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Name: The Demon
Secret Identities: Etrigan and Jason Blood
Origin: Centuries ago the demon lord Belial and the Serpent Queen Ran Va Daath conceived a child together named Etrigan after calling a truce to a war they were engaged in. Wild and mischievous even by demon standards, Lucifer ordered Belial to get the child under control. Unfortunately nothing worked as the child took pleasure in receiving pain. Finally, Belial conceived his third child with a witch in the hopes that this child’s magical might would be enough to quell the violent Etrigan. The third child’s name was Merlin.
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Years later, Merlin attempted to defend Camelot from assault by the sorceress Morgaine le Fey. To this end, he summoned Etrigan to turn the tide. When it became clear the kingdom would fall anyway and before going into hiding, Merlin bound his demon brother to a peasant named Jason Blood thus accomplishing two goals at once: putting Etrigan in a (relatively) controlled position and giving le Fey an eternal enemy as Blood became immortal. As a side effect of the bonding, Blood briefly went mad and slaughtered his wife and children. The villagers then attacked Blood and the helpless man changed into Etrigan who massacred the entire town.
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Over the next several centuries, Etrigan sowed war, death and destruction across Europe while Blood (corrupted by the demon’s influence) profited greatly from it. In World War I, Blood summoned Etrigan to defeat the Germans but an army of demons was summoned as well who slaughtered Blood’s soldiers. This carnage would’ve driven Blood mad had Etrigan not cast a spell to erase Blood’s memory of the slaughter as well all of the events of Blood’s life. Forgetting all his past sins and adventures (as well as the existence of his demonic other half), Blood spent the next 80 years in peace being a good man and established himself in Gotham City as one of the world’s leaders experts on (in a fitting touch of irony) demonology and the occult.
Etrigan would return to Jason’s life when he was summoned to Merlin’s tomb and read an incantation that transformed him into the Demon once more. He immediately engaged in battle with an elderly Morgaine le Fey (also immortal but aged due to Merlin cursing her and taking her youth) who sought to learn Merlin’s secrets. Blood and Etrigan would then go on to battle a number of mystical threats. He would work both with (as Blood sought to use the Demon’s power for good) and against (as Etrigan still wanted to engage in malevolent acts) Earth’s heroes.
Powers/Abilities: Jason Blood is immortal due to his connection to Etrigan and hasn’t aged since the 6th century AD. He’s a master swordsman, skilled hand to hand combatant, and is extremely knowledgeable on mystical lore as many heroes seek him out for his advice on supernatural matters. Blood has demonstrated a strong degree of mystical talent himself apart from Etrigan: he can draw on the energies of the Earth itself to boost his power, project magical energy blasts, levitate objects with his mind, use precognition and extrasensory perception, summon low-level magical beings to do his bidding, perform exorcisms, cast defensive spells, open portals to other dimensions, control minds and use telepathy. He is also an accomplished horseman. Though he’s immortal (in the sense he can’t age), Blood can still be killed. If killed, Etrigan dies as well. By reciting a poem, Jason could transform into Etrigan. Etrigan is also immortal and possesses superhuman strength (able to knock Superman into orbit and go toe to toe with Lobo), great durability (helped by the fact that he enjoys pain), enhanced speed and agility, enhanced senses (in particular hearing and smell as well as a sixth sense for evil and the supernatural), sharp claws and fangs, project powerful bursts of hellfire, and is a master of sorcery. Etrigan’s magic allows him to grant wishes (via a devil’s bargain), precognition (seeing the future), postcognition (seeing the past), teleport, summon other demons, fire mystical energy blasts, manipulate elements (fire, wind, earth, light, etc.), cast illusions, time travel, and generate magical explosions of energy to take out large numbers of enemies when surrounded. Etrigan’s cloak has also been known to have powers as well: objects can be stored within and pulled out for use, acting as a shield, absorbing and redirecting energy, banishing people by being wrapped around them, and creating gusts of wind. He also once possessed the Philosopher’s Stone which could transmute elements. The Demon, due to his long lifespan, has acquired skills in: hand to hand combat, operation of motor vehicles, horseback riding, intimidation, and leadership (having rallied armies of demons on different occasions). Etrigan is considered to be one of the most powerful demons in Hell. Despite his great powers, Etrigan is still subject to the weaknesses of a typical demon such as items of religious significance: holy water, crucifixes, religious idols and talismans, and holy ground (such as land a church is built on). He’s also vulnerable to the magic of spell casters more powerful than he such as Merlin and Doctor Fate, mystically summoned cold, and loud noises.
Random Trivia: In the animated series Justice League, Jason Blood was bonded with Etrigan by Merlin as punishment for aiding Morgaine le Fey’s overthrow of Camelot because of his unrequited love for the treacherous witch. Jason Blood’s last name came from the violent massacre of his wife, children and village which earned him the nickname “Jason-of-the-blood”. Etrigan once ran for president of the United States and nearly won the Republican nomination but lost due to not being able to get Superman’s endorsement. The Demon has been a member of the Justice League. Both Jason Blood and Etrigan were engaged in a love triangle with Madame Xanadu (New 52). In a possible future, Etrigan gets in a relationship with Zatanna. Etrigan’s younger half brother, Lord Scapegoat, was conceived when Etrigan used an illusion to trick their demon father into falling in love with an animal. Though the long-suffering Scapegoat loves and adores his big brother, Etrigan is completely indifferent towards him.
