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Full spoilers immediately follow for Ironheart.

Ironheart has disengaged its thrusters. Its final three episodes landed on July 1 or 2 (depending on where you live), with the trio's arrival marking the end of the Marvel TV show's run on Disney+.

Or does it? The last Marvel Phase 5 project's finale is full of unresolved plot threads that suggest Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne) and Parker Robbins' (Anthony Ramos) stories have only just begun in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Throw in the debut of a long-awaited Marvel villain and other interesting tidbits that might impact the MCU moving forward, and Ironheart could be more important to the MCU than we realized.

But enough babbling. Let's take a look at the biggest questions you have about Ironheart's ending and I'll do my best to answer them.

Who plays Mephisto in Ironheart? And what is he, exactly?

The demon lord known as Mephisto in Marvel Comics has finally made his MCU debut (Image credit: Marvel Studios/Disney+)

Let's address the second question first because it's easier to answer: Mephisto is played by Sacha Baron Cohen – he of Borat, Ali G, and The Trial of the Chicago 7 fame – in the MCU.

Cohen's appearance won't shock some MCU devotees. He was first linked with the role of Mephisto in October 2022 – those reports arriving 18 months after Marvel fans had convinced themselves Mephisto would be unveiled as primary antagonist of WandaVision. As it happened, Agatha Harkness was that show's Big Bad. Nonetheless, fans have longed for the day that Mephisto would finally make his bow in Marvel's cinematic juggernaut.

As for who (or what) Mephisto is: he's Marvel Comics' takes on Mephistopheles, the demon lord who appears in the Germanic fable Faust. Mephisto is also an alias of The Devil, aka the mythical personification of evil who lauds it over the realm known as Hell in many religions.

Mephisto's true form can be seen in a easily-missed shot when he taps a teaspoon on the side of a cup of coffee (Image credit: Marvel Studios/Disney+)

But back to Marvel's take on Mephisto. First introduced in comic book 'Silver Surfer #3' in December 1968, the demonic entity is a recurring adversary of The Silver Surfer, Ghost Rider, and Spider-Man in Marvel literature, although he's also crossed paths with Doctor Strange, Doctor Doom, Scarlet Witch, and myriad other Marvel heroes and villains.

He's most famous for being responsible for the demise of Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson's marriage, too. Indeed, in the incredibly divisive 2000s comic story 'Spider-Man: One More Day', Mephisto made a deal with the pair to save Aunt May's life in exchange for the formal union of their love, which infuriated long-time fans of the webslinger.

Abilities wise, Mephisto is unsurprisingly one of the most powerful beings in the Marvel Universe. He possesses all of the usual superhuman powers, but it's his ability to shapeshift, foresee events before they transpire, and prey on people's biggest fears and/or their trauma that makes him such a threat.

It's the latter of those skills, coupled with his vast magical powers, that enables him to warp reality, and to manipulate people and bargain with them for something they want. Usually, the trade-off is the other individual's soul, which Mephisto takes ownership of once a deal is formally agreed.

Okay, so what's the deal with him first appearing in Ironheart? He's the individual who rescues Parker Robbins after the latter and Cousin John's unsuccessful break-in at the home of Parker's dad. Then, he convinces Parker to strike a deal: Mephisto will gift him a dark magic-infused hooded cloak – so Parker can commit petty crimes and make himself rich – in exchange for Parker's soul.

Who dies in Ironheart?

Ironheart performs the rare feat of bringing someone back from the dead (Image credit: Marvel Studios/Disney+)

Nobody. The eponymous hero survives, as do Anthony Ramos' villain in Parker Robbins/The Hood and Alden Ehrenreich's secondary antagonist Zeke Stane.

In fact, Ironheart pulls a reverse Uno card, and brings someone back from the dead. After she defeats The Hood by taking away the source of his powers (aka his cloak), Riri heads for the exit of Desperito's, aka the dilapidated pizza restaurant that The Hood turned into his hideout.

On the way, though, she bumps into Mephisto, who cajoles her into becoming his next victim. Mephisto makes a deal with Riri to revive Natalie Washington (Lyric Ross). Remember, Natalie is Riri's best friend, who was killed in a drive-by shooting years ago, and who N.A.T.A.L.I.E, the artificial intelligence Riri creates, is based on.

In return, Mephisto gets Riri's soul. Indeed, after Riri shakes hands with Mephisto, we're privy to a highly emotional reunion between Riri and the reborn Natalie. However, as the pair hug, Riri's right forearm gets covered by the same fire-esque skin markings that adorned Parker's body every time he used his cloak and/or powers.

With Riri's soul now seemingly bound to Mephisto, it'll be fascinating to see when she realizes this is the case, and if her and/or Natalie sacrifice the latter's second chance at life to free Riri of the pact that this flawed hero has made.

Does Ironheart have a mid-credits or post-credits scene?

Parker and Zelma meet in Stanton's in Ironheart's mid-credits scene (Image credit: Marvel Studios/Disney+)

Yes and no. Ironheart has a mid-credits stinger, but there's no end-credits scene to stick around for.

Where the former is concerned, we see the now-cloakless Parker visit Stanton's. That's the confectionary shop that's a front for the Stanton family, who deal with the mystical and the occult.

Anyway, upon entering the store, Parker is greeted by Zelma Stanton (read my Ironheart cast and character guide for more on her), who rattles off the welcome spiel we first heard in episode 4. Parker, though, immediately sees through Zelma's facade, and informs her that he knows about the stuff in the back – i.e., the magical trinkets and knowledge in the Stantons' possession. Parker then tells Zelma he's looking for someone more "experienced" and "supreme" than she is before the screen cuts to black.

Clearly, Parker is interested in finding one of two individuals: Stephen Strange, aka Doctor Strange, or the current Sorcerer Supreme/Master of the Mystic Arts in MCU fan-favorite Wong. Considering that Strange is off-world dealing with the fallout from Doctor Strange 2, I suspect Parker wants to find Wong to learn more about magic. Will it be for the right reasons because he's turned over a new leaf in his life, or does he seek more knowledge of dark magic in order to exact revenge on Riri and Mephisto? Who knows – but this isn't the last we've seen of Parker.

Will there be an Ironheart season 2? And how could it set up Marvel's Strange Academy TV show?

I'd be surprised if Ironheart gets a second season (Image credit: Marvel Studios/Disney+)

We don't know. Unlike their big-screen offerings – read my articles on how to watch the Marvel movies in order and the best Marvel movies while you're here – Marvel rarely tells us if a show's lead character will return in a second season once its final end credits sequence has rolled. The only time I can remember the comic giant doing so was with season 1 of Loki, with a mid-credits stinger stating "Loki will return in season 2".

The Tom Hiddleston-starring series aside, Marvel has only renewed three other shows: Daredevil: Born Again, whose second season is currently in development, and animated offerings Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man and What If...?. The former's sophomore season is also in active development, while the latter ran for three seasons between 2022 and 2024.

The chances of Ironheart season 2 being greenlit, then, aren't too high. Sure, its 86% critical score on Rotten Tomatoes suggest it should be, but its mixed audience rating indicates that general viewers wouldn't be devastated if a second season isn't forthcoming.

In my view, it's far more likely that Williams, Robbins, and/or Mephisto will show up in other MCU projects. Williams could be part of the cast for Marvel's long-rumored Young Avengers project. Based on Ironheart's mid-credits scene, Robbins could show up in another rumored Disney+ show called Strange Academy, which could star Benedict Wong's Sorcerer Supreme and explore the Mystic Arts in more detail. As for Mephisto, given his shared history with Spider-Man, would it be too much to ask for a cameo in Spider-Man: Brand New Day? Probably, but stranger things have happened.

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Modern IT systems are awash with a constant flow of data providing information on system performance and security. This data is crucial for IT professionals looking to keep IT infrastructures running smoothly.

The snag is, with so much information available, it’s almost impossible to decipher what’s routine and what potentially could pose a threat. Trying to figure out the digital wheat from the chaff requires more than just visibility. It requires increasingly sophisticated systems that can interpret, prioritize and act—not simply collect information.

Unfortunately, most observability tools today don’t work this way. They generate alerts, log events and surface anomalies. And while technology is improving all the time, they don’t always understand what’s happening or how to respond.

Take a typical global enterprise running a hybrid architecture. It may have critical applications that are spread across multiple cloud providers, while also relying on on-premise legacy systems. Together, these systems are shepherded by dozens of monitoring tools generating thousands of alerts every day.

Some are false positives. Others are minor policy breaches. But lurking somewhere in the noise is a genuine security incident. And by the time it’s spotted… well, it could be too late.

Observability is becoming more intelligent

What’s missing isn’t just more tools or greater visibility. It requires a new, highly sophisticated level of observability—one that works more like a human brain with the ability to filter out noise, recognize what matters and trigger the right response at the right time. What’s needed is something intelligent that can ’think’ for itself.

Part of the reason why this is needed is because IT teams have tended to invest in separate tools that often have little contextual awareness. That means it’s up to the human members of IT teams to bridge the gaps, deciding whether an alert is serious, identifying the root cause and initiating the right response. In fast-moving environments, these human assessments can take time which, in turn, adds to the risk.

An intelligent observability system, on the other hand, would do more than simply monitor for known issues. It would detect anomalies in real time using context-aware monitoring, then assess the severity and likely impact based on both the technical and business relevance and risk.

Rather than treating every signal the same, it would prioritize based on urgency and risk, helping teams focus on what truly matters.

Crucially, it would also support automation, enabling routine fixes or containment measures to be initiated. And instead of splitting insight across multiple disconnected views, it would bring together data from on-premises and cloud environments in a single, cohesive picture.

This kind of system doesn’t just monitor IT systems and networks. It has total oversight and is ready to act when needed.

So, how close are we?

The good news is that progress is being made. AI-driven observability is moving from aspiration to implementation. Anomaly detection based on behavioral baselines is becoming more accessible, helping teams distinguish real issues from false alarms. Alert correlation and intelligent escalation paths are improving, reducing alert fatigue and bringing the right signals to the right people at the right time.

Some observability platforms, including those being developed at SolarWinds, are already combining monitoring, analysis and response into more cohesive workflows. Integration across hybrid environments remains a challenge, but the building blocks for intelligent observability are now in place.

What’s still missing, though, is the kind of full-system intelligence that can replicate the nuance of human decision-making. Most observability tools still rely on thresholds, templates, or predefined rules. True context-awareness—the ability to understand why something is happening and what to do next—is still emerging. But the direction of travel is clear.

Why this matters now

According to a recent SolarWinds AI and Observability report focused on the public sector, three-quarters of respondents said hybrid environments were hard to manage. Top concerns included data protection, integration complexity and a lack of visibility across systems.

Managing this complexity is made harder by the reality that observability tools are often siloed—one for cloud, another for on-prem, with separate platforms for detection, logging and remediation.

Security only adds to the unpredictability. In the same report, more than half of IT professionals said insider mistakes were contributing to serious threats, while 59% highlighted increasingly sophisticated attacks from external actors. The rise of generative AI means those external threats are becoming more scalable and targeted, increasing the strain on overstretched IT teams.

Which is why the key is not to add even more tools but to reduce complexity, improve visibility and act with intelligence and speed. An observability system that functions more like a brain does exactly that, because IT systems need to do more than observe. They need to understand.

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This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro

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The surge in artificial intelligence adoption has sparked comparisons to the cloud boom of the past decade, but while usage is growing rapidly, understanding remains shallow, new research has claimed.

A Hostinger report found almost 80% of companies now use or plan to use AI, but a seperate Adecco Group report claims only 10% of C-suite leaders believe their organizations are fully ready for the disruption AI brings.

Among the estimated 359 million companies worldwide, about 280 million now integrate AI into at least one function.

AI adoption accelerates, but strategy and structure lag behind

A growing number of small businesses are turning to the best AI tools to handle tasks like writing emails, analyzing data, or generating content.

Larger companies may build out full teams for implementation, but smaller firms are quietly transforming operations using lean, sometimes improvised, approaches.

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Adecco found over half of CEOs admit their teams struggle to align on priorities, and only a third of businesses are investing in data infrastructure that would help close these gaps.

However, a small group of “future-ready” companies is building more responsive strategies by supporting continuous learning and relying on enterprise-wide insight to shape their AI direction.

Adecco’s CEO, Denis Machuel, puts it plainly: “AI-driven transformation must be human-centric.”

Many companies rush into AI adoption without understanding what differentiates them, resulting in scattered or redundant projects.

“Without enterprise-wide insight, AI efforts become siloed and misaligned. Enterprise Architecture can help focus AI initiatives on what truly sets a company apart,” Stendera explains.

By mapping their unique strengths and workflows, organizations can guide AI deployments that reinforce strategic priorities rather than dilute them.

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