How Riri Williams Became the Invincible Ironheart

What does it take to build something iconic? When Tony Stark built his first armor out of scraps, he cemented Iron Man as a legendary hero in the Marvel Universe. Every armored hero since has carried Stark’s legacy in some way, but Riri Williams carved a unique path for herself as the high-flying Ironheart.

Inspired by Stark, Riri built her own suit of armor from scrap metal. She even found a mentor in the original Iron Man. Throughout her armored adventures, Ironheart used her technological genius to take on mechanical foes and mystical threats alike.

Now, let’s take a closer look at Riri Williams and how she forged her own legacy as Ironheart. From her earliest missions to her adventures with the Champions, find out how Ironheart established herself as an icon in the next generation of Marvel heroes.

WHO IS RIRI WILLIAMS?

Riri Williams first appeared in INVINCIBLE IRON MAN (2015) #7 by Brian Michael Bendis and Mike Deodato, Jr. As a shy young genius from the south side of Chicago, Riri enrolled in college when she was 11. During a picnic, Riri’s stepfather and her best friend, Natalie Washington, tragically died while caught in the crossfires of a drive-by shooting. To avenge their deaths, a 15-year-old Riri Williams began building her first armor by reverse-engineering one of Iron Man’s old suits.

Riri’s first armor was a bulky gray suit built from scavenged technology she gathered from around her college campus. Shortly after she took flight, Riri jumped into action to stop a truck escaping a crime scene. Although this escapade wrecked her armor, Riri caught the attention of Tony Stark, who took her under his armored wing.

With her armor repaired, Riri joined Tony Stark and his allies during CIVIL WAR II, where Iron Man’s disagreements with Captain Marvel devolved into open war. As the heroes fought over the fate of an Inhuman who could see the future, Riri befriended Ms. Marvel (Kamala Khan), Spider-Man (Miles Morales), and several other young heroes.

HOW RIRI WILLIAMS BECAME IRONHEART

With Iron Man presumed dead after CIVIL WAR II, Riri Williams stepped up to fill the void left by the armored Avenger. Always with contingencies in mind, Tony Stark entrusted his young protégée with an A.I. modeled after his personality. The A.I. construct of Tony Stark started mentoring Riri in INVINCIBLE IRON MAN (2016) #1 by Brian Michael Bendis and Stefano Caselli.

With her digital mentor, Riri designed a sleek new armor with Iron Man’s signature red and gold colors. As she faced threats like Animax and Rhino, Riri honed her skills against several of Stark’s old foes.

However, Riri decided that she needed a new heroic identity in INVINCIBLE IRON MAN (2016) #3. After a heartfelt conversation about Natalie, the A.I. Tony Stark suggested the name Ironheart. Riri befriended Pepper Potts shortly thereafter and the two of them teamed up to defeat the technology-controlling Techno Golem and her Biohack Ninjas.

IRONHEART MEETS THE MARVEL UNIVERSE

As Ironheart established herself as a hero, she quickly began making friends and enemies throughout the Marvel Universe. She worked with Doctor Doom, who also operated as Iron Man after Stark’s presumed death. Once she helped Doom, S.H.I.E.L.D. drafted Ironheart into a conflict with Lucia von Bardas, who had taken over Latveria in Doom’s absence. Riri briefly served as Queen of Latveria after defeating Lucia in INVINCIBLE IRON MAN (2016) #9. However, Ironheart set up an election for Latveria’s next leader and abdicated the throne.

When the teenage Champions asked her to join their team, Ironheart initially hesitated. However, she still helped the young heroes battle a villainous Captain America when he and Hydra took over the United States in SECRET EMPIRE. Ironheart and the Tony Stark A.I. played major roles in the Underground, the resistance force that defeated Hydra.

When that conflict ended, Ironheart took a brief trip into the future, where she received encouragement from an older Tony Stark who had become the Sorcerer Supreme in GENERATIONS: IRON MAN & IRONHEART (2017) #1.

IRONHEART AND THE CHAMPIONS

After fighting alongside the Champions on multiple occasions, Ironheart officially joined the team in CHAMPIONS (2016) #16 by Mark Waid and Humberto Ramos. Ironheart immediately put her engineering skills to work when she joined the team and helped build its flying base, the Champions Mobile Bunker. Although she had some trouble adjusting to working with a team, Riri became friendly with Viv Vision.

On one of her first missions, Ironheart helped the team face Thanos and the Chitauri alien army. When she attacked Thanos, the Mad Titan destroyed Riri's armor in INFINITY COUNTDOWN: CHAMPIONS (2016) #2 by Jim Zub and Emilio Laiso. Devastated by that loss, Riri began working on a new Ironheart armor that was partially inspired by the Chitauri’s alien suits. Ironheart debuted her new pink and black armor with its glowing heart emblem in CHAMPIONS (2016) #22 by Zub and Kevin Libranda.

Ironheart and her teammates traveled to the mystical realm of Weirdworld to save their friends, Nova and the Wasp (Nadia Van Dyne). Once they returned to Earth, Viv kissed Riri, who was shocked by the display of affection and did not know how to respond. Ironheart stepped away from the team after that awkward moment. Under the influence of Blackheart, she then attacked the team. However, Viv freed Riri and apologized for crossing her boundaries, and the two Champions resumed their friendship.

IRONHEART IN WAKANDA

After Riri left the Champions, Ironheart resumed her activities as a solo hero in IRONHEART (2018) #1 by Eve Ewing and Kevin Libranda. Riri scanned her mind and built a new A.I. that took the form of her late best friend, Natalie, to assist her on her missions.

Following a fight with the sound-manipulating Clash, Ironheart learned about the Ten Rings, a secret society and criminal organization. She investigated several disappearances which led her to Midnight’s Fire, a Ten Rings member who saw Riri’s villainous potential and tried to recruit her.

With a few friends from the Champions, Ironheart saved a kidnapped Miles Morales and stopped Eclipse, a Ten Rings member, from causing a zombie outbreak in Chicago. After getting mystical advice from Doctor Strange, Ironheart traveled to Wakanda to find the Wellspring of Power with Shuri, Okoye, and Silhouette, Midnight’s Fire’s sister.

As the heroes tried to stop the Ten Rings from opening the Wellspring, Ironheart met Dune, her biological father and a leader in the Ten Rings. When she fell into the Wellspring, Ironheart went on a psychedelic trip and emerged with a temporary power boost that helped her bring down the Ten Rings.

IRONHEART: OUTLAWED

After spending time in Wakanda, Ironheart dealt with two crises back home. When a fight between the Champions and a dragon left Kamala Khan seriously injured and Viv Vision seemingly dead, the U.S. government banned super hero activity for anyone under the age of 21 in OUTLAWED (2020) #1. Due to the law, Riri briefly stopped operating as Ironheart.

Riri and her A.I. N.A.T.A.L.I.E. had a heated argument just as A.I.s around the world began rebelling against humanity. In retaliation, N.A.T.A.L.I.E. took control of the Ironheart armor in 2020 IRONHEART (2020) #1. Once the A.I. attacked the villain André Sims, Riri and N.A.T.A.L.I.E. made peace and agreed to focus on helping the other young heroes.

As the newly formed C.R.A.D.L.E. agency hunted the Champions, Riri returned to her Ironheart armor and tried to help the teens evade capture. However, Viv Vision quietly kept C.R.A.D.L.E. informed about the heroes’ location.

While hiding in Riri’s family home, Viv and the Champions made a video exposing C.R.A.D.L.E. and its links to the Roxxon Corporation. Once this turned the public against the ban, C.R.A.D.L.E. disbanded, and the Champions began working freely again.  

IRONHEART AND IRON MAN

Since Tony Stark’s full recovery, Ironheart teamed up with Iron Man on several occasions. Along with War Machine, Iron Man and Ironheart faced a planet full of kaiju monsters in AVENGERS UNLIMITED INFINITY COMIC (2022) #9 by Murewa Ayodele and Akande Adedotun.

When the Mandarin’s Makluan Rings ended up for sale, the armored heroes bumped into each other while trying to claim the dangerous alien weapons separately in IRON MAN (2020) #24 by Christopher Cantwell and Angel Unzueta. Ironheart claimed the rings but slowly fell under their corruptive influence. After using their power to help Iron Man and the X-Men's Forge build spaceships, Ironheart sent the rings to the other side of the universe.

When Lucia von Bardas infected Iron Man’s systems with a mystical virus, Ironheart and N.A.T.A.L.I.E. helped stop her and saved Chicago from her attacks. Ironheart later defended her hometown from Khem, a villainous young genius, and the Controller, one of Iron Man's old foes, in IRONHEART: BAD CHEMISTRY (2025) #1 by John Jennings and Jethro Morales.

Whether she’s protecting her city from threats or flying high with the Champions, Ironheart has already built an impressive heroic legacy for herself — and she’s just getting started.

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