Did Ironheart hint at another layer to Killmonger's backstory? Exploring speculations

The Ironheart finale delivered fans something that they’ve been waiting for a long time: Mephisto’s presence. If you don’t know, Mephisto in the Marvel Comics lore is the devil, and thereby the king of hell. It is revealed that in this cinematic universe, Mephisto, as portrayed by British actor Sacha Baron Cohen, tempts talented yet vulnerable individuals to make a deal with him.

It has been hinted that Mephisto would take souls as payment, keeping his end of the deal. In the Ironheart finale, Cohen reveals that he made deals with several other figures and that everyone on the Forbes list in the MCU made a deal with him. Given how he targets people with no wealth and social standing, fans have come up with a fan theory.

The theory being that Killmonger, the central antagonist of 2018's Black Panther, also made a deal with it. However, it is worth noting that at this point, this theory has not been given any credibility.

In the wake of the Ironheart finale, many believe that Killmonger also made a deal with the devil:

In the comics, Killmonger/N'Jadaka is a Wakandan but not related to T’Challa/Black Panther. However, 2018’s Black Panther changed things to a dramatic effect. The movie makes Killmonger T’Challa’s cousin, as he is the son of the latter’s paternal uncle. Killmonger loses his father at a very young age to T’Challa’s father, T’Chaka, who was the Black Panther in the 90s.

While Martin Freeman’s Everett Ross reveals that Killmonger graduated from MIT and the Naval Academy, we don’t know much about Killmonger’s past. A deal with Ironheart’s Mephisto could explain how Killmonger came up in the world. But there is one fact that might disprove this fan theory. The lack of scars we saw spreading on Parker Robbins’ and Riri Williams’ bodies, as seen in the series.

But why did fans come up with this fan theory in the first place?

The answer to this question is simple because Riri and Killmonger have two things in common. Canonically, Riri and Killmonger went to the same place for college, which is MIT. But the second reason why many believe that Killmonger made a deal with Mephisto, like Riri and Parker Robbins, is that both Black Panther and Ironheart boast the involvement of Ryan Coogler.

Furthermore, there is still the additional issue of Killmonger’s unexplained rise as we see him in Black Panther. And, there is a hint that the scars on Killmonger’s body are hinted at by the movie to symbolize all the lives he took over the years to get to Wakanda. But, because of all the similarities between Riri and Killmonger, some theorize that he made a deal with Mephisto.

“Set after the events of “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”, Marvel Television’s “Ironheart” pits technology against magic when Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne)—a young, genius inventor determined to make her mark on the world—returns to her hometown of Chicago. Her unique take on building iron suits is brilliant, but in pursuit of her ambitions, she finds herself wrapped up with the mysterious yet charming Parker Robbins aka “The Hood” (Anthony Ramos).”