Ironheart: Is Anthony Ramos Playing The Hood?

By Jenna Anderson

Marvel's Ironheart series is gradually taking shape, with an ensemble cast beginning to grow for the upcoming Disney+ series. Outside of series star Riri Williams/Ironheart (Dominique Thorne), one of the first casting reports for the project revealed that Hamilton and In the Heights star Anthony Ramos, in a mystery role that has been speculated about ever since. The initial casting announcement indicated that Ramos' role would be significant for the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe, similarly to how Jonathan Majors' Kang the Conqueror was introduced in the Loki Disney+ series. A new report, surrounding This Is Us star Lyric Ross being cast in the series, claimed that Ramos' character would be the show's villain. 

Those two reports open an interesting can of worms for Ironheart, as the titular character has only appeared in comics since 2016, and therefore has a relatively small established rogues gallery to adapt. To an extent, that means the sky could be the limit in terms of what corner of the Marvel universe the show borrows Ramos' villain from — but some have speculated that it could be Parker Robbins/ The Hood.

Created by Brian K. Vaughan, Kyle Hotz, and Eric Powell, The Hood first debuted in his own eponymous comic miniseries in 2002. As a young boy, Parker was the son of a close associate of Kingpin, who turned to a life of crime after a string of tragedies. After accidentally summoning and killing a Nisanti demon and stealing its hood and boots, Parker gets a string of superpowers, which he uses to make waves in New York City. Eventually, Parker succeeds in becoming "the Godfather" of all of New York's worst supervillains, and forms the Hood's Crime Syndicate.

On the surface, The Hood would seem like an odd choice for the villain of an Ironheart show, especially given the scientific and technological roots behind Riri's whole deal. But honestly, that might be the kind of unexpected storyline that could work in the show's favor, allowing for an interesting juxtaposition between Riri's tech and magic, and also providing a formidable syndicate of organized crime to affect Riri's world.

Beyond that, it's easy to imagine Ramos' take on The Hood factoring into the larger MCU, given the number of characters he's crossed paths with over the years. And if Vincent D'Onofrio's Kingpin does end up returning in future MCU installments after his surprise appearance in last year's Hawkeye series, it certainly stands to reason that he and The Hood could serve as a rival of his.

Who do you think Anthony Ramos is playing in Marvel's Ironheart series? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

Ironheart is expected to debut on Disney+ at a later date.

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