John Milton (The Devil's Advocate)

"Free will. It's like butterfly wings: once touched, they never get off the ground. No, I only set the stage. You pull your own strings."

- John Milton, to Kevin Lomax on the concept of free will. "Let me give you a little inside information about God. God likes to watch. He's a prankster. Think about it. He gives man instincts. He gives you this extraordinary gift, and then what does He do, I swear for His own amusement, His own private, cosmic gag reel, He sets the rules in opposition. It's the goof of all time. Look, but don't touch. Touch, but don't taste. Taste, don't swallow. Ahaha. And while you're jumpin' from one foot to the next, what is He doing? He's laughin' His sick, fuckin' ass off! He's a tight-ass! He's a SADIST! He's an absentee landlord! Worship that? NEVER!"

- John Milton's view on God. "Vanity... is definitely my favorite sin."

- John Milton

John Milton is the main antagonist of the 1997 mystery/thriller movie The Devil's Advocate based on the Andrew Neiderman novel of the same name, and he portrays himself as a representative of a New York law firm but is in reality a powerful demon (according to the movie, he is Satan himself, though he could be any number of fallen angels or demons, given the nature of such creatures).

He was portrayed brilliantly by Al Pacino.

History
Milton tormented Kevin Lomax, a greedy and cocky lawyer who also acted as the morally dubious protagonist of the movie, though he did so with diabolic cunning and made Kevin's life a living hell long before he finally revealed himself to the unfortunate man, who later finds out from his devoutly religious mother that Milton was his birth father.

Milton's ultimate plan was to have his son and Christabella Andreoli (who was Lomax's half-sister) conceive a child. In exchange, he was willing to give his son anything he desired, but Kevin rejected his demonic father, committing suicide and foiling Milton's grand scheme; this enrages Milton to the point he screams out in rage and appears to transform into an angel - he sprouts glowing bright wings like an angel - as the scene turns to black.

However, the film soon takes a dark turn when Kevin awakens to find his life apparently back to normal and his wife, Mary Ann, alive once more. After rejecting the path that had led to his original damnation, Kevin seems to have defeated Milton completely, only to be approached by a reporter who wants to get a story on Kevin and promises to make him a "star." Kevin finally agrees to the reporter's request, and after Kevin leaves, the reporter changes into the form of Milton, breaking the fourth wall as he says vanity is his favorite sin, leaving the audience to question whether the cycle will start all over again as the movie ends to the credit song of "Paint It Black".

Some of the horrific acts Milton committed was drive Kevin's wife insane, raped her, and also had two demons (in the form of vagrants) beat Eddie Barzoon to death, though it is very possible that Milton (being a Satanic figure) is also responsible of all suffering in his setting in the manner of most Dark Forms.

One hopeful note can be derived from this cacophony: Kevin, who may well be continually targeted by Milton in cycle after cycle, has defeated both his plans and his expectations at least once. This is despite Milton's vast and deep manipulations, perhaps extending back before his birth. In that light, Kevin's victory is greater than it seems at first blink.

Personality
While initially portrayed as a shrewd, calm and charismatic man, Milton was also incredibly crafty, able to manipulate people without interfering with their free will. He displayed signs of having a hedonistic lifestyle involving promiscuity and drugs, although it is possible that this was all for show in order to tempt men to his side. Milton was extremely intelligent, and capable of making incredible strategic moves to achieve his goals - intelligence expectant of the Devil. He also possessed incredible power of speech - his monologues throughout the film are extremely perceptive of situations, particularly those surrounding God and His image, and make him the centre of attention the whole time.

As a fallen angel, Satan has over several thousand years worth of pent-up hatred towards God and religion. Throughout the film, he alludes to the faults in Christianity, most notably God's supposedly hypocritical and sadistic tendencies. He claims that his way is the true way of humanity as it does not cast judgement for giving in to natural desires. Fitting with his status as the embodiment of adversity, Milton is shown to make holy water boil just by touching it and grinning at a stain-glass image of Jesus as if to display his power over the physical world.

Although he had a laid-back, charismatic and easygoing manner, he was capable of unleashing an incredible temper - when Kevin commits suicide, he screams incessantly with rage and fury, unleashing an enormous firestorm that consumes everything in the building.

Milton claims that his favorite sin is vanity. He uses this very sin to make Mary Ann feel insecure about her appearance and gives Kevin a case that only he could win. It is implied that he has been helping Kevin win every case just so that his ego would grow and consume him by the time the plot was set in motion. In the epilogue, Milton is shown gleefully smiling as Kevin has a change of heart whilst simultaneously gaining fame for doing so, suggesting that he will find a way to corrupt Kevin's newfound sense of morality.

Trivia

 * The character was named after the real-life poet and civil servant Sir John Milton, author of the legendary epic poem Paradise Lost.