Nergal is a character from DC Comics and the arch-enemy of John Constantine. He was formerly the Babylonian god of war before being reborn in the underworld as a powerful demon. He is the main antagonist of the animated film Constantine: City of Demons, in which he is voiced by Robin Atkin Downes.
History[]
Nergal first crossed paths with John Constantine after being summoned by the young magician with the intent to have him kill his mentor Alex Logue. Nergal did so, but Constantine could not control the demon, who then slaughtered everyone in the Casanova Club besides Constantine and Chas Chandler. Nergal then dragged the innocent Astra Logue to Hell.
Fifteen years later, Nergal had set up shop in Los Angeles disguised as a demon called Beroul. He planned to establish a "franchise" in the city to gain more mortal souls to consume, but five other demons were also competing for control of the city. Having taken the soul of Chas Chandler's daughter Trish, he coersced John Constantine into helping him eliminate his competition. Constantine agreed to help Nergal and succeeded in destroying his rivals, but the demon went back on his word and kept Trish's soul.
Death[]
In the climax of the film, Constantine lures Nergal away from his sanctuary by cutting him off from the souls of several coma patients. When Nergal appears at the hospital, he is unprotected by the wards that safeguard his house, leaving him vulnerable to Constantine's ace-in-the-hole: the Candever Curse. The curse takes all of the love that Chas' wife and daughter have for him, and with Trish's soul still inside Nergal, that love acts as a poison that destroys the demon from the inside out. Nergal tries to convince Constantine to spare him, offering to release the soul of Astra Logue from Hell, but Constantine refuses and watches as Nergal explodes in a shower of demonic blood and guts.