Who is Ironheart? An Introduction To New MCU Character
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Who is Ironheart? An Introduction To New MCU Character

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BY October 3, 2022

This character hasn’t sounded much in the Marvel world but could soon appear in the MCU and gain a lot of relevance. In this article, we will see who is Ironheart. This character would act as Iron Man’s replacement after his death in the last confrontation with Thanos. This young heroine built an armor similar to the hero and would even receive, at the time, support and advice from Tony Stark.

This character has armour with electromagnetic power, developed by herself. At an early age, she showed high intelligence, going to MIT University. In this, she created an armor similar to Iron Man’s Mark 42, although she added certain details.

Her armor would evolve with Stark’s support. She also had some encounters with superheroes like Captain America. He clandestinely worked with Shield, and fought a wide variety of adversaries. Now we have this character in the MCU, replacing her mentor.

We will see her next in two productions. The first is Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, where she will have a cameo. She will also have her series on Disney +. Here we will see this character’s story and how she will mix with the Marvel superhero team. 

Who is Ironheart?

Who is Ironheart Image: Marvel Comics

Ironheart, known as Riri Williams, is a teenage heroine in the style of Spider-Man and Ms Marvel, except that she has no powers. Her greatest ability is intelligence that could only rival that of Tony Stark. She is influenced by this hero and develops gadgets, robots and other items early.

Riri spent her childhood doing experiments and developing her intellectual abilities even more than making friends or playing as a normal infant would. This would lead to her being considered to study at MIT University at eleven, succeeding at first.

She would build her first armor model at this university, stealing some of the equipment belonging to the university. She is discovered, although she escapes wearing her armor. Riri later give it some tweaks and begin her career as a superheroine. She would face several villains, being encouraged by Iron Man. Also, she would fight various villains and even heroes controlled by villains. She would also team up with heroes such as Black Widow, She-Hulk, and Iron Man’s girlfriend, Peper Potts.

Origin and Biography of Ironheart

Riri Williams Image: Marvel Comics

This heroine, known as Riri Williams, was born in Illinois Chicago. She was raised by her mother and stepfather in this city, although at an early age, she would discover that she was very different from others. This was not because she had superpowers, but because of the superintelligence, she possessed. She proved it several times, with many tasks developed in various institutions.

Riri showed interest in technology, spending time with machines and high-tech elements. She also sought to develop new equipment with devices she had available at the time. Her childhood was not so social, as she did not interact with many infants, which led her not to have many social skills.

After that, she would be accepted to pursue a career in technology at MIT. There she experienced the first influence of Iron Man because it would be her inspiration to build her armor. For the design, she reverse engineered the 42nd version of the superhero’s armor and adapted it to her style.

For her construction, she would start stealing parts from university equipment and slowly began to assemble her armor. The university would discover her, but too late because when they went to confront her, she would already have the device ready. She would fly out of place, never to return.

Her First Heroic Deed 

Who is Ironheart Image: Marvel Comics

She would test the flight of her armor for a while, stopping the escape of prisoners in the state of New Mexico. She would attempt to continue her tests, however, the armor failed and she fell. Afterwards, she went home to explain to her parents that she had dropped out of college and her reasons, but she got a surprise.

This surprise was a visit from Tony Stark, who was impressed by her intelligence and supported her in her decision to be a heroine and develop her intellect. For that reason, he would leave her an artificial intelligence of her own which would always guide her. He would even help her refine her suit to make it more agile.

In its initial version, it was very clumsy and lacked mobility, although it gave her super strength, flight capacity, electromagnetic powers and the ability to wrap enemies in energy prisons. The new version was lighter, adapted to her build and with greater agility and maneuverability.  

From then on, she faced challenges and confrontations with various enemies. The first was against Animax, a mutant that can generate other mutants from its structure and DNA. She would also face Lady Octopus, Rhino and the yellow Armadillo.

Riri would later team up with a business executive, part-time heroin and Tony Stark’s partner, Pepper Pots. This is to fight against one of the crime lords, the inhuman Tomoe the Techno Golem and one of her henchmen, the Biohack Ninja.

She would later face Will o’ the Wisp, suffering her first defeat. She would fall fainted, being saved by Tony Stark’s artificial intelligence, which asked the Vengdores for help.   

Her Fight With Lucia Von Bardas 

Lucia Von Image: Marvel Comics

A fight of vital importance to the character was against Lucia von Bardas, a cyborg of crime. She would take control of the land of Latveria, her parents’ land, and then carry out a terrorist attack in the United States. Riri would go to her confrontation under cover of the same government, confront and defeat her. She would then take control of this country until elections would be held in the territory, which took place shortly after that.

Then she would be formally invited to form teams with various superheroes, being helped by Tony Stark. There she would form alliances with Amanda Armstrong, Mary Jane Watson, with SHIELD commander Sharon Carter, although it was unofficially. 

Later she would be invited to join a team of heroes called The Champions, in which she interacted with heroines like Black Widow, She-Hulk and Spider-Man. They fought together to fight against Hydra, who had controlled Captain America and had conquered the U.S. government.

The Death of Her Best Friend 

Ironheart Image: Marvel Comics

Then tragedy would strike in her life when one of her friends and idols was tragically killed in a shooting. She was Natalie Washington, an African-American astronaut, the first to participate in a NASA mission. They would have made a great friendship when Riri tried to belong to this organization because of her great intelligence.

Natalie would help her at all times, and in a meeting they had on a field day, the incident occurred. In this incident, Natalie and the heroine’s stepfather died, shocking the heroine.

Natalie was the one who suggested the name Ironheart due to her particular approach to Tony Stark or Iron Man. From then on, she would take this name and continue fighting crime.

Ironheart would reappear in a search for Tony Stark’s missing body. The hero was in a coma at the time, and his body was not found in the hospital where he was hospitalized. Riri would continue the search, but without success, until she received an invitation from MIT to return.

At that time, Riri was undecided whether to return to college or not until she received advice from Blade the Vampire Slayer. Blade recommended that she join the institute and that she would do research for Stark. He would also develop new equipment that could lead her to Stark or the other way around.

Wakanda and Vibranium

Wakanda TV series Ryan Coogler Image via Disney

Wakanda is a fictional nation born in the Marvel Universe, in which the king is the Black Panther. The first mention of this country is in Captain America: Civil War (2016). The king and ambassador of this country are assassinated, causing his son and the next king to seek revenge on Bucky, Captain America’s friend.

The second time we mentioned this country was in the first movie of this hero. In this one, he faces an internal danger, a distant relative who seeks to take over the kingdom and the resources and export them to other nations. Finally, in The Avengers: Infinity War (2018), they fight against the Sons of Thanos and his army.

This country is famous for its culture and advanced technology, which far surpasses that of the United States. They also have essential resources, such as vibranium. Vibranium is the strongest metal on the planet, even more potent than Adamantium, which for many is indestructible.

This situation will be in grave danger in the next Black Panther movie, where they will have to fight a foreign invasion. With their king dead, the people will have to fight any way they can to preserve the kingdom and its resources.

Ironheart Appearance in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Disney confirms t'challa's death in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever trailer Image via Disney/Marvel

As some thought, it has been leaked for some time that Ironheart’s first appearance would not be in her own series. This one would appear in the movie Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. This heroine will likely help the people of Wakanda during the attack by foreign nations.  

Powers and Abilities

Who is Ironheart Image: Marvel Comics

Her super intelligence stands out among her abilities, allowing her to create and improve her armor. Among her combat abilities, we can fly, launch electromagnetic rays, and have super strength. He can also generate energy spheres that serve to enclose her opponents. She also has the artificial intelligence of Tony Stark that helps her in moments of urgency.

Ironheart’s appearances

secret empire Image: Marvel Comics

This character has appeared in several Marvel comics and in some animated television series. We have Iron Man the Invincible among the comics that Ironheart has been. We are the champions, those with courage, in issues 9 and 11 of Civil Wars II, Secret Empire #1, Marvel Legacy #1.

In television series, this character appeared in a couple of opportunities, the first one being Marvel Rising: Heart of Iron. In this, we see how the character is born, how she builds her armor, how she gets Stark’s AI, and how she joins the Secret Warriors to disarm a device that would end the world.

Another appearance she would have on television was in the animated series Marvel’s Spider-Man. In this one, she plays an apprentice of the Avengers, who tragically lost her father. In both TV productions, the voice was represented by Sofia Wylie.

She will also have two more appearances, the first in the Black Panther movie, and later, she will have her series on Disney +.

She Will Have Her Series

Ironheart will soon have her series on the Disney + platform. It will tell the story of Riri and how she builds her armor, under the influence of Stark. It will star Dominique Thorne, who will play the role of Riri Williams. We will enjoy this series in the fall of 2023, although the exact date is unknown.

As for the same cast, other actors have been confirmed apart from Thorne: Anthony Ramos, Lyric Ross, Manny Montana and Alden Ehrenreich. The series has no director yet confirmed, but the screenwriter will be Chinaka Hodge.

The series will have six episodes in its first season. At the moment, it would be premature to say that there will be a second season. This will depend on the success of this one. However, this character will be integrated into other films, such as movies in the Marvel world, linking it with the other characters. 

We Will See Ironheart Soon 

Ironheart, Riri Williams, Disney+, Iron Man, Civil War II, Marvel Comics, MCU, Happy Hogan, Pepper Potts, Tony Stark, Rescue, Coronavirus, Doctor Doom, STEM, MIT

For now, we will see her in the upcoming movie Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. This movie should have been released in 2021, but due to the pandemic, it was postponed to November 11, 2022. Marvel and Disney will pay tribute to Chadwick Boseman, the protagonist of the movie, who died at a young age due to complicated cancer.

In fact, in the trailer, it looks like a kind of ceremony they make to the king, which could be understood as a tribute to the actor, as happened with Paul Walker in Fast and Furious 7. In this, we see dances, how they proceed to the funeral, how they send messages of encouragement to T’Challa and how everyone mourns his death.

The actress in this movie representing Ironheart and Riri Williams will be the same as the series Dominique Thorne. Being her first participation in the Marvel Universe, both the actress and the character, we will have to see how Iron Man’s replacement begins to win the hearts of the people in these first appearances.

Featured Image Via Marvel Comics

 

Marvel

I am a circus aerialist influenced by Dick Grayson and Spider-Man. Fortunate to write about the characters that inspired me. I also have a Bachelor's degree in Political Science and a Master's degree in International Trade.

          

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