Devil

"The other expeditions would have expected the creature to follow the logic of past encounters. But this one was alone. Maybe it had been left for dead, or simply forgotten. I had the feeling it didn't even know anymore. Being insane will do that."

―John Schaefer regarding the 'Devil' (from Predator: Dark River)

The 'Devil'^[1] was a lone Yautja previously encountered by Detective John Schaefer in the city of New York and later the jungles of South America.

After being presumably killed by the detective, the hunter had in-fact survived the encounter and had become enraged and unhinged, killing any outsiders encountered, armed or not, hell-bent on finding and eliminating Schaefer.

Biography[]

First Encounter[]

"He'd caught me by surprise in New York, but this time I was ready. Arrogant bastard was probably hoping for some kind of one-on-one duel -- "test of wills," all that macho crap."

―John Schaefer regarding the Devil (from Predator: Concrete Jungle)

PCJSchaefvPred — Schaefer impales the Devil.

Deep within New York city, the Devil closely watched a meeting between two local gang leaders, Lamb and Carr, before slaughtering them all, unintentionally leaving Carr the sole survivor. Detective John Schaefer, brother of Alan "Dutch" Schaefer, moved in to investigate the scene against the orders of his superiors. Schaefer subsequently came face to face with the Predator. A brawl ensued, and Schaefer was tagged in the neck by a tracking-device-like object. Schaefer was eventually kicked out of a building window, but not before being able to steal the creature's mask.

After a brief visit to the hospital, Schaefer travelled to South America to investigate and confirm the links with the murders in the city to his brother's disappearance. After setting up camp, he noticed that the New York assailant was nearby, and after narrowly missing a shot from its Plasmacaster, unloaded into the jungle, grazing the creature. The Predator emerged and began a melee with John. Though he was quickly overpowered by him, he broke a salt-shaker into the creature's face, temporarily blinding it. Grabbing a branch, he smashed it against the hunter, causing it to plummet from a cliff-edge and be impaled by a branch.

Bad Blood[]

"It's still alive -- the one from before -- but -- I killed it."
"No. You enraged it."

―John Schaefer and El Presidente regarding the Devil (from Predator: Dark River)

PDRDevil4 — The Devil roaming the jungles of South America.

Though presumed dead, the creature had actually survived his impalement, abandoned by his brethren after they retreated from New York. Alone and enraged, the Devil was eventually driven insane, and began a bloodthirsty rampage within the jungles of South America, forming a mutual alliance with the indigenous locals whom they seemed to worship. At one point, he ambushed an unarmed camera crew who desired to capture footage of the hunter. They were bewildered by the Predator's behavior of killing unarmed humans, before being mercilessly slaughtered as one of the natives recorded the killings using their camcorder.

A squadron of US soldiers were subsequently sent in to take it out, though they too were massacred.

Meanwhile, Schaefer returned to the country once again, this time with Mercer, who lied to John about knowing Dutch's whereabouts. He was subsequently threatened by the president of the region whom John dubbed 'El Presidente' to take out the Devil. He showed John footage taken of the Devil's massacre of the American cam-crew, whom Schaefer shockingly recognized from his previous skirmish with him. John and Mercer had tracking devices attached to them, and were forcibly accompanied by Lopez, a survivor of the Devil's slaughter of the military squadron whom El Presidente had taken hostage.

PDRDevil6 — The Devil brawling with John.

The Devil subsequently ambushed the three on a tugboat. The two began to brawl once again, and John was brutally ravaged by his old enemy. Before he was finished off, Lopez fired a flare into the Predator's face, causing it to howl in pain and fire its Plasmacaster in every direction, destroying the tugboat. The two escaped down a waterfall whilst Mercer was taken by the natives. The natives later tracked down Schaefer and Lopez and managed to hit John with a poisoned arrow. Though the two escape, Lopez was preoccupied with treating Schaefer, who fell unconscious whilst Lopez was kidnapped. Schaefer reawakened in the dead of night and began exploring further into the jungle. He eventually stumbled upon a ghastly ritual that the Devil was holding. The Devil had been brutally torturing a bull and a jaguar, keeping them barely alive and mimicking their cries. It is also revealed that he had captured Mercer and had bisected both his legs. Schaefer sneaked in and attempted to rescue him.

Final Battle and Death[]

"We're just prey to you, aren't we? A cat, a cow, a human being -- you were looking for me, but since we're all disposable, you cut apart anything you could find in the search."

―John Scahefer to the Devil (from Predator: Dark River)

John retreated to acquire US military contraband and pulled out a rocket-launcher, wounding the Devil with a blast. In response, it launched John into a nearby shack, finding Lopez tied up. The Predator eventually overwhelmed John and knocked the tracker off his leg. He was saved by Lopez who shot it with a pistol, and the two retreated, but not before John was able to attach the tracker to the Predator.

The two escaped, and before the Devil managed to give chase, one of El Presidente's fighter jets emerged. With the tracker now on the hunter, the jet mistook it for John, gunning it down and finishing the job by dropping a missile onto the creature, finally killing it.

Personality and Traits[]

"This...Thing...Is a scourge my people have faced for centuries. But until now we understood. It kills only the strong, in combat. Some even thought the struggle valiant, like the running of the bulls. A test for our people. But this one...it kills without thought. And unlike the others, it does not go away."

―'El Presidente' regarding the Devil (from Predator: Dark River)

Though initially similar to other Yautja, his abandonment by his brethren resulted in the hunter having a psychotic breakdown, thereafter becoming a merciless and cruel Bad Blood who had no qualms with murdering the unarmed. Unlike other Bad Bloods, the Devil seemed to take a sadistic pleasure in torturing its victims, keeping some of its prey just barely alive to mimic their cries of agony.

It was observed by John Schaefer that the Devil enjoyed mimicking animal sounds (most likely a result of his insanity) and mimicked their sounds as they were both dying and being hunted. Like most of his kind, he also enjoyed speaking the words of the humans he killed to taunt his prey.

Equipment[]

List of Notable Victims[]

"The Blood."

―The Devil (from Predator: Dark River)

Lamb
Leon
Stone
Mercer

Trivia[]

The Devil is the first Yautja to appear in the Predator comics line.
The Devil is one of few notable Yautja to appear in more than one Predator-related story. Other examples include Top-Knot, Light-Stepper and Ahab.
The Devil is a rare example of insanity in Yautja culture, which may imply that the mental health of the species is quite similar to that humans.
Though it was once believed that Yautja cannot survive on Earth for a prolonged period, the fact that the Devil was able to live for years after being presumed deceased suggests that they can surprisingly easily, despite Earth's atmosphere having 1% less oxygen and 4% less nitrogen than Yautja Prime.

Appearances[]

Gallery[]

↑ Referred to as such by Lopez and 'El Presidente' in Predator: Dark River

[1] Referred to as such by Lopez and 'El Presidente' in Predator: Dark River

[1]