Like every MCU property at this point, Ironheart has a post-credit scene teasing what’s to come.
In Ironheart‘s post-credit sequence, Parker Robbins (Anthony Ramos), now missing his magical hood, links up with sorceress-in-training Zelma Stanton (Regan Aliyah) for some magical aid. Following his battle with Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne) and fallout with newly introduced Mephisto (Sacha Baron Cohen), he says that he’s in need of “Supreme-like help,” hinting that the pair are off to find Sorcerer Supreme Wong (Benedict Wong).
There’s just one problem here, and it’s a problem that Marvel has been dealing with for a while now: Will this scene actually amount to anything in the MCU?
The MCU has a post-credits problem.
Even though Ironheart is uneven at points, it’s still a show I’d like to see continued in a Season 2, where we’d presumably see what Parker and Zelma get up to in addition to Riri’s next steps. However, given that Loki and Daredevil: Born Again are the only two live-action Marvel Studios shows to have gotten second season orders, and the way Disney rushed Ironheart‘s release out over two weeks, my hopes aren’t high. Based on the rollout alone, it doesn’t seem like Marvel is confident about how Riri’s story fits into the future of the MCU. That’s a shame, since the series touches on fascinating themes like wealth disparity and AI ethics, as well as bringing far more representation into the MCU, from its mostly Black cast to its queer and nonbinary characters like Slug (Shea Couleé) and Jeri (Zoe Terakes).
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If Ironheart doesn’t get a chance at a Season 2, it’ll join the ranks of Moon Knight and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law as scrapped shows with definite potential for further seasons. (While Ms. Marvel technically got a continuation in The Marvels, I’d consider it to be in this camp too.) More than that, it joins a long list of MCU projects whose post-credit scenes go nowhere. Remember Moon Knight teasing Marc Spector’s (Oscar Isaac) third persona Jake Lockley? Or She-Hulk revealing that Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) has a son named Skaar (Wil Deusner)? Still waiting to see where either of those stories will go, years down the line.
But these teases don’t stop at the MCU’s TV offerings. They extend to its films too. Charlize Theron popped up as sorceress Clea in the final moments of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Brett Goldstein appeared as Hercules in Thor: Love and Thunder‘s post-credit scene, and Harry Styles made his MCU debut as Eros in Eternals. But have any of these characters come back? No!
Instead, post-Avengers: Endgame, the MCU has been throwing everything it can at the wall, gesturing out to storylines that will likely never see the light of day instead of reliably hinting at the next confirmed project. And while it’s fascinating to view the franchise as an ever-evolving living document that’s adapting in real time to current events (see: Disney’s Fox acquisition bringing in the X-Men and Fantastic Four, or the abandonment of Jonathan Majors’ Kang), it’s also aggravating as a viewer to get attached to characters the MCU hints might take up space in future storylines, but never get the concrete opportunity to do so.
I’d love to see more of Riri and Parker and Zelma and the rest of Ironheart‘s crew. But given Marvel’s track record, I’m not hopeful, just frustrated.
Ironheart Season 1 is now streaming on Disney+.
