The promotional push for Ironheart has been all over the place. Despite supposedly being ready to air a while back, Ironheart ended up airing a full three years after Riri Williams made her splashy debut in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, when it really should have come out much sooner following that film. Furthermore, its delayed release and emphasis on magic feels quite disconnected from what Marvel is currently doing, whether it's with street-level heroes like Daredevil or Punisher on TV, or its larger Fantastic Four/Avengers ventures. I would be genuinely shocked if Riri found herself involved in either of those.

Dominique Thorne impressed me greatly as the lead here. While she didn't particularly stand out during her appearance in Wakanda Forever, I found her performance in this series to be charismatic and engaging in a way that reminded me of Iman Velani’s Ms. Marvel.

In many ways, Ironheart was a grounded story focusing on grief and the anxiety that follows. I don’t recall seeing a hero experience realistic panic attacks in the Marvel universe before, and none of it came off as forced.

In terms of action, it's evident that this show had a bigger budget than its audience numbers would support, but its use of mechanical suits instead of nanotech is something that faded from the MCU over time, and it was great to see it return. It would’ve been nice to witness more than just one genuine suit fight, but obviously, budgetary constraints played a role there.

The show faced its biggest challenges with its villain, The Hood, though his character improved by the end (his costume, unfortunately, did not). The most significant moment tied to the MCU in the series is the long-awaited introduction of Mephisto, after endless speculation about his potential appearance in earlier shows like WandaVision or Agatha All Along. Marvel finally brought him into the fold here, and not merely through a post-credits tease or similar gimmick. Sascha Baron Cohen might have seemed an unusual pick for the role, but he delivered an outstanding performance.

Despite being set up for a second season dealing with the consequences of Riri’s infernal bargain, it seems highly unlikely anything will come of it. There’s no clear path where Riri or Mephisto could fit into the broader MCU given its current direction, especially as the next phase appears to be centered around the X-Men.

Ironheart was released in batches of three episodes with minimal promotion, arriving far too late after its intended air date, and apparently without any major plans to integrate these compelling new characters elsewhere. That’s unfortunate. Give it a watch, enjoy it, but I suppose now we simply move forward.

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