Marvel’s New Avengers Threat Proves Mephisto Is The Perfect MCU Villain

The Avengers‘ worst enemy of the past few years is none other than Mephisto, the demonic lord who is plotting to get rid of the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and conquer not just one Earth, but all Earths of the Multiverse in Marvel Comics. This plan also makes Mephisto the perfect future villain for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, where the concept of the Multiverse has become central.

Mephisto’s true origins are lost in the eons of time, and he makes sure that they remain this way. Confusing and contradicting accounts are abundant, but what is sure is that he is a member of a powerful race of interdimensional beings called demons. Mephisto’s primary goal is to enslave human souls and trap them in his hellish realm. For this purpose, he has been tempting mortals for millennia, bargaining and usually tricking them into relinquishing their souls. For this purpose, Mephisto has often posed as Satan, the Devil, or other human conceptions of absolute evil. Recent Avengers storylines, however, revealed that Mephisto’s goals are much more ambitious than what was previously thought.

Mephisto formed an interdimensional assembly of alternate versions of himself, called the Council of Red, and is plotting to take over the Multiverse. Earth is the key to his plan because it’s a nexus of cosmic relevance (which explains why Mephisto collects human souls from Earth), but the planet also has its own defense system: the heroes. For reasons that not even Mephisto can understand, Earth breeds her own protectors, the Avengers, and has been doing it since the Stone Age. To take them out, to cull the “heroic age” in its cradle, Mephisto has weaved an intricate plan that includes, among other things, assembling the Multiversal Masters of Evil, a group made by the most terrible villains the Multiverse has to offer. In a preview for Avengers #57 – Jason Aaron and Javier Garrón – Marvel revealed that the Avengers are lost in time due to Mephisto’s machinations, and if they want to stop his master plan they will have to recruit the greatest heroes from throughout history.

The “History’s Mightiest Heroes” is a very cool concept, and it could work really well in the MCU too. After being teased in Avengers: Endgame and then fully revealed in Loki, the Multiverse has become a prominent feature in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The recent animated series What If…? even saw a team of heroes from different realities teaming up to fight an Infinity Stones-powered Ultron, which is very similar to what the Avengers have to do to stop Mephisto. The cunning demon was expected to make his debut during Wandavision, but he is still (literally) lurking in the shadows, meaning Mephisto’s future reveal could make him the perfect big villain for the MCU’s Phase 4. Finding someone who is more evil and dangerous than Thanos is a challenge, but who better to answer it than the Devil himself?

Mephisto’s plans of Multiversal dominance have been developing on the pages of Avengers and Avengers: Forever. The demon is a dangerous threat with a long and rich history in Marvel Comics, and his recent interest in the Multiverse makes Mephisto the perfect choice to be the next big MCU villain.

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