History Main / Satan

-> "''Here at least we shall be free; the Almighty hath not built here for his envy, will not drive us hence: Here we may reign secure, and in my choice to reign is worth ambition, though in Hell: Better to reign in Hell, than serve in Heaven.''"
-->-- '''Satan''', ''Literature/ParadiseLost''

If a series revolves around a polytheistic group of gods and goddesses, usually there will be one GodOfEvil who is [[HijackedByJesus cast as a Satan figure]], complete with TheParagonAlwaysRebels, even if [[BecameTheirOwnAntithesis it's completely different from their original portrayal]]. This is usually [[EverybodyHatesHades Hades/Pluto in the Greco-Roman pantheon]], Loki in the Norse pantheon, and Anubis or Set/Sutekh in the ancient Egyptian.

* In ''JoanOfArcadia'', Satan appears to Joan as sinister versions of previous God incarnations. [[AllJustADream Or it could've been hallucinations based on Joan's bout with Lyme Disease]].
** It could be that this was simply God testing her, like Job. The second (and final) season finale, however, introduces Ryan Hunter, a person who it's implied previously talked to God and may now be talking to the Devil (or is the Devil). [[TooGoodToLast We'll never know though]].

See also TheLegionsOfHell. When hiding under an alias, usually a pretty transparent one, this becomes LouisCypher. If there's more than one we're talking about DemonLordsAndArchdevils. You might be interested in his brothers as well, ArchangelGabriel, ArchangelMichael, and ArchangelRaphael.

!!Examples

** Piccolo was also placed in the role of Satan for a while after his introduction.

** Ironically, Earth's "strongest" man is called Mr. Satan, but, global deception aside, the man's ''nothing'' like his namesake. He's as gentle as a flower, tried to befriend [[PsychopathicManchild Majin Buu]], [[RuleOfThree and]] rescued a puppy from gun-toting thieves.

** The villain known only as "Him" on ''ThePowerpuffGirls'' is essentially as close as you can get to Satan and get a TV-Y7 rating. He's got a tutu and a [[VoiceOfTheLegion high, reverberating voice]] (alternating with enraged shouting), and is probably the creepiest bad guy on the show. It may be a case of GettingCrapPastTheRadar that a common title in diabolism is [[FunWithAcronyms "His Infernal Majesty."]]
** Hades, the ancient Greek lord of the underworld, as depicted on the ''Disney/{{Hercules}}'' series. He acts a lot more like a cartoon Satan than how he's depicted in the old myths.
** Al Roker from the Proud Family. He makes deals and has been proven to take his prices high. Like when Penny asks for all the parents to go away, he turns them all into Roker Ware slaves. She beat him twice but he's got the demon voice.

* He appears briefly in the ''RenAndStimpy'' episode "Sven Hoek" after Ren ends up killing everyone when he takes a leak on the Electric Fence board game. Which was the number #1 thing you must not do when playing the game. Satan's cheerful admonishment as they arrive in Hell: "So, you whizzed on the electric fence, didn't ya?"

* It is not made very clear whether the titular pick of destiny from ''TenaciousD in the Pick of Destiny'' is the chipped-off tooth of a demon or {{Satan}} himself. He claims in his song near the end of the film to be ''the'' devil, but different sources in the film say he was just a demon.

* On the Creator/AdultSwim-era SpaceGhostCoastToCoast episode "Sweet for Brak", featuring TenaciousD, Satan is revealed to be [[spoiler:Yogi Bear]], and wears "a necktie and a crown of femurs".

* ''TenaciousDInThePickOfDestiny'': The eponymous pick turns out to belong to the Devil; Tenacious D challenge him to a rock battle to save their hides.

[[folder:Film]]
* In the film ''The Ninth Gate'', Johny Depp looks for a book cowritten by Satan, is stalked by a (female) Satan who helps him on his quest, and then later screws her for immortal power.

* In ''{{The Passion of the Christ}}'' Satan looks androgynous (but isn't, being Rosalinda Celentano).

* The androgynous Satan (portrayed by a female actress) in ''The Passion of the Christ''. Notable for three scenes: the initial temptation of Jesus in the beginning of the film, a truly disturbing scene during Jesus's torture where Satan is seen cradling a demonic baby, in a mockery of the Virgin Mary, and a shot of Satan screaming in Hell, enraged at Jesus' sacrifice for humanity's sins and spiritual triumph

* ''Disney/{{Fantasia}}'': The large demon of the "Night on Bald Mountain" sequence, Chernabog, was originally noted by Walt Disney himself, as well as Deems Taylor in the roadshow footage, as being Satan himself. Disney hired Bela Lugosi to come and be filmed as a model for this scene. They photographed him in his cape to capture his movements, flourishes, facial expressions and signature hand gestures to bring their Satan to life.

* Satan is the bad guy of the first ''PuyoPuyo'' game, and a regular character in the series. Tends to be the FinalBoss (or at least one of them), as well as a [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard cheater]].

* In PuyoPuyo, there is a character literally called Satan. During Compile's run, the guy was the BigBad for all of the games (if you count ~n). However, this example seems to be Played for Laughs; Satan liked Hawaiian T-shirts, wanted to ''marry'' Arle instead of killing her, and his plans were absolutely harmless (without the FridgeHorror). Even in Sega's run, he never actually did anything evil, and he even became a technical big brother to another horned character.
** Oddly enough, in Sega's run, they did add a BigRedDevil that was a spirit, sealed in a book for a long enough time for the text about it to fade. Though, this spirit was ''also'' harmless, as the most it did when it was the villain was try and bring its former body back for [[ConceptsAreCheap something]].

[[IHaveManyNames Known also as]] the [[FallenAngel (former) Archangel]] Lucifer ([[LightIsNotGood "light-bearer", Latin translation of the Hebrew word ''heylel'', "brightness"]]), Shaytan, Iblis, Angra Mainyu, LouisCypher, Old Scratch, Old Nick, the Quare Fellow, [[ConsummateLiar the Father of Lies]], [[Music/BlackSabbath the Prince of Darkness]], the Lord of This World, [[ClerksII The Master of Abortions]], Beelzebub (based on the archaic Ba‘al Zebûb, literally 'Lord of the Flies'), [[WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}} The Really Angry One]], [[{{Faust}} Mephistopheles]], the Morning Star, Samael, [[GratuitousSpanish El Diablo]], [[ForTheEvulz the Evil One]], [[{{Lolcats}} Basement Cat]], [[Literature/TheSilmarillion Melkor]], [[WheelOfTime Shai'tan]], [[{{Prince}} De-elevator]], [[SdrawkcabName Natas]]... or simply [[DealWithTheDevil the Devil]] (or, if you like, [[WesternAnimation/CowAndChicken the Red Guy]]). Should you encounter someone with any of these names, ''[[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast run away]]''.

[[IHaveManyNames Known also as]] the [[FallenAngel (former) Archangel]] Lucifer ([[LightIsNotGood "light-bearer", Latin translation of the Hebrew word ''heylel'', "brightness"]]), Shaytan, Iblis, Angra Mainyu, LouisCypher, Old Scratch, Old Nick, the Quare Fellow, [[ConsummateLiar the Father of Lies]], [[Music/BlackSabbath the Prince of Darkness]], the Lord of This World, [[ClerksII The Master of Abortions]], Beelzebub (based on the archaic Ba‘al Zebûb, literally 'Lord of the Flies'), [[WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}} The Really Angry One]], [[{{Faust}} Mephistopheles]], the Morning Star, Samael, [[GratuitousSpanish El Diablo]], [[ForTheEvulz the Evil One]], [[{{Lolcats}} Basement Cat]], [[Literature/TheSilmarillion Melkor]], [[WheelOfTime Shai'tan]], [[{{Prince}} De-elevator]], [[SdrawkcabName Natas]]... or simply [[DealWithTheDevil the Devil]] (or, if you like, [[WesternAnimation/CowAndChicken the Red Guy]]), Satan is the BigBad of most varieties of UsefulNotes/{{Christianity}}, UsefulNotes/{{Judaism}} and UsefulNotes/{{Islam}}.

* An incarnation of the devil appears to Ivan in ''TheBrothersKaramazov'' (in the form of an [[TheDevilIsALoser impoverished country gentleman]]) and carries on a long conversation with him about the cruelties of the world. Because the narrator warns us that Ivan is suffering from BrainFever, we're left uncertain as to whether the conversation is real or a demented hallucination. Ivan tries to prove that he's a hallucination several times, only to have the devil trump him by proving that [[MindScrew he could very well be real]].

[[folder:Visual Novels]]
* Played with in ''VisualNovel/TickTack''. You see, there's a race known as the devils and their leader is the king of the devils and therefore basically Satan, but they're more similar to elves than anything. The protagonist dryly notes that a lot of satanic cults were extremely disappointed to learn that the current king of devils was a handsome and friendly flirt that's fond of housework.
[[/folder]]

* In ''{{Bayonetta}}'', Queen Sheba is the ruler of Inferno, the realm of demons that Bayonetta often taps into for her most stylish finishers. In fact, [[spoiler:Bayonetta summons Sheba herself in order to finish off the Creator God Jubileus by ''[[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu punching her all the way throught the solar system and into the sun]]'']].

Known also as the [[FallenAngel (former) Archangel]] Lucifer ([[LightIsNotGood "light-bearer", Latin translation of the Hebrew word ''heylel'', "brightness"]]), Shaytan, Iblis, Angra Mainyu, LouisCypher, Old Scratch, Old Nick, the Quare Fellow, [[ConsummateLiar the Father of Lies]], [[Music/BlackSabbath the Prince of Darkness]], the Lord of This World, [[ClerksII The Master of Abortions]], Beelzebub (based on the archaic Ba‘al Zebûb, literally 'Lord of the Flies'), [[WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}} The Really Angry One]], [[{{Faust}} Mephistopheles]], the Morning Star, Samael, [[GratuitousSpanish El Diablo]], [[ForTheEvulz the Evil One]], [[{{Lolcats}} Basement Cat]], [[Literature/TheSilmarillion Melkor]], [[WheelOfTime Shai'tan]], [[{{Prince}} De-elevator]], [[SdrawkcabName Natas]]... or simply [[DealWithTheDevil the Devil]] (or, if you like, [[WesternAnimation/CowAndChicken the Red Guy]]), Satan is the BigBad of most varieties of UsefulNotes/{{Christianity}}, UsefulNotes/{{Judaism}} and UsefulNotes/{{Islam}}.

* The folkloric devil is often discussed in ''Webcomic:WestOfBathurst'', a slice of life comic, as seen [[http://westofbathurst.com/westofbathurst071103.html here]]. The longer the comic goes on, the more likely it seems that one character actually is the devil.

* The folkloric devil is often discussed in ''WestOfBathurst'', a slice of life comic, as seen [[http://westofbathurst.com/westofbathurst071103.html here]]. The longer the comic goes on, the more likely it seems that one character actually is the devil.

* The folkloric devil is often discussed in ''Webcomics/WestOfBathurst'', a slice of life comic, as seen [[http://www.masseycollege.ca/alumni/westofbathurst/westofbathurst071103.html here]]. The longer the comic goes on, the more likely it seems that one character actually is the devil.

* [[spoiler:[[ThatGuyWithTheGlasses Bennett The Sage.]]]] Are you really surpised?[[note]]Well Sage was.[[/note]]

* In J.R.R. Tolkien's ''TheSilmarillion'', Morgoth was the greatest of the Ainur (angels), but rebelled against Eru Ilúvatar (God). He corrupted Feanor, he twisted Eru's creations into the various monstrous {{Slave Race}}s, and created the Hell-like fortresses of Utumno and Angband. When he was eventually exiled to the Void, his servant Sauron took his place as the BigBad. Sauron continued Morgoth's Satanic behavior, corrupting the Numenoreans and ruling the Hell-like Mordor. Both Morgoth and Sauron originally had beautiful forms, but lost access to that ability.