What Riri's Big Choice In The Ironheart Finale Could Mean For Marvel's Future

This post contains spoilers for "Ironheart" season 1.

Riri Williams, how could you? After all that effort taking down Parker Robbins (Anthony Ramos), you make a deal with some second-hand Satan like the long-awaited Mephisto (Sacha Baron Cohen)? What would your best pal Natalie (Lyric Ross) say if she could see you now? Well, perhaps she can share her thoughts on the matter now that she's been brought back from the dead.

After some cryptic quick cuts and a drawn out conversation with the demonic presence that had recently abandoned The Hood, it was soon revealed that Riri (Dominique Thorne) had accepted Mephisto's offer and asked for her friend Natalie to come back to the land of the living. For someone as smart as Riri, it sure did feel like a dumb decision to make, and it's one that will absolutely come with repercussions whenever we're reunited with Ironheart in the future.

The choice Riri was given here (which, quite frankly, she had no right to make) could impact so many people and plot threads — not just Ironheart's immediate circle of friends and family, but the Marvel universe as a whole. Sure, there was a time when half the universe was snapped out and back into existence, but bringing back a single person on a wish is an opportunity other heroes would die for. Before we branch into that super sensitive issue, though, let's just consider how Mephisto's despicable deal could bring two unlikely allies together whenever Ironheart suits up on-screen again.

The problem with dealing with a demonic entity is that there's always a catch. As far as Riri knows, following her handshake with Sacha Baron Cohen's sneaky devil, he's only after her, with no risk of anyone else becoming collateral damage in bringing back her dead friend. It's only a matter time of, though, until she realizes that's not the case.

With an inevitable double-cross on the way, this could mark another interesting battle of science and magic, and Riri might not have enough power to compete. What great timing, then, that her former foe, Parker Robbins, has just wandered into Zelma Stanton's shop and might end up leaving with more than he hoped for, like an alliance with an old enemy.

It's nothing new for heroes and villains to call a brief truce in order to take down a greater evil (Loki has done it enough times) and given Robbins' current position, he needs all the help he can get. With that in mind, if Riri finds herself backed into a corner and unable to get herself out of whatever she's mixed up in with Mephisto, could The Hood come to her aid and get some payback while he's there? The enemy of her enemy might be her friend this time around, it's just a matter of how long that will last and how much Mephisto could retaliate that will impact them both.

When Riri's artificial intelligence took the form of Natalie, it was met with a very mixed and understandable reaction. Riri's love interest, Xavier (Matthew Elam), wasn't happy at first, but was willing to try to understand N.A.T.A.L.I.E.'s existence and purpose for his friend's sake. Meanwhile, Riri's mother was amazed by her daughter's creation and the authenticity of N.A.T.A.L.I.E. — so much so that she asked Riri if she could make one of her late husband, Gary (LaRoyce Hawkins), too, but the request was turned down. Imagine the inevitable confusion and disappointment then, when Natalie returns for real, and Gary doesn't.

Before Riri was compelled to return to work and develop a new Ironheart suit, the super genius and her mother weren't on the best of terms, with Ronnie (Anji White) struggling to understand her daughter and Riri refusing to let her in. In the wake of the finale, it's very likely that a rift could reform between them after Riri chose to bring back her best friend instead of her stepfather. Could this be another inevitable downside to the deal Ironheart has struck with Mephisto that she didn't see coming? It'll be interesting to see how tense things get within the Williams household when we revisit it and how the family will handle someone close to them coming back from the dead, while another loved one remains lost to them, seemingly forever.

Mephisto finally making his appearance opens up different avenues for him to appear, and it doesn't just have to involve forcing Riri to sign on the dotted line. This is a demonic force we're talking about, and an individual to whom mortal laws don't apply. In that case, Mephisto could appear anywhere and at any time within the MCU and cut more corrupt deals with struggling characters, only for them to find themselves in deeper trouble than before.

In the comics, Mephisto has snatched the souls off of dozens of heroes and villains through Marvel history, including members of the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, and even Victor von Doom. With names as big as that coming into contact with this devilish dude, could their MCU counterparts find themselves in the same company? Doing so might make for interesting stories here and there, but it could also remove something the MCU has been built on: Danger and stakes.

With Natalie being the first character brought back from the dead in a very real way, could the same be done for some other fallen characters in this ongoing universe? Could Riri actually have a chat with Tony Stark if someone makes a wish to bring him back? Might Foggy's brutal death be undone from "Daredevil: Born Again," just like in the comics? If Mephisto really does start to make appearances here and there and anywhere, we can only hope it's sparingly. If not, all it's going to cause is a hell of a lot of problems.