Devil in Disguise: Difference between revisions

 

{{examples}}

* Xellos from ''[[Slayers]]''. Among his [[Exclusively Evil]] kind he's the most powerful one not counting godlike Dark Lords, but prefers to use [[Xanatos Gambit|manipulation]] rather than violence. Two most powerful Dark Lords died from consequences of one of them employing Xellos against the other—the second strongest managed to injure him in one-on-one battle, but he still got away. He's also [[Noble Demon|honorable in his own way]] and [[Affably Evil|can be a good company]] when he wants. In his world few humans have thorough knowledge of demonology, so he walks among them under his own name and title.

** Not to mention that his ''self-proclaimed'' title is "Mysterious Priest". If people assume "Priest" always means "user of [[White Magic]]", it's their fault.

* {{spoiler|Ronnie Sukiart}} from ''[[Baccano!]]'' is the demon who gave the alchemists immortality taken human form.

 

* In the ''[[Superman]]'' comics in the early 90s, it was revealed that publisher Colin Thornton, who had hired Clark Kent away from ''The Daily Planet'' to serve as editor for ''Newstime'', was a mortal disguise used by the demon Lord Satanus.

 

* This trope was invoked in ''[[The Last Temptation of Christ]]'', during Jesus's final temptation while on the cross. A young girl introduces herself as an angel, says that Jesus has done enough, and offers him an escape from the cross. This boy accompanies as a friend him through a happy life with a wife and children. But this friend is actually Lucifer, and these years after escaping the cross were [[All Just a Dream]] to tempt Jesus into abandoning his role as [[Sacrificial Lion]]. As soon as Jesus rebukes this temptation, the illusion ceases and he instantly returns dying on the cross, accepting it as his destiny.

* John Milton in ''[[The Devil's Advocate]]''.

 

* In Susan Cooper's ''[[The Dark Is Rising]]'', {{spoiler|Blodwen Rowlands}} turns out to be The White Rider, one of the most powerful Lords of the Dark (the other being The Black Rider.)

* Crowley from ''[[Good Omens]]''. His immediate superior is Hastur, who works for Beelzebub, who, in turn, reports to [[Satan]] himself.

* Played in a wonderful subversion in Heinlein's ''[[Job: A Comedy of Justice]]'' when the protagonist finds out that the only friend he and his wife made through their ordeal was actually the devil himself. Not only had he shown him genuine mercy and friendship, he had ''turned down'' the bet with God, thinking it sick and cruel.

* In the backstory of ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'', Sauron presented himself to the Elves of Eregion as 'Annatar', the Lord of Gifts, and with their help made the Rings.

 

* In one episode of ''[[Quantum Leap]]'', Sam discovers that the "Al" who has been advising him is a fake, and is actually the Devil. [[Or Was It a Dream?]]

* ''[[Ultraman Nexus]]'': Dark Zagi disguises himself as one of the human characters until his body is fully restored in the last episode.

* In ''[[The Twilight Zone]]'' the Devil and his underlings usually appear in the guise of ordinary people. In "The Howling Man" he appears to be some poor guy who's been imprisoned by an apparently crazy monk, but when someone takes pity and releases him his horns and tail reappear.

 

* Satan from ''[[Old Harry's Game]]'' disguises himself whenever he visits Earth (except when he's going to scare somebody).

 

* Applegate from ''[[Damn Yankees]]''. Referencing, of course, ''[[How Do You Like Them Apples?|that particular apple]]'', the first temptation of man; [[The Vamp|Lola]] is one of his newer ones.

{{quote|'''Joe''': Who are you?

* Basil Bob in ''[[The Tempest Chronicles]]''

 

* In ''[[Hellgate:London]]'', the story's narrator and hero's sidekick Murmur turns out to be {{spoiler|the Duke of Hell with the same name}}. To be fair, the name's a lot more subtle that Lou Cypher, and isn't likely to mean anything to players without a background in demonology mythology/''[[Mega Ten]]'' fan.

* In ''[[Whacked]]'', the host and producer of the titular [[Blood Sport]] game show is Satan. He doesn't look out of place with all of the other toon characters until he reveals himself when his show gets canceled. He invented the game show to attract malevolent souls to claim.

* In ''[[The World Ends With You]]'', The Hidden Secret Reports reveal that {{spoiler|Sanae Hanekoma is a fallen angel that gave the taboo powers to Sho Minamimoto}}. Although technically, the ''TWEWY'' cast is [[Dead All Along|not alive at all]].

 

* In ''[[Scary Go Round]]'', it is revealed that {{spoiler|Ryan's friend Ralph}} is actually the devil rather than the figure that the comic had presented as such.

 

* Mr. Anon from ''[[Open Blue]]'' is a case where the name isn't quite obvious. Indeed, it doesn't even seem to mean anything, and isn't even shorthand for Anonymous. The clue for [[Genre Savvy]] RPers, however, are his catchphrases, tendency to [[Shout-Out|ask people to guess his name]], and favorite activity of [[Deal with the Devil|making deals with people]].

{{quote|'''Mr. Anon:''' Please allow me to introduce myself. I'm a [[Man of Wealth and Taste]].}}

* {{spoiler|The Man}} from ''[[Tales of MU]]''.

 

* In ''[[The Simpsons (animation)|The Simpsons]]'' episode "Lady Bouvier's Lover", Marge's mother goes out dancing with Mr. Burns:

{{quote|'''Mrs. Bouvier:''' I swear, Monty, you're the Devil himself.