Dominique Thorne Is the Heroic and Melancholy Soul of Marvel’s ‘Ironheart’

Alci Rengifo

While Marvel tries to reorient itself, one of the trickier areas to find fresh material is in their television output. MCU TV series have become notorious for symbolizing the studio’s excessive cramming of material. It became the endless plot tree where if you missed one television show, you might not understand what was going on in the new MCU movie. “Ironheart” avoids some of the more archaic annoyances of the typical Marvel series by focusing on the characters. This is its strength even when the series falls back on the overly familiar, slightly rehashed devices we have come to expect. It must be noted that this series spins off “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” the sequel to one of Marvel’s most important films, “Black Panther.” So its initial audience will already know the bigger backstory.

The focus is on Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne), a brilliant inventor and MIT student introduced in “Wakanda Forever.” It turns out she has been expelled from the prestigious institute after making money by selling students completed assignments. Now Riri has returned to Chicago’s South Side, the city’s center of Black American life. She is still devoted to following in the groundbreaking footsteps of the late Tony Stark aka Iron Man. Yet, Riri is also haunted. Returning home for Riri can mean confronting memories such as the tragic loss of her stepfather, Gary (LaRoyce Hawkins). Flashbacks also hint at another loss, that of her best friend, Natalie (Lyric Ross). Distraction comes for Riri in the form of making her own version of the Iron Man suit. This instantly catches the attention of Parker Robbins (Anthony Ramos) aka The Hood, the leader of a heist crew who could definitely use Riri’s tech. The Hood offers Riri a large sum of money to use her suit for a big operation.

“Ironheart” was created by Chinaka Hodge, who also helmed “Amazing Stories” and the TV version of “Snowpiercer.” Her approach does give a refreshing touch to MCU’s TV roster, initially by aiming at a grittier visual style (Marvel shows tend to look flat with the exception of “WandaVision” and “Loki”). The writing actually explores economic struggles better than other titles. Riri sells class assignments to survive and also fund her own work, since she doesn’t have the wealth of Tony Stark. It is hard to be an innovator when you were born on the “wrong” side of the city. Though, the show has much love for Chicago (Riri’s suit is carefully covered under a Cubs flag).  Riri’s mother, Ronnie (Anji White), is imagined with stark realism that stands her apart from the typical superhero parent. We also learn that Gary and Natalie were gunned down in a drive-by shooting, meaning part of Riri’s inspiration to emulate Iron Man comes from feelings of helplessness among the downtrodden.

These narrative elements help polish the rest of the more recognizable hero origin elements. Comic book movies and shows are attached to formulas or devices you can’t ever really get away from. Riri does have a “sidekick” in the form of N.A.T.A.L.I.E., a holographic AI assistant in her suit modeled after her deceased best friend. There are also quite a lot of subplots and side characters, at times interrupting the narrative flow. Yet, this is, again, the norm. The Hood’s gang is a colorful bunch, including Stuart (Eric André, typically a comedian) as the big tech brain and hacker Slug (Shea Coulée). On top of that is the hint that the Hood is no mere criminal. He has bigger plans in store by targeting millionaires and wears a cape that can stop bullets, but whose origins are clearly magical. The magic is like extra decoration on a plot that is more intriguing in how Riri faces a dilemma in helping the Hood. N.A.T.A.L.I.E. warns her that the Hood is clearly not a good guy, but Riri is convinced helping him on a heist is a one-time job (which turns out to not to be the case). He is offering a lot of money, which she is in no position to turn down. 

Take away the mystical, cosmic Marvel material and “Ironheart” would work well as a gritty heist drama. Dominique Thorne brings waves of intelligence and moving melancholy to a character who could have easily become a rehash. She is given real emotional challenges, such as Ronnie asking Riri to make an AI of her dead husband. These are believable characters which make the fantastical elements seem silly by comparison. Marvel purists may cringe at this idea but when the series truly works, we don’t think much of the “Black Panther” movies. It can stand on its own, which is saying a lot at a time when pop culture is admitting we have had our fill of the MCU’s gargantuan presence. 

“Ironheart” begins streaming June 24 with new episodes premiering Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET on Disney+.