Ironheart (Episodes 1 - 3)

Despite the positive reactions that the character may have gotten from critics, I remember when fans were very upset after Ironheart made her first appearance in a Marvel comic. Some people simply took issue with how derivative her character felt - since she basically acted as an Iron Man replacement - but other people seemed to have unfair criticisms that were politically motivated. Fast forward nearly ten years later, and it seems like her live-action counter part is being met with the same kind of criticism. Which really sucks. 

Riri Williams is a perfectly fine character. She may be a genius, but that doesn’t mean she’s replacing Tony Stark’s role in the MCU. She can’t. She wouldn’t be able to even if she tried. Her genius is limited by her financial status, whiich is something that Tony Stark never had to worry about. 

So I like how this new series promised to explore how those limitations challenged Riri as character. Unfortunately, after watching the first three episodes of Ironheart, I have to admit that they were a bit disappointing . 

Which means that, while I was hoping that this series would make all of the Ironheart haters stop complaining, I don't think that is going to be the case here. Because, as someone who actively wanted to enjoy it, even I have to admit that I was underwhelmed by the show. I just didn’t find the story, or the characters for that matter, to be all that interesting. Dominque Thorne still does a great job of portraying the character, but her performance wasn’t enough to keep me engaged with the story being told. 

That story is: sometime after the events of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Riri’s request for MIT to extend her grant for another year is denied, which leads her to head back to her hometown of Chicago. 

Now, as a Chicago native myself, it was genuinely nice to see my city finally getting some love from the MCU. A fictionalized version of The State Street Preacher even shows up for a brief second! Which was pretty cool. It’s just unfortunate that the series has to compete with a new season ofThe Bear, which has been doing a great job of representing Chicago culture for years now. And considering that both of these shows are Disney related, it’s weird that they have to compete with each other in the first place. 

The third season of Squid Game is also available to watch now, so it almost feels like Disney is intentionally trying to bury this show. Especially considering that the final few episodes are all going to be released next week. Meaning that the series is going to be done before audiences even get the chance to see it. And the people who do see it won’t even get the chance to talk about it, since all of that discourse is going to be drowned out by everyone else’s excitement over Squid Game and The Bear. So, either the bad release date strategy is an awfully big coincide, or Disney is doing a bad job of showing that they didn’t have faith in this series. 

Regardless, once Riri makes it back to Chicago, we learn that she’s still grieving over the deaths of her best friend, Natalie, and her stepfather, Gary. And this does give Riri a mildly interesting backstory; I just didn’t care for how that story led to the accidental creation of an A.I. that calls itself N.A.T.A.L.I.E.

I get that the digital recreation acts as a visual representation of Riri’s unprocessed grief, but I personally found the tone of that story to be a little cringey. Thankfully, the story does get a better once Anthony Ramos shows up as The Hood. Because, knowing that Riri is in desperate need of some cash, Hood recruits her to join him on a heist. And while Riri initially struggles with taking part in said heist, The Hood tells her that anyone who achieves greatness has done questionable things to get it done. Which doesn’t seem ominous or villainous at all. 

The Hood’s motivations aren’t exactly clear yet, though, and that helps in making his character feel all the more cool and mysterious. But, for as interesting as The Hood’s character may be, the group of people that he assembles is far less interesting. None of these characters were particularly memorable in any way. Which is a shame, since some of these characters were played by well known actors like Eric Andre. 

The only other character I did find interesting was the one played by Alden Ehrenreich. He’s a good performer. I’m glad that he’s still working in the Disney family but it’s a shame that they haven’t given him the chance to reprise his version of Han Solo. Plus, he shares a surprise connection to a past MCU character that I won’t spoil here, and that connection could lead to some interesting plot lines in the future - even outside of Ironheart. 

So there are good elements in this show, I just think that it failed to make a strong first impression. Which is extremely disappointing, especially considering how the show was produced by Ryan Coogler. But maybe he wasn’t as creatively involved as I was hoping he would be. Which is a shame, because I think Ironheart does have a lot of potential. I just hope that the show will get the chance to live up to said potential.

But I guess we’ll see how the second half of the season will turn out to be once it gets released on Sunday.