Mazikeen is a
character
Character or Characters may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''Character'' (novel), a 1936 Dutch novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk
* ''Characters'' (Theophrastus), a classical Greek set of character sketches attributed to The ...
who appears in
American comic book
An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of ''Action Comics'' ...
s published by
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
. She is one of the
lilim
Lilin () were hostile night spirits that attacked men in ancient Mesopotamian religion and Jewish folklore.
Judaism
In Jewish mythology, ''Lilin'' is a term for night spirits.
Biblical apocrypha
In the Syriac Apocalypse of Baruch, ''lilin'' c ...
, a child of
Lilith
Lilith ( ; he, Wiktionary:לילית, לִילִית, Līlīṯ) is a female figure in Mesopotamian Mythology, Mesopotamian and Jewish mythology, Judaic mythology, alternatively the first wife of Adam and supposedly the primordial she-demon. ...
. She first appeared in ''
The Sandman
The Sandman is a mythical character in European folklore who puts people to sleep and encourages and inspires beautiful dreams by sprinkling magical sand onto their eyes.
Representation in traditional folklore
The Sandman is a traditional charact ...
'' (vol. 2) #22 (December 1990), and was created by
Neil Gaiman
Neil Richard MacKinnon GaimanBorn as Neil Richard Gaiman, with "MacKinnon" added on the occasion of his marriage to Amanda Palmer. ; ( Neil Richard Gaiman; born 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, gr ...
and
Kelley Jones
Kelley Jones (born July 23, 1962) is an American comics artist best known for his work on ''Batman'' with writer Doug Moench and on '' The Sandman'' with writer Neil Gaiman.
Early life
Kelley Jones was born in Sacramento, California and grew up ...
.
Her name comes from the term "
Mazzikin
In Jewish mythology, Mazzikin (also spelled Mazzikim) are invisible demons which can create minor annoyances or greater dangers. The Hebrew term ''mazzikin'' (מַזִּיקִין, also spelled ''mazzikim'' מַזִּיקִים), found in the Tal ...
", invisible demons which can create minor annoyances or greater dangers according to
Jewish mythology
Jewish mythology is the body of myths associated with Judaism. Elements of Jewish mythology have had a profound influence on Christian mythology and on Islamic mythology, as well as on world culture in general. Christian mythology directly inhe ...
.
Mazikeen appears in the television series ''
Lucifer
Lucifer is one of various figures in folklore associated with the planet Venus. The entity's name was subsequently absorbed into Christianity as a name for the devil. Modern scholarship generally translates the term in the relevant Bible passage ...
'' (2016-2021), portrayed by
Lesley-Ann Brandt
Lesley-Ann Brandt (born 2 December 1981) is a South African actress. Brandt has acted in a number of New Zealand television series and first came to international notice with her role as a slave girl Naevia in the series ''Spartacus: Blood and Sa ...
, and in the
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
drama series
''The Sandman'' (2022), portrayed by Cassie Clare.
Fictional character biography
In the
comic book
A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...
series ''
Lucifer
Lucifer is one of various figures in folklore associated with the planet Venus. The entity's name was subsequently absorbed into Christianity as a name for the devil. Modern scholarship generally translates the term in the relevant Bible passage ...
'', Mazikeen is a devoted ally and lover of Lucifer Morningstar. She has also been the war leader of the
lilim
Lilin () were hostile night spirits that attacked men in ancient Mesopotamian religion and Jewish folklore.
Judaism
In Jewish mythology, ''Lilin'' is a term for night spirits.
Biblical apocrypha
In the Syriac Apocalypse of Baruch, ''lilin'' c ...
, a race of warriors descended from
Lilith
Lilith ( ; he, Wiktionary:לילית, לִילִית, Līlīṯ) is a female figure in Mesopotamian Mythology, Mesopotamian and Jewish mythology, Judaic mythology, alternatively the first wife of Adam and supposedly the primordial she-demon. ...
that have been exiled. A great warrior and admired leader, Mazikeen is a prominent character in the ''Lucifer'' comics. She has the appearance of a human female with long bluish-black hair. Mazikeen first appeared in ''
The Sandman
The Sandman is a mythical character in European folklore who puts people to sleep and encourages and inspires beautiful dreams by sprinkling magical sand onto their eyes.
Representation in traditional folklore
The Sandman is a traditional charact ...
'', where she was Lucifer's servant while he reigned in Hell. At the time, half of her face was normal, but the other half was horribly misshapen and skeletal (not unlike the half-corpse appearance of the
goddess
A goddess is a female deity. In many known cultures, goddesses are often linked with literal or metaphorical pregnancy or imagined feminine roles associated with how women and girls are perceived or expected to behave. This includes themes of s ...
, "
Hel/Hell/Hela", from
Norse mythology
Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia, and into the Nordic folklore of the modern period ...
), causing her speech to be nearly unintelligible with Lucifer being the only person who understands her. (Gaiman wrote Mazikeen's dialogue by trying to speak using only half of his mouth, and writing down phonetically what came out).
When Lucifer resigned, Mazikeen left Hell and ended up following her master (even when he tells her to stop following him), becoming part of the staff at the Lux (Latin for ''light''), an elite Los Angeles bar that Lucifer had opened and at which he played piano. To conceal her demonic nature, she covered the deformed half of her face with a silver mask and rarely spoke.
In ''Lucifer'', Mazikeen's face was turned fully human when she was resuscitated by the
Basanos following the destruction of the Lux in a fire. This was because the vessel of the Basanos, Jill Presto, did not realize that Mazikeen's face was naturally deformed, and assumed that it was burned in the fire.
When Lucifer refused to assist her in restoring her face to its former state, she defected to her family, the Lilim-in-Exile. As their war leader, she led their army against Lucifer's cosmos, allying herself briefly with the Basanos. However, this was a ruse; after a desperate gamble, she bought Lucifer enough time to destroy the Basanos and regain control of his creation. Even during her defection, she is shown crying alone in her war leader tent, and she is repeatedly seen as a fierce defender of Lucifer and his goals.
With a new whole face, she initially desired Lucifer to remove the magic that was caused by Presto's wish. After saying that it would take considerable effort and time, she relented and began wearing the half-mask that she had before. She has since worn it intermittently, usually when engaged in battle or on a mission from Lucifer, such as her voyage to the Mansions of Silence.
Issue #72 of ''Lucifer'' saw a dramatic change in the character of Mazikeen. Lucifer, while making his preparations to leave Yahweh's creation forever, transfers a portion of his power to Mazikeen. The portion of the power was the power that Yahweh gave to Lucifer in the beginning had now been given to Mazikeen. This angers Mazikeen greatly, however, as she sees this move as Lucifer running away from and shirking all of his responsibilities. She lashes out against Lucifer with her sword, scarring his face before she leaves him. She tells him that he can heal his face if he chooses, but it will make him a coward.
Mazikeen and her mother Lilith did not get along, and Lilith eventually tried to kill her. It is notable though, that Mazikeen took no part in the events during the battle of Armageddon that led to her mother's death. During the latter part of the series, Mazikeen was engaged in a sexual relationship with a human woman named Beatrice (a former Lux employee), who admitted that she had been in love with her for years. Beatrice was eventually cast out into the desert on Lilith's orders, but she was rescued by Elaine. In issue #74, Elaine gives her friends an ending as happy as possible. When it comes to Mazikeen, Elaine notes the "I wouldn't dare" in response to the question of if she planned to give Mazikeen one. She then adds that Beatrice works at the bar that they were in earlier.
During the course of the ''Lucifer'' series, a few details of Mazikeen's past are revealed. Issue #14 establishes that Lilith bore her children, presumably including Mazikeen, while living on the shores of the Red Sea. Mazikeen's father is identified as the serpent demon Ophur—a fact which allowed Mazikeen to drink and regurgitate venom (which is the only power she has). The one-shot story 'Lilith' in issue #50 reveals Mazikeen's childhood with her mother by the Red Sea. At this time, Mazikeen appeared as a normal human child, fiercely defensive of her mother and with a streak of cruelty. A flashback in issue #75 shows Mazikeen first entering Lucifer's service when she comes to Hell to seek asylum for an undisclosed reason. By this time her face is misshapen in the manner first seen in ''The
Sandman
The Sandman is a mythical character in European folklore who puts people to sleep and encourages and inspires beautiful dreams by sprinkling magical sand onto their eyes.
Representation in traditional folklore
The Sandman is a traditional charact ...
''.
After Lucifer left this creation in issue #75 of the original series, as revealed in the new series Mazikeen took over as ruler of Hell, whereupon her lilim brothers nailed her hands to the throne to effectively hold her prisoner. She freed herself from the nails by having the fallen archangel Gabriel hack off her hands after he swore fealty to her, after which she reattached her hands and fought a duel with Lucifer and Izanami's son, Takehiko, for the rulership of Hell. She then returned to Lucifer Morningstar and followed him again, plotted to kill the New God, who had been resurrected as an evil deity.
In other media
''Lucifer'' (2016-2021)
Mazikeen appears in the
Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
/
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
TV series ''
Lucifer
Lucifer is one of various figures in folklore associated with the planet Venus. The entity's name was subsequently absorbed into Christianity as a name for the devil. Modern scholarship generally translates the term in the relevant Bible passage ...
'', portrayed by
Lesley-Ann Brandt
Lesley-Ann Brandt (born 2 December 1981) is a South African actress. Brandt has acted in a number of New Zealand television series and first came to international notice with her role as a slave girl Naevia in the series ''Spartacus: Blood and Sa ...
.
Mazikeen, frequently referred to as "Maze" for short, is the
confidant
The confidant ( or ; feminine: confidante, same pronunciation) is a character in a story whom a protagonist
A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing ...
and devoted ally of Lucifer Morningstar. "Forged in the bowels of Hell to torture the guilty for all of eternity", Maze is an archdemon who, after having served for eons as his head torturer, accompanied Lucifer "through the gates of Hell", up to Earth (five years prior to the events of the series), where her first act, at Lucifer's instructions, was to cut off his angel wings with her twin
Karambit
The karambit or kerambit (as used in Indonesian), kurambik or karambiak (both from the Minangkabau language) is a small Indonesian curved knife resembling a claw from Minangkabau people of West Sumatra. The karambit is one of the weapons commonly ...
-esque knives "forged in Hell".
At the beginning of the series, Maze is serving as head bartender at Lucifer's club, the Lux, as well as his personal
bodyguard
A bodyguard (or close protection officer/operative) is a type of security guard, government law enforcement officer, or servicemember who protects a person or a group of people — usually witnesses, high-ranking public officials or officers, w ...
,
concierge
A concierge () is an employee of a multi-tenant building, such as a hotel or apartment building, who receives guests. The concept has been applied more generally to other hospitality settings and to personal concierges who manage the errands of ...
, and
adjutant
Adjutant is a military appointment given to an officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of human resources in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed forces as a non-commission ...
.
She engages in relations with Lucifer's angel brother, Amenadiel, and even sacrifices her chance to return to Hell in order to save him.
In season 2, Maze, unable to return to Hell, starts looking for a new direction on Earth. She later becomes a bounty hunter, having found something that felt right to her. Maze also moves in with Det. Chloe Decker and her daughter, Trixie, whom Maze, surprisingly, gets along with. Additionally, this season tests Maze's relationship with Dr. Linda Martin, her therapist-turned-bestie who discovers her secret.
By season 3, Maze has become much more emotionally human, while still retaining her demonic sense of humor and fascination with weapons.
Later, she marries Eve, the first woman, ex wife of Adam, the first man.
Mazikeen has been described as
pansexual
, meaning "all"
, definition = Sexual or romantic attraction to people regardless of gender
, classification = Sexual identity
, parent = Bisexuality
, synonyms =
, associated_terms = Polysexual, queer, heterofl ...
.
In Season 5, Lucifer promises Mazikeen to make her the Queen of Hell after he becomes God followed by the retirement of his father.
''The Sandman'' (2022)
Mazikeen makes an appearance in the
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
fantasy drama series ''The Sandman'' (2022), portrayed by Cassie Clare.
Like her comic book and ''Lucifer'' counterparts, she serves as Lucifer Morningstar's confidant in Hell.
References
External links
DCU Guide: Mazikeen
{{The Sandman, state=expanded
DC Comics characters with superhuman strength
DC Comics characters with accelerated healing
DC Comics demons
DC Comics fantasy characters
DC Comics female supervillains
Characters created by Neil Gaiman
Mythology in DC Comics
Fictional pansexuals
Fictional bisexual females
Fictional bounty hunters
Fictional swordfighters in comics
Fictional torturers and interrogators
Vertigo Comics characters
Fictional characters with disfigurements
DC Comics LGBT supervillains