'Wakanda Forever': Who is Dominique Thorne's Riri Williams/Ironheart?
Riri Williams' 'Ironheart' was one of the new characters introduced in 'Wakanda Forever' and is set to later get her own Disney+ show. Starring Dominique Thorne as the titular character, the series describes her as “the creator of the most advanced suit of armor since Iron Man." This effectively answers the question of who Tony Stark's successor in the MCU is. 'Spider-Man: Far From Home' asked the question of who could replace Robert Downey Jr in a post-Endgame universe, and well, he's irreplaceable to start with, but the one donning the new suit, presumably some Stark tech involved promises to be a worthy one.
Riri Williams was co-created by writer Brian Michael Bendis — the co-creator of Miles Morales — and artist Mike Deodato, first appearing in 'Invincible Iron Man' #7 in 2016. While Iron Man is still very much alive in the comics, Riri Williams enjoys a position as one of the next generation of superheroes, having been a member of G.I.R.L. — a team of girl geniuses — and the Champions, a new teen superhero team.
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How does Riri Williams fit into Wakanda Forever?
In absence of its king, T'Challa (the late Chadwick Boseman), Wakanda needs all the help it can get, and Thorne’s Ironheart is the latest to join the squad. In the new trailer, she can be seen assembling her suit as well as taking a flight screaming, "let's go," and also going behind some enemies on a busy road. In the other trailers that were released, she was seen hammering metal just the way Stark did in 'Iron Man' (trust Marvel Studios) to have one fitting tribute to one of MCU's most iconic heroes) and in the new trailer, her taking flight has Tony written all over it.
In previous trailers, she was introduced hammering the metal in a very Tony Stark-esque manner echoing the very famous scene from the original Robert Downey Jr-led Iron Man movie and somehow her enthusiasm for taking a flight in the new trailer also echoes Tony’s. The early plotline of the series was fairly simple, "Williams is from inner-city Chicago who reverses engineers Iron Man's armor to create her own, and takes on his legacy as the armored superhero Ironheart to protect her neighborhood."
Her appearance in the MCU is a mystery, for now, but 'Wakanda Forever' releasing on November 11 will answer all the questions about her future.
