Ironheart Ep 1-3 Review
When Black Panther: Wakanda Forever released in 2022, most people only cared about it honoring the late Chadwick Boseman. But amidst the fight between Wakanda and Namor, another character was introduced that was the inadvertent catalyst for everything: Riri Williams, AKA Ironheart. This young genius not only managed to invent a device the US used to look for undersea Vibranium, she made her own armored suit like Iron Man. While she had to give the Wakandan suit by the end of the film, it was clear Marvel was positioning her to be Tony Stark’s successor as the Armored Avengers. Now that three years have passed and Riri’s returned in her own miniseries, Ironheart, though, it’s time to ask the big question: does Riri have what it takes to fit Tony Stark’s shoes?
The jury is still out, but after seeing the first three episodes of Ironheart, I’d say the answer is yes and no.
After returning from her life-changing adventure in Wakanda, Riri’s obsession with remaking the suit she built there leads to try and earn extra money. Unfortunately, her hustle of doing people’s homework for cash ultimately leads to her expulsion from MIT. She’s barely able to make it back to Chicago before her suit crashes. Just as she hits rock bottom, though, she gets approached by a man who’s part of an independent team looking do some jobs. The kind of jobs that could make them all very rich. Rich enough to never have to listen to anyone ever again.
The catch? These jobs aren’t exactly…legal. Or even moral. They’re robbing people.
Ironheart Ain’t No Iron Man
I will be upfront when I say this: Riri Williams is not Tony Stark, just like Dominique Thorne is not Robert Downey Jr. Riri comes from the streets of Chicago and had to work hard to get what she needed in life, whereas Tony already had the money and resources he needed to be Iron Man. RDJ brought Stark to life with his charisma, witty remarks, and trollish behavior. While Dominique Thorne does bring her own charisma to play as the witty Riri, her youth means she lacks some of the world-weariness the older RDJ had. She’s still capable of cracking jokes and being fun when she has to, though. Lastly, while Tony Stark made his first suit to escape captivity, Riri made hers for the love of the game. They’re different people.
The one thing that they do have in common is trauma, and even then, they handle it differently. Though, to be fair, the trauma they face is different. Tony dealt with his insecurities stemming from his relationship with his father. Riri, on the other hand, has something…darker. When she was younger, she watched as her beloved step-dad, Gary, and her best friend, Natalie, were gunned down in a drive-by. She’s still suffering from PTSD because of that, and instead of trying to find ways to heal from it, she’s poured herself into her work. She thinks that if she can create something meaningful, then Natalie and Gary won’t have died for nothing. Though what she ends up creating is…concerning, to say the least.
After getting expelled from MIT, Riri needs a new AI for the Ironheart suit, so she decides to create one herself. Rather than go through the lengthy process of coding and programming everything, though, she uses her own brain to create a digital copy of herself. However, because she was thinking about Natalie during the mapping, her new AI…is basically a digital clone of Natalie.
Another Smart AI?
N.A.T.A.L.I.E, as Nat 2.0 names herself, is a wholly unique creation. So unique, in fact, that Riri and her mom aren’t sure if she’s just an AI or Natalie’s soul converted into a digital form. She has most of Natalie’s memories, her mannerisms, ways of talking, everything! The good news is that since she has a template for her personality, the chances of her ending up like Ultron are unlikely. The bad news: it freaks Riri out.
AI has been getting a lot of attention in media lately, and for good reason. They have the power to enhance people’s lives, but could also cost many people their jobs. There are also the ethical concerns regarding using AI as companions, or even partners. However, N.A.T.A.L.I.E., an AI based on someone who is deceased, might be the biggest concern of all. Do we have the right to create an AI copy of someone who’s no longer with us? Would we consider the AI as the same person with all the rights afforded to them? Would they even be considered people or property? It’s scary to think about, and while Riri isn’t thrilled about this reminder of her best friend, she doesn’t have the heart to get rid of her.
Which, I might add, would raise another red flag: if N.A.T.A.L.I.E. can be considered sentient, deleting her would be tantamount to murder. And to make matters worse, Ironheart might have gotten involved in that anyway.
Beware the Hood!
So, about that job opportunity that involves robbing people? Essentially, Riri is hired to work with a gang of thieves who claim to only target the rich and corrupt. The kind of people who don’t care who they hurt if it means they stay on top, and who many would think deserve to go down. Their leader is named Parker Robbins, but comic book fans know him as the Hood. And the Hood is dangerous. The hood that gives him his name is demonic in origin, and grants him access to magic in the form of invisibilty, creating magic bullets, and potentially more. It’s also corruptive by nature. The longer Parker wears it, the more violent he becomes. Case in point, during the second of two heists Ironheart was hired to do, Hood ends up killing the man they were trying to blackmail. Granted, this only happened because Riri was trying to get a sample of the Hood, but he doesn’t know this.
Truth be told, though, Parker was likely never going to let Riri walk away. As Riri comes to learn, he killed the man that she had replaced on the team. And as the third episode ends, the Hood lets Parker know that Ironheart is the one to blame for the heist going belly-up, meaning she now has a target on her back. She’s in over her head about it, and she has no idea what to do!
Thankfully, help may come from an unexpected place…or it might be another headache.
A Real Deepcut
To help get the Ironheart suit up and working again, Riri tracks down a black market supplier by the name of Joe. But as the third episode reveals, his real name is Ezekiel Stane, son of Obadiah Stane, AKA Iron Monger, AKA the man who tried to kill Tony and started the MCU’s story. Stane is every bit as brilliant as his father, but he’s refused to touch any of his items, not wanting to end up like Obadiah. Sadly, he might have been right to fear that. After Riri kindly suggests that he let himself indulge in his natural talents, the floodgates are opened and he starts coming up with countless ideas. In addition, he also takes Riri’s suggestion to not let others walk all over him. When his neighbor refuses to clean up after her dog in his yard, he retaliates by destroying her flowers.
As awesome as it is to see someone pushed around finally stand up for themselves, there’s a darkness to Zeke. Once he starts coming up with ideas, he might be unable to stop himself, even when he should. And because he helped Riri create the tech that helped her get a piece of the Hood, and then lost it, he’s not going to be happy. That could lead to him becoming Iron Monger 2.0, making him another problem for Ironheart to deal with.
There are only six episodes in the Ironheart mini-series, but it’s trying to juggle several different plots at once. There’s the threat of the Hood, Riri dealing with PTSD and whatever N.A.T.A.L.I.E is, Ezekiel Stane may be on the verge of crashing out, and she could be getting in trouble with the law for the heists. That’s a lot to work through in the span of six episodes. While Dominque Thorne seems to have the star power needed to keep people’s attention, but not even that might be enough to keep audiences attention. Not helping matters is the fact that the show is being released in three-episode batches over two weeks. Hopefully, Ironheart can stick the landing.
