Sacha Baron Cohen, yes Borat, is said to have been cast as Mephisto in the Marvel Studios Ironheart series coming to the Disney Plus streaming service.
According to Twitter user MyTimeToShineHello, the casting is true and Sacha Baron Cohen is playing the Marvel villain.
“It’s true and I love it. Perfect casting,” tweeted the account.
Another fan chimed in questioning and laughed how Mephisto is going to fit into an Ironheart story.
“The Hood is the villain of the show. He’s magic based character that makes a deal with a demon to get his cloak and powers. Originally it was with Dormammu in the comics but here it’s gonna be with Mephisto,” replied MyTimeToShineHello.
Anthony Ramos is playing The Hood.
RELATED: Ironheart Rips Off Iron Man In ‘Black Panther’ 2 Footage
Riri Williams connection from the comics
A quick check of Wiki reveals that Mephisto only seems to be connected indirectly to Ironheart and Riri Williams through a story in the Champions comic book involving Mephisto’s son, Blackheart.
Apparently, Ironheart’s android teammate, Viv Vision, has developed a crush on Riri, but due to Ironheart’s homophobia (seriously), that disgusts Riri.
Long story short, Blackheart corrupts Riri and some of the other Champions, and when Riri is about to kill Viv, Viv apologizes for not considering Riri’s feelings which snaps Riri out of Blackheart’s control and finally makes Riri acknowledge Viv’s affection.
Who is Mephisto?
In the comics, Mephisto is a demon who first appeared in Silver Surfer #3 way back in 1968 created by Stan Lee and John Buscema serving as a villain to the Sentinel of the Spaceways.
Mephisto would go on to become a Thor villain, and Johnny Blaze also sold his soul to Mephisto who cursed Blaze as the Ghost Rider, bonding Blaze to the Zarathos demon.
Mephisto is more or less the MCU’s version of Satan or the devil, even at times posing as Satan and referring to his own domain as hell wherein he is even more powerful.
Mephisto claims to have been created, along with many other demons, by the supreme being whose suicide resulted in the creation of the Marvel Universe, as well as the Infinity Gems.
The character is also responsible for the Spider-Man “One More Day” storyline where Mephisto steals Peter and Mary Jane’s marriage and erases knowledge of Peter Parker’s identity.
His powers include immortality, and the ability to manipulate the forces of magic.
Mephisto can employ his power for a variety of uses, including superhuman strength, shape and size shifting, projecting illusions, manipulating memories, and altering time. He is also highly resistant to injury.
Mephisto is known for acquiring souls, but cannot subjugate the will of another being without the victim’s permission, which is usually done with some form of pact (via wiki).
