"Goody."

Looking it up, Daimon Hellstrom was still using the "Son of Satan" name well into the 80's--I'm not sure I have it, but I seem to recall him appearing in West Coast Avengers (#15, if not elsewhere) with a more superhero-styled costume and a shorter trident. It...didn't feel like a good fit, really. But his, and Satana's, dad was retconned from the capital-S Satan, to "Marduk Kurios," which is an immense downgrade; even if on the short-lived Helstrom series, Marduk was played by Mitch Pileggi, best known as Walter Skinner from the X-Files! Marduk's Marvel wiki mentions, at the end of the Warren Ellis Hellstorm series, I think Daimon had knocked up a witch, in exchange for learning his dad's true name to gain power over him, but Marduk was going to be reborn on earth as his kid! The series was cancelled at that point, and while Marduk appeared since, otherwise that plotline was dropped; unless Daimon...took care of it. 

Probably can't call it research, but I spent a week going down a rabbit hole of somewhat grotty 70's era Satan movies on Tubi; most of which weren't great but maybe have moments. Haven't seen the Omen or Rosemary's Baby in a bit, either; or their assorted sequels. 

Also, is this the first time we've had Selene from the Hellfire Club out? I got the Club box set but missed the Hellfire Guards entirely: I don't think Hasbro made big enough runs of those or the Skrull army builders.

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"Encounter."

Last strip of the year! 

I had to go make a correction--and it took me a couple tries--but Bearface really is a Canadian whisky that's supposed to be pretty good. And thematically appropriate for Logan, since the bottle appears to have claw marks on it! Except I keep wanting to call it 'Bearclaw,' which hopefully is a knock-off version a couple of shelves down in Canadian liquor stores. 

Have we ever seen Howard the Duck go all Ghost Rider-y? It definitely feels like something that would happen to him, and he'd get like the most embarrassing flaming vehicle possible, like an electric scooter. Anyway, this isn't based on any actual continuity, I just thought maybe it's tough to put out hellfire once it's lit. Can Wolvie tamp down the rage, or even the general annoyance? Or will extreme measures be needed...?

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"Fronkenstein."

This isn't the most Christmas-y of strips, but nothing to be done for that! I don't know if anyone else has done this, but I had this idea: what if Wolverine was haunted? Either the metal in his bones, the claws, or the whole package. I don't know if he's the psycho-killer Claremont once claimed--a lot of his kills seem to be either completely justified or because someone pushed their luck--but his body count was substantial: what if instead of haunting where they died, these ghosts stayed with him? Literally, instead of metaphorically. I may have somehow conflated DC's nth metal of Hawkman with adamantium, and wondered if they had similar properties against ghosts. Or maybe opposite properties, like adamantium holds them with it...Also, this is a two-fer for Darick Robertson references! Kurt ran into ghosts in his 2005 solo series, and Logan should be haunted by these guys: he killed a bunch of mobster little people (trying not to use the m-word, it may be considered a slur now) in Punisher #17, "Aim Low" with Garth Ennis! Logan gets swamped when he's got like three of them impaled on the claws on each hand...  

In the same vein as nth metal though, I lose track of Daimon Hellstrom, which might be because he's not always consistently portrayed in the comics. Which might even be addressed, in a run of Venom, of all places: Daimon apparently magically made copies or variants of himself, to investigate the upcoming demonic "Descent." The copies may not even be sure if they're the original or not; but it does give writers leeway to do whatever they want: this frees Daimon up for use as a contact for exorcisms as we saw in Avengers #23/LEG #723, although he had previously been seen as part of Baron Zemo's inner circle in Avengers Undercover #1. He was also briefly part of the Hellfire Club; although I think that plot was copied from Magneto's brief stint as part of the Club: join up as the White King, to maybe try to mitigate some of the Club's worst impulses. Oh, and of course "Fronkenstein" is from Young Frankenstein: since like Frederick there, Daimon sometimes tries to distance himself from his heritage. Sometimes.

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Is Christmas this week? Well, you're getting Son of Satan.

For little apparent reason, I was watching grotty old possession/Satanism movies on Tubi last week: they were by-and-large not very good, but also seemed very matter-of-fact that Satan was going to get you and God would do just about nothing. I swear half of them ended with "Satan didn't get my soul, I'm free" then immediate death; and that's a happy ending? I'm legit surprised this sort of movie hasn't made a big comeback: I think people were disillusioned and unhappy for large chunks of the 70's, although compared to now, well...From 1976, Son of Satan #4, "Cloud of Witness!" Written by John Warner, layouts by (P.) Craig Russell, finishes by Sonny Trinidad.

Daimon Hellstrom had departed Arizona, after a battle with the Possessor that I've seen mentioned but don't think I've read yet. (I'm pretty sure I coughed up for Essential Marvel Horror #1 a bit ago; I need to sit down and read it!) Daimon was maybe trying to see what direction his life was going to take now, and Georgetown had called him in: a university upper-admin type wants him for the school's new para-psychology program, and wants posh librarian Amelia to work as his researcher, and maybe keep an eye on him. (The admin worries about bringing in someone so "unorthodox," as he views a picture of Daimon in full Son of Satan mode.) Hellstrom himself is greeted by the charming (and pale) Saripha Thames, and set up in a dorm room to rest.

Either through jet lag, his ongoing search for identity, or psychic attack; Daimon has a series of unsettling dreams, one of which involves his mother, who had wanted to be a nun at one point. She wasn't picked at the time, and ended up falling into the arms of Satan. (Or "Satan," as it were; Daimon's dad maybe was never the actual, capital-S Satan; but "Son of Marduk Kurios" would make for a terrible logo.) He's also visited by the mysterious Proffet, who shows him a bunch of symbols and portents and says he can change them. This is followed by a funeral for Saripha, and Daimon seemingly split into the Son of Satan, the Darksoul, and a cross-wielding Daimon. He awakens, to find himself in his Son costume, cape and trident out, as Proffet again appears: she didn't really know what the message meant either, that was for him to figure out.

Saripha, approaching the dorms, witnesses an explosion from Daimon's room, and rushes there to find him in his...she's not really sure what his outfit is, pajamas? But, there had been one other visitor on that floor, and they rush to check on them, and find...I'm not sure; I can't tell if they were supposed to be alive or dead, in bed or upside-down on the wall. Maybe it'll make sense next issue; I wouldn't bet on it. Read more!

"Fire."

We'll doubtless discuss Daimon Hellstrom more in depth next time, but his figure...Look, I know it doubtless was unfeasible for so many reasons, but the Son of Satan really needs the chariot and horses he had his first issue. Three horses, even! I don't know if there's any explanation why we don't see that anymore, or if artists just didn't want to draw it now. I also don't recall if Daimon had to park, or I guess stable the horses, or if he could just summon it from nowhere like Johnny Blaze used to make a hellfire cycle. Ah, but if his chariot was made, Hercules had something similiar, or at least borrowed: Apollo lent him his, in the first Bob Layton mini-series! Well, it's not like I have the room anyway, but I've been having a hard time getting a single, properly scaled horse. I haven't looked super hard, but so far they're either too big or too small. Read more!

Yeah, try your 'gender inspection' on Val, see what that gets you.

Huh, another book with Daimon Hellstrom, I wonder if that means anything? From 1983, Defenders #120, "Sanctuary!" Written by J. M. DeMatteis, pencils by Don Perlin, inks by Jack Abel, Kim DeMulder, and Andy Mushynsky.

The bulk of this issue is Daimon, the Son of Satan, in a really maudlin struggle for his identity at a monastery: his "darksoul" maybe wasn't in control anymore, but then, what was left of him without it or fighting it all the time. He was in love with Patsy Walker, Hellcat; and seemed to want a "normal" life; which I think we would see happen for them briefly later: either just long enough to enjoy it before it was taken away, or long enough to realize that wasn't them. At the monastery, Daimon befriends a mysterious new monk, who seems to have a strange power, trying to help him keep it under control. Unfortunately, the 'monk' remembers who he really was: the Miracle Man--not that one, although honestly, at this point he's got a better chance of making a comeback...Anyhow, Miracle Man steals the darksoul from Daimon. And the trident, although it doesn't look as great in green. I wasn't surprised he turned on Daimon, but that this was a two-parter, since Miracle Man was the definition of second-rate: I was thinking he would get got by Scourge next issue, but no, that was later in Thing #24.

Patsy keeps having dreams about Daimon, so she rallies the current Defenders available to help; after a scene in a gym with Beast and Valkyrie, where a meathead accosts her as a man, for the crime of being far stronger than him. Yeah, I'm sure that never happens nowadays... Read more!