Mammon's Design
Here comes an analysis of Mammon's design! Like I did for Vaggie, Adam and Bee, I am going to combine some other metas to explore our King of Greed's looks and what they have to say. Note: for this meta it was very useful (and fun) to look up both the wiki and tv tropes. So, check them out!
SINFUL DESIGNS
All the Sins' designs use a specific set of visual inspirations. They are:
Mythological motif - each Sin is designed based on Binsfeld's classification of demons and other traditions and texts, like the Dictionnaire Infernal. So the starting point is an already existing demon.
Circus motif - each Sin represents a Circus Act because together they make Lucifer's Circus Troupe. In other words, the Sins tie into the metaphor of Hell as a giant circus, both in the sense it is The Greatest Show and in the sense it is full of circus freaks.
Animal motif - like many characters, the Sins have one or more animal motifs, which comment on who they are.
Elemental motif - these seven demons are associated to specific elements, which tell us something about their respective sins.
Additional motifs - some of the Seven Princes of Hell have additional motifs, which metaphorically add to the exploration of their sins.
Well, Mammon is no exception, as he makes use of all these visual symbols!
LUCIFUGE AND MAMMON
Mammon's character is (probably!) a combination between two demons (mythological inspiration):
Lucifuge Rofocale: this demon is associated with wealth and has three horns that look like a jester hat. Our Mammon shares both of these traits.
Mammon: this demon gives our King of Greed his name, which means money/wealth. He is sometimes depicted as a poor man who embraces bags of money.
What's interesting is that this double inspiration can be used to explore two different sides of Helluva Mammon:
His thematic role in the Hellaverse, which is tied to Lucifer
His character and the way he embodies "greed"
LUCIFUGE: A CLOWN WHO WANTS TO BE RINGLEADER
Lucifuge's name means "the one who runs away from the light". This makes him the opposite of Lucifer, aka "the light bringer". In short, Lucifuge is meant to be the shadow to Lucifer's light.
This symbolism works for our Lucifer and Mammon as well.
Lucifer is linked to light as the brightest star:
And Mammon is Lucifer's shadow archetype:
According to Jung, the shadow archetype represents the dark, unconscious and repressed parts of a personality. So, it is everything a person does not want to face about themselves.
Mammon fits this role for Lucifer, as he embodies Lucifer's failure to take responsibility for the Kingdom he accidentally created. As a matter of fact the King of Hell has given up on his duties because of depression and the King of Greed has stepped in to fill the power vacuum. This is true especially for the entertainment world, as the episode Loo Loo Land shows:
Octavia: Is it true this park is just a really shameless spin-off of Lucifer's far more popular Lu Lu World?
Mammon's theme park is a cheap copy of Lucifer's Lu Lu World. In fact, it is so lazy that Mammon has not even changed Lucifer's symbols like the apple or the Sin of Pride's head:
And yet, it works as many Hellborn demons of different classes, like Stolas and Millie, are fond of it. So, as Lucifer has been decaying alone in his study-room, Mammon has grown more powerful, spreading his toxic influence throughout Hell:
Announcer: The sin you all looove most - Mammon, King of Greeeed!
This process is well symbolized by Lucifer and Mammon's circus motifs. These two Sins are the only ones wearing circus clothes in their everyday life. Ozzie, Bee, Satan, Levy and Belle all played a role in Lucifer's Troupe and reference this experience. However, these details are subtle and easy to miss. Lucifer and Mammon instead openly allude to their circus personas to the point they are obvious.
On the one hand Lucifer is the Circus Ringmaster and he is supposed to rule Hell aka "the greatest circus in the world" with the help of his troupe: "The Seven Deadly Sins".
On the other hand Mammon is the clown in Lucifer's circus, as his jester hat and clothes make obvious:
Announcer: Alright, folks! Give it up for the king of all things greeeen! Hell's number one clown! The money-maker himself!
In his case, this role takes on a derogative connotation. He is a "clown" as in laughable, stupid, not to be taken seriously. This seems to be a common feeling among the Sins, at least:
Asmodeus: Mammon can eat my ass - in a bad way. Fizz, I've known that guy since the start of Hell, and He. Fucking. Sucks. Always has!
Beelzebub: You're just pissy nobody wants to fuck with a flaming pile of clown shit.
And yet, right now neither Lucifer nor Mammon are playing their respective roles. In a sense, they have almost exchanged "masks".
Lucifer is consumed by depression and has disappeared from Hell's political scene:
He could be easily described as a "sad clown":
Adam: You're just some fucking clown or something!
Mammon (together with Satan) has instead become more important for Hell's economy and politics. As a result, he is not a clown anymore:
Asmodeus: Mammon doesn't even do clown shit anymore.
Rather he is the Ringleader of his own circus:
Mammon: Right. I got tons of really fuckin' cool shit for you 'ere tonight. But, first, how many of you worthless bitches wanna be big clowns like me someday? Well, I'm happy to announce that I will be starting up a new, yearly clown pageant! You know- Like one 'a them fucked up beauty contests, but for clowns, so it's better! Just for all you aspiring, clown kids out there! A new chance to work with me, Mammon! And be the new face of my clown-ish brand! I can't wait to see all the new talent I can exploi- u-um, fuck. Wait, I mean enjoy uh, watching me grow my empire!
This social climb is highlighted by Mammon's current design in two ways.
He has a nouveau riche attitude and aesthetic, as he flaunts his money and power. For example, he sports several golden accessories, has diamonds on his clothes and surrounds himself of toys and adoring bots:
He tries to look more like Lucifer, so that he can step into the role of Ringmaster. For example, he has a cane, which looks similar to Lucifer's one, but with the symbol of the "dollar" instead than the apple:
These details become more obvious if one thinks about the King of Greed's old looks:
In the past he used to look like a silver coin, while now he has gold as part of his color scheme and is decorated with diamonds. In the past he used to have a guitar, as he was a performer. Right now, he does not perform anymore and has exchanged the guitar with a scepter (his cane). From zero to hero. From laughable clown to successful ringleader.
THE OOGIE BOOGIE MAN
The King of Greed grows stronger and stronger by using the King of Hell's depression to his advantage. Doesn't he remind you of anyone?
Oogie Boogie from The Nightmare Before Christmas does something similar when it comes to his relationship with Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King. Let's compare the two situations.
On the one hand Jack Skellington goes through an existential crisis, which leads him to try and become Santa Klaus. So, he forces Halloween Town to change, ignoring everyone's doubts. As Jack is distracted by his Christmas obsession, Oogie Boogie seizes the opportunity to hurt both the true Santa Klaus and Sally aka the two characters embodying Jack's dreams.
On the other hand Lucifer is broken by depression and gives up Hell's future to the other Sins. He shuts himself in his study-room, where he spends his time building rubber ducks. As he loses himself in his regrets, Mammon takes the chance to steal from Lucifer and to become Hell's new number 1 entertainer.
In other words, Oogie Boogie and Mammon serve similar roles in their respective stories. Both use their Kings' mental struggles to become more dangerous. So, their power is the result of Jack and Lucifer's inner darkness. Maybe this is why the two characters' designs resemble each other:
They have similar body shapes and Oogie Boogie even looks green when he sings his signature song. However, what's most interesting is that Mammon takes over two visual motifs from his "The Nightmare Before Christmas" inspiration:
A holiday motif
An insect motif (animal motif)
1- Mammon's holiday motif ties him to the two festivities at the heart of "The Nightmare Before Christmas": Christmas and Halloween.
On the one hand he resembles a Christmas Tree (a new kind of money tree? :P), as it has been made obvious many many many times:
Mammon's first sneak peak has been posted on Christmas's Eve. His silhouette resembles a Christmas Tree to embellish.
Official merch has Mammon as a Christmas Tree the other characters have fun decorating.
Sinsmas has a "Sinsmas Tree" with Mammon's jester on top, so that the whole tree resembles the Sin of Greed.
On the other hand he has also some loose Halloween imagery:
Mammon's Theatre is full of spiderwebs, which tie with his animal motif, but they also give the whole building a spooky feeling.
Mammon's formal attire has a skeleton pattern. In a sense, it is as if The Sin of Greed went to an important work meeting wearing a Halloween costume :P.
The meaning behind this visual motif is pretty on the nose. Christmas and Halloween are holidays connected to important spiritual ideas:
Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ and is linked to hope, love and life
Halloween is about celebrating the dead, so it is linked to fear, the supernatural and death
However, capitalism has taken them over and has turned them into an excuse to sell more gadgets, costumes and food. It has emptied them of any meaning and commercialized them. That's what the Sin of Greed does best.
2- Mammon has an "insect" motif, just like Oogie Boogie.
Oogie Boogie is basically a dirty bag full of insects and other animals (like spiders and snakes). The basic idea is that behind his scary appearance he is really nothing, just an insect.
Well, Mammon's insect/animal motif is similar, but more layered.
On the one hand, he can be associated to arachnids like ticks and spiders. The spider-motif is especially obvious, given:
Mammon's association with webs
His 8 eyes, while in full demon form
Thematically Mammon is a predator, who baits his victims and traps them in his web of connections (spider) only to suck them dry (tick) once they work for him.
On the other hand Mammon's most important insect-motif is that of the centipede, which is highlighted by his full demonic form:
A CHEAP CENTIPEDE
Mammon's full demonic form looks like a mix between a jack-in-the-box and a spider, kinda like an It-like creature. And yet, he is far less dangerous, as he is actually a centipede:
Centipedes are venomous insects with a segmented body and they usually have two limbs per segments. This is similar to Mammon, who has three segments and six limbs in his default form. When he transforms into his full demon form, he gains multiple legs and segments. This final form works as a metaphor of Greed on two levels.
1- Mammon transforms into his final form by getting through a chrysalis-like phase from which he re-emerges as a giant centipede. This choice is interesting because a chrysalis is associated with metamorphosis. It is about entering it one way and re-emerging from it as a new self. Usually with wings, like a butterfly or a moth. Well, Mammon enters it as an insect and emerges from it as a longer insect. There is no true rebirth, no wings, no beautiful butterfly. Mammon is unable to truly change. Forget about creating anything new, the Sin of Greed can't even re-invent himself.
2- Mammon's demon form is that of a centipede. Why is that so? My friend @hamliet made a pun out of it, which I decided to embrace because it fits :P Mammon is a cent-ipede, in the sense he is made of cents. Maybe 100 cents, like the centipede's feet. And 100 cents= 1 dollar, which is the main idea behind the Sin of Greed's design.
MAMMON - ONE DOLLAR
Mammon is modeled after the dollar.
His old design resembles a silver dollar coin:
His current design resembles a paper dollar:
Or even a tarnished coin, as the consumed metal can easily turn green. Whatever the case, the point is that despite becoming richer and richer, Mammon's "value" stays the same. After all this time, he is still worth one dollar. One could even argue he has grown cheaper, going from a precious metal (silver) to a piece of paper (banknote).
This fits the Demon Mammon, who appears poor despite accumulating money:
In some traditions, Mammon is a man, who sits on a treasure, but still appears covered in rags. He is spiritually poor, despite being physically rich. Similarly, Helluva Mammon is a demon, who owns half of Hell, but is still worth one dollar. He is cheap. Just like capitalism. He is a fake, not the original. He imitates art, but is not an artist. He is a discounted Devil, but not the Devil himself. In fact, the difference between Mammon and Lucifer is conveyed by their elemental motifs.
On the one hand Lucifer's elemental motif is light, so pure energy. On the other hand Mammon's is electricity, as there are flashes of lightening when he teleports or gets angry. Not only that, but when Mammon uses his lightening to move around, there is a cash-in sound. That's because Mammon has commercialized even energy (light) and turned it into something you pay (electricity). Similarly, he has taken Lucifer's art and has mass produced and commercialized it.
Other than this, Mammon's cheapness is highlighted by many clever ideas:
His explosions, which are accompanied by confettis resemble the cheap tricks of a magician, kind of like discount magic.
He is the only Sin, who does not sing his own song, but steals others'. Loo Loo Land is sung by RoboFizz and it is a knock-of "Inside of Every Demon Is A Rainbow". All the songs in "Mammon's Magnificent Musical" are Mammon's because he "owns" the episode, even if he does not sing.
He is accompanied by a royalty free children cheer :P Basically, even Mammon's sound design is cheap.
Finally, Mammon's musical theme is a metal variation of Carmen's Habanera. This can be read in two ways. Firstly, it is once again not an original song, but the rework of an incredibly famous melody. Secondly, the Habanera is about "love being a rebellious bird", so its theme is love. Well, Mammon is a Sin who takes love and corrupts it.
A SIN WITHOUT LOVE
Love is the strongest redeeming force in the Hellaverse:
Yeah, you just might rise above Long as you're out for love
To the point that it can redeem even the Deadly Sins. Ozzie, Bee and Lucifer all show their best qualities out of love. What about Mammon? He is the exception, as he exhibits no genuine love, but rather a cheap imitation:
Mammon: The winner will get to be like the son I never had, and I'll be like the stepdad that will love you when it's convenient!
His love is as fake as his goods. In this context, Mammon's asexuality is interesting:
Wait, am I implying Mammon is asexual because he can't feel love? Of course not! Still, this choice is interesting on two levels.
On the one hand it is part of Mammon's foiling with Lucifer, who is pan:
On the other hand Mammon superficially presents himself as rather sexual. He surrounds himself with porn bots, makes several sex jokes and openly flirts with Levy in a way that can be easily read as sexual:
Mammon: Hey, Levy! After we celebrate this imps' death, let's go out, huh? Out on the town, what do you reckon?
Now, obviously asexual people are 100% free of making sex jokes and can be asexual without being aromantic, which could be Mammon's case. Still, it is interesting Mammon's flirting with Levy happens the same episode where Andrealphus says this:
Andrealphus: Speaking on behalf of my aggressively attractive sister: I must testify that this himself on her husband.
Andrealphus is gay, so his remarks about Stella's attractiveness are his (bad) attempt to appear more "straight" and heteronormative. Well, maybe Mammon's focus on sex despite his asexuality comes from the same place. After all, Bee is quick to insult Mammon by using his poor love life as a joke:
Beelzebub: You're just pissy nobody wants to fuck with a flaming pile of clown shit.
I wonder if Mammon might be hiding and repressing his sexuality in an attempt to appear "cooler". Once again, he might be trying to be more like Lucifer, who is famous for his love life. In general, I like this interpretation because it ties well with the Sin of Greed. After all, sex sells:
Mammon: You might be a lunchbox, an action figure, Saturday morning cartoon. Hell, I might even make a sex robot of ya! I don't know! I mean, if we'll make money, sure.
Mammon might not truly understand why that is since he is not interested. Still, if it sells, then the Sin of Greed must have a say in it :P In short, Mammon is so defined by his sin, that he would sell his own self out. He is asexual, but he would repress this part of himself if it makes him richer and more popular. This idea could inform us of his relationship with two other Sins.
On the one hand it makes Mammon and Asmodeus incompatible. After all Lust is about affirming one's own sexuality:
Asmodeus: You wanna hang around this lustful town? Ditch the lovey-dovey before we knock you around Here we sing about wants and desires
That includes asexuality. If Mammon is twisting who he is, then he stands in opposition to everything Ozzie represents.
On the other hand it might make Mammon and Levy similar. The Sin of Envy is born from a lack of self-love. It is about disliking yourself and projecting this self-hate on others. Well, this surely fits Mammon, who has been trying to be more and more probably out of a sense of emptiness. After all, the Sin of Greed is a green-eyed monster and tries to appear taller than he is:
In his old design he wears green shades and shoes with very high wedge heels.
In his current design, Mammon still wears heels and has green eyes with no pupils.
So, he is partly motivated by envy. Maybe that is why Mammon's secondary element is water aka Leviathan's element. He is loosely associated with sharks (loan sharks) and his Ring has an ocean in it. It is a way to link Mammon and Leviathan together and to highlight their possible bond.
MAMMON'S THEATRE VS THE HAZBIN HOTEL
Let's make a final design comparison. Let's juxtapose Mammon's Theatre with the Hazbin Hotel:
What interests me is that both locations have some ship wreckage incorporated in them:
Mammon's theatre is made out of a ship-wreck which looks like a shark
The Habzin Hotel has a ship wreck on its side, which is replicated even in its rebuilt version
This detail is interesting because I have always associated the ship wreck in Hazbin Hotel to... well... a ship :P. After all, the place is linked to Vaggie, who climbs it as she sings to Charlie. Still, Chaggie is not a wrecked bond, so what does this spooky ship refer to? Maybe it loosely alludes to Lucifer and Lilith's relationship. It becomes one of the many symbols of Lucifer's past, which the Hazbin Hotel stands for. After all, it is a building built by Lucifer himself and which is full of his own symbols. The ship might very well be the wreckage of his wedding.
So, the King of Hell's dreams and bonds all broke down and two people have been trying to build something from the wreckage.
On the one hand Mammon has built his theatre, which is symbolic of his business empire. It is an imitation of Lucifer's circus and has no real substance. Still, it is very popular among demons.
On the other hand Charlie has built her Hazbin Hotel, which wants to be a place of rebirth. It is started with a great and original idea in mind. Still, it is looked down by demons.
On a broader level Mammon and Charlie are two people who are trying to step into Lucifer's role, but they are opposites:
Mammon has no original idea and his creations are empty. However, he is a genius at marketing, so he gains popularity and is able to make people more and more passionate about his cheap products. The proof is the love for clowns in Hell. Mammon has been marketing himself (a clown) as the best thing ever. The result? A world where it is cool to be a clown aka dumb, laughable and mean.
Charlie has deep ideals and an original approach, but she lacks the ability to properly pitch and marketing them (please, just defeat Velvette and hire her as a social media manager, girl; you need help :P). As a result, she fails to properly convey her feelings to the Sinners, at least at first.
In conclusion, Mammon is one of the most important Sins in the Hellaverse, as he represents a part of Lucifer and a part of the Devil's legacy, which must be overcome. At the same time, he is a memorable character, who deep down wants to matter, but goes at it in all the worst ways possible.
