Created by Chinaka Hodge and produced by Ryan Coogler, Ironheart takes place after the events of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. It follows MIT student Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne) who returns home to Chicago where she becomes entangled with the enigmatic Parker Robbins aka The Hood (Anthony Ramos), discovering secrets that pit technology against magic and setting her on a path of danger and adventure.
This series has been in the works for quite a long time, having endured many hurdles in its development and path to release like the pandemic, the strikes, racist backlash, poor marketing and other events that made many question if it was ever going to come out or even do well, despite the character’s solid debut in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Additionally, this was one of the last shows to have been made prior to the creative overhaul at Marvel Studios with its renewed focus on quality over quantity for all projects going forward, so even I was unsure on how this series was going to turn out in its long-awaited release. But unlike a majority of the toxic Marvel fanbase that was ready to rip this series apart like a bunch of ravenous piranhas before it even aired, I was going to give this series a fair chance and see what it was like.
After having watched all six episodes of what is seemingly considered to be a first season of this character’s story, I can say that I ended up liking and even enjoying most of this series. Ironheart’s first season is not perfect and it certainly doesn’t reach the heights of greatness that some other MCU shows have reached in my view but it has a lot of strengths to it that make it a worthy addition to the MCU. It’s a small-scale story with massive implications for the universe that explores a morally complex character who isn’t a fully realized hero and is navigating a path full of choices that changes her life and the lives of those surrounding her.
It takes a bit to find its footing but soon I found myself immensely invested in the main characters, the themes, the moral ambiguity, the action, and even the impressive technical elements that were clearly done with great care. A clear amount of passion was put into this series even when it isn’t as perfect as it could be.
When it comes to the cast of this series I believe everyone turns in a fantastic performance for their respective characters but truthfully I only found myself invested in the main characters over a majority of the supporting characters. Leading the charge is Dominique Thorne who once again shines in her performance as Riri Williams as we get to see completely new layers to the character that we didn’t see in Wakanda Forever. She is a brilliant teen genius who is clearly capable of many great things, but she is also navigating grief, anxiety, moral conflict, lack of self-confidence, and other various challenges that life has thrown at her that is all beautifully portrayed by Dominique Thorne.
She is clearly established as a character that has a good heart and good intentions, but she is also extremely ambitious and flawed to the point you see her make morally questionable actions to achieve those ambitions, resulting in various consequences that affect her and others around her. Riri could even be considered a parallel to Tony Stark who had made his own mistakes and had his own flaws due to his own ambitious nature that resulted in major consequences that he had to make up for. Just like Tony Stark, she has to learn self-confidence and believe in her capabilities with the resources and methods she has at her disposal in order to make up for her own mistakes, face her personal demons head on, make her own identity and be the hero she should be. She’s such a fascinating character that I feel anyone can find themselves relating to and feel emotionally attached to in one way or another, which is why I hope to see more of her journey continue in the MCU going forward especially given the ambiguous cliffhanger she gets at the end of this season.
The second performance that stood out to me was Lyric Ross as N.A.T.A.L.I.E. In the comics, Riri had Tony Stark as an AI companion for her suit but in this series he is replaced with N.A.T.A.L.I.E., an AI that Riri accidentally creates based on the memories of her deceased best friend named Natalie Washington. This change ended up actually being a smart choice, not only because it provides Riri a companion that she shares excellent chemistry with throughout the series, but it also elevates the emotional stakes and themes of grief in a unique way. Lyric Ross is such a gem that lights up the room with her humor and heart the moment she steps on screen and you can’t help but instantly love her.
The journey these two go on together may feel short given the six episode length but you feel the rollercoaster of emotions it delivers, making for a far more compelling pairing compared to an AI version of Tony Stark, who she never interacted with nor has an emotional connection to.
I also couldn’t help but love the performances of Natalie’s brother Xavier, played by Matthew Elam, and Riri’s mother Ronnie, played by Anji White, who both play supporting but vital roles to Riri’s story adding heartfelt moments of their own.
Anthony Ramos makes his MCU debut as the show’s villain Parker Robbins aka The Hood, a highly greed-driven thief who dons a hood that allows him to tap into dark arts and magic from another dimension. Initially when you first meet him he doesn’t appear all that threatening since he seems like an ambitious misfit that Riri can relate to, but when his true nature comes to light he ends up becoming a deadly and menacing villain that Ramos plays exceptionally well.
Normally I find greed driven villains to be basic and cliche in most films and shows I’ve seen them in but Parker has to be one of the best written and acted ones I’ve seen in a while, feeling very emotionally compelling as well as having such an interesting story that expands upon the world of dark magic in the MCU in a big way while keeping things grounded. He’s a great dark reflection of Riri in some ways making, him a great foe for her to face in a unique conflict of technology vs magic.
But while Parker himself is compelling the same cannot be said for his heist crew members who I found myself not really caring for at all despite having good performances from their respective cast members. They all felt quirky and cliche as members of a heist crew that you see in every basic heist story you could think of and none of them really match the intensity of Ramos as Parker. That being said there was one member of the heist crew I adored for their humor and their performance and that was Slug played by Shea Couleé. Shea Couleé brings in such great comedic energy and sass as Slug that they became an immediate favorite of mine amongst the supporting cast. If you are reading this Shea you rock!
Another favorite of mine in this series was Alden Ehrenreich who was an absolute scene stealer in this season as a really fun and interesting character whose life changes when Riri ends up dragging him into the mess she’s involved in. The character is first presented as a hilariously awkward tech enthusiast and black market dealer named “Joe McGillicuddy” but then a surprising reveal about his true identity, which is connected to Iron Man’s history in the MCU and pulled straight from comics, changes your entire perspective of the character and then his arc takes quite a turn as the series progresses, becoming somewhat of a rival to Riri. Alden gets to display a full range of emotions from humor to drama while also doing great physical acting while playing this character, showcasing just how talented of an actor he is and why he deserves to get more work. There are a lot of potential places this character can go given the significance of his identity and abilities both for another potential season of this series and other possible projects such as Armor Wars if that project ever happens.
Other supporting cast members and minor characters don’t stand out as much with the exception of a few but there was one surprise character and cast member that appeared in the finale that absolutely blew my f**king mind. Even though the series had been subtly dropping hints and teases building up to this character’s appearance I was still shocked by the reveal and the massive implications the character has on the MCU. At first you’d think out of all the films and shows we have had that this character was meant to appear in something more suited for them but funnily enough, this character actually fits this story, especially with the themes about ambition and its consequences. The performance of this character is full of sadistic charm and chilling tension making for an impressive debut that I truly hope will not be a one-time thing. Conspiracy theorists of the MCU will know exactly who I am talking about and are guaranteed to be satisfied with this appearance after such a long wait.
The story starts off a bit slow in its first two episodes but then by the third episode things kick into gear for the rest of the season, becoming emotional and enthralling with its compelling themes of dealing with grief, the consequences of ambition, and much more, especially in the second half of the series. The first half of the season isn’t bad by any means as it has plenty of fun and genuinely hilarious moments but it also has some problems with pacing, some tonal inconsistencies and at times I found some parts of it can be a bit too cheesy for my liking, as well as heavy handed on the exposition.
The second half felt more consistent in tone and pacing, getting better with every episode, especially with its focus on the main characters and their arcs. Every emotional moment this show gives felt earned and it all builds to a darkly ambiguous cliffhanger that has massive implications on the future of the character that could be followed up in a second season or an upcoming future installment. Whichever it might be I hope they follow up with it because after such a great finale that has a crazy reveal there’s no way they can’t continue the thread they set up here and I am desperate to see what happens next. I would also love to see more moments in the MCU where tech clashes with magic because I really loved the way it was narratively done here, especially in a grounded setting.
Given how long this series had been in development for one would expect all the technical elements to look as perfect as possible, even when on a lower budget compared to the films, and thankfully that is exactly the case with this show. The action, while not as hugely prevalent in this season, is so much fun with a mix of classic Iron Man action and brutal hand to hand combat that I highly enjoyed watching, especially when it’s brought to life with great practical effects and CGI that looked extremely good for most of the show. I also loved the moments where CGI and practical effects are mixed together and even transition smoothly from each other, which is something you don’t often see done as much in shows due to the budgets.
And while this a mostly grounded show with grounded visuals the cinematography and sets can be absolutely stunning at times, especially in the later episodes. I even loved the moments where the show leans into comic book territory with some of its visuals and editing, especially with how it does its title cards. Additionally, the series feels like a visual celebration of Chicago, complete with some fun needle drops that match the series in style and tone as well as reminding me a lot of Luke Cage at times.
As for the score by composer Dara Taylor, I think it was decent overall but it didn’t really stand out as much to me compared to the music of other MCU shows that were more memorable and impactful.
Ironheart’s first season may not be as strong as some of the previous MCU shows I’ve watched but I do think it is still a solid series, worth watching for multiple reasons, and it certainly doesn’t deserve any of the unfair hatred or judgement it has been received from people who haven’t even watched. Definitely give this series a fair chance when you can, especially if you are wanting to see a very interesting journey of a flawed character that is full of unexpected surprises and elements that people may find themselves attached to. I’m going to give Ironheart Season 1 a B+ = 89.
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