And Evil Shall Inherit

Mephisto has claimed a new soul and tosses it into the inferno to be tormented. However, the lord of lies is not satisfied and wishes to claim the soul of a god.[1] Sensing a void in the realm of Asgard, Mephisto looks into the Vapors of Vision to see what has transpired there. He witnesses that climatic battle between Odin and Surtur that ended with their apparent destruction and the kingdom of Asgard in ruins.[2] He also sees that Thor has ridden into the mountains of Asgard to mourn the loss of his father and decides the time is ripe to claim the thunder god’s soul.

Seeking a pawn in this scheme, Mephisto sends one of his fire demons to contact Ulik and recruit him. Ulik refuses to work for Mephisto forcing the lord of lies to make a personal appearance. Overpowering Ulik in battle, Mephisto then drags his brother, Horth, to Hell. He tells Ulik that he will only get his brother back if he can force Thor into surrendering his soul. Determined to free Horth from eternal damnation, Ulik uses an ultra-drill to burrow to the surface and confront the thunder god.

At this time, Thor comes across a family in the wilderness who had fled Asgard during the battle with Surtur. Honored to run into the prince of Asgard, Thor is invited back to their shelter to break bread. However, Thor is so filled with grief over his father’s passing he wants time alone and politely declines before continuing his journey.

Once alone again, Thor’s journey is interrupted when Ulik’s ultra-drill suddenly burrows up from the ground. The Rock Troll attacks Thor with savagery, putting Thor on the defensive. Watching from Hell, Mephisto believes victory will soon be in his grasp. However, Thor manages to overpower Ulik and defeat him in battle. When Ulik explains that he only attacked to save the soul of his brother, Horth, Thor realizes that he has a duty to rescue Mephisto’s helpless victim.

Thor challenges Mephisto to face him and he finds himself teleported to the demon’s domain. There, Mephisto combines physical attacks and psychological torment to try and break Thor’s will. Despite showing him illusions of his recently departed father and his lost love with Sif, nothing seems to break the god’s spirit. He then shows Thor an image of the battle between him and Ulik, revealing that it caused an avalanche that buried alive the family he had met earlier. Thinking this as another illusion, Thor summons a powerful storm that threatens to put out all the fires in Hell unless Mephisto releases him.

Mephisto complies and sends Thor back to Asgard. He then summons the Vapors of Vision again to look in on his foe. He watches with glee as Thor finds out that the family was indeed killed in an avalanche. Feeling deep sorrow over the loss, Thor vows to avenge them one day and rescue Horth from Hell as well.[3] This pleases Mephisto, who is confident that he will be the victor when next they meet.

Recurring Characters

Thor, Mephisto, Ulik

Continuity Notes

1. Here, Mephisto claims that he hasn’t battled anyone pure since his clash with the Silver Surfer and claims that until this moment others have worn his face.

   • Mephisto is referring to his attempts to claim the Surfer’s soul in Silver Surfer #3, 8-9, and 16-17.

   • Mephisto claims that others wore his face in more recent encounters suggesting that his past battles with Thor in Thor #180-181, 204-205, 310, Annual #10, and 325 were attributed to someone else.

   • This concept is not outlandish as many of the so-called Hell-Lords have posed as one another, worked in concert, or even merged together. Some examples include Ghost Rider (vol. 2) #76 that revealed that Mephisto had been posing as the Biblical Satan to manipulate the Ghost Rider throughout his series up to that point. Defenders #94-100 shows Mephisto working in concert with other Hell-Lords.

   • A profile on Mephisto in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #7 doesn’t confirm or deny this. Instead it states that Mephisto is “reportedly” said to have fought Thor on occasion, being intentionally vague.

   • Is what Mephisto saying here true or not? I suppose it depends on if you want to take the literal lord of lies at face value or not.

2. Odin seemingly perished fighting Surtur in Thor #353. However, he survived and will turn up again as a prisoner of Seth, the Egyptian god of death in Thor #398-400.

3. Except, we never see or hear from Horth again.