Lucifer

Lucifer
Location	Lake Cocytus
Gender	Male
Role	Main Antagonist and ruler of Hell
Voice actor	John Vickery (game); Steve Blum (movie)

“I will reclaim my rightful place in Paradise. My path will be paved with the sins of Man and yours, Dante shall be the bedrock of my return. And all of that is good shall be gone from the Universe forever!” — Lucifer to Dante.

Lucifer (Also known as Satan, Dis or the Devil in some circles) was the ruler of Hell and the main antagonist of Dante's Inferno. Once God's most glorious angel, Lucifer was banished from Paradise as punishment for leading a rebellion against Him. Now a twisted and demonic being, he plotted his return to "his rightful place in Paradise". He was trapped waist-deep in ice in the frozen Lake Cocytus within the circle of Treachery. Despite this, the Prince of Darkness could project himself in a smoky form on Earth and throughout the nine circles.

Physical Description

In his true form, Lucifer was a muscular, supernaturally tall, humanoid demon with dark grey skin and several glowing scars around his body. He had glowing red/orange/yellow eyes, two large horns on his head and small spikes on his shoulders and chest. He wore a brass-colored armlet on his right arm in the shape of a serpent and his legs appeared goat-like, akin in the form to a satyr. His angelic wings are torn off with only smoking stumps left, although during his battle with Dante, he still seemed able to fly. He is well-endowed, yet this part of his anatomy remained flaccid in all appearances (Likely an allegory of the seductive, but ultimately sterile nature of evil and to the sin of Lust). The thin lava-like lines or scars, resembling streaks of tears flowed down Lucifer's face.

Lucifer's enormous, false body closely followed the description used in the original Divine Comedy: A giant demonic being, frozen mid-breast in ice at the center of Hell. He had three faces and a pair of bat-like wings affixed under each chin. A glowing sigil was found on the forehead of the central face. As Lucifer beated his wings, he created a cold wind which continued to freeze the ice surrounding him and the other sinners in the Ninth Circle. The winds that he created are felt throughout the other circles of Hell.

History

Lucifer (In Latin: Luciferus; in Hebrew: Heylel; Shaitan or Iblis; in Arabic) was the Angel of Light, "The Bearer of light", "The Bringer of Dawn" and a divine servant of God, associated with the Morning Star. He was related to all of the other angels, but especially his fellow archangels, Michael, Azrael, Raphael, Gabriel and Uriel.

Lucifer was God's most powerful servant, having no superiors other than God Himself. All of the other members of the Heavenly Hosts are subjected to his will including the other Archangels. He was reputedly also the oldest and most beautiful angel in all of Paradise. However, Lucifer's glory and power fostered arrogance, leading him to believe that he was a being of perfection. When God created Man in His own image, Lucifer refused to bow down to them. Corrupted and consumed by his pride, he deluded himself into thinking that God was incompetent and he was the rightful ruler of the Universe.

As a result, Lucifer gathered an army of rebellious angels up and attempted to storm Heaven. In return, God sent Michael - the only angel skilled and powerful enough to match Lucifer in combat to meet the rebels in battle. Despite Lucifer's best efforts, Michael emerged victorious, tearing Lucifer's wings away before casting him and his minions into the pit of Hell as punishment. His name was stripped from him and he earned the title "Ha-Satan" (The Adversary). His treachery against his Father earned him imprisonment in the lowermost Circle of the Inferno where his bitter tears and the icy winds generated from his ruined wings created Cocytus, a frozen lake.

Being trapped in the belly of Hell distorted Lucifer. His inner ugliness caused by his hatred and wickedness slowly became reflected in his outward appearance, transforming him into a brutish, fearsome abomination. His fellow rebels also suffered, becoming the first members of his new demonic hierarchy. They eventually became the guardians of the City of Dis. Those who did not choose a side in the War in Heaven also are casted down, though due to having no loyalty for Lucifer, he did not allow them in. They are instead stuck on the Shores of Acheron, no longer wanted in either Heaven or Hell. In time, Lucifer attained dominion over the infernal realm, plotting a means to destroy Paradise, kill God and drag the last of his beloved human race into the mouth of the Inferno.

For the first blow against God's plan, Lucifer projected his essence into the Garden of Eden where it took the form of a serpent. In this form, he tricked the First Woman, Eve into eating the Forbidden Fruit of Knowledge, stripping the human race of innocence by granting them the knowledge of good and evil. From now on, every human was instilled with the nature to live sinfully, sentencing them to fall to Hell upon death. The price of sin was spiritual damnation.

However, to Lucifer's dismay, God sent his only son, Jesus Christ to Earth. After being crucified in the name of all of mankind, he reclaimed the souls of Adam, Eve, Abel, Enoch/Kristna, Utnapishtim/Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Zarathustra and others who dedicated themselves to God in life, but who died because of their sins. Upon His resurrection, many souls saved from Hell are raised into Paradise, forcing Lucifer to find another means of achieving his vengeance.

Over time, Lucifer lured many heroes to Hell to try and free him including Alexander the Great, Attila the Hun, Odysseus (Also known as Ulysses) and Lancelot. However, their souls are not black enough to free him from his prison.

Dante's Inferno

While Dante was off fighting in the Crusades, Lucifer made a deal with Beatrice. If Dante had amorous relations with another woman while he was gone, Lucifer would be able to take Beatrice to Hell to be his bride. If Lucifer lost, Beatrice would see Dante's safe return from the Crusades.

Lucifer won and seized Beatrice's soul when she was killed by the Avenger, leading Dante on a chase through Hell. He made several appearances, mostly as a dark, spectral shadow. In an effort to break Dante's spirit, he constantly taunted Dante and forced him to experience flashbacks of his sinful deeds in the Crusades. However, Dante managed to fight his way through each circle of Hell, destroying many of Lucifer's demon servants and redeeming Beatrice's soul, allowing an Archangel to spirit her away to Paradise.

When Dante finally confronted Lucifer in the center of Treachery at Lake Cocytus, it was revealed that during the course of his quest, he inadvertently broke the Chains of Judecca that kept Lucifer imprisoned. With Dante's use expired, Lucifer prepared to destroy him once and for all before proceeding with his plans.

During their battle, Dante managed to greatly injure Lucifer only for the immense demon to split his own stomach cracked into nine pieces, releasing a smaller, more humanoid form. Explaining that the titan that Dante just battled was yet another part of his prison, Lucifer revealed that Dante was always his true victim. His deal with Beatrice was nothing more than a means to draw the former Crusader to him.

Dante battled Lucifer and was able to defeat him, impaling Lucifer in the stomach with his scythe. However, before he could deliver the final blow, Lucifer revealed to Dante that he was actually dead and could not leave Hell. By order of God Himself, no soul that entered Hell was allowed to leave. Dante called upon all of the souls that he absolved in order to absolve himself. Using Beatrice's Holy Cross, Dante blasted Lucifer back into the stomach of the larger demon body where the absolved souls circled around Lucifer and froze his hands into the ice of Cocytus, imprisoning him once more.

As Dante entered Purgatory, he tore his tapestry off which dissolved and transformed into a coiled serpent. The initial devilish form was taken on by Lucifer in the Book of Genesis. During that point, Lucifer's haunting laugh was heard, indicating that he was not yet truly defeated and he was planning his revenge, waiting for the right moment to strike.

Quotes

Part 1

"I waited eternity for this emancipation!"

"I am liberated! No force could stop me!"

"Man. What a feeble creation that you people are."

"Your race made it easy to keep this place going!"

"Now, nothing could thwart what began!"

"You are a fool. Dante!"

"Your fate is sealed!"

"I shall sing your defeat in the halls of Paradise!"

"You are the best, Dante. Many tried and many failed me. Brave Ulysses. The great Alexander. Attila and Lancelot Only you possessed a soul black enough to free me."

Part 2

"Did you really think this was all about the girl? She was the bait."

"Come for me, holy warrior! Come, fulfill your destiny."

"You could not imagine what it means to be free of that prison."

"Ah, Dante, you took the bait just like Eve at the apple."

"How does it feel to have betrayed humanity?"

"Now truly suffer!"

"Feel the pain that I felt!"

"Yield to my supremacy!"

"How dare you!"

"Damn You!"

"Arrrgggh! Damn you!"

"Cursed mongrel!"

"Foul human!"

"Arrgh! Insolent creature!"

"Your fall from grace was worse than my own!"

"And your farce only fortified me!"

"Your soul is mine!"

"Prepare for eternity!"

"You dare assault ME?! YOU, who have done far worse then I! I stood for my fellow angels, for reason and justice. And then He made you in His "image". You, the flawed creation! And I was to bow down to you? My gratitude for breaking the chains of Judecca. You dolt! Behold your ruin and witness my escape into the Kingdom of Purgatory and Paradise!"

"You're not Job! You never will be!"

"I am sovereign of the Underworld AND the Afterlife!"

"You're a parasite, another Judas."

"I am the favored son!"

"This is my Kingdom!"

"Is that all you've got?"

"I will restore my eminence and all shall burn in my glory!"

"You think you can defeat the first of the Angels?!"

"Look at what your "Free Will" has done, Father!"

"WHY, Father?! Why them and not ME?!"

"How dare He make YOU the favored creation!"

"Dante, you think you're another Michael?"

"I was the Morning Star, the brightest in the sky!"

"What did my Father ever see in you?"

"Coward! Wretch! Animal!"

"I will eat your organs and chew on your brains, you foul bastard!"

"I'll rip you apart, you bloodsucker!"

"I'll suck the eyes from your dead skull!"

"You're a worm, you maggot!"

"I relished plundering your woman."

"Remember the war in Heaven! Remember the Rebellion!"

"Soon, we shall all witness the end of the Universe!"

"The fallen sons of Paradise will rise again!"

"I'll make the Earth tremble, shake kingdoms and leave the world a desert!"

"We'll no longer suffer under His Plan, but shall be free under MINE!"

(After being defeated) "Wait! There's just one last minor detail with which I ought to make you familiar."

"You're dead, Dante! You can't go anywhere. Not a single soul may leave this place. It is forbidden. (Talking about God by pointing upward) By Him."

"I am so sick of you!"

"I will reclaim my rightful place in Paradise. My path will be paved with the sins of Man and yours, Dante shall be the bedrock of my return. And all of that is good shall be gone from the Universe forever!"

"This power, Dante. We can use it together! You and I, friend. Just think what we could achieve!"

"Dante! I can reunite you with Beatrice. Together, we will rule the three kingdoms of the afterlife!"

"NOOOOOOOOO!!!!" (Moments before being bound by ice)

Animated Movie Quotes

(To Beatrice) "There is not only suffering in Hell, my love. There are untold pleasures here, pleasures that your human senses could not fathom."

"Even the purest of souls can be corrupted. Dante is not the man that you once knew."

"I had no need to influence humanity for many millennia, my dear. I simply introduced sin. Man is the one who has spread it like a disease, cultivating it, empowering it."

"The Earth is another form of Hell. And men are it's demons."

"I have taken countless brides over the millennia: Cleopatra, Salome, Helen of Troy - but unlike them, your spirit is pure, unspoiled. Yes! Such passion! You have a fire inside you! After we are properly married, you will give me a brood to carry on my legacy. You will be birthing my children for eternity, sweet soul."

(To Dante) "You are the warrior of a weak and dying God - a God who is the true evil. His power wanes over the world."

"Destroy an Angel of God? You arrogant gnat! Such vanity, such pride. I could have slain you the moment you fell into Hell!"

"You worship God, but it was He who created evil! It was He who created ME. If you knew the true nature of God, Dante, you too would rebel."

"You are nothing to me! A talking animal! He made you in HIS image! And I was to bow down to YOU?!"

"I will plunge the cosmos into chaos! And it is all of your doing, Dante. Because of you, God will finally see me rule His creation!"

"What are you DOING?! A repentant soul in Judecca?! STOP! DO NOT UTTER A WORD!"

"STOP! I COMMAND YOU!"

Personality

As the embodiment and creator of evil, Lucifer had all of the characteristic descriptions that would fit the common criteria which evil was depicted. Of his evil depictions, the most notable which Lucifer exhibited, he portrayed himself as intelligent, forceful, bossy, dictatorial, manipulative, deceptive, traitorous and cunning, able to convince his followers to do his bidding with various Faustian bargains. Often, he forced his foes to endure harsh trials before they could encounter him.

He was exceptionally proud, arrogant, overconfident, conceited, sadistic, monstrous, calculating and gleefully punished the Damned as it was he who devised and controlled all of the tortures of Hell. He was very hedonistic and indulged in all of the vices and pleasures from within his kingdom. He also seemed to enjoy eating the organs and brains of his enemies.

Although making claims stating that he was an angel of justice and righteousness, Lucifer's views are ridiculously skewed, having a sense of pride that overwhelmed any sort of ability to act with kindness, goodness or reason toward any individuals besides himself and his allies. He saw himself as a tragic fallen hero, but in reality, his pride existed from the beginning, deciding that he would rather reserve his praise for himself than humanity, going out of his way to explicitly disobey God, thereby severing his connection to Him and Paradise.

Powers, Abilities & Weapons

As an immortal creation of God Himself, Lucifer is a god-like celestial being of immense supernatural power. After his fall from Paradise and becoming the ruler of Hell, he gained incredible demonic abilities. He is the most powerful being in all of Hell. His only rival is the Archangel Michael and the only one more powerful than either is God.

• Immortality - Lucifer is immortal and existed before mankind and even the universe itself. He is not subject to aging or any degradation through the passing of time.
• Invulnerability - Being an immortal Archangel, Lucifer could not be killed, destroyed or die by any means and was the only being who could not perish in the Inferno. While Dante was able to kill the other Fallen Angels, he could only re-imprison Lucifer. However, since Lucifer was created by God, he can still be destroyed by Him and potentially by his brother, Michael. Death's Scythe was shown to be able to hinder Lucifer, but not kill him. Dante had to find other means to defeat Lucifer. In the anime, Lucifer's defeat is very different from how he was defeated in the game. Dante was helpless against Lucifer once he was freed and resorted to prayer in the hopes of God subduing Lucifer before he escaped into Purgatory. Dante's prayer was heard and Lucifer was encased in ice by God.
• Superhuman Strength - Lucifer is unfathomably physically strong. The Chains of Judecca that bound his first form (A much weaker form than his true form) had to be anchored throughout the nine circles of Hell to keep his arms from moving. In the final battle, Lucifer can create massive tremors via punching the ground, causing great shockwave spreading everywhere.
• Superhuman Speed - Lucifer is swift. His reflexes are far beyond those of normal humans and even lesser angels. He is able to move so quickly that he can easily catch Dante off guard.
• Superhuman Durability - Lucifer is highly resistant to injury. Though holy magic can affect him, it seems that it's effects are more of a hindrance rather than outright harm.
• Superhuman Stamina - Lucifer is not subject to fatigue and can exert himself at full capacity indefinitely.
• Healing Factor - Lucifer is not subject to disease. He instantly recovered from being stabbed in the chest by Death's Scythe. He recovered from the effects of Dante's cross attacks and the souls that were set upon him instantly without any lasting effects.
• Nigh-Omniscience - Lucifer possesses a vast intellect, due to being older than Creation and knowing many, if not most of it's greatest secrets. He gave the damned souls the ability to foresee future events, but to be cursed to never know the present which implies that he may also be able to see the future. This was further implied in the animated movie as he was able to show Beatrice many events in history that were beyond her lifetime from the Crusades to World War II.
• Flight - Lucifer can fly and hover even without his wings.
• Sword of Lucifer - He possesses a large, powerful sword that he can channel his energies into. It was most likely the very sword he wielded during the War in Heaven. He can summon this sword at will and it sometimes appears on fire.
• Magic - Lucifer has a great knowledge of black sorcery which he can fire powerful unholy projectile attacks, channel his energies into the ground, absorb and redirect enemy magic attacks and create a personal force field to protect himself from holy magic. He can open portals to the other worlds like Purgatory. He can even destroy immortal weapons like Death's Scythe. He granted magical powers to the unholy priests of Hell and can also provide it for Satanic rituals on Earth.
  • Pyrokinesis - Lucifer can create and control hellish fire. 
  • Aerokinesis - Lucifer can summon powerful hellish winds and tornadoes. 
  • Cyrokinesis - Lucifer can create and manipulate hellish ice and cold to his will.
  • Necromancy - Lucifer has shown some control over the undead. In the animated movie, he was able to summon an army of zombies to devour Dante's horse.
  • Astral Projection - Lucifer can travel through Hell and Earth via a shadowy version of himself. This shadow self is tangible and attacks with magic as it ignited an entire forest by uttering a Satanic Latin spell. The shadow possesses superhuman strength as it lifted Dante off the ground with one hand. In the animated film, it also appeared to be able to shapeshift and change it's size.
  • Shapeshifting - Lucifer can take the form of a snake. In the anime, he could disguise himself as Dante, various Pagans murdered during the Crusades and even as God Himself.
  • Teleportation - Lucifer can appear and disappear at will. He possesses some degree of omnipresence.
• Angel of God - Lucifer is arguably the most powerful angel created by God and is only matched by his elder brother, Michael. Even, the other Fallen Angels in Hell do not pose a challenge to him. All angels possess free will which is why Lucifer could choose to rebel against God.
• Dominion over Hell - All demons and beings of Hell (With the exception of the other Fallen Angels who had free will) must obey Lucifer's will. All of the tortures in Hell are devised by Lucifer. He can damn the souls to Hell even if they are free of sin and Heaven-bound should they make a wager with him and lose. The animated film and comics implied that he can choose to give damned souls at least a thousand years free of torture, but could not set any souls free as only God has the power to do so. Despite all of this, God is the one who created everything. Therefore, Lucifer is still a prisoner of Hell just like every other soul damned in the Inferno. Lucifer is seen to be able to exert some control over the fabric of Hell itself, such as altering the Hall of Gluttons into a puzzle-like obstacle course while displaying taunting images of Beatrice's death in the fog to torment and mock Dante.
• Minions - Lucifer has an endless number of minions, worshipers and followers. One-third of the angels of Heaven pledged their allegiance to him. The dwellers, night-fiends and demons of Hell all serve his every whim. He also has many followers on Earth who gather in his churches. Among these are most notably the Satanists who established cults in tribute to him. 
• Telekinesis - In the anime, Lucifer displays some degree of telekinesis, pulling Beatrice towards him against her will, embracing her as he does so in order to “admire her”.
• Telepathy - Lucifer also possesses some telepathic capabilities as he was able to mentally communicate with Dante, taunting him as he descended deeper into Hell, all of the while still being imprisoned within the heart of Cocytus.

Trivia

• In "The Inferno", Dante placed Lucifer in the innermost part of the ninth (Deepest) circle of Hell where he was frozen up to his waist in ice. He was described as having three heads in which he was gnawing upon history's three greatest traitors: Marcus Junius Brutus, Cassius and Judas Iscariot. These last three damned souls are not present in the final game, although all three can be seen in each mouth in the original concept art.
• During the game, Lucifer actually had three forms. The smokey wraith-like figure seen in Limbo, the massive form that he used when Dante broke the chains and the form that he took during the final battle.
• The three faces in Lucifer's first form are diabolical counterparts of the three persons of the Godhead: Impotence, Ignorance and Hate, contrasting with Power, Wisdom and Love.
• Lucifer's second form bore some resemblance to the Templar Knights idol, Baphomet who also appeared as a winged, goat-legged demon and used an inverted pentacle as his symbol depicting Baphomet's head profile.
• In mythology, it is stated that he is a fallen Cherub. Cherubim had four heads (One of a man, one of a lion, one of an oxe and one of an eagle) and having legs of an ox and they had four wings. The Animated movie is more accurate to this than the game.
• In some of the cutscenes, Lucifer's true form is shown with four fingers and then sometimes with five fingers. This is most likely an animation error by the game's developers.
  • This goes for the same with his giant form: His eyes are pitch darken before fighting Dante and they turn into a more bright grey color.
• His first form may have originally been a weapon used during the War of Heaven as Lucifer was said to take the form of a demonic dragon-like humanoid during the War of Heaven and in the book of Revelations. However, the creature could possibly be a twisted parody of his days as one of the seraphim (Higher-ranking, multi-winged angels), who were said to have many wings, having been the closest to God and possessed dragon-like traits.
• In the PSP version, the battle with Lucifer's massive form is skipped.
• In the game, Lucifer had the same voice actor as Kenshiro in Fist of the North Star: The Movie(1986).
• Lucifer shares some similarities to Dr. Richard Powell from the 2016 Canadian horror film, The Void.

Gallery

Lucifer as he appears in the anime.

Lucifer's first form in the anime.

Lucifer's true form in the anime.

Lucifer's In-Game Model.

Concept art for Lucifer's first form.