- "I don't think there's anything left that could save such loathsome sinners! The chance given was the life they lived before, the punishment is this! There is no undoing what is done!"
- ―Alastor, to Charlie about the idea of redemption
Sinner Demons, also known simply as Sinners, are a subspecies of demons that were all once humans who committed sins or crimes before they died, which results in them being damned to Hell as their punishment in the afterlife.[1]
They are ranked above Hellborn demons such as Succubi, Imps, and Hellhounds in terms of Hell's hierarchy.
Description
Sinners are a large group of demons whose appearance and abilities vary widely due to their demonic forms corresponding to their human self's aspects. They are in the lower-middle levels of Hell's hierarchy, above the three lowest tiers.[2] Sinners have known limitations that separate them from the natural Hellborn demons; for instance, all Sinners are confined to the Pride Ring and are unable to traverse through the other rings.[3]
Furthermore, Sinners are the only known species of demon that cannot reproduce, which is part of their punishment, but can still have sex.[4] Although they are the souls of dead humans, these demons are shown to still consume food and the like, which suggests that their bodies still need the intake in order to survive. They also apparently need to sleep.
Despite these setbacks, Sinners have the rare privilege of changing their social status by gaining additional power, either by making deals with stronger demons and/or taking power by force.[5] Those who have accumulated enough power through these deals can rise in social status[6] and rise to the next class in the hierarchy, the Overlords. Furthermore, sinners are ageless and do not physically age and, therefore, will not die from the natural passage of time. Nonetheless, they can still be hurt, and in certain conditions, killed.
Additionally, some Sinners can enter a state of partialism, where elements of their full demonic form make their way into their humanoid form. This seems to be voluntary, occurring if they feel sinister or when they feel strong emotions such as anger.
Cultural Relations
Within the populaces of Heaven and Hell, there has been bias and stigma towards Sinners, mainly from Angels, as Sinners had their chance to do what is right on Earth but went to Hell because they committed unforgivable acts which earned them eternal damnation. With this, many angels and demons refuse to give another thought about Sinners and view them as irredeemable, and some deny that Sinners should get a second chance to enter Heaven under the belief that divine judgement is unquestionable and is final at death. Many Sinners actually adopt this view, believing they blew their one shot into Heaven and as such don't want to try redeem themselves. For instance, when several Sinners hear Charlie's announcement of the Happy Hotel, they laughed at and mock the idea, and Alastor, whilst being a Sinner working with the Hotel, doesn't believe Sinners can change for the better, calling them "loathsome", and aware that they can't undo what is done. Similarly, Valentino mocks the idea that Angel Dust can improve.
Lucifer in particular, a fallen angel himself, downright admits Sinners are horrible thanks to abusing the gift of free will he and Lilith gave them, and even made sure only Sinners would die during the Extermination, while the Hellborn are pardoned. The Exorcists, Adam and Lute, refuse to believe Sinners should be given a chance at redemption, and are willing to punish any Exorcist who dares to spare even one from death. Vaggie, while having abandoned her Exorcist life and views, is still wary of Sinners who could hurt her or Charlie. Despite this, several Angels in Heaven's courthouse, including the Seraphim Emily, were horrified that Sinners were being killed annually, and that Sera, the High Seraphim, allowed this.
Some Hellborn also have a low opinion of Sinners, with some such contempt seeming to stem from the Sinners' human roots, with Millie believing humans to be inherently vile and them being sentenced to Hell as evidence behind the callous predisposition a Sinner expresses. However, the majority of Hellborns have little to no problem living and working beside Sinners within the Pride Ring.
Notable Sinners
Regular Sinners
- Employees of the Hazbin Hotel
- Anchormen of 666 News
- Katie Killjoy
- Tom Trench
- Jeffrey
- Cherri Bomb
- Mimzy
- Baxter
- Crymini
- Sir Pentious (formerly, ascended to Heaven as an Angel)
- Mrs. Mayberry
- Martha
- Founders of Lyle-Loopty Robotics
- Angel Dust's family
- Emberlynn Pinkle
- Rita
- Karen Client
Overlords
Biology
Appearance
There is no true extent to a Sinner's appearance, since it is the manifestation of the soul in question. Usually, a human's demon form is influenced by the human's soul, sins or crimes.[7][8][9] An example being Angel Dust and his family: since he was in the mafia, he and his family members who are with him in Hell have spider-like appearances because of their "web" of crimes.[10] Sometimes, the form is influenced by the human's death, such as Lyle Lipton acquiring teeth akin to that of piano keys after being crushed to death by a falling piano.
In general, their standard appearance is humanoid, in the sense of having humanoid body structure: being bipedal (with a few exceptions, such as Lyle Lipton and Sir Pentious, that have no legs), possessing opposable thumbs and having an upright posture.
Abilities
Most, if not all, Sinners share the following traits:
- Demon transformation - A few Sinners have demonstrated the ability to transform into larger, stronger, and more demonic alternate forms, as shown by Alastor and Killjoy.
- Animalistic tendencies - When a Sinner has an animal theme, the Sinner will have certain behaviors related to it. Alastor, a deer-themed sinner, makes elk bugle noises when entering his full demon form and bleats like a fawn if he's feeling contentment. Valentino, a moth-themed sinner, makes squeaking noises every now and then. Husk, a cat-like sinner, purrs if feeling contentment.
- Immortality - Sinners do not age and remain the same age as when they died (ex: Alastor died in his 30s, so he will remain in his 30s forever in Hell), and thus do not die of old age and other natural causes that kill humans. They also cannot die via damage to the body or from earth-borne illnesses. When a Sinner is damaged or hurt in an extreme way (ex: being crushed by a piece of rubble), they will not die from it.[11] It has yet to be shown how the Sinner recovers; however, "Radio Killed the Video Star" has Velvette imply that, if a Sinner is completely dismembered, even by another Sinner as powerful as an Overlord, they may slowly "pull themselves back together" after some time. However, Sinners can still be killed once they are hit with any Angelic Weapons.[12][13]
- Superhuman durability - Since Sinners are already the dead souls of humans, they are highly resilient and are unharmed by most things that can harm humans. However, there are things that can injure or incapacitate a demon, Sinner or Hellborn, that being infected by Hell's own diseases and the like,[14][15] or if a demon is struck by an Angelic weapon.[16]
- Drug and alcohol tolerance - As Sinners are already "dead", they're free to indulge in drug addiction and alcoholism as they can't die from a drug overdose or alcohol poisoning.
- Unique abilities - Whereas Hellborn Demons have specific powers attributed to their species, Sinners are offered a larger selection of abilities that varies by individual. These range from Alastor's wide arsenal of powers, Angel's additional sets of arms, or Husk's ability to fly.
Mortality
Sinners can only be killed by angelic weapons; these are made from a special metal and are typically wielded by Exorcists.[12]
When Sinners are fatally hit by an angelic weapon, it results in the "erasure" or "final death" of the demon,[12] and the demon's body is "killed off", while the remaining dark energy in the soul is left to wander into inanimate objects in its surroundings, which explains why some things such as regular furniture have functioning eyes.[17] However, if they are simply injured by an angelic weapon, they can survive but will take time to recover.
However, in the case of Sir Pentious in "The Show Must Go On", Adam vaporized him with angelic light, possibly implying that a Sinner can be killed with angelic magic. Although, it is unknown if it can permanently kill a Sinner like an angelic weapon since Sir Pentious ascended into Heaven as a redeemed soul.
Redemption
A rare and esoteric phenomenon, redemption is when a Sinner can ascend to Heaven and become an Angel. Because of the rarity of this event, as well as lack of information on what causes redemption, the details of this process and requirements of how to do so are not defined. Furthermore, as Sinners express an overall disinterest in attempting to change their ways, most demons and angels view the chance of redemption as impossible.
The only known case of redemption occurring is with Sir Pentious; following him proclaiming his love for Cherri Bomb, he attacked Adam from his blimp as an act of self-sacrifice. After being immediately vaporized by Adam, he was sent to Heaven and became the first Sinner to be redeemed. This may suggest that in order to be redeemed, one has to resolve to be a better person and act selfless. However, it is unknown if the act of a "selfless sacrifice" is necessary or required to achieve this.
Trivia
- They are one of two non-Hellborn species of demon, the other being fallen angels, which are Heavenborn.
- Sinners are the only species of Earthborn demon. They are also the only demons that Exorcists are allowed to kill, as Hellborn species have been pardoned.
- The creature that each Sinner is turned into when they become demons are associated with their human life, or as Vivziepop puts it, individual reflections of their souls.[8] Because of this, their appearances are actually not randomized as many fans have speculated.
- In some cases, the form sinners take reflects the way in which they died, such as the camp counselor shown in "Unhappy Campers" taking on an aquatic appearance due to his death from drowning in a lake (a similar case also applies to Baxter), or Lyle Lipton's demon form having teeth resembling piano keys after being crushed by a grand piano.
- When Sinners arrive at Hell, they make up their own name that they are known for as demons. However, Alastor did not since he dislikes giving himself any sort of nickname.[18]
- This also holds true for business partners, Loopty Goopty and Lyle Lipton.
- Since demons theoretically cannot die via natural causes, such as Earth-based illnesses and overdosing, Sinners are able to consume amounts that would be lethal to humans without any risk of dying.
- This is shown in both Angel Dust and Husk, as both are able to consume vast amounts of drugs and alcohol without any threat of death.
- In "C.H.E.R.U.B", Blitzo was able to figure out that Loopty had just been sent to Hell recently judging by his scent from Earth, implying that Sinners retain their smell from the living world but it may eventually fade away.
- Because Sinners are technically already dead, they usually refer to their time on Earth as being "alive" and their time in Hell as their "afterlife".
- Sinners are the only species of demon to be considered "dead", as Hellborn demons can age and die through natural causes.
- In a development stream, artist Faustisse stated that demons can transform when enraged or when in combat.[note 1] In the series, while several Sinners have demonstrated this ability, it is unknown if this is an ability all Sinners possess or is specific to certain individuals.
- According to Faustisse, Sinners have alternate forms if ever they were sent to Heaven.[note 2] However, it is unknown if this referred to humans who died and became angels instead of demons, or humans that already became Sinners.
- The latter is the case with Sir Pentious when is sent to Heaven he gained a new form that is similar but different from that of his demon self.
- According to Vaggie in "Radio Killed the Video Star", Sinners are said to be desperate, and that they may be desperate enough to try anything to escape the extermination, indicating that Sinners might leave themselves open to any sort of danger and vulnerability to ensure their survival such as choosing to give up their soul in a deal to an Overlord.
- It is unknown how a Sinner arrives in Hell after they die on Earth and are damned to Hell. During the show's production, Vivziepop noted that while the process was still in development, she did confirm that where a human died on Earth is where they will arrive in Hell.[19]
- According to Faustisse, a human's voice changes when they are transformed into Sinner demons, possibly into whatever fits proper.[note 3]
- This detail may have been retconned as it is not the case with Mrs. Mayberry onwards, since she and the other Sinners retained their human voices even after they went to Hell. However, when Alastor arrived in Hell, his voice switches between his normal human voice to having a radio filter.
- Sinners retain and keep their memories from when they were alive, even memory of how they died.
- Sinners do not have powers when they first show up in Hell, instead they gain their powers by "leveling up" over time.[20] However, this may not always be the case, as in the pilot episode, Vaggie explained that when Alastor first arrived in Hell, he possessed raw power that had never been harnessed by a human soul before, indicating that there are rare cases for a Sinner to have powers upon their arrival.
References
- Notes
|
| v • e Species | ||
|---|---|---|
| Hell | Baphomets • Hellhounds • Imps • Infestors • Possessors • Sinners • Succubi | |
| Heaven | Cherubs • Fallen Angel • Seraphim | |
| Other | Humans • Robots | |