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We're only halfway through Disney+'s Ironheart as of this writing, but already, Marvel fans are asking what's next for its hero and villain. For Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne), we know the next time we see the character on screen will be in the alt-universe Marvel Zombies series, premiering this fall. But what about Parker Robbins (Anthony Ramos), AKA The Hood? We can't say for sure, but if Marvel Studios keeps the plans they originally had for the character, we may be seeing him in quite a few projects down the line.

Let's rewind to 2022, when Deadline was reporting that Ramos, who had just starred in movie musical In the Heights, had been cast in Ironheart. At the time, the identity of the role was not yet known, but sources close to the outlet were able to report on the scale the role would play in the MCU. Specifically, Deadline reported that Ramos' role would be similar to that of Jonathan Majors in the Disney+ Loki series - that the character's appearance would be the first of many to come in the wider MCU. Fans will recall that Majors' role in the 2021 series was supposed to be a set-up for the character of Kang, who at one point was poised to become the Marvel Cinematic Universe's next big bad.

Three years after the above report, plans for the MCU's future have undergone titanic shifts. After allegations of sexual assault, Majors is out of future plans entirely, with Kang's character replaced by Robert Downey Jr.'s Victor Von Doom as the universe's next Avengers-level threat. But keep in mind - reports never said that The Hood's character was tied to the Kang storyline in any way; they only used that character as a reference point.

So where does that leave Ramos's villainous magic user? Officially, we can't answer that question, but some recent rumblings around the internet rumor mill do have us raising our eyebrows. See, the Mavel fanbase thinks there's a pretty good chance that the source of Hood's powers has been the Satan allegory Mephisto this whole time. As you know if you've been following MCU rumors for any stretch of time, Mephisto has long been rumored as another huge MCU villain, and if The Hood does turn out to be his right hand man...

Let's just say that, screentime-wise, this deal with the devil could be well worth the price.

Ironheart's final episodes drop July 1.

Consider this a meta post-credits scene for Marvel fans - the four key articles you need to read next to continue the thrills:

• How to watch the Marvel Cinematic Universe in release or chronological order
• The best Marvel Comics stories of all time
• All the MCU movies ranked from best to worst
• Our weekly Marvel insider's column, Marvel Matters