Zovaal basis in real life

[Begrudge]

L. . .

[Pebrocks The Warlock]

Quick google search of Váli immediately says he's the son of Odin, not Loki.

Without going further, can you explain exactly what connections does he have to Váli?

[Kellorion]

there vali son of loki (who might not even been real and simply a mistranslation), and valí son of odin
neither of which seem anything to do with the jailer.

[TheFirstOnes]

The Jailer is more akin to either some depictions of Hades from Greek Mythology (Tho, most depictions have Hades as the more benevolent god, tbh), while most other depictions showcase him as more akin to Dante's Infernos Satan from Christian Mythology.

[Kokolums]

He seems most derivative of Hellraiser. Chains and hooks flying around and sending him to hell, and now he turns the tables and uses them to send others to hell. Sadomasochism / cenobites.

[ro9ue]

If you look up Tartarus in Greek Mythology you get a lot of Maw vibes. Which leads me to believe Hades is the most direct inspiration for Zovaal. The name Zovaal doesn't ring any bells but sounds Zorostrian or something. The double 'aa' does harken to Baal as a general demonic entity in a few different religions.

There are a few motifs of gods "chained in the underworld" though.

Either way I'm glad they're making up their own names. Odyn is a bit on the nose lol. Probably a relic of the Metzen era when he was big on what Marvel did.

[Sentynel]

Jailer fits more as a random comic book villain than any mythological god imo

[LemonDemonGirl]

The name Zovaal doesn't ring any bells but sounds Zorostrian or something. The double 'aa' does harken to Baal as a general demonic entity in a few different religions.

His name reminds me of Zo'bal, Bwonsamdi's shrine in front of the Necropolis tbh

[Arrashi]

His basis is obviously Van "Donjon Master" Darkholme, one of the stars of reward winning "Gachimuchi" anime series.

[shoc]

Here's my best guess. The latter half of his name is based on Baal, like others have suggested already, who's basically the generic evil/false god in Christian lore.

The first half, 'zo' is reminiscent of 'zodiak' which derives from zōdiacus, the Latinized form of the Ancient Greek zōidiakòs kýklos (ζῳδιακός κύκλος), meaning "cycle or circle of little animals".

Together the name 'Zovaal' would mean something along the lines of 'False or Evil God of the Cycle'.

[enigma77]

Since he's the jailer of he damned and a prisoner himself he's obviously based on the devil.

[username993720]

The Jailer can be seen as a composite of various mythological antagonists from various cultures and religions.
As both prisoner and ruler of the Maw, the Jailer shares similarities with some Christian depictions of Satan, notably the version depicted in Dante's Inferno given the cold/ice motifs.
Other Abrahamic Satan motifs can be seen in both the winged Mawsworn (i.e. fallen angels of Christian Satan) and in the aesthetics of the shades in the Maw as spirits seemingly composed of ash and fire (i.e. jinn of Islamic Satan).
Like Loki, he resembles a "frost giant", was chained, and once free of his chains wishes to end the world (Ragnarök).
The recurring motif of an important helmet (e.g. the Helm of Domination) for the "king of the damned", is a reference to the helmet of invisibility from Greek myth belonging to Hades, king of the Greek underworld.
Given his pulling of Korthia into the Maw (from the Mesopotamian underworld called Kur), and the fact he wasn't always in the Maw, Nergal may have been another source of inspiration.
The way the Jailer's created the Lich King (likely inspired by a combination of Warhammaer's Arkhan the Black the Liche King and Tolkien's the Witch-King of Angmar who ruled the Nazgûl) gestures to his being inspired by Sauron.
Zovaal's name may be derived from either or both Bulgarian зова (zova, derivative words meaning to summon/to name), Bulgarian зобам (zobam, to devour), Polish zobaczyć (to see), and/or Persian زغ*ل (zogal, coal, or as black/as dark as coal).

https://wowpedia.fandom.com/wiki/The...r#Inspirations

[Combatbutler]

He is a cheap amalgamation of several devilish afterlife figures, with the personality of a rotten potato and the intellect of a rock.

[Rozz]

If you're going to remove the OP, then discussion can conclude here.