Ironheart Villain: The Hood Powers & Marvel Comics History Explained

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The primary villain of Ironheart will be The Hood, a character from Marvel Comics with a unique set of powers and an intriguing story. Ironheart’s MCU story is set for release on Disney+ at some point in 2025 and will continue the character’s story from her initial debut. Riri Williams last appeared in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’s ending, played by Dominique Thorne, and was shown settling back into her life as an MIT student committed to perfecting her own version of Tony Stark’s Iron Man armor.

In Ironheart, Riri is set to uncover secrets that will pit technology against magic, with the latter element involving The Hood, played by Anthony Ramos in Ironheart’s ensemble cast. Given this intriguing premise, many are excited to see what kind of story Ironheart will offer, as well as how Riri will take up Iron Man’s legacy in the upcoming MCU TV show. Above many other elements though, it is how The Hood will factor into proceedings that is drawing attention, from his alliance-turned-rivalry with Riri to the adaptation of his powers and story from Marvel Comics.

The Hood Marvel Comics History Explained

The Hood’s Marvel Background Is Intriguing

Firstly, it is worth exploring The Hood’s history in Marvel Comics to get a better idea of how it could be translated in Ironheart. Before becoming The Hood, the character was known as Parker Robbins. After witnessing Electro face off with Daredevil, the idea of living as a supervillain somewhat appealed to Robbins. For one, this lifestyle would allow him to earn money to care for his mother, whose illness forced Parker to drop out of high school. During his first crime attempting to steal valuable materials, Parker came across the remnants of a séance.

There, Parker was attacked by a demon wearing a red cloak and boots. After seemingly killing the demon, Parker took its outfit, later being forced to wear it after being jumped and having his shoes stolen. Upon donning the clothes, Parker realized they gave him special powers that derived from Dormammu and the Dark Dimension, a source of MCU magic, though he was unaware of the source. From then on, Parker began using his powers to further his criminal activities as The Hood, propelled by Dormammu’s demonic possession of him and becoming an enemy of several Marvel Comics heroes.

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After this, The Hood embarked on many adventures. The villain even had a stint in Battleworld, the universe created by Doctor Doom that is set to be featured in the upcoming Avengers: Secret Wars story. In recent years, Parker lost his abilities as The Hood and became possessed by a Spirit of Vengeance, thus becoming the Ghost Rider after Johnny Blaze.

The Hood Powers Explained

The Hood Has A Specific Set Of Skills

Given his illustrious history as a Marvel Comics villain, The Hood has a long list of powers and abilities. As a dark magician, The Hood has somewhat of a mastery of the mystic arts. Although he is not as powerful as other Marvel magic users like Doctor Strange or Scarlet Witch, his magical prowess is not to be dismissed. When possessed by Dormammu, The Hood’s powers are amplified, gaining abilities including invisibility, electricity projection, the power to see through illusions, and even resurrection.

After becoming Ghost Rider, Parker Robbins takes on the abilities synonymous with this character.

Aside from these powers, The Hood’s resemble usual magic as seen by other magic users in Marvel. From the likes of teleportation to energy projection - sometimes of a demonic nature - The Hood's powers are often mystical in nature. Besides this, Parker has basic hand-to-hand combat experience too.

The Hood Comics Changes Explained

Anthony Ramos as The Hood in the MCU's Ironheart (2025)

Regarding how The Hood has been changed from the comics to fit Ironheart, this is not overtly clear as yet. Thus far, a full official trailer for Ironheart has not yet been released, with Marvel Studios instead only including small snippets as part of the "Look Ahead" trailer that teased each TV project for 2025. Nonetheless, The Hood can be seen in these brief scenes, played by Anthony Ramos. One scene shows him wearing the iconic hood, while others show him doing some kind of meditation, raising similarities to Marvel Comics.

Concerning outright differences, the main one will likely come from his background. In the comics, Parker Robbins is from New York. In Ironheart, Parker instead is from Chicago, specifically a neighborhood called Humboldt Park, as Ramos outlined in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. Humboldt Park has been an area of Chicago that Puerto Rican people have identified with since the 1970s, with Ramos' own Puerto Rican heritage influencing the character of The Hood.

This will allow Ironheart to not only explore an underrepresented community within the MCU but also allow Parker Robbins/The Hood to have a much different upbringing than he had in the comics. Similarly, The Hood is also described - in D23 2024 footage via The Wrap - as a misfit who leads a gang full of like-minded people in order to show the wider world that they will eventually end up on top. This seems to give Parker a different backstory than the one involving his mother in the comics, marking another difference between Ironheart and the source material.

How The Hood Could Set Up Other Supernatural Marvel Characters

The Hood Has Many Dark Connections In Marvel Comics

One of the final aspects of The Hood in Ironheart that makes his inclusion so exciting is the possibility that he provides connections to other supernatural characters within the MCU. The supernatural side of the franchise is one that many would agree has been underutilized in recent years; only Agatha All Along has dipped its toes into the darker side of the universe, leaving other smaller projects like Werewolf by Night to do so to an extent. Beyond this, however, these more creepy, paranormal aspects of Marvel Comics have been absent in the MCU.

Thanks to The Hood in Ironheart, these connections could be focused on. For one, if the element of his comic book backstory involving Dormammu remains the same in Ironheart, The Hood could tie Dr. Strange and the Dark Dimension. Furthermore, if the MCU adapts the arc of The Hood becoming Ghost Rider, this could be a way of introducing that character to the live-action franchise and thus, the highly rumored Midnight Sons team-up movie.

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Another potential connection could come in the form of Blade. While the MCU's Blade reboot is facing a troubled production, there could be connections between him and The Hood in the future. Finally, a forgotten character from Eternals could also tie into The Hood's MCU story in future projects: Black Knight. This character was teased to team up with Blade before the aforementioned issues began derailing the latter film and has since been left unused. With both being supernatural characters, Ironheart's The Hood could bring back Kit Harrington as Dane Whitman, alongside many other supernatural MCU heroes and villains.

Set after Dominique Thorne's MCU debut in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Marvel Studios' Ironheart series follows Riri Williams as she follows in Iron Man's steps as a high-tech superhero and crosses paths with Anthony Ramos' Parker Robbins a.k.a. The Hood, a magic user with ties to the dark arts. The six-episode Disney+ series is part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Phase 5.

Cast Manny Montana , Dominique Thorne , Anthony Ramos , Harper Anthony , Alden Ehrenreich , Lyric Ross

Seasons 1

Writers Chinaka Hodge

Directors Chinaka Hodge

Showrunner Chinaka Hodge