Know Your (Anti)Heroes: Lucifer

The devil’s in the details as Fox is bringing Hellfire to Sunday night with the new series Lucifer, based on the DC Comics character. This is not the Lucifer you’re used to, as he’s retired from running Hell and has set up shop in LA running a successful bar with a few odd-looking patrons now and then.

Taking cues from the character’s appearance in Neil Gaiman’s critically acclaimed series Sandman and adding a police procedural twist, this devilish series is one to watch. Fans of Supernatural and Constantine will love watching lead actor Tom Ellis charm the city of LA and its inhabitants.

If you’re wondering exactly how Lucifer fits into the DC Comics universe, we have the stories you need to read before the series premiere on January 25th! 

 The Freedom to Leave

The character of Lucifer first appeared in modern DC Comics thanks to Neil Gaiman and Sandman.

Introduced early in the series at issue four, the Morningstar started to shine in the Season of Mists story arc collected in Sandman Volume Four (OCT100330).

Morpheus, the protagonist of Sandman, journeys to Hell to free a woman he had trapped there millennia earlier. But Lucifer has other plans for Dream of the Endless.

Tired of being charged with running Hell, he hands the keys of his realm to Morpheus, cuts his wings off, and abdicates as ruler.

This storyline, and Gaiman's clever setup, is responsible for setting up the character of Lucifer as we currently know him, free of Hell and his responsibilities there.

You Can Be Me When I'm Gone

Lucifer isn’t seen in Sandman again until the second to last story arc, The Kindly Ones, collected in Sandman Volume Nine (FEB120298).

Here we meet a devil who’s grown comfortable and created his own small empire in the heart of LA.

With his loyal assistant and lover Mazikeen at his side, his nightclub has become the biggest hotspot for the Hollywood elite.

A charming and sophisticated man in a white suit, his appearance here will becomes the standard for his character.

However, even the devil can bore of his own work and by the end of his time in Sandman, Lucifer has grown restless. 

 The Devil You Know

Starting in 2000 and running for 75 issues, Mike Carey lets the devil get his due in Lucifer (FEB130247) as the story is picked right up from his last appearance in The Kindly Ones.

Collecting the mini-series The Sandman Presents: Lucifer and the first thirteen issues of the Lucifer ongoing, this collection is full of devilish delights.

It turns out that good things just can’t last when you’re the devil and Lucifer must decide what he can do to protect himself and the ones he loves.

A well-written and theologically interesting take on the duality of religion, Mike Carey’s Lucifer fits right in with the character Neil Gaiman introduced over ten years prior. 

 Home Again

You can’t keep a good thing down and so DC Comics resurrected the devil last year with the new ongoing series, Lucifer (OCT150270).

Getting a new set of wings from creative team Holly Black and Lee Garbett, the Morningstar is ready to take back LA.

But its not that cut and dry.

First he must clear his name of murder!

God has been found dead and Gabriel is accusing Lucifer of the act.

But when you’re the Father of Lies, how can you prove you’re innocent?

Spiraling into an antagonistic buddy-cop drama, Gabriel and Lucifer must team up to find the real killer in Heaven, Hell, Earth, or beyond.

Learn more about Lucifer and other Vertigo comics at your local comic shop and watch the series premiere on Fox, January 25th!