Ironheart's Finale Completely Wastes The Coolest Part Of The Show (No, It's Not HIM)
By Dan Bibby
October 23rd, 2025
Warning! Ironheart spoilers ahead!
Considering how little I knew or cared about Ironheart as a character going into the Disney+ miniseries, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the six-episode run. That said, it did frustrate me when the show introduced an awesome piece of lore ahead of the finale, and then basically forgot about it.
Disney+ dropped the first three Ironheart episodes at once on June 25th, 2025. The final three installments landed a week later on July 2nd. The show was the first time we'd seen Dominique Thorne's Riri Williams since 2022's Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. I wasn't sure how Riri could carry a show on her own, but she turned out to be a really good central character. Unfortunately, the writers blew it in the finale in a very specific way.
Disney+ dropped the first three Ironheart episodes at once on June 25th, 2025. The final three installments landed a week later on July 2nd. The show was the first time we'd seen Dominique Thorne's Riri Williams since 2022's Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. I wasn't sure how Riri could carry a show on her own, but she turned out to be a really good central character. Unfortunately, the writers blew it in the finale in a very specific way.
Riri's Magic Ironheart Suit Was A Hugely Cool Idea, But Was Criminally Underused
Although magic and futuristic sci-fi tech are both major parts of the MCU canon, each project generally tends to focus on one or the other. I fully expected Ironheart to favor the MCU's sci-fi tenancies, so I was pleasantly surprised when magic started to become part of the formula as well. The moment that surprised me most was when Riri's suit was imbued with magic near the end of episode 5, "Karma's a Glitch."
Riri's magic suit was a concept I found incredibly compelling, and I couldn't wait to see it in action as she geared up to fight Parker (Anthony Ramos) in the finale, "The Past is the Past." While I sort of got what I wanted and did get to witness the suit's combined strength of tech and magic, its mystical powers came into play exactly once. After that, it was a pretty standard you-punch-me-then-I-punch-you affair.
Of course, it could have been that the power of the technological components was being passively boosted by the magic. I'm sure that is probably the case, as I guess it would have taken something as unconventional as a magic Ironheart suit to beat an opponent like Parker. Still, I would have liked to see clearer signs that the magic was giving Riri an advantage over Ramos' character.
Riri's magic suit was a concept I found incredibly compelling, and I couldn't wait to see it in action as she geared up to fight Parker (Anthony Ramos) in the finale, "The Past is the Past." While I sort of got what I wanted and did get to witness the suit's combined strength of tech and magic, its mystical powers came into play exactly once. After that, it was a pretty standard you-punch-me-then-I-punch-you affair.
Of course, it could have been that the power of the technological components was being passively boosted by the magic. I'm sure that is probably the case, as I guess it would have taken something as unconventional as a magic Ironheart suit to beat an opponent like Parker. Still, I would have liked to see clearer signs that the magic was giving Riri an advantage over Ramos' character.
The Magic Suit Needs To Have A Bigger Role When Riri Returns
Dominique Thorne has since reprised the role of Riri Williams as part of the Marvel Zombies cast, but this time playing a new variant of the character as she tries to survive hordes of the undead. While that Riri variant does manage to avoid making the list of Marvel Zombies' goriest deaths, it's the main version of Thorne's character I'm most interested to see again. Unfortunately, all we have for now are rumors when it comes to the potential for a comeback.
Thorne is expected to appear in either 2026's Avengers: Doomsday or 2027's Avengers: Secret Wars. Whether she shows up in one or both movies, I really hope her fight scenes show her awesome magic suit at full power, rather than it being limited to just a single use in Ironheart. I'm sure her deal with Mephisto (Sacha Baron Cohen) will also factor into Riri's MCU return, which makes me even more eager to see what's in store for her after Ironheart.
Thorne is expected to appear in either 2026's Avengers: Doomsday or 2027's Avengers: Secret Wars. Whether she shows up in one or both movies, I really hope her fight scenes show her awesome magic suit at full power, rather than it being limited to just a single use in Ironheart. I'm sure her deal with Mephisto (Sacha Baron Cohen) will also factor into Riri's MCU return, which makes me even more eager to see what's in store for her after Ironheart.
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