How do Makima’s Powers Work? Control Devil Explained (2024)

Makima was the most intriguing character introduced in Chainsaw Man. A Public Safety Devil Hunter, who is clearly evil, proceeds to MAKE OUR MAIN CHARACTER HER ACTUAL PET!

When she meets Denji for the first time and notices him in his Chainsaw Man form, she threatens to kill him if he doesn’t become her human pet, offering him little to no choice in the matter.

And it wasn’t just her looks that made her intimidating. Makima had the intelligence and raw strength to back it up. So, who (or what) exactly is Makima?

Makima was the Control Devil, a member of the Four Horsem*n, and one of the strongest devils in Chainsaw Man. She was a pure devil with endless abilities, ranging from enhanced senses to force manipulation. Makima was also seemingly immortal, as she was alive and well after being shot point-blank.

Control Devil’s Powers & Abilities Explained

Since Makima was the Control Devil, she had the upper hand over fiends and hybrids. And she never hesitated to use her power on her inferiors.

1. Standard Devil Abilities

Enhanced Smell: She could distinguish people through her sense of smell. Denji mentioned that Makima noticed that Pochita remained in him through their smell alone.

Enhanced Strength: Makima was a physical beast able to break Denji’s chainsaws in the Chainsaw Man form.

Regeneration: Like others, she was able to regenerate by drinking blood.

Contract: Like any other devil, Maikma could form a contract with others. While other devils had to rely on humans to decide, Maikma took it one step further. She could coerce people and other devils into forming a contract with her using the Control Devil powers she possessed.

Reincarnation: Like other devils, the Control Devil cannot die as long as the fear of control / conquest exists among humans. Maikma, rather the Control Devil, was reincarnated as Nayuta in China after Makima’s death in Part 1 of Chainsaw Man.

2. Near-Perfect Immortality

Makima’s intelligence and cunning knew no bounds and her near-perfect immortality was the proof. She used her basic abilities as the Control Devil to coerce the Prime Minister of Japan into making contact with her.

In exchange for Makima’s services in the Public Safety office as the Devil Hunter, any fatal attacks inflicted on her would be transferred to a random Japanese citizen in the form of a disease of some sort.

If that’s not genius, I don’t know what is.

3. Special Powers

Brainwashing: Makima was able to control the minds of others to erase their memories. She could even alter their personalities, evident in how she made Quanxi and her other enemies feel affectionate towards her.

Ability Steal: Makima could use the abilities of her subordinates, whom she felt were inferior to her. She was able to use the abilities of the Angel devil. Makima also used rats and other small creatures to spy around the world without any issues.

Telepathy: She can transmit her voice into the minds of others by placing her hand on their head. This ability can be used with even dead people. She uses this ability to communicate with other devils most of the time.

Teleportation: Using her power to control lower life forms, such as rats, she can cluster them together into a person and use them to move from place to place at an incredible speed.

Force Manipulation: Makima controls an invisible force around her to kill her targets before they even realize it. The target gets crushed into a splatter of blood, even at a long distance. She needs to perform small rituals to use this ability, such as blindfolding the people around her and pointing at the target.

As Nayuta, she can also shoot “force bullets” out of her finger by saying “BANG!.” And these bullets are super dangerous which is evident from how they injured the Darkness Devil.

Who is Makima? What was her goal?

The Control Devil is a devil who was born out of the fear of control. Interestingly, the Control Devil could only control the minds and bodies of whom she considers her inferiors.

That’s why Makima, the Control Devil herself, could not control Chainsaw Devil and Darkness Devil.

As I stated, Makima was one of the Four Horsem*n alongside War Devil, Death Devil, and Famine Devil. But she didn’t want to bring the apocalypse. Instead, she wanted to eliminate the other Horsem*n and become the sole ruler. Classic control freak, eh?

1. Why did Makima want Pochita?

Makima’s true goal was to use Pochita’s (Chainsaw Devil) ability, devil erasure, to erase the existence of all the devils and their fear. She wanted to create an ideal world without fear and, ideally, “no bad movies” to have a happy ever after.

2. How many Control Devils are there?

There are two incarnations of Control Devil. Makima was the original incarnation who reincarnated as Nayuta in Part 2. Nayuta is taken under the wing of Denji, so she doesn’t turn into someone similar to Makima.

Not much is known about Nayuta, the current incarnation of Control Devil, except that she shares the same affection her predecessor felt toward the dogs and a desire to form familial bonds.

She also distinguishes people by her sense of smell, evident in how she bites Denji’s finger, similar to Makima.

What was Makima’s ritual?

Makima’s power wasn’t just about raw strength; her cunning and mastery of unique abilities set her apart. One of her most chilling feats was the Control Devil’s ritual.

During the ritual, Makima blindfolds her subjects, writes the name of the “human sacrifice” on her hand, and joins her hands. Makima performs the “ritual” seen in Kyoto when she wants to crush individual opponents by an invisible force without requiring her physical presence.

The exact mechanism of her ability is unknown, but the ritual leads to an exceedingly brutal death of her opponents, who are practically crushed to nothing by an invisible force.

Is Makima immortal? Does she die?

Makima is killed by Denji at the end of Chainsaw Man Part 1. After realizing the conditions of her immortality, Denji lands a final blow by justifying it as his “love and care” to put Makima out of her misery rather than a fatal attack. This bypasses Makima’s contract with Japan’s PM and kills her.

In the present timeline, Makima isn’t the Control Devil anymore. It was reincarnated as Nayuta in China, now under Denji’s care.

About Chainsaw Man

Chainsaw Man is a manga series by Tatsuki Fujimoto that was serialized from December 2018-2020 and returned in July 2022 with a second part. The series also received an anime series by MAPPA.

The manga’s plot revolves around Denji, an orphaned boy who has to work as a devil hunter to make a living and pay off his father’s debt.

However, his pet devil, Pochita is killed on a mission. Denji wakes up to realize he and Pochita have become a single being, Chainsaw Man. If he does not want to get killed, he has to join the government and continue hunting demons.