#abel firstman

THE ELDERS OF HEAVEN

The Elders of Heaven are six angels mentioned in Overture:

Charlie: Lucifer was one of these angels. He was a dreamer with fantastical ideas for all of creation. But he was seen as a troublemaker by the elders of Heaven. For they felt his way of thinking was dangerous to the order of their world. 

It's implied they are the ones who punished Lucifer and their silhouettes appear both in Overture and in Dad Beat Dad. It's too soon to comment on them, but they all have six wings (like Seraphims) and personalized halos. I wonder if together with the Speaker or Sera they are meant to be Heaven's counterpart to the Sins plus Lucifer.

SERAPHIMS = SERA +(ph) EM(im)

WINGS

Seraphims have six bicolor wings. Sera and Emily's are white on the inside and blue on the outside, which fits Heaven color scheme. However, the two sisters do not share the exact same shade of blue:

Sera's blue is lighter, while Emily's is more vibrant. This difference mirrors the sisters' idealism. Sera is older and consumed by the weight of her responsibilities, so she has adopted a cynical viewpoint. Emily is young and naive, but she strongly believes in doing what's right.

Both sisters' wings are avian. This makes the two angels similar to birds. Sera's eyes bring to mind an owl, which suits her association (and struggle) with knowledge. However, Sera's full angelic form is similar to a swan, which fits her foiling with Lucifer (the ugly duckling):

Emily too might be a little swan as an example of a "good Seraphim" (again in juxtaposition with Lucifer). However, her desire to bring peace between Heaven and Hell makes me think of her as a dove. In any case, it may be too soon to say.

HALOS

Seraphims are Heaven Royalty, so Sera and Emily's halos are designed after crowns.

Sera's halo is queen-like with two circles and five rays. It's decorated with blue gems, whose number is not consistent (most likely it's meant to be five).

Emily's halo is princess-like and looks like a tiara. It's decorated with five blue gems designed after water-drops, which fits Emily's elemental motif (she is the holy water to Charlie's hellfire).

Both sisters' halos loosely resemble a recurring divine symbol:

This similarity becomes clearer once we consider Sera and Emily's partial angelic forms:

One eye opens in the middle of both angels' halos while the decorations mimic eyelashes/five smaller eyes. Similar comments can be made for the Seraphim Sisters' angelic forms. For example, let's consider Sera's full angelic form:

Here the halo's five rays grow bigger and become similar to eye-lashes framing an eye.

HIGH RANKING HEAVENBORN ANGELS

Heavenborn angels are meant to foil Hellborn demons. So, there are different kinds with different powers and traits. It's too soon to fully comment on each of them. So, let's just make some superficial considerations.

THRONES

Thrones are multi-eyed wheels or rings. In the Hellaverse, they have a variable number of wings (from four to six to two) and for many of them their rings-like faces seem to count as halos.

DOMINIONS/POWERS

Dominions are described as holding golden staves or orbs. This seems to have been the major inspiration for their (possible) Hellaverse interpretation. The end result is a group of angels with "metallic designs" that include golden wings and halos with sharp and angular lines.

Alternatively, these angels could be Powers, who are described as warrior spirits. They are have weapons and their color scheme makes them similar to archangels aka Heaven's military force. They just seem very soldier-like to me in their appearance.

VIRTUES

Virtues regulate transformation in the natural world (like the change from a seed to a plant). This is why their designs seem inspired by plants and insects. There is no real focus on their wings (I would love if they had a more plant-like or insect-like inspiration, rather than a bird-like one). Their halos are unique in how they use very soft lines, pastel colors and many are inspired by leaves, plants or other elements of the natural world.

POWERS/DOMINIONS

Powers are warrior spirits that appear covered in armors. Some of the angels above seem to be wearing a helmets. Personally, though, I think they could also be Dominions aka angels associated with cosmic governance. These creatures oversee the orderly function of the universe, including planets, stars and seasons. This description could explain why their designs are strongly inspired by stars and heavenly bodies.

Whatever the case, the focus of these angels is clearly astronomy and space. We don't see much of their wings here, but their halos keep the celestial inspiration.

WINNERS

Like Sinners, Winners come in different designs. Many of them acquire animals' traits in their afterlife bodies. These animal-like traits seem to influence the color, shape and numbers of their wings. As for their halos they seem to be fairly simple and anonymous, but some Winners get unique details or colors. Moreover, Emily's words in Like You are interesting:

'Cause no one here is like you Not one remotely like you You've got mystique You're strange and unique You'll make pals come hither With every hiss and slither Evеryone will like you 'Cause no one here is like you

She comments on Sir Pentious's looks, which makes me wonder if animals considered "bad" or "scary" are not very common in Heaven. If so, I wonder if Molly who is a Spider is seen as odd among Winners. (Sure, Emily might just be commenting on Sir Pentious's eccentric personality, but Heaven is so shallow I would not be surprised...)

ARCHANGELS: ADAM + ABEL

WINGS

Archangels seem to have a pair of golden wings with two white/light yellow lines. These decorations are similar to the ones of the Exorcists' wings. As a result, Adam and Abel look loosely like golden pigeons.

What could these two lines symbolize? Maybe it's a sign of Adam and Abel's inherent humanity. No matter how much high they climb, they will never be "fully golden". They will keep some human traits.

Finally, both father and son have the habit to fold their wings, which is uncommon among angels. I wonder if Abel took this tendency by trying to imitate Adam.

HALOS

It seems Archangels get to have unique halos differently from Winners.

Adam's halo looks like... no idea really :P If someone has any suggestions share them please! What's sure is that the two spikes decorating it are unique to him. After all, they even appear in the bracelet Lute supposedly made out of Adam's halo. The bracelet itself is interesting because it perfectly mimics Adam's halo, even if the halo lost both its glow and its crystals after the Archangel's death. So, Lute has either built a perfect imitation or she has managed to "re-activate" Adam's halo.

As many people pointed out, Abel's halo being dented may allude to his death. According to the myth, Cain killed Abel with a stone to his head. Abel's halo might mirror the deep impact the experience had on him.

CHERUBS

Cherubs are Heaven's counterpart of Imps and Hellhounds. They are similar to puttis and look like stuffed animals. They have very simple small wings and simple halos. Overall, they are at the bottom of Heavens' hierarchy and don't seem to have very note-worthy designs.

EXORCISTS

WINGS

Exorcists' wings are black on the outside and white on the inside. Moreover, they have typically two black stripes on their white side. This decoration symbolizes Exorcists' white and black thinking. This is why Vaggi's single stripe hints at the girl's ability to resist indoctrination and at her refusal to fully conform.

Finally, the Exorcists' wings make them look like pigeons. This works on multiple levels:

Pigeons were used to send messages and the yearly exterminations are a message from Heaven to Hell about how useless it is to rebel.

Pigeons are gray, which works for the Exorcists. They are violent warriors, so they can't be pure white like most of the other angels. Moreover, they are the silver to Adam's gold because they are below him.

Angels reference different birds (swans, owls, ducks), so the Exorcists being pigeons might indicate they are not so high in Heaven's "pecking" system. After all, pigeons are not particularly noble birds.

Pigeons, as a species, were artificially made, so it might hint that the same is true for the Exorcists.

HALOS

Exorcists' halos are black and have a sphere floating between two crystals. These halos are similar to Adam's, which fits since the Exorcists are asked to imitate the Archangel. However, there can be two additional meanings:

The halos are loosely similar to eyes. This would fit the Exorcists' "an eye for an eye" philosophy.

The halos resemble a black hole aka a dead star

This imagery is perfect:

The Exorcists are angels abused by Heaven. So, they are dying stars whose inner light is being stolen by the system.

The idea of a "dead star" brings to mind the "Death Star" from Star Wars. The Exorcists themselves are clearly inspired by the Stormtroopes, so it checks.

Black holes are created when a star self-destroys because of its own gravity... Well, guess who is spiraling while singing about "gravity"?

Lute and Adam: The flood's comin', now you can bet on tragedy Like gravity! (Gravitas)

FALLEN ANGELS: VAGGI + LUCIFER

For angels the fall seems to be synonymous with some kind of transformation.

Vaggi lost both her wings and halo.

Lucifer clearly went through a change, since he acquired a demonic form and lost his halo.

It is still soon to be fully sure of how things work. However, we can make some considerations.

Fallen angels seem to have retractable wings, as both Vaggi and Lucifer can manifest theirs at will. It is unknown if Lucifer went through a similar ordeal as Vaggi, where he lost his wings and had to re-grow them. Whatever the case, this detail makes both characters different from normal angels, whose wings are always present.

Fallen angels might get "replacement halos". Vaggi may find one with time. Lucifer has one thanks to his snake and apple.

In short, fallen angels seem to lose their angelic attributes, but are able to replace them with different ones.

VAGGI

WINGS

Vaggi's wings show her character development.

As an Exorcist, Vaggi has black and white wings. However, hers only have one black stripe. This hints at Vaggi not fully fitting with her sisters. She is able to resist Adam's brainwashing and develops a frail sense of individuality. This is why she is able to empathize with a Sinner and gets discarded.

As a fallen angel, Vaggi has silver wings because she is starting to reconcile her different parts. She is integrating her past as an Exorcist with her present as a Demon. She is realizing the world isn't black and white, but gray. Just like she is. At the same time, she still has her darker stripe. It is just that now it has a much lighter shade, which is similar to the one in her hair. She is slowly growing into herself.

HALO

Vaggi loses her Exorcist halo together with her eye and has yet to find a replacement. However, she always wears her signature ribbon, which could easily become her new "halo". After all, the ribbon is already shown to sometimes mirror Vaggi's emotions. For example, it shapes itself like a pair of horns in "Hello Rosie", when Vaggi gets angry:

More importantly, the ribbon is clearly symbolic of Vaggi's self:

It represents the feminine part (anima) that she was forced to repress as a soldier. When Vaggi was an Exorcist she could not express her feelings or her sensitivity. All these hidden parts are now coming to light in Hell.

It resembles a little moth aka Vaggi's animal. Moths are basically nocturne butterflies and are linked to the cycle of death and rebirth. Vaggi "dies" as an Exorcist, but "is reborn" in Hell as her true self.

Because of all of this, I would not be surprised if Vaggi's ribbon were to turn into a new beautiful halo in a key moment.

LUCIFER

WINGS

Lucifer has six bicolor wings like the Seraphim sisters. However, his are the opposite of theirs.

Sera and Emily's wings are white inside and blue outside.

Lucifer's wings are white outside and red inside.

Basically, Lucifer has an inverted color scheme and complements his white with red, rather than blue. In this way he combines Heaven (white) with Hell (red). This fits the first fallen angel, the first Heavenly creature to turn demonic.

Speaking of wings, Lucifer's full demonic form has a "new" pair of wings appear. The tails of his jacket get decorated with demonic eyes, which make them look like two additional wings. In this way, Lucifer looks similar to an "eight winged angel". In short, Lucifer tries to appear more than what he is. At the same time, it is obvious with a look that the "4th" pair of wings is fake. Just like it is obvious that the Devil is no God. Even the choice of having eyes materialize on Lucifer's clothes rather than his body is interesting. The two Seraphim sisters (Sera especially) have eyes open all over their bodies. However, Lucifer materializes eyes only on his accessories. As if he were trying to imitate the "true" Seraphims, but could not do it. After all, a duckling can not become a swan.

HALO

Lucifer's old halo is still a mystery. The Story of Hell already gives key angels specific halos, even if in a stylized form. However, Lucifer gets nothing, but his signature hat. Of course, this could be because Lucifer's old halo needs to be finalized. Still, it is interesting that our Greatest Showman was already wearing his "big hat". This accessory is pretty important for Lucifer's design because it ties with his Circus Ringmaster allusion. So, I wonder if Lucifer's old halo was the hat or at least a part of it. In a Heaven where high ranking angels' halos look like crowns, Lucifer's one resembling a strange big hat seems fitting for our oddball. A big hat for Lucifer's big dreams. Obviously, Lucifer's old halo could simply be wrapped around his hat, just like his new one.

Lucifer's new halo is made of a golden snake and an apple. They are both references to the Eden Myth aka the event that changed the trajectory of Lucifer's life. They are perfect symbols of Lucifer's new existence in Hell. A reality where he is no Seraphim anymore, but rather the Devil. Speaking of the Devil, Lucifer's halo coupled with his full demonic form resembles the golden calf:

The golden calf is a a symbol coming from a biblical myth, where the Israelites start adoring a golden calf instead of God and are punished for it. Because of this, the idea of "golden calf" is often associated to idolatry. At the same time, calves were important animals in other religions and were often linked to the sun. This is why it is not uncommon for the golden calf to look like a bull with the sun between its horns (sure, it is not the only representation, but it is pretty famous).

Well, Lucifer's full demonic form makes use of this symbolism. In his case, the apple takes the place of the sun. In other words, his "fake" halo makes him look like a "fake god" holding a "fake sun".

It is the perfect imagery for the Devil, especially if we remember the Speaker of God herself is strongly associated to the Sun.

A WHOLE SKY

Angels in the Hellaverse are associated to the sky, the stars and the space. This is why they look like aliens, are full of celestial motifs and are similar to birds. In particular, they can be seen as "heavenly objects" aka "celestial objects". Or at least some key angels are.

The Speaker of God is the Sun

The Exorcists are dead stars

Fallen Angels are fallen stars; in particular Lucifer went from being the brightest star (the Morningstar) to becoming a fallen star (the Devil)