Who would win in a fight: Satan or Cthulhu?

[Drake Tungsten]

Satan is the hero of Paradise Lost, which seems like a pretty severe departure from what little the Bible does have to say about Satan...

[Boris Godunov]

No, he's an antihero. That he is the central figure doesn't make him a good guy, any more than Richard III's title character is meant to be the "hero." Satan is portrayed as villain in PL.

I don't recall anything in PL that contradicts the Bible, although it might be the origin of the notion that he was the serpent in the Garden of Eden, which the Bible never says.

[Kuciwalker]

No, he's an antihero. That he is the central figure doesn't make him a good guy, any more than Richard III's title character is meant to be the "hero." Satan is portrayed as villain in PL.

That would make him an anti-villain.

[Drake Tungsten]

No, he's an antihero.

No, he's much more of a tragic hero, undone by pride.

[loinburger]

Quit fagging up the thread with this lit-crit bull****.

[Drake Tungsten]

I take it you don't want to discuss the similarities between Milton's Satan and Prometheus, then?

[Boris Godunov]

That would make him an anti-villain.

That might be a better term, although it's not really an official literary term as far as I'm aware. He meets the qualifications of many characters that are deemed simply villains.

He's not a "tragic hero," IMO. His motivations are too base, and his actions too evil once he seeks revenge for being cast out of Heaven. He doesn't simply make a bad choice based on being proud--he actively engages in what he knows is evil because he wishes to poison the Earth forever. Tragic heroes invariably recognize their flaw and have a moment of catharthis and remorse--we never have that with Satan, who turns completely malevolent and is exultant in his evil right before being turned into a serpent as punishment, at which point he disappears from the poem.

[self biased]

I would say that's an advantage for Cthulhu, but the Old One has been sleeping for millions of years...

so we can also file C'thulhu under the age and treachery side of things and satan under youth and skill.