BELETH
Real Name: Beleth
Identity/Class: Demon (Class Two)
Occupation: Emissary of Hell
Group Membership: The Infernal Armies of Hell
Affiliations: Necrodamus, Raziel;
formerly (possibly) Lucifer
Enemies: Barachiel, Ghost Rider
(Johnny Blaze), Michael
Known Relatives: Olivier
Stoker (son), Rudiger (possible parent? - see comments), Sybil
(granddaughter)
Aliases: "First of the Pit"
Base of Operations: Hell
First Appearance: (mentioned): Gambit II#2
(October, 1997);
(fully seen): Spirits of Vengeance I#2 (January, 2018)
Powers/Abilities: Beleth was an extremely
long-lived (if not outright immortal) demon that could transport to and
from Hell via a series of extradimensional portals. He could also
assume human form at will. He likely possessed other demonic abilities
that he did not display.
Height: Unrevealed (see comments)
Weight: Unrevealed (see comments)
Eyes: Unrevealed (see comments)
Hair: None; (in human form): black
History: (Spirits of Vengeance I#2 (fb) - BTS)
- The angel Beleth shared an animosity towards his fellow angel
Barachiel and his allies.
(Marvel Zombies: The Book of Angels, Demons &
Various Monstrosities - Angels entry - BTS) - Beleth was one of
possibly up to 130 million angels who fell from grace, possibly during
Lucifer's rebellion against God (see comments).
(Gambit II#2 (fb) - BTS) - Beleth fathered the being later known as Olivier Stoker with Raziel and eventually became known as the "First of the Pit."
(Spirits of Vengeance I#2 (fb) - BTS) - After degenerating into a demon, Beleth continued his animosity with Barachiel and the non-fallen angels and began participating in the endless war between Heaven and Hell, with neither side gaining full victory over the other.
(Spirits of Vengeance I#5 (fb) - BTS) - As a
once-every-thousand-year Covenant between Heaven and Hell was forged,
Beleth was chosen as Hell's representative and only he could enter the
Covenant from Hell's side of the war.
(Spirits of Vengeance I#4 (fb) - BTS) - As the
continuing representative from Hell, Beleth began attending the
Covenant between Heaven and Hell every one thousand years, where the
two warring sides were forbidden to attack one another due to mystic
wards. Over time, the Covenant became routine for Beleth.
(Spirits of Vengeance I#2) - Beleth was summoned by the sorcerer Necrodamus to Bethsemane Flats, where the impatient Beleth asked to know why some third-rate sorcerer had summoned him to the boondocks. Assuring Beleth that a short demonstration would change his demeanor, Necrodamus led Beleth into a warehouse containing several dying angels including Barachiel. When the weak Barachiel laughed as Necrodamus pulled out a gun, claiming that as an angel, he would just be spit back out from the afterlife, Necrodamus fired his newest weapon and succeeded in permanently killing Barachiel, intriguing Beleth. Impressed by Necrodamus' gun, Beleth transformed into his demonic form and announced that Necrodamus now had his full attention.
(Spirits of Vengeance I#3) - Beleth and Necrodamus
discussed the history of Judas Iscariot's cursed silver and when
Necrodamus mentioned the Gospel of Matthias, Beleth questioned it,
having never heard of Matthias' writings. When Necrodamus replied that
Matthias' Gospel was lost from the Bible's New Testament apocrypha,
Beleth questioned Necrodamus' finding of the Gospel of Matthias by
stringing together bits of legends and questionable apocrypha. After
learning that Necrodamus had learned that Judas' silver had been
guarded for centuries, only to be purchased by Necrodamus via his agent
Razan the Night Jackal, Beleth warned that while Necrodamus had taken
down angels, the archangel Michael would be much different and
Necrodamus had better make good on his threats since he would only get
one shot at Michael.
(Spirits of Vengeance I#4) - Beleth again met with Necrodamus and asked if Necrodamus' weapon would indeed be ready in time for the Covenant, a demilitarized meeting between Heaven and Hell that occurred every one thousand years. When Necrodamus assured Beleth and told him not to stress, Beleth laughingly replied that the Covenant had become routine for him after untold millennia. Necrodamus then explained that while the Covenant was demilitarized for agents of Heaven and Hell, the agents would not be expecting their Covenant to be crashed by a "mere mortal" such as himself. Beleth sarcastically agreed that it was an oversight on Heaven and Hell's part but as he departed, he warned Necrodamus that he would not lift a finger to assist Necrodamus in destroying the Covenant, as he was bound by the anti-aggression rules of the Covenant. Beleth then added that Necrodamus was treading uncharted territory and that he doubted the archangel Michael would sit still for his own assassination. After Beleth had left, Necrodamus asked his agent Razan for her thoughts on the matter and Razan replied that she thought Beleth was using Necrodamus and suggested that with all of the risk being placed on Necrodamus, Necrodamus should call off his planned attack. Agreeing that Beleth was using him, Necrodamus nonetheless decided to press on, feeling it was too late to turn back now. Later, when the time for the Covenant came, Beleth appeared in Bethsemane Flats and greeted the archangel Michael, claiming that a thousand years sure flew by.
(Spirits of Vengeance I#5) - Beleth suggested they
waive the reading of the Covenant's rules as both Michael and himself
knew the rules after so many millennia but Michael questioned Beleth
and remarked that he had been debating about making an official
complaint as they aired grievances. Insisting he had broken no rules of
the Covenant, Beleth admitted it was in his master's nature to try to
tilt the war in his favor and that it was part of the reason the war
between Heaven and Hell never ended. Michael then revealed he had heard
rumors of collusion between Beleth and an outside party but Beleth
insisted that the wards of the Covenant would prevent him from going
against it and that Michael would know if Beleth had committed anything
against the Covenant. Michael agreed but remarked that he knew Beleth
enough to know that Beleth would adhere to the letter of the Covenant's
rules and that he wouldn't be surprised if Beleth had found a
workaround. Beleth merely smiled and suggested an angel should be more
trusting. When Necrodamus soon arrived in a car, Michael asked Beleth
if the arrival was some sort of chicanery but Beleth continued to
insist that both sides were forbidden to interfere with the Covenant
and that neither angels nor demons could enter the Covenant, only
Michael and himself. Necrodamus soon pulled out his weapon and prepared
to kill Michael but Ghost Rider, who had been fighting demons outside
the Covenant, intercepted the weapon's payload, saving Michael. As
Ghost Rider revealed the weapon's origins with Judas' cursed silver,
Beleth declared the Covenant over and entered a portal back to Hell,
promising to see Michael in a thousand years. Michael agreed with
Beleth and officially declared the Covenant over as Ghost Rider and his
allies took care of Necrodamus and his agent Razan.
Comments: Created by Victor Gischler and David Baldeon.
In Gambit II#2, Sybil refers to herself as the
grand-scion of Beleth, thereby making her Beleth's granddaughter, but
Sybil also remarks that she is the great-grandscion of Rudiger. This
would make Rudiger the parent of either Beleth or Raziel, who Beleth
mated with to father Oliver Stoker who, in turn, fathered Sybil.
Marvel Zombies: The Book of Angels, Demons & Various Monstrosities states that Beleth was among the known fallen angels though he was not listed among the confirmed angels who were part of Lucifer's rebellion. While not confirmed, Beleth could very well have become a fallen angel during that time and reports just have not confirmed it as of yet.
Beleth's physical stats were impossible to determine,
as he was never seen near a character whose official height and weight
had been given, not to mention that as a demon, he likely possessed the
ability to alter his size. His eye color was also impossible to
determine, as he never seen without his sunglasses.
Profile by Proto-Man.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Beleth has no known connections to:
images: (without ads)
Spirits of Vengeance I#5, p2, pan6 (Beleth in human form, main image)
Spirits of Vengeance I#2, p20, pan3 (Beleth, headshot)
Spirits of Vengeance I#2, p16, pan3 (Beleth in human form)
Appearances:
Gambit II#2 (October, 1997) - Terry Kavanagh, Howard Mackie (writers),
Klaus Janson (art), Kelly Corvese (editor)
Marvel Zombies: The Book of Angels, Demons & Various Monstrosities
(2007) - Jeff Christiansen (head writer, coordinator), Michael Hoskin,
Stuart Vandal, Chad Anderson, Madison Carter, David Wiltfong, Ronald
Byrd, Eric J. Moreels, Anthony Flamini, Al Sjoerdsma, Sean McQuaid
(writers), Jeff Youngquist, Jennifer Grunwald (editors)
Spirits of Vengeance I#2 (January, 2018) - Victor Gischler (writer),
David Baldeon (art), Chris Robinson (editor)
Spirits of Vengeance I#3 (February, 2018) - Victor Gischler (writer),
David Baldeon (art), Chris Robinson (editor)
Spirits of Vengeance I#4 (March, 2018) - Victor Gischler (writer),
David Baldeon (art), Chris Robinson (editor)
Spirits of Vengeance I#5 (April, 2018) - Victor Gischler (writer),
David Baldeon (art), Chris Robinson (editor)
First Posted: 10/27/2018
Last updated: 10/27/2018
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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