| Olivier | |
|---|---|
 Frank Costa (left) and Olivier (right) inThe Punisher (vol. 4) #2 (December 1998) Art byBernie Wrightson. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Frank Costa: Marvel Super Action #1 (January 1976) Olivier: The Punisher (vol. 4) #1 (November 1998) |
| Created by | Frank Costa: Tony DeZuniga Archie Goodwin Olivier: Bernie Wrightson Christopher Golden Thomas E. Sniegoski |
| In-story information | |
| Species | Demon |
| Place of origin | Heaven |
| Team affiliations | Hell-lords Costa Family Lucifer's Inner Circle |
| Notable aliases | Frank Costa |
| Abilities | Portal generation Hellfire projection Immunity to age, disease, and injuries Illusion creation and manipulation Ability to command lesser demons |
Olivier is asupervillain appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics. The character is usually depicted as an enemy of theantihero thePunisher.[1] Olivier was created byBernie Wrightson,Christopher Golden andThomas E. Sniegoski, and first appeared inThe Punisher (vol. 4) #1 (November 1998) as a reimagined depiction of an already existing individual:Frank Costa was created byTony DeZuniga andArchie Goodwin, and debuted inMarvel Super Action #1 (January 1976).
Frank Costa debuted inMarvel Super Action #1 as the head of the organized crime family responsible for the murder ofFrank Castle's wife and children. The character was killed off-panel in that story, with his only appearance outside of it being in Issue #3 of theprequel miniseriesThe Punisher: Year One.
The Punisher (vol. 4) revealed the character was the human form of Olivier, a Hell-lord and the former prince of theArchangels. Olivier was present in all four issues ofThe Punisher (vol. 4) and went on to makecameo appearances inNightcrawler (vol. 3) #1-3, andJourney into Mystery #627.
Olivier received profiles inMarvel Encyclopedia #5,All-NewOfficial Handbook of the Marvel Universe #8,Marvel Zombies: The Book of Angels, Demons & Various Monstrosities #1 andOfficial Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #8.
At some unspecified point in the past, there was a war in Heaven againstGod in which the demon Olivier sided withLucifer and was cast out of paradise. Olivier eventually came to rule a portion of Hell but the other lords of Hell grew resentful of his ambition and they forced him into the body of a stillborn human infant. Olivier's spirit returned life to the infant, although he lost all memory of his life as a Hell-lord.[2]
Olivier grew up as the human Frank Costa of the Costa crime family, an arm of theMaggia. As a petty criminal, he was working as a lookout one night when he shot and killed a mobster from a rival family. This act of taking a human life completely restored Costa's memory of his life as Olivier, and he started plotting his revenge on the other Lords of Hell that had placed him in his human body.[3]
For decades, Olivier, still in his Costa identity, worked to become the Costa crime family's head. He usedoccultism and magic rituals to discover the existence of Frank Castle in theVietnam War, deciding to use the American soldier as his instrument for revenge.[4] When Castle returned to the United States, Olivier ordered his assassins to murder a mob banker inCentral Park, knowing that Castle's wife and children would be caught in the crossfire and killed; what appeared to be a random act of violence was in fact deliberately planned. Their murders were the motivations for thePunisher whose victims would be forced into becoming undead servants of Olivier.[5][6]
The Punisher then set about killing the assassins who had murdered the Castle family, one of whom wasBruno Costa, the brother of Olivier's host body and alter ego. The Punisher later discovered Frank dead of an icepick wound to the head, ostensibly administered by the prostitute Audrey whom the Punisher later killed. Unbeknownst to the Punisher, Audrey killing Costa released Olivier's soul which returned to his realm of Hell in its true form. Olivier claimed he had allowed Audrey to kill him as he hadn't wanted to wait to die of natural causes to return to Hell, and could not have committed suicide as that would have alerted the other Hell-lords to his return.[7]
Olivier felt that the Punisher had gathered enough souls for him to launch an attack on the rest of Hell, and he caused the Punisher to despair over the lives taken by the Punisher. Castle was driven to suicide by Olivier's demonic servants, and he shot himself. Castle was then immediately resurrected by Gadriel, the guardian angel who had failed in Castle's defense.[7] From his base in New York'sFlatiron Building, Olivier sent his minions against Heaven's angels and the dominions of the other Lords of Hell, includingDaimon Hellstrom, but was thwarted in his assassination attempt on Hellstrom by the Punisher and Gadriel.[8] Olivier revealed to the Punisher that he was responsible for the deaths of the Punisher's family.[3] The Punisher fought a reanimated Bruno Costa and the contact of the weapons of Heaven (the Punisher) and Hell (Bruno Costa) caused a dimensional portal to open through which the tentacles of Hell began to reach. The Punisher shot Olivier into the tentacles' embrace, and they immediately tore Olivier to pieces. The portal was sealed by Gadriel sacrificing his life.[7]
Olivier later resurfaced allied to the demonPazuzu and several other entities serving on the court ofLucifer that were trying to open a portal to Earth with the help of a coven of witches. They were thwarted byNightcrawler, Seth Walker, andMagik.[9][10]
The Egyptian deityKhonshu expressed interest in the Punisher, but was deterred from anointing him by the Punisher's connection to Olivier, remarking that the vigilante "belongs to another" and that he "flies his lord's banner" (the Punisher's skull insignia).[11]
During the "Fear Itself" storyline, Olivier attended the Devil's Advocacy to discuss theSerpent's actions on Earth.[12]
As a demon and true fallen angel, Olivier is impervious to age, disease, and injuries that would kill an ordinary mortal. He also has the ability to create and manipulate illusions, shoot blasts of hellfire, and create portals to other dimensions. He also has the authority to command demons of a lesser degree. Olivier claims to be one of the most powerful lords of hell, approximately on the same level asMephisto.
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