BELIAL

Real Name: Belial

Identity/Class: Demon (Class II)

Occupation: Ruler of his portion of Hell; former servant of Satan

Group Membership: Belial's Cavalry

Affiliations: Betty (Hedy's dog), Elyma, Lucifer, Nirrem, Pythonissa, Saphira, Satan (Marduk Kurios), Hedy Wolfe;
invoked by Brother Alistar, Doctor Strange (Stephen Strange), Mother Feere

Enemies: Desadia, Gabriel the Devil-Hunter, Hellcat (Patsy Walker), Daimon Hellstrom, Jubilee (Jubilation Lee), Esteban Ramirez, Mrs. Ramirez, Telekinian (Ian Soo)

Known Relatives: Hedy Wolfe (ex-wife)

Aliases: Benny, Demon of Lies;
   posed as Mad-Dog (Buzz Baxter), She-Hulk (Jennifer Walters), Son of Satan (Daimon Hellstrom), Telekinian (Ian Soo), Hedy Wolfe

Base of Operations: Gehenna, a portion of Hell

First Appearance: (Mentioned) Strange Tales I#164 (Janaury, 1968); (possessing a corpse) Monsters Unleashed I#11/1 (April, 1975); (actually seen) Son of Satan I#8 (February, 1977)

Powers/Abilities: Belial possessed a variety of demonic abilities, including superhuman strength and durability, possessing other living beings (or dead), interdimensional travel through portals, firing Hellfire from his eyes and hands and flight. Additionally he was a shapeshifter and could read minds. In his home dimensions he could create life-like illusions of other beings and change the surroundings into whatever he wished.

Height: Variable
Weight: Variable
Eyes: Variable
Hair: Variable

History:
(Marvel Zombies: Book of Angels, Demons and Various Monstrosities - Angels) - Belial was among the angels aiding Lucifer in the war in Heaven. He was cast down to Hell for his involvement.

(Ghost Rider V#1 (fb) - BTS) - Belial led his own Cavalry of powerful demons, who could possess people.

(Tales of the Zombie#1/5 (fb) - BTS) - At some point in the past the witch Mother Feere invoked her masters Satan, Belial and Mammon to raise the Bog People, who had saved her from execution, from their three thousand years of slumber. Satan didn't grant her the power she begged for and instead slew the witch.

(Strange Tales I#164 - BTS) - Doctor Strange invoked the Twin Horns of Belial while fleeing from a slug on Yann.

(Tower of Shadows#4 - BTS) - Brother Alistar invoked the Tetragramton, Lucifer and Belial to summon the demon Zagan.

(Monsters Unleashed#11 (fb) - BTS) - The demons Nirrem, Pythonissa, Elyma, Saphira and their leader Belial took possession of the deceased Esteban Ramirez.

(Monsters Unleashed#11) <January 16th> - Desadia brought Gabriel the Devil-Hunter to the home of Mrs. Ramirez in the Bronx to deal with the haunting by her late husband Esteban, who had reappeared in her apartment after dying two years earlier. Gabriel discovered the demonic possession when a V formed on Esteban's forehead because he had been possessed by five demons, including Belial. The latter was the most vocal and took control of the body to attack Gabriel and Esteban's wife. Desadia took Mrs. Ramirez to another room while Gabriel dealt bound the possessed Esteban to the bed to ready him for exorcism. Belial kept mocking him and transformed Esteban's head into a goat head before breaking the bindings and spurting blood from the corpse. Gabriel asked why Belial possessed a corpse whose soul had already been claimed and Belial explained that it was to get back at Gabriel for taking the soul of the infant Jenny Christopher from Hell and that they planned to take Gabriel's soul instead. Belial posed as Gabriel's late wife to get under his skin, which worked and led to Gabriel beating up the corpse until it suddenly disappeared when he was interrupted by Desadia.

   <January 17th> Mrs. Ramirez led Gabriel and Desadia to the cemetery outside the city where her husband had been buried. Belial possessed the remains of Esteban Ramirez and rose from the grave to attack Gabriel once again. He shot Hellfire from his eyes, but the cross on Gabriel's chest was enough to fight back the demon. Lightning struck an angel statue above another grave and crushed the demon-possessed Esteban. Belial left the remains and was banished back to Hell, but the stress of the whole ordeal cost Mrs. Esteban's life, who had died of a heart attack.

(Son of Satan I#8) - Satan's servant Belial awakened his master after he slept through Christmas Eve. He served a drink to Satan and inquired how Satan had slept. His master informed him that he was near victory (against his son Daimon) during his troubling sleep, but it turned out to merely be a dream.

(ClanDestine I#3 - BTS) - Kay (Jasmine Destine) invoked the names of Belial and Moloch.

(Fear Itself: The Deep#1 - BTS) - Doctor Strange used an adjusted version of Belial's Beckoning spell to summon a team of Defenders.

(Fear Itself: The Deep#4 - BTS) - Doctor Strange used a more aggressive version of Belial's Beckoning spell to summon more Defenders.

(Venom II#13.4 - BTS) - Blackheart invoked the name of Belial after receiving the captured Spirit of Vengeance (Zarathos) from his girlfriend Gari Oyle.

(Wolverine Annual II#1 - BTS) - Kay invoked the names of Belial, M'Ga and Shv.

SECRET WARS III HAPPENED

(Patsy Walker, A.K.A. Hellcat!#9) - Daimon Hellstrom sent Hellcat to Belial's Hell-dimension Gehenna where she was welcomed by Belial posing as She-Hulk.

(Patsy Walker, A.K.A. Hellcat!#10) - "She-Hulk" blamed Patsy for getting herself into this situation. The Hellish surroundings turned into Centerville High School where Patsy was faced with her past friends. "She-Hulk" claimed she had created this illusion because she thought Patsy would like it, but Patsy wasn't happy about this false She-Hulk being in her head. Patsy soon realized that this version of Centerville High School was based on her mother's comics when Buzz Baxter was far too nice to her. Buzz turned into Mad-Dog and blamed her for becoming this monstrosity. Daimon then appeared to confront her about marrying him. Next stop was the deathbed of Patsy's mother where Belial posed as Hedy Wolfe and tried to convince Patsy to just turn evil because Patsy already had Hell's attention ever since her mother's deal with a demon and Patsy's trips to Hell. Patsy attacked "Hedy" because there was no way that she would make a deal with whoever her enemy was and Belial turned into Telekinian in one last effort to remain mysterious, but Patsy demanded he showed his true form. Belial did as he was asked to and Patsy then asked him to return her to Earth where they could finish the deal. Belial made it clear that even outside his realm he was powerful enough to deal with her and took her back to Earth. Unfortunately for Belial, Hellcat's allies and erstwhile husbands were on the other side of the portal. Jubilee knocked out Belial with a punch to the face with her vampiric strength. Belial got back to his feet in mere seconds and was angered by Hellcat reneging on their deal, but a Hellfire blast from his hand was blocked by Daimon's trident. Belial was surprised that Daimon would turn on him after sending Hellcat to him earlier. Daimon explained that he had been tricked earlier to believe that Hellcat was after him, but now he knew the truth and didn't want to punish her anymore. Belial didn't care because in his opinion Hellcat still belonged to him, but Telekinian used his telekinetic powers to hold him in place and Hellstorm then opened a portal to send Belial back to Gehenna. Belial made sure to leave Earth with a few additional threats against Hellcat and Hellstrom.

(Patsy Walker, A.K.A. Hellcat!#16 (fb)) - Daimon took revenge on Hedy for lying to him about Patsy earlier and banished her to Gehenna. Belial was surprised by her appearance and they quickly fell for each other after Hedy revealed that it was her sending Daimon and Mad-Dog after Patsy. He thought that her name wolf suited her very well and really liked her dress.

(Patsy Walker, A.K.A. Hellcat!#16 (fb) - BTS) - Belial returned with Hedy to Earth and they became a couple.

(Patsy Walker, A.K.A. Hellcat!#16 - BTS) - Belial was in the shower when Hedy's dog Betty transformed into Patsy's tiger Mister Sniffles. Belial rushed out of the shower and found Hedy pinned to the ground by the tiger. After Hedy mentioned the connection to Patsy, Belial came up with the idea that Patsy was suffering from a "pan-dimensional stress flu." Hedy called her rival Patsy immediately.

(Patsy Walker, A.K.A. Hellcat!#16) - When Patsy and her friends Sharon King, Jubilee, Telekinian and America Chavez arrived, Belial was sitting on the couch with Hedy's dog Betty in his arms. Patsy freaked out, but Hedy did her best to calm her down by explaining how she had met Belial, whom she called Benny, and that they were a couple now and wanted to help Patsy. Another sneeze transported the whole group to Gehenna where Patsy had accidentally sent Sharon King's building with a previous sneeze. Belial took Patsy outside and turned into She-Hulk once again to make it easier for Patsy to talk about her feelings and get rid of her stress. Sharon's building was returned to Earth where Hedy revealed that Belial actually didn't know what had caused Patsy's sickness, but that it made sense to him that her contact with the underworld and taking on additional powers from Doctor Strange and all the stress had made her physical form become unstable. Belial returned Patsy to Earth after she was ready to return after a long talk.

(Patsy Walker, A.K.A. Hellcat!#17) - Belial proposed to Hedy at a busy mall.

(Iron Man/Hellcat Annual#1 - BTS) - Belial got married to Hedy, but he ate a child during their honeymoon and the marriage quickly fell apart because Hedy was not cool with that.

Comments: Mentioned by Stan Lee.
   Version one by Bill Mantlo & Russ Heath.
   Version two by Doug Moench & Sonny Trinidad.
   Version three by Kate Leth & Brittney L. Williams.

   Did the decrepit little bugger copy Satan's form to look more attractive or did he go with a more diminutive look while working for Satan? F'n shapeshifters!

   Elyma, Nirrem, Pythonissa and Saphira from Monsters Unleashed#11 were probably part of Belial's Cavalry mentioned decades later in a Ghost Rider comic.

   Monster Unleashed#11 originally took place in 1975, but the year in this story are now considered topical due Gabriel's modern day appearances and the sliding timescale.

   In Punisher II#4 (November, 1987) a crazy man, who tried to expose the Church of the Saved believed Frank Castle, who had worked undercover in the Church, to be Belial.

   Were they all the same character or different demons going by the same name? The demon entry identified Belial's first appearance as Son of Satan I#8, which was the first time he was actually seen and not just mentioned or seen possessing a corpse.

Who is Belial in mythology/literature?

   Belial was originally not a character, but just a term used to describe the lawless, worthless and wicked. The term was used a few times in the Old Testament and eventually morphed into a name for the demon leader of the Sons of Darkness in the War Scroll (part of the Dead Sea Scrolls). He also played a role in other apocryphical texts like the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs. In earlier translations of the Bible the word remained untranslated and Belial was used like it was an actual character all along, which makes it pretty funny to see people referred to as his sons, children or men.

   In the 17th century Lesser Key of Solomon Belial is one of the king's of Hell.

   Belial also played a role in John Milton's Paradise Lost (1667).

   Belial has also become an important figure among Satanists. Anton LaVey's Satanic Bible's third book is the Book of Belial.

This profile was completed on 09/13/2025, but its publication was delayed as it was intended for the Appendix 25th anniversary event.

Profile by Markus Raymond.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Belial has no known connection to:

images (without ads)
Patsy Walker, A.K.A. Hellcat!#10, p15, pan2 (main)
Patsy Walker, A.K.A. Hellcat!#16, p6, pan3 (head shot)
Monsters Unleashed#11/1, p18, pan6 (possessing remains of Esteban Ramirez)
Son of Satan I#8, p15, pan3 (Satan's servant)
Son of Satan I#8, p15, pan5 (Satan's servant, full body)
Patsy Walker, A.K.A. Hellcat!#10, p16, pan1 (flying and opening portal)

Appearances:
Strange Tales I#164 (Janaury, 1968) - Stan Lee (writer/editor), Jim Lawrence (pencils), Dan Adkins (inks)
Tower of Shadows#4 (March, 1970) - Allyn Brodsky (writer), Don Heck (artist), Stan Lee (editor)
Tales of the Zombie#1/5 (July, 1973) - Kit Pearson (plot), Marv Wolfman (story), Pablo Marcos (artist), Roy Thomas (editor)
Monsters Unleashed I#11/1 (April, 1975) - Doug Moench (writer), Sonny Trinidad (artist), Don McGregor (editor)
Son of Satan I#8 (February, 1977) - Bill Mantlo (writer), Russ Heath (artist), Archie Goodwin (editor)
ClanDestine I#3 (December, 1994) - Alan Davis (writer/pencils), Mark Farmer (inks), Paul Neary (editor)
Ghost Rider V#1 (November, 2005) - Garth Ennis (writer), Clayton Crain (artist), Axel Alonso (editor)
Marvel Zombies: Book of Angels, Demons and Various Monstrosities (November, 2007)
Fear Itself: The Deep#1 (August, 2011) - Cullen Bunn (writer), Lee Garbett (pencils), David Meikis (inks), Jeanine Schaefer (editor)
Fear Itself: The Deep#4 (November, 2011) - Cullen Bunn (writer), Lee Garbett (pencils), David Meikis, John Lucas & Rick Magyar (inks), Jeanine Schaefer (editor)
Venom II#13.4 (April, 2012) - Rick Remender (writer), Lan Medina (pencils), Nelson DeCastro & Terry Pallot (inks), Tom Brennan (editor)
Wolverine Annual II#1 (October, 2012) - Alan Davis (writer/pencils), Mark Farmer (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Patsy Walker, A.K.A. Hellcat!#9-10 (October-November, 2016) - Kate Leth (writer), Brittney L. Williams (artist), Wil Moss (editor)
Patsy Walker, A.K.A. Hellcat!#16-17 (May-June, 2017) - Kate Leth (writer), Brittney L. Williams (artist), Kathleen Wisneski (editor)
Iron Man/Hellcat Annual (August, 2022) - Christopher Cantwell (writer), Ruirí Coleman (artist), Martin Biro (editor)

First Posted: 09/23/2026
Last updated: 09/13/2025

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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