In 1986, Mephistopheles reveals himself to the 17-year-old acrobat biker Johnny Blaze, offering to cure his father's cancer in exchange for Blaze's soul. The next morning, Blaze wakes up and finds that his father's cancer is cured, but his father is killed the same day in a motorcycle stunt in which he falls into the ring of fire on which he is jumping. Blaze accuses Mephistopheles of causing his father's death, but Mephistopheles considers his contract to be fulfilled.