Malebolgia
| Malebolgia | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Image Comics |
| First appearance | Spawn #1 (May 1992) |
| Created by | Todd McFarlane |
| In-story information | |
| Team affiliations | Hell |
| Abilities |
|
Malebolgia (also referred to at times as the Devil Malebolgia) is a fictional character, appearing as the original main antagonist in comic books featuring the superhero Spawn. Created by writer/artist Todd McFarlane, the character first appeared in Spawn #1 (May 1992). The name Malebolgia is derived 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 archenemy who serves as one of the major Lords of Hell.
Thought to be the equivalent of Satan 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.
...
Wikipedia