<i>Ironheart</i>’s Ending Teases More Trouble for Riri

Spoilers below.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is in need of a genius inventor. Following Tony Stark’s death in Avengers: Endgame, superheroes are lacking tech. And in a world with magic, Hulks, and various gods, even Earth’s most powerful guardians need all the help they can get. Thankfully, Riri Williams (a.k.a. Ironheart) is ready to step in.

Riri first debuted in Marvel Comics in 2018, and her MCU counterpart (played by Dominique Thorne) was introduced in 2022’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Three years later, the Disney+ series Ironheart is a real introduction to Riri, her backstory, and her quest to become a superhero. We catch up with Riri back at MIT, where she’s working to perfect an Iron Man-like suit. Her reckless determination lands her in hot water with the university, however, and she soon finds herself kicked out of school and back at home, with no money or resources to continue her project.

That’s where Parker (Anthony Ramos) and his crew come in. After a heist goes awry, they’re in need of a new tech whiz, and Riri fits the bill. She joins them for the money, though she makes it clear she’s not a criminal. But in the first three episodes, we see Parker isn’t just stealing money from companies; he has an even bigger plan, and he’s willing to do anything to complete it. (And it has something to do with the strange red hood he’s always wearing.) The action-packed mystery puts Riri’s heroic aims to the test, leading up to a tense batch of final episodes.

In the penultimate Ironheart episode, we start in the past. Parker and his cousin John (Manny Montana) are on the run from the cops after a robbery gone wrong. Parker ends up in a tunnel, surrounded by guards, but a voice calls out to him, and in the blink of an eye, Parker finds himself in a restaurant, far away from the chase. A man (Sacha Baron Cohen) offers him a seat at a table and asks Parker what he most desires. He replies that he’d like to be rich. “Stupid, disgusting, greasy rich,” he says.The man says he can make that happen. There’ll be a cost, but it won’t be anything Parker will miss. As a parting gift, he presents Parker with the red hood.

We skip back to the present, where Parker is enjoying the spoils of his gains and sitting across from him is Zeke (Alden Ehrenreich), who is under Parker’s control due to the tech implanted in his body. Parker asks again if Zeke killed Riri as he was ordered to in episode 5, and Zeke lies for a second time, concealing the fact that he let Riri live. Zeke tries to stab Parker with a fork, but Parker forces him to stab his own leg instead. The two then depart back to their crew’s hideout.

Meanwhile, Riri, who is very much alive, has finally completed her armored suit. However, the magic that Zelma (Regan Aliyah) added to counteract Parker’s hood causes N.A.T.A.L.I.E., Riri’s A.I. sidekick (played by Lyric Ross), to disappear. As Zelma says, all magic comes with a cost. Riri is unable to get N.A.T.A.L.I.E. back, but still departs for her fight with Parker.

When Riri makes it to the hideout, she finds Zeke standing in her way. Although he saved her life in episode 5, Zeke doesn’t want Parker to find out he let her live. The two fight, and Riri offers a way to help Zeke get out of Parker’s grasp. She’ll uh…knee him in the groin, as it’s the only way to shut off his tech. She resets Zeke’s hardwares, but he tells her they’re not finished. They might have a mutual enemy in Parker, but Zeke isn’t her friend.

Parker summons the man who gave him the hood, complaining that he doesn’t have enough power to protect his newfound riches The two argue, and the man gives Parker one last chance: If he can keep the hood (in his impending fight with Riri), he’ll give Parker more power.

And just like that, it’s time for the final fight. The magic in Riri’s suit disables the invisibility from Parker’s hood. But it’s still a tough brawl. Parker damages her suit, and in a last-ditch effort to prevent injuring them both, Riri destroys it altogether in a massive explosion. Parker then emerges from the smoke, holding a gun in each hand. Before he pulls the trigger, he says, “This one’s for John,” referring to his cousin.

The bullet goes right through Riri. It’s actually a hologram! Riri stands behind Parker, her suit intact, and rips the hood off of him—but she doesn’t kill him. He begs for the hood back back, but she refuses to return it. Riri heads to the elevator, triumphant. But instead of arriving back on the ground floor, she finds herself at a restaurant, the same one Parker was transported to earlier. And sitting at a table is the man who gave Parker the hood. He waves his hand, and Riri’s suit disappears. He promises to return it once they talk. He gives his pitch to her, saying that she deserves help to realize her true potential. He says together they can build something great. And he has one more surprise for her. He’s not Dormammu, as she and Zelma previously thought…he’s Mephisto.

The demon has had a long history in Marvel Comics (he first appeared in a Silver Surfer comic in 1968) and is known for using magic and Faustian deals to attempt to steal various heroes’ souls. Suffice to say, Riri is up against a very powerful foe.

Mephisto offers her the same deal he gave Parker: She can have anything she wants, for a price she won’t even miss. Riri’s mind quickly goes to N.A.T.A.L.I.E. She says she’s not sure if what she wants is even possible, but Mephisto assures her it is. In a surprising turn, Riri decides to take the deal, even though she doesn’t know the cost.

We then cut back to her stepfather’s garage. Riri turns to see it’s not her A.I. that has returned, but the real Natalie, in the flesh. We fade to black as the two embrace, and it appears to be the end of the show.

It wouldn’t be a Marvel show without a teaser after the credits rolled. This one cuts back to Zelma at her mother’s store. Parker arrives and asks if there’s anyone who can get him some “supreme-like” magic. Zelma says she can be of help, not knowing his connection to Riri and the hood.

There’s no news yet on the future of Ironheart. The ending leaves enough on the table for another season, with Riri taking a major deal with Mephisto, and Parker and Zelma teaming up to potentially take back the hood.

Marvel shows don’t often get a second season, but that doesn’t mean there’s no hope.Loki was renewed, and with Marvel’s recent revival of Netflix’s Daredevil, anything is possible if there’s enough fanfare. We’ll keep you posted as soon as we hear more about the future of Ironheart.