The MCU's final villain debuting in Phase 5 will make history based on some of their actions in their first Marvel Studios project on Disney+. The middle phase of the MCU's Multiverse Saga is quickly approaching its final days, and after a new round of thrilling and intriguing villains took the spotlight over the last couple of years, the franchise still has new tricks up its sleeve.
Marvel Studios released a new clip from the upcoming Ironheart series on Disney+ featuring Dominique Thorne's Riri Williams and Anthony Ramos' The Hood. The clip shows Thorne's Riri discussing her experience teaming up with Ramos's Parker Robbins on various heists, leading her to believe they are both criminals. Riri makes it clear that she is only doing what she's doing because she has to and not because she is a bad person.
Barring any changes as the show pushes forward, this marks the first time any Disney+ show has featured its titular hero teaming up with its main antagonist/villain. Currently, it is unknown how long this team-up will last, but nothing like it has ever come to fruition in the MCU's history.
Bringing a unique theme of tech vs. magic, Ironheart will close out Phase 5 for Marvel Studios behind Thorne and Ramos' efforts as Riri Williams and The Hood. The show will highlight Riri going back to her roots in Chicago while developing her Iron Man-esque technology, hoping to make a name for herself as a young hero in the MCU while enjoying her youth. Ironheart will debut on Disney+ with a three-episode premiere on Tuesday, June 24.
The full clip from Ironheart can be seen below:
Hero/Villain "Team-Ups" From MCU History
While Ironheart will mark the first instance in MCU history where a Disney+ show's hero has teamed up with a villain, below are a few examples of similar instances in other shows:
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
Disney+'s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier reunited Captain America: Civil War villain Baron Helmut Zemo (Daniel Brühl) with Anthony Mackie's Sam Wilson and Sebastian Stan's Bucky Barnes in 2021; the show also introduced Wyatt Russell's John Walker/US Agent.
Throughout the show, Sam and Bucky reluctantly worked with both Zemo and Walker to stop the Flag Smashers' reign of terror. However, while both can be classified as MCU villains to an extent, Erin Kellyman's Karli Morgenthau was ultimately the main antagonist of the series, using violent methods in an attempt to get the world back to how it was before The Blip.
Loki Season 1
Sophia Di Martino took on a leading role as Sylvie through most of Loki's first season on Disney+ alongside MCU veteran Tom Hiddleston in 2021.
Through the first few episodes, Sylvie acts as something of a foe for Loki, but she can never be fully classified as one of the show's core villains. That honor goes to Jonathan Majors' He Who Remains (the first variant of Kang the Conqueror introduced in the MCU), who even pits Loki and Sylvie against each other as part of his plan.
Loki Season 2
Jonathan Majors returns to the MCU in 2023's Loki Season 2 as the Victor Timely variant of Kang, who was initially introduced as a possible villain in the post-credits scene from 2023's Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania.
As Loki did with Sylvie in both seasons, Loki eventually joins forces with Victor Timely to try to stop the Sacred Timeline from falling apart after He Who Remains threw it into chaos. However, since He Who Remains still qualifies as the main villain of the Loki series, Hiddleston did not team up with that version of the character at any time.
Agatha All Along
Agatha All Along introduced fans to Aubrey Plaza's Rio Vidal (who later is revealed to be the MCU's incarnation of Death) alongside Kathryn Hahn's titular Agatha Harkness.
Most of this series showed Agatha and Rio working alongside each other while going down the Witches' Road to regain her powers and status as a witch. However (per Collider), series creator Jac Schaeffer explained how Agatha is not necessarily a hero in her own solo series, nixing the idea of the show's hero and villain working together.
Richard Nebens joined The Direct in March 2020, now serving as the site's Senior Writer and also working as an assistant editor and content creator. He started his journalism career as a hobby in 2019 and is passionate about sharing news and stories from the entertainment industry, especially comic book movies, comedy, and sci-fi. Richard looks to expand his knowledge about movies and TV every day, and he is eager to stay locked into the latest releases and breaking news at every opportunity.
