In Black Panther: “Wakanda Forever”, audiences get to know Riri Williams, aka “Ironheart”, a young student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology whose class project is co-opted by the government to locate alternative vibranium sources. The government and Riri were working tirelessly to get vibranium, but they were unaware that their efforts would enrage Namor, the Feathered Serpent God, jeopardizing Riri’s life. All of this results in Riri being abducted by the Talokans, saved and shielded by Wakanda, and fighting alongside Wakanda. Riri builds a significantly improved version of the suit she built out of leftover materials in a Boston car garage while in Wakanda, the fight between Wakanda and Talokan is about to start. After the conflict is resolved and the war is over, Riri returns home without the suit. The “Ironheart” series on Disney+ which is going to be released in 2023, and is a fantastic opportunity to reconnect fans to some familiar people in the MCU, is brilliantly set up by Riri’s journey in “Wakanda Forever”.
Who is Ironheart?
In the comics, Riri Williams is an African-American teenager who was born an orphan in Botswana to two Wakandan parents. She excelled in STEM studies and became a genius, but her parents were killed by advanced Kree technology while trying to protect her from a Kree Exoskeleton death squad. She’s also gained great physical strength and durability. “Ironheart” has both a comic book history and is also featured in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). In the comics, she’s a high school stud paralyzed by a bullet meant for her parents and can transform into a powerful suit she calls “Arctic Armor”, which she uses to battle assassins. The MCU version of “Ironheart” is a young genius college student who builds her suit from spare bits and pieces obtained from Wakanda. She then tests out the suit against Kree soldiers inside Wakanda’s borders until she is abducted by an enemy nation which she is forced to fight or be killed.
Who will become the backbone of Riri Williams in the Ironheart series?
In the comics, Riri is inspired by Tony Stark’s Iron Man, but in the present MCU, Tony dies after saving the universe’s population from extinction and defeating Thanos, thus fans aren’t even aware that Riri exists. Whether Tony Stark created Riri or not, her entrance was filled with Easter eggs for Iron Man, including the FBI agent shouting “she’s got an Iron Man suit” and a reference to her running out of air, collapsing to the ground, and then suddenly waking up to save herself. In the “Ironheart” series, Pepper Potts comes back to the MCU, while Happy Hogan might be a route to find out who is flying around in an Iron Man-like outfit. A holographic AI version of Tony Stark might be seen guiding Riri along the road, even if viewers would not see him alive like in the books.
The excepted plot of the Ironheart series
After the events of “Wakanda Forever”, Riri Williams’ storyline will be directly continued in “Ironheart”. “Wakanda Forever” may have set up the defender of Wakanda to serve as Riri’s new mentor in Tony Stark’s absence. The chemistry between Shuri and Riri is undeniable, and viewers can be confident that “Wakanda Forever” won’t be the last time they appear together on television. Because they were both “young, gifted, and Black,” their connection was obvious, and Shuri could give Riri invaluable advice and perhaps even lend her AI to aid. This would also keep them in touRiri’s adventures and might inspire her new costumes in Wakanda.
In the Conclusion
After Wakanda Forever, Riri can create a new suit from leftover pieces from her class project. This will be the basis of her suit in the Ironheart series, but she may have been inspired by other characters such as Spiderman or even Pepper Potts who has now taken Tony’s place in the Iron Man suit.
