Marvel fans are digging into the implications of the Ironheart ending

The ending of Ironheart took a surprisingly dark and dangerous turn for one of the MCU's youngest heroes, Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne), who in the season's final episode made a deal with Mephisto (Sacha Baron Cohen) to bring her friend Natalia (Lyric Ross) back from the dead. While it wasn't confirmed what kind of ramifications the tech-whiz will face now that she's made a pact with a literal demon, fans are already theorizing what kind of wicked things are heading her way, and what it means for Riri's character overall.

One fan who brought up the significant chapter in Riri's story said on Reddit, "Story-wise, I like that they didn’t go the usual route of turning her full villain or keeping her squeaky-clean hero. It’s more nuanced—her judgment gets clouded by a desire that’s actually coming from a good place. And hopefully, that choice has some real consequences moving forward, whether in season 2 or maybe even a Champions spin-off."

In the comics, Riri joined the team The Champions before she got her own solo comic book and after spending a lengthy amount of time with Tony Stark, who, unfortunately, is very much dead in this version of the Marvel universe. Many fans were excited about the potential direction the show could take, particularly Riri's potential shift from being a squeaky-clean hero like many others in the MCU. "I like that she took his deal and that we seem to be moving into dark, magical territory like people were saying," wrote one fan. "I love me a Faustian bargain."

That being said, others debated the decision, questioning whether it might have been a little out of character. "She is very intelligent with tech obviously, but her social and emotional skills are horrendous," one fan argued. At the same time, another made the point that, "Well, she's 19 years old and in the depths of grief and despair. She needs therapy before she can even begin to unpack this."

It was because of this debate and many other issues, though, that one fan highlighted some viewers can't be happy with the outcome, regardless of the daring territory it ventured into. "People always complain that the MCU is too shiny and happy (a little less so after Infinity War), but then ignore that this series basically ended with the villains winning." We can only hope to see how the playing field looks in the future whenever Riri returns to the MCU. In the meantime, here's every other film and TV show headed our way in the future.