‘Ironheart’ is Full of Heart
Ironheart | Credit: Disney+
Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne) is a brilliant inventor who seeks to build an advanced suit (like Iron Man). In the process, she meets an eclectic crew of characters and finds herself faced with increasingly difficult decisions.
I’m not a big superhero fan and haven’t watched very many of the Marvel TV shows. Honestly, after Endgame, I largely stopped paying attention to what the MCU is doing because it’s simply too many characters and properties to keep up with. But I loved the premise of the show, especially having it center on a young, Black woman who was determined to make her mark on the world, just like Tony Stark. So, I had to watch it and I’m glad that I did.
Ironheart does a good job of striking a balance between tones, making this a show that I think can work for both teenagers and adults. There are some wonderfully light-hearted moments, but the show also has a lot to say about things like grief, AI, the lengths that some people will go to get and retain power, and so much more. There is a lot of depth to this show, in addition to being a fun superhero adventure.
There’s so much to love about Ironheart, but one of my favorite aspects is who Riri is. She’s a brilliant inventor who just understands how technology should work. She has a big vision to build this new suit, but doesn’t have ambitions beyond that. She says in the first episode that she wants to “revolutionize safety,” but throughout the season, she has a hard time articulating her passion for the suit. Over and over again, she says that she wanted to build it because she could.
I love that Riri doesn’t have everything figured out. She’s also not a perfect protagonist. She has suffered immense loss throughout her life and is also struggling with how she sees herself. Her best friend has died, along with her stepfather who she connected well with, leaving her with her mother, Ronnie (Anji White), who she struggles to communicate with. Riri’s loss of connection with those she loves the most is a cloud hanging over the entire show. We also see how others in Riri’s life are coping with this loss and attempting to maintain a connection with her.
Each of these characters feels so real, and you just want to root for them.
Dominique Thorne in Ironheart | Credit: Disney+
Riri’s goal of creating her suit becomes her sole focus, which leads her to partner with a criminal crew that is methodically targeting high-tech start-up companies. Doing these jobs will allow her to earn the capital she needs to finish the suit. Though she knows that what she’s doing is wrong, that end goal is worth it to her.
This is how she meets Parker (Anthony Ramos), aka The Hood, who has his own special set of powers. We learn that his powers come from the cloak he wears, which is also causing him harm. Eventually we learn some more about this cloak, its powers, and its cost, as Riri seeks out these answers.
It’s so interesting to see how susceptible Riri is to this group of criminals. For the most part, they’re good-natured and seem like a fun crew to hang out with, but they are still breaking laws, a moral dilemma that Riri wrestles with some, but less than I would’ve expected for a Marvel property.
It was nice to see a superhero protagonist who has this type of moral complexity. She doesn’t see herself as a bad person, though she begins to question her own morality throughout the season. For me, this was a welcome change, because human beings generally aren’t all good or all bad. We’re constantly calculating, making the decisions that we think are best at the time. And sometimes, our priorities lead us to make difficult, dangerous, and even wrong decisions. We see all this through Riri’s experience.
Anthony Ramos in Ironheart | Credit: Disney+
Ironheart feels like a breath of fresh air to me, standing out from the typical superhero storylines and tropes. This show highlights how grief changes everything without it ever feeling too over-the-top or exploitative. Instead, we understand how Riri’s loss of community and doubt in herself has led her to this dangerous position. We watch her wrestling with her own decisions and having to live with the consequences.
The season ends very dramatically, teeing up what is sure to be a dramatic second season. I can’t wait to watch more and see where they take this series next.