Warning: contains spoilers for Heroes Return #1!
The demon Mephisto comes in many forms, but Marvel has just revealed his strangest shape yet: a version hailing from the universe of Peter Porker, aka Spider-Ham. Appearing at the stinger of the Heroes Reborn crossover event, this new Mephisto raises plenty of questions about Marvel’s multiverse, as well as the potential for a terrifying future. This surprising satanic swine makes his debut in Heroes Return #1, written by Jason Aaron with art by Ed McGuinness and colors by Matthew Wilson.
The universe of Heroes Reborn is in jeopardy; President Phil Coulson’s plan to reshape the world as he sees fit unravels before his eyes as Blade has gathered the missing Avengers to do battle with the Squadron Supreme. A fierce fight ensues to separate the crazed Coulson from his Pandemonium Cube, a reality-warping object given to him by none other than Mephisto. Though the reassembled Avengers eventually triumph and reset the Marvel Universe, it’s far from a happy ending. The Squadron Supreme still exist, Phil Coulson is trapped inside the Pandemonium Cube, and Mephisto – who technically lost this battle – is as confident as ever.
Mephisto admits that helping an evil Phil Coulson was never his real motivation. In a hellish dimension, he addresses a multitude of Mephistos – different demons from across the Multiverse. His entire scheme was a simple audition to achieve a seat on the Council of Red, an evil alternative to Reed Richard’s interdimensional Council of Reeds (a concept perhaps best-known today in Rick and Morty’s parody version, the Council of Ricks). Among the many Mephistos is a small cartoon pig with the appearance of Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham. He’s smaller than the rest of his fellow Mephistos, but one mustn’t confuse his stature with his potential capacity for pure evil.
Spider-Ham catapulted into the mainstream with the release of 2019’s Into the Spider-Verse film – but this Mephisto-pig is most likely a far cry from his heroic comic counterpart. If he’s already a member of the Council of Red, he most likely aced an audition of his own. Considering the destruction Mephisto wrought with Heroes Reborn, one can only imagine what sort of evil acts Mephisto-Pig had to commit in order to be granted a seat on the Council. One mustn’t be fooled by his innocent 1930’s Fleisher cartoon-inspired design; this is a truly demonic pig.
One Mephisto is powerful, but the many Mephistos of the Council of Red pose a threat unlike any other villain. As the different members of the Council of Reeds each provide their unique skills to the group, so too can the members of the Council bring their own techniques. Perhaps Spider-Ham may well yet come into contact with this Mephisto in a future issue of Heroes Return, or readers might not see him for years. Mephisto – in any incarnation – is patient, if nothing else.
