How Ironheart Related to Iron Man MCU Disney Plus Disney+ Show Riri Williams Tony Stark
[Image Credit: Marvel]

How Is Ironheart Related to Iron Man in the MCU Disney+ Show?

Many viewers are wondering how Ironheart is related to Iron Man in the Disney+ show, which will premiere on June 24 and by extension the MCU. On its face, it’s clear that the power suit that Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne) creates is very much like the suit that Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) wears, to the point that federal agents literally call it an “Iron Man suit” in the 2022 film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. But some want to know if there’s something more between the two characters beyond just the armor. Here’s whether there is a connection between Ironheart and Iron Man.

Riri Williams’ Ironheart is not related to Tony Stark’s Iron Man by way of a family connection, but her suit has been confirmed to be inspired by Iron Man’s technology.

In the art book for Wakanda Forever, where Riri Williams made her debut as a 19-year-old MIT student, concept illustrator John Nizzi states that Riri is “obviously aware” of Tony Stark’s work and that her suit shows “a level of influence” when it comes Stark’s design on hers. Specifically, the RT (short for Repulsor Transmitter, the fusion-type arc reactor that powers the Iron Man suit) that is embedded within Ironheart’s suit is based on “Stark-like technology, but it’s her own version.”

On that point, Shuri (Letitia Wright) does ask Riri in the movie whether the blueprints in her hideout are based on “Stark tech,” but before she can answer, they are surrounded by FBI agents.

Nizzi expanded further on how Riri, as “a young, sassy gamer tech nerd,” has built the suit on top of Stark’s design. Her Mark I suit incorporates joysticks and a few features from classic cars, particularly “some roll cage elements in the harness and the racing buckle that’s around her.”

There are already several easter eggs in the trailer for the Disney+ show connecting it to Iron Man. There’s a building marked with “Hangar 17” and “Stark,” so it’s most likely funded by the Stark Foundation, and her Mark armor also uses brainwave tech that we’ve seen Stark use in Iron Man 3. That said, a second trailer reveals Riri looking for a way to merge the armor with magic in order to combat the dark magic of The Hood, so it’s clear that the upgrades for her suit will deviate from Tony Stark’s in the series.

In the original comics, Riri was only 15 years old when she made a suit of advanced armor after being inspired by Tony Stark. This wasn’t too surprising since she was saved by Iron Man was she was a girl. Later at MIT, which is the institution that Tony Stark graduated from, Riri was able to reverse-engineer Stark’s design for the Mark-41, though she does this by stealing materials from the lab. She escapes from campus security and eventually returns home to explain herself when she finds Tony Stark in the living room and learns that he believes she would should become a superhero like him.

Considering Stark’s fate in the MCU at the end of Avengers: Endgame, though, she likely won’t meet him in the flesh in the show, but it’s possible that she might be able to converse through one of his artificial intelligences, perhaps F.R.I.D.A.Y. or E.D.I.T.H. The comics had Riri be digitally guided by a Tony Stark AI after he falls into a coma.

Still, it’s been confirmed that Tony Stark won’t make an appearance in the Ironheart series, but Thorne said that Robert Downey Jr. has voiced his support for the show and gave her “two thumbs up.” The actor also sent a special message on Good Morning America, saying “Miss Thorne, I couldn’t be happier than to be seeing you bring Riri Williams to life… Long story short, Iron Man loves Ironheart.”

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