Single Best Thing About Riri Williams Is About to Get an Upgrade in the MCU
You thought we had Tony Stark legacy being preserved? Well, not so fast.
Looks like the story of MIT genius Riri Williams who is set to don the suit of armor in the next phases of Marvel Cinematic Universe is not going to be as tied to Robert Downey Jr 's Tony Stark as one would expect it to be.
As noted by Black Panther: Wakanda Forever director Ryan Coogler, "there is a connection between (Riri) and Tony" in the MCU, but "it's a complicated connection." Many fans have already suggested that Riri might not be as much of a Tony Star admirer as Sam Wilson was of Steve Rogers, or Kate Bishop of Hawkeye.
In the comics, Riri is basically starstruck (one could say Stark-struck...), and Iron Man is her icon; in the MCU, the MIT student might be more of her own thing. Not all fans are too fond of that; some people even suggested that Marvel once again tries to bow down to "the narrative" — whatever the said "narrative" is.
"Can't have the black girl look up to a rich white billionaire male, not surprised DISNEY marvel is feeding into the narrative once more. Then it's the fans fault when the show bombs with negative reviews," Twitter user Tvpoll_rtfav2 said.
For many people, the upcoming Ironheart show was a glimpse of hope in a Tony Stark-less MCU world, as they believed that Robert Downey Jr could be back for a cameo. Many people still foster hope that Iron Man might return as an AI.
But not everyone is overly optimistic.
"I don't think they would bring [Downey Jr] back for a Disney plus show but I could see her gaining some attention from pepper pots and stark industries. Maybe even [Don Cheadle] shows up. I'd be surprised if she's not in armor wars, " Twitter user michael74972245 noted.
Ironheart is set to hit Disney Plus at some point in late 2023. Armor Wars, featuring Don Cheadle's War Machine, has been turned into a movie after initially pitched by Marvel as a TV show. The premiere date, however, is yet to be scheduled.