[Warning: This article contains spoilers for Ironheart Episode 6, “The Past Is the Past.”] After four and a half years of speculation, Mephisto has finally made it to the MCU via the series Ironheart. Casting the iconoclastic comedian and Oscar-nominated actor Sacha Baron Cohen was an inspired move by Marvel. The scene in the Ironheart finale where he meets Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne), in Desperito’s Pizza of all places, had us on the edge of our seats as Mephisto offers the young hero an actual deal with the devil. Our only complaint? We didn’t get to see Mephisto’s demonic form. He appears to Riri deceptively casually, Cohen comes off more as a scruffy musician or artist than one of the powerful demons in the MCU. While there is a brief flash of Mephisto’s demonic form in his reflection in his spoon in the scene with Riri, we found ourselves wanting to see more of the devil’s true colors.
Thanks to popular Marvel fan art account @welove__marvel, we now have an idea of what exactly that could look like. Mohd Harris, the account’s creator, recently posted an Ironheart poster mockup of what Mephisto’s demon form could look like. In the quick flash we get during Episode 6, Mephisto sports his customary red skin and glowing yellow eyes. Harris’s art takes it a step further, giving us a full-body rendering of Mephisto in dark red leather robes, his hair flowing free, clawed hands, and in one poster, towering horns.
Is Mephisto’s Introduction a Tease for His Character’s Future in the MCU?
Mephisto first debuted in 1968 in Silver Surfer comics. Created by Stan Lee himself and artist John Buscema, Mephisto has surprisingly literary roots in the Faust legend, drawing his name from Mephistopheles, the devil’s representative in the folktale. Though Mephisto was first a recurring villain for the Silver Surfer and later Ghost Rider, he’s gone on to torment nearly every hero in the Marvel canon since he arrived on the scene in the late ’60s. He’s a particularly painful thorn in Spider-Man’s side, as Mephisto is the one responsible for both Norman and Harry Osborn’s villainous transformations and caused the demise of Peter’s marriage to Mary Jane Watson in the comics.
While we’re not exactly sure where or how Mephisto will pop up again, refusing to show him in his full demonic form is a deliberate way to keep us wanting more of him. It’s still unclear if Ironheart will get a Season 2, as well as if we’ll see the full consequences of Riri’s apparent bargain with Mephisto to bring N.A.T.A.L.I.E. back. However, there are rumblings that he’ll appear in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Cohen’s comedic chops would place him right at home in the franchise’s quick-witted humor, after all. It also seems to be a foregone conclusion that from here on out, Mephisto will factor heavily into the supernatural side of the MCU, and we would absolutely love to see a demon Mephisto clash with Doctor Strange or a member of Agatha Harkness’s coven. With an actor as dynamic and multi-faceted as Cohen, the character’s possibilities are endless, no matter what face Mephisto chooses to wear.
All six episodes of Ironheart are now streaming on Disney+.
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