Mephisto

Origin

The evil, demonic Hell-Lord Mephisto comes from eons ago. The Elder Gods, immensely powerful, ruled Earth ages before The First Celestial Host stepped foot on Earth. The monster Atum drove them off, but their mystical energies remained and became the Hell-Lords. Mephisto was the first and is the one of the most powerful. Mephisto is a huge demon, an evil lord that steals people's souls and tortures, kills, and attacks the other world. He is obviously modeled after the devil in Christianity, which fits, as he rules over his own Hell-like dimension and steals souls. He steals souls using contracts with mortals, which are often misleading or unfair. He particularly enjoys stealing souls of powerful or very good people. Legend has it however that Mephisto was actually the first Deviant to have been created by The Celestials on Earth during The First Host and was never a demon to begin with.

Mephisto's Dimension

Mephisto rules over his own dimension, which he calls Hell or Hades. It is a horrible place, where demons are tortured and torture others, and fiery pits of smoke and lava. Mephisto is nearly unstoppable while in his dimension, possessing power rival to a hungry Galactus. It has it's own demon army which frequently wages war against other dimensional creatures and armies, including Earth's heroes. Mephisto's Realm also is home to Mephisto's Castle, an imposing place Mephisto dwells in, and the Arena of Tainted Souls, where tainted souls are forced to wage war in eternal combat for demons' amusement. As you can see it is not a happy place.

Past and Old Endeavors

Prince Wayfinder

Mephisto also enjoys taking spiritual souls or mystical mortals. He corrupted an ordinary sea captain into the Flying Dutchman. He duped German scientists into giving up their souls trying to find a magical race. One of his most heinous was corrupting a group of mystics, then giving them immortality for a yearly payment of souls. They later became the Mys-Tech. He also fought a man for centuries to gain his soul, utilizing innocent Puck in his plan. He also transformed a man who wanted to commit suicide, into Suicide. Suicide could only be killed by Ghost Rider ( Dan Ketch). This was Mephisto's plot to force his enemy into committing murder.

Many of his rivals were other demons. Mephisto got into a rivalry with Zarathos, a demonic creature of equal power. He bargained with a prince(later Centurious) and managed to catch Zarathos's soul. This was eons ago. Mephisto has been torturing Zarathos since, bonding him to mortals over and over. This contributed to the creation of Ghost Rider. He cursed the Kale family because they held parts of the Medallion of Power in their souls.

Mephisto has become interested in the heroes of Earth, including Silver Surfer, Thor, and, surprisingly, Daredevil. He has spent a lot of time trying to capture The Silver Surfer's absolutely pure soul. He even offered him unlimited time with his love from his home planet, wealth and power, but Norrin Radd was able to resist. He hates him as a shining example of humanity's capability and his pure soul. He tried on several occasions to force the Surfer into becoming his servant or offer his soul, but they continually failed. Eventually, he no longer wanted the soul of the Surfer, but hated him none the less. He eventually captured the Surfer's soul anyway by pretending to be Frankie Raye. He also showed the Surfer that he had possession of both of this parents souls. The Surfer was able to free them Mephisto allowed the Surfer to think he was killed in battle, knowing that the Surfer was tormented over the events and would be for haunted forever.

Mephisto also fought the X-Men, the Avengers, and the Fantastic Four in a limited series, " Mephisto vs...".

His wars with the Avengers have been more personal now, as Mephisto murdered one of their own. Mephisto was warring with Satannish, a fellow demon, over a group of souls. One version of the Lethal Legion had been murdered-and both Lords wanted them. Their war took on epic proportions and did great damage-so the Earth's Mightiest Team interfered, stopped the war, and caused Mephisto to lose the souls. Mephisto attacked them. As he was about to destroy Hawkeye, his lover Mockingbird stepped in and saved him, losing her life in the process. The Avengers escaped-but Mephisto had taken one of them with him.

Ties To Characters

Mephisto has contributed greatly to the creation of two major characters- Ghost Rider( Johnny Blaze) and Doctor Doom.

The Kale family had been cursed by Mephisto-the firstborn son would turn into a ghostly, deathly creature at night-a Ghost Rider. Naomi Kale sold her soul to Mephisto so her descendents would not become "the Ghost Rider". When she had signed the contract, Mephisto revealed that although they couldn't become "the" Ghost Rider, they could become "a" Ghost Rider.

Johnny Blaze was the son of Naomi Kale and Barton Blaze. They both were motorcycle stunt riders. Naomi left because of the curse she thought would be on Johnny. She took his siblings too. This hurt Johnny inside, and Barton later died in a motorcycle stunt. So Johnny went to Crash Simpson (who worked as a stunt rider with his parents) and his wife Mona. Mona was killed, and Crash later got cancer, so Johnny summoned Mephisto and made a deal-he would serve him if Crash was saved. Crash died about a week later, and Mephisto almost procured his soul, except for Roxanne Simpson (his girlfriend), who saved him with the purity of her emotion. Mephisto had enough time to bond Johnny Blaze to Zarathos-turning him into the ghostly Ghost Rider. Ghost Rider is one of Mephisto's major enemies-but he hasn't ever won yet.

Victor Von Doom's mother was a powerful witch that wanted more power. So she turned to a powerful source-Mephisto. She invoked a spell to steal his power-but a fraction of it drove her crazy before she was killed. Her soul was then acquired by Mephisto. As Victor grew up, he schooled himself in sorcery, and every Halloween, he would try to get his mother's soul back. Every attempt failed. When Victor traveled to America, he met Reed Richards (later Mr. Fantastic), who was also a genius and wanted to be friends. Victor had a petty rivalry with him over intelligence and rejected Reed's friendliness. He created an amazing invention that he believed would be able to steal his mother's soul back. Reed warned him of a flaw, but Doom tried it anyway and it exploded in his face. This made him think he was hideous, so he created a suit of armor, took over Latveria, and became Doctor Doom. Doom continued his fights, every year, on Halloween, trying to steal his mother's soul back. Finally, when he cut a deal with Doctor Strange, who helped him, he managed to steal Cynthia Von Doom's soul and send it to heaven. It remains one of the few times that Mephisto has ever been thwarted.

Even More Power

Mephisto has often tried gaining amazing power in a large event. The Dire Wraiths(who were amazingly powerful) increased Mephisto's power by nearly 300%! He wreaked some havoc, but a hero from space ( ROM) banished the Dire Wraiths and Mephisto lost the power, being destroyed by the son of Reed and Sue Richards, Franklin Richards (who can manipulate reality itself). However, Mephisto came gradually back to life, partly by manipulating Master Pandemonium. Him coming back to life killed Scarlet Witch's sons, and he called a vendetta against Asgardian death goddess Hela (who stole some of his souls). He manipulated many heroes and stole powerful souls(even getting Invisible Woman and, most importantly, Thor). Thor soon escaped, but he called a vengeance against Hela (thus completing Mephisto's plan). In the short run-heroes won. In the long run-Mephisto.

The Beyonder, who was nearly all-powerful (he instigated both Secret Wars and Secret Wars II), came to Earth-616 to try and better understand humans and how we work. This gave Mephisto a golden oppurtunity. He tried to sway the godlike being by giving him warped or misleading views of humans. For instance, he sent his demon Zarathos to sway Spider-Man to show Beyonder the evil. He also used Nova to try and mislead him, deceiving her into becoming more violent and bloodthirsty in her duties as the Herald of Galactus. This brought two powerful enemies against Mephisto, however-the Sentinel of the Space ways, Silver Surfer, and the big man himself- Galactus. Mephisto fought the Devourer, but was quickly, efficiently, and badly beaten by the creature. Mephisto's plot failed-as plots often do when they collide with Galactus.

He then allied himself with Thanos, who had been resurrected by Death to kill half of the universe. Mephisto also tried to sway Thanos , who was all-powerful with the Infinity Gauntlet at the time, and take the Gauntlet for himself. He tried on two separate occasions to take the gauntlet from Thanos, but failed. He allied himself with Thanos once more when the threat of the Goddess came to the universe. He gave him valuable information regarding the Cosmic Cubes she possesed in exchange for just one Cosmic Cube in return. After the Goddess' defeat, Thanos did give him a cube, but it was depowered. Thanos told him he should have specified that he wanted the power also.

He also used the Vril to invade Earth. Both times, he failed.

Children of the Devil

Mephisto wanted a legacy-and partners. So he created two children for himself Blackheart and Mephista.

Blackheart was created from the combined evil of a certain area. He was trained by his father in evil, but eventually resented him and turned on him. They warred to rule Hell, but Mephisto won and cast Blackheart out. Blackheart went about his own misdeeds (including fighting Ghost Rider) before surprising his father and stabbing him. Although he seemed dead, Mephisto survived. Although he was dead, he was stuck in a state of limbo since he could go to neither heaven or hell. Even in this state, Mephisto was able to gather an army of souls who feared the arterlife.
 
Blackheart ruled Hell for a short time before Ghost Rider defeated him. Mephisto then cast out Ghost Rider and took his dimension back. Blackheart survives today, doing evil and attacking his father in hopes of ruling the dimension that he believes is his.

Mephista was not nearly so noteworthy. She did not turn on Mephisto, but instead waged war upon Doctor Strange. She was defeated several times and has not been heard from for a while now.

After defeating Blackheart and regaining his dimension Mephisto continues his ways-capturing souls and spreading evil. He has many enemies-but his power ensures that he's got more than a sporting chance at victory. Blackheart has come closest-but still failed. Will anyone ever destroy Mephisto? The universe should hope so.

Past Soul-Stealing Activities

Mephisto has stolen the soul of the Fantastic Four, Thor, The Silver Surfer, Mr. Fantastic, Black Panther, Invisible Woman, Franklin Richards, Daredevil, and more. He murdered Avengers member Mockingbird and held Dr. Doom's mother's soul for several years. Although this looks impressive, it is worth mentioning that Mephisto no longer possess ANY of these souls, not even Mockingbird who had somehow escaped Mephisto's grasp only to end up being held captive by The Skrull Empire for many years until their plot to overthrow Earth during Secret Invasion was thwarted, it has yet to be explained how she escaped Mephisto and could still be alive despite the fact that she was a member of the last known incarnation of The Legion of the Unliving and was encountered by both Hellcat, her husband Hawkeye and Dead Girl in the afterlife at various points in recent history.

Mephisto had often put Shalla Bal in danger to tempt the Silver Surfer into giving him his soul. He always failed but eventually came into possession of Shalla's soul. But by this point he no longer wanted the Surfer's soul after he realized it was not as pure as he once believed. He planned to torment Shalla's soul forever in order to hurt the Surfer. The Surfer was helped by Adam Warlock, who in possession of the Soul Gem was able to soundly defeat Mephisto. He was forced to give up her soul and they returned it into her body and resurrected her. 
 
Mephisto was able to obtain the soul he had long sought - the Silver Surfer. He did so by taking the form of a resurrected Frankie Raye. When the Surfer pledged his love and soul to her, he was really pledging it to Mephisto. In his realm, he shows the Surfer that he also possesses the sould of his parents, Jartran and Elmar, for they both committed suicide. The Surfer was able to get the souls released as well as him own by killing Mephisto, something he vowed to never do. But this was all Mephisto's plot, and he was quite pleased at the emotional damage he had caused the Surfer.

Powers and Abilities

Mephistopheles is an immensely powerful demon. He possesses great intelligence which is how he can manipulate and deceive others easily. He has demonstrated projection of mystical energy, erecting mystical shields, becoming invisible or intangible, casting illusions, summoning supernatural creatures, teleportation, changing size, and shape-shifting. His true form is unknown. He is completely indestructible by most attacks, and is immune to disease. He doesn't need to breathe, eat, drink, or sleep. He has defeated Silver Surfer is combat before and seems to have no limit to his age. He also can possess mortals and cast spells of unknown power. He likely has other powers that haven't been discovered yet. He literally can do anything that a human can comprehend and more. Mephistopheles is not the Devil, he is an arch-demon. Being a demon, he can capture lost souls but only with the mortal's approval which is one of his main weaknesses. Another weakness is that if he leaves his dimension he isn't as powerful and depends on the worship of his followers. Mephistopheles can't read minds as well.

Characteristics  

Height:6'10" (Variable)

Weight:550 lbs (variable)

Eyes:yellow

Hair:red

Alternate Worlds

In the Marvel Mangaverse (Earth-2301) Mephisto was the ruler of one of twelve planets with sentient life on it. He would spread the forces of Anti-life and disease across the Universe. He quickly found the Skrulls and molded

Mangaverse Mephisto

In Other Media

Mephisto makes an appearance in the game "Marvel Ultimate Alliance". In the Game He is described as "Not a Demon" but rather "An Extremely powerful Sorcerer or Shape shifter who wants people to believe he is a Demon". In the Game Fred Tatasciore voices him.

Mephisto is played by Peter Fonda in Ghost Rider the movie. Peter has reported being interested in playing Mephisto again in "Ghost Rider 2".