Ironheart has concluded its six-episode run on Disney+, and plenty of followers are buzzing. Regardless of being on the receiving finish of a evaluation bomb marketing campaign, the collection has shortly damaged by means of the dangerous noise and emerged as one of many higher entries in Marvel’s Disney+ collection. Its Rotten Tomatoes rating has risen over the previous few weeks, and the season finale debut of Sacha Baron Cohen as Mephisto within the MCU has been a game-changer. Ironheart follows Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne), a younger lady who creates an armored swimsuit modeled after Iron Man.
But, Ironheart is just not a direct spin-off of the Iron Man franchise. Riri Williams by no means met Tony Stark within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. With that being stated, a couple of plot factors in Ironheart do tie into the broader Iron Man franchise. On the identical time, the collection additionally makes a robust effort to argue that Riri Williams is just not a copycat of Iron Man, however slightly a subversion of the archetype.
Ezekiel Stane, the Son of Tony Stark’s First Enemy
The largest connection between the world of Ironheart and Iron Man, aside from a high-tech swimsuit, is the character of Ezekiel Stane (Alden Ehrenreich). Ezekiel Stane is the son of Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges), the previous mentor of Tony Stark, who turned the villainous Iron Monger. With Obadiah Stane being the primary villain of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, this connection hyperlinks Ironheart again to the franchise’s inception.
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Ironheart has lots of enjoyable discovering parallels between the conflicts between Ezekiel and Riri Williams and Obadiah and Tony Stark. Ezekiel even at one level says how a lot he’s like his father, making an attempt to kill somebody in an armored swimsuit. Ezekiel initially tried to keep away from being something like his father, solely to search out himself drawn to a villainous life (although most people was not conscious of Obadiah’s villainous actions, as S.H.I.E.L.D.’s cowl story was by no means debunked). Regardless of the occasions of Iron Man and Ironheart being practically twenty years aside, the ripple of Tony Stark and Obadiah Stane’s battle is now being carried over into their successors, Riri Williams and Ezekiel Stane. One which hopefully will likely be carried over into future MCU initiatives.
Tony Stark’s MIT Historical past May Have Funded Riri Williams’ Swimsuit
Riri Williams was launched in Black Panther: Wakanda Ceaselessly as a pupil enrolled at MIT, the exact same faculty from which Tony Stark graduated at 17. Captain America: Civil Conflict exhibits Tony Stark giving a visitor lecture to MIT college students and unveiling the September Basis. Each MIT pupil is made an equal recipient of the grant, giving all of them the correct funding to maneuver ahead with their innovations and initiatives.
Jim Rash, who beforehand appeared in Captain America: Civil Conflict as an MIT workers member, reprises his function in Ironheart, now recognized as Professor Wilkes. The collection doesn’t make it clear whether or not he is similar professor who bought Riri Williams’ vibranium detection machine to the USA authorities, which kicks off the occasions of Black Panther: Wakanda Ceaselessly.
Riri Williams was not in attendance throughout Tony Stark’s visitor lecture, as Captain America: Civil Conflict occurred in 2016 when Riri Williams was 11 years previous. She didn’t attend MIT till 2020 (in the course of the Blip) on the age of 15. Nevertheless, Riri Williams was seemingly a recipient of the grant, as Tony Stark was nonetheless alive when she began faculty.
Since Riri Williams’ Ironheart fits have been funded together with her personal grant cash, they weren’t the property of the college, which is why she was permitted to take them together with her. Tony Stark’s contributions to the September Basis ensured that Riri Williams might construct her preliminary swimsuit, but in addition preserve it after she was kicked out of MIT.
‘Ironheart’ Tells the Iron Man Story the MCU By no means Did
Ironheart‘s most vital connection to Iron Man is much less tied to the Marvel Cinematic Universe model, however slightly the comics. Particularly, Ironheart makes use of Riri Williams to inform a traditional Iron Man-type story that the MCU by no means bought round to telling: know-how versus magic. Despite the fact that Iron Man’s rogues gallery is crammed with different armored characters like Crimson Dynamo, Titanium Man, and Ghost, his archenemy is often considered The Mandarin. A part of what made Iron Man and the Mandarin such an attention-grabbing dynamic was the thought of pitting Iron Man’s technological fits towards the Mandarin’s magical rings (truly, alien know-how meant to appear like magic).
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Ironheart and The Hood really feel just like the MCU’s stand-ins for Iron Man and The Mandarin. Ironheart incorporates a battle between an armored hero and a magic-wielding villain that might have match proper at residence in any Iron Man comedian. This determination connects Ironheart to the broader legacy of Iron Man, extending past the flicks, solidifying her as a correct successor to the Armored Avenger.
A Story of Two Cities
Despite the fact that Riri Williams and Tony Stark are each genius MIT graduates who fly mech fits with AI assistants, Ironheart makes important efforts to spotlight what makes the 2 characters completely different. Tony Stark was born to a lifetime of wealth and privilege, whereas Riri Williams was born to a working-class household. Being a cisgender white man and inheritor to a wealthy household legacy granted Tony Stark particular privileges and entry that Riri Williams by no means might as a younger Black lady. An awesome instance is that Tony Stark hacked the Pentagon’s firewall in highschool on a dare, and sure confronted no repercussions. Riri Williams was expelled from MIT for promoting solutions to different college students.
Tony Stark had all of the sources of a profitable weapons firm to rebuild and tinker his swimsuit, making as much as 47 fashions in Iron Man 3. Riri Williams, however, is scraping by, needing to purchase junk to even repair her swimsuit. There’s a clear distinction between the haves (Tony Stark) and the have-nots (Riri Williams). Even their environments are completely different. Ironheart’s Chicago metropolis settings have extra in frequent with the street-level adventures of Daredevil than the Los Angeles, New York, and globe-trotting adventures of Iron Man and The Avengers.
Riri Williams represents the present second in a method Tony Stark by no means might in 2025. With rising inflation and hire costs, however stagnant wages, a major quantity of financial anxiousness is sweeping the American individuals, more likely to be exacerbated by potential cuts to essential social providers, equivalent to healthcare and meals help. Riri Williams is a extra relatable hero than an aspirational one like Tony Stark.
Ironheart, together with heroes just like the Thunderbolts, is tapping into the cultural zeitgeist, retaining the Marvel ethos of “the world exterior your window” alive. Riri Williams is the true inheritor to Tony Stark’s Iron Man legacy, not as a result of she is a direct copy, however as a result of she brings a brand new spin to the armored superhero style.
Ironheart
- Launch Date
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2025 – 2025
- Community
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Disney+
- Showrunner
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Chinaka Hodge
