Mammon (comics)
Encyclopedia
Mammon is a fictional character from the comic book Spawn
. He is Spawn's former ally and is currently the primary antagonist, having replaced Violator
in that role.
is often seen making attractive deals with humans for their souls and is thought to be quite persuasive. A master schemer, he is the puppet-master behind most of the machinations facing Al Simmons
, and is seeking the Throne of Creation so that he might remake the universe
to his own whim.
Mammon's past is very much shrouded in mystery. It has been revealed that he was one of The Forgotten, a group of muse
s that stayed loyal to God but refused to fight against their fellow archangel
s in the War in Heaven. For this he and his kind were banished from Heaven
, but unlike the rest of The Forgotten, Mammon was not bound to The Tiend and instead appears to have been cast into Hell
. He has transformed into a demonic entity on one occasion, on which he was assaulted by Spawn and scarred with three cuts from the Hellspawn's claws.
He is a high ranking Lord of Hell. It is unknown which sphere he controls, if he controls one at all, but he is obviously one of the most powerful beings in Hell. It has been stated that, while Malebolgia was the King of Hell and ruler of the 8th Sphere, he was in comparison to Mammon. It has also been said that he doesn't have the power to grant certain things; the only one who can is Satan
. This is supported by Thamuz, who refers to Mammon as Lord, but to Satan as Master.
Thus far, Mammon has made Spawn's life a truly living Hell. He is probably the brains behind the scheme to unleash Urizen
, which leads to Spawn destroying Malebolgia. Mammon was alive during the time Urizen was first contained, while Malebolgia was only created slightly 70,000 years prior to his second coming
. Additionally, he orchestrates the plot to give Cog the means and opportunity to betray Spawn and seize control of the 8th Sphere of Hell. He is the stranger who tells Eddie Frank of redemption, which leads to Eddie becoming The Redeemer
and beating Spawn badly enough that he could be dragged into Hell. He reveals the truth about Eddie's father to him to destroy his faith, weaken his powers and halt his attack while his minions capture Spawn. He sends Violator
to Earth to take over Jason Wynn
's body in order to break Spawn physically and mentally. Mammon personally takes the soul of Nyx
's friend Thea to use as leverage later on to make Nyx betray Spawn by stealing his costume and going into Hell. While he is incapacitated she dons the K7-Leetha. This is part of a larger plan to gain Nyx's powers. He approaches her prior to her betrayal and tries to bargain with her. He also tells her about Thea's soul being in Hell.
Nyx tries to outsmart Mammon by making a deal with another minor Lord of Hell known as N'Zzezheaal, who turns out to be Mammon in disguise. In the end, he gets her powers and uses them to destroy Spawn's memories of Wanda and then send him on his way to break the Tiend and release The Forgotten so that they might begin the assault on Heaven.
During the reappearance of Satan in Hell during the Armageddon
arc, Mammon falls out of power. Even his former servant, Thamuz, is ready to turn on him and destroy him at Satan's command. However, Mammon saves himself from Thamuz by offering Satan a way to increase the ranks of Hell's army - namely, triggering the San Andreas Fault
.
It has been stated that there is only one way to destroy Mammon and that Spawn does not possess that power. What it is exactly has not yet been revealed, but it has been hinted that his pride will be his undoing.
Mammon has recently returned along with a robed companion who tells him that Spawn defeated Clown and closed the Hell portal — just as Mammon had wanted him to. Mammon, in turn, calls Spawn "my good and faithful servant."
Mammon also apparently orchestrates the events that lead to Spawn and Nyx in issue 169, returning Nyx's powers in that very same issue.
In the arc "A Tale of Three Brothers" and the arc "Gunslinger Spawn", it is revealed that Mammon has been manipulating Spawn since before he was born and has been controlling his family for generations in preparation for his birth. Mammon, in the guise of Malefick, had seduced Simmons' mother to serve him in his schemes; she only married her husband because Mammon told her to, and she in turn allowed Mammon to influence her children from a very young age (an action that would lead to Al Simmons becoming a Hellspawn later on). In the Gunslinger arc, it is revealed that Mammon had known many years beforehand that a descendant of Henry Simmons (Al Simmons' great-grandfather) would become a Hellspawn, also predicting that this Hellspawn would destroy and recreate the world, a prediction that was fulfilled when Al Simmons — Spawn — destroys and then recreates the world in the Armageddon arc.
In issue 182, more of Mammon's past is revealed. It is revealed that upon his fall from Heaven into Hell after the failed uprising against God
, he offered his services to Malebolgia. He then traveled the earth for centuries learning alchemy
, divination
, and sorcery
, eventually coming to the conclusion that the human race could be the greatest of all creation. He then began collecting warriors for Hell's legions, believing that one day there would be a warrior that would lead mankind against both God and Satan during Armageddon. Some time after meeting Al Simmons' great-grandfather, Henry Simmons, Mammon decides to forgo chance, and breed such a Hellspawn. Though Al Simmons played a crucial part in both the defeat of Malebogia and the exile of God and Satan (events which were all planned by Mammon), Mammon reveals that Al Simmons is in fact not the final product of a 'perfect' Hellspawn that Mammon was seeking. Instead, he chooses Morana, Wanda Blake and Al Simmons' child, whom Mammon took from her parents at the hospital after her mother miscarried. Morana is the product of the merging of the Simmons and Blake bloodlines; two bloodlines which have great potential for making Hellspawn, brought forth through centuries of Mammon's manipulation. Issue 182 also poses the possibility that Al Simmons' actions that caused the miscarrige may have been induced by Mammon's influence throughout Al Simmons' childhood.
In issue 182, it is also revealed that Mammon had influenced Al Simmon's K7-Leetha symbiote costume, prior to its bonding with Al Simmons, promising it great power in exchange for its services and convincing Malebogia that it was worthy to become Hellspawn. It is then also revealed that Mammon plans to transfer the symbiote to Morana, believing that Al Simmons was "finished" after Armageddon and that Morana was the one who will sit by his side and rule the world.
Spawn (comics)
Spawn is a fictional comic book superhero who appears in a monthly comic book of the same name published by Image Comics. Created by writer/artist Todd McFarlane, Spawn first appeared in Spawn #1...
. He is Spawn's former ally and is currently the primary antagonist, having replaced Violator
Violator (comics)
Violator is a fictional character that appears in the Spawn comic books published by Image Comics. The character first appeared in Spawn #2 and was created by writer-artist Todd McFarlane. He is the main antagonist of the comic issues 1-100 and later became a secondary antagonist in the recent...
in that role.
Background
Mammon is depicted as a handsome gentleman, suave and sophisticated. This demonDemon
call - 1347 531 7769 for more infoIn Ancient Near Eastern religions as well as in the Abrahamic traditions, including ancient and medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered an "unclean spirit" which may cause demonic possession, to be addressed with an act of exorcism...
is often seen making attractive deals with humans for their souls and is thought to be quite persuasive. A master schemer, he is the puppet-master behind most of the machinations facing Al Simmons
Spawn (comics)
Spawn is a fictional comic book superhero who appears in a monthly comic book of the same name published by Image Comics. Created by writer/artist Todd McFarlane, Spawn first appeared in Spawn #1...
, and is seeking the Throne of Creation so that he might remake the universe
Universe
The Universe is commonly defined as the totality of everything that exists, including all matter and energy, the planets, stars, galaxies, and the contents of intergalactic space. Definitions and usage vary and similar terms include the cosmos, the world and nature...
to his own whim.
Mammon's past is very much shrouded in mystery. It has been revealed that he was one of The Forgotten, a group of muse
Muse
The Muses in Greek mythology, poetry, and literature, are the goddesses who inspire the creation of literature and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge, related orally for centuries in the ancient culture, that was contained in poetic lyrics and myths...
s that stayed loyal to God but refused to fight against their fellow archangel
Archangel
An archangel is an angel of high rank. Archangels are found in a number of religious traditions, including Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Michael and Gabriel are recognized as archangels in Judaism and by most Christians. Michael is the only archangel specifically named in the Protestant Bible...
s in the War in Heaven. For this he and his kind were banished from Heaven
Heaven
Heaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
, but unlike the rest of The Forgotten, Mammon was not bound to The Tiend and instead appears to have been cast into Hell
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
. He has transformed into a demonic entity on one occasion, on which he was assaulted by Spawn and scarred with three cuts from the Hellspawn's claws.
He is a high ranking Lord of Hell. It is unknown which sphere he controls, if he controls one at all, but he is obviously one of the most powerful beings in Hell. It has been stated that, while Malebolgia was the King of Hell and ruler of the 8th Sphere, he was in comparison to Mammon. It has also been said that he doesn't have the power to grant certain things; the only one who can is Satan
Satan
Satan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible...
. This is supported by Thamuz, who refers to Mammon as Lord, but to Satan as Master.
Thus far, Mammon has made Spawn's life a truly living Hell. He is probably the brains behind the scheme to unleash Urizen
Urizen
In the complex mythology of William Blake, Urizen is the embodiment of conventional reason and law. He is usually depicted as a bearded old man; he sometimes bears architect's tools, to create and constrain the universe; or nets, with which he ensnares people in webs of law and conventional culture...
, which leads to Spawn destroying Malebolgia. Mammon was alive during the time Urizen was first contained, while Malebolgia was only created slightly 70,000 years prior to his second coming
Second Coming
In Christian doctrine, the Second Coming of Christ, the Second Advent, or the Parousia, is the anticipated return of Jesus Christ from Heaven, where he sits at the Right Hand of God, to Earth. This prophecy is found in the canonical gospels and in most Christian and Islamic eschatologies...
. Additionally, he orchestrates the plot to give Cog the means and opportunity to betray Spawn and seize control of the 8th Sphere of Hell. He is the stranger who tells Eddie Frank of redemption, which leads to Eddie becoming The Redeemer
The Redeemer (comics)
The Redeemer, originally introduced as Anti-Spawn, is a fictional character in Todd McFarlane's comic book series Spawn. The Redeemer is Heaven's answer to the Hellspawn. From time to time, the Ethereal Masters seek the assistance of the Star Hive: a heavenly, magical space station to create...
and beating Spawn badly enough that he could be dragged into Hell. He reveals the truth about Eddie's father to him to destroy his faith, weaken his powers and halt his attack while his minions capture Spawn. He sends Violator
Violator (comics)
Violator is a fictional character that appears in the Spawn comic books published by Image Comics. The character first appeared in Spawn #2 and was created by writer-artist Todd McFarlane. He is the main antagonist of the comic issues 1-100 and later became a secondary antagonist in the recent...
to Earth to take over Jason Wynn
Jason Wynn
Jason Wynn is a fictional character in the Todd McFarlane comic book series Spawn. Wynn is the director of the United States Security Group, an umbrella agency encompassing the Central Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency, and National Security Council...
's body in order to break Spawn physically and mentally. Mammon personally takes the soul of Nyx
Nyx (Spawn)
Nyx is a fictional comic book character created by Todd McFarlane. She appears in the Spawn comic book series as an ally of Al Simmons . She first appears in Curse of the Spawn #20...
's friend Thea to use as leverage later on to make Nyx betray Spawn by stealing his costume and going into Hell. While he is incapacitated she dons the K7-Leetha. This is part of a larger plan to gain Nyx's powers. He approaches her prior to her betrayal and tries to bargain with her. He also tells her about Thea's soul being in Hell.
Nyx tries to outsmart Mammon by making a deal with another minor Lord of Hell known as N'Zzezheaal, who turns out to be Mammon in disguise. In the end, he gets her powers and uses them to destroy Spawn's memories of Wanda and then send him on his way to break the Tiend and release The Forgotten so that they might begin the assault on Heaven.
During the reappearance of Satan in Hell during the Armageddon
Armageddon
Armageddon is, according to the Bible, the site of a battle during the end times, variously interpreted as either a literal or symbolic location...
arc, Mammon falls out of power. Even his former servant, Thamuz, is ready to turn on him and destroy him at Satan's command. However, Mammon saves himself from Thamuz by offering Satan a way to increase the ranks of Hell's army - namely, triggering the San Andreas Fault
San Andreas Fault
The San Andreas Fault is a continental strike-slip fault that runs a length of roughly through California in the United States. The fault's motion is right-lateral strike-slip...
.
It has been stated that there is only one way to destroy Mammon and that Spawn does not possess that power. What it is exactly has not yet been revealed, but it has been hinted that his pride will be his undoing.
Mammon has recently returned along with a robed companion who tells him that Spawn defeated Clown and closed the Hell portal — just as Mammon had wanted him to. Mammon, in turn, calls Spawn "my good and faithful servant."
Mammon also apparently orchestrates the events that lead to Spawn and Nyx in issue 169, returning Nyx's powers in that very same issue.
In the arc "A Tale of Three Brothers" and the arc "Gunslinger Spawn", it is revealed that Mammon has been manipulating Spawn since before he was born and has been controlling his family for generations in preparation for his birth. Mammon, in the guise of Malefick, had seduced Simmons' mother to serve him in his schemes; she only married her husband because Mammon told her to, and she in turn allowed Mammon to influence her children from a very young age (an action that would lead to Al Simmons becoming a Hellspawn later on). In the Gunslinger arc, it is revealed that Mammon had known many years beforehand that a descendant of Henry Simmons (Al Simmons' great-grandfather) would become a Hellspawn, also predicting that this Hellspawn would destroy and recreate the world, a prediction that was fulfilled when Al Simmons — Spawn — destroys and then recreates the world in the Armageddon arc.
In issue 182, more of Mammon's past is revealed. It is revealed that upon his fall from Heaven into Hell after the failed uprising against God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
, he offered his services to Malebolgia. He then traveled the earth for centuries learning alchemy
Alchemy
Alchemy is an influential philosophical tradition whose early practitioners’ claims to profound powers were known from antiquity. The defining objectives of alchemy are varied; these include the creation of the fabled philosopher's stone possessing powers including the capability of turning base...
, divination
Divination
Divination is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic standardized process or ritual...
, and sorcery
Sorcery
Sorcery may refer to:* Magic * Maleficium * Witchcraft* Sorcery , a video game for the PlayStation 3 utilizing the PlayStation Move* Sorcery , 1995* Sorcery , 1974...
, eventually coming to the conclusion that the human race could be the greatest of all creation. He then began collecting warriors for Hell's legions, believing that one day there would be a warrior that would lead mankind against both God and Satan during Armageddon. Some time after meeting Al Simmons' great-grandfather, Henry Simmons, Mammon decides to forgo chance, and breed such a Hellspawn. Though Al Simmons played a crucial part in both the defeat of Malebogia and the exile of God and Satan (events which were all planned by Mammon), Mammon reveals that Al Simmons is in fact not the final product of a 'perfect' Hellspawn that Mammon was seeking. Instead, he chooses Morana, Wanda Blake and Al Simmons' child, whom Mammon took from her parents at the hospital after her mother miscarried. Morana is the product of the merging of the Simmons and Blake bloodlines; two bloodlines which have great potential for making Hellspawn, brought forth through centuries of Mammon's manipulation. Issue 182 also poses the possibility that Al Simmons' actions that caused the miscarrige may have been induced by Mammon's influence throughout Al Simmons' childhood.
In issue 182, it is also revealed that Mammon had influenced Al Simmon's K7-Leetha symbiote costume, prior to its bonding with Al Simmons, promising it great power in exchange for its services and convincing Malebogia that it was worthy to become Hellspawn. It is then also revealed that Mammon plans to transfer the symbiote to Morana, believing that Al Simmons was "finished" after Armageddon and that Morana was the one who will sit by his side and rule the world.
Mammon's influence on Previous Hellspawns
It is also revealed in several issues that Mammon acted as a representative to Malebogia in the past to recruit Hellspawn. In issue 165, Mammon recruits Chenglei to become the Mandarin Spawn and in issue 174 he recruits Jeremy Winston to become the Gunslinger Spawn. In issue 179, he recruits Thomas Coram to become war spawn. Eventually even his work for Malebolgia is revealed as another ruse: by selecting and recruiting Hellspawns on his own, he seeks to create a perfect bloodline, reuniting under one final offspring the lines of his best subjects.Other media
- Mammon has appeared in only one comic title outside of the core Spawn comic, the FrenchFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
-produced title Spawn: Simony. - Mammon's name was first revealed in a Spawn video game: Mammon appeared as a supporting character in Spawn: ArmageddonSpawn: ArmageddonSpawn: Armageddon is a video game released in 2003 for the PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube video game consoles. It is inspired by Spawn issues 1-99, and Todd McFarlane directed the game's production.-Gameplay:...
, and the announcement for the game was the first time the character had been directly named. Prior to this announcement he was only known by the fan-created nickname, Mr. Hell. - Mammon's action-figure debut was as the Collector's Club Exclusive for Spawn Series 30, slated for a Fall 2006 release. The toy is tied to the web-comic The Adventures of Spawn, in which Mammon is the main antagonist.
External Links and Additional Sources
- Comic Book Resources-CBR News: A Hell of a Comic: David Hine Talks "Spawn"
- Broken Frontier: Inside look: Spawn 175
Miscellaneous
- The term MammonMammonMammon is a term, derived from the Christian Bible, used to describe material wealth or greed, most often personified as a deity, and sometimes included in the seven princes of Hell.-Etymology:...
is used in the New TestamentNew TestamentThe New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
to describe material wealth or greed.