Marvel’s Mephisto is without doubt one of the strongest characters within the Marvel Universe, to not point out one of many only a few who may be described as merely evil for evil’s sake. As Marvel’s analogue to the Satan of Christian fantasy (although he claims he’s existed in a number of myths throughout time and even dimensions), Mephisto manipulates mortals to trigger chaos and bedlam on Earth. However the demon could have met his match when he confronted off towards Hells Angels – who wished their stolen title returned.
The Hells Angels are a one-percenter biker gang, often known as such due to the American Motorcyclist Affiliation’s official response to the 1947 Hollister Riot, wherein they claimed “99% of motorcyclists are law-abiding residents.” The gang has a considerably infamous status for his or her flippant perspective towards authority (potential members should not be related to the police) and prison exercise. They’re additionally fairly protecting of their mental property, which is why the group officialy sued Marvel within the 90s for naming a personality “Hell’s Angel” – Mephisto’s most loyal servant.
Hells Angel, showing in 1992, was named Shevaun Haldane and had fairly a traumatic begin to her stint in comics when Mephisto brutally killed her father. She was later trapped into serving the satanic villain, however ultimately broke freed from his clutches. Sadly, she couldn’t break freed from the Hells Angels lawsuit, which stipulated that Hells Angel infringed on their title. Surprisingly, Marvel acquiesced to the gang’s calls for and adjusted Shevaun’s character title to Darkish Angel…however that solely landed the corporate in additional sizzling water once they have been the topic of but one other lawsuit.
Along with donating over $30,000 {dollars} to charity, Marvel now needed to change the title to Darkish Angel. Alas, the title was owned by Hart Fisher’s Boneyard Press for an additional comedian. Boneyard filed swimsuit and the home that Stan Lee constructed had a option to make: both change the character’s title but once more, or fold and cancel the publication of Darkish Angel. That’s the selection Marvel made, and in Concern #16, the Darkish Angel model was put to relaxation.
It’s fascinating to be taught that Marvel was as soon as on the receiving finish of those lawsuits. These days, the corporate is greatest recognized for creating lawsuits themselves with a purpose to safe the rights to characters with out the creators’ estates having any authorized say, comparable to Steve Ditko, Gene Colan or Stan Lee. What the Hells Angels did to Marvel, Marvel is now doing to the creators of their beloved heroes.
