The Avengers' battle through time against Mephisto has revealed a never-before-seen version of Earth's Mightiest Heroes. Mephisto is set up as the overarching main villain at the conclusion of writer Jason Aaron's tenure on Avengers. The devil's exploits have included the debut of the Multiversal Masters of Evil, as well more stories featuring the Avengers of 1,000,000 BC. While fans have created many theories involving Mephisto's presence in several Marvel Studios projects, the comics are prepping for a massive showdown against the devilish antagonist.
A preview of Avengers #61 by Jason Aaron, Ivan Fiorelli, David Curiel, and VC's Cory Petit features a Viking Age Avengers team fighting Mephisto, who is in the form of an oversized dinosaur monster. The lineup of these Avengers mirrors that of the prehistoric Avengers, with each member representing one of Earth's primordial powers. A running theme between different iterations of Avengers is a great threat that no hero can face by themselves is usually the cause of bringing the heroes together. Loki is just one example, and now Mephisto is the most recent. The Avengers' powers and codenames may look familiar, but their identities are somewhat different.
Who Are the Viking Age Avengers?
The Avengers #61 preview ends with a grown-up Starbrand being sent to the past by their Avengers Mountain base. Earth's Mightiest Heroes have been using the Celestial teleporter to chase Mephisto throughout Marvel history. When Captain Marvel benches Starbrand, the new hero breaks the rules and teleports to the Viking Age, where she offers an assist to that era's Avengers squad against the monstrous Mephisto.
The members of the Viking Age Avengers are Viking Thor (who recently lifted Mjolnir for the very first time); Murkfoot, the Apeman Mystic, the Sasquatch Sorcerer Supreme; Bodolf the Black, the strongest Viking there ever was; Theodosia Szardos, the Phoenix Witch of Wundeagore, Nehanda, the renegade Black Panther and her lover, Princess Gale, the outlaw Atlantean Iron Fist, and the mysterious Grizzly Rider of Cahokia.
Who Is Mephisto?
Mephisto is the Marvel Universe equivalent of the Devil. He's the ruler of Hell and is known for his evil scheming and deal-making, always pulling strings from the background. The villain has crossed paths with several heroes, including Spider-Man, Ghost Rider, and Doctor Strange, to name a few. Mephisto is famously responsible for turning Ghost Rider into the Spirit of Vengeance, as well as undoing Peter Parker's marriage to Mary Jane Watson and reversing Spider-Man's secret identity reveal in Civil War.
Fans of WandaVision began to believe that Mephisto was the Marvel show's secret villain, especially after Evan Peters' surprise appearance. However, Kathryn Hahn's Agatha Harkness was WandaVision's true bad guy. Speculation regarding Mephisto's Marvel Cinematic Universe debut continues to this day, with the latest rumor being that Sacha Baron Cohen is going to play Mephisto in the Ironheart Disney+ series.
The full preview of Avengers #61 is below. The issue goes on sale Wednesday, October 19th.
- AVENGERS #61
- JASON AARON (W) • IVAN FIORELLI (A) • Cover by JAVIER GARRÓN
- Miracleman Variant Cover by HUMBERTO RAMOS
- HISTORY'S MIGHTIEST UNTOLD SECRETS!
- If the Avengers hope to survive being lost in time, they'll need the help of some of history's greatest heroes, from the Thor of the Viking Age to the T. Rex Starbrand at the dawn of time, plus all the forgotten Avengers of bygone eras whose stories can finally be told.
- 32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99