Welcome, everybody! In the next two weeks, I’ll release three reviews corresponding to the available episodes of the six-episode season of “Ironheart” (2025), which will be released on July 24, 2025 and July 1, 2025. A week after the last episode airs, there will be an overall review of the season with spoilers at the end. It is only my second episodic review of a television series so thank you for coming along for my experiment, which happened in less than twenty-four hours!
If you are new to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and are diving in because you are eager to watch a Black young woman enter the pantheon, welcome! Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne) was introduced in “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” (2022) as a MIT student who is the next Tony Stark taking Iron Man suits to the next level, but to fund her work, she had to sell completed homework assignments. Because of her ability to detect vibranium, she attracted the attention of Princess Shuri (Letitia Wright), who had to protect her from assassination. Riri ended up going to Wakanda and getting exposed to technology far more advanced than anything at MIT. In a movie trying to do a lot, especially close the legacy of Chadwick Boseman, Riri does not make a strong first impression, but another viewing reveals how instrumental Ironheart was in the fights, and Riri was a much-needed friend for Shuri. Side note: I forgot that the “Black Panther” franchise had an AI called Griot, which reminded me of “Assembly” (2025).
Episode 1 of “Ironheart” is forty-one minutes with director Sam Bailey and writer Chinaka Hodge, the creator of the series. It is an establishing episode to (re)introduce Riri, establish her backstory, introduce supporting characters such as her family, the folks at MIT and the people in her hometown, Chicago. It is not long before the action moves to Chicago, which I approve because it is one of the greatest American cities and global cities, and I am a born and bred New Yorker who would not give that title to just anyone. Also like “Luke Cage,” this series promises to be filled with a diverse cast, especially unequivocally Black. Director Bailey knows how to shoot Black people and clearly loves the city.
It was a decent episode, but my respectability politics kicked in. I do not love the reason that she leaves Cambridge, my adopted home, and returns to Chicago. As a Black woman who went to the Ivy League (I got into MIT, but I turned them down), I saw a lot of my friends take time off voluntarily and involuntarily, and there were ways to do it with Riri that would not establish her as a bit of an anti-hero. With that said, the reason is aligned with her “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” story so I’ll get over it. I can put away the pearls. Riri needs money and leeway to experiment, but she is short on both, and her motivation is to get back on track while not losing her renowned reputation back home. There is an unspoken fear of losing face in the community because so much rests on her public reputation.
Xavier (Matthew Elam) is introduced as her friend, but “Ironheart” does not spend a lot of time before shifting focus. He feels more like a prose dump device, but Elam delivers the backstory with so much emotion, it is easy to miss. Is he a potential love interest? He did make her a mix tape complete with a Walkman and old-fashioned headphones. There are some important characters introduced. Xavier is the brother of her best friend, Natalie (Lyric Ross), who will play an important role. You may remember Ross from “This Is Us” as Deja Pearson, and she is such a strong actor that it will be fun to see her cook. It appears that Natalie will actually be two different characters, and I have already said too much. Riri’s mom, Ronnie (Anji White), is less riveting individually than part of a group with four other women that she hangs out with, including Madeline Stanton (Cree Summer from “A Different World” and voice actor extraordinaire). Her friends appear to be the Greek chorus of the series and comedic relief, but with them, not at them. Honestly, her mom was so unbelievably chill considering everything that it verged on unrealistic, but I’m Gen X, and an unhealed generation raised me so maybe things have changed.
Parker Robbins (Anthony Ramos, who does appear shirtless in the first episode) heads a dubious crew of tech geniuses, who notice Riri’s return to Chicago. They want to meet and recruit her. Cousin John (Manny Montana) is his right-hand man and Riri’s recruiter. Rampage or Stu (Eric Andre) does not realize that Riri could replace him as the tech genius. Clown (Sonia Denis) has an unclear role but also appears to be an inventor. Slug (Shea Couleé) appears to also have a tech role like Felicity in “Arrow,” but she looks so fabulous and is cool under pressure that it kind of does not matter. The Blood Siblings, Roz (Shakira Barrera) and Jeri (Zoe Terakes), appear to be the muscle.
Riri does seem to fit in, but I do not appreciate how Hood moved sideways when he welcomed her to his outfit. Also, I never trust anyone who dresses like a magician in his free time and does not perform magic tricks so I would prefer that she use her street smarts and run the other way, but then there would not be a story. Parker appears to be based on a comic character so it will be interesting to see how people feel about how his character develops in “Ironheart.”
“Ironheart” is fine. I usually prefer my MCU TV series to have a lot of fighting, so it is a bit slow for me, but it is a solid start. I know what I do not want. The usual MCU plot device of making her a mistaken wanted villain that makes her must go on the run from law enforcement. I also was not into “Moon Knight” so even though in the comic, Marc Spector (Oscar Isaac) is from Chicago, I hope that he does not drop in. I do not want her tech stolen. I do not want a romantic story line with anyone from the crew. I would love a cameo from anyone from Wakanda, but I’m not going to hold my breath. It is a long shot, but if Kingpin (Vincent D’Onofrio) randomly dropped in, I would be thrilled because D’Onofrio is such a good actor. While Thorne is a good actor, she is so normal that I am hoping that Riri stands out more instead of being a supporting character in her own series. With Ross around, that may be a big ask, but I am looking forward to them becoming a team because Black women are at their strongest when we are together.
