A long-awaited Marvel villain finally appears in 'Ironheart'

Created by Stan Lee and John Buscema in 1968’s Silver Surfer #3, Mephisto is essentially a stand-in for Satan/Lucifer in the Marvel Universe. His name is a shortening of the name Mephistopheles, the demon of Germanic folklore. Although, the comics have gone out of their way to let readers know Satan and Mephisto are not the same being. Yet he often fulfills a Satanic role, tempting people with deals and convincing them to sell their souls to him. Mephisto has been a mortal enemy to characters like Doctor Strange, Silver Surfer, Doctor Doom, Spider-Man, and more.

Mephisto Makes Deals with the Hood and Riri Williams in Ironheart

Mephisto appears first to Parker, a.k.a the Hood, via flashback, in what appears to be a pocket dimension. This particular place looks like a local restaurant. This is where he makes his literal “deal with the devil” that results in his getting the magical hood. At the end of the series, Mephisto makes a similar deal with Riri Williams and he seemingly returns her friend Natalie to life. And not just the AI called Natalie, but seemingly the real Natalie. This shows how powerful Mephisto really is, as he has powers over life and death.

The MCU Future of Mephisto

So what do we expect for Mephisto’s MCU future? Well, this could all play out in a potential season two of Ironheart. But what if there’s no season two? Outside of Loki, no other MCU live-action series has had a direct season two, except for Daredevil: Born Again. And even that was an 18-episode season split in two. We want to see another Ironheart season, but we know Marvel Studios’ patterns at this point. We’d say it’s far from a sure thing.

If Riri becomes a player in a potential Young Avengers/Champions series, this storyline could play out there. And we’d be shocked if a third Doctor Strange film, or a potential Ghost Rider movie, doesn’t mention Mephisto. You don’t cast a name like Sacha Baron Cohen for just one series. Mephisto is just too major a Marvel character for this single appearance in Ironheart. And maybe when we see Mephisto again, he’ll appear in all his crimson glory.