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"Yeah, you do, in the studio, and you can do anything you want to me there, just like our deal says. But out here, I get to do what I want. So once again, fuck off!"
―Angel Dust, standing up to Valentino
Anthony,[1] more commonly known as Angel Dust, is an adult film star in Hell and one of the main protagonists in Hazbin Hotel.
A famous porn star and the first sinner the hotel is attempting to redeem,[16] but his selfish actions of using the hotel as a rent-free living space threaten to jeopardize Charlie Morningstar's dream.
Angel has a slender build and is the tallest of the main cast of characters,[17] estimated to stand around 8 feet with his heels on.[18] His fur is white and he has a mop of fluffy white hair that extends from both the front and back of his head, with splotches of light pink. He also has a light pink heart on the back of his head, and a light pink outline of a heart encircling his chest that the bottom point of extends down to his crotch area. His arms have light pink stripes that additionally his top set have light pink forearms with white fingers and his second set have white forearms and light pink fingers.
His irises are cerise pink while his right eye has a light yellow sclera and left eye has a dark sclera. His eyelids are light pink and the color extends up to his eyebrows. He has three cerise pink dots under each of his eyes, which are intended to evoke freckles, although they are actually another set of smaller eyes.[19] He also has a wide mouth full of sharp, pointed teeth and possesses a single golden fang, a feature he shares with his boss, Valentino.
One of Angel's most noticeable features is his prominent chest. The chest is actually composed entirely of fluffy fur, however, which Angel intentionally pushes up into a breast-like formation with his tightly pinned jacket for show.[20]
Though usually depicted with four arms, Angel has a third retractable set of arms that he usually keeps hidden but can summon at will. In background artwork seen in the pilot, Angel Dust's feet resemble those of a spider's.[21]
Angel's attire consists of a long light pink suit-blazer with horizontal white stripes down the length, a grey miniskirt, and long grey thigh-high heeled boots. His top set of arms he wears long cerise pink gloves with white detailing at the cuffs, while his bottom set of arms he wears long white gloves. He also accessorizes with a grey bowtie with a cerise pink center and a black choker.
Personality
Angel is brash and sarcastic, with a quick, sharp wit. He will often use these traits to deflect criticism or insults, and side-step responsibility. He will switch between playful and destructive as he pleases, and his humor tends to be crude and crass, with an emphasis on dirty jokes and innuendos, which he feels is expected of him and actively plays into.
He is stylish and performs an excessive amount of confidence with his public persona, being wildly flirtatious and interested in receiving positive attention for his looks and the profile he has made for himself in Hell.
He also makes a show of looking down others, declaring the other denizens of Hell to be mostly "ugly freaks". As a result, Angel can often appear flippant and callous. In reality he is preemptively defensive and hides much of his true, more sensitive and insecure, self for his own protection, not expecting those around him to show him kindness.
Angel does have friends, and while he cares about them and will sometimes show signs of wanting to reach out, he keeps many walls up between himself and others, being very protective of his true feelings and avoiding holding overly emotional relationships. He holds a cynical view on the idea of redemption, although he seems to still hold onto a small hope it may be possible for him.
The ongoing controlling and abusive situation he is in with his boss, Valentino, puts him under a great deal of stress at his work, and he is implied to be somewhat traumatized as a result. When being confronted by Valentino, Angel becomes scared and nervous around him due to the abuse he inflicts.
Abilities
Immortality - As a Sinner, Angel Dust is biologically immortal, being unable to die from illnesses and unable to age, remaining the same age as when he died, thus can not die of old age and other natural causes. He also cannot die from any kind of damage to the body, and will recover from any injury, however, he can only be permanently killed with angelic weaponry.
Retractable arms - Angel has a third set of arms that he keeps hidden and only uses them as his last resort.
Sensitivity - Angel can sense incoming storms from a mile away.[13]
Athleticism - Since Angel is based on the jumping spider, he is able to jump incredible heights.[6]
Skillset
Angel dances at Valentino's club
Musical talent - Angel Dust is a very talented singer.
Bilingualism - Angel is fluent in both Italian and English.[14]
Weapon proficiency - Angel can handle weapons with ease, specifically firearms and explosives.
Flexibility - Angel demonstrates some impressive flexibility as he is able to remove chains that were restraining him with ease, as well as pole dance at Valentino's club.
Angel was one of the first characters that would feature in Hazbin Hotel, and he remains one of Vivziepop's personal favorites.[22] Angel was created during her later years at the School of Visual Arts college, and she recalls how she would draw him excessively, to the point her classmates would comment on it.[23]
Angel, along with his brother, Arackniss, were originally planned to be part of a 2013 stand-alone "film noir-esque mafia demons" short story for Vivziepop's animation thesis, titled The Spider Brothers.[24][25]
The Spider Brothers as a thesis, was eventually abandoned, with Vivziepop realizing that the film was "just too complex and too demanding" for her current level of animation and she began to look towards having Angel feature in an arc of her then-running webcomic, Zoophobia, titled Angels and Demons instead.[26]
Angel's biggest design shift
Vivziepop eventually realized that the collection of misfit demons she had designed to appear within the comic had the potential for their own self-contained story, and shifted them, including Angel, over to the first draft of what would eventually become Hazbin Hotel.[27][28][29]
Vivziepop then slowly started to move away from Angel's grubbier, more masculine origins, beginning to incorporate more elements of gender expressiveness into his character, leaning into earlier hinted at enjoyment of cross-dressing and, later, drag.
His biggest thematic design shift happened around 2015, with Angel moving fully to a pinker-toned, more androgynous character - his Hell-career working in porn and as a sex worker was established soon after, as was his gay orientation, all elements that would carry through to the pilot.
Trivia
The name Anthony may come from the word "antonia", which means "priceless/praiseworthy and or beautiful".
His real name officially appears in the episode "Masquerade", signed on Valentino's soul contract.
"Angel Dust" is Angel's chosen all-encompassing persona name, and one he uses exclusively in place of his actual name. It is intended as multipurpose for both his drag queen persona and his sex-work persona.[30]
Angel Dust's birthday was once under some ambiguity. Vivziepop felt that his birthday was April 1st, although at the time she couldn't say for certain,[31] however, in a Tweet the following year she wished him a happy birthday on April 1st.[32]
On April 1st, 2023, the official Hazbin Hotel Twitter released a sketch confirming his birthday is on April 1st.[33][34]
Angel has two siblings, an older brother, Arackniss, and a fraternal twin sister, Molly.[35][36]
Angel comes from an extended mob family, who are all "horrible people", and are mostly also all in Hell.[37][38][39] They all appear as spider-based demons due to their "web of crime",[38] with the majority of Angel's immediate family have drug-themed names.[40]
Angel was of Italian heritage when he was alive.[42]
Angel purchases angel dust
Angel Dust has a drug addiction problem,[43] which was the main cause for his death, a drug overdose.[44]
Angel got into sex work pretty early upon arriving in Hell, rejecting his family's mob dealings, something that Vivziepop plans to explore in the show.[45]
Vivziepop describes Angel as somewhat like the Hell-equivalent to Paris Hilton or the Kardashians, in that he is a well-known star of a particular type in this world. Adult-film actors are the regular stars of Hell, and Angel is one of the bigger stars working at one of the biggest studios.[46]
Due to the fact he frequently stars in pornography now, Angel no longer watches pornography himself.[47]
Angel enjoys drag and although he was not directly inspired by any real life drag queens, Vivziepop cites Kim Chi as something of a style influence for his wigs, and compared his humor and attitude to Alaska Thunderfuck and Trixie Mattel (Although, she noted Mattel to be "too wholesome" and "not trashy enough" compared to Angel).[48]
Angel's fluffy chest and femme-embracing style is often a point of confusion among fans of the show, as well as characters within the show itself, as Angel pushes the fluff up into an almost breast-like formation. Vivziepop clarified within pilot development streams that Angel is, in fact, a cisgendered man who is just proud of his androgynous look and enjoys playing around with that, in both his day-to-day attire and his drag persona.[49]
Angel is gay, but Vivziepop describes him as being willing and able to sleep with women as part of his sex work for money. Although, it is not Angel's personal preference to do so and he will charge extra for his effort.[10] This is referenced in the prequel comic.
Although Angel has slept with many people, according to Vivziepop he has not been in as many relationships, and the ones he has been in haven't exactly worked out.[50]
According to Vivziepop, although Angel is very protective of his actual feelings, what he would like, deep down, is a solid relationship built on respect, with someone who values him and wants to be with him. However, a stable and healthy relationship is not something he expects, being a porn star who resides in Hell.[51]
Vivziepop has mentioned Angel's type is someone masculine and that he finds other gangsters attractive.[51]
Angel has personal kinks that he is into and enjoys BDSM.[52][53]
Whenever Angel is outside of work and doesn't feel the need to maintain his public persona, he prefers to dress in very cozy, comfortable, unsexualized clothing.[54]
Angel in drag
Vivziepop described Angel as a character with very strong themes of duality, citing his drag persona specifically as a big part of it.[55] His very inhuman form reflects the subject of self-image, describing it as a more universally understandable issue that could be conveyed with a less humanoid character like his.[56]
When discussing Angel's set of retractable extra arms, Vivziepop mentioned them being thematically appropriate for his character, as Angel is trying to hide much of his true self behind walls and does not have a lot of trust.[57]
Although Angel likes and embraces his demon form, the one thing he doesn't like about it is his feet.[8][58] Where possible, he would avoid sex work that involved his feet, or else he would be angry about it if it was unavoidable.[59] This is reflected in "Masquerade" wherein the script Angel grabs has written "Ima keep my whore boots on because [my feet are] fucking ugly as fuck".[60]
In artwork used for backgrounds in the pilot, Angel's feet resemble those of a spider's.[21]
When asked about the dots underneath Angel's eyes, Vivziepop revealed they are actually two sets of smaller eyes, but they are also designed to resemble freckles.[19]
In an earlier development stream, when asked if Angel is venomous, Vivziepop stated she did not think Angel was venomous due to being based on the jumping spider.[61] However, she returns to this in a later stream, stating that Angel's bite may be venomous. But, that venom in Hell can't actually kill anyone, it just causes temporary pain or disfigurement and making them fall ill.[62]
According to Vivziepop, there is a reason Angel is so brightly colored and this is something she wants to explore on the show.[63]
It is revealed in the ADDICT music video that Angel has PTSD-esque flashbacks and is dealing with possible depression after having to endure serious abuse at the hands of his sadistic boss, Valentino.[64]
Vivziepop thinks that Angel is somewhat indifferent to keeping up with trends in Hell. He is interested in keeping up with fashion, but is not particularly interested in technology in general. He's on the fence with the more online aspects of tech, with Vivziepop speculating that he would be something of a troll.[65]
She also doesn't think Angel would be good at using Hell's equivalent of a mobile phone for its intended purpose, rather that he would enjoy its capacity to take photos.[66]
Angel is not a picky eater, as he enjoys food in general, especially Italian dishes and well-prepared meals. But, he is also not opposed to junk food every so often.[7]
Angel is described as a relatively good cook, especially when it comes to Italian dishes.[5] His favorite dishes are lasagna and ravioli.[67]
Angel doesn't care much for candy, but really enjoys fruit. The closest thing to candy he would enjoy would be chocolate covered strawberries.[68]
Angel can play both the trumpet and accordion, although neither especially well. He can also read sheet music.[69]
Angel remarks in the pilot that he has no interest in the politics of Hell.
According to Vivizepop, Angel has a soft spot for children and he would be the "friendly irresponsible" type. He wouldn't behave inappropriately around them, but would still swear.[70] If he were to find a lost baby, he wouldn't hurt them, but he would take them to inappropriate places while finding their parents.[71]
When asked why Angel likes kids, Vivziepop explained that, although it probably wouldn't be explored with regards to children in the show, there are reasons for Angel's sentimentality and his instinctually seeing innocence as a thing to be valued. This was also the reason given for his loving Fat Nuggets so much.[72]
Angel genuinely likes fish and his favorite kinds are said to be the blobfish and angelfish.[73][74]
During the second chorus of the ADDICT music video, Angel and Cherri Bomb are shown in a club that features a ceiling-high aquarium in the background. In what may be a small easter egg, a blobfish and a handful of angelfish can be seen in one of the shots.
The ominous silhouette behind Angel
During the gang war with Sir Pentious, when Angel's shadow is cast behind him, it appears much larger than him, with six arms and glowing red eyes. This implies that Angel can possibly transform into a larger form like other sinner demons.
Vivziepop explained in a tweet that Angel Dust's extra set of arms are hidden to make animation easier.[75]
In "Masquerade", it revealed that one of Angel’s films won him an award against his rival Tiffany Titfucker.
According to Vivziepop, Husk and Angel Dust's relationship is one that will develop over the course of the series, and explained that it is one that she wanted to make sure has the time to develop,[76] but she did not specify whether this relationship will become romantic in nature or not.
The date of Angel Dust's creation as one of Vivziepop's characters is February 9, 2013,[77][78] during her time in the School of Visual Arts.
Angel's human name, during early development, was originally intended to be "Martin", which was a reference to Martin Scorsese, but it was later changed to "Anthony".[79]
During earlier development for his character, Angel was at one time planned to be from Los Angeles. Vivziepop settled on New York, however, wishing to give Angel a setting more appropriate for the traditional Brooklyn gangster voice she envisioned for him, and one that none of the other characters originated from.[80]
Vivziepop talked about being unsure what specific drug Angel actually died from. She thought that it was likely "something bad", like heroine or cocaine, but was also open to the idea that it could have been PCP, Angel's namesake drug, angel dust.[81]
In earlier reference sheets for his character, Vivziepop described Angel as "very genderfluid",[82] but later moved on from that identity as she continued to develop the character. In a 2016 speed draw video, she stated that she didn't think the genderfluid label applied to him much anymore and that he just isn't offended when people misgender him. She went on to say that, unless in drag, he identifies as male.[11]
When asked on development streams about Angel's apparent flat crotch, Vivziepop said that, alongside the general cartoon logic of his design, she thought it made sense that Angel had a retractable penis, similar to his retractable set of arms.[83]
In earlier artworks that featured Angel Dust's earlier design iterations for Zoophobia, Angel Dust and Vaggie were portrayed as a romantic couple within the version of the story she was currently working on.[84] She eventually decided against it and moved on, never having made it official and continuing to develop the characters in other directions, describing them as "no longer compatible".[85]
When Vivziepop first created Angel and Vaggie, "Africa" by Toto was their "ship" song, and as of March 20, 2016 Vivziepop still thinks it is the only song they can bond over.[86]
After Angel received his biggest thematic redesign around 2015, shifting him from the more masculine gangster to the more androgynous porn star, Vivziepop received some confusion from fans, who perceived his redesign as lacking flaws. This prompted Vivziepop to explain the foundations of Angel's personality in depth for the first time, describing him as a "preservative, insensitive asshole, who points out the flaws in others to make up for his own crippling insecurities". She emphasized his internal self-loathing and concluded by describing Angel as "cynical, guarded, and not afraid to hurt others to protect himself", highlighting how all his problems are of his own making.[87][88] As Angel's character was still firmly in later-stage development, it's unclear how accurate this remains for his character, but elements of it are reflected in the pilot and prequel comic.
Angel's original character, which was planned to appear in Vivziepop's Zoophobia comic, had a biological daughter, and as late into Angel's development at the initial planning stages for the pilot in mid-2017, Vivziepop was still unclear if Angel being a father would continue to be an element of his current character. She eventually decided against it, but it was a one of the longer hold-over concepts from his old character to be abandoned.[89]
During earlier development streams, Vivziepop explained that one of the reasons Angel is so sexual in Hell is because he wasn't able to be that person during his living life. He got into hard drugs and had some experiences, but he wasn't able to be his authentically "loose and expressive" self. His attitude in Hell is one that was formed in reaction to this.[90]
On the same stream, Vivziepop described Angel as priding himself on his looks and thinking that they're really all he's good for.[91]
Vivziepop also expressed her wish to give Angel a group of drag queen and stripper friends from his workplace within the show, who would ideally be voiced by real porn stars.[92]
On an older art stream, Vivziepop mentioned that she thinks Angel has a preference to bottom in the bedroom, outside of his work.[93]
Vivziepop talked about Angel being a particularly tricky character for her to write, admitting that she felt he had a wit and a snark that somewhat eluded her skill level, and that she had to get into a very specific head-space to tap into his confidence.[94]
Vivziepop cited Roger from American Dad as a source of inspiration when creating Angel Dust's character. In his original draft, Angel apparently shared more traits in common with him, being a "ridiculous drugged-out psychopath". Where they now differ is in Roger's intentional lack of depth and empathy for the comedy show he exists in, whereas Angel now has more of a complex interior life with motivations and feelings.[95]
When asked whether Angel will experience sadness or heartbreak in the show, Vivziepop replied "one hundred percent". Stating that Angel is one of the more emotional characters in the show, with Dave Capdevielle adding "There's a bit of drama, for sure".[96]
At the Momocon 2019 Hazbin Hotel panel, Vivziepop mentioned that Angel would be getting a love interest during the show. She gave no indication as to whom it may be, talking about how difficult she finds keeping upcoming couples on her projects quiet, something she has failed to do in the past, but is determined when it comes to Hazbin Hotel.
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