Demogoblin

Background

"Origin"

After losing fights with Spider-Man and the second Green Goblin (Harry Osborn), the Hobgoblin (Jason Macendale) took advantage of the Inferno crisis by following several demons back to their lair and confronting their demonic lord, N'Astirh. Macendale wanted enough power to defeat his enemies, and offered his soul to N'Astirh in exchange for such power. When N'Astirh stopped laughing, the demon lord decided that Macendale's effrontery was worth something even if his soul wasn't, and had him possessed by a particularly unstable demon. This gave Macendale the physical strength he craved, coupled with superhuman speed and endurance. (The Spectacular Spider-Man #147)

Macendale and the demon shared his body for some time, but the creature began too take dominance over him. Macendale's focus on wealth and power was being replaced by the creature's desire to make the world a more holy, pure place. The demon was a religious fanatic who had no interest in personal wealth or position.

While in prison, Macendale was suffering wracking pain from the transformations into the demonic Hobgoblin, which were happening with greater frequency. He was soon broken out of jail by a group of mercenaries, hired by Richard Fisk, who wanted him to kill Spider-Man and Peter Parker. The transformations were continuing unpredictably after he found the web head, and the demon tore free of Macendale. He intended to kill his former host but was stopped by Spider-Man, who dubbed him "Demogoblin." Spidey quipped "That's an appropriate name for someone so ugly." He stopped laughing after realizing that punching Demogoblin caused him to burn his hand. The demon was weak from the separation and fled, claiming that the Lord must have wanted him to spare Spider-Man and Macendale. (Web of Spider-Man #86)

"Infinity War"

After the separation, Jason was having nightmares about the demon, causing him to decide to go and kill it. Demogoblin was waiting for him and their battle eventually drew the attention of Spider-Man. As Hobgoblin and Demogoblin battled it out, Doppelganger arrived to kill Spider-Man. Hobby and Spidey worked together to beat their counterparts, and Hobgoblin tried to shoot Spidey while he was preoccupied with Doppelganger. The gunshot missed Spider-Man and hit Doppelganger, killing the creature. The gun was out of ammo and Hobgoblin fled. Spider-Man left and Demogoblin resurrected Doppelganger, thinking the creature might be useful. (Spider-Man #24)

"Spirits of Venom"

After Spidey captures Hobgoblin, they are attacked by Demogoblin and Doppelganger, who chase them into the sewers. There they encounter Venom, Ghost Rider and John Blaze, who are hunting creatures called Deathspawn. Everyone fights everyone. (Web of Spider-Man #95)

Spidey, Demogoblin and Doppelganger get beaten and carried away by the Deathspawn and Venom is obsessed with killing Spider-Man. (Ghost Rider/Blaze #5)

Demogoblin and Hobgoblin fight. Doppelganger and Venom fight. Spider-Man tries to protect a priest that came with them from a church from the Deathspawn. The Deaathspawn drag Demo and Doppel under the sewage and Ghost Rider saved Spidey from Venom. (Web of Spider-Man #96)

Spidey hands over Hobgoblin to the police and then goes back to the sewers to help Ghost Rider and John Blaze. They were possessed by the Deathspawn and Spidey saves them, then they save Spider-Man from Venom, who goes back to the Vault. (Ghost Rider/Blaze #6)

"Maximum Carnage"

While searching for Carnage, Shriek and Doppelganger, Spidey happened across Demogoblin, who was likely searching for sinners to punish. Hoping that the creature could lead him to Doppelganger and thus the rest of the escaped psychopaths, Spidey followed him. This plan backfired as Demo caught sight of him in a highrise window reflection. Demo quickly overpowered Spider-Man with a bomb that contained a "living darkness" that enveloped the hero and removed all of his hope. Spidey was about to be killed by the creature when he was saved by a priest. Using the priests destraction, Spidey fought off the hopelessness and knocked Demogoblin away. Demogoblin then fled. (Amazing Spider-Man #378)

Demogoblin, following a psychic link with Doppelganger, found Carnage and the others at a water front warehouse. He intended to kill them all until he was persuaded to join the crew in their mission of mass slaughter. Cloak soon found them and intended to make them pay for killing his partner, Dagger. The fight drew the attention of Spider-Man, Venom and the Black Cat. The killers quickly fled the scene, after Demo torched the roof and Shriek collapsed it onto the heroes. (Spider-Man #35)

As they fled, Demogoblin demanded that they change their plan into something with a point, instead of random murder. This set off Carnage, who told him that the whole point of the mass murders was to show that life has no point. Demogoblin argued that life is all about pattern and planning, according to God. Carnage nearly killed him for disagreeing until he was stopped by Shriek. They agreed to cooperate for the time being and resumed the assault on civilians. (Spectacular Spider-Man #201)

The group moved on to a dance club called The Deep, where Mary Jane happened to be partying. Spider-Man and the others followed them there, with the addition of Michael Morbius. After the tide of the battle turned against the villains, Demogoblin pumpkin bombed the club and they escaped. (Web of Spider-Man #102)

Carnage and Co. stopped off at the Metropolitan Museum to destroy the artifacts, which annoyed Demogoblin. The destruction of objects meant nothing to him, as he was eager to punish sinners. It was there that the killers were joined by Carrion, aka Malcolm McBride. They moved outside and killed civilians in Manhattan, only to be attacked by the cyborg called Dethlok. They stopped him and strung him up in the street. (Amazing Spider-Man #379)

From Manhattan they moved to Brooklyn, and the orphanage that Carnage was raised in, St. Estes Home for Boys. He listened as Carnage told them about his brutal treatment at the orphanage but they were interrupted by the pursuing heroes, now joined by Firestar. Demogoblin and Morbius fought each other and then he turned his attention to Spider-Man but accidentally collided with Doppelganger. His pumpkin bombs helped to destroy the dilapidated building and the fight moved out to a nearby park. He was knocked off of his glider by Morbius and nearly consumed by Cloak's dark dimension. (Spider-Man #36)

Carnage and the others soon defeated Venom and carried him away to southern Manhattan, where the murders in the streets continued. As Morbius, Black Cat and Cloak followed them, Demogoblin, Carrion and Doppelganger ambushed them. (Carnage and Shriek had taken Venom to the Statue of Liberty to be tortured.) Morbius was soon injured and taken away by Cloak, leaving Black Cat alone with Demogoblin, Carrion and Doppelganger. She was saved by the timely intervention of Nightwatch. Demo and the others were soon overwhelmed and fled after the addition of Nightwatch. (Web of Spider-Man #103)

They were followed to their hideout at the Statue of Liberty by Morbius and Nightwatch, where Carnage was tormenting Venom. Morbius was weakened by the approaching dawn, forcing Nightwatch to retreat with him. Carnage mocked Demogoblin and Doppelganger for their failure in killing them and Demo sarcastically replied that Carnage could have at least helped them. Carnage ordered them to go find Shriek, calling them "Mama's boys." They found their "mother" webbed to a light pole and freed her, only to be attacked by Iron Fist, Captain America, Spider-Man and Dethlok. Demogoblin focused on Spider-Man until a crowd of New Yorkers arrived to tell the killers that they wouldn't take part in the riots. Even Demo was briefly effected by Shriek's psychic manipulation of the crowd to force them to attack the vigilantes. (Amazing Spider-Man #380)

Carnage soon returned to his "family" and wasn't happy to hear that Shriek intended to go killing without him. Ge began to beat her and Doppelganger jumped to his "mother's" defense. Carnage turned his rage on the creature and killed it. Demogoblin replied, "I remained with you this long because I thought it would help my holy cause--but I see that--in the company of such as you--the cause would surely be lost! And so I bid you all a very heartfelt good...". He was interrupted by Spider-Man and the others...and the very much alive Dagger. (Spider-Man #37)

Spider-Man soon faced the "family" alone, as the other heroes went for the device that they hoped would end the bloodshed, which produced an energy that showed the killers their inner selves. Demogoblin, thinking himself an agent of God, tried to flee from the revelation that he himself was the sinner. His escape was prevented by Spider-Man after he collapsed from exhaustion and was webbed up. (Spectacular Spider-Man #203)

"Moon Knight's Inferno"

As the vigilante known as Moon Knight broke into Brinkstone Prison to free John DeZoan, he ran across Demogoblin, who as also imprisoned there. Moon Knight had encountered the previously possessed Hobgoblin and Demogoblin remembered him. He tried to make Moon Knight his new host with a supernatural virus, which caused the hero to hallucinate and gave Demogoblin the advantage. (Marc Spector: Moon Knight #45)

Moon Knight fought through the effects of the "demo-virus" and defeated the creature. He managed to help end the prison riot caused by John DeZoan's escape and was soon seeking the help of Reed Richards and Doctor Strange to help him with the lingering virus. Richards explained to him that the virus had mutated his cells permanently and he needed to keep his suit on for 48 hours to hold himself together. (Marc Spector: Moon Knight #46)

"Midnight Massacre"

Demogoblin met his end at the hands of Switchblade, the name briefly taken by Blade, the vampire hunter. Blade had gotten his hands on a magical book that gave him the power to destroy all supernatural creatures, good and bad. Demogoblin wanted to join him, but was killed by the vampire hunter instead. However, the spell was eating at Blade from the inside and Ghost Rider removed his new powers. This also brought the dead creatures back to life. (Ghost Rider vol. 3 #40)

"The Enemy Within"

Demogoblin was soon in San Francisco, continuing his crusade against sinners. Venom and Morbius were also there, as were strange small goblin creatures. Venom blamed Morbius for the goblins attacks on the citizens of San Fran but eventually talked it out and realized something else was at fault. They traveled to Alcatraz and found a book that revealed that the creatures had been summoned by a former inmate. They were then attacked by Demogoblin, who had been called by the smaller goblins as a protector.

Venom and Morbius fled back to the city and confronted the former inmate, Charlie Palene. He was controlling the goblins with a necklace, but Demogoblin was also able to control them, and sent them after Charlie. He then took the necklace, grew to a huge size and ordered the goblins to commit suicde by jumping into San Fransisco Bay. He then tossed the necklace into the bay after them, knowing that the water would destroy it. Killing Charlie Palene and the goblins had been his intent the whole time as the use of magic is a sin. (Venom: The Enemy Within #1-#3)

"Beware the Rage of a Desperate Man"

Demogoblin was soon reflecting on his prior few months. He had allowed himself to be sidetracked by the riot he committed with Carnage and his gang, instead of focusing on his mission of killing sinners. He sent himself to seek out Jason Macendale to end their feud once and for all. As he left the church steeple that he had been crouching over, he drew the attention of Spider-Man. He followed his psychic link to Macendale, and found him at a penthouse apartment of Kraven the Hunter. Spider-Man intervened and soon defeated Demogoblin, but Macendale escaped on his glider. As Spidey took Demogoblin away, the demon told him that he wanted the feud with his former host to end...with forgiveness. (Spider-Man #46)

Demogoblin was soon incarcerated at Ryker's Island, again resenting his place among sinners and having strayed from his path. However, he had been gathering his strength and soon broke free from his shackles. He immediately began murdering the inmates, claiming to be helping them reach salvation. Spider-Man learned about his escape and rampage via the news and soon arrived to stop him. Spidey was soon taken by surprise by a criminal that worked with Richard Fisk. Demogoblin grabbed the mob goon by the throat and tried to explain to Spider-Man that the only way to get rid of such a person is to kill them. Demo reminded Spider-Man that if the thug lived, he would make good on his vow to kill him. While he agreed with Demogoblin's logic, Spidey would not allow himself to become a killer. Despite the beating that he received, Demogoblin managed to escape the prison. (Spider-Man #47)

Hobgoblin was nowhere to be found, so Demogoblin resumed killing people that he considered worthy of death, including some teenagers involved in a fist fight at a movie theater. He then killed two rival drug dealers that Spider-Man had just warned to keep a low profile. Demogoblin soon found Hobgoblin via their psychic connection and Demo sadly told him it was time to die. Killing his former host wasn't nearly as easy as he expected, as Macendale had traveled to Russia to meet with Kraven the Hunter's son, Vladimir Kravinoff. In Russia, Macendale had taken the same strength enhancing formula that gave the original Kraven his strength.

The fight between them moved into a church, where a mother was injured by falling debris. Her young daughter stayed by her side, fearing that she was dying. Spider-Man saw the woman and girl, then took her anger out on Demogoblin, hitting him with a slab of concrete. Hobgoblin surprised the webhead with his new found strength, then tossed him aside to finish off the demon. The church threatened to collapse around them and Demogoblin begged Hobgoblin to stop, so that the girl might escape. (He cared because she was young and still an innocent.) Demo tried to stablize a damaged church pillar but was continually beaten by Hobgoblin. Spider-Man grabbed the girl and unconscious mother,helping them escape. The church pillar then collapsed, killing the demon. Hobgoblin escaped while Spider-Man was distracted. (Spider-Man #48)

Image Gallery

Appearances

Cover Date	Appearance Information
Mar 1992	App: Web of Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #86
	First appearance as a separate entity.
Feb 1989	App: Spectacular Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #147
	First possesses Macendale
Mar 1992	App: Web of Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #86
	Tears free of Macendale and begins his quest for punishing sinners.
Jul 1992	App: Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #24
	Teams up with Doppleganger during the Infinity War.
May 1993	App: Spider-Man Unlimited #1 (Story 1)
	Teams up with Carnage to ravage New York City.
May 1994	App: Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #46
	Final series of battles with Hobgoblin, which ends in his death
Jun 1994	App: Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #47
Jul 1994	App: Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #48

Thanks To

 The assistance of the Marvel Chronology Project is gratefully acknowledged.

 Some of the above information is extracted from the various versions of the Official Handbook to the Marvel Universe and the more recent Marvel Encyclopaedias.