Editor’s Word: The next accommodates spoilers for Ironheart Episodes 1-3.

Ironheart has lastly landed after what looks like endlessly, and it hasn’t wasted any time establishing connections to the broader Marvel Cinematic Universe. Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne) is discovering herself out of MIT and out of money to maintain her armor working after the occasions of Black Panther: Wakanda Ceaselessly, which leads her to work with the mystically powered felony referred to as The Hood (Anthony Ramos). She’s additionally discovered an unlikely ally in “Joe McGillicuddy” (Alden Ehrenreich​​​​​​), who secretly turned out to be Ezekiel Stane — the son of Iron Man‘s Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges).

However the connection that almost all followers had been eager to see was between Riri and Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), particularly because the two share a connection within the comics. Stark’s look in Ironheart was a protracted shot as a consequence of his loss of life in Avengers: Endgame, so the sequence takes a distinct strategy by giving Riri her second A.I. companion: N.A.T.A.L.I.E. (Lyric Ross). It is a change that truly works for the very best, particularly contemplating how Ironheart’s story is unfolding.

Riri Williams’ Comedian Origin Noticed Her Becoming a member of Forces With a Holographic Tony Stark

Riri Williams first appeared in Invincible Iron Man (2015) #9 by Brian Michael Bendis and Mike Deodato Jr., the place she caught the eye of Iron Man after constructing an armor just like his with spare elements she liberated from M.I.T.’s campus. Iron Man provided to coach her as a hero, however that coaching would take a distinct strategy because of the Civil Battle II storyline by Bendis and David Marquez. Iron Man and Captain Marvel got here to blows when an Inhuman named Ulysses revealed that he might see the long run; Captain Marvel noticed it as a solution to stop crimes earlier than they occurred, whereas Iron Man was towards it as he felt the long run wasn’t absolutely set in stone.

Ultimately, the superhero group is break up down the center, and Captain Marvel offers a nearly-fatal blow to Iron Man, forcing Tony Stark to switch his consciousness to a holographic kind so he can proceed mentoring Riri. Ultimately, Tony is ready to transplant his thoughts again into his physique, whereas Riri finally joins forces with the teenage heroes referred to as the Champions. Ironheart would additionally headline her personal ongoing sequence by Eve Ewing and Luciano Vecchio, the place N.A.T.A.L.I.E. is first launched. The primary two episodes of Ironheart, “Take Me Dwelling” and “Will The Actual Natalie Please Stand Up?”, even mirror N.A.T.A.L.I.E.’s origin within the comics. Whereas Riri is attempting to create an AI companion for her armor, her laptop scans her thoughts and creates a holographic model of her late pal Natalie Washington. This results in one among Ironheart‘s finest components.

‘Ironheart’ Is Taking the Probability To Unpack Riri’s Previous by Utilizing N.A.T.A.L.I.E. As an alternative of Tony Stark

By beginning off with N.A.T.A.L.I.E as Riri’s A.I. as an alternative of Tony Stark, Ironheart is slowly beginning to unpack the trauma that Riri‘s been by way of. Earlier than the occasions of the sequence, she was near Natalie till a gunfight broke out and claimed the lives of Natalie, in addition to Riri’s stepfather Gary. Riri has additionally has to cope with extra loss of life, as she witnessed Wakanda’s former queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett) sacrifice herself to guard her from the wrath of Talokan in Black Panther: Wakanda Ceaselessly. Ironheart even encompasses a stunning loss of life in its third episode, “We in Hazard, Lady,” the place Riri will get in a battle with The Hood’s cousin John (Manny Montana) and leaves him in a locked greenhouse after a heist goes incorrect, finally leaving him to die.

The expertise causes Riri to undergo a panic assault, and it is solely due to N.A.T.A.L.I.E. that she’s capable of work by way of it. That is not the one time that N.A.T.A.L.I.E. proves to be what Riri wants; in “Will The Actual Natalie Please Stand Up?”, she confronts Riri over working with The Hood and rightfully factors out that she would not know something about him — main Riri to steal a chunk of his cloak. N.A.T.A.L.I.E. additionally saves Riri’s life in “We in Hazard, Lady”, first by piloting the Ironheart armor whereas Riri goes to get The Hood’s cloak after which breaking into the greenhouse to save lots of her. These scenes are given rather more affect by the truth that Riri and the actual life Natalie shared a bond. In distinction, whereas Tony Stark was Riri’s first AI companion within the comics, they did not have that connection within the MCU, so this alteration was for the very best.

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What You Want To Bear in mind from the MCU Earlier than ‘Ironheart’

It is time for Riri Williams to swimsuit up as soon as once more.

N.A.T.A.L.I.E. Isn’t Like Any Different Synthetic Intelligence within the MCU, and That’s a Good Factor

All through the MCU, we have seen different synthetic intelligence come to life. Tony Stark would create J.A.R.V.I.S. and F.R.I.D.A.Y. to assist him pilot his armor, and later helped co-create Ultron in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Age of Ultron would additionally see the remnants of J.A.R.V.I.S. kind the Imaginative and prescient, and Spider-Man: Far From Dwelling noticed Tom Holland‘s Peter Parker coping with the AI referred to as E.D.I.T.H., who had management over a community of drones. N.A.T.A.L.I.E. stands out from the pack as a result of she appears like an actual individual: a part of that is the truth that she’s really primarily based on an actual individual in-universe, however a part of it’s also as a consequence of Lyric Ross’s efficiency. Ross infuses N.A.T.A.L.I.E. with loads of wit, appeal, and her dynamic with Dominique Thorne leads to a few of Ironheart‘s finest scenes.

It additionally gives a wonderful template for the upcoming Imaginative and prescient Quest sequence, particularly since that present might be coping with a lot of the synthetic intelligences within the MCU. Suppose Terry Matalas desires to make Imaginative and prescient Quest one among Marvel Tv’s standout initiatives.In that case, he ought to positively take a look at how Ironheart portrays N.A.T.A.L.I.E. Whereas Iron Man may not be part of Ironheart, the bond that Riri and N.A.T.A.L.I.E. share signifies that this alteration was the most effective issues that showrunner Chinaka Hodge did whereas adapting the comics to the display.

The primary three episodes of Ironheart can be found to stream on Disney+, with the rest of the sequence premiering on July 1.

Ironheart

Launch Date

June 24, 2025

Community

Disney+

Showrunner

Chinaka Hodge

Administrators

Angela Barnes, Sam Bailey

Writers

Chinaka Hodge

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  Dominique Thorne

  Riri Williams / Ironheart

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  Lyric Ross

  Natalie Washington