In the comic we are presented with a future dystopian totalitarian Britain. The fascist party Norsefire assumed power after a limited nuclear-war, by preying on the peoples fear and using to instigate a fascisctian dictatorship (sounds familiar?).
The state is organized in different departments, all corresponding to a part of the human body, inspired by Thomas Moore's Leviathan: The Nose (the detective branch), The Eye, The Ear (surveillance) and The Finger (uniformed police).
We follow the character V, who is an anarchist and a rebel. He was subjected to drug experiments in a government concentration camp, of which he was the only survivor. Since then he has planned the demolition of the fascist government, which he goes about by killing of key personnel (who are mostly also responsible for his own fate), by blowing up symbolical buildings, and generally ridiculing and humiliating the system, and thereby destabilizing it. He is dressed in a Guy Fawkes mask, and matching clothes. Guy Fawkes was also a rebel, who in the 17. century - unsuccessfully - tried to blow up the government.
At one point in the comic, V says "Please allow me to introduce myself, I'm a man of wealth and taste", the first two lines from the song. He says this just before he kills one man, his mask is even protruding through his wig to resemble horns.
But why the comparison with the devil? V is the hero of the story, he fights the totalitarian system risking his own life, which very much would make him a GOOD character. At the same time he is a very ambivalent character. His true identity is never revealed, and it isn't really determined whether he is insane as a results of the experiments or not. He also viciously murders people, a death that certainly is well deserved, but nevertheless not an option the traditional hero usually retorts to.
Then again fear is a very important strategy for V, and he is very much interested in his enemies being as afraid of him as possible, too which a comparison between himself and the devil - or indeed some kind of vengeful angel handing out punishment - certainly should work very well.
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