User blog:Arise Etrigan/The road to Hell.

Damn. Just like that a year has almost passed. All I planned on doing was filling out Etrigan's page a little more, but nothing is ever so simple. Even minor characters have more history than one can assume from simply looking at their publication history, but I am thankful that there are very few inconsistencies over the years.

I realised early on that a comprehensive understanding of Etrigan's appearances was necessary to build a foundation on which to construct a complete and relevant history article. I don't claim to have read every appearance, but I have read the most relevant, and and am ready to tackle the task I first set out to accomplish, after being distracted by a certain bastich.

Now, inconveniently I'm about to go overseas for a month, with only four issues of Lobo Vol 2 to complete and four days shy of my 165th day of consecutive editing. Hopefully I won't balls up with the time zone change. But in that absent month, I thought I'd open up a discussion as to what other readers, fans or not of The Demon, to find out what you find relevant, interesting, an essential knowledge.

The key Demon storyline is quite simple;

The Demon: Kirby's original run. A mere 16 issues that sets up the mythology most everyone knows. Camelot, Merlin, Morgan le Fay and Jason Blood. Etrigan is a servant of Merlin in this series, subduing his malevolence considerably.

Detective Comics: The Eternity Book is stolen by Baron Tyme, and Etrigan recovers it. This is continued in Vol 3.

The Demon Vol 2: Matt Wagner builds off of Kirby's groundwork and gives Etrigan a backstory and parentage. It is the introduction of Belial and the death of Jason's fiend Harry. It is the first time Etrigan becomes free from Jason Blood, breaking Merlin's hold over him also.

Cosmic Odyssey: While playing a minor part in a grand scheme, the fate of the two separated beings is revealed; one cannot live without the other and both Blood and Etrigan have rapidly aged. Reluctantly, for the greater good, Blood consents to being bound to the Demon again.

Action Comics: Alan Grant continues where Vol 2 left, with Asteroth holding Merlin captive, and manipulating Blood and his friends into Hell to perform a sacrificial ritual that will give him enough power to become Hell's ruler.

The Demon Vol 3: Alan Grant continues where he left off. Kind of. There is a gap of sorts. We never see the attempted ritual or how they escaped, only that Asteroth is weakened from the attempt, and other demon lords arrive to take advantage. Jason is stranded in Hell with no memory of who he is, while Etrigan plans his own rebellion to usurp the Satanic Triumvirate.

Etrigan is thwarted soon after he succeeds and Klarion returns from the Region Beyond seeking revenge. Blood tries to learn the truth about his past but it is constantly clouded by Etrigan. It is only after they escape from the Region Beyond themselves that they learn to work together. Etrigan proclaims himself "the good guy from Hell," allowing himself more freedom for good behaviour. It's during this phase he runs for president.

After a quest to return Harry's soul from Belial, Etrigan is offered a new position from the new rulers of the Inferno, as "Hell's hitman" returning of slaying demons who have escaped the Pit. With his new role he becomes the dominate figure in his symbiotic relationship, and more sinister in turn.

It culminates into a grand scheme, Etrigan had put into motion when Jason and Glenda first consummated their relationship. Etrigan sires his own child to possess Blood's, bringing Hell on Earth while simultaneously dealing an emotional blow to his despised mortal host. Blood manages to turn the tables and brings Etrigan to his lowest point, removing his heart to rob him of much of his power and will.

Etrigan's regains some of his pride in the battle for Hell when it is invaded by the Archangel of War. He succeeds in defeating the Heavenly host, but rejects the throne.

Hitman: Tommy extorts Blood's help to defeat the Mawzir, and returns Etrigan's heart.

The Demon: Driven Out: Blood is approached by a techno-alchemist who claims he can separate him from Etrigan and banish the fiend to Hell. It only half-succeeds, and Etrigan inadvertently acquires a new host in a Yakuza saiko-komon. In the end the mistake undone, and Etrigan returns to Blood, or so he thinks.

Blood of the Demon: John Byrne literally ignores most of the above and focusses only on Kirby's Demon, but somehow managing to get facts wrong all the same. The eclectic story ends with a wish that undoes everything. Not just everything that happened in the that storyline, but everything going back to the start of Kirby's story, before Blood knew about Etrigan. I would prefer to leave this out of the history.

So that's the guts of The Demon. Everything else is somewhat inconsequential in the big scheme of things, but not to say that it is not interesting.

There are some inconsistencies but not many.
 * In Kirby's original mythos, Etrigan was not bound to Blood, he was transformed into a man with the Eternity Book. Blood had no memory of his demonic alter-ego until Merlin summoned him to Castle Branek. Blood had grown into his own individual over the centuries, and was aware of his immortality, but not why. With Zero Hour, the definitive retconned history, Etrigan was bound to a peasant. They worked together for centuries until WWI when the demon went too far and drove him mad. Etrigan removed all his memories to save his host's sanity, and Blood new nothing of the Demon until he was summoned to Castle Branek.
 * Rhyming. Etrigan only rhymed to cast spells in the Kirby days, it was Alan Moore who introduced the Rhyming caste of demons in Saga of the Swamp Thing. It is a high ranking status, and Etrigan has often be promoted and demoted at a writer's whim outside of his main titles. Speaking in rhyme is not magical in nature. Their speech is deliberate, and can actually break from it at will.
 * Blood was not an Arthurian Knight at any point in any of The Demon titles. I'm not sure where this misconception came from originally, but it has been used by writers in outside titles, such as Green Arrow's Brightest Day arc.
 * Inhabiting the same space. When bound to each other, Etrigan was most commonly depicted as being literally caged inside Blood's mind/soul. He was still conscious and could observe what Blood saw and felt, Blood could even speak with him through meditation and dreams. When the roles where reversed, Blood was not conscious, and it is unknown where or how he was detained. Gradually, Garth Ennis crept away from Etrigan being caged, and instead he could move freely through out the ethereal realms, such as Hell and Limbo, while Blood was on Earth.

Then there are certain interactions with reoccurring characters. That should potentially be noted.


 * Bruce Wayne/Batman: Tricky because they are split by Earth-One and New Earth, yet Etrigan remains constant. But in story context, interactions with either Batman should be considered canon in Etrigan's history. Batman has met with Blood on several occasions, first meeting when an undead lava creature was killing sailors in Gotham. Etrigan broke the curse and saved Batman's life. They met again when Tenzin Wyatt unleashed his Mahakala tulpa, magic which Batman was powerless to stop. A more malevolent Etrigan saved the day but wanted the souls of the criminals, which Batman would not allow. Etrigan almost killed him, stopping only when he recognised the darkness in his soul. Batman then tries to help Glenda and Randu as Bruce Wayne at their trial, having a heart to heart with Blood afterwards in his work clothes. They have various encounters in other outside stories right up until the end of New Earth.
 * Superman: Less prominent that the resident Gotham hero, Etrigan has faced the Man of Steel during Christmas and his political campaign.
 * Green Arrow: Etrigan plays a prominent role in the Quiver arc. They meet again in Brightest Day. They all combine forces with Bats and Supes supernatural forces.
 * Lobo: The first encountered one another in Vol 3, and became instant frenemies. Etrigan even invited him on the Eternity Quest to Hell. Etrigan hired Lobo to help him destroy the Earth one Hallowe'en. The travel Heaven and Hell together at the end of Lobo's series.

Of course there is much more. Being called upon to command the armies of Hell, inciting the Day of Judgment, fighting other Kryptonians, being summoned by the Joker, etc.

If you've read any New Earth appearances of the the Prince of Hate, what do think stands out, and if you haven't what are you curious about? With New Earth's thread clipped short by the Fates, there's no excuse to have an unfinished article. We've got a moth of planning.