How is Ironheart connected to Iron Man?

Warning: This article contains major spoilers for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever has introduced a new character into the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Riri Williams, who has taken on the mantle of Ironheart,

The character’s superhero name will sound eerily similar to the hero who started off the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Tony Stark’s Iron Man. With incredibly similar names as well as armor designs, you may be wondering what relation there is between the two characters, if any.

So, what is Ironheart’s connection to Iron Man?

In the original comics, Riri Williams was a massive fan of Tony Stark who creates her own suit just like him, using only materials from M.I.T. Using her suit to apprehend several criminals, Stark immediately looks to greet her and find out who this 15 year-old prodigy is.

Stark then endorses her to become a superhero, with him keeping a watchful eye over her. Williams is loosely part of the Second Civil War in the Marvel Universe, with her abstaining from joining either Captain Marvel or Stark. She later becomes a close associate of Stark’s, with her often a surrogate daughter-like character. Similarly, Williams is shown to see Stark as a father figure following the death of her own.

In the MCU, there’s no clear link between Williams and Stark yet. She would’ve been 13 years-old during the Thanos snap in Avengers: Infinity War, and roughly 17 or 18 during Avengers: Endgame. Her suit’s arc reactor looks closely modeled on Starks’s for certain, as is the character’s love for hot rod cars.

Otherwise, Ironheart looks to be more of her own thing, influenced if anything by Wakanda more than an Avenger in the film canon.

Williams will return in her solo series Ironheart in 2023. Dominique Thorne’s performance in Wakanda Forever was praised by WGTC as “pitch perfect.”

Don’t miss Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which is in theaters now.