According to the latest word on the street, the supposed debut of Mephisto in Disney Plus’ upcoming Ironheart solo series will see the evil entity taking an uncharacteristic interest in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s ever-expanding arsenal of biotechnology.
This latest rumor was first raised to the public on June 17th courtesy of noted Twitter scooper @CanWeGetToast.
Building on the previous whisper that Borat star Sacha Baron Cohen will be the actor bringing Marvel’s resident Spider-Marriage-Ender to life on the small screen, the scooper – whose past track record includes accurate leaks regarding The Flash‘s ending scenes, Miles and Gwens’ relationship in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, and the changing of Captain America 4’s title – first suggested that “#Mephisto will mostly be seen in his human form in #Ironheart, while only giving GLIMPSES of his true form.”
In a follow-up tweet, @CanWeGetToast further noted that “#Mephisto has The Hood [as set to be portrayed by Transformers: Rise of the Beasts star Anthony Ramos] stealing tech for him to build an advanced Bio-Suit in #Ironheart.”
Though @CanWeGetToast was unable to provide any further details regarding the exact relationship between Mephisto and The Hood, fellow scooper @MyTimeToShineH previously claimed to have some insight into the villains’ working arrangement.
Asked by a curious follower in October 2022 as to how and why the mystical antagonist would be interested in a technology-based superhero like Ironheart, @MyTimeToShineH explained, “The Hood is the villain of the show. He’s magic based character that makes a deal with a demon to get his cloak and powers. Originally it was with Dormammu in the comics but here it’s gonna be with Mephisto.”
As noted by the latter scooper, Mephisto’s involvement with The Hood reflects a minor deviation from his original comic book origins.
Created for and first introduced in writer Brian K. Vaughn and artist Kyle Hotz’s 2002 The Hood miniseries for Marvel’s MAX imprint, the supervillain would start out as nothing more than Parker Robbins, a two-bit thief and general scumbag.
One day breaking into a warehouse supposedly full of valuable items, Robbins instead discovers the building houses nothing more than a magical summoning circle – and, of course, the demon that conjured it.
Taken aback by the otherworldly creature known as Nisanti, Robbins responds to its presence by unloading his firearm into its body, dropping it dead nearly instantly.
Stealing the cloak off its back as part of his typical ‘take whatever isn’t nailed down’ thievery strategy, Robbins soon discovers that ‘The Hood’ imbues him with demonic powers.
Though the exact nature of his powers was initially left ambiguous, it would be revealed in 2009’s New Avengers Vol. 1 #46 that Robbins’ new fashion accessory was borne from the energies of the dread lord Dormammu himself.
Interestingly, though the comic book version of Mephisto has never turned to using outright-technology to further his plans, instead preferring to either play with people’s love lives or the wallets of Las Vegas’ many gamblers, it should be noted that the demon from who Robbins steals his cloak is depicted as being some sort of bio-organic entity.
However, it is unclear just what this means for the demon’s character, as outside of his death and a stinger teasing his return at the end of The Hood‘s solo series, Nisanti has never made another appearance within the comic books.
Further, it’s curious that Mephisto appears to be taking over the role of The Hood’s ‘creator’ given the fact that the first Doctor Strange film confirmed that Dormammu exists within the MCU.
Alas, much like with Baron Modo’s post-credits scene, it seems Marvel’s new game plan involves ignoring the most interesting aspects of the Sorcerer Supreme’s first cinematic outing.
As of writing, Marvel’s Ironheart series is on track to premiere sometime in 2024.
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