The final half of Marvel’s Ironheart has premiered, and it’s got quite a bit going on. Like other MCU shows, it offers some tantalizing hints for the future and offers interesting spins on what’s come before.
Our finale, “The Past is the Past,” opens with a flashback to the botched heist Parker and John pulled together, as seen in episode four. We watch Parker try to escape his father Arthur’s estate, and as he’s about to be caught, he’s saved by a guy in a hood. The guy, played by Sasha Baron Cohen, knows Parker wants money and power and is prepared to give him the means to achieve those dreams. What does this dude want in return? “Something you won’t even miss,” he tells Parker, and he even gives Parker the hood as a freebie.
Oh, this man’s name? Mephisto, a powerful demon in Marvel canon created by Stan Lee and John Buscema in 1968’s Silver Surfer #3. He’s a nemesis of both that hero and Johnny Blaze’s Ghost Rider and typically crosses paths with magic-based Marvel characters like Doctors Doom and Strange, plus Scarlet Witch. Fans have been hoping for his MCU debut for a while—something WandaVision watchers can attest to—and pegged Cohen to play him years before now. So yes, he’s finally here, and he’s making some surprising moves in this corner of the MCU.
After beating Parker and taking his hood in the hopes it could bring back NATALIE, who perished in the previous episode while as Riri and her loved ones helped make her newest armor, Riri’s met by Mephisto. He’s done investing time into Parker and has now moved onto the teen superhero, offering to bring back a Natalie, though he doesn’t specify which one. At first, the editing makes it seem like Riri’s either turned him down or imagining how that would play out when NATALIE comes into the garage. Riri gives a simple order, “run diagnostic,” but NAT reacts like the real Natalie would—because she is the real Natalie. Riri embraces her, and we see the same magical scars that were on Parker’s body throughout the show appear on her arm.
© Marvel TelevisionIn the comics, Mephisto famously erased Spider-Man and Mary Jane’s marriage back in 2008. We already know the movie Spider-Man is set to have a Brand New Day in 2026, completely separate from the villain’s involvement, who doesn’t really have anything to tempt Peter with after he willingly let MJ and Ned’s memories stay erased at the end of Spider-Man: No Way Home. Mephisto’s being in Ironheart gives another young hero their own Brand New Day, with the added complication that Riri’s remaining friends and family—including Nat’s brother Xavier—have already accepted the real Natalie’s death and (presumably) grieved NATALIE’s erasure while Riri fought Parker. And what exactly is it that Mephisto took from Riri that she “wouldn’t even miss”?
Whatever it is, she’ll be in a bad situation when she realizes it’s gone. Earlier in the episode, before he fights Riri, Parker realizes Mephisto took his sense of satisfaction, so now he’ll always want more, even when he’s achieved his endgame. Now that he’s hoodless, he’s got something new to chase, and that leads him to Riri’s magical friend Zelma Stanton, who he wants to help him get some “heavy-duty magic.”
Marvel’s only renewed a small handful of its shows for more seasons, which were typically greenlit well in advance. It’s unknown if Ironheart will break the one-and-done streak, but if it does, there are certainly threads that can be picked back up on. In addition to Riri and Parker’s stories, there’s also the matter of Zeke Stane: in this run of episodes, he’s freed from prison and joins up with Parker’s crew, where he subsequently uses tech to give himself enhanced strength and electric superpowers. As Riri breaks Parker’s hold on him, Zeke promises that the two of them aren’t good after this and that he’ll have a score to settle with her down the line.
Until we get word on what Marvel’s got in store for Ironheart next, you can watch Riri’s six-episode miniseries on Disney+.
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