Lucifer, also known as Satan or Dis, 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 and humanoid demon with dark grey skin and several glowing scars around his body with legs that resemble those of a goat, akin to the form of a satyr. He had glowing red/orange/yellow eyes with thin, fiery orange lines or scars that resembles the wet streaks from fresh tears running down his face, 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. 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 massively-endowed, yet this part of his anatomy remains flaccid in all his appearances, likely an allegory of the seductive, but ultimately sterile nature of evil and to the sin of Lust.
Lucifer's enormous and false body closely followed the description used in the original Divine Comedy: A giant demonic being that was 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, Raphael, Gabriel, and Uriel.
God created the Heavens and Earth, along with Lucifer, created as a powerful archangel and a being of perfection. Because of his supreme nature, Lucifer came to believe he was inferior to no other being. When God created the first humans, He informed His angels that they were to use their powers to serve humanity, but Lucifer refused to bow down. In his arrogance, he proclaimed to God that, as a perfect being, he owed no devotion to such flawed creatures. In defiance of God, Lucifer gathered an army of angels loyal to him and waged war against Heaven. Despite Lucifer's great power, he was ultimately defeated by the archangel Michael. In punishment for his defiance, Lucifer was cast into The Inferno, along with all the angels who had allied themselves with him. Stripped of his rank and denounced as an angel, he came to be the ruler of all demons.
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 get to take Beatrice back to Hell to be his bride. If Lucifer lost, he would return Dante from The Crusades unharmed.
Due to Dante's infidelity, Lucifer won the bet. After being murdered by The Avenger, Beatrice's soul was taken by Lucifer, leading Dante on a chase through Hell. He made several appearances mostly as a dark and spectral shadow. In an effort to break Dante's spirit, he constantly taunted Dante and forced him to experience flashbacks of his sinful deeds during 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 Gabriel to carry her 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 apart into nine pieces, releasing a smaller and more humanoid form. It was then that Lucifer revealed that the titan Dante had been battling was yet another part of his prison, Lucifer admitted that Dante was always his true target. His deal with Beatrice was nothing more than a means to draw the former Crusader to him, as he considered Dante the only one evil enough to endure the circles of Hell and break The Chains of Judecca (as all other sinners Lucifer planned to have freed him and proved incapable of doing so).
Dante battled him in true form, eventually managing to defeat him. However, before he could deliver the final blow, Lucifer revealed to Dante that he was actually dead and could not leave Hell. By the orders of God Himself, no soul that entered Hell was allowed to leave. Refusing to accept such a fate, Dante called upon all of the souls that he absolved throughout Hell in order to cleanse his soul. Using Beatrice's Holy Cross, Dante blasted Lucifer back into the stomach of the larger demon body where the absolved souls circled around Lucifer, freezing his hands in the ice of Cocytus and imprisoning the fallen angel once more.
As Dante entered Purgatory, he tore his tapestry from his chest, and cast it to the ground, but failed to notice it transform into that of a serpent (the form taken by Lucifer to tempt Eve in the book of Genesis). During that point, Lucifer's haunting laugh was heard, indicating that he was not truly defeated, or a small fragment of himself escaped from the Inferno, and that he merely planned to bide his time until the proper 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 that 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 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 got?"
"I will restore my eminence and all shall burn in my glory!"
"You think that 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 knew once."
"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 and 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 and unspoiled. Yes! Such passion! You have a fire inside you! After we are properly married, you will give me a brood to carry my legacy on. 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."
”Thank you, Dante. I am very impressed. Many have tried, but all have failed me. Ulysses, Alexander, Attila, Lancelot... truly, you are the greatest of all my minions.”
”Beatrice? She was only bait. It was you I wanted all along. Don't you see? I was bound by God in this frozen pit, only my shadow self allowed to roam free. It took a mortal to release me - you, Dante.”
"Destroy an Angel of God? You arrogant gnat! Such vanity, such pride! I could have slain you at 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 grow weary of this game!"
"I will plunge the cosmos into chaos - and it is all 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. Lucifer is the most powerful being in all of Hell. His only rival is 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, in his true form, Lucifer could also create massive tremors via punching the ground, causing great shockwaves.
- 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, and he withstood the effects of Dante's cross attacks and the souls that were set upon him 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 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 equally in terms of power by his brother Michael. Even the other Fallen Angels in Hell do not pose a challenge to him. All angels possessed 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 the 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 that was 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 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 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: Impotence, Ignorance and Hate, contrasting with Power, Wisdom and Love. These three faces are supposed to be an inverted and corrupted version of the Holy Trinity.
- 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 not present, skipping to the second phase.
- 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.
- His Italian voice actor (Marco Pagani) has dubbed Kratos in the God of War franchise.
Gallery[]
Video[]
Bosses |
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Death · King Minos · Cleopatra · Marc Antony · Cerberus · Alighiero · Phlegyas · Francesco · Lucifer |