"Welcome, Hell's sovereign Overlords. I've invited you all here because you represent the controlling powers of our city. Together, you own millions of souls. Souls that are at risk with the new Extermination schedule."
The Overlords rule over certain parts of Hell, each commanding a domain of influence to which Sinner demons submit. Their estate varies from minor to major, as does their reputation, with some being so infamous that lesser beings have been seen cowering at the mere sight of a prominent Overlord in the street. Even demons who have more power and strength than said Overlord, like Charlie, are fearful. Power struggles between Overlords give rise to both alliances and rivalries, such as the alliance of the Vees or the rivalries between Alastor and Vox or Carmilla and Velvette.
As stated by Carmilla Carmine, Overlords gain and increase their power by owning souls. A small group of overlords can collectively own millions of the souls that reside in Hell and exploit them to increase their own power and influence. Ownership can be direct, such as by having a victim sign away their soul through a contract or by striking a soul-binding deal. Valentino's binding of Angel Dust is accomplished through such a contract, and Alastor's bargain-struck possession of Husk is similarly unbreakable. The binding power of deals was later confirmed in "Hello Rosie!", where Alastor sealed a deal with Charlie via handshake and verbal agreement. Deals need not involve a soul, but always follow a stated term of exchange.[2]
There could be loopholes that can be found in an Overlord's contract or deal, such as with Angel Dust: while Valentino owns his soul, he can physically exploit Angel Dust only while they are in his studio. Valentino is never seen teleporting his debtors to himself despite having ample motive, unlike Alastor who can summon Husk, as well as some demons to fix the hotel wall in "Radio Killed the Video Star", at his will. In "The Show Must Go On", Alastor himself is revealed to be seeking his freedom by looking for a way out of his own deal.
Some Overlords may also form affiliations with each other to create alliances that differ in scope. One such alliance is between Vox, Valentino, and Velvette, who are joined in a special Overlord triumvirate called the "Vees" as major influencers in the media industry.[3][4] In "Hello Rosie!", Alastor and Rosie are shown to have some kind of alliance as Rosie offers Alastor some opportune real estate to make some deals, and she agrees to his asking for help in protecting the Hazbin Hotel.
Though some Overlords are condemned to remain in the Pride Ring due to their origins as Sinner demons, their influence can extend beyond the Pride Ring, such as Carmilla's weapons and Vox's merchandise that can be found in the other rings of Hell. Further, Carmilla Carmine gained the reputation as the "top weapons dealer" in Hell, suggesting that their businesses, names, and reputation can spread to the other rings of Hell.
An Overlord can lose their status by loss of influence or by unfavorable bargain, even selling their own soul. In "Masquerade", Husk reveals that he was once an overlord before betting his soul in a gamble to keep his power. An Overlord might alternatively keep their status and influence even if deal-bound, as shown by Alastor who is in a deal with another.
Cultural Relations[]
Some Overlords don't get along with each other either due to personal relations or disagreement with practices. One example is the rivalry between Vox and Alastor, whom have different views on technology and the latter refusing the former's offer to join his team.
Some lower-ranked demons look up to Overlords, like Sir Pentious who idolized the Vees and wanted to join them, while others wish to kill Overlords, such as Striker who offered Blitzo to join him in slaying Overlords. In addition, some demons dislike Overlords in general, and due to little consequence for having no respect for high-ranked demons, the only way to keep a demon passive to an Overlord is through fear and power.
Due to an Overlord possessing the ability to own a demons soul through deals and contracts, both parties of the deal can take advantage of their side, often exploiting it. One example is the deal between Angel Dust and Valentino; Valentino can do what he pleases to Angel while he is in the studio while Angel is free of him when he is outside of the studio. Additionally, the relationships between an Overlord and a soul they own can be overall negative, such as the case with Alastor and Husk, and Valentino and Angel.
When asked if Stolas was a fellow Overlord, Vivziepop stated that he is part of a separate hierarchal ranking which she refers to as "the Goetia Demons".[5]
Some Overlords appear to represent a form of media or business industry. Examples of such cases being Alastor with radio, Vox with television, Valentino with p*rnography, Velvette with social media, and Carmilla Carmine with weapons dealing.
During the pilot episode scene where Vaggie explains Alastor's origins as an overlord, a collage of eleven demons is shown.
Also shown are silhouettes of both Husk and Niffty behind Alastor. However, only Husk is revealed to be a former Overlord, while Niffty is known only to be Alastor's associate.
Later, the demons Bethesda and Frederick, who were not shown in the collage, are confirmed to be Overlords.[note 1]
According to Faustisse, Alastor has no interest in being an Overlord since power is not what he really desires.[note 2] Despite this, he is still regarded as an Overlord by technicality.
However, this detail may not be canon to the series anymore, as Alastor attended the Overlord meeting at Carmilla's building in "Scrambled Eggs". This could possibly indicate that while he may not desire power, he is willing to have a position as an Overlord anyway.
In the unofficial Voxtagram stories, Vox, Valentino, and Velvette were originally called the VVV Overlords.[6] In these stories, the group regularly hung out together, where Velvette seemed to be the glue that binds the other two together. A 2022 teaser for the main series revealed that the trio's official name is the "Vees".[3]
During an early version of the Hazbin Hotel pilot scene that depicts various overlords there was an overlord whose design originally had a single, more owl-like face and wore a hat, but in the final version was changed to have two faces and lacked the hat.[7]
Another change in the final version was the inclusion of Velvette, whose placement covers another Overlord with a pair of curled horns. This Overlord can still be slightly seen in the final version.[7]
In "The Harvest Moon Festival", Striker mentions in his pitch to Blitzo that instead of working for sinners he "could be slaying Overlords" and "could partner up with [Striker] and kill... the unkillable", which may imply Striker has killed or has the means to kill Overlords.
Overlords can lose their status, such as Husk who in "Masquerade" mentioned once being an Overlord before losing everything from gambling, especially to Alastor.
Zestial is the oldest of the Overlords, while Velvette is the youngest,[8] although it is unclear if this refers to their biological age or length of time as Overlords.
It is unknown if becoming an Overlord is limited to Sinners or if hellborn demons can also be Overlords.
Frederick and Bethesda are both hellborn demons, which supports the possibility that any demon of a certain background can acquire the rank.
When talking about the themes of Hazbin Hotel in a 2024 video, Vivziepop mentions that "Overlords are Sinners who gained power", possibly implying that most, if not all, Overlords are Sinners.[9]
Prior to his appearance in Helluva Boss, Vassago first appeared in the pilot episode of Hazbin Hotel, where he was seen among the Overlords in Vaggie's story, implying he was part of the ranking. It is unknown if his status as an Overlord will be carried over into the main series and its spin-off.
The large dinosaur-looking Overlord first seen in the Hazbin Hotel pilot, is confirmed to be named Zeezi from closed captions in "Scrambled Eggs".
As shown with Valentino and Angel Dust in "Masquerade", and Alastor with Husk in "Dad Beat Dad", Overlords can manifest their ownership and dominance over the Demons whose soul they own via chains, collars, and manacles they can conjure with their powers.
In "Hello Rosie!", it was implied that an Overlord could own a soul by taking them without a deal or contract if they choose to do so. This was implied based on Vaggie's reaction when she saw that Alastor was holding Charlie's hand and she asked what he did and told him to let her go, believing that Alastor took Charlie's soul by force until Charlie told her that she willingly made a deal with Alastor and he said that Charlie still owns her soul.
Introduction: My name is Kareem Mueller DO, I am a vivacious, super, thoughtful, excited, handsome, beautiful, combative person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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