Riri Williams’ Ironheart armor is depicted in stunning concept art from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Riri Williams, portrayed by Dominique Thorne in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, is better known as Ironheart to comic book readers. Riri Williams is the MCU’s next Iron Man. Still, she will need to reinvent her armor because the one she wore in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever was enhanced by Wakandan technology, and it would have been inappropriate to send a teenage girl back to the United States with that type of firepower (or, frankly, that amount of precious Vibranium).
Artist Phil Saunders posted concept images of Riri’s final armor on Facebook. He goes on to say that the armor depicted in the movie has several attachments that give it an entirely new appearance and color scheme, likely increasing its offensive effectiveness for the battle with the Talokanil. Saunders claims that there was a scene where Riri was forced to remove the combat upgrades after Namora disabled them, leaving her in just the basic Ironheart suit. Sadly, this scene was cut.
The Meaning of Riri’s Ironheart Armor (& How It Compares To Iron Man)
The Ironheart armor by Riri Williams has detachable modules and seems to be inspired by some of Iron Man’s earlier armor. This contrasts sharply with the nanotechnology-based Mark L and Mark LXXXV armors used by Iron Man in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. In contrast to the more sophisticated “Repulsor Tech nodes” used for those more advanced Iron Man armors, Ironheart’s armor is believed to be fueled by its own Arc Reactor. Without the battle enhancements, Riri’s armor’s fundamental color scheme is darker, possibly indicating a Wakandan influence. The inclusion of vibranium is likely the source of this, as some of the hues are reminiscent of traditional Wakandan technology.
Even though Riri Williams had her own armor, it’s crucial to keep in mind that she was not a combat-trained warrior, unlike the other Wakandans who took part in the Talokanil battle, some of whom were even outfitted in Midnight Angel exo-armor. Ironheart was hence always particularly exposed. Despite having a lot of firepowers (possibly provided by the Arc Reactor), she was more likely to make a rookie error and become a target for Namor’s soldiers. In fact, during the last act of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Riri sustained more fighting damage than any of Wakanda’s Midnight Angels.
It will be interesting to see how Riri Williams’ armor evolves in future episodes of the MCU. Ironheart Disney+ TV show has already been ordered by Marvel, so it’s only a matter of time before she dons her costume. She no longer has access to the priceless vibranium of Wakanda, but she undoubtedly learned some useful skills during her time spent with Shuri. As a result, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever has created an Ironheart 3.0 armor that will indirectly aid Wakanda without having any direct advantages.