Dr. Alphonse Mephesto

Dr. Alphonse Mephesto (spelled Mephisto in early seasons) is a character in South Park. He is a stereotypical eccentric mad scientist, specializing in genetic engineering, which he performs at the South Park Genetic Engineering Ranch where he also lives. Whenever the people of South Park need something beyond the natural, they turn to him. Dr. Mephesto is a member of the North American Marlon Brando Look-Alikes, the "other" NAMBLA).

Appearance
He wears brown trousers and a yellow flowered Hawaiian shirt which opens to reveal chest hair. His face is winkled and he wears a brown hat over a bandana that covers almost all of his hair. He is usually seen walking with a cane, whose handle is shaped like a pair of buttocks. Mephesto's apperance was tweaked and cleaned up slightly in his most recent appearance in "201", including an updated collar, hat, and gray hair.

Family
He is the father of a boy called Terrance Mephisto, who is in the 3rd and later 4th grade class along with the main characters. Terrance referred to him as "Daddy" in "An Elephant Makes Love to Pig". Terrance has never been seen with his father since afromentioned episode, although he still appears in the hallway occasionally.

Kevin
Kevin is Dr. Mephesto's assistant and "son". He wears similar clothing to Mephesto. He is usually described by others as "That little monkey guy". He seems on first glance to be mute, but he is rumored to have a very sweet, golden voice. He mostly follows Mephesto around. His name is revealed in Starvin Marvin when Chef asks Mephesto "What the hell is that thing supposed to be?"

Kevin's story is told in the song "Mephisto and Kevin" by Primus from Chef Aid: The South Park Album; he was apparently a failed attempt to create a perfect pop singer, a test tube baby created from Michael Jackson's sperm and the egg of an unspecified, musically talented female donor, brought to term inside the womb of a llama. It is also revealled Kevin is legally Dr. Mephesto's son.

He is seen in a crowd in Freak Strike. Kevin is never heard speaking until the episode "201", in which he yelps in surprise when Cartman/Mitch Conner trick their way into Mephesto's lab.

Brother
His brother has never been seen, but it was first said in the episode "Cartman's Mom is Still a Dirty Slut" that he attempts to shoot Mephesto every month on routine. Later in "201" it is revealed the real reason that he shot Mephesto is that he was a Broncos fan, and revealing that Cartman's biological father played for the Broncos may distract the team, which was having a good year.

Parodies
The character is an extended reference to Marlon Brando's portrayal of Dr. Moreau in the 1996 film version of The Island of Dr. Moreau. Like Dr. Moreau, Dr. Mephesto creates strange creatures with his talents- however his creations are things like animals with multiple sets of buttocks. Mephesto believes it is for the good of the Earth, and that one-assed animals are useless and must be destroyed. He even goes as far as presenting a "seven-assed Galapagos Turtle" in an attempt to win a Nobel Prize, but loses to Randy Marsh's "Unified Theory of Fart Thing." He also performs experiments ranging from simple DNA tests to creating a genetic clone of Stan Marsh for his son's project and later a clone of the Muslim prophet Muhammad.

In addition to Brando as Moreau, Mephesto is based at least partially on former UCLA molecular biology professor, Roger Bohman. Both Trey Parker and Matt Stone visited his class based on a recommendation of a friend, and they have admitted to Roger Bohman's more than passing resemblance to Mephesto.

His name is a reference to Mephistopheles.

Genetic Experiments
Dr. Mephesto has created many genetically spliced/altered/both creatures, some of which include a four-assed monkey (pictured), a clone of Stan, mutant turkeys, rabbit-fish (which actually are just fish with fake rabbit ears attached), and a five-assed monkey. He rejected Kyle's idea of splicing Pig and Elephant DNA, as he said it would never work.

He also inserted Jackov's DNA into Junjun (re-named "Hope") when they found they couldn't mate.

Trivia

 * Dr. Mephesto might be Buddhist as in the episode An Elephant Makes Love to a Pig, he says "Oh, thank Buddha I found you boys!"

Appearances

 * "An Elephant Makes Love to a Pig" - Mephesto's first appearance. He rejects Kyle Broflovski's idea of splicing the DNA of a pig and an elephant. Later, he helps his son to make a clone of Stan.
 * "Starvin' Marvin" - Mephesto creates genetically modified turkeys, but they go crazy and put the whole town in danger.
 * "Cartman's Mom is a Dirty Slut" - Mephesto offers to help Cartman find out who his father is, but only for a price.
 * "Cartman's Mom is Still a Dirty Slut" - Mephesto gets shot by his brother right before he can reveal the identity of Cartman's father.
 * "Spontaneous Combustion" - Mephesto tries to win the Nobel Prize with a "seven-assed Galapagos Turtle", but loses to Randy. Later, he reveals that Randy's theory about Spontaneous Combustion is causing a change in the environment.
 * "Jackovasaurus" - Mephesto helps the Jakovosaur to reproduce.
 * "Cartman Joins NAMBLA" - Suggests Cartman joins NAMBLA but Cartman joins the 'North American Man Boy Love Association.' instead of the 'North American Marlon Brando Look-alikes' which is what he really means. Is the spokesperson of 'the other NAMBLA' and helps the police catch the pedo NAMBLA.
 * "201"- Cartman and Mitch Conner ask him who Cartman's real dad is, and Stan, Kyle, and Kenny ask him to clone Muhammad.

Cameos

 * "Hooked on Monkey Phonics" - Seen during the spelling bee.
 * "Freak Strike" - Kevin cameos during the freaks song.
 * "Red Sleigh Down" - Cameo in crowd
 * "I'm a Little Bit Country" - Cameo during the final song.
 * "It's Christmas in Canada" - Cameo in crowd at 04:58
 * "Britney's New Look" - seen from the side leaving and entering the crowds to take photos of Britney Spears
 * "Eat, Pray, Queef" he appears as one of the men singing at the recording studio.