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A technology-savvy businessman, Vox pulls the strings of Hell's news and entertainment media. He is determined to keep his iron grip over Pentagram City's citizens from the Radio Demon, Alastor, his arch-rival in terms of influence and technology.
Vox is a tall and slim-figured, technology-themed demon who stands at approximately 7 feet.[6] He sports a flat-screen television for a head, with the monitor projecting eyes with red sclera, small cyan pupils and different-colored outlines - black for his right and cyan for his left. While using his hypnosis powers or simply becomes enraged, his left eye gains a black spiral and the pupil becomes a cyan electric symbol.
The screen also shows a mouth full of sharp, cyan-colored teeth and a long pointed cyan colored tongue. Sometimes what looks like blood seems to drip out of his mouth. He has dark navy-blue skin with sharp, cyan claw-like fingers, and also has what appears to be three shark-like gills on the sides of his body.[7]
Vox wears a navy-blue tuxedo with the jacket sporting coattails, red-trimmed cyan lapels, thin cyan stripes and cyan lining, worn over a red-and-black-striped waistcoat which itself is worn over a collared bluish-white shirt with an upside-down broadcast symbol and a rather large, red bowtie. He also wears heeled dark gray dress shoes with cyan-colored laces, toes, and tips on the heels.
He also wears a small black top hat on his head, with red and blue designs reminiscent of a broadcast symbol and radio wave symbol, respectively. He has TV antenna that stick out the top of his hat, the left one bent into a zigzag.
Past
Vox used to have an older-styled box TV for his head. He wore a black jacket over a yellow ribbed turtleneck, along with dark colored pants. He also wore a black top hat but without the symbols, and his left antenna was not bent.
Pilot
In the pilot, Vox's appearance is nearly the same, but with some noticeable differences; his eyebrows are different-colored (aqua-blue right and cyan left), the blood-like substance appears to be permanent, and his left eye is always seen with black spirals.
He also appeared to have wrinkles located on the right corner of his left eye, colored in the same color as the outline.
In addition to his clothing, his suit is a dark blue-gray with the jacket not sporting any coattails, and its lapels, while still being red-trimmed, is a darker gray-cyan. The jacket's linings are instead colored in a blue-gray. There is more linings on the jacket.
His shirt is instead a faded daphne-blue, and his dress shoes instead sport thin cyan stripes above the soles.
Personality
Vox is an egotistical, charismatic, and manipulative showman of an Overlord who craves attention.[8] To the public, Vox presents himself as a legitimate businessman of VoxTek Enterprises, giving the facade of a man of the people to the denizens of Hell, when in truth, he is power-hungry, and he manipulates their minds to boost his reputation. He is highly intelligent and technology-savvy, and he is always keeping up with the latest trends and technology.[9] He seems to be able to hide his less desirable side in public and even in private unless he's pushed too far.
Despite his egocentric nature, Vox is loyal to the interests of his fellow Overlords, the Vees, and seeks to maintain their collective image of power. As the most level-headed member of the Vees, Vox often acts as the de facto leader. Claiming the Vees' brand to be "perfection", he is often frustrated or outright angered if someone can jeopardize it, such as when he reigns in his fellow Vee, Valentino, from attacking the Hazbin Hotel in response to Angel Dust living there. Another element that earns his ire is his rival, Alastor, whom he utterly despises and might be intimidated by as he sees Alastor as a threat to his plans. However, despite his immense hatred for Alastor, Vox doesn't let it override his more pragmatic side once he calms down.
In "The Show Must Go On", he takes pleasure and joy out of seeing the staff of the Hazbin Hotel prepare to fight the angels, as he believes they stand no chance against them. This causes him to get verbally explicit and overly honest, as seen when he along with Valentino and Velvette watch the fight between Adam and Alastor at the Hazbin Hotel, commenting how the impending duel had given him an erection. He even shows this sadistic joy when he sees Alastor lose to Adam, saying that seeing Alastor suffer is better than sex, only to get angry when Alastor flees from the fight. Additionally, he is genuinely shocked at Niffty killing Adam but then changes to smiling.
Abilities
Immortality - As a Sinner, Vox is biologically immortal, being unable to die from illnesses and unable to age, remaining the same age as when he died, thus cannot die of old age and other natural causes. He also cannot die from any kind of damage to the body, and will recover from any injury, however, he can only be permanently killed with angelic weaponry.
Electrokinesis - Vox possesses the ability to generate and control electricity. Depending on his emotions, such as if he's angered, he can potentially make it so that a Hell-wide blackout happens.[note 3] He caused a blackout to Pentagram City in "Radio Killed the Video Star" when he was overwhelmed by Alastor's taunts.
Electrokinetic transformation - Vox can turn into electricity,[10] which he can use to move around or enter and travel through electronic devices such as security cameras, watches and television monitors that he can control as he pleases. Though there are a few flaws to his electrical teleportation: the place Vox wants to go has to have some form of modern technology he could go through, as he apparently can't teleport through an old-style radio.
Technokinesis - Vox can control devices whether he is outside or inside them. He can do things while inside devices such as changing his outfit and scenery.
Spark generation - He can create electrical sparks from his fingertips, which can be used to ignite something, like Valentino's cigarette in "Radio Killed the Video Star". He can even generate sparks on his body, especially when he is angry. He also causes what looks like a small surge or ripple of electricity to appear through the floor from his feet during Stayed Gone. It is hard to tell if this is part of the spark generation or a separate ability entirely.
Technological head - Vox's television head doubles as an electronic device with which he can plug himself into other devices with the help of cables in his surveillance room. He also somehow is able to change or upgrade his head, as shown, he has a photograph of himself with an older-style television head. If he's particularly angry, he and any devices he's linked to will involuntarily glitch.
Bioluminescence - Vox generates blue light from his screen, most notably when he is in a dark room. His teeth noticeably shine brighter than the rest of his face, and his left eye outline and pupils can shine on their own when feeling sinister. His claws can also glow when he is using his electrical powers.
Communication - He can receive calls from people, such as Velvette, with his screen head similar to calling on a phone. He can also transfer the call to another device by "grabbing" the call and flicking it to a different screen device.
Video playing - According to Faustisse, Vox can play videos on his screen-face.[note 4]
Scrying - As shown in "The Radio Demon" comic, Vox is seemingly able to see through other screens, appearing to stare directly at Alastor while projecting into the TV display of a window-fronted store. This is shown in "Radio Killed the Video Star" to be done after he plugs his head into a monitoring device, which he may need to be able to scry.
Hypnosis - In "Radio Killed the Video Star", it is shown that with his left eye, he uses hypnosis to keep his audience drawn into his program and keep their interest. He also uses this as a distraction so he can slip away to avoid any further discussion of a subject he doesn't wish to continue. The victim's eyes become red with black spirals. The victim has to be paying attention for this to work. He can use this even when he isn't physically present by being in a screen device. The devices his company sells share this ability.
Self-duplication - Vox was shown to be able to make clones of himself in "Radio Killed the Video Star" during Stayed Gone. However, he has only displayed the ability on television, and it is unknown if he can do it physically.
Acoustokinesis - He can manipulate the sound of his voice to sound more intimidating. He can also generate different sound effects such as echoing voices and the sound of a winning game machine.
Strength - Vox is strong enough that he is easily able to tear through metal, and capable of holding demons bigger than himself, such as Valentino, with ease.
Cable creation - As shown on Vox's official reference sheet, Vox can produce cables from his back.[11]
Skillset
Deal-making - While not shown on-screen, Vox can make deals with others in order to collect their souls just like other Overlords.
Musical talent - Vox has shown to be a talented singer.
Dancing - Vox can perform amazing dance routines, like handling complicated moves to even being able to hold Valentino, a taller Sinner, into a dip.
Charisma and manipulation - The reason why Vox is a successful entrepreneur is that he can use his charm to manipulate others into buying his products even without his hypnosis powers, such as acting as he cares about his customers and making up products on the spot that are not even in production yet. He even uses this to successfully calm down Valentino to prevent further damage.
Technology intuition - Being a businessman and head of VoxTek, Vox has great understanding of technology, allowing him to use his electrical powers to their full potential.
His name may refer to the word "vox", a shortened form of the word "vocals", or from the Latin word "vox", meaning "voice". It may also be a portmanteau of "video" and "aux" (an abbreviation of auxiliary), which are the two main components of television.
In a late-2019 livestream, Vivziepop and pilot co-writer Dave Capdevielle confirmed that Vox is one of the bigger antagonists in the series.[5]
Vivziepop stated in an early-2024 interview that the Vees are going to be a bigger part of season two as antagonists.[12] She explained that the season centers around the Vees and Vox specifically, and will get into much more of his relationship with Alastor and how Vox being the threat affects Alastor and the other characters in the Hotel.[13]
Faustisse stated that Vox was Caucasian while living, later also joking that he was "white, like really emphasizing the phlegm in your throat white".[note 5]
Faustisse described Vox as being a dominating force when it comes to technology.[note 6]
According to Vivziepop, Vox and Alastor do not get along due to their opposing views on technology, with Alastor disliking anything invented after he died in the 1930s, and Vox embracing new technology.[1]
Faustisse described Vox as having something of a fixation on Alastor and that he is interested in having Alastor notice him. Alastor, however, does not have the same interest in return.[note 7]
Vox's company was first revealed in the "The Radio Demon" comic, albeit unnamed at the time. It was also shown that the company sells products that start with the letter "V", including a cereal named "Voot Floops", a candy bar named "VV", a speaker named "Valkyrie", and a music app named "Vogitek".
He is shown in "The Radio Demon" comic to be one of the few beings that can make Alastor swear. In the comic, Vox hijacks a TV signal to make his face appear across a storefront display that Alastor is watching. Alastor leaves, quietly swearing under his breath in a tirade against Vox.[14]
When asked what TV shows Vox would like, Vivziepop stated Vox does not have a specific favorite when it comes to his preferences for TV shows, but that he likes to watch commercials and enjoys game shows.[15]
As seen in "Radio Killed the Video Star", Vox's left eye gains several circles in its sclera and the pupil becomes light blue electricity-like whenever he feels strong emotion or is hypnotizing people. This is a reference to his old design in the pilot.
There is a picture on the desk in V Tower in "Radio Killed the Video Star" that shows Vox having an older-style box TV for a head rather than his current flat-screen TV head. This implies that he is capable of altering the way his head looks through unknown means.
Sometimes, he moves his face towards the audience, essentially breaking the fourth wall.
Before its archiving on Instagram, Vox was the manager of the non-canon social media app, Voxtagram, which depicted him in non-canon activities and events.
In these posts, Vox was depicted in a romantic on-off again relationship with fellow Overlord, Valentino, one that appeared, at times, to be physically abusive.[16]
Faustisse has described Vox as not being a polite person.[note 8] In the main series, Vox is polite in certain situations, especially in front of the public, but is non-polite at other times, especially about Alastor.
Chronologically, Vox is the oldest of the Vees.
According to Skye Henwood, there is a rule that Vox cannot be seen sideways because he's a flat-screen TV. In the series, even if Vox should turn around to leave a shot, his head will stay forward.[17]
Whenever Vox gets angry or frustrated, his voice would change into a static-like voice.
An official merchandise keychain for Valentines Day revealed that Vox has what appears to be three gills on the sides of his body similar to the gills of a shark.[7]
Development
An old artwork from Vivziepop shows a character who a box-style TV head with a bent antenna, however, it is unknown if this is an early precursor design of Vox or a separate character with similar design elements.
Vivziepop mentioned in a tweet that when she thinks what kinds of music to inspire a character that Alastor might actively hate or oppose, Dubstep is the only genre that pops into her head.[18] She added in a reply that she started listening to Knife Party again and included a picture of Vox with an older-style television head beside Alastor,[19] which may be an earlier iteration of Vox or may allude to an older appearance of his as he died before flat-screen televisions were invented.
Faustisse talked about Vivziepop using music artists such as Skrillex and Knife Party as inspiration for Vox's design.[note 9] Both of these are artists who do appear in Vivziepop's official Hazbin Hotel Spotify playlist.[20]
Vivziepop's headcanon voice actor for Vox was Mark Hamill.[21]
