David Cooper
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0352 - The Devil
🕑 Added 2024-07-15 08:00:01 +0000 UTCHmm, this might be a tricky one to define.
This is the first appearance of "Devil Classic", as I am going to call him. He appears a few times very early on, in the "Do The Batman" video, or three episodes from now in "Homer vs. Lisa and the Eighth Commandment":
As far as the show is concerned at this point, this is Satan, Lucifer, The Devil, The Big Guy...um...Downstairs, even as far as 1994 when he gets his own trading card:
If the show had been a flash-in-the-pan success, this would have remained the only version of The Devil that appeared in the show, and that would be that. But then The Simpsons did the very rude thing of existing another 30+ years, and needed to redefine the concept of Satan beyond this scrawny little Shearer-voiced dude.
I think the last "regular" appearance of Devil Classic is in season 5's "Rosebud":
before he is redefined twice just one episode later - both in a painting as a Flanders - in "Treehouse of Horror IV":
Obviously Devil Classic doesn't really fit into the story they're telling here, so The Devil is redefined for the sake of this episode. This seemingly gives them permission to ignore Devil Classic completely, and in future appearances he is altered to a scarier design, mostly in Treehouse of Horror episodes:
Although even then this newer design is somewhat inconsistent, as another design is used in season 17's "The Monkey Suit":
(Yes, this is an actor in an educational video, not literal Satan. Let's not complicate things further.)
So past season 5, Devil Classic is most dead and buried...until season 28's "Friends and Family", where he suddenly pops up with a completely different voice:
And, oddly, as the album art for season 34:
Devil Classic is therefore in some sort of limbo, which is ironic. He appears when the creators remember this version. Perhaps his shifting appearance is the greatest trick he ever pulled.
This does complicate things for out little project here so I'm going to go with my gut and do what feels right: Character #0352 is The Devil, and any future appearances of him will still be known as this character and not new versions - EXCEPT for Devil Flanders, who is enough of a presence in his own right to count as a separate character when we get to him.
Except...didn't I already cover Flanders? Oh, I'm so confused...
This post is part of my "Every Simpsons Character Ever" series. For a list of my rules in this project, click here.
Comments
David Cooper
Makes sense!
David Cooper
As always, I appreciate your insight!
Max Flower
I imagine The Devil works similar to Loki, appearing in season 32's "Bart's in Jail" and the Disney+ short, "The Good, The Bart, & The Loki" where in the former he explains that he takes many forms and many names, such as Jesus Christ and some kind of triangle shaped crypto enthusiast.
Alexander Hale
Devil classic, Devil Flanders and the Moe Devil (as well as a separate but simiiar Demon Moe) have all cropped up in Tapped Out, as well as the Red Devil Realty mascot. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Devil Flanders is the most represented in the world of plastic - of the devils covered thus far he's the only one immortalised in the recent Super 7 Ultimates line, as a Funko Pop, Kidrobot figurine, and of course in the classic World of Springfield... HOWEVER one of the final figures in that line was a fan-demanded 'Evil Homer' which Playmates misinterpreted as Devil Homer (as in the little devil that sits on Homer's shoulder vs the little angel Homer) rather than Homer in the devil costume seen in Marge in Chains AND Whacking Day. In a further 'nobody asked', the end of the WOS line was immediately followed by a relatively short lived line by McFarlane toys, who quickly rectified the Evil Homer FIASCO with a Good and Evil Homer diorama (as well as an Ironic Punishment set where a bloated Homer is force fed donuts by a demon tormentor). Unfortunately by the end of WOS my dad told me I'd spent too much money on (quote) 'plastic crap' so I don't have any of the McFarlane sets. Funko also made an Evil Homer pop relatively recently but I've gone too much off topic here so maybe I should just... shut... my big... mouth...
Alexander Hale
To complicate things YET FURTHER, Treehouse XXIII features another Devil, this one styled to look like Moe! And Season 34's Homer's Adventures Through the Windshield Glass features yet another familiar devil, this time resembling Raphael/the Sarcastic Man/Wiseguy. And I'm certain there are more out there...
