Malebolgia is the name of a fictional demon in the Spawn universe.
Thought to be the equivalent of the devil in the Christian bible, he is responsible for the creation of Spawn. It is eventually revealed that Malebolgia is one of Hell's many rulers, a being from the "eighth circle of Hell" who has been around for 70,000 years or so, forming an army in its war against Heaven and God. Malebolgia was respected and feared as the most powerful of the rulers, and thus the de facto grand master of Hell. The true devil, Satan himself, has not been revealed yet in the Spawn comics, but it has been confirmed that he exists, and is a power far, far beyond Malebolgia.
Malebolgia was slain by Spawn in issue #100. Spawn was offered the crown of the eighth circle, and though he declined, Spawn still received vastly enhanced powers and a command over Hell itself.
The name is taken from the term in Dante's Inferno used to describe the ditches (bolge) in the eighth circle of Hell where the evil (male) are punished, Malebolge.
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