Originally Posted by
jackolover
I also want to look at what Mephisto can do. From what I’ve seen of Mephisto, he can observe everybody, and that is why he has seen Gwen Stacy from another universe. Mephisto has tabs on every human alive, and that’s why he can offer a bargain to them when they least expect it, in their worst moment. I’m trying to reconcile that ability with this world he’s created, and what Mephisto’s aim is here. Is he offering everyone something, or just a few something. People have suggested this is just an alternative world Mephisto dreamed up. It’s possible. I suggest it’s Mephisto’s big power grab. None of those scenarios seem to pass the pub test of whether it gets Mephisto something in the end. With this much insight into every persons business, like the worst internet troll, Mephisto is practically able to grant anybody’s wish, or everybody’s wish. All he needs is your credit card number. And that’s like your soul. So I’m looking at Mephisto’s bargaining power here, and what he knows about everybody individually could fill each persons book. It means he can carry around a lot of information, even more than the Watcher.
Mephisto is doing something close to a Kobik-style elaborate world, but Kobik was convinced villains needed to have a new identity to live a life of peace and contentment. That’s not what Mephisto thinks here. He doesn’t care if heroes or villains are twisted to live contented lives. Mephisto has some need to punish the Avengers in all this, and there is no contingency that people live in peace and contentment.
And there seems to be a loophole here, because Mephisto can’t stop memory leaking back to the people in the world, and it’s degrading by the issue. It means Mephisto has a starting condition for his world, but he can’t keep it secure, and it will degenerate like House of M, (unlike Battleworld, where Doom kept it secure for 8 years).
As we can see by the many locations in the many one-shots we’re getting, this covers everybody in the world. Marvel could have flooded us with 20 or 30 mini-series like they did in Dark Reign, to show how far it’s covered everywhere, but we get the picture. Everybody is being worked over in this world. Some are getting their wish, and some are reliving their experience, like the Young Squadron who just recently broke away from their affiliation with the adult Squadron, like they did with the Avengers before, becoming the Champions. Things like that are wish fulfilment perpetrated on everyone in this story.
You’ve got them in space, in Russia, in youth, alternate realities, breakaway Squadrons, just like they showed it in a Fear Itself, and the god of fear happening everywhere, and in all locations at the same time. Well instead of the god of fear, it’s the devil this time.