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General

  • Alternative Character Interpretation: Even in individual versions, there is considerable variation in how characters in the story are treated. Faust — driven to his bargain from love for suffering mankind, or looking for a cheap and easy way to lord it over others? Mephistopheles — Anti-Hero seeking to subvert God's injustice, or diabolical hater wanting to damn others to his own misery? Wagner? Gretchen? The Emperor? God? The variations are endless.
  • Draco in Leather Pants: Faust is arguably a pretty nasty fellow towards Gretchen and Mephistopheles is the outright devil - try and find an interpretation that does not make either of them come out much more sympathetic than that would imply.
  • Ensemble Dark Horse: The elemental spirits have no bearing on the plot, with Kobold the Earth Spirit being the only one who appears in person, however, given that they are beings outside of God's and Mephisto's realm, with Kobold especially giving Faust a scathing "The Reason You Suck" Speech, they are quite popular.
  • Faux Symbolism: Do you mean that Mephistopheles does not stand for Martin Luther, Napoléon Bonaparte, Adolf Hitler, or The Tri-Lateral Commission?
  • First Installment Wins: Ever heard of "Faust II"? If no, you can see why.
  • Hilarious in Hindsight: The name Faust has also associated with someone else these days. Although some fans have joked (and even done fan fiction!) in regards how she created another big fanbase on the internet.
  • What Do You Mean, It's Not Didactic?: Some authors (including Goethe!) have claimed that they had no basic message to convey in their versions of the story.

Film

  • Complete Monster: Mephisto, stymied in his efforts to unleash the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse on the Earth, makes a bet with an angel, over whether he can corrupt the soul of Doctor Faust. Spreading disease throughout Faust's hometown — and murdering a priest when the latter notices his presence — Mephisto convinces Faust to sell him his soul in exchange for the power to heal his neighbors. When Faust's neighbors turn on him, Mephisto turns the doctor into a younger man and takes him to Parma, where he forces the Duchess of Parma to fall in love with Faust, then kills her husband in a duel. He later forces Gretchen, an innocent girl, to fall in love with Faust, only to subsequently frame Faust and her for the murder of her mother and brother, resulting in her being burned at the stake and Faust committing suicide by joining her.

The band:

  • Signature Song: "It's a Rainy Day, Sunshine Girl", with "Krautrock" and "Jennifer" being close seconds.

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