Katarzyna Petru
Marvel likes to tell the same story. Someone throws everything away, embarks on a great adventure, gets knocked about, matures, and returns as a new person. A classic "hero's journey" that has worked from the time of the Odyssey all the way to Thor and Black Panther. Ironheart, the fourteenth live-action series in the MCU on Disney+, wanted to follow the same path. But somewhere along the way, it lost its compass.
A promising start like Tony Stark. But without his money
Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne) has already been introduced in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever as a young, brilliant engineer. Ironheart is meant to be her perfect prologue before hitting the big screen. And at the beginning, everything fits: MIT, a brilliant student with an ego bigger than the campus, an armour inspired by Iron Man, being expelled for helping with cheating and demolishing laboratories. Then a flight with the prototype to Chicago. All according to the Marvel checklist.
There is even an echo of Tony – Riri is confident, a bit arrogant, and operates on her own terms. But there is also a fundamental difference: Stark had billions, while Riri is a young, Black girl from working-class Chicago. And this is where the story takes a turn.
The Hood: magic, a cloak and a gang that steals only for themselves
Parker Robbins, or The Hood (the excellent Anthony Ramos), appears, proposing her a classic devil's bargain: money to finish the project in exchange for joining the gang. It sounds like Robin Hood, but without the philanthropy – his crew steals from the rich to buy themselves more toys. There are hackers, fiery psychos, warriors from the off-licence.
Parker has a magical cloak that allows him to disappear and bend bullets like Neo. Magic comes in full force. And here begins the clash with science – something like WandaVision, just less consistent. Witches appear to make Riri aware that the armour and mathematics are not enough. Something more is needed. But Riri doesn't listen – a classic.
Heists like from a VHS and a fight that doesn't impress
From the third episode, the gang starts doing some serious work: they shut down underground transport and break into a secured greenhouse like in a heist movie from 2001. You can feel a bit of the vibe of The Fast and the Furious from before the supercar era and Gone in 60 Seconds. There’s pace, there are jokes, there’s grittiness.
But when it comes to the actual action in the suit, it gets poor. The fights are lacklustre, the stakes are low, and they lack grandeur. It’s not on the same level as Iron Man vs Iron Monger. Not even Spider-Man vs Vulture. It’s as if these fights were just meant to be.
Criminals from the margins. But we have no reason to cheer for them...
Hodge (the creator of the series) suggests that Parker's gang is a victim of the system. Marginalised, forgotten. The only thing is... we don’t know their story. We don’t know what hurts them or what they want besides money. Their revenge lacks motive. Their thefts have no purpose.
Riri doesn’t fare any better. She supposedly wants to protect her loved ones, but throughout the series, she fails to do so. Her actions are impulsive, self-centred. She acts because she can. Not because she should. And with each passing episode, she resembles more of an anti-hero than Iron Man.
Joe – wasted potential and "Palpatine mode" from nowhere
There is also Joe McGillicuddy (Alden Ehrenreich), a black market inventor with trauma from his criminal father. Initially, he comes across as interesting: modest, technical, and unsure of himself. But then, classically like in a bad sequel, he receives upgrades and lightning from his hands. He transforms into a weapon of mass destruction, because… the script demanded it.
Instead of a subtle story about fathers and their mistakes, we get another madman with CGI. And all of this because Riri pulls him into the mire.
N.A.T.A.L.I.E.: the spirit of a friend who becomes AI
The most emotionally powerful thread of the series is the friendship between Riri and Natalie (Lyric Ross), Riri's late friend who was killed in a shooting along with Riri's stepfather. The girl returns as AI – N.A.T.A.L.I.E. – accidentally generated during a brain scan of Riri. She has Natalie’s memories, personality, and voice.
At first, there is a conflict: Riri doesn’t know if this isn’t sacrilege. But over time, their relationship rebuilds – and here you can really feel the heart. It's a bit like the transformation of J.A.R.V.I.S. into Vision, only less spectacular but more human.
Final? A wasted prologue, a wasted heroine
And just when we think that maybe this story will come to a close – that Riri has learned something – the finale arrives. In the last scene, she receives another offer from yet another "magical jerk". And she makes another foolish decision. As if the entire series didn't matter.
It's an ending that says one thing: no matter what you've been through, you'll still sell your soul if the price is right. Sad? Yes. True? Perhaps. But is this what we expect from the origin story of a new MCU heroine?
Verdict: more frustration than heart
Ironheart had potential. Dominique Thorne, Anthony Ramos, and the rest of the cast give it their all. But the script doesn't give them anything to work with. The heroine does not undergo a transformation. The antagonists are bland. And the finale undermines the entire story.
There are good moments – heists, chemistry with Natalie, a few emotional scenes. But the whole thing? Too cynical, too empty, too lacklustre for something that was meant to be a fresh start for Marvel.
