WandaVision is jam-packed with mysteries that have left fans scrambling for answers. Even as more keep piling on, one big question remains on everyone’s lips: who is the villain of WandaVision? Could it be Mephisto, the long-time Marvel comics villain known for his magical powers and deals which always have a catch? Or is it someone else?
We’re here to break down all the evidence that the demon lord is behind Westview’s torment, as well as explain who he is for those who haven’t checked out the source material. We’ll also give our take on this fan theory based on what information we have so far from the show.
Here’s who Mephisto is, and why he could be WandaVision’s villain – even though we haven’t even met him yet. You’ll find spoilers for up to episode 5 of WandaVision below.
Who is Mephisto?
Mephisto first appeared in Silver Surfer #3, of all places, all the way back in 1968. He tormented everyone’s favorite chromed hero for a few years but eventually moved on to others like Thor and Ghost Rider, as well as the wider cast of Marvel characters.
As far as we know, Mephisto hasn’t yet appeared in the MCU. He’s a little like a more devilish version of Dormammu, the antagonist from Doctor Strange’s first solo movie. Though unlike Dormammu, Mephisto is more willing to bargain.
One of Mephisto’s more famous deals in the comics was with Spider-Man, where in exchange for erasing his marriage to Mary Jane Watson, Aunt May was saved from death and the world forgot that Peter Parker was Spider-Man. It was a very controversial storyline.
After Spider-Man: Far From Home’s ending, where the MCU Peter had his secret identity exposed, perhaps our favorite wall-crawler could do with making a similar deal.
Importantly for WandaVision, in the Marvel comics, Mephisto played a hand in the birth of Wanda’s kids. In the books, Wanda’s powers are more overtly magical, like Doctor Strange’s, and she drew on power from Mephisto to create her children. Later, Mephisto took that power back, and with it Wanda’s kids too. That’s not necessarily what’s going on in WandaVision, but since Wanda and Vision’s kids feature heavily, it doesn’t seem totally implausible.
Is Mephisto in WandaVision?
Since WandaVision has yet to explain exactly how Billy and Tommy were born, some fans are looking to the comics for easy answers. With Mephisto playing such a key part in their birth, there, it’s easy to assume he’s now involved in this particular MCU storyline. But is there anything else we can go on, from what we’ve seen so far?
Agony aunt Agnes
Some of the most significant evidence that Mephisto could be the big-bad of WandaVision comes through Agnes, Wanda and Vision’s friendly neighbor (played by Kathryn Hahn). In the comics, ‘Agnes’ doesn’t show up, but the character shares a lot of similarities with Marvel comics character Agatha Harkness – Agnes is a shortened version of both names, as many fans have pointed out.
In the comics, Agatha is a powerful witch and a mentor-like figure to Wanda. She was also the one who revealed that Tommy and Billy were formed from Mephisto, and wiped Wanda’s memory of them.
In the show, Agnes seems more aware of Wanda’s control over Westview compared to the other residents, and is always ready to lend a hand, even in the most bizarre of situations. Eagle-eyed viewers have also noticed that on SWORD’s board of Westview residents, Agnes is the only character who hasn’t been officially identified. Sections of her document are left empty, and she doesn’t have an attached driving license like the others.
All the unknowns around the character lead to speculation that Agnes isn’t who she says she is, perhaps being an agent for Mephisto, or someone trying to protect Wanda from him.
Is SWORD actually SWORD?
This next one is a bit weirder, but fans have pointed out that SWORD’s icon resembles an inverted cross, a religious sign that is (sometimes) used to hint at satanic ideals. We feel like this is a little out there as fan theories go, but episode 5 did start to raise questions about the organization’s intentions.
While the MCU has played the ‘good organization is secretly evil’ card a few times already, we can’t help but be suspicious of SWORD Director Tyler Hayward. He seems to have a dislike of superheroes, and has been quick to violence when it comes to Wanda in Westview. And we have to wonder, what was SWORD doing with Vision’s body before Wanda took it from them?
To add fuel to the fire, some have called attention to Hayward’s odd office decoration, with frames on his wall arranged in a hexagonal pattern. The Hex is the name Darcy gave to the Westview phenomena, given the prevalence of the six-sided shape. Maybe the demon is puppeteering the director? Again, though, we think this is a little out there based on the evidence as it stands.
Quicksilver quandaries
Finally, we have Quicksilver. The MCU has gone out of its way to highlight that this is indeed Evan Peters’ version of the character, thanks to Darcy’s “recast” line and an official audio description for episode 5 which said, “Wanda stares at the version of Pietro from the X-Men films.” It doesn’t get much clearer than that.
Altering dimensions in such a way is not beyond the scope of Scarlet Witch in the comics, but it goes beyond her current skill set as we know it in the MCU. In fact, all of WandaVision seems to be ratcheting up Wanda’s capabilities beyond what we’ve seen in the past. Some are assuming that Wanda could instead be drawing on some new source of power, potentially something capable of moving between dimensions.
This could feasibly be related to Mephisto, a character Wanda has siphoned energy from before in Marvel comics stories, but we’ll have to wait and see. Bringing people back from the dead, as we’ve seemingly seen with Quicksilver and Vision, is also a tool in his wheelhouse.
Our verdict
Mephisto wouldn’t be the most leftfield villain for Wandavision, and given his mystical and multi-dimensional presence in the comics, he would make for a neat connection into Wanda’s next appearance in Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness. Since he’s a more satanic character, though, even being confused for the devil in the comics, Mephisto might be a bit out there for the more mainstream MCU.
Mephisto is also not the only candidate for the show’s ultimate villain, either, and more obvious suggestions are in plain sight. Agnes could have a bigger role in this than we’ve seen to date, and she certainly seems to have a sixth sense when it comes to Wanda’s life. ‘Hex’, meanwhile, is an obvious reference to spells and magic.
For those hung up on how Pietro ended up in WandaVision, we have a possible answer for that too: Wanda really could be this powerful now. She is arguably the strongest Avenger already – something the show touched on in episode 5 – and there is still the chance her abilities could be being amplified by Agnes or some other source.
On top of this, Avengers: Endgame included a lot of time travel shenanigans, which have been shown to cause tears in Marvel’s comics reality before. Perhaps similar tears are allowing Wanda to bring Pietro through from another universe. Again, these are all just theories until we learn more from the show.
Only time will tell how this mystery will play out, and Disney will likely be glad that the WandaVision mystery is such a tough nut to crack – it no doubt keeps people watching, including us.