Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy was a Marvel comics villain and an enemy of the satirical superhero / anti-hero known as Howard the Duck.

History
In Heaven, the Religion as Replacement for Thought Coalition, under the leadership of Chairman Gabriel, developed a project known as "Da Bomb," in which an angel and a demon were bred in hopes of creating a being to replace God. Performed in Node QZ5528-W under the supervision of Cherub Thrasher, the breeding went along well, but Deuteronomy proved difficult to contain. Thrasher and his agents could not get the force fields working properly as the Star Trek specs they had used were full of holes.

Deuteronomy escaped. Wishing to contain the problem before God found out, and realizing that if the entity reached Earth prematurely that it could fatally undermine the credibility of the Coalition, Gabriel commanded Thrasher to capture or destroy Deuteronomy immediately.

Unfortunately for Thrasher, the specs for the sensors that Gabriel gave him were similarly useless. However, based on the likely deviant behavior of a demon-angel hybrid, Thrasher was able to extrapolate that Deuteronomy would arrive in Cleveland, Ohio the next afternoon. As Deuteronomy came back into detection and within range, Thrasher fired their particle cannon at it...and missed. Blaming the Chairman for putting together a weapons system without a budget, Thrasher nonetheless pinpointed Deuteronomy's exact point of impact: Downtown. Corner of 4th and Bosh. The television studio of the Iprah Show.

Gabriel and Thrasher traveled to Hell to ask for God's help. Finding him on a drinking binge--ever since Hitler's activities--at Job's Place, they asked his assistance and were angrily rebuffed.

Meanwhile, Deuteronomy arrived on Earth, merging with talk show host Iprah. The energies released burnt the flesh from her audience, though they remained as vapid and supportive as before. Their union was the fusion of a monstrosity that was half-id, half-super ego with a creature that was all ego. The resultant personality was a new age super-narcissist, slavishly devoted to self-worship, driven to enforce its will on others, and incapable of resisting any impulse. Iprah--now possessing the power to control others with the sound of her voice--began to continuously broadcast a message of unconditional self love. Gabriel dispatched Thrasher to Earth to enlist the Saint of Therapists Sigmund Freud.

Iprah continued her preaching, and even Howard felt validated by her. However, when she asked him what he believed, he told her that he believed that deep down, people were no damn good. Iprah cursing Howard for committing negativity, but he continued to hold his own in the argument against her, despite her powers. Unable to win Howard over and finding him grossly insensitive, Iprah decided to kill him to spare the rest of humanity from him. The Saint of Therapists then arrived, using psychology to put her on the defensive, and condemning Deuteronomy as a failed experiment. Regrouping, Iprah/Deuteronomy blasted a hole through the Saint's chest, killing him again. As the Saint fell, however, he dropped his cigar, an item of vast power. Howard picked up the cigar and blasted Iprah with nicotine-infused negative energy. Deuteronomy was driven out of her form, and her connection to the American public was severed (as was her aorta).

Powers / Abilities
Deuteronomy had magical power superior to that of the Archangel Gabriel. It could fire destructive blasts, travel though space unaided, possess others, and likely other powers unseen. It was presumably immune to age and conventional disease, as well as to physical assault.

When Deuteronomy merged with Iprah, the combined being could levitate, control others with its voice, control television broadcasts, and fire fatally destructive bolts.