The WandaVision Characters That Could Hint At Mephisto's Arrival
Contains major spoilers for WandaVision
Marvel Studios' first foray into the Disney+ streaming world, WandaVision, is officially chugging along with its inaugural season. January 15, 2021 marked its two-episode premiere, which welcomed viewers into the off-kilter, sitcom-inspired reality that Elizabeth Olsen's Wanda "Scarlet Witch" Maximoff and Paul Bettany's Vision now inhabit. While the two leads are doing their best to fit into the cheery yet unnerving town of Westview, one can't help but notice that something isn't quite right.
This sensation most likely indicates that there are sinister hands at play, pulling the strings from afar and keeping the titular couple under their thumb. A prevailing theory that fans have stirred up is that WandaVision is setting the stage for comics mainstay Mephisto to make his long-awaited Marvel Cinematic Universe entrance. Based on Mephistopheles, a demon of German legend, the character debuted in Marvel Comics in 1968 via Stan Lee and John Buscema's The Silver Surfer #3. This devilish entity is essentially Marvel's equivalent of Satan — often making shady deals with rogues and heroes alike, leading to dire consequences for those who sign the dotted line.
Considering his canonical prominence and serious storytelling potential, fans have eagerly anticipated the start of Mephisto's MCU tenure for years, especially after the Nicolas Cage-led Ghost Rider films butchered his characterization. Thankfully, it's looking more and more likely that his introduction could be imminent, as evidenced by a few members of WandaVision's cast and how they could tie back to the infamous villain.
Billy and Tommy's connection to Mephisto
Throughout WandaVision's second episode, the Westview community continually brings up the importance of children to their way of life. Despite appearing rather unfazed by their subliminal messaging, Wanda sports a sizable yet unexpected baby bump by the time the credits roll. For avid Marvel Comics readers, this immediately raises some red flags. In the comics, the birth of Wanda and Vision's twins William and Thomas connects directly to the sinister Mephisto in the worst way.
Given that Vision is an android, conceiving children with Wanda is simply an impossibility, leaving her to go to great lengths to become a parent. In the comics, William and Thomas are spawned from portions of Mephisto's life essence that their mother unwittingly steals to create their souls. Tragically, her good fortune runs out very quickly when their souls are reabsorbed into him, causing them to disappear from existence. This causes Wanda to suffer a mental break, further escalating her preexisting conflict with Mephisto.
Later on, however, the boys both resurface as fully-grown members of the Young Avengers. Thomas, now going by "Tommy," takes after his light-footed biological uncle, Quicksilver, under the alias Speed. William, now known as "Billy" and operating under the superhero name Wiccan, bears many similarities to his mother, with his strengths being telepathy, flight, and reality manipulation. Even at this point, though, their ties to Mephisto are ever-present. No matter where Marvel chooses to take these heroes-to-be in the future, the studio would be remiss to not include the conniving demon as a part of Billy and Tommy's origin.
There may be more to Agnes than meets the eye
Thus far, WandaVision has featured a revolving door of characters with only a small handful of regulars. One of these persistent presences, no matter the decade, is Wanda and Vision's nosy neighbor Agnes, portrayed by Kathryn Hahn. On the surface, she doesn't appear too suspicious, but, as the old saying goes, the devil is in the details.
Essentially, Agnes may not be Agnes at all, but instead an ancient witch named Agatha Harkness. She first appeared in the Marvel Comics universe in 1970, on the pages of Fantastic Four #94. However, her connection to Marvel's First Family didn't last long before allying with the Scarlet Witch. Agatha spent some time mentoring the young mutant and eventually took on the responsibility of telling her of Billy and Tommy's true nature — later wiping Wanda's memory to help her cope.
This theory is a bit more abstract, but it still has a fair amount of compelling evidence in its corner. In some of WandaVision's promotional material, Agnes is dressed up as a traditional witch for Halloween, pointed hat and all. Additionally, in the WandaVision trailer, she briefly realizes that Vision should be dead, before cackling in a witch-like fashion. Finally, in the series' first episode, Agnes dons a brooch similar to the one Agatha wears in the comics, implying they're the same person.
Should Agnes reveal herself as Agatha, she could add more connective tissue between Wanda, Vision, and Mephisto, in addition to the twins. They're no strangers to one another in the comics (as mentioned, Agatha knows all about how Billy and Tommy were made from pieces of Mephisto's soul), and if their familiarity transfers to television, she could help Wanda escape his clutches. Then again, perhaps she'd work to keep her under his spell for unknown reasons. At any rate, we'll all just have to watch attentively as the coming WandaVision episodes dive deeper into this mystery — and potentially creep closer to Mephisto's arrival.