About the Four Horsemen
The Four Horsemen first appear in the Old Testament in the Books of Zachariah and Ezekiel. Later, in the New Testament, they appear in the Apocalypse as punishment from God. The Horsemen are mostly depicted and described as men who ride horses of different colors, and, in the book of the Apocalypse, they are described as “sword, famine, wild beasts, and plague”. It would take more than an article to describe the full significance of the Four Horsemen, but it suffices to say that the concept has, on different occasions, been used in popular cultural productions, including Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. Chainsaw Man is a manga that, essentially, explores some of the worst things that could happen to humanity, so it’s fitting that these figures would be used there.
Who Are the Four Horsemen in Chainsaw Man?
In the Chainsaw Man shonen manga, the Four Horsemen are four powerful Devils that represent the aforementioned Four Horsemen from Christianity. The distinct feature of these Devils is that they still remember the names of the Devils that Chainsaw Man has devoured. Not very much else is known about these Four Horsemen, other than the fact that Makima - who turned out to be the Control Devil - used to be one of them. What we do know is that they don’t generally function as a cohesive unit, given that Makima planned to annihilate the other three. For a bit of backstory, the Horsemen once fought Pochita in Hell, but he mysteriously vanished and changed forms so that they could not find him. The Control Devil, incarnated as Makima, went to Earth and sought out the Chainsaw Man that had been created by Denji merging with Pochita.
What Can We Expect From the Four Horsemen in Part 2?
Chainsaw Man Part 2 introduces a character named Asa Mitaka, who is badly mutilated by a classmate who was jealous of her. The War Devil offers to save Mitaka’s life in exchange for control over her body, and she accepts. Seeing a Chainsaw Man poster, the War Devil vows to make Chainsaw Man vomit nuclear weapons back up, suggesting that Mitaka/the War Devil is now one of the Four Horsemen, as they remember the nuclear weapons devil whom Chainsaw Man devoured.
