It’s been a minute since an Ironheart series was announced, four years to be exact. And now, three years after we first met Riri Williams, aka Ironheart (Dominique Thorne), in 2022’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, series creator and head writer Chinaka Hodge (Snowpiercer) gives the young genius a proper introduction.
Executive produced by Ryan Coogler, Ironheart is a 6-episode journey into the life of Riri Williams post-Wakanda. Due to missing classes and charging people to do their homework, Riri Williams is expelled from M.I.T., forcing her to move back to her hometown Chicago, Illinois. The first episode is focused on Riri’s return home, more of her backstory, and somewhat awkwardly reconnecting with her mother, Ronnie (Anji White), and friend/neighbor, Xavier Washington (Matthew Elam).
Behind every hero and villain is a traumatic event, and for Riri, it’s the deaths of her stepdad, Gary, and best friend Natalie (Lyric Ross), Xavier’s sister, who both died in a shooting she witnessed. Coming home stirs all the anger and pain up again, making a noticeable impact on her mental health.
After he sees her flying around Chicago in armor, Riri is approached by John (Manny Montana) with a job offer. Although the whole situation is sus from the start, she agrees to meet John’s cousin Parker Robbins, aka “The Hood” (Anthony Ramos), who traps her in a gas-filled elevator with three minutes on the clock. He’s impressed by her ingenuity and invites her to join his ragtag team of criminals. The roster includes hacker queen Slug (Jaren Merrell aka Shea Couleé), pyro pro Clown (Sonia Denis), the head-bashing Blood siblings, Ros (Shakira Barrera) and Jerry Blood (Zoe Terakes), and tech specialist Stuart Clarke aka Rampage (Eric André).
While the pay is excellent and she gets to improve her suit, the heist life isn’t for Riri. Parker pitched the team as a sort of Robin Hood band of well-meaning-but-violent-when-necessary misfits whom he saved from their lives. But the more he dons the red hood, which continues to create dark, veiny scars on his back, the more unhinged he becomes. Ramos delivers a fantastic performance as Parker, a character who is confident and subtly manipulative on the outside while fighting against an unseen evil force literally infecting his body.
Parker and his cohorts are just some of the great characters introduced in Ironheart. Riri also bonds with Joe McGillicuddy (Alden Ehrenreich), a seemingly normal guy who happens to be a weapons expert in his spare time. His name is obviously fake, though he opens up to Riri about his real identity and the past he’s trying to hide. The legendary Cree Summers plays a friend of Ronnie’s whose daughter, excellently portrayed by Regan Aliyah, instantly became my favorite character.
Other than her mom, Riri’s closest confidant is her suit’s Neuro-Autonomous Technical Assistant & Laboratory Intelligence Entity (N.A.T.A.L.I.E.), who, like in the comics, is created using her brain waves. Seeing a dead friend in hologram form is just as shocking as one would expect, and it takes Riri some time to adjust. Lyric Ross plays the real Natalie in flashbacks and memories, as well as the digital version. Her chemistry with Thorne is one of the series’ highlights, and their characters are hilarious together.
Riri’s genius mind does make her cocky at times but it also means she puts a lot of pressure on herself to always have the solution. She’s not portrayed as a total introvert, though it’s clear she prefers working in a lab or her bedroom rather than socializing. It’s implied that Natalie was really her only close friend, and her absence left Riri closed off from relationships. It’s this loss that motivates her to be a protector and innovator, so that “help will never be too late.”
There’s been some doubt (or more like hate) about having both technology and magic in this grounded series. The debate is even expressed within the show repeatedly by multiple characters, including Riri herself. But the way this story unfolds makes sense. Tech and magic each have their purposes and limitations, allowing one to step in when the other isn’t cutting it. This makes the tension between Riri and Parker compelling.
Since it was announced that Sacha Baron Cohen was cast, there has been constant speculation about his secret role. Without giving too much away, I’ll just say that he’s an excellent choice to play an alluring evil entity. The character’s inclusion in Ironheart instead of WandaVision or Agatha All Along has already put some people off, but I loved his reveal and performance.
Ironheart is a compelling, grounded story that gives Riri Williams the introduction and in-depth character exploration she deserves. Dominique Thorne, the entire cast, and the series as a whole balance the whimsy and darkness of magic with the innovation of technology. The finale satisfyingly concludes this chapter for Riri and other characters, setting up intriguing storylines I can’t wait to see play out on the big screen, or (hopefully) in another season of Ironheart.
Ironheart premieres its first three episodes June 24, 2025, on Disney+, followed by its remaining three episodes July 1.
