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{{trope}}
[[File:
{{quote|''There's a Mr. B. Al. Zebub here to see you, sir. He says [[Corrupt Corporate Executive|he's a big fan of your work.]]''
▲[[File:lucifercard_9781.jpg|link=American Psycho|frame|[[Sarcasm Mode|Well, who would have guessed]].]]
|'''Secretary''', ''Speed Bump''}}
▲{{quote|''There's a Mr. B. Al. Zebub here to see you, sir. He says [[Corrupt Corporate Executive|he's a big fan of your work.]]''|'''Secretary''', ''Speed Bump''}}
This is the flip side of [[God Was My Co-Pilot|finding out you've got a god (or God)]] hanging around incognito. This is [[The Reveal|when you find out]] that that slightly strange fellow who's been loitering nearby is... [[Satan|the other one.]]
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Be very wary of guys named "Lou", "Luke", "Lukas", or "Lucius" particularly if their last name is Siffer or Cypher or [[Names to Run Away From Really Fast|something like that.]] Keep an ear open for Milton (author of [[Paradise Lost]]) and Morgenstern (German for "morning star"). Also take a careful look at the ones named "Nick", "Scratch", "Deuce", "Thorn" or some variant thereon. In certain cases, don't trust [[Hot as Hell|women named "Lucy" or "Georgia."]] Apparently the Devil's not very good at choosing aliases, despite having a huge variety to pick from. Or maybe it just shows his opinion of the hero's intelligence level. Or, it could just be ego.
Common in [[Deal with the Devil]] stories. See also [[Sdrawkcab Name]]. Related to [[Most Definitely Not a Villain]]. If [[God Is Evil]],
If this character isn't at least ''implied'' to be the Devil himself, but just has a demonic sounding name to [[Names to Run Away From Really Fast|emphasize their general evilness]], the example should go on [[Names to Run Away From Really Fast/Demons Or Angels|this page]].
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'''This is a reveal trope, so, spoilers ahoy!'''
{{examples}}
== Anime and Manga ==
* In ''[[Revolutionary Girl Utena]]'', {{spoiler|Akio turns out to be the fallen dark side of the God-Prince Dios, who -- failing to please his people as a benevolent God -- decided to become "Akio, The Morning Star" instead. He casually reveals that nickname to Utena halfway through the series. She still [[Distracted by the Sexy|takes a while to catch on]].}}
* The demon "Sebastian Michaelis" of ''[[Black Butler]]'' is a quite clever example via [[Genius Bonus]]. Sebastian is the stock name for butlers in Japanese tv, but [[wikipedia:Sebastien Michaelis|Sebastien Michaelis]] was an actual person, a French inquisitor and [[Witch Hunter]] who wrote about supposed instances of demonic possession. Thus, having a demon calling himself that is a similar effect to [[The Devil's Advocate|having Satan call himself John Milton]].
** It was revealed that Sebastian's name was given to him by Ciel, who {{spoiler|named him after his dog.}}
* Mao (マオ) from ''[[Endro!]]''. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mazoku A Mao (魔王) is a ruler of Mazoku].
== Comic Books ==
* Lew Siffer in [http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0034/0034_01.asp this] [[Chick Tract]], among others.
* [[Darkseid|Boss Dark Side]] from the [[DC Universe]] series ''[[Seven Soldiers]]''.
* Lucifer in ''[[Lucifer (comics)|Lucifer]]'' makes a slightly better effort than most, going by the name Mr. Lux (Mr. Light, still a reference to Lucifer's Latin meaning of 'light bearer') even though he puts so little effort in otherwise that it seems the only reason no one identifies him is because they're too embarrassed or scared to ask.
** Or too distracted by his resemblance to [[David Bowie]].
* Mr. L.C.F. Sat in the ''[[Valerian]]'' album, ''In Uncertain Times''. He's sort of an antagonist in the story, but by no means a bad guy, and gets himself a happy ending.
* In ''The Gift,'' bullies pick on a freshman named Lucius Sephar, who has been bound into the form of a ninth-grader as God's punishment. Needless to say it doesn't end well for the bullies.
* When the Antichrist from ''[[Ghost Rider]]'' has to keep low profile, he decided to [[Hidden in Plain Sight|hide]] [[Devil in Plain Sight|as]] a [[Teens Are Monsters|teenage]] [[Corrupt Corporate Executive]] under the name Anton Sat'An. Multiple times he has to [[My Name Is Not Durwood|remind people his last name is not]] "[[Satan]]". And when two Ghost Riders, one [[Demon Hunter]], [[Anti-Anti-Christ|Daimon Hellstorm]] and an entire army of Angels gets on his back, [[What an Idiot!|he's
* In ''[[Squee (comics)|Squee]]!'' the protagonist Todd Casil is invited to the home of the anti-christ, Pepito. Despite the fact that Pepito has a distinctly demonic look and powers his mother did not realize her husband Juan Diablo was in fact Satan in disguise.
* In [[The DCU]], Lord Satanus adopted the identity of Colin '''Thorn'''ton as part of a plan to to corrupt [[Superman]].
* Inverted in ''[[Fall of Cthulhu]]'' with Lucifer, whose chosen name is simply a portmanteau of her first two given names (Luci Jenifer).
== Film ==
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* Louise C. Faire (Anjelica Huston's character) from ''[[Seraphim Falls]]''.
* Daryl Van Horne in ''[[The Witches of Eastwick]]''. A horny guy with horns, two for the price of one.
* Nightclub owner George Spiggot in ''[[Bedazzled (1967 film)|Bedazzled]]'', though he's fairly open about being the Prince of Darkness.
** Inverted in [[Bedazzled (2000 film)|the remake of ''Bedazzled'']]. The Devil reveals herself straight off - but try to figure out which character is actually God.
* ''[[Highway to Hell]]''. After the hero's car is damaged while traveling through Hell, he meets a helpful passing mechanic named "Beezle"...short for "Beelzebub".
* Mr. Nick in ''[[The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus]]''.
* The Dark Hermit in ''[[The Greatest Story Ever Told]]''.
* In the
* In ''[[Oh, God!|Oh, God! You Devil]]'', Satan visits Bobby Shelton with the name Harry O. Tophet, a reference to [[wikipedia:Tophet|the Canaanite sacrificial city and a euphemism for Hell.]]
* ''[[Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny]]'': {{spoiler|The open mic host}} turns out to be the devil wanting his tooth back. In a deleted scene, {{spoiler|Lee}} has scary black eyes of doom, implying he's possessed or being used as a disguise.
* Dan Aykroyd once said of the long-in-[[Development Hell]] third ''[[Ghostbusters]]'' movie would involve the Ghostbusters going to Hell and meeting a fellow named "Luke Sifler".
* "Lucy Fir" from ''[[666: The Child]]''.
* {{spoiler|Charlie Meadows}} in ''[[Barton Fink]]'' is heavily implied to be this.
== Literature ==
* Mr. Scratch, in Stephen Vincent Benet's ''[[The Devil and Daniel Webster]]''. He doesn't make much of an effort to conceal his true identity, however.
* Old Scratch, in [[Washington Irving]]'s ''The Devil and Tom Walker''.
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** Andre Linoge (an anagram for ''Legion'') in ''The Storm of the Century''.
** He doesn't have the [[Meaningful Name]], but Randall Flagg from ''[[The Stand]]'' and other King novels fits this trope in every other way.
* In ''[[
** "Neil O'Tip? The guy doesn't look Irish." Lifetime achievement award to ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]
** Neil Arthur Hoteph, the well dressed black gentleman from Egypt, is also a very popular one.
* [[Piers Anthony]]'s ''[[Incarnations of Immortality]]'' series has Natasha, "Ah, Satan" spelled backwards. Of course, it's also a legitimately common name which originated in Russia as a derivative of Natalya, so it doesn't seem like quite a dead giveaway… Just plain weird, anyway, as it's a female name, and the character is male (and despite his identity, not a bad person).
* In the Katherine Kerr novel ''Freezeframes'', the character Nick Harrison is revealed to be the devil. While not as common nowadays as Old Nick, Old Harry is another term for the devil, as used in [[The BBC]] radio comedy ''Old Harry's Game''.
* He's not exactly Satan, but {{spoiler|Low-Key Lyesmith}} from the [[Neil Gaiman]] novel ''[[American Gods]]'' turns out to be {{spoiler|a Norse god with a suspiciously similar sounding name}}. He's bad news, to say the least. ''[[American Gods]]'' also contains a wealthy, "forgettable" god who is essentially the inversion of this trope: even the [[Word of God]] about him is an [[The Un-Reveal|unreveal]].
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* In a bizarre, but fantastic portrayal, ''[[Not Wanted On The Voyage]]'' indicates Satan as a seven-foot tall transsexual named Lucy. She's also on the side of good; Noah is evil. It's that kind of book.
* Derek Leech from [[Kim Newman]]'s stories.
* One interpretation of [[Joyce Carol Oates]]' short story "Where are you Going, Where have you been?" is that the antagonist is a representative of Satan. This is supported by his strange name, "Arnold Friend."
**
** Plus, there is a sort of offhand line, if I recall correctly, ever so slightly suggesting Arnold Friend (A(r)n Old F(r)iend?) just might have hooves instead of feet.
* In ''[[False Memory]]'', a [[Dean Koontz]] novel, the evil psychologist is named Mark Ahriman. Not only is his last name identical to the name of the chief figure of evil in Zoroastrianism, but when he travels, he uses aliases that have two things in common: very ordinary first names, and [[Character Name Alias|last names that are the name of the Devil]]. One example is "Jim Shaitan," Shaitan being one of the names for the Devil in Islam.
* The title character in Dacre's ''Zofloya; or, The Moor''.
* Louis Cypher in William Hjortsberg's ''Falling Angel''. Louis ends up laughing at his own lame pun (to the protagonist's irritation) about solving the "Cypher".
* The butler in the ''[[Nightside]]'' novel ''Hell To Pay'' says his name is
* Forced to disguise himself in ''[[Bill the Galactic Hero]]'', the seven-inch-tall Chinger named Bgr builds a [[Mobile Suit Human]] and calls himself Beager.
* In Alexander Kuprin's story ''The Star of Solomon'' devil uses the name "Methodius Isayevich Toffel" i.e. Meph-Is-Topheles.
* Professor Woland, "expert of the occult", from Mikhail Bulgakov's ''[[The Master and Margarita]]''. Woland is a nickname of the devil in German folk legend and one of the many [[Shout-Out|Shout Outs]] to [[Goethe]]'s ''Faust'', where Mephistopheles lets on that he sometimes uses this alias.
== Live Action TV ==
* Briefly, Ray Wise's character in ''[[Reaper]]'', although he identifies himself pretty quickly.
* In the sitcom ''[[Homeboys in Outer Space]]'' the Devil appears in one episode under the name of "Mr. Tan". The heroes realize the truth when one of them says "say, Tan..."
* The enter of an episode of ''[[The Drew Carey Show]]'' when Kate's boyfriend "Jack" comes to Drew for a job interview and reveals that "the Devil" is not merely his nickname. ("Does he have a van? I bet the Devil has a really cool van.") We learn that he's from Jersey (natch) and his previous job experience includes used car sales, the DMV, the post office... and UNICEF. ("Hey, nobody's all bad!")
* In ''[[The Twilight Zone]]'' episode "Dealer's Choice" a group of friends find themselves playing poker with a stranger named "Nick", who keeps getting three sixes in every hand he is dealt...
**
** Yet another episode features an "A. Daemon".
** And another has a [[Corrupt Corporate Executive]] end up in the office of one Mr. Devlin, who sends the exec back in time to (supposedly) get richer earlier. The exec ends up instead becoming a janitor in the firm where he should have worked while the janitor he'd previously abused got his old job. It's implied that "Mr. Devlin" makes a game out of eternally tricking the two into switching places, ruining their lives 'for the first time' every time.
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* Invoked in the ''[[Burn Notice]]'' episode "Friendly Fire" - Michael presents himself to some credulous Latino gangsters as a mysterious figure dressed in black and red, who seemingly causes explosions with a snap of his fingers and speaks in a very low, calm voice. He calls himself "Luis", of course.
* Jokingly invoked during the riffing in ''[[Mystery Science Theater 3000|MST3k]]'''s presentation of an educational high school short called "[[Cheating]]". As a student is shown getting high marks for a test on which he'd cheated, Tom Servo mimics his teacher saying, "This contract arrived for you from a Mr. Elzebub."
*
== Music ==
* A common theme in many traditional folk ballads.
* There's a German screamo band that goes by the name of Louis Cyphre.
* For U2's ZooTV tour in the 90's, Bono introduced the character of [http://www.canadanne.co.uk/macphisto/ Mr. MacPhisto].
== Radio ==
* Frequently used in ''[[Old Harry's
** In more recent episodes, he goes by the name 'Mr. Harrison' when disguised as a human, presumably a reference to 'Old Harry'.
== Theatre ==
* Nick Shadow from the opera ''The Rake's Progress''.
== Video Games ==
* The [[Final Boss]] battle of ''[[Guitar Hero]] III'' involves a guitar duel between the player and a recently revealed to be demonic manager named... you guessed it... Lou. As a matter of fact, he points out to the band, in some ''extremely'' fine print, a clause stating "Your soul is MINE!" The not-quite-part-of-the-band Guitarist is essentially called down to "Lou's Inferno" (aka Rock 'n' Roll Hell) to save
* One of the rulers in the "Chronicles of the Sword" side game in ''[[Soul Calibur]] III'' is named Demuth Beel Zebus Halteese. Guess which alignment he falls under. Go on, guess.
* Louis Cypher/Cyphre is also the human pseudonym for Lucifer in the ''[[Shin Megami Tensei]]'' series. He shows up in all three ''Shin Megami Tensei'' games as a subtle [[The Chessmaster|Chessmaster]]: twice as a blond haired gentleman, once as both a young child and an elderly guy in a wheelchair - in fact the nurses accompanying both could be "him" too - and recently he's even [[Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey|switched genders]]. Depending on your spot on the [[Order Versus Chaos]] meter, he'll either be your best friend or an inevitable [[The Dragon|Dragon]]. In the third game he's been upgraded to [[Bonus Boss]].
** Specifically, ''[[Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne]]'' (the game in question) had a bonus disc with Dante of ''[[Devil May Cry]]'' and a 6th, "maniac" ending, which is what we got. In said bonus disc, you could {{spoiler|choose a 6th path, choosing instead of joining any of the "good" or "evil" characters to screw them all and to meet with Lucifer, who has ''interesting'' ideas about your place in the universe.}} This lets you get the sixth ending,
*** Although, considering that he has an [[Obviously Evil]] smile on his face when you make the aforementioned decision, one could make a case for the player being [[Unwitting Pawn|suckered in]]. Though, to be absolutely fair, he gives you a lot of time ''and'' a certain amount of reasons as to why you ''shouldn't'' agree to his plan.
*** It should be known that in the Freedom ending, he tells you to keep your power as the true enemy is still out there. Most likely because both him and Kagutsuchi {{spoiler|compared the Protagonist to Lucifer in the
** Lucifer also appears in [[Raidou Kuzunoha VS King Abaddon]] as
** And as a bonus boss in ''[[Devil Survivor]]'' as well.
*** Though it isn't Lucifer, ''[[Devil Survivor]]'' also has the Gigolo. It's less obvious, but it's {{spoiler|Loki}}. He serves the same purpose though... and only reveals himself in two endings out of six. {{spoiler|Loki}} serves a slightly different purpose in Devil Survivor than Lucifer did in other SMT games - he's solely there to screw over {{spoiler|Beldr}}. Again. Once you do it for him, that's when he takes a liking to you and starts feeding you info, mostly just [[It Amused Me|to see what's going to happen next]].
** And now he appears in ''[[Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey]]'' as well! But this time, he's {{spoiler|an [[Attractive Bent Gender]] who goes by "Louisa Ferre"!}}
* The flash game ''Motherload'', in which you play as a mining company whose benefactor is the mysterious "Mr. Natas". A real head-scratcher, that one. "Natas" is also a valid Russian name.
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** He's not all bad, though. While his openly Daedric form ''looks'' like a stereotypical devil, he is (fittingly for his Sphere) more interested in having ''fun'' than in claiming your soul.
* In ''[[Alan Wake]]'' there is a character called Barbara Jager, who probably has no direct connection to [[Baba Yaga]].
* Monster Lords in ''[[Monster Girl Quest Paradox]]'' all have the first name Alice. 500 years before the game's present, the Monster Lord was the tyrannical Alice VIII. She disguises herself as a perfectly ordinary human mage... named Alicetroemeria.
== Web Comics ==
* [[Manipulative Bastard|Doc Scratch]] of ''[[Homestuck]]'', according to [[Word of God]] (A reference to "Old Scratch").
== Web Original ==
* There's a piece of literary porn on the 'net about a lawyer's wife whose husband's boss is nicknamed Nate, for ''[[Sdrawkcab Name|Natas]]'', but the real culprit here is his associate named ''Luc'', who seduces her. So she has his full-term kid [[Express Delivery|in seven months]].
* Dr. Alto Clef from the ''[[SCP Foundation]]'' [[Multiple Choice Past|has made many implications about his history]], including being [[Satan]]. {{spoiler|It's implied he reveals this just to screw with Kondraki's mind; he gets a broken neck for his trouble, though after he gets better and is brought in to deal with a troublesome [[Reality Warper]], he proceeds to introduce himself with the familiar Rolling Stones reference (which flies over the punk's head)...}}
== Western Animation ==
* In ''[[The Devil and Daniel Mouse]]'', Jan Mouse signs a recording contract with a producer named B. L. Zeebub. Bad move.
* ''[[Star Trek: The Animated Series]]'' episode "The Magicks of Megas-Tu". An alien satyr named Lucien is revealed to be the Lucifer of Earth mythology.
* ''[[The Real Ghostbusters]]'' episode "The Devil to Pay". The Ghostbusters appear on a game show called "Race the Devil", hosted by one "Dib Devlin". The question that lands them a spot on the quiz is "give me two additional names for the Devil"... For some reason, Egon gets a bit suspicious.
** The appearance of Satan himself on a kid's show is unconvincingly averted by this bit of writer wit:
{{quote|'''Winston''': [[Madness Mantra|I have sold my soul to the Devil. I have sold my soul to the Devil.]]
'''Ray''': Actually, Winston, Dib is a minor demon, not the Devil per se.
'''Winston''': I have sold my soul to a minor demon. I have sold my soul to a minor demon. }}
*** Not exactly an improvement, that.
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* In the British/Canadian cartoon ''[[The Baskervilles]]'' the owner of Underworld: The Theme Park is Mr. Boss, whose real name is Nicolas Lucifer III.
* Big D in the ''[[Class of 3000]]'' episode "The Devil and Lil' D".
== Real Life ==
* Elizabethan England understood Niccolo Machiavelli to be a [[Real Life]] example of this in its perception of him as an evil schemer [[Murder Simulators|responsible for anti-Protestant violence]]. In popular imagination and literature, his first name abbreviated to Nick, and an [[Affably Evil]] character emerged on stage known as a Machiavel which was (mis)pronounced "make-evil''.
* Averted by the National Academy for Television Arts and Sciences, sponsor of the Daytime Emmys, the News and Documentary Emmys, and other awards (but not the Primetime Emmys). Although the organization refers to itself as [https://web.archive.org/web/20130928134333/http://www.emmyonline.tv/academy.html NATAS], it has no known connection to the devil, despite the way its acronym would be spelled backwards.
{{reflist}}
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[[Category:Louis Cypher]]
[[Category:Demonic Characters]]
[[Category:Identity Index]]
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