(The editor’s note: The following article contains spoilers for MarvelS “Iron hearts“Finale.)
Where was you When you first learned Mephisto?
I was at my parents’ house during Covid, when Marvel began his unpredicted move to TV with the powerful “Wandavision.” In Marvel Comics, Mephisto is literally the devil; He grows up with different heroes and villains over the series under thin alias (Beelzebub? Who can it be?) And left his mark on everyone from Spider-Man to Doctor Strange and more. He is connected to Scarlet Witch through her sons, who was introduced in Jac Schaeffer’s Emmy-winning series.
And when the world Wanda (Elisabeth Olsen) built around herself began to crack, the fans believed the devil was in the details – but he never broke through. Eager theorists presented their disappointment (easy to do when Kathryn Hahn is the guide you into the unknown) Hope that Mephisto would appear in the upcoming slate of movies and shows.
But he didn’t.
There were whispers around “Loki” and “Spider-Man: No way home.” Sure, he would show up in “The Multiverse of Madness”, which brought Scarlet Witch face to face with Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch). By then, however, the phase in the phase had been introduced as Kang (Jonathan Majors), with pieces that fall into place for an epic battle against him, which left some room for a second big bath.
As someone who rushed for Mephisto crumbs during “Wandavision”, I have been saddened by my growing distance from MCU ever since. But between “Thunderbolts” and “Ironheart”, I feel that something is about that has been dormant since the locks.
For one thing I was removed enough to miss the whispering that Mephisto would debut in “Ironheart,” And if I caught This news object I blew the whole revelation over two years ago, I simply forgot! Looking at the Screeners at once meant no theoretization of the week to the week, so when Sacha Baron Cohen arrived on the screen I was too absorbed in stunt casting to even consider Who He played. It wasn’t until a few lines before the character identified itself that I remembered a name that I had long forgotten – and realized that not only could This is him, but it must be.
“You can call me Mephisto,” he said. To my own surprise I screamed. Mephisto is the one who gave Parker (Anthony Ramos) his hood as part of an unfortunate “business” and he is the devil who will offer Riri (Dominique Thorne) what she most wishes in exchange for what will surely be a deadly price. Shriek was less shock than distrust – or maybe I’ve been holding it for several years? Finally we got there – so where do we go next?
This character and “Ironheart” took a long time to reach our screens (the 2022 leak was from the set), but seeing Baron Cohen eating up the role was extremely satisfying, regardless of waiting. It is not just a deviation from the actor’s usual repertoire (I could not identify him with full confidence with the American accent), but it immediately stood out of the amount of gratitude and stylish MCU comos in recent years. (Harry Styles and Brett Goldstein come to mind.)
Mephisto has presence and purpose, and his forces remain a mystery to the audience because they are a mystery to our protagonist. Their agreement betrays Riri’s journey with grief throughout the season, but it is the type of character health that indicates a larger plan within the franchise.
MCU has struggled with memorable villains (do you remember Malekith? Of course you don’t) enough to approach them more thoughtfully over time; Creating a good is hard enough, and more than one at a time would dilute their total impression. With Kang out of the picture it was a short opening for HBIC (Head Beelzebub responsible, if you wish), but That role was reworked to Doctor Doom (Robert Downey Jr.), who planned to be the central villain 2026’s “Avengers: Doomsday.”
“Ironheart” was originally filmed before Marvel cut the bands with Majors, so there was at least one plan for Mephisto to coexist with Kang, if not others at his introduction. There is always the chance that this is a long game and Mephisto will work in the shadows during the events leading to and after “doomsday”, which goes into the limelight during phase … 7 ?? It is certainly not as tempting as imagining him in “Fantastic Four: The First Steps” later this month, given his overlap with these characters, and it is also quite possible that this character missed his window and joined the party too late.
But in one way or another, Mephisto has finally entered the MCU, and the time is such that I am less concerned about the road forward than the path it took to come here. Through two phases, 16 shows and 13 films, I finally got that scream, and I might just dare to be excited about what the future can give.
All sections of “Ironheart” now flow on Disney+.
