The Only Mephisto Explainer You Need

Superheroes, technological geniuses, and mythical gods all coexist within the Marvel Comics universe, and as more comic characters start entering the Marvel Cinematic Universe, fans need to brush up on the many different planes of existence. The "Ironheart" finale finally introduced MCU fans to Mephisto, and if you need help understanding why the lord of Hell is a canonical Marvel character, Looper's explainer video above can help. 

As strange as it may seem, Mephisto has an incredibly long history in the Marvel universe. He made his first appearance in the third issue of "Silver Surfer," and he's been wheeling and dealing with just about every major Marvel hero since. Despite his appearance, Mephisto isn't Satan, and his Hell realm isn't the same place that Christians talk about. Mephisto is a demon, however, and that means he's immortal, has super strength and speed, and can essentially bend all of reality to his will. 

Fan theories about Mephisto joining the MCU have been swirling since "WandaVision" dropped, but the demon finally showed up at the end of "Ironheart." In the first season finale, Mephisto (Sacha Baron Cohen) makes a deal with Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne) to bring back her friend Natalie (Lyric Ross). Comic fans know the deal is going to come back to bite Riri, and everyone who's invested in the MCU should probably get prepared for Mephisto to have a big impact on the universe going forward. 

Though it's almost impossible to understand his true motives, Mephisto is always making deals with people, and just as we saw with The Hood (Anthony Ramos) and Riri in "Ironheart," the demon can deliver seemingly impossible things. Hood learned the hard way that Mephisto's deals can be too good to be true. In the comics, Peter Parker made a dark deal with the demon. In the "One More Day" storyline, Mephisto helped Peter make the entire world forget his secret identity, but in exchange, Peter's entire relationship with Mary Jane was wiped from existence. 

Elements of the "One More Day" arc are present in "Spider-Man: No Way Home," but Mephisto could still interact with Spidey in the future. The demon's reality-shifting powers might also come into play in the next "Avengers" movie, because everything we know about "Avengers: Doomsday" leads us to believe it'll be another multiverse-shattering adventure. 

Whatever his role in the MCU is going forward, Mephisto got a solid introduction in "Ironheart," which has gone down well with critics. Riri's deal with Mephisto at the end of the miniseries also perfectly sets up an arc for her and the demon lord of Hell in a potential second season. Mephisto's powers could reshape any hero's story, so if you want to be prepared for what he does next in the MCU, make sure to check out Looper's video above recapping the character's full history.