Merge:Belasco

Belasco is a supervillain in the. The character's first appearance was in Ka-Zar the Savage #11.

Character biography
Belasco is an ancient, evil sorcerer serving the Elder Gods, and is perhaps best known for his kidnapping of Illyana Rasputin.

Early history
Belasco's early history is told by the poet Dante, though there is some dispute as to the veracity of these accounts. Allegedly, Belasco was a sorcerer in 13th Century Italy who used his knowledge of alchemy and the black arts to contact the Elder Gods (actually extradimensional demonic entities). He forged a pact with them enabling them to cross the barrier to our dimension using a pentagonal arrangement of five Bloodstones. In return, Belasco was granted immortality and immense mystical power. He was also given a demonic appearance, as he was intended to form a new race of Earth-dwelling demons.

To this end, he kidnapped Bice "Beatrice" dei Portinari, beloved of Dante, to give birth to the first of this new race. He fled with her to the Atlantean isle of Pangea, where the Elder Gods directed him to Mt. Flavius, where their summoning ritual could take place. While en route, Belasco raped Beatrice, and she was nine months pregnant by the time they arrived. He embarked onto the island, closely pursued by Dante, and took Beatrice into a network of underground passages designed to resemble Hell. Dante found them just in time to witness Beatrice dying in childbirth and, enraged, he attacked Belasco. During the battle, a pipe was accidentally struck, releasing an unknown liquid that placed Belasco in suspended animation. At some point on the island, Belasco also lost the locket containing the Bloodstones.

Modern history
In recent years, the volcano mountain became active again, releasing Belasco. He quickly located the locket and found a new sacrifice, Shanna O'Hara. He placed her under his mental control and began the spell. However, just as he was almost finished, Shanna's mate Ka-Zar appeared and hurled the locket into the volcano, sealing away the Elder Gods and apparently destroying Belasco.

However, he instead was trapped in Limbo, where he spent his years conquering it. Once complete, he drew the X-Men to him for unknown reasons and battled them. They all managed to escape save the seven-year-old Illyana Rasputin, who he made his apprentice. He shaped part of her soul into a Bloodstone, giving her great potential for power and allowing him to control her. However, upon reaching the age of fourteen, she rebelled against him, driving him from Limbo. Now its new master, she returned to her own world only seconds after the X-Men had returned, and shortly after joined the New Mutants as Magik. Magik was later deposed as the ruler of Limbo by the demons S'ym and N'astirh, the latter of whom was destroyed in the "Inferno" crossover, which also restored Illyana's lost childhood.

Belasco eventually took control of Limbo once more. The cultist Sammy Smith, alias "the Rev", who was a Jim Jones analogue, worshipped Belasco as Lucifer. The Rev fought the Punisher twice, the second time alongside the Punisher's longtime foe Jigsaw. When the Punisher killed Jigsaw, the Rev used his Belasco-granted powers to resurrect the thug, although both were defeated despite Smith's gift of demonic magic.

Belasco also turned Alpha Flight-ally Witchfire against her team by influencing her demonic side. She finally was restored to normal and returned to Beta Flight, Alpha Flight's support group. It was strongly suggested during this story that Belasco is Witchfire's father or at least that Witchfire believes so.

Later, Belasco and the fear-demon D'Spayre contested to corrupt Cable, the son of Madelyne Pryor, who had been the ally of S'ym and N'astirh during "Inferno". Belasco banished D'Spayre and summoned himself, Cable, and Cable's ally Lee Forrester to Limbo, where S'ym threw Belasco out of his way and fought with Cable. Cable won, and he and Lee returned to Earth.

It was eventually revealed that Illyana's best friend Kitty Pryde had received Illyana's Soulsword after Illyana had died; in dying, she had bonded the Soulsword to Kitty's own essence. After Kitty's team Excalibur fought off several claimants to the sword, Nightcrawler's girlfriend Amanda Sefton was given the sword. She then gave the sword to her mother, Margali Szardos, who was in turn kidnapped by Belasco and brought to Limbo. Nightcrawler and Sefton freed her, and Sefton secretly took the sword and adopted the codename Magik for herself. Belasco and his allies, the N'Garai demons, fought the X-Men again soon after, but were defeated by the X-Men with the assistance of the new Magik, who revealed herself to be Amanda Sefton.

Powers and abilities
Belasco is one of the most powerful sorcerers on Earth and possesses a wide knowledge of spells, allowing him to shoot mystical rays, control the minds of humans and animals, and transform himself and others, among other things.

He was also endowed by the Elder Gods with immortality and apparent invulnerability. The exception to this is his own sword, which was forged by the Elder Gods themselves. It was this which cut off his right arm under unrevealed circumstances.

He has also come to possess a wide knowledge of the advanced technology left by the Atlanteans in Pangea.