Diablo (Marvel Comics)

{{Expand section|date=December 2012}}

Diablo was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and first appeared in Fantastic Four #30 (September 1964).{{cite book |last=Rovin |first=Jeff |title=The Encyclopedia of Super-Villains |date=1987 |publisher=Facts on File |isbn=0-8160-1356-X |location=New York |pages=82–83 |authorlink=Jeff Rovin}}[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofsu0000rovi_h5r9/page/82/mode/2up]

In a 2013 interview with Chris Hardwick of Nerdist, creator 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, saying, "When you create a character you should feel you know him".{{cite web|url=http://www.nerdist.com/2013/09/nerdist-podcast-stan-lee |title= Episode 413: Nerdist Podcast: Stan Lee Returns |work=The Nerdist Podcast|date=September 27, 2013|last=Hardwick |first=Chris|author-link=Hardwick, Chris}}

Esteban Corazón de Ablo was a powerful alchemist in 9th century Saragossa, who sold his soul to the demon Mephisto to lengthen his life far beyond a human span.Fantastic Force #18 (April 1996) Years later, Diablo set up a base in Transylvania where he made a pact with the Vampires.Fantastic Four (vol. 3) #36 (December 2000) The villagers had enough of him where they formed an angry mob and buried him under his castle.

One century later, the Fantastic Four visit Transylvania on vacation, where Diablo convinces the Thing to free him and offers him a potion that will partially restore his human form. In exchange for the Thing's services, Diablo would give him another potion to fully transform him. The other members of the Fantastic Four learn of this, but are forced to leave the Thing behind when he chooses to remain with Diablo. Diablo sells his alchemic chemicals internationally, making him the richest man on the planet.

Mister Fantastic discovered that Diablo's chemicals work only for a short while before failing. After this information is made public, the world turns on Diablo, but he has already built up an army of loyal followers and is prepared to conquer Earth. At the same time, the Thing reverts to his normal form and turns on Diablo, who seals him in a glass capsule. The Fantastic Four battle Diablo, who is buried under stone.Fantastic Four #30 (September 1964)

Diablo later escapes and becomes a recurring enemy of the Fantastic Four.Fantastic Four #35 (February 1965) In Secret Avengers, Scorpio recruits Diablo into the Masters of Evil.Secret Avengers #29 (September 2012)

Diablo is a practitioner of the alchemic sciences, based upon reconstructing molecules by mystical means, and has obtained this knowledge through study. Thanks to his tutors, he was educated and is self-taught in these arcane arts. His youth and vitality have been lengthened, due to a longevity serum. He can affect his own body by changing the appearance to look like a different person or become "nerveless protoplasm", which protects him from certain forms of harm.

Diablo employs a huge arsenal of alchemical weapons that he discovered or invented, and conceals within hidden pouches and pockets in his costume. But unknown to science, his concoctions are almost magical in nature. Although the range of his power is wide, these effects are temporary unless Diablo provides a second dose, with the exception of an elixir he used on Dragon Man. His mixtures include nerve gas pellets, freezing potions, and pills that make people susceptible to Diablo's hypnotic orders. He can also transmute non-organic matter, unleash explosive blasts, model surface features, give life to inanimate objects, and create beings formed from the elements of earth, fire, wind, and water called "elementals".Fantastic Four #232 (July 1981) Other concoctions utilize teleportation for quick escapes.

• An alternate universe variant of Diablo from Earth-295 appears in Age of Apocalypse. This version is a warden at Apocalypse's prison in Mexico who is later killed by Nightcrawler.Tales from the Age of Apocalypse one-shot (December 1996)
• A zombified alternate universe variant of Diablo from Earth-2149 appears in Marvel Zombies 3.Marvel Zombies 3 #2 (January 2009)
• An alternate universe variant of Diablo from Earth-1610 appears in Ultimate Fantastic Four. This version is Menendez Flores, a 15th-century Italian man who was imprisoned in an inescapable tower by fellow alchemist Andrea Vecchiato.Ultimate Fantastic Four #39 (April 2007)

• Diablo appears in a self-titled episode of Fantastic Four (1967), voiced by Regis Cordic.{{cite web |title=Diablo Voices (Fantastic Four) |url=http://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/characters/Fantastic-Four/Diablo/ |access-date= |publisher=Behind The Voice Actors}} A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
• Diablo appears in the Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes episode "Johnny Storm and the Potion of Fire", voiced by Trevor Devall.
• Diablo appears in Marvel Disk Wars: The Avengers, voiced by Tomohisa Aso in the Japanese version and Matthew Mercer in the English dub.

• Diablo appears in Fantastic Four (2005), voiced by André Sogliuzzo.
• Diablo appears in Marvel Contest of Champions.{{citation needed|date=October 2020}}

{{Reflist}}

• [https://www.marvel.com/characters/diablo-esteban-de-ablo Diablo] at Marvel.com

{{Fantastic Four}}

{{Stan Lee}}

{{Jack Kirby}}

Category:Comics characters introduced in 1964

Category:Characters created by Jack Kirby

Category:Characters created by Stan Lee

Category:Fantastic Four characters

Category:Fictional characters who use magic

Category:Fictional Spanish people

Category:Marvel Comics characters who use magic

Category:Marvel Comics immortals

Category:Marvel Comics male supervillains

Category:Marvel Comics mutates