Some viewers are wondering why Riri Williams doesn’t ask Shuri for help in Ironheart, especially given their heartfelt friendship in Wakanda Forever. On the flipside, some are asking why Princess Shuri of Wakanda, the new Black Panther, doesn’t reach out to Riri, who struggles throughout the series to find the money and resources to construct a new armor suit. Their partnership would seem to be an easier solution than Riri working with The Hood. In a heart-to-heart conversation during the show, Riri Williams does explain why she hasn’t contacted Shuri for assistance, but there are other reasons why she doesn’t call Shuri for aid.
Why does Princess Shuri not help Riri Williams after Wakanda Forever?
Riri Williams explains that she is too embarrassed and feels too guilty over what she has done to ask Shuri for help, but her reluctance also comes from a place of anxiety and the belief that a genius like her should be capable of handling everything by herself. In addition, Shuri would have reasons of her own as to why she wouldn’t be able to help Riri in light of Wakanda’s isolationist policies.
In Episode 4, Riri Williams’ A.I. N.A.T.A.L.I.E. suggests that she call Shuri for help in figuring out how to fight against The Hood and his magical powers. Riri then mocks the idea by having a mock phone call with Shuri where she admits to “causing an interspecies war on both land and sea,” referring to the battle in Blank Panther: Wakanda Forever between Namor’s Kingdom of Talokan and Shuri’s Kingdom of Wakanda. She then proceeds to tell pretend-Shuri that she “got kicked outta MIT,” “joined a crew of ragged-ass criminals,” and is about to get “popped by a deranged man in a cape.”
Riri believes that relaying all of this to the princess would make her hang up. From that standpoint, she doesn’t want to admit her string of failures and her involvement with The Hood’s gang, which is something a superhero would not to like to hear about. She doesn’t want to risk damaging her relationship with someone that she admires and respects. While that might be how Shuri would react to her situation, Riri doesn’t consider that the princess would still want to help her out regardless of what happened, especially when a villain is trying to kill her.
Ironheart is a story about superheroes as much as it is about mental health. Throughout the six-episode series, Riri doesn’t share her struggles with others, because her pride, combined with her stress, causes her to self-isolate. She doesn’t ask for help partly because she doesn’t want to appear weak and because she wants to surpass Tony Stark by building a suit without having a silver spoon. She doesn’t tell her mother nor her best friend, Xavier King, about her situation for the majority of the show, saying that’s she’s “fine” even though they know that something is wrong.
Riri has a tendency to shoulder her burdens alone, her anxieties exacerbated by her past trauma over Natalie and her stepdad’s death. She avoids deep conversations with them so that they don’t mention Natalie or Gary Williams, which triggers her anxiety, and copes with survivor’s guilt by pouring all of her time and effort into making a suit of armor that in her mind would prevent that trauma from happening ever again.
On the other side is Shuri, who would ostensibly face obstacles providing Riri with financial aid or design assistance. At the end of Wakanda Forever, the princess prevents Riri from taking her suit outside of Wakanda due to the enhancements Shuri made to it. The risk of another a foreign government, including the CIA as headed by Valentina, getting a hold of Wakandan technology is too high for them. Meanwhile, giving Riri assistance could paint an even bigger target on her back by various intelligence agencies that she doesn’t need.
Also, Wakanda is in a state of repair after the events in Wakanda Forever. Along with the political upheaval after the death of the queen and Wakanda’s inherent distrust of other nations plundering their vibranium, Shuri would understandably be more interested in directing funds back into her country and her people. Besides, Riri isn’t struggling financially insomuch as she simply wants more money as quickly as possible to build her suit. Shuri might give Riri some passing advice or a lead for a possible way to deal with magic, but giving her friend money and resources that Wakanda needs might not be at the top on her list of priorities.
