Loki Drops A Massive Mephisto Clue

Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Loki episode 1, "Glorious Purpose."

Loki episode 1 may have dropped a major hint at the existence of the MCU’s Mephisto, an incredibly powerful demonic figure in Marvel Comics and one of its most dangerous villains. Despite never appearing in WandaVision, Mephisto was one of the biggest talking points when the show was running. Because of Mephisto’s demonic nature and role in Scarlet Witch’s comic story, it was speculated that he could be the puppet master behind what was happening with Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) in the Disney+ series.

WandaVision dropped quite a few “devil” hints, with each one fueling the show’s Mephisto rumors. Some of the characters were believed to either be Mephisto in disguise or tools to ensure that his evil plan succeeded. Instead, it turned out that the Marvel Comics villain truly had nothing to do with Wanda and Vision’s experiences inside Westview, and that their real enemy was really Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn). As a result, the Mephisto theories became the subject of jokes directed at Marvel fans.

The series premiere of Loki is sure to reignite these discussions, and perhaps for a much better reason. In a church in the 1500s, Owen Wilson’s Mobius M. Mobius spoke to a child who pointed to a demon in a mural when asked about who was responsible for an attack. In response, Mobius promised to take care of “that devil”. The inclusion of the demon mural (which was shown off in the Loki trailer) provides some degree of evidence that the villain does exist in the MCU’s Hell, even if fans were wrong about him lurking in WandaVision. And not only does Loki tease Mephisto’s presence in the world, it goes a step further by suggesting that this mysterious devil is behind the time crimes taking place in the show.

Though the demon spotted in Loki’s church does look a lot like Marvel’s Mephisto, this scene is hardly proof of his involvement. Plus, Loki director Kate Herron pushed back against the online speculation surrounding the mural, and referred to it as a “coincidence” [via Entertainment Tonight]. As for the explanation for the “devil” exchange, it makes sense that the child – being a product of a time where fears about the Devil were more common than in the modern era – would blame him for an act of evil. The reveal at the end of the episode that the time criminal they’re chasing is a different Loki variant suggests that he may be the subject of the show’s “devil” hint, since he’s a mythological, mischievous god who wears a horned helmet.

While Mephisto may not be trying to manipulate time in Loki, the demon mural still feels like the most substantial clue to his existence that Marvel has offered thus far due to the resemblance, and it could still be used later as setup for his actual MCU debut. Loki may never use him, but he could always emerge as a threat at some point in the MCU’s future, whether it be in Doctor Strange 2 or some other Marvel movie.

Loki releases new episodes every Wednesday on Disney+.

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