WARNING: There are potential spoilers ahead for Ironheart! Riri Williams is living up to Iron Man’s legacy more than ever in the new trailer for Ironheart released on Monday. It gives us some new looks at Riri’s (Dominique Thorne) suit, which is clearly up for some modifications after her introduction in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. However, The real upgrade for the hero comes at the very end, when we seem to see her creating her own onboard AI assistant. Unlike J.A.R.V.I.S., F.R.I.D.A.Y., and E.D.I.T.H., this AI takes on a physical form, apparently as a hologram, and she is played by Lyric Ross.
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As expected, the second trailer for Ironheart shows ups plenty of action, as well as the intrigue this burgeoning superhero will get entangled in. However, one of the most fascinating new additions comes at the very end as Riri sits in front of her computer, apparently asleep, with contacts attached to her temples. At that point, a friendly hologram tries to wake Riri up, declaring herself “your greatest creation yet.”
Not only is this an interesting revelation for Ironheart’s capabilities, it’s a tantalizing hint at the story coming up. Official press releases say that Ross will play Riri’s best friend, Natalie Washington, but here she appears to be an AI projection. It appears Riri didn’t make her that way on purpose, and it’s unclear what that means for the real Natalie. However, the end-result is a virtual assistant with attitude that the audience can get behind.
[RELATED: Ironheart Star Explains How Tony Stark’s Death Affects Riri Williams (& New MCU Villain The Hood)]
If this does turn out to be Ironheart’s AI assistant, it’s another brilliant way to the Marvel Cinematic Universe to recapture one of its most beloved dynamics. Tony Stark’s (Roberty Downey Jr.) dialogue exchanges with his AI programs were essential to driving those movies forward in a natural way, and the same could happen here. We eventually learned that Jarvis was a butler who helped raise Tony when he was young, though the connection here between Riri and Natalie is very different.
Thanks to Wakanda Forever, we don’t need a full-on origin story for Ironheart, but it’s exciting to see that this show will still build on her personal connections and give her a reason to be a hero that MCU fans can root for. Ironheart premieres on June 24th on Disney+, with three episodes to start and three more on the way. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is streaming there now for those that want to get caught up.
