Aliases : The Howling One, The Prince of Lies, The Devil, Satan, Lucifer
Base of Operations : Hell
Tag : neron
Important Plots : Descent
Journal(s) : jla_villains
Status : Available

Powers and Abilities: Neron is one of the most powerful devils in Hell, and one of the most dangerous foe the defenders of justice will ever have to face. He has near-limitless sorcerous power, which allows him to manipulate size, shape, indeed, even reality itself. His true form is constantly hidden beneath his intimidating-yet-still-human appearance, though he can appear in any form he desires. Even when binding his power to this form Neron is still immensely dangerous, possessing enough strength to beat Mongul to death effortlessly. He is further capable of flight, teleportation, intangibility, illusion casting, the ability to possess other living beings, and the ability to project energy blasts from his hands.

Neron can also manipulate living beings outside of Hell; however, he must first strike a bargain with his target in order to enhance or change them in any way. He is powerful enough to grant normal humans sorcerous power and greatly enhance a metahuman's existing powers. He can also conjure items in the real world through his deals, be they items of power such as the Ocean Master's trident, or as simple as a box of Cuban cigars, which the Joker sold his soul to him for.

Weaknesses : Though Neron has the ability to assume any shape, if he succumbs to his anger enough he can lose control of his appearance and revert into his true demonic form. And while Neron appears omnipotent, he is bound by the fact that he must first strike a deal in order to use the brunt of his abilities to change a person's life. He can be outright denied without seeming repercussion, as evidenced when the Shade rejected his offer of power. Neron's shapeshifting abilities are further hindered by the fact that no matter what form he takes, he constantly exudes an aura of malevolence which instinctively pushes people away. Particularly sensitive individuals may even be able to recognize what he truly is through his disguise.

History : An immortal demon, Neron spent centuries, perhaps even millennia, climbing the infernal hierarchy of Hell. He eventually became one of Hell's most powerful demons, amassing enough power to manifest in the world. Shortly after gaining this ability, Neron began to appear to many of the Earth's supervillains, offering them their heart's desires in exchange for their souls. Many villains and even a few heroes took Neron up on his offer, gaining increased power and becoming even greater threats to the champions of justice. Proving his terrifying might, Neron murdered the alien warlord Mongul with his bare hands, and shortly thereafter killed Wonder Woman as well.

Though the heroes of Earth eventually uncovered Neron's manipulations and descended to Hell itself to stop him, one by one they were corrupted by his demonic influence. Indeed, Neron's defeat came not from the fists of any superhero but from the cunning mind of a small-time supervillain, the Trickster. Instructing Captain Marvel to offer his soul to Neron for selfless reasons, Trickster was able to dupe Neron into making a deal he could not keep, this breaking all his other deals. Swearing vengeance against Trickster, Neron was driven back to Hell.

Since that time Neron has remained an infernal threat of the highest order. He has allied with other demons, such as the troublesome Etrigan and fallen angel Asmodel, only to betray them with a sanguine smile. He created chaos on Earth in order to vie for a chance to become the new host for the Spectre, though he lost the 'honor' to Hal Jordan. He has had encounters with demon hunter John Constantine and has made his 'irresistible offers' to heroes and villains alike.

Most recently, Neron forged a deal with Zachary Zatara, awakening his latent sorcerous abilities in exchange for the promise of gaining his soul.

Other Sources :

• Neron at the DC Database Project
• Neron at Wikipedia
  

Divergences : Diverges from Day of Judgment onward. Neron still allied with and double-crossed Asmodel, but he was not demoted in rank afterward. Since Sue Dibny is not dead, Neron never tried to convince Ralph to try resurrecting her. He has not yet made any deals with Kid Devil, and he was never overthrown by Blaze or Satanus.

Disclaimer - unless otherwise noted, all characters are property of DC Comics, used here only for roleplaying purposes.