The Fantastic Four: First Steps may be Marvel’s blockbuster movie for the summer, but it’s not the company’s lone project of the season. Ahead of its three-episode premiere on June 24, Marvel shared a new official trailer for Ironheart. The preview offered more insight into Riri’s background, what she can create with her intelligence and potentially how her new armor will set her apart from other heroes.
Ironheart Trailer Explains Riri’s Engineering Roots
Intelligence isn’t something you can teach, but how a person uses it is a choice. For Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne), her engineering interest comes from her stepfather. First mentioned in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, her stepdad was a mechanic. The Ironheart trailer highlights his influence on Riri right away with its opening line of dialogue: “My stepdad used to say the best way to know a thing is to take it apart and put it back together. Then you can see what it’s really made of.”
As Riri says that line, the trailer shows flashbacks of Riri and her stepdad. One of the featured memories is a young Riri panickedly yelling, “Dad.” That moment could be her stepfather’s death, which happen in the comics as a result of a drive-by shooting. Whether the cause of death changes, Ironheart is an opportunity to expands on Riri’s relationship with her stepdad, the impact he had on her life and how he continues to inspire her.
Is Riri Wasting Her Potential?
Disappointing your loved ones by failing to meet their expectations? Talk about relatable. In the Ironheart trailer, Riri’s loved ones complain about what she uses her “big brain” to build, seemingly disapproving of her Ironheart suit. It’s an especially interesting contrast considering how Riri’s stepdad is presented as an inspiration in her engineering pursuits. But Riri isn’t deterred by the negative sentiment. She has expressed her desire to protect people, so she’s set on being a hero. Her suit is how she’ll do that. Partially, that is.
Technology Meets Magic in the Ironheart Trailer
As cool as a metal suit of armor is, it’s not a new feat in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Neither is magic. But combining that technology with magic is a new take.
The new Ironheart trailer shows various runes and magic symbols, either emitting a red glow or being written in red. One shot in the preview focuses on the base of the Ironheart suit. The armor stands atop magic symbols etched onto the floor as glowing red luminescence lingers around. It’s as though the suit is enchanted with magic. The following shot provides the perspective of the Ironheart helmet’s visual display screen, where rotating rings of runes appear.
In the middle of the trailer, Riri insists that she needs to “think outside the box” to protect people. The combination of technology and magic could be her way of doing exactly that. The inclusion of magic makes even more sense with the mystically powered Parker Robbins/The Hood (Anthony Ramos) being teased as the main protagonist. Because as awesome as her Ironheart suit might be on its own, that kind of engineering brilliance isn’t much of a match for magic.
J.A.R.V.I.S., Who?
Riri isn’t the next Iron Man, and she’s not trying to take that mantle. But the inspiration is impossible to deny. Just as Tony Stark had his own artificial intelligence in J.A.R.V.I.S. and — later on — F.R.I.D.A.Y., Riri is doing the same. She, however, doesn’t seem to be creating one intentionally.
Toward the end of the latest Ironheart trailer, Riri is seen talking to an artificially intelligent hologram. She asks the figure, played by Lyric Ross, what they are. The response? “Your greatest creation yet.” Though there’s no confirmation, rumors speculate that Riri’s AI is N.A.T.A.L.I.E. — modeled after Natalie Washington, her best friend who dies in the same shooting as her stepfather in the comics.
