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Summary: Genius teenage inventor Riri Williams creates the most advanced suit of armor since Iron Man.

I shouldn’t be surprised but the way people have been talking about the show, even before it actually came out, are really just showing their racism and misogyny. If you don’t like the show because of actual reasons after actually watching it, then that’s fair. But the review bombing BEFORE the show is crazy. I remember Riri receiving hate when she was introduced as a comic book character. For some reason, people think there can’t be legacy characters. Riri is literally inspired by Tony’s work. She’s not trying to BE Iron Man. That is literally crazy.

People were also up in arms because she says that Tony Stark is Tony Stark because he has money. Where’s the lie? Tony Stark is a genius, there’s no denying that but he’s able to make the suits he’s made because of the resources that are readily available to him because of his wealth. If he didn’t have those things while being a genius, then guess what? He’s Riri Williams. But he’d still have a better chance at getting more resources because he’s a white man. It’s not a dig, it’s just true. It doesn’t mean that Tony Stark isn’t great. He just had better resources.

ANYWAYS, on to this review of the show. I’ve watched it twice now. Minor spoilers maybe.

Pros:

Cast and characters. Being that this is a show, there are a lot of characters so I’m going to stick to the three leads plus one major secondary character.

• Dominique Thorne as Riri Williams / Ironheart. Riri Williams is expelled from MIT after a few major slip-ups the school couldn’t tolerate anymore. This leaves Riri without money and resources to continue working on her suit. Due to a tragedy 5 years ago where her best friend and stepfather were killed by stray bullets, she’s intent on creating these suits “because she can” but also because she wants to provide faster assistance. I feel like this comment gets lost in everything else going on but it’s the crux for what she’s doing. She keeps saying “because I can” but it’s more than that, she just refuses to actually share because she’s so withdrawn emotionally. She gets wrapped up with a shady group but has her own goals and she’s willing to do what she needs to make it happen, to an extent. Riri isn’t particularly a hero in this, she’s just a young woman trying to do something iconic. I like Dominique Thorne in the role. I like her style and vibe for the role, and I think there are moments when she really shines. The quiet emotional moments I think she does really well with.
• Lyric Ross as Natalie Washington and N.A.T.A.L.I.E… Natalie is Riri’s deceased best friend that she turns into her in-suit artificial intelligence (AI) N.A.T.A.L.I.E., short for Neuro Autonomous Technical Assistant and Laboratory Intelligence Entity. Nat shows up and shocks Riri and it takes a minute for Riri to warm up to her, but Natalie basically has the personality of her friend. She’s very “best friend” coded and I really liked her. She’s an AI so she’s very smart and is able to help Riri out with all her technology needs when it comes to her suit. But because she’s an AI of her friend, Riri starts out weirded out and Natalie tries very hard to force her way into Riri’s life. I think Lyric Ross was really great as Natalie. She’s great as an AI but she’s also great with the moments of humanity or when she’s trying to figure out how human she is. I really liked her, and I hope we get to see more of Natalie and Lyric Ross.
• Anthony Ramos as Parker Robbins / The Hood. I’m aware that he’s very different compared to his comic book counterpart and I do have some annoyances with his story but overall, he’s an interesting character. Parker is a gang leader who wears a cloak that allows him to tap into dark magic while wearing it. Parker has major desires and is smug enough to believe that he’s going to achieve them every time, because so far, he has. Which makes him in a lot of ways very similar to Riri. He cares for his cousin John (the most) and believes strongly in loyalty. I was surprised and a little pleased to see Anthony Ramos in the role and I think he’s pretty good. I do think he’s stronger in some aspects than others. I thought he was really good in the last episode in particular. I am interested in seeing more of his character and see where they take him.
• Alden Ehrenreich as Joe McGillicuddy. There’s a major spoiler with his character that I won’t touch on much, but I was surprised to see him (I never watched a trailer lol) and I thought he was very good. Joe is a tech ethicist and is involved in some black-market nonsense that ends up being how he and Riri connect. He’s kind of a loser in that he doesn’t know how to stand up for himself, even with his neighbor who walks all over him. Spending some time with Riri allows him to get a little bit of confidence but he’s still unsure how to maneuver. Alden was great in the role with his restrained anger simmering under the surface of his frustrations. He’s also funny. There’s a particular line delivery in the last episode that had me cracking up and all he says is “Oh.” lol.

Character Chemistry. This is particularly with Riri and her family/friends and Parker and John. I think the strongest connection in the show is Riri and N.A.T.A.L.I.E and how they interact. Lyric and Dominique have a natural chemistry, so even when it’s weird for Riri to see an accidental AI version of her friend, the chemistry is still there and it really shines when Riri basically forgets that N.A.T.A.L.I.E is an AI. The moments when Nat is protecting Riri or helping her were really sweet. I also enjoyed the dynamic with Riri and her mom Ronnie (Anji White). Her mom is very supportive of her technological advances and her want to be great, but she’s also concerned with how much Riri has pulled away and doesn’t tell her things. I appreciate that she’s still involved or tries to be and that she doesn’t take mess and that she calls Riri out when necessary. I also didn’t mind Riri’s interactions with Xavier (Matthew Elam), Natalie’s brother. It has romantic potential which is fine if it actually develops or if it doesn’t. Riri doesn’t really have any love interests in the comics so it’s fine. I think if they stay friends that works and if they at least try to date, that’s fine too. He clearly likes her, and she’s so emotionally repressed that I’m sure she’s not sure what she may want lol. But I liked their moments. I really liked the moment in the junkyard.

As for Parker and John, I would have liked to see them interact more, but I did like their chemistry. They clearly care for each other. John is Parker’s older cousin, and he tries very hard to protect him and displays extreme loyalty, he even tries to talk Parker down a few times. Parker goes on this whole kick in the second half of the show because of John. I would have liked to see more of just the two of them. I actually wish the team was just Parker and John.

Character Depth. This is particularly with Riri as she’s the lead of the show. There is some depth for some of the other characters, but Riri holds it down. She’s arrogant which is fair because she’s such a genius that there’s probably nothing she can’t figure out if she had the time and resources. She knows she can be great. She wants to be iconic and everyone around her knows she can be. There’s a lot of emotional traumas under the surface that keeps her emotionally withdrawn from the people around her who are trying to stay or get close to her.

The ending. I really liked the last two episodes. They are the longest and shortest episodes of the season, but they have the most things going on and the most impactful.

Cons:

Parker’s Motives, Character & Potential. There was a lot of potential with Parker. I am aware of his comic book story and background and I’m okay with them changing it for the show, but I also don’t think they went far enough or necessarily nuanced enough? I think his motives in the end were whack. I understand that some people are just shallow, but I don’t think this work for Parker in this story. Because it’s also similar to what’s going on with Joe. When his motives came to a head at the end, I went “mmcht” because it could have been better. I think there were better ways to get what he wanted, especially with how his kept talking so much about loyalty and family. Parker is very interesting as a person, and I do wish we got an episode that focused a bit more on his backstory. How did he and John get into contact? What about him drew the hood and its corruption to him (in the events of trying not to spoil lol)? How did he learn how it worked, or did it just work the way it does because he made it so? There was a lot that could have been explored with him that I think was a missed opportunity. Parker and Riri are almost two sides of the same coin, and I think there was even a chance for more nuance between them.

Inconsistent acting. There are choices made, whether it was instinctual, or director based that I didn’t like. Dominique Thorne is a good actress but there were times where she was trying too hard or something. Trying too hard to be “emotionless” and from Chicago. I like Anthony Ramos, and I think he’s a good actor. Not great. I feel like there are some nuances to Parker’s character that he’s not particularly strong enough to convey, at least yet. Maybe if we get to see more of him and see him sit in the role of Parker Robbins more than that could change. I think he was good in the last episode during his faceoff with Riri and his conversation with the (spoilers), but it wasn’t consistent for me.

The Hood’s Group. So, I didn’t dislike them, but I feel like we didn’t get the chance to really get to know them. I don’t think Roz and Jeri have distinct personalities; they just like to fight. But considering how important the idea of “Family” was to everyone, I would have liked to have known more about who they are as people. I think Clown had the most personality followed by Slug. I just wish I cared about what happened at the end. I think if they weren’t involved, it would have allowed for more time with Parker and John which I think was needed.

Too Short. I’m TIRED of these short season shows. At least give me 13. I feel like this show could have benefitted from at least 2 extra episodes because 6 is egregious. I think the problems I had with Hood’s group and Parker himself, would have worked out if there were more episodes.

Overall, I think Ironheart is a good show, and I think people are being extremely hard on it for various reasons. Riri is an interesting leading character who has a lot of similarities to other over-confident geniuses we’ve met in the MCU. She goes on an emotional journey that I find interesting enough and I think Dominique Thorne was overall good in the role. Her relationship with Lyric Ross’ NATALIE was fun to watch and I would have liked to have seen more of it. I think Parker was an interesting character and that Anthony Ramos did pretty good. The second half of the show is much stronger than the first and I think that’s great as the show ends on a bang. There are a lot of fun elements introduced. With that said, my main issues are a bit of the pacing at the start and how I think there was much more potential in many aspects of the story, particularly surrounding Parker. But in the end, Ironheart is a good official introduction to Riri Williams (especially if you didn’t watch Wakanda Forever).

Rating: 3.7 out of 5 stars. The rating was actually very hard because I really liked it, but I don’t think it’ a 4 or higher. It could have been though.

I recommend Ironheart! Thanks for reading! Please like this review and follow this blog for more movie reviews!

Obviously to leave out spoilers, anything below this line will be a spoiler.

So, I think the show leaves it a bit open (for now) on if Riri actually made the deal with Mephisto to bring back Natalie. I feel like she did make the deal, but I don’t think someone would be wrong in thinking that it was a vision or something. Especially considering how they started to play that scene and then it cut back to Riri’s conversation in the diner with Mephisto then how surprised Riri was to see Natalie. So, it’s hard to say actually and I hope she didn’t make the deal, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she did. Literally, she lost Natalie and struggled with her grief and had to learn how to let go, accept and move forward. Just when she started to do that, she lost N.A.T.A.L.I.E (again) and all that work was lost. It was already hard for her to make that leap before and for it literally happen right when she was going to be okay and did all that work… that’s rough. I get it. But it will definitely come back to bite her, and I think it was a very bold choice for them to have her do that. It doesn’t make her a supervillain though and I think it’s crazy for anyone to say that.