Malebolgia
Encyclopedia
Malebolgia is a fictional character in the Spawn
universe
, drawing its name from the term in Dante
's Inferno
used to describe Malebolge
, the ditches (bolge) in the eighth circle of Hell
where humans who committed the sin Fraud are punished. He is Spawn's former master and one of the major Lords of Hell.
in the Bible
, he is responsible for the creation of Spawn. It is eventually revealed that Malebolgia is one of Hell's many rulers, a being from the "Eighth Circle of Hell" who has been around for approximately 70,000 years, forming an army in his war against Heaven
and God
. It has been noted that Malebolgia is constantly at war with the rulers of the other spheres of Hell, as well as at odds with Mammon
.
Malebolgia is one of the few characters from the Spawn universe who has made an appearance or a cameo in other Image
books outside the core Spawn title and its spin-offs. He is notably absent, but is mentioned, during Chapel's rise to power in Hell when he usurps control of Hell away from Lucifer
and becomes Lord Chapel as part of a large Image crossover including Prophet, Supreme
, and the groups Youngblood, Brigade. Lucifer also appears in the Angela
mini-series, quite different from the Lucifer in the Liefeld-laden crossover. That leaves Malebolgia and Mammon as the highest ranking devil
-like characters in Spawn canon, until the actual appearance of Satan in the Spawn Comics
.
s. His standing in Hell's hierarchy gives him vast power while in the 8th Sphere. His mastery of necroplasm
gives him the exclusive ability to create Hellspawn and during his rule, he creates an army larger and more powerful than anything Heaven or he himself could handle.
Spawn (comics)
Spawn is a fictional comic book superhero who appears in a monthly comic book of the same name published by Image Comics. Created by writer/artist Todd McFarlane, Spawn first appeared in Spawn #1...
universe
Fictional universe
A fictional universe is a self-consistent fictional setting with elements that differ from the real world. It may also be called an imagined, constructed or fictional realm ....
, drawing its name from the term in Dante
Dante Alighieri
Durante degli Alighieri, mononymously referred to as Dante , was an Italian poet, prose writer, literary theorist, moral philosopher, and political thinker. He is best known for the monumental epic poem La commedia, later named La divina commedia ...
's Inferno
Inferno (Dante)
Inferno is the first part of Dante Alighieri's 14th-century epic poem Divine Comedy. It is followed by Purgatorio and Paradiso. It is an allegory telling of the journey of Dante through what is largely the medieval concept of Hell, guided by the Roman poet Virgil. In the poem, Hell is depicted as...
used to describe Malebolge
Malebolge
In Dante Alighieri's Inferno, part of the Divine Comedy, Malebolge is the eighth circle of Hell. Roughly translated from Italian, Malebolge means "evil ditches". Malebolge is a large, funnel-shaped cavern, itself divided into ten concentric circular trenches or ditches. Each trench is called a bolgia...
, the ditches (bolge) in the eighth circle of Hell
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
where humans who committed the sin Fraud are punished. He is Spawn's former master and one of the major Lords of Hell.
Character biography
Thought to be the equivalent of SatanSatan
Satan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible...
in the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
, he is responsible for the creation of Spawn. It is eventually revealed that Malebolgia is one of Hell's many rulers, a being from the "Eighth Circle of Hell" who has been around for approximately 70,000 years, forming an army in his war against Heaven
Heaven
Heaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
and God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
. It has been noted that Malebolgia is constantly at war with the rulers of the other spheres of Hell, as well as at odds with Mammon
Mammon (comics)
Mammon is a fictional character from the comic book Spawn. He is Spawn's former ally and is currently the primary antagonist, having replaced Violator in that role.-Background:...
.
Malebolgia is one of the few characters from the Spawn universe who has made an appearance or a cameo in other Image
Image Comics
Image Comics is a United States comic book publisher. It was founded in 1992 by high-profile illustrators as a venue where creators could publish their material without giving up the copyrights to the characters they created, as creator-owned properties. It was immediately successful, and remains...
books outside the core Spawn title and its spin-offs. He is notably absent, but is mentioned, during Chapel's rise to power in Hell when he usurps control of Hell away from Lucifer
Lucifer
Traditionally, Lucifer is a name that in English generally refers to the devil or Satan before being cast from Heaven, although this is not the original meaning of the term. In Latin, from which the English word is derived, Lucifer means "light-bearer"...
and becomes Lord Chapel as part of a large Image crossover including Prophet, Supreme
Supreme (comics)
Supreme is a fictional superhero created by Rob Liefeld and first published by Image Comics, then Maximum Press, and later by Awesome Entertainment...
, and the groups Youngblood, Brigade. Lucifer also appears in the Angela
Angela (comics)
Angela is a fictional character in Todd McFarlane's Spawn comic book series. The character was created for the series by writer Neil Gaiman and artist Todd McFarlane, which led to a legal battle between McFarlane and Gaiman over the rights to the character.-Fictional character biography:In the...
mini-series, quite different from the Lucifer in the Liefeld-laden crossover. That leaves Malebolgia and Mammon as the highest ranking devil
Devil
The Devil is believed in many religions and cultures to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The nature of the role varies greatly...
-like characters in Spawn canon, until the actual appearance of Satan in the Spawn Comics
Satan (Image Comics)
Satan is a fictional character from the Spawn universe and the absolute ruler of Hell.For many years readers were led to believe that Malebolgia was the Devil in the Spawn universe, then after his defeat Mammon was thought to be the devil, but the "real" Satan made his debut in Spawn...
.
Death
Malebolgia is slain by Spawn in issue #100. Spawn is offered the crown of the Eighth Circle, and though he declines, Spawn still receives vastly enhanced powers and a command over Hell itself. It has become known that Mammon is a far more commanding presence in Hell than Malebolgia. Though Malebolgia is given self-determination and rule over a level of Hell, he is far from the most powerful being in The Pit.Return
As Spawn issue #199 ends, the now-returned "Freak" from early Spawn canon is attacked by Clown, who rips the Freak's arms off. The Freak laughs it off and lets Clown know that he is not scared of him or any other of the Spawns because they are all "his." Clown quickly shies away as the Freak begins to transform. After reattaching his arm, the Freak transports Violator to Hell. Upon returning to Hell, Violator regains his full strength, as well as his senses. Fear consumes Violator as he looks deep into the Freak's eye, which become all too familiar to him. Violator trembles in fear and astonishment. The Freak reveals his true identity to be Malebolgia. After being defeated by Al Simmons, the Lords of Hell cut off Malebolgia's power and set up "road blocks" to insure that he never returned. Betrayed, Malebolgia swears to regain his true power and form and kill all those who tried to prevent his return, including the Violator who had sided with Malebolgia's greatest rival, Mammon, after Malebolgia's fall. Malebolgia orders Violator to tell of his return in order to spread fear. He then teleports, leaving a skeptical and terrified Violator alone in the wastelands of Hell. Malebolgia is seen approaching an asylum or prison inmate, demanding the prisoner return something of his.Powers and abilities
Malebolgia is respected and feared as the most powerful of the rulers, and thus the de-facto grand master of Hell. His powers include Necro Energys like raising the dead, matter manipulation, super strength, recuperative abilities, and abilities to morph and induce hallucinationHallucination
A hallucination, in the broadest sense of the word, is a perception in the absence of a stimulus. In a stricter sense, hallucinations are defined as perceptions in a conscious and awake state in the absence of external stimuli which have qualities of real perception, in that they are vivid,...
s. His standing in Hell's hierarchy gives him vast power while in the 8th Sphere. His mastery of necroplasm
Necroplasm
Necroplasm is a will-controlled substance featured in the fictional Spawn universe. It was originally indistinct/synonymous with psychoplasm, the substance of which Hell itself is composed...
gives him the exclusive ability to create Hellspawn and during his rule, he creates an army larger and more powerful than anything Heaven or he himself could handle.
Other media
- Malebolgia appears in the 1997 film adaptation of SpawnSpawn (film)Spawn is a 1997 American superhero film loosely based on the comic book of the same name, by Todd McFarlane and published by Image Comics. Directed and co-written by Mark A.Z. Dippé , the film stars Michael Jai White in the leading role...
, voiced by Frank WelkerFrank WelkerFranklin Wendell "Frank" Welker is an American actor who specializes in voice acting and has contributed character voices and other vocal effects to American television and motion pictures.-Acting career:...
.
- Malebolgia does not appear in the Spawn TV series, but his presence is felt.
- Malebolgia appears in Spawn: ArmageddonSpawn: ArmageddonSpawn: Armageddon is a video game released in 2003 for the PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube video game consoles. It is inspired by Spawn issues 1-99, and Todd McFarlane directed the game's production.-Gameplay:...
voiced by David SobolovDavid SobolovDavid Sobolov is a Canadian voice actor. David began his creative career as a french horn player in pit orchestras and small ensembles, then studied acting in New York with the legendary Sanford Meisner at The Neighborhood Playhouse...
.
- Appears in the Robot ChickenRobot ChickenRobot Chicken is an American stop motion animated television series created and executive produced by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich along with co-head writers Douglas Goldstein and Tom Root. Green provides many voices for the show...
episode "Celebutard Mountain" voiced by Tom RootTom RootTom Root is a writer, producer, director and voice actor for Robot Chicken. He has been co-nominated for an Emmy Award for Robot Chicken. He was also the editor for prolific low-budget horror filmmaker and Bollywood character actor Stegath James Dorr during their employment with the newspaper CM...
. He and Spawn compete in a fiddle contest reminiscent of "The Devil Went Down to GeorgiaThe Devil Went Down to Georgia"The Devil Went Down to Georgia" is a song written and performed by the Charlie Daniels Band and released on their 1979 album Million Mile Reflections....
" by the Charlie Daniels Band.
- He appears in Soul Calibur IISoul Calibur IIis a fighting game developed and published by Namco and the third installment in the Soul series. Soul Calibur is the name of the holy sword, created to battle the evil sword Soul Edge, which the games' storylines revolve around...
for the XboxXboxThe Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
, sending Spawn after Soul EdgeSoul Edgeis a 3D arcade fighting game developed by Project Soul and published by Namco. It is the first installment in the Soul series of fighting games...
. Spawn also mentions Malebolgia in a victory pose by saying, "Malebolgia, just you wait!"
- He is the main subject in the song "The Last Laugh" from Iced EarthIced EarthIced Earth is an American heavy metal band from Tampa, Florida. Originally formed under the name "Purgatory" in 1984, Iced Earth has released a total of ten studio albums, one live album, three EP's, two compilations and boxsets...
's The Dark SagaThe Dark Saga-European Limited Digipak bonus track:-2008 Slave to the Dark bonus tracks:-Credits :*Jon Schaffer – rhythm guitar, vocals*Matt Barlow – lead vocals*Randall Shawver – lead guitar*Dave Abell – bass guitar*Mark Prator – drums...
, a concept albumConcept albumIn music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...
based on Spawn.
- Malebolgia is the name of a death metalDeath metalDeath metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....
band from Greensboro, North CarolinaGreensboro, North CarolinaGreensboro is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the third-largest city by population in North Carolina and the largest city in Guilford County and the surrounding Piedmont Triad metropolitan region. According to the 2010 U.S...
.