One of Marvel Comics' youngest heroes, Ironheart (Riri Williams), is set to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe with her own series on Disney+. First debuting in Invincible Iron Man vol.2, Riri is a fifteen year-old girl who built her own suit of armor like Iron Man, and has come under the mentorship of Tony Stark. As a member of the Champions alongside the likes of Spider-Man (Miles Morales), Ms. Marvel (Kamala Khan), and Nova (Sam Alexander), Ironheart has become an integral part of the Marvel Comics universe.
Tony's mentorship of Riri, however, has been somewhat unusual, but will be nonetheless familiar to MCU fans. In Brian Michael Bendis, Stefano Caselli, and Marte Gracia's series, Invincible Iron Man: Ironheart, Tony appears as an A.I. hologram that Riri interacts with in real time as if he were alive. In Avengers: Endgame, Tony appeared at his own funeral in the form of a hologram to his daughter, Morgan, and the rest of his fellow Avengers.
As an A.I., Tony has coached Riri through the ins and outs of being a superhero, becoming her own version of J.A.R.V.I.S, the A.I. that Tony relied on during the first two phases of the MCU. Being a likeminded character to Riri, Tony has assisted with Riri's suit builds, as well as provided snarky words of advice during training exercises. Early on in her career as a hero, Riri mostly worked alone, as she struggled to connect with other people her age. Having witnessed the murders of her stepfather and best friend, Riri was hesitant to build new friendships. Tony's A.I. was cognizant of this, and helped Riri work through the myriad of emotions she had been burying since.
With someone as technologically savvy as Tony, it is not surprising that he came up with a way for him to continue to help the next generation of heroes in the Marvel Universe. But perhaps the most important part of Riri and Tony's relationship as characters is his understanding that young heroes need help not only in battle strategy and the science that powers their suit's tech, but also emotionally. As the ongoing Champions series has illustrated, it is not easy for Marvel's youngest heroes to balance the emotional ups and downs of being a superhero on top of their efforts to just simply save the day.
Given how Iron Man's legacy continues to loom large in the MCU, it is possible that in the Ironheart series, Tony will take on a similar role as an A.I. program designed to help Riri work through the growing pains of becoming a superhero. This would not be entirely unprecedented, given the role that Tony played as a mentor to Peter Parker in Spider-Man: Homecoming. Though the details of the Ironheart series still remain to be seen, the original Ironheart comics provide a perfect jumping off point for the post-Tony Stark MCU.
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