Devil-Slayer (comics)
Encyclopedia
Devil-Slayer is a fictional character
that has appeared in various comic book
series published by Marvel Comics
. The character exists in Marvel's main shared universe
, known as the Marvel Universe
. Devil-Slayer first appeared in Marvel Spotlight
#33 (April 1977), and was created by Rich Buckler
.
, who had created a similar character in Demon Hunter (1975) for Atlas/Seaboard Comics
and Bloodwing for his magazine Galaxia in 1980. For a time he operated as a member of the Defenders
. He first appeared in Marvel Spotlight
#33 (April 1977).
The character subsequently appeared in The Defenders #58–60 (April–June 1978), #97–101 (July–November 1981), Marvel Team-Up #111 (November 1981), The Defenders #103–104 (January–February 1982), Marvel Graphic Novel #1 – 'The Death of Captain Marvel' (April 1982), Marvel Super Hero Contest of Champions #1 (June 1982), #3 (August 1982), and The Defenders #110 (August 1982). The character faded into obscurity for several years until the 1990s, when he appeared in Marvel Comics Presents #37 (December 1989), #46–49 (March–May 1990), #143 (December 1993), #146 (January 1994), Over the Edge #2 (December 1995), Man-Thing #3–5 (February–April 1998), Strange Tales Vol. 5 #2 (October 1998), and Avengers: the Initiative #14 (August 2008).
In September 2008
, Marvel released a limited series
, as a part of the MAX
imprint
. It was titled Dead of Night Featuring Devil-Slayer and starred a new Devil-Slayer, a man named Danny Sylva. Sylva is the great-nephew of Payne, the original Devil Slayer. This series is written by horror novelist Brian Keene
with art by Chris Samnee.
Devil-Slayer received an entry in the original Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe
#3, and in the All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #3. (2006)
, who helped him unlock the psionic potential of his brain and gave him a mystically created dimensional cloak. He later turned on the cult and, with the aid of the Defenders
, he battled Vera Gemini and the Xenogesis and helped prevent the cult's mystical plans from being realized.
He assists the Defenders in confronting a cult leader named David. This man had been granted temporary mystical powers by a coalition of demons
known as the Six Fingered Hand
. Despite the passing nature of his abilities, Eric's wife Cory chose to stay with the cult leader.
As the Defenders returned to Doctor Strange
's home after this confrontation, they were called into action again by the Avengers
. The town of Citrusville
, Florida had vanished, into a gigantic hole resembling a six-fingered hand.
Eric then joins the Defenders. Eric and the rest of the group confronted a possessed Man-Thing
and then traveled through dimensional realms in order to find the source of the problem.
, who had taken over the form of an Air Force commander. The Defenders almost died when Belathauzar convinced innocent Air Force pilots that they were spies. Though his demon compatriots were eventually sucked back to their own realm, Belathauzer somehow stayed on Earth.
Still in the form of the Air Force soldier, he targeted Devil-Slayer personally. Belathauzar tricked Devil-Slayer into a bar full of disguised demons where Eric's drink was altered, thus removing his psychic powers. Despite this, Devil-Slayer held his own, using his magical accessories to battle the demons successfully. Belathauzer and Eric were drawn into the Borders of the Land of the Dead, where stood many of his Defender allies, now seemingly dead. It was here that Belathauzer was seemingly slain again.
There are indications he has returned another time but this might be Payne's mental instability.
Eric questions his tragic life, and reconciles with wife, then turns himself in for his past crimes. He later helps war-torn Potega, but loses shadow-cloak, and then rededicates himself as a hero.
Devil-Slayer was later remitted to an asylum, where he discovers a shard of the Nexus of Realities, and then becomes Payne with his partner Sorrow.
team, the Point Men, serving the team as their "Monster Hunter." When the new 3-D Man arrives in Hawaii, Devil-Slayer informs him that he has sensed portents of doom all day. When 3-D Man identifies team member Magnitude as a Skrull
impostor, the Skrull attacks and severely wounds the other Point Men, Star Sign and Paydirt. The Skrull is killed, and Devil-Slayer uses his Shadow Cloak to teleport Delroy to Camp Hammond before taking Star Sign and Paydirt to a hospital. Devil-Slayer later appears in Utah with the cyborg Jocasta
to aid 3-D Man and the Skrull Kill Krew
. He spends some time teleporting the Krew and their ever increasing allies across the country to kill Skrulls who have infiltrated the Initiative teams. As fore-warned, he runs out of power and faints, leaving the final few confrontations to the speedsters the Krew have recruited.
After Doctor Strange loses his position as Sorceror Supreme, Devil-Slayer is one of the many magic users approached by the Eye of Agamotto
as a potential replacement.
's team called the Revengers.
As Devil-Slayer, Payne uses a mystical device called a shadow cloak. The cloak can elongate itself and respond to his mental commands, forming whips and grappling opponents and objects. The inside of the cloak served as a portal to other dimensions. By wrapping himself and/or others in folds of the cloak, Payne can teleport to and from other dimensions and could even teleport limited distances on Earth by entering and exiting at different locations. Time also runs differently inside the cloak, allowing Payne to place injured people in a form of stasis if he so wills.
Payne had also developed certain psychic abilities. He possesses a sixth sense that can detect mystical influence on people or creatures, useful for tracking and finding demons. He also had some degree of telekinesis and telepathy, the latter of which he typically used to mask his costume with an illusion of civilian clothes. The nature and extent of Payne's current powers remains unrevealed.
Payne could also reach into the folds of the cloak and draw out an endless supply of weapons from any time or place. He typically used melee weapons such as swords, axes or maces but has also removed from it more modern weapons such as automatic rifles and even futuristic weapons such as a plasma rifle. On at least one occasion, he used a staff that conferred upon him a degree of invulnerability and generated energies that he could absorb to enhance his psychic abilities.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
that has appeared in various comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
series published by Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
. The character exists in Marvel's main shared universe
Shared universe
A shared universe is a fictional universe to which more than one writer contributes. Work set in a shared universe share characters and other elements with varying degrees of consistency. Shared universes are contrasted with collaborative writing, in which multiple authors work on a single story....
, known as the Marvel Universe
Marvel Universe
The Marvel Universe is the shared fictional universe where most comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Entertainment take place, including those featuring Marvel's most familiar characters, such as Spider-Man, the Hulk, the X-Men, and the Avengers.The Marvel Universe is further...
. Devil-Slayer first appeared in Marvel Spotlight
Marvel Spotlight
Marvel Spotlight is the name of several comic book series published by Marvel Comics as a try-out book for new characters. The first series ran for 33 issues from November 1971 to April 1977...
#33 (April 1977), and was created by Rich Buckler
Rich Buckler
Rich Buckler is an American comic book artist and penciller, best known for his work on Marvel Comics' The Fantastic Four in the mid-1970s and, with writer Doug Moench, co-creating the character Deathlok in Astonishing Tales #25...
.
Publication history
He was created by Rich BucklerRich Buckler
Rich Buckler is an American comic book artist and penciller, best known for his work on Marvel Comics' The Fantastic Four in the mid-1970s and, with writer Doug Moench, co-creating the character Deathlok in Astonishing Tales #25...
, who had created a similar character in Demon Hunter (1975) for Atlas/Seaboard Comics
Atlas/Seaboard Comics
Atlas/Seaboard is the term comic-book historians and collectors use to refer to the 1970s line of comics published as Atlas Comics by the American company Seaboard Periodicals, to differentiate from the 1950s' Atlas Comics, a predecessor of Marvel Comics...
and Bloodwing for his magazine Galaxia in 1980. For a time he operated as a member of the Defenders
Defenders (comics)
The Defenders is the name of a number of Marvel Comics superhero groups which are usually presented as a "non-team" of individualistic "outsiders," each known for following their own agendas...
. He first appeared in Marvel Spotlight
Marvel Spotlight
Marvel Spotlight is the name of several comic book series published by Marvel Comics as a try-out book for new characters. The first series ran for 33 issues from November 1971 to April 1977...
#33 (April 1977).
The character subsequently appeared in The Defenders #58–60 (April–June 1978), #97–101 (July–November 1981), Marvel Team-Up #111 (November 1981), The Defenders #103–104 (January–February 1982), Marvel Graphic Novel #1 – 'The Death of Captain Marvel' (April 1982), Marvel Super Hero Contest of Champions #1 (June 1982), #3 (August 1982), and The Defenders #110 (August 1982). The character faded into obscurity for several years until the 1990s, when he appeared in Marvel Comics Presents #37 (December 1989), #46–49 (March–May 1990), #143 (December 1993), #146 (January 1994), Over the Edge #2 (December 1995), Man-Thing #3–5 (February–April 1998), Strange Tales Vol. 5 #2 (October 1998), and Avengers: the Initiative #14 (August 2008).
In September 2008
2008 in comics
-January:*January 9: Teen Titans: The Lost Annual, delayed since 2003, is published.*January 23: Hellblazer #240, marking the 20th anniversary of the series, is released.-February:...
, Marvel released a limited series
Limited series
A limited series is a comic book series with a set number of installments. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is determined before production and it differs from a one shot in that it is composed of multiple issues....
, as a part of the MAX
MAX (comics)
MAX is an imprint of Marvel Comics aimed at a niche 'adults only' audience, launched in 2001 after Marvel broke with the Comics Code Authority and established its own rating system...
imprint
Imprint
In the publishing industry, an imprint can mean several different things:* As a piece of bibliographic information about a book, it refers to the name and address of the book's publisher and its date of publication as given at the foot or on the verso of its title page.* It can mean a trade name...
. It was titled Dead of Night Featuring Devil-Slayer and starred a new Devil-Slayer, a man named Danny Sylva. Sylva is the great-nephew of Payne, the original Devil Slayer. This series is written by horror novelist Brian Keene
Brian Keene
Brian Keene is an American author, primarily of horror, crime fiction, and comic books. He has won two Bram Stoker Awards.- Background :Keene was born in 1967. He grew up in both Pennsylvania and West Virginia, and many of his books take place in these locales. After graduating high school, he...
with art by Chris Samnee.
Devil-Slayer received an entry in the original Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe
The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe is an encyclopedic guide which details the fictional universe featured in Marvel Comics publications...
#3, and in the All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #3. (2006)
Fictional character biography
Eric Payne was born in Queenstown, Illinois. He was a member of a demon cult called the Agents of FortuneAgents of Fortune (comics)
The Agents of Fortune are a fictional organization in the Marvel Universe, created by David Kraft and Ed Hannigan. They first appeared in Defenders #58 ....
, who helped him unlock the psionic potential of his brain and gave him a mystically created dimensional cloak. He later turned on the cult and, with the aid of the Defenders
Defenders (comics)
The Defenders is the name of a number of Marvel Comics superhero groups which are usually presented as a "non-team" of individualistic "outsiders," each known for following their own agendas...
, he battled Vera Gemini and the Xenogesis and helped prevent the cult's mystical plans from being realized.
He assists the Defenders in confronting a cult leader named David. This man had been granted temporary mystical powers by a coalition of demons
Demons (Marvel Comics)
The Marvel Comics universe hosts a number of demons, many of whom are at times at conflict with gods and angels. All possess varying degrees of mystical power, feed upon souls for self-sustenance, and are inclined towards dark or “black” magic - evil....
known as the Six Fingered Hand
Six-Fingered Hand (comics)
The Six-Fingered Hand is a fictional organization in the Marvel Universe.The Six-Fingered Hand was a group of six lesser demons acting as pawns of more powerful demons, including Mephisto. The legion of demons once plotted to merge Earth and Hell, but their plan was successfully opposed by the...
. Despite the passing nature of his abilities, Eric's wife Cory chose to stay with the cult leader.
As the Defenders returned to Doctor Strange
Doctor Strange
Doctor Stephen Strange is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, and first appeared in Strange Tales #110 ....
's home after this confrontation, they were called into action again by the Avengers
Avengers (comics)
The Avengers is a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in magazines published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 The Avengers is a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in magazines published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 The Avengers...
. The town of Citrusville
Citrusville
Citrusville, Cypress County, Florida is a fictional Everglades town in the Marvel Universe. It appears most frequently in stories related to Man-Thing, and was first shown in Adventure into Fear #11. It was created by Steve Gerber and Rich Buckler...
, Florida had vanished, into a gigantic hole resembling a six-fingered hand.
Eric then joins the Defenders. Eric and the rest of the group confronted a possessed Man-Thing
Man-Thing
The Man-Thing is a fictional character, a monster in publications from Marvel Comics. Created by writers Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, and Gerry Conway and artist Gray Morrow, the character first appeared in Savage Tales #1 , and went on to be featured in various titles and in his own series, including...
and then traveled through dimensional realms in order to find the source of the problem.
Belathauzer
During Eric's time with the Defenders, he helped confront a host of demons, including BelathauzerBelathauzer
Belthauzer is a fictional character appearing in the Marvel Comics universe. He is a demon who has clashed with the Defenders and Devil-Slayer.-Publication history:...
, who had taken over the form of an Air Force commander. The Defenders almost died when Belathauzar convinced innocent Air Force pilots that they were spies. Though his demon compatriots were eventually sucked back to their own realm, Belathauzer somehow stayed on Earth.
Still in the form of the Air Force soldier, he targeted Devil-Slayer personally. Belathauzar tricked Devil-Slayer into a bar full of disguised demons where Eric's drink was altered, thus removing his psychic powers. Despite this, Devil-Slayer held his own, using his magical accessories to battle the demons successfully. Belathauzer and Eric were drawn into the Borders of the Land of the Dead, where stood many of his Defender allies, now seemingly dead. It was here that Belathauzer was seemingly slain again.
There are indications he has returned another time but this might be Payne's mental instability.
Eric questions his tragic life, and reconciles with wife, then turns himself in for his past crimes. He later helps war-torn Potega, but loses shadow-cloak, and then rededicates himself as a hero.
Devil-Slayer was later remitted to an asylum, where he discovers a shard of the Nexus of Realities, and then becomes Payne with his partner Sorrow.
The Initiative
Nighthawk mentioned to have talked to Eric Payne and that he was willing to join a new team of Defenders. However, when Richmond suggested it to Initiative boss Tony Stark, he declined the offer. Shortly afterwards Eric is seen as a member of the Hawaiian InitiativeAvengers: The Initiative
Avengers: The Initiative was a comic book series from Marvel Comics. Written by Dan Slott and Christos Gage with artwork initially by Stefano Caselli, Steve Uy and Harvey Tolibao, the series dealt with the aftermath of Marvel's Civil War crossover Avengers: The Initiative was a comic book series...
team, the Point Men, serving the team as their "Monster Hunter." When the new 3-D Man arrives in Hawaii, Devil-Slayer informs him that he has sensed portents of doom all day. When 3-D Man identifies team member Magnitude as a Skrull
Skrull
The Skrulls are a fictional race of extraterrestrial shapeshifters that appear in publications by Marvel Comics.-Publication history:The Skrulls first appeared in Fantastic Four #2 and were created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby....
impostor, the Skrull attacks and severely wounds the other Point Men, Star Sign and Paydirt. The Skrull is killed, and Devil-Slayer uses his Shadow Cloak to teleport Delroy to Camp Hammond before taking Star Sign and Paydirt to a hospital. Devil-Slayer later appears in Utah with the cyborg Jocasta
Jocasta (comics)
Jocasta is a fictional, comic book superhero appearing books published by Marvel Comics. A member of the Avengers, the character is a robot created by the villain Ultron.-Publication history:Jocasta first appears in The Avengers Jocasta is a fictional, comic book superhero appearing books published...
to aid 3-D Man and the Skrull Kill Krew
Skrull Kill Krew
The Skrull Kill Krew are a fictional group from Marvel Comics who first appeared in their own limited series published in 1995. They were created by Grant Morrison, Mark Millar and Steve Yeowell.The group are humans modified by eating Skrull-infected beef...
. He spends some time teleporting the Krew and their ever increasing allies across the country to kill Skrulls who have infiltrated the Initiative teams. As fore-warned, he runs out of power and faints, leaving the final few confrontations to the speedsters the Krew have recruited.
After Doctor Strange loses his position as Sorceror Supreme, Devil-Slayer is one of the many magic users approached by the Eye of Agamotto
Eye of Agamotto
The Eye of Agamotto is a fictional mystical item in the Marvel Comics universe. The artist Steve Ditko, drew inspiration from the real world charm called 'The All Seeing Eye of the Buddha', known among Buddhists as "The Amulet of Snail Martyrs", a Nepali symbol meant to protect its wearer against...
as a potential replacement.
Revengers
Eric, wearing a totally new outfit, joins Wonder ManWonder Man
Wonder Man is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, he first appeared in The Avengers #9 .-Publication history:Wonder Man debuted in the superhero-team title The Avengers #9 Wonder...
's team called the Revengers.
Powers and abilities
Eric Simon Payne is a trained soldier and hit man, proficient in nearly all forms of hand-to-hand weaponry and an above-average marksman.As Devil-Slayer, Payne uses a mystical device called a shadow cloak. The cloak can elongate itself and respond to his mental commands, forming whips and grappling opponents and objects. The inside of the cloak served as a portal to other dimensions. By wrapping himself and/or others in folds of the cloak, Payne can teleport to and from other dimensions and could even teleport limited distances on Earth by entering and exiting at different locations. Time also runs differently inside the cloak, allowing Payne to place injured people in a form of stasis if he so wills.
Payne had also developed certain psychic abilities. He possesses a sixth sense that can detect mystical influence on people or creatures, useful for tracking and finding demons. He also had some degree of telekinesis and telepathy, the latter of which he typically used to mask his costume with an illusion of civilian clothes. The nature and extent of Payne's current powers remains unrevealed.
Payne could also reach into the folds of the cloak and draw out an endless supply of weapons from any time or place. He typically used melee weapons such as swords, axes or maces but has also removed from it more modern weapons such as automatic rifles and even futuristic weapons such as a plasma rifle. On at least one occasion, he used a staff that conferred upon him a degree of invulnerability and generated energies that he could absorb to enhance his psychic abilities.