There hasn’t been much buzz surrounding Ironheart, which is quite a shame, considering that it’s one of the MCU’s better offerings in recent times. In it, MIT student Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne) returns home to Chicago after the events of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, where she discovers crucial secrets about technology against magic. Chinaka Hodge, who previously worked on shows like Snowpiercer and The Midnight Club, serves as the head writer.
The series — the last installment of the shaky Phase Five — has a 76% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with the website’s critics’ consensus noting that “Dominique Thorne ignites the MCU skies with charisma and confidence to boot, making the show a worthy watch despite its conventional genre armor.” Every superhero fan needs to watch it, and once they are done, they’ll find it fun to rewatch the following MCU movies, since there are either nods to them in the new series or there are little details worth knowing.
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‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ (2022)
In Doctor Strange 2, Stephen Strange meets America Chavez, a girl who is being hunted by demons because she can travel through the multiverse. He consults the most powerful avenger, Wanda Maximoff, aka Scarlett Witch, only to learn that she is behind the demon attacks. Her goal is to steal Chavez’s powers and travel through the multiverse to reunite with the children she created during her time in Westview. Unsurprisingly, Strange refuses to surrender Chavez and Wanda, so Wanda goes on a rampage.
Kamar-Taj Students Are Helpful
Ironheart introduces Zelma Stanton, a self-taught magic user, who learned most things from her mother, Madeline Stanton, a former student of the Masters of the Mystic Arts at Kamar-Taj. Zelma has extensive knowledge of the multiverse (a crucial plot point in Doctor Strange 2) and magical entities like Dormammu. Thanks to her spell, Riri Williams’ armor gets enhanced, giving the protagonist magical capabilities and giving her a greater advantage against The Hood.
The Kamar-Taj is a key location in the Doctor Strange sequel. Early in the movie, it’s destroyed by a deranged Wanda, who kills many sorcerers. Later on, we see it under repair, with the surviving sorcerers continuing training together with Chavez. Though she isn’t shown, Madeline was probably one of these survivors.
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‘What If…?’ Season 3, Episode 5 – “What If… The Emergence Destroyed the Earth?”
What If…? dives into alternate timelines in the multiverse that show how different the MCU would be if major moments from the films and television shows occurred differently. Many actors reprise their roles, with Jeffrey Wright voicing Uatu, aka The Watcher, a fifth-dimensional being who observes the Multiverse from the Observational Plane.
Riri Saves the World
Fans eager to see Riri facing a different kind of threat (on a bigger level) should jump on the Season 3 episode, “What If… The Emergence Destroyed the Earth?” Here, we are presented with a scenario where the Emergence destroyed the Earth. The Watcher informs Riri that she’s humanity’s last hope, despite her previous failures. She later merges with Vision’s vibranium tech, becoming a human-synthezoid hybrid that gets to save the world with the aid of a resistance alliance featuring Wong, Okoye, Valkyrie, and Ying Nan.
It’s fun seeing Riri being someone the world depends on, since we’ve either seen her in a supporting capacity (in Wakanda) or operating on a smaller pond (Chicago). She totally proves herself on the global playing field, something we’d love to see more of down the line. And so likable is she that the Watcher also breaks his non-interference vow of non-interference and urges her on.
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‘Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’ (2021)
Shaun (Sim Liu) from Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings initially lives a normal life as a parking valet in San Francisco. One day, he is attacked by assassins, and after he showcases his fighting skills, it’s revealed that he is the son of the immortal warlord Wenwu, leader of the Ten Rings organization. He then reconnects with his estranged sister and heads to the mystical village of Ta Lo after information emerges that their deceased mother might be alive and trapped there.
The Cloak’s Corrupting Nature
Shang-Chi’s post-credits scene sees Wong, a prominent figure at Kamar-Taj, summon Shang-Chi to learn more about the Rings’ mysterious signal. In general, the movie’s magical elements fully align with those of the latest MCU series, as we see the dangers that can emerge when the wrong people get too much power.
Ironheart’s villain, Parker Davis Robbins, is also connected to Shang-Chi via What If…? In an alternate universe, Parker Robbins acquires the cloak and names himself the Hood, founding his gang and beginning a massive human trafficking operation targeting Chinese immigrants in San Francisco. The cloak eventually falls into the hands of Shang-Chi’s sister Xu Xialing, who lures Robbins into a trap and kills him before taking over his operations.
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Every MCU Movie of the 2020s, Ranked According to Rotten Tomatoes
In the last five years, the MCU has seen the introduction of new heroes, the return of familiar faces, and navigation of uncharted territories.
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‘Iron Man’ (2008)
Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is enjoying life as an heir after inheriting the defense contractor Stark Industries from his late father, Howard Stark. He tours war-torn Afghanistan to demonstrate the new “Jericho” missile, only to be kidnapped by terrorists. In captivity, he builds a powered suit of armor and escapes. Back home, he discovers his business partner, Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges), is in bed with terrorists. How will this rivalry play out in Iron Man?.
Carrying the Torch Well
Iron Heart introduces us to Zeke Stane, the son of Obadiah Stane. A black market dealer, Stane briefly aids Riri, but grows to despise her when she accidentally reveals his identity to the public, causing him to be incarcerated. Stane is then recruited by Hood, who grants him superhuman abilities and uses him as a lapdog. Though Stane doesn’t intend to harm Riri, he is unable to operate on his own will since Hood secretly rewired his bionics to control him.
The Riri and Zeke arc mirrors that of Tony and Obadiah since both sets of characters start as friends before falling out. Iron Man, as a whole, is also essential viewing for Ironheart fans, since Riri is heavily influenced by Tony’s intelligence and innovation. She is basically Iron Girl, adding more layers to the basics established by the deceased Avenger.
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‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ (2022)
Following King T’Challa’s untimely death, Wakanda finds itself facing global pressure from various parties looking to exploit its vibranium resources. A new threat soon emerges from the underwater kingdom of Talokan, ruled by the powerful Namor (Tenoch Huerta). Resident techie, Shuri (Letitia Wright), is thus forced to embrace her destiny as the new Black Panther and fight for her people, but nothing will be easy. Will the prosperous African nation still be standing by the end of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever?
Riri Forever
Undoubtedly one of the greatest superhero movie sequels, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, directed by Ryan Coogler, delivers spectacular action sequences and triggers a whole range of emotions. The live-action version of Riri Williams first appears in this film, and her actions are central to the plot.
Here, Riri is just a 19-year-old MIT student with great ideas. Prodigy. She creates a vibranium-detecting machine that attracts both the CIA and Namor. Riri is then rescued by Shuri and Okoye and hosted in Wakanda, where she works on her first advanced Ironheart suit and learns the importance of becoming a hero.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
