Mephisto (Earth-1010)

{{Character Template
 * Quote                  = Well may you tremble! For you gaze upon... Mephisto!
 * Speaker                = Mephisto
 * Image                  = Mephisto.png
 * ImageSize              = 250px
 * RealName               = Mephisto
 * CurrentAlias           =
 * Aliases                = Maya, Lucifer, Beelzebub, the Devil, Prince of Lies, Mephistopheles, Nick Scratch, Satan
 * Identity               = No Dual
 * Alignment              = Bad
 * Affiliation            = Hell-Lords, Lords of the Splinter Realms
 * Relatives              = Blackheart (son); Daimon Hellstrom (son); Satana Hellstrom (daughter)


 * Universe               = Earth-1010
 * BaseOfOperations       = An extra-dimensional land of the dead, sometimes called "Hell" or "Hades"


 * Gender                 = Male
 * Height                 = 6'6"
 * Height2                = Mephisto can magically alter his height.
 * Weight                 = 310 lbs
 * Weight2                = Mephisto can magically alter his weight.
 * Eyes                   = White
 * Hair                   = Black
 * UnusualSkinColour      = Red
 * UnusualFeatures        = Mephisto, in his natural form, possesses demonic characteristics including red skin, pointed ears, and sharpened canine teeth fangs.


 * Citizenship            = Demons
 * MaritalStatus          = Single
 * Occupation             = Former ruler of an extra-dimensional "Hell", trickster
 * Education              =


 * Origin                 = Demon Sorcerer
 * PlaceOfBirth           =
 * Creators               = Stan Lee; Sal Buscema
 * First                  = Devil's Daughter
 * Death                  =


 * HistoryText            = Mephisto is an extra-dimensional demon whose origin is unknown. He rules a fiery pocket dimension that he calls "Hell" or "Hades" although it is neither the hell of the Christian religion nor the Hades ruled by Pluto, the Olympian god of the dead. Mephisto calls his extra-dimensional realm "hell" in order to exploit Earth human beings' belief in a single being of absolute evil, who is often referred to as Satan, who rules such a realm.

Mephisto resembles the traditional visual conception of the devil. (It is not known whether this is Mephisto's true appearance, or one that he has adopted in order to resemble the devil). He also allows himself to be called names that human beings give to their conceptions of devils, such as Mephisto, a shortened form of Mephistopheles, the name given to the devil in the Faust legends. Indeed, Mephisto has allowed people to believe him to be Satan himself. However, Mephisto is not the Biblical Satan, nor is he an actual devil such as those depicted by Judaism and Christianity. The real Satan has yet to be seen in any account.

Mephisto's domain is inhabited by himself, by lesser demons who serve him, and by the astral forms of certain deceased human beings, which have been trapped in the bodies of demons. These demonic bodies imprisoning human spirits have been magically altered to resemble the deceased's mortal human forms.

Mephisto is continually seeking to add more spirits of sentient beings to his realm by inducing living sentient beings to submit their wills to his. Mephisto apparently seeks primarily to enslave human souls, although he will go after those of extraterrestrials on Earth as well.

Ghost Rider
The human stunt cyclist Johnny Blaze once made a pact with Mephisto, whom he believed to be Satan, exchanging his soul for Mephisto's saving his father "Crash" Simpson from dying from cancer. But then Mephisto allowed Simpson to die instead from injuries suffered in performing an unsuccessful motorcycle stunt. However, before Mephisto could take possession of Blaze's soul, Simpson's daughter Roxanne arrived and recited a spell of banishment she had read in one of Blaze's occult books. Mephisto was forced to flee without Blaze's soul, but not before he had grafted the essence of the demon Zarathos to Blaze's body. Roughly two thousand years ago Mephisto had taken control of the living flame that was Zarathos' soul. Since Zarathos was too powerful to use as a mere lackey, Mephisto amused himself over the centuries by placing the essence of Zarathos in a human host. Mephisto employed him in that form to claim human souls. After Mephisto grafted Zarathos' essence onto Blaze, Zarathos would continually take control of Blaze's body. The composite Zarathos/Blaze entity became known as Ghost Rider. Eventually, however, Blaze was freed from Zarathos and Blaze was now free from any bond to Mephisto.

Mephisto has sometimes been impersonated by lesser demons who imitate his form. Such demons are defeated far more easily than the virtually invincible Mephisto. Mephisto has also bound demons to actor Martin Preston, creating the entity called Master Pandemonium.

Hellstroms
The Hell-Lord had long desired to sire a child with a human woman for use as a gateway to gain further power. Calling himself "Satan", he took human form and established the trappings of a mortal life for himself near Fire Lake, Massachusetts. Keeping his true identity a secret, he married a young woman, Victoria Wingate. Daimon was born to the "Hellstroms" a year later with a strange pentagram-shaped birthmark on his chest. His sister, Satana, was born when Daimon was three.

When Hellstrom was a young adolescent, Victoria interrupted a ritual sacrifice "Satan" had staged in their basement involving the participation of Satana. Traumatized to the point of hysteria, Victoria was institutionalized. She eventually regained enough of her sanity to write a full diary describing her life with the demon before she died. Hellstrom and his sister meanwhile were placed in separate orphanages, and "Satan" disappeared to his netherworld domain, where he eventually brought Satana.


 * Powers                 = Mephisto is a Class Two Demon, and possesses vast supernatural power, which is apparently inherent within him. He is energized by sources of evil in the human world.

Superhuman Strength: Mephisto possesses some degree of superhuman strength. He is capable of using his magical powers to augment his strength, enabling him to lift well in excess of 100 tons.

Superhuman Speed: Mephisto is capable of running and moving at speeds greater than even the finest human athlete.

Superhuman Stamina: The various mystical energies flowing through Mephisto's body augments his musculature so that it generates virtually no fatigue toxins during physical activity. As a result, Mephisto possesses almost limitless superhuman stamina.

Superhuman Durability: The tissues of Mephisto's body, while similar in appearance to a human's, are considerably tougher and more resistant to injury than the tissues of a human being. Mephisto's body is virtually invulnerable to conventional injury. He is capable of withstanding great impact forces, high caliber bullets, exposure to temperature and pressure extremes, and powerful energy blasts without sustaining injury.

Regenerative Healing Factor: Despite his superhuman durability, it is possible to injure Mephisto. However, his unique physiology and mystical energies enable him to rapidly recover from almost any form of injury. He is capable of regenerating almost any damaged or destroyed tissue, even missing limbs.

Immortality: As a demon, Mephisto is functionally immortal. He is immune to the effects of aging and is immune to all known Earthly diseases and infections. Mephisto is also beyond the need of food, water, or oxygen.

Magical Manipulation: He can use this magical energy for various effects, among which are the augmentation of his own physical strength, levitation, teleportation, the projection of mystical energy as force blasts, invisibility, matter manipulation, image projection, size transformation of his body or other objects or beings, the creation of temporary inter-dimensional apertures, and so on.


 * Pyrokinesis: Mephisto can generate mystical blasts to defeat his enemies.


 * Ensnare Astral Bodies: Mephisto also possesses certain powers enabling him to capture and detain the astral bodies (sheaths of the soul) of recently deceased human beings. Mephisto does not have jurisdiction over all the souls of humanity's recently deceased. It is not yet known what the prerequisite conditions are for him to be able to manipulate a human soul, nor are the precise means by which he accomplishes the feat known. Apparently these conditions require that the human being in question willingly agree to submit to Mephisto's will. It is not known how a human being may free himself from bondage to Mephisto (although Johnny Blaze apparently did), nor whether Mephisto will forever retain control of the souls he has obtained. Nor is it known whether or not Mephisto "feeds" on the psychic energies of such souls as other demons do.


 * Dimensional Entrapment: Apparently Mephisto can entrap a living human being within his realm through sheer physical force, even if the person did not submit his or her will to him. The woman named Topaz was thus entrapped until her recent escape.


 * Netherworld Dimensional Power Tap: Among the demons of various extra-dimensional netherworlds adjacent to Earth, Mephisto has few rivals in terms of personal power and scope of influence. Mephisto's power seems to be connected to his extra-dimensional domain and diminishes over time spent away from it. Therefore, he usually sends demonic agents to do his bidding.


 * Reality Manipulation: Mephisto was able to create realities.


 * Shapeshifting: Mephisto is more a force than a being per se, but he can take any form that he wants. His "normal" appearance is that of male, red skinned humanoid with vampiric aspect and attire. However, Mephisto can appear in any form imaginable, having turning himself into animals, humans of any gender, or more commonly into other demoniac forms, ranging from a stereotypical image of Satan to a giant reptilian monster.


 * Transmutation: Mephisto can enlarge himself to intimidate and can easily defeat his enemies.


 * Abilities              = Mephisto is an experienced and highly skilled liar and strategist. He is also a highly skilled sorcerer with near infinite knowledge of arcane and occult subjects.
 * Strength               =
 * Weaknesses             = Despite his immense power, Mephisto does have several significant limitations. He is unable to force the subjugation of any sentient being's will to his own without that being's deliberate submission. He is also incapable of reading the thoughts of any sentient being. Mephisto's powers are linked with his extra-dimensional realm and his powers rapidly decrease the longer he is away from his realm. As a result, he typically uses or manipulates others into performing whatever plan he has in mind. Also, despite continuously trying to get any noble soul to his realm and possession, he must need to corrupt them first, or otherwise, he himself will be, ironically, injured in the process.
 * Equipment              = A crystal that held Zarathos.
 * Transportation         = Inter-dimensional teleportation using his own powers.
 * Weapons                =


 * Notes                  =

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 * Trivia                 =
 * Links                  =