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Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
The MCU’s latest release, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, features a wellspring of top-notch performances: Angela Bassett‘s Queen Ramonda, a strong leader broken by loss; Letitita Wright‘s Princess Shuri, who bears the weight of the film on her shoulders; Tenoch Huerta Mejía, who evokes a tinge of sympathy for his menacing Namor; and Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, and Winston Duke, returnees that have slipped comfortably back into their beloved characters from the first film. Alongside these acting powerhouses is newcomer Dominique Thorne, who plays Riri Williams/Ironheart. With only three films to her credit, including this one, the way she confidently brings the character to life is a testament to the young actress’ talent. What makes her performance memorable, though, is evident in a scene that is almost a throw-away set of lines from her, about how she used to work on cars with her stepdad. Thorne imbues the words with a memory that lives on for her, one that comes with equal parts of joy and sorrow. It suggests a connection that has impacted her life significantly, and the character’s history in the comics backs that up.
The Journey Begins
Riri Williams first appears in the pages of Marvel’s Invincible Iron Man, Vol. 2 #7, an introverted 15-year-old engineering student. Her father, Demetrius, was killed in a gas station robbery gone wrong shortly after she was born (a death he faked, by the way, but that’s another story), so she grew up with her mother and stepfather in Chicago. At the age of 5, Riri was given a series of tests to understand why she was having behavioral issues. The answer was simple: they confirmed that Riri had a super-genius level of intelligence, and her issues were a result of being bored. Her parents rose to the challenge that presented, supporting her by finding special programs that would help foster Riri’s intellect, but also working with her to keep her emotionally grounded as well, keeping her connected to humanity and teaching her that intellect and emotion weren’t mutually exclusive. As the movie alluded to, she and her stepfather would work on projects together, and he would let Riri use her creativity to build things at a young age.
Life Is Good
Still, Riri was deeply introverted, and as a result she found herself friendless. That changed at the age of 10, when Natalie Washington walked into the garage to see what Riri was working on. The two connected quickly, and Natalie would become her best friend. At the age of 11, Riri was accepted to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT. After she comes across an older Iron Man armor, she begins to create her own suit, reverse-engineering Tony Stark’s work and adding to it with whatever she could find around campus. This catches the attention of campus security, who go to confront her, only for Riri to test out her suit’s flight capability (luckily for her, it worked).
Tragedy Strikes
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Riri’s life would change forever at the age of 13, when she, Natalie, and her parents were at a barbecue in Marquette Park. Gary, Riri’s stepdad, made a point of reminding her that “every day is a nice day” with a smile on his face, as he would do regularly. It was cheesy, sure, but heartwarming all the same. Suddenly, the sound of bullets peppered the air, fired from a car driving by. Gary ran to bring Riri and her mom down for safety, but when the chaos ended, Riri had lost two of the most important people in her life, with both Gary and Natalie falling victim to the errant gunfire.
From the Ashes
The tragic event impacted Riri deeply. Not only did two people she cared deeply for die needlessly, but Gary, the only father she’d ever known, lost his life to save hers. The loss easily could have crippled Riri, leading her to internalize her pain and regressing deeper into her introversion. Instead, it inspired her to dedicate her life to something more. The armor she had worked on as a pet project now became a mission to become an armored hero like her idol, Iron Man. Riri made it her personal goal to protect those who weren’t able to defend themselves, to be that suit of armor for those left vulnerable to the evils of the world. An iron-clad hero with a heart. Ironheart.
#1 Dad
Riri’s stepfather, then, became far more important to her than one may realize at first glance. This was a man, a good man, that stepped in to fill a role left vacated by a father that Riri was too young to even know, an act that becomes even more admirable upon learning that her birth father faked his death (again, a story for another time). This was a man who stood with his wife to make sure that Riri’s gifts would be allowed to grow unhindered. A man who helped teach the young intellectual that there was more to life than the pursuit of knowledge. A man that regularly made a point of telling his family that no matter what kind of day it was — if it was filled with snow, or torrential rains — it was always a nice day.
And a man that selflessly sacrificed his own life to save the life of Riri and her mother. It is Gary’s example that laid the foundation for the type of hero Riri would fashion herself to be, a hero that actively seeks to better the world. In the comics, Riri would find a mentor in Tony Stark, who reached out to her upon learning of her early exploits and helped her design her own suit of armor with his resources. But make no mistake — the heart in Ironheart exists because one man made the world of one young, super-intelligent girl a better place to live in through his deeds, actions, and loving commitment to her and her mother.
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