Ironheart - Review

I'm a massive comic book nerd.

Through and through, for the majority of my life, I've read, watched, and adored characters from Marvel, DC, and other third-party studios. So when you combine two forms of media I absolutely love, I'll absolutely be there ready to watch.

Disney+'s Ironheart show is no exception to this rule, as I really liked the character of Riri Williams when she first debuted in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and was excited to explore her roots and her story even more. Putting internet discourse aside, this show is a genuinely fun time with cool action scenes and fun acting, which links straight in with the character of Ironheart and the people who are most important to her, with this being explored thoroughly throughout the show as well, forming into a well-rounded mini-series that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Starting off with our title character, Dominique Thorne really delivers on the naivete and gung-ho attitude that I see in the character when reading the comics. I like to think her entire character can be summed up by one line she repeats to many of the characters surrounding her in the show; however, these walls do begin to break down, allowing for character growth throughout the show, which is always important. With this main development coming from, as mentioned before, the people around her. The theme of family in this show is apparent and shines through, showing how important the people around you can be during times of hardship and struggle. While this has been explored in many other films and shows, including Marvel projects, Ironheart’s family can really set themselves apart from other characters we've seen before, allowing for a fresh take on the theme and convention.

Going back to my nerd title before, seeing the MCU's magic versus its technology was a super interesting idea that played well into Ironheart's story as well as giving us a new and interesting antagonist. Anthony Ramos plays The Hood in the show, a magic-wielding criminal that gets Riri all caught up in illegal actions. With mystical powers at play, he's a great foil to her logical and tech-savvy brain and really pushes the character to her limits, which will definitely have ramifications on the future of her story as well as others. This magic leads to fun fight scenes, as mentioned before, capitalizing off The Hood's abilities, which were stripped straight from the comics.

Overall, Ironheart is the definition of a fun time. There isn't anything truly special about the show that elevates it to the best Disney+ show we have; however, it sets itself apart with interesting premises, character relations, and character arcs that excite me when I think about when I'm going to see Riri Williams next. I thoroughly recommend this show to anyone who enjoyed Riri in Black Panther or if you want an interesting premise with family themes tying it all together. Maybe you just want to see some cool magic lights that involve Iron Man armor; I'm not here to judge because that's also great fun. So I'm giving Ironheart a 7/10.

I look forward to seeing what comes next for the MCU. I heard it's going to be fantastic for all ;)

Below I'm putting a little spoiler section, as if you've seen the show, I would very much like to discuss things that occurred in it that I very much liked, so if you don't want to be spoiled, don't read below and you can come back later.

*SPOILER SECTION*

The final twist that Riri makes that deal with Borat was honestly shocking. It was easily one of the best things the show could have done. Having a simple ending would have been very cookie-cutter, but clearly, they didn't want to make this show cookie-cutter, as mentioned before in my actual review. My little headcanon is that this sets up a Young Avengers/Champions team-up against Mephisto, where Ironheart is going to be on the team but has to serve him at the same time, leading to a super interesting conflict dynamic. This, in conjunction with Wiccan trying to find his brother and Ms. Marvel currently with Kate Bishop, would be a very nice layup and nothing too crazy.

I also like the fact they kept The Hood alive. Marvel has an issue where they kill a lot of their villains at the end of shows or movies for them never to appear again; however, The Hood can easily pop up in any street-level project or anything to do with magic, and I love that sense of guessing.

I would love to hear your thoughts.