Now that the devil himself has made his grand entrance into the MCU, we’re all eager to see where Mephisto (Sacha Baron Cohen) will pop up next beyond Ironheart. Mephisto is Marvel’s cosmic demon and their devil incarnate, who first made his debut in 1968 as an adversary to the Silver Surfer. While we don’t expect him to appear in Fantastic Four: First Steps (though never say never), it seems reasonable to expect that Mephisto will factor in to Avengers: Doomsday and/or Avengers: Secret Wars, especially since the blood of Victor von Doom’s mother is on the demon’s hands. Although we have to wait until late 2026 and 2027 for Doomsday and Secret Wars, respectively, it’s very possible for Mephisto to pop up in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, given his history of tormenting Peter Parker for a very specific reason.
Videos by ComicBook.com
In the One More Day story arc, published in 2007, Peter makes a deal with Mephisto to save Aunt May’s life. However, the demon doesn’t want his soul; instead, Mephisto chooses to feed off Peter’s unconscious despair from dissolving his marriage to Mary Jane Watson. After much painful consideration, Peter and MJ make the bargain with Mephisto to erase their marriage and any memories of it. Before Mephisto does that, however, he shows the couple the daughter they will never have – a young girl named Mayday Parker. In Amazing Spider-Man (Vol.5) #74, it’s revealed why Mephisto is so hellbent on preventing Peter and MJ from being together. During a conversation with Doctor Strange, Mephisto mentions that he’s seen both his and Peter’s future, and it’s Mayday who ultimately stops his demonic kingdom on Earth. However, it stands to reason that if Peter and Mary Jane aren’t married and don’t have a child, Mayday can never threaten Mephisto’s rule.
Mephisto Could Pick Up Where Doctor Strange’s Spell Left Peter in No Way Home
In the One More Day run, Mary Jane also asks Mephisto to make Spider-Man’s identity a secret again, which he consents to. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Who can forget the penultimate, heart-wrenching scene in No Way Home: After Doctor Strange performs the spell to save the multiverse, Peter (Tom Holland) visits MJ’s (Zendaya) workplace, only for MJ and his best friend Ned (Jacob Batalon) to have no memory of him. MCU Peter appears to take the consequences of the spell in stride, and is eager to make a fresh start – but sticking to a clean break is easier said than done. Plus, we’ve already just how convincing Mephisto can be after his deals with both Parker Robbins and Riri Williams in Ironheart. Could Mephisto appear in Brand New Day to make Peter an offer he can’t refuse – bringing his loved ones back (Aunt May), or at least restoring his friends’ memories of him? Of course, it will cost Peter something, something that Mephisto needs to ensure his grasp over the Marvel multiverse.
That’s where Sade Sink’s unknown role in Brand New Day comes in. Many have speculated that she’ll play Mayday Parker, Spider-Man’s daughter, from a different reality than the MCU version. Age-wise, Sink could believably be the child of Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man, “Peter 2”, who appeared in No Way Home. In the previous film, Peter 2 mentions that he and his version of Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst) “made it work.” Did they make their relationship work well enough to start a family? If so, Sink’s Spider-Girl would be a major threat to Mephisto, and an adversary he could potentially enlist both Holland’s Spider-Man and a recently confirmed Frank Castle/The Punisher (John Bernthal) to get rid of, in exchange for restoring both heroes’ broken lives.
It sounds twisted, but given that Mephisto has been one of Marvel’s “big bads” for nearly 60 years, it’s actually not too far of a stretch. Mephisto assigning such a task to both Peter and Frank would give both characters rich, existential crises to contend with. Frank became the Punisher to avenge his wife and children’s deaths, but how would he navigate having to kill someone else’s child? In Peter’s case, would he betray another version of himself to secure his own happiness? We’re merely theorizing here; however, Cohen, Holland, Bernthal, and Sink (who was just nominated for her first Tony Award), have all proven themselves capable of operating in larger-than-life worlds and grounding multiversal conundrums with compelling emotion and humanity.
Though some believe that Brand New Day will be more of a street-level story, so as not to interfere with what’s coming in Doomsday and Secret Wars, Peter could ultimately choose to save Mayday, turning down Mephisto’s hypothetical offer to return to his old life. In addition to providing a major moral struggle for Peter to contend with, it would also keep Peter’s past in the past, thus preparing himself, Mephisto, and The Punisher for whatever role they may play in the upcoming Avengers films.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day hits theaters on July 31, 2026.
Most Viewed
-
Image Courtesy of Ufotable
