Ironheart & The Bias Machine
The backlash against Ironheart has never really been about the story… It’s about something uglier, discomfort with seeing Black girls in spaces they were never meant to be.”— Comic Book Clique
Part I: The Bad-Faith Bomb
Before a single episode hit Disney+, Ironheart already faced hostile reviews some for a different 1993 Iron Heart movie but mostly driven by fandom’s refusal to accept Riri Williams in the lead slot:
Two trailers were review‑bombed: 64% dislike rate (500K dislikes) on YouTube
Rotten Tomatoes scrubbed unfair early audience reviews, but Ironheart remains the fourth-worst rated MCU series (critics 70%; audience 71%) .
This isn’t “critical engagement”; it’s mob aggression. A digital ambush designed to suppress a Black woman hero before the show even had a chance.
Part II: The Space She Fills
Introduced in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Riri is a 19-year-old MIT prodigy from Chicago. She builds Iron Man level suits in her dorm, cracks high level algorithms in seconds, and speaks truth with the kind of clarity that unnerves power.
She isn’t Tony Stark. She doesn’t want to be.
And that’s the beauty Marvel almost understood before the show got lost in its own obligations.
Part III: What "audiences” miss
From the jump, Ironheart was flooded with dislikes and bad-faith reviews. YouTube trailers were tanked, Rotten Tomatoes had to clean up fabricated audience scores, and online forums ran wild with accusations of “wokeness” and “forced diversity.”
This wasn’t critique, it was coordinated discomfort. Tony Stark was arrogant, self-destructive, reckless and beloved. Riri ? She raises her voice once and she’s called entitled.
Black women in media are rarely allowed to be flawed, growing, or simply human.
Their genius is questioned.
Their leadership challenged.
Their presence seen as political instead of powerful.
That’s not a storytelling problem. That’s cultural.
Final thoughts:
Riri’s tech-building scenes channel early MCU grit and tension, the AI subplot adds emotional resonance and Dominique Thorne’s charisma makes you care, even when the script doesn’t. It’s not a perfect show. But there’s a heartbeat under the circuitry one worth hearing if we’re willing to listen.
Ironheart is frustrating not because it’s bad, but because it’s full of potential that Marvel seems unsure how to nurture. It deserves better writing, deeper world- building and an audience ready to meet Riri where she is, not where Tony left off.
This show matters. Riri matters. And if this industry keeps fumbling characters like hers, it’s not just a missed opportunity, it’s a systemic failure.
What did you think of Ironheart so far ? What moments hit or missed ? I’d love to hear from you.
I had to disconnect from the internet because people were about to ruin it for me. My goal is to watch it this weekend, but I heard I need to rewatch Wakanda Forever first.
I love it so far. Stunning visuals, the colouring is very good, great soundtrack, an amazing cast and a solid storyline. It's also very clear Riri is not a Tony and if someone wants to talk about entitlement well two words Tony Stark. The man is important but very flawed and Riri is her person. I watch it as it's own thing. However, Marvel has consistently failed to properly back up its BIPOC characters, especially in this new phase. If you look at the marketing for Ironheart, it feels rushed and forced. Anyway, I'm going to enjoy every minute of it because it's good and I deserve to see more of Black genius on TV and it doesn't have to be perfect.