What makes a great Marvel TV show? The Marvel Cinematic Universe has attracted millions of moviegoers to its many films and television series, many of which feature specific characters who are either entirely unrelated to the rest of the franchise or get a special spotlight that shows them in a different context. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever introduced Riri Williams, a skilled student who designed an armor suit just as impressive as Tony Stark, and after a key role in that film, she’s the latest protagonist of a show that transplants her into a very different world where her talents serve her in unexpected ways.
Expelled from MIT thanks to her problematic extracurricular activities and behavior, Riri (Dominique Thorne) takes off in her suit to head home to Chicago. She’s quickly recruited by a group of thieves and hackers led by Parker Robbins (Anthony Ramos), known as The Hood thanks to the mysterious red cape he wears that gives him incredible powers. As she gets deeper in with her crew and contemplates the dark origins of The Hood, Riri finds comfort in the presence of her old friend Natalie (Lyric Ross) through an AI embedded within the suit.
It’s fair to say that the technology featured in Iron Man, the film that launched the MCU, is one of its greatest appeals. That’s definitely an asset here, as Riri boasts formidable intelligence and a will to match it, enabling her visions to be realized, sometimes without her even realizing, as in the case of Natalie’s surprising return. Seeing her jump into the suit – and in some cases, Natalie piloting it without Riri needing to be inside – is genuinely exciting, and that alone might have been enough to hook in new audiences wondering whether this character was worth following on her own journey away from the wonders of Wakanda.
But there’s much more at play here, particularly when it comes to The Hood and his gang. Ramos continues to diversify his career after breakthrough roles on stage in Hamilton and on screen in In the Heights, and he brings a quiet gravitas to Robbins, who is authoritative yet measured, charismatic but with a flair of malice. He’s well-surrounded by an ensemble that also includes Manny Montana, Shakia Barrera, Zoe Terakes, and Shea Couleé. Alden Ehrenreich, who previously tried his hand at another beloved franchise as Han Solo in Solo: A Star Wars Story, also appears as an important ally of Riri’s whose character arc is one of the most worthwhile in this series.
The release schedule for Ironheart is admittedly peculiar, begging the question of why it’s presented in this format at all. Six episodes are split evenly over two Tuesdays, with the first three episodes dropping one week before the last three. In an age of evolving rollout approaches, this may be the most mystifying, especially since there’s considerable plot development in each roughly forty-minute episode that could sustain audience interest to return for a subsequent installment without having to squeeze it all in so tightly. Even Andor took four weeks to premiere its twelve-episode final season, but this trend feels extremely truncated for no reason.
There’s also the issue of this show’s place within the MCU even if it’s meant to be a standalone show. While past series have either continued beloved characters’ stories which then pick back up in the films after or have introduced villains meant to then pop up across many different projects (assuming no unanticipated legal charges for the actor involved), this show doesn’t seem to know exactly what’s next, introducing compelling characters and plot points only to end with a major question mark. There’s something here that’s very much worthwhile, and Thorne has star quality that should absolutely be harnessed for as many future MCU appearances as possible. But this six-episode series ultimately feels like too brief a foray into an interesting world with no real sense of what might be next, even though audiences will likely want to know.
Series Rating: 7/10
