Folks, Iron Man is back.
And I’m not talking about Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom, and I’m definitely not talking about the everlasting rumor of Tom Cruise playing an alternate Tony Stark—which, mark my words, we’ll inevitably get someday.
No, I’m talking about the latest Disney+ original series in the MCU: Ironheart.
The series premiered just a few hours ago with three episodes at the time of this recording. I watched all three, and I’m here to tell you whether it’s worth your time… and the answer may not be what you think (read our official review HERE).
The show is kind of an exploration of the question: What if Tony Stark had all the brains he always had, but none of the money or resources? It aims to show us that Tony’s legacy is still alive and well across the MCU—even in urban Chicago.
Riri Williams, who was introduced in Wakanda Forever, has just been expelled from MIT and is now on the freelance market, looking for robotics work that could help her access resources of her own.
Dominique Thorne—and honestly, the whole cast—is pretty great. We’ve got Alden Ehrenreich, who’s shaping up to be solid comic relief, some newer up-and-comers like Lyric Ross and Harper Anthony, and even a surprisingly funny part for Eric Andre as Stuart—a tech genius who works for a local gang. He tries to get everyone to call him Rampage, but it doesn’t stick. Riri, now looking for work after getting kicked out of school, replaces Stuart in the gang and becomes the most moral criminal in Chi-Town.
The gang is a little silly, but weirdly, it kind of works. Mostly. We’ll come back to that. They’re a ragtag bunch of criminals, each with their own special skillsets, used to commit heists.
Anthony Ramos plays a character called Parker, and honestly, he’s my biggest problem with the show so far. They’re clearly hinting at some connection between him and whoever the big bad of the show turns out to be—maybe Mephisto finally—but this character just… sucks, man. His acting feels flat compared to everyone else, and I can’t get over how ridiculous he looks wearing a dopey cape in broad daylight while talking to normal people. It’s so out of place it drives me nuts.
Other than that, I dig the gang.
After three episodes, the story finally feels like it’s getting going, but the show suffers from the same problem many other MCU streaming series have: it starts with a cool, action-packed scene, only to slam on the brakes for clunky, unnecessary exposition that kills the pace.
The main plot: Riri, out of desperation, joins a street gang. She and her dead best friend—who she resurrected as an AI—have to figure out how to escape the criminal life, all while relying on the money it brings in because no one else will hire her. At its core, it’s an urban retelling of Iron Man, and there’s something to be said for that.
I like the humor—it’s not overly cringe. Sure, some of it’s silly, but the heart of the show and the themes it explores offer more than your standard Disney+ MCU entry.
If anything, I’d say this lands somewhere above Ms. Marvel or Hawkeye (Hailee Steinfeld’s version), but not quite on the level of something like Loki, which truly feels premium in comparison.
I like that they’re blending voodoo magic with tech to give the action a different vibe from what we’ve seen in previous Iron Man stories. Some of the CGI actually looks great, though parts do feel a bit unrendered. One gag I liked: MIT tries to repossess the suit Riri built while she’s flying around in it. Wildly dangerous… but I’ll allow it.
The tone. Okay, here’s the thing. The show’s biggest issue is its oddly light approach to some otherwise somber material. There’s one joke I liked, where Riri and Joe (Ehrenreich) sing along to Alanis Morissette in the car, only for things to suddenly shift when Riri has one of her dark, 8mm-style flashbacks of her dead friend. I like when the show leans into the fun of a young kid with unbelievable tech at her fingertips. And for the target audience—mostly younger viewers—I don’t think it needs to force in shallow dark and edgy elements just to be “serious.” That said, if Mephisto is the villain, things might get deeper and more meaningful soon.
One thing that did bug me: even with limited resources, Riri manages to build a new Iron Man suit that looks way more tactical and efficient than Tony’s Mark 1. Like, she’s got nuclear cannons in the suit. Realistic? Not at all. But apparently, she can just buy them off the dark web. The reason I don’t hate it is because, if it were more realistic, she’d basically just be building drones and drinking Red Bull at her desk—like the rest of us.
The Pros:
- Fun characters with unique development and arcs already.
- Great mix of alt rock, hip hop, and classical music throughout the show—especially the needle drop when Riri suits up in episode 2.
- Interesting premise, despite tonal flaws.
The Cons:
- One of the main characters (Parker) is just insufferable to watch, and he has a lot of screen time.
- This clearly would’ve worked better as a movie—even a streaming-exclusive one. There are too many fluff scenes, and you can feel the slow pacing in what should’ve been a tight 90-minute story.
So, is Ironheart worth your time?
Yeah. If you clicked on this video, you probably care enough about Marvel to enjoy it.
I, for one, will probably finish the season—which is surprising, considering I skip most of these shows after episode one.
But don’t expect Daredevil: Born Again. That show had its own issues, but it was super adult. This is not that. At all.
