Demon or man
Etrigan the demon may have been left out of the sandman adaptation, but he is still one hell of a character.
THE recent Netflix adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman is arguably one of the greatest interpretations of a comic book ever made. Covering the first two volumes of the epic series (Preludes And Nocturnes ,and The Doll’s House), it managed to strike the perfect balance between remaining mostly faithful to the source material, while making changes that improves and enhances the story as well.
One of those changes was the omission and alteration of several DC superheroes and characters which could be found in the original Preludes And Nocturnes. John Constantine became Johanna Constantine, John Dee was kept but nothing is mentioned of his comic alter ego, Doctor Destiny, and the Martian Manhunter was completely left out.
Another character that was also omitted was Etrigan the Demon, who appears in The Sandman #4’s A Hope In Hell story. In the comics, it is Etrigan who acts as Morpheus’ guide when the Dream Lord goes to Hell to find his helm, rather than Squatterbloat, who does so in the TV show.
But who exactly is Etrigan? Well, this year being the demon’s 50th anniversary, I guess this is as good a time as any to find out.
Product of the King
Etrigan the Demon was created in 1972 by none other than comics legend Jack ‘The King’ Kirby himself. The story goes that when he stopped working on Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen that year, DC Comics wanted him to replace it with a horror comic, which were popular at the time thanks to the likes of House of Mystery and Weird Western Tale.
So, Kirby decided to come up with The Demon, partly as a homage to legendary comics artist Hal Foster. Foster once created a character called Prince Valiant in 1930s, and in one story, the prince made a disguise by wearing a demon mask made from the skin and body parts of a goose. It was this design that served as an inspiration for Kirby’s Demon.
Rise of a demon
Much to Kirby’s annoyance, The Demon actually became a hit, forcing him to complete a 16-issue run at the time, and abandon his pet project, The Fourth World, in the process.
Etrigan has since become a regular in DC’S continuity, with one other solo title and notable appearances in popular titles like the aforementioned one in The Sandman, Alan Moore’s Saga Of The Swamp Thing, Justice League Of America, Action Comics, Cosmic Odyssey by Jim Starlin and Mike Mignola, and even Garth Ennis’ Hitman.
A demon’s debut
Etrigan made his debut in The Demon #1 back in 1972, which opens with a siege by Morgaine Le Fay upon Camelot and the wizard Merlin. Just when Morgaine thought she had won, Etrigan shows up to save the day.
As it turns out, Etirgan is actually the half-brother Of Merlin himself, and also the son of the demon Belial. After failing to get him to divulge his secrets, Merlin bonds Etrigan to one of King Arthur’s knights, Jason Blood, and thus is able to control Etrigan and defeat Morgaine le Fey.
Fast forward to the present day, and Jason Blood, whose bond with Etrigan makes him immortal, is working as a demonologist in Gotham City.
While on a job, he chances upon Merlin’s crypt and discovers a poem that causes Jason and Etrigan (who is in Hell) to switch places. Thus, Etrigan is released into the modern world, and his first task is to defeat Morgaine, who has also been summoned into the present.
Rhyme and reason
“Change! Change! O’ form of man! Free the prince forever damned! Free the might from fleshy mire! Boil the blood in the heart for fire! Gone! Gone! O’ form of man! Rise the demon Etrigan!”
So goes the incantation that Jason has to chant whenever he needs to transform into Etrigan. A bit of a mouthful, ain’t it?
Another one of Etrigan’s most unique personality traits is the fact that he almost always speaks in rhyme (though there are times when he doesn’t). This is due to a curse that demons in Hell are inflicted with when they reach a certain rank, which forces them to speak in rhyme.
This ‘promotion’ to a higher rank is also why Etrigan was able to become Morpheus’ guide in Hell.
Powers that be
Besides being immortal, Jason Blood is also a skilled fighter and an accomplished swordsman (he is a former knight after all). He is also highly adept at magic as well.
For all his skill, Jason is still weak compared to Etrigan, who is one of the most powerful demons in Hell. He is a powerful magic user, and has the powers to manipulate fire and ice. He also has super demon strength, super speed, enhanced agility and senses, telepathy, and fights with a combination of his fangs and claws and even by shooting hellfire from his mouth!
As if that’s not enough, he is also impervious to pain (it’s not that he doesn’t feel pain, but he actually ENJOYS pain), and has a healing factor to boot.
Holy weaknesses, Batman!
While this combination of powers would make Etrigan one of the most powerful characters in the DC universe, his weaknesses kind of balance it all out.
Like all demons, he is vulnerable to ‘holy’ items like holy water and iron, and is also prone to being controlled by those with stronger magical powers than him, including Merlin and Morgaine le Fay.
Demon team player
Being a demon might hinder most characters from becoming part of a superhero team, but not Etrigan. He has been part of several teams before, including the supernaturally-inclined Demon Knights (created for DC’S 2011 company-wide reboot the New 52) and Justice League Dark (which featured John Constantine, Zatanna, Madame Xanadu and other supernatural-themed heroes).
Speaking of Zatanna, Etrigan has actually been in a relationship with her before, in the New 52: Future’s End story.
During his stint with the Demon Knights, Jason and Etrigan were both involved with Madame Zanadu, which REALLY complicated things between the two.
Justice and Hell
The crowning achievement of Etrigan’s team heroics, however, was when Jason was recruited by Batman into an ‘emergency’ Justice League in 2003’s Obsidian Age: The Hunt For Aquaman event. In that tale, the entire Justice League disappears while trying to rescue Aquaman from the past, but Batman had the foresight to put in place a contingency plan that would recruit new members for a replacement Justice League, which also included the likes of Martian Manhunter and Zatanna.
Jason ended helping to enhance the Watchtower’s magical defences, and also played a pivotal role in the overall event.
Separation anxiety
Jason has attempted to separate himself from Etrigan before, and once, he actually succeeded. However, the process resulted in both Jason and Etrigan aging rapidly, before an event called Cosmic Odyssey in 1988 forced them to renew the bond in order to save the universe.
Just because they are bonded together doesn’t mean they have a good relationship. In a 1991 story, Etrigan went to Hell to confront the Archfiend Asteroth, who was threatening the lives of Etrigan allies Glenda Mark and Randu Singh, Merlin and even Jason himself.
One thing led to another, and Etrigan eventually rose in power to overthrow the three leaders in hell – Lucifer, Belial and Beezlebub!
Armed with the power of Hell through the Crown of Horns, Etrigan tried to destroy Jason, but was stopped when Jason, with the support of Merlin, bonded with Etrigan once again.
While we’re on the subject of Etrigan becoming a leader, there was even one story where he was selected as a nominee to become President of the United States of America!