Ironheart (character)
Ironheart (character)
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Ironheart (character)

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Ironheart (character)

Ironheart (Riri Williams) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Mike Deodato, the character first appeared in Invincible Iron Man (vol. 3) #7 (May 2016).

Dominique Thorne portrays the character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022) and Disney+ series Ironheart (2025).

Riri Williams debuted in Invincible Iron Man (vol. 2) #7 (May 2016), created by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Mike Deodato. Williams is a teenaged MIT engineering student who reverse engineered one of Iron Man's armored suits to wear herself. She was inspired by American actress Skai Jackson. She later appeared under the codename Ironheart in the 2017 volume of the Invincible Iron Man series, by Bendis and Stefano Caselli. She appeared in the 2018 Infinity Countdown: Champions series, by Jim Zub and Emilio Laiso. Williams then appeared in the 2018 Ironheart series, her first solo comic book series, by Eve Ewing and Kevin Libranda. She later appeared in the 2019 Champions series, by Jim Zub and Steven Cummings. She then again appeared in the 2020 Ironheart series, her second solo comic book series, by Vita Ayala, Danny Lore, and David Messina.

In October 2016, Marvel Comics and New York-based retailer Midtown Comics jointly decided to pull from circulation J. Scott Campbell's variant cover of the first issue of The Invincible Iron Man, produced exclusively for that store, after previews of the cover were criticized for sexualizing the depicted character, 15-year-old Riri Williams. The cover depicted the character in a midriff-baring crop top, in contrast to the more modest way in which artist Stefano Caselli depicted the character in the book's interior art. Campbell called the decision "unfortunate," explained that his rendition of the character was intended to depict "a sassy, coming-of-age young woman". He regarded the reaction to the cover as a "faux controversy", saying, "I gave her a sassy 'attitude'...'sexualizing' was not intended. This reaction is odd." Brian Michael Bendis, the writer on the series, was pleased with the decision to pull the cover, saying that while he liked the face Campbell had drawn on Riri when he viewed the art as a work in progress, he disliked the completed art, saying, "Specialty covers are not in my purview and it was being produced separately from the work of the people involved in making the comic. Not to pass the buck but that’s the fact. If I had seen a sketch or something I would have voiced similar concerns. I am certain the next version will be amazing."

Riri Williams is a 15-year-old engineering student and the daughter of Riri Williams Sr. Following her father's death, Riri lives with her mother Ronnie, her stepfather Gary, and her paternal Aunt Sharon in Chicago. A certified super-genius, she attends the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on a scholarship. Riri later befriended Natalie Washington, who showed an interest in her work. During a picnic at Marquette Park, Gary and Natalie are killed in a drive-by shooting. Working alone, Riri designs a suit of armor similar to the Iron Man Armor using material stolen from campus. When campus security knocks at her door, she flees while wearing the suit.

When Williams prevents two inmates from escaping the New Mexico State Penitentiary, her suit is damaged. Upon returning to her mother's house, Riri continues to work on improving the suit, much to the dismay of her aunt. Tony Stark hears of Riri's accomplishment and goes to meet her. During their meeting, Stark decides that he will endorse her decision to become a superhero.

Appearing in her Rescue armor following the 2016 "Civil War II" storyline, Pepper Potts confronts Riri Williams and Tony Stark, who has transferred his consciousness into a device becoming an A.I., in an attempt to explain the problems of being a superhero. They are then attacked by Techno Golem and her Biohack Ninjas. As Riri flees and Pepper fights them, Techno Golem tries to find out how Pepper knows Riri. When Techno Golem's armor breaks and Tomoe tries to instead attack Riri, Pepper uses her Rescue armored gauntlets and knocks Tomoe out. When Sharon Carter formally meets Riri after the arrest of Tomoe and the Biohack Ninjas, Pepper tells Riri that they will talk again. Pepper Potts, Mary Jane Watson, Friday, the Tony Stark A.I., and Stark's biological mother Amanda Armstrong are in the Hall of Armor with Riri when she demonstrates her knowledge of each of the Iron Man armors. When Amanda Armstrong offers to allow Riri to use Tony Stark's labs as her base of operations, Riri is hesitant but Pepper encourages her. The next day at her home, Riri's family is visited by the head of M.I.T. She wants Riri to continue working there, as it has gotten sloppy since she left. Riri would also be allowed to use the laboratories at the school. After working in one of the labs, Riri asks the Tony Stark A.I. to find her something to blow off some steam. The Tony Stark A.I. locates Armadillo during a crime spree and Riri uses the Ironheart armor to defeat Armadillo. She is then approached by the Champions, who offer her membership into their group.

During the 2017 "Secret Empire" storyline, Ironheart is seen fighting the Army of Evil during Hydra's takeover of the United States. Baron Helmut Zemo has Blackout surround Manhattan with Darkforce after enhancing him with the powers of the Darkhold. Riri sends a distress signal to all available heroes to meet her in Washington, D.C. Ironheart and Falcon join up with the Champions to assist in the underground's fight against Hydra's takeover of the country. They later follow Black Widow when she makes her own plans for Captain America. During training, the young heroes disagree about Black Widow's brutality and mercilessness. The heroes later infiltrate a Hydra base to find someone crucial to Black Widow's plan. Black Widow later tells them that they are going to have to kill Steve Rogers, after Hydra destroys the Underground hideout. In Washington, D.C., as their assault begins, Spider-Man fights Captain America, but Black Widow intervenes and is killed. Just as Spider-Man is about to kill Steve Rogers, the others convince him to not do it and they all get arrested. She also helped the Champions search for survivors in Las Vegas, Nevada, after its destruction by Hydra.

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