Samur Maykr

Samur Maykr, better known as the Seraphim, is an entity mentioned in the lore of Doom (2016) and Doom Eternal about which little was initially known. One detail known for certain from the beginning was that he was opposed to the forces of Hell: he is said to have gifted the Doom Slayer with super-human powers of speed and strength. Although the word is plural (the singular form is "seraph"), in the context of Doom (2016) and Doom Eternal, the name applies both to this single character and to the entire species of similar beings.

Little information could be extracted from a few entries in the codex. Among these is a picture (an etching from the Book of Daeva) that is now known to contain an image of the Seraphim in the upper left corner. This mysterious figure appears again in the box art for Doom Eternal.

In Doom Eternal it is shown that he has typical Maykr angel tentacles and hands, but he has no staff, Orator Ring or head crest that can be seen beneath his cloak. The trailer of The Ancient Gods, Part One reveals that his mask is a more human-like one compared to other Maykrs, with gold plating where the eyes would be and a prominent blue eye (which resembles Hayden's single eye) on the forehead (contrast with Maykr angels, who have a red one).

Doom (2016)
"In his crusade, the Seraphim bestowed upon him terrible power and speed, and with his might he crushed the obsidian pillars of the Blood Temples."

- The Nameless One

The Seraphim does not directly appear in Doom (2016), but is mentioned in the codex's Slayer's Testament to have granted the Doom Slayer his power. The codex shows him watching over Doom Slayer battling demons.

Doom Eternal


In a flashback from the Doom Slayer's point of view that is corroborated by codex entries, it is revealed that the Seraphim is the Maykr known as Samur Maykr, the former chancellor of the Khan Maykr who went rogue for initially unknown reasons; as no Maykr was thought to be able to disobey the Khan Maykr, his rebellion opened up further question as to how he could do so - it is later revealed that the Seraphim as a species are of a higher order than other Maykrs and are not subject to the dominance of the Khan. Having stolen the essence of the Father from Urdak in defiance of the Khan Maykr, Samur was impressed by the Doom Slayer and secretly gifted him superhuman strength, speed, and endurance using a Maykr device called the Divinity Machine. He disappeared shortly afterwards, and was presumed exiled by the Argenta.

His ultimate fate remained unknown, as did his motives for aiding the Slayer. Certain similarities between Samur and Samuel Hayden prompted speculation that the two characters were somehow connected. In particular, the Seraphim is heard to speak the line, "Take it, it will give you strength... help you on your journey," a line previously said by Samuel Hayden when offering the Slayer an Argent cache, and with a similar voice, as the two characters share Darin De Paul as their voice actor.

When the Doom Slayer enters the Urdak building where the Khan Maykr is attempting to revive the Icon of Sin, he is greeted by a voice telling him "Welcome home, Seraphim". In retrospect, this can be considered proof of Hayden's secret identity as the Seraphim, apparently being detected through the Slayer's link to the Fortress of Doom.

The Ancient Gods, Part One
After the Slayer obtains the Seraphim's Key from the UAC Atlantica Facility and gains access to the Seraphim's original body, Hayden states that he will upload his consciousness to the key much as VEGA had done before the Slayer left for Urdak. Entering the dormant body, Samuel Hayden is explicitly confirmed to have been an alterego of the Seraphim. In a prideful manner typical of the Seraphim in general, he states to the Slayer that "we have been allies for some time now" and speaks of the Slayer's gifts as being "owed to us now". He urges the Slayer to take on the task of restoring the Father in Urdak. The Slayer's reactions to this chain of events are clearly negative, as he can be seen to scowl and cringe at the Seraphim's condescension.

Passages from the Eri oa Hiim (the Lamentations of the Seraphs, or Book of the Seraphim) found throughout the Slayer's journey explain several facts:


 * When the Father fought with Davoth in Jekkad, Samur was there to bear witness. Upon Davoth's defeat, Samur urged the Father to destroy the Dark Lord, but the Father, having once favored Davoth, could not bring himself to destroy his own creation and instead enshrined Davoth's life sphere in the Ingmore's Sanctum. The Father would then have the Seraphim store his own life sphere in the Sanctum alongside that of Davoth and the other vanquished gods.
 * The Father, who considered Samur his most loyal servant, had commanded him to remove his essence from Urdak. Samur obeyed even with the knowledge that he would become an outcast among the Maykrs.
 * The Father had foreseen that humanity would discover Argent energy and had the Seraphim use a cloned human body to move among them in secret and guide their path. At this point, Samur transformed the remainder of the Father's consciousness into the AI VEGA to assist in this task.
 * Samur would again transfer himself to a synthetic body in order to sidestep the ancient laws forbidding Maykrs from entering Hell so that he could retrieve the Slayer in preparation for the upcoming conflict.

Upon returning to the ARC Carrier, Samur is seen to be in distress. According to him, he is in the process of undergoing the Transfiguration, with the only remedy being the restoration of the Father to physical form. He thus requires the Slayer to act as his proxy and enter the Blood Swamps in search of the Father's life sphere. Again the Slayer displays a negative reaction to these commands.

When the Slayer arrives in the Blood Swamps, he has set his objective not to retrieve the life sphere of the Father but rather to destroy it. As Samur is allowed to enter the sacred grounds of the Sanctum, he meets the Slayer there and urges him to go on and claim the Father's sphere, smiling as he believes he is about to receive what he wants. With a look of defiance, the Slayer instead crushes it in his hands, sending the Seraphim into an agonizing, energetic convulsion, leaving him unable to act.

The Slayer instead takes the life sphere of the Dark Lord to Urdak in order to force him to take a physical form in a bid to destroy Hell's ability to act outside of its own domain forever.

With the life sphere of the Father destroyed, the Seraphim succumbs to the Transfiguration, becoming a demon-like figure and attacking the Slayer in an attempt to stop his "reckless mission." He is defeated, but the Slayer hesitates before killing him, and in this time Samur is teleported away by the Father, who states that taking the life of his servant is not necessary. The Father also further confirms that the Seraphim was acting on his orders when he stole the Father's essence. Two more Seraphim appear within the Luminarium to help the Slayer commence the manifestation of the Nameless One.

Tactical analysis
The Seraphim is fought in a five-phase boss battle whose health bar must be depleted more than once to defeat. Between several of the phases, the Seraphim reshapes the arena dramatically. He has no particular strengths or weaknesses and can be damaged using any weapon. Due to his speed and ability to suddenly teleport, the super shotgun's meat hook is especially powerful for its ability to hold him in place and simultaneously recover armor points.

First phase
While he is able to fly like the Blood Maykr, the Seraphim's main method of movement is to teleport rapidly from one part of the arena to the next; a purple streak reveals the location to which he is about to teleport. His main method of attack is a triple-projectile version of the Blood Maykr's energy blast which he can use several times in short succession. He can also generate floating eye-like turrets which shoot lightning at the player until destroyed; their attacks also hamper vision with an electric overlay on the screen. Zombies will spawn in on occasion, which the player can use to resupply via glory kills and the chainsaw.

Second phase
When his first health bar is depleted, the Seraphim generates a "spirit shield" linked to a pair of spirits: one possessing a mancubus and the other possessing a Hell knight. As soon as these heavy demons are destroyed, they will respawn, so it is necessary to eliminate the spirits once they emerge without delay. Once both spirits are destroyed, the Seraphim will be staggered. Using the glory kill key or button on him will execute a series of melee attacks, allowing the third phase of the battle to begin.

Third phase
The Seraphim moves outside of the arena to regenerate and lowers the floor around the four raised platforms, revealing a damaging electric field. He will occasionally activate generators within the safe platforms which will electrify them too - up to two platforms can be electrified at a time.

The Seraphim himself is behind a shield during this phase and cannot be damaged. Instead the player must kill the cacodemons which spawn in. After two of them are killed, the Seraphim will generate a grid of lasers that will move back and forth through the platforms, further complicating efforts to stay on safe ground.

Fourth phase
Eventually, the floor will become safe to walk on again and the Seraphim, now on his third health bar, returns to the arena and can be attacked normally. However, he will try to remain high in the air, requiring the player to climb up the platforms to get within range while continuing to avoid the laser grid. A constant stream of Blood Maykrs will also begin appearing one at a time at this point, which can be both a threat and a valuable source of extra resources depending on how quickly they are dealt with.

Fifth phase
Depleting the Seraphim's health in the fourth phase will cause him to re-create the spirit shield, this time with the spirits possessing a pain elemental and a dread knight. Killing both spirits will end the battle.

Literary interpretation
Due to his rebellious nature and subversive activities, the Seraphim as depicted in opposition to the Khan Maykr can be viewed as a character. The events of The Ancient Gods, Part One cast this interpretation into a point of view, as Samur is revealed to be a loyal servant of the Father, who ranks far above the Khan. In this light, the identification of the Doom Slayer with the of, who in Christian traditions is sometimes considered to be the son of Satan, is an extension of this metaphor, as the Slayer was created by the Seraphim and is thus his figurative son.

Trivia

 * Shortly prior to his disappearance, the transfigured Samur briefly grows two additional arms from his abdomen. Hugo Martin says that the Transfiguration will eventually turn Samur into a -like being.