I just watched the first episode of Hulu’s Helstrom and I’m not sure if I enjoyed it or not. I think I read Frank Peretti as a kid, so I don’t need several more hours of demon content to feel complete as a person. But, although I likely won’t finish watching Helstrom on Hulu, I am curious about the comic book character, Daimon Hellstrom.
Despite reading Marvel comics for several decades, I only recall running across Daimon Hellstrom a handful of times. I vaguely remember him from last decade’s New Avengers run by Brian Michael Bendis. More vididly, I remember thinking as a kid that he was lucky because he married Hellcat.
Daimon Hellstrom first appeared in Ghost Rider #1 in September 1973. The very next month the character was rolled into Marvel Spotlight, where he had a controversial 12 issue run due to his association with Satan.
Not to be deterred, Marvel gave him a solo series titled Son of Satan, because subtlety hadn’t been invented by the 1970s. Hellstrom’s Son of Satan series only lasted 7 issues and the character bounced around, having a minor appearance here and there in a title like Tomb of Dracula.
Daimon Hellstrom really is the son of Satan, as Daimon and his sister, Satana, were born to a mortal woman named Victoria Wingate and the Prince of Lies himself.
Their dark heritage gave them supernatural abilities and were trained by their father in the art of magic, something that Satana fully embraced. Daimon, however, clung to his humanity and his family was separated. His mother was driven mad and institutionalized. His father was banished back to Hell. And Daimon and Satana were separated.
Daimon grew up in a Jesuit-run orphanage, were he found his calling as an occult investigator and exorcist. Under the name of the “Son of Satan,” he battled dark forces, becoming a defender of humanity.
And he sported a look, let me tell you. He wields a trident forged of magical metal that serves as a focus amplifier for his soulfire. He wears red leather pants and is always bare chested, in order to fully display the pentagram tattoo on his chest.
Says writer J. M. DeMatteis, “Characters like Son of Satan are a wonderful metaphor for what we all contain, good and evil, high and low aspirations. He’s literally the son of the Devil, trying not to be what his father is.”
He later joined The Defenders where he met Patsy Walker aka Hellcat and they later married. He adventured under the moniker Hellstorm in the 90s because Hellstrom, Son of Satan wasn’t x-treme enough.
Hulu’s Helstrom takes an understandably more subtle angle. First, they drop an “l.” And while his family and origin largely stays the same, his sister becomes “Ana” instead of Satana, like in the comics.
The Hulu show also avoids mentioning Marvel in pretty much any form, so it’s a pretty sure guess that Hulu’s version of the character won’t be joining the MCU any time soon.
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