Diablo (Marvel Comics)

Did You Know?

• In a 2013 interview with Chris Hardwick, creator Stan Lee said that Diablo was his greatest regret because he could not remember the character aside from his name, who he is, and why he did what he did.
• Diablo appears in a self-titled episode of Fantastic Four (1967), voiced by Regis Cordic.
• Diablo appears in the Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes episode 'Johnny Storm and the Potion of Fire', voiced by Trevor Devall.

Fictional character biography

Esteban Corazón de Ablo served as a court alchemist in 9th-century Saragossa. A solitary and fixated figure, he struck a bargain with the demon Mephisto, exchanging his soul for extended life in his quest for immortality. Over centuries, his alchemical skill grew until he could defy conventional science, yet this still fell short of his goal. In the 19th century, he moved his laboratory to Transylvania and allied with vampires, hoping to unlock supernatural secrets. The local peasantry, terrified of him, stormed his castle and buried him alive.

A hundred years later, the Fantastic Four arrived in Transylvania for a holiday. Spotting them, Diablo concocted a potion that partly reversed the Thing’s rocky transformation, convincing him to break Diablo free. In return, Diablo vowed to make the Thing fully human. The rest of the Fantastic Four discovered the deal, but the Thing chose to stay with Diablo, forcing them to leave him behind.

Adapting to the modern world, Diablo became a private entrepreneur, amassing a fortune by peddling his alchemical wares. Mister Fantastic analyzed his chemicals and found their effects were only temporary—a fact Diablo had hidden. When this became public, the world turned against him, but by then Diablo had raised an army of loyal followers and prepared to conquer Earth. Meanwhile, the Thing reverted to his normal form and opposed Diablo, who trapped him inside an unbreakable glass capsule. The Fantastic Four fought Diablo and buried him alive once more. He later escaped using one of his own potions and clashed with the team many times afterward.

It eventually came to light that Diablo had once been romantically involved with the woman who became the criminal Gilded Lily. She freed him from prison, but he betrayed her and was defeated by Alpha Flight. He later attacked the Fantastic Four again with elemental creatures, conquered the nation of Tierra del Maiz, and in another battle with Alpha Flight was apparently killed. He survived, however, and resurfaced later. He was responsible for destroying the Fantastic Four’s Pier 4 headquarters, but also helped them banish the chaos demon Shuma-Gorath back to its home dimension. Most recently, he appeared in Vieques, Puerto Rico, where he assisted Spider-Man and the Human Torch in stopping a giant radioactive sea monster that had been eating locals and tourists.

Other versions

Diablo appears in alternate realities across Marvel comics. On Earth-295, in the Age of Apocalypse timeline, he works as a warden at Apocalypse's Mexican prison and is killed by Nightcrawler. A zombified Diablo from Earth-2149 features in Marvel Zombies 3. The Earth-1610 version, seen in Ultimate Fantastic Four, is Menendez Flores, a 15th-century Italian alchemist imprisoned in an inescapable tower by his rival Andrea Vecchiato.