File:Riri Williams.jpgRiri Williams on a variant cover of Invincible Iron Man vol. 3 #1. Art by Jeff Dekal.
Riri Williams, created by Brian Michael Bendis and designed by Mike Deodato, first appeared in Invincible Iron Man Vol. 2 #7,[1] written by Bendis and drawn by Deodato.[2][3] She then made her first significant appearance two issues later.[4]
Williams later starred in the third volume of Invincible Iron Man, starting in late 2016,[3] under the codename Ironheart,[5] using armor designed by Stefano Caselli, the artist of the new volume.[6]
Fictional character biography
Riri Williams is a 15-year-old engineering student and the daughter of the late Riri Williams Sr. Following her father's death, Riri lives with her mother Ronnie and her paternal aunt Sharon in Chicago. A certified super-genius, she attends the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on scholarship.[7][8] Working alone, Riri designs a suit of armor similar to the Iron Man Armor using material stolen from campus. When campus security knocks at her door, she flees while wearing the suit.[9]
When Williams prevents two inmates from escaping the New Mexico State Penitentiary, her suit is damaged.[10] Upon returning to her mother's house, Riri continued to work on improving the suit, much to the dismay of her aunt. Tony Stark hears of Riri's accomplishment and goes to meet her. During their meeting, Tony Stark decides that he will endorse her decision to become a superheroine.[8]
Appearing in her Rescue armor following the "Civil War II" storyline, Pepper Potts confronts Riri Williams and her Tony Stark A.I. in an attempt to explain the problems of being a superhero. They are then attacked by Techno Golem and her Biohack Ninjas.[11] As Riri flees and Pepper fights them, Techno Golem tries to find out how Pepper knows Riri.[12] When Techno Golem's armor breaks and Tomoe tries to instead attack Riri, Pepper uses her Rescue armored gauntlets and knocks Tomoe out. When Sharon Carter formally meets Riri after the arrest of Tomoe and the Biohack Ninjas, Pepper tells Riri that they will talk again.[13] Pepper Potts, Mary Jane Watson, Friday, Tony Stark's A.I., and Stark's biological mother Amanda Armstrong are in the Hall of Armor with Riri when she demonstrates her knowledge of each of the Iron Man armors. When Amanda Armstrong offers to allow Riri to use Tony Stark's labs as her base of operations, Riri is hesitant but Pepper encourages her. The next day at her home, Riri's family is visited by the head of M.I.T. She wants Riri to continue working there, as it has gotten sloppy since she left. Riri would also be allowed to use the laboratories at the school. After working in one of the labs, Riri asks the Tony Stark A.I. to find her something to blow off some steam. The Tony Stark A.I. locates Armadillo during a crime spree and Riri uses the Ironheart armor to defeat Armadillo. She is then approached by the Champions, who offer her membership into their group.[14]
During the Secret Empire storyline, Ironheart is seen fighting the Army of Evil during Hydra's takeover of the United States. Baron Helmut Zemo has Blackout surround Manhattan with Darkforce after enhancing him with the powers of the Darkhold. Riri sends a distress signal to all available heroes to meet her in Washington, D.C.. Ironheart and Falcon II join up with the Champions to assist in the underground's fight against Hydra's takeover of the country. They later follow Black Widow when she makes her own plans for Captain America. During training, the young heroes disagree about Black Widow's brutality and mercilessness. The heroes later infiltrate a Hydra base to find someone crucial to Black Widow's plan. Black Widow later tells them that they are going to have to kill Steve Rogers, after Hydra destroys the Underground hideout. In Washington, as their assault begins, Spider-Man fights Captain America, but Black Widow intervenes and is killed. Just as Spider-Man is about to kill Steve Rogers, the others convince him to not do it and they all get arrested.[15] She also helped the Champions search for survivors in Las Vegas, Nevada after its destruction by Hydra.[16]
Riri is later startled to learn that her android teammate Viv Vision has developed a crush on her, which initially revolts her.[17] Later, her mind - and that of several other Champions - is corrupted by Mephisto's son Blackheart, turning her against her teammates.[18] However, when Riri is about to destroy Viv, it is the latter's honest apology for not considering her feelings which snaps her out of Blackheart's control and finally makes her acknowledge Viv's affection.[19]
The character of Riri Williams initially received criticism for having an inaccurate portrayal of a typical black female teenager,[21] and the lack of an actual black female writer for the character.[22]
Ironheart appears in Marvel Rising: Heart of Iron, voiced by Sofia Wylie.[24] In flashbacks, Riri coped with the loss of a family member and worked on her version of the prototype Iron Man armor which strained her friendship with a girl named Natalie. In the present, she has created an A.I. named A.M.I. (voiced by Melanie Minichino). When A.M.I. is stolen by Hala the Accuser to be used for a doomsday device, Riri had to work with the Secret Warriors to disarm it. Riri does it at the cost of A.M.I.'s arc reactor. By the end of the short, Riri built a new armor and joins up with the Secret Warriors as Ironheart.
Ironheart appears in the Spider-Man episode "Amazing Friends," reprised by Sofia Wylie.[25][26] This version is an Avengers intern who lost her stepfather. In addition, she has an A.I. of Tony Stark that she calls Not Tony (voiced by Mick Wingert[26]).
Internet video
In March 2017, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's admissions department released a short live-action video where Riri Williams / Ironheart, played by student Ayomide F., walks around campus, attends class, and builds an Ironheart suit in her dormitory.[27]
Video games
Riri Williams / Ironheart appears as a playable character in Marvel Puzzle Quest.
Riri Williams / Ironheart appears as a playable character in Marvel Future Fight.[28] This marks the character's debut in mobile games as well as the entire video game genre in general.[29]
