch-Duke of Hell who was later promoted to Lucifer's triumvirate alongside Lucifer and Azazel.[88]

• Etrigan the Demon - a prominent Rhyming Demon, he established this interim triumvirate at a time when he had - or when he thought that he had - conquered the power of Hell.[46]
• Rann Va Dath of the Pit - the Serpent Queen and the Spirit of Deceit; also, a former mate of Belial (Etrigan the Demon's father) and the mother of Etrigan the Demon.[37]
• Abaddon the Destroyer - the guardian and oracle of Masak Mavdil, the lowest place in Hell.[30]

• Adramalech - an ally of Timothy Hunter.[94]
• Lord Arux - the ruler of the Province of Effrul and the father of Brosag and Lady Lys, the latter of whom succeeds him as ruler.[95]
• Mazikeen - the lilim mistress of Lucifer.[96][97]
• Nergal - the former ruler of the Hellcity of Mashkan-Shapir and the Arch-Duke of Mendacity; he was demoted from his rule by the First of the Fallen.[98][99] He may be the same being as DC Comics' Black Nergal.

In his appearance in Constantine the Hellblazer #8–13, Neron is mentioned as now being an Arch-Duke of Hell (a far cry from the ruler of Hell that he had once been) by no less an authority than John Constantine the Hellblazer himself.[100][101]

• Agares - a minor Duke of Hell and a possible future servant of Timothy Hunter.[94]
• Asmodeus - a minor Duke of Hell who is believed to be the hybrid son of the Phantom Stranger and a human woman named Naamah, who was apparently damned to Hell for daring to love an angel (this angel is later strongly hinted to have become the Phantom Stranger himself sometime after the incident).[102]

• Braid the Assassin - Braid was sent by Remiel and Lord Arux to kill Lucifer but failed in his mission and died.[103]
• Cerberus the Hellhound I - the three-headed watchdog of the gates of Hell; he allowed the souls of the dead to enter into Hell - if they had paid Charon the Ferryman his fare of a gold coin - but none to leave and also prevented the living from entering - or leaving if they did somehow manage to enter - as well. He especially devoured all those who tried to leave Hell without permission.[104]
• Charon the Ferryman - the blind ferryman of the river Styx; he transported the souls of the dead across this river in his boat- for a fare of a gold coin - to the gates of Hell.[104]

• John Constantine the Hellblazer - a dilettante con man, thief, exorcist and minor wizard.[105]

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.[107] Hell was then depicted in season 4 of Legends of Tomorrow, where Constantine and Nora Darhk traveled there to rescue Ray Palmer's soul. 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.[108]

Hell exists in the DC Extended Universe film Black Adam. The place was composed of the demons Satan, Aym, Belial, Beelzebub, Asmodeus and Crateris at the Rock of Finality to have Ishmael Gregor's spirit as his champion and where he receives the power of the six demons to turn him into the demon Sabbac to take the throne of Kahndaq in unleashing Hell on Earth.