The Devil

The Devil is, in many cultures, the central embodiment of evil usually referenced as a rebellious demon who is the enemy of God. Amongst his many names, he has been called Satan, the "Prince of Darkness," Beelzebub, Lucifer, Mephistopheles, and most commonly, the Devil (in some literature implying that amongst a myriad of devils, he is the primary). In many cultures, he is recognized in visual form as having been derived from the Greek gods Pan and Dionysus in appearance and modus operandi. The devil is often seen as the proprietor of Hell.
As seen in episode 420 of The Muppet Show in a recreation of the Charlie Daniels Band song "The Devil Went Down to Georgia," the Devil challenges Johnny to a fiddling match. The stakes are Johnny's soul against the Devil's fiddle of gold. After a volley of hickory stump plucking, the Devil admits defeat and vanishes in a puff of smoke.
"The Devil Went Down to Georgia" could be viewed as a variation on a Russian folk tale/parable set to music in 1918 by composer Igor Stravinsky, entitled Histoire du soldat. The essential difference between the two versions is that in "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" the protagonist wins, whereas in "The Soldier's Tale", the protagonist loses.
The Devil also appears as the former scorned lover of an angel in the song "You're No Good" in the same episode, and later in episode 509 with a trio of demons during "One Way or Another".
It was also implied that the Devil is Alice Cooper's boss in episode 307, and that the guest star is trying to recruit lost souls for his master. After Alice fails to win Miss Piggy over to the dark side, it becomes clear that the Devil does not pay commissions on hourly rentals. In the final moments of the closing number, "School's Out," Alice sheds his cap and gown to reveal himself dressed as the Devil himself in a torn, red leotard replete with pointy tail, top hat, and pitchfork.
"Old Nick," a nickname for the Devil which dates to the 17th century, appears in the 2011 The StoryTeller graphic novel, as one of the two title characters in "Old Nick and the Peddler." In the tale, Peddler Bob signs a contract with the Devil guaranteeing he can sell all of his wares, but if his sack is ever completely empty, his soul will belong to Old Nick.
==References==
* Oscar the Grouch's return address shown on a letter to his friend Hubert Rotten on Sesame Street in Episode 0072, is 66666. Gordon reads it out loud with a pause after the first three sixes, a reference to Oscar's mean disposition in relation to the number of the beast (the Devil) in the Book of Revelation.
* Maria dresses as the Devil with a sinister voice as a "Surprise" in Sesame Street Episode 0911.
* Professor Krassman's Electronic Cerebrectomy is calibrated to 666, the Number of the Beast as established in the Book of Revelation.
* "Shiver My Timbers" includes the lyric, "those buccaneers drown their sins in rum, the Devil himself would have to call them scum."
* In Muppet Treasure Island, when the pirates give Long John Silver the black spot on a page from The Bible, he tells them, "Satan is heatin' his pokers for you, you blasphemous heathens!"
* When a screw on the plaque marking door "999" in Muppets Haunted Mansion comes loose, it flips upside-down to read as "666".
==See also==
* Demons and Devils
* Theological figures
* Psychomachia
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