MEPHISTO'S MOST IMPACTFUL DEALS
The devil is in the details, especially when someone strikes a deal with Mephisto. Through his contracts, this King of Hell has changed the very face of the Marvel Universe—for better and for worse. Here are a few of Mephisto's most impactful deals, from his part in Ghost Rider's origin to his pact with Doctor Doom's mother to his dissolution of Spider-Man and Mary Jane's marriage.
Wheeling and Dealing
In Marvel Spotlight (1971) #5
To save his fellow stuntman and father figure Crash Simpson from terminal cancer, Johnny Blaze sells his soul to Mephisto, who bonds him with Zarathos, the Spirit of Vengeance. Blaze's choice to use his new Ghost Rider powers to fight for good wins him an enemy for all eternity.
In Doctor Strange & Doctor Doom: Triumph and Torment (1989)
Due to their Romani heritage, Victor Von Doom and his mother Cynthia faced persecution in Latveria. To fight back against their oppressors, Cynthia strikes a deal with Mephisto for power, only to discover the devastating price she paid for it. This formative experience sends Victor down the path to becoming Doctor Doom.
In Amazing Spider-Man (1999) #545
Mephisto came to Peter Parker in his time of greatest desperation: as Aunt May hovered at death's door. To save her life, Peter gives up his marriage with Mary Jane, in a deal where Mephisto erased any memory of it ever occurring—and prevented it from ever happening again.
In The Amazing Spider-Man (2018) #72
When he started out, Norman Osborn struggled to get his business Oscorp off the ground, so he strikes a deal with Mephisto for success—at the cost of his son Harry's soul. As a result, Oscorp becomes one of the most powerful companies in the Marvel Universe, but he loses his son and his sanity in the process.
In Siege: Loki (2010) #1
Loki, the Asgardian God of Mischief, gave himself a new lease on life through a deal with Mephisto. He traded the Disir, the undead Valkyries of Bor who fed on gods, to Mephisto in exchange for Mephisto ceding a piece of his realm to Hela, the Goddess of Death. As a result, Hela strikes Loki from the Books of Hel, giving him absolute freedom from Asgard and its afterlife.
In Superior Spider-Man (2018) #11
During Otto Octavius' time as Spider-Man, he faced an alternate reality version of Norman Osborn with Spider powers. To stop him, Otto realized he had to revert back to his original form—and so he makes a deal with Mephisto to become Doc Ock once more. In exchange, he loses everything he learned during his time in Peter's body and so much more.
In Avengers (2018) #18
Following his death in SECRET EMPIRE (2017), an embittered Phil Coulson makes a bargain with Mephisto for the Pandemonium Cube, which allows him to rewrite reality. He creates a world without the Avengers, ushering in the Council of Red—a group of Mephistos from across the Multiverse—and tipping over the first domino in Mephisto's Multiversal War.