Black Panther: Wakanda Forever's Ironheart Stars in Target Ad Campaign

By Jamie Lovett

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever's latest trailer gave fans their first official look at the debut of Ironheart in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and she's starring in an ad campaign for Target. Dominique Thorne plays Ironheart, a.ka. Riri Williams, and in both Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and the new ad. What has been released thus far is a teaser for the larger campaign, which will debut later this month. You can take a look below. Following Ironheart's Marvel Cinematic Universe debut in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Thorne will lead the upcoming Ironheart series on Disney+. The six-episode series is expected to debut in late 2023.

We don't know how Ironheart becomes involved in the events of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, but Riri Williams in the comics begins as a student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology before building armor and becoming a hero. Thus, it seems likely that she'll arrive during the Black Panther sequel's Boston-set chase scene. 

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.

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