Hellenders

Infobox comics organization|


imagesize=
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team_name=The Hellenders
publisher=DC Comics
debut="" #2 (July 1996)
creators=William Messner-Loebs
base= Various
members=Nathaniel, Sure-Shot, Requiem, Sojourner, Deadfall, Shock Treatment, Spiral, Corrode, Warhammer, Rewind, Download
memberlist=
subcat=DC Comics
hero=y
villain=
sortkey=Hellenders|

The Hellenders are a fictional comic book superhero team owned by DC Comics and created by writer William Messner-Loebs.

Fictional background

The Hellenders are a group of demon hunting superheroes led by a mysterious man named Nathaniel.They try to keep the citizens of hell from gaining access to the mortal world and destroy supernatural creatures such as vampires, werewolves and ghouls.

When Nathaniel discovered that Wonder Woman had the ability to astral project herself into various lands of myth, he feared that she would try to physically transport herself to the Underworld after she began having violent nightmares of her former Amazon sister Artemis being tortured by demons in order to save her. Nathaniel feared that if Diana were to do this, the physical shift to that realm would rip open portals elsewhere that demons could use to enter the mortal realm. Because of this he assigned several Hellender members to watch Diana at all times. Unfortunately they arrived too late when Diana was finally successful in transporting herself to Artemis in the Underworld, causing the two realities to merge in some respects.

Later when Diana returned to the mortal world, Nathaniel discovered that she had returned with the once dead Artemis with her. Due to Artemis' time in the Underworld Nathaniel sent Hellender agents to invite the rejuvinated Amazon to become part of the team. She agreed but only on the stipulation that her new friend Henrietta Jessup join also. Though aggrivated at having to train Henrietta who was a civilian with no training what-so-ever, he agreed due to the prospect of having Artemis in the fold.

Artemis, calling herself the new codename Requiem, proved to be a valuable asset to the team as she spoke and understood demonic languages and was mercilous at destroying demons. She also trained Henrietta, now a reserve Hellender and calling herself the codename Sojouner, in various fighting forms. Her demon king husband, Dalkriig-Hath, though escaped from his world in an attempt to gain revenge on Artemis and managed to kill several Hellender members. Artemis was able to kill Dalkriig-Hath, leaving his rule to the more benevolent demon Belyllioth. As a gesture of thanks for giving her Dalkriig-Hath's throne, Belyllioth granted Artemis one wish. Artemis wished for Belyllioth to return the Hellender members killed by Dalkriig-Hath back to life. Belyllioth kept her promise and the Hellenders became whole again.

Artemis and fellow Hellender Sure-Shot were close to forming a relationship but Artemis dropped her interest once she discovered that Nathaniel had ordered several Hellenders (Sure-Shot included) to take psychotropic drugs in order to keep them fearless while battling the likes of demons and ghouls. After some time Artemis wanted to return to her Amazon tribe and became a reserve member, leaving Sojouner to fill her spot as full-time member.

Team members

* Nathaniel ("Leader") - Razor sharp hook for a hand and sorceror.
* Sure-Shot ("Team Leader") - A master of arsenal and projection weapons.
* Requiem - Amazon warrior.
* Sojourner - Novice Amazon.
* Deadfall - Testosterone and strength control.
* Shock Treatment - Electricity based powers.
* Spiral - Cyclone generation.
* Corrode - Physical decomposition powers.
* Warhammer - Super strength, durability and hand held weapons master.
* Rewind - Temporal control.
* Download - Android.

Appearances

* Artemis: Requiem mini-series
* Wonder Woman Vol. 2, issue 123

External links

* [http://www.dcuguide.com/who.php?name=nathaniel DCU Guide page on Nathaniel]
* [http://www.dcuguide.com/who.php?name=rewind DCU Guide page on Rewind]