The Brilliant Way ‘Ironheart’ Overcame Its Tony Stark Problem

For 15 years, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) was the lynchpin of Marvel’s Cinematic Universe. He might be gone now, but he’s a pillar of the franchise — and not only because Downey is somehow returning as Doctor Doom in the next Avengers movie. Iron Man was the MCU’s first official hero, and his presence reshaped the history of his universe. Sure, he had a hand in creating his share of villains, but he also set an example for the next generation of heroes. That worked well for someone like Spider-Man (who, in the MCU, gets the mentorship relationship with Iron Man that Ironheart originally had)… but when it comes to Ironheart, Tony’s demise couldn’t be more inconvenient.

With an Iron Man-shaped vacuum in the universe, Ironheart had to get creative with its heroine’s origin story. The series circumvents the Tony Stark problem by surrounding Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne) with a new support system, an ensemble of mostly Black women to whom she can turn when the going gets rough. Riri even creates an ally in the form of N.A.T.A.L.I.E., an AI companion based on memories of her best friend (Lyric Ross). And for all the thorny ethical questions N.A.T.A.L.I.E.’s existence brings to the fore, Ross’ performance — and her revolving door of cute outfits — made the character an instant fan favorite. It’s become something of a full-circle moment for Ross, who’s been waiting a long time to deliver Ironheart to the fans.

“It has been literally three years. I’m glad everybody got to come together and just soak this moment all in,” Ross tells Inverse. “Specifically with Black girls, young Black girls, I really want them to tune in. This is something very important for them… I wish I had something like this when I was younger.”

With its first three episodes, Ironheart delivered a rare Black-led series. Though its set in the MCU, Riri doesn’t always make the most heroic decision. The show is less about walking in Tony Stark’s footsteps as it is about finding one’s way without a blueprint — and its emotional finale brings both Riri and N.A.T.A.L.I.E. into realms unknown in the pursuit of that independence.

Spoilers ahead for Ironheart’s season finale!

Marvel is no stranger to the concept of trauma or grief: every show from WandaVision to The Falcon and the Winter Soldier deals in these themes explicitly. It’s no different in Ironheart, though Ross’ character serves as a much-needed counterbalance.

“She’s getting all of these memories,” the actor says of N.A.T.A.L.I.E. “Some are great, some are not so great — but she’s moreso focusing on the love and the joy that she’s getting from these memories and not necessarily the heartbreak or the fear or depression.”

That keeps Riri moving forward, especially as she works through the trauma of losing the real Natalie, and her stepdad Gary (LaRoyce Hawkins), in a drive-by shooting years before Ironheart. In Episode 5, N.A.T.A.L.I.E. reminds Riri of a happier memory of Gary, a much-needed detour from the cycle of loss our heroine’s been trapped in.

N.A.T.A.L.I.E. rewrites the Ironheart comics in a significant way. Where it was once Tony Stark’s consciousness assisting Riri through the trials of superherodom, now it’s N.A.T.A.L.I.E. and the memory of her deceased friend. It only makes her origin story more personal, as this Riri never met the MCU’s Tony Stark. It also gives Riri a more intimate reason for building her own iron suit: she wants to protect her family from her friend’s fate.

As Riri learns in the final three episodes of Ironheart, however, she can’t protect everyone. She’s so focused on defeating the Hood (Anthony Ramos), the latest threat to her family’s safety, that she races to build a magic-infused suit. But magic, she discovers, comes with a terrible price. N.A.T.A.L.I.E. is erased entirely, leading Riri to strike a deal with the demon Mephisto (Sacha Baron Cohen) to get her back. Mephisto goes above and beyond in granting Riri’s wish: in Ironheart’s final moments, it’s not N.A.T.A.L.I.E. the program who returns, but Natalie in the flesh.

“I didn’t know that they were going to go as far as they did with Natalie,” Ross admits, “[but] that was my favorite part. I was like, ‘Oh my God, there’s no way that there won’t be a Season 2. No way at all.’”

Ironheart hasn’t yet been renewed for another season, but that cliffhanger ending does make another chapter seem inevitable. Where the MCU will go from here might be one of the franchise’s best mysteries in years — and it presents a particular challenge for Ross, who notes the subtle differences between Natalie and her artificial re-creation.

“They both have a great deal of personality, [but] it looks different,” explains Ross. If there is another season of Ironheart, she’ll likely be exploring the flesh-and-blood version of Natalie — a character she describes as much “cooler” and more “relaxed” — and leaving N.A.T.A.L.I.E. behind.

“I would miss playing that character,” Ross says. “I feel like there’s so much more to explore with her. I didn’t have enough time with her to really break her down, [but] either-or, it’d still be really great.”

Nothing lasts forever, not even in the MCU. Iron Man’s J.A.R.V.I.S. (Paul Bettany) became the Vision, a character that’s still evolving — and the same might be said of N.A.T.A.L.I.E. Ross, for her part, is ready for anything. “These past three years I’ve been like, ‘OK, what’s next? What are we doing?’ Really, the sky’s the limit.”

Ironheart is now streaming on Disney+.