Ironheart worked hard to bring its title character (Dominique Thorne) out of the shadow of Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), but the series has been hiding another character’s origin story in plain sight.
Across six episodes, Ironheart has explored the connection between technology and magic: as Riri Williams scrambles for a way to defeat Parker Robbins, aka the Hood (Anthony Ramos), she finds herself fighting magic with magic. She also gains an unlikely ally in Zelma Stanton (Regan Aliyah), a self-taught witch running a bookstore with her mother in the heart of Chicago. Zelma’s role has been kept under tight wraps — and with Ironheart’s final episodes now streaming on Disney+, it’s easy to see why. Though the series felt self-contained at first, Zelma opens the door to the supernatural corner of Marvel’s Cinematic Universe, establishing a strong connection to the franchise’s most powerful magic user, Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch).
