Have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moon light? Battled for your soul and a fiddle of gold? Well if you live in the Marvel Universe, chances are you were really dealing with Mephisto, the Demon Lord who takes credit for all those hellish leaders. So who is Mephisto and why take credit for Satan and other hellscapes? Let’s find out!
At the dawn of existence, when all things were being made, Mephisto was born. A demon, he found himself seeking to corrupt early beings. His most famous creation wasn’t even evil, his bargains would create the Ghost Rider, a human who is willing to sell their soul but gain demonic power to help the world. This idea would occur again and again, each time, becoming a for against Mephisto and his kin.
Humanity would develop their beliefs and come up with their own concepts of evil beings, Mephisto gladly took credit for their acts. He would call his realm Hell or Hades, pending on how he felt, filled with demons and ready to feed on the emotions of mortals. Reveling in his demonic looks and inspiring fear in humanity, Mephisto would corrupt many a human soul to be trapped in his dimension.
As time went on, more heroes would come into being, people Mephisto desperately wanted to corrupt. He would come to find that many of them wouldn’t fall to his lies and tricks. Sometimes a hero would even be willing to sell their soul but Mephisto realized that these self-sacrificing types leave him feeling cold when it comes to their misery. It’s no fun if they’re doing it to help others.
While he kept making Ghost Riders through out history by bonding humans with the demon, Zarathos. One of the most recent examples has proven to be quite the threat to the demon and mortal worlds, Johnny Blaze. Even Mephisto’s own son, Blackheart, would have a big headache with his father’s creation. Just about all of Mephisto’s children have had dealings with the Ghost Rider or other heroes, often heroes with a more magical leaning.
Realizing that his millennia old tactics would not work on these heroes, he would have to get creative. One such time was when the hero, Spider-Man, was losing the life of his aunt. Seeing anyone in joy disgusted Mephisto and seeing Spider-Man happily married was one such glaring crime. He offered to save the aunt’s life if Spider-Man and his wife agreed to have their marriage unmade, not divorce, but reality itself would warp to undo their vows and the world would have them both single and each would be without the happiness and love they once had. This would become Mephisto’s most infamous act of cruelty.
While he has often confronted heroes for the hopes to corrupt them and gain their souls for his hellscape, he has also naturally come across villains. Sometimes he works with them, as equals or even under them if he finds them to be quite powerful. Thanos is one such individual he works under when he was seeking the Infinity Gems. Other times, he just loves being able to spread misery so why not work with others? Team work makes the nightmare work.
There you have it! Mephisto is basically Marvel’s answer to Satan, while it has gods running around, Mephisto often takes up the calls for those seeking out the Devil. He felt like a good character to cover during this time of year. He’s appeared in animation on the small screen and in live action on the big screen in the first Ghost Rider film. Will he ever appear in the MCU? Guess we’ll have to wait and see, until then, see you next time!
Suggested Reading
Silver Surfer #3
Ghost Rider
Spider-Man: One More Day
Dr. Bustos
drbustos@comicattack.net
