Unbagging Blue Devil #1
Blue Devil
#1
| Release: | Apr 1984 |
| Cover: | Jun 1984 |
Creators
| Writer | Dan Mishkin, Gary Cohn |
| Cover Artist | Paris Cullins |
| Cover Penciller | Paris Cullins |
| Cover Inker | Dick Giordano |
| Penciller | Paris Cullins |
| Inker | Pablo Marcos |
| Colorist | Tom Ziuko |
| Letterer | Todd Klein |
| Editor | Alan Gold |
Brother? I don’t remember seeing him at the table last Thanksgiving!
There are some characters and concepts in comics that are perfect right out of the gate.
There are some characters and concepts in comics that aren’t quite there yet when they’re initially introduced and require some tweaking in order to appeal to an audience.
And there are some characters and concepts in comics that can’t appeal to enough people to enjoy any real success no matter how much tweaking is done. Especially when much of the tweaking seems to be done just for the sake of tweaking.
Blue Devil is a combination of the first and third – perfect out of the gate, but not able to find long term success despite a lot of tweaking. Or rather, because of the tweaking, given that he was already perfect and required none.
With a total of 31 issues, plus an annual and a preview insert that appeared in an issue of Firestorm, Blue Devil was the first complete series I ever managed to collect.
The concept was simple. Hollywood stuntman and special effects expert Dan Cassidy goes above and beyond in designing the effects for the titular monster of a horror movie called Blue Devil, building an exoskeletal suit that amplifies his strength and provides him with greater durability and a flamethrowing rocket-powered trident that will allow him to fly.
In his introduction in a 16-page preview, we learned that, with the help of some prodding from the nephew of the director of the movie he’s built the suit for, Dan has a bit of a heroic streak, and we get to see the impressive capabilities of his suit and trident in superheroic action.
But that doesn’t really prepare us for what is to come once his series actually launches.
The first issue picks up on location during the filming of the actual movie, and the suit is working perfectly.
What’s not working so great is Dan’s love life, as he’s sweet on the movie’s female lead, Sharon Scott, who seemingly only has eyes for her co-star, Wayne Tarrant.
While Dan is busy wondering what Sharon sees in a guy like Wayne, the two thespians in question are exploring the ruins of the island where the movie is shooting. Inside of an ancient temple they stumble upon and open a door to another dimension, releasing a real demon named Nebiros, who soon runs amok, endangering the cast and crew.
When Wayne proves cowardly, Sharon runs to Dan for help, and he decides to put his costume to use in fighting the demon, though not before taking some design cues.
But Dan shouldn’t be so hard on himself, as his costume is good enough to fool Nebiros who believes him to be a fellow demon and is confused as to why the little devil is fighting against him rather than alongside him.
But it’s a one-sided battle, as even with the awesome strength the suit gives him and the flashy pyrotechnics at his disposal, Dan is no match for a real demon.
He’s especially no match for the beams of eldritch energy that Nebiros zaps him with.
Fortunately, the suit does provide Dan with some protection, so while he’s down, he’s not completely out.
While Dan catches his breath, Wayne proves that maybe he’s not such a coward after all, and he leads the cast and crew in an assault on Nebiros that at least provides Dan with some time to catch his breath.
The fight ultimately leads back to the temple, and a plan is hatched to force Nebiros back through the portal from which he emerged and seal the door once more.
With some help from his rocket-powered trident, Dan is able to force Nebiros through the portal, and with some help from his friends he himself is pulled back out before the door is sealed shut once more.
Everyone – especially Sharon – is grateful to Dan for his heroism, and Marla, the director, is especially pleased as they managed to capture footage of his epic battle with Nebiros, which will be used to craft a new story for the movie.
For his part, Dan just wants to get back to his trailer and get out of that amazing, but bulky and sweaty suit of his.
Wait a minute. Sweaty?
Remember how I said at the beginning that the concept was simple? Stuntman builds an exoskeletal suit that amplifies his strength and provides him with greater durability and a flamethrowing rocket-powered trident that will allow him to fly.
Well, it does get a bit more complicated than that, as Dan is about to discover…
Still, it remains a relatively simple concept.
Stuntman builds an exoskeletal suit that amplifies his strength and provides him with greater durability and a flamethrowing rocket-powered trident that will allow him to fly.
…and then gets hit with a blast of mystical energy from a demon that bonds him with the suit preventing him from ever taking it off.
Simple!
And also perfect.
This first issue does a great job of introducing us to the core concept, the main character, and the supporting cast:
- Sharon, who likes Dan a lot more than he realizes.
- Wayne Tarrant, the self-absorbed leading man who, very, very deep down, isn’t as much of a cowardly jerk as he seems to be. Maybe.
- Marla Bloom, the director with a singular focus.
- Gopher, Marla’s young nephew, who idolizes Dan.
- And Norm, the camera man, who was very quick to jump in and help out his buddy Dan.
That last point is part of the greater dynamic of the relationship between the characters. They’re a close-knit group who have very different personalities and motivations, but can all be counted on to pitch in and help each other out when the going gets tough.
It’s also a well-illustrated story, with a not-quite cartoony style that suits the tone. The action has a good flow across a straightforward panel layout. Each character is distinct with a solid design.
Blue Devil was originally conceived as a project for Steve Ditko to work on at DC. In creating the character, Cohn and Mishkin – who are responsible for many of the most-loved comics of my youth – drew inspiration from multiple Marvel characters. Iron Man for the suit aspect, the Thing for the being trapped in a monstrous body aspect, and Spider-Man for some of the tone and the action, and a bit of Green Goblin for good measure.
Ditko wasn’t particularly interested in the idea, but DC was, and the world was given the gift of the man who, thanks to the mixture of magic and science at the center of his origin, would go on to become what Norm dubbed a “weirdness magnet.”
And the world didn’t appreciate it enough.
Certainly not as much as I did. (And still do.)
In the years since his own book ended, Dan has undergone several tweaks in an effort to give him greater appeal and to fit him into a slot on a team book, as he’s not seen as someone who is capable of carrying a solo title.
As far as I’m concerned, the further he moves away from the original concept, the less interesting he gets, and quite frankly, I view one of the tweaks as being outright character assassination.
After managing to be freed from the suit and having his humanity restored, Dan ended up selling his soul for fame and being transformed into an actual demon in the process.
Let me just say #NotMyBlueDevil to that.
He’s popped up with a different origin in the recent Zatanna series – one thing I liked, but Sharon hated, and Dan felt awkward about, in this own series was that Zatanna kind of had the hots for Dan – that is better than the selling his soul nonsense, but still isn’t great.
Basically, as things stand now, rather than making a suit with advanced technology, Dan made the Blue Devil costume out of the actual corpse of Nebiros. (Which is also a change for Nebiros, who previously did not resemble the Blue Devil in the slightest.)
That take isn’t so much insulting as it is just plain weird.
Blue Devil also had a live-action appearance in the 2019 Swamp Thing series, portrayed by Ian Ziering. I know some Blue Devil fans who were hyped about that, but the show’s take on the character made him a lot more like Etrigan the Demon – or a werewolf – than the original Blue Devil.
(The show also featured someone who was meant to be the Phantom Stranger but who looked more like he should have been the male lead in a King of Queens rip-off airing on UPN.)
As should be clear, I think the original is best. As I said, perfect right out of the gate. No tweaks required.
The only real problem with the character, in my opinion, is that, is that for decades, DC has largely been reluctant to fully embrace the concept of fun. At least when it comes to our man Dan.
Can he sustain a solo book that runs longer than his first did? Maybe not, but none of the tweaks that have been made over the years have led to that happening anyway, so what has been the point of them?
Even if he can’t work on his own, I don’t think he works – tweaks or no tweaks – as part of a team book, either. While he clearly has a heroic streak, he’s too much of a reluctant superhero to be part of a team.
He’s just very much his own thing.
What should be done with him, then? I don’t know. Maybe some minis and one-shots, exploring the weirder corners of the DCU?
All I really know is that I miss the original, untweaked Blue Devil, and I wish he would make a return.
It doesn’t have to be – and honestly, probably shouldn’t be – a triumphant one.
Just so long as it’s a return.
Born and raised in the sparsely populated Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Jon Maki developed an enduring love for comics at an early age.
