The MCU Cut Tony Stark From Its New Series & Made It 10 Times Better

After a lengthy wait, Riri Williams is finally getting some screentime in the MCU again courtesy of her new Disney+ solo series. After making her official debut in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Williams (once again played by Dominique Thorne) has been waiting to get back into the spotlight, and now that the first three episodes of the series are out in the wild, we have a much better idea of how much of Riri’s story comes directly from the comics and what was changed, updated, or combined in the MCU translation. One key change in particular to Ironheart’s origin story shows up towards the end of episode 1 and then plays a huge part in episodes 2 and 3, and it makes the series 10 times better in the process. Spoilers incoming for Ironheart episodes 1 through 3, so if you haven’t watched yet, you’ve been warned.

Ironheart’s Original Story

For those who aren’t familiar with the comics version of Riri, there’s quite a bit pulled from those comics for the MCU series, though the show has also moved some things around and combined a few elements. One of the biggest changes is found in the armor’s AI, as in the comics, Riri ends up having Tony Stark as her armor’s AI, which allowed for them to build a very different sort of bond during her early career as a superhero.

Stark supported Williams in her pursuit of helping others as a superhero early on, and she would eventually lend him some aid during Civil War II. That event would cause Stark to fall into a comatose state, but Williams was still able to interact with his AI in her armor, and we see the benefits (and some of the drawbacks) of having an AI Stark along for the ride throughout the series.

The MCU Version’s One Key Change

In the MCU version of Ironheart’s origin story, the connections to Iron Man’s world and past are still present, but are primarily represented through Obadiah Stane’s son Ezekiel and Stark’s overall legacy as opposed to any direct connection with Riri. That means Stark is also not powering the AI, so the question is, who is?

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Well, that’s where the biggest and most welcome change from the comics’ origin story makes its presence known. Instead of going the Stark route, the show skips ahead in the timeline of events and begins with Riri inadvertently creating an AI built around her late friend Natalie (Lyric Ross), and this event and relationship end up becoming the absolute heart of the show.

Riri’s best friend and stepfather were both tragically killed in the same drive-by shooting, and this decision to have Natalie be the AI from the get-go allows the show to explore Riri’s past trauma in a truly genuine and unexpected way. While Natalie (who is actually N.A.T.A.L.I.E. in her AI state) does end up taking on the same role as Ironheart’s AI in the comics, that doesn’t happen till later, as the early years honed in on Riri’s time working alongside an AI Stark.

While having Stark involved in some form or fashion would obviously be a huge deal, and there will be some that view not having Stark involved in some way directly as a negative, but I appreciate the shift in approach. Having Natalie be Riri’s AI from the very beginning allows a much more personal and unique view of Riri’s pain and grief in the early going, and as Natalie continues to evolve, that will only become more wonderfully complicated and messy, and truth be told, that couldn’t be a more accurate description of family, regardless of what form it ends up taking.

We’ll have to see how things unfold throughout the rest of the series, but right now, the relationship between Riri and Natalie is at the heart of the show, and that likely wouldn’t have been the case if the series had followed the exact same beats from the comics.

The first three episodes of Ironheart are streaming now on Disney+, and episodes 4 through 6 will release over the next three weeks.

What did you think of Ironheart? Let us know in the comments, and you can talk all things Marvel and comics with me on Bluesky @knightofoa!