For years, a running joke about the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) is that whenever a new character is introduced, they’re secretly Mephisto, Marvel’s big, Devil-esque villain. And now, finally, thanks to the latest episode of Agatha All Along, we’ve actually got confirmation of the Big Bad’s existence. Mephisto is coming, folks, and the MCU will never be the same.
Spoilers for Agatha All Along, Episode 3 “Through Many Miles of Tricks and Trials” past this point.
So as not to hype this up too much (queue up the chorus of “too late” from everyone reading this) it’s just a casual namedrop from Jennifer Kale (Sasheer Zamata). In the episode, Agatha’s (Kathryn Hahn) coven has entered their first trial on the Witches’ Road. It’s sort of a Real Housewives-esque nightmare complete with fantasy Botox and copious wine drinking. However, it’s not explicitly a parody a la the premiere’s Mare of Easttown tribute.
While the coven tries to figure out what’s going on, Kale gives Teen (Joe Locke) a warning not to trust Agatha. “Did you know she traded her own child for the Book of the Damaned?” asks Kale, referring to the Darkhold. “They say no one really knows what happened to him. They say he might be dead. Others say he might be a demon or an agent of Mephisto.”
Doesn’t seem like a big deal, right? Yet that sound you heard was a million Marvel fans’ eyes bugging out of their heads, all at the same time. So why is this a big deal, not just to fans, but to the plot of Agatha All Along? Let’s discuss.
Who Is Mephisto From Marvel Comics? And Why Is The Villain A Big Deal To Fans?
Mephisto was created (inasmuch as you can create a demon who has existed for centuries in literature) by Stan Lee and John Buscema in 1968’s Silver Surfer #3. While Marvel Comics doesn’t strictly have a Judeo-Christian devil, Mephisto is the closest the books come. And like his namesake from Faust, he has a penchant for making devilish deals.
However, at least in the comics he also functions as a supervillain. Yes, he lives in a firey pit with demons that is part of (one of) Marvel’s afterlives. But he also spends a lot of time physically and mentally battling everyone from Doctor Strange to Ghost Rider. He also, weirdly, has spent a lot of time tormenting Spider-Man. Most notably, in the 2007 storyline “One More Day,” Mephisto takes Peter Parker and Mary Jane’s marriage in exchange for saving the life of Peter’s Aunt May. Why? Because Marvel wanted Peter to be single, that’s why.
Despite the prominence of the character in comics that puts him on par with, say, Thanos, in terms of supervillainy, he has yet to appear in the MCU. The character was played in 2007’s Ghost Rider by Peter Fonda, and in 2012’s Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance by Ciaran Hinds. He was also voiced by Keith David in Hit Monkey, but they took the Marvel label off that one so who knows what’s going on there.
While an Easter egg reference to Mephisto was dropped in 2012’s The Avengers, the “joke” mentioned above goes back specifically to 2021’s WandaVision, the precursor series to Agatha All Along. As fans were trying to figure out why Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) was trapped in Westview in the show, one popular theory was that Mephisto was behind the whole thing. That led to speculation whenever a new character popped up that they were Mephisto in disguise.
Spoiler: they weren’t, and it was [sing it with me] Wanda all along, even if Agatha technically the villain of the series. And since then, any time a new actor joins the MCU as a mystery role, the frequent refrain is that they’re playing Mephisto. Rumors even have actor Sacha Baron Cohen playing Mephisto in the upcoming Ironheart, which makes sense as that show’s villain, the Hood (played by Anthony Ramos) makes a deal with the devil in the comics. But also that show has been sitting on a shelf for years now, so who knows?
Mephisto Might Tie To Another Fan Theory About Agatha All Along
However, Kale’s mention of Mephisto here is sure to start the speculation engines running, once again. Particularly as witches are back on the menu, boys. Is Mephisto, or an agent of Mephisto, behind the Sigil put on Teen to make sure he doesn’t say his name? The sigil could be an “M” for Mephisto, for sure. Speculation is that Teen is actually Billy Kaplan, aka Wiccan. In the comics, Billy was originally Billy Maximoff, the son of the Scarlet Witch. However, he was taken by Mephisto; only to later have his soul come back as Billy Kaplan, now born to new parents but with eerily similar powers to Wanda. If that all holds, is Mephisto someone perhaps we’ve already met?
To that point, there’s another fan theory that ties into Mephisto we should probably discuss. Specifically, Rio Vidal (Aubrey Plaza) is Blackheart. In the comics, Blackheart is the son of Mephisto — or more specifically, a demonic entity created from the coalesced evil from a town that had been subject to centuries of murders. But calling him the son of Mephisto is easier, so let’s stick with that.
The theory goes that since Rio mentioned her “black heart” in the first episode, and in the second episode we discovered that Lilia Calderu (Patti Lupone) had indicated her inclusion in Agatha’s coven with a black heart… Rio is, in fact, Blackheart, now gender-bent to be the daughter of Mephisto. And if she’s the daughter of Mephisto? Oh lawd, Mephisto coming. And given Jennifer Kale’s mention in this episode, that particular speculation won’t go away any time soon. (Or maybe it will, as it seems like Rio’s real identity may have been spoiled by a Funko Pop!) So is Rio secretly Blackheart? Or is she Mephisto? Am I Mephisto? Are you???
…Or perhaps this is showrunner Jac Schaeffer playing with fan expectations, knowing how insane everyone went watching WandaVision. There are six episodes to go, so time will tell.
Agatha All Along Premiere Dates And Episode Guide:
The first two episodes of Agatha All Along premiered September 18 at 6 pm PT / 9 pm ET on Disney+. It streams weekly, leading up to the two-episode finale on October 30. There are nine episodes, in total.
Here’s the full list of episodes in Agatha All Along, with premiere dates:
- Wednesday, September 18, 2024: Agatha All Along, Episode 1: “Seekest Thou The Road”
- Wednesday, September 18, 2024: Agatha All Along, Episode 2: “Circle Sewn With Fate Unlock They Hidden Gate”
- Wednesday, September 25, 2024: Agatha All Along, Episode 3: “Through Many Miles of Tricks and Trials”
- Wednesday, October 2, 2024: Agatha All Along, Episode 4
- Wednesday, October 9, 2024: Agatha All Along, Episode 5
- Wednesday, October 16, 2024: Agatha All Along, Episode 6
- Wednesday, October 23, 2024: Agatha All Along, Episode 7
- Wednesday, October 30, 2024: Agatha All Along, Episode 8
- Wednesday, October 30, 2024: Agatha All Along, Episode 9
