Neron
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2009) |
| Neron | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Underworld Unleashed #1 (November 1995) |
| Created by | Mark Waid (writer) Howard Porter (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Species | Demon |
| Place of origin | Hell |
| Abilities | superhuman physical attributes, shapeshifting, immortality, telepathy, teleportation, mastery of maleficium |
Neron is a fictional demon, a comic book character published by DC Comics. He first appeared in Underworld Unleashed #1, (November 1995), and was created by Mark Waid and Howard Porter.
Contents |
[edit] Fictional character biography
Neron's name is based on a reading of 666 as meaning "Neron Caesar" in Gematria numerology. During the Underworld Unleashed story arc, Neron enhanced dozens of supervillains (and a few superheroes) in exchange for their immortal souls and in doing so granted them with heightened prowess. He did so by tempting them with something the victim would feel would be his or her heart's desire, in exchange for their soul (for example, when attempting to tempt Green Lantern Kyle Rayner, he offered to bring back his girlfriend, Alexandra DeWitt, from the dead). Neron was also responsible for the deaths of both Wonder Woman and the alien despot Mongul. (Wonder Woman was soon resurrected by Athena as the Goddess of Truth, and later she returned to Earth as a mortal to resume her duties as a super-heroine.)[1]
[edit] Underworld Unleashed
Neron tricks five of the "Rogues" who typically battle the Flash (Captain Boomerang, Captain Cold, Heat Wave, Mirror Master II, and Weather Wizard) into causing a series of explosions that ultimately leads to each supervillain's death. When seen from the sky, the five explosions resemble the points of a pentagram and the symbol, combined with the deaths of the villains, creates a gateway which enables Neron to travel to Earth. While on Earth, Neron attempts to obtain a 'pure soul' that he could corrupt. Initially, this seems to refer to Superman's soul, but Neron ultimately seeks the soul of Captain Marvel. In the end, he is thwarted by the Trickster.[2]
[edit] Day of Judgement
During the Day of Judgement storyline, Etrigan the Demon causes trouble in Neron's realm. Asmodel, a fallen angel, is being tormented when Etrigan arrives and summons the Spectre. The entity is furious at this and slices off Asmodel's wings, which is exactly what Etrigan had hoped for. He uses hellfire and an angel's feather to bond Asmodel to the Spectre. In the resulting chaos, which involves Hell's realms invading Earth, Neron attempts to claim the Spectre's force for himself. This would have allowed him much more power and the ability to escape Hell for good. However, the Spectre chooses ex-Green Lantern Hal Jordan as its new human host. Neron is punished by his fellow Hell-lords for using Hell's power for his pleasure. He is demoted to the position of Rhyming Demon, the rank Etrigan holds.
[edit] 52
In 52 #42, it is revealed that Felix Faust, with Neron's sanction, has been attempting to convince Ralph Dibny that he can resurrect his dead wife, Sue, with the assistance of Dr. Fate's helmet. Faust has been pretending to be Dr. Fate. Ralph reveals that he has known the truth for some time, establishes a circle of binding around Dr. Fate's tower, and defeats Faust, who reveals his plot. Finally, Neron appears and kills Dibny. However, because the circle can only be undone by the person who cast the spell that created it, Neron is trapped in the Tower of Fate with Faust.
[edit] One Year Later
As revealed in the Black Adam miniseries, Neron somehow found a way to escape Dr. Fate's tower, though the means currently remains unknown. Neron seems to have powers greater than those of a rhyming demon following Infinite Crisis (close to those from the Underworld Unleashed era). In Teen Titans #42, Neron made a deal with Kid Devil. Freeing himself from Fate's Tower, he offers the Society Black Alice's dead mother's life at the price of several human souls, intending to use this exchange as a bargaining tool to induce the young magician to join the Society. However Alice taps into the magicks of the spokepersons of the Society, Felix Faust and Cheetah, completing the rite for herself.
[edit] Reign in Hell
In this maxi series, it is revealed that Blaze and Satanus attempt to take control of hell during Neron's absence while imprisoned at the Tower of Fate. However brief this absence was, it allowed countless Purgatory minions under the command of the brother and sister to invade Hell and start swaying the residents in favor of Satanus and Blaze in a bid to seize control of the dimension. Neron is quite agitated at the news the two are preaching in favor of paying debts in honor of the spirit of Purgatory, which invites hope and redemption in the damned. He realizes he needs soldiers to counteract the pair's propaganda, as the damned outmatch the demons at millions to one. He has his greatest follower, Lilith the Mother of Monsters, recall all of her children to Hell to fight on Neron's side. Despite this, Neron was eventually killed by the siblings: they had managed to infect much of Hell with a magical microbe, which could reverse demons into humans. When this effect was applied to Neron, it was revealed his power came from the many demonic entities he had consumed over countless millennia - and those were now stripped away from him. What was left looked primitive, ugly and nearly powerless (resembling the Demons Three somewhat) and was no match for Satanus. His disembodied head was used in a ritual to force it to hand over control of Hell to Satanus, who then in turn was killed by Blaze to assume full control over both Hell and Purgatory.
[edit] Powers and abilities
Neron is one of the most powerful magical creatures in the DC Universe. However, Neron seems to rely on a bargain or something in return to be able to use this magic. Neron is powerful enough to give superheroes magic-based powers, such as Kid Devil's, and greatly enhance a metahuman's existing powers. Neron has the ability to assume a human-like appearance, but can uncontrollably revert back to demon form when angry. He possesses immense physical strength, as evidenced when he killed Mongul with his bare hands. He is also adept at creating items of any sort, whether of power or common enough, such as Ocean Master's trident, the Secret Six's recently acquired "Get Out of Hell - Free" card, or a box of Cuban cigars for Joker.
While Neron was almost omnipotent and invulnerable, it was shown on one occasion that there are things that can affect him: when he took the love of Wally West (the Flash) and Linda Park for each other in return for the souls of the Rogues, he discovered to his dismay that the purity of it began to corrupt him to the extent he begun to feel compassion for the damned souls in his realm.
[edit] References
 |
This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations where appropriate. (September 2009) |
