Tony Stark’s villain trend is already being continued by Iron Man’s MCU replacement thanks to Ironheart’s role in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
Ironheart is already filling her role as the Marvel Cinematic Universe‘s Iron Man replacement by continuing a specific Tony Stark villain trend. For as great of a hero as Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man was, it also became noticeable how many villains he had a hand in creating. This extended beyond the Iron Man trilogy by having Ultron come directly from his experiments, while Spider-Man’s villains also frequently came as a result of Stark’s business practices. Phase 4 even turned Damage Control into another Iron Man-made villain.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever introduced Riri Williams as the MCU’s Iron Man replacement with plenty of similarities. This includes Ironheart following in Tony Stark’s footsteps in unknowingly playing a massive role in the emergence of a villain. It was because Riri invented a device capable of detecting vibranium that Namor and all of Talokan had to reveal themselves to Wakanda. Namor’s desire to kill Riri so more devices could not be made paved the way for Wakanda and Talokan’s war. While Namor has been in the MCU for hundreds of years, Black Panther 2 makes Ironheart partially responsible for his villainous turn.
Ironheart’s Show Gives Her Very Different Villains Compared to Iron Man
Thanks to the villains in Ironheart, Riri Williams looks poised to break Tony Stark’s villain-creating trend for the time being. The Disney+ series is confirmed to feature Parker Robbins a.k.a. The Hood (Anthony Ramos) as the main villain. There are also rumors that Mephisto (Sacha Baron Cohen) will appear in Ironheart. Both of these Marvel villains present Ironheart with very different opponents than Iron Man got. Riri Williams will likely have nothing to do with the origin of The Hood, while Mephisto is an ancient demon who has been around for much longer than Iron Man’s replacement. The hero not creating the villain is not where the differences end.
Marvel’s ability to let Ironheart battle magical villains in Phase 5 is a huge difference compared to Iron Man. Tony Stark never had the chance to interact with the mystical side of the MCU based on where the franchise stood when Robert Downey Jr. was still involved. It was only after the Iron Man trilogy that magic started to be featured, meaning there was no opportunity for Tony Stark to be at the center of a magic vs technology battle. Ironheart is getting that chance, though, now that the mystical side of the MCU is well established.
MCU Villains Ironheart Could Help Create Next
Ironheart might not be responsible for creating her next few villains, but that does not mean Riri Williams will not have a role to play in future antagonists rising. Her inventions or heroic acts could in some way help Marvel villains like The Controller or Living Laser be created. Following the tease in Hawkeye, she could even play a part in Obadiah Stane’s son becoming an MCU villain, even though Obadiah’s death at Tony’s hand is also likely to factor into his origin. Riri’s inventions could also pave the way for non-technological-based villains to surface too. Hopefully, she does not often repeat Tony Stark’s trend of creating new MCU villains.
