Who is Mephisto, Marvel’s Newest Major Villain?
Mephisto is a powerful demonic being in the Marvel Universe.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has shown us many cosmic entities so far, figures of unimaginable power who make the concerns of Earth people seem small and petty. These include Thor: Love and Thunder’s Eternity, The Living Tribunal (glimpsed in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness), the Celestials, the Watchers, and whoever happens to be holding the Infinity Stones at the moment. However, the MCU has yet to introduce one of its greatest cosmic entities: Mephisto.
So who and what is Mephisto?
MEPHISTO IS AN ANCIENT DEMONIC BEING
In Marvel Comics, Mephisto is a Satan-like figure who dwells in an extradimensional realm that he refers to as both “Hell” and “Hades.” However, it does not seem that Mephisto is actually the Satan of the Marvel Universe, but one of many malevolent entities who rule over infernal netherworlds, including Lucifer, Hela, and Beelzebub. However, Mephisto is the most prominent of these and one of the most powerful.
Mephisto’s origins are murky, but he claims to have been created as a being of pure evil by a supremely powerful figure whose death resulted in the creation of the universe. According to the demon, he was present when the Celestial known as the Progenitor came to Earth four billion years ago to die, indirectly turning the planet into a hotbed of metahuman activity. Of course, Mephisto is a well-known liar, so his story might not be completely reliable.
MEPHISTO CAN ALTER REALITY
As you would expect for an entity that has existed for all time, Mephisto is almost incomprehensibly powerful. Although the demon does have an enormously strong, fast, and corporeal form (most of the time), he also is not dependent on it for survival and can exist as pure evil energy. When Mephisto is in his own realm, he is virtually omnipotent, drawing power from the dimension itself, which is in itself an aspect of him and he an aspect of it.
Over the course of decades of publication history, Mephisto has demonstrated mastery over magic, illusions, the passage of time, and the nature of reality itself. On occasion, he has manipulated legendary masterminds like the mighty Thanos, demonstrating his unparalleled deviousness, and went toe-to-toe in combat with Galactus himself, who is basically Marvel’s benchmark for cosmic power. However, Mephisto does have a weakness, in that he cannot persuade good people to do something against their morals, but requires their free will.
MEPHISTO WANTS TO CORRUPT PURE SOULS
More than anything else, Mephisto desires to acquire souls, which then remain trapped in his home dimension. It seems that the more pure the soul, the more the demon values it and craves it, but that sets up an odd paradox: Mephisto desires to have pure souls, but as an embodiment of pure evil, he must corrupt them in order for him to possess them. As such, while Mephisto could undoubtedly seize power by brute force, his usual modus operandi is to manipulate people and events into doing things that put them in moral compromise.
Most often, this dynamic has played out between Mephisto and the Silver Surfer. Because the sometime-herald of Galactus is purely noble and good (when not spiritually manipulated by the Devourer of Worlds), the demon constantly seeks to tarnish his soul and tempt him into evil. While the Silver Surfer is one of his most frequent targets, he is not alone.
MEPHISTO FREQUENTLY COMES INTO CONFLICT WITH EARTH’S HEROES
Over the course of Marvel Comics history, Mephisto has attempted to corrupt many of Earth’s heroes and villains (and sometimes succeeds). Along with many other devious plots, he notably imprisoned the soul of Cynthia von Doom, mother of Doctor Doom, which eventually forced a battle between the ruler of Latveria, a reluctant Doctor Strange, and Mephisto. Mephisto also aided Thanos during the Infinity Saga against Earth’s heroes, seeking to undermine the Mad Titan at the time.
There is practically no major event in the Marvel Universe that Mephisto has not turned out to have had a hand in, including Secret Wars II, the Fear Itself storyline, and 2021 Heroes Reborn. In addition to any time Mephisto actually personally engages in some conflict, it turns out that he has been working behind the scenes in his pursuit of evil.
MEPHISTO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR ERASING SPIDER-MAN’S MARRIAGE
One of Mephisto’s most notorious plots became one of Spider-Man’s most controversial events (which, if you’re ever heard the words “Clone Saga,” you know that’s saying something). In the 2007 crossover event One More Day, Mephisto makes a bargain with Peter Parker to extend the life of his Aunt May in exchange for changing reality itself so Peter and Mary-Jane Watson were never married.
In addition to many changes within the Earth-616 continuity, this caused a massive reset to the character of Spider-Man, reverting him back to a lonely bachelor after years of married life. This upset many fans who were invested in the relationship between Peter and Mary-Jane, which was long considered one of the key romances of the Marvel Universe. Just goes to show that Mephisto’s evil can trouble people even in the real world.
HE CREATED GHOST RIDER AND THE GREEN GOBLIN
Through various means, Mephisto is also responsible for the creation of some of the Marvel Universe’s most iconic figures. Famously, Mephisto is responsible for the creation of the spirit of vengeance, Ghost Rider.
The original Johnny Blaze Ghost Rider (by date of publication) is bonded to the demonic spirit Zarathos by Mephisto after he makes a deal to cure his mentor’s cancer, only to see him die in a motorcycle stunt gone wrong. Over the years, Ghost Rider (in various incarnations) has gone on to be alternately a servant, rival, and enemy of Mephisto.
Just as significantly (and more recently), it was revealed that Mephisto was ultimately behind the existence of Spider-Man’s arch-enemy the Green Goblin. Years before Norman Osborn became a supervillain, he sold his son Harry’s soul in exchange for wealth and power, which ultimately led him to invent the Goblin serum and years of torment for the world.
MEPHISTO CANNOT TRULY BE DEFEATED
Perhaps the most horrifying aspect of Mephisto is that he can never really be destroyed or experience any defeat beyond a setback. Even if his physical body is destroyed, he will eventually re-manifest in his Hell dimension and, given that he is immortal and can alter reality, has all the time in the world to regroup and replan. Over the course of Marvel Comics history, he has supposedly been killed, dethroned, and banished to another universe, but he always comes back.
HE HAS APPEARED IN SEVERAL FILMS ALREADY
Mephisto has appeared in two pre-Marvel Cinematic Universe movies: the 2007 Ghost Rider movie and its 2012 sequel, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, both starring Nicolas Cage as Johnny Blaze. In the former film, he was portrayed by Peter Fonda, while Ciarán Hinds took over the role in the sequel. Both films were produced by Columbia Pictures and distributed by Sony Pictures, but it now seems the rights to Ghost Rider and related characters like Mephisto have reverted to Marvel Studios.
It has been heavily rumored as of late that Sacha Baron Cohen will be portraying Mephisto in an upcoming Marvel project; for years, fans have been clamoring for the arch-demon to make an appearance in the MCU and it seems like it might actually happen soon. However, Mephisto is the father of lies and you can never really count on things being what they seem within him.
Oh, and fans of Aubrey Plaza might have caught a glimpse of what she might even look like as the character. Think it works?
