1 Quote From Ironheart Proves Most Fans Wrong About Riri Williams

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Warning: Spoilers Ahead for IronheartIronheart has finally completed its two-week run on Disney+, doing its best to launch Riri Williams’s superhero career in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The miniseries follows Riri as she perfects her suit, only to find herself drawn to the world of crime when she is recruited to join a gang of criminals led by the villainous Hood. The series also sets up what could be a bright future for Ironheart in the MCU, as the character prepares to potentially join the Young Avengers.

Ironheart has proven divisive among Marvel fans, but this shouldn’t come as a surprise. Riri Williams was controversial from the moment the character was created, with many fans picking apart the hero who was meant to replace Tony Stark. The same is true for Dominique Thorne’s iteration of the character in the MCU. Fans’ issues with Ironheart aren’t uncommon for legacy characters, who are meant to replace beloved staples of their respective franchises. However, anyone who was paying attention to Ironheart‘s first few episodes will notice that the series does its best to avoid certain tropes associated with legacy characters—and one line proves it.

Riri Williams Honors Tony Stark's Legacy

When Given the Opportunity to Bash Stark, Riri Refuses

All too often, characters like Riri Williams, who follow in the legacy of someone who came before them, come off as brash and overconfident. Sometimes, these characters even appear disrespectful toward the very individuals whose legacies they intend to follow. In this case, Ironheart follows in the footsteps of Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark, striving to build a suit just like his to protect the people she loves.

Many fans worried that Riri would follow the unfortunate legacy character trend, bashing Stark despite his many amazing contributions to the world of the MCU. Given that part of Riri’s personality is her brashness, fans felt that she would immediately begin tearing down Stark’s legacy rather than preserving it. Some even went so far as to review bomb the series before its release in protest. However, the show’s first few episodes immediately disprove these concerns.

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During Ironheart‘s three-episode premiere, Riri Williams is recruited to join the Hood’s cadre of criminals as their new technology expert and chief enforcer. John gives Riri the perfect opportunity to bash Tony Stark and his legacy, only for the burgeoning superhero to offer a surprising response.

«He contributed immensely to the field,» Riri says, «So, I won’t roast Tony Stark off rip.» This brief moment tells viewers a lot about Riri as a character. Although she is extremely confident in her own abilities, she also knows to give credit where it’s due.

As such, she refuses to «roast Tony Stark,» whose innovations made her own inventions possible. Thus, Riri proves that it is possible to have a legacy character who can be respectful to their predecessors while still finding ways to improve upon their actions.

Why Do People Hate Legacy Characters So Much?

Legacy Characters Often Outshine Their Predecessors Without Earning the Honor

Fans’ issues with Ironheart go far deeper than a single character. Legacy characters like Ironheart all suffer from similar writing issues that make them less likable than their predecessors. Sometimes, fans’ distaste for legacy characters simply comes from a refusal to accept something new.

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In these cases, legacy characters are often hated at first but gradually grow on audiences over time. Other times, a legacy character is simply the victim of lazy writing, failing to earn the same powers or abilities that their predecessor had. This often leads to audiences criticizing these characters for skipping crucial parts of the hero’s journey. While fans may sometimes be too quick to attribute such problems to particular characters, this is a common problem in Hollywood nonetheless.

Legacy characters have become a particular problem in franchises like Star Wars, where new heroes like Rey Skywalker have been criticized for skipping over the grueling training processes that their predecessors endured, emerging just as powerful nonetheless.

Not only does this outshine the original hero, but it also leaves fans less likely to empathize with the new one, who doesn’t appear to have to work as hard to get even better results. Many feared that this would be the case for Riri Williams in the MCU. Thankfully, it seems that the creative team behind Ironheart did its best to ensure that Riri still had to work hard to achieve her abilities and that she still harbored a healthy respect for Tony Stark, whose original Iron Man suit inspired Ironheart in the first place.

Can Riri Williams Become a Fan-Favorite?

In Time, Fans Will Come to Love Ironheart

Ironheart’s future in the MCU remains uncertain following the events of her Disney+ series. Ironheart‘s last episode hints at a potential second season, with several of Riri’s rogues gallery, including Ezekiel Stane and the Hood, still on the loose.

Furthermore, Riri is expected to join Kamala Khan’s Young Avengers team, where she will continue to learn and grow as one of the MCU’s newest superheroes. Wherever she may appear next, audiences can be certain that they haven’t seen the last of Ironheart. This is very good news for the character, who still has plenty of time to win audiences over, even those who were skeptical about her from the beginning.

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It is also helpful that Riri Williams does not follow the trends of many other legacy characters. While she will always get pushback from fans resistant to change, Ironheart doesn’t fall into the tired stereotypes that so many other similar characters do.

This will be crucial to the character winning over MCU fans, even if it takes time to do so. With enough appearances and strong character work, Ironheart can become a fan favorite in much the same way as Tony Stark. Viewers willing to give her a chance will find that Riri Williams is one of the strongest characters introduced in the Multiverse Saga of the MCU and may grow to be one of the franchise’s very best over time.

Riri Williams defies the norms of legacy characters, paying homage to those who came before her while forging her own path forward. While not a perfect person, Ironheart is willing to grow and learn, making her a strong character for the MCU to use moving forward.

All episodes of Ironheart are now streaming on Disney+.