Faust

Faust, Part 1
~  Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

I would like to start with a very small clip of the Devil from the popular cartoon Futurama. Anytime I read any of Mephistopheles' lines, I read them in Robot Devil's voice in my head. (Let's be honest, this is also how he looked in my head as well) 

Summary:
 Faust starts with God hosting a killer party up in heaven, where he makes a wager with the devil : Mephistopheles can tempt Faust as long as he lives in an effort to conquer his soul, but Faust's death is when his soul will be weighed for its truth, and the Devil will have to admit that God is awesome and right. Both entities are incredibly confident that they are going to win, and shake on it.

The audience is first introduced to Faust, an older gentleman, hanging out in his study mourning all of the things he knows. He attempts to commit suicide via potion, but he isn't very good at it and fails. Unafraid of anything (except for drinking the death potion), he starts to mess with a little magic, and immediately gets shuts down by a summoned spirit. Wagner intrudes, and they chat until the scene switches and they are walking outside on Easter Sunday. While still debating the existential search for knowledge, Faust looks past Wagner's shoulder to see a black poodle spit some fire, and immediately decides that that creature just has to become his new pet. A couple of days later, Mephistopheles shows up at Faust's door promising a life of pleasure and coins, but Faust isn't interested in what he's selling. Faust asks the devil to leave, but he can't because he's stuck in Faust's magic floor circle. Seeing that he's stuck, Faust invites the devil for a little chat, and they agree that Faust will give away his soul for a lifetime of experiences, and will not die until he says the phrase, "Linger a while! Thou art so fair!"

Faust and the devil romp around the world for a bit, and eventually end up in a Witch's lair inhabited by baboons trusted to stir the cauldron. Mephistopheles wants Faust to shed a couple of years by drinking the witches elixir, but Faust kind of tunes him out while he rummages through the absent-witches stuff. What he does find is a mirror that reveals a super hot babe that he immediately falls in love with, and decides that maybe he does need that rejuvenation potion after all. He chugs it, and the devil promises that they are bound to run into bountiful lasses in the future.

The woman in the mirror is called Margareta, but she goes by the sexy nickname of Gretchen. Faust spots her on the street, and asks the devil for her for Christmas. Satan sends her a couple boxes of jewels, but Gretchen's mom smells the evil on them, and gives them away to the church (who gladly takes the devil's jewels). Eager to gossip with someone, she keeps a couple pieces of jewelry and goes to her poor widow-neighbor's house to flaunt her anonymous-lover's gifts. Mephistopheles trounces in and sets up a double date between Faust and Gretchen, and himself with the widow. Gretchen and Faust immediately fall in love after a short evening of sweet nothings whispered in each others ears. He manages to convince her to slip her mom a sleeping potion so he can share her bed at night, and Gretchen readily hands over her v-card. Her brother, Valentine, magically finds out that Gretchen's purity is lost, and waits outside of the doorway to give her a whore-rant. Instead, he catches Mephisto with a flute singing songs, and ends up getting into a fight with Faust and the Devil. Valentine gets stabbed, Faust and the Mephisto flee, and Gretchen cradles her dying brother just long enough to hear the whore lecture he is still willing to deliver with his dying breath.

Gretchen and Faust's relationship in one comic panel

Gretchen's life takes a turn for the worse when she attends a church mass and has time to reflect on all of the ways her life has gone terribly wrong: she's unmarried and pregnant, her brother died because of her, and she killed her mother by giving her too much of the sleeping potion. Her mind ends up snapping, and she goes off to jail. Faust forgets about her, and he and the Devil end up erotically dancing with some witches on Walpurgis Night. Mid naked-dance, Faust remembers his old lady-love, and takes it upon himself (with the help of the Devil) to go save Gretchen from jail. Devil refuses, which just angers Faust to the point of tantrum, and Devil gives in, but he can only create an opening to escape for a short amount of time.

In jail, Faust rides in on his black stallion to save Gretchen, but she's crazy and doesn't remember him. He remembers that he loved/loves her, and wants to save her from her impending hanging. He begs her to leave the cell, but she likes it and knows that everything is going to be alright, so stays. Faust, the ever-Hero, leaves the cell to Gretchen calling the name of her loved one.