Will 'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.' Be Introducing Marvel's Mephisto?

Excitement's building for Season 4 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.! The Season 4 premiere packed a lot in, teasing several key plots for the rest of the season. It seems we're going to be seeing more of #Quake struggling to control her powers in a time of emotional tumult, as well as Fitz's potentially disastrous dabbling with virtual reality. A recent interview with Gabriel Luna (Marvel's #GhostRider) gave us a tantalizing hint of what to expect — is the series going to be introducing the character of #Mephisto?

Who is Mephisto?

It's no secret that superhero comics use concepts from legends and mythology. After all, in Thor we visit immortal Asgard, and spend time with the Norse God of Thunder! It should come as no surprise, then, Marvel has happily tapped into folklore surrounding the Devil over in the comics; Marvel's Devil equivalent is a demonic being known as Mephisto. Created by Stan Lee and John Buscema, Mephisto is the ultimate corrupter and tempter. He was eventually retconned into the origin of the first Ghost Rider, Johnny Blaze; that concept was used in 2007's Ghost Rider movie.

You make a deal with Mephisto at your peril. In 2008's "One More Day", Mephisto offered Spider-Man a chance to save Aunt May's life, at the cost of his marriage. It's a moment that still angers many comic book fans, while resetting Spider-Man's status quo to this day.

As I've already mentioned, in the comics Mephisto is tied to the origin of the first Ghost Rider. That said, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is using Robbie Reyes, the latest Ghost Rider — who never made a deal with Mephisto, but is instead influenced by the ghost of his murderous Uncle, Eli Morrow.

We learnt in "Ghost" that the TV version of Robbie Reyes did in fact make a deal with a devil — but just how much mysticism will he bring to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.? In a wide-ranging interview with Collider, Gabriel Luna has given us a tantalizing hint:

"We’re starting to toe the line and inch towards some ground that hasn’t been covered, but that is a huge part of the books themselves and the entire Marvel universe and the canon of Marvel’s assortment of characters. What we haven’t touched on are things that can’t be explained perfectly by science. It’s a lot of really fun stuff that starts to lean into the world of Doctor Strange, Ghost Rider and Mephisto, and all of these other elements that also exist there, like ghouls and goblins and all sorts of cool things. We’re happy to be the ones to break the ice on that."

He's absolutely right. While Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 4 won't tie in directly to Doctor Strange, it's taking advantage of the opportunity to introduce us to a dark and dangerous world of magic. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is going to move on from science-based threats to sorcery and demons. What's interesting about Gabriel Luna's quote is that he happily references #DoctorStrange, Ghost Rider, and Mephisto; the fact that two of the three are known to appear is pretty significant.

It looks like Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is about to plunge head-first into some very deep waters. Moving to a later timeslot, the show is free to explore far more dark concepts. Coulson and his group have defeated countless Hydra plots, prevented an Inhuman plan to conquer the world, and defeated an ancient Inhuman monster. Now they could be about to face the source of all that is evil himself!

The Agents of SHIELD Season 4 premiere gave us a blazing introduction to Robbie Reyes, and a lot to look forward to. If Gabriel Luna's comments are anything to go by, we could be seeing some far more dangerous magic than we ever expected...