Oh Marvel, how you love to toy with us. After literal years of speculation, the Spider-Verses are coming together. With the release of the trailer for Spider-Man: No Way Home, Marvel Studios confirmed that the Multiverse would bring the villains of the past to the MCU’s Spider-Man of the present. A new poster cemented that fact. It shows a prominent Peter Parker in the middle of a villainous battle. Doc Ock’s tentacles frame the scene, and in the top right hand corner, we see the Green Goblin. A strike of lightning splits the scene, evoking Electro. And finally the poster includes streams of sand that’ll make Sony Spider-Man fans immediately think of Thomas Haden Church’s Sandman.
But that’s not all. We’re here to talk about another presence entirely. And it all comes down to that spooky red face in the bottom left hand corner that looks eerily familiar. Is Mephisto in Spider-Man: No Way Home?
Is There a Face on the Spider-Man: No Way Home Poster?
We’re pretty sure that yes, there’s a scary red face in the bottom left corner. Look closely and you can see a pointed red chin, deep set eyes, and a sharp mouth. The face is located under the broken pavement Spidey stands on. Now that we’ve alerted you to its creepy existence, let’s get to the more important topic: who does the face belong to?
Who Is the Face on the Spider-Man: No Way Home Poster?
Close your eyes and ears if you’re not ready to hear the obvious answer here: Mephisto.
Sorry, Mephisto haters. But the face on the Spider-Man: No Way Home poster looks like a creepy red devil. That means we’re back to our old fave. The Marvel iteration of Mephistopheles first appeared in 1968’s The Silver Surfer #3. Since then he’s caused chaos all over the Marvel comic book universe. His fiery red visage is the most clearly reminiscent of the face on the poster. There’s also the fact that the face appears underground, shrouded in red, evoking Hell—Mephisto’s home. Before we get into why the inclusion of Mephisto makes a lot of sense, let’s cover our other bases.
Aside from Mephisto, the most logical character would be the shapeshifter known as the Chameleon. He’s a member of the Sinister Six, who we know Peter will face down in the movie. And most importantly the Chameleon can change his appearance. He could easily be pretending to be Mephisto or some other magical foe to trick Peter. If it is Chameleon, his motivation would be simple: taking down Peter Parker. The multiversal madness would just be a surprise bonus. But if it’s actually Mephisto then things get more complicated.
If It’s Really Mephisto Then What Does That Mean?
In case you didn’t know, we’re big Mephisto fans here at Nerdist. Whenever something weird occurs in the MCU, our minds go to that devilish fiend. But in this case the arrival of Mephisto or someone posing as him tracks. Ever since the No Way Home trailer hinted that Doctor Strange might not be who he seemed, we’ve been thinking about Mephisto. Why? Well, he’s a key player in the comic book storylines that inspired No Way Home.
As explored in One More Day, One Moment in Time, and Brand New Day, No Way Home follows the story of Peter trying to erase the world’s memories of him being Spider-Man. Depending on the arc you read Peter is helped by either Mephisto or Doctor Strange. But in both cases things go horribly wrong. No Way Home could easily simplify that bit of divergent canon by revealing that the suspicious Doctor Strange is actually Mephisto in disguise. So what would the villain want? Well, he’s a demon so probably Peter’s soul. And also just to cause some chaos on Earth. And what’s more chaotic than an entire new Multiverse?
The poster shows multiple villains Peter will face. We think it’s unlikely this mysterious red face is a coincidence. But if it is Mephisto, that means a very unexpected addition to the Sinister Six. Plus, it would be an easy way to connect the more grounded street level elements of Spider-Man with the more magical and unreal spaces of Loki and WandaVision.
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