RAN VA DAATH

Real Name: Ran Va Daath

Class: Demon

Occupation: Demon

Group Affiliation: None

Known Relatives: Etrigan (son), Golgotha (grandson, deceased)

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Masak Madvil., Hell

First Appearance: Demon III #2 (August, 1990)

Powers: Ran Va Daath was an enormous snakelike demon with sharp fangs. As a demon she was virtuaslly immortal and possessed magical abilities

History: (Demon III #2 (fb), 19 (fb)) - The demon archduke Belial went to war with the serpent queen Ran va Daath, and in a cataclysmic battle every last one of their demon soldiers was slain. They prepared to fight to the death in one-on-one combat when Cupid appeared and shot them with his arrows of love. They made love, and while Belial slept afterwards Daath tried to devour him, but he fought her off, and they ended up living together in Belial's castle. Their son Etrigan was born, and his first act was to bite off the delivering doctor's hand and then spew hellfire in his father's face. Etrigan was cruel, even as an infant, and even for Hell, although he was confident he would never be punished because of his father's lofty position. Belial met with Lucifer to discuss demonic plans, and Belial brought his son along. Etrigan stole the Crown of Horns, who was the symbol of power of the rulership of Hell, but his young body could not handle the power. Lucifer removed the Crown from him, and told Belial that Etrigan seemed very promising, but he needed to learn harsh discipline, because even in Hell there were rules. Belial beat and tortured Etrigan, but found that his young son loved pain. He blamed Ran va Daath for always giving in to her son's wants and being a bad influence, so he cast her out to live in exile in Masak Mavdil. Etrigan was furious, and promised to make his father pay, but Belial scoffed at him, reminding him how much greater his power was than Etrigan's.

(Demon III #2, 3) - Etrigan sought to wrest control of Hell from the triumvirate of Lucifer, Beelzebub and Belial. He sought out the Oracle of Styx, who advised him to go to Masak Madvil, the pit of Hell, and find his mother. He made it past Abaddon, guardian of the pit and found Daath, who attacked him. Daath was furious that she'd been in exile for 1,000 years after Belial banished her because he sought a new wife, and not once had Etrigan sought her out. He claimed Belial told him Daath had asked to be exiled, and complained that Belial let his new half-brother Merlin make a plaything of him, binding his soul to the human Jason Blood. Daath knew their were lies in his story, and he clearly wanted something from her, but she was still pleased to finally be reunited with her son. She agreed to help her son become king of Hell, and gave him a slave to sacrifice to Abddon so he could leave the pit in peace.

(Demon III #5-7) - Daath assembled the exiled demons of Masak Madvil, and Etrigan rallied them to his side, telling them he'd grant them release from the abyss if they fought at his side. Etrigan then confronted Abaddon, and after they engaged in bloody battle convinced him there was no reason he should be keeping his fellow demons prisoner in the pit and to listen to his plans of ruling Hell. Etrigan and his army marched on toward Beelzebub's domain, and Beelzebub commanded his castle to the ladt demon. Etrigan's army broke through, and Etrigan and Abaddon cast a spell that destroyed the wards protecting Beelzebub's castle. The army razed the domain and blasted Beelzebub with eldritch energy, putting him down. Belial, pleased with Etrigan's progress, had his forces meet Etrigan's on their way to Lucifer's seat of power in Dis in order to ally themselves with them. Daath, still furious at her exile, attacked Belial, but Etrigan separated them, convincing them to lat aside their animosity until they'd conquered Hell. They reached Dis and Lucifer opened the gates to them and surrendered. Etrigan was suspicious, but Lucifer told him he was ceded rule of Hell because he was curious about how it would turn out for him. Etrigan burned Dis and slaughtered the demons within for fun. Etrigan prepared for his coronation at Masak Madvil, chaining up Beelzebub, Lucifer and Merlin, and placing his human host Jason Blood on a slab of stone. He was given the Crown of Horns, signifying his rule. He promised his subjects Hell would shatter Earth and then lay siege to Heaven. Belial said he was proud of his son for joining him in the triumvirate, but Etrigan corrected him, saying he'd promised the third slot to Abaddon, knowing that if Lucifer had fought back Belial would have fought to keep the status quo. Etrigan also never got over his father allowing Merlin mastery over him. He assaulted his father, forced him to yield, and then ripped out his heart and tossed it to Daath, telling her she could always brag that she'd stolen Belial's heart. Belial's army wanted to attack, but the demon Morax, who quite liked Etrigan as Hell's new ruler, convinced them to stand down with a few swings of his mallet. Morax pledged his servitude, and Etrigan gratefully accepted. Etrigan then ripped off Beelzebub's wings and cast him into the pit of Hell, then threw his father in too. Lucifer refused to throw himself into the pit, saying he was severely disappointed in Etrigan. His end goal of making war with Heaven was a fool's errand, and he'd expected better, but knew Etrigan was a youth as far as immortals went, and lacked true wisdom. Etrigan tried to attack him, but Lucifer broke his shackles and glided off. The chefs of Hell presented Etrigan with his feast, Caligula, who'd been stuffed for 2,000 years with the blood of sinners, but Etrigan told them he had one more pressing manner to attend to. He tortured Merlin, demanding he break his connection to Blood. Merlin seemingly agreed and cast a spell. Etrigan immediately started torturing Jason, but Merlin whispered to him that he was still Etrigan's jailer. Jason grabbed the Crown of Horns from Etrigan and used its' magic to incapacitate him before speaking the words that retuned Etrigan to him. Merlin's spell took effect, sending Jason back to Earth, and he was pleased at still being a skilled deceiver. Morax, Abaddon and Daath were perplexed, but decided to think about it later and enjoy their feast of Caligula first.

(Demon III #36 (fb)) - Ran va Daath took possession of Belial’s heart. During a heated debate between Daath, Morax and Abaddon the Thing-That-Cannot-Die, who’d recently found himself in Hell after escaping the Region Beyond, saw the heart and couldn’t help but steal such a juicy morsel for himself.

Comments: Created by Alan Grant & Val Semeiks.

Ran va Daath had a cameo in Demon III #21.

All characters mentioned or pictured are ™  and © DC Comics, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Please visit The Official DC Comics Site at: http://www.batman.com