- Not to be confused with the Angel and Demon
- For the animated character, see The Devil/TCS.
"Win one more roll, and all the loot in my casino is yours! But if you lose, I'll have your souls! Deal?"
—The Devil to Cuphead and Mugman
The Devil is the main antagonist and the final boss of Cuphead: 'Don't Deal With the Devil' as well as the overarching antagonist of its DLC, Cuphead: 'The Delicious Last Course'. As ruler of the underground isle of Inkwell Hell, he resides within the colossal, castle-like casino that takes up most of the isle's landscape.
The Devil is encountered in his throne room inside of the casino, after which he is fought in the final stage One Hell of a Time. Upon his defeat, the game's narrative concludes.
Description
Appearance
With the exception of his face, hands, and feet, the majority of the Devil's body is covered in short, black fur. While the color of his face matches that of his fur, the bare skin on his hands and feet are a much lighter grey; at the end of each of his fingers and toes are short, pointed claws. He is often illustrated carrying a pitchfork in his hand and/or tapping the big toe on one of his feet.
The Devil is almost always shown sporting an ear-to-ear, toothy grin. He has round, protruding cheeks, a furrowed brow, and heavily-lidded, yellow eyes. He also has a drooping, round nose, a tall with an arrow-shaped tip, smooth horns, and ears that are pointed at their tips. Much like his lackey, King Dice, his normally small, black pupils seem to gain large, red irises when behaving in a particularly sinister manner.
He is normally depicted as being quite tall in comparison to the rest of the cast, with the ability to change his size and shape at will. This includes being able to remove his skin from his skeleton and jump out of it all together. He is also confirmed to have a tail with a spade-shaped tip at its end, but this has only been depicted in official Studio MDHR artworks published before and after the game's release. As such, he is never actually shown with a tail in-game.
The Devil's design for The Cuphead Show! remains more or less the same, with only a few stylistic changes made. In addition to now always shown as having a tail, his nose has gained a red flush along with having longer yellow horns instead of white horns, and the red irises he is only occasionally depicted with in-game are now a permanent part of his design. His fur is softer and less scruffy and has also gained a slight blue tint respectively.
Personality
As the series' own interpretation of Satan, the Devil is an appropriately sinister character, being feared for his adept use of trickery and deception. By taking advantage of his victims' latent greed, the Devil is shown to use gambling at his casino as a method by which to encourage his victims into making increasingly reckless, Faustian bets, eventually culminating in the forfeiture of their soul to him upon their loss. While only the ruler of the underground depths known as Inkwell Hell, the threat of his influence can nevertheless be felt all across Inkwell Isle. Even Cuphead and Mugman are said to have received "many warnings" by the Elder Kettle to steer clear of the casino entirely. He is also very evil, as when Cuphead loses and the devil wins the bet, he is always willing to take their souls with no problem at all. The Devil has no problem of using something to destroy a person during a battle, showing him as not just evil, but unusually very murderous too. Despite these traits, whenever he is talking to his closest minions, such as King Dice, he is usually happy and normal to talk and chat with him.
Both a liar and a cheat, the Devil naturally has no problem with going back on his promises so long as it benefits him, turning Cuphead and Mugman into his slaves for handing over the soul contracts in spite of promising to spare them if they do. He holds very little sympathy for those in his employment, as shown when he declares his right-hand man, King Dice, a "good-for-nothing lackey" after the latter has been beaten. Since then he had still remained as the dark figure that people fear, as all the other bosses were afraid about being the Devil's slaves.
In The Cuphead Show!, the Devil remains the same, but has a more flamboyant and comical side to him, acting sassy and a bit childish at times. In the first episode, he gleefully sings about how great it is to be him, how he adores being a naughty bully to the Isles' locals, and that collecting the inhabitants' souls is his favorite hobby.
The Devil's main trait is that he is incredibly prideful of himself, believing he'll always win and get what he wants in the end. This pride is what leads to his failures in both the game and the show.
Story
Being the owner of the casino, the Devil resided in Inkwell Hell, making deals with anyone who wanted their wishes granted for the price of their souls. One day, after being impressed by the winning streak of Cuphead and Mugman at the Craps table, he approached the pair and offered them all the loot in the casino if they won the next roll. If they lost, he would claim their souls.
Being a threatening figure, it is shown in the Angel and Demon boss fight, he was a skeleton during the boss fight, however after the angels and demons are defeated, the devil might have chosen to be the demon that he always wanted to be. Taking his place to be the ruler of hell, granting him to be what he wants, along with his pitchfork.
The Devil sending the brothers on their pivotal mission.
Cuphead, blinded by greed, threw the dice before Mugman, who was fully aware of the risks, could stop him. Be it by sheer coincidence or the game being rigged, the dice landed on snake eyes, resulting in the Devil's victory. Having lost, the brothers begged him not to take their souls and asked if there was anything else they could give him in exchange. After pondering, the Devil told them that if they can gather the soul contracts from his other debtors before tomorrow at midnight, he would spare their lives and rudely boot them out of his casino. He then sent King Dice to make sure the pair fulfill their end of the bargain.
When King Dice reports Cuphead and Mugman's progress in collecting the debtor's souls, The Devil proclaims he knew there was something special about the pair. In response to Dice's concern about the brothers being up to something, the Devil assures that he'll be waiting in case they try anything.
Eventually, Cuphead and Mugman obtain all the contracts and confront the Devil once again in his throne room. The Devil congratulates the pair for defeating King Dice and offers the choice to join him if they give him the soul contracts.
If the brothers agree, he brainwashes them into his henchmen.
If the brothers refuse, the Devil angrily fights them, but is eventually beaten to submission. The brothers destroy all his contracts, and he is rendered powerless.
Before Battle
Well, well, well... look how far you've come! Not only did you bust up my good-for-nothing- lackey, King Dice... ...but I see you've got my soul contracts, as agreed! Hand 'em over and join my team!
(If player selects Yes) You're mine now! And we're gonna have a hell of a time down here...!!
(If player selects No)
Welching on me just like all the others, eh... I'll teach you for backing out of a deal -- have at you!!
Battle
Intro
The Devil glares at Cuphead and Mugman, and his pupil turns into image of a cup being shattered and its shards being sliced into nothing by a cleaver, later laughing in the background. This intro is unique, because unlike in every other intro, Cuphead and Mugman are terrified instead of getting prepared for battle, reusing their scared poses from when they fail to protect the Urn in the game's mausoleum levels.
Phase 1
"You broke our deal... now it's my turn to break you!!!"
—The Devil, Phase 1 Death Screen
The Devil's first phase involves him attacking with both his pitchfork and his transformations.
By chanting an incantation and swinging his pitchfork, he can create one of three projectile attacks:
- Creating four crystal balls that bounce around the arena erratically. One of the four can be parried. In Expert mode, the balls bounce faster.
- Creating five fireballs with eyes that moving left to right and back; four blue fireballs revolve around one pink one, which can be parried. In Expert mode, the fireballs move and rotate faster.
- Creating six fireballs fixed in a hexagon formation, which home in on the players. One of the six can be parried. In Expert mode, the fireballs take less time to start homing in.
He also uses three transformations, each with its own attack:
- Goat: His head becomes that of a goat as he extends his arms from both sides to crush the players in the middle. Though it seems simple, this attack can be tricky, as players have to jump at the precise moment to not get hit. Formerly, the player was able to crouch to avoid this attack.
- Spider: The Devil grows four extra arms and detaches his head as his head grows four extra eyes, two smaller horns and four small legs to resemble a spider. In this transformation, he primarily attacks by slamming down three times (though on some occasions he’ll slam down four or five times) before reverting to his original form. In Expert mode, he slams faster.
- Serpent: His head becomes a draconic serpent and extends to either side as a means to corner the players so they can be hit by his minions.
Throughout the phase, his purple demon minions hiding behind his throne will come from either side to damage the players. These minions can be disposed of by simply shooting at them. In Expert mode, they appear more often. Hitpoints = 4.5/5
After taking enough hits, the Devil will pull his skeleton out of his skin and escape through a small hole in the arena's center. The players must follow him into the hole or be damaged by advancing walls of fire on either side of the screen. Hitpoints = 665/735
Phase 2
"Anyone who opposes me will be destroyed!"
—The Devil, Phase 2, 3, and 4 Death Screen
After the player escapes through the hole that the Devil made in his escape, the final battle commences as the Devil grows into a giant. In this phase, players fight him on five floating platforms and have to shoot at his eyes while dodging his two attacks:
- By joining his two eyes into one, he summons a fiery axe that moves in a spiral motion and will damage the player(s) if they run into it.
- A bat-like bomb is created from one eye and spawned through either the left and right ears, depending on the eye he spawns them in. If the player(s) fail(s) to neutralize the bomb by parrying it soon after it flies out of the Devil's ear, the bomb will explode. These bombs will deal extreme damage to the player(s) if they get caught in it.
Throughout the phase, flaming poker chips will fall from the sky and land onto the platforms, damaging the players standing beneath them. These poker chips follow a pattern: if the first poker chip appears at the left, the next chip will appear at the right, vice versa if the first poker chip appears at the right. Once at the other end, it will loop back around. In Expert mode, the flaming chips fall slightly faster. Eventually, the Devil will be knocked back. Hitpoints = 570/630
Phase 3
The Devil will be frustrated and keep looking around, the platforms will be reduced to three which increases the chance of poker chips falling onto the players. the Devil will no longer fight Cuphead and Mugman directly; Instead, he will summon his minions to damage the players in one of two ways:
- He will summon two fat purple winged demons from both sides to shoot skulls at them. Occasionally, pink skulls appear that can be parried. These demons can be shot down when enough damage is dealt, but the devil will later summon new ones. Hitpoints = 42/50
- Above his head is a group of small, blue-winged demons that hone in on the players. These demons can also be dispatched fairly easily by shooting at them. Hitpoints = 3.5/3.5
After taking enough hits, the Devil will be knocked back again. Hitpoints = 475/525
Phase 4
The Devil will go into a physical and mental breakdown, crying blood. In this final sub-phase, he is reduced to using the poker chips and his own tears to damage the players. Only one platform will remain in the center; the player has to dodge the falling poker chips while avoiding his tears. All of the tears can be parried. In Expert mode, the tears fall more frequently.
After the Devil takes enough damage, he is beaten for good. Hitpoints = 190/210
Phase 2 to 4 Total Hitpoints = 1235/1365
Sound Effects
| Description | Audio |
| Overworld | |
| The Devil laughing in the bad ending. | |
| The Devil's introduction. | |
| The Devil laughing. | |
| The Devil's goat transformation. | |
| The Devil's serpent transformation. | |
| The Devil's spider transformation. | |
| The Devil chanting while using his pitchfork. | |
| The skeleton escapes. | |
| The Devil frustrated. | |
| The Devil crying. | |
| The Devil defeated. |
Gallery
.gif "Cupheaddevil unusedphase3intro (2).gif (9.55 MB)")
Unused Content
Two of Devil's pitchfork attacks went unused and were replaced with the Devil's foot sprite. One has the Devil spawn three fireballs that bounce around and disappear. The other spawns a pair of fireballs; each pair has one fireball that moves in a linear motion, the other orbiting around it.
An unused phase 2 of the Devil has two platforms, and the active Devil is always the one the player is facing. The background is the same as when the player is dropping through the hole onto the in-game Phase 2, suggesting it takes place between them.
This phase has been reworked into the secret Angel and Demon fight, expanding on how it might have been used originally. The Devil is still a skeleton, from taking his skin off in Phase 1, holding a platform that is a flat plane of land and ocean. The one the player is facing turns into a demon, shooting projectiles and summoning flaming columns that can hurt the player, while the angel does not. The column forces the player to turn away from the demon when summoned. After this phase is defeated, both of them are sucked into the eyes of the skeleton, causing his flesh to regenerate. The Devil opens his eyes, makes a wide, sinister grin, and comes closer to the screen. After this, the in-game Phase 2 would begin.
Walkthrough
| Regular Mode | Expert Mode |
|---|---|
 |
 |
Trivia
- In the beginning of the story, the Devil represents "double or nothing" in Craps, which Cuphead and Mugman played together. However, he added the taking of their souls if they lose the bet.
- Oddly, the changelogs list his serpent attack as "snake attack" even though it has legs and wings, making it resemble that of a Chinese dragon.
- The Devil is one of the two bosses that cry while fighting Cuphead and Mugman, the other being Ollie Bulb.
- There is a Demon Bat that resembles the Devil shown in the 2014 E3 trailer, it is confirmed to be unrelated to the Devil.
- There is data for an unused second phase for the Devil. With the similar looks and scenery, some people assumed that the Demon Bat would be it. However, the unused second phase turns out to be different and has been reworked in the Delicious Last Course.
- At the end of the serpent transformation in Phase 1 of the Devil's boss fight, there is a lingering hit-box in the bottom left-hand corner of the screen. This means that if the player stays in the corner after the attack has ended, they can be hit by a seemingly invisible object and lose a life.
- The Devil, like King Dice, cannot be fought in Simple difficulty; only on Regular and Expert.
- However, using a hacked debug menu, you can fight him on simple. On this simple devil fight, you win after beating his first phase, where his skeleton will jump out of his skin and stay up off screen. The ending cutscene will now play, which could be why his simple mode was removed.
- The Devil's art assets for Phase 2 are labeled as Phase 3, especially the art used for the underground transition intro, presumably meaning that an additional phase was planned to take place in the throne room, but got cut prior to the game's release. However, the second phase was revealed to be the Angel and Demon fight before being removed and reworked into the DLC.
- The Devil is one of the two bosses that threaten to kill Cuphead during their introduction, the other being Djimmi The Great.
- Out of all the death screens in the game, The Devil’s final phase death screen is the only death screen that shows a dead Cuphead and Mugman.
- The Devil's theme in the first phase is called Admission to Perdition and partly comprises parts from other bosses' themes such as High Seas Hi-Jinx!, Aviary Action!, Sugarland Shimmy, Junkyard Jive!, Fiery Frolic, Dramatic Fanatic, Floral Fury, Carnival Kerfuffle, Ruse Of An Ooze, Pyramid Peril, Botanic Panic!, Railroad Wrath and Clip Joint Calamity. It also has a part of Devil's henchman which is the bad ending theme. The song even winds down when it ends, much like Dramatic Fanatic. It also incorporates background solos reminiscent of the piano solos implemented in the intro music. The second phase theme called One Hell of a Time continues to have Junkyard Jive!, Botanic Panic!, Aviary Action!, Threatenin' Zeppelin and Fiery Frolic in the theme, it even has the announcement trailer theme in it. This may be meant to symbolize that Cuphead and Mugman aren't just fighting for themselves, but for the other debtors as well.
- Judging by the games files, this also would have been the theme for the demon bat if it were finished.
- The Devil is the only boss to have two different boss themes.
- The Devil seems to have retractable claws, seeing as they are missing in two of the cutscenes.
- He also oddly lacks a tail in game, yet has one in artworks. It could be behind his body, however.
- In the unused Simple Mode, he would attack exactly like Regular Mode, the only difference seems to be he is knocked out in phase one. He will pull off his skin and leave it behind when the skeleton jumps up, not coming back down and create a hole to go down deeper. In later version like 1.1.3, the Simple Mode differences have been removed and would play like Regular Mode instead.
- The fact that the Devil owns the casino could be a possible reference to the fact that the casino game, Roulette, is sometimes referred to as 'The Devil's Game' due to the numbers on a roulette wheel adding up to 666.
- Not counting Hilda Berg's constellation forms, the Devil is the only boss who is not original to the game. Rather, he is a figure from Abrahamic religions.
- The serpent attack is a reference to the Bible in which the Devil, as a form of a snake, tempted humanity into eating the fruit with sinful downfall as a consequence.
- The gleaming lights from Devil's body parts during some of his attacks might be a reference to his past before falling into sin.
Inspirations and similarities
A comparison of the Devil from Hell's Bells to the one from Cuphead
- The Devil's design is based on the devil from "Hell's Bells", a short from Silly Symphonies. In addition,the Devil's transformation into a spider is based on the spider at the beginning of Hell's Bells.
- The Devil might also be inspired by the devils in the 1934 Betty Boop cartoon Red Hot Mama.
- The depiction of hell with the Devil and his minions also resembles Pluto and his minions from the Silly Symphony cartoon The Goddess of Spring.
- His appearance may also be inspired by a portrait of him from a large book called the "Codex Gigas" or "The Devil's Bible"
- The Devil's personality is heavily based on Satan from the Hebrew Bible. Fittingly, the Devil represents evil and temptation, with which Satan is associated.
- If the player agrees to give the Devil all the soul contracts, this will result in getting the bad ending where Cuphead and Mugman (along with Ms. Chalice if the DLC was purchased) become the Devil's corrupt minions. This is most likely a reference to the bad ending in Contra: Hard Corps, in which the player is invited by Colonel Bahamut to join him.
- His last three stages are very similar with the battle with Majoliné from Locoroco 2, where the boss's face is huge and shoots with enemies generated by its head.
- The reaction that Cuphead and Mugman have before fighting the Devil may be an homage to the boss fights in the Battletoads series when either Rash, Zitz or Pimple (and Billy and Jimmy Lee in the Double Dragon crossover) get the same terrified reaction when facing many bosses at the start of the battle.
- The Devil’s First Phase form is similar to Lucifer, the final boss of Capcom’s Ghouls 'n Ghosts and Ghosts 'n Goblins Resurrection.
- The fight appears to take some influence from Disney's Fantasia. The hellish backdrop seen during the 1st phase resembles the volcanic landscape seen in the opening act of the Rite of Spring segment. And the animation for the Devil's Final Phase appears to be inspired by the lightings on Chernabog from Fantasia's Night on Bald Mountain segment.
- The Devil's crystal ball attack is a close match and a possible reference to one of Crystal Man's attacks from Mega Man 5.
- The quote for the final phase's death screen is a possible reference to M. Bison's victory screen from the console version of Street Fighter II.
- The achievement of defeating the Devil is called Swing You Sinners, a reference to a 1930 cartoon created by Fleischer Studios with the same name.
External Links