Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has barely even gotten started, but Mephisto has already become one of its longest-running and most popular memes.
During the buildup and subsequent rollout of WandaVision on Disney Plus, we were bombarded by rumors that the comic book universe’s version of the devil would be revealed as the big bad pulling the strings behind Westview, but lead writer Jac Schaeffer admitted she’d never even heard of the character.
Fast forward to Loki, and the speculation started up again, forcing the creative team to outline in no uncertain terms that Mephisto wasn’t part of the story. The first Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer reignited the scuttlebutt for a third time with Doctor Strange looking as though he might be an imposter, while not even What If…? was immune.
When the Sorcerer Supreme absorbed countless demons during the fourth episode, fans were adamant that they caught a glimpse of Mephisto, which director Bryan Andrews addressed in a new interview with Rotten Tomatoes.
“He absorbs a dragon, he absorbs [these creatures and] temporarily he is that thing, because those things truly are inside of him. And so, he gets their abilities, he gets all of that stuff. And they’re just ready at the fingertips. So, we get that hybrid look where he has the horns and looks very devilish. It’s so funny how everyone’s like, ‘He’s Mephisto’. It’s like, wait, but it was just a dragon!”
There you have it; we are definitely zero-for-three when it comes to Mephisto, and we’ll find out the truth regarding the fourth when Spider-Man: No Way Home hits theaters in December. Maybe he’ll turn up eventually, but What If…? is the latest project where folks have been wide of the mark.