Marvel’s ‘Ironheart’ Soars Above The Hate

In one of the most heart-wrenching moments in Marvel’s new excellent Disney+ series Ironheart, MIT tech genius, badass inventor, and complicated superhero Riri Williams is emotionally gutted after the AI version of her deceased best friend N.A.T.A.L.I.E. is deleted. “Oh my God…” panics Tony “Iron Man” Stark’s rebellious mentee—played with layered grit by the criminally underrated Dominique Thorne. Riri discovers the sobering consequences of using dark magic to amp up her new and improved black and red metal suit for her showdown with mystically enhanced villain The Hood.

The Ryan Coogler-executive produced Ironheart has exceeded expectations. The six-episode show currently holds an 86% critics rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes (that score ranks among the best of Marvel Television properties). San Francisco Chronicle’s Zaki Hasan summed up much of the buzz surrounding Ironheart, praising the series’ bold, personal storytelling in a genre usually heavy on save-the-world bluster.

Fans have been even more ecstatic, following the shocking [SPOILER ALERT!!!], long-awaited MCU introduction of one of Marvel Comics’ most powerful demons, which already has folks envisioning a Midnight Sons team-up movie featuring Doctor Strange, Ghost Rider, Moon Knight, Elsa Bloodstone and Blade.  

“Ironheart is one of the best tv shows Marvel has made FIGHT WITH A WALL I DON’T CARE,” said one overly hyped viewer. “Riri, you will forever be loved. AND FINALLY GETTING MEPHISTO???? oh we’re so back and I will be expecting a season 2.”

“I think it’s so yummy that Riri doesn’t have to walk the traditional hero path,” Thorne told Entertainment Weekly, following the jaw-dropping cliffhanger in which Ironheart makes a deal with “the devil” to bring Natalie back to life. “She has already crossed some lines and figured she’ll handle the consequences on the other side. So what exactly is the scope? What’s the scale of those consequences? And does she continue to resist? Does she continue to do the right thing or does she lean into the other part of her?”

Credit for Ironheart’s we-didn’t-see-that-coming story building and smart, methodical pacing goes to head writer and showrunner Chinaka Hodge. She and fellow Oakland native Coogler unload an unapologetically Black yet inclusive show that somehow manages to balance over-the-top comic book fantasy with the grounded backdrop of working-class Chicago.

Yet the initial rollout for Ironheart, which currently sits atop Disney+’s most-streamed properties in the U.S., was tepid. Some fans have called out the show’s bantam episode count (in comparison, the 2024 miniseries Agatha All Along was given nine episodes). Promotion for Ironheart, originally announced back in December of 2020 by Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige as part of the Disney-backed company’s new slate of shows, has been muted. Since then, Marvel’s “Phase 5” has been hit and mostly miss (the all-heart Thunderbolts* deserved better).

It was as if Feige and company were spooked by so-called superhero fatigue. But there was something more disturbing happening. Before Ironheart even made its June 24 premiere, it was review-bombed by belligerent fanboys apparently outraged over the mere idea of a Black woman headlining a superhero show.

Never mind that Williams—originally created by comic book writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Mike Deodato, and introduced in 2016’s Invincible Iron Man No. 7—became an instant fan favorite following Thorne’s appearance in the 2022 blockbuster Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

The theory goes that Marvel suits were reluctant to fully embrace Ironheart due to the current toxic, racist, and misogynistic-fueled DEI scare. “Without knowing who was responsible for marketing… it’s hard to believe that it wasn’t a factor,” film and television writer Cheo Hodari Coker tells Cassius Life.

The pen behind Ray Donovan, Southland, Notorious, and Creed II has had experience with working inside the Marvel world. Coker was the showrunner for the Netflix superhero series Luke Cage, one of Marvel’s early Black characters to headline their own book in 1972. Coker sees similarities between the two productions, recalling the time he premiered the Luke Cage trailer at Comic-Con in 2016.

Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s “Shimmy Shimmy Ya” blasted in the background as an ass-kicking Cage ran through an army of bad guys. “We leaned into Hip-Hop and into Luke’s Blackness, much how the show leans into Riri’s,” adds Coker.

Coker further makes the case that Coogler’s recent box office glory with a certain Oscar-ready vampire movie has helped give Ironheart extra momentum. “Ryan’s triumphant turn with Sinners, I suspect, made [Marvel] realize that associating with his brand was an asset that could transcend any of the racist trolling,” he continues. “And that, at the same time, once people actually got to see the show, they would see just how brilliant it is.”

Indeed, Ironheart diehards have certainly done their part, pushing back against brazen attempts by the usual suspects to sabotage the show. And OG Iron Man, Robert Downey Jr, who Thorne calls her “bestie” (he’s set to play Marvel’s next big baddie Dr. Doom in the upcoming 2026 film Avengers: Doomsday) has given his full, glowing support to the actress and the Ironheart crew.

Beyond the cool CGI and slick fight scenes, the show’s strong cast is reason enough to give Ironheart a watch. Anji White gives Riri’s supportive, no-nonsense mother, Ronnie, a wise, regal aura. The aforementioned Natalie, played by the scene-stealing Lyric Ross, embodies the coolest (and effortlessly hilarious) best homie from around the way.

Regan Aliyah delivers offbeat charm as future Doctor Strange protégé Zelma Stanton. Anthony Ramos injects Ironheart’s ominous Hood with enough eye-winking charisma to make Jessica Jones’ David Tennant (Purple Man) jealous. LaRoyce Hawkins (Riri’s stepfather Gary Williams) will break your heart while the youngest of the cast, Harper Anthony, gives Martin’s iconic Hustle Man a run for his money as the wise-cracking Landon. The irreverent Sacha Baron Cohen was seemingly born to play Mephisto. And Thorne leads the entire production with a ferocity balanced by raw vulnerability.

While it’s too soon to say if Ironheart will be extended for a second season, Coker, an unabashed fan of the show, says he’s ready for more. “The same way that Luke Cage embraced ‘90s Hip-Hop and proved there was a huge audience, taking cues from James Gunn’s embrace of ‘70s AM rock for Guardians of the Galaxy, my hope is that Marvel and Disney understand that there is a huge audience for Ironheart.”

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