Credit: Inside the MagicIn the wake of the Kang debacle, Marvel has revealed its new cosmic-level villain: Mephisto.
Since Thanos (Josh Brolin) disappeared in a cloud of ash at the end of Avengers: Endgame (2019), the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been in desperate need of a big enough bad guy that can make Earth’s Mightiest Heroes sit up and take notice.
The original post-Endgame plan was to bring in Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror and his many Variants, up until the actor’s rising career was cut short after he was accused of battering a former partner (and later convicted of assault and harassment).
The next plan seems to be to play Robert Downey Jr. a whopping $100 million to play Victor Von Doom in Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars, but the near-immediate backlash to the actor being cast in the role has to be making a few Marvel executives nervous.
We’ll still definitely be seeing a strangely familiar Doctor Doom in some upcoming movies, but Agatha All Along has confirmed that there are plans in the works for Mephisto to join the MCU.
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In the most recent episode of Agatha All Along, the most recent Disney+ Marvel series, it was almost casually confirmed that the MCU does indeed contain Mephisto, the Satanically-coded comic book villain first created by Stan Lee and John Buscema.
MEPHISTO FINALLY GETTING NAME DROPPED THIS IS FOR MY WANDAVISION PEOPLE IN THE YEAR 2021 #AgathaAllAlong pic.twitter.com/eNfR3htMda
— ken (@wandaslizzie) September 26, 2024
Teen (Joe Locke) is being questioned by Jennifer Kale (Sasheer Zamata), a witch who wound up in a coven with Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn), one of the less trustworthy magic users around. To illustrate that point, Kale mentions that Agatha apparently traded her own son, Nicholas Scratch, in exchange for the Darkhold, the now-defunct book of dark magic in the MCU.
While no one knows what happened to Nicholas, Kale brings up the possibility that he may now be an agent of Mephisto, confirming the demon’s known existence.
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Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Agatha All Along showrunner Jac Schaeffer seemingly confirmed that there is more to the Mephisto line than just fan service.
She said, “With these shows, so often there is something that is at once a joke and a wink and a nod, and actually has something legitimate underneath it. As we all know, Mephisto is a character who’s very wrapped into Agatha’s storyline. I mean, people have to watch, but we’re always playing with the audience in that way.”
In Marvel Comics continuity, Mephisto is often an adversary of the Silver Surfer and Ghost Rider (both of whom seem to be on their way to the MCU themselves) but is known for making bargains with heroes and villains alike. It’ll have to remain to be seen exactly what role he may have in the MCU in the future, but if Marvel needs a new Big Bad, it looks like he’s up to bat.
Agatha All Along is streaming on Disney+. The series stars Kathryn Hahn, Joe Locke, Debra Jo Rupp, Aubrey Plaza, Sasheer Zamata, Ali Ahn, Okwui Okpokwasili, and Patti LuPone.
Do you think Mephisto is a misdirect in Agatha All Along?