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For years, Marvel has struggled with their MCU series, but now, Chinaka Hodge's Ironheart — a continuation of the character's Black Panther: Wakanda Forever introduction — may save the day.
At least, it gets off to a promising start. Having seen half of the upcoming series, I can say that I think Marvel may have something here with Ironheart.
Unlike most MCU projects, Ironheart isn't completely tied to other movies or series. Sure, there are mentions of Tony Stark/Iron Man and Wakanda, but Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne) gets a street-level adventure the Tom Holland-led Spider-Man franchise has needed.
Set in the city of Chicago, Riri is fresh off being expelled from MIT. A genius, Riri was selling projects to other students from surrounding universities to fund her Ironheart suit project. MIT caught on, and she was expelled from the program.
So, to fund her project, Riri takes a job offered by Parker Robbins (Anthony Ramos). The jobs aren't exactly legal, but her desperation leads her to this.
Meanwhile, Riri is also mourning the death of her best friend Natalie (Lyric Ross) and stepfather Gary. She creates an AI assistant for her Ironheart suit, and it's a variant of Natalie. Riri now has to deal with her grief while also frequently seeing her late friend.
Ironheart review
The series was created by Chinaka Hodge, who previously wrote episodes of Snowpiercer and The Midnight Club. She also wrote the first and last episodes of Ironheart.
She enlisted the help of Chicago native Sam Bailey and Angela Barnes to bring the series to life. Bailey's familiarity with Chicago can be felt in the first three episodes, which she directed.
Ironheart has a unique flavor, given its Chicago setting. It feels like every MCU project takes place in New York, so it's nice to see a new city get shown.
There is something about the settings Riri visits — like the old car parts shop she has visited since her childhood — that feels intimate. Even though Chicago is one of the biggest cities in the country, Ironheart makes it feel like a small town.
Again, I think having filmmakers with ties to the city in which the series takes place is smart. Maybe I'm just starved for new locations in the MCU. Either way, I enjoyed the setting of the series.
Dominique Throne's performance
While Riri is just as brilliant as Tony Stark, they are vastly different characters. Riri is still finding her footing — I wouldn't even consider her a “hero” in the first half of Ironheart.
Throne picks up right where she left off in Wakanda Forever. While Wakanda Forever is not as good as its predecessor, the scenes with Riri remain a highlight.
She was meant for this type of role. It will be exciting to see her interact with more MCU characters in the near future. I can only imagine what it'll look like when she crosses paths with Spider-Man.
There is also conviction with Thorne's performance. It seems fitting that Ironheart is coming on the heels of Thunderbolts*, which was surprisingly deep with its message about grief.
Riri is still reeling from the deaths of her best friend and stepfather. While Ironheart relies on the same five-second flashbacks of the characters, it feels meaningful. Despite her genius, Riri is trying to get past that, which isn't helped by the presence of her AI assistant, who looks like Natalie.
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The other cast members
Aside from Thorne, the other standout is Alden Ehrenreich, who plays Joe McGillicuddy. His performance as a neurotic tech enthusiast is very Topher Grace-coded. And you know what? He plays the part well.
His rapport with Thorne makes for some of Ironheart's best scenes. It would have been easy to write Ehrenreich off after Solo (which I believe was underrated), but he is very good in this role.
I don't necessarily love the ties his character has to another MCU character, but maybe the final episodes get that train back on track. It just seems like a forced connection with the sole purpose of creating buzz to get lapsed fans from the MCU's early days back in.
Anthony Ramos makes his MCU debut as Parker Robbins. I can acknowledge his talent from his Lin-Manuel Miranda collaborations, but I've never been the biggest fan of him.
The mysterious Parker Robbins requires a lot from Ramos. He has to navigate going too over the top with his performance, which he largely does.
His best work comes when he talks to Riri, who struggles with the morality of Parker and his group's actions.
Should you watch Ironheart?
I do believe Ironheart is the best series Marvel has made in years. I've only seen the first half of the series, but it does have me hooked.
There are some surprising Marvel connections in the series that tie it into the greater MCU lore. Still, Ironheart operates better as a standalone Marvel adventure than a smaller piece of the greater MCU puzzle.
My barometer for the quality of an MCU series is whether or not I'm interested in seeing the payoff to the storylines. In the case of Ironheart, I am.
Ironheart will premiere its first three episodes on Disney+ on June 24.
