Ironheart made a deal with the devil… so now what?

**Spoilers ahead for the Season 1 finale of Disney+ and Marvel’s Ironheart**

In just four years and after three other Marvel series, the long-anticipated arrival of Mephisto was finally realized in the Season 1 finale of Ironheart, where Sacha Baron Cohen made his debut as the MCU’s version of the devil.

The season has been leading up to a “magic vs. machine” showdown between Riri Williams (played by Dominique Thorne) and Parker Robbins, also known as “The Hood” (portrayed by Anthony Ramos). However, this was merely a smokescreen for Riri’s true battle, one that is both internal and external for our heroine. Now, the reasons for this are unveiled.

Speculation about Sacha Baron Cohen’s potential involvement in the Marvel Cinematic Universe has circulated for two years. Known for his roles in Borat and Trial of the Chicago 7, the actor was rumored to portray Mephisto, a character hinted at in series like Loki Season 1 and Agatha All Along. The recent Ironheart episode not only confirmed these rumors but also provided insight into his character’s motivations and their implications for the franchise’s future. If the reveal left you puzzled, don’t worry; we’re here to clarify it.

Here’s a full breakdown of the Ironheart Season 1 finale and Mephisto’s role in the MCU.

Mephisto And Ironheart‘s Ending Explained:

After finally revealing that some serious dark magic is the source of Parker Robbins’ magical cape, Episode 6, “The Past Is the Past,” opens with a flashback of Parker running away from a crime scene and being cornered by police with no way out. Suddenly, however, a cloaked figure (Cohen) pops up and offers him the doorway to the Italian restaurant, “Desperito’s,” that would soon become the HQ for his own burglary empire. Note: “Desperito” does not mean anything in Italian, but it closely resembles “disperato,” meaning desperate and in despair.

Inside the restaurant, the cloaked figure — now fully in the light to show his long hair pulled back and his scruffy facial hair — is trying to convince Parker to make a deal with him that would give him everything he’s ever dreamed of. “We start working together, I’m going to make you the greatest human of your generation,” the unnamed figure says before magically freezing an entire group of people inside the establishment to prove his power.

After striking up a deal to make him richer than his wildest dreams, Parker finally asks the question that should have been dropped at the very beginning of the conversation: “What’s in it for you?” It’s the figure’s response that cements his status, as he tells the “beautiful human being” that it’s “something you won’t even miss.” Sounds like someone might be selling their soul, if you ask me. After the two shake on the trade-off, Mephisto leaves Parker the magical red hood that he wore when they first came face to face.

After losing Natalie (Lyric Ross) for the second time — the first was when the real version was killed in a drive-by and the second when the magic channeled into the Ironheart suit interrupted her A.I. projection — the season finale also sees Riri in a desperate state of her own… keep this in mind. Even as her mom (Anji White) tries to remind Riri that the AI version of Natalie she created is not real, she cannot help but attempt to reconfigure and reboot the system that brought her best friend back from the dead in the first place. It’s clear that Riri, like anyone who has lost someone important, would do anything to get her back.

Riri ultimately decides to go after Parker and attempt to stop him without Natalie by her side, having to first go through Zeke Stain (Alden Ehrenreich), who Parker has essentially turned into a human robot. After rebooting Zeke’s system to allow her access to Parker, the pair duke it out inside the HQ upstairs at Desperito’s. Luckily, the magic that Zelma (Regan Aliyah) and Madeline channeled into her suit allows her to see through The Hood’s invisibility defenses and fight on an even playing field, even using a hologram — something she could only do because Natalie’s hologram no longer existed — to distract Parker and grab the cloak from him.

Just before getting out of the building, however, Riri steps off the elevator and is greeted by Cohen’s still unnamed character, sitting and eating by himself in a booth. After magically removing her suit and asking her to sit, the duo chat about Riri’s future, as he tells her that he’s been watching her on her journey to this point, seeing her struggle through no fault of her own and not being to get what she truly deserves out of life.

“That’s why I’m here, to help the unseen, the unheard,” he says as he stirs his cup of tea, pulling out the spoon and revealing his true form with red skin and white eyes. He then tells Riri that he’s “made deals” with 100 of the Forbes 100 spot holders, three popes, and Ringo Starr of The Beatles, just to name a few. After she inaccurately posits that it’s Dormammu sitting in front of her — an idea put in her head by Zelma in a previous episode — the man finally reveals who he is.

“I go by a lot of names, some of them are actually a bit cruel and hurtful to me,” he says, “but I like you, Riri, so you can call me Mephisto.”

After asking her what her heart most desires, she briefly envisions having Natalie back before telling him that there is no deal to be made as “what I want can’t be done, the past is the past.” Not too fast, diva, this ain’t no normal mortal you’re dealing with. Mephisto manages to read Riri’s mind and tells her that while “death is difficult,” it’s not impossible for his magic, which is when we jump back to the vision with Natalie, showing her as a person, not the AI hologram.

“If I do this, it’s just me you want, right? Nobody else,” she asks as he begs her to make the deal via a handshake. Just before the show cuts to credits, we see Riri reach out to shake his hand and then flash back to Riri and Natalie hugging as a dark branch, similar to the one that covered Parker’s whole body, spreads across her arm. She did it, y’all, she made a deal with the devil.

As for how this will relate to the greater MCU moving forward, while other characters and pop-ups are still uncertain in their future (when are we going to see Harry Styles in the MCU again, for example) it’s all but certain that Mephisto’s arrival will have major implications for coming projects, including a potential Ironheart Season 2. Additionally, with his manipulation powers and his overarching connections to the multiverse, it’s possible we could see Cohen back in Avengers: Secret Wars or sooner. And it also begs the question: which other characters are susceptible and vulnerable to shaking on a deal? Quick answer: All of them.

One thing is for sure: the MCU just got one hell of a villain. Get it, hell?

How To Watch Ironheart

All six episodes of Ironheart Season 1 are currently streaming on Disney+.

Disney+ offers a number of subscription options, so you can find the one that works for you. With ads, a subscription costs $9.99/month; without ads, it’s $15.99/month or $159.99/year.

There are also Disney+ bundles with Hulu, Max, and ESPN+, so you can subscribe to up to three services at once and save over 40% every month. The bundles are available in a few different configurations, starting at $10.99/month for Disney+ and Hulu with ads, and going up to $29.99/month for Disney+, Hulu, and Max ad-free.