Riri Williams

Riri Williams
Riri Williams on a variant cover of Invincible Iron Man vol. 3 #1. Art by Jeff Dekal.
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	Cameo appearance: Invincible Iron Man Vol. 3 #7 (May 2016) Full appearance: Invincible Iron Man Vol. 3 #9 (July 2016)
Created by	Brian Michael Bendis Mike Deodato
In-story information
Notable aliases	Ironheart
Abilities	Skilled inventor and engineer Genius-level intellect

Riri Williams (Ironheart) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.

Publication history

Riri Williams, created by Brian Michael Bendis and designed by Mike Deodato, had her (cameo) first appearance during Invincible Iron Man Vol. 3 #7 ^[1], written by Bendis and drawn by Deodato.^[2][3] She then made her first significance appearance two issues later. Her appearance was based on Jessie actress Skai Jackson.^[4]

Williams later starred in the fourth volume of Invincible Iron Man, starting in late 2016,^[3] under the codename Ironheart,^[5] using an armor designed by Stefano Caselli, the artist of the new volume.^[6]

Fictional character biography

Riri Williams is a 15-year-old engineering student who is the daughter of the late Riri Williams Sr. Following Riri Williams Sr.'s death, Riri lived with her mother and her paternal aunt Sharon. She started attending the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on scholarship.^[7] Working alone, Riri designs a suit of armor similar to the Iron Man armor using material stolen from campus. When campus security knocks at her door, she dons the suit and escapes.^[8]

When Williams prevents two inmates from escaping the New Mexico State Penitentiary, her suit is damaged.^[9]

Upon returning to her mother's house, Riri continued to work on improving the suit much to the dismay of her aunt. Tony Stark hears of Riri's accomplishment and goes to meet her. During their meeting, Tony Stark states to Riri that he will endorse her decision to be a superhero.^[7]

Appearing in her Rescue armor following the "Civil War II" storyline, Pepper Potts confronted Riri Williams and her Tony Stark A.I. in an attempt to tell Riri the problems of being a superhero only for them to be attacked by Techno Golem and her Biohack Ninjas.^[10] As Riri flees, Pepper fights against Techno Golem and her Biohack Ninjas as Techno Golem tries to get answers from Pepper on how she knows Riri.^[11] When Techo Golem's armor breaks and Tomoe tries to attack Riri, Pepper fires her Rescue armor's gauntlets at Tomoe which knocked her out. Upon Sharon Carter formally meeting Riri after the arrest of Tomoe and the Biohack Ninjas, Pepper states to Riri that they will talk again as she flies off in her Rescue armor.^[12] Pepper Potts was present with Mary Jane Watson, Friday, the Tony Stark A.I., and Tony Stark's biological mother Amanda Armstrong when they are in the Hall of Armor where Riri voices her knowledge of each of the Iron Man armors. When Amanda Armstrong offers to have Riri let Tony Stark's labs be her base of operations, Riri is hesitant as Pepper encourages her. The next day at her home, Riri's family is visited by the headmistress at M.I.T. who would like Riri to continue working there as it has gotten sloppy since she left. In addition, Riri will be allowed to use the laboratories there. After her work in one of the laboratories, Riri has the Tony Stark A.I. find her something to blow off some steam on. The Tony Stark A.I. finds Armadillo on a crime spree enabling Riri as Ironheart to defeat Armadillo. Afterwards, she is approached by the Champions who offer her membership into their group.^[13]

During the Secret Empire storyline, Ironheart is seen fighting the Army of Evil at the time of Hydra's takeover of the United States. After Baron Helmut Zemo has Blackout surround Manhattan with Darkforce upon enhancing him with the powers of the Darkhold, Riri has the Tony Stark A.I. to send a distress signal to all available heroes to meet her in Washington DC as fast as they can. Following Hydra's takeover, Ironheart and Falcon II join up with the Champions when they assist the Underground. She and the Champions later followed Black Widow when she makes her own plans for Captain America. During their training, the young heroes argue over Black Widow's brutality and mercilessness. During a mission, the heroes infiltrate a Hydra base to find someone crucial to Black Widow's plan. They're later told by Black Widow that they are going to kill Steve Rogers, after Hydra attacked the Underground's hideout and destroyed it. In Washington DC, at the beginning of their assault, Spider-Man begins to fight Captain America when Black Widow intervenes and gets killed. Just as Spider-Man is about to kill Steve Rogers, the others convince him to not do it and get arrested.^[14] She also helped the Champions in searching for survivors in Las Vegas, Nevada after it was destroyed by Hydra.^[15]

Sales

Alternate versions

In other media

• Riri Williams appears as a playable character in Marvel Puzzle Quest. This marks the character's debut in mobile games as well as the entire video game genre in general.^[17]
• Riri Williams appears as a playable character in Marvel Future Fight.^[18]
• Ironheart appears in Marvel Avengers Academy.
• In March 2017, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's admissions department released a short live-action video where Riri Williams, played by student Ayomide F., walks around campus, attends class, and builds an Ironheart suit in her dormitory.^[19]
• Ironheart appears as a playable character in Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2 in the "Champions" DLC.
• Riri Williams will appear in Marvel Rising: Heart of Iron, voiced by Sofia Wylie.^[20]

References

External links

• Riri Williams at Marvel Wiki
• Riri Williams at Comic Vine