| Blue Devil | |||||||||||||||||||||
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.png) Cover art forShadowpact #20 byMario Alberti. | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Publication information | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Publisher | DC Comics | ||||||||||||||||||||
| First appearance | Fury of Firestorm #24 (June 1984) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Created by | Dan Mishkin (character) Gary Cohn (character and visual) Paris Cullins (belt design) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| In-story information | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Full name | Daniel Patrick Cassidy | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Team affiliations | Shadowpact Justice Society of America Sentinels of Magic Justice League Dark Justice League | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Abilities |
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Blue Devil (Daniel Patrick Cassidy) is asuperhero appearing inAmerican comic books published byDC Comics. He first appeared in aspecial insert published inFury of Firestorm #24 (June 1984).[1] That story led directly intoBlue Devil #1, also cover dated June 1984.[2] He was created byDan Mishkin,Gary Cohn, andParis Cullins. TheBlue Devil comic book ran for 31 issues and one annual. Blue Devil later appeared as a regular character inShadowpact which ran for 25 issues.
Dan Cassidy was working as astuntman andspecial effects specialist in Hollywood who became permanently bonded to anexoskeleton suit created for a film. This unnatural fusion of magic and technology caused him to experience unusual events and draw the attention of otherworldly beings. Horrified at the prospect of being stuck in the suit, Cassidy sought ways to separate himself from it, becoming areluctant superhero along the way.[3] Cassidy was eventually transformed into an actual demon after making a deal with the demonNeron. Regretting the deal, Blue Devil decided to fight occult evil, often alongside the other members of Shadowpact.
Cassidy's original trident was a mechanical device that he designed himself, but, after being turned into an actual demon, he acquired the magical "Trident of Lucifer" to help combat demons.
Blue Devil has appeared in the animated seriesJustice League Unlimited andYoung Justice as well as the live-actionDC Universe seriesSwamp Thing, in which he was portrayed byIan Ziering.
Gary Cohn recounted how he and writing partnerDan Mishkin created Blue Devil:
Our editor for a number of things we were doing was a guy named Dave Manak. At this point, Dan [Mishkin] was living in Michigan and I was in New York. I was the point guy who went to the DC office once a week and schmoozed the editors. One day Manak says, "Ditko's been hanging around the office and he really wants something to do. Do you think you and Dan can come up for something for him?" I went home and I called Dan and told him about this, and we were both very excited. Ditko was the guy who createdSpider-Man andDr. Strange, and we were gaga for Ditko! ... We decided to do something that takes something from every Marvel character we ever loved. Let's takeIron Man, the guy in the costume;the Thing, the tragedy of the guy stuck in a shape he didn't want; and a light-hearted, bouncy approach and a character who was going to move like Spider-Man. ... And we wanted something like theGreen Goblin. How about Blue Devil? We called him that because Dan's wife is fromNorth Carolina and he was aBlue Devils fan. Then we started creating Blue Devil and thinking, "Ditko is going to love this!" We created this great proposal, and it was everything that we knew was going to set Ditko's light on high beam. We took it in to Manak and he gave it to Ditko. Ditko looked at it and said, "I'll do it if I have to, but this is really not my kind of stuff at all".[4]
However, Manak liked the proposal and suggested that they show it to artistParis Cullins. Cullins was immediately enthusiastic, and Blue Devil was given his own series.[4] As Cullins recalled, the character came about through "a little story inHouse of Mystery that was supposed to be, and here’s the truth for that, it was originally designed a short story forSteve Ditko and it was supposed to be like a superhero story, but a monster superhero story, but a short one. He said, 'No.' He didn’t want to do it and then they asked me."[5]
Blue Devil's costume and general visual appearance were designed by Cohn, while Cullins came up with the belt design.[4]
Co-writer Gary Cohn recounted that "the first six issues [of Blue Devil], I was living inBrooklyn and Paris [Cullins] was living inPhilly. Paris was kind of a vagabond spirit. He would show up in New York on the train with his sketchbook, his artist satchel, and his toothbrush, and he would come to my place and stay for three or four days. We would spend the whole time creating plots and visuals as we went, laughing hysterically. We were constantly calling Dan [Mishkin]. It was not the stiff process of writing a script, giving it to the artist, or evenwriting a plot and giving it to an artist. It was a very organic collaboration".[4] Following issue #6, Cullins left the series, and both Mishkin and Cohn felt that none of the succeeding artists were able to capture the combination of thrills and comedy that they wanted the series to have.[4]
The firstBlue Devil series was intentionally written as a humorous and light-hearted comic book story, but this light-hearted style was discarded with later appearances of the character.[citation needed]
Daniel Cassidy is aspecial effects wizard andstuntman hired to create and play the title character in the movieBlue Devil. To that end, Cassidy creates a full-body costume with a hidden poweredexoskeleton and built-in special-effects devices. When two of his co-stars accidentally free a demon named Nebiros, Cassidy uses his costume to drive the demon back, but not before being blasted with mystical energy. After the fight, Cassidy finds that the blast grafted the Blue Devil costume to his body.[6]
Cassidy quickly finds himself embroiled in adventures and conflicts withsupervillains, as his newfound status has turned him into a "weirdness magnet". After failing to find a way to remove his costume, Cassidy starts to enjoy his new lifestyle, and becomes more and more comfortable as a superhero, even accepting a place in theJustice League of America.[7] He gains a sidekick when Eddie Bloomberg, his former gofer and devoted fan, designs a suit similar to his own to adventure asKid Devil. Eventually, he moves into "The House of Weirdness" withCain as his superintendent.[8]
During theUnderworld Unleashed event, Blue Devil is approached by the demonNeron, who is known for offeringFaustian bargains to heroes and villains alike. Neron offers Cassidy, who is increasingly bored with superheroics, the chance to finally be the famous actor he had always wanted to be. As payment, Neron sends Cassidy to destroy an unmannedelectrical substation in the desert. Believing it to be a relatively harmless act, having checked that nobody was working that night and a relay station would kick in to carry the load, Blue Devil complies and inadvertently causes the death of Marla Bloom, Eddie Bloomberg's aunt, as the resulting power outage causes a crash that kills her. The story of his personal loss is enough to attract several movie offers.[9]
Blaming Neron for Marla's death, Cassidy is able to partly foil the demon's short-term plans, but he dies in the process. Cassidy's death is short-lived, as he is quickly revived, but this time as a true demon. This renders him unable to set foot on consecrated ground without bursting into flame.
Blue Devil joins the Justice League again, until his second death at the hands ofMist, who showers him withholy water.[10] Blue Devil is resurrected again bySebastian Faust, who hopes to gain his assistance restarting the fires ofHell during theDay of Judgment storyline. Blue Devil has a chance to confront Nebiros, empowered by a magic trident seemingly given by the King of Lies himself. Blue Devil stalls Nebiros, stripping him of his trident and allowingFirestorm to deal the killing blow; back on Earth, the other heroes of theSentinels of Magic save the world.
Blue Devil joins the Sentinels of Magic and becomes Faust's partner, but it is an uneasy partnership. In an apparent act of kindness, Faust restores Blue Devil's freedom by restoring his last missing bone. Blue Devil sacrifices his life fightingHermes Trismegistus, but as a true devil he returns to life again. He is tasked to roam the Earth with Lucifer's Trident sending escaped demons back to Hell.
One Year Later, Blue Devil is employed as a bouncer at theOblivion Bar, an interdimensional place for magical beings, and there he is recruited byRagman,Enchantress, andDetective Chimp to battle theSpectre inDay of Vengeance. With his enhanced demonic strength, he is the heavy hitter ofShadowpact, the assemblage of magical heroes devoted to fight for every "lost cause". This grouping is even able to wound the powerfulEclipso. Feeling necessary for the first time in a long time, he devotes himself to the team. One of their goals is to help look over the wild magic of the "Tenth Age", a direct result of the events ofDay of Vengeance.[2]
He spends the "missing year" trapped in Riverrock, Wyoming along with the rest of Shadowpact. It is a small city hidden by a blood shield by an assembly of evil magical beings called the Pentacle. There he meets, or rather meets again, Jack of Fire, a red, muscular demon. The entity is hiding a disfigured, bony face under a black bandanna, claiming to have been turned into a demon by the actions of Daniel. He further explains that the same moment Neron granted fame and powers to Cassidy as Blue Devil, the dead parents and siblings of Patrick were dragged from Heaven to Hell.
From then on, Blue Devil's life starts going downhill: even if in his personal timeline only a few days passed, the Enchantress was forced to steal a year of life out of every Shadowpact member and surviving Riverrock townsperson to shatter the barrier around Riverrock. As such, the entire world had long thought Shadowpact lost, even building a memorial statue. Having been considered dead for a year, Blue Devil struggles to rebuild his life.
Blue Devil is forced to confront Kid Devil, who Neron grantedmetahuman powers and a demonic appearance. When questioned about his involvement in Marla's death, Blue Devil is forced to admit that his actions were what caused her death. Due to the terms of his deal with Neron, that he would become Neron's eternal servant on his 20th birthday should he lose his trust in Blue Devil, Kid Devil realizes that he is now damned, having lost all trust in Blue Devil following his confession. Kid Devil, enraged, yells at Blue Devil to stay away from him and runs off, leaving a guilt-ridden Blue Devil behind.
To add further misery to his condition, Blue Devil is demoted to the rank of a Rhyming Demon. His new position results in the angelZauriel being sent to confront him.[11] His demotion is explained as the paradoxical condition of his being both a hero and a demon: being famous and loved by everyone, he makes Hell a glamorous place, spurring weak minds to attain his glamour by selling their souls to Hell. Zauriel, on behalf of his good faith, takes Blue Devil's place in Shadowpact, giving him enough time to get out of his infernal deal.
Blue Devil puts his case in the hands of an eager lawyer, more than happy to be able to confront Hell itself in a hall of justice. Blue Devil undertakes the task of completing 13 labors, asHercules before him, on behalf of theCatholic Church as a show of good will.
Returning to Hell for the final hearing, he discovers that Jack of Fire was the one selling his sibling's soul first, with Blue Devil merely following unwillingly. His lawyer repeatedly proves that Jack is the only one who can return Cassidy's soul, and the souls of his family, back, since he was the one who sold them in the first place. Blue Devil uses his new lower status as a Rhyming Demon to force Jack to do so, but in the process he loses both Lucifer's Trident and his demon form, reverting into a mortal.[12]
Jack of Fire is now allied with a seemingly all-powerful Sun God, but plots to betray him in retaliation for his harsh treatment and to lead an army of demons on Earth. Cassidy feels forced to don a new suit of armor, very similar to the one he wore during his Hollywood years, but even more powerful. He sets off to fight his brother, who refuses. Instead, after a brief confrontation, acknowledging that the Sun God will eventually kill him for his betrayal, he commits suicide in front of Cassidy, naming him inheritor of all his powers and demonic status - but without forfeiting his soul. Cassidy rejoins Shadowpact to defeat the Sun God, and Zauriel ends his temporary membership with the group.
During theReign in Hell storyline, Cassidy convincesZatanna andSargon the Sorcerer to take him to Hell and accompany him as to make a deal with Lord Satanus against Neron; when, after much suffering, they reach Satanus, he pleads to be incorporated into Satanus' attack force in hopes of receiving the gift of full humanity from the demon in case of his victory. Inadvertently, he brags about being capable of handlingEtrigan, who is causing damage to Satanus' forces; Satanus takes heed of this and teleports him to do battle with Etrigan. Upon losing, Etrigan steals the remains of his humanity.
Later, due to the effects of the magical drug Satanus has released all over Hell, he is transformed into a human, but soulless. Etrigan offers him his soul back, warning him the drug only worked on pureblood demons such as the type he had been transformed into when Etrigan stole his soul, meaning accepting it back meant permanently returning to his demon form. He is later traumatized by Sargon's sacrifice to let almost all heroes intervening in the War of Hell escape toNanda Parbat and is later the only one convinced of reuniting Shadowpact by Detective Chimp.
He appears with Zatanna and thePhantom Stranger at the desecrated grave ofBatman.Black Lantern rings take control ofCrispus Allen.[13] While Zatanna is sent to gather the Justice League, Blue Devil and the Stranger attempt to stop the Black Lantern Spectre, failing miserably. He and the Stranger head to Nanda Parbat, where the Stranger helpsDeadman remove the black ring from his body. Blue Devil is then tasked by the Stranger to protect the body, being told that it is of "singular importance".[14]
 | This article needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(September 2017) |
InThe New 52 rebooted DC's continuity, Blue Devil is reintroduced when he breaks up a drug deal and runs intoBlack Lightning, who is also there to bust the deal. They both state that they are trying to take down crime lordTobias Whale, but Black Lightning does not believe Blue Devil. A fight ensues, but Blue Devil quickly gets the better of Black Lightning and tries to make him listen, when he is interrupted by theLAPD, who are ready to open fire. Black Lightning takes that opportunity to run off and Blue Devil manages to escape as well.[15]
During theForever Evil storyline, Blue Devil is among the magic users who were captured by Felix Faust and Nick Necro to use them as part of a weapon that would defeat thecreature that destroyed theCrime Syndicate's Earth.[16]
Before he became Blue Devil, Dan Cassidy was a highly trained martial artist and acrobat. His costume includedkevlar body armor, visual and auditory amplifiers, radio gear, mini-gills allowing underwater breathing, and servo-motors which increased his strength at least twentyfold. After being grafted to Cassidy's body the costume became organic and gained the ability to self-repair at an extremely fast rate. Cassidy's abilities seem to have been changed little by his transformation into an actual demon. Due to the bizarre interaction of magic and technology in his transformed suit, it was theorized that Blue Devil was a "Weirdness Magnet."
In his current incarnation, Blue Devil still possesses some degree of superhuman strength, capable of going toe-to-toe with beings likeEclipso, and knocking out a power-drunkEnchantress in one punch. He is also remarkably resistant to physical damage, evidenced when Eclipso threw him a distance of approximately 500 feet upwards, he did not even require time to recover before getting up and heading back into the fight.
Originally, Blue Devil wielded atrident of his own design which included, among other things, rocket engines capable of carrying two people at high speeds. He now carries theTrident of Lucifer, which allows him to find demons on Earth and banish them to Hell. During a battle with Eclipso and the Spectre the trident was thrown into the ocean; it was recovered shortly after byAquaman who returned it to Cassidy, and much later given to Jack of Fire.
Briefly resuming his human body with a more powerful exosuit, Cassidy is given back his trident and demonic powers by Jack of Fire, but as a "demon with a soul".
Dan's apartment in Metropolis connects to California via a closet that opens into Cain'sHouse of Mystery. By crossing through the house, he can travel from the East Coast to the West Coast in moments.
An alternate universe incarnation of Blue Devil makes a cameo appearance inKingdom Come.
Blue Devil appears inJustice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths.[19]
Blue Devil appears as a character summon inScribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure.[20]
Blue Devil received a figure in theDC Universe Classics line.
[A] sixteen-page preview story marked the debut of fledgling stuntman-turned-hero Blue Devil. An attempt to put the fun back into comics, writers Gary Cohn and Dan Mishkin and penciller Paris Cullins had Blue Devil face the machinations of Flash villain the Trickster in this lead-in to his own ongoing series.
