Imps

Imps are a subspecies of Hellborn Demons that hold the lowest ranking in Hell's hierarchy alongside Hellhounds.

Description
Imps are in essence the "working-class" of Hell's society. They hold the lowest ranking in Hell's hierarchy and therefore are among the least respected and most likely to be hired for heavy labour work, or as servants for higher ranking demons.

There is a hotspot in Hell for Imps called Imp City, which appears extremely shabby and rundown, even by Hell's standards.

Notable Imps

 * Blitzo's family
 * Blitzo
 * Barbie Wire
 * Tilla
 * Cash Buckzo
 * Moxxie
 * Millie's family
 * Millie
 * Lin
 * Joe
 * Sallie May
 * Millie's three unnamed brothers
 * Striker (hybrid)
 * Fizzarolli (cyborg)
 * Wally Wackford
 * Goetia Family butlers
 * Mister Butler
 * Unnamed family butler

Appearance
Imps are designed to look like how the devil is typically portrayed in media, with red skin, horns and an arrow-shaped tail. All Imps share the same color of skin and striped horns ; red skin (some imps have specific markings as well), black-and-white striped horns, yellow eyes that glow in the dark, black slit pupils, and sometimes visible red irises that tend to grow wide when an Imp is angered.

Imps come in a variety of shapes and sizes, with the majority of imps appearing to be smaller in stature to humans, imp height ranges vary between almost comparable to an average human, to the length of an average human's leg. Furthermore the average muscle density of imps is notably thin, although there are some exceptions.

One of the most distinctive traits that tell them apart is the shape of their horns, which can vary greatly from individual to individual. As first shown in "Murder Family", Imp blood is usually black. Imps exhibit sexual dimorphism of their hair and horns: female imps have mostly dark hair and black horns with grooves on them, while male Imps have mostly white hair with striped black and white horns. Although these are predominant traits, there are apparent exceptions, such as a male Imp with dark hair that can be seen in the backgrounds of the episode "Loo Loo Land" and Striker in "The Harvest Moon Festival"; while he had white hair, he also had a black mustache. In the case of Blitzo and his sister Barbie Wire, they would be considered bald. Imp heads are relatively large compared to their bodies, and have some vaguely reptilian traits, such a lack of ears, lack of defined noses, and their heads often have a slight conical pointedness towards the upper lip. Imp head shape varies notably, such as Blitzo and Barbie Wire having elongated rear craniums. Although they usually appear to lack any nostrils at all, giving the middle of their face a bare, alien look, though they are revealed to actually have nostrils when actively smelling something. Their teeth are usually shown as sharp and conical, and their tongues are forked like those of snakes.



Imp arms and legs have some amount of variation, they may have either plantigrade or digitigrade feet, often with hooves or claws, which are usually black. Some imps may have natural high heels on their feet, as evidenced by Blitzo. Both Blitzo and Barbie Wire have wrists and ankles which are relatively thick and undefined.

Some Imps appear to produce animalistic sounds that are unique to individual Imps. Examples include Blitzo generating cat-like purring, Striker's tendency to hiss and rattle his tail, and Millie making chittering shrieks when angered.

Abilities

 * Ocular illumination: Imps have the ability to project light from their eyes when they are in dimly lit areas.
 * Pyrokinesis: At least some imps are capable of producing flames, such as the Imp carnie in "Loo Loo Land", who lights a cigarette made from a bill with a flick of his finger.
 * Fire resistance: As shown in "Murder Family", Imps are immune to fire and being fully engulfed in flames does not harm them. It is unknown if this is an ability unique to imps, or if it is a trait all demons possess.
 * Prehensile tail: Imps are able to use their tail to grasp things, such as when shown in "The Harvest Moon Festival" that Blitzo uses his tail to grab Striker and throw him with it.
 * Flight: Some, but not all, Imps are born with wings behind their backs, which grants them the ability to fly.

Mortality
Unlike demon royalty and sinners, it appears in the episode "Loo Loo Land" that Imps can be killed by non-Exorcist weapons. For unknown reasons, either due to being members of the lowest class of demons or some other cause, it is implied that Imps can suffer fatal wounds from regular weapons (such as knives and guns) or can even die from being petrified into stone from Stolas's gaze. A headshot from a gun has also been shown to be significant enough to kill an Imp completely.



In the episode "The Harvest Moon Festival", it is confirmed by Millie's parents that Imps can indeed be killed, such as during a natural disaster or during a violent festival event.

Although imps possess resistance to fire, as Blitzo and Millie were observed being consumed by fire and emerging unharmed, however it can be assumed that smoke inhalation is still fatal to imps, as suggested by a group of firefighting imps wearing gas masks in the course of their work.

Trivia

 * In European mythology, an imp is a minor type of fairy or demon that is typically more mischievous than threatening, and as such is deemed a lesser being, even servile, to supernatural entities-- this may be part of the inspiration for Imps in the series.
 * In the episode "Murder Family", Blitzo is injured by a bullet while in the human world and later implies that a shot to the head would send them back to Hell. This statement may be true based on Millie's reaction but has never been outright confirmed or denied on-screen.
 * It is possible that young Imps are called "Implings", as Robo Fizz addresses them as such in his show.
 * According to Striker, Imps don't typically start businesses on their own due to how low they are in Hell's hierarchy or from just the low income they receive.
 * As hinted in Stolas's greeting before he starts the ritual for "The Harvest Moon Festival", the majority of Imp-kind appear to be native to the Wrath Ring, and much less present elsewhere.
 * So far, Striker is the only confirmed imp to be a crossbreed of different Hellborn demons. Whether or not he is only half imp or part imp, however, is not mentioned.