Who is Ironheart? A Quick Guide to Marvel’s Rising Star

Riri Williams will be taking on the small screen as Ironheart is set to release this week, exclusively on Disney+. This will be the 14th television series for the MCU and it shares the continuity with the films of the franchise. Starring Dominique Thorne as the MIT student, the series takes place after the events in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever where she discovers secrets that put both technology and magic against each other.

It’s been a while since we last saw the character grace our screen and to many viewers, this may be their first introduction to the character. Here’s a quick guide of who this character is.

Debut & Origin

Riri Williams was first introduced to the world in Invincible Iron Man Vol. 2, Issue #7 in 2016. The series was created by Brian Michael Bendis and Mike Deodato and it featured 15-year-old Williams as a MIT student who reversed engineer her own Iron Man style suit from stolen parts. Tony Stark is critically injured during this time and after she proves her heroism, she catches the attention of Tony Stark before he falls into a coma.

While Tony is absent due to his injuries, the young hero creates her own A.I version of Stark, turns her suit from a clunky prototype to Stark level masterpiece, while also navigating the responsibilities being a hero while balancing grief from losing her stepdad and best friend.

An MIT Early Start

The young hero is a certified genius! She was accepted and earned a full scholarship to the prestigious school of MIT at just 11 years old. This is where she began to build her own version of the Iron Man suit. She would get spare parts and start building them at her school’s lab.

A Core Member of The Champions

The Champions is a group that was formed when Ms. Marvel, Miles Morales and Nova left the Avengers. Their goals as heroes was to be able to help people than just beating up the bad guys. Ironheart was one of the first people to join the group.

She became a core member as she was the person who helped the team to focus on the real issues of what was going on. It wasn’t easy for her as in the beginning, she struggled with leadership and team conflicts. In Champions Vol. 3, she would work with international communities that also brought her face-to-face with Mephisto.

A Humble & Tragic Story

Unlike Tony Stark, Riri didn’t come from riches. She’s originally from the south side of Chicago. Just like most heroes, she also faced the tragic loss of losing people she loved. Riri was a victim of gun violence as a child when a driveby took the life of her best friend Natalie and her stepfather.

This has led to many unhealed wounds where she doesn’t like opening up to people. There were times where she would feel wary about saving people. She eventually joins a group therapy session with her mother to work through her past trauma.

Riri and Shuri: Two Geniuses, One Goal

Wakanda has one of the best tech in the world. Shuri helps with Riri’s armor by offering vibranium enhancements such as energy stabilization and tactical upgrades. In Ironheart Issue #11, Shuri praises Riri, by telling her that she sees her as “the future of heroism.”

Since they are both tech-savvy, they usually exchange conversations about AI ethics, tech philosophy and cultural responsibility. This partnership could lead to a future collaboration between Wakanda and tech alliance of young minds.

Both Riri and Shuri have met in the previous Black Panther film so they would most likely meet once again in the future in the MCU.

The Uniqueness of Riri Williams

The first Ironheart solo series was created in 2018 with the series written by a black woman, Eve L. Ewing, for the very first time. Readers explore her Chicago roots while her attempts to remain connected to her community. She builds an A.I model called N.A.T.A.L.I.E, in which she based on her late best friend.

She fight multiple tech-savvy foes while also dealing with villains who are tied to human trafficking and corruption. The uniqueness of the character is that she isn’t just battling bad guys but she is also learning how to be whole again. With the tragedy she has suffered, she is not only being the hero that the world wants but for her to be a better person for herself.

SOURCE: ScreenRant

Are you excited for the Ironheart miniseries on Disney+? Who are you most excited to see on the show? Which fact surprised you? Let us know by commenting and don’t forget to follow Reel Movie Junkie official socials for more stories like this one.