The excitement surrounding Marvel Studios’ decision to produce its streaming series on Disney+ was palpable. After the ABC-produced Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Agent Carter and the Netflix-sponsored Defenders-verse series, Marvel Studios launched its own “it’s all connected” streaming series in 2021, beginning with WandaVision. Meant to introduce new characters that would eventually jump into the films and carry on the stories of existing characters between films, the studio’s D+ series certainly were more good than bad; however, as has become a constant complaint about Marvel Studios’ films, fans began to grow concerned that the studio’s streaming series were incredibly formulaic. With Marvel Television seeking to reduce budgets and move toward annual shows and special presentations that are slightly less connected, the studio’s original intentions for its D+ series have been phased out but it’s next series, Ironheart, is a holdover from before those decisions were made.
Announced during Disney’s 2020 Investor Day presentation, Ironheart has taken a long and winding journey to the small screen. Filmed in 2022 and originally intended to be released in 2023, the series, which will close out Marvel Studios Phase 5, represents the end of the first era of Marvel Studios’ streaming plans.
Like its titular character, Ironheart–developed by Ryan Coogler‘s Proximity Media–seeks to establish itself as iconic. And despite having its true opportunity to establish itself as such ripped away by the studio’s near-complete upheaval of its road map, Ironheart still manages to offer plenty to ponder and enjoy. Carried by powerful performances and a very nuanced look at the struggle to make a difference in the modern world, Ironheart finishes strong and is, ironically, exactly the type of show the studio should continue to develop moving forward.
Set some time after the events of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Ironheart follows Dominique Thorne‘s Riri Williams as she abruptly returns to Chicago following her expulsion from MIT. Though deeply connected to the MCU, the series, written by Chinaka Hodge and produced by Ryan Coogler, often feels more like an FX original series despite its adherence to the Marvel Studios streaming structure. Functionally and fortunately, Ironheart works as a coming-of-age piece that feels thematically adjacent to the works of John Singleton. The result is an incredible excavation of the everyday life of an antagonist with flexible ethics, a look at the lasting impact of trauma and a diary of the mental and emotional toll of suppressing one’s true identity. Despite some heavy-handed writing at times, Ironheart‘s exploration of the dynamic and reciprocal relationship between humans and their environment cements the series as one of the old guard’s best efforts to date in creating content for its streaming network.
Despite its best efforts, the show also stands as an unfortunate example of how a well-structured and well-intended idea can land poorly to no fault of its own. At conception, Ironheart unquestionably had a bigger place in the MCU. And while the obvious connections to the original plans for Captain America: Brave New World, Strange Academy and, perhaps, Armor Wars, may never come to fruition, it remains clear that Thorne’s Riri was meant to have a major impact on the MCU. The same can be said for Alden Ehrenreich‘s “Joe” and Anthony Ramos‘ Parker Robbins and while critically it is important to judge Ironheart on what it is, as a fan it is incredibly difficult to ignore what it was meant to have been.
Even so, taken as it is, Ironheart builds momentum and delivers a strong and surprising finale with a twist that even the most inside of insiders were not able to spoil. It’s the Marvel way to wonder and worry about what comes next for every character but as the studio determines the path forward, Ironheart provides an opportunity to enjoy a series firmly entrenched in the franchise’s connected universe without really needing to know much of anything that could not be casually gleaned from a quick Google search. Though it falls short of its iconic intentions, Ironheart does provide a worthy character study and ends the first phase of Marvel’s streaming plans on an upswing.
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