History ComicBook / Ironheart

The only problem is that the bad guys belong to a secret shadowy organization called the Ten Rings and they want to find something called the "Wellspring of Power" in order to gain, well, unlimited power. Riri will have to not only find out what they are planning, but also team up with other superheroes such as [[ComicBook/MilesMorales Spider-Man]], ComicBook/TheUnstoppableWasp, ComicBook/DoctorStrange, and ComicBook/{{Shuri}}, in order to stop the Ten Rings.

[[redirect:Characters/IronManHeroes]]

[[redirect:Characters/MarvelComicsIronheart]]

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->''"Those who move with courage make the path for those who live in fear."''

Riri Williams, also known by her codename Ironheart, is a Creator/MarvelComics character created by Creator/BrianMichaelBendis and Mike Deodato, first appearing in ''Invincible ComicBook/IronMan'' #7 (dated March 2016).

Born shortly after the death of her father, Riri Williams grew up in UsefulNotes/{{Chicago}} with her mother and stepfather, soon discovering a pretty surprising truth about herself: she was a genius intellect with special aptitude for engineering. By the age of fifteen, Riri was already attending M.I.T. on a free scholarship offered to her because of it.

It was during this time that Riri reverse-engineered the Iron Man Mark 41 suit in her dorm room, using (stolen) materials from the M.I.T. campus. After testing out her suit's capabilities a few times, Riri had her first taste of crimefighting by stopping a truck carrying a group of prison escapees in UsefulNotes/NewMexico, which came at the cost of her suit's armor integrity.

While rebuilding her suit from the ground up, Tony Stark learned of her accomplishment, fully endorsing her potential as a hero by offering to take her under his wing.

Later as part of ComicBook/MarvelAFreshStart, Riri returned in a new ongoing solo, written by Creator/EveEwing and illustrated by Kevin Libranda. It lasted for twelve issues. She also joined the teenage superhero team the [[ComicBook/Champions2016 Champions]].

A live action Creator/DisneyPlus series based on the character was announced for the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse in December 2020, with Dominique Thorne (''Film/IfBealeStreetCouldTalk'') cast in the title role.

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!! Ironheart appears in:
[[folder: Notable Comic Books]]
* ''Invincible ComicBook/IronMan'' (various runs):
** vol. 2 (2016)
** vol. 3 (2016 -- 2018)
* ''ComicBook/{{Champions|2016}}'' (various runs):
** vol. 2 (2018)
** [[ComicBook/Champions2019 vol. 3 (2019)]]
** [[ComicBook/Champions2020 vol. 4 (2020)]]
* ''Riri Williams: Ironheart'' (2018 -- 2019)
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* ''Ironheart'' (TBA), portrayed by Dominique Thorne
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Video Games]]
* ''VideoGame/MarvelFutureFight'' (added in 2017)
* ''VideoGame/MarvelPuzzleQuest'' (added in 2017)
* ''VideoGame/LEGOMarvelSuperheroes2'' (2017)
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Animation]]
* ''Franchise/MarvelRising'', voiced by Creator/SofiaWylie
** ''WesternAnimation/MarvelRisingHeartOfIron'' (2019)
** ''WesternAnimation/MarvelRisingBattleOfTheBands'' (2019)
[[/folder]]
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!! Ironheart provides examples of the following tropes:

* AffirmativeActionLegacy: She's an African-American girl who ends up replacing Tony Stark in ''Invincible Iron Man'', albeit with a different codename.
* ArmorPiercingResponse: When she makes it clear she doesn't care to join SHIELD Sharon sardonically asks her [[GodwinsLaw if she's a fan of Hydra]]. Riri responds with a succinct breakdown of [[BigBrotherIsWatching how SHIELD abuses power]] and asks her if she really thinks people who don't like their methods are really WithUsOrAgainstUs.
* BreakTheBadass: She confronts ComicBook/{{Thanos}} in ''Infinity Countdown: Champions'' #2, expecting an easy victory. Thanos, not impressed, disintegrates her armor and leaves her a sobbing wreck. This is followed up in her own series, ''Riri Williams: Ironheart'', where she has a clear case of PTSD.
* CurbStompBattle: See above.
* ChildProdigy: Riri was diagnosed as a genius when she was five years old.
* ComicBookFantasyCasting: Modeled after [[https://twitter.com/mikedeodato/status/752487425155497984 Skai Jackson]].
* DeadGuyJunior: Riri is named for her late father, who died shortly before her birth. And her name is "Riri" which isn't a nickname of any sort.
* {{Determinator}}: Tony recognizing this quality in her is part of the reason he offers to take her in.
* DitzyGenius: Despite being a genius engineer, Riri still has her airheaded moments, like taking over Latervia on a whim.
* DivergentCharacterEvolution: After she joins the Champions [[spoiler: and is handily taken down by Thanos, who destroys her armor]], Riri builds a new suit that replaces the red in her original Stark-esque design with black and pink. This represents her first major step away from being simply "black female Iron Man".
* DumpStat: According to a Marvel ad for an issue of ''Champions'' portraying the team as RPG characters, Riri's is Charisma.
* FakingTheDead: [[spoiler:Riri thinks that her father, Riri Williams Sr, died before she was born. In ''Ironheart'' #10, she's investigating the Wellspring of Power with ComicBook/{{Shuri}}, [[ComicBook/BlackPanther Okoye]], and [[ComicBook/NewWarriors Silhouette]]... and Sil spots a man who looks a lot like Ironheart... her father is alive after all.]]
* FriendlessBackground: She's only had one close friend who unfortunately died as the result of a drive-by shooting.
* GadgeteerGenius: Was able to reverse engineer one of Tony's old Iron Man armors to make her own suit.
* GenerationXerox: While not related to Tony, she shows many of the traits associated with him. It's part of the reason he decided to take her under his wing.
* GoodParents: After learning of her incredible intellect, her mother and stepfather made a deliberate effort to raise her as altruistically as possible, fearing any social disconnect that would make her a MadScientist. She's fully aware of why they're doing it but has accepted it.
* ItAmusedMe: Inverted. She quit M.I.T. because she found it boring.
* IneffectualLoner: Despite being on a team, Riri would rather still work alone, sometimes to the detriment of the mission.
* IvyLeagueForEveryone: Although she later quits, her being an MIT student is a quick way to establish her as an engineering genius.
* LegacyCharacter: PlayedWith. She's more of a diminutive character branching off from an established one with a similar name (example: ComicBook/{{Batman}} and ComicBook/{{Batwoman}}, ComicBook/{{Batgirl}}, etc.), but she's effectively one of these, as Tony is grooming her as his successor.
* NoSocialSkills: As part of her intellect and also trauma from dealing with tragedies in the past, she usually holes her herself away from everyone, tinkering with her armour. She did it with MIT and also in her own garage.
* NotSoDifferent: On the surface level, Riri couldn't be more different than Tony Stark (a young black girl compared to a white man), but she also has Tony's determination and poor communication skills and some would say questionable morality.
* ShipperOnDeck: Silhouette and Okoye end up creating "Shuriri" ship as a joke.
* ShoutOut: Riri's armor has some design elements that are reminiscent of [[Franchise/{{Transformers}} Optimus Prime]].
* SpiritAdvisor: A VirtualGhost of Tony Stark (who was in a coma) serves as onboard AI and mentor of her next armor model.
* SuicidalOverconfidence: A ''Champions'' issue actually sees Riri attempt to challenge ''[[GalacticConqueror Thanos]]'' of all people to a fight. [[spoiler: It's a miracle the Mad Titan was feeling merciful and only disintegrated her ''armor.'']]
* SuperheroSpeciation: Played with during the ''Search for Tony Stark'' arc, where Riri teams up with number of other heroes with powered armor that are all unique and visually distinct from each other for contrast.
* TooMuchAlike: The reason why Riri keeps clashing with ComicBook/{{Shuri}} - they both have strong, independent personalities and don't like being bossed around, which means they get on each other's nerves very fast.
* VirtualSidekick: The armor Riri builds contains an AI replica of Tony Stark's personality, which acts as both assistant and mentor to her.
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* ''Franchise/MarvelRising'', voiced by Sofia Wylie

-->''"Those who move with courage make the path for those who live in fear."''

Later as part of ComicBook/MarvelAFreshStart, Riri returned in a new ongoing solo, written by Eve L. Ewing and illustrated by Kevin Libranda. It lasted for twelve issues. She also joined the teenage superhero team the [[ComicBook/Champions2016 Champions]].