Blue Devil (DC Comics)
Blue Devil (Daniel Cassidy) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He first appeared in a special insert published in Fury of Firestorm #24 (June 1984).[1] That story led directly into Blue Devil #1, also cover dated June 1984.[2] He was created by Dan Mishkin, Gary Cohn, and Paris Cullins. The Blue Devil comic book ran for 31 issues and one annual. Blue Devil later appeared as a regular character in Shadowpact which ran for 25 issues.
Blue Devil
Fury of Firestorm #24 (June 1984)
Dan Mishkin (character)
Gary Cohn (character and visual)
Paris Cullins (belt design)
Daniel Patrick Cassidy
- Superhuman strength, durability, agility, and senses
- Enhanced vision and hearing
- Master martial artist and hand-to-hand combatant
- Expert acrobat
- Nigh-invulnerability
- Healing factor
- Utilizes the Trident of Lucifer
- Can find demons on Earth and banish them to Hell
DC Comics
DC Comics
monthly
June 1984 – Dec. 1986
31 issues & 1 annual
Daniel Cassidy
Dan Cassidy was working as a stuntman and special effects specialist in Hollywood who became permanently bonded to an exoskeleton suit created for a film. This unnatural fusion of magic and technology caused him to experience unusual events and draw the attention of otherworldly beings. Horrified at the prospect of being stuck in the suit forever, Cassidy sought ways to separate himself from it, becoming a reluctant superhero along the way.[3] Cassidy was eventually transformed into an actual demon after making a deal with the demon Neron. Regretting the deal, Blue Devil decided to fight occult evil, often alongside the other members of Shadowpact.
Cassidy's original trident was a mechanical device that he designed himself, but, after being turned into an actual demon, he acquired the magical "Trident of Lucifer" to help combat demons.
Blue Devil has appeared in the animated series Justice League Unlimited and Young Justice as well as the live-action DC Universe series Swamp Thing, in which he was portrayed by Ian Ziering.
Publication history[edit]
Co-writer Gary Cohn recounted that "the first six issues [of Blue Devil], I was living in
Brooklyn and Paris [Cullins] was living in Philly. Paris was kind of a vagabond spirit. He would show up in New York on the train with his sketchbook, his artist satchel, and his toothbrush, and he would come to my place and stay for three or four days. We would spend the whole time creating plots and visuals as we went, laughing hysterically. We were constantly calling Dan [Mishkin]. It was not the stiff process of writing a script, giving it to the artist, or even writing a plot and giving it to an artist. It was a very organic collaboration".[4] Following issue #6, Cullins left the series, and both Mishkin and Cohn felt that none of the succeeding artists were able to capture the combination of thrills and comedy that they wanted the series to have.[4]
The first Blue Devil series was intentionally written as a humorous and light-hearted comic book story, but this light-hearted style was discarded with later appearances of the character.
Powers and abilities[edit]
Even before he became Blue Devil, Dan Cassidy was a highly trained martial artist and acrobat. His costume included kevlar body armor, visual and auditory amplifiers, radio gear, mini-gills allowing underwater breathing, and servo-motors which increased his strength at least twentyfold. After being grafted to Cassidy's body the costume became organic and gained the ability to self-repair at an extremely fast rate. Cassidy's abilities seem to have been changed little by his transformation into an actual demon.
In his current incarnation, Blue Devil still possesses some degree of superhuman strength, capable of going toe-to-toe with beings like Eclipso, and knocking out a power-drunk Enchantress in one punch. He is also remarkably resistant to physical damage, evidenced when Eclipso threw him a distance of approximately 500 feet upwards, he did not even require time to recover before getting up and heading back into the fight.
Originally, Blue Devil wielded a trident of his own design which included, among other things, rocket engines capable of carrying two people at high speeds. He now carries the Trident of Lucifer, which allows him to find demons on Earth and banish them to Hell. During a battle with Eclipso and the Spectre the trident was thrown into the ocean; it was recovered shortly after by Aquaman who returned it to Cassidy, and much later given to Jack of Fire.
Briefly resuming his human body with a more powerful exosuit, Cassidy is given back his trident and demonic powers by Jack of Fire, but as a "demon with a soul".
Dan's apartment in Metropolis connects to California via a closet that opens into Cain's House of Mystery. By crossing through the house, he can travel from the East Coast to the West Coast in moments.
Other versions[edit]
Kingdom Come[edit]
In Kingdom Come, there is a background character named Blue Devil II, an indigo demon who was visually based on the demon Chernabog from the Disney film Fantasia.
Tangent Comics[edit]
In the 1997 Tangent Comics one-shot Sea Devils Blue Devil lends his name to the brand of beer served at The Black Pirate pub in New Atlantis. There is also a patron of the pub seen wearing a Blue Devil T-shirt.