Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Trailer Reveals First Look at Ironheart

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever has given fans their first official look at the new Marvel Cinematic Universe hero Ironheart. Dominique Thorne plays the armored hero whose real name is Riri Williams. While Ironheart will make her Marvel Cinematic Universe debut in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Thorne will reprise the role as the star of the upcoming . It is unclear how Ironheart becomes involved in the story of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. However, Riri Williams in the comics begins as a student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology before building her first armor and dropping out to pursue the hero’s life. That makes it likely that she’ll spring into action during the film’s Boston-set chase scene. 

In fact, one of the scenes in the trailer shows Ironheart piloting her armor above moving vehicles. Another shot shows her launching into the sky. A third shows Riri inside the armor’s interface.

Who is Ironheart?

Brian Michael Bendis and Mike Deodato created Ironheart in 2015. She became a successor to Iron Man after Tony Stark’s death, becoming the lead of Marvel’s Invincible Iron Man series. Since then, Ironheart has headlined her own 12-issue series. She also joined the young hero team called the Champions.

Riri Williams is a teen engineering genius. She lives with her mother and aunt in Chicago following her father’s death until MIT accepts her at age 15. There, she builds her first suit of armor and uses it to apprehend two escaped convicts. Shortly before his death, Tony Stark reaches out to Riri and offers his blessing to become a new armored hero.

What’s Ironheart’s connection to Black Panther and Wakanda?

In the comics, Ironheart first traveled to Wakanda while searching for an ancient Wellspring of Power. There, she met Shuri, a fellow young genius (and likely the MCU’s new Black Panther). After the kind of poor first impression that happens all the time when two superheroes meet, Riri and Shuri bonded. Shuri made clear there was a place in Wakanda for Riri if she ever wanted to come and stay.

Riri hasn’t taken Shuri up on that offer. However, she returned to the country to help them build a space armada to fend off an intergalactic invasion by Emperor N’Jadaka.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Black Panther director Ryan Coogler returns to direct Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, based on a screenplay he co-wrote with Joe Robert Cole. The film opens in theaters on November 11th.