Lucifer

Lucifer Samael Morningstar is a character who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is an adaptation of Lucifer—the Biblical fallen angel and devil of Christianity—and is one of the most powerful beings in the DC Universe. Though various versions of the Devil have been presented by DC Comics, this interpretation by Neil Gaiman debuted in The Sandman #4 in 1989. Lucifer appears primarily as a supporting character in The Sandman and as the protagonist of the spin-off Lucifer. The spin-off series Lucifer (2000–2006) written by Mike Carey depicts his adventures on Earth, Heaven, and in the various other realms of his family's creations and in uncreated voids after abandoning Hell in The Sandman. Lucifer also appears as a supporting character in issues of The Demon, The Spectre, and other DC Universe comics. Two angels, a human, and briefly Superman have taken his place as ruler of Hell. Lucifer made his live-action debut when Swedish actor Peter Stormare portrayed him in the film Constantine (2005), while an alternate version was portrayed by Welsh actor Tom Ellis in the Fox/Netflix series Lucifer (2016–2021) and the Arrowverse crossover Crisis on Infinite Earths (2020). English actress Gwendoline Christie portrays a third version of the character in the Netflix series The Sandman (2022–present). Fictional character biography In the earlier related series The Sandman, written by Neil Gaiman, Lucifer abandoned his lordship over Hell. While Lucifer had previously appeared in various stereotypical guises in earlier DC Comics books, Gaiman's version was premised on English poet and prose writer John Milton's Paradise Lost. At Gaiman's request of the artist, Lucifer looks like David Bowie at the time. In The Sandman, Lucifer had ruled as Lord of Hell for 10 billion years after rebelling three seconds after Creation. Over that time, he had manipulated the various demons of Hell against each other, provided a place for dead mortals to be tormented, and led the war against Heaven.