Did She-Hulk Just Confirm The Existence Of A Major Marvel Character In The MCU?

Warning: The following article discusses spoilers for the latest episode of "She-Hulk: Attorney At Law."

Well, you know the drill by now: Another day means another round of fresh speculation concerning the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Never mind that fans have been burned many a time before by leaping to conclusions that weren't necessarily as cut-and-dry as they might've hoped — remember the hype surrounding Evan Peters' appearance in "WandaVision," only for all those dreams of the X-Men waltzing into the MCU to turn into Ralph Bohner? Or "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" seemingly capitulating to all those fan-casts for John Krasinski to take on the role of Reed Richards, only for the alternate universe character to find himself, ah, a bit stretched out instead?

Anyway, all of these past examples of lessons learned should probably run through every fan's mind before anyone jumps the gun and starts setting their expectations way too high all over again with the latest episode of "She-Hulk: Attorney At Law" ... but where would the fun be in that?

In a refreshing change of pace from most other Marvel installments, "She-Hulk" has remained largely unconcerned with keeping the arc of the overall franchise moving. Sure, it's self-aware about all of its cameos and references, even going so far as to expand the universe even further by laying the groundwork for some exciting new additions. But in all likelihood, nobody expected any major reveals or confirmations from the show teased from the start as a half-hour legal comedy.

Of course, that's not stopping viewers from going all-in anyway. This time, the breathless discourse revolves around a certain Marvel character whom fans have clamored for time and time again. That's right, folks. I'm afraid we're talking about Mephisto again.

Once upon a time, MCU fans were convinced that the famous comic book villain Mephisto, essentially an extra-dimensional demon who presides over his unique version of "hell," would show up in "WandaVision" — all despite a serious lack of actual evidence in its favor. But as if to prove that the Powers That Be truly do work in mysterious ways, last night's episode of "She-Hulk" might have just provided our biggest tease of this character's existence in the MCU. And that potential tease came courtesy of the delightful antics of party girl Madisynn (Patty Guggenheim). Who else!

This week's story sees Jen Walters (Tatiana Maslany) wrapped up in a sorcerer's spat between Master of the Mystic Arts Wong (Benedict Wong) and cheap knockoff magician Donny Blaze (Rhys Coiro), who just won't stop sending audience volunteers into other dimensions as part of his magic act. During one such excursion, however, the oblivious Madisynn details (under oath, mind you!) her journey into a "fire land" where she was forced to make a pact with a demon to escape — a demon she describes as a "talking goat" with a penchant for threatening to enslave human souls. As much as this wouldn't quite be admissible under court, you have to admit that the circumstantial evidence here is pretty compelling!

Yes, yes, we've been through this song and dance before, so why should we go full conspiracy theory about Mephisto now? Well, for one thing, we can (likely) rest assured that "She-Hulk" won't derail its entire story and breezy tone, just to take a swerve into left field by bringing Mephisto into the action — it's just another fun little tease in a show that's bursting with such winks and nods. And, thanks to Madisynn, the writers may have found the funniest possible vehicle to further hint at Mephisto's existence in the MCU, somewhere off in some "diff dimensh."

For those in need of a refresher about just why this would be such a big deal, Mephisto in the comics has enjoyed a pretty wild history of messing with countless heroes (and villains!) in the Marvel universe. No less a group of unfortunate figures than the Thor, Daredevil, the Scarlet Witch, the X-Men, the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, Silver Surfer, Spider-Man (although we try not to talk about that), and even Doctor Doom have all run afoul of the troublesome demon over the decades. Obsessed with enslaving souls for his own nefarious purposes, the villain has always stood out in the imagination of comic readers and would certainly present a formidable threat if ever he was to appear in live-action in the MCU.

Granted, Madisynn describes a demonic fella hilariously named "Jake," which doesn't really line up with any pseudonym Mephisto traditionally operates under. (The closest, as pointed out by Comic Book, would be "Jack Scratch," but that feels like a bit of a stretch, no?) This is by no means a clear-cut case, as attorney Jen Walters herself would be the first to admit, but anything's possible!

"She-Hulk" airs new episodes on Disney+ every Thursday.