The Black Panther: Wakanda Forever trailer debuted the first look at Ironheart, the real MCU replacement for Iron Man. On the heels of the Infinity Saga, Marvel Studios started gradually introducing the successors for the original six Avengers. It started with Sam Wilson taking over the Captain America mantle from Steve Rogers, followed by the arrival of Yelena Belova as the new Black Widow, Kate Bishop as the new Hawkeye, and the Mighty Thor as the new Thor. Meanwhile, the Hulk's replacement is set to be launched in She-Hulk with Jennifer Walters. That leaves Tony Stark as the last founding MCU hero who doesn't have a clear heir — until now.
At Comic-Con, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige confirmed that Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will end Phase 4 of the MCU before unveiling the first trailer for the Black Panther sequel. Director Ryan Coogler's much-anticipated return to Wakanda has its work cut out for it in light of original star Chadwick Boseman's death in 2020. Aside from establishing a new Black Panther, however, and also introducing Namor the Sub-Mariner to the MCU, the movie has the responsibility of debuting Iron Man's MCU successor.
The Black Panther: Wakanda Forever trailer features the first appearance of Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne), a.k.a. Ironheart. The character only appears in two brief scenes. In the first, she's seen greeting Shuri (Letitia Wright), and in the second scene, she's forging her own insignia, which draws a visual parallel to Tony Stark creating Mark I in the first Iron Man. Created by Brian Michael Bendis in 2015, Riri Williams is a 15-year-old whiz kid who designed her own version of the Iron Man suit. She became a superhero herself, dubbed Ironheart, on the heels of the Civil War II event because Tony was in a coma. While Iron Man was physically incapacitated during this time, though, his consciousness functioned as her suit's AI, allowing him to guide her through her adventures.
How Ironheart Can Replace Iron Man In The MCU
Discussions about who will be the new Iron Man started long before Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) ended his MCU arc in Avengers: Endgame, with Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Tom Holland) and Shuri being a potential frontrunners. Now that Peter has found his footing without ties to his former mentor, though, the MCU can firmly establish Ironheart as Iron Man's legitimate successor in the universe instead. Marvel can lean on her story in print, which organically sets her up as the MCU's Iron Man replacement. While her origins and background aren't exactly similar to her predecessor's, having the same ingenuity and level of smarts could set Riri Williams up as MCU's next main inventor. Shuri inhabits this role now, but she can focus on Wakandan tech, perhaps while taking on the mantle of the new Black Panther, while Ironheart steps in as the Avengers or Young Avengers' chief innovator.
It is going to be tricky for Marvel Studios to properly establish Ironheart as Iron Man's MCU replacement. Unlike the rest of the original Avengers who have had time with their successors, Tony Stark and Riri Williams never got to forge a relationship in order to make a meaningful passing of the torch. It's unknown if they even ever knew each other before Iron Man's death in Avengers: Endgame. While viewers are unlikely to see enough of Riri in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever to have all questions about the character answered, the character's own series, Ironheart, could shed more light on her role in the MCU as well as be the perfect project to bring back Robert Downey Jr. as Tony in some form or another.
