The latest addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Ironheart arrives on Disney+ with a burst of energy and ambition, spotlighting Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne), the prodigious MIT student who first shined in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Following her return from Wakanda, Riri grapples with personal trauma and academic setbacks—losing funding, losing her spot at MIT, and wrestling with the painful memory of her stepfather and best friend’s deaths.

Back in Chicago with only a prototype armored suit and her genius mind, Riri makes a bold, code-driven decision: she uploads her late friend Natalie’s brain into her suit’s AI. This choice sets the stage for a fast-paced, morally complex journey as she teams up with a gang of misfits led by Parker “The Hood” Robbins (Anthony Ramos), embarking on heists that test her values and push her into an underworld collision of technology and magic.

Creator Chinaka Hodge blends frenetic action, philosophical musings on identity and choice, and stylized violence aimed firmly at younger viewers. While the series dazzles with its flashy effects and energetic storytelling, some viewers may find its repeated moralizing slightly taxing. Still, Ironheart shines brightest through Thorne’s charismatic lead and its unwillingness to shy away from darker, antiheroic terrain.