Disney Plus’ Ironheart is an underwhelming series for many reasons. It’s tonally inconsistent, bouncing between canceled hunters and dark sequels, tracing the long-term impact of gun violence. Like so many MCU shows, it’s more concerned with setting up the next installment of the franchise than telling a satisfying standalone story. Its biggest fight scene takes place in a white castle, undercutting the impact with blatant product placement. But in the end, it presents a whole new set of problems, demonstrating that the entire series is heading for a twist that fails to land.
[ Ed. note: Major spoilers ahead for the ending of Ironheart .]
Image: Marvel Studios
In many ways, Ironheart follows the classic trajectory of a Marvel Cinematic Universe origin story. Mechanical genius Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne) hits a low point when she realizes she was wrong to trust the charismatic thief Parker Robbins, aka The Hood (Anthony Ramos), whose allies nearly kill her and destroy the Ironheart suit she worked so hard to build. However, she rises again thanks to the love of her friends and family, who help her rebuild and defeat the Hood in a fight heavily featuring mediocre CGI.
But instead of being invited to join the Young Avengers, Riri receives a different kind of offer. The patron saint of the hood, Mephisto (Sacha Baron Cohen), offers Riri the chance to resurrect her best friend Natalie (Lyric Ross), who was killed in a shootout, accidentally resurrected as an AI, and then deactivated when she empowered her newest suit with magic. Even after seeing how Parker’s deal with the devil turned out, Riri accepts Mephisto’s help, a decision that leads her to become an agent of one of the most powerful forces of evil in the MCU.
The twist seems like it should be shocking, but it doesn’t have much impact because of how poorly developed Riri, The Hood, and Mephisto are before Ironheart’s ending. Riri was introduced in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever as a reckless genius whose technology nearly starts a war. This should draw parallels between Riri and Tony Stark/Iron Man, whose recklessness led to Ultron nearly wiping out humanity. But while Iron Man has repeatedly saved Earth, Riri never saves anyone . She’s never a hero and almost an antihero, despite executive producer Sev Ohanian comparing her to Walter White and Tony Soprano .
Ao longo da série, Riri é perguntada repetidamente por que ela está tão obcecada em construir armaduras de alta tecnologia, e ela responde presunçosamente “porque eu poderia”. Mas a verdadeira razão é porque ela está traumatizada ao testemunhar a morte de seu melhor amigo e padrasto, e ela não quer ser um espectador desamparado novamente. Ela vê o traje como uma maneira de proteger as pessoas que ama. É uma motivação razoável, não é diferente das obsessões que levam Batman ou Homem de Ferro, mesmo que a execução seja questionável.
Imagem: Marvel Studios
Riri tem a mesma motivação no Ironheart Os quadrinhos, onde ela voa para proteger as cúpulas do governo e as pequenas empresas, mas se trata que ela é governada pelo medo e que não está ajudando pessoas suficientes. Seus amigos e familiares temem que ela esteja assumindo riscos desnecessários por causa de sua tristeza, e ela cresce aprendendo a pedir ajuda e indo com a mãe a um grupo de apoio às pessoas traumatizadas pela violência armada.
Mas a versão do programa de Riri nunca usa o traje para fazer qualquer coisa, exceto ajudar em assaltos à mão armada e lutar contra seus ex -aliados. Ela começa a temporada vendendo sua tecnologia para outros estudantes para se submeter como sua própria lição de casa e depois reclamar de ser expulso do MIT. Ela tem uma questão séria de direitos, obtendo recursos trabalhando com criminosos e chantageando Zeke Stane (Alden Ehrenreich) e roubando seu equipamento de mercado negro. Quando seu desleixo com Tech, ela e Zeke trabalharam juntos arruina a vida dele, ela espera perdão sem fazer nada para acertar as coisas.
Se Ironheart é para ser uma história de um herói caindo à dor e à tentação, teria sido mais significativo se Riri tivesse tentado e falhado em salvar as pessoas, em vez de apenas passar a temporada inteira buscando riqueza e poder. Perder Natalie novamente antes de sua grande batalha com o capuz claramente a retraumatiza e a deixa vulnerável a Mephisto. Mas ela poderia ter procurado apoio emocional de seus amigos e familiares, que acabaram de provar seu amor e lealdade, ajudando -a a prepará -la para a luta. Em vez disso, ela joga fora a lição que aparentemente apenas aprendeu sobre pedir ajuda, retrocedendo o único crescimento que mostrou durante a temporada.
Riri’s motivations might have been better developed by drawing parallels between her and Parker, whose bargain with Mephisto reached a low point after Parker tried and failed to steal from his wealthy, neglectful father. Keeping Mephisto a secret until the finale tantalized fans who had been anticipating the character’s introduction in the MCU since 2021, but making Parker a villain who lends himself to mysterious vibes ceases to be relevant once his boss is revealed. Is Mephisto a poor judge of talent, since the hood doesn’t represent much? Does he simply make a lot of deals in the hope that some of them will pay off? Or is he signing Parker’s part of a long-term scheme to land someone with Riri’s potential? The show doesn’t provide an answer.
Image: Marvel Studios
There was a point during the season when I was convinced that Parker’s loyal lieutenant and cousin John (Manny Montana) had died during that house robbery, and that Mephisto had resurrected him in exchange for Parker’s rich and powerful strength to sign diabolical contracts. But the deal merely gave Parker a magical cape he could use to get tech moguls to sign over parts of his company at gunpoint, which seems like a particularly convoluted and not remotely legally enforceable way to get rich.
WandaVision fundamentally arrives at the same place as Ironheart , with a comic book hero turning to dark magic to try to reclaim someone she loves and has lost. But Wanda Maximoff had plenty of time in Avengers: Age of Ultron and Avengers: Infinity War to demonstrate her dark and heroic aspects. Even so, she ended up in a fundamentally unsatisfying place as the villain in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness . Presumably, Riri will have a similar role in some project, perhaps with the chance to redeem herself by doing something heroic that will align her with the comic book character.
So far, Ironheart is just the latest iteration of the MCU’s questionable morality, which brands anyone who seeks power as a villain while elevating those born with special abilities or receiving them through some sort of random accident. Iron Man was born into wealth and developed his suit to solve the problems his family business was responsible for, and he became the MCU’s greatest hero. Riri rises from nowhere, but she is painted throughout the show as careless and selfish, making it questionable whether her desire to protect people from senseless violence is even sincere. Riri’s story could have been uplifting or tragic, but Ironheart never gave her the chance to be.
