Ironheart Ep. 1-3 Thoughts!

⚠️This blog post contains spoilers for episodes 1-3 of Ironheart⚠️

Happy Thursday, my friends! Hope this week has been treating you all well. I’ve been consuming a ton of new media this week, one of those including the first three episodes of the newest Marvel show, Ironheart! You all know I’m always so excited for new Marvel projects, and this one was no exception. I’ve been missing some Iron Man type action, and this show absolutely brings that (and more!) back to the table. So let’s jump into it!
​
Let’s dive into that first episode. As someone who grew up in the Boston area, it’s always so exciting to see it represented in projects. I loved getting to see a little more of Riri at MIT on the screen! But of course, that was short lived when Riri was expelled from the school. I loved how her AI in her suit at the beginning was supposed to be a little spin on Clippy, the clip art paper clip. One of my favorite things about these Marvel projects is getting to learn more of the lore behind all of the newer characters we have, so this episode was especially exciting getting to learn more about Riri’s family, and her history with Natalie, her bestie. 

I also super enjoyed getting to see how she handled the elevator scene, trying to escape the poisonous gas! It’s clear Parker wanted her to solve it a particular way, to get the gas mask, but she went a whole other route and basically broke down the elevator. I think that’s also such a great way to show that Riri beats to her own drum, and finds her own way. The crew she’s been working with these last three episodes is so fun. I especially love Shea Couleé’s character. They are absolutely killing it, and I’m always cracking up when they are on the screen 😂 And then of course, episode one ends with Riri waking up to her accidental creation of the N.A.T.A.L.I.E. AI. Such a cool twist!

I was so curious to see what direction they were going to go with Riri’s AI, and I was really happy with what they ended up doing with N.A.T.A.L.I.E. I know in the comics, there is a version where Riri uses Tony Stark as her AI, but I was pretty sure they weren’t going to go that route (especially since they have RDJ currently contracted as Doom. It just seemed unlikely.) So this was a great outcome!

Alrighty, episode two. We get the first in-action job with The Hood’s team. This episode was SUPER cool. I love how the MCU is constantly thinking of new technology to incorporate into their stories—like these underground car tunnels in this episode. Super super creative, and it was such an awesome way to watch Riri interact with N.A.T.A.L.I.E. and the tech around her. And of course, this is the episode we are first introduced to Joe. The scene of the two of them belting songs together in the car was cracking me up 😂 and I loved how even though he’s a black market arm’s dealer, he’s like the chillest version of them ever HAHAH. He’s so gentle for someone who sells all these illegal weapons. Especially with his little “Live, Laugh, Love” signs everywhere 🤭

I’m also interested in N.A.T.A.L.I.E. glitching when she was reminded of her real-life counterpart’s death. I feel that this isn’t actually a glitch in N.A.T.A.L.I.E.’s firmware, but rather because Riri still has not processed or fully grieved the death of her best friend and her stepfather, and this probably translated over when she did her brain scan to create N.A.T.A.L.I.E. I’m curious to see how the MCU continues to address this as the show goes on, because it’s such a heavy topic. But I love love love how Marvel has been so unafraid lately to discuss topics of mental health with their characters. I feel like it makes them seem more real, in a way. Not perfect super-beings.

Let’s wrap this up with episode three! I’m so excited to learn more about The Hood and his past. Especially as they feed us little details here and there, like the scaling on his back, and how at the end he’s yelling at someone, or something? My guess right now is that maybe he is in talks with Dormammu? I could be TOTALLY off on that one, though. I guess only time will tell! I also thought N.A.T.A.L.I.E. having a little necklace piece that Riri wears was such a cute way to untether her from the suit (I hope they sell that as an actual jewelry piece!). And then THE OBADIAH STANE CONNECTION?! I could scream. Joe actually being Ezekiel Stane was a CRAZY plot twist I was not expecting (also him keeping his father’s ashes in a ziplock bag is WILDDDD hahaha 😂). What a cool way to tie in some past Iron Man connection while still keeping the story fresh and new with Riri. It was a perfect tie in, in my opinion. And then we get left on quite a cliffhanger, with Riri losing the biomesh skin and having a pretty bad panic attack. But we know our girl is smart—she’ll figure this out!

Also can we talk real quick about how fun the title cards for each episode have been? I love that they incorporate them into the scenes, like Riri crashing into the street, or the money raining from the ceiling in episode three. This project has been so fun and creative so far, and I cannot wait to see what the last three episodes next week bring us! I wish this show was on a one-episode-weekly release schedule so we could extend the love—it’s been so much fun so far!

What do you all think of Ironheart so far? Feel free to drop a comment below, or in my Instagram Subscriber Broadcast! I love seeing what you all are thinking about current projects :)

Until next week’s review!

-Jess <3