In the Canaanite language, the title ba'al meant "lord" or "master," and was applied to a number of gods in Canaanite Mythology.note Ultimately, it came to be mostly associated with the storm god Haddad, one of the most important gods of Canaan and its descendant societies of Phoenicia and Carthage — the common Carthaginian names Hannibalnote and Hasdrubalnote demonstrate his importance. He appears in several myths, portrayed as The Good King who brings order and prosperity to the people of Canaan; one notable story is the Ugaritic Baal Cycle, where he destroys Yam, the seaborne god of chaos.
Worshipers of "Ba'al Haddad" or just "Baal," however, came into major conflicts with the emergence of the various people groups (who would become the Israelites and later become the writers and compilers of The Bible) where Baal worship was widespread. As a result, the Old Testament has several accounts of the Israelites, in particular, giving themselves to Baal worship and thereby violating their cultural and social contracts with their own God. In the few instances where details are given, the writers of the various documents that came to form the Bible depict Baal as a rival entity who leads people to breaking their promises, violating the basic trust of hospitality, thus leading to further degeneracy and ultimately destruction, including demanding Human Sacrifice. Several times in the Old Testament, as common with ancient near eastern religious literature, mythological triumphs and heroic deeds that were seen as one god's (here being Baal) among his worshipers were instead viewed as truly belonging to a different god (here the God of Israel, who regularly portrayed himself independently as a god of storms, social order and prosperity).
This portrayal as a rival spiritual being who supported and spearheaded the Israelites to abandon their promises to their own God, filtered into broader Hebrew society and by the time of the Second Temple Period, Baal was firmly, though incorrectly, viewed by those coming out of several generations of exile as one of the major reasons leading to the silence and abandonment of the God of Israel. By the first century BCE, his name had already become a common byword for a God of Evil. Borrowing from Scripture, Christian demonologists in the Middle Ages regularly identified Baal, along with other Canaanite deities like Moloch, as an important demon.
This association between Baal, or at least the name, and evil persists to this day, and the result is that any work of fiction that features either the actual Baal or a similarly named entity will almost universally have him be an evil god or powerful demon. Though Baal/Haddad was a bringer of order and destroyer of monsters in the original Canaanite myths, the portrayal as demon and general enemy to humanity has stuck around to the modern era.
Compare Name of Cain, another trope about naming villains after Biblical antagonists, and A Villain Named Khan, also about originally noble/heroic titles or names becoming associated with evil due to historical bias. Sister Trope to Mesopotamian Monstrosity, which similarly draws upon Near Eastern myths for antagonists, regardless of their portrayal in the original myths. If they actually are Baal, it overlaps with Biblical Bad Guy. An example of Names to Run Away from Really Fast.
Not to be confused with Villain Ball, where a usually competent villain grabs the Idiot Ball so the heroes can win — though that is the source of the name.
Examples:
- Digimon Tamers: After entering the Digital World, Impmon digivolves into Beelzemon (Beelzebumon in the original Japanese) who derives his name from Beelzebub. They would go on to be a secondary antagonist throughout the arc, with their actions resulting in Leomon's death and Jeri's possession by the D-Reaper.
- In Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans season two, we're introduced to the Gundam Bael. The Bael is the first Gundam Frame and was instrumental to the end of the Calamity War, being used as a symbol of power within Gjallarhorn. There's also nothing really special about it compared to the other Gundam Frames, but Mc Gillis Fareed believes he can use its prestige to pull a coup within Gjallarhorn. It fails, as McGillis is killed and the reformed Gjallarhorn caused by this incident decides to pull out its cockpit so it doesn't happen again.
- The Ogre Gods: The reigning giant king adds "-baal" to his name (Gab -> Gabaal, Elia -> Eliabaal, etc) when taking the throne, and most of them have been The Caligula reigning over a cannibalistic tribe of Psychopathic Manchildren (with the one exception having been overthrown and left to starve by his nephew).
- The Wicked + The Divine: Zig-zagged. Baal is one of the gods of the Pantheon and it's quickly lampshaded how there are several gods of that name. Cassandra initially suspects him to be Baal Hammon, a Carthaginian fire god with a child sacrifice cult. Baal immediately shows up to reveal he's actually the Canaanite Baal Haddad, and his powers are lightning-based. Baal might be a bit arrogant but he's ultimately one of the more level-headed people in the Pantheon. Then late in the comic it's revealed he really IS Baal Hammon (his lightning powers are artificial) and he's gearing up for a massive sacrifice of thousands of people at the O2 Arena. Turns out he was tricked that he needed those sacrifices in order to save off a "Great Darkness" and he FLIPS when he finds out he was manipulated and thus kills Minerva at the cost of his own life.
- Wolverine: In "The Gehenna Stone Affair," Baal is depicted as a murderous demon worshipped by an equally murderous, depraved cult in Biblical times.
- The Rite: Father Lucas is revealed to be possessed by Baal.
- Ars Goetia, the list of devils in the Lesser Key of Solomon, places Ba'al (or Bael) first on the list and names him as the first King of Hell.
- Travis A. Chapman's novel Ascent Of The Fallen features Baal as a fiery demon who can take the form of a beautiful man.
- The Colour of Magic: Bel-Shamrahoth the Time Eater is an Eldritch Abomination accidentally defeated by Rincewind. Subverted with the occasional mentions of the Young Men's Reformed Cultists of the Ichor God Bel-Shamrahoth Association, which is the Disc's equivalent of the YMCA.
- Robert R. McCammon's debut novel is called Baal, and involves a woman who births the titular demon who brings chaos upon the world.
- Subverted in the stories of Conan the Barbarian - in those, Bel is the God of Thieves, but while the wealthy obviously don't favor him, he isn't an antagonistic force like Set or Yog.
- The French-Canadian youth fantasy series of Amos Daragon features gods/civilizations/creatures from real life and mythology, including Ba'al. This trope is Downplayed though, by Ba'al being Affably Evil or Ambiguously Evil. In the 7th book when the protagonist ventures into Hell, Ba'al offers him two gourds full of mystical healing water, which are critical for Amos Daragon to escape Hell. In exchange Ba'al wants Amos to bring his dagger, an Artifact of Doom, into the "living" world.
- American Horror Stories: Baal is the primary antagonist of the fifth episode, which bears his name. In the show, he is portrayed by Dane De Liegro.
- Ash vs. Evil Dead: Baal is depicted as a demon that can brainwash people and make them go insane. He is unseen for the first season, but in Season 2 appears as the main antagonist, portrayed by Joel Tobeck.
- The 1968 French TV miniseries Le Compagnons de Baal follows an evil fraternity of Baal's worshippers.
- Stargate SG-1: Ba'al is one of several Goa'uld System Lords who posed as gods on ancient Earth to enslave humanity and is a recurring antagonist throughout the second half of the series but despite his many attempts at galactic domination he never quite becomes the main villain. Even in the movie Stargate: Continuum, where he sets the events of the film in motion but gets killed and usurped by Qetesh halfway through.
- Pixies' sixth album, Head Carrier, features the song "Baal's Back," which narrates a Human Sacrifice to Baal causing the sky to turn black as he returns to Earth.
- Morbid Angel has a song called "Blades for Baal," sung from the perspective of Baal worshippers as a Religion of Evil blood cult.
- The demon Beelzebub A.K.A. Baal Zebul is a demonization of Baal. In the New Testament, several Jewish rabbis accuse Jesus of gaining his miraculous powers through Beelzebub rather than God.
- The Bible: The Trope Maker, as elaborated in the description. Especially relevant in the Books of Kings, where multiple deities compete for the Hebrew God's position among the Israelites.
- Dungeons & Dragons features several entities inspired by Baal (in addition to Beelzebub, who has been part of the game since 1st Edition):
- Bhaal, the Lord of Murder, is the god of, well, murder in the Forgotten Realms and one of the Dead Three, mortals who became gods of death after usurping the title from Jergal. He features prominently in the Baldur's Gate video game series as well as numerous tabletop campaigns. As you might expect, his cult is basically Always Chaotic Evil and they serve as a convenient source of mooks for players to fight.
- Bael is an Archdevil in the service of Mammon, depicted as a resembling a minotaur and carrying an enormous spiked morningstar. He's both a capable soldier and ruthless tactician who has won his masters' armies multiple victories in the Blood War, but he has little knowledge of infernal politics and often loses out on promotion opportunities that go to his more politically-savvy rivals, leaving him with a chip on his shoulder about his own situation.
- Bel is another Archdevil who resides in Avernus, the topmost layer of Hell. Older editions portray him as Avernus' ruler and in charge of organising the devil's first line of defence against the demons that constantly attack Hell as part of the Blood War. 5th edition portrays him as having been deposed and forced into subservience by the Fallen Angel Zariel, and waiting for the perfect opportunity to betray her and reclaim his former position. Notably, a giant idol of him serves as the centerpiece of the cover for the 1st Edition Player's Handbook.
- In Nomine: Baal is a powerful Demon Prince, the leader of Hell's armies, and one of the original fallen angels. He was originally the Archangel of Valor, before being turned to Lucifer's cause by his deep-seated resentment of Michael, the only angel to be a mightier warrior than him, and his jealousy of the favor that God gave humanity. In the present day, he's an uncompromising taskmaster for his servants and obsessed with bringing about the Final Battle so that he can finally get rid of humanity and prove that he's better than Michael.
- Vampire: The Masquerade: The Baali bloodline is made up of Demonic Vampires, playing off the idea of Baal himself being a demon. As a syncretization with Ba'al Hammon
, they're also responsible for pushing Carthage to embrace child sacrifice as part of their general effort to turn the city into an infernal shithole.
- Warhammer 40,000: Zigzagged with the Blood Angels' homeworld of Baal: It's an irradiated desert planet populated with nomads and mutants, but no worse than the average Imperial Death World. But despite their name, blood theme, and vampiric tendencies, the Blood Angels are Loyalists, and in fact their Primarch was essentially The Paragon.
- Bayonetta 3: Downplayed. Baal is one of the Infernal Demons who takes the form of a large toad, and while her personality wasn't really shown in the second game, here, she's shown to be one of the better-natured Demons. When she meets Bayonetta, she seeks to ally with her to save her mistress, her universe's Jeanne. When Bayonetta accepts, she tries to sing for her in gratitude, and Baal later fades away imploring Bayonetta to save her mistress.
- Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night: Bael is described as the "King of Kings and High Ruler over all Demonkind", and Johannes warns Miriam that if she ever encounters him, she should run as he's one of the most powerful demons in existence. He is also the True Final Boss of the game, if Miriam unlocks the secret ending during the Disc-One Final Boss fight against Gebel.
- Bravely Default: Two Ba'al bosses (Turtle Dove and Goldie) are added as Optional Bosses in the Updated Re-release to help promote the sequel. In turn Bravely Second features them as storyline bosses.
- Cult of the Lamb: One of the two attendants of The One Who Waits is named Baal.
- Devil May Cry 4: Bael is one of the Boss Fights in the game, a giant demon that looks like a fusion of a frog and an angler fish and has ice-themed powers. He has two antennae on his head ending in growths that look like glowing, naked humanoid nymphs, which he uses to entice and confuse humans while he gets in a position to swallow them.
- Diablo: Baal is the Lord of Destruction and one of the rulers of Hell.
- The Elder Scrolls: Molag Bal is the Daedric Prince of domination and corruption, including acts as horrific as enslavement and rape. While most of the series deities are treated as Above Good and Evil beings who operate on Blue-and-Orange Morality in line with their "spheres", Molag Bal is an unrepentant God of Evil with no redeeming qualities whatsoever and the closest thing the series has to a true Satanic Archetype. In-universe, his name comes from the Aldmeris words for "Stone Fire", though the connotation to the real world Baal is unmistakable. Further driving the point home is his Daggerfall concept art is labeled as "Moloch Baal" (Moloch being another Canaanite god associated with Human Sacrifice).
- Genshin Impact: Subverted. At first, we are told by Zhongli that the Raiden Shogun's Ars Goetia name is "Baal". This makes sense since she is the principal antagonist of the Inazuma region—but he is ultimately mistaken. Baal is actually the previous Shogun's Ars Goetia name (true name Makoto). The current Shogun is her twin sister Beelzebul (true name Ei). Ultimately this trope is subverted for both sisters, as neither was evil. Makoto is revealed to have been a kindhearted person until her death, and Ei is a Well-Intentioned Extremist who goes through a Heel–Face Turn.
- Gothic: Downplayed, as minor leaders of cult of Sleeper have their names preceded by "Baal" and only one of them directly attacks us.
- Nippon Ichi: The demon lord Baal features as a Superboss in several game series, including Disgaea.
- Shin Megami Tensei: Baal is a recurring demon/persona in the Shin Megami Tensei games and its Persona spin-offs and appears in all of the games in one form or another. He commonly appears in his godly form as 'Baal', which specifically refers to Baal Hadad, and is presented as a young man with purple or bronze skin and a horned helmet, and belongs to the Deity tribe. His demonization in Christian lore is referenced in in-game descriptions of the demons Bael, a crowned man associated with frogs, and Beelzebub, a giant fly demon. Beelzebul also has a human disguise called 'Baal Zebul', a rotund older man with Barbarian Longhair, fangs, and red eyes, which can also appear as a character separate from both Baal and Beelzebub (such as in the Persona games). Beelzebub is typically the incarnation that has storyline prominence (usually as a Super Boss), but Baal has had storyline prominence in at least two of the games.
- Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne: Baal is the god who comes to embody the Reason of Yosuga — a Might Makes Right, Social Darwinist philosophy in which the strong have absolute power and are allowed to subjugate and kill those weaker than themselves as they see fit — and is summoned into existence by Yosuga's Reason-bearer, Chiaki, conducting a massacre and defiling a holy site. He is Chiaki's patron and his avatar serves as her One-Winged Angel form: Baal Avatar is a mandatory boss fight in all of the game's Multiple Endings, because in accordance with the internal logic of Yosuga the Demi-Fiend must prove himself stronger than Baal in order to be worthy to bring the Reason into being.
- Persona 5: Bael is used as the name for the One-Winged Angel form of Shadow Kaneshiro, the Money-Devouring Banker of Gluttony. Appearance-wise he takes more cues from Beelzebub, who is also the patron demon of gluttony.
- Shin Megami Tensei V: Baal is a minor character and boss that must be fought during the quest "The Bull God's Lineage". He was the former ruler of Da'at before The Creator overthrew him, and is attempting to retake control by taking the Nahobino's soul. Upon being defeated, he will blame Beelzebub and Lucifer for his loss of power.
- One faction of villains in the latter four (two?) Super Robot Wars Z games is the Ba'al, which includes the Invaders, Anti-Spirals, and STMC.
- Ba'al, portrayed as a cosmic Eldritch Abomination, comes up a few times in xkcd, usually given the epithet "the Soul-Eater".
