which could be explored further in “Spider-Man: Brand New Day.” Keeping that in mind, here are a few brave souls who made a deal with the devil in the comics and some who still have a chance to make one in their live-action iterations.
Marvel Studios
Shalla-Bal, who is soon to be played by Julia Garner in “The Fantastic Four: First Steps,” made a deal with Mephisto in “Silver Surfer” #3 to reunite with her long-lost love, Norrin Rad, the Silver Surfer of Earth-616. The price was her total obedience to Mephisto, and by agreeing, she was sent to Earth to reunite with her star-crossed lover, only to be severely injured in the ship in which she was transported.
Thankfully, the board-riding hero helped Shalla-Bal recover, and after fighting Mephisto, they agreed to stay apart for each other’s safety and to stop the devil’s plans. Still, the red villain persisted in causing trouble for Norrin Rad and his love, including one instance where he dropped Shalla-Bal in Doctor Doom’s homeland of Latveria in “Fantastic Four” #157 before a rescue was launched, and he even forced the Surfer to venture into Hell to save her soul in “Silver Surfer/Warlock: Resurrection.”
Since Garner’s Shalla-Bal exists in a different reality than the MCU as we know it in the 1960s-set “The Fantastic Four: First Steps,” it seems unlikely she and Mephisto will cross paths anytime soon. That said, since the super team will be entering Earth-616 as revealed in the “Thunderbolts*” post-credits scene, could the main universe house Norrin Radd’s Silver Surfer and a variant of Shalla-Bal, thus setting up a possible encounter? Given that Mephisto made his Marvel debut in the “Silver Surfer” comics, it would be a hell of an homage to his origins and the two lives he has repeatedly tried to ruin.
Marvel Comics
The incoming big bad of the MCU might strike fear into the Avengers when he arrives, but even the ruler of Latveria has resorted to desperate measures to reach his goals, including turning to Mephisto to get the job done. Bound to the demon lord since birth after his mother, Cynthia von Doom, sold her soul, Doom made a deal with Mephisto later in life to bring her back from Hell, using Doctor Strange as a bargaining chip in “Doctor Strange and Doctor Doom: Triumph and Torment” #1.
At first, Doom offered his own soul along with the Sorcerer Supreme to rescue his mother from the underworld. However, the plan backfired when Cynthia rejected the offer after learning what her son had done to be set free, disappointed by his actions. Fortunately, Doom was not in a villainous mood at the time and had no real intention of handing Strange over to Mephisto, and as a result, Cynthia’s noble rejection to stay in the underworld led her to be released from her hellish prison and ascend to a better afterlife.
It’s a long shot, but we’re betting that when Robert Downey Jr. makes his debut as Doom, he’ll be too busy destroying realities involving both the Avengers and the X-Men to negotiate with Sacha Baron Cohen’s sinister villain. After that dust is settled, perhaps there might be time for Mephisto to share some screen time with at least one member of the von Dooms further down the line.
20th Century Studios
If there’s one person in the Marvel universe besides Mephisto with whom you should think twice about making a deal, it’s probably Wade Wilson. Among the many contracts crafted by the tricky devil over the years, he created a particularly dark one that Deadpool agreed to and eventually had to face. Luckily, there was a loophole in the paperwork that only the lovable lunatic would notice.
“Deadpool: The End” saw Wade revisiting a deal he made with Mephisto at the end of time that demanded he kill his daughter, Eleanor, to prevent his soul from facing eternal damnation. As (bad) luck would have it, Eleanor showed up to Wade as an elderly woman dying of cancer, just in time to stop him from killing Death, who he thought would save Eleanor from passing away. However, his daughter told Wade she welcomed the end and even brought a black hole bomb to kill both of them. The act essentially forced Eleanor to die because Wade gave her no other option, thus fulfilling the contract. According to the comic book crackpot, “While my baby girl was the gun, I pulled the trigger.”
It’s these kinds of wild mind games that might have worked in the early ideas for “Deadpool & Wolverine,” when Mephisto was initially considered as the film’s main villain. Now that both characters are in the MCU, we can only hope Ryan Reynolds’ and Sacha Baron Cohen’s sharp wit will get to face off at another point in the MCU timeline.
Marvel Studios
He might’ve been out of the MCU for a while now, but Agent Phil Coulson was active for a long time in Marvel’s comic history and took a very different path than being the one good eye for Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson). During the “Secret Empire” event, in which it was revealed that Captain America had been a long-standing undercover H.Y.D.R.A. agent, Coulson was the first to uncover the conspiracy, but was assassinated by Deadpool (which is easily one of the worst things Wade has ever done).
Seeing a chance to stir things up a bit, Mephisto resurrected Coulson, who came back with a hatred of heroes and a thirst for vengeance. Phil made a deal with Mephisto to work for him and help alter the universe, which led to the “Heroes Reborn” event. As a result, the former agent became president, and the only hero left to “protect” the world was Hyperion. Luckily, our original heroes managed to set things straight, but for his trouble, Coulson ended up trapped in the Pandemonium Cube. Lesson learned, Phil.
While it would definitely be an interesting direction for the MCU to explore if Coulson were still around, unfortunately, Clark Gregg’s dedicated agent and hero supporter hasn’t been seen since “Captain Marvel” and shows no signs of returning to the franchise. That’s probably a good thing. Seeing Robert Downey Jr. return as a villain in “Avengers: Doomsday” is one thing, but bringing Clark Gregg back as a corrupt Agent Coulson would shake us to our core.
Marvel Studios
The legendary Black Panther is the ruler of a nation and one of the most intelligent people on the planet, so it’s surprising that Mephisto truly believed he could ever outsmart him. In “Black Panther” #3, King T’Challa faced a coup within Wakanda led by Reverend Achebe, who gained power and an extra edge from both the Russian Mafia and Mephisto. (Now that’s a wild combo.) To protect his nation, T’Challa agreed to give up his soul to the hellborne villain, fully aware that his legendary heritage in his bloodline would keep him safe.
Thanks to the power of the Panther God, T’Challa’s soul was surrendered to Mephisto along with the souls of all the Black Panthers before him. The mighty army of ancestors proved too much for the fiery foe, prompting him to ask for the deal to be quickly altered. T’Challa modified the deal in his favor and recovered his soul as part of the agreement, reminding Mephisto that if he comes at the king, he best not miss (especially when it comes to the fine print).
Of course, with Chadwick Boseman’s passing, such a bargain between the Wakandan king and the royal pain of the underworld can’t happen. That being said, with Shuri (Letitia Wright) still holding the title of Black Panther and her homeland still very connected to the afterlife, unlike other parts of the MCU, it’d be believable for Mephisto to toy with Wakanda’s new protector and infiltrate the Ancestral Plane. He just better be ready for what’s waiting for him.