Inspired by the kerfuffle over the proposal to add a Temple of Satan statue to the Oklahoma State House, I was wondering who were dopers’ various favorite literary/fictional* Satans?
Mine is from Mike Carey’s Lucifer, who has abandoned Hell and evil prior to the start of the comic, and while he definitely has selfish interests and powers, isn’t interested in ruling in hell, serving in heaven, raising an army to assault heaven, or in buying/ tricking people out of souls.
I think he even has some growth through the course of the series as we follow him through a complex set of motives and obligations.
Who’s yours?
*yeah, all of 'em are fictional, but bear with me…
I’m torn between John Glover from Brimstone and Ray Wise from Reaper. They both seemed to have such fun with the job. None of this whiney emo Satan. Ray Wise especially, He’d casually push a shopping cart across a parking lot without looking and have such a look of glee on his face at the sounds of squealing brakes and crunching metal. It’s the little things.
Peter Cook from the original Bedazzled. You can’t beat him for evil, taking the “Wet Paint” sign off a bench, or ripping out the last pages of Agatha Christie novels.
“It’s a terrible bunch of Sins I have working for me – Must be the wages.”
Ray Wise from *Reaper *was my first thought, as well.
Do we count Darkness from *Legend *as a depiction of Satan? 'Cause Tim Curry was delicious in that role.
Clearly I prefer my Satans hammy.
If pressed to pick a scary Satan, I’d have to go with the Satan in The Passion of the Christ. I hated the whole misogynistic feel of casting a woman (although if it hadn’t been directed by Gibson, that probably wouldn’t have bothered me as much; but when a clear misogynist casts a woman as Satan, it’s a bit roll-eyesey) but what she did with it was pretty phenomenal. Google tells me it was Rosalinda Celentano, who I don’t believe I know from anything else.
Hell, I’m delighted that there are two other people in the world who remember the original Bedazzled! I mean, it’s closing in on 50 years ago. It’s also the only way I can remember what the 7 deadly sins are*. Did the remake have personified sins? I don’t remember.
I also like the Satan as portrayed on South Park. No nonsense, that guy.
Roddy
*Here’s to Sloth, Envy, Gluttony, Anger, Pride, Greed and my favorite Lust (Lillian Lust, the Babe with the Bust).
Branching out a bit, I really like Koschei the Deathless, the Enemy of all the Gods of Men, as portrayed in Jurgen by James Branch Cabell.
Of course, by speaking a good word for Evil, I run the risk that devils will carry off my wife, but then again, why should I care what happens to a devil?
Another vote for Peter Cook in the original Bedazzled.
How about John Scratch in Up Jumps the Devil, by Michael Poore. If you are a Christopher Moore fan,you’ll enjoy this.
Al Pacino in Devil’s Advocate. That hammy excess struck exactly the right note.
It seems to me that John Milton had a pretty good Satan in Paradise Lost.
Tolkien’s Sauron was a pretty good Satanic character, too.
As shown in some of the posts above, Satan must reveal himself in the guise of a RADA British actor: Claude Rains in Angel on My Shoulder, Donald Pleasence in The Greatest Story Ever Told (where Claude Rains, as Herod Agrippa still gets in his licks by murdering the firstborn)
Americans Robert De Niro Angelheart, Al Pacino Devil’s Advocate, Walter Huston The Devil and Daniel Webster, etc. play nasty American pricks: adequate as imps. But for the Prince of the Power of the Air we want someone posh. We want a Satan from among our betters.
Non-Brit: my favorite Satan is Max Von Sydow in Stravinsky’s Soldier’s Tale.
Lovely! Especially right at the end where he turns and gives the audience a look!
In Marvel Comics, “Mephisto” is their stand-in for “The Devil,” and I’ve always admired this specific personification. Possibly his best appearance is in the “Doctor Strange/Doctor Doom” graphic novel.
