Warning! Spoilers ahead for Avengers #55
In the latest issue of Marvel Comics' Avengers, Earth's Mightiest Heroes finally know what they're up against when it comes to Mephisto, and the demon lord just made Darkseid's Snyder Cut set-up look tame. Mephisto has been planning a major attack on Earth for a while now in the Marvel Universe, and his final reckoning against its heroes is coming very soon. However, the Avengers just got a terrifying sneak preview of what's to come, not unlike the Justice League facing down Darkseid himself.
For a large portion of Jason Aaron's run on Avengers Mephisto has been behind the scenes, motivating major events such as The Age of Khonshu, Heroes Reborn, and much more. Most recently, Mephisto instigated the creation of a multiversal Masters of Evil to destroy various Earths while leaving the primary Earth (616) for last. While the Avengers have been planning for the demon lord, they're not nearly as prepared as they should be after the new Avengers #55 from Jason Aaron and Javier Garrón.
Following Nighthawk and his relentless desire for revenge against Mephisto for the events of Heroes Reborn, the Avengers and Marvel's version of Batman discover the Serpent Society, which has summoned the demon lord himself. Seeing Mephisto through a portal to his realm in the underworld, the Avengers truly witness the Council of Red for the first time: an army of Mephistos from across the multiverse who have all joined forces. As the portal closes, it's pretty clear that the Avengers are truly concerned about the coming conflict.
While similar to the Snyder Cut's Justice League, which saw the team of heroes face to face with Darkseid through a portal to Apokolips, Mephisto's portal scene in this issue is far more epic and intimidating. Firstly, Mephisto is backed by an army of himself with each variant Mephisto presumedly having power equal to his own. In comparison, Darkseid's army simply consisted of his lackeys and parademon soldiers. Furthermore, Mephisto also has the added benefit that his conflict will actually come to pass while fans can only imagine Darkseid's war with the Justice League (given Warner Bros' lack of interest in continuing Zack Snyder's vision).
As Avengers continues and more alternate Earths continue to fall, it's going to be exciting to see how Earth's Mightiest Heroes prepare for the coming conflict. To start, they've already added Nighthawk to their roster and he's already got some interesting tactics in mind (like securing a time machine). At any rate, it's safe to say that Mephisto's portal moment with the Avengers surpassed Darkseid's by quite a bit, promising an epic battle in the near future (that will actually happen) from Marvel Comics.