'Helstrom': Daimon and Ana are not as sexy as their Marvel comic book counterparts and that's a good thing
There is a tendency for comic book characters to get the sleazier end of the stick, especially the closer they are to crossing the line from heroism to villainy. Both Daimon and his sister Satanna have had decidedly evil bents and from their very first appearances were sexualized to reflect that. It's always been particularly notable with regard to Satanna, a succubus who tends to rub herself seductively over everyone she meets.
While Daimon (Tom Austen) and Ana (Sydney Lemmon) are both charismatic, attractive characters, they're decidedly not as sexy as their comic book counterparts — and the show is better for it.
Daimon Helstrom has had all the potential to have as much of a bad boy presence as Tom Ellis' Lucifer, if not more so. The comics characterize him as a brooding, confident man, rebelling against his parentage in the most extreme ways he can, and utterly unable to find a shirt.
The character has been written wildly consistently over the years, however, to the point where one Marvel comic explained that there are multiple copies of Daimon Helstrom running around the Marvel universe, just to explain away the inconsistencies. He's become a joke character whose flaming trident and fiery pentagram looks great on the page, a poor man's John Constantine with better looking powers.
Satanna is done even worse. While early comics at least had her struggling to redeem herself from her demonic impulses, she's since devolved into little more than a seductive, power-seeking succubus who occassionally saves the world if she feels like it, a dime-a-dozen anti-hero whose most memorable aspect is how little her clothes leave to the imagination. There's a place for Hell-spawned children known as Son of Satan and Satanna — and that place is pure campiness.
The show, however, thankfully takes a more subtle approach, fully fleshing out the characters instead. They take the characters' most consistent characteristics, and humanize them. Daimon is still a brooding, emotionally distant man, but that's wrapped around his sense of personal responsibility and the repression of his darker side.
Ana is still the hedonistic wild child — but it's combined with stylish, elegant clothing and underneath it all we can see the child who was hurt by her family who's still desperate for connection but on her own terms. Though they're dealing with horrific trauma and supernatural threats, the Helstrom siblings have never been more relatable. Their relationship is the strength of the show and their characterization is a great example of comic book adaptation done right.
All episodes of 'Marvel's Helstrom' are now available to view on Hulu.
