| BAAL | BIOGRAPHY |
| Created by Alan Grant and David Roach |
PERSONAL DATA
Aliases: Hadad; Beth-peor; Baal-peor; Belphegor; Baal-zebub (Beelzebub); Mr. Rider
Identity: The general public belives Baal to be a figment of myth
Occupation: Semitic God of the Storm and Fertility
Status: Active
Homeworld: Earth
Place of Birth: Unknown
Citizenship: Not applicable
Marital Status: Unknown
Known Relatives: None
Base of Operation: Formerly Mount Zion, formerly a temple in Hell, currently unknown
Group Affiliation(s): Caananite Gods; Ahriman's faux Interfaith Deity Council of Active Polytheistics (I.D.C.A.P.)
Gender: Male
Eyes: Red
Hair: Brown (hellish form); black (human form); brown and gray (bull form)
Distinguishing Features: Hooves, three claws on each hand, blisters on head (hellish form); bull's head, hind hooves, three hoof-like claws on each hand, Babylonian-style beard and horns (bull form)
First Appearance: Batman/Demon (1996)
Creators: Alan Grant and David Roach
OVERVIEW
Baal is an ancient storm god who was worshipped in Caanan. In modern times, he has encountered Batman and Etrigan and was recently a member of Ahriman's faux I.D.C.A.P. when he was defeated by Superman.
HISTORY
Baal is a Semitic fertility and storm god who was worshipped in Caanan before the advent of the Hebrew faith. He was the ruler of the Caananite pantheon and had his throne on top of Mount Zion, according to the legends. Phoenician legends also point to some sort of association with Astarte (Ishtar I), but this has yet to be substantiated. While Ishtar derived her powers from her Oan ancestry, Baal's power is believed to have somehow originated with the GodWave, the energy shockwave from the destruction of the Old Gods that passed Earth 38,000 B.C.
Worship of Baal extends back to at least 1500 BC, but waned and died out with the advent of the Hebrew faith. The end of Baal worship in Israel is detailed in the Bible in I Kings 27:30, where all Baal's priests were killed by a mob after the prophet Elijah had challenged and defeated the Baal priests in a duel of faith on top of Mount Carmel. Elijah won the argument when a fire bolt from the sky set fire to Elijah's sacrifice to Yahweh while Baal was unable or unwilling to intervene. The reasons for this are unclear; maybe Baal feared to challenge Yahweh's supremacy directly, or maybe he was powerless to intervene. Like so many other fertility gods, Baal was said to follow a cycle of death and rebirth in tandem with the seasons.
For what Baal himself describes as “an aeon”, he has been trapped in a temple in his own little corner of Hell, biding his time. Baal is also known under the names Hadad, Beth-peor, Baal-peor, Belphegor, and was even made synonymous with Beelzebub (as Baal-zebub) by the Hebrews. Any allegiance to the demons of Hell has not yet been substantiated, but Baal is known to be an enemy of Etrigan.
In modern times, Alister Creel attempted to bring back Baal by performing a series of ritual killings, perhaps by strengthening the beast-god through reviving the old tradition of human sacrifice. Batman and Etrigan traveled to Hell and destroyed Baal's obese corporeal form, while his malevolent essence escaped, vowing to one day mete out his vengeance. [Batman/Demon (1996)]
Baal apparently regained corporeal form as half man, half bull, and eventually escaped from Hell, maybe with the help from the Zoroastrian god of evil, Ahriman, who set up a faux version of the Interfaith Deity Council of Active Polytheistics (I.D.C.A.P.) with the intent of recruiting Superman and his wife Lois as fellow gods. Superman eventually defeated Ahriman's I.D.C.A.P. and handed them over to the true I.D.C.A.P. Baal's current whereabouts are unknown, but he is believed to be in the custody of the I.D.C.A.P. [Superman: The Man of Steel #126-127 (July-August 2002)]
POWERS AND WEAPONS
Baal has been seen in at least three different forms, two of them bestial, so it is hard to determine which one, if any, is his true form.
When encountered by the Batman and Etrigan in Hell, Baal was an obese monstrosity, maybe 20 feet tall with hooves and three claws on each hand. His head was covered with blisters and he had the power to emit energy beams from his eyes.
When trying to deceive Superman, the faux I.D.C.A.P. initially used human aliases and forms. Baal then appeared as an Afro-American man with dreadlocks. When revealing his god form, Baal appeared as a humanoid with a bull's head, with hind hooves and three hoof-like claws on each hand. He also sported a Babylonian-style beard and horns, and was able to at will grow wings, which enabled him to fly. Baal seemed to possess vast superhuman strength, enough to give even Superman a hard time.
Baal seems to possess one weakness, a vulnerability to iron. Thus, Superman was able to sap Baal's strength with iron and defeat him. Many of the old gods lost their power and influence with the start of man's Iron Age and the introduction of a more evolved civilization, so this vulnerability could be psychological in nature. A god's greatest fear is to be forgotten, without worshippers he soon fades away.
CHRONOLOGY
For a definitive list of appearances of Baal in chronological order click here