It's fair to say that Ironheart isn't generally viewed as one of Marvel's better Disney+ shows, but a lot of fans would agree that Sacha Baron Cohen's long-awaited debut as Mephisto in the finale was a standout moment.
As expected, the demonic sorcerer turned out to be the one who provided The Hood with his powerful cloak, but when Riri Williams defeats her former ally, Mephisto sets his eye on the budding hero instead.
After a sit-down, Williams strikes a Faustian bargain with "The Devil," with her friend Natalie resurrected in exchange for... her soul? That appears to be the implication, though what this means for Ironheart's "superhero" status moving forward remains to be seen.
During an appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, the Ali G: Who Iz I? star revealed that Marvel Studios' Ironheart crew was worried that casting a Jewish actor as, for all intents and purposes, Satan might be perceived as antisemitic.
“It was a wonderful meeting when I was offered it. It was primarily, I think, an almost entirely Black producing and directing team. And they said, ‘We want to offer you Mephisto, but we are aware of the negative association of Jews historically with the devil, and we want to make sure that you’re not insulted by us offering this.’ It was such an amazingly considerate, empathetic thing to say. And I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m good.’”
It was an understandable concern, as myths surrounding the Jewish people can be traced back to centuries-old mistranslations of the Bible, and Mephisto is characterized by his manipulative nature and desire for power.
“I think for the Jews out there, sometimes we don’t feel seen,” Baron Cohen went on. “We don’t feel like people can empathize with us, that we are suffering too. And so to have this entirely Black producing and directing team be so empathetic, was a moment of being seen. It was an amazing experience.”
Kevin Feige has previously indicated that there are plans in place for Mephisto's return.
"The enthusiasm with which he was theorised on that was certainly cool and fun to watch. And he's another character that, pre-MCU, would have been hard to do. He's a devil. How do you do that character? But he's a formative character. He was a big part of Thanos' storyline in the comics. So again, now that he's here, the potential is clear."
"After being expelled from MIT and stripped of her tech, teen genius Riri Williams returns to Chicago. A chance encounter leads her into the orbit of a dangerous crew, and when she uses a brain-mapping device to repair her broken suit, she accidentally brings back a hologram AI of her dead best friend."
Dominique Thorne's Riri Williams made her MCU debut in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and this series takes place after the events of the sequel, as Riri returns to her hometown of Chicago and sets her mind to building a state-of-the-art iron suit.
"Set after the events of “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” “Ironheart” pits technology against magic when Riri—determined to make her mark on the world—returns to her hometown of Chicago. Her unique take on building iron suits is brilliant, but in pursuit of her ambitions, she finds herself wrapped up with the mysterious yet charming Parker Robbins aka 'The Hood' (Anthony Ramos)."
The series also stars Lyric Ross, Alden Ehrenreich, Regan Aliyah, Manny Montana, Matthew Elam and Anji White. Chinaka Hodge is head writer; episodes are directed by Sam Bailey and Angela Barnes. Executive producers include Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, Brad Winderbaum, Zoie Nagelhout, Chinaka Hodge, Ryan Coogler, Sev Ohanian and Zinzi Coogler. Music is by Dara Taylor.
Produced in association with Proximity Media, Ironheart launched on Disney+ on June 24, 2025.