Malebolgia (also referred to at times as the Malebolgia) is the name of a Demon in the Spawn universe, drawing its name from the term in Dante's Inferno used to describe Malebolge, the ditches (bolge) in the eighth circle of Hell where the evil (male) are punished. He was Spawn's master and one of the major Lords of Hell.

Contents 1 Character biography 1.1 Death 2 Powers and abilities 3 Other media

Character biography Edit

Thought to be the equivalent of Satan in the Bible, he is responsible for the creation of Spawn. It is eventually revealed that Malebolgia is one of Hell's many rulers, a being from the "Eighth Circle of Hell" who has been around for 70,000 years or so, forming an army in its war against Heaven and God. Satan (Image comics) himself was only recently revealed in the Redeemer comics, Wanda's daughter (the twin to God, Wanda's son). It has been noted that Malebolgia was constantly at war with the rulers of the other spheres of Hell, as well as at odds with Mammon.

Malebolgia is one of the few characters from Spawn who has made an appearance or a cameo in other image books outside the core Spawn title and its spin-offs. He was notably absent, but was mentioned, during Chapel's rise to power in Hell when he usurped control of Hell away from Lucifer and became Lord Chapel as part of a large Image crossover including Prophet, Supreme, the groups Young blood, Brigade and others. Lucifer also appeared in the Angela mini-series, quite different from the Lucifer in the Liefeld-laden crossover but for the most part it is believed that he is not the Satan of the Spawn universe. That left Malebolgia and Mammon as the highest ranking devil-like characters in Spawn canon, until the actual appearance of Satan in the Spawn Comics.

DeathEdit

Malebolgia was slain by Spawn in issue #100. Spawn was offered the crown of the Eighth Circle, and though he declined, Spawn still received vastly enhanced powers and a command over Hell itself. It has become known that Mammon was a far more commanding presence in Hell than Malebolgia. Though Malebolgia was given self-determination and rule over Hell, he was far from the most powerful being in The Pit.

Powers and abilitiesEdit

Malebolgia was respected and feared as the most powerful of the rulers, and thus the de-facto grand master of Hell. His powers include Necro Energys like raising the dead, matter manipulation, super strength, recuperative abilities, and abilities to morph and induce hallucinations. His standing in Hell's hierarchy gives him vast power while in the 8th Sphere. His mastery of necroplasm gives him the exclusive ability to create Hellspawn and during his rule, he created an army larger and more powerful than anything Heaven or he himself could handle.

Other media Edit

• Malebolgia appears in the Spawn movie voiced by Frank Welker.
• Malebolgia doesn't appear in the Spawn TV series, but his presence is felt.
• Malebolgia appears in Spawn: Armageddon voiced by David Sobolov.
• Appears in the Robot Chicken episode "Celebutard Mountain" voiced by Tom Root. He and Spawn compete in a fiddle contest reminiscent of "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" by the Charlie Daniels Band.
• He appears in Soul Calibur II for the Xbox, sending Spawn after the demonic weapon Soul Edge.
• He is the main subject in the song "The Last Laugh" off of Iced Earth's The Dark Saga, a concept album based on Spawn.
• His name is the title of a song by death metal band Deranged on their 2001 self titled album.

Malebolgia: Death Metal Band from Greensboro NC