Is Mephisto the devil? Exploring Marvel’s famous antagonist in detail

The name "Mephisto" was circulating across Marvel's fan circles online ever since WandaVision began streaming in January 2021. A short-hand for "Mephistopheles", the character is indeed the devil in the pages of Marvel Comics, something the Ironheart finale just hints at but doesn't state explicitly. Over the years, he has claimed responsibility for all acts of evil across the Marvel Universe.

Mephisto battled Thor in the comics in hell on the pages of the comics once, and in that comic, we learn that Edward Teach/Blackbeard, Attila the Hun, and Adolf Hitler are all burning in hell, which is Mephisto's realm. However, despite making his debut in the pages of the comics in 1968, the character was more of a background character who served as a puppet master. That was until 2007.

Mephisto was the central antagonist in One More Day:

The major thing that Mephisto is known for in the pages of Marvel Comics, apart from creating the Ghost Rider, is the controversial Spider-Man event, One More Day. Published in 2007, the storyline is among the most hated Spider-Man Comics in history. That's because this storyline shook up Spider-Man's status quo in a major way.

In it, Peter Parker makes a deal with the devil and in exchange, sells his marriage to Mary Jane Watson. In exchange, Mephisto agrees to completely heal Aunt May, who was shot by an assassin hired by the Kingpin, who was attempting to kill Peter. The events of One More Day occur after the 2006 event, Civil War, in which Peter unmasks himself to the press on the side of Tony.

But later, Peter betrays Tony's side and joins Captain America's side. During the events of One More Day, Peter, MJ, and Aunt May are on the run. Fisk, who is in prison at that time, arranges for an assassin to kill Peter, but the bullet hits Aunt May. She is admitted to the hospital, and every genius across the Marvel Universe advises Peter to let Aunt May (who is in a coma) go.

But, there is one figure in the Marvel universe who agrees to heal Aunt May, the Lucifer of the Marvel Universe. However, this time, instead of Peter's soul, the devil wants Peter to give up his marriage. The devil gives MJ the same proposal, and after having a heart-to-heart conversation, both Peter and MJ agree to sell their marriage to Satan.

Needless to say, One More Day is hated to this day, and unfortunately, Peter and MJ of the mainline Marvel Universe are still unmarried, despite their on-again off off-again relationship. But Peter's deal with the devil is very similar to the deal Riri made with Sacha Baron Cohen's Mephistopheles in the Ironheart finale.

Ryan Coogler describes Riri's deal in the Ironheart finale as a sacrifice:

The team behind Ironheart gave several interviews to different outlets after the finale streamed. One such interview was the one that executive producer Ryan Coogler gave to Collider on July 3, 2025. In that interview, Coogler discussed the devil's appearance in Ironheart, and gave an interesting perspective on the deal Riri made:

"It’s an informed decision. She sees Hood at his worst, she sees what the deal with this guy looks like, and she still does it for a friend. You learn just how much she loves this person. It’s one of the more interesting things we've seen somebody doing in the MCU, and that's hard because there have been a lot of these, a lot of movies, a lot of shows. It’s a very interesting form of sacrifice that can only happen in this story with these characters, so I thought it was a great way to introduce an incredibly powerful character from publishing, because you meet Mephisto via this deal, which I think is really cool."

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As we wait for his next appearance, watch Mephisto in Ironheart, which is available to stream on Disney+.

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