Ironheart's second batch of episodes finally introduced fans to a long-awaited Marvel baddie, the demon Mephisto, played by Sacha Baron Cohen. In the series finale, audiences saw two pitches from the powerful figure: to Parker (Anthony Ramos), the series' villainous Hood, and to Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne).
Mephisto has an important villainous legacy in Marvel history. An extradimensional demon, Mephisto, essentially serves as Marvel's deal-making, soul-taking devil. The character has been repeatedly teased in the MCU, first suggested in Wandavision via a host of Easter eggs before being officially name-dropped in Agatha All Along.
We've seen a few demons in the MCU, including Dormammu in Doctor Strange and the corrupted elder god/demon Chthon in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, but Mephisto is one of the most dangerous demons in the Marvel Universe.
What's most interesting about Mephisto's appearance in Ironheart isn't just his potential role in MCU stories to follow, but also his impact on Riri herself (though incredibly important). Mephisto's pitch to Riri has startling implications that could impact the legacy of the MCU's first hero, Iron Man, before the Marvel Universe ever started.
Mephisto's Deals With The Rich And Powerful Could Mean Tony Stark
While Tony Stark has built suits to counter magic, divine, or celestial power in the comics, his MCU counterpart strictly stayed within the boundaries of science. That officially makes Riri Williams the MCU's first person to combine magic and science within canonical MCU lore, first by incorporating mystical energies, then by her dealings with Mephisto.
In Ironheart's finale, the deceptive demon gives a long speech in his effort to corrupt Riri. The beginning is similar to his pitch to Parker, seen earlier within the episode. "I help people realize their wildest ambitions," he explains to Riri, "People like you."
Acting altruistically, Mephisto continues to explain how he operates to Riri:
"I've been watching you. Rooting for you. Wanting to meet you for some time now, because I love the exceptional. The driven. The dogged. Someone inquisitive and curious. Someone who, due to no fault of their own, finds themselves always at the short end of the stick. That's why I'm here: to help the unseen. The unheard."
Anyone talking to Mephisto should be wary of his words, as we've seen in his effects on Parker. There's always a catch, and he's keen on withholding the terms of his deals from the people he contracts with. That aside, what Mephisto says next has significant MCU implications if the implications are laid out:
"Now, sometimes that means I deal with the selfish or the stingy. People who think their brute force makes them better or more useful than the rest of the world. For example, out of the Forbes 100 Richest list, I've made a deal with a hundred of them, plus 14 kings, three popes, and also a Beatle. Ringo."
Beyond changing music history in the main MCU, this conversation also implies that the Sacred Timeline's rich and powerful often achieve their accomplishments thanks to a devil's bargain with Mephisto. Suppose he's contracted with 100 of the members of Forbes' 100 Richest list, literally every single one without exception. In that case, there's a significant chance that Tony Stark's career started with a deal with the devil.
Did Tony Stark Make A Deal With Mephisto?
Mephisto could be lying. His manipulative comic counterpart has reaped souls, betrayed Thanos to hopefully acquire the Infinity Gauntlet, fought Galactus, and created Wanda Maximoff's sons Tommy and Billy. He's tricky and powerful.
Additionally, Ironheart takes place in the MCU after Tony's self-sacrificial snap undid Thanos' own, so that comment doesn't directly implicate Tony--he's deceased, ergo not on the list.
That said, before his death, Tony Stark was one of the wealthiest people in the MCU. He wouldn't just be on that list; he'd be high on it, and it would be odd for Mephisto to hit only 99/100 members and miss one of its wealthiest and most powerful.
It's also worth noting that, before the events of Iron Man and his subsequent heroics changed him, Stark was a weapons manufacturer and a war profiteer. He was a very different man, one who could have made a deal with Mephisto.
In Avengers (Vol. 8) #31, Mephisto attempted to corrupt a time-displaced Tony by promising him power and claiming to be Tony's real father. Iron Man: Legacy of Doom #2 sees Iron Man trapped in Hell and forced to fight Mephisto, taking the form of Howard Stark (complete with demonic armor, no less). Their interaction has comic precedent.
Finally, while Mephisto's greater designs in the MCU are still opaque, it's worth asking what his motive could have possibly been. Almost every step in Tony's heroic journey, save one, could plausibly fit Mephisto's motives. In the comic The Infinity War series, Mephisto was one of Thanos' many powerful minions before turning on the Mad Titan and attempting to secure the Infinity Gauntlet for himself.
It's possible that he supported Stark's every heroic action and invention, even until Stark created his own Nano Gauntlet, before Stark ultimately decided to snap away Thanos' actions, sacrificing his own life to do so. What's worse: if Stark made a deal for worldly power and then died, his soul is rotting in Mephisto's Hell... and if he violated their contract, he's having a terrible time.
