A Classic Avengers Hero Officially Crosses The One Line That Broke Marvel For 19 Years

There are certain storylines that comic book fans openly decide they don’t talk about. Sometimes it’s because something awful happened to the character they love, and it’s too painful to discuss. Other times it’s when something is so egregious that it’s universally hated. In the case of the latter, it’s the deal with Mephisto that retconned decades of Spider-Man.

There will usually be some fans who look at even the worst stories and try to find something good out of the bad. Spider-Man: One More Day isn’t one of those stories. Sadly, Marvel Comics and Avengers fans could be looking at another character-altering moment for someone beloved. It looks like Captain America may be the second honorable hero to make a deal with Mephisto.

Captain America Makes A Deal With The Devil For Good

In Captain America No. 15, Mephisto thwarts Doctor Doom and Steve Rogers’ rebellion in Hell and captures the unlikely pair. Now, Mephisto has been a lord of Hell for eons and never looks a gift horse in the mouth, and offers deals to Victor Von Doom and Captain America. None of the readers were surprised when Doom accepted the deal, but Steve Rogers’ response was not expected.

Knowing what it means to force Captain America into a deal for his soul, Mephisto said that he’d use every ounce of his power to make Cap’s dreams come true. However, the deal wouldn’t be for him. The world will never have to deal with dictators and iron fists ever again. Steve drops to his knees, damns Mephisto, and agrees to give his soul in exchange for a world he’s always hoped for.

In this issue, Mephisto points out that Steve Rogers wouldn’t be the first good man to make a deal with him. That may not have had a major effect on Rogers, but it certainly made the readers feel sad remembering what Peter Parker lost. Luckily, there’s some good news regarding Captain America’s deal.

Captain America May Not Have Made The Deal

There are a few things to look at regarding Mephisto’s contract. First, nothing was signed yet. The Lord of Hell knows that things need to be checked twice. This way, people don’t try to weasel out of the deal. So, while Cap may have said his soul belongs to Mephisto, nothing has been set in stone.

Second, Steve Rogers wakes up from his coma in the final issue of Avengers: Armageddon. There’s a chance that something happened before the deal is done. That something could be Victor Von Doom swooping in before Cap does something he’ll regret. Doom does owe Rogers for helping him in Hell’s revolt, so this would be his way of thanking him.

Lastly, in Chip Zdarsky’s Avengers, Mephisto is seen on the cover of issue No. 3. He appears to be the cause of the demons invading New York that Earth’s Mightiest Heroes will battle. If that’s the case, maybe it’s because Doom kicked the former Lord of Hell out of his domain. Or, and this could be a scarier thought, what if part of Doom’s deal meant Mephisto was banished to Earth?

The Avengers already have to worry about S.H.I.E.L.D. being funded by the United Nations. Adding Mephisto and demons to the equation makes things worse for Earth’s Mightiest Heroes or Steve Rogers. S.H.I.E.L.D. will use this opportunity to show off their new superpower-stopping weapons, and likely end up making things worse.

Within all the chaos, Mephisto will take the opportunity to dig his heels into Earth and become something even more powerful than ever. The funny thing about Mephisto being on Earth is that comic book fans would rather that than have another repeat of Spider-Man: One More Day. Only time will tell if this new Mephisto deal will break Captain America and The Avengers like it did Spider-Man.