After two weeks on Disney Plus, Ironheart aired its season finale during a three-episode drop on Tuesday night. Though the show didn't serve as a vehicle for Riri Williams' introduction into the Marvel universe, it's brought in new and not-so-new characters that we recognize from the comic books and greater MCU -- even if some of them were only present in spirit.
The penultimate episode saw Riri, Ezekiel/Joe and Parker confront their daddy issues in their own ways, with the latter putting a gun to his father's head and seizing his home and company. Though he has Ezekiel under his thumb, he still doesn't know Riri is alive. She got busy working with her family and Zelma Stanton to forge new armor made from parts of her stepfather's car. Sadly for her, by the end, she lost her bestie and AI assistant Natalie when magic was uploaded to her suit. That's a double heartbreak over Natalie's loss.
Magic has a price, doesn't it? It's something we've seen with Doctor Strange, Agatha Harkness and Scarlet Witch.
Still, Riri put a plan in motion to take on The Hood in the lead-up to the finale. She wants the cloak for her own reasons. I'm going to break down what happened in the finale episode, that being who showed up at the end and what it could all mean for the MCU. If you haven't watched the series or these last three episodes, do not read any further. Spoilers ahead.
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Parker's path to The Hood and his undoing
Opening this episode with Parker's path to demonic deal-making helped viewers realize how he wound up with the hood and the markings on his body. In the past, Sacha Baron Cohen's Lucifer-like character ("What is your greatest desire?") appeared with nefarious intentions, including his insidious act of eating pizza with a fork and knife. This isn't aligned with how they meet in the Marvel comics, but we know Parker basically sells access to his soul in exchange for money and power.
Anthony Ramos as The Hood (Parker Robbins) in Ironheart. Marvel
When Riri shows up at the pizza spot to fight The Hood, she has to get through Joe first, who's magically programmed like a puppet to protect Parker at all costs. She figures out a crafty way to override his tech and shut him down. After this and the careless move Riri made that got Joe locked up, they're not exactly friends but not raging enemies, either. "Joe's gone. I have millions of dollars' worth of weapons inside me, and no idea where to put this anger." He tells her to handle Parker and lets her know that the two of them aren't done. What does that mean?
Parker/Hood isn't too surprised when a fully alive Riri confronts him in his loft, but he's thrown off by her use of magic. They battle, his demon-esque side pops out, and she activates her "emergency protocol" to prevent him from destroying them both. It looks like Riri's blown up her suit -- and The Hood -- as she crawls through pieces of scrap. Parker is fine, aims a gun at a teary-eyed Riri with the intention of shooting her "for John." But it's all a hologram!
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