| Mephisto | |
|---|---|
.png) Mephisto as seen on the variant cover forThe Amazing Spider-Man #545 (January 2008). Art byMarko Djurdjevic. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Silver Surfer #3 (December 1968)[1] |
| Created by | Stan Lee (writer) John Buscema (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Species | Demon |
| Place of origin | Hell |
| Team affiliations | Six-Fingered Hand Legion Accursed |
| Notable aliases | Mephistopheles Satan Lucifer Beelzebub The Devil The Lord of Evil |
| Abilities |
|
Mephisto is a fictional character appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics. The character first appeared inSilver Surfer #3 (December 1968),[2] and was created byStan Lee andJohn Buscema and based onMephistopheles: a demon character from theFaust legend, who has sometimes been referred to as Mephisto. Introduced as a recurring adversary of theSilver Surfer andGhost Rider (Johnny Blaze), Mephisto has also endured as one ofSpider-Man's most prominent adversaries,being responsible forNorman andHarry Osborn's respective transformations into theGreen Goblin andKindred; and for the superhero'sloss of his marriage toMary Jane Watson, considering their future daughterSpider-Girl hisarchenemy. The father ofBlackheart, Jezebel, and Father Priest, Mephisto has often come into conflict withDoctor Strange,Doctor Doom,Scarlet Witch and otherheroes of theMarvel Universe, being responsible both for the creation of theCosmic Ghost Rider and the descents of the Osborns,Phil Coulson, andOtto Octavius intovillainy.
Debuting in theSilver Age of comic books, the character has appeared in over five decades of Marvel continuity. The character has also appeared in associated Marvel merchandise, including animated television series, feature film, toys,trading cards, and video games.
Mephisto has been described as one of Marvel's most notable and powerful supervillains.[3][4][5][6][7]
In the twoSony Pictures–producedGhost Rider films, the character was first portrayed byPeter Fonda inGhost Rider (2007) and then byCiarán Hinds inGhost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2012), voiced byKeith David in the second season ofHit-Monkey (2024), and portrayed bySacha Baron Cohen in theMarvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)Disney+ miniseriesIronheart (2025).
Inspired byMephistopheles of theFaust legend,[8] he was introduced into Marvel comics by writerStan Lee and pencilerJohn Buscema, Mephisto debuted inSilver Surfer #3 (cover dated Dec. 1968),[9] and was established as a perennial foe for the cosmic hero,[10] also appearing inSilver Surfer #8–9 (Sept.–Oct. 1969) and 16–17 (May–June 1970).
AuthorMike Conroy has described Mephisto as "thetempter who could offer the endlessly soul-tormented Silver Surfer the world, even dangling the Surfer's off-limits long-distance lover in front of him. As always the case with Lee's heroes, the Surfer's goodness and nobility won out, but Mephisto was only stymied, not defeated, and the pattern was set."[11]
Mephisto went on to become a foe for theNorse godThor inThor #180–181 (Sept.–Oct. 1970),Astonishing Tales #8 (Oct. 1971) andThor #204–205 (Oct.–Nov. 1972). He was later revealed to be the being to whomJohnny Blaze had sold his soul to and thus had been cursed to become the Ghost Rider,[12] in aretcon that placed him in the role originally played by Satan. This was later retconned back to Satan,[volume & issue needed] though Mephisto's influence is still felt in the 1990s by theDanny Ketch Ghost Rider.
Other appearances included posing asSatan inMarvel Spotlight #5 (Aug. 1972); tormenting the titular superhero team inFantastic Four #155–157 (Feb.–April 1975) andThor #310 (Aug. 1981) and 325 (Nov. 1982). Mephisto also guest-starred in twominiseries:The Vision and the Scarlet Witch (vol. 2) #1–12 (Oct. 1985–Sept. 1986) andSecret Wars II #1-9 (July 1985 – March 1986), before starring in the self-titledminiseriesMephisto vs. #1–4 (April–July 1987), battling four of Marvel's super-teams. The miniseries was penciled by co-creator Buscema.
InDaredevil #266 (May 1989), pencilerJohn Romita, Jr. redesigned the character, reimagining him as a bloated, naked creature with short, vaguely frog-like legs and a demonic-looking head. Romita explained "I couldn't see the Devil with tights and a cape."[13] Subsequent portrayals have varied between Mephisto's original appearance and the Romita redesign.
Mephisto continued to torment the Scarlet Witch inAvengers West Coast #51–52 (Nov.–Dec. 1989); created a new adversary for the Marvel heroes inDaredevil #270 (Sept. 1989); and appeared inMarvel Graphic Novel No. 49Doctor Strange and Doctor Doom: Triumph and Torment (1989). Additionally, he was featured prominently in theOne More Day story line inThe Amazing Spider-Man #544;Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #24;The Sensational Spider-Man (vol. 2) #41 andThe Amazing Spider-Man #545 (Oct. 2007–Jan. 2008), rising to becoming the ultimate adversary ofSpider-Man,making deals withPeter Parker,Norman Osborn,Otto Octavius, andMiles Morales.
In 2009, Mephisto was ranked #48 onIGN's list of Greatest Comic Book Villains of All Time.[14]
Mephisto is a perennial villain in theMarvel Universe, and is responsible for a number of evil acts, including capturing and holding the soul ofCynthia von Doom – the mother ofDoctor Doom — untilDoctor Strange and Doom freed her so she could ascend intoHeaven.[15] He was jealous of the worship of the fire demonZarathos, so, posing asSatan, Mephisto creates theGhost Rider by bonding Zarathos toJohnny Blaze.[16] Mephisto refers to his domain asHell.[17] In one story where he battledThor, he was shown to have various historical villains in his realm, such asAdolf Hitler,Blackbeard, andAttila the Hun.[18]
Mephisto claims to have been created, along with many other demons, by the supreme being whose suicide resulted in the creation of the Marvel Universe, as well as theInfinity Gems. He also claimed that his totally evil nature is because the supreme being did not choose to make him good, as that being had no concept of it.[19] He witnessed theCelestial known as the Progenitor succumbing to the Horde on Earth, with Mephisto, still young in the form of a fly, taking this opportunity to give birth to his maggots.[20]
InSecret Wars II, Mephisto seeks to steal theBeyonder's powers or to destroy him to win the favor ofDeath. Mephisto sends an army of supervillains called the Legion Accursed to attack the Beyonder, who is saved by theThing. After the Legion Accursed was defeated, Mephisto returned its members to where they were before he formed the group.[21]
Mephisto later creates himself a son,Blackheart, a demonic entity that plagues many of Earth's heroes,[22] a daughter, Mephista (who later renames herself Jezebel to separate herself from him),[23][24] and a human son, Father John Priest.[25] Mephisto later manipulates the sorcererMaster Pandemonium into gathering the five scattered fragments of his soul that were lost in an ill-fated encounter with the aforementioned Franklin Richards.[26][27] When theScarlet Witch attempts to use magic to conceive children with her husband, the androidVision, she unknowingly summons two of Pandemonium's soul fragments, which are born as her infant twins. The revelation of her children's origin, followed by their loss when they are reabsorbed into him, drives the Scarlet Witch insane.[28]
Mephisto also tries to destroy the AvengerHawkeye when he enters Hell to try to save the soul of his deceased wife,Mockingbird.[29]
Mephisto acted as a servant of the mad TitanThanos during the "Infinity Wars", seeking to attain power for himself.
Alongside theGrim Reaper, Blackheart bringsWonder Man to Mephisto's realm to battle Mephisto.[30]
In a series of confrontations that also involve theGhost Rider, thePunisher and theWolverine, Blackheart kills Mephisto and takes over his portion of Hell.[31][32] Mephisto survives, although as more of a ghostly apparition (claiming he had been denied a place in both Heaven and Hell), and for a time tricks theSilver Surfer into believing he was dead so as to collect his soul and thus perhaps regain his former power, but the Surfer refutes him and, with his allies, defeats Mephisto, resulting in his spirit form being seemingly destroyed.[33]
Mephisto again survives death and soon finds himself with access to another universe: the Earth of theTop Cow universe. Seeking to torment an entirely new world of superheroes, he plots to enter this world and remake it for his own dark desires. ButEternity senses this cosmic disruption and sends several heroes (Jennifer Kale, the Wolverine, the Ghost Rider, the Silver Surfer andElektra) to that universe to aid a group of Top Cow heroes (Witchblade,Weapon Zero,Cyblade andBallistic) to combat and ultimately defeat Mephisto. However, his resulting banishment back to Earth-616 seemed to restore him as a tangible physical threat, though without his elevated place of Hellish power, and he would torment heroes for some years to come, likeNighthawk,[34] theBlack Panther,[35] theSlingers,[36] theHellcat[37] andMagik.[38]
Mephisto healsMay Parker in exchange for changing the personal timelines of Peter Parker (Spider-Man) andMary Jane Watson so that they never married, claiming he did so only because he hated their happiness (also adding that he has no interest in taking Spider-Man's soul because such a deal would result in him tormenting a soul that is willing to accept the punishment because its sacrifice saved another, a righteousness which disgusts him). He also, at Mary Jane's request, erases all knowledge of Peter's secret identity, both learning only at the point of their memories being erased that theirfuture daughter will be erased as well. During the process,Harry Osborn is also brought back to life;[39] the alteration of the timelineretcons the details of Harry's death being faked by his father.[40]
In 2021, it was revealed that Mephisto had an interest in destroying Peter's personal life because he had foreseen a future in which he attacked Earth: at first, the vision is presented in such a way that Mephisto and his demons have managed to take over, only to be overthrown by Peter. However, Doctor Strange deduced the demon was lying by noting Mephisto always did more than hurt Peter alone. In truth, the demon's vision was that Peter and Mary Jane's future daughter, Mayday Parker, would be the one to end his reign. By attacking their relationship, Mephisto was thus hoping to avert the destruction of his future empire.[41]
Mephisto had bartered part of his realm to theAsgardian death goddessHela for 1,001 years in exchange for control for 101 days of the 13 surviving Dísir, dangerous evil predecessors to the Valkyries that were created by Odin's father Bor.[volume & issue needed] This troubles the minions who had previously lived in this territory, and part ofSiege Aftermath shows the "last stand of the perfidious diaspora" in what seems to have been a revolt. The revolt is quickly put down by the Dísir under Mephisto's command. The Dísir leader Brün tries to negotiate with Mephisto because she wishes to invade Hela's realm of Hel and feast on the souls of the Asgardian dead. Mephisto tells her that he has no interest in Hel, but he does not object to their invasion.[42] Thor, trying to defend Hel and its dead, enters Mephisto's domain to find the Eir-gram, a magical sword that can cut the otherwise insubstantial Dísir. Mephisto offers to give him the Eir-Gram and a "happily ever after" for Asgard if he agrees not to interfere with one of Mephisto's plans, which is not at that time named. Thor remains silent the whole time. Mephisto grants him entry to Hell, but Thor must survive many difficulties before he finds the blade.[43]
Mephisto appears before a de-powered Johnny Blaze during the attack bySin in the form of Skadi and states that he has damned the human race. Mephisto then states that he will help Johnny save the human race from theSerpent and the Worthy.[44] Mephisto goes on a date with New Mutants member Magma; apparently confiding in her, he explains that, while he is the embodiment of one of the great forces of the universe, the force that created him also gave him desires and emotions, and he occasionally wants to do things that humans do.[45] Magma later confided to Blink that she has subsequently seen Mephisto again, but wishes to keep it secret.[46] After speaking with the Gods at the Infinite Embassy, Mephisto headed to the Devil's Advocacy to speak with the other demons about the Serpent's threat on Earth.[47]
Mephisto briefly appears to assistDeadpool in destroying one of his demon lieutenants,[48] before taking a major part in the Hell on Earth War,[49] where he apparently gives deathly visions of the future to the former X-Factor member Darwin and appears before him as an adult man named Tier, who claims that he is the son of Rahne Sinclair and he was to bring about the apocalypse. This is what drove Darwin to begin hunting the actual Tier in the first place. Mephisto is defeated however and replaced byX-Factor memberStrong Guy as ruler of Hell.[50]
When theThunderbolts were accidentally transported to Hell, Mephisto took the opportunity to give them a way out if they defeated Strong Guy.[51] TheRed Hulk convinced Strong Guy to abandon the position of Hell-lord and try to regain his lost soul, allowing Mephisto to regain the throne of Hell and let the Thunderbolts return to Earth.[52]
Mephisto is revealed to have assumed the form of theMaker to try to prevent Victor von Doom from redeeming his soul.[53]
Mephisto finds out that Doctor Strange has restored the lives of the Las Vegas citizens who were killed during in a bombing byHydra. He orchestrates events that cause his demons to bring Strange to his recently created Hotel Inferno. Mephisto claims that the remnants of Las Vegas were in his realm before it was restored. Hotel Inferno starts to have an effect on the people of Las Vegas. It also had an effect on the Black Panther, Captain Marvel, the Falcon, Hawkeye, and Jane Foster, who are turned into Ghost Rider-like creatures.[54] As Hotel Inferno starts to affect the people of Las Vegas, Strange fought Mephisto in a game ofblackjack. The deal is that Mephisto had to return the souls to Las Vegas if Strange won and that Strange's soul would be claimed by Mephisto if Mephisto won. Though Strange won by cheating, Mephisto found out and had Strange tortured.[55] Mephisto then turns Strange into a Ghost Rider-like creature.[56] After Mephisto removes the Ghost Rider from Johnny Blaze, he throws Blaze from the roof.[57] Mephisto appeared on the battlefield and gloated on them, sending Johnny Blaze to attack him. Just then, the possessed Avengers attack Mephisto, as Wong revealed that Mephisto rendering his throne vacant has enabled the Ghost Rider to become the new ruler of Mephisto's realm. After Strange returned from the Realm Between, he assisted the Midnight Sons and the Avengers in preventing Mephisto from returning to his realm to reclaim his throne. Though Strange defeated him, Mephisto fled back to his realm where he was defeated by Johnny Blaze and the different Ghost Riders from across theMultiverse. After Johnny Blaze sent Mephisto back to Earth, he was kept at the top of Hotel Inferno in countless restraints as Hotel Inferno remained on Earth. As Strange, the Avengers, and the Midnight Sons left upon Las Vegas returning to normal, Wong remained behind to keep an eye on Hotel Inferno's casino.[58]
In an alternate future whereThanos conquered the universe,Frank Castle signs a demonic deal with Mephisto to become aGhost Rider,[59] becoming known as theCosmic Ghost Rider after being bestowed with the Power Cosmic byGalactus, before coming to serve Thanos after spending countless years on a lifeless Earth after Mephisto's eventual silence, and going insane.[60] After Thanos has Cosmic Ghost Rider drag his past self to the future to kill him, the past Thanos, upon returning to the present, beats up Mephisto and tells him to stay away from Castle, confusing Mephisto and as such bringing Castle to his attention; Mephisto is subsequently beaten up byGwen Poole andSquirrel Girl.[61]
Doctor Strange later spoke to Mephisto about removing theOne Below All's possession from the Hulk after the briefDefenders reunion. Mephisto states that the One Below All is far stronger than he is.[62]Miles Morales later makes a deal with Mephisto to reverse time and resurrectViv Vision andKamala Khan, unknowingly at the cost of the death of a woman Miles had earlier saved.[63]
A flashback revealed that Mephisto came into contact with the Power Elite at some point and helped them out by creatingsimulacrums that the Power Elite programmed to become theSquadron Supreme of America. This group is used by a somehow-revivedPhil Coulson to become the sanctioned superhero team for the United States.[64]
When theSpider-Man of Earth-44145 threatens the life of James Martin, theSuperior Spider-Man (Doctor Octopus' mind in the Proto-Clone) uses a signal move he learned from Doctor Strange to call Mephisto, who states that the Spider-Man of Earth-44145 is out of his jurisdiction. The Superior Spider-Man asks Mephisto to restore him to the man he once was for a day so that he can fight the Spider-Man of Earth-44145. While Mephisto states that he either has or does not have his soul, he does have a counteroffer that will restore his body without disease (physical and mental) and the taint of Peter Parker. As the Superior Spider-Man tellsAnna Maria Marconi that there is no other option, he expects Mephisto to uphold his end of the bargain.[65]
After being killed byDeadpool and going toHell after his death for unspecifiedwar crimes,Phil Coulson makes a deal with Mephisto to be restored to life in exchange for his fealty, with Mephisto creatingsimulacrums of theSquadron Supreme of America for him to control as a United States-sponsored superhero team. Coulson later wines with Mephisto while discussing his own plans to destroy the Avengers.[64] After acquiring the Pandemonium Cube, Coulson uses it to rewrite reality in Mephisto's name, erasing the Avengers from existence and making himself thePresident of the United States.[66] After his role in the reality change is discovered and he is defeated by his former idol Captain America, Coulson is imprisoned in the Pandemonium Cube by Mephisto as punishment and brought before a collection of Mephisto's counterparts from 615 other universes, with whom Mephisto proposes forming a "Council of Red" for multiversal conquest.[66]
Doctor Strange later visited Mephisto at the Hotel Inferno asking about what was wrong with Peter Parker's soul as well as howHarry Osborn was seemingly revived asKindred.[67] It was during this confrontation that Mephisto confesses his true motivations for erasing the marriage of the Parkers, as at some undisclosed point in the future he finally seizes control of Earth, only for his reign to be ended by either Spider-Man orhis daughter. Striking a deal with Peter to affect his soul and erasing both his marriage with Mary Jane and their daughter was Mephisto's way of ensuring that that future would never come to pass in either scenario. Mephisto is also revealed as the one responsible for the torment and creation ofthe Kindred twins (the souls of Sarah and Gabriel, clones previously created by a temporarily insane Harry when he was alive and a posthumous A.I. of him to pose as the children of his father andGwen Stacy, merged with the A.I. in physical demonic forms) as part of his long game waged against Peter Parker and the Osborn family, as well forNorman Osborn's initial transformations into theGreen Goblin, having long ago made a deal with him in exchange for Harry's soul. Strange strikes a deal with Mephisto to have Harry's soul returned to the body of his clone as the clone is dying, alongside the Kindred twins.[41]
At the time when a version of Doctor Doom namedDoom Supreme watched the Prehistoric Avengers send Kid Thanos back to his own time, Mephisto approached Doom Supreme and suggested to him that he put together a team that would defeat any team of Avengers. Doom Supreme took Mephisto's offer and formed a Multiversal version of theMasters of Evil consisting of a version of Kid Thanos, a version ofDark Phoenix and her pet Berserkers, a version ofErik Killmonger calledKing Killmonger, a version of the Green Goblin with Ghost Rider-like powers called theGhost Goblin, and theBlack Skull. Due to their agreement with the Council of Reds, they had to save Earth-616 for last. After each of the attacks from the Multiversal Masters of Evil, Doom Supreme and Kid Thanos meet up with theIron Inquisitor and Mephisto in the form of a dog as he nears the corpse ofOrb. Under Mephisto's orders, Doom Supreme unburns Uatu's eye fragment and puts it in his own eye. As Doom Supreme and Kid Thanos enter a portal to meet with their teammates and get back to work, Mephisto and the Iron Inquisitor talk about what to do with the Multiversal Masters of Evil as Mephisto's dog form eats at the fragments of Uatu's eye. Then he has the Orb's corpse dumped into the ocean.[68]
TheSerpent Society later performed a ritual to summon the "serpent" that they worshiped by taking some lives of the people in Serpent Solutions' old headquarters. When the Avengers arrive and found that Nighthawk defeated them, the portal that formed during the ritual summons Mephisto's dog form, as it was mentioned by Nighthawk that the serpent was one of Mephisto's forms. Before assuming his true form and retreating, Mephisto makes the Council of Reds known to the Avengers.[69]
In the distant past, Mephisto encountersAvenger Prime who states that he came to watch Mephisto lose. They watch as the Avengers arrive and confront the Prehistoric Avengers. As both Avengers fight, Avenger Prime goes on the offensive against Mephisto as Mephisto summons the Council of Reds to help subdue him. The Council of Reds begin their attack on the Avengers Tower in the God Quarry as the Ghost Rider's Hell Charger drives into some of them.[70] After the Council of Reds have been decimated by the Multiversal Avengers with help fromOld Man Phoenix and the Granddaughters ofKing Thor, Captain Marvel, Nighthawk, andThor of Earth-56377 find a smaller version of Mephisto who is the last of the Council of Reds. Just then, Mephisto appears and absorbs his variant as he appears in gigantic size, claiming that the Council of Reds had served their purpose. He then quotes "Welcome, Avengers, to the end of everything".[71] As Mephisto returns to Earth-616 during prehistoric times, a recuperated Kid Thanos informs him that Ghost Goblin and King Killmonger are dead, Black Skull was stripped of his Symbiote, and Doom Supreme and Dark Phoenix have fled. As Kid Thanos is shown with the corpses of Ghost Goblin, Hound, and King Killmonger as well as the unconscious body of Red Skull, Kid Thanos states that he can obtain the fresh knowledge of his fallen teammates on his dissection table as Mephisto states that Black Skull is not dead yet. When Kid Thanos states that it is a bad idea to take on the Avengers by himself, Mephisto enters a portal as he quotes "Taking on the Avengers myself. Heh. That's a fine idea". Arriving in the God Quarry, the Council of Red tell Mephisto that they are displeased with his actions and how their teammates fell to the Multiversal Avengers. Mephisto proceeds to kill the remaining Council of Red members and absorb them into his body. After defeating Captain Marvel, Nighthawk, and Thor of Earth-56377, a Celestial-sized Mephisto is spotted by Ant-Man of Earth-818 as Mephisto destroys the Carol Corps' Omni-Carrier causing Ant-Man of Earth-818 to inform Avenger Prime of what happened. Reinforcements come in the form of Ka-Zar, an alternate Galactus from the reality that Iron Inquisitor sent Ka-Zar from,Gorilla-Man,Ursa Major, and the Progenitor which was modified with Deathlok technology.[72] As Mephisto goes on the attack, the Deathlok-modified Progenitor fights him. He proceeds to eat the remains of his fallen Council of Red members before resuming the fight. As the God Quarry begins to crumble, Mephisto takes a sample of the power from below it as Old Man Phoenix and Avenger Prime recognize the energies as the remnants of an ancient Multiverse where there is no running from it as Mephisto plans to use its powers to end the Multiverse.[73] After he was separated from his fallen Mephisto variants, Mephisto was confronted by Doom Supreme who stated that he is too weak to wield the power he just unleashed. Mephisto states that he was planning to use this power to free himself from his usual lifestyle. Doom Supreme then turns against Mephisto by attacking him. After Doom Supreme is turned to stone by the sample of the ancient Multiverse's energy, Iron Man and Ant-Man of Earth-818 plan to deal with Mephisto. As the reconstructed Doom the Living Planet and the Mjolnir variants work to clog the breach, Mephisto claims that they can't hold back the entrophy as he is punched by Nighthawk and Agamotto does a special punishment for him. Once he is back in Hell, Mephisto is annoyed with Orb next to him. Mephisto is annoyed with Orb mentioning that Avenger Prime no longer stands watch alone in the God Quarry.[74]
Mephisto is an extremely powerfulimmortal demonic entity possessing abilities used by manipulating the forces of magic.[75] Mephisto can employ his power for a variety of uses, including superhuman physical attributes, shape and sizeshifting, projectingillusions, manipulating memories, and altering time and reality.[76][77][78][79][80][75] He is also highly resistant to injury.[81] With his regenerative healing factor, Mephisto has the ability to recover quickly.[5][82]
The character has been shown to be energized by sources of evil in the human realm, such as the alienDire Wraiths.[26] Like other demons, Mephisto is symbiotically linked to, and considerably more powerful within, his own realm, and the character is able to transform the structure at will.[83] Within it he has threatened a galaxy and stalemated a nourishedGalactus until the latter threatened to consume his realm.[84] If Mephisto's physical form is destroyed, the character willregenerate and reform in his domain.[85] Mephisto is known for acquiring souls, but cannot subjugate the will of another being without the victim's permission, which is usually done with some form ofpact.[86][87]
George Marston ofNewsarama stated, "Mephisto may be one of Marvel's most iconic, enduring villains - and that's no surprise considering he's based on the archetype of the Christian devil, pretty much the most iconic 'villain' in religion, folklore, and in some cases, even as a metaphorical force in world history. Marvel's comic book take on the concept of an omnipotent, omniscient infernal manipulator who rules over his own realm of eternal punishment through treachery and torture has had a similar impact on the history of the Marvel Universe.[3] Marc Buxton ofDen of Geek called Mephisto one of the "greatest monstrous creations that ever sprang from the nightmares of the House of Ideas," writing, "You can't very well have a list of the most nefarious Marvel monsters without listing the devil, hisownself. Not really the Biblical devil, Mephisto is a netherworldly tempter, a soul broker, and a liar who pretty much serves the same exact purpose as the Devil but he won't get Marvel in trouble with Christian conservatives. Mephisto first battled the Silver Surfer in the Silver Age (HEY!) and has bedeviled (hiYO) just about every Marvel hero. He recently pissed off fandom by cutting a Faustian deal with Peter Parker and erasing Spidey's marriage. Mephisto was a key figure in The Infinity Gauntlet, constantly whispering Iago like in Thanos' ear and is the very symbol of corruption in the Marvel Universe."[88]
In theGuardians' 31st century timeline, he has a daughter namedMalevolence.[99]
In theEarth X sequel,Universe X, Mephisto is the force behindPope Immortus (secretlyKang) and his extermination ofReed Richards'Human Torch to assume mutant dominance.[100] It was later revealed that in that reality, Mephisto is not the devil, but the first mutant to exist, where he is shaped by mankind's fear.[101]
Mephisto (as Satan) appeared inUltimate Comics: Avengers as the manJohnny Blaze sold his soul to avenge his loveRoxanne, and to punish the guilty as a "bounty hunter for Hell."[102]
The demonic Mephisto helped createGalactus inMarvel Mangaverse.[103]
Mephisto appears inMarvel Zombies: Halloween, savingKitty Pryde and her son, Peter, from a zombifiedDarkhawk,Alex Power,Squirrel Girl,Karolina Dean, andMettle, to claim Kitty and Peter's souls for later.[104]
Mephisto was co-created by legendary Marvel writer and editor-in-chief Stan Lee and equally-legendary artist John Buscema. They based the character on Mephistopheles, a demon from the legend of Faust. The character is a surrogate of Hell who more or less plays the same role in the various interpretations of the legend, especially in the historic play Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe and the later play Faust written by the German author Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
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