Though Ironheart is largely focused on the rise of its title hero, aka Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne), the six-part series has also been teasing out an occult subplot through the Hood (Anthony Ramos). The small-time criminal has been bankrolling Riri’s efforts to build a better Iron Man suit, but he also has his own goals. The question of what Parker wants, and how he came into the power to get it, has dominated Ironheart’s first season. It’s not until the show’s final episodes that the mystery is finally revealed — and with it comes another surprise that’s fueled fan theories for years.
Marvel comics suggest that Parker’s hood originally belonged to Dormammu, the Big Bad of Doctor Strange — and Riri’s new magical pal, Zelma Stanton (Regan Aliyah), corroborates that in Episode 5. In Ironheart’s season finale, however, it’s revealed that the theory was a fake-out for the show’s true villain, a supernatural threat that will change Marvel’s Cinematic Universe forever.
Warning! Spoilers ahead for Ironheart Episode 6.
Who’s the real villain behind The Hood?
Ironheart Episode 6 brings us back to a core memory for Parker, the first time he attempted to rob his father’s home. His plans backfired in spectacular fashion, forcing him and his cousin John (Manny Montana) to split up to avoid capture. It doesn’t seem like Parker’s quick enough to escape at first; then he encounters a mysterious hooded stranger who whisks him away to safety. The pair convene in the pizza shop that later serves as Parker’s base of operations, and there, they make a deal. The stranger promises to help Parker win the power and respect he’s long craved, and gives him his hood to assist.
In the present day, Parker fulfills his promise and achieves the one thing he’s always wanted. Still, it’s not quite enough — and the stranger who once helped him has returned to collect. If Parker can’t hold on to what he fought so hard to get, he’ll find himself in hot water. As if on cue, Riri storms his HQ with her new, improved, magic-infused suit and makes quick work of defeating him. But rather than flying off into the sunset, Riri crosses paths with Parker’s mysterious benefactor. He offers to make a deal with her as well, introducing himself by the name Marvel fans have been waiting to hear for ages: Mephisto.
Mephisto finally joins the MCU
Mephisto has been waiting in the wings of the MCU — at least, by fans’ estimations — for the past four years. Most assumed that the extra-dimensional demon was the true villain of WandaVision, before we learned that it was Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn) all along. He joined the conversation again ahead of Spider-Man: No Way Home, which loosely followed the beats of the comic event One More Day. Again, the MCU adapted that storyline without Mephisto’s involvement, but that didn’t stop any of the characters’ momentum. To a small group of hyper-online Mephisto truthers, it was only a matter of time before the villain reared his head. Over the years, Mephisto has become more of an inside joke than a viable supernatural threat — but Ironheart manages to reclaim the abject terror of making a deal with the devil.
While Mephisto isn’t quite the Satan of Christian theology, he has no qualms weaponizing the devils of our collective imagination for his own gain. In addition to appropriating Satan’s trademark look, he also strikes impossible deals with mortals he sees promise in. Of course, these partnerships aren’t all they’re cracked up to be: as Zelma warns Riri, all magic has a price. Mephisto’s magic deforms anyone who uses it — that explains the dark veins spreading across Parker’s back, and the same that sprout across Riri’s arm in the finale’s final moments.
Riri strikes a deal with Mephisto to bring her friend Natalie (and maybe even her stepdad) back to the land of the living. That’s far from her greatest desire, though; it’s safe to assume Mephisto will also try to help her achieve the recognition she’s been fighting for. As we saw with Parker, though, there’s no way any of this will be enough. Sooner or later, the other shoe is going to drop — but with Mephisto finally in the MCU, it’s going to be a little fun watching chaos ensue.
