Captain America Makes a Choice No Hero Should Make, and Spider-Man Knows Exactly Why

Captain America did something no one could have foreseen in Marvel Comics, and there might be no coming back from this for the world’s most honorable hero. As Marvel prepared for its giant crossover storyline, “Avengers: Armageddon,” specific characters from Earth’s Mightiest Heroes went through some major changes. The biggest change was when Captain America seemingly died, but actually ended up in a coma while battling the Red Hulk, when he went to stop General Ross’s invasion of Latveria. While Captain America seems like the best possible hero to end up in Heaven in the afterlife, he shockingly went to Hell, and specifically Mephisto’s realm, all thanks to Doctor Doom.

Captain America learned that Doctor Doom had used his magical powers to pull Cap’s soul into Mephisto’s realm to act as Doom’s champion to overthrow Mephisto. However, everything changed in Captain America #15 by Chip Zdarsky and Valerio Schiti. In this issue, Captain America sold his soul to Mephisto.

Why Did Captain America Sell His Soul to Mephisto?

In this issue of Captain America, Doctor Doom and Cap take the battle to Mephisto, but they have no chance from the start. This is Mephisto’s realm, and he is overpowered there. Mephisto only laughed at the two men working together, one whose sin and ego make him believe Hell was built for him, and one so good and naive that his touch actually hurts Mephisto. This is where Mephisto then reveals that Cap is not dead and is caught between life and death, but death is winning the battle right now. Then, Mephisto offers Captain America and Doctor Doom deals to allow them to return from his realm.

For Doom’s deal, Mephisto said that he would allow Doom to live again, but in exchange, the next time Doom dies, there will be no coming back, and he will belong to Mephisto for eternity, unable to rebel or even walk freely through his realm. As part of the same deal, he will torture Doom’s former love, Valeria, and she will lose her ability to walk through Mephisto’s realm freely, and Doom agreed. This was no surprise, since this is something Doom would do.

However, Captain America’s deal was heart-wrenching. It also seemed impossible, and it was something Cap couldn’t say no to. Mephisto offered freedom to everyone on Earth except for Captain America. He offered to change the world where there would be no more dictatorships, no iron-fisted rulers, and everyone would be truly free, allowed to live their own lives, with democracies everywhere. He then asked Captain America if he would be a selfless hero for eternity, and Cap said, “Damn you, Mephisto. I agree. You can have my soul.”

This was shocking, and it might rank up there with Captain America saying, “Hail Hydra,” to kick off the “Secret Empire” storyline. This isn’t Cap saying he is a Nazi. This is Cap, the greatest of all heroes, selling his soul to the Devil to force the entire world into democracies by eliminating all tyrants in control. It is a deal that Cap would make to save the world, but by selling his soul to Mephisto, he is making the decision for the entire world, and he is now damned for all eternity.

Mephisto Tells Cap He Isn’t the First Great Hero to Sell Him His Soul

When Mephisto was asking Captain America if he wanted to make the deal for his soul, he made a comment, and the comic added a panel to ensure no one missed the point. Mephisto said, “You wouldn’t be the first good man to make a deal with me.” The panel showed Spider-Man, unmasked and sitting on a ledge outside the room where doctors were working on someone. Of course, this remains one of the most controversial Marvel Comics moments of all time, at least until this one with Captain America.

In “One More Day,” Spider-Man and Mary Jane Watson made a deal with Mephisto to save Aunt May’s life after she was shot during the “Civil War” storyline. He and MJ gave up their marriage, and Mephisto saved Aunt May’s life. However, Mephisto also rewrote history and ensured that Spider-Man and Mary Jane were never married to begin with. Mephisto showed that he could rewrite the world, and that still hasn’t been undone. Readers hated it, and the storyline remains one of the most hated in Spider-Man history.

When Captain America said “Hail Hydra,” anyone who had read comics for any length of time knew this wasn’t going to stick, and it was only knee-jerk reactions from people who didn’t understand how comic book stories work who lashed out. This decision by Cap seems almost worse, and with Spider-Man never reverting to the status quo after the deal with Mephisto, some readers might be excused for panicking now. However, the difference is that the Marvel Comics world can’t be full of only peaceful democracies from here on out, and this is a deal that will end up being broken down the line. Whether that means Cap gets his soul back or not is another story.

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